>> our thanks to 1-800 flowers on the set. >> tomorrow is the first full day of summer. sarah huckabee sanders, we're being told -- well -- >> bill: thanks, guys, good morning. everybody. it's the most expensive house race in american history now in the hands of voters. all eyes on the northern suburbs of atlanta as the house race seen as a vote on donald trump, the republican agenda and a possible bellwether for 2018. all that wrapped up in one district, wow. we'll see what's on the line. welcome to "america's newsroom." how are you doing? >> shannon: with the election season is never really over. that's how it feels. i'm shannon bream. we'll take you through it today. political heavy hitters, tens of millions of dollars have poured into the race for georgia's sixth congressional district. it is for the seat vacated by tom price. don't forget about this.

another election in south carolina to fill the house seat vacated by the budget director mick mulvaney. >> bill: president trump urging polls to get to the polls in georgia. he tweeted this. jonathan starts our coverage in sandy springs at a polling station there. how has it become the most expensive house race ever, jonathan? >> both parties are looking at this race as a must win. if jon ossoff, the democrat in the race were to win his party would go forward-looking at this election as a blueprint for the 2018 mid-terms as they attempt to retake congress. if karen handel, the republican wins, her party will feel safer because many will view this outcome as a referendum on president trump and the gop in general. >> i believe in donald trump. i was just with him in

washington, d.c. and i believe in making america great again. i believe that karen handel will help us. >> some people want to make it a referendum about trump. for me it's about the future. what's going on in our country and i think that i'm looking myself personally for fresh leadership. >> campaign spending on this race is topping $50 million. most of that money coming from out of state. >> bill: what is the message that you're hearing from these campaigns? >> well, karen handel's ads are trying to link her opponent to the more liberal wing of the democratic party. >> my opponent doesn't live here, doesn't share our values. he has raised millions outside of georgia from nancy pelosi and outsiders who just don't share our priorities.

>> meanwhile jon ossoff has been talking about cutting government waste and improving the economy as he reaches out to moderate republicans and independence. >> he stayed focus on the issues of the sixth district and went away from the theme of holding trump accountable. republicans still support donald trump in the district. >> although the district has solidly red for four decades, donald trump won the district by a narrow margin, less than 2% in november. democrats see it as a potential weakness they seek to exploit. >> bill: there he is in sandy springs. jonathan covering that all day and into the night. >> shannon: much to break down about what's at stake and why this race in georgia matters. georgia's sixth congressional district has been reliably

republican since 1979. hillary clinton nearly turned it blue in november. today's election is tight compared to races in past years. the intense competition has drawn in the biggest names in national politics including president trump, vice president mike pence and house speaker paul ryan. on top of the big names a whole lot of money. this race is set to be a record breaker. the federal election commission says over $60 million has been spent and nearly half of that has come from out of state. >> bill: let's analyze with byron york from the washington examner. good day to you, sir. you were there two weeks ago and you described this as a race that has huge morale points for both sides. in what way? >> this is the third race we've had to replace republican house members who left the house to go join the trump administration. one in kansas, republicans won, one in montana, republicans won.

the one in south carolina the republicans will win today. georgia is the last chance that they can ride president trump's unpopularity into office. ossoff started his campaign with a fundraising appeal to make trump furious. when i was there he didn't talk about trump at all. he talked about restoring decency and respect to government which people interpreted as an anti-trump message but he has been trying to appeal to economic moderates there. this is the democrats' chance to show they can win one. >> bill: the money is really insane. what does that tell you? >> it's gotten psychological now. remember, this is one out of 435 seats in the house. it is not worth the money. and i think both sides realize that. what has happened is after losing these other ones democrats decided to make a stand and what you have a situation now is both sides have dug in and poured money

and people, resources into this, and both feel they've sunk so much into it that they can't afford to let the other guy win so they throw a few more million dollars into it. that's how it has gotten so out of control. >> bill: i want to go to a "wall street journal" clip. if he pulls it out on us the mr. ossoff's victory will be celebrated coast to coast as the first clear sign that republicans are in danger of losing their house majority come 2018. if mr. ossoff with all his millions, with all his volunteers, with all the free media still manages to lose with all those telling us the race is a harbinger of things to come, what does that mean for the democratic party? end quote. >> it means they couldn't capitalize on donald trump's falling poll numbers. by the way both sides have been polling donald trump's popularity in this district and the results seems to be his support is about the level it

was on election day. in other words, he won on election day, not by a lot but he still won. this is a huge test for democrats. i will say one more thing. talk to political professionals and they say as far as 2018, this doesn't mean a whole lot. whoever wins might be replaced by somebody else next year in 2018. >> bill: thank you, byron. minutes ago i spoke with paul ryan about the importance of this election today and what is at stake. here is part of that reaction from a short time ago. >> i think karen handel fits this district. the democrat is a liberal democrat who doesn't reflect the district. they're throwing everything they can at this race. like i said before i would rather beat the republicans than democrats go sbaong -- into the evening. >> bill: there is a major speech this afternoon by speaker ryan. you will hear that coming up in a matter of minutes. this is part of the reason why

he went to congress in the first place, taxes and tax reform. today is his day. he will give details coming up in a moment. >> shannon: there is the legislative side. the list of getting it done as part of his job. nobody thinks he wanted to take on as speaker but he seems to be growing in the role. that's coming up. fox news alert the family of otto warmbier says the 22-year-old has died less than a week after he came home from north korea. the university of virginia student had been held in the country for nearly 18 months and came back to the u.s. with severe brain injury. president trump condemning the north korea officials yesterday as tensions continue to rise between the two countries. >> president trump: a lot of bad things happened but at least we got him home to be with his parents, where they were so happy to see him even though he was in very tough condition. but he just passed away a little while ago. it's a brutal regime and we'll

be able to handle it. >> shannon: james rosin is live with more from the state department. >> this raises the question of what kind of response to this incident we might expect from the trump administration. the fact is that the story of otto warmbier is a highly personal one. we've seen how such incidents on the world stage have driven president trump to certain kinds of actions on the world stage including in the case that didn't involve an american citizen as this case does. i refer to the deadly chemical attack in syria in april that killed scores of women and children. the images of which moved president trump. he later told us to order his first military strike targeting the very air base in syria from which the poison gas had been launched. >> president trump: everybody in this room saw it all too many times over the last three or four days. young children dying, babies dying, fathers holding children in their arms that were dead,

dead children. it can't be a worse sight. it shouldn't be allowed. that's a butcher. that's a butcher. so i felt we had to do something about it. i have absolutely no doubt we did the right thing. >> so we've seen how highly personal images and stories have sometimes shaped president trump's policy responses. the question is how he will address this. >> bill: so unbelievably sad. how will the trump team now respond to north korea? how much does otto's death change that dynamic? former u.n. ambassador john bolton is here with his take in a moment and plus this today. >> what the democrats are trying to do to president trump is exactly what some republican extremists tried to do to hillary clinton, lock her up, throw away the key. >> shannon: is the shoe really on the other foot?

alan dershowitz said the defendant is doing to president trump what the right tried to do to hillary clinton. could it come back to haunt democrats? >> bill: paul ryan is up next. the status of healthcare in congress, tax reform and the rest of the republican agenda is next. >> don't forget here what we're doing. we're repealing and replacing a law that is collapsing and want to replace it with a healthcare system that's better so people have lower prices and access to affordable healthcare. i don't know why i didn't get screened a long time ago.

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>> bill: there is a major speech on tax reform from the house speaker paul ryan this afternoon. you'll see that. that and healthcare strategy making a lot of headlines on the hill already today. earlier i spoke with the house speaker, paul ryan, about that and more. mr. speaker, good morning. and welcome back to "america's newsroom." >> good morning. >> bill: thank you for your time. the big issue for you today is tax reform but let's talk about healthcare in the senate. a lot of action overnight last night. mitch mcconnell wants a vote by the fourth of july. democrats will do everything they can to shut it down. what happens now do you think? >> what mitch mcconnell said. they'll bring the vote up. they'll have a lot of amendments they'll dispose of. that's the legislative process. we're pleased the senate is moving forward on healthcare reform. obamacare is in the middle of

the tailspin. the law is collapsing before our eyes. your home state of ohio, 18 counties will go without a health insurer in the exchange next year 94 to 99 counties in iowa. we have to rescue it and we're excited the senate is taking it up. they'll have lots of amendments. a lengthy legislative process but i'm excited the senate is taking it up. >> bill: there are republicans in the house warning mitch mcconnell not to make too many changes. at the same time you have the president last week say what happened in the -- what passed in the house was sad. do you need to win him over or republicans in the house? >> i don't really think that accurately reflects the president's sentiment about the healthcare bill. it was a misinterpretation of a private meeting. i've spoken to the president many times. he is excited what we did in the house. >> bill: you're saying he is on board? >> he is on board and the senate will take their

amendments and i assume they'll change the bill. big legislation like this doesn't go through the house or senate with no changes. we assume they'll make changes. don't forget what we're doing. repealing and replacing a law that is collapsing, failing, not working for people. we want to replace it with a healthcare system that's better so people have more choices, lower prices and access to affordable healthcare including people with pre-existing conditions. that's what this is all about. fixing the healthcare system which is in the middle of a collapse. >> bill: repeal and replace you've been running on it for seven years and talking about tax reform as long as i can remember. in your own words, this is what you consider to be your crown jewel. what does it look like? >> not me personally but for the country. we believe it's time we start growing this economy beyond the anemic growth of the obama years. this country hasn't had a 3% growth rate since before the great recession.

so the crown jewel of getting this economy growing are two things. regulatory relief which is well on its way and tax reform. tax reform is really important. look, hard working taxpayers in america deserve a break. they don't want a tax code working for the tax collectors. they want a code that is simple and makes it easier for taxpayers to comply. >> bill: we're the only country in the world that makes it prohibitive and discourages capital from coming back into the u.s. that's absurd. >> we're pushing businesses overseas. we're saying if you make something overseas and make money there keep it there. that's crazy. we need to make it that companies can bring the dollars back home. we have two or three trillion of u.s. money parked overseas coming back into the u.s. economy but we can't because of our tax code. we want to clean up the tax code. tax reform, getting our rates down so they're competitive is

the key to economic growth. higher take home pay, more jobs, faster economic growth. you can't get that without tax reform. that's why we're serious about getting on with tax reform. >> bill: our program comes on every day at 9:00 a.m. and watch the stock market open at 9:30. investors are expecting this. with the majority in the house and the senate and a republican in the white house now is your time and you can't afford to blow it, can you? >> i agree. we're expecting it because it is high time. we haven't done this since 1986. the rest of the world has passed us by and now we have one of the worst tax systems in the industrial world in this global economy. our tax rate on corporations is 35%. top tax rate on successful small businesses is as high as 44.6%. the average tax rate of businesses around the world is 22.5%. canada it's 15%. ireland 12 1/2%, england 18%.

china is 25 and going down and we're taxing american businesses 35 to 45%. it's ridiculous and costing us jobs and competitiveness and we won't let american companies bring their money back into country to reinvest because of our tax laws. this is holding us back and we need to clean up the tax code. streamline the irs. make the system simple for families and small businesses and make us more competitive globally so we can have fast erect i can growth. >> bill: these are your words. we'll get this done in 2017. i take it as a guarantee, is it or not? >> we have to do tax reform in 2017 if we're going to get a confident america and if we'll rebuild our country's resilience and get the economy we need so people can get good-paying jobs that are careers and get this growth rate up. we're really an -- anemic in our growth rate.

>> bill: paul ryan, thank you. that's the reason why he is in congress. he has been waiting for this day today for 20 years arguably so we'll see what he has to offer today. >> shannon: you think back to his years with kemp and the work that they did on those things. he has been building on this for decades. we'll see him this afternoon. baltic sea, new tensions among three nations, what the u.s. air force says now about a very close encounter with a russian jet after a threat from the kremlin. >> bill: weather-wise scorching heat leading to record-breaking temperatures. so hot in the southwest they're canceling airline flights. live report out of phoenix where it is expected to hit 118 today. i just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance with geico. huh.

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>> bill: just in now an armed russian fighter jet coming within five feet of a u.s. air force reconnaissance plane above the baltic sea. the pentagon saying the russian jet was flying erraticly and unsafely as officials try to diffuse tensions with russia after u.s. forces downed a syrian fighter jet over the weekend. state department trying to reestablish communication channels with the kremlin. >> we'll work diplomatically to reestablish deconfliction. the russian federation has indicated their purpose in syria, like ours, is to defeat isis and we'll see if that's true here in the coming hours. >> bill: moscow is threatening to target u.s. and coalition planes that fly into certain parts of syria. watch that story. more coming up.

>> shannon: fax news alert at british police identify the suspect connected to the van attack outside a london mosque. 47-year-old darren osborne is the father of four who drove a van into a crowd of muslims as they were leaving a mosque early yesterday. now he is being held on suspicion of attempted murder and alleged terror offenses. good morning, benjamin. what do we know more about this suspect now? >> good morning, shannon. we got the basics. we have his name, his age, where he came from. but still police have been unable to find connections to far right groups as you might have expected. he was unknown to the police. some have called him a family man. now people have to look for what exactly pushed him to carry out this crime. 47-year-old darren osborne lived in cardiff, wales where he rented the van to run these people over 150 miles away. one man died at the scene following ramadan prayers.

this man was receiving first-aid before the attack began and it is not clear if he died as a result of the attack or of something else. seven people, though, remain hospitalized, three in critical condition. while osborne himself was saved from the crowd by the local imam an two passersby who protected him. police searched his home today and neighbors describe the father of four as aggressive and strange and that he had a drinking problem. of course, we've heard witnesses say as soon as he got out of the van he was saying to people i've now done my bit and i want to kill muslims. >> shannon: benjamin hall in london. >> bill: police say road rage is to blame for the murder of a 17-year-old girl from virginia who was on her way to pray at a mosque, 22-year-old dar en torres getting in a fight with one of the girls' friends as they walked to the mosque early in the morning. torres chased the group with a

baseball bat, attacking a woman and kidnapping her. her body was later found in a pond. police said they have no evidence to suggest it was a hate crime. >> shannon: jared kushner speaking out for the first time and heading to the middle east. can he actually do what is a difficult task? broker some kind of deal for peace? >> high bar there. is this payback from democrats to get even with the white house and president trump? we'll debate that fair and balanced in a moment. >> the very people today who are pushing for donald trump to be investigated, indicted, impeached, would be on the other side of the issue if the shoe were on the other foot. so it's harder to resist. okay, this is getting a little weird

enjoy the go with charmin

>> bill: well, stocks closed at a record high yesterday and as

the dow soars. a little lower at the open. s&p 500 reaching record levels. techs are up. watch on the markets today. >> shannon: any time special counsel robert mueller is set to meet with the senate judiciary committee this week and expected to sit down with grassley and feinstein to fend off any conflicts between the two different investigations. there is much more. let's talk about it with brad woodhouse and alex conant. good to see you both. we're also getting word apparently the mueller team is up to, we hear, 13 attorneys, the latest addition is a female attorney who works as the assistant solicitor general and clerk for justices ginsberg and

kagen and more to come. what do you make of the legal team? >> bill: it's a serious investigation. the most important thing to investigate what did the russians do in 2016 and how do we prevent foreign governments from meddling in our elections? that's the core of the investigation mueller is conducting and the core of the investigation the senate intelligence committee and other committees are looking into. that's critical. now the investigation has spawned into other areas like did the president seek to obstruct justice when he fired james comey or in any other way. and so i think that's part of why mueller's team is growing. but the core of the investigation about what did russia do in the election, that's really important and it's important that we have the resources necessary to conduct that part of the investigation. >> shannon: there seems to be bipartisan support. gop and democrat members on the hill saying we want to get to the bottom of this. we think the president should support it and we want answers.

if russia comes after one side this time and we should all care if they are getting into american elections. i want to play a little what alan dershowitz said the two sides can be equally guilty of poll itizing these things. >> you disagree with people, throw them out of office but charging your enemies with political crimes is too prevalent on both sides of the political aisle. >> shannon: we've seen it happen. >> i think what alex said is right. the core are the investigations. it is not what people say politically. incidentally alan dershowitz is totally misreading the political situation. the republicans are in charge of the investigative committees in the house. >> shannon: do you give him credit then? the republicans, the fact that you're saying -- >> no, absolutely. i give richard burr credit, i give chuck grassley credit. i think that they are mounting

serious investigations. i would only go further than alex in saying the real core of the investigation that mueller is conducting and the house and senate intelligence and judiciary committees is about not just russian interference in the election but whether or not the trump campaign colluded with the russians to undermine the election in favor of donald trump. this is really going to be not the politics and what members might say, it is gonna be what is found. i think that's what people need to take a break, take a breath, let mueller and the senate and house committees do their investigations and we'll see where they lead. >> shannon: so far what we're hearing from people on both sides of the aisle is so far they've seen no evidence of collusion. the president is very frustrated about that fact as it stands right now. we'll see where these things go. in the meantime there was a lot of counseling or advice it seemed like from your former boss senator marco rubio on the sunday shows this week saying

it's in the best interest of the president to let it play out. if he is innocent he should want these things to come to a conclusion and prove that point. do you think the white house and president will take that counsel into account? >> i sure hope they do. i'm baffled by the white house's general response to the investigation why they aren't being more transparent and more welcoming of these investigations. look, i think transparency is the friend of the administration here. president trump should be encouraging his associates to cooperate with these investigations and frankly he should be more forthcoming himself and talk to the american people about what he told james comey in private. how his memory of those meetings might be different from the former f.b.i. director's memories of those meetings. they seem to be stonewalling and making it political and attacking mueller and attacking the investigators. he fired comey. i just don't understand that. the best thing that trump can do is welcome the

investigations and then have the investigations conclude so the american people can know what happened and we can move on from there. instead the constant shroud over the white house is really unfortunate not just for the president's agenda but for the entire country. >> shannon: brad, final word? >> i agree. transparency is the best disinfectant if you know you haven't done anything wrong. a big part would be if president trump would release his tax returns finally. he asserted he has no business ties with russia and hasn't had business ties with russia. we know that having an audit of your tax returns doesn't prevent you from releasing them. that type of transparency. i think that would be a big benefit to the white house. >> shannon: there was a lot of agreement there, gentlemen, today. >> good to see you both. >> bill: speaking out for the first time since the dui arrest

in may. florida police found woods asleep behind the wheel of his car asleep. he was on several prescription medications and he says he is getting help. i'm currently receiving professional help to manage my medications and the ways i deal with back pain and a sleep disorder. i want to thank everyone for the amazing outpouring of support and understanding especially the fans and players on tour, end quote. tiger, good luck. two young children, they're counting on you and i know you are well aware of that so good luck. >> shannon: getting help and being honest about it is helpful to other people out there struggling with things. oh, yeah. voters now deciding the outcome of a high stakes election in georgia. we'll break down the votes in georgia's sixth district and talk about what it could mean for congress. >> bill: otto warmbier is dead at the age of 22. a horrific ending for the college student.

ambassador john boulton on how the trump team and u.s. should deal with pyongyang now. >> north korea is a pariah regime. brutal and terroristic. it's your choice, we don't believe anything they say. als. so i liked when my doctor told me i may reach my blood sugar and a1c goals by activating what's within me with once-weekly trulicity. trulicity is not insulin. it helps activate my body to do what it's supposed to do release its own insulin. trulicity responds when my blood sugar rises. i take it once a week, and it works 24/7. it comes in an easy-to-use pen and i may even lose a little weight. trulicity is a once-weekly injectable prescription medicine to improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise.

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>> shannon: jared kushner speaking publicly for the first time since joining the white house staff. he is speaking at a round table with tech executives at the white house yesterday. they discussed how to bring the government's technology up to date. kushner applauding the trump administration for some of their accomplishments. >> our goal is simple. we're here to improve the day-to-day lives of the average citizen. that's a core proims and we're keeping it. together we will unleash the creativity of the private sector to provide citizens services in a way that has

never happened before. >> shannon: he is said to take part in peace negotiations between israel and the palestinians starting tomorrow. that's a big job. >> bill: listening to the speech about the v.a. if they get half of that done it will be an enormous accomplishment for our veterans who have been waiting for care for such a long time. very strong words there. >> shannon: we owe them. >> bill: 17 minutes after the hour and this now. >> president trump: a lot of bad things happened but at least we got him home to be with his parents where they were so happy to see him even though he was in very tough condition. he just passed away a little while ago. it's a brutal regime and we will be able to handle it. >> bill: trump's reaction on north korea now amid the news that american college student otto warmbier is dead at age 22. he was held in north korea 18 months, released to the u.s. a

week ago. doctors say he suffered a severe brain injury while in prison. it happened shortly after the sentencing which lasted one hour. one hour trial. john bolton former u.s. ambassador to the u.n. and sir, good day to you. >> good morning. >> bill: what does the trump team do? sanctions or where? >> in the near firm i would reimpose every sanction we ever had on north korea including adding them back to the list of state sponsors of terrorism. they never should have been removed from the list. this has significant implications for economic dealing with north korea. we ought to put all that pressure back on we can. honestly, we've seen enough of north korea over the past 25 years to know they aren't going to change their behavior because we put pressure on them. i think it's time to to cut to the chase here and look at what we really need to do with this regime that commits acts of

terrorism, pursuing nuclear weapons, that oppresss its own people. we need to end this regime. the way we end the regime is reunite the korean opinions. we should have started on it a long time ago. we see the character of them. economic pressure won't change that. >> bill: that is significant. and i imagine you gained this out in your own head. end the regime in north korea. such action would be significant. how would you do it? what are the con trails on that? >> i think we know that china has economic power over north korea unsurpassed by anybody else. they supply over 90% of north korea's oil and provide substantial amounts of humanitarian assistance, food and other things. we could bring this regime down with chinese cooperation. we need to convince china it is

in their interest to end the north korean regime and nuclear threat it poses across east asia. i understand it's a reversal of china's position for many, many years. the fact is if the chinese are serious. if the chinese are serious they don't want a nuclear north korea because it will induce japan to get nuclear weapons the only way to solve that problem is to end the regime. we can do it in a way that minimizes disruption without threatening china. we need to embark on that effort now. in a short period of time the north koreans will have the capability to drop atomic weapons on the united states via ballistic missiles. >> bill: the pressure is time right now and it is getting thinner. >> right. consider the options if we don't pursue the diplomatic approach. an american president in the very near future will be faced with a difficult choice seeing

an icbm on a north koreaian launch pad. not knowing where it is aimed. will we hope it's not haipd at the united states or at japan? this regime is not rational in our terms. look at the way otto warmbier is treated? tragically he is only one example of this brutal, barbaric regime. you aren't going to change their behavior. >> bill: i apologize for the interruption. i want to get to the john mccain quote. here it is. let us state the facts plainly. otto warmbier an american citizen was murdered by the kim jong-un regime. he lived a nightmare where the north korean people have been trapped for 70 years, forced labor, mass starvation, systematic cruelty, torture and murder. >> shannon: very accurate and it points to the reason why reinstituting sanctions, new

economic pressure will not change the behavior of the regime fundamentally. we've tried it on the nuclear side for 25 years and we've failed. we've tried coercion through sanctions, tried negotiation and diplomacy. it's failed for 25 years. what possible reason is there to think that year 26 will be any different? >> bill: interesting comments there. the chinese have always used north korea as a buffer from south korea or the u.s. or japan. that history is well noted and they say they're concerned about the millions of immigrants that would come across the border into china. it would be a big lift, very interesting reaction there. thank you, sir, for your time as always. >> thank you, bill. >> bill: john bolton, thanks. >> shannon: and we will get an on-camera briefing from sean spicer today about 1:30 p.m. at the white house. new questions and speculation about the role he is going to take on moving forward in the white house. today it will include an on-camera briefing at 1:30.

>> bill: temperatures are running red hot in the southwest making it too hot for even an airplane to fly in arizona. a live report where it will hit 122 today. dry heat, wow. you don't let anything keep you sidelined. that's why you drink ensure. with 9 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. for the strength and energy to get back to doing... ...what you love. ensure. always be you. you on a perfect car,rch then smash it into a tree. your insurance company raises your rates... maybe you should've done more research on them. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. liberty mutual insurance.

>> bill: white house just confirming sean spicer will have an on-camera briefing at 1:30 eastern time and we'll have live coverage of it. this comes after the news that sean spicer is due for a promotion. we should get more detail on that coming up live this afternoon. stay tuned. >> shannon: fox news alert.

a sizzling hot temperatures in the southwest lead to excessive heat warnings and flight cancellations. this map showing a triple digit heat wave that could turn deadly with some areas expected to break records. liz from our affiliate in phoenix. she is here with more from the airport. >> good morning. it hit 118 degrees here in phoenix yesterday and could get hotter here today. some planes can't handle that. the higher the temperatures go, the harder it is for them to lift off. they need more speed in order to get off the runways. the runways here at the airport aren't long enough for some smaller planes to get off the ground. that's why american airlines decided to cancel some flights yesterday and more than 40 flights today. they are regional jet flights. smaller planes. those planes aren't allowed to operate when temperatures go above 118. the bigger jets we're more used

to taking have bigger engines that are able to operate at higher temperatures. so we're talking even up to 126 degrees with those planes. flights on those planes aren't expected to be canceled. american is allowing everyone flying between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m. to change their planes until free. we're not surprised by all the heat here in arizona. it is forcing people to stay indoors with their air conditioning running. some people couldn't do that. there is a wildfire burning a few miles northeast of us and it knocked out power to those people. we are hoping it doesn't happen in the valley. they're much hotter here. if it does the salvation army and other organizations have heat relief stations that provide a cool place to hang out if you're stuck without a.c. american is the only airline that has canceled flights. people are being asked if

you're coming to phoenix or leaving phoenix check on your flights to make sure it hasn't been delayed or canceled. >> shannon: it is beautiful out there but you have to choose carefully which times you are going to go. good golf and hiking. june may be not your best time. >> bill: early in the morning. >> shannon: or really late. >> bill: being a florida gal as you are, you're used to this. >> shannon: that's a dry heat out there in arizona. totally different. >> bill: what is a dry heat? >> shannon: go to phoenix and you'll find out. >> bill: 122 today, wow. in the meantime democrats staring down the gauntlet on the floor of the senate. they worked late into the night last night. they'll mount a challenge for republicans to pass their own version of healthcare reform. we'll have the latest on the showdown and the race the nation is watching today. what is at stake tonight in the suburbs of atlanta, what it might mean for the fight for

the balance of power come 2018. a lot to analyze. part two of our interview with paul ryan is coming up shortly here. >> to show up and right now the left, they're agitated, furious, angry and they're motivated to show up and it is a question of whether republicans and conservatives will show up in the special election. time's up, insufficient prenatal care. and administrative paperwork... your days of drowning people are numbered. same goes for you, budget overruns. and rising costs, wipe that smile off your face. we're coming for you, too. for those who won't rest until the world is healthier, neither will we. optum. how well gets done.

>> shannon: we begin with a fox news alert oit of syria. fox news has just learned a u.s. air force f-15 fighter jet has shot down and armed drone flying near u.s. forces. the second time in less than a month the u.s. has shot down an iranian drone and it comes on the heels of a syrian fighter jet shot down by an american fighter on sunday. russia retaliated after that with a warning saying our planes would be targeted over syrian skies. we have much more on this coming up in a minute.

a live report from the pentagon. first it could be an uphill battle over healthcare reform. senate republicans pushing for a vote next week as democrats move to stand in their way. that may not be the only trouble there. welcome to a new hour of "america's newsroom." i'm shannon bream. >> bill: how are you doing? >> shannon: rocking and rolling. >> bill: i'm bill hemmer, good morning. tight deadline as republicans move to repeal and replace obamacare. mitch mcconnell keeping up the pressure for a vote before lawmakers scatter for the holiday recess about a week and a half from now. house speaker paul ryan hoping to move beyond healthcare to focus on tax reform. he will do that later this afternoon. this is what he said about that last hour here on "america's newsroom." >> we're very pleased the senate is moving forward on healthcare reform. obamacare, the law is collapsing before our eyes. lots of amendment. a lengthy legislative process but i'm excited the senate is

taking it up. >> bill: let's go to mike emanuel on the hill. good morning. what have you learned about the next steps in the healthcare process here? >> bill, most republican sources i've talked to expect there will be a vote on healthcare reform in the senate by the end of next week. nobody is quite certain if they have the votes to pass it or precisely what will be in it. the sense i'm getting in mitch mcconnell said he and his colleagues have been talking about scrapping obamacare for seven years. he makes the case it's time for action. >> i regret that democrats announced their intention early on they didn't want to be part of a bipartisan process to move past the failures of this law. congress still has a responsibility to act and the reconciliation process will allow us to do so. >> they could receive an outline of the bill in the coming days and it is possible it may be available until the end of the week.

>> bill: late last night democrats were on the floor. what are the tactics? what's the procedure for them trying to grind this to a halt? >> senate democrats are trying to make it difficult to get anything done in the senate at this point including doing speeches until after midnight last night. they ripped the gop's process of creating a healthcare reform package and are clearly trying to rally their base. >> we will seek in as many ways as we can as many times as we can to refer the house-passed healthcare bill to committee where it can be vetted, debated and amended in the opening. for the american people to see. if republicans aren't going to allow debate on their bill on the floor or in committee, democrats will make opportunities to debate. >> democrats don't have the power to defeat the bill if republicans are united. that's an if at this point. they're trying to make it more difficult for republicans to pass a bill. >> bill: that's a good drama. thank you, mike, covering all

that from capitol hill. >> shannon: guy benson the political editor of town hall.com. guy, no surprise the democrats would try to put the brakes on this thing but there are potential republican roadblocks as well. let's talk about it first in the senate. various objections from a number of senators, cruz, lee, rand paul, how does mitch mcconnell get to 50 with the vice president being 51 if he needs them. >> the five names are at both ends of the spectrum. you have some on one end who want something closer to full repeal and a more free market solution. we have the others right at the center and they are saying hold off, we need to be careful about medicaid, we need to be more generous with the tax credits that come in the bill and so trying to herd those cats and get to 50 i think is the reason why mcconnell and republicans have been working

behind closed doors in this working group of 13 senators to try to bridge that gap and come up with a bill they can get to 50 votes. democrats understandably are upset about the process here. i think there is some hypocrisy at play remembering how they passed obamacare and all the various goodies that they used for obamacare while lying through their teeth about what was in that bill. there is something unusual about voting on legislation to change 1/6 of the u.s. economy where we don't have the legislative language this week and talking about a final vote in the senate next week? i think it's ripe for criticism from the left and we're seeing it. >> shannon: whatever happens in the senate, the house has still got its own process going on. we know how hard it was to play out as the votes were gotten together and deals were made. we have something saying this,

to the majority leader in the senate. we write to express serious concerns suggesting that the senate's efforts to produce a reconciliation bill repealing the affordable care act are headed in a direction that may jeopardize final passage in the house of representatives pointing out four areas that they're concerned about. issues over the medicaid expansion, the state waivers they worked so hard to put in. those going away. obamacare taxes not going away and the issue of defunding planned parenthood which goes back to senators collins and may be necessary to table that to get their votes. conservatives in the house saying we may not want any part of what you're doing. >> it goes back to the pieces of the puzzle because it was very clear once the house bill passed that it was going to change significantly in the senate and those four areas that you just ran through are some of the rumors that we've heard about what they're playing around with. keep in mind, we don't know. we don't know what's actually in the bill yet.

people in that room having these conversations with mcconnell include mike lee who is very conservative. the idea it will be completely watered down and get his stamp of approval or someone like him or ted cruz i think we should wait and see what's actually in the bill. but the general premise of the question is a good one. let's say they squeeze through 50 votes and they -- not say they lose rand paul on one end and susan collins on the other end but get enough people in for 50. it goes back to the house. it was so close in the house where you had moderates jumping ships. some conservatives being brought into the fold. will they be able to coble together to pass the senate bill or will it go to conference? if it goes fora conference committee there is a chance it dies there. the idea this is smooth sailing straight ahead not true. a long way to go. >> shannon: meantime it seems like there is a bit of an

attitude let's put it up for vote. live or die let's get it done. we have tax reform, the budget, a debt ceiling. so many other things they have to tackle it seems like the appetite for really digging in on this for many lawmakers is waning. >> two points. to get to tax reform i think it's generally agreed upon among in both houses tax reform is easier if you have obamacare because of the tax baselines that would shift with obamacare repeal and replace i should say. when it comes to the appetite for doing this, we should remind -- when i say we, conservatives must remind republicans that they were elected to do this job. one of the few coherent messages over the last seven years from the republican party to the american people was we'll get rid of obamacare, which is still failing. failing and getting worse. if they just shrug and walk away because they can't come to an agreement, i think that's a big, big betrayal and republican senators understand

that. >> shannon: guy benson, good to chat with you. thank you. >> bill: back to the breaking news from overseas, the u.s. fighter jet shooting down and iranian drone. also fox news first to break the story of the russian jet buzzing a u.s. plane in the baltic sea dangerously close there. lucas tomlinson watching this from the pentagon. let's start with the drone. what details do you have on that? >> bill, we're just learning that yesterday a u.s. air force f-15 fighter jet shot down an iranian-made drone in southern syria. before we get to that let me tell you about something that happened yesterday one day after a u.s. f-18 super hornet downed a syrian fighter jet near the isis stronghold of raqqa. a russian fighter jet buzzed a u.s. navy reconnaissance aircraft flying in the baltic

sea. the russian fighter jet, its wings were dirty officials tell fox. there were missiles under its wings. in recent weeks the u.s. military has participated in a large military training exercise in the baltic region including flying b-52 nuclear capable bombers in the baltic sea reasons and dozens of warships are participating amid heightened tensions with russia. the latest provocation comes on the same day, yesterday, that russian defense ministry said it would target u.s. fighter jets flying west of the euphrates river. most u.s. jets are bombing isis in the euphrates river valley but heightened provocations in syria. >> bill: there is so much action. what are you hearing? >> yesterday in southern syria for the second time a u.s. air force jet shot down an iranian drone flying near u.s.-backed forces in southern syria near

syria's border with iraq and jordan where u.s. special operations forces are training syrian fighters. it marked the fifth time since late may, bill, that u.s. jets were forced to bomb pro-assad regime forces as things continue to escalate in syria. >> bill: more to come, lucas, thank you. thank you. >> shannon: gop congressional candidate karen handel casting her ballot. house speaker paul ryan says she and other republicans are in a good place. his thoughts on the race and more coming up in part two of our interview in minutes. >> bill: also the tensions escalating in north korea after the death of otto warmbier. senator john mccain saying the u.s. cannot tolerate the murder of its own citizens. how and will the u.s. respond this time? >> shannon: just one day after a u.s. fighter shoots down a syrian jet russian fighters

harass an american aircraft over the baltic sea. how will it affect our efforts in syria? >> we retaliated and we'll do what's necessary in syria or iraq to protect our people supporting the forces on the ground. and we're not going to stand for anything like that.

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>> an american president in the very near future will be faced

with a difficult choice seeing an icbm on a north korean launch pad. not know where it's aimed. will we let it be launched and hope it is not aimed at the united states? this regime is not rational. what kind of regime allows it to happen? >> shannon: john bolton pointing to the death of otto warmbier that the north korean regime cannot be negotiated with and must be removed. mike huckabee is with us this morning. >> i have to say i agree with the ambassador 100%. sad it's come to this but it has. i think the murder of otto warmbier has simply personalized the situation in korea in a way that most americans otherwise would never have understood how dangerous this regime is. >> shannon: he maps out a

terrifying scenario of an icbm that we don't know what the contents of it are sitting on a launch pad. intel it's there and as a president and office you've run for you know how difficult that kind of decision must be. when you've got to decide whether or not you take action potentially sparking world war iii. >> hopefully not. the only way it works if you have a coalition of asian partners that must include the tip of the spear the chinese. they not only have the clout with north korea and with its people but they have to be involved as a defensive measure. if they're involved i believe it's possible to happen. it won't be pretty but it is less messy than if we wait until north korea gets to the place where they can launch nuclear devices on a long-range basis or for that matter on a short-range basis and we know they're crazy enough to do it. you have that issue but you also have the humanitarian.

people of north korea are basically starving. if they aren't in the military they're starving and it is not going to get better. let's quit kidding ourselves and say one day they'll have a leader that will be smart, intelligent and want to be a player in the world. no, they're not. and so i think the ambassador was spot on and it's a tragedy situation but what has happened to otto warmbier has made it personal and real to the american public in a way that before they just thought this rogue regime lighting candles and firing them into the atmosphere and having a fireworks show. they know there is more behind it than that. >> shannon: we have three americans that we know of being held and if state department is demanding them back. what else do we do in response at this point? >> i think we go back to the table with the chinese and i believe it's very significant that president trump had the kind of meeting with the president of china that builds real relationship and candor

and honesty that hasn't existed in the past. this is the pesky kid in your family but broken every home in the neighborhood and you can't continue to ignore his actions and you've got to take some decisive intervention. otherwise it is not going to be a broken window, it will be a burned down house. that's how they have to look at it. there has to be an intervention. the longer it goes, the more potential north korea has not just to kill one american at a time, but to kill tens of thousands of americans with some intercontinental ballistic device that may have a nuclear war cone on the top of it. >> shannon: as we talked about many times even in their failures they're learning things. the more time they have, the more they can compile and put together. governor huckabee, always good to see you. thank you, sir. >> thank you, shannon. >> bill: the polls are open in a high stakes special election

in the state of georgia. paul ryan comments on that race and what it might signal for republicans and democrats in 2018. >> i think this is an opportunity for georgia to elect fresh leadership and deliver results for folks at home. >> we'll rock nancy pelosi's world. you don't let anything

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hey you've gotta see this. cno.n. alright, see you down there. mmm, fine. okay, what do we got? okay, watch this. do the thing we talked about. what do we say? it's going to be great. watch. remember what we were just saying? go irish! see that? yes! i'm gonna just go back to doing what i was doing. find your awesome with the xfinity x1 voice remote. >> how does it feel to be the only candidate that can vote in this district election? >> i've lived here for nearly 25 years and i think that's going to make a big difference. >> what are the national implications of today's outcome? >> everywhere i go that's what you all ask. this race is about the people of the sixth district. i've said that from day one in this race and i'll say it today.

it's about who is best suited to represent the people of this district. >> president trump tweeted your support yesterday and today. >> i thank him for his support. i said it would have to be all hands on deck and that's what it has been. >> that's the woman of the hour, voting moments ago in georgia. the most money ever spent on a house race upwards of $60 million spent on georgia's sixth congressional seat. an area that's being growing such over the past 20 years. population growth described as a swing district. donald trump won this area last election by a little less than 2% vacated by tom price who is head of health and human services. i talked with paul ryan earlier about this campaign in georgia. >> bill: mr. speaker, welcome back to in "america's

newsroom." what does this vote in georgia mean tonight? >> well, it means the democrats threw the entire kitchen sink at this thing. they spent tens of millions of dollars picking up this seat. i would rather be us, the republicans, than the democrats going into this race. i think karen handel fits this district. the democrat is a liberal democrat who does not reflect this district. they're throwing everything they can at this race. again like i said before, i would rather be the republicans than the democrats going into the evening. we have to get our voters to turn out. people have to realize. >> bill: you were there a month ago. what did you pick up on? it's a changing district. maybe you can enlighten us. is it a vote on healthcare or the president? or something else? >> i don't think it's a one-issue district. it is a tight district. a district the president won by one or so points. a little less than two points. it's a difficult district. i think everybody will try to

read into it one thing or the other. i don't think it's a one issue thing. karen handel clearly fits this district. she is from the district. the democrat isn't from the district. i think that's really what it comes down to and i think people will try to take something out of it. i feel pretty good going into the evening. republicans have to vote and turn out. that's the thing you worry about in special elections, the turnout rate. >> bill: interesting point. so far the turnout has been enormous in pre-election voting. what does a loss mean for the gop? or for your leadership? >> i don't want to get into that. i think we're doing well so far. we have not lost one of the special elections yet. so i don't want to get ahead of where we are. i feel good about where we are. i would rather be the republicans than the democrats in this race. let's not speculate about the outcome until we have one. >> bill: your friend steve scalise, we believe he is improving. what update do you have for us?

>> he is improving. jan and i went to see steve with jennifer on friday. he was responsive then and doing better now. he has had more surgeries. these are the kinds of things he will have to have. he will have a bit of recovery ahead of him but he is improving at a very good pace. >> bill: mr. speaker, thank you for your time. paul ryan there on the hill. thank you. we'll watch that election today in georgia, right? prime time coverage later tonight as the numbers are coming in. i think we've been here before. stand by. >> shannon: we have. >> bill: there is another election happening in south carolina today that has been clearly overshadowed by this. this will be four total since the general election. republicans won the first two. they should win the race in south carolina so the drama goes to georgia because right now it's pretty close. >> shannon: the amount of outside money that has come into the state. 25 plus million dollars from outside the state for a race that's now the most expensive house race in history. >> bill: you could argue that's

absurd. >> shannon: you could do good things with that money. an armed russian fighter jet coming within five feet of a u.s. plane in the baltics. our next guest says there is a limit with putin and we might be about to reach it. >> i think it's more bluster than anything else. it is intended to sooth the wounds of the syrian military and particularly their air force that russia kind of has their back. >> shannon: that good man, jack keane, joins us next. >> bill: there is a discovery from nasa suggesting we may not be alone. when heartburn hits fight back fast with new tums chewy bites. fast relief in every bite. crunchy outside. chewy inside. tum tum tum tum new tums chewy bites. what's the story behind green mountain coffee and fair trade? let's take a flight to colombia. this is boris calvo. boris grows mind-blowing coffee.

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>> shannon: this is a fox news alert. a u.s. air force fighter jet has shot down an armed iranian drone. it was flying near u.s.-backed forces and another armed russia

fighter jet flying within five feet of a u.s. air force reconnaissance plane above the baltic sea. the pentagon says the jet was flying erratically and unsafely. leaving coalition member australia to suspend its air strikes against isis targets in syria as a precaution. we're joined from our bureau in jerusalem. what do we know of the shooting down of the iranian drone? >> first of all, shannon, adds another layer to a complicated and dicey situation in light of what happened on sunday and the ongoing fallout from that. what we know about the u.s. shooting down the drone an f-15 shot it down again near u.s.-backed forces in southern syria. it's the second time that the u.s. has downed an iranian drone in less than a month. the fifth time since late may that the u.s. military has bombed pro syrian forces in

southern syria. it comes also in light of the ongoing tension over the u.s.'s downing of the syrian fighter jet on sunday and the ongoing fallout from that and what has become a crowded battlefield in syria with russia, u.s., syria, iran all involved in the fight not only against isis but also in the ongoing civil war, the bloody and brutal civil war. all this as syria's government has launched a new offensive against isis today in northern syria and against rebel forces as well. some backed by the u.s. in the central part of the country, shannon. >> shannon: so what do we know about what's being done to de-escalate the situation between russia and the u.s. now? >> well, u.s. officials, shannon, say that communication lines between both countries and military operation centers are open online despite the tough talk from russia's foreign minister said that communication channels have been suspended, well, u.s. military officials say that the

so-called deconfliction channel, the hotline that both militaries operations centers can get online and talk about where their jets are at so there is no confusion, that remains the case. but again, russia's foreign minister said that u.s.-led coalition jets flying west of the euphrates will be targeted or at least tracked. not necessarily shot down but tracked, he said, or targeted if they pose a threat to other russian aircraft. but again, this is the downing of that iranian drone adds another complicated layer to this very tense situation that continues to unfold. >> shannon: nothing simple about that conflict as it rages on. >> bill: let's analyze all of it. general jack keane, fox news military analyst. good morning to you, general. a toxic stew. we've referred to that often over the past year. what gives today with the iranians, the russians and now the u.s. trying to beat isis in the southeast? >> we have to set the table so

our viewers can understand what's really happening here. the iranians run the war in syria. their generals are on the ground and they direct the air support from the russians and from the syrian air force in support of ground operations. they lead it. they plan it, they do everything. what the iranians are up to is they recognize that the americans are going to take the american-led forces are going to clean out the euphrates river valley all the way to iraq. the iranians don't want that. the u.s. will have influence and control over that area. the iranians want to have an arc of influence from iran through iraq, through eastern syria, they don't want the u.s. to be controlling it, to western syria to lebanon. strategically that is why the iranians now are using the ground force and also air power, their drones and syrian air force airplane the other day, to push against the

american-led coalition forces. that is what is happening. >> bill: so they are getting ready for the fall of isis and isis is going to move wherever the cockroaches move. but the iranians want to have that land area. that's what you're describing, right? >> that's exactly right. the whole euphrates river valley going into iraq, they want to control that. they recognize what will happen is u.s.-led coalition forces have to get isis out of there. those forces won't leave there. they will have to stay so isis doesn't come back. the iranians lose something that they believe they always had. that was syria. they'll lose the eastern portion of syria. now let's talk about russia. the russians are not going to shoot down a u.s. fighter airplane no matter what we do. they're not going to do that. here is the reason. the russians are happier than they could possibly be. they propped up the assad regime in a precarious situation in 2015.

they established an air base in the middle east, a permanent air base which is a strategic as set for them. if they shot down one of our airplanes, the united states would take down that entire air base. we have overwhelming combat power in the region. multiple land bases and sea platforms. we overwhelm the russians in terms of combat power. they know that. this rhetoric coming out of their mouth is from the minister of defense and it's just bluster on their part. >> bill: under that scenario, general. to keep this conversation going here. what you describe as assad staying in power and the russians are okay with that. >> they want that. >> bill: assad staying in power and the iranians are okay with that. isis getting knocked out of power in eastern syria and there is the problem with tehran. is this how it's now developing? >> that's why the pro-regime forces are pushing against the u.s.-led coalition forces the last number of weeks for the first time because they

recognize full well that eastern syria could be lost to the iranians and to also syria. russia could care less. they don't care how much territory assad controls or could care less about how much territory the iranians want to influence in eastern syria. what russia has is a good thing. they have a strategic asset and an air base and they have a regime that is going nowhere. they've propped up this regime. it will stay in power. >> bill: two more points and you outlined this with such clarity. is the u.s. now in a position to achieve victory or our own strategic pursuit, let's say? >> well, the u.s. is gradually in a position to drive isis out of syria. that's for sure. but the fact of the matter is the syrian civil war is a huge issue in terms of the humanitarian catastrophe that is happening there. the incredible influence that iran and russia have in the

region and that is growing, as you can see with the iranians toppled a regime in yemen, they're undermining bahrain. >> bill: they're moving all over. let's keep the focus on syria for this conversation. colonel ralph peters writes about the possibility that the u.s. and russia could make a wrong move. you think about the jet that buzzed our aircraft carrier within five feet. i don't know how that's possible with an airplane, a jet fighter getting within five feet of an aircraft carrier without damage occurring. what happens now? our military war game and contingencies that should the russians fire at us we will be prepared. we've gone out of our way to avoid confrontations with putin's war criminals but there is a limit and we may be about to reach it. end quote. yes or no.

>> certainly. the united states is going to protect its forces on the ground and protect its bases from any incursion and we would use military force to do that. we've demonstrated that shooting iranian drones out of the sky and shot a syrian airplane out of the sky. if russians did something like that we'd shoot them down as well. russia won't do that for the reason i just stated. they have their strategic asset. they got all they wanted out of this deal. >> bill: colonel, thank you. well done. jack keane keeping an eye on it for us. thank you, sir. we'll talk to you real soon. >> shannon: it is being hailed as a victory for free speech. how the supreme court ruling could give the washington redskins an advantage as they fight to keep their name. >> bill: we have some severe weather pounding the northeast. did you feel it yesterday? the thunder and lightning, flooding and damaging homes. there is a path of destruction behind it. we'll show you where that is.

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>> bill: big storm rolling through the northeast, strong winds tossing construction barriers into cars in manhattan. a lot of that going on. we knew it was coming and man, did it come here. further south in philadelphia lightning striking this home a three-alarm fire caused a lot of damage inside. >> it was like lightning crash. we saw a huge lightning flash. instead of coming to a point it was like two bars of the whitest lightning i have ever seen hitting just behind the trees. >> there was flames coming out of the chimney. >> bill: meanwhile further north connecticut the heavy rains bringing down trees and blocking roadways, those are big trees, too. we felt it.

>> shannon: supreme court ruled the government cannot block trademarks because it judges they're offensive. the case at hand involves an asian american rock band denied the right to have the name the slants. talk about that and more with rachel campos duffy and rachel rog -- >> shannon: listen, you can't ban speech you find offensive. that's the point of the first amendment? >> he is 100% right and right to take this case and rule on it the way they did. i'm happy to see it was a unanimous decision. there is no excuse for banning speech by the government that anybody might find offensive. that's the point of the first amendment and what's that line i may hate your speech but i'll

defend your right to say it. that's the whole purpose of why the first amendment exists. if you don't like the name the washington redskins, for example or the names the slants, guess what? don't go watch the football game or listen to the band. vote with your pocketbook but never let the government interfere in telling you what you can and cannot say. that's the whole point of the first amendment. >> shannon: rachel, the ban said they wanted to take the name. something that many people view as a slur so they could take back their power for it and use it in the way they wanted to. they're excited about the win. they aren't necessarily supportors of the redskins and them using that name. others are worried there will be hateful derogatory things that will be trademarked and no way to stop them. what is your take? >> well, too bad. julie is absolutely right. the freedom of speech should be at its broadest form in america. we don't want bureaucrats in the department of trademarks deciding what's offensive and what's not.

what i think is interesting about this case is here it involves a dance and rock band. i think a lot of millenials will pay attention to this and so many of them are on college campuses where authority figures are telling them what's offensive, what they can't say. a lot of them are self-censoring themselves for fear of running into trouble with their university or college campus. so i think this is a really great case, a really great ruling and a really great lesson for millenials who are trying to figure out and learning just how broad our freedom of speech is here in america. >> shannon: it wasn't that long ago the supreme court ruled in favor of a baptist church. the most offensive speech out there is what has to be protected and they'll potentially weigh in on something else this week. all the briefing and back and forth on the travel ban 2.0 is due this week at the court. they could make a decision about whether or not to take up the case and decide it on the merits. julie, this could be a decision

just days away. >> absolutely. the courts have ruled -- the lower courts have ruled against the president time and again. the supreme court is the ultimate arbiter. if the court does rule against the president, what does he do? this is not typically a president that doesn't necessarily keep his mouth shut when it comes to attacking the courts. will he go after the supreme court, the highest court in the land if they rule in a way he doesn't like? that remains to be seen. that's a real test for the balance of power in our country and something that's unprecedented in modern history if he goes down that road. >> shannon: we know, rachel, in some part the way in which these cases and where they were filed was forum shopping and a little bit of advantage people would argue who have won thus far. the supreme court is a whole knew game. the lower courts took into account the tweets and what he said. do you think justices will do the same here? a very 2017 way to consider a case. >> i think they are going to

judge this ban, if that's what you want to call it. i think it's more of a pause. they will judge it by what's in the order. i think julie brings up a good point about balance of power. the immigration and the security of our country and refugees and how we handle that, that's all under the executive branch. do we want the supreme court, the legislative branch or the judicial branch weighing in on this? this is the purview of the president. he was elected on this issue. it is a pause, a way for his administration to take a look at what the obama administration had in place, review those and by the way, one last thing, these are countries that have no embassies. these are countries with weak institutions where we can't figure out who these people are. i think the american people voted for donald trump to put in place measures that will protect us and that includes

not letting people in when we don't know who they are. >> shannon: all right. a little bit of agreement and some disagreement. rachel and julie, good to see you both today. have a great day. >> bill: jon scott is coming up next on "happening now." good morning. what are you cooking up? >> as you well know all eyes on georgia's sixth today as a special election takes place there in a race that's too close to call. that could tell us a lot about the 2018 mid-terms. also today major drama in the u.s. senate where democrats are doing what little they can to stop the progress of a republican repeal and replace bill for obamacare. and sean spicer holding a live news conference on camera and in the briefing room coming amidst speculation about his future in the trump administration and a possible promotion. it's all ahead on "happening now." >> bill: got a question for you now? is there life in outer space? does a new finding by nasa mean the answer is yes? ♪

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>> bill: nasa found 10 new planets outside of our solar system that could support life. most of those planets orbiting a star similar to our sun and there lies the question, is it possible? the managing editor of space.com is here. it's been some time. welcome back to you. how significant is this? what did they find? >> this is the last bit of data from this space telescope, the observatory nasa has that looks at one patch of sky to look for planets beyond our solar system. they found 10 planets that might be earth-like. they could have water on the surface and water on earth is a

sign of life. a huge win for these scientists. >> bill: kepler was launched in 2009. she is a work horse. >> it ended in 2013. scientists have been combing through the data and finding planets. they found a total of 219 new ones, 10 that could be earth-like. the grand total up to 4,000 planets they found. >> i'm reading seven of these planets orbit stars like our sun. what does that mean? >> we're comfortable on earth it is not too hot or too cold and we have liquid water and life. finding arrangements like that where they have a star just like our sun, they're in this kind of goldilocks zone where life could potentially exist. finding those planets and things that we're familiar with boosts that hope there is life out there. >> bill: you also say

scientists believe that 60% of all the stars might have planets. so maybe this is just overly common. >> they believe that now. when kepler first launched in 2009 they thought 1% of stars did. what they found from this is there could be more than half of all the stars. >> bill: explain what that could mean possibly? >> it means there are planets everywhere even the next star closest to us may have its own set of planets and where there is a lot of planets there could be a lot of earth-like planets. the possibility there could be life out there. likely how we know it or how we don't know it. >> bill: i know that within the technology world you almost want to believe this to be true or to prove it true. i'm still skeptical. prove me wrong. >> you are a skeptic. we're at space.com and we love this whole exploration for space. i want to point out that all of

these planets that have been found are in the 1% patch of the milky way that kepler has been looking at for four, five, six years now and that's just one little bit. so when they find thousands of planets up to 50 now total that could be earth-size that's just in one patch of sky. there are so many stars out there that have planets that scientists are saying the possibility gets higher and higher that we can't be the only ones out here. >> bill: there is only one malik and one bill hemmer. >> shannon: the world can't handle more. the most expensive house race in u.s. history in voters' hands. republicans fight to keep the seat they've had for 40 years. a live report from georgia just ahead. if you have medicare

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>> shannon: a couple big elections today. the one you haven't heard about, and south carolina.

>> bill: you'll be on the couch at 12 eastern. >> shannon: i'm going to be on "outnumbered" and you'll see who the one lucky guy is. >> bill: see you tomorrow, everybody. "happening now" starts right now. >> jon: a fox news alert on the most excited stomach expensive house race and history. the outcome could have big implications for the 2018 midterms. good morning, i'm jon scott. >> julie: i'm julie banderas. both are picking a replacement for tom price today who joined the trump administration. he joined as health and human services secretary. most polls now show a dead heat between republican karen handel and jon ossoff. both parties trying