you for watching. i'm paul gigot, hope to see you right here next week. ♪ ♪ eric: president trump advancing his agenda on several fronts this sunday. as you know, he focuses on two big campaign promises; tax reform and repealing and replacing obamacare. the president sat down with our own maria bartiromo for an exclusive fox news interview. the president saying the path, he says, is clear to get those deals done. hello, everyone, i'm eric shawn. this is a new hour of "america's news headquarters." arthel: hello, everyone, i'm arthel neville. the president touching on a wide range of issues in that interview including his use of social media and the controversy over his phone call to the widow of a fallen soldier. but on those two ambitious campaign goals, mr. trump

striking an optimistic tone. >> i think we have the votes. i think that rand paul actually is going to vote for the tax cuts. i think that other people, you know, we had tremendous enthusiasm this time. health care, i was told, was tougher, but it was close. i mean, so far i would say it's not even a contest. and i will tell you, speaking of health care, i believe we're going to get that also a little bit later, probably in three or four months from now, but i do believe we'll have that long before the election in '18. eric: kristin fisher live with us from the white house. we just heard the president say three to four months. what are they saying at the white house right now? how realistic is that timeline? >> reporter: well, eric, it's definitely possible, but, you know, the more pressing question is what does president trump want to do about this new bipartisan bill. the alexander-murray bill which would temporarily reinstate some of the obamacare subsidies. at first he supported the bill,

then he didn't all in the span of one week, and now we really aren't sure where he stands. so today the senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell, asked the president for clarity. listen. >> what i'm waiting is to hear from president trump what kind of health care bill he might sign. if there's a need for some kind of interim step here to stabilize the market, we need a bill the president will actually sign, and i'm not certain yet what the president's looking for here, but i'll be happy to bring a bill to the floor if i know president trump would sign it. >> reporter: so the message from mitch mcconnell is, you know, mr. president, make up your mind on this health care bill so that the senate can move on to what you really want them to move on to which is tax reform. and, indeed, we've learned that this afternoon president trump will be calling in to the weekly gop house conference call to push for his budget and his tax reform plan. eric?

eric: we'll see how that goes and have a report from you, i'm sure, as soon as that call is completed. meanwhile, from policy to politics. the feud between the chief of staff, john kelly, and the florida congresswoman fed reek ca wilson, that is -- frederica wilson, where does that tiff stand now? >> reporter: it really only seems to be intensifying, and this comes just one day after the funeral for one of the four soldiers killed in niger, sergeant david johnson whose wiz doe has found -- widow has found herself in the center of this argument. this morning president trump said this about congresswoman wilson for the second day in a row calling her wacky, quote: wacky congresswoman wilson is the gift that keeps on giving for the republican party, a disaster for dems. you watch her in action and vote r. now the congresswoman is firing back. listen to what she said on another network this morning. >> i think this is going to be

this administration's benghazi. this is going to be trump's benghazi, trump's niger. and they need to concentrate on what happened and what is happening. >> reporter: and, indeed, in the midst of all of this back and forth between the congresswoman and the white house, there is this ongoing defense department investigation into what exactly happened on the ground in niger, why these four soldiers were killed. eric:? eric: a lot of questions over that growing controversy. arthel? arthel: in presidential news of a different sort, an extremely rare gathering shoving politics aside for a good cause. all five living former presidents taking the stage last night at texas a&m for the one america hurricane relief concert. the benefit raising more than $30 million for recovery earths in texas -- efforts in texas,

florida and puerto rico. the presidents all calling for unity as well as donations. >> let's all work again and make america still a greater volunteer nation. >> there is still work to be done in texas and in florida, and our friends in puerto rico and the american virgin islands have only begun to dig their way out of what could be still a calamitous disaster but can be a new beginning. >> all of us on this stage here tonight could not be prouder of the response of americans. arthel: the concert was emceed by country star lee greenwood and featured lady gaga, sam moore, alabama and many more. eric: what a very special night. back now to president trump's campaign goals. the senate passing a $4 trillion budget plan on friday. that clears the way and the path for the president's tax reform

plans. and in a "usa today" op-ed, president trump writes this, quote: our economy cannot take off like it should unless we transform our outdated, complex and burdensome tax code. and that is exactly what we are promising to do. revising our tax code is not just a policy decision, it is a moral one because we are not talking about the government's money, we are talking about your money. your hard work. budget director mick mulvaney telling fox news sunday this morning that he's optimistic congress can get this done. >> we felt good last week, but not only did the senate then pass the bill, we're hearing that the house may go ahead and either take the senate amendments or move very quickly to accept the senate amendments, and we may save as many as 10 or 12 legislative days which is a big deal. eric: and garrett tenney is live from washington with the very latest. the president was referring to president ronald reagan's 1986 tax plan that was so successful.

what are they saying on the hill about when they can see this plan actually passed? >> reporter: well, eric, we keep hearing this tax reform deal will be a negotiation. so this initial proposal that will likely be unveiled in the next week or so will likely see a lot of changes before they vote on a final bill. one item that mick mulvaney said is not up for negotiation is that the middle class will pay less in taxes. as for businesses, he said house law makers are pretty set on their current plan to bring that down to 20% from the current rate of 35%, so the white house likely won't try to get that down to the 15% rate that the president campaigned on. on friday house speaker paul ryan announced the house plans to add a fifth tax bracket to the previously announced four which would be tailored for the richest americans. the white house doesn't love that idea but is open to it if it helps congress pass a good deal as for the senate, mitch mcconnell said that change will be one of many up for debate in the weeks ahead. >> you know, dana, i hate to get

into the details of this. it's going to be hashed out in the open in the ways and means committee in the house and the finance committee in the senate. i can tell you what the overall goal is; middle class tax relief, the stopping of job exportation because of our horrible business tax structure in this country, to get the country growing again. >> reporter: the white house wants to see a legislative win here though, and he is pushing hard to get congress to get it done. kristin fisher said senior white house officials tell us the president will make his pitch in that gop conference call to make that happen. eric: what about any efforts to try to get some democrats onboard? >> reporter: that's happening on a number of different fronts. the white house is optimistic, but it did fail to do that, to get any buy-in from democrats on the budget that just passed. it has hosted a number of bipartisan meetings this past week to try to have that happen on tax reform. this past week senator lindsey graham offered a compromise that

could win some democratic support by promising to offer an increase to the minimum wage by phasing it to $10.10 and arguing that businesses could absorb that if they're not paying as much in taxes. there's also been some outreach by the conservative house freedom caucus which democratic congressman john garamendi talked about earlier this afternoon. >> there are things that we have in common. my discussion with the leader of the freedom caucus, mr. meadows, we were both concerned about the growth of the, of the deficit and also about the impact that the enormous tax cuts might have on medicare, medicaid. so without getting into details, there was some common ground that at least for discussion purposes along those lines. >> reporter: and despite those conversations, there's still a lot of doubt among some republicans that they'll be able to get any help from democrats to get tax reform passed and, of course, that could all change as the details of this plan are released in the next week or so.

eric: the talk of the middle class tax reform is music to many americans' ears, so we'll see what happens. garrett, thank you. arthel: terror in a tampa neighborhood. a 20-year-old man with autism shot dead on the street. now police say his murder is linked to two other suspicious deaths in the same neighborhood all in the last ten days. authorities are telling residents to make sure they don't walk alone at night. >> with -- it's a really good neighborhood. we've not had many problems until this recent thing. >> my wife is scared, my kids are scared. we have to be locked up in the house which is not right, you know? arthel: bryan llenas is here now with more and, bryan, why do police think these murders are linked? >> reporter: look, all three murders occurred within a half mile of each other in the seminole heights neighborhood of tampa. all three victims were alone and not robbed, all three were reportedly bus riders. the three victims were killed

within ten days of each other, on october 29th benjamin mitchell was shot waiting for a bus on a stop. on october 13th, monica's body was found in a vacant lot shot, and this week on thursday anthony, a 20-year-old mildly autistic man, was shot dead on the sidewalk about 100 yards from where one of the other victims was killed. he's seen on your screen in the middle, got off at the wrong bus stop accidentally. the police are urging people to travel in groups and not travel alone, to be aware of their surroundings and to turn on their porch lights. the aunt of the first victim, benjamin mitchell, describes how it feels to live in that neighborhood. >> for it to happen so close to the house again, you're scared to even go there, scared to ride by there, scared to be associated. there's no telling how many more families is going to go through and what you're going to wait until you get to your doorstep before you say something? >> reporter: and, arthel, police are not ruling out there could be a serial killer on the loose right now. arthel: is there a suspect at

least or a motive? >> reporter: the manhunt continues. there is no suspect or motive at this time. police have released a surveillance video of someone they think could be a suspect. the person is seen walking alone, wearing a long jacket and a hood. this video came from the street where the first victim, benjamin mitchell, was shot and killed. >> we don't know if this is one individual, we don't know their color, we don't know the race, their ethnicity, their sex. there's so many unknowns, and that's why we're hesitant to label it with anything. >> reporter: further adding to the frustration, police heard the gunshots for the third murder but arrived too late to catch the suspect. police are now offering a $25,000 roadway ward for -- reward for any information that leads to a suspect's arrest. by the way, the fbi is helping in this manhunt. arthel: very good. i hope they find the killer. thanks, bryan. eric? eric: isis on its heels after the u.s.-led coalition liberates

the terrorist de facto capital in raqqa, syria. but is this a deice isive victory, or will the terrorist group resurface? a former special forces officer will be here to discuss this. the future of the radical islamic terrorist group and the threat its still possesses. plus, the bipartisan senate bill to restore the obamacare subsidies that president trump has announced he will end. will senate majority leader mitch mcconnell bring it to a vote? we'll take a closer look at the chances for its passage still ahead on this sunday afternoon. >> give us more ability to sell across state lines, give us more ability to expand health savings accounts. give us tools that actually help people, and we'll talk about looking at outcomes. ♪ ♪ ...made with carbsteady... ...to help minimize blood sugar spikes... ...you can really feel it. now with 30% less carbs and sugars.

glucerna. when only the best will do... one of a kind tempur-pedic delivers. only tempur material precisely conforms to your weight, shape and temperature. it provides up to twice as much pressure relieving power, so you won't toss and turn. and tempur-pedic is the best at minimizing motion transfer from your partner, so you won't be disturbed during the night. you'll wake up, feeling like a champion. only the best carry tempur-pedic. find an exclusive retailer at tempurpedic.com

i had purpose and i loved it. you never told me you were a hero. you are my hammer out there. don't let these young guys see you fold. ♪ i'm only human

♪ i make mistakes get down! ♪ i'm only human ♪ it's all it takes ♪ don't put the blame on me thank you for looking after my son. we're brothers. we look after each other. thank you for your service. rated r. in theaters friday.

♪ ♪ arthel: president trump calls it a credit call breakthrough in -- critical breakthrough in the war with isis, u.s. forces liberating the de facto capital, the syrian city of raqqa. there was celebrating in the streets, but senator lipped cay graham -- lindsey graham warns isis could resurface somewhere else. >> what i worry about africa, the ungoverned spaces of africa

is where the terrorists will come after you defeat them in syria, iraq and afghanistan. and there are some groups within this system of terrorist groups that would attack our allies. arthel: so is there a need for a new anti-terrorism strategy? joining us now, lieutenant colonel mitch utterback, former special officer in the u.s. army. i want to start here in raqqa. i mean, it's certainly good news that -- but it doesn't mean the slate is clean in raqqa. if you would, walk us through the residual effects, the aftermath. what happens there now? >> thanks, arthel. well, it was almost two years ago next month that then-president obama sent 50 special forces advisers to northern syria to knock down the first domino. raqqa is certainly one of the dominoes, the big one for the strategic and propaganda victory in eastern syria, but the euphrates river valley southeast of raqqa all the way to the anbar province, the border with

iraq, is still infested with isis. and our troops are still going to be advising our kurdish and arab allies to continue to eradicate leftover isis pockets in that part of the country. and iraq is still fighting isis in their own, in parts of their country as well. arthel: uh-huh. and then you have, you know, senator graham saying, listen, don't be surprised if a lot of this, this fighting with isis ends up in africa. so how does this change the fight? does the trump administration need to lay out a new anti-terror strategy? >> well, the administration, believe it or not, last week's release of the policy on iran is a pillar of the counterterrorism, anti-terrorism strategy. iran, the largest state sponsor of terror. so part of the strategy has already been released. but it is important to know that there are -- we've got the best people in the pentagon and something senator graham, other senators need to know, we have

people waiting on appointments from the senate to go into the pentagon who are waiting to write this strategy for anti-terrorism. so that's something that the senate needs to be aware of. but a new strategy is emerging, and we're waiting on the people to be confirmed to help write the strategy as well. arthel: i'm going to ask you a little more on that in a moment, but first i want to show a bit of an interview that eric did yesterday with fox news foreign affairs analyst ambassador dennis ross who had an idea of an isis strategy, a suggestion which is to use youtube and social media to show the ugly side of isis. >> we should show them surrendering, number one. number two, we should have them coming out and telling their stories. many of them also became disaffected from isis is. and if you can show those who were part of isis and put that online, because isis uses social media as a very effective platform. arthel: so ambassador ross is saying show them online saying i

was a part of it, i went in there, i'm out of it now because it was not at all what it was cracked up to be. do you agree with that strategy? >> great counter-propaganda strategy. with as savvy as isis has been with social media and media in general, it's a great way to turn what they use as a weapon back on them to show what the ugly face of isis was and what people that went there to the caliphate saw and why they wish they hadn't gone. arthel: because this modern day war and threats to our national security are so unconventional, do you think more power should be given to commanders in the field with the ability to craft more tailored strategies to the threats facing them on the ground? >> absolutely, yes. and soldiers that are serving now have said that they do sense a difference in the last several months with the relaxed rules of

engagement and more decentralized pushdown to commanders at the ground level to make the decisions. not every mission has to be approve at the highest level. our men and women leading these forces all over the world can make the right decision if they have the right commander's guidance. that's what we need, the right commander's guidance, the right strategy and the right rules of engagement, and they're getting that now more and more. arthel: and finally, apart from isis what countries do you think are most threatening to the u.s. and/or our allies? >> boy, we always talk about north korea. they are an existential threat, as we know. certainly iran and russia are strategic competitors of ours. but, arthel, as we've seen some of our greatest threats can be a radicalized person within our own country. as across europe, radicalized people within belgium, france, germany are the ones conducting the attacks. so not just from other countries, but from within. we have to concern ourselves

with all of it. arthel: colonel mitch utterback, always a pleasure. thanks very much. >> thanks, arthel. eric meanwhile, sergeant bowe bergdahl is speaking out for the first time since pleading guilty to desertion. bergdahl says his taliban captors were, in his view, more honest with him than our own u.s. army has been since his release, he said. he also said he never knew where he stood with the army while he was performing desk duty during his trial. bergdahl was captured in 2009 after he walked off his base in afghanistan. the taliban held him until may of 2014, then they freed him as part of that very controversial prisoner exchange for those five top taliban officials. the idaho native faces the possibility of life in prison when he is sentenced tomorrow. arthel: secretary of state rex tillerson is in saudi arabia today pushing for an alliance between longtime rivals the saudis and iraq. why the u.s. thinks this will be

a good thing. and this -- ♪ ♪ >> president bush -- [inaudible] arthel: former white house strategist steve bannon taking a swipe at former president george w. bush, apparently over something president bush said before he and all the other living former presidents set politics aside for one night to raise money for hurricane victims. ♪ ♪

when it comes to strong bones, are you on the right path? we have postmenopausal osteoporosis... ..and a high risk for fracture, so with our doctors... ...we chose prolia®... ...to help make our bones stronger. only prolia® helps strengthen bones... ...by stopping cells that damage them... ...with 1 shot every 6 months. do not take prolia® if you have low blood calcium, are pregnant, are allergic to it, or take xgeva®. serious allergic reactions, like low blood pressure; trouble breathing;

throat tightness; face, lip or tongue swelling... ...rash, itching or hives have happened. tell your doctor about dental problems, as severe jaw bone... ...problems may happen or new or unusual pain in your hip groin, or thigh, as unusual thigh bone fractures have occurred. peak to your doctor before stopping prolia®, as spine and other bone fractures have occurred. prolia® can cause serious side effects, like low blood calcium; serious infections, which could need hospitalization; ...skin problems; and severe bone, joint, or muscle pain. if your bones aren't getting stronger... ...isn't it time for a new direction? why wait? ask your doctor about prolia®.

♪ ♪ arthel: secretary of state rex tillerson is on a mission in saudi arabia today. he's pushing for an alliance between with the saudis and iraq, age-old rivals, but they do have one thing in common; they want to stop iran's growing influence in the middle east. conor powell is live now. we're going to have him a little bit later in the show. right now we're going to go over to eric with -- eric: all right. we'll get to conor in a moment. the battle for the soul to have the republican party is on. steve bannon, the president's former strategist, vowed to take out the gop establishment with primary challenges and a scorched earth policy. former president george w. bush was warning in new york last week about the coarseness, he said, of our political discourse, saying it has been degrade by what he called casual

cruelty both offering contrasting views of our current political debate. >> forgotten the dynamism that immigration has always brought to america. bullying and prejudice in our public life sets a national tone, it provides permission for cruelty and bigotry and compromises the moral education of children. >> i want to apologize up front to any of the bush folks outside, in this audience, okay? because there has not been a more destructive presidency than george bush's. [applause] eric: this comes as all five living presidents, including former president george w. bush, last night reminded us of american unity. as you can see, they came together at that concert to benefit the victims in texas and other -- they gathered in texas to the help storm victims, of course, and what they've gone through the past several months x. they also showed a bipartisan american spirit.

judith miller, pulitzer prize-winning reporter, author and fox news contributor, joins us now. you listen to steve bannon, and he's not holding back. i mean, what do you predict this, what will occur in the republican party in the coming months? >> i think, eric, we're going to see an acceleration and an escalation of the civil war within the republican party. i don't think there's any other way to read what bannon said in his presentation. this is a heavyweight competition. george bush on one side of the ring, emblematic of the establishment that has carried the republicans to this point, and on the other side steve bannon, perhaps but maybe not representing what donald trump wants him to do, because we really don't know a lot about relationship between trump and bannon at this point. but what we do know is that bannon is beating up on the republican establishment, and that cannot be good for the gop prospects in 2018 no matter how you read it. eric: bannon would say that, you

know, he's leading the charge and that they're going to win. >> well, they won in alabama. i mean, president trump supported roy moore -- i'm sorry, supported luther strange and bannon backed roy moore who won, but the question is will he win in the general election. will gop candidate win in the general election in 2018. i think that steve bannon is getting all of the ink. he's on the front page of the new york times, below the fold but still a prominent display. but the republican establishment has the money, and they have the organization, and it's very hard to win general elections without -- eric: but bannon's appealing to some of the mass audience out there. when you talk about the establishment having the money and the infrastructure, president trump bulldozed over that. good luck with that, folks, when you have donald trump. we just saw him demolish the republican establishment. >> that's true, but that's in alabama. this is a very peculiar race.

you have the remember that in the 25 districts, 23 in which hillary clinton actually won the popular vote, these are going to be close, difficult races for the gop. they cannot win without establishment support. so ed rollins, who is a fellow contributor, was quoted today in the washington post saying he's going to weigh in on the side of money and organization but especially organization. you've got to get your troops out. now, it worked very well for president trump in the general, but can the other candidates, do they have his magnetism and his charisma? i don't know. i think steve bannon -- let's wait and see how strong a force he really is within republican ranks. eric: well, early in the beginning you're not sure what the relationship is between mr. bannon and the president. but "the washington post" says today on the front page, it calls steve bannon the president's wingman saying, quote: bannon and trump are anything but estranged. instead, they have remained in frequent contact, chatting as often as several times a week.

trump usually initiates the talks because incoming calls are now rooted through john f. kelly and disciplinarians. the conversations are dictated by the whims of the president who dials his former chief strategist when something he reads, watches or hears piques his interest. you know he's picking up the phone and talking to steve. >> that's true, he's talking to a lot of people, but whose advice does he follow, and is he giving steve instructions, or is he just letting steve bannon be steve bannon? we don't know yet because, ultimately, the president knows that in order to get his agenda passed he's not only going to need some democratic buy-in, he's going to need a solid republican front. and as long as there's this war within the party, it's very hard to see how he gets that. eric: and quickly, finally, what if he uses bannon for the base and then pivots off to, you know, potentially some democrats and that sort of thing? >> well, that could work if the damage from this furor and warfare is not too great. we just don't know yet, and we

won't know, i think, until 2018. but this we do know, this war is going to continue for a long time. eric: and your money would be -- [laughter] >> yeah. i have enough trouble analyzing the present. i think why i'm not making predictions about the future, eric. [laughter] eric: judy, good to see you in the studio. >> thank you. arthel: smart answer. okay, we're going to go to conor powell now in jerusalem with more and secretary of state rex tillerson's mission there in saudi arabia today. conor, what can you tell us about it? >> reporter: yeah, arthel, secretary of state tillerson arrived here in the middle east in an effort to try to find some common ground between the saudis and the iraqis. there's a major test right now for the united states in the region, and that is iran specifically trying to build a larger coalition to confront tehran. the trump administration, of course,s has aligned itself very much with the sunni-arab bloc, countries of saudi arabia, i kuwait and the uae against

tehran. and tillerson met with both saudi and iraqi officials in an effort to convince baghdad to distance itself from tehran. however, iran -- like iraq -- is a shia-majority country, and there are deep political ties between the two countries with iran playing a major role in iraq's effort to defeat isis in the past year along with the united states. where there are deep suspicions between baghdad and riyadh, they're not natural partners by any means. tillerson is also trying to find a political solution to the boycott led by the u.s. ally qatar. saudi arabia trying to drive a wedge between qatar and iran, though in this case tillerson is against this movie saudi arabia. also we're -- move by saudi arabia. isis losing several major areas including the largest oil field in syria and also syrian troops backed by russia and iran taking control of most of the major

city. so on the ground we're seeing isis losing territory but, arthel, in the diplomatic sphere we're seeing the united states trying to find a way to confront iran, building a coalition, but it's no easy going by any means, arthel. arthel: absolutely not. conor powell, thank you.eric? eric: there's a tragic end for two car hikers. they've been missing for three months. what police are saying about that tragic case. plus, the battle not over in dealing with health care. that is continuing as the states are suing to try and stop president trump's action, scrapping those subsidies to insurers and that bipartisan bill which aims to restore those payments. that's up on capitol hill. how will they vote inside that building? we'll have is analysis and a prediction next here on the fox news channel. ♪ ♪ that's why i switched to the spark cash card from capital one. now, i'm earning unlimited 2% cash back

on every purchase i make. everything. what's in your wallet?

♪ ♪ eric: there's a battle on

capitol hill over the bipartisan senate bill to try and restore the same obamacare insurance subsidies that president trump recently said he would end. you know, the president opposes that bill which was introduced by a republican senator from temperature, lamar al samer -- alexander, as well as washington state democratic senator patty murray. so far 12 sponsors from both parties for a total of 24. but mitch mcconnell says the ball, well, it's in the president's court. >> what i'm waiting is to hear from president trump what kind of health care bill he might sign. if there's a immediate for some kind of interim step here to stabilize the market, we need a bill the president will actually sign. and i'm not certain yet what the president's looking for here, but i'll be happy to bring a bill to the floor if i know president trump would sign it. eric: so what will the president do, and will the bill succeed where others have failed?

nice standish joins us -- niles standish joins us. if there's something the president will sign, mcconnell will bring it to a vote. what do you think is going to happen? >> at the moment, it seems to me, that the prospect for this alexander-murray bill are pretty pessimistic. there just doesn't seem to be much of an appetite on the president's part to go for the specifics in this bill. and i think what is really going on here is president trump says he wants a bipartisan approach on one hand, but he also wants to satisfy his supporters who have always believed in repealing obamacare on the other. and how you fuse those two things together is not at all clear to anyone. eric: yeah. he's been saying that is his goal. and the target, of course, is full repeal and replace of obamacare. and and not some, you know, interim -- >> that's right. and, of course, to conservative critics the kind of approach that we're seeing in the alexander bill is one that would, in effect, shore up the

affordable care act at least for a couple more years. now, there are some things that are offered in that legislation to republicans. there's some loosening of state-level requirements, but i think we see when we look at, for example, the house of representatives that conservatives there don't seem to have any real enthusiasm for this at all for the reasons we just mentioned. eric: yeah. i mean, well, that's an understatement. paul ryan has said it's basically ted on arrival before it even -- dead on arrival before it even gets to the house. is there enough room to tweak it in order to to not only passes the senate, but also address the house speaker's concerns? >> honestly, i think it's an uphill lift, eric, because if you want to get democrats signed on to something that reforms or stabilizes the affordable care act, by its nature those changes have to be quite modest. democrats are not going to vote to repeal or to hollow out what

they see as president obama's signature domestic achievement. how you reconcile that with the beliefs of either keys in the senate -- conservatives in the senate or the house, i just honestly don't see how that conundrum can be solved. eric: on one hand, the president says he doesn't want to bail out insurance companies is how he puts it, but the democrats are saying, well, if you take those payments away, you're hurting needy americans who need that health insurance. >> yes, that's right. and then there would be a political battle royale over who should bear the a blame for that. i mean, there is a generally broad consensus that taking away these payments would lead to an increase in premiums. now, if that happens, to voters say that is the democrats' fault for, because of the original law or because they did not, you know, offer bigger reforms? or do they blame president trump and the republicans by saying you guys are in charge, why is

this happening? and that's the political question that has yet to be resolved. eric: yeah, how do you think that will be revolved solved? -- resolved? how do you see that playing out? >> i think it is tricky for the republicans while they control the house, senate and the white house when things don't go right. i think voters look to politicians in power to improve their lives or to, certainly, not do anything that disimproves their situation. and that point, i think, is where the real political risk lies for republicans on this quest. eric: we've got a banner below you right now that says 24 senators support this. you're right, i mean, that's a quarter of the whole senate, but they don't need that many, of course, to pass it. what do you think will happen? i mean, there's got to be a break somewhere. americans are looking to see if you're being affected negatively by obamacare, you want something done, and if it's positive and

helping your life, you want to try to keep the health care payments going. so at some point something, something has got to break. what possibly do you think that could besome -- be? >> mitch mcconnell is a wilier political operator with much longer experience than i have, and he doesn't seem to be terribly clear on that himself -- [laughter] when he's waiting to see what president trump believes. it seems right now like president trump wants to press for a more emphatic hollowing out of the affordable care act. i'm not sure how he gets that through congress. he may sort of take onboard the political risk of letting these payments lapse. there will be a risk there but, of course, he has been underestimated many times before. eric: that's another understatement. certainly true. initiation -- niall standage, thank you. >> thanks, eric. arthel: the search for two hikers missing for three months is over and, unfortunately, it

did not end well. ♪ ♪ >> a long time on these hikes. so we have closure. arthel: a bit of closure for the family perhaps, but many questions remain for investigators. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ arthel: british police say they've rescued two hostages and have arrested a gunman following a tense standoff inside a bowling alley. the chaos erupting as families and children looked on. >> a man who is also playing bowling ran as cross our line and was yelling, get out, get out. he's got a gun over his head, and he's saying game over, game over. arthel: thankfully, no one was hurt. police say the incident was not related to terrorism. eric: meanwhile, back here at home a train derail anything knoxville, tennessee, tossed box cars into buildings and local businesses. it happened around 10:00 last night. police say a one-mile-long line of at least 50 rail cars ran right off the track. many of them, they say, carried those big shipping containers that you see. one even had some cars on it. thankfully, no one was hurt and no report of any hazardous

material on those trains. arthel: searchers have found two bodies clutched in an embrace in california's joshua tree national park. police say the bodies were those of two hikers missing since july dead in an apparent murder/suicide. will carr is live from our los angeles bureau with more. will? >> reporter: hey there, arthel. this couple went missing in july. now that their bodies have been found, there's been a major twist in the case. authorities tell us that joseph orbeso and his girlfriend, rachel nguyen, were found in a row mote part of -- remote part of joshua tree national park. authorities now say it appears orbeso shot knew went and -- knew general is. her inking says -- her uncle says that investigators believe this was a sympathetic murder/suicide. when the couple initially went missing, more than 250 people searched the rugged and rocky

terrain, that includes orbeso's father who was part of the search party that found the bodies earlier this week. >> tell joseph that we loved him very much and hope that they can rest at peace now. >> reporter: authorities say the motive behind the shooting is still under investigation, but rachel's family says they're not holding grudges because of the circumstances. arthel? arthel: will carr, thanks. eric: well, thousands of u.s. marines and others are hitting the pavement near the nation's capital today. it is the world's largest marathon. they say it doesn't have a cash prize. >> this is what i do, i do cycling. i can't to a lot of other stuff, so this is my outlet. talk to other veterans, disabled veterans that, you know, i don't get to see a lot. so this is cool. ♪ ♪

david. what's going on? oh hey! ♪ that's it? yeah. ♪ everybody two seconds! ♪ "dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance..." through the tuition assistance program, every day mcdonald's helps more people go to college. it's part of our commitment to being america's best first job. ♪ if you have moderate to severe ulcerative colitis or crohn's, and your symptoms have left you with the same view, it may be time for a different perspective. if other treatments haven't worked well enough, ask your doctor about entyvio, the only biologic developed and approved just for uc and crohn's. entyvio works by focusing right in the gi-tract

to help control damaging inflammation and is clinically proven to begin helping many patients achieve both symptom relief as well as remission. infusion and serious allergic reactions can happen during or after treatment. entyvio may increase risk of infection, which can be serious. while not reported with entyvio, pml, a rare, serious brain infection caused by a virus may be possible. tell your doctor if you have an infection, experience frequent infections, or have flu-like symptoms, or sores. liver problems can occur with entyvio. if your uc or crohn's medication isn't working for you, ask your gastroenterologist about entyvio. entyvio. relief and remission within reach.

♪ ♪ eric: well, thousands hitting the streets near our nation's capital for the annual marine corps marathon. [cheers and applause] eric: as you can see, the race stepping off in arlington, virginia, this morning. arthel: more than 30,000 people running the 26.2-mile route and seeing some historic landmarks along the way.

gold star families are also taking part, honoring loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice. >> someone asked me if i had ever wanted to run a marathon, and i said, you know, before jeff died, no. but now i think i'm going to do it for him. it's just a celebration of jeff, the kind of man that he was. he was a quiet motivator, but a motivate iser. motivator. he was an incredible man, and this is something he wanted to do, and we're here. we're glad we get to do it for him. arthel: the marines first held this marathon 42 years ago after the vietnam war. today's male and female winners both from virginia. eric: yeah. and we just heard the widow of a blue angels pilot. jeff was her husband, he was killed in a crash, so she is running today in his memory. a very special, deeply meaningful event, and here at fox news we thank and salute all those who have served and the folks out there braving this sunday afternoon in washington, d.c. running for a very good

cause. arthel: thank you. and that does it for us for now. gutfeld is up next. eric: we'll be back at 6 p.m. eastern. right after gutfeld, it's neville and sean. >> that's like saying i'm a penguin, i like slur piece. slurpees. i don't know of any penguin that likes slurpees. >> that's offensive to penguins and slurpees. . enough of that. the clintons keep coming it back. they are like the world's ugliest boomerang. they brought forth president obama with them. senate judiciary committee is now looking at a russi