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oh, why didn't you just say that? huh-- what is he doing? >> brian: meet the newest member of the "fox & friends" family. he's on the payroll. 7 pounds, 20 inches. his dad, gavin, one of our favorite senior producers here. good luck, guys. hope you're watching. >> gretchen: have a great

weekend. gavin. congratulations. it is deadline day. only hours away before 85 billion in automatic spending cuts are due to hit. the president and congressional leaders are about to sit down for their first face-to-face meeting on the subject. >> good timing. bill: i'm bill hemmer. welcome to a friday here on "america's newsroom". martha: hello, bill hemmer. hello to everybody at home. that meeting is scheduled to begin in an hour at the white house. if no last minute agreement is reached, not too likely, the requires president ball to sign an order before midnight tonight. the obama administration warns there could be dire consequences. republicans not so sure about that. watch this. >> when people wake up and they see the mayan prophecy not true and the comet didn't sweep them up and sequestration didn't have things falling out of the sky, you know what will happen, greta? they will conclude, you know

what, maybe we can cut a little bit. bill: we're about to find out. rich lowery, editor of "national review.". >> hello, bill. bill: you don't believe there will be a last minute deal. let's take it one step at a time. what does the president have to lose starting today? >> the president, a risk to him he seems alarmist and unreasonable. he and his cabinet members last week or so create ad expectation that the sky will fall as soon as sequester takes place. more detailed reporting suggest that is not going to happen. the latest thing the irs said yesterday, it will not furlough any agents until after april 15th. the white house need things to happen in march, right away to affect the next budget ball he will coming at the end of the month for so-called continuing resolution to keep the government going. if that doesn't happen the political effect the white house want won't happen. it is risk to him seeming unreasonable he opposes

flexible to get the cuts and which doesn't team seem to make sense. bill: we're 30 days from the next crisis which is encouraging. flip it around. republicans john boehner, mitch mcconnell what do they have to lose here? >> the same thing, appearing unreasonable. if there is cuts, anything really high-profile and media can make a big deal of, that shows people are inconvenienced or lives impacted next couple weeks that could hurt. where the white house media strategists are pump out so-called studies about disasterous effects it will have specifically each locality. news organizations pick that up. it is good tv for the local news. that is getting pumped out. if there are lon longer lines, places, teachers immediately laid off and there is public backlash bense this, that is when republicans face real political risk. the white house wants to break their will, break them

and make them accept a tax increase. bill: there is how much money we're spending based on our debt and the amount of money per second now. this only runs for, this graphic here for ten seconds. watch out we go from zero, well past a million dollars, just in the time we're talking. and then when you look at the latest "fox news poll" -- >> i will try to talk faster, bill. bill: thank you for that. if you look at the latest "fox news poll", when we asked americans how do you get the deficit under control, a clear majority say you only do it when you have these automatic cuts. what do you make of that? >> yeah, well, bill, most of these budget fights the white house has an inherent advantage the president has the bully pulpit. he is one unified voice. in the fiscal cliff negotiation he had a big advantage if nothing happen the democrat policy basically happened which is a tax increase. this is little bit different. if nothing happens, the spending cut happens automatically which republicans would prefer. also there is sense in the public, very well-founded i

would argue, that government wastes a lot of money. republicans are out there saying look, the president says we got to cut all head start immediately. there are a lot of other things that don't make sense this government could cut. that message could have a lot of resonance with the pub. bill: we'll sit back and watch together. rich lowry in new york. this is what happens to the u.s. military if the cuts go into effect. this is mockup of u.s. army. if the sequester hits, over next ten years, this is is now, over the next 10-year you see you who the u.s. army shrinks in numbers. the nation's ground force, frankly at the smallest size we've seen since 1940, martha. martha: look at the air force over the next ten years. the u.s. tactical fighter force will drop to the lowest levels in air force history. and now take a look at the navy. over the next ten years the fleet will be reduced to 230 ships that will make it the smallest fleet that we've had since 1915, to compare the navy had more than 6700

ships by the end of world war ii. some troubling signs economically across the pond right now. the 17 european union countries today reporting a record unemployment rate right now, hitting an average of 11.9%. with nearly 19 million people in the eurozone out of work. and remember the e.u. of course has battled overwhelming entitlement costs and a huge debt crisis. stuart varney joins me now, the anchor of "varney & company" on the fox business network. boy, that is a tough number for them to cope with, stuart. >> those numbers are horrendous. the truth is europe is out front of us. europe is already in a very, very serious recession and that unemployment figure, 11.9% as we said is horrendous. now why is europe in this position? for many years now they have been taking money out of the economy, trying to repay and stablize their debt with this austerity program. we've got a new report from

george mason university and a colleague from harvard who said the main part of that austerity program was tax increases. that was the main part of this austerity, taking money out of the economy, with tax increases, and that's produced this recession. now that's mirrored over here. right now in america we've got a dead flat economy. very, very weak economy. in large part because of the tax increases we've put in on january the 1st and the likelihood of more tax increases to come from president obama. so they're ahead of us over there. we're going down exactly the same road. that's where we are today. also cut entitlements? i remember the protests in the streets in france. >> they did. martha: over the retirement age and students and all of that. what impact did that have and how does all this add up for what we can expect here in the future, stuart? >> they did cut entitlement programs in some countries in europe that tried to cut to, cut the, raise the

retirement age in france. that was struck down and they put it back to 60. and what does that mean for america? well, if we get a long-term entitlement reform plan in america, would get to a large, degree, a handle on our debt. what it would do to the economy over the long term, there are two sides of an opinion. some think if we do control entitlements long term that is good for the economy. others say you control entitlements over the long term, you take money out of the economy and that's bad but the fact is europe is ahead of us and we're going in the same direction as europe right now. martha: such a big debate in this country over whether or not we're, quote, becoming europe. we can watch some of it play out and the lessons can be learned of the everybody can make their judgment based on that. >> martha, i'm european by it about. i know that we are becoming like them, believe me. martha: stuart, we like the part of you that is european. we like a lot of things about europe but not necessarily the economics. thank you so much.

>> thank you, martha. martha: we'll see you soon. bill: burn your passport. you're not going back. thank you, stuart. with no hope in the world. the catholic church turning to selecting the man to replace the benedict xvi and lead the world's one billion roman catholics. amy kellogg still at her post outside vatican city in rome, italy. amy, what in the world is next? >> reporter: well, bill, the vatican still does not have a cardinal count. in other words the cardinals keep flying into rome. they're getting ready for that conclave which, in latin, latin word which means with a key. in other words, a secret meeting under lock and key that will take place in the not too distant future. apparently it all starts out very gently and subtlely without people naming names. eventually the cardinals start to warm up to one another and talking about specific individuals. they would like to see take the post according to

cardinal tim dolan from new york who we spoke to this morning. >> i will say to some of the cardinals whom i feel very comfortable with, i will say what is your read on him? have you ever gotten to know him? what's your, what does your gut tell you about such and such a man? we don't need to apologize for that. i think god's people would want us to do that. i think the holy spirit wants us to do that. i think the protocol of the church wants us to do that. that goes on. no campaigning, no posturing, but kind of a very realistic way to try to get to know one another better. >> reporter: bill, this will be cardinal dolan's first conclave. this is what he expects it will all be like. some people suggested he could be the nextcardnal but he says i thinks that is not likely, bill. bill: all the way from 5th avenue. we'll see soon. what is the pope emeritus doing on his first full day of retirement, amy? >> reporter: bill, apparently he, after all was

said and done he watched three foreign television net, would. the vatican would not say which ones. he liked what he saw. he took around castel gandolfo. he didn't venture outside. he walked around the vast villa. he played a little bit of piano. a piano has been moved into the temporary residence for him. the swiss guards we saw departing as final ceremonial act. they made him a cake which is very up to go because the swiss guards keep their distance. they're a protection force for popes. and apparently he is going to take a walk outside today, moving some books into his residence and had a good night's sleep. went to mass this morning. that's about it. bill: wow, a whole new day. amy kellogg, thanks, live in rome. bill: italy, outside vatican city. imagine that for now. for years you have lived your life. for the past seven plus years you're the pope and then nothing. martha: you know, the emotions of it are somewhat

similar to leaving the presidency after eight years and being in the limelight and having elections auld of that attention. i think there are some parallels to have the doubt and feeling where is and what do i do next. if you're going to retire that is pretty nice place to hang out. looks really nice from everything we saw yesterday. we're just getting started this morning everybody and we want to tell you about a massive rescue operation that is underway this morning. this is strange one. >> we heard a loud crash. i ran in there. i heard somebody screaming, my brother screaming. and i ran in there and all i could see was a big hole. martha: wow! scary for that man. we had are live on the scene as the rescue effort continues for this man who was literally swallowed up by a sinkhole behind his home. bill: check out the screen the first interview sips the presidential election in early november. the exclusive mitt romney and ann romney interview. what he is doing today and what he says about politics in washington with chris wallace.

martha: this one continues to get a lot of hub bub. a veteran journalist taking serious heat from the white house. now he is defending himself. what does it say about the press right now and the white house? >> this is exactly the way the white house works. they're trying to control and they don't want to be challenged or crossed.

bill: for the first time since the election in november governor mitt romney is speaking publicly. he and his wife ann sitting down for an exclusive interview you will only see on "fox news sunday" with anchor chris wallace. i talked to chris a few moments ago about it. chris wallace with me now. sir, good morning to you. >> good morning to you, bill. bill: there are so many topics out of washington. even just today i want to start there with the news of the day. how did he say or how did he rate the beginning of obama's second term? >> well you know, it's interesting. there is a lot of emotion in this interview with mitt and ann romney and i think that

it was a very poignant time to interview them right now because they both feel that he would have been uniquely qualified to avoid the sequester, to avoid the mess we're in now. here's a brief part of the interview where we talk about that. how do you think the president has handled the sequester, the $85 billion in automatic spending cuts? >> well no one can think that has been a success for the president. he didn't think the sequester would happen. it is happening but to date what we've seen is, the president out campaigning to the american people, doing rallies around the country, flying around the country and berating republicans and blaming and pointing. what does that do? that causes republicans to retrench and that to put up a wall to fight back. that is very natural human emotion of the president has the opportunity to lead the nation and to bring republicans and democrats together. it is a job he has got to do. it is a job only the president can do. >> the obama administration

is right now releasing hundreds of illegal immigrants who have been slated for deportation because they say they can't afford to hold them. what do you think of that? >> i think the president has to act in the interests of the country and that means if we need an aircraft carrier in the gulf, and i believe we do, i thought we needed one more, then he should do it. i think if there are people who are incars rated, he should make sure we're able to keep them in jail. look, again, it's politics. it is okay, how do we do something that will get a headline make it look like the terrible republicans are not willing to come together. >> you know i would say, bill, that was his real complaint. he said the campaign is over yet the president seems to continue to campaign, and that's where i think he felt the frustration. when he was governor he would have sat down with the other side, in his case the democrats and tried to work out a deal. the last thing that happens if you attack the other side,

they get their packs up, as he said retrench and there is no possibility of a deal and he thinks the president is more interested in scoring political points than getting a deal. bill: i think it is fascinating chris. three more things i want to whip through quickly. did you ask him about how he lost the election, about the obama ground game? about the technology, the democrats used to find voters who were not even on the roles in 2008? >> yes. he says, part of it he blames on the primaries. i was fighting for my life. by the time the primaries were over in april i was out of money, we hadn't set up for a national election. and the president had. he had a big advantage there. he admits they got outorganized. bill: lightning round continues as we turn it on you. what did you learn that you did not expect from this? >> well, i think he's in a much better place. i don't want to make this sound wrong but he in a

better place than she is. he seems to come to terms and moving forward. i asked her point-blank, ann romney, are you over it yet? she goes, no. it will take a while. they're not bitter but they're terribly disappointed. and again they really think wish that they were in washington with hands on levers of power so they could avoid the situation the country is in. bill: she is still going through this then? >> i think they both are to some degree but, she more than he. bill: another question here. they were as confident, i believe, from the outside looking in on election day. they thought they were going to win. and -- >> absolutely. bill: i'm curious to know, what did they tell but the information they were getting that led them to believe that right up until election day? >> well, you know, they saw the public polls and they knew that. on the other hand they saw tremendous enthusiasm of crowds. there were internal polls. they both admit they totally

believed they were both going to win. this was on election night. he said i was kind of conflicted. my head said it would be very close and we might not win, but my heart i totally believed we were going to win which made the defeat even more crushing. one of the things we talk about is the difference when you're going 100 miles an hour and when it's over and the secret service leaves and crowds leave. we had dinner the night before. he drove, he and ann, he drove the car. there is nobody else there. we had to wait in line to get seated at a table for dinner. and they ended up driving me home. so, life is different than it would have been had things been a little different last november 6th. bill: fascinating look. looking forward to see it on sunday. a lot of people have been waiting to see and hear from him. now we will get that chance. check local listings, "fox news sunday", only with chris wallace. thank you, chris. >> thank you, bill. bill: one of the things i find remarkable, we're four months removed from the election and just now are we

hearing from, he is really taking a step back to get out of the spotlight and allow washington to work the stubborn gears that washington has been working for the past several months now. martha: i have not witnessed an election where the other side, where the losing side was so convinced that they were going to win on election day. i feel like, with mccain, there was sort of unwinding. there was a feeling things weren't going their way. so i do understand why it has taken them so long to sort of recover. i really believe they felt thought they would be living in the white house at this point and have their hands on the levers of power chris described. very interesting. i can't wait to see the rest of it. bill: check it out on sunday. martha: how about this morning? green cars, like the color of my dress. they're not green an on the outside. they're coming under fire a little bit. what sparked a new epa investigation. bill: they wanted a house on the beach, martha. not under the beach. why these folks are upset about digging out. we'll explain that. dvisor should focus on your long-term goals,

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martha: boy, this is a bizarre one. we're waiting for a news conference right now after a sinkhole swallowed up a bedroom in a florida home. there is the aerial shot of this. the man who was in the bedroom sleeping is now missing. we heard his brother talking about it just moments ago. rescue crews are on the scene trying to see if they can dig this man out before it is too late. police say his brother tried to save him. the deputy ended up pulling the brother from the edge of that deep hole. >> we heard a lot crash. i ran in there. i heard somebody screaming. my brother screaming. and i, i ran in there and all i could see was a big hole. all i could see was the tops of his bed. i didn't see nothing else. so i jumped in the hole to try to dig him out. and i couldn't get him. all i could hear, i thought i could hear him screaming and hollering for me to help

him. i couldn't do nothing. >> terrible. that is wtvt, fox affiliate reporter april kellogg in seffner, florida. what is happening on this now? >> reporter: well, actually it is now being called at this point a recovery effort, not a rescue effort. if you take a look behind me, engineers are on scene here. they have been here for about an hour and a half, two hours at this point. they're testing the ground. measuring the ground to try to figure out what is stable, what is not. what is safe, what is not. once they determine that. that is when they can allow fire rescue teams to come here and try to recover the man trapped in this the sinkhole since 11:30 last night. obviously family members, residents are devastated. they evacuate ad couple of houses right next door because the ground is unstable. we're told the sinkhole actually has taken out the bottom of the house. from the outside you can't see there are not any cracks. doesn't look like any problem from the outside but the inside where this bedroom collapsed, taking

this man inside with it. as you mentioned his brother tried to save him but wasn't able to. the latest we're waiting for engineers to give word once the rescue crews will be allowed to go inside to rescue the man. martha: unbelievable. we're look looking at the house, looks like there is no problem. you say under the bedroom the house is completely intact. this literally sucked his bed into the ground. they're concerned about the whole neighborhood essentially having a similar problem, right? >> reporter: absolutely. we deal with sinkholes in florida and in this area. that is very unusual. we'll see a house with huge cracks and part of the house sinking in. four walls are there. apparently a bedroom where the ground gave way and there is giant hole underneath. this is of great concern. it is spreading. they don't know how deep or how wide. that is why the geners are trying to figure out. martha: devastating for his brother. something in a million years

you never expect to have to deal with. april, thank you very much. bill: a lot of times they see this stuff in florida, more so than other states. they're hoping to catch a big break in the weather, with the fight in the dangerous wildfire continues. neighbors are in the dark and others need to pack up and get it. out. we'll take you there live. martha: we have a crucial meeting i don't know how crucial but it will be a meeting between president obama and members of the congress. why didn't they meet a week ago, two weeks ago, instead of on the last day? who knows. stakes are pretty high we're told. [ male announcer ] it's a rule of nature. you don't decide when vegetables reach the peak of perfection. the vegetables do. at green giant, we pk vegetables only when they're perfect. then freeze them fast so they're are as nutritious as fresh. [ green giant ] ho ho ho.

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bill: hybrid car owners may not be getting their money's worth after all. the epa launching an investigation into the accuracy of gas mileage estimates for some of these green vehicles. are claims of fuel efficiency overblown? doug mckelway is live in washington. what prompted this investigation, doug? >> reporter: well it was consumers report test of two ford hybrid vehicles. ford c-max and ford fusion hybrid. "consumer reports" bought one of each of these cars and did some real world testing. their results con firm the epa mileage figures were way off, further off than tests from any previous vehicle.

ep. and ford claimed that the c-max delivered 47 miles per gallon. "consumer reports" testing found it was really 37 miles per gallon. that is a difference of ten miles per gallon. epa and ford said the ford fusion hybrid delivered 47 miles per gallon as welcome binded city and highway. "consumer reports" found it was far less, 39 miles per gallon, a difference of eight. that "consumer reports" article prompted epa to reevaluate its testing methodologies. they told this is different type of hybrid and we need to understand it. it has long been understood mileage in the new generation of hybrids regardless of make is especially vulnerable to changes in driving habits. epa official told "usa today" if you drive a hybrid the way you drive a porsche you will get less mileage than the national average. they get much worse mileage in cold weather. battery life decase in cold

weather. anybody lighting up flashlight on a cold day, knows that, bill. bill: check the sticker. doug, we're looking for results of that investigation. what will they find there? martha: veteran journalist bob woodward is now defending himself from a mounting controversy after criticizing the way that he was treated in some e-mail exchanges and on the phone in a half hour session where he was berated by a white house official. he now says that he is really questioning the administration, on their handling of the automatic defense spending cuts which he has derailed in great work in his book and after that as well. he says he was yelled at by a staffer. here is woodward, sort of on the back end of this story, reacting to his own e-mails that responded. here he is last night on "hannity". watch this. >> obviously he didn't like being challenged on this at all but, you know, people have said, well, this, was a threat or i was saying it

was a threat. i haven't used that language. but it is not the way to operate in a white house. the problem is they're all kinds of reporters who are much less experienced, who are younger, and if they're going to get roughed up in this way, and, i flooded with e-mails from people in the press saying this is exactly the way the white house works. they're trying to control and they don't want to be challenged or crossed. martha: juan williams is a fox news political analyst. mary katharine ham editor-at-large at hotair.com and a fox news contributor. welcome to you both. >> good morning, martha. martha: juan, let me start with you. it feels like when you listen to the list of people who have been treated this way this is the most open secret in washington. that this is a typical response from this administration, when you start to push the buttons a little bit. >> sure. i mean i think all white houses play hardball with reporters who do stories they don't like.

i think that the controversy about woodward has taken on added fuel because people thought, you know, if he was threatened that is pretty crazy. bob woodward is a legend in this business. he is a hero to people like me and when the e-mails actually came out they seemed so mild. i mean basically even said in his response to gene sperling, no big deal and sort of chummed it up. it is kind of curious. it is hard to understand exactly what is going on here. in terms of a general pattern this white house is just as tough as any other and i think tougher in some regards saying to reporters, we don't like what you have done or don't like what you have written or don't do that. martha: that is the question. whether or not there is something different going on. and we found a piece of tape of helen thomas and robert gibbs. this is back in 2009. this is just several months after the president took office, back at the very beginning of sort of the more open and transparent administration that everybody was expecting. so with that in mind, this happened that long ago,

let's listen to this she is responding to a story about reporters being told the night before they were going to be picked in this town hall that was supposed to be open spontaneous thing. here is that exchange. >> that is his point. white house controls. we have never had that in the white house. we have had some controls. >> i was going to say. i let you amend her question. >> i'm amazes at you people who called for openness and transparency -- >> we haven't even heard your questions. >> doesn't matter. it is the process. >> it is a pattern. >> which question did you object to at the town hall meeting, helen? what is the pattern? >> the pattern of controlling the press. >> how so? any evidence currently that i'm controlling the press? >> by calling reporters the night before to tell them they're going to be called on? that is shocking. martha: mary katherine, she later went on to say in interview asked about the exchange, i haven't seen

this kind of white house in their response to the press since the nixon days. pat caddel said the same thing. >> you hear that every now and then when people feel are unleashed. a couple of people felt unleashed after woodward came out for this particular thing. for the record, i concede the exchange is fairly friendly and conciliatory i think using the sentence, you're going to regret something is sort of inherently a problem. i'm not one to weep big tears for powerful journalists but look, the interesting thing to me here we know who wins in the "clash of the titans" when it comes to the press corps. liberal journalistic demi going or actually journalistic demagogue. obama is one defended here when it is pretty obvious pattern of the white house being very closed and nontransparent which the press will occasionally admit to. all of sudden when woodward points this out, hey we're tough. we don't mind being bullied every once in a while. let's change the pattern here. that would be the better

outcome. martha: the backlash against woodward, oh, he is old. >> right. martha: here is the great bob woodward. obviously he just doesn't get it. >> right. martha: one of the things i want to ask you about, juan, there is such a new culture in the media today. there is blogosphere. how you get called a journalist is sort of an open question right now. you can be one if you say you're one. i wonder if this sort of cool, young, administration, that we have, that has such an appeal to so many people in this sort of new media, if they don't feel kind of slapped in the face when they do a real story and they get bitten for it? >> i don't doubt, to me when we talk about controlling things we've never seen before, i think you're exactly on point, martha. it has to do with new media. with things like twitter, facebook, how they in fact invent their own shows. there is a west wing show that is produced by the white house, put out by the white house. their own photographs and stuff for people who aren't journalists who simply need

content the white house has found out they can provide content and by providing content, tailor the message in terms of how the news is being made from washington. i think that's what people are saying. you know, i just think that, you know, woodward, i don't know about old or whatever, i thought he overreacted here. gosh, real reporters, i've had my life threatened by people who didn't like stories i was doing. to say i regret, he said he regrets the interpretation of events that he was proven wrong. so even as i, i have great, bob woodward was my colleague at "the washington post." i just think that something else is going on here. i don't get it. martha: i feel like he is trying to stiffen young reporters, don't take this. >> maybe. martha: if that is what he is trying to do, we'll see if it has that kind of impact. thank you so much, guys. >> at least dispense with the notion, at least we could dispense with the notion that they're more open and transparent than any other administration when that is clearly not the truth. that would be good. >> we agree. martha: helen thomas, 92

years old, who has seen it all. thanks so much, mary katherine and juan. >> i love the green guys. i think the green is great. martha: awesome. thank you very much. >> bring that back. bill: i think mike schmidt should be offended. martha: it is march 1st. bill: there are new concerns over iran teaming up with north korea on it nuclear program. details on that only here on fox next. martha: people in one beachfront community facing some really big problems. why some homeowners are crying foul on this. [ fishing rod casting line, marching band playing ] [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it... in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. great taste. mmm... [ male announcer ] sounds good. it's amazing what soup can do.

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through our exclusive fast response monitoring. you can be confident that adt islways there for you. hey, lisa. is that the delivery we've been waiting for? [ male announcer ] and now during the adt get growing sale, get adt installed starting at just $99. [ woman ] i love the convenience of adt. i can finally be in two places at once. [ male announcer ] call today to get adt installed starting at just $99. hurry. this sale ends march 9th. adt. always there. martha: a beach front community is making some waves over a whole lot of sand. powerful storms off the pacific produced sand surges and hit communities like this one in oregon. the sand buries roads and blocks front doors and forms dunes on the homeowner property. state law requires them to return the sand to the beach after they dig out at their own expense. >> it could take all the sand away in really big storm. >> pose this question to the parks and recreation.

if it is oregon's sand, why don't they come and get it? >> who do they expect to pay for this? >> anybody but them. >> this, costs $7,000. >> if you knew this eventually would happen would you have bought your property back in 2000? >> no. martha: the town received a 250,000 grant from fema for this year's sand removal. home openers say one-time payment is not permanent solution. what do you do? mother nature. you live by the beach? i don't know. bill: really. there are reports now of nuclear outsourcing raising serious concerns for the u.s. foxnews.com reporting that iran's top nuclear scientists travel to north korea a few weeks back in defiance of a u.n. security council resolution and was on hand to witness the regime's recent successful nuclear test. general jack keane, retired four-star general, former vice chief of staff from the

army and fox news military analyst. good morning to you. >> good morning, bill. bill: this was february 11th, and the reporting suggests that the top iranian scientist was in north korea for the last test to witness and traveled through china to get there. what are we to make of this, sir? >> well the iranians and the north koreans have been cooperating for years on the ballistic technology and also on nuclear technology. so, it is probably not surprising but what it could mean, is a very ominous situation. listen, these states have a lot in common. they're both rogue states. they're isolated by the world. they have the united states as a strategic enemy, and, they both want nuclear weapons to help preserve and guaranty the regime's existence. north korea has obviously accomplished that and iranians are very envious of it. iran is moving in that same direction. what some of the analysts believe could also be going on which is a very serious

situation, iran may be outsourcing the development of its nuclear weapons technology here. give that the kind of tests that the north koreans --. bill: they would hire pongyang to carry out a lot of this there is ambassador thomas graham, jr., who is quoted extensive lively in this article you can find on our website at foxnews.com, he raises the possibility that a peaceful reactor could be developed in iran right now, right under the nose of the u.n. inspectors but the deif just -- devious side of that would be conducted in north korea. how do you see that connection working? >> there is plausibility to what the ambassador is saying the reality the iranians are moving toward nuclear weapons technology, despite the sanctions, despite all of the diplomatic efforts that have been going on for ten plus years. they are taking a page out of the north koreans book. the problem they have is actually conducting a test. if they conducted a test that would tell the world exactly what is going on and

they would not be able to hide it anymore. having north korea conduct the test for them, using highly-enriched uranium which is their program. the north korean program uses plutonium. in fact that is what was used in the recent test last month, that is another indicator that something is going on here. bill: there is trip planned for the president on later this month, the 20th of march to israel. you have to imagine that will be at the top of this agenda here, with with regard iran in specific but there is another suggestion in the article that suggests that this guy may have traveled through kind, this iranian scientist. if you go through china into north korea, are the chinese complicit here? >> well, absolutely. he doesn't move through china without them knowing who he is and where he is going and what the intent is and the chinese are participating in the upcoming talks with the iranians. so obviously i would assume that our senior diplomats are going to put something on the table here with the

chinese in terms of their complicity here. but, let's be realistic. the chinese cooperate back and forth with the north koreans at the expense of the united states over and over and this is just another indicator of it. bill: check it out online right now only on our website. general jack keane out of washington. take care, sir. >> take care, bill. bill: martha. martha: there are problems for builders in this country even as we see hope in the real estate market. builders say higher costs are actually slowing them down. we'll talk about that. this story for you, a wounded iraq veteran living out his dream on the big-league ballfield. his aspiring story and the message he has for america about our wounded warriors. we'll be right back.

bill: inspiring wounded iraq veteran going from the batted field -- battlefield to the ballfield. doc jacobs among 80 hopefuls at spring training for the l.a. dodgers. tommy lasorda was there to make it happen. have a listen. >> regular invite. you want to hit some balls with the dodgers? i said yes, sir. that is dream come true. my bigger mission to show america that wounded veterans are still here and will not lay down to be a statistic. bill: he was assigned as a marine corpsman in 199 -- 2006. he lost his left league below the knee and requiring more than 50 surgeries to get him where he is today. play ball. martha: nice of tommy lasorda to get involved in that story. bill: sure is. martha: a great man and has been, spent his life being someone who reaches out to people like that. so great for you, tommy.

and great for this wounded veteran as well. we are seeing new signs of hope in the real estate market. construction is booming in many parts of the country right now. in fact construction spending numbers are due out in just a few minutes from now. in some spots we're seeing a lack of developed lots is creating a big problem because builders are having a hard time finding new spots for their projects. alicia acuna is live in denver. alicia, what are builders facing out there? >> reporter: hi, martha. north of here in the growing city of for the collins, city planners decided a long time ago to limit development to certain areas. of course that is creating demand. we have video that shows you empty lots. a lot of empty land but chances are it is probably spoken for. he acquired a chunk of land from a failed project foreclosed on by the bank about a year ago. they expected it would be six or seven years beveling it. now it is all sold out. >> if you look into the distance, you can look out

about 1.6 miles to the other edge of our property. and, our single family lots extend to that distance and all those lots have been presold on this project. something we haven't seen in a long, long time. >> reporter: so while this is good news there aren't as many bargains out there anymore, martha because, labor costs are going up. martha: there is nothing but land out there. you don't want to be built on everywhere and that is why they have zoning laws. builders are sort of noticing a real sense of urgency about this. >> reporter: that's right. things have turned into 24/7 type of business because customers now, when they decide they want to buy or they want to build, develop their land, develop a new home, they want to do things much quicker. down in the colorado springs area for example, the pike's peek regional building department, for january 2013 the number of plans submitted for new homes is up 81% from a year ago, 81%. the number of permits for single family homes is up

more than 50% for the same time period. >> now we think that people, they want to get in on what's going on. they're afraid interest rates are going up. they're afraid what the government is going to do. they're afraid it is going to turn into a seller's market which is a very real thing that's probably happening. >> reporter: and while people are eager to get into new homes they're being a little more frugal. at least that's what we're hearing, martha. say they're qualifying for a loan of 800,000 but they only want to spend 500,000, which i think sounds pretty smart. martha: pretty smart indeed. everybody is moving to colorado. what are we doing out here? thank you. bill: evacuations now in place as thisçó ferocious wildfire is coming very close to a number of homes. we'll take you there live.

martha: well, there is a big meeting today, this hour, in fact at the white house to try to avert billions of

dollars in automatic spending cuts today. nobody thinks that will happen but you never know. we're moments away from this effort getting underway. the president and congressional leaders sitting down to hoping to strike an 11th hour deal because that is the only way they do things in washington. brand new hour of "america's newsroom." good morning, everybody. i'm martha maccallum. bill: good morning. i'm predicting frosty the atmosphere inside that room. just now they're sitting down to talk face-to-face. no last minute deal is reached the federal government takes the first step towards the spending cuts and dozens of departments and programs by midnight tonight. today's meeting comes a day after senate republicans and democrats blocked each other's competing plans to avoid the budget battle. martha: is it too little too late? that may be a rhetorical action. bret pair anchor ever "special report". i guess you're noticing the

disillusionment in our voices as we watch this meeting get underway this morning. how does it look from your angle? >> they are going to meet in a matter of minutes here and they're getting ready for that meeting. what comes out of that meeting i think it is the same tone here in washington. a lot of pessimism from analysts on both sides, commentators, lawmakers, not really sensing that there's going to be some major breakthrough here in the next few minutes or the next hour. that is not to say that there couldn't be but, it just doesn't seem luke there is going to be that long, excuse me, that long touchdown pass because of what we've seen up until this point. republicans, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell put out a statement right before this meeting saying this is fine. we want to talk. but there will be no increase in taxes. there will be no backing off cuts. martha: you know, i would think that for the people in

that meeting there would be some sense of embarassment frankly. it looks like it is for show, to walk in there on the very last day when all of this is kicking in. there is no reason why they couldn't have had this meeting weeks ago, months ago if they were serious about this. what do they think the america's people perception of this is? >> yeah. i think that, you know, you had some questions about that yesterday at the white house briefing. the timing of all of this. you know, yesterday, you could have had a meeting about it. and obviously weeks ago and you have this issue, and we talked about it yesterday, martha, about you could pass a bill today. you could have passed it yesterday. you can't pass it today because most of the lawmakers are all out of wash done. but to enable congress and the enable the president to come to some conclusion that you cut the worst things first. martha: right. >> and that is a solution that most people say, okay,

we get it. we understand it. and, in washington that is not a solution. that is politically possible because the white house, democrats say, you know we're not going to own these cuts alone. we're not going to own them politically, and just have republicans say, we're not responsible for these cuts. martha: jump in for one second, bret. excuse me. on the left. we have a live shot here. vice president joe biden going into this meeting as all of this gets underway. with the hubbub on the side of the screen is the black cars pulling up as people get in and out as they start to move in for this meeting. you know, i'm also just struck by how often you hear analysts on the outside and regular people in the country say, gee, why wouldn't you just ask all of these agencies to cut, you know, across the board a few percent, to equal this $85 billion that will be cut

over some time? why wouldn't you just sort of take the scalpel we hear so much about, look, if you guys don't like this, even the defense department, if you don't like this tell us what you do want to cut? >> we hear those three years, waste, fraud, and abuse all the time in this town. to the fact that we hear them again and again and again. yet, getting to the point where you can actually cut the waste, fraud and abuse, is something that we don't often see. here is the opportunity yet it is not being jumped on. charles krauthamer always makes the point on the panel as we talk about the sequester, he put it all on paper in his column, i commend it for people to read but he articulates on the panel but puts in his word, hail armageddon in his column today. it is worth a read. martha: it certainly is. bret, thanks so much. we'll watch action and see what comes out of it. bret, we'll see you tonight. bill: there is new report

finding the number of young americans struggling to pay back the student debt, it is soaring. federal reserve bank of new york, report 35% of borrowers under 30 are at least 90 days late on the payment. that is up from 26% in 2008. 46% of 25 years olds are carrying some form of student debt. that is up 25% from 4:00 years ago. martha: consumer spending is up in the month of january by .2 of a percent. that is by an increase in spending on services we're told. higher heating bills. that doesn't do a whole lot to cook up the economy. look at income. this is the lowest levels we've seen for income in this country in 20 years. 3.6% lower for everybody's income as you average out across the board. that is the biggest drop since 1993 in january.

that's a rough number. bill: so we talked about this out of control wildfires in southern california burning dangerously close to packed neighborhoods there. those flames are forcing some residents to leave their homes while others are doing what they can to protect their own property. meanwhile the firefighters, they're using a break in the weather to try to contain the flames. looks like they need a big break. adam housley is live in l.a. what is happening there, adam, good morning? >> reporter: bill, they got that break. those pictures last night so dramatic. you can see the wildfires literally exploding through some of the palm trees down there. the good news, while you look at pictures right now, today as the sun comes up in southern california. they made significant headway. the wind dies down. they set backfires overnight. we're told 30% containment on the fire. there are 300 firefighters out there. helicopters came in and bombed them with water and fire retardant. the good news they had only damage to one home. no homes totally lost. they had 30% containment.

in firefighter terms, i can tell you covering one hundreds of fires. that means they have a good handle but haven't gotten the ring around the fire if you will but it shows it is tinder out here. bill: riverside, county, near los angeles. what town is that, adam? this is early in the year for a brush fire. often times does this tell you is about to come when the fire season actually arrives? >> reporter: a couple of questions. yeah, first of all, riverside county. if you're flying into los angeles it would be the first flat area you go over. it is about an hour or so to the east of downtown called the inland empire. where the dorner case really played out for part of the time out in the inland empire. that is where the fire was. started in the riverbed. what is shows, bill, a good question about the fire already in february, it shows it is tinder dry out here. it is extremely dry across california. people are turning their sprinklers on across the state. it went from a couple of good years of rain to

another year where we had no measureable rain at all since 2013 began. it worries firefighter and others because we had measurable rain for couple years where bushes were basically rebuilt. now they're extremely dry and tinder. if we don't get rain before the fire season starts which typically in june. fire season in california is pretty much a 12-month thing. it used to be the summertime and fall, and santa ana winds would be end of it but now pretty much 12 months out of the year. bill: adam, thank you. martha: keeping one eye on the white house here where the meeting is about to get underway between nancy pelosi and john boehner and harry reid and mitch mcconnell and the president. we saw the vice president going in just moments ago. expecting that to get underway. we'll keep one of our cameras focused on the white house as that meeting gets underway. also we're keeping an eye on,

what is going on at nasa as well because this is pretty interesting. there is a private rocket that is getting set to blast off from kennedy space center. it will take supplies to the international space station which is what the space shuttle really used to do. that was one of the main functions. you have a private entity hooking up with nasa to get this done. on board is more than a ton of surplus for the six crew members who are at the space station. apparently they didn't order ice cream but ordered fresh fruit. they will get that because it will get there pretty darn quickly as we understand. the company is under contract to nasa to supply the space station. we're couple minutes away from this, right, guys? 20 seconds? let's watch. >> t-minus 30 seconds. >> all tanks at pressure. >> t-minus 20. >> t-minus 15 seconds.

t-minus ten, nine, eight, four, three, two, one. and liftoff of the falcon nine rocket and drag gone. spacex continues america's mission to resupply the international space station station from u.s. soil. -- dragon.

martha: never not cool to watch a rocket take off, right? and there's the camera that is on the side of it. these are different obviously than the space shuttle launches we watched for some years. they are unmanned. the falcon rocket by spacex. this is the third mission to supply the international space station. it seems to go smoothly as it rockets away from earth a couple hundred miles up to the space station. bill: you go 240 miles up into orbit and find the international space station. they open the hatch and they, well this time they don't get ice cream. but last time, that was --. martha: fresh fruit on the way. so there's that. bill: a nice day in florida too to get that off. they did not disappear in the clouds. folks watching that had a great view. what do you think folks at

home are thinking about the budget battle? martha: i think they're hanging on the edge of their seat. bill: you might be surprised to learn how americans think washington will only cut its spending. those numbers. >> this is truly interesting. what is going on at the vatican right now. that is a shot from yesterday right before then pope benedict left the vatican. what a sight that was. as we watch the helicopter, sort of hover over the vatican as he headed to cast tell began golf foe for the rest of the spring and summer. dash gandolfo. they will pick a new pope from the cardinals. bill: feel the rush. the world's craziest rope jump. martha: no thank you. >> two, one, zero. >> i don't ion want to jump. >> three, two, one, zero! [bleep]. bill: they tried and they tried. but will she do it. that make k.

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bill: want to get you back down to florida. we talked to you about this last hour. fox news alert on effort to rescue a man in a sinkhole under his home. the man's brother tried to save the victim's life. here is the fire chief talking about how this went down in a news conference moments ago. >> shortly after 11:00 last night the family, the bush family was in the house behind us. they heard a sound that they described as a car crash eminating from the bedroom in the back of the house. they rushed in. all they could see was part of a mattress sticking out of the hole. essentially the floor of that room had opened up. they could hear the nephew in the hole but they could not see him. his brother jumped in to try to extricate him out. could not see him. he had to be rescued by

hillsborough county sheriff's office deputy who was first on the scene who heroically went in and extricated him. our personnel, hillsborough county fire rescue personnel arrived on the scene. they began to assess the situation. helped other family members out of the house and secured the house and began to attempt to rescue mr. bush. they, we placed some of our urban search-and-rescue equipment that is specialized for this type of emergency. some listening devices designed to hear essentially the sound a mouth mouse would make walking across the floor. they're that sensitive. they did not detect any signs of life. they did up certificate some cameras in the hole as well to try to locate him. while this was going on, there continued to be colaps of the earth below the floor, to the point where they eventually had to back out of the house. our structural engineer who

was on call with us, bracket engineering, they began to assess the structural stability of the structure. determined that the whole floor where our personnel was undermined. essentially the home is undermined. our personnel and the sheriff's office began to evacuate the surrounding homes. to try and assure this did not become a bigger emergency than it already was. bill: what an absolute tragedy. one get dead, a man sleeping in his bed at home overnight, literally swallowed alive. hillsborough county, tampa, florida. happening a short time ago. martha: get back to washington now where president obama is about to meet with the top four con congressional leaders at the white house with the defense cuts that are set to take effect part of what is known as the sequester. take a look at this "fox news poll" shows some of the reaction to all of this.

57% of the americans say these automatic cuts are probably the only way to start to get the deficit under control. 57% believe it is tough medicine but it's a start. 29% say, you know what? we have faith in the lawmakers, we do think that they can handle this and make the cuts that need to be made. 14% are not sure what to make of the whole thing and they, that feeling is shared by many. perhaps more than 14%. steve moore joins me now, senior economic writer at "the wall street journal." steve, you know, so here we are. thend the meeting, the first meeting, between these leaders and the president just about to get underway. >> yeah and what this poll seems to be suggesting, martha, americans don't put much trust and confidence that the president and congress can get this done. and therefore, you know, what i read in this poll, americans say this probably isn't the best way to cut the spending but given the composition of congress, and the guy in the white house, this may be the only way to get it done. martha: why does it seem that the lawmakers and the

president appear that their hands are tied? we put this in motion. there is no way to change it. yet "the wall street journal" reported that yes, indeed the president did have flexibility to make changes how these cuts were allocated. two, three, different bills were floated in the senate to, you know, sort of find other ways to force these entities themselves to make decisions how the cuts were made. any reasonable person would think that would be the way to go. why isn't it? >> no doubt about that. i think the answer to your question is political brinkmanship. i think you talked about this is a little bit earlier. the president used a tactic trying to scare people and try to cut out the most sensitive and needed services, rather than the waste. what frustrates me, i watched your show every day, you talk all the time about the waste and the programs, the con ends froms in las vegas. the sole lindas, the companies we give hundreds of millions of dollars to that go bankrupt. those perhaps are not getting cut here.

i think is pro probably the worst way to do it but may be the only way to do it. when you have a trillion dollar deficit you have to start somewhere. martha: all right. steve, thank you. >> thank you. martha: thank you very much. >> i'm frustrated, we're all frustrated but what else are you going to do? martha: why, why wouldn't you cut hundreds of millions of dollars in conferences? >> that's right. martha: i don't know. thanks for watching every day. we do appreciate that. take care. bill: hundreds of illegal immigrants released from jail as a way of dealing with the expected budget cuts. arizona governor jan brewer is our guest in a moment. who made this call? we still don't know. >> i don't know what power i have, but the bottom line i'm concerned about we have all of this, outrage just activity going on and they're releasing illegal criminals because this is not a arrested release people. these are people that have been held for a reason. and are they going to continue releasing them?

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but it's no secret... it's slimful. eating less is a beautiful thing. bill: there is a showdown on the debate how to best reduce gun violence in america. president obama is calling for the cdc to conduct the research in the wake of the tragedy in newtown, connecticut. critics are against that idea. research is better left to private organizations and not federal government. on that story for us, jonathan serrie live in atlanta. what fueling the latest debate on this aspect of the research, jonathan? >> reporter: good morning, bill. well, president obama is using an seg tiff order to direct the cdc to resume research on gun violence. such funding, for these studies all but dried up in 1996 when the nra successfully lobbied congress for language in an appropriations bill saying no funding for injury

prevention for the cdc could be used to advocate or promote gun control. the man in charge of cdc injury research said at the time it was like a shot across the bow. >> individual researchers were afraid. cdc leadership was afraid. hhs leadership was afraid. and as a result, i think the country lost a lot of time figuring out how to get solutions. >> reporter: so 17 years later, the white house is now asking the cdc to re -- research the causes of gun violence and find ways to prevent it, bill. bill: what does the opposition say, jonathan? >> reporter: some second amendment advocates are concerned. they say they have no problem with the research when it is privately-funded but they say their concern when the federal government gets involved, there's often a motive that goes beyond just you know biased research. listen. >> the government certainly has an agenda when it comes

to guns. it is the same agenda that the government has in any issue and it is about control. >> reporter: bob barr is a former georgia congressman who serves on the nra board of directors. bill? bill: thank you, jonathan serrie watching that for us out of atlanta. martha. martha: the first step in picking a new pope is now underway as the world said farewell in that stunning visual moment we saw unfold here from pope benedict xvi. latest move by the vatican is coming up next. bill: day by day for him, isn't it? homeland security secretary janet napolitano said the decision by someone to release hundreds of immigrants surprised her too. arizona governor jan brewer is not too thrilled about letting them go. she will join us next live

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bill: homeland security secretary janet napolitano was saying she had no part in her department's decision to release hundreds of detained illegal immigrants as a way to deal with budget cuts. she said the announcement even to her was a surprise. >> people need to know the lines are going to end up being longer. they need to be able to plan that way. do i wish that this all hadn't been done all of a sudden, so that people weren't surprised by it? of course. >> my next guest is none too happy.

weapon governor jan brewer out of arizona. governor, good morning to you. >> good morning. bill: i was watching this story and the emails fly by all day yesterday. i still do not know who is responsible for this. do you? >> i absolutely do not know who is responsible, but somebody is responsible, and u know, it's simply a duck and cover mode. our country is in chaos. who is in charge? who is answering the questions? what is going on? and we get absolutely no communication from the federal government, and it's not nare to the people of arizona, it's not fair to the people in the united states. bill: are you saying these illegals were released from jail and then you found out about it? >> absolutely. we found out about it via the news. i had just been in washington d. kr-fpl th d.c the day before and i met with the president and the secretary of homeland

security. not a peep, nothing. bill: secretary napolitano was the governor in arizona before you, and she says it came as a surprise to her as well, what does that suggest to you do you think? >> she is in the position, as is the president, they ought not to be in the position of surprise and they are the people who are putting everybody else in the mode of surprise. chaos. it is simply total chaos, and it's the blame game. bill: why do you think this happened in arizona, in your state? what do you think? >> well, you know, i personally believe that it could be pay back, it could be punish ari arizona, make them squirm. they are pushing back on what they are pushing on. we want our borders secured. and we believe in the rule of law. for everybody to blame other

people and they tonight know what is going on. you know, i'm the governor of arizona, if things happen in har is the buck stops with me. well the buck stops with the president of the united states, and particularly now janet napolitano ought to know what is going on in her agency, she is in charge. bill: do you think washington is picking on you? >> i think it's pretty obvious that they are doing everything in their power, i mean, this is just another notch in their belt buckle if you will. my goodness they sued the state of arizona. when have we ever seen the federal government sue a state. bill: in the meantime you have hundreds of detained illegal immigrants who are out on the street. it's my understanding that some of them are being monitored. do you know how that process is going? >> absolutely nothing. there is no way they can monitor those people. bill: ankle bracelets? >> ankle bracelets? do we know that for a fact?

why would they know if they have ankle bracelets than if they didn't even know it was happening? bill: how would you resolve it then? we are trying to reach out and get information. the federal government is out of control. you feel almost helpless but i'm not going to sit back and just aeu light. w allow it. we don't know if they are going to continue releasing, and the statement regarding that they are just illegal immigrants, well these are not people that, you know, have just come across the border, stop and arrest and release, these are people that have a criminal background to begin with that they are releasing, they turn back around -- bill: late yesterday there was no con thabgt with your ofplt contact with your office. i assume that is still the case in morning. the day is just breaking in arizona. we'll stay on it and figure out in the end who is responsible and whether or not you get answers that you need at a governor. jan brewer. >> as i will, thanks a lot,

bill. martha: the vatican is officially beginning the process of select being the next pope after pope benedict the xvi's historic retirement yesterday. the vatican saying that congregations leading up to that actual conclave will begin on monday. they'll talk about the date on monday. only cardinals under the age of 80 can vote for the next leader of the roman catholic church and most of them are already assembled in rome to begin the process of doing just that. our own father jonathan morris is also there in ro*efpl rome. he is a roman catholic priest and a fox news contributor. good to have you with us. a lot of discussion is settling in now about what will they talk about, what are their biggest concerns and what do they look to for the next pope? what do you think is most on their minds right now? >> that's right, martha, there is a sense that it wasn't appropriate to be getting into these conversations when our

pope benedict was still here. we saw him depart and he's now 15 miles outside of rome. now they are gathering in small groups. sometimes by language groups, sometimes just among friends and they are asking the question, do you know if guy? do you know this guy? how would this guy respond in this circumstance? you know, it was very different than eight years and when i was also here with fox talking about the election of pope benedict. in the conversation of almost everybody the first name that came to their mind in their conversations was joseph ratzinger e. was kind of the john paul thee would cover ii. there are specialized reporters here in the vatican. there is not a consensus on who might be a frontrunner. there is also i think a real openess to something pretty

spaoeugs, a radical, not necessarily one ever the italians. there are three kind of major italians in playwright now. we have have a milan. the vatican, and the head of the bishop's conference. those would be the most likely italians. with all the things going on with the scandal with the butler and all of that it seems that the cardinals are having, what do we think about this guy who we might never have thought of before? very interesting times here in the vatican. martha: it feels like there are three major issues, you have the inner workings of the vatican, that encompasses the vatileaks portion, and that report to find out what was going on, nobody has seen that report. you have creeping secularism in european at home in the united states, that is a big concern and the global issues of the churches in china and latin america, occupying enrollment so

to speak for christianity. what do you think is sort of the most important and i would guess there are people in each one of those factions. >> you know, martha, that is an excellent summary. there is certainly a sense that management needs to be -- to be good here in the vat kafpblt it's an operation that is running a church of 1.2 billion members. but you know what there is another issue and that i is evangelism, speeding the gospel. having a voice and face and impulse that we are going to reach out in a world that sometimes doesn't off a lot of purpose and sense that we need somebody who is going to be able to do that and reach out in that happy, committed joyful way. that's what the cardinals will be looking for most. maybe some of the italians working here in rome say we need someone who can manage, something that's been miss ph-fplgtd i don't thin

mismanaged. it would be good to have someone with that in their portfolio but may not be realistic. martha: there are those that need to fix some of the issues that exist back at home who could take on those roles as well. we will talk about this a lot in the coming weeks. father jonathan thank you nor being with ufor being with us and we'll see you soon. bill: critics slamming the president john boehner accusing him of playing games with his budget battle. is that the case? rereport, you decide as that meeting aeu paren apparent lies underway. martha: terrifying moments aboard a passenger bus when the driver passes out. somebody tried to grab the role. we'll show you what happened, unbelievable story when we come back. ♪ if loving you is wrong ♪ i don't wanna be right [ record scratch ] what?! it's not bad for you. it just tastes that way. [ female announcer ] honey nut cheerios cereal -- heart-healthy, whole grain oats.

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bill: a bus full of passengers out of control. the driver passes out behind the wheel. it's recorded here too, watch

here. [screaming] [shouting] bill: this goes on for a while. it happened in poland moments after the driver slumped out of his seat two women grabbed the wheel. a bus hit a passenger car but no one in the end was injured, either on the bus or on the street outside. the company's owner said the women prevented a far worse crash and likely saved the lives of 20 people on board. well done. martha: they are heros, those women drivers. the "wall street journal" columnist now criticizing president obama's leadership skill as top leaders are meeting right now at the white house to try to make a last-minute deal over the automatic defense cuts. peggy noonan wrote this. the white house is as always cough tkefpbt its strategy. scare people as much as possible

and let the media take care of the rest. what is new is almost everyone seems to understand that he is playing games, he used to get more credit. his threats of coming mayhem and lack of interest in easing it have dimmed his luster. that according to peggy noonan in a sharply toned editorial. brad blakeman joins me now former deputy assistant to george w. bush. good morning, brad. what do you make that of. >> i think peggy is on target. the president says he'll preserve, defend and protect america. at the time of the sequester the president should have come on television and told the american people, regardless who is to blame for this i will assure i as president i will cause the least amount of disruption to the american people as possible. instead he has instructed the government to inflict as much pain as possible. we saw it with secretary duncan of education telling the american people that teacher layoffs were because of the sequestration when they are not. long lines of tsa were concerned

instead of the president insisting that agencies do everything possible to minimize the effect on the american people. instead they've done the opposite. rights wrong. martha: a grated tore kwral also by charles krauthammer this morning called hail armageddon, mentioned earlier in the show. he quotes a gao study that was done in 2011 that adds up the numbers of overlapping programs that we have, like teacher quality programs, job training programs, that all do similar things, overlapping each other that add up to a hundred to 200 billion which would we'll clips this 85 billion. he says it's the fireman and the teachers first for some reason and not this already documented by the government excess spending of one to $200 billion. >> absolutely right. again he comes running to the side of the unions first to sound the alarm. he's done it before, he did it in the 800 billion-dollar failed stimulus. more than this the president should be leading. he shouldn't be scaring people. if anything the crisis which he

created, sequester, it was his idea, he should have tried to minimize it in a minute by calling in his onb director, charging him with offsets that then he could take to the house and senate and you wouldn't have the mess we are in now. the president asked for it, now he's got it, now he's got to figure his way out of it without scaring the american people, bring the leadership in, make a deal. martha: what you're suggesting and what bob woodward suggested when talking about the madness of not allowing an aircraft carrier to be deployed, he said no other president would have put our defense in that kind of jeopardy. those are very strong charges. you're suggesting that this president is intentionally trying to basically run us off the rails and to what end to prove that tkpwoeufts ominous angovernment is ominous and the and you don't want to touch it? >> certainly by putting his executive agency head, cabinet officials out there to scare the american people, whether it's

janet napolitano at homeland on tsa or arne duncan on teachers, it's wrong and people know it's wrong . the fact is their president should be minimizing the disruption to the individual lives of americans instead of adding to it and creating crisis and panic. look, obama care was funded was it not on $500 billion worth of cuts, waste, fraud and abuse. you mean to say, mr. president is that all the waste there is in a $3.5 trillion budget? you couldn't find $58 billion to get us over this crisis? martha, remember in the next couple of weeks we'll have the next crisis, a continuing resolution because the president doesn't have a budget. martha: brad, thank you. thank you very much. always good to have you with us. we'll see where this goes, folks. bill: how do you think that meeting is going right about now. doughnuts, pizza? martha: last time they had subway sandwiches or something. let's hope they are actually

working. bill: jon scott standing by, "happening now" rolls our way what is going on. jon: the first of those meet innings a longtime when they emerge from the white house we hope to update our viewers. it is sequestration nation and we will continue the conversation, the very latest on all the political fall automatic as we countdown to the midnight deadlines before the across the board spending cuts are supposed to take effect. jodi arias is exhibiting some wild emotional extremes as we continues on the stand trying to convince a jury the killing of her boyfriend was self-defense. we'll talk with a psychiatrist about what it means for her case. have you heard about a billionaire's plan to finance the first manned mission to mars? could it work? we'll ask a form nasa astronaut coming up on "happening now." bill: i want to meet the volunteers for that. jon: i bet there are a lot of them. bill: swinging like you've never seen before, swinging he said. we'll talk to the man who shot this.

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bill: it's the crazist rope swing you've ever seen. two cliffs a hundred feet wide in a canyon and this is what has gone viral now online. [screaming] >> i'm breaking up with you. >> what did she say? >> i just got dumped. [laughter] bill: the guy who caught this on camera is devin graham by way of skype in hawaii. devin, is this legitimate or creative editing? >> this is real. it really happened.

there is no fake anything. the whole scene actually took 45 minutes until she got pushed over the ledge. bill: that guy was her boyfriend, and she did not want to jump until he literally pushed her. >> well this was day three. she did want to jump until she got into the moment, and then we were literally stand thr- stand thr-g for 4ing there for 45 minutes. and it went back and forth, back and forth. he said if you didn't jump in ten seconds then i have permission to push you. he gave her so many chances. bill: i watched the edit here and i said, this is not legit. you're saying it was. that he pushed his girlfriend off that cliff and off she went and she screamed "i'm going to break up with you." >> after she came up she didn't regret it at all, she gave him a big hug and they were together at that point in time. time. bill: are they still together now. >> they are actually not. bill: woe, woe, woe, they are

not together? >> no, they broke up like about a week ago or so, but it had nothing to do with the rope swing or anything like that. they do extreme stuff like this all the time. bill: nothing to do with the rope, right? >> nothing to do with the rope. bill: that's what she said, right. >> exactly. bill: what is this whole craze? >> that is a great question. but yeah this is just a bunch of my friends and every week we go out, we kind of shoot an extreme, crazy video, it's a rope swing, drifting down the road on tricycles, something different every week and this week it happened to be a gigantic hope swing. bill: my bs meter went off, but you say it's legit so i'll take your word for it. okay. >> totally legit. bill: the next thing you do share it with us okay? >> consider it done. bill: have a good weekend. >> yep. martha: the reason they broke up is a whole other story. weee have to save that one for another day from rope swings and

keeping an eye on the white house. equally per list. president obama is with g.o.p. leaders talking about the drastic spending cuts about to kick in just hours away. we'll be right back. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities.