>> steve: susan says, leave brian alone. even i was panicking while watching the kids. they were adorable but destructive. no one was stopping them. tough to watch. >> brian: i loved the kids. i was just having fun. gloria estefan tomorrow here just for me. >> heather: bye-bye. bill: okay, here we go, big morning of news. next news alert. bold move from russian president vladmir putin, will be devastating consequences if the u.s. carries out a military strike against syria, suggesting that would create a new wave of violence. that isn't just all he had to say in a letter to the american people. i'm bill hemmer. big show here on "america's newsroom." martha: boy, lots to talk about. good morning, bill, good morning, everybody. i'm martha maccallum. vladmir putin published an op-ed in none other than than "the new york times." he admin r mon sirished america as calling america exceptional. he said it would unleash a new wave of terrorism.

it goes on to say, quote, it is alarming that military intervention and internal conflictses in foreign countries is begun commonplace in the united states. is it in america's long-term interest, writes, putin? i doubt it. bill: leland vittert. you're in our middle east bureau in jerusalem. what is putin trying to accomplish here, leland? >> reporter: seems he is trying to restage, russia, bill, framing it as a superpower. remember president obama went to egypt where he gave a speech to the muslim world and wanted to speak directly to the muslim people. came to israel and talking about a his view of peace. germany at brandenburg gate talking about nuclear weapons. he was strident in his conversation, lecturing the world. president putin sees how it plays back in peoria with this op-ed piece. president putin and obama often had icy even hostile

relationship. this editorial warns that u.s. military action if done unilaterally could have grave consequences. collapse of the united nations. could unleash waves of terrorism around the world. goes after u.s. policy could put in jeopardy including the israeli-palestinian peace talks, iranian nuclear action. it headlines a plea of caution from russia. forget the united states. this is much broader statement by vladmir putin that once again the russians would like to be seen on the world stage truly as a superpower on par with the united states. bill? bill: on the ground what does this change if anything, leland? >> reporter: well, so far the standoff is still happening in the mediterranean. you have the u.s. warships there. you have russian warships. they recently dispatched one of their carrier killer destroyers, one designed to take out the u.s. trump card when it comes to a blue water navy. really you have to look at this in the focus over the negotiations over syria's chemical weapons. that is what is on the table.

those negotiations happen in geneva the last couple days, between the u.s., secretary of state and the russian foreign minister to figure out if there can be a deal made about russia's chemical weapons. he now views the russians and americans eye-to-eye here, who will blink first. already president putin says any deal has to mean the u.s. take as military strike off the table. we'll see if the u.s. is willing to give that up so far. bill: we did not know yesterday what would happen. frankly the headlines are sometimes stunning. leland vittert, middle east bureau in jerusalem. martha. martha: senator john mccain is expressing september schism over the entire thing. he is calling the promise of negotiations a stall tactic. >> now the russians are supposed to be the ones who are telling us they would be in charge disarming the guy they are arming? that is a very difficult one to rationalize. martha: a lot of rich irony

there, right? the senator went on to say he believes there should be only a small window of time for any diplomatic efforts to play out here because syrian leader bashar assad may be using this time mccain believes to move and hide those disputed chemical weapons. bill: he is not alone in that opinion either. remember when president obama said this about red lines. >> i didn't set a red line. the world set a red line. we have been very clear to the assad regime but also to other players on the ground that a red line for us is, we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized that would change my calculus. that would change my equation. bill: how did we get here? august 21 the u.s. said syria used chemical weapons and those weapons killed hundreds including hundreds of children. the number we're all was 1400

people. a u.n. team will try to analysis of the alleged chemical weapons use. two days ago, tuesday of this week, syria's foreign minister saying syria accept ad russian proposal to turn over control of its chemical weapons and the eventual disman tellment of wmds which prior to then had negative been recognized by the assad reg beam. that same day president obama speaks to the nation in prime time laying out his case for a military strike but slowing congressional vote to allowing for the russian plan to possibly, possibly work. martha: what is next in all of this? is congress any closer to a vote at this point. doesn't appear to be. ahead we'll talk to the chairman of the armed services committee, buck mckeon who has been very involved in all of this he will be here to talk to us live. he was a no vote days ago. we'll ask him if his position is evolving at all on that. how about this? quote, highly disruptive that is

the latest slam on the obama health care plan coming from big labor of all places and it comes less than three weeks before americans can actually start buying health insurance under these new exchanges. the very powerful afl-cio headed by white house ally, richard trumka who talked about how many meetings he had had at the white house and auld of that, very cozy relationship with the white house all these years but trumka says fixes need to happen or the health plan that its union members enjoy could soon become a thing of the past. some would say, hello? we've been talking about for a long time. stuart varney joins me now, the host of "varney & company." that has got to hurt. in fact, stuart, there was an effort, ap is reporting on the part of the white house to make sure this resolution did not happen. >> yes. the white house was putting pretty heavy pressure on big labor, calling labor leaders, please, don't put out a strongly-worded statement. big labor went ahead anyway.

as you reported, martha, big labor is saying obamacare is, highly disruptive and they want changes. we got 18 days to the exchanges, 110 days to obamacare in full and big labor, one. biggest backers of obamacare in the first place, now says, watch out. change it. make big changes. because, this threatens the union-sponsored health plans. it will disrupt those health plans and some unions will have to drop them and that threatens union membership. change it says, big labor and change it soon. martha: i don't know how they think, you know, a change is going to change the larger situation here. when you look at the dwindling membership of the unions, really stuart, what the unions have been promised all these year, promised their employees all these years a good paycheck, based on full-time work, not part-time work and lots of benefits. both of those core things they have been able to offer seem to be disappearing. >> precisely. union membership is down to just 6.6% of the private sector

workforce. that's a low boeing back all the way to the 1950s. along comes obamacare. it will raise the cost of those union-sponsored health care plans and that will possibly lead to the end of some of those health care plans and that threatens union membership all over again. very serious subject for big labor which is in sharp decline. martha: yeah. we all remember back during the election those moments when the unions gave big endorsements to president obama during the primaries and may have indeed pushed him over the top. so that relationship looks like it is deteriorated significantly, stuart. >> yep. martha: stuart, thank you so much. we'll see you later. >> sure thing, martha. martha: on "varney & company." bill: take a look at this now. some stunning images out of colorado. this is near boulder, colorado, from the deadly flooding ongoing. this is just in to "america's newsroom." this will be a problem today in a significant way. a car off the road. martha: wow. bill: rivers overflowing, washing the roads away with them

and the first-responders have bottom their work cut out for them. that is lafayette, colorado. we'll get back to that story in just a moment. it nice "america's newsroom." we don't know if anyone inside the vehicle or not or the one behind it. we're working more information. martha: awful pictures. more from there coming up meantime, a very poorly-timed terrorism drill at one of the country's biggest airport had passengers absolutely terrified yesterday. bill: many in congress caught between what constituents want and what the president wants when it comes to syria. we're going to speak with armed services committee chairman buck mckeon. he is live in a matter of moments. >> not that we won't fight but when we do fight we have to have a clear american interest, a clear military objective and a clear desire and a goal to win. you know the goal of the obama administration in syria is stalemate and they say every day there's no military solution. so there's no military solution, why are they proposeing a

military solution? humans. even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans. which is why at liberty mutual insurance, to policies come with new car replacement and accident forgiveness if you qualify. see what ee comes standard at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance.

responsibility. what's your policy?

martha: new satellite images reportedly show north korea is restarting production to add to its nuclear arsenal. the pictures show steaming rising from a building that houses a plutonium reactor. the images reported by the u.s. korea institute at johns hopkins university. bill: fox news alert now. apparently assad is talking yet again today. in an interview moments ago with russian television. this is a report we're getting from the associated press. assad, russia tv. syria give be up chemical weapons offer, not because of the u.s. military threats. well the white house meanwhile now saying there was never any doubt canceling the president's tuesday night address at the nation was never even considered despite the about face and message. instead of selling the idea of military action the president suddenly asked congress to postpone its vote. what about this?

doug schoen, former pollster for president clinton, fox news contributor. monica crowley, syndicated talk show host and fox news contributor. good morning to you. >> good morning, bill. bill: what did the prime time address get us? >> i am not sure he made any progress at all. i think argument is the prime time address lost ground with the american people, lost ground with congress and lost ground internationally as we see in today's "new york times" op-ed, who is controlling america right now? bill: it isn't supposed to go that way and you call america together in their living rooms to deliver an address you want cause and effect. where was that. >> this was not cause and effect t was buying time. the president was certain to lose a congressional vote on authorizeing a strike on syria. which is why what assad said was right. he was responding to what the russians did, not our threat. we didn't have a threat. our threat was effectively off the table. this bought the president time.

itallowed him to regroup and ultimately making it much less likely, bill we're ever strike syria. bill: four navy warships in the eastern mediterranean from no effect on assad? >> i don't believe so. bill: do you? >> any president should use his words very judiciously especially calling the nation's tanks to a major national security crisis and issue. you don't go before the nation as he did, it to talk about a action he essentially abandoned. you don't use a prime time address to talk about a diplomatic pause. this speech was completely point lis. that's why he lost ground here. sometimes president speak volumes and speak more effectively when they don't say anything at you will. bill: he had to do this at some point. he had to frame the argument. , maybe you don't do it at 9:00 at night, but i mean i think people were waiting to hear what his position was. >> yes. he could have done this in a press conference but he was afraid to face the press because he didn't have answers to all of

the logistical questions that remain outstanding. monica is right to the extent that she says, ultimately there is no cause and effect, there is no reaction. it was a political move designed to get him time. bill: don't mean to interrupt you. we have breaking news with martha, now. martha: this is the incredible scene we are seeing as someone is trying to be rescued. this is a live, live look at these colorado floods. we showed you pictures moments ago of a car that was upside down and look at what they are dealing with now in colorado, as the frantic effort to rescue this person from inside of their car. boy, we know there have been two people so far that have been killed in the flooding in colorado and now the very intense effort that is underway to get these folks out of their car. it looks like an suv is on its side as you can clearly see in these pictures as the rescuers

try to get a handle what is going on here. they have an inflatable boat they're hoping to put these people into. they have gotten them into a position where they can put on their own lifejacket before they get out of here. look at rushing water underneath the car. so this is a very fast-moving -- there it goes further over as this person tries to get some, space of air, so that they can weather this storm. bill: the national weather service has been talking about this rain coming through here. this is near boulder, colorado. lafayette is the town. there were some counties on this list affected here. broomfield, larimer, el paso counties. the national weather service saying county officials reported homes had collapsed in the jamestown area in addition to what you're watching now. some of these students at the university of colorado being urged to evacuate their dormitories as well because of flooding. martha: we'll take a pause to go on delay for a moment as we

watch this, extremely -- extremely dramatic effort. and, it looks like they were successful. there was a very frightening moment when this man's car tipped further than it had been, and it was completely flipped over. looked like they were going to get him out of the front door and he is exhausted from what he has been through. then the rescuer managed to get the back door open and out he came. this is a really, amazing -- bill: he had a life vest on. are there more people inside that car? we don't know. is the road washed away? did the water force him off that road? i mentioned these students at the university of colorado. they're, urged to get out and evacuate because of high waters. this is affecting a large number

of people in colorado right now. martha: so they managed to get him to the bank. looks like the bank of a river. it could be something that is going right through the middle after town at this point, the flooding is so intense, it is hard to tell. thank goodness. these folks did an amazing job getting this man out because we witnessed, what looked like a very, very tenuous moment in all of this. he was, the car was on its side in the water and looked like he would come out of of the front window, bill, and that avenue closed to them because the car tipped over completely. they managed to open the back door. what a frightening, frightening morning at:19 a.m. in colorado. bill: these first-responders saved this man's life. how much oxygen did he have left in the vehicle? how high was the water getting? how high would the water have gotten had they not been there? there were reports of rockslides and mudslides in several different areas. this is 7:19 in the morning with a lot of people dealing dealingh

this in boulder, colorado. heavy rains with flash flooding. you mentioned two people are dead. authorities there talked about, with the rains coming through and people to be on alert. martha: that is live shot, bill. that is his car. i can ascertain is only one in the car. folks have not continued to rescue anyone else. oh, man, how frightening for this man this morning as he may have been on his way to work, his car almost completely submerged in the rushing water. bill: if you're joining us i want to show awe moment we caught two minutes ago. you have this rescuer on board the raft, finally reached the vehicle. who knows how long they were trying to get to him. he has got a life vest on, which is great for him. you mentioned the exhaustion this guy has gone through. look at him collapse on the side of the hill once he knows he is safe. martha: looks like there was another car that was under, sort of off to the side of his car.

you can see on the right happened side there, what could be another vehicle lodged against this, this bank and, this man, is on his way to the hospital to be checked out no doubt. these people deserve a huge debt of gratitude for coming to his aid. boy, they woke up this morning in colorado to a very frightening situation and all hand on deck in lafayette, colorado, 7:21 a.m. there as they try to deal with this and, what an effort. bill: if you know the area, this is highway 27 and dylan road which is near lafayette, colorado. that's the area we're looking at now. we don't know if there are other people needing rescue. this is just one camera view we have in a moment. more on that from colorado as we get it. martha: we'll have more on the story as it comes in as bill says. plus outrage this morning over a airport fire drill this was. held on anniversary of 9/11. bad timeing? boston's logan airport said the training exercise may have been

insensitive. >> landing and pointing to the gate i saw there is a big huge, plume of smoke. >> initially i thought the plane probably crashed. what makes your family smile? backflips and cartwheels. love, warmth. here, try this. backflips and camm, ok!s. ching! i like the fact that there's lots of different tastes going on. mmmm! breakfast i'm very impressed. this is a great cereal! honey bunches of oats. i hear you crunching.

your life is a game of chance. chronic migraine, but what if the odds could be in your favor? botox® is an fda-approved treatment that significantly reduces headache days for adults with chronic migraine, 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting 4 hours or more. it's proven to actually prevent headache days. and it's injected by a doctor once every 3 months. the effects of botox® (onabotulinumtoxina) may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away, as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness can be a sign of a life-threatening condition. side effects may include allergic reactions, neck and injection site pain, fatigue, and headache. don't take botox® if you have a skin infection. tell your doctor about your medical history,

muscle or nerve conditions, and medications, including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. the dose of botox® is not the same as other botulinum toxins. put the odds on your side. visit botoxchronicmigraine.com and talk to a headache specialist. martha: all right, fox news extreme weather alert and extreme it is. look at the situation in lafayette, colorado, where we just witnessed a stunning rescue. boy, this man had most likely the scariest morning of his life. he may have been on his way to work. the car turned over. it looked at one point like it was going to be submerged and they had an inflatable boat next to him. they put the life vest into the car. he was able to put it on. collapsed from sheer exhaustion. he has been taken to the hospital. this is an ongoing situation we're watching in colorado this morning, very frightening times. we're joined by meteorologist are maria molina, from the fox weather center.

maria, how much more of this is of concern in colorado today? >> hey, martha, first of all good to see you. a positive outcome from that rescue effort in parts of colorado. we already have two confirmed deaths. so this is a very dangerous and life-threatening situation continuing across parts of colorado. unfortunately we're looking at the threat for additional rainfall as we head into the next several days. i do want to talk about what we've seen so far and really what caused this. one of the reasons we picked up significant rainfall out here, not just in colorado, but across parts of new mexico. you're talking about several inches, four to six, locally up to seven inches out here and north of the city of denver. that is where boulder, colorado, is, that is where we picked up several inches of rain during the overnight hours. there is a couple of issues. one of them this part of the country typically does not see heavy rain. they are not used to see being this much heavy rain. that ground gets saturated very

quickly. this is steep topography. the water goes down into the creeks producing rapid rise in the water levels. that is producing all the incredible flooding on the screen you've been seeing over the past several minutes across parts of colorado. so we do have a number of warnings in effect out here, flash flood warnings because the flooding is occurring so quickly. also a number of watches including colorado springs in parts of colorado and even in other sections of new mexico and sections of utah we're talking about flooding. look at extended forecast in boulder, colorado. friday a chance of more rain. saturday, sunday, looking for risk of more additional downpours of heavy rainfall. eventually by monday, tuesday, into wednesday, we shoulding drying things out. that is a little bit of some good news, eventually drying out. expecting more inches of rain, martha, in parts of colorado and new mexico. martha: be careful on your way to work this that region this morning, folks. maria, thank you very much.

bill: well they're now calling this just plain old dumb. a decision by officials at boston logan's airport to conduct a fire drill 12 years to the day on 9/11. it was complete with a mock plane on fire on the runway. one of the jets terrorists hijacked in 2001 took off from logan international, as you remember. >> probably not the best day. if they're going to do that they should warn everybody first. hey, this is what we'll be doing. keep an eye out, don't freak out. a little awkward for today but, i guess everybody has to get trained somehow. >> it seems rather insensitive and inappropriate to me. i was watching the ground zero ceremony and at the white house this morning and it was disturbing even this many years later. so that doesn't seem very, very nice for the people who are flying in and might see it. i would think it would be unnerving. bill: that is putting it polite.

logan, the airport's apologized. i mean, you know, listen, probably wasn't intentional but clearly an oversight and lacking sensitivity for the day. you know what struck me yesterday when we were doing our coverage? when jennifer griffin reported from the pentagon, how few reporters were there for that ceremony. you just think, the further we get along, is it possible the more we forget? really, really hope that is not the case. martha: all the papers on my desk yesterday morning, only one had a reference on the front page. i believe that was "the wall street journal" with pictures of twin towers and lights coming up. something to think about, right? okay, so the white house making another push for support for a strike in syria today but the president is having trouble getting his fellow democrats to back that idea. the chairman of the armed services committee where the vote for syria looks right now in congress. >> it's a vote. i mean we all have different positions on it. i think the biggest perspective from the democratic side it was

apparent in both the senate and house the president would have a difficult time getting those votes. ( bell rings ) they remind me so much of my grandkids.

wish i saw mine more often, but they live so far away. i've been thinking about moving in with my daughter and her family. it's been pretty tough since jack passed away. it's a good thing you had life insurance through the colonial penn program. you're right. it was affordable, and we were guaranteed acceptance. guaranteed acceptance?

it means you can't be turned down because of your health. you don't have to take a physical or answer any health questions. they don't care about your aches and pains. well, how do you know? did you speak to alex trebek? because i have a policy myself. it costs just $9.95 a month per unit. it's perfect for my budget. my rate will never go up. and my coverage will never go down because of my age. affordable coverage and guaranteed acceptance? we should give them a call. do you want to help protect your loved ones from the burden of final expenses? if you're between 50 and 85, you can get quality insurance that does not require any health questions or a medical exam. your rate of $9.95 a month per unit will never increase, and your coverage will never decrease -- that's guaranteed. so join the six million people who have already called about this insurance. whether you're getting new insurance or supplementing what you already have, call now and ask one of their representatives

about a plan that meets your needs. so, what are you waiting for? go call now! we'll finish up here. martha: so top white house allies in congress are now grappling between what their constituents want at home and what the commander-in-chief seems to want when it comes to the syria crisis. among them democratic congressman, adam smith, the ranking member on the house armed services committee who like many members of his party remains skeptical what he should

do about the issue of a military strike on the regime. california republican buck mckeon is the chairman of armed services committee. congressman, good to have you here as always. >> thank you, martha. good to be with you. martha: when i hear congressman grappling whether or not they vote for a strike, the first thing pops in my mind i don't think there will be a vote. is there going to be a vote? >> we really don't know. it has been put off and generally until it is scheduled, until you have the debates scheduled, until you have the rules committee meeting we don't really know. martha: yeah, i mean it seems like the momentum and the push for a strike is, the air has gone out of that balloon in a big way, at least i think that is how it appears. is that an accurate assessment? >> i think so. martha: all right. >> i think there was a big sigh of relief and everybody moved on to the next issue. martha: it certainly sound like it. you said something really interesting to brian kilmeade yesterday that i just want to go over with you again because you were in a briefing.

the moment that all of this started to turn to the russia plan and, oh, it looks like there's a possibility of a way out of a military strike here because we might have a negotiation on our hand. you were in a briefing with secretary kerry, susan rice, secretary hagel, general clapper and general dempsey on this issue and it sound like in that room nobody thought there was any chance of any breakthrough in negotiations. is that right? >> well, i think congressman, i think it was adam schiff asked the question of, because we had just heard about this offer from russia. the room was full. i think most of the members of the house were there in attendance, and he just asked the question, what about this proposal? is there anything to it? what can we expect? seemed to me susan rice immediately jumped on it, secretary-general, or secretary, i was ambassador there to the

united nations for 2 1/2 years. i tried dealing with those people. very hard. she kind of poo-pooed the idea. then secretary kerry jumped right in, basically they were both kind of squashing that idea. when i left the meeting i heard at the same time the president was accepting that idea with open arms. so it just showed how it's been for the last 10 days, two weeks around here. real, the administration doesn't seem to quite have their act together. martha: so what do you think when you hear that secretary kerry says this was part of his grand plan all along? they were threatening a strike but that they were working all the back channels and they were working towards this goal all along? >> i really don't know because i have heard him say it was an offhand comement and i said it because there was no chance of that happening. so, i really don't know. martha: all right. what do you think of vladmir putin's op-ed this morning in "the new york times"?

>> you know, i've been busy and i haven't had a chance to read it yet. i have it right here in my pocket. i will be reading and i will be responding to it but i'm a little leery of us taking our direction of how we should be acting on the world stage from the premier of russia. martha: he says that it is foolish for us to be told that america is an exceptional country and that we have been enacting too many wars and not enough diplomacy. >> well, i guess he can say whatever he thinks. i think we are an exceptional country. since world war ii our navy kept the sea lanes open around the world. 95% of our commerce travels on the ocean. we take it for granted that the seas are open. because of our united states navy. our military around the world has kept us safe. we've been in confrontations, but not of our choosing for the most part. and i think we've done a pretty good job.

martha: and i know you think that, you're very concerned about the funding for our military. >> i am. martha: you made that very clear, congressman. thank you so much. it is very good to have you here today. >> thank you. martha: congressman buck mckeon. we'll see you next time. bill: we can't to take a moment and review the timeline on the syrian crisis in the administration's own words from the president's original red line comment einvolved from august of last year to how we got to where we are today. watch. >> we have been very clear to the assad regime but also to other players on the ground that a red line for us is, we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized that would change my calculus. that would change my equation. what i said that the use of chemical weapons would be a game-changer, that wasn't unique to, that wasn't a position

unique to the united states and it shouldn't have been a surprise. >> some have tried to suggest that the debate we're having today is about president obama's red line. this debate is about the world's red line. it's about humanity's red line. >> i didn't set a red line. the world set a red line. >> my friends, it matters here if nothing is done. it matters if the world speaks out in condemnation and then nothing happens. >> our capacity to execute this mission is not time-sensitive. it will be a effected tomorrow or next week or one month from now. and i'm prepared to give that order. >> the president believes that the united states of america, for a decision like this, is stronger when you have the time to be able to have the support of the united states congress and obviously the support of the american people through them if we don't confront this now, i promise the people of france and

europe and americans, we're going to see this issue grow. >> there was no expectation that this would be, that congress would be finished with its deliberations over the next week or so. >> our action would be designed to be limited in duration and scope. >> what assad feels in terms of our response will not be a pinprick. he will know it when it happens. this will be more than just what some people have talked about. >> limited military action will not be designed to solve the entire syrian problem. >> that is exactly what we're talking about doing, unbelievably, small, limited kind of effort. a lot of people say that nothing focuses the mind like the prospect of a hanging. >> we'll keep the pressure on a syrian regime that murdered its own people and support opposition leaders that respect the rights of every syrian. >> i personally called the foreign minister of syria and i said to him, if as you say, your nation has nothing to hide, then

let the united nations in immediately. instead for four days they shelled the neighborhood in order to destroy evidence. >> he can turn over every single built of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week, turn it over, all of it, without delay and allow a full and total accounting of for that but he isn't about to do and, it can't be done obviously. >> we would not be at this point without a credible threat of a military strike but i welcome the possibility, the development and john kerry will be talking to his russian counterparts. i think we should explore and exhaust all avenues of diplomatic resolution of this. >> i believe that absolutely, allowing the use of chemical weapons on a significant scale to take place, without a

response would present a significant challenge to, threat to the united states's national security interests. >> several hundred of them were children. young girls and boys gassed to death by their own government. in this attack is an assault on human dignity. it also presents a serious danger to our national security. the notion that mr. assad could significantly threaten the united states is just not the case. bill: usually when it comes to these big international matters the diplomacy and strategy is taken care of behind the scenes but as you can obviously see here this is something that has played out in full public view and in the view of most americans, has not played out well based on the numbers we're seeing in our polling. well over 60% disapprove of the way the white house has handled this matter in syria. i would anticipate those numbers that came in a week ago have

gone up higher in the past seven days based on -- martha: congressman mckeon, basically saying he was told one thing by john kerry and susan rice while something completely different was happening in the other room. this video can give fodder to political science classes for a long time to come. an interesting look what has gone on past couple weeks. we'll talk to general jack keane about all of this when he talks to us in a few minutes. there are new reports about action the united states may be taking to change the dynamic now in syria. you got to hear about that coming up

i got this. [thinking] is it that time? the son picks up the check? [thinking] i'm still working. he's retired. i hope he's saving. i hope he saved enough. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. whether you're just starting your 401(k) or you are ready for retirement,

we'll help you get there. start using olay fresh effects. a fresh collection of skin care. cleanse with s'wipe out wetcloths... and perfect with bb cream. with skin this fresh, you'll need no filter. get fresh effects by olay.

bill: after most of the delays in diplomatic red tape the cia finally started delivering weapons to syria. this order went out three months ago, something senator john mccain will ultimately help end the conflict. watch. >> i think the best way to bring this thing to an end is to get the free syrian army, the weapons they need and i, if you give me a second to say, look,

there is al-nusra, there is al qaeda. they are there in syria and their numbers are growing larger but still the preponderance of the fighting is being done by the free syrian army who are moderates. bill: what about that? general jack keane has studied this issue as well as anybody, retired four-star general, former vice chief of staff of the army and a fox news military analyst. let me get to the poll in a moment, general. talk about it from a military standpoint. is mccain right in what he says? >> he absolutely is. the fact of the matter is we should have begun arming moderate rebels two years ago. as a matter of fact last year, during the summer, the cia director and secretary of state made a recommendation to the white house to arm the moderate rebels. they had vetted them and they thought it was safe to do that in terms of weapons falling out of their hand to the jihad its. the white house said no. we're finally getting around to do modest arming of the rebels but not with weapons they need,

bill. bill: in your view will that make a difference? i saw some of the weapons. vehicles, advanced communications equipment, combat medical kits. is there more than that? >> we need to give them antitank weapons and also anti-aircraft weapons is what they need but we need a strategy, bill. we do not have a comprehensive strategy to assist moderate rebels, politcally, clickly, and yes militarily. we should have a military training assistance program, not in syria but in jordan. if we have a comprehensive strategy we can start to make some progress. bill: this is not easy and you know it well. there are at least five different rebel groups fighting against assad today, and this is most obviously proxy war we ever had. we're telling the world we're arming the rebels. putin is saying the same thing he is arming assad. he said repeatedly last week he will ship weapons to the assad

government. >> there is no doubt about it. russia has been all-in and so has the iranians. that is what enabled assad along with his air power to gain the momentum. remember the momentum was initially on the sight of the rebels. what shifted that momentum what you just pointed out, was the resources that the iranians and the russians have given to assad and meanwhile, we never provided any of the aid that the moderate forces were asking for. bill: we just watched before the commercial break the messages that have come from the administration over the past 13 months. frankly they're confusing and that has led to the following number. our fox polling a week ago shows this. do you approve or disapprove how the president is handling syria. 60% disapprove. that was a week ago. now you think what happened over the past seven days. do you think that number has gone up or gone down? has he clarified the message or not? >> let's say the american people, the numbers reflect

confusion we have because we do not have a clear syrian policy. ask anybody, what is our policy in syria? there is no answer to that question. i imagine the numbers would probably stay about the same. the fact of the matter is, it is confusing. everybody who is listening and watching this broadcast certainly understand we do not have a syrian policy to date. bill: general, thank you. we'll bring you back, okay? jack keane out of washington today with us and appreciate your insight. thanks. >> good talking to you. martha: all right. we've got some brand new video as we are monitoring a really serious situation that is ongoing in colorado right now. we saw a rescue moments ago. we'll be back with more from lafayette. [ maragno ] if the car was invented today,

it would run on the most affordable energy source available. it would charge overnight. every morning, you'd wake up with a full tank, ready to go. if the car was invented today, it would be the 100% electric nissan leaf. with over 200 million gas-free miles driven and automatic hov lane access, the question isn't "why electric?" it's "why gas?" [ male announcer ] the 100% electric nissan leaf. nissan. innovation that excites. now get a 2013 nissan leaf for $199 a month. ♪

martha: the murder of, family i should say of murdered border patrol agent brian terry filed a lawsuit against attorney general eric holder over the "fast & furious" botched gun-running scandal. william la jeunesse has been on the story from the very beginning. he joins us with the latest from los angeles of the good morning, william. >> reporter: we know what happened in "fast & furious." the fight is over who is responsible and holding them accountable. last year the house found attorney general eric holder under contempt after he withheld documents under subpoena. department of justice said they had no knowledge of the gun-running operation but that was not true. president claimed executive privilege forcing the house to turn to a federal judge to force the administration to hand over documents of the house oversight committee believes shows a cover-up. >> when you consider that the attorney general himself may very well have been complicit in knowing that that was a falls

statement and insisting they continue to stand by that falls statement for 10 months, you do have a serious question whether or not congress can fairly evaluate these individuals staying in office, staying in their jobs if in fact they can't be counted on to tell the truth. >> reporter: now we expect a ruling in the next three weeks but this is going to be appealed by either side in connection, could be run out until president obama leaves office. now as to the civil suit from the brian terry family. he was murdered in december 2010 by "fast & furious" weapons by lone wolf, gun store enlisted by atf to sell guns to known felons. the family also sued senior atf officials and lone wolf for negligence claiming both knew or should have known the weapons would kill. the agents climbed immunity, gun store sided with terrys the owners was also misled by the government which falsely claimed it was tracking guns.

>> mr. howard, who acts as highly-regulated ffa, feels as much a victim i suppose as they may. he wonders what in the world happened to those guns just as much as they do. he wants the answers just as they do. >> reporter: now that cases also in federal court, martha. we expect a ruling soon, if it will actually go to trial. back to you. >> been a long time. william, thank you. bill: the white house inviting freshman house republicans to a meeting today in outreach on a possible strike in syria. will there be a vote in congress, ever?

for a strong bag that grips the can... ♪ get glad forceflex. small change, big difference. before mike could see his banking and investing accounts on one page... before he could easily transfer funds between the two in real time... before he could even think about planning for his daughters' future... mike opened a merrill edge investment account and linked it to his bank of america bank account to help free up plenty of time for the herend now. that's the wonder of streamlined connections. that's merrill edge and bank of america.

martha: well, the white house is now calling on freshmen house republicans as both the house and senate still split about a possible military strike in syria,al hoe that question seems to be murkier with every moment. welcome to a brand new hour of

"america's newsroom," i'm martha maccallum. bill: i'm bill hemmer. peating scheduled a few hours from now, freshmen house republicans. the agenda is still unclear, but the administration's been stepping up outreach with congress recently, so you can expect that to be on the schedule. martha: national correspondent steve centanni is live in washington. so, steve, do we know what the topic of conversation's going to be here, essentially? >> reporter: well, not exactly because it hasn't been put out or publicized, but syria, of course, could top the agenda. and the looming threat of a government shutdown could also be discussed as these freshmen gop congressmen go to the white house this amp. among the first-term republicans are rodney davis of illinois, doug collins of georgia and chris collins of new york, all three have announced their opposition to the president's syria policy. now, this follows a similar meeting yesterday. vice president joe biden met with two groups of us republicans in the white house situation room.

and it comes as the president has asked congress to hold off on a syria vote while diplomatic efforts are underway to put syria's chemical weapons under international control. but the president could need to return to that military option if negotiations fall through in which case he'll need the support of house republicans, many of whom, of course, are very much opposed to a military strike. the president did step up his meetings with members of congress after proposing that congress vote on the idea of a military strike in syria. martha? martha: so there's other business, of course, at hand although syria has gotten most of the air in the room lately. where do we stand on the budget showdown that's going on between the president and these house republicans? >> reporter: well, more a fiscal crisis than a budget, but, yes, this could be an important topic at today's discussions. the government will shut down october 1st if congress doesn't act, and so far no action. there was an attempt yesterday to move a spending bill in the house, but that was pulled after it became clear there were not enough republican votes.

republicans, including many of these freshmen going to the white house told, want to link spending and the debt limit to a defunding of obamacare. house speaker john boehner has said he's trying to find a way to avoid a government shutdown. martha in. martha: steve, we'll see, thank you so much. bill: so the chairman of the house oversight committee slamming obama. watch. >> he had -- didn't have plan, and now he has reached out to putin for a plan. and if that plan succeeds, then do they have a green light to continue killing another 100,000 people in syria with conventional weapons? what is the real goal? if the president says he wants regime change, then he ought to be willing to talk about regime change instead of, if you will, pure fewing -- purrfying the regime. bill: failing to act in syria over the past two and a half years. martha: and already some new details on an impending u.n. chemical weapons inspector's

report. experts visited the site of the alleged august 21st gas attack in da damascus. they're expected to confirm that sarin gas was, indeed, used but not to determine by whom. here's senator kelly ayotte on the record last night, and here's what she's said. >> i've seen the evidence. i'm convinced that the assad regime did use the chemical weapons, and i just saw a report as i was coming over here that the united nations report is going to confirm that. so, again, for the russians to say somehow the assad regime didn't use the chemical weapons, that just doesn't fly in the face of the evidence. martha: now the united nations secretary general says the u.n. bears some blame for not stopping the horrific massacre that you see on this video. >> our collective failure to prevent atrocity crimes in syria over the past two and a half years, they remain a heavy burden on the standing of the united nations and its member

states. i hope that the current discussions related to safeguarding syria's chemical weapon stocks will lead to the security council playing an effective role in promoting an end to sur yang tragedy. martha: something to think about. even though the u.n. report will not explicitly blame the assad regime for that attack, diplomats say the report is likely to build a circumstantial case that assad was, indeed, responsible. bill: all that diplomatic ranging creating a tense situation in numerous countries. greg talcott's live in beirut, lebanon now, with that part of the story. what is your sense of this from there, greg? >> reporter: hey, bill. the folks here in beirut are breathing a little bit of a sigh of relief, and that's happening throughout the region, too, regarding the apparent postponement at least of those u.s. military strikes which had been threatened against syria.

now, as you go around beirut, you can see the long-term effects of this crisis, the streets, cafés, malls empty, foreigners are staying away. there was a u.s. travel warning last eke week. even the locals respect out too much, they are afraid of the spill beover of violence from syria into be lebanon, and those tensions have ratcheted up in recent days. the syrian regime had threatened retaliation against strikes including its allies as well. the lebanon-based hezbollah group was also saying they would strike out again. as we talk to people today, they say they're relaxing a little bit, but, of course, every day brings more news, bill. bill: and what about these talks in geneva, switzerland? what do they want to come of that, if anything? >> reporter: well, yeah, the people here, bill, can appreciate the immediate aim of these talks between secretary of state kerry and russian foreign minister lavrov. they are going to try to control the chemical weapons stores

inside syria, the third biggest stockpile of chemical weapons in the world according to various reports. they are worried here of any chemical weapon use that might again spill over the borders, might even end up in the wrong hands. but we're also seeing today, bill, a broader hope out of these talks that maybe there could be some beginnings to the a way out of the instability in syria which is bringing instability throughout the entire with region. lebanon has seen, according to the government, a million refugees come in here: and again, that violence, that violence is still raging. we've been seeing fighting in and around damascus between rebels, the regime forces and sometimes christians caught in the middle, christians who are based here as well. bill bull it's a great point. greg talcott, thank you. beirut, lebanon. this is where we believe the chemical weapons were produced, areas around aleppo, down here

around homs. the four bars designated with the red icon. the storage facility, this is where we believe they are held, east of damascus, southwest of aleppo as well. the reason why we hedge all the time is, frankly, we don't have all the knowledge for what's happening down on the ground. and the reports we're getting about how you secure the weapons if you're able to and then what you do with them are staggering. it's suggested 75,000 troops would be necessary and required to acquire the weapon withs and make sure that they are in good keeping. in addition to that, you've got about a thousand tons of chemical weapons, and much of that is weaponized meaning that it's loaded, it's ready to the fire if, indeed, the assad regime or one of its generals makes that choice. but the knowledge and the precise location is very important. be because there's a lot of debate right now within the intelligence communityas to how good that knowledge would be if, indeed, you were allowed on the ground. remember, these u.n. inspectors are there as well. they were given the run around

much like thement inners were in -- inspectors were in iraq in the 1990s. if you're going to verify, what the president said to chris wallace, then you have to involve the russians, and do you trust the russians? and putin saying you've got to go to the u.n. security council. so all of this, now, is being thrown into the barrel. and, frankly, the world doesn't know how it turns out. martha: delay is exactly what they are seeking here, and it gives them a lot of time and cover to get rid of some of these things. so we'll see. coming up, congressional leaders will be arriving at a closed door meeting over a potential government shutdown. the deadline to raise the nation's borrowing limit is in mid october, so here we go again. republican leaders in the house have postponed a vote on the measure. they say they do not have the votes yet to allow that debt ceiling to go up. some house republicans are demanding any deal include a provision to cut off funding for obama kay. that's -- obamacare. that's the 38th time, maybe,

that they have tried to defund obamacare? we'll see where that goes. and now to a tense situation in washington state. a 13-year-old boy allegedly threatens to, quote, shoot up his middle school, and that forced six area schools to shut down. many communities there as a result of this on edge today. >> i was, like, calling my friends and stuff saying, like, to not go to school because something might happen. so i was just kind of worrying about them as well. martha: the last thing kids need to be worried about in the early weeks of school, but there it is. dan springer joining us live in seattle. so have police made an arrest in this case, dan? >> reporter: well, yeah, martha. once the fbi got involved, it did not take long. a 13 be-year-old has been taken into custody, and his computer was seized as the investigation continues. but at this point police believe that the eighth grader acted alone and that he did not have the means to carry out his threats. police say the boy initially

e-mailed a suicide note to his middle school's web site and then followed that up with a threat against one of his teachers and a bomb threat against the entire school. police in the battleground school district took it seriously and shut down all five of the schools on that campus, a private school nearby also closed for the day. there was certainly relief when the word spread of the arrest. >> just sad that he thought there was some sort of situation where he was that desperate or that angry that that had to happen and they feel that's the right step to take. >> amazed. pretty serious. glad the police acted as fast as they did to apprehend the person involved. >> reporter: and the boy's name is noting with released. he is being treated as a juvenile, one count of felony harassment. martha: so back to school as usual today? >> reporter: yeah. the school district informed participants there will be school today. there were nearly 4,000 kids that were affected by this yesterday. officials say the threats were posted on a web site that was operated by the chief middle

school web site. it's set up as a place where students can write concerns they may have. police say the boy is not suicidal, and his parents are cooperating. >> i'm sure based on the conversation my detective had with parents that he understands the gravity now. >> reporter: in february an 18-year-old in that same school district was also arrested for a bomb threat. 13 years old, though, martha. my gosh. martha: aye got a 13-year-old at home, and that's a scary story. dan, thank you very much. bill: growing questions about obamacare. eighteen days from the most critical stage of its implementation. why more business owners are raising red flags about this law. martha: plus, does the united states feed a lecture on foreign policy from this gentleman in the center of your screen? the new warnings that president putin has written this morning in "the new york times." bill: also, more than a year has passed since the deadly attacks killing four americans in

benghazi. the loved ones and lawmakers still demanding answers as the state department weighs in on whether or not we will ever hear from the survivors of that deadly day. >> leon panetta took his hands with my face and said trust me. i will tell you the truth. i will get the right information to you, just trust me. and when i heard that, i knew i couldn't trust him. and i don't trust any of them anymore. they lied. let's do some serious curb appeal.

let's size up this. spruce up that. and let's not do any of this. let's go to school. let's go to save. and then, let's go to town. so then we can go do, absolutely nothing. let's do this. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. earthgro mulch. 4 bags, just $10.

jim, i adore the pool at your hotel.ver had to make. anna, your hotels have wondrous waffle bars. ryan, your hotels' robes are fabulous. i have twelve of them. twelve? shhhh, i'm worth it& what i'm trying to say is, it's so hard to pick just one of you, so i'm choosing all of you with hotels.com. a loyalty program that requires no loyalty. plus members can win a free night every day only at hotels.com

martha: well, this is clearly the story of the morning. russian president vladimir putin now issuing some suggestions for how the united states should handle the syria crisis in "the new york times" in an op-ed this morning. he writes, quote: a strike would increase violence and unleash a i new wave of terrorism. it is alarming that military intervention in interim conflicts in foreign countries has become common place for the united states. is it in america's long-term

interests, he asks? i doubt it, says putin. steve hayes is senior writer at the weekly standard and a fox news contributor. welcome, good to have you here this morning. i underlined about 16 different places in this op to ed because so much of it is just so unbelievable to me when you go through it, but what stood out to you? >> it's very touching that vladimir putin so concerned about the national interests of the united states of america, and as it relates to nonaggression and to violating the u.n. charter and invading other countries, ask the georgians whether they think vladimir putin lived up the his word in that regard. look, it's an absurd op op-ed. it makes the point that the united states and president obama have been led around by vladimir putin, and he's now using the opportunity to basically mock and humiliate us. martha: let's take a look at another quote from putin in this new york times op-ed in this morning. he said, you know, i went very carefully through the

president's speech, i had some thoughts, so i thought it was my turn the address the american people as well, basically, and he says this: martha: so he's invoking god, at one pot he invokes the pope and basically scolds president obama for suggesting that he believes as president of united states in american exceptional um. >> well, two points to make about that. for one thing, you know, there's a long history of the united states having to be exceptional in part because we have had a role stepping in and stopping these kinds of conflicts. secondly, the interesting and i think somewhat ironic part about that point is if back and look at the words that president obama used at the beginning of his presidency both in a press conference and a speech to the

u.n. general assembly, he has articulated thoughts that were somewhat close to what vladimir putin said in this editorial saying, in effect, it's not a stable world order if one country is dominant over another. so it's a little hard for president obama to push back on that when he's articulated thoughts that are at least similar sorted of in their broad construct as putin used. martha: it will be interesting if he responds in any way. if you were advising president obama, would you say forget about it, right? >> no. absolutely not. absolutely ignore it, absolutely right. martha: let's take a look at a poll we have many here as we talk about this, and is the u.s. more or less respected around the world today compared to 2008. 14 president say that we are -- 14 president say we are more respected now, 48% say we are less respected now. steve, if that's true, to what do you attribute it? >> well, i think it is true, and i think it's because the president has demonstrated consistent weakness in international affairs going back

to the beginning of his presidency. if you stop and think about this moment and really the absurdity of this vladimir putin op-ed, you have got now an authoritarian ruler who is as anti-democratic as virtually anybody in the western world, in effect, enabling a dictator who's slaughtering his own people having the platform to lecture the united states and calling for the enforcement of international law via the united nations where he holds a veto. if that's not an example of the absurd the city of this whole process -- absurdity of this whole process and the loss of power and gravitas to the united states, i don't know what is. martha: it's interesting when you look at it historically. obviously, vladimir putin has had his, you know, he's been humiliated by the loss of the satellite countries. so he, obviously, looks at all of those countries that they have had brutal crackdowns on as, you know, misbehaving family members. and he does say, you know, if it's within your own country,

basically, you can do what you want which is clearly what he believes assad has been doing here. and he condones that. but he said once you cross the line in someone else's country, that is what he considers to be off limits, right. >> >> well, right. and, you know, he's rather si or selective about where he decides those other countries actually are. i mean, i think you hit on an important point with respect to vladimir putin. a lot of this, i think, has to do with sort of ma chis mow. the things he used to do with president bush in their one-on-one meetings to have sort of the dominant position in those discussions both, i mean, physically trying to intimidate president bush, making jokes that would have tried to intimidate president bush. we've seen the same thing i think both behind the scenes and in public with president obama. and this is sort of his dream if you're vladimir putin where you've been sort of on the sidelines, and now you're thrusting yours back to relevance and trying to turn what has been a big russian moment into a longer russian era.

martha: yeah. he's enjoying every minute of this, it appears. >> he is. martha: steve, thank you so much. bill: we're going to get a response in a moment on putin's new warning, just minutes away. also, brand new video of george zimmerman's latest run-in with the law. we will show that to you next.

bill: american small business owners are confused about what the new health care law means for them. as we sit now only 18 days away from the implementation on the first of october, and what in the world they're going to do. steven moore, senior writer, "wall street journal". >> hi, bill. bill: saw the associated press story this morning, they profiled a couple in albany, new york, and they don't know what's going on, what thai going to do or -- they're going to do,

whether they stay above 50 employees or drop below. i imagine they are not alone. >> this is a universal sentiment among small businesses. number one, they don't understand the bill, bill, number two, they don't know how they're going to afford the pay for it because these are tough times for small businesses, and number three, they don't know how it's going to affect their existing health plans. remember, a lot of these small businesses do already provide health care for their workers, now they may have to put workers into these new exchanges which start october 1st. it's almost like having a wedding on october 1st, and the bride and groom aren't ready. bill: where's the cake? [laughter] >> exactly. bill: waiting on that. what this couple's described as doing is they don't know whether they should expand their business or not. >> right. will: bill: and that paralyzes the economy, does it not? >> that's precisely right. we got these lousy jobs numbers last friday which shows very little growth among employment, employers are very reluctant to

hire new workers, and so much of this gets back to this issue of obamacare. it's basically frozen a lot of employers. they're holding on to their existing employees, but tear very -- they're i have reluctant to bring on new people. the 49ers, and i'm not talking about the san francisco 49ers, i'm talking about those businesses that are holding their employment below 49 workers. and by the way, bill, some of those employers that i've talked to say they have 60 workers now, they may have to lay off 10 or 11 workers to avoid this law. bill: the couple talks about the young employees don't want the insurance they offer, they get it through their parents' plan, or they're young and they don't need it. and that was a key part of paying for it. the other thing you mentioned these exchanges, this store owner believes it's more advantageous for his employees to go directly to the exchange. isn't, ultimately, that what the

left wanted? to drive everybody toward one exchange which gets you as close as you can get to a single-payer? >> yeah, there's no doubt about that, that over time more and more businesses will migrate into the exchanges. but i would disagree a little bit, they're not doing this, bill, because they think it's going to offer their employees better health care. they're doing it because it'll actually save money for them to basically dump their existing plan which their employees may like and force them into the one-size-fits-all obamacare plan. that's one of the reasons, by the way, those young workers really don't like this. because you know what? if you're a young worker and you're healthy, you would pay about half as much under the existing health insurance laws as you would under obamacare because those young workers are sub si ciezing -- subsidizing older workers. bill: just quickly to our viewers, this is the number of things that have been waived or delayed spirally, okay? look at this list now, okay? subsidy verification, out of pocket caps, 2,000 businesses

and unions waived, congress gets the waiver for the subsidies, remember their aides and staffers working for them? what does happen on the 1st of october? >> well, those exchanges start to operate, and again, nobody knows whether they will be really ready to go. there may be chaos. now, i want to propose something that i wish all lawmakers would think about. how about suspending all of the new regulations until we get the unemployment rate in this country under 6%. >> >> that's not going to happen. >> maybe not, but that would be the best policy because, you know, when you've got 20 million people that can't get a full-time job or a job at all, shouldn't we be doing everything we can to put people back to work? bill: 7.3%, if you believe that number. >> yeah, right. martha: russia's president putin with a very strong warning in one of the biggest u.s. newspapers this morning. how's the white house reacting to that news? bill: also, more than a year

since the dead hi attack that killed four americans in benghazi, still so few answers. the state department giving a new clue if we will ever hear from the 30 survivors from that a attack in benghazi. >> you can say that at the same time with a straight face say you're not preventing anyone from testifying? >> well, matt, i think those are some very important reasons as to why -- the humble back seat. we believe it can be the most valuable real estate on earth. ♪ that's why we designed the subaru forester from the back seat forward. the intelligently designed, responsibly built, completely restyled subaru forester. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

martha: so some new reaction from the

white house to russian president vladimir putin's warning this morning to the united states. mr. putin saying that there will be devastating consequences if america carries out military strikes on syria. molly henneberg is live at the white house. what's the white house's reaction so far to this? >> reporter: martha, we haven't had an official statement from the white house, but a senior administration official tells fox that it's russian president vladimir putin's credibility that's online here with this rug finish with this russian policy. this administration official says, quote: the world will note whether russia can follow through on that commitment. in the op sed, though, in "the new york times" putin lectures the u.s. about a possible military strike saying it would lead to a new wave of terrorism and says, quote: under current international law, forces -- force is permitted only by the decision of the security council, anything else is unacceptable and would constitute an act of aggression.

putin goes on to write, quote: >> r eporter: putin also contends in his op-ed that it was the syrian rebels and not the syrian government that carried out that chemical weapons attack. march march well, that raises a lot of questions about how the syrian government can get those chemical weapons under control and turn them over, and that's going to be discussed today a lot as well, so the lawmakers are weighing in as well today, right, molly? >> reporter: yes, many of them have seen it, and they're not very impressed. here's more. >> to assert that anyone, any regime other than the syrian regime is responsible is reallridiculous. >> let's keep in mind who has blocked us every time we have sought resolution in the united nations. i think it's very hypocritical of him to say that. >> reporter: we may be hearing from the president in the next hour. he may make some remarks before his cabinet meeting today. it's the third meeting of the

year, we may hear from him, and syria likely will dominate that meeting. martha: molly, thank you. bill: we have new information on what happened the night of the benghazi terror attacks, will it finally be made public? the cia director saying his agency will make survivors available to talk with lawmakers, meanwhile, the state department suggesting those very same survivors cotodo not want o testify. >> we believe that interviews of these individuals outside of the criminal justice process would pose risks that could jeopardize the law enforcement efforts and should, in addition -- >> right. >> -- should their identities become public, they may become targets putting their lives as well as those of their families and the people they protect at risk. and based on that information, the agents requested have not spoken publicly. >> right. you can say that and at the same time with a straight face say you're not preventing anyone from testifying? >> well, matt, i think those are

some very important reasons as to why -- bill: did you get that? jason chaffetz, utah, sir, good morning to you. >> g. bill: what is the truth as you know it? do they want to testify or not? >> well, the truth of the matter is we need the hear from those people. the congress has a co-equal responsibility to get to the bottom of this attack. and for the state department to suggest that its employees don't want to talk to congress does suggest that maybe hay asked them that -- maybe they asked them that question. congress needs the opportunity to allow these people to tell their stories. and if there's any sort of suppression by the state department, that is just, that is an obstruction of congress, and it's just not -- bill: what you're suggesting is they don't assume they want to every. does she know something you don't know? i'm just trying to figure out are you making an assumption, or do they want to stay private? >> they are making an assumption. it has been a year. it's been way, way too long. we're put in a position where chairman ice is saw's going to

have no other alternative but to issue subpoenas, and then we'll get to this. bill: what did you think about our comment about interfering with law enforcement activity? >> that's ridiculous -- bill: what was that about? >> that is a ruse. that is a disguise that they put on these things. cop on, that is not -- come on, that is not the precedent in how they work with the united states congress. you cannot use that as an excuse particularly when the reporters can go into benghazi and talk to those that are wanted in this case. the administration has not been fully pursuing these people. i wish the president of the united states would take situation of benghazi as seriously as he does those in syria because, guess what? we had four americans killed, and i want the president to prioritize benghazi to the degree that he did boston and that he did in syria, and he's not doing that. we are going to hear, as the american people, from the people that were on the ground the night of the attack. that will happen.

it's been delayed because of the administration, but it will happen at some point. bill: that comment about law enforcement told me that there was something going on the ground in benghazi. what's going on, i don't know, because there doesn't appear to be a lot happening there now. pat smith was on with us yesterday on september 11th. it had been one year since her son sean was killed in benghazi, and i asked her repeatedly about what she's doing to get answers. and she was befuddled by the question. listen to how she answered it. >> are you kidding me? i've gotten no answers, and if the president told me he was giving me answers, where are they? he promised me face to face at the casket ceremony he would give me answers. he did not. bill: you're working for that woman. will she get what she wants? >> those people really, they touch my heart. that gives me the drive and the motivation to get after this every day.

we've got parents, loved ones of people who lost their lives, they gave their lives to this country, and i have a duty and obligation to get them the truth. the american people deserve the truth. we have hundreds of embassies and cons can lates around the world, thousands of people serving. and so here we have a terrorist attack, and if be we can't learn the lessons from that, guess what? it's going to happen again. because the terrorists who admitted that are still out there -- committed that are still out there. we have to hear what happened on the ground to understand what happened, and we need those parents to hear about the heroism of what their loved ones, the sons, the brothers, the daughters, you know, what these people did on that night. that's the american way. bill: as she said, he -- sean smith was her only son. >> yeah. bill: thank you for your time. jason chaffetz on the hill. to our viewers, check out our brand new politics page and sign up for our daily political newsletter. go to foxnewspolitics.com, and you can enter your e-mail address, and you'll get the headlines every morning delivered to you, or you can talk to martha mccal lumbar or

alt bill hemmer on twitter if something's on your mind. martha: we've got a stunning new report on syria this morning. what that is now telling us about syria's reported chemical weapons program that you might not know, when you come back.

bill: we have brand new video showing the latest run-in with the law for george zimmerman. florida police releasing dash cam footage from a domestic dispute between his wife, estranged wife, and him earlier in the week. you can see the officers arrestingerman out on the street. shellie claims zimmerman threatened her and her father with a gun. the couple's in the early stages of a divorce.

police found no gun. anyway, that's between them, i guess. martha: all right, well, a bombshell new report claims the united states cannot actually prove that syrian president bashar al assad directly ordered last month's chemical weapons attack on his own people, and jim walsh is with the securities studies program at the massachusetts institute of technology. he joins me now. good to see you again. >> good to see you, martha. martha: so what do you make of this report? >> well, at one level it makes sense. you're not going to have, quote, absolute proof until assad is toppled. then you might get some written records or eyewitness testimony, but you don't need that for policy making. as head of his military, he is responsible. the government is responsible. he's head of the government. so when bad things happen, he's one that has to answer for it. and i might add, martha, these aren't just -- chemical weapons aren't just any sort of weapon. when you look at the history of folks who have chemical weapons, these are among the most tightly-controlled weapons a

country will have. normally those folks report directly to the president outside of the normal chain of command. now, maybe there's something wrong with that chain of command, but assad is responsible one way or another. martha: yeah. that argument makes a lot of sense, i think, to most folks who hear that. we saw assad in the interview that he did with charlie rose. he said, you know, i had nothing to do with this, this is coming from the rebellings. how much stock do you put in that theory? >> yeah, i put zero stock in that. i think we have strong, strong sir come substantial -- circumstantial evidence that suggests the syrian government's military did this. this wasn't just a couple of rockets fired off rap.comly. this was part of an attack that took course over several hours in which, first, there was chemical, then there was conventional munitions then an offensive. in other words, this was a planned, orchestrated attack like you would see a regular military engage in. you know, the rebels may have chemical weapons for all we know, but they don't have the

launchers, and they don't have the ability the use this much in this way. so i think there's very strong evidence pointing to the government. and i would say finally, again, you know, it may be, there may be a problem in the chain of command here. you know, assad may not be as powerful as some of his local military generals which raises a whole set of other issues. it doesn't change the issue of responsibility, but it does pose new policy problems if he's not calling the shots. martha: it's possible that someone's giving him plausible deniability on this as well. and as you point out, there have been several previous attacks. one of the things i find most intriguing in this development with russia is, you know, how do you say we're not using chemical weapons and then say, yes, we've entered an agreement to put them under international control? there seems to be a little bit of an irony there. >> i agree, and i think the one, you know, we'll see how all plays out, but certainly one of the positive things about threatening the use of force against the regime is they have now come out and admitted it. so there's no more any question

about this. and it also, i think, means that you have to take the other things they've said, the other denials they've made with a grain of salt because, clearly, they lied about this. martha: yeah. so we're supposed to believe that they have them, but they didn't use them in the horrific video that we saw. someone else used them, the rebels used them just to get international attention and backing for the opposition against assad. you know, it's a pretty deep hole that has been dug here. you know, what is your take on how likely it is and what the time frame might be for the international control system to get ahold of these chemical weapons and make it so that nobody can be hurt by them anymore? >> you know, that is exactly the question to be asking, martha. that is the key question. you know, and at one level sort of the international community grabbing this stuff is a way better alternative than military strikes, because military strikes weren't going to go after the chemical agent itself, it was going to leave assad with these and simply try to deter them. it would be far better to remove

them, but this is an enormous task. you have to find them, you have to secure them, then you have to destroy them. we're talking years, years -- not weeks or months -- and it's in the middle of a civil war. so it's a better alternative, but there are huge challenges. the devil will be in the details on in the one. martha: but putin has also agreed, he said assad isn't the one who used them, service the rebels who used them. so -- it was the rebels who used hem. how realistic is it and how much credibility to you give putin and his government for really taking the actions necessary to bring these weapons under control? >> you know, i give russia no credit at all. i mean, i don't have -- this proposal's an interesting one. if it works, it would be a better outcome. there are real questions about whether it will work. i'll give them credit for that. but, you know, this op-ed today and the other stuff, you know, i think there's a lot of gamesmanship going on here on the part of russia. so it can't be that it's the russians that are guaranteeing the process. that's a nonstarter.

it has to be the international community, likely the opcw which handles chemical weapons for the international community. martha: yeah. well, john kerry will meet with lavrov and try to discuss some sort of framework for bringing these chemicals under control. and you've just pointed out the reasons why they've got a really tall task ahead of them. always good to see you, jim. thank you. >> thank you. thank you, martha. bill: quickly to the hill now, they're called the big four for a reason because they're leaders in congress, pelosi, reid, mcconnell, boehner, just leaving the speaker's office a moment ago talking about the fiscal issues, syria's getting so much attention and so much oxygen in the news these days, but there are big financial matters that need to be hammered out on the hill. so that continues. that looks like chad pilgrim, right? martha: that is our own chad pilgrim right next to kevin mccarthy there. walking the hauls of congress and getting the answers. go, chad. so an update on the dramatic rescue that we showed you

earlier in this morning. the man pulled out of the car was rushed to the hospital. we will give you an update on how he's doing. bill will also, the new way to motivate high school dropouts to go back to school. how the comeback is all about money. ♪ ♪ before mike could see his banking and investing accounts on one page... before he could easily transfer funds between the two in real time... before he could even think about planning for his daughters' future... mike opened a merrill edge investment account and linked it to his bank of america bank account to help free up plenty of time for the here and now. that's the wonder of streamlined connections. that's merrill edge and bank of america.

the car went over. there was no guarranty they would get him out. thankfully he did.

he had to rest there on the side. he has gone to the hospital, we understand, these folks are watching all of these rushing waters very closely and urging folks to stay out of danger. jon: part of our new economy, small ton entrepreneur out to women across the country, reaching a space where they launch their own businesses. how is that working out? laura engel on that. how does it work out. >> reporter: bill, finding affordable work place is, watch, so exciting for female entrepreneurs. we're talking about the collaborative women's center in monroe, connecticut. it boasts 1,000 square feet of open meeting space which includes media center and private work stations which is expanding. tracy came up with the concept after her own company 31 gifts was too big to manage from home and wanted to help people grow

their other businesses. >> you focus on the work. what you're doing. no laundry to toss. no meal to take out and get ready for dinner. it is just come in, do your work and come home to be a mom or wife. >> reporter: membership to the center is $50 a month. renting a private work space costs 200 bucks, bill. jon: what kind of feedback are they getting? >> reporter: going really well. one example is carissa black, a working mother of two for past several years making her own line of handbags and accessories at home. she turned to the center when the side job cut into her family time. being around other creative women has been a big bonus. director of the small business association tells fox is type of incubator designed for women to go into business, with minimal overhead expenses adding center is win-win for the community and entrepreneurs. jon: whole community. bill: laura engel on that.

new economy. martha: we're watching about the floods watching in colorado. severe flash floods, triggered mudslides. washing away homes and keeping rescue teams, having a tough time reaching people. that was a successful rescue. we'll though you where all this is happening. [ male announcer ] running out of steam? ♪ now you can give yourself a kick in the rear!

v8 v-fusion plus energy. natural energy from green tea plus fruits and veggies. need a little kick? ooh! could've had a v8. in the juice aisle. easier to get things done... easier to get what you want... and easier to stay in touch. unfortunately, it also makes it easier for identity thieves to steal your personal information. so when you use those devices you love... you may be giving identity thieves something they love -- your personal information. did you know something as easy as posting pictures of your daughter's birthday... might put you both at risk of identity theft? because with a little personal information an identity thief could get at the money in your bank accounts and the equity in your home.

they could even hurt your ability to get credit. you and your family shouldn't have to give up the benefits of the digital world. instead, protect yourself with lifelock -- the most comprehensive identity theft protection available. lifelock's credit notification service is on the job 24/7. as soon as they detect a threat to your identity within their network, they will alert you, protecting you, before the damage is done. ♪ it doesn't matter which devices you use or who you do business with... you'll feel more secure with lifelock's proactive identity theft protection. it doesn't matter how old you are or how much money you have -- identity thieves steal from everyone. you have to protect yourself. i protect myself... with lifelock. [ female announcer ] identity theft is so much more than a fraudulent charge on your credit card. that's why you need the most comprehensive protection that only lifelock offers. call the number on your screen or go online

and try 60 days of lifelock's protection risk free. call the number on your screen or go online to lifelock.com/digitalworld, use promo code digitalworld, and get 60 days of lifelock's protection risk free. let lifelock's proactive identity theft protection take care of you and your family. and make it easy to enjoy the digital world. martha: what do you think of this idea? a high school principal has launch ad new effort to reverse an alarming dropout rate offering current students $100 gift cards if they convince a friend to come back to school. >> sometimes they don't necessarily want to hear authoritative figure. they want to hear from their friends and know that their friends care. >> we've got to understand in thistae and age we have to fit into our kid who is have lost their way. same ol', same sole doesn't

work. martha: you know, hate to incentivize kids. bill: better than cutting grass. martha: gets them back in the door and something grabs their attention. bill: i like idea. 100 bucks. see you tomorrow. martha: see you tomorrow. have a great day. jon: bill hemmer, my first job was cutting grass, i will have you know. brand new stories and breaking news. jenna: a march to war, halted at least for now, as the focus shifts to diplomacy and whether the international community will be able to disarm syria of chemical weapons. big story today. we'll be on that. police in massachusetts searching for a man believe linked to the disappearance of the teenager on your screen. prince william wrapping up one chapter of his life to focus on very obvious one. a future king's big decision. it is all "happening now." jenna: well, some high steaks