air strikes. the #thinkagain, turn away, is aimed at turning people away from joining isis. join isis and get killed essentially is the message. bill: the u.s. unleashing a new round much targets in syria hitting the terrorists cash cow, its oil. martha: i'm martha maccallum. the u.s. and its arab allies attacking a dozen facilities in east syria. >> what can you report about the

targets in the latest airstrikes in syria? >> reporter: u.s. warplanes struck oil facility producing 300-500 bares of oil a day. they tried to avoid destroying the facilities so friendly forces could come in and occupy them. even attorney general eric holder suggested that ground troops will be needed to take over these areas following the airstrikes. >> we'll have to look at the impact of the strikes we are taking. i also assume those will not be the only strikes taken against the khorasan group. it will take a prolonged period of time for these strikes and

ultimately for the ground troops that have to come in and deal with these people. >> reporter: the free syrian army they plan to won't be ready. they do not know who carried out the airstrikes along the turkish border. they say it was not u.s. or allied war planes. that leaves syrian or turkish planes. it has been reported this morning that saudi arabia when it became the first to joint u.s. coalition paving the way for the other four arab nations, they demanded the u.s. asure assad does not remain in power when this is over. that would include a no-fly zone

so assad's air force cannot keep flying. martha: . it controls 60% of the oil in that country capable of crank out 80,000 barrels a day. that oil has been sold on the plaque market where the pentagon says they rake in $2 million a day in illegal sales. they can produce 80,000 barrels a day. bill: the u.s. issuing a terror warning against u.s. citizens in turkey. that could come in retaliation for airstrikes against isis. it's scpg u.s. citizens to stay cautions specially in the eastern and southeastern part of that country. martha: police capturing 9 men

during a raised suspected care rift groups and their supporters. it comes a day after the u.k. parliament will vote. tell us about these arrests. >> reporter: it's certainly a a sign of a ratcheting up of tensions. the arrests were carried out by 100 anti-terrorism police. it happened this morning. one of the charges, simply encouraging terrorism. no specific plot. one man is described as a radical islamist preacher. he has been involved in a banned organization, a local he can realist group tied to a lot of bad folks. his pronouncement was he had no

pity for the latest beheading of the aid worker alan henning. an was critical of the u.s.-led attacks on isis. martha: david cameron has had strong words about this fight against isis and islamic extremism. but there will be a vote tomorrow about whether the united kingdom will joint u.s. and arab allies on strikes in iraq and sir why as well. -- and syria as well. how is that going to go. >> reporter: david cameron is working on a resolution that will authorize airstrikes and pay lip service to the strong negative feelings in this country against the last iraq war. here is a little bit of what he had to say yesterday at the up n. >> we mutt not allow past

mistakes to become an excuse for indifference or inaction. the right lesson is we should act, but act differently. we should be comprehensive, defeating the ideology of extremism that is the root cause of this terrorism so he win the battle of ideas, not just the battle of military might. >> reporter: parliament will vote on the measure tomorrow and it expected to pass overwhelmingly. the first royal air force jets could be flying as early as this day night. just one more note. french jets have been conducting bombing runs and the french government officials say they will continue with those strikes despite the fact that yesterday we saw yet another gruesome video of a friend' citizen being behead and two american journalists killed as well by

isis. bill: there are questions about how effective these airstrikes have been and how much help the u.s. will get along the way. we'll speak to rear admiral john kirby then at 10:00 we'll be joined by the white house press secretary josh earnest. send us a tweet @billhemmer and @marthamaccallum. martha: that's a big vote that will be taken in the united kingdom. we'll talk to josh earnest about that. bill: it's all coming up straight ahead. some more breaking news. moments ago a suspect in the disappearance of hannah graham making an appearance in court hours after authorities arrested

him on charges of abducting the uva sophomore missing now for two weeks. >> we are here to announce because of the collaborative efforts of the federal bureau of investigation and state and local law enforcement across this nation, jesse matthew is in custody in galveston, texas. bill: when is this man matthew returning to face charges? >> reporter: that hearing wrapped up minutes ago. we are told investigate jars from chartsville, p.d. are en route down there to texas to get their man. he could be back as early as tomorrow. he made the 1,300 since saturday when he was here at the. d. down to texas. the fbi said the real hero has been a deputy sheriff who was responding to a phone call about

a suspicion person on the beach. he ran the license plate of the car that was there and he took jesse matthew into custody down there in galveston. despite this recent arrest the police chief said he would not let up. >> i can't look at those two individual and not have hope for their daughter. they have not lost hope and i have not lost hope. my goal is to help them find their daughter. >> reporter: and jesse matthew has retained an attorney here in town, a former district to be for the county i charlottesvill. martha: so a new reports has

come out on how much the troubled obamacare website has cost the american taxpayer. you are not going to believe the price tag on this web site, folks. we'll tell you what it is. bill: will nascar's tony stewart face charge after running over another drive? martha: two united states presidents on different sides of the political spectrum. but at u.n. yesterday did president obama sound an awful lot like president bush? >> we have a responsibility to deny any sanctuary, safe haven or transit to terrorists. >> we have a proud legacy of freedom and we are prepared to do what's necessary for generations to come. [ female announcer ] this is our new turkey cranberry flatbread before we craft it into a sandwich.

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martha: prosecutors say a grand jury has decided against filing charges against tony stewart after he struck and killed kevin ward, jr. this happened afterward got out of his car to confront stuart on the track. they believe ward was under the influence of marijuana on the night of that crash and the evidence showed no unusual

driving by stuart. bill: the pentagon telling us the targets were oil field the terror group controls in that country. are we we take out buildings or killing terrorists? >> our may function inside syria is to get at strategic targets that they use to sustain themselves, command and control and finance themselves. a couple nights ago we hate their finance center and yesterday we hit some oil refineries in the eastern part of the country which is a steady stream of revenue for these guys. we are going after ways inside syria they are using to sustain themselves. in iraq we are going against them in a tactical nature. bill: let me get to iraq in a

moment. what good are the air strikes in syria if you have no troops on the ground to stees and control the country. >> we are getting at their ability as an organization to lead and command and control themselves. we are not chasing them down sidewalks, we are going after the infrastructure and facility they use to sustain themselves in this fight in iraq. bill: in isis in syria military experts indicate you have got hit them hard from the first night. the first night 14 targets taken out. last night about a dozen. is that enough to do the job? >> our battle damage assessment tells us we are hitting what we are aiming at. we believe these are valuable targets to them and it will have a strategic effect on them. nobody is taking anything but a

sober look at it in the pentagon. you are not going to solve it in one night's worth of airstrikes. bill: you have saudi arabia and four other sunni countries on your your side. but you don't have the u.k. or france and germany. you don't have turkey. would it have been smarter to go to the u.n. first and get the mandate that's needed? >> we have more than 40 countries participating in this thing. particularly the arab nations who helped us on the strikes in syria. it's not a coalition of the willing. if we are willing to allow these countries to contribute that are meaningful to them. the french have been as you know flying airstrikes inside iraq now. the british have been helping us. bill: that's iraq, this is syria. >> i find it interesting we are talking about european partners

in syria. if we had flown airstrikes in syria with european partners there would be criticism about that. the point is we do have partners in the region with us and we have partners across europe and across our spectrum of alineses and partnerships in the global community. this is an international issue. you don't have to look any further than the list of countries and what they are doing to see the proof that. bill: let's move to iraq. information is very precious in iraq because there are very few reporters covering the stories. since the beheading it changed evening. people wanted the protection and they cannot be protected in that country. now we have a vacuum of information. the "new york times" reported the rollback of isil is not happening. they are not taking territory on

behalf of the iraqis or the kurds. >> isil still poses a threat. they still control a wide swath of territory, no question about that. what i can tell you is the iraqi security forces are fighting back. they have adequately and sufficiently defended baghdad. they are stiffening their defenses around the capital city. they have retaken the mosul dam facility. tens of thousands of territory there they have taken it back. bill: on those two daments it's important. but if the report is right, is the strategy wrong? >> no, the strategy is not wrong but it needs time to work. this isn't something we are going to fix in a couple nights or months of airstrikes. airstrikes alone and military power won't be enough. the ultimate answer is good governance.

that takes time. good governance in iraq and syria. it can't be done militarily and it can't be done through airstrikes. bill: is there any evidence assad has used chemical what he nonts last weeks or months? >> i have no indication of the use of chemical what he nonts last weeks or months. they have used chlorine as a weapon which is against all kinds of international norms. but i have seen no indication of specific chemical weapons use. bill: you said you have been watching the terror groups inside syria for weeks for months. how did the group khorasan become a household name in what appeared to be one week's time. >> we have been watching them for a long, long time. the reason what he didn't talk about it is because when didn't want them to know we were watching them. i know it's a new name to

americans. it's not a new group to the intelligence community or the pentagon. they are affiliated with al-nusra. they are dangerous gaze. they were planning an attack in the u.s. or europe and we felt this was the right time to act. >> bill: reared a smirl john kirby. martha: we'll speak with press secretary josh earnest in studio. how did we go from isis being an imminent threat. iprise asked pe a simple question:

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bill: korean prison camp for the first time since he was sentenced to six years hard labor for committing hostile acts. >> it's 8 hours of work per day. mostly it's been agriculture. other than that it's isolation. no contact with anyone. but i have been in good health, and -- bill: the associated press says matthew miller made that brief statement under close guard and was granted a 9-minute phone call to his father. he says he has written letters to secretary of state john kerry and many opt,for help. martha: a new atall this from bloomberg that says the

government has shelled out more than $2 billion building and fixing this troubled obamacare website. it would be hard to experiment that much money on a website. >> reporter: what we are talking about is the extremely poor performance of a government bureaucracy. we know it's wildly inefficient. now we know it's extremely expensive. $2.1 bill to set up, fix and maintain healthcare.gov. the government says they spent or $834 mill. bloomberg says it's $2.1 billion. they say the government left a lot out. the money spent about it irs which will police the system. they left out the cost of paper

applications when computers went down. so you have this gigantic number, $2.1 billion. martha: if you are running a company and you have a problem and you bring in an outside consultant and say here is our problem. we have a bad website. you have $200, $300 million to fiction this problem. that's your budget. nobody in the entire chain you just mentioned is on any sort of budget. >> reporter: that's correct. and they can't keep track of it. bloomberg says it's deliberate. they spread the money out so you couldn't pull together a single big number. $2.1 bill. martha: spend a lot of money because we are trying to make sure nobody knows how much money you spent. martha: nobody is accountable

for any of this. >> reporter: kathleen sebelius has left. but if this were a private company and you spent $2 bill setting up a website the ceo would have the managers out and the ceos would be fired and owe money back to the company. >> reporter: it still crashes and you can't easily compare doctors and plans and treatments. martha: are they saying whatever? >> reporter: it may become an issue in the elections 6 weeks from now. maybe this kind of number and inefficiency will put it to the forefront. bill: iran's president set to address the u.n. general assembly. what will he say about the airstrikes against is very, his country's nuclear talks and

more. martha: the pentagon's press secretary's assessment of how the isis campaign is going so far. >> we believe these are valuable tarring totes them and this will have a strategic effect on them. nobody has taken anything but a sober look at it in the pentagon. we know it will be a long struggle and you don't involve it in one night's worth of airstrikes. ♪ ♪ "here i am. rock you like a hurricane." ♪ fiber one now makes cookies. find them in the cookie aisle.

bill: fox news alert on iran's president set to address the u.n. general assembly. eric shapes live outside the u.n. what do we expect to hear, eric? >> reporter: the iranian president will address the general assembly. let's take a look live inside the general assembly hall. he represents a country that is

the leading in the state department sponsor of terrorism around the world that's spread islamic fundamentalism and supports terrorist groups such as hezbollah. he has been criticizing the coalition saying the u.s. -- criticizing the u.s. for not sending gronld troops and he called the airstrikes illegal. there is also the question of the nuclear program. the iaea has raised questions about the iranian nuclear program as israel claims iran tested nuclear detonating devices in the facility that may come up in those nuclear talks. we are waiting for the iranian president to speak to address some of the crises of terrorism,

islamic jihad and other issues in his speech. bill: what are his opponents saying? >> reporter: the opponents of year have massive demonstrations against rouhani. they have had demonstrations throughout the week. they say iran should not be trusted. they believe tehran has been trying to develop a nuclear bomb. they criticize the humanitarian rights record, increased executions and say iran should not be trusted'. one of the opposition groups is led by marianne rajavi. she says rouhani should not be allowed in the building. >> to be to be allowed in the u.n. building as the president of iran is an insult to the great nation of iran and the

iranian people. >> reporter: there are other speakers, petro poroshenko will also address the general assembly on what ukraine considers the russian invasion of their nation. bill: something to watch. eric shawn here in new york. martha: moments ago bill spoke with the pentagon press secretary and asked whether ground troops would be necessary and how soon. here is rear admiral john kirby's response. >> we are getting at their ability as an organization to lead and command and control themselves. that's the function of the strikes in syria. we are not chasing them down sidewalks. we are going after the infrastructure and facilities they use to sustain themselves inside iraq. martha: retired four star general jack keane is with us. how do you think this is going

and how long will it be softening these targets before you need to put in ground troops. >> as long as there are targets for airstrikes the games underway they will do evening they can to avoid being a target. people are criticizing the target selection, the amount of destruction on buildings. what the airstrikes have trying to accomplish is deny isis the freedom of movement. and airstrikes are accomplishing that. when we kill them for sure and when they also do what they are doing now, they are out of their headquarters. er in out of their camps. they are hiding in among the population. that is a good thing. they are not doing what they normally do. they are? survival mode. and they are going to wear out their welcome with those people like they did with iraq. the second thing we want to do is take their initiative away

from them so he cannot attack in iraq and syria at will. we have to go after the functions they have. and we are destroying those. the fact of the matter is we are after the function the building, not the building. every single building that isis is occupying in syria belongs to the syrian people. we have no interest in blowing apart that whole building, we just want to take the function out of that building. ifed the syrians want to put that back together that's their business. that's what's going on. it's going to take some time. but it's unfolding as the military orchestrated. martha: i was listening to eric bolling and he said hit the roads that lead to the refineries but not the refineries them themselves.

>> they are not going take down the actual architecture and infrastructure of the refinery per se. because they know that this is a lifeline of the syrian people. and so what they are interested in is destroying the function as much as they possibly can. that's what these airstrikes are about. the wonder of it is, the telling is extraordinary. i mean, we can take out a target with a 98% assurance of hitting the target within 30 meters. that's phenomenal technology. so we use it to our advantage obviously in hitting these targets with that degree of precision. martha: the question then becomes what's next? you pound the targets from the air and dismantle them and make it difficult for them to do their job and live their lives. then what? >> we put isis on the defensive

and it will take some time to do that. they are no longer attacking. they are trying to protect what they have. then they have to conduct a ground counter offensive principally in iraq. that's a big question mark because we have an uncertain ground team in the iraqi army and the pes and the -- the mesh merg.and the peshmerga and the i tribes. when they start to retake lost territory i have got to believe we have to have our advisers and trainers there. air controllers. we need apaches into this fight as well. if we don't i'm not certain we'll be able to accomplish what we are trying to accomplish. bill: the president is putting pressure on our allies to join

the fight dense isis. did you hear the speech at the u.n.? was that voice more like president bush than president obama? martha: the suspect police say ambushed two state troopers playing cat and mouse with the cops. the clues he's leaving behind. >> we believe frein has prepared extensively for this attack. a fs before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. ready to plan for your future? we'll help you get there.

harris: 12,000 more americans applied for benefit last week. the state department says the level of applications remains mere pre-recession levels. the total of people who receive benefits ticked up by 7,000 to

2.4 mill on that number. bill: some believe president obama's comments are being compared to another president put in a similar situation 13 years ago. >> every nation has a snake this cause. as we meet the terrorists are planning more murder, perhaps in my country, or perhaps in yours. >> there is no reasoning, no negotiation with this brand of evil. the only lang weaj understood by killers like this is the language of force. >> this threat cannot be ignored. this threat cannot be appeased. >> in this effort we do not act alone. bill: brad blakeman and doug

schoen. you both agree there are elements of bush in this speech but you believe it's four years too late. >> he instituted a platt form appeasement and apology. instead of the policies he stated yesterday, the president needed to hold the muslim and arab world accountable for the terror that's happening in their region. if he would have governed in the way the world was instead of the way he wished it to be, we wouldn't be in the situation we are in today. >> i believe as americans when wear facing the crisis of isis and groups like the khorasan network as well as al qaeda, the best thing to do is to find the commonality our values and approach and not play should

have, could have, would have. i'm pleased with what the president said and i'm pleased we have a commonality between former president bush and president obama. bill: this is what con found me about the speech from yesterday. the only language understood by killers is the language of force. the united states of america will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this language of death. but he says no military power can bring about a change in hearts and minds. >> it's an absolute contradiction. let me put it in simple terms. long before you and i and doug knew about isis and others in the administration and their intelligence. why did we let it get to this point? you said something pormt earlier this hour. haven't we put the cart before

the horse? shouldn't obama have document u.n. and security council long before engaging to build that coalition he needed to root this out? this is a reactionary president and reactionary u.n. presidents at the u.n. are supposed to recent harm, not merely respond to it. bill: no external power can bring about a transformation of hearts and minds. >> i think the two are more consistent than you are suggesting. absolutely we have to go after killers and do what the president said and what president bush said 13, 14 years before about terrorists. but also to stabilize the community you have to work to win the hearts and mind which is what general petraeus and others were cog so successfully in iraq and why we must engage and do what general keane suggested and have boots on the ground and trainers.

>> there is an he flexion less than 6 weeks. a poll from the maris college in new york. the maris poll shows this. has the president done a good job? 61% says fair or poor. work this into the equation of what's happening overseas and the insecurity americans feel about national security. >> this is an important indicator as to where we think things will be going a few weeks as people go to the polls. right track-wrong track. the american people are convinced we are on the wrong track. these polls coming out showing a lack of confidence, a lack of security, i think is telling as to the results of these elections, and i happen to believe it's going to be a wave election for republicans. i think the american people are fed up with a lack of leadership or incompetence. >> it's undeniable the president's approval rating is

at record lows. the on they can he has going for him politically is the republicans are even more unpopular than the democrats. the state by state polling still shows the democrats in north carolina and other states are holding theirer on. but that being said i expect a pretty big republican victory in november. bill: we'll have more time to talk about that. martha: in her own words. my interview with former first lady laura bush on the state of the world today and what she is doing as first lady to try to change things as best she can. bill: the suspect in the disappearance of a virginia college student is in custody 1,000 miles from the location where this college is located. the question is where is hannah graham. >> the extradition process is currently underway. once that comes to a completion, we'll have some additional

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bill: the u.s. fort service proposing a rule that would require approval to film in these national parks. the special use permit would cost $1,500. up to a grand in fines if you get caught. public comments due out by next friday. martha: police say a suspect in the killing of a pennsylvania state trooper is toying with

them. prick leventhal is live from pennsylvania. >> a s.w.a.t. team think he's still hiding and playing soldier. they say he's wearing diapers so he can hunger down for hours at a time like snipers do. it's helped him elude capture. they showed us the serbian cigarettes he's smoking. and they showed us a picture of his automobile. officers continue to search the thick woods and heavy terrain close to frien's parents' home. they believe he's here.

they say when they get close, he's gone. martha: what do they think he's hiding. you described that area to some isn't. how do they think he's really avoiding them. >> reporter: they found bunkers and shelters in the woods they think he may have built or he may have been using. they are checking abandoned homes and hunting cottages up there in the woods. they think he's been using them as well. they are going building to building through these hunting cabins. police and federal agents losing locksmiths. but of course they have to move slowly because frien is armed, he's considered dangerous. he's a trained marksman and they don't want to see more officers get killed. while the public may not be targeted they are asking frien to stay out of the woods if

possible until they catch this guy. bill: these guys can hide for a long time. martha: it's interesting that he's close to his parents home as well. bill: white house press secretary josh earnest is on deck. he will be our guest live. martha: busting a move on the side of a building. the story behind this amazing display of aerial supremacy. what's really going on there.

martha: a third wave of air strikes against isis in syria. u.s. and arab warplanes going after the groups money-making machines. welcome, everybody, a brand-new hour starts now of "america's

newsroom." bill: another round of airstrikes as the president pushes world leaders to join the fight against extremism. the administration repeatedly warning it will take more than u.s. military might to take out this group of terrorists. general kirby ... >> this isn't something we are going to fix in a couple of nights of airstrikes. this is going to take a while. the ultimate answer and we have been clear about that from the pentagon is good governance and that takes time. bill: ed henry, the president is working for more diplomacy. what is he doing? >> reporter: i think about the contrast of a nobel peace prize winner going before the u.n. to say i need your help to wage

war. he called it a network of death. he says the isis group needs to be stopped. today he's meeting with the egyptian president al-sisi who has given the president credit for expanding this war against the militants but told the "wall street journal" the president has to do more. he says the president can't pull back from the middle east after battling isis. then you have the brits bedating this in parliament friday. but only in iraq, not syria. the french have done the same. this morning the french prime minister is blaming the interest national community and say we should have gone into syria a year ago when we had the legal justification because of assad using chemical weapons. the white house said that wouldn't necessarily have stopped isis. now a key ally in france say we should have gone in a year ago.

bill: what is the explanation as to why ferguson, missouri was brought into the speech. >> he said critics will jump on the fact that after ferguson it shows americans in his words can't lecture the rest of the world about violence. yes, we have our ownration and ethnic tensions but that is nothing compared to the beheading and atrocities you saw from isis. white house aides clarifying, all the president was saying is america is not perfect in domestic affairs but since this is scene ongoing legal case it's difficult for the president to intervene. bill: some were suggesting a moral equivalent was drawn. >> reporter: they are saying he wasn't drawing a moral equivalent but he put it in the same context when he tide those two together. martha: will more allies joint u.s. fight against isis and are

airstrikes going to be enough to achieve the goal of destroying this group? expwhrieng now white thousands press secretary josh earnest in town for the meetings. a big moment about to happen in great britain. they are going to vote and word is they will approve to go along and participate in the airstrikes that are happening in walk. but very unlikely they will do so in syria. that seems to be the sentiment across europe. so what is the president going to do about that? >> he will continue to work closely with our allies. we are pleased with the cooperation when have gotten. we have seen cooperation from the french and british to take the fight to isil. we are looking for a broader support act globe for the airstrikes necessary in syria as well. we were pleased over the last few days to act with five different arab nations and send a clear signal not just to the

world but to our enemies at isil, they are at war with the broader world including with the muslim world. it's critically important the moderate voices are standing up beside the united states as we take the fight to isil. martha: but some think yesterday was a missed opportunity that he didn't ask for a broader mandate that would have given the european countries the path they needed with their own people. that's where the heart of isis is. >> the fact is the president has had a number of conversations the last few weeks our allies around the globe, with our partners in the region and the president has been pleased with the response we have gotten for their willingness to engage. i think they will play an important role. there are a lot of important roles for them to play in the context of this broader operation. there is work that can be provided. there is humanitarian support.

there are ways we can work our partners and allies that will succeed in degrading and destroying isil. >> reporter: the president will meet aral isy, the president of egypt. and he was quoted in the "wall street journal" as saying that he cautions the administration against washing his hands of the middle east at a time when the region's borders are in flux. it seems some of these countries are holding against this administration some of the prior actions they have taken. they are resentful of the way we acted during the arab spring and they are holding those card close to their vest. they are saying we have a lot of problems in our neck of the woods. >> i think what we are seeing in this region of the world is a lot of instability. a lot of it is home grown and some of it is rooted in extremism. some of it is rooted in this desire of citizens across the

country seeking to have a greater voice in their government. this is a tush lent time in the region. i think what you are seeing, countries in that region want the united states to be involved. they trust us to be involved and be a force for good in that region of the world. that's why we are seeing arab nations work with the united states to take the fight to isil. it's not just'united states and our western allies but also to the countries right there in the mainhoods. is very reeking havoc in that next of the woods and that's not good for their country. martha: al-sisi is saying look at yemen which the president cited as a success. are we removing our people from the embassy in yemen? >> the state department is watching that very carefully. there is no doubt the count are terrorism strategy we implemented in yemen and somalia

where we build you can local forces to take the fight to the extremists and provide suggest port'central government and backing that up with american military air power, that has been successful in mitigating the threat posed by extremist groups that do wish harm on the united states. those threats are enduring but there is no doubt those threats are mit mitigated by the stratey the president put in place. martha: not in yemen. >> there is a ver is -- there ia virulent group in yemen. there is no doubt the strategy we put in place has mitigated it. we don't envision a scenario where we try to turn those countries into yemen or somalia. we want to use that strategy to

mitigate the extremist threat. martha: are we mitigating it or destroying it. >> in terms of what this strategy is intended to do, there is a predicate here. it's analagous to the strategy we laid out in somalia and yemen. this is a daily effort. martha: in terms of the khorasan group, the administration has said several times, we were told there was no imminent threat to the homeland, the biggest con southern was overseas and perhaps to some of our interests overseas. but then we heard that this khorasan group was launching an imminent threat. why the quick turn around on that group? >> we talked for quite some time about isil not actively planning a terror attack against the u.s. homeland. clearly they are plotting

against u.s. interests in the region. martha: they are not here and boston and some of the other places we are hearing rumblings about? >> there is no intelligence they are actively plotting to strike the homeland but we have this broader concern about foreign terrorist fighters. they have traveled to the region and taken up arms. there is a concern with their willingness to die for their cause they could around the west and carry out acts of violence. the president weren't to the united nations to he newt the world community. all of that is separate from this other group, the khorasan group that we did have intelligence to indicate they were actively plotting to strike targets in the u.s. and other western targets as well and that's did necessitate military action to counter that.

>> can you confirm that muhsin al-fadhli was killed in those attacks? >> the early reports indicates the strikes were impactful and effective. but they have not reached a conclusion about the fate of this individual. >> when was the president first briefed on this individual? >> i won't get into specific conversations about the president and his intel advisers. but the intelligence community has been track can the threat of a wide range of extremist groups operating in syria including this one. bill: the last time we talked about dennis kucinich said we should not get involved in iraq. but that was before brutal beheading outraged the war.

has his view changed? martha: the suspect accused of abducting hannah graham is now under arrest. will we ever know what happened to that young lady? the police say they are have much still on it. bill: the former first lady laura bush has a message for women around the world. >> if women are educated, if they are part of the economy of a country, if they can work, the countries are much more stable and prosperous. girl: we work hard for our money guy: right.

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bill: that's president rouhani from iran. he said he's astonished the is extremists call themselves islamists. an talked about the strategic blunders in the west that helped create the conditions in the region. 15 minutes past the hour. martha: the case of a missing uva student, the suspect has been charged in her abduction. hours after being arrested in texas is where they found this guy. galveston police found jesse matthew camming out on a texas beach. in charlottesville police are

hopeful they can find hannah alive. >> as i said to you today, we made that commit to the mr. and mrs. graham. and we made that commitment on behalf of an entire community. this case is nowhere near over. martha: rob wheeler is a former police detective. what do you make of this development? >> a lot of viewers are emailing me asking me can the police in charlottesville even though saturday he said he didn't want to talk to the police without his attorney. the answer is yes and no. when he gets back to charlottesville later today or tomorrow the police can ask him are you willing to give up your right to have an attorney present and just talk to us? but they will have to give this guy an out. what i mean by that is they will have to suggest to him what they

think happened. and see if he goes along with it. that's the best way to get individuals like mr. matthews to comply to questioning. martha: is there any dna evidence in this case that might suggest what happened? >> there is no dna evidence from what i'm being told. reliable sources told me that the police were able to get hair fibers and carpet fibers inside mr. matthew's car when they first did the search warrant. that's the kind of evidence you have put together to build a case. i think they do. using that they have enough information at this point to hold mr. matthew without a bond. martha: i can't help but ask the question whether he might not have done anything. what happened to her? we don't know yet. she has not been found obviously. he went to talk to the police that day which might lead some

to wonder if maybe he knew it looked bad and he wanted an attorney and wanted to explain his story and got scared and ran. >> i think that's a fair question. a lot of people are saying that. what if this guy had nothing to do with it. that's a possibility. but i will say this. the police and mr. matthews need to account for his whereabouts on that saturday and sunday after hanna went missing. that's critical and key in this case. if mr. matthew is so innocent why did he run to galveston, texas. if that's the case why is it he is just coming forward at this point? martha: what about what it tells us he took off? if he had abducted her and was keeping her somewhere and she was alive, would it be less likely he would leave her? >> it would be less likely. i don't think he's keeping her

anywhere tied up. he knows what happened to this woman. mr. matthew knows what happened to hannah. they are going to have to try to figure out a way to get it out of him. but continue to aggressively look for hannah. let's hope and pray she is alive. if she is alive they will have to find her and hopefully sometime soon. bill: espn us spend one of its well-kno said the following. >> if you put him up on a lie detector test, he would fail. it's such [bleep]. it's such [bleep]. >> bashing the nfl commissioner roger goodell. did he deserve to be pulled off the air? plus there is this.

martha: you haven't seen that on dancing with the stars. they are literally dancing on air. waltzing across the side of a building. that's not computer generated. that's for real. we'll show i how they did this. [♪] retirement. know where you stand with pnc total insight. a new investing and banking experience with personalized guidance and online tools. visit a branch, call or go online today.

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and, get up to 48 months interest-free financing with any tempur-pedic mattress. ♪ mattress discounters bill: 40 days away from the midterms now, and on the billboard behind us, want to show you what the critical story will be on that first tuesday in november, and that's the balance of power in the u.s. senate. here we are at the moment,

55-45, democrats to republicans. what we've created on the map behind us are all the states that are either leaning democrat or leaning republican or perhaps maybe they think they've already got them locked up. so if the critical number is six to get to a majority number for the republican party, where do they go, which states do they capture to get the six? well, they think they've got a really good chance here in west virginia. that would give them the 46. up here in south dakota would change it to 47. they also think they're polling very well in the state of montana, that puts them at 48. so still, even if that's true, you are three states shy. louisiana right now looks good for the gop. they're pretty confident down there. we'll see whether or not that works out on election night. but even if you get louisiana, you're one shy. maybe it's alaska out here, maybe you turn that from blue to red x now you're at 50/50. and if you're still looking for that senate seat to get the majority, republicans right now have their eyes set on the state

of arkansas. if they make it from blue to red, you're now at a 51 majority in the u.s. senate. our senior national correspondent, john roberts, is live in little rock, arkansas, tracking that race for us today. john, how does it look down there? >> reporter: bill, good morning to you. this is clearly a toss-up race. a new "usa today" poll has mark pryor up by two points, but a left-leaning poll has got him down by five, so clearly he's got a tough race ahead of him in the next five weeks. the democratic senator is facing off against congress month tom cottop. cotton is a veteran of the wars in both iraq and afghanistan. he joined the army after graduating harvard law. his main point of attack against senator pryor to try to put him squarely in the pocket of president obama who remains deeply unpopular here, telling voters at every opportunity pryor voted with the president 93% of the time. >> mark pryor cast the decisive

vote for obamacare, he voted for the stimulus, he's voted for a trillion dollars on average new debt every single year. that's not what's good for arkansas, and i think it's time that arkansas had a conservative senator that reflected our conservative values. >> reporter: pryor charges that cotton is in the pocket of the billionaire businessmen who are backing him, voting the economic and political agenda of the koch brothers and the club for both. pryor is trying to paint cotton as outside of the arkansas political mainstream and dent believe voters -- doesn't believe voters will allow cotton to hang the president's record on him. >> arkansas voters are smart. they'll separate all that stuff out. i don't know if i would say that the president's really a drag or not, but when people go in that voting booth, they'll vote for who they think will be the best senator for them for the next six years. >> reporter: by the way, the president clearly is a drag here in the state of arkansas, and it should be pointed out while pryor does vote with the president the overwhelming majority of the time, he has broken with the president other several large issues including

gun control and the keystone xl pipeline, which pryor supports. bill: what about the pryor family name in that state? >> reporter: yeah, that counts for a lot here in arkansas, much as it does south of here in louisiana. david pryor has been out of the campaign trail, former governor here, mark pryor's father. i talked to political analyst -- [inaudible] and he has an achille's heel, it's going to be the pryor name. bill: john roberts live in little rock, arkansas. we're going to be in touch with you a lot over the coming weeks. thank you much. martha? martha: former congressman dennis kucinich returns for a look at the campaign in iraq and syria, this time after the barbaric executions of isis captives including two americans. so has dennis kucinich changed his tune? >> we shouldn't have intervened, we shouldn't intervene again, we cannot be financing these jihadists in syria and then when they go into iraq, we say, oh,

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♪ ♪ martha: we are learning of new airstrikes in syria after more countries join the fight. earlier on "america's newsroom," i spoke with white house press secretary josh earnest on the efforts to build a stronger coalition with a broader purpose. >> we're pleased with the kind of cooperation that we've already gotten. we have seen cooperation from both the french and the british to take different roles in terms of taking the fight to isil in iraq and in sport of kurdish -- support of kurdish forces on the ground, and we're looking for broader support for the airstrikes necessary in syria as well. we certainly were pleased over the last few days to act with five different arab nations who are playing an active role. that sends a very clear signal not just to the world, but also to our enemies at isil. they're at war with the broader world, including with the muslim world. martha: he went on to say there's a real possibility about

the concern of western civilians going overseas to fight with isil and return to attack here at home. bill: i spoke to my next guest about six weeks ago before a series of brutal beheadings were posted on ripe. at the time dennis -- online. at the time, dennis kucinich said we should not get involved. here you are, second week of august. listen. >> we shouldn't have intervened, we shouldn't intervene again. we cannot be financing these jihadists in syria and then when they go into iraq we say, oh, we're so surprised. what we have to do is try to work to create peace in the region, and the united states can't do it by our presence and our intervention. bill: that was before the brutality came across our computer screen. still feel that way? >> well, i join everyone in condemning the brutality and the beheadings. we have to realize that the

wahhabi brand that isis represents is very strong in saudi arabia where beheadings are not uncommon. bill: okay. right, but is there another way to kill the terrorists? >> well, certainly, we need to deal with terrorism, and i believe the best way to do it is to realize that the u.s. intervention in 2003 was a mistake and that the united states has been naive in thinking that we're going to remake the arab world by our presence. do you know that just a few days ago the grand ayatollah of iraq and the most prominent cleric, al-sadr, both called on the bag gad government -- baghdad government to take care of things in baghdad on their own and not rely on outside intervention because they're worried about the u.s. presence -- bill: well, you know, i hear the point you're making. i would add to that that, apparently, one of the leaders of the free syrian army said

external intervention is not what they want either. let's put that to the side. you see these national poll numbers, right? you know how instantly the american people have become about their own national security. so how do you address that? >> well, we have to point out that the -- and americans have a right to be concerned about security. but our invasion of iraq did not make america more secure, nor will our reentry into iraq make america more secure. we have to rely on iraq to take care of its problems, on syria to take care of its problems. we cannot be the policemen of the world. we have to pursue a path where we can work with our allies around the world. but america can no longer pretend that we can even afford to go around the world looking for dragons to slay. bill: you know, i mean, it sounds great, but it also sounds like wishful thinking because very few people are step ising up to take on -- stepping up to the take on this challenge. england, germany, france, they're not getting involved in

syria. not even turkey's getting involved in syria. >> your point is well taken, bill, because the fact of the matter is that we have a coalition of the unwilling and the anonymous. matter of fact, america's taking on the role. but think of how this looks in the arab world. they're seeing the americans starting a new type of crusade, and when you have protests in baghdad against the u.s. reintervention in iraq, that ought to tell people something. so i'm concerned about this country. i'm concerned about the fact that $5 trillion were pent in pursuit of the first -- were spent in pursuit of the first iraq war, 4600 american soldiers were killed, and i'm concerned we're going into the same thing all over again -- bill: and i'm certain they have their concerns too, but you can't rewrite history. we have to deal with the here and now. do you think this administration would have gone to war in syria had congress still been in session? >> i think that congress has a constitutional obligation to come back into session and vote as to whether or not the war should be prosecuted.

they did it backwards, bill. they first voted for the money for the war without authorizing the war. bill: do you think this administration will give them that chance? because you're looking now, these guys are running for re-election, and the chance of them coming back to washington in october is not real good. so now you're late in the year for something like that. >> well, you pose a question that i want to take at a different angle, and that is that why won't congress come back to vote? the american people have a right to expect congress to do its job. but on the other hand, we have to be concerned that there are political implications behind the attempt to prosecute a war at a time not only when congress is out, but at the time when we're approaching an election. i'm very concerned about that, bill. bill: thank you for coming back. the white house says it has the authority under a resolution from 2002 that was saddam hussein. we'll see where that debate goes. dennis kucinich from washington. >> thanks, bill. bill: you bet.

martha: espn has suspended one of their top columnists for harsh words against the nfl, bill simmons in a podcast yesterday questioned roger goodell's honesty in the ray rice scandal. >> if he didn't know what was on that tape, he's a liar. i'm just saying it, he is lying. i think that dude is lying. if you put him on a lie detector test, he would fail. >> if one person says that to me, i'm going public. you leave me alone. i get to talk about that podcast. please, call me and say i'm in trouble, i dare you. martha: well, they did. they responded saying, quote:

martha: he got for those comments. a lot of people like him because they feel like he says what's on their mind, and he says things other people are not willing or able to say, and he's paying the price for it for three weeks. bill: mom and dad, i did not make my bed. i dare you to ground me. [laughter] martha: that's an easy one. you're grounded. bill: got your wish. martha: all right. so as you know, former first lady laura bush shared her thoughts on the state of the world when she was with us. here she is. >> i think everyone is worried, and it is really because we see the same things, the same horrific images over and over on television or on the internet or any place that we are connected. and i think that adds to the unease. martha: up next, my interview with the former first lady and what she says we must all

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bill: student walkouts and protesters disrupting four consecutive school days now in colorado. students demonstrating for this proposal considering whether or not to form a committee that would review the con at no contf some u.s. history in its curriculum, changing it to focus on topics including patriotism and respect for authority. we'll let you know how that turns out. martha: along with united nations meetings this week in new york, there's another important event on the agenda, the first ladies' initiative, and it's a follow-up to a joint summit that was held in july by first lady michelle obama and former first lady laura bush. its goal is to empower african women and girls which has long

been a mission that you have worked on for a long time, i'm really pleased to welcome former first lady laura bush. good to have you here. >> thank you so much. martha: tell us about what you're hoping to achieve. you're going to have a meeting with these first ladies of african nations. what cooperate to imbue them with? >> this is the third or fourth time we've had meetings with african first ladies. we have an initiative at the bush institute with goal of helping first ladies use their unique position like american first ladies do, and especially to help women and girls in their country. it's part of our women's initiative at the bush institute. and we, this summer we hosted the first ladies part of the african leaders summit with the white house which was really fun x then last summer -- and then last summer in tanzania we had a first ladies conference. it happened that president obama and mrs. obama were in africa at

the same time, so she came to that which is why we partnered again this summer. martha: why do you think it's so important that these african nations, which are so vulnerable right now, and you look at e ebola and the threat of terrorism in these countries, and i know you and your husband have always felt empowering women is one of the best ways to fight those things off, right? >> well, we know that. we know if women are educated, if they're part of the economy of a country, if they can work, that the countries are much more stable and prosperous. if you leave out half of the population -- which we see in some countries -- you usually see failing countries. if women aren't educated, if they're not involved, if they don't have a chance to add to the economic growth of their countries. so we decided to work with first ladies because, of course, we have experience with that, i do, and then having a mother-in-law who was also a first lady to help them use their unique role.

in our country we expect our first ladies to be involved, to have certain causes, to use their own expertise, whether their background is -- whatever their background is to promote issues that are important to all americans. not political, but instead really bipartisan this working with everyone -- in working with everyone. so we want other first ladies world w50eud to know they also have that opportunity. >> and prrr, pink ribbon/red ribbon is the health size -- >> that's a local initiative that we're working on now through the bush institute, and we're using the aids platform, the pepfar founded when, by george when he was president, and adding the testing and treatment for cervical and breast cancer to the aids platform. cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among african women. it's caused by a virus, the hp virus. there's a advantage seep for

that virus -- a vaccine for that virus, and some countries in africa have been very systematic about making sure they start to vaccinate girls and boys can be advantage nateed. in which case, eventually, we won't have the virus anymore, and cervical cancer will become less of a problem. but because women aren't screened and treated like they are in the united states, they catch cervical cancer when it's too late, and women die from it. so we've been refurbishing clinics there for the last couple of summers. women line up to be tested because they know someone who's died of cervical cancer. and our goal is to see and treat at the same time, because early lesions are very easy to treat with cry yo therapy or just scraping. and so that's our big global initiative. martha: i want to ask you a quick question about during the u.n. we've heard the president speak about pervasive unease around the world, and it is a very anxious time in this

country as well. i remember after 9/11 you were referred to as the comforter-in-chief. what do you think now that you see, you know, all of this kind of rearing its head again? >> well, i think everyone is worried, and it is really because we see the same things, the same horrific images over and over on television or on the internet or any place that we are connected, and i think that adds to the unease. i think just like after september 11th when i asked parents to turn off the television so their children wouldn't keep seeing over and over the same image of the planes flying into the buildings, i think we all need to do that now a little bit. just take a breath and turn off owl of our things -- all of our things that we're watching and worrying about and reach out to our families everywhere in our country. there is this feeling of unease and, of course, it's because we see terrible things like the beheadings that we saw with isis which is so, so unbelievably brutal, so uncivilized we can't

even imagine that it's part of our world now. martha: great to see you, as always, and thanks for all that you continue to do. >> thank you very much, martha. martha: we do appreciate your time. >> thanks so much. good to see you. thanks a lot. bill: a wonderful message too. thank you, mrs. bush. dancing on the walls? check it out. roll it. ♪ ♪ bill: that camera's actually in the right position, but what in the world are they doing? the incredibly talented stars that dance on sides of buildings. martha: it's actually you and me. should i give away the surprise? bill: could very well be. martha: when we come back. you know what my business philosophy is, reynolds? no. not exactly. to attain success, one must project success. that's why we use fedex one rate. their flat rate shipping. exactly. it makes us look top-notch but we know it's affordable.

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♪ ♪ martha: breaking news out of the white house which we have now confirmed, and it is this, that attorney general eric holder will announce this afternoon that he will be stepping down from the administration after nearly six years at the justice department. apparently, this is something that he and the president have been discussing over the course of the last several months and that he confirmed it with president in an hourlong conversation at the white house residence over labor day weekend. there will be a formal announcement later today. in terms of the timing on this, it appears that he will stay until his successor is confirmed. so it's difficult to say exactly how long that's going to take. he also has said it's coming out in this information that we're getting from our own folks who cover the justice department that he will talk about how much he loved being at the justice department, that it was a position that he had dreamed of his whole life growing up as a child and a young lawyer and watching the job be done by

attorney general bobby kennedy can. so he will discuss all of those sort of lifelong aspirations and his time at the justice department for six years. obviously, it has been an extremely complicated tenure. he's had a lot of hurdles. he's been brought before congress many, many times for various hearings including fast and furious and benghazi and many other situations. so it's been a contentious run for eric holder in many, many ways, and he will call it quits according to new information. bill: we're reaching out to a lot of our folks in washington d.c. nancy pelosi, apparently, confirming the news as well at an event in washington just moments ago. holder apparently has no immediate plans once he leaves office, but he'll stay on until there's a successor in that position. he does, apparently, want to stay actively involved in some of the causes which he's devoted, frankly, a lot of his time in office, one of which happened just months ago. his recent visit to ferguson, missouri, and he's talked with

friends and associates about his wish to continue restoring the trust between law enforcement and minority communities. hmm. career prosecutor, 26 years at the department of justice. the attorney general's position in washington always can be a lightning rod. talk to alberto gonzalez from the bush administration. when it came to enacting the war on terror and how he had to defend that time and time again under a lot of pressure in the latter half of the second term from democrats in congress. holder is facing a similar situation with republicans in the house. martha: you know, a lot will be said about how all of this came about, whether the impetus, you know, has come all along from eric holder and whether or not it was his desire, how much the president decided or tried to urge him to stay will be something that will be revealed, of course, in the course of time. but as you point out, he has immersed himself in those issues, in ferguson over the her, in the trayvon martin case, and he is one perp in the administration who -- one person

in the administration who has suggested there's a racial animus that has played a part in the way that this administration has been treated over time. he was disgruntled about his own treatment in front of a congressional hearing at one point saying, you know, have you ever seen an attorney general be treated like that in this kind of hearing? so it's been a roller coaster, to be sure. bill: some of our producers in washington, remember, there's a midterm election in less than six weeks, and what will happen after congress comes back to work? right now they're scheduled for november 12th, i believe that's a wednesday that week when the senate comes back to work. majority leader harry reid, we're told, has set a crowded ageneral da but would likely want to push through holder's replacement before the next session of congress is sworn in. why is that? because democrats may lose their majority or at least see their numbers shrink on the senate side of congress. so that's another factor in this equation right now. 55-45 in the senate as we speak

today. martha: yeah. we're going to take a quick break, get you more information on this breaking news, the announcement that eric holder will step down. more on this in "america's newsroom" right after this.

bill: if you are just joining us, it will be official later this afternoon when we expect the attorney general, eric holder, to announce that he is stepping down, stepping away, resigning from the obama administration after six years. six years on the job. a lot of folks in washington working that story for us. watch this story throughout the day, and we'll see what happens after the election, who controls the senate at that point, who's the successor, how many votes do you get or not get, and if republicans take the majority in the senate, they will push harry reid hard to delay that vote and confirmation. martha: absolutely. bill: all that's wide open. martha: and the president has known this was coming for some time, so he may very well have

successors in mind. bill: busy morning, huh? martha: very busy. good to see you, everybody. "happening now" starts right now. jon: and we continue with this fox news alert, the word just coming out that attorney general eric holder is expected to announce he will resign, that during an event later today. he has served six years in the obama administration. there was talk that he might be leaving as the is second term began. he has stayed until now. wendell goler is live outside the white house for us with some more information. wendell? >> reporter: eric holder is, of course, the first african-american to serve as this country's attorney general, and if he stays as long as december can, he's actually told the president he will leave once a successor is confirmed, but if he stays as long as december, he will have the third longest tenure as attorney general. he's one of only three people to have continuously served from president obama's first, from