it is wednesday, august 20th, a fox news alert. it is one of the most brutal and horrifying attacks ever, an american journalist beheaded by isis, and now the terrorists are threatening more bloodshed. the furry in ferguson simmering overnight, but not for long. officer wilson, why some say it's all about the politics. and mother nature unleashing torrential downpours, flooding so bad a van is trapped by a raging river. the amazing rescue you have to see.

"fox and friends" starts right now. good morning, you're watching an early edition of "fox & friends" first, and let's get to the fox news alert for you. a gruesome murder. isis militants beheading missing american journalist james foley in a shocking and disturbing video. >> now they are threatening the life of another reporter if president obama continues attacks in syria and iraq. the u.s. government is now scrambling to analyze the video. >> james fo lrkley disappeared november of 2012. isis posted the gruesome video on line yesterday, and u.s. officials told the associated press the tape is authentic. he's in a prison orange jump

suit, hands bound, kneeling next to a black plaid militant, reads a prepared antiamerican statement, and then he is executed. some say the video should mark a turning point in u.s. policy. >> we have to be taking severe military action. i'm not talking about boots on the ground. the afghan model, the model used to defeat the taliban can be used. in the last couple days, the ban has been taken back, and the kurds are a good ally. we have the ability to walk back isis. we can't wait. >> foley's family asked for privacy while they mourn. his mother issued a statement on facebook saying, in part, we have never been prouder of our son, james, giving his life to expose suffering of the syria people, and employ the kidnappers to spare the lives of

the remaining, like jim. nay are innocent. if the u.s. takes against them continue, they will execute the other american hostage they have, a man from miami. ladies, back to you in new york. >> just despicable. thank you. this was not the first time he was captured and held in the middle east. while in 2011 while reporting on the uprising, foley was taken by the forces and sat down with bill o'reilly in 2011 to tell his story. >> we stopped, not a minute later, two trucks came over the hill. >> all right. you stand there, identify yourself? >> no. what you do in that minute, fire was so heavy, we pressed ourselves as far as we could to the ground. >> they were shooting at you. >> yeah.

our colleague was killed. >> what did the rebels do? >> quickly concerned around and got out of there. >> you're on the ground, rebels split, they take you captive. >> that's exactly what happened. >> much more of that interview with james foley coming up at 4:30. >> the question everyone asks after the gruesome execution, how should the united states respond? colonel ralph peters says america must respond with enormous force. >> the only correct response to this kind of an atrocity would be to hit islamic state targets, punish them. would not stop their monstrous behavior, but this is a fight to the death, and our president and the governing elite of this country including too many republicans, refuse to come to grips with the gravity, with the deep powerful profound nature of the threat that does menace

americans. they take a long term view, and in the long range target, make no mistake about it, but as far as brutality goes, they are far worse than al qaeda. al qaeda, as monstrous as it was, had some ethical standards by their own standards. these people are just butchers. >> now to another fox news alert, major developments in the investigation of the shooting death of unarmed teenager, michael brown. the governor ignited a fire storm with comments saying he's decided the guilt of the officer who shot brown. >> i think a vigorous prosecution must be pursued. the prosecutor and attorney general of the united states, each have a job to do. their obligation to achieve justice in the shooting death of michael brown must be carried out thoroughly, promptly, and correctly. >> these words coming before an

investigation is even complete, and today, a grand jury will begin hearing evidence on that case. attorney general eric holder will meet with community leaders as well as the fbi there in ferguson, and michael brown's funeral will be held on monday. well, overnight, tensions reaching a boiling point again. all it took was a flying water bottle to shatter a night of mostly peaceful protests. we are live on the ground with brand new information from the highway patrol. >> heather, it was not just until before midnight a crowd charged against police after one man was taken down by officers. in all, 47 people were arrested, but tensions did not escalate to nearly the same extent that we've seen the last several nights. rather than cocktails, protesters were throwing water bottles filled with urine at

officers. rather than tear gas and smoke grenades, they used pepper spray. it was called a turning point. >> tonight, we saw a different dynamic, no cocktails tonight, no shootings, no smoke bombs, no tear gas, and tonight again, no police officers fired a single bullet. >> reporter: police say the violence could have. worse if not for community leaders who put themselves between the line of police and the protesters, calming the younger protesters out there and who were looking initially for more violent interactions with the officers. those community leaders, police say, are crucial to maintaining the progress they saw last night. heather? >> all right, thank you very much. we'll check back in with you. be careful out this. with the grand jury set to

hear hear evidence, is he convicted before all the evidence is in? joining us now, steve rogers, thank you for joining us. >> oh, you're welcome. >> the evidence is not in. the grand jury's called. is this up usual in this case? >> yes, it is. look, there's been an epic failure of political leadership. it's a disservice to the people and especially to the officer. the officer did not wake up that morning with the preconceived notion to shoot somebody. he's entitled to justice, fair trial, the evidence. impossible to say all the evidence is in. this is a rush to judgment, a political witch hunt. >> you mentioned a political witch hunt. eric holder, the attorney general of the united states. let's listen to what he had to say. >> in things racial, we've always been, and we, i believe, continue to be in too many ways essentially a nation of cowards.

>> you look at the way the attorney general of the united states treated yesterday, what attorney general had to deal with that kind of treatment? what president has ever had to deal with that kind of treatment? these outbursts of bigotry, while deplorable, are not the true markers of the struggle that must be waged or the work that still needs to be done because the greatest threat do not announce themselves in screaming headlines. they are more subtle. they cut deeper. i don't think this is a main driver, but for some, there's a racial -- >> okay, eric holder is in missouried today. those are comments he's made in the past. is it possible for him to go and be fair and balanced in the situation? >> absolutely impossible. look, imagine being on the grand jury or jury if there's a trial after listening to this, when you're a leader in government,

especially in a police department, you need to separate your emotion from everything that's going on. it's been painted this case from the beginning, and, unfortunately, for that officer, he's going to have an uphill battle. >> from the very beginning, just the social media involvement in this where the officer's name was forced to be released. we also released the video of this alleged robbery that happened right before, so a lot has been moved by emotion from the beginning. >> well, it has been. this is an epic failure of leadership. to this day, there's not one spokesman, no one's in charge, and they have to bring somebody in there who is unbiassed and take charge of the situation and bring order. look, the people in ferguson, they are good, contained some of the violence, and the police are doing a tremendous job. it's the politicians who are causing a lot of the problems down there. >> a lot of the protesters from outside the city. thank you for joining us,

appreciate it. >> you're welcome. >> steve rogers will join us again at 5:00 a.m. so stay tuned. new unrest in nearby st. louis after police shot and killed a 23-year-old black man who wave a nave at them. he refused the drop the weapon and reportedly yelled to the police officers, kill me now, and charge them. the two cops involved are on paid administrative leave. >> happening now, gunman release the four of six children held hostage in a standoff with police in harvey, illinois. the drama unfolds when two police officers were shot and wounded responding to a burglary in progress. the armed men taking six children and two adults hostage inside the home. how two of the children have been released, but two children and two adults are still being held at this hour. >> the governor of texas booked on felony abuse of power

charges. rick perry turning himself in a courthouse and promising to fight the charges. >> i'm going to fight this injustice with every fiber of my being, and we will prevail. >> governor perry set to be arraigned friday, but is not required to be there for that. the indictment accuses him of abusing power when he vetoed funds going to a county prosecutor's unit that investigates public corruption. a short time after all that, the governor tweeted a picture of himself enjoying an ice cream cone. the time now is 12 minutes after the top of the hour, and it was the primary to help shift the balance of power in congress, but this morning, the results are not in. what happened overnight when we come back. >> and katie perry offered the gig of a lifetime. a chance to sing at the super bowl. but there's a catch, a big catch.

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breaking overnight. all eyes on alaska where the primary polls are closed, but the closely watched republican senate race still to close to call. robert gray is live with the report. good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning, heather, that's right. moments ago, the governor conceding after early results put him in third place in the gop senate race. the numbers are still coming in, but the marine officer, dan sullivan takes the lead with 40% of the vote followed by joe miller, taking on the democratic incumbent in the fall. he easily won his primary tuesday. sullivan entered the race as the presumed front runner with the

backing of national gop power brokers and huge cash advantage over his rivals. alaska closely watched across the nation because this race may determine who controls the current democratic controlled senate. republicans needed a net gain of six seats to gain control. meantime in the governor's race, the former governor faces off the democrat, byron. >> thank you. in wyoming, the republican governor beating back two gop challengering campaigning for the second term. he's gained support from the industry, and incumbent senator enzi prevailing over four challengers setting him up against charlie harley who is seeking a fourth term in senate. now to extreme weather, ferocious flooding in arizona.

watch as a homeowner is trying to flag down help to get out of the way of the rush water there. the house only held up by that tree. a short time later, a helicopter dropping in rescuers to save that entire family. in another area, a woman pull from a van moments before it was covered entirely by the flood waters. the rescuers there, this happened all over the state, which in fewer than 24 hours saw more rain than it saw all of last summer. the time now is 18 after the top of the hour, and bet you didn't know this, the violent protesters in missouri using a secret weapon, and the police and the media never saw it coming. >> and what is called one of the biggest government land grabs of our time. what it means for your private property next.

welcome back, president obama is considering are proposed list of 12 national monuments, all of them in western states. >> preservations after pushing the land from development. locals are frustrate calling it, quote, the mother of all land grabs. we have more from the colorado national monument. >> reporter: contributes krae there's places, but those in utah says it has to stop. the antiquities act gives the presidents authority to declare

national land as monuments, which become national parks. >> grand canyon, statue of liberty, arches national park. >> reporter: some say it's been abused. >> now it's a political purpose to make a political statement on land that's not endangered in any way. >> reporter: officials worry about a repeat of president clinton's 1996 sadesignation of monument that covers an area large as riemds and delaware combined zblp they shut down everything. you can't access it. >> those on the east coast or east of the rockies for that matter do not understand the land matter or distribution of land, which is mainly here in the west. >> reporter: 50% of the american west is owned by the federal government. in utah, it's 70%. >> every county is 92% federal land, so we in the west see it differently because we face it and live with it every day.

>> reporter: the utah congressman is working to head off new declaration. >> create wilderness, scenic areas, and economic development. >> reporter: recently, 14 democratic senators asked the president to declare more land in utah as a national monument. the problem is none of the senators are from the intermountain west. >> thank you. 24 minutes after the top of the hour. you thought you had a bad day? imagine losing $21,000 of your boss's money. that employee's nightmare story coming up next. >> and katie perry offered the gig of a lifetime, a chance to see at the super bowl, but there's a big catch, a really big catch.

it's wednesday, august 20th, a fox news alert, one of the most brutal and horrifying attacks ever.

that american journalist in the orange beheaded by isis, and now the terrorists threatening more bloodshed. furry in ferguson simmering overnight, but not for long. a grand jury taking steps to go after officer darren wilson before all the evidence is gathered. why some say it's all about the politics. plus, a court coaxing the government to make changes in every airport in the country, but you are not allowed to know about the challenges. "fox and friends" first, right now. good morning to you, wednesday, august 20 th, welcome to the early edition of "fox & friends" first. >> this first, horrific murder. isis militants beheading missing american journalist james foley in a shocking and disturbing

video. >> now another american reporter being held could also be at risk. we are live in washington as u.s. officials broke down the video frame by frame, disturbing stuff. >> reporter: tough stuff to watchings ladies. good morning, james foley was a freelance journalist reporting from syria. he disappeared in syria in november 2012. isis posted the video on line. they told the press that the tape is authentic. we're just showing the still frame right there. he's appearing in prison orange, hands bound behind him, kneeling next to the mill tapt reading what is a prepared anti-american statement saying he will be killed in retaliation for u.s. air strikes in iraq, and them is executed. some say this video should mark a turning poi policy. >> this is one of our own. this is someone from our own

village, from new hampshire. this affects people in the oval office the way it affects you and me. >> reporter: the family asked for privacy while they mourn. his mother issued a statement on facebook saying, in part, we've never been prouder of our son jim giving his life to expose the world, the suffering of the syria people, and employ the kidnappers to spare the lives of the remaining hos tamgs like jim. they are innocent. if the attacks continue in iraq, they vow to execute the other american hostage they have, a man from miami. president obama left washington yesterday to resume vacation, but expect to hear from him later today about foley's execution. ladies? >> thank you. we have been showing you james foley's interview with bill o'reilly from back in 2011. it was after he was captured in

libya by forces. >> they sbinterrogated me for s hours initially, it was a mind game. one guy was playing good cop. one guy came in yelling saying we think you're a spy, and eventually, you figure out, look, i just got to stick to the story, tell the absolute truth that i'm a journalist. that's my only chance. >> foley was released six weeks later. >> that brings us now to look who is talking. the ceo of concerned veterans for america who says make no mistake about it, the beheadings is just the latest proof that isis is more more than a terrorist group. >> it is an absolute demonstration of the sheer evil of this enemy, and it is not just the terrorist group. a lot of people use the phrase "terrorist group," but at this point, it's a terrorist army that believes they control a state, an islamic state, the seasonal border of iraq and

syria want to expand beyond that and in some accounts, has up to 80,000 fighters. a fox news alert, major developments in the investigation of the shooting death of unarmed teen michael brown. eric holder is headed to ferguson, missouri today to meet with local community leaders and the fbi. a grand jury will also begin hearing evidence on the case. former prosecutor and defense attorney ted williams weighing in on how they think that will go. >> maybe the full truth is not going to come out, but you have to have a little bit of faith in the system it's going to work, and it's going to work out well, just, and fairly. >> anyone can indict a ham sandwich before a grand jury, but what we are looking for is fairness for brown and fairness for the police officer. i don't want them to rush this investigation. i don't want them to rush into a

grand jury. this needs to be done right. >> attorney general holder promised to spare a thorough investigation into the shooting. well, a night of peaceful protesting turned into a tense confrontati confrontation. what sparked a moment of chaos, and was anyone arrested? >> reporter: yeah, heather, it was just before midnight when tensions flaired there for a bit. officers say they recognized one of the protesters as a previous offender. they went in, tackled him, and the crowd of protesters behind him charged officers in throwing bottles filled with urine at the officers. they say that's an improvement from the other night. in all, only 47 people were arrested, and tensions did not escalate to anywhere near the level we've seen in the recent nights. officers did not deploy the tear gas or smoke grenades, and they

only used limited amounts of pepper spray. captain ron johnson credits the many kmund leaders who came out to put themselves between the police and protesters so the tensions did not escalate further than they did. >> what made the difference, you may ask? tonight, the ea elders in this community, volunteers, activists, and the clergy came out in large number. they walked, they talked with people. they urged peace. it had a common influence on the younger people. >> reporter: captain johnson said it was a turning point for the police effort, but they are constantly reevaluating the strategy and efforts they are looking to do moving forward. >> live in ferguson for us, thank you. joining us now is the st. louis radio talk show host.

mcgraw, i understand you have brand new breaking news information about the grand jury. >> so this morning, they're going to start the process of the grand jury, and there's going on -- there's a jurisdictional fight going on. governor nixon has the right to take away the prosecution's case and bring it into the state. he has that authority since declaring it a state of emergency. we'll talk about it on the show today. there's a fight going on. everyone's claiming he should not be the one doing it. well, it's not his decision to do it anymore. it's governor nixon, and now the focus is on whether or not governor nixon will take it away from bob or not. >> all right, mcgraw, focus on this, let's talk about social media, tweets per minute. the shooting happened on august 9th, no tweets per minute, that day, but a week later, on the 13th, about 4400 tweets per

minute on social media, so is social media driving this investigation? >> i think social media, when said and done, will be a major point of this controversy because that's what got the word out. that's what people are talking about. instability communication. we had news organizations then tweet out, take him back, and other people sent out real information on tweets. this is how things grow, and remember, the arab spring got started because of twitter because of social media. this, we're now seeing this, this is going to be a part of major controversies in the future. >> it's interesting because times have change so much, and so many rely on social media to get information. in fact, both sides of this, the officer and the family of the teenager that was shot, both sides are using social media to raise money to help their campaigns and pay for funerals and pay for attorneys.

so far, 82,000 has been raised for the brown family, and for the officer on facebook, he's got 40,000 fans as of last night, and he's raised $55,000 in two days. >> it's really interesting phenomena, as you said. i have met numerous documentary filmmakers out here who are using twitter, using facebook, using social media, using their videos from the phones to create some type of documentary. this is just the beginning of what this is all going to be. >> mcgraw, a lot of support is growing for the officer as we were just discussing. do you think that many people are afraid to support that officer verbally, but doing it on social media? >> i think in the beginning most people wanted the facts to come out and were waiting in judgment, waiting before they made their judgment. after captain johnson went to the support michael brown rally

and sort of -- many people thought that was a little over the line, so i think because of that, that allowed people to come out and say, well, if he can support and go to that rally, we can then certainly support officer wilson. so i think you're seeing the battle lines drawn, but i think many, many people, still many, many people are reserving judgment, but there's nothing wrong with saying we support the officer while he's saying, hey, i'll stay neutral, however, i'm supporting the family. >> mcgraw live for us, thank you for waking up early again this morning. >> my pleasure. the nephew of pope francis losing his wife and two children in a car crash in argentina. the accident happening as the family was returning home. their car collided with a truck northeast of buenos aires. the pope was saddened by the news and ask all who share in the grief to unite with him in

prayer. cold hearted an chilling, police describing two teenagers arrested for planning to shoot up their school in pasadena, california. police now say the teens researched guns, bullet proof vests, and bomb making techni e techniqu online. the unname teens have plotted the attack in detail on social media until the community members told school and price. officers did not find weapons in the home, but they would have access to relatives' guns. the boys were charge with conspiracy and criminal threats. more charges could be on the way. more than a million dollars of pot seized in california, a million dollars. sheriff deputies raided five greenhouses and four marijuana gardens. plants were seized, and the marijuana garden could have yielded a pound of marijuana bud per plant, but estimate the street value of the plant is at $1.7 million. a lot of min.

it fell off the truck, i swear. nearly $21,000 now missing after a bag of cash falls off the roof of an armored truck that had picked it up from atlantic city's revel casino. the truck company opened an investigation and is cooperating with law enforcement. now even more cash strapped revel is expected to chose down for good on september 2. the nfl putting a twist on this year's souper bowl halftime show. ♪ the eye of the tiger ♪ dancing through the fire >> for the first time ever, the league wants artists to pay to play the coveted gig, pay, giving a portion of the tour income of the suggestion, getting a chilly reception from katie perry, cold play, and rihanna. it's set for february 1 in phoenix. 20 minutes until the top of

the hour, up next, a major recall, something in nearly every american's kitchen cabinets. >> and the police could not stop them, the national guard couldn't either, but the next guest says there is one trick that just might work. prayer.

we still do not know most of the facts surrounding the brown shooting, but that's not stopping protesters from making up their mind about the case. fox news contributor david web asked protesters if officer wilson is guilty. listen. >> what happens if the officer is not guilty? >> i'm not sure. i think it pretty much speaks for itself. i believe that he was guilty. >> just somebody was murdered. someone was shot. doesn't usually if someone shoots someone, isn't there something that happens to the person that shot him?

>> so how can peace be restored? thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> these are a lot of questions people not just in ferguson but across the country are asking. i would like to begin with how we got here to begin with, why the initial response and overwhelming violent response in this community? >> i think the response, particularly in such a rapped manner it is suggested there was a bed rom of tension between law enforcement and the african american community. one of the things that happened is when the incident first happened there was not enough emphasis placed on a vigil.

i would have started with prayer not protest. you have to start a foundation before they quickly get out of hand. >> now that hit has already started with the protest instead of the prayer vigils, how do we stop it? where do we go from here? >> i think the community needs to take leadership back from many who are engaged in kind of an influx and in flow into that community. 78 people were arrested the night before last and only four of them were from ferguson. the local people must praise themselves up and begin to deal with the issues around tensions and police misconduct and race relations, et cetera, themselves and the community. >> it does seem a lot of the protestors in the evening protest when they are getting out of hand don't even seem to be from ferguson in that area from as far away as new york and

california. during the day the protests taking a very different turn and seem to be very peaceful. what do you make of that? >> i think, heather, one of the things i try to do in all of the demonstrations i have led on police misconduct issues and other things, i have tried to make sure that i was sensitive to the community that would be left behind once civil rights activists and leaders like myself leave. one of the great tragedies in this instance is people are going into ferguson who don't necessarily understand the historic or cultural context of that community and obviously are not sensitive to the need for people to have to live in that community once all of the dust settles and all of this is ever oh. people really must give ferguson a chance to heal themselves. i would call for suspension in all of the in flow of people going into that community. the family's league central g , gee -- strategy it should be

driven by their council and thstrategy. >> let people take care of themselves and come together and pray. thank you so much. we appreciate your words. >> great to be with you. >> the white house is not saying how they are changing the rules for the no fly list. it will give travelers on the no fly list a suspected terrorist a clearer way to appeal so they can get taken off of that list. a federal judge ruled this unconstitutional. the justice department says the changes can start over the next six months. about 48,000 people are on that no fly list. >> now for a recall alert. your rit almond or peanut butter jar may contain salmonella. now it is being pulled from store shelves. it includes arrowhead mills peanut butter, all mopped butter and private label of almond

butter from trader joes whole foods, kroger and safe way. lots of stores affected. also a recall for a child car seat, ricaro recalling 39,000 of the chairs the pro sport model 385. they say it is unsafe for the seat install ted without the to tether. >> eric holder about to arrive in ferguson with new results from the autopsy of michael brown. forensic experts says hold on. something about that report very suspicious. >> you have a used car? today you better lock your doors. we will explain why.

>> attorney general eric holder heading to ferguson today to meet with federal law enforcement investigating the michael brown shooting. this as details begin to emerge and the federal autopsy of brown's body which is the third being performed. it is an unusual step taken by the federal government. so what exactly is the doj looking for now. joining us is jennifer bare ringer. is this necessary three autopsy reports? >> not normally. it is rare rare tther rare. given the scope of what's going on down there it seecms sensibl for someone to come in and take a partial report and redo it. attorney general holder wants to look at the state autopsy they

did. that is very rare. >> you would expect if it were a federal or state affair. >> exactly venlt>> you are saying it is rare the federal government get involved. someone has to take charge of this. there are so many cooks in the kitchenment you have every agency getting involved and the state should have done something about this and it didn't now it goes to the federal government. >> it is true. you are right it fell on their doorsteps. >> here's an interesting thing. obviously yesterday the state had a police officer shoot another black man. there was an agitated crowd there. the chief of police came out and gave an immediate statement. this could have happened. >> there was a weapon involved with that. there was a knife. >> it could have happened here. this is a more difficult case. the fact that they kept back so much information and choose to release things like inflammatory video the and statement abouts marijuana. the protestors are thinking this

wouldn't happen if the man was white. >> awe of the autopsies are they all consistent? >> they are so far. little information. they seem to be consistent. >> jennifer bare riringer. good to see you again. >> if you thought this video was crazy, what if we told you it happened in the middle of the desert. the bizarre reason why that's coming up. if you just got charged with a felony. how would you celebrate. rick per re going where no suspect has gone before. stay with us.

>> this is a fox news alert. horrifying attack against that american journalist. kidnapped and beheaded by terrorists overseas. and they say they are going to

do it again unless the president meets their demands. >> and ferguson simmering overnight. a grand jury now taking steps to go after officer darren wilson before all of the evidence is even gathered. >> gone in 60 seconds. forget the report card, the vehicles thieves are really going after. the most stolen car in america ee vealed. "fox & friends first" starts right now. >> good morning to you. you are watching "fox & friends first" on this wednesday morning. i am heather childers. >> i am ainsley earhardt. a gruesome beheading of american journalist james foley in a shocking and disturbing video. >> now they are threatening the life of another american

reporter. more on james foley. >> leland? >> james foley worked as a freelance journalist reporting for a company called global post. he disappeared while working in the northern part of that embattled company november 129. this is a still frame of the gruesome video. they believe the tape to be authentic. in the tape foley appears wearing friz son orange, hands bound behind him kneeling next to a militant. he gives to be a prepared anti-american statement saying he is being killed because of u.s. air strikes and then he is executed. some say the video should mark a turning point in u.s. policy. >> taking severe military action. i am not talking about a lot of boots on the ground. the african model. the model we used to defeat the taliban can be used. you have seen the last couple days the dam has been