comey crazy, but i feel like they know that they have an audience >> bill: the shark knows it's august, which is the best month at all. have a great one. >> jon: we begin on the fox news alert today, big day at the white house. president trump just moments ago signing the sanctions bill punishing russia for meddling in the 2016 russian election -- u.s. election. a new bill will cut legal immigrations in half. welcome to "happening now," i'm jon scott. >> molly: i molly line. in just a few moments, senators david purdue of georgia and tom cotten of arkansas will join the president to introduce the bill

they argue illegal immigration is leading to declining wages of americans. john roberts during those with more. >> president trump just moments ago just signed the russia sanctions bill. rex tillerson yesterday said that neither he nor the secretary of state nor the president will particularly happy about this because in signing the bill today, it limited his capabilities in the future to lift a sanctions against russia. a short time ago, and exquisite interview with kristin fisher, vice president mike pence said he is signing the bill today in order to show solidarity with congress. >> president trump's believes --

this legislation reaffirms that the president has a strong commitment to ongoing sanctions with russia. to make it clear that they are destabilizing behaviors which are not acceptable to the united states. in the ongoing provocations of north korea and iran will no longer be acceptable. >> the russian sanctions bill has not been signed by president trump, we expect to get a statement from the white house, which should further eliminate the president's thoughts about this. what you were talking about a short time ago, molly, this event coming up at 11:30, were the president will try to take a bite sized chunk out of immigration reform. there isn't much of an appetite and congress right now for immigration reform, so the president is going to try to do something on the legal immigration front, he is going to appear with senators perdue and tom cotton of arkansas to announce the raise act. it's a move toward a merit-based system for green card

applicants. the president will say that only one in 15 immigrants currently comes here, because of the skills that the united states does not prioritize ultra high skilled immigrants and we need an immigration system that meets the current needs of our workforce and encourages innovation. the president talked about this very thing at that campaign rally in youngstown iowa last week. listen here. >> we want people that work really hard in our country. we don't want people to come into our country and immediately go on welfare and stay there for the rest of their lives. we're not going to take it. >> this legislation will now prioritize highly skilled people from outside of this country when it comes to the green card application process. it might even go so far as to stipulate that people have to have offers of jobs here in the united states before they can even apply for a green card. it will also attempt to restore

immigration levels to historic lows. it's very similar to a bill that these senators had earlier this year. here's what was said early back in february. >> we will cut immigration and half from 1 million to 500,000 green cards per year. this approach is broadly consistent with past reform measures and it will begin to move us towards a more merit-based system, like canada and australia have. >> it's interesting because the united states of that canada and places like australia and so we don't like your health care system, but we do like your immigration system and want to mirror that here in the united states. this is only a bite sized chunk of the overall immigration picture, and has nothing to address people who are in this country illegally, nor does it have anything to do with the deferred action for childhood arrivals and so-called dreamers, that is still something the president will have to deal with on the road. >> molly: great report, the president made so many promises out there on the trail regarding

immigration, so it's great to get the first hand look at the efforts that are underway. john roberts from the white house, thank you. >> jon: meanwhile, we think there's more fighting in washington, there is big trouble in south america right now. the u.s. condemning the arrests of two opposition leaders in venezuela after government agents drag them out of their homes in the middle of the night. president trump is urging venezuela to release all political prisoners. >> molly: the president's plan to rewrite the constitution is causing unrest in the country where opponents are often jaile jailed. >> the secretary general is concerned that an escalation of political tensions will distance the country from a path conducive to finding peaceful solutions to the country's challenges. >> jon: steve harrigan is keeping an eye on the situation, he's my reno and miami. >> the trump administration is keeping the pressure on venezuela. it was just yesterday that several cabinet members name the president of venezuela a

dictator, publicly branding him as such for the first time and now president trump has released a statement calling for the release of political prisoners, including the two former mayors that were taken overnight after that vote on a constituent assembly. the two mayors were snatched by masked security forces overnight from their homes as family member screamed. one who is 62 years old was in his pajamas, he tried to resist. lopez appeared ready for the arrest, he already spent three years in jail, much of our time solitary confinement. he recorded a video saying if you're watching this now, it means i've probably been rearrested. where it goes here could be more violence and chaos. we been watching the scene and the national assembly threat the morning. this could be the last meeting of the political opposition in venezuela. they've been talking about voter fraud today and we've heard an interesting development. the ambassadors from france, spain, and mexico have pledged

to attend this meeting and the opposition. the president says he is going to have them arrested, so we could have a situation developing over the next few hours, where a president deemed a dictator by the u.s. actually arrests the ambassadors of three foreign countries. march of elements over the next few hours and possible violent protests on the street again tomorrow. back to you. >> jon: just an unbelievable situation right there. steve harrigan, thanks. >> molly: coming up later, or panel debates just how much the u.s. should get involved in the affairs of venezuela in the wake of president trump's stern warning to president nicholas maduro. >> jon: new information from capitol hill were another battle may be brewing, this time over tax reform. with senate majority leader mitch mcconnell looking to push the bill with republican votes only. democratic leader charles schumer warns that if republicans try to go it alone, tax reform could suffer a similar fate as the obamacare repeal effort.

just yesterday, the president bought up the tax overhaul, telling a small business event that it would be one more thing has a administration is doing to help american companies. >> we are eliminating the tremendous, the massive restrictions on american energy and numbers are going to be released next week that are going to be earth shattering as to what we are doing with energy in the amounts of energy we are producing their are greater than ever before. and pursuing goal tax cuts so our companies can thrive, compete, and grow. >> jon: training is not, jake sherman, sr., ready for political. is there no appetite among democrats for tax reform? >> no, actually republicans are proceeding. we've talked about this before, but republicans are proceeding using budget reconciliation which is a measure that they use on obamacare repeal that allows them to pass things with a simple majority.

chuck schumer is right in this sense. there is a very narrow margin, there's not enough senate republicans were a bunch of them to ditch and vote no, so again, we are seeing the same thing, the same dynamics play out, but the white house, for reasons that are not clear to many on capitol hill, many republicans on capitol hill are saying that tax reform is going to be done by october. the government is slated to shut down in september, the debt ceiling in september, and it seems of the trump administration wants to add another priority to the mix, which is to allow republicans to be and explicable at this point. >> jon: there are some democrats that signal they might be open to tax reform. joe manchin of west virginia, heidi heitkamp of north dakota, joe donnelly of indiana, all face reelection and could be interested in getting on board with a republican tax plan, that would give mitch mcconnell some points. >> it sure would, but a depends

on what kind of tax reform they pursue. there is a very narrow road here that republicans want to pick up democrats. i would imagine that if they stray off course for a second on tax reform, democrats won't like it and it gives them an excuse to ditch it. i think it's very early in the process, but i do think if you try to jam us through, and get it through in september or october, democrats will have it out and say, republican's are trying to jam us through congress, we want hearings, we want more time, it gives democrats an excuse to get away from this plan and not vote for it. >> jon: mcconnell says he doesn't think this is going to be 86, the reagan years, and apparently there was a big bipartisan agreement on tax reform. he doesn't seem to think democrats democrats want to get

on board. would they? >> in the mid-1980s, there was only one cable news network, it was less partisan of the time. big bills almost never passed on partisan majority. that said, everybody is kind of lining up for a tax overhaul, unclear if it's going to happen. they could always fall back on cutting tax rates, which is an easy thing to do, all of republicans and say it's a copout, but increasingly on capitol hill, people think that that might be what happens if they can't get that kind of big majority that they want, either republicans or republicans and democrats. >> jon: what about the role of the president and all of this? he obviously wanted obamacare repealed and replaced, he talked a lot about it, but he didn't necessarily put his shoulder to the wheel to get it done. he seems more interested in getting tax reform across the finish line. >> you're absolutely right, jon.

republic ends on capitol hill tell me all the time that the mixed messages out of the house is a big problem in their failure to get obamacare across the finish line. the president celibate of the house bill and the scenes, called it mean, told republicans to send me anything, i want to sign it. that's not according to republicans i talk to, that's not a smart way to get legislation done. you can't just say give me anything because then you have no guidance. the administration does appear to lean more into tax reform. steve mnuchin has been working with republicans behind the scenes for many months. you already see some more cooperation and we saw on the obamacare repeal. >> jon: in the meantime, they are proceeding in the senate to talk about shoring up obamacare, and doing it in a bipartisan way this time. >> yet, listen, if you put politicians on truth serum, which we can't do, but we wish

we could sometimes, they would say, listen, this law is in place, we can't let the insurance markets collapse like the president has suggested, we need to do something to bolster the law and kind of free all the political considerations. most are publicans will tell you that obamacare cannot be repealed wholly, needs to be tinkered with, needs to be fixed on a bipartisan basis, and i think it, i think, who knows if it will happen, but i think that's what we'll end up happening in the coming months. >> jon: that may be a parallel universe, but we'll see. i like the truth serum suggestion. jake sherman, political author, thank you. >> molly: top crime stories that we are following still ahead with a tennessee bride pulling out a gun on her groom just hours after they got married. president trump also signing a new sanction bill, how it will

impact diplomatic's. that's coming up next. let's take a look at some numbers:

4 out of 5 people who have a stroke, their first symptom... is a stroke. 80 percent of all strokes and heart disease? preventable. and 149 dollars is all it takes to get screened and help take control of your health. we're life line screening... and if you're over 50... call this number, to schedule an appointment... for five painless screenings that go beyond regular check-ups. we use ultrasound technology to literally look inside your arteries... for plaque which builds up as you age- and increases your risk for stroke and cardiovascular disease. and by getting them through this package, you're saving over 50%. so call today and consider these numbers: for just $149 you'll receive five screenings that could reveal what your body isn't telling you. i'm gonna tell you that was the best $150 i ever spent in my life. life line screening. the power of prevention.

call now tow to learn more. >> jon: right now, new information of some crime stories we are watching. comedian bill cosby looking for a new lead defense lawyer just as he prepares for another assault trial after his first trial ended in a hung jury in june. cosby has until august 21st to find a new lawyer, his previous lawyer wanted off the case, his next trial such a start in november. court action for the akron, ohio, man accused of setting off deadly fires near his home. jimmy ford faces 22 counts of aggravated murder in what prosecutors are calling the worst crime and the history of that city. no word on his motive. and this gives new meaning to the term shotgun wedding. shortly after saying i do, kate elizabeth prichard was arrested for pulling a gun out of her wedding dress, pulling it at her new husband's head and pulling

the trigger. there wasn't a round in the chamber, she corrected that and fired a shot in the air. she is now charged with aggravated domestic assault. >> molly: just moments ago, president trump signed sanctions against russia. let's bring in mike baker and the cofounder of diligence, a global intelligence security firm, thanks for being here. to start things off, the sanctions bill has been signed, this is something that had tremendous support on both sides of the political aisle. will these inventions make a difference, are they the right move? >> well, that's a complex question and it's the right one to ask. the answer is, this is partly my opinion, our past history with sanctions regimes, whether it's

against russia or iran or north korea, the sanctions don't tend to really change the country's behavior. it doesn't get the positive impact that we want. it tends to be more politically expedient, and makes us feel good and you look at this latest round of sanctions against russia and you know there's a vast political element to it because in the first place, the sanctions bill was designed for iran and north korea and on the kind of slammed in russia sanctions and as a result, the climate that we are living in right now, and also, our european allies have a vast range of disagreements and concerns over the sanctions. was it the right move? from a political point of view, point to the fact that we have to say something overtly, we have to do something in the public arena to express our great concern with russian meddling in their aggressive activities inside the borders, was of the right move? i don't believe so.

>> molly: the administration was never so sure of a sanctions bill and the effect it would have. secretary tillerson saying that they were thinking what this decision they made, the president except that, but what does it mean in the future for negotiations? >> that's a really good point, and what rex tillerson and president trump and others have said, our concern with this, we understand the desire to try and publicly shame and punish russia for what they've been doing, not just in our elections, but in crimea and georgia and in syria and their support of iran, all these things, we understand that, but rex tillerson and president trump also have a point, which is the way that this is being done, it encroaches to some degree on his negative authority and i expect past presidents would object to the way that this sanctions bill

does encroach, and it's also a possibility that it hampers our ability to at some point reduce the tension between russia and the u.s. we don't want to maintain it between these two nations, so their concern is, you may be putting us in a corner with the way the sanctions regime is structured, so they've got a point, congress has a point because they want to do something that shows a tough hand, but again, over the top of this is the question you raised which is the most important one, will it impact and have the right effect on the behavior? >> molly: russia has retaliated by kicking on hundreds of diplomats. thanks for your insight. >> jon: an illegal immigrant in a so-called century city is now charged with the brutal rape of 18. plus a legal development in the

deadly car crash involving venus williams, why attorneys want to get a look at the tennis stars cell phone. >> were you involved? >> yes. >> are you okay? where's the other person? are they okay? by booking direct on choicehotels.com? hey! badda book. badda boom! mr. badda book. badda boom! book now at choicehotels.com

when this guy got a flat tire in the middle of the night... so he got home safe. yeah, my dad says our insurance doesn't have that. what?!? with liberty mutual's 24-hour roadside assistance, get a jump, tow, and more - any time of day. switch and you could save $782 on home and auto insurance. call for a free quote today. you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™. liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance.

>> molly: new information on the deadly car crash involving tennis star venus williams, the word that attorneys for the family of the victim now one to search her cell phone. the 70-year-old man died two weeks after the crash, he was a passenger and the car that williams hit. the palm beach post reports his family's legal motion says that "evidence gathered so far indicated that williams may have been distracted at the time of the june 9th crash." they want a forensic expert to

examine the cell phone to find out what she may have been doing. >> jon: new backlash against a so-called sanctuary city in washington state after an illegal immigrant was charged with the brutal rape of a teenager there. voters there are now trying to take action this november and what could be the first referendum of its kind in the country. dan springer is following that story, he's live in seattle now. >> the vicious attack happened june 25th in the city of burien. local law enforcement officials could not or perhaps would not tell us the immigration status of the 23-year-old man charged with committing the crime. yesterday, immigration officials finally confirmed salvador garcia was an illegal immigrant, but since 2013 was allowed to stay in the u.s. with a so-called dreamer under the program. police say he was caught on surveillance camera and by a witness appearing at girls at the apartment pool, just after 9:00 at night. the 19-year-old victim was running on the treadmill at the complex gym, that's when she was

brutally attacked. according to probable cause document, she had a blood he had come a missing teeth, was only wearing her tank top, her ear was torn and dangling, numerous cuts on her head, upper lip was torn, bleeding and unable to talk, she suffered a broken orbital bone, broken jaw, and broken nose, and also discovered male dna. a citizens group has collected enough signatures to get a referendum on the november ballot. at least three council members want ordinance to stay. >> we need to make sure that every member of the community feels safe coming to the government if they see a crime, we want to make sure that every citizen comes forth in that they feel safe here. that is and all of our interests and is the right thing to do. >> the hispanic operation is growing rapidly now at 24%. it sends the wrong message and makes residents less safe to

have this law. >> when leaning toward having this welcoming, we want everybody here to be happy and feel safe, how can we guarantee that if we don't know anything about people living here? >> salvador garcia, he had dreamer status in january of this year, yesterday it was revoked. he's being held on bail of $350,000. >> jon: unbelievable, thanks very much dan springer. >> molly: unrest in venice villa is the government jails and kills people opposed to its agenda, how much should the u.s. get involved? our panel will discuss. plus. >> terrible. >> molly: folks in the pacific northwest are racing for some record-breaking heat. of busines. but who takes care of mom? office depot/office max. this week, filler paper just one cent with five dollar minimum purchase.

♪taking care of business. trust #1 doctor recommended dulcolax. use dulcolax tablets for gentle dependable relief. suppositories for relief in minutes. and dulcoease for comfortable relief of hard stools. dulcolax. designed for dependable relief. there's nothing more important than your health. so if you're on medicare or will be soon, you may want more than parts a and b here's why. medicare only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. you might want to consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like any medicare supplement insurance plan, these help pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and, these plans let you choose any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients.

you could stay with the doctor or specialist you trust... or go with someone new. you're not stuck in a network... because there aren't any. so don't wait. call now to request your free decision guide and find the aarp medicare supplement plan that works for you. there's a range to choose from, depending on your needs and your budget. rates are competitive. and they're the only plans of their kind endorsed by aarp. like any of these types of plans, they let you apply whenever you want. there's no enrollment window... no waiting to apply. so call now. remember, medicare supplement plans help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay. you'll be able to choose any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients.

whether you're on medicare now or turning 65 soon, it's a good time to get your ducks in a row. duck: quack! call to request your free decision guide now. because the time to think about tomorrow is today.

>> jon: a fox news weather alert for you and forecasters in the pacific northwest concerned about extreme heat in washington, as well as oregon. >> molly: of these temperatures reaching triple digits. conditions will be downright dangerous. >> and temperatures get this high, it's important for people to stay hydrated and state of the direct sun as much as they possibly can. if you've got a fan, that's great, even hotter that's moving feels better than hotter that's just sitting there. >> molly: we take us to adam housley, he's live from our los angeles bureau.

>> we are inside in the air conditioning thankfully because it's hot here in california. ed starts in the portland area, the northwest getting some extreme heat. in fact, police officers in the portland area, doing what they don't normally do this time of year and that's going around and doing weather checks, checking on people that normally are out in the streets, may be needing some housing, passing out bottled water at the same time. also in portland at the portland zoo, they're keeping the elephants cool. you see the ministers, they're not only ministers in arizona, but they're all around portland as well, trying to keep the animals and people at the zoo cool, some are getting ice baths, and for the animals i don't like water, they found more added shade by adding some cover, allowing them to get out of the heat. still a worry, and only for animals and people at the zoo, but also for youngsters. one mom had her daughter treated

for heat stroke. thank way the child will be okay, but listen to what she had to say about it. >> this can happen to anybody. it has happened to all walks of life, it's happened to doctors, and tap into principals and teachers, it's happened to rich and poor people, it doesn't matter who you are. you are not immune to this happening. >> not immune at all. the northwest in the southeast, not immune to water. look at this, left overs of tropical storm emily, now downgraded to a topical depression, but it hammered parts of the florida coast. a flash flood warning was issued last may for miami beach of all places. nearly a half foot of rain pounding the area also some high tides as well. to arizona, also dealing with some rain. monsoon season in the southwest, as you can see, we are told that the conditions are ripe for thunderstorms across phoenix and tucson, potentially bringing some significant rain there as

well. pull up the weather map, take a look. orange and red everywhere, they heat, the humidity, especially in southern california. it's up as well. a lot of fire danger across the region and thunderstorm danger, we are worried about lightning source as well. it's going to be a hot day, just about everywhere and it has everybody pretty much on alert, including the northwest. crazy times right now in the middle of summer. we'll keep it updated and watch everything. in the meantime, try to stay cool like we are and stay inside. back to you guys. >> molly: thank you very much. some chaos in venezuela, the white house calling nicholas madero a dictator, this after two opposition leaders were taken from their home and jail yesterday. the u.s. releasing sanctions on the country on monday, now the international community calling on the venezuelan government to talk with the opposition. >> in this critical moment for the future of the country, the secretary general urges all venezuelans, particularly those

representing those powers of the state to make all possible efforts to lower tensions, prevent further violence and loss of life, as well as find avenues for political dialogue. the secretary general reiterates his firm belief that political negotiation is urgently needed between the government and the opposition. he is convinced that the only way forward is a political solution. >> molly: palmyra salazar joins me now. she went to harvard with one of the opposition leaders currently in jail. and michael cammalleri, he is also here, he's the director -- and a former director for affairs on the international security council. both of you are well ready to discuss this topic. let's start with the sanctions that are imposed largely in some of the government leaders, does not go far enough or is there

more that should be done? >> not enough, we need to use the nuclear option now. we need to stop buying venezuelan oil because every time he pay them for that oil, they're using that money to repress the people even more. what the venezuelan government is trying to do is implement a cuban style military dictatorship and unfortunately, they are becoming pretty successful. it's time for us, the united states, to say no more because we are their number one partner when it comes to buying oil. if we keep on paying them or if we stop buying oil, they'll be forced to sell it to china and that will bring economic collapse because the transportation to china is a lot more expensive. the transportation costs are a lot more expensive and they will not be able to refine their heavy crude oil in louisiana. >> molly: i want to bring in michael while we still have time. what should be done at this point if the country seems to be

shifting toward dictatorship? >> sanctions clearly need to be on the table. we've seen in the past, countries like iran with strong economic measures that can impact foreign impacts. in the case of oil sanctions, the administration needs to weigh the impact and the potential political impact from eight few different standpoints. >> molly: we are going to ask you to stand by, we have some breaking news. >> jon: we are going to pause for one moment to let our fox stations join us. president trump is about to enter the roosevelt room to make an announcement on emigration in this country. there's been an awful lot of discussion about illegal immigration, but now the president is proposing changes to the legal immigration system.

a system that we believe would cut by about one half the number of legal immigrants we went to pause now for fox to join us. this is fox news coverage of a major announcement on immigration, i'm jon scott in new york. again, the president joined by a couple of u.s. senators, he is intending to announce a significant cut in the number of legal immigrants allowed into the united states. we expect he will say that right now, about 1 million legal immigrants are allowed and each year. the president intends to cut the number to about half a million. one of the emphasis that president trump is placing on new legal immigrants is that he wants skilled workers, people who want to come here and work. tom cotton is one of those who is also on board with this and now let's listen to the president. >> thank you very much, it's

great to be here today to reveal legislation that would represent the most significant reform to our immigration system and a half a century. i want to think senators tom cotton and david perdue for their tremendous work in putting together this historic and very vital proposal. as a candidate, i campaigned on creating a merit-based immigration system that protects u.s. workers and taxpayers and that is why we are here today. merit-based. the raise act will reduce poverty, increase wages, and save taxpayers aliens and billions of dollars. it would do this by changing the way the united states issues green cards to nationals from other countries. green cards provide permanent residency, work authorization, and fast track to citizenship.

for decades, the united states was operating and has operated a low skilled immigration system, issuing record numbers of green cards to low-wage immigrants. this policy is placed substantial pressure on american workers, taxpayers, and community resources. among those hit the hardest in recent years, minority workers competing for brand-new arrivals and it has not been fair to our people, to our citizens, to our workers. the raise acts ends. this competitive application process will favor applicants who can speak english, financially support themselves and their families, and demonstrate skills that will contribute to our economies.

the act protects american workers from being displaced. that's a very big thing. they're not going to come in and immediately collect welfare, that doesn't happen under the raise act, they can't do that. crucially, the green card reforms in the raise act will give american workers a pay raise. this legislation will not only restore the competition, but it restore faith of the citizens. finally, the reforms in the raise act will help ensure that newcomers to our wonderful country will be assimilated,

will succeed, and will achieve the american dream. i would now like to invent a senator cotton and senator perdue to say words, thank you, thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. president. very excited to be here with a senator perdue and president trump to be introducing the new version of the raise act. our system should accomplish two goals. one, it should help american workers get a decent pay raise and have a higher standard of living, and two, it should help promote economic growth, make it more competitive. our current system simply doesn't do that. it's over a half-century old. it is an obsolete disaster and it's time for a change. so first, we bring over 1 million immigrants in this country every year. that's like adding the population of an antenna every single year, adding the population of arkansas every three years. the vast majority of those

immigrants come here, not because of their english-language abilities or their job skills, or their job offer or their educational attainment. in fact, only 1 of 15, only 1 ow immigrants come here because of their job skills and their ability to succeed in this economy. that means it puts great pressure on people who work with their hands and work on their feet. for some people, they may think that's a symbol of america's virtue and generosity, i think it's a symbol that we are not committed to working class americans and we need to change that. second, we also lose out on the very best in the country. and create new jobs for americans and other immigrants, speak english, and contribute to our economy and sin on their own two feet.

the raise act will change all of that by reorienting our green card system towards people who can speak english, who have high degrees of educational attainment, will have a job offer that pays more and a typical job will create a new business and our outstanding in their field around the world. i'm excited and i look forward to working with senator perdue and president trump through the congress and make this very fundamental sweeping change for the first time in over 50 years to our immigration system. thank you. >> thank you, tom, thank you mr. president. good afternoon everyone. first of all, mr. president, i want to thank you for your leadership on this immigration topic. i think this is extremely critical for our country. you talk about it often on the

campaign trail. use a job one was growing the economy, that's why i believe you and i are both standing here. you also said that as a fortune fortune 500 ceo, i'm the only fortune 500 ceo in congress and i lived on the road much of my career and i can tell you nothing that we are going to do right now is more important than this. the reason we do this is very simple, our current system does not work. it keeps america from a competitive and it does not meet the needs of our economy today. as tom said, we bring in 1.1 million illegal immigrants a year. over 50% of our households believe immigrants participate in our social welfare system. right now, only 1 out of 15 immigrants who come into our country come in with skills that are employable. we've got to change that. as business guys, you understand we need a new approach. we need to fix this immigration system. we took a look of best practices, go to countries like canada, australia, and others. what we are introducing today is modeled and current canadian and australian systems.

it's been proven to work. both have been extreme a successful in attracting highly skilled workers to those countries. we can all agree the goal should be working with americans and welcome talented individuals who come here illegally and want to work and make a better life for themselves. our current system makes it virtually impossible for them to do that. if we're going to continue as an innovator in the world, it's imperative that our immigration system focus on highly skilled permanent workers who can add value to our economy and ultimately achieve their own version of the american dream. what we're talking about today is very simple, it's a rational approach to migration that allows us to finally fixed once and for all of this system in a strategic way we position america is a globally lower economically. mr. president, i'm proud to stand with you and tom cotton. i'm ready julie to be a sweeping change for america.

thank you. >> i just want to state that as you probably have noticed, the stock market had an all-time record high today, over 22,000. we picked up substantially now more than $4 trillion in net worth in terms of our country, or stocks, or countries, we have a growth rate of gdp which has been much higher, as you know, then anybody anticipated, except maybe us, but it's going to go higher. we are a job. it's good to see jobs are pouring back into the country, factories and plants are coming back into the country, we're going to start making products and america again and that's happening all over, as i mentioned yesterday, there's going to be $10 billion spent in wisconsin and other places, and i think a $10 billion will end up being $30 billion.

they make iphones for apple and others. we have a lot of things happening that are really great, but again, today, the stock market hit the highest level that it has ever been, and our country is doing very well. i went to think of all. tom and david are going to be outside, they're going to speak to you at length about what we are going to do with respect to this aspect of immigration, i think it's going to be very, very important. the biggest change in 50 years. thank you all very much. >> jon: without answering questions from the assembled press, president trump and the roosevelt room along with her pelican senators tom cotton of arkansas and david perdue of georgia, announcing the raise act. i would cut the number of legal immigrants allowed into the united states by about 50% to

about five and a thousand a year and it would emphasize those with strong language skills and other marketable skills to try and reach wages among american workers as well as immigrants. please stay tuned to fox news channel and this fact station for continuing coverage of this story, i'm jon scott in new york. with the president they're making that announcement, once again legal immigration back on the table, a system that as you heard from senator cotton hasn't been changed in more than 50 years. certainly, molly's current guests will want to talk more about that. >> molly: you, how fortunate our way to have these guests to comment on this? we have elvira salazar and michael kelly mary you were able to listen to the

president and senators speaking about these major changes in immigration policy in america. the three major points he talked about when he was making this announcement, that those coming to america need to be able to speak english, to support their own families, and to demonstrate skills. your reaction to this? >> basically with the president is doing is he's scratching the 19625 immigration law that was signed by democrats, specifically ted kennedy to be more exact. what that law says is if you are in the united states, you can bring in your mom, your dad, your sister, your brother, and your grandparents and that has stopped. there's a complete change now with what's going to happen. if you are in the united states and you want to bring in your mom, your mom needs to speak english and have an employable skill to help the economy. in the last 50 years, as the president said, more than 60 million people came in and most of them are from my community, hispanic. this is a complete game changer. it changes the whole political spectrum for us as hispanics.

we need people that can produce and contribute with the economy and many people will be happy with what the president just announced. >> molly: it will be adjusting to see with the democrats have to say, it would be a pretty harsh response, i imagine. >> i referred to the immigration expertise of your other guests, we were talking a second ago about venezuela, that would be the country that has the greatest number of asylum requests last year. it speaks to the situation and the gravity of the situation in venezuela and also the tradition of the united states as a beacon of freedom. >> molly: go ahead, elvira. >> i agree and that's something we can all agree on is that we have to reform our immigration system. and that includes the immigration reform law.

>> molly: that's something both sides of the aisle have been struggling with for decade decades. thank you so much. elvira salazar, michael kelly mary, we appreciate your input. >> jon: the house is working on bipartisan legislation to try and fix obamacare. in defiance of the president's demands to tackle health care reform once again after efforts to get rid of obamacare failed time and time again in the senate last week. let's talk about it now with a trio of experts. amy holmes is a political analyst, liz smith is former debbie campaign manager, and doug schoen, a fox news contributor and former advisor to president bill clinton. bill clinton elected as a democrat, but he got republicans on board with his plans and

there was a fair amount of movement in the country economically and so forth through the clinton years, partly because of what? bipartisan legislation. >> i was one of those who persuaded him to do the balanced-budget, to reduce the debt and the deficit and to reach out to the republican house and senate, at work, and i would recommend the democrats come together now on health car health care. >> jon: how do you do that? >> what they're doing right now. after all of this polarization, i think it's great to see that bipartisanship is no longer a dirty word on the hill. what they're going to do is not going to make partisans and other side very happy. not that republicans want to sabotage the law, neither do democrats want things in disrepair. as a positive development, and only for health care, but for the hill as well. >> jon: obamacare was passed

into law without a single republican vote and republicans now feel like they're getting their pound of flesh. >> the president did try for many months to get republicans on board, he was unable to do so and it's a fair criticism of it, but now what we see is people trying to come together in the spirit of bipartisanship and it's the right thing to do. it's the right thing to come together and say we will not sabotage markets just for political reasons. >> jon: what do polls say about this? do they want bipartisan efforts or are everyone is polarized? >> you see this polarization that only single digits of democrats give the president-positive approval ratings, so that's part of why his numbers are so low, but in terms of how you get the bipartisanship, i would remind that during the bill clinton er era, republicans took over congress in 1994 and bill clinton then had to turn back to the center.

>> we reached out and that's what makes america strong. we're not democrats and republicans, we are americans and our interest as a nation is at stake with this. >> democrats had to see that there -- they had something to lose that they did reach across the aisle as well. >> jon: we have to leave it there. we got interrupted by some breaking news. thanks for keeping a quick, we'll be right back. ins and min. for the strength and energyn. to get back to doing... ...what you love. ensure. always be you. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80%

of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, it could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call now to request your free decision guide. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him. [ male announcer ] you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and virtually no referrals needed. see why millions of people have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp. don't wait. call now.

i enjoy the fresher things in life.o. fresh towels. fresh soaps. and of course, tripadvisor's freshest, lowest... ...prices. so if you're anything like me... ...you'll want to check tripadvisor.

we now instantly compare prices... ...from over 200 booking sites... ...to find you the lowest price... ...on the hotel you want. go on, try something fresh. tripadvisor. the latest reviews. the lowest prices. >> molly: an elementary school in the minneapolis have been partially collapsed. police say it seems to be sensitive gas explosion. you can see flames, the windows were blown out, this is the area from our minneapolis affiliate km sp. it happened at the minnehaha academy and minneapolis. there are reports that there is at least one person killed,

others may be trapped, but also where that school is not in session. >> jon: we will continue to give an eye on that story, we'll let you know the latest update. we'll see you back here in an hour. "outnumbered" starts now. >> sandra: a fox news alert, the president a short time ago reluctantly signing a package of sanctions against russia designed to punish the kremlin were meddling in the u.s. presidential election. the bill passed both chambers overwhelmingly. the white house calls the measure significantly flawed -- the measure could hurt efforts to improve chilly relations between the two countries. the level titan penalties already in place against businesses and individuals, some within vladimir putin's inner circle.