this is his first with his dog dangling right there. >> make it a great day. happy birthday to the air force. it's also national cheeseburger day. >> after the show show next. bill: want to start with a fox news alert. a major terror plot busted in australia with direct ties to isis. their plot was to kidnap innocents, publicly behead them and post it online. martha: this is the world we are living in where we report stories like this. hundreds of australian officials

raiding properties. them say their plot was to kidnap random people off the street and behead them. >> they do not hate us for what we do, they hate us for who we are and how we live. that's what makes us a target. bill: peter, good morning. the threat, was it imminent? >> reporter: the raid had to be today, because if police waited be australian attorney general believes the attacks would have been successfully executed. a phone call worried authorities so much they believed these isis affiliated australians were ready to carry out their plan, and that plan laid out by prosecuteors was to pick random people walking down the streets of sydney and brisbane, kidnap

them, behead them, then release the video recordings of those awful acts. police have published pictures of a large sword apparently taken out of one of the suspect's home in an evidence bag. this was the largest law enforcement raid in australian history. 800 officers assisted in the 15 arrests made so far. officials are trying to convince a concerned public they have this scary situation under control. >> right now is a time for calm. we don't need to whip this up. we need to let people know they are safe and certainly from our perspective we know the work this morning will insure that all of those plans that may have been on foot have been thwarted.

>> reporter: there is a warrant out for an arrest of a former bouncer because officials think he is the top isis operative in australia, and, bill, he's still out there. bill: president obama confirming his commitment to note use boots on the ground as he puts it in fighting isis. >> the american forces that have been deployed to iraq do not and will not have a combat mission. martha: but even as more military advisers past and present are beginning to speak out about this. ray odierno and jack dempsey and robert gates, all saying that the president me need american troops on the ground to defeet

isis. heland no some of this languagew he intend to use them this way. it sound leak clarity is what the administration wants to avoid. we know what the president wants it to mean which is americans aren't going get shot at on the ground so they are not shooting back. but if anything is proven, things are highly unpredictable, especially when it comes to any type of war in the middle east. what the administration is already talking about is the definition of combat. >> they would be offering tactical advice to security forces taking the fight to isil on the ground.

they would be calling in airstrike in support of missions that are being conducted by iraqi security forces. but those americans ground troops will not be in a position where they are personally or directly engaging the enemy in combat. >> reporter: awfully fine line josh earnest is talking about. six weeks ago this started as a humanitarian mission with airstrikes to protect u.s. interests in iraq. martha: many fine lines as you say. secretary of defense maig hagel is going to testify on capitol hill. what do you think he will say? >> publicly he towed the administration line.

but secretary hail is being sidelined as is chairman of the joint chiefs martin dempsey in the strategic discussions. many say this war is being run from the white house. many former commanders are saying the president is make and enormous mistake, not only trying to run this war tactically by the white house but also by boxing himself in and limiting options that may have to be used later if they are going to be successful against isis. martha: leland, thank you very much. bill: some advisers argue the president is trapping himself with no boots on the ground. steven hayes, senior writer, good morning to you. you describe two problems. one is the plan, the other is

the president. start with the president, the commander in chief and his credibility. >> i think the challenge for president obama, the things he's saying today contra dwaict he was saying a couple weeks ago. whether you are talking about a claim's a fantasy that it could make a difference on the ground. whether you are talking about the speech, the president saying we'll deny a safe haven to anybody who presents a threat. the united states released five senior taliban commanders the intelligence community set were a threat and would continue to be a threat. so you have the president reversing himself in a dramatic way in a short period of time that leaves members of the congress and the public to doubt his ability to run the war, to run it effectively and to be committed to the outcome he describes. bill: are you reflecting the con

southern we heard from dempsey and odierno and others already? >> i think i am. the problem you are hearing was prominently. but others are racing questions about this because the president sets an agenda to degrade and destroy isis but he doesn't have a plan to achieve that outcome. he says this is a serious threat to the united states, it affects our core interests yet we are not going to put boots on the ground to address that threat. that's our red line. what if the air campaign the president proposes and the foreign fighters to allied groups doesn't work? the president still won't entertain the use of ground troops. this may not be the kind of threat that the president himself says it is. bill: you are looking at elects

six weeks away. the majority of americans surveyed don't want ground troops back on the ground to fight in iraq. >> if the president would accept the advice of his generals, he would have to buy in. he would have to be the one to make the case. it's one of the reasons despite all the talk we have had about the possibility of introducing ground troops in syria and iraq after martin dempsey's comments n we are having for no real purpose. it's not going to happen. the president says it's not going happen. he got the recommendation from his generals on the front end of this effort. the poll are the playing a role. bill: steve, thank you. what do you think at home, at work, on your mobile device? would you support ground troops

in iraq? talk to us on twitter for the next couple hours here. martha: an historic vote is underway as scots decide the future of scotland. why is this up a big deal? what do you need to know? >> there is surveillance video revealing a new lead for a missing college student. what that video shows that might help police find her. martha: plenty of unanswered questions. including allegations of a coverup to protect then secretary of state hillary clinton. we'll ask congressman jim jordan what he thinks. he was there, how did it go, when we come back. >> what is the goo the guy who is supposed to do an independent investigation calling the chief

of staff to secretary clinton telling her someone isn't going to be a good witness. what's he doing gig a head up call to someone he's supposed to be investigating.

martha: virginia police are trying to track down a man who was last seen putting his arm

around an 18-year-old in chartsville. he says he then saw someone else put his arm around her before she vanished. now the fbi is joining the search to find hannah graham. bill: the benghazi select committee holding it first public meeting focusing on how to prevent an attack. >> if you were going to examine mr. maxwell you would ask hem why didn't you come forward and wholes else was in the room hoch corroborate your version of what happened. that's the on way i know to run an investigation. holes can tell us whether this happened and go independent them. jim jordan was in the room and he's with us today. raymond maxwell worked at the

state department and apparently he's got quite a story to tell. what did you learn yesterday? >> we learned the arb panel was not in any way independent. todd kyle with whom up served 23 years in the state department. he was on the security detail for christopher and albright. he says the independent' commission was anything but. bill: who picked the arb? who picked that panel? >> the reason it's not independent is it was hand picked. if you are being investigated you don't typically get to pick your investigators and also call it interest. bill: true or false. the state department denied multiple requests by personnel on the ground for additional security. >> true. and it's worse.

they were not only allowed additional help coming to benghazi, it was reduced. bill: is that a fact? >> i. ement d. attacks, assassination attempts on the british ambassador. the request for send the more good guys, we need more security. what they had was reduced. bill: is it true they ignored their own safety standard. >> previously the standard after the by route bombings were adhered to. bill: are they in the report? >> no necessarily. the fact remains they didn't follow the advice and counsel of the guys putting their lives on the line on the ground and there is a specific waiver process

that's required if you are going to deviate from the standard that was bypassed. bill: is it better now? >> let's assume that arb was independent and it came up with great recommendations. the one thing it says is we'll create a best practices panel. their number one recommendation is not being followed at the state department. the number one thing the best practices panel said is not going followed at the state department. so what's changed? what's it going to take for the state department top real. >> i they can't keep the same culture there or we'll jeopardize more americans who serve our country abroad. bill: democrats would debate you just have nick your cross-hairs. >> chairman gowdy has been on target.

for the families of those four individual who lost their their lives, our job is to get to the truth. yesterday's hearing demonstrates that's what we are committed to do. bill: trey gowdy asked two questions, why did he not come towards sooner and where kid no one else answer his questions. >> when you look at this whole narrative within the people who rant arb were hand picked by the secretary and her chief of staff. and the chief of staff got a call frommed a nirl mullen when he thought somebody wasn't going to be a good witness. maybe they weren't giving him all the information. if there is that much control from the higher up to the the state department it's worth investigation. bill: final question based on everything you have discovered so far could it happen again?

>> let's hope not. but i would leak to see the state department follow the number one recommendation from people from todd kyle who gave 30 years service in the security field. the number one recommendation he had is not being followed by the state department. that's what's got to change. martha: the moment of treupt is arriving for our friend in scotland. millions head together polls with the country possibly on the brink of becoming independent. but what would that really mean and why is there so much fuss about this? bill: another arrest in the nfl. another player finding himself on the wrong side of the law. >> he has been interview bid our detectives and admitted involvement in the incidents but denied allegations of physical assault.

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martha: voting is underway. 4 million people are expected to head to the polls in this ipped even referendum. they have been together in this bond, this marriage with england for more than 300 years. what is the mood like on the streets there today? >> it has been a grim fan drizzly morning but there has been a colorful catwalk of kilts. by 10:00 a.m., 18% of those 4-million plus registered voters had come out to vote. they are expect can this in

scotland. they are expecting this to be the biggest electoral event ever. here was scotland's first minister voting this morning. >> it's in the hand of the scottish people. >> reporter: there has been some trough in this referendum campaign. it's been heavy on promises. people would say light on substance. it's been opened up to 16-year-olds which is a first ever in the united kingdom. but a lot of those young people are extremely well versed. >> i think we need the support from england that we get. our defense as well. we are so vulnerable to attacks. we have no defense without england. i just think they do so much for

us economically as well. >> reporter: the 16 and 17-year-olds are tending toward the no votes. a lot of opinions. some informed. some not so well informed. one of the issues is defense as that young man alluded to. the nuclear defense is based in scotland. they say if they go independent, they don't want them here. the former head of nato says he thinks this is a major issue for local security. view rrp the makeup of britain -- we would have major implications internationally, not the least is the second nuclear power in nato would effectively have been disarmed. that would be extremely bad for the western alliance and destabilize the west at a dangerous point in history.

>> reporter: people around the world are looking at defense and people are interested around the world in what will happen to scotch whiskey, the second biggest export after oil from this country. the scotch association said they don't think it will affect the price of scotch really, that will be determined on taxes in the u.k. and outside of the u.k. but the whiskey is out on the shelves and we shouldn't expect a dramatic change in price. however, the whiskey association is concerned about volatility in terms of their own production costs going up considerably. polls close at 10:00 and we expect results first thing tomorrow morning. but it's too close to call even as far as the polls are concerned. but it's passionate and exciting. young people said what they are happy about is people have been

energized about their political future. martha: the whole world is looking for the first time in a long time at scotland and what they produce and what the politics are there. the mccallum scotch is going to keep flowing so you don't have to worry about that. i have a supply in my base fument run out. bill: new jobless numbers out for the week. 36,000 fewer americans applied for unemployment. keep it under $300,000 than we are okay. what's the scotch in the basement? martha: mccowan. the the same clan as mccallum.

remnants of hurricane odile is out west. road were washed out leaving drivers stranded there and that threat apparently not off yet. bill: law makers demanding answers from the administration how it plans to stop isis now. they are plotting and encouraging attacks in western countries including our own. >> what we have seen from isil is a very sophisticated propaganda effort. the times of information they are putting out on the internet and in particular using social media really exceed the times of propaganda we have seen from other groups.

bill: some flash flood warnings for the southwest.

people are using sandbags to avert the waters away from roads and homes. some areas are already drenched. will ca carr is there live on te ground in tucson, arizona. >> reporter: the storm is moving east into new mexico and texas. forecasters predicted this area could get up to 5-6 inches overnight. terns of thousands of sandbags were passed out. people hoping to prevent major flooding. most of the storms missed tucson. rain pounded nogales, an hour south of us spilling washes and creating dangerous situations. this comes on the heels of hurricane odile sweeping across baja california and stranding

30,000 tourists in cabo. it's now a category 1 now and people are keeping an eye on that as they continue to recover from odile. martha: an isis terror plot busted in australia. officials detained 15 people who were suspected of planning to publicly behead random people they grabbed while walking down the street. that happened one day after this new york man was indicted on trying to recruit members of isis near the united states. the chairman of the homeland security committee asked the fbi director if he's confident we can stop the jihadists from coming here. >> we have an he normous free country. there are thousands of way to the get from the united states to syria and tens of thousands

of americans who travel for legitimate purposes every day. sorting among that group to find the bad guys is something we spend a tremendous amount of time on every day. martha: congressman peter congress was in that hearing. good to see you. martha: that is not very confidence-inspiring what we heard from the fbi director. >> he was being very honest. this is a tough challenge. i said before that isis is more lethal right now i believe than al qaeda was on 9/11 because they have thousands of potential fighters who can come to this country on european passports or some on american passports. so this is a very, very dangerous situation. the fbi, the cia, all the defense agencies, the allies overseas are attempting to

cooperate on this as much as possible. this is a very, very real threat. martha: we have what we discussed many times. we have the invasions of privacy. the nsa, the ability to tap tone people's -- if you identify a phone number that's of con southern you can go to a judge and find out what that communication is. you can get into internet searches if you can say to a judge, when think this person is a problem. how much of that is being done? how is that database being used to keep us safe? >> it's being done as much as possible. the people going to syria, there wouldn't be that much telephone contact. people traveling to europe first then working their way down into syriaer to flying directly to syria but say they are going as tourists or going to visit relatives and you have to get a terrorist phone number overseas to begin that. martha: when you look at this

australia not which is unbelievable. what they were talking about doing, if you consider that possibility happening in australia or here or anywhere, it's horrifying. so thank god they were able to catch these people. do we have any idea how they caught them and do we have the same kinds of activities to track down that kind of thing here? >> you are system is very close to the australians without going into the details. they are extremely close allies. we share intelligence with them. we meet with them on a regular basis. australia and the brits and the israelis are very close to us. either they did the on their own or it could have been intelligence they received from other countries. all this intelligence is shared. but i can't emphasize enough how

concerned we are about isis. martha: we remember tamerlan tsarnaev who was on our watchlists and was able to travel without any problem. there is a picture of the tsarnaev brothers. one of whom is incarcerated and the other in custody. this one in are chester is one they were suspicious about. there were two informants to got to know him and basically tricked him and that's how they brought him in. but they were on to him for a while. >> in a number of cases the person is not arrested immediately. you follow them as long as you can to find out what sources they may have overseas, what contacts overseas. who else in this country might be involved. no two cases are the same. i was critical of the fbi as far

as the boston marathon bombing. but so far so good with the director he's going all out 24/7. martha: they have a lot on their plate right now. in terms of the watchlist. are we getting better? we know those are below thed lists. they have self versions of people's names on them. what kind of effort is being done to streamline those lists and make them work for us. >> there are too' names on there. names much people who were dead. multiple names which had no relation to terrorism whatsoever. that's constantly being weeded out. it's been zeroed in on. so a lot of progress is being made. probably not quickly enough. but progress is being made.

it's a full-scale evident. whether it's the bush or obama administration. at that level. i have continues with the policies of the obama administration. there is a lot of progress being made and it's non-polite calculate and non-partisan. >> it's clear from the rochester situation and others that the problem is already here and we have our work cut out for us. congressman peter king, it's always good to hear from you, sir. bill: a typier hitting a jackpot on the wheel of foreshine tune. >> can you use a mill dollars? martha: i love it. it's a typier and it's teacher

week. bill: only the third contestant to win the $1 million prize. a very good teacher and a great surprise. martha: good for her. congratulations. loud laughter is not a phrase. i don't know that i would have jumped to loud laughter you i'm glad she did. police are looking to use a new dined of radar gun but they are not looking for speeders. you know what they are looking for? we'll tell you. bill: another nfl player arrested for domestic abuse. will the big sponsors of the biggest game in america pull their money? >> both incidents were reported to fiend can police and they were reported by neighbors who heard the fights that were occurring at that location. conveniently stay up to date on progress.

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martha: soon officers will be able the usury door guns to determine whether you are texting behind the wheel. a company is developing a device that can pick up radio frequencies to identify texting drivers. it will be ready for protection very soon. some worry about privacy issues. we have got to stop the distracted driving, folks. sounds like a good idea. bill: 15 minutes before the hour. there is more nfl news. another player in trouble for domestic violence. minnesota deactivating jonathon dwyer after allegedly injuring a 27-year-old woman and 1-year-old child. >> the victim fled the state with their child in mano common,

alleging safety concerns for herself. >> the seeing says they are look into this case and so are we. there is an element of this for the league and an element when it comes to business and that's why we have both you gentlemen mere. the details are arizona are what? >> jonathan dwyer was a reserve running back. the league probably didn't think this could get worse but it got worse. it combines the two things rice and peterson we were talking about which is domestic abuse with a girlfriend and domestic abuse with a child. there is a huge problem going forward with this. bill: how do you think the league in general has handled this? >> it's another black eye and you get in a situation where, you know, they have to start

deactivating this guy immediately. they used to have due process. may mcdonald they are going to play sunday after a domestic abuse incident. but they are deactivating these guys immediately. adrian peterson was deactivated. bill: are they assuming gilt before innocence? they are being overly cautious because they have been exposed. >> this is a mub relationing stand hoping the story goes away. >> any business will do that. bill: can i show you some numbers? anumbers. anheuser-busch, $3 million. >> these are all on super brands, they are consumed by average people so you worry

about the image of the nfl which is going down rubbing off on your image arp and hurting sales. i have been watching football since i can remember. my father liked to bet a lot. this is an american pasttime. the question for these advertisers. where is the tipping point where that image where the nf throrkts american public is thought of as a bunch of bad guys, when does that rub off on you. bill: anheuser-busch, nike, ford motor company, no one has pulled any money. >> we are not there yet, but when we do get there, i think it many a possibility. what's the first step that happens? roger goodell will be out of a job. that's where they start. bill: the nfl commissioner has

been quite all week. all these owners are behind him in lock step. >> now. >> they are waitinga for a smoking begun. they say he's the most trustworthy person they have ever met. they say they are going to wait until there is evidence of a coverup. bill: is it proven ray rice was a coverup? >> the ex-fbi chief robber rob t mueller is looking at it. >> the real problem for roger i think -- and roger is a great businessman. he's a smart guy. he makes them a lot of money. he clearly made a huge mistake here. the question is -- the visage of ray rice -- bill: i get it. we don't know what he knew at the time. >> i'm just saying the image of

that. we don't know exactly. he knew there was some violence in there. the image of that is so bad, it's so stark when that image rubs off -- that you are associated with a company, an entity that allows that to happen, that's what anheuser-busch says enough. bill: i would expect something from goodell before sunday. martha: we have live pictures from east of sacramento. fire crews are putting their lives on the line. we are going to tell you what's going on. >> a few days ago we had a scare when the firefighters had to pull up their protective equipment. it was amazing. i get goosebumps listen to g lio

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martha: 1,000 homes are being threatened by a wildfire. what's the latest on the king fire that nearly doubled in size. >> reporter: it went from 40,000 to 70,000 acres. all these trees were smouldering. now that the sun is coming up you are starting to see more smoke than flames. this is on the edge of the fire. we are not far from highway 50. it runs from sacramento up to south lake tahoe. it's a popular highway. it's shut down because of this

fire. we are on the ridge above highway 50. you can see the issue. we are starting to see a wind come through here. you can see the flames being stoked by the wind. the worry is it could be 25 men gusts. the problem they are having, it's so dry here throughout the west. the files as tender as it's going to get. the temperatures are going to drop potentially 10 degree which will help firefighters. there have been calls for some rain. when you talk to firefighters they will tell you the conditions have been difficult but there is -- they are at least making a little bit of headway. >> the winds are shifting around. you can feel them move from the east from the west a little bit more. now the smoke is kind of coming

at us. you can smell that and see it. >> you can see the fires continuing to move through here. we know air drops there start up here. they have to have visibility very up here. this is ones of 11 major fires. this tree was more on fire 15, 20 minutes ago. that's the problem they are having. it goes from tree to tree. this fire is one of emburning across the west. the good news is they have lost no homes so far, martha. bill: another top general disagreeing the president on combat troops to take on isis. and we'll talk live to bret baier for analysis. martha: the state department accused of falling behind on diplomatic security.

congressman trey gowdy says the short come cans contributed to the deaths of four americans in libya and continue to put u.s. diplomats at risk. ♪

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martha: new details about a terror plot in australia the likes of which we have never seen before. the plot was to carry out random beheading in sydney and videotape these attacks of people they picked off the street. officials say they got to this plot and broke it up just in time. they detained 15 people. there are a dozen raids they carried out yesterday. that is coming up at the bottom of the hour. another general has come out against president obama's plan to fight isis without any boots on the ground. he says it sended the wrong

signal to our allies and isis as well. bill: james mad dog mattis blasting the president's decision not to use ground troops. >> i don't think we should reassure the enemy in advance that they will never face them. that's good to leave that in the commander in chief's hand and should we need to deploy them we do so, it also sends a reassuring note to the coalition that on the military side we are all in. i'm not saying we have to commit them but don't pull it off the table. bill: 57% believe that president obama is not tough enough in dealing with isis. 31% think the strategy is about right. ed henry. former defense secretary robert

gates saying we should leave the door open for troops but the white house says no. is it a matter of semantics when you consider dempsey said two days ago that 1,600 americans were already on the ground in iraq? >> this may be about semantics. the debate about are we at war or not? secretary kerry said no we are. credibility again for the president because when you ask about semantics listen closely to what the president said yesterday when he was at centcom. he said i'm not sending troops into a combat mission. that leaves wide open the possibility troops will see combat. will be in a situation where they could be drawn into direct combat. some of the u.s. military advisors they call them that are on the ground in iraq, they are helping the iraqi side and the u.s. from the air spot where to drop the airstrikes.

they can obviously be in harm's way. there could be semantics again. while it's technically not a combat mission. niece military advisers were already there and could still see combat even if they are not in a combat mission. bill: if we do not engage on the ground. who does it? is it the iraqi army? who is it? >> reporter: the iraqi security forces and the kurds. when you dig deeper beyond the initial headlines. what they said about beyond leaving the door open top u.s. combat troops. general dempsey said one reason would be only half of the iraqi troops are up to being partners with the u.s. what about the other half? they are clearly not ready for prime time. general odierno said it's not that the iraqi forces lost to isis. it's that they didn't even fight.

they surrendered. that's why the generals are say we might need u.s. combat troops. martha: for more on the political background of this, bret baier, good to with us today. it appears the white house is getting more boxed in by these statements. the discussion whether it's a war or not a war, and as you pointed out, you know, when you discuss troops on the ground and you talk about a forward operating team, what else are you really talking about here? >> when the administration in trying to determine and parse what general dempsey said in congressional testimony, when they start talking about it and saying forward deployed advisers could help iraqis in their fight or could call in airstrikes, guess what? those are special operators. or special forces on the ground working with these units. and if they are lasing a target

and a laser-guided bomb hits an isis target, that is combat. whatever word they use, these are people that are u.s. troops on the ground. we are caught in the semantics of all of this but the administration is caught on trying to be clear about its strategy. martha: the people obviously get it. they got it according to the polls we have seen when they saw the beheading. they understand from everything they have been told that this is the likes of which what he haven't seen. you wake up and hear the story in australia, you have people who want to end and degrade and destroy this group. let's take a look at a couple of these numbers. does the president have a clear plan for dealing with isis? 55 per se no. how is the president handling isis? approve or disapprove. 48% said they disapprove.

39% said they disapprove. it looks like the people are ahead of the president on this one. >> reporter: you look at other questions in the poll. it toss not look good for democrats across the board ored the administration. it's the first time in this poll people are upside down saying he many handling terrorism worse, negatively rather than positively. but they say the economy is the biggest thing and they favor' republicans overall on this. if you look at the internals, 9 in 10 say it's time to give people a chance in congress. that's not a good thing for democrats. on the issue of foreign policy the president is not convincing people the strategy is clear. march where in terms of where the pentagon is on this and

current military and former military, it almost feels like we listen to the chairman of the joint chiefs martin dem city lay out his reasoning and kind of lay it on the line for the administration and everybody else. this is where i stand. is it hard to imagine hah scenario where he does not stay with this and see it through if the president doesn't give him more leeway? >> there is clearly frustration between the pentagon and the white house. you are starting to see that bubble up in some of these statements. you are not only talking retired military officers speaking more freely. some of these folks are saying it and they are in the ranges. you know, we heard from ed a number of these officials, but you also have anthony zini, the former head of cent come. head -- head of centcom. he openly cite sized president bush and the strategy in iraq and now he's openly criticizing

saying you need some american forces for command and control to pull off this three-dimensional chess. march rrp and you don't want to do it with leaving some cards to the table as these gentlemen are saying. bret, thanks very much. we'll see it later. bill: breaking news out of scotland where polls are open for an historic vote. simple question on the ballot. shut scotland be an independent country? yes or no. the impact is huge for the u.k. and huge for the world. and huge for the u.s. for those who want to break free, what's their incentive? >> reporter: that's a very good question because i frankly can't work that one out. why do the scots want independence? they already have their own parliament, government, legal

system educational system? what's next? i presume they want to control their own tax rates. i can understand that. but what they want to do is create a new welfare state, a scandinavian welfare state financed by oil money from the north sea. if you ask me, i think that independence for scotland is a bad financial deal. bill: you think they believe they can finance their own country better on their own outside of the rule of the crown and they can do it through energy reserves in the north sea. reporter: that is correct. they complain they are sending a lot of money down to london where it is spent back in scotland. in fact they are wrong. the flow of money is from england to scotland on a net-net basis. scotland gets money out of the united kingdom. the financial calculation looks

shaky. bill: why do i care? i'm sitting here in new york. you are not irish. you are wearing your irish tie. why do i care? >> reporter: you care because this vote if it went for independence for scotland breaks up britain, america's foremost ally. it destabilizes europe. it diminishes nato. we are a member of nato. what are you going to do with those nukes that there british that are in scotland that will have to move. there is a lot of uncertainly, anxiety and instability introduced buyer this vote no mother which way it goes. that's not good for the united states. bill: they don't like the austerity david cameron has brought to go england. >> reporter: they want to spend money on government programs and they think they have the money to do it and i'm not sure it's

there. bill: miss scot, do you know the official animal of scotland. you can't get this one. martha: is it an elk. bill require doesn't exist. it's called the unicorn. scotland's official animal is the unicorn. the national flower irls the thistle. and they like deep fried mars candy bars. march rrp that unless their favor i would say. coming up we'll get back to our top story as isis militants plot barbaric acts of terror. they are said to have planned to snatch people off the street, behead them and put it on the internet. >> benghazi select tonight he is

looking into if there is a coverup. martha: a blast levels a home leaving nothing but this pile of rubble. what happened there? >> we saw a quite flash of light and we heard the explosion and we felt the shock wave and we opened and closed our back door. it was really scairly.

bill: breaking news. live from capitol hill a joint meeting of congress. the ukrainian president petro poroshenko is now being escorted down the main aisle. he will address congress in a matter of moments here. this is a man who has been under intense pressure trying to keep his country together and keep russian accept louisiana a tests outgoing head-to-head as a proxy guest against vladimir putin. we want to drop in here for a little bit and listen to what the president of ukraine has to say. [applause]

>> mr. speaker, majority leader, members of the house, members of the senate, ladies and gentlemen, it's impossible to imagine what i'm feeling right now. how symbolic is the unity of the united states congress and solidarity with ukraine? moss * this is exactly what

ukraine now needs the most. unity and solidarity. not only with the united states congress, not only with the united states. but with the whole world. let me thank you for your warmth and hospitality. addressing both houses of the congress is one of the highest political privileges. standing here i'm grateful and fully aware that this honor goats not to me, but to the people of the ukraine. those brave men and women who today are on the forefront in the global fight for democracy. [applause]

>> 45 ukrainian people now watching this speech and session of the congress and seeing the absolutely sure about our solidarity and our joint and common strength. and please allow me to speak on their behalf. i will focus on the one thing ... bill: strong, strong statement about the global fight for democracy. that's the president of the ukraine address a joint session of the house of congress. he wants military aid to fight back separatists and by proxy vladimir putin as well. as we continue to watch that you can stream online and see the

entire address. martha: we got responses to that in vladimir putin's office. the parents of a teenager who was allegedly murdered by a self-proclaimed jihadist. questions emerge about how to prosecute the murder. >> i never thought, not in this area. something so horrific could have happened. i was hoping maybe he went to his friend's and time got away from him. or fell asleep which would have been the first time. he wasn't that irresponsible. but we still waited.

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martha: so before the break we were showing you what shaping, a joint session of congress. a rare opportunity that is being granted to the prime minister of ukraine petro pour schenck co. he said he was very moved.

and we're watching it. we'll watch it online. we'll get to this and talk about benghazi with doug schoen, former advisor to president bill clinton. monica crowley, online opinion editor "the washington times." both are fox news contributors. this seems like a big deal. he seems grateful for this opportunity. doug, you say there is lot more to it. >> a lot more to it. russians through vladmir putin have taken 15% of ukraine. gotten a cease-fire largely on their deals. a european trade deal ratified on tuesday, delayed a year not to offend vladmir putin. what president poroshenko was saying as we came back, we have treaty obligations from the 1994 budapest understanding to the defend the territorial integrity of ukraine. martha, we haven't abided by that agreement at all. the russians have won. we've lost. >> sorry we didn't help you out

but here is a nice joint session of congress to make you feel better. >> correct. >> and meals ready to eat. >> no military aid either. >> vladmir putin will not stop at this because there is nothing and nobody there to stop him. this is just the beginning of the march to nail back the soviet union back together or at least mother russia in some form. martha: boy, so much going on in the world, it is impossible to wrap your arms around. there are new questions we also want to discuss with doug and monica about a possible cover up that may have happened at the state department after the benghazi select committee held first public hearing, saw it live here on "america's newsroom" yesterday. a former state department employee said he witnessed top clinton officials scrubbing documents related to the attacks as they prepared to turn things over to the committee. the committee members say their investigation is not about politics but it is about facts. here is congressman jim jordan earlier on our program. >> chairman gowdy has been right on target. our job is to pursue the truth

for the american citizen, american taxpayer, most importantly for the families of those four individuals who lost their lives, gave their lives for their country. our job is to get to the truth. yesterday's hearing demonstrated that is what we're committed to do and that's what we'll continue to do. martha: we're in the very initial stages of this. yesterday we heard quite a bit, monica, about things put in place supposed to protect our diplomats around the globe that were never honored or carried out by the state department according to the witnesses. >> that is something with bipartisan concern and bipartisan interest in this committee. there were recommendations made to protect our personnel that weren't put in place and so now going into the future, how do we protect our people? even aside from that, we have to understand what really went down here. and with every passing day, martha, we seem to get more and more revelation about a cover-up as to what happened. mr. maxwell's comments about possible document scrubbing, if that is in fact true, we don't know that, that is what the investigation is for, if that is true that is on struck shun of

justice. that is a federal crime. each charge of on struck shun of justice carries five years in federal prison. on top of the fact that the accountability review board appointed by hillary clinton, now there are some allegations that perhaps that process was corrupted. there were phone calls being made about certain witnesses. that looks like either witness tampering or tampering with a process in some way. what i think that the american people need is the truth and what it looks like, if these allegations are true, looks like all of these processes were more interested in protecting the elites involved, the principle actors than they are about the -- martha: what a shame it is if that is the case. we have four dead americans in this story and, you know, to think that the state department wanted to cover up the reasons for that or make sure that nobody paid the price or had to say, you know what, we failed. we should have been there for these people and we weren't. doug, two different things. you've got admiral mullen who

was overseeing this arb with tom pickerring, potentially giving a head's up to a potential witness. do we expect that we'll see him testify before this committee as to whether or not happened? >> you know, i would hope he would but what, what, martha, you're talking about and monica are talking about are all at this point allegations. the state department has denied them. i know cheryl mills. she is a lawyer. to just have a disgruntled ex-employee make allegations, very serious ones i understand, without a full investigation, i think we have to really wait before we start talking about consequences and what may have happened. at this point we really don't know. martha: i understand what you're saying absolutely but then if that is the case, all these people should have absolutely no problem sitting before this committee and telling the truth. >> i hope they will. >> remember the democrats and state department and others tried to make an argument against having this committee. the democrats had internal debate whether they should even appoint people to this

committee. i think what is clear now with all of these allegations this committee is needed now more than ever. martha: how concerned do you think that the potential campaign about hillary clinton is about all this, doug? >> i think they are concerned about an investigation that could well be partisan, relying on disgruntled ex-employees. her concern is a larger one. her poll numbers have been going down lately. the entire mood of the country is moving against the president. obviously we have multiple international crises. ukraine as we were talking isis certainly. and i think that hillary clinton, the clear frontrunner for the nomination and election has serious challenges as she weighs making the final decision to run. martha: we've got to go. super quick, how long do you think before hillary clinton starts to speak out against the president and his handling of isis and these other situations? >> i think she will have to distance herself and have her own foreign policy asap. >> she already has. martha: thank you. always great to talk to you

guys. see you next time. bill: there was a new terror threat breaking overnight, beheading random people and posting it on the internet? counterterrorism forces launching a massive series of raids stopping that plan. are more raids on the way? we'll talk to the chairman of house homeland security committee, mike mccaul, is our guest, about possible threats like those here at home. martha. martha: plus, are you like bill hemmer, have to have it, dying to know about the iphone 6? or like me happy with your iphone 5 and getting used to what it can do for you. you can preorder it. it is already sold out. if you order today, lucky to get one by november. we have one in the studio and we'll show you what it does. bill will show it to you. i have no idea what it does. we'll be right back. ♪

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bill: breaking news on this sinister plot by isis terrorists to kidnap people off the streets

of major australian cities, publicly behead them and post it online. that sparked a massive series of predawn raids. hundreds of heavily-armed officers searching dozens of locations in three cities including sydney, detaining more than a dozen suspects thus far. here is the prime minister of australia on those arrests. >> the fact that we are different from their view of what an ideal society should look like, the fact that we are free, that we are pluralist, we are tolerant, we are welcoming, we are accepting all of these in their eyes are wrong and that is what makes us a target. bill: texas congressman mike mccaul, chairman of the house homeland security committee is my guest. good morning to you. >> thanks, bill. bill: how twisted is this story? >> that is, it is very disturbing, the idea of isis on the streets of, beheading individuals, poeting them in australia, it just dep straits how brutal of a force they are

and what a threat they are to frankly the world. and so we're very concerned about the threat not only to australia and europe and the u.k. but also the united states as well. i just got out of a briefing on the australian plot and they're basically two plots going on involving a dozen individuals. one to behead individuals. the other one to, bomb with ieds, basically their fbi headquarters in australia. bill: so you just came out of a briefing. what more can you share with us and our audience? you think we need to know. >> well, there that were two plots basically going on, two different cities. one to behead individuals. the other one to bomb what would be their fbi headquarters in australia. we're trying to determine at this point in time if this was guided by al-baghdadi out of syria or whether it was just an inspired event. one of the concerns we have in the united states obviously are

the radicalized individuals that may be inspired to do something like this and they get radicalized over the internet. bill: they say in australia, 100 australians are actively supporting this movement. do we know how many here are actively supporting it? >> no, we do. it is very sensitive information. we are monitoring this very closely in terms of the americans who have been back, both over to syria and have come back. we've had approximately about a dozen arrests involving individuals trying to fly into syria or come back, coming back from syria. none of those involving active plots, i should say. but while there is no specific threat information, i can tell you that the threat environment is very high right now and that is the biggest concern we have. bill: think about the story here in new york, about times square being a possible target. that was in response to an online post. now you get back to the whole difficulty of trying to figure out what is just talk and what's

legitimate and what's a real threat. >> oh, i had a hearing yesterday with the fbi director, secretary of homeland security, head of the national counterterrorism center and i pulled out "inspire" magazine which inspires radicalization. they have specific targets. one is including new york and the u.s. open. we have the united nations now in new york. we're concerned about the threat to washington. and then, five to 10 pages of how to make bombs, how to make a bomb be in the kitchen of your mom it says. this is all very disturbing but the idea of beheadings in the streets, what we saw with the american journalist overseas in with isis overseas, we don't want to see that happen against americans in the united states. and i can tell you, homeland security, tell against officials and f -- intelligence officials and fbi are working hard to stop this. bill: think about the british soldier attacked in streets of

london a year-and-a-half ago. the potential is there. mike mccaul, thanks for coming on today. we'll keep in touch with you and folks on the committee to keep in touch with what our viewers need to know. thanks for your time. >> thanks, bill. martha: it is decision day in scotland. a historic vote is underway whether to end more than 300 year union with the united kingdom and declare scotland independent. chief washington correspondent james rosen is live outside the british embassy in washington. it comes down to many people's minds, the more practical side i suppose is whether economics and whether the scots could financially sustain themselves as a country, right, james? >> reporter: that's right. good morning, martha. that has figured prominently in this debate thus far with the proponents of scottish secession, yes side of things, maintaining scotland's oil production and other energy infrastructure could make the difference. >> you have 60% of the e.u.'s oil production. we have 25% of the e.u.'s wind and tidal wave potential.

we have some of the world's top universities. we have a booming life sciences sector and a food and drink sector. we've got what it takes to be an independent country. >> reporter: but proponents of scotland's remaining in the united kingdom, the better together side, so-called no campaign contend it is far from clear that scotland would gain admission to already struggling european union at least in the near term. they scoff at the scots expressed interest in retaining british pound as their form of currency. the analysts agree the stocks would at least in early going be saddled with heavy debt and at least four major banks vowed to relocate operations to london. so as scots head to polls today, one thing they can not have in mind, martha, is absolutely clear vision of their economic future. martha: that is to be sure. what is the global impact if it does pass, james? >> reporter: well it could be very, very significant indeed but then again, that involves a good deal of conjecture. so much of this debate is rooted in future projection.

however analysts agree while scottish secession would deplete the british parliament of a large number of left-of-center labour party members who hail from scotland, a development that would strengthen hand of conservative prime minister david cameron, the british public would be so strict inch by the dissolution of united kingdom. and prime minister cameron would face a no-confidence vote. arthur herman, author of "the new york times" best-seller how the scots invented modern world, said that david cameron's troubles would swiftly become america's troubles. >> if cameron falls and new government is formed which will very likely be a weaker, tory government or possibly a labour government, they will be much less inclined than cameron has been taking aggressive action against isis. we may lose our key partner in the upcoming campaigns in iraq and syria.

>> reporter: whether vladmir putin for example, would seek to try to establish closer ties with an independent scotland. whether such a country would be admitted to nato. all these are part of the uncertainties that would attend the brave new world we could be witnessing with closing of polls in scotland tonight. reporting live from the british embassy in washington. james rosen. martha: james, thank you very much. bill: young man with very bright future gunned down by a self-proclaimed jihad it. serious legal concerns how to move forward with that case. martha: one customer going above and beyond in a fast-food restaurant, paying it forward in a big way. >> we had lady, gosh, just ahn awful day. she received it. told her what was going on. she just started crying.

martha: the family of murdered new jersey teenager brendan tevlin is now speaking out about their son's death as well as the self-proclaimed jihad it who police say took their child's life, shooting him eight times in the family car when he was on his way home from his friend's house. police say that ali muhammad brown killed three other victims as well in washington on this rampage that took him across the country. but brendan's parents say whether or not brown is part after jihadist plot, to them, he is a obviously the man who killed their son. >> i don't, you know, in our opinion he is a murderer and in this case i don't think he acted alone. whether down the road the law enforcement comes to the conclusion that he is involved

with something bigger, or whether he is proclaiming this for some other reason is up for the, i figure the truth will come out through the -- >> it's a complicated case and they're still really working hard on it and you know, find a whole truth to this. >> so sad. it's a very complicated case. it becomes more so with everything we learn about it. lis wiehl, fox news legal analyst. doug burns, former federal prosecutor. welcome to both of you. obviously the tevlins primary concern at this point is their other three children who are heartbroken in the words of their mother. and, but as this goes forward and the more we learn bit, the more it raises questions whether or not there is an act of terrorism or whether it's a hate crime. lis what do you think? >> i think when you look at federal level there definitely could be a terrorism crime here associated. a murder, of course. we've seen that, i think the

escalated, his own words, i did this because of this, that can escalate it either to a hate crime or terrorism crime. get into the federal level. for that there could be the death penalty. martha: doug, obviously they have to find out if he did have any ties to overseas terrorists. >> yes. martha: there are two kind of terrorist acts that could happen, nadal hasan, fort hood shooter, he began to praise allah according to witnesses in the room. he was following writings of anwar al-awlaki. he said he wanted to kill these people, three in washington state and brendan tevlin as well, he was outraged by military killings in afghanistan and syria. >> if i could say one thing. hassan was on a military installation. this guy we got him going from one state to the other. doug? >> in the statute conduct

spanning national boundaries which is context for interrorism. he turned around and said it. but from the dry legal standpoint, you made this point inherently. you need corroboration of it. so as you posed in your question, does he have some ties to some entity or organization. with nothing more, let me throw in, both new jersey and district of columbia have we call local, d.c. is not a state, local terrorism statutes. >> i understand. he said a life for a life. he said that he was against, what the u.s. military action was. he is devout muslim according to his -- >> the point is, he will get life imprisonment at minimum, possibly death penalty. martha: understood. what concerns me if this is part of a larger picture. what you have to recognize not everyone who is terrorist has the same motivation, lis, we saw this in the military recruiting shooting, random shooting in little rock in 2009 --

>> do they have the connections? do they know the people? can they tell us about other things that could be happening coming forward? you and i are discussing it from a very narrow legal point of view but what is going on in this man's brain and what is going on that could happen we could find out about. >> martha making point, federal investigation cooperation is more efficient. if they make a federal case -- >> they will make a federal case. they will make a federal case. that is an easy one i think. you're talking about different states. that is my point was -- martha: my fear, we have seen this kind much domestic terrorism before. to close, to turn a blind eye the fact this may be a continuing trend we're seeing in this country -- >> not a good thing. they should interrogate him and interrogate him and again and again and again, more than that, i can't say. martha: thank you, lis and doug. >> pleasure. bill: our best to that family going through a rough time. martha: hearts go out to them. you wrote a terrific piece at

foxnews.com. viewers should know that. martha: thank you. bill: maccallum, this is the 6 and this is the 6 plus. the new iphones are here, america. are they worth the wait? you will find out next. ♪

bill: so apple's new iphone 6 and 6 plus are available tomorrow. reviews are in. say hello to lance ulanoff, mashable dot-com. read your reviews, my friend. so our viewers know. this is the 4, okay? this is the 5. this is the 6 and this is the 6

plus. what you can not see real well is the difference in size. this is larger than the 5 and the 6 plus is clearly larger than the 6. what do you think? you like it or not? >> i was a little nervous about larger iphones. i've been carrying a 5 s and before that the 4 a long time. i thought i never wanted the bigger phone. but the 4.7-inch iphone 6 which is what you're holding there is beautifully designed device. it is actually thinner than the iphone 5s. so obviously it is taller. what we get to the fablet size, iphone 6 -- bill: fablet. that is the phone and tablet, right? >> that is a 5.5 inches. that is a big phone and .2-millimeters thicker and also heavier. but if you like fablet size it is an excellent phone. both of these devices run ios 8. both of them have higher resolutions screens than apple ever provided before called retina hd they found a way to

make something higher resolution than we can perceive. bill: that is a good camera. >> this is the screen resolution. bill: sorry the resolution on screen, my apology. >> it is the camera and updated and still eight megapixels. in my experience it takes amazing photography and does really cool stuff. time-lapse photography. that is one. 240 frames per second video. what that does is slow everything down. it is really kind of exciting to see. and you know, this is starting at 199. bill: just so our viewers know. the 6 and 6 plus and they're selling a lot of these. >> like hotcakes. bill: you as a consumer now, which one will you use? >> i'm going with the 6. bill: smaller of the two? >> yeah. i still think -- bill: that is your choice. >> 4.7-inches, great size. still feels good. 5.5-inch feels really large. bill: i agree with you. >> this has landscape mode which you don't have. there are features on.

iphone 6 plus you don't get on the iphone 6 like optical image stabilization on camera. like this landscape mode for the home screen and email you will get in box and the mail. bill: reason they want the screen because gamers are more popular. people are frustrated with their email being scrunched. >> that's right. games, movies. everything honestly looks amazing. nice to have a really big screen. this sticks out of the top of my pocket while the iphone 6 doesn't. bill: price? >> 199. that starts at 199. bill: this? >> 299. you will pay more money for this larger phone. bill: i like the 4 s. i've been using it for years. never let me down. >> you have i.d. which you don't have. you can unlock stuff. coming soon, apple pay which you will touch and pay. bill: we got to run. check out reviews. mashable.com. lance. quickly, martha. martha: thanks, guys. growing threat of isis remain as big story on capitol hill today as two top obama administration

officials appear before congress. we'll be right back.

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martha: here it is. the united kingdom coat of arms. you can see the unicorn is on the right of that. that is different one. that looks like it has two unicorns. there is lion on one side. up at the top. and unicorn on the side. has to do with scottish love of myth and ledge en. there you have it. bill: will they be together tomorrow? we'll find out. martha: harping now starts right now. jon: we begin with this fox news alert. two top obama administration officials appearing before congress to address a threat from isis as we await a vote from the senate on arming and training moderate syrian rebels. good morning to you, i'm jon scott. this is "happening now." heather: i'm heather nauert in for jenna lee. defense secretary chuck hagel and secretary of state john kerry are testifying at separat