i don't know if we need to advertise marital discourse. thank you for being with us. greta van susteren is one studio over. [captioning made possible by fox news channel] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- what were they think greta: king? this is so outrageous it is almost stealing. almost $700,000 -- greta: what were they thinking? this is so outrageous, it is almost feeling. almost $700,000 spent for stress relief for government workers. how about those unemployed who are flipped out on how to make bread and mortgages? your government is partying on your dime. tonight, that outrage is exploding. governor palin grabbing headlines, many wondering what she has planned. we have new information that

could make you see different about her chances to be president. the mystery as to what north korea is planning, thinking and doing. they continue to some their nose at the world but just a few minutes ago the u.n. did something to north korea but are they just kidding themselves? are they exercising muscle that is finally going to get north korea to step down? don't you wish we had this problem, donald trump suing a man for calling him a millionaire instead of a billionaire. we have more news about this. we know that we blew your circuits last night when we reported that you've just spent $700,000 for social security officials having a lavish weekend at a posh resort. now some members of congress are demanding answers. where were they before this even happened?

we are joined by joshed bernstein -- josh bernstein who broke the story. >> thank you for having me. greta: who attended this posh event? it seems to me that there are many other things that could have been done. where did these people come from? >> we have the commissioner of social security coming in from washington, d.c. several of his deputy commissioners coming from san francisco, from guam and all over the place. they were all flown in and they stayed at the waldorf- astoria resorts. greta: what is the program? what are these seminars?

>> we were only there for one day and this is what we saw. the first thing that we saw when we walked into the main ballroom, there were all of these managers there and they had gift baskets being handed out. they said they ithose were dona. then they went into a dance routine to relieve stress. then they had a group performed for them. they had these huge monitors and a very elaborate audiovisual set up. then we have a letter from the commissioner of the social security where he says -- he is breaking down the costs. 110,000 for lodging, 70,000 for meals, speakers $24,000. they list no money for entertainment and conference rental but almost $70,000 on equipment for a total of

$671,000. greta: there is a letter that says "there have been several sensationalized stories about what is a legitimate conference ." i think that you should get an award and it seems that they're trying to insult you. >> they are entitled to their opinion. i don't believe that we sensationalized anything, we reported the facts and what we saw. critics are taking issue with the name of the conference. the name of the conference and the commissioners letter to the house ways and means committee, it is called the management training forum. all the literature and all the screens at the hotel called it the 2009 management tango conference. greta: i cannot tell you how many messages i got from people

who are actually angry about this. there are many people who did not have enough social security. they are under a lot of stress. they find out that the employees need to go off to this conference. people are legitimately out raged. >> we are receiving many of the same messages. our internet activity has been overwhelming. there has been hundreds of thousands of hits on this story. people who are angry and they are having a difficult time getting their disability checks. the members of congress have also talked about this and they take serious issue with this because there are legitimate people out there who are having to wait months and months if not years just to get a hearing let alone get help from the federal government and then we show this to the taxpayers and they get very outraged. greta: it will take time to get

a hearing because the people are not available, they are off learning to dance. >> well, they described it as workplace stress relief and the regional commissioner out of san francisco says it is because they are employees and managers who are receiving increased amount of death threats against the agency. greta: congressman kevin brady is a member of the house ways and means committee. he joins us live. your committee must be a little bit curious about this government expense. >> yes, more than curious. from the social security committee, republicans and democrats are outraged. training your people is legitimate, spending $700,000 when we have one trillion dollars of debt in this country and when the social security

trust fund is broken, that is not legitimate. the cost that i've looked at is that we spent nearly 17,000 man hours attending this conference. that was not devoted to truly disabled people who are leading an average of nine months to a year just to make their case to the government. they will also have to wait a long time to get a decision on their case. we have tasked the social security administration for ending that backlog. greta: i don't think the commissioner gets it. i was looking at this letter and tries to justify the costs. at the end he says "i confess

that the conference organizers made a few minor decisions that were not adequately sensitive to expectations of the agency." why does he have a job? >> he has worked on a number of issues that i care about. this is a huge disconnect. greta: it's worse, it is outrageous. let me take congress to task on this, congress is supposed to have oversight and i am delighted that you are taking them to task now, but where were you before that you gave these people the authority to throw these parties? we have a 9.5% unemployment. these people are having stressed that their jobs and there are some people were starving for money somfrom social security.

greta: one of the discussions was about emotional intelligence. we need to have economic intelligence. you cannot legislate common sense. the governmenwhat kind of signas send? we are on top of this issue and we are demanding answers. greta: i applaud you for doing that. what is even more curious is that this commissioner, it is bad enough that this happened under his watch and used to be outraged but instead he is defending it in this letter. -- you should be outraged but instead he is defending it in this letter. he is itemizing the costs and he says that this is not expensive. he said that the training was substantive. "our managers participated in workshops designed to learn more about policy development and

information technology." why don't they just help the people that need the money? >> you have to wonder if there is even encouragement to save money. we are throwing trillions of dollars out of washington at the drop of a hat. record deficits. the economists are telling the white house that deficits don't matter. there is this culture in washington where because it is not our money, spend as much as you want. this is not the only agency that wastes money. unfortunately, there is too much but that is what we are trying to stop. greta: if you have more, bring it on. we are happy to talk about it. $700,000 on this one is out of line. this is almost stealing. this commissioner, shame on him for not taking responsibility.

thank you, congressman. up next, will she or won't she. we have more information about governor palin and it could be a part of the decision to run for president in 2012. health-care reform must not add to our deficit, that means that president obama is looking for someone to pay for it. is he looking at you, your money, or your employer? did a judgdid secretary clinto'' donald trump? what is that floating in the ocean? we will answer when we return. that's because olay has teamed with a highly specialized group of dermatologists and created a wrinkle protocol that gives you the results of the leading wrinkle prescription brand, without a prescription. olay professional pro-x. this is a guarantee

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at least two people are reported seriously injured at the ritz carlton in a second explosion. the marriott hotel was attacked by a south east terror group in 2003 killing 12. we will bring you with information as it comes into fox. she is still popular, some say very soon to be former governor palin is looking to run for the white house in 2012. in a poll of republicans, 72% of those polled had a favorable opinion of governor palin. when given six choices of possible candidates, she comes in second with 21% listed her as the top choice. in first place, mitt romney. joining us live is the chief political correspondent for "the washington examiner."

it is interesting to play with these numbers. >> we are only three years shy of the 2012 republican convention. it is good news for mitt romney in the sense that the republican party is often in the past and nominated a guy who finished second the time before. governor palin cost 70% favorable rating is very good and this was taken about a week after she announced her resignation. -- governor palin's 72% favorable rating. greta: which would you prefer to have, a 72% favorable and a 21% preference against romney which is 56% favorable and 21s26% preference?

>> you have to look at this carefully. in the same poll, they told the public as a whole and palin had about a one to one favorable to unfavorable rating. you have seen those numbers with people like hillary clinton and newt gingrich in the past. this makes it difficult to win a general election. there is a certain divisiveness around her even if she is popular with the republican base. greta: am i wrong that these numbers are consistent for romney, governor palin, mike huckabee, but newt gingrich is inching up? >> there is, he has had a lot to say about health care reform, the stimulus, a lot of these issues going on in washington now. he travels around. he is definitely a presence. he clearly decided not to make

the run in 2008 but might be preparing for 2012. greta: he talks about solutions wherever he goes. that is a catchy slogan. >> the group he founded after leaving office was solutions for america. he did a lot of it in 2008 and decided not to run. he could definitely be a contender. right now, the star of the party is indeed palin. every republican party in every state in america would like to have her come to their state to go to a fund raiser. she is really sucking up a lot of oxygen in the republican field right now. greta: you mentioned that she has been invited to the annual rate in dinner in iowa -- annual rateagan dinner in iowa?

what does this indicate? >> there are many republicans to play an important role in this. they have been trying very hard to get her to a fund- raising dinner. they thought they had an agreement but it did not go through because she was too tied down and alaska. this would have been huge. there would a there are a lot that would like to have come to fund raising dinners. greta: sheik is popular with the social conservatives. -- she is popular with social conservatives. will this be the dividing factor in 2012, the social

conservatives? >> it certainly could be. on the flip side, mitt romney had a lot of credibility on the economy issue. certainly after the economy collapsed last fall before the election, there was a certain amount of buyer's remorse amongst those people in the republican base that did not love john mccain because mitt romney would have been better in those circumstances. there are conservatives who thought of mitt romney as a late convert, some thought of him as a phony he changed his position on the issue of life. for those people, and governor palin is attractive. greta: there is news out of north korea tonight. democrats are looking for money and lots of it. someone needs to pay the health

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greta: is the u.n. doing

anything to stop north korea? they issued new sanctions against five north korean companies involved in the nuclear program. two types of materials used in ballistic missile parts are now banned from being sold in north korea. do these sanctions matter? we are joined by the former u.s. ambassador to the united nations, john negroponte. the these make any difference to the leaders of north korea? -- do these make any difference to the leaders of north korea? >> yes, i do. it sends a message that the international community is unified against what they are doing. it is important that once again, some of their socialist allies such as china has made a very strong statement against their behavior.

i do think it is important and i think that adds to the pressures on north korea. >> why do you think that china is more involved in this? do they fear that japan will get nervous and get into the nuclear race and get involved itself or do they think it is time to control the north koreans and keep them from having dangerous weapons? >> i think it is both of those, actually. i don't think they like the idea of a country such as north korea developing a nuclear capability. not only for themselves but also increased in the illicit export of various types of nuclear materials around the world. as you mentioned, the idea for japan that countries such as north korea would have nuclear weapons would precipitate a tremendous debate inside that country as to whether they themselves, that is to say japan, should developed a

nuclear capability. that would also be a very destabilizing development in that part of the world. for a whole host of reasons, there is a tremendous international interest in getting north korea to participate in the denu clearization of the peninsula? greta: isn't there the possibility of other countries trading with them illegally? >> well, one reason for the sanction is to tighten the controls and the measures that are taken against this kind of proliferation activity. it is hard to stop anything. the ocean is a big place. ships go back and forth. sometimes it it is like looking

for a needle in a haystack. they get the message and it is important that we cooperate. greta: if you had to choose, which is the best for the u.s. when kim jong il dies, that his son is a leader or that the military takes control? does it make any difference at all? >> the honest answer to that and i say this not only as former ambassador but also as the former director of national intelligence is that we don't really know. we don't really know enough about the internal dynamic and side of north korea. if i had to hazard to guess, it looks like he wants to have someone in his family succeed him. if indeed it is his 20-year-old son, then i suspect that he will

be surrounded by some kind of group of regions or advisers that will help him steer the affairs of state. it is hard to imagine a 27-year- old running the country on his on. greta: the sun is rumored to have gone to school in switzerland. >> we are not sure of that but one thing is clear, there is some kind of internal turmoil at the moment politically and that, i think, has had the effect of slowing down the prospects for the resumptions of these six party talks. it is vital that at some stage, these six party talks for tthe settlement of the nuclear issue resume. greta: are your tax is about to go up? the democrats need money to pay for their health-care plan.

the stimulus package is working in china. our economy is stumbling and dragging but the news out of china might have an impact here. is this good for us or bad? a mysterious blobs has been found off the ocean of the united states. it is alive and no one knows what it is. we will show it to you. ey'll invite t and before you know it, you have a team. more than 5 million americans... may not be able to stop the progression of alzheimer's. but we can. step up. move a nation to end alzheimer's. start a team today. go to alz.org.

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even experts agree. it's damage protection results leading salon brands can't beat. trust me on this, the blow dryer, the curling iron, and thflflat iron, and my hair's still shiny. pantene moisture renewal. healthy makes is happen. greta: house democrats must find money to pay for the new health care bill. the plan, raise taxes on who and what? many republicans plan to stop this plan including our next guest, senator barrasso. well this past summer recess? >> i'm getting messages from around the world to get it

right and not to rush. tonight, senator baucus said that we cannot afford to be rushed. we need to find a solution that works. i agree. this should not be rushed. this is something that people should take home and read and over august, have town meetings and let people look at it and get the ideas from across america. greta: if this bill does not get red, it is like this stimulus where people hope for the best, the american people are going to be very upset if this is just a guessing game. >> the same thing with the capt. trade bill. -- cap and trade bill. greta: president wrote a letter to senator kennedy and baucus that said that "health care must be deficit neutral."

where do we get the money for this? how was this expected to be paid for? >> that is why i have problems because it costs too much, it causes too many people to get kicked off of the insurance that they like. they are looking to raise taxes many different ways and i disagree. we need to get health care costs down. i have worked as a doctor for 25 years. we need to have people own their own insurance policies that is portable and we need to let them shop across state lines. today, there was a hearing in the budget committee and the budget officer of the congressional budget office says that these bills are making it worse and this will make our economy worse. greta: i liked the idea of having a bunch of doctors

together. people with hands-on experience to figure out what is going on with the system. i have a problem with insurance companies involved because they are in business. a doctor has a different job. how would you fix this? greta: i would give people individual choices, individual responsibilities come a ways that they can save money. people are smart when it comes to their own money. they are not as cautious when it comes to saving government money. greta: many people cannot afford it. we cannot just let people pile up on the street and die. what can we do? >> there are people that need help and there are ways to do that but many are eligible for insurance, they have not signed up. about 10 million are not here legally. you have another 10 million who could clearly afford the

insurance, they make over 75,000 a year and they choose not to buy it. you have people like my kids, those that are up to 34 years old to think that they don't need it. people will have to pay more to cover older people because there will not be any incentive for them to try to stay healthy. when you look at the kennedy bill, they talk about prevention and this pays for jungle gyms, street lights and pavement. there's no incentive to exercise more, get diabetes and blood pressure and cholesterol under control. those are the things i would help us save money. greta: i have to go. i hope that your colleagues actually read this. people are in rage if this is just closing your eyes and voting yes or no. >> tell your viewers to demand

that your elected representatives read it. greta: up next, you will hear from joe biden. has he gone rogue on the president again? the message has to do with money. here is a shocker, levi johnston is not a fan of sarah palin. we're also guessing is not a fan of conan o'brien. you will hear why. but with liberty mutual, insurance issues won't, because we offer unlimited rental coverage, new car replacement, and accident forgiveness to help ease your mind. and that's our policy. liberty mutual insurance.

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greta: we are going to the newsroom for the headlines. >> the death toll is rising following two hotel explosions in jakarta, indonesia. a hospital doctors said six people are dead and 18 injured. the blast at the marriott and ritz-carlton hotels happen minutes apart. los angeles coroner's office says that michael jackson's autopsy report will take longer than expected. the report is due out in two weeks and should report what drugs he had in his system. ishuttle astronauts checking the shuttle for damage during the launch. they are not worried about this mission but until they know why it is happening, the entire fleet is grounded. you can check out foxnews.com

for headlines. greta: here is our vice president. >> when i say that, people say, what are you talking about? we have to spend money to keep from going bankrupt. that is what i am telling you. if you change the system, you know what the deal is, right now america spends 50% more than any other developed nation yet we get no better results. greta: we will spend money to keep from going bankrupt. maybe he meant spending money on health care. when we are still in the economic gutter, somebody's economic future is better, china. they were up 8% this past quarter. they have a massive stimulus package of their own so why is there is working better than

ours and how does the upward movement of their economy affect us? we are joined by steven more. why is china starting to see an uptick faster than we are? >> i think they exaggerate about where their economy is and what state is. there is no question it has grown quicker than ours. a couple of things are happening. why is it when they do a stimulus plan, they are actually spending the money on spending -- public works programs. in the u.s., we are not doing this. we have seen a huge amount of the money that just went to traditional welfare programs. we have seen a huge amount of the money go to pork barrel projects. there was a story that the washington zoo will get millions of dollars under the stimulus.

finally, the money is not going all the door. we are still 90% unspent. greta: is anything that can be positive for us as china ticks upward? does this give them any interest in purchasing our debt? >> we need the economy of china to perform so that they can buy up all of this debt. we will issue two trillion dollars of debt this year. the chinese are our biggest buyers of debt. another thing that they are doing, when we covered this story, the $700,000 that the social security administration spent on holding big parties. i guarantee you china does not do that. i got such an enormous response

on the story last night. people are enraged. >> let's go back to the story for a second. -- greta: let's go back to the story for a second. the commissioner wrote a letter defending it. it would be one thing if he was feeling bad about it but instead he writes a letter to defend it and he calls the stories about it is sensational. it is sensational. they are irresponsible with our money. >> this is completely indefensible use of social security money. seniors should be upset about this. young people should be upset about it and will have to pay for these unfunded liabilities. the fact that the social security commissioner would

defend the indefensible. the fact that he has not apologized means he should be fired. greta: i agree. he thinks they should be doing leadership skills programs. there are people standing in line for hours to get social security. they get put on hold because their check is not arrived had done no surprise, everyone is dancing. -- they get put on hold because there check has not arrived. no surprise, everyone is dancing. the commissioner is defending it. >> this is a kind of waste going on in all areas of government. if you have the government spending money on this kind of thing, there is something wrong with the way we spend money in washington. it is throughout the government

agencies. greta: they put out a bid and they said they got the cheapest price. why would you be doing this? they don't get it. whatever. >> many people watching the show cannot afford to take a vacation but eurocrats can. greta: thank you. up next, the best of the rest. did you hear that donald trump sued someone for calling him a millionaire instead of a billionaire? there is big news about this. is the trouble brewing between secretary of state clinton and president obama? president clinton got asked about it point-blank.

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greta: is donald trump a millionaire or a billionaire? most people wish they could ask that question about themselves but nevertheless, trump took offense when there was a book written about him that said he was a millionaire. he took the writer, editor, and

book publisher to court and claim it was defamation and it hurt his business. the judge threw out the lawsuit. beware of the mystery blob. strange pictures of aid to lead lot moving through the ocean near alaska. no one knows who i-- strange pictures of a gooey blodblob moving in the ocean and alaska. no one knows what it is. secretary clinton was asked if she was feeling pressure in her role and that she is being

sidelined. >> i broke my elbow and not my lyrics, i have been consistently involved in the shaping and implementation of our foreign policy. i'm going to do the work and make the contribution. i feel very honored and positive about mind working relationship with the white house and in my personal relationship with president obama. greta: going to india and we are going as well. we will interview her. you can see it monday. the national drinking age is 21. a judge in south carolina says that is wrong. he says that 18-year-old in south carolina should be allowed to drink alcohol. the age was ruled as unconstitutional.

coincidentally, 9% of high- school seniors have just applied to the university of south carolina. one small step in technology, nasa releasing refurbished video of the moon walk. the video is sharper than the grain the original video. on the 30% of the refurbishing project is complete. -- only 30% of the refurbishing project is complete. the new video is being taken from secondary sources. 24 hours from right now we have a very special treat for you. two mar nine, 10:00 p.m. eastern, check out our special.

-- tomorrow night, at 10:00 p.m. eastern, check out our special. we will talk with buzz aldrin and others about the future of the space program. i know that you have said that going to see space station is a dead-end. >> not for the europeans, not for the japanese. we can fly by comets. we can land a habitat on the moon of mars unmanned. greta: tomorrow night, check it out. levi johnston, sarah palin, conan o'brien. .

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>> in a recent interview, lee by johnston says they could never -- sarah palin can never handle the responsibility of being president. the senate, where can i leave that they be? greta: that unless cobb. thank you for being with us tonight. we will see you tomorrow. do not miss the special. it is really inspiring. we are headed off to india. we will be back monday night. short trip.