martha: thank you. welcome to "the live desk." trace: this is where the news begins. behind me is the national desk. they are covering america. this is the foreign desk. they are covering the globe, including the latest on the u.s. soldier being held by the taliban. his 23-year-old bowe bergdahl. the pentagon is serious the taliban released that 28-minute videotape. now we have new information on the effort to get him freed. new today -- the arraignment of the trolley driver in boston. remember the man allegedly texting while driving and smashed into the back of another trolley car injuring 60? the latest on that is coming up.

and a live look at the air and space museum in washington, d.c., where four years ago today, the eagle landed. apollo 11 astronauts will also be meeting with the president today. apparently, the way to mars goes through the white house. before the president meets with the astronauts, he needs to deal with health care. mike emanuel is falling back from the white house. is the president going back on the offensive? >> yes, he feels let this is something that he needs to talk about every day. today he has gone to the children's national medical center to do a health care roundtable with a variety of professionals at the hospital to talk about what works and health care, what does not work, the state of health care in america, and what can be done to build upon what does work.

obviously, the president feels like that is a good place to talk about his message of health care reform. trace: this will not be the last time we hear from the president on health care in and few days -- in the days to come. >> that is right. we expect him to hit it pretty hard, on thursday -- when denied when he speaks primetime. clearly, he feels like he is the most effective weapon in terms of fighting health care reform. he will be speaking all week. you can expect the president every day in a variety of forms making his case for health care reform. trace: thank you. martha: as we wait for the president, we get some interesting new poll numbers.

and joining me now is doug scheon. we also have two guests. i want to look at some of these numbers and get your reaction to them. the first one is how people are perceiving this health care reform program. this is the first time we have seen this number. 49% approval. the high was 57%. take a look at overall numbers for president obama, which has been strong since he took office. right now he has a 59% approval rating. doug scheon, what do you think? >> this is a crucial time for him. the president knows that he needs to get support on health care now.

with his support rating under 50, with everything happening, it is do or die. martha: do you think the white house is looking at what people are upset about? obviously, people are upset about spending. but how you cut costs by spending such an astronomical amount of money? >> there is no answer to that. that is why they are depending on the second number that you talked about, overall popularity. martha: david, talk about popularity on capitol hill. what bill seems to be the one that can make some headway, and is there any chance to have this before august? >> i do not think that we can get anything before recess. the only bill that has a chance is currently being discussed in the sun -- senate committee. in the house, there is a bill

that is extremely liberal shaping up, and there are a lot of conservative democrats putting the brakes on that. senator kennedy also released a liberal version of the bill, and no one is supporting it. procedurally, the senate need more time because of the confirmation hearings of sonia sotomayor. it is just hard to rush something that is so complicated. some of these senators are afraid to run for reform because of their own election process. martha: let us look at another number here. confidence in obama's economic plan? 56% right now. 72% in january. brad, obviously, unemployment needs to be -- has come into play here.

>> absolutely. the president is hurting because he bamboozled's on the us on the stimulus. unemployment has gone up more than he promised the money has not been released. we are paying over $100 million a day in interest. 80% of that is a and spend. where is the money? it is locked up with these shovel-ready products. now he is paying the price on health care. i agree with david, this bill is not going to go anywhere, and congress is going to go on recess. martha: the numbers are so astronomical. i think the american people have been patient with the spending in washington so far. but quickly, david, you point

out there is an interesting element here. people are starting to say this is ridiculous. $100 billion in interest payments? >> the problem the president has is two fold. the number one thing americans are concerned about when it comes to health care is cost. yet, you have the two bills that have cost estimates showing that no money would be saved. the other thing the president needs to figure out is while everyone is worried about health care, they are all happy with the plan and a half. people want reform, but they do not want anything to change. martha: doug scheon, health care is not not that. people are saying this is an astronomical cost. most people say that they are

happy with their coverage. >> they are pretty happy. they will lead to cost held down. what they would like to see is their lives getting better. martha: is it better to get a better health care plan by paying more? the savings that you have could lead to lower quality. >> that is right. that is why the government is coming up with this public plan to stonewall the entire system. martha: thank you. later on president obama will be speaking about this. basically, he will be talking about this every day to get some support. trace: in the meantime, a boston trolley driver admitted to texting before a crash.

now what his lawyers are saying about their clients. and man versus mountain lion. >> he batted at me like this. welcome to the now network. currently, thousands of people

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martha: the time schedule has

been pushed back a bit for president obama, but we are monitoring that. in the middle box, the former boston subway operator who was supposedly texting during a crash that injured 60 people has pleaded not guilty in the case. in the bottom box, a former nfl star michael vick is now a free man. he has completed his home confinement portion of his sentencing. now we will see what happens to his football career. trace: president obama's plan for a national program for health care raising concern on both sides of the aisle. moderate democrats say it is too expensive. the president wants a proposal on his desk before congress goes on break. shannon bream is with us. congress is already set to break the spending record?

>> absolutely. this health care issue comes on top of that. right now we're on track to spend $3.99 trillion this year. here is a look at some of the top issues we are talking about that contribute. in common programs with social security, medicare, medicaid, schip, that is $1.83 trillion. housing and commerce contributes $750 billion, national defence, $690 million, and unemployment benefits at $106 million. there are many more categories, but just a bit of that $4 trillion. trace: there has to be some lawmakers standing up against this. >> you are correct, but there is

a thought here that you have to spend money to get the country out of recession. >> this is a spending spree on like any other that i have seen in history. the government expanded 33% in one year. it is time for some adult supervision on capitol hill. someone needs to say no to this spending. >> we are going to speak to senator tom coburn in a little bit. he is one of the few that calls it like he sees it and refuses any more spending than would mortgage our grandchildren's future. trace: any word from congress on the health care bill? >> much of the negotiation is going on in a bipartisan way. max baucus and charles grassley will be meeting with a group of

seven lawmakers, try to hammer out the details. we will see what kind of success they have, but we do not expect much progress. trace: thank you. martha: one man goes camping with his family and decides to gather some one. he had a chain saw, and it came in and money handy, when he was encountered by a mountain lion in. the father describes what it was like. >> i hit it with the sock, and that was enough. it left. i did not expect that. i thought that he would come back. martha: good grief. officials later shot and killed a mountain lion after it attacked a dog.

they say that it appeared underweight and aggressive. trace: speaking of fighting, fighting words from the chairman of the republican party. >> many democrats note that voters will not stand for these kinds of fall is a prescription for our health care, or for ourselves. trace: more from michael steele on how the gop plans to resist the democrat's trillion-dollar proposal. so many arthritis pain relievers -- i just want fewer pills and relief that lasts all day. take 2 extra strength tylenol every 4 to 6 hours?!? taking 8 pills a day... and if i take it for 10 days -- that's 80 pills.

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trace: in the top box we are awaiting president obama's comments on health care reform. in the middle box, and the lone

surviving gunman in the mumbai attacks has taken an indian court in lawyer by surprise by pleading guilty to his role in that rampage. in the bottom box, and now author of "angela's ashes" frank mccourt has died. michael steele says the new health-care plan will hurt the economy and forced millions to drop their current coverage. >> the president is rushing this experiment through congress so fast, so soon, that we have not had a moment to think if it works, or worse, the consequences to our nation, economies, and families, if it does not. trace: wendell goler is at the white house. what is the gop strategy here? >> republicans want to capitalize on new polls

released showing americans are growinstarting to be concerned h health care reform. still, more people support reform than oppose it. michael steele tried to reverse that trend, calling the plan risky. >> candidate obama promise to change. president obama is conducting an experiment. -- promised change. he is a pair minting with the quality of our lives, experimenting with the quality -- economy, and experimenting on necessarily with our tax dollars. >> he accuses the president of pushing us toward a socialized

health-care system. trace: how is the gop strategy playing on capitol hill? >> the rnc is targeting read state democrats. -- red state democrats. they will be airing certain commercials that assert that the health care plan is risky. meanwhile, another group is targeting republicans. charles grassley, saks be chambliss, -- saxby chambliss, and others, have all been singled out, labeled as potential turncoats. martha: how is the president responding to all of this opposition? we will hear from him after this.

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trace: in the top box, we have just gone need to-minute morning of the president speaking. >> i want to thank the participants do so right, brian jacobs, michael knapp, and kathleen quickly. i had the opportunity to talk to doctors, nurses, physicians, assistance, and administrators at this magnificent institution. we talked about the strain on our health care system and the strains that our health care system places on parents with sick children. we spoke about the time and money wasted on insurance-karen bureaucracy, the growing number of americans who are uninsured and underinsured. we spoke about what is wrong with a system where women cannot

always afford maternity care, parents cannot afford checkups for their kids and end up seeking treatment at the emergency centers. we spoke about the fact that it is hard, even for families who have insurance, to access primary-care physicians and pediatricians in a city like washington, d.c. where all the doctors are on one half of this city, very few on the other half. part of that has to do in the manner in which reimbursement is taking place and business incentives for doctors, nurses, and physician assistants in caring for those most in need. we spoke about where we are headed if we once again delay and for health insurance reform. these professionals are doing heroic work each and every day to save the lives of america's

children, but they are being forced to fight through a system that works better for drug companies and insurance companies than for the american people. over the past decade, premiums have doubled in america. out-of-pocket costs have shot up by 1/3. deductibles have continued to climb. but even as american families have been battered by costs, insurance companies have raked in a windfall profits. we have talked about this every year. unless we act now, none of this will change. here is a quick statistic i heard about this hospital. a few years ago, there were approximately 50,000 people

coming into the emergency room. now they have 85,000. there has been in doubling of the emergency room care in a relatively short period of time, which is putting an enormous strain on the system. that is the status quo, and it will only get worse. if we do nothing, families will spend more and more of their income for less care. the number of people who lose their insurance because they lost are changed jobs will continue to grow. more children will be denied coverage on account of athaliah or a heart condition. the job will be lost, they will be lowered, businesses will shutter, and we will continue to waste billions of dollars on insurance company boondoggles and inefficiency that add to our financial burdens without making us healthier. the need for reform is urgent

and indisputable. no one denies that we are on an unsustainable path. we know there are more efficient ways to do this. we just spoke to the chief information officer here at the hospital, and he talked about a wonderful ways in which we could gather electronic metal or records and information for every child, not just in at this hospital, but in the region. it requires an investment, however. there are some in the town that are set on perpetuating the status quo. in fact, fighting reform on the behalf of special interest. there are others to recognize the problem and believe, perhaps hope, that we can put off the hard work of insurance reform for another day, another year,

another decade. the other day one republican senator -- and i am quoting him now -- if we are able to stop obama on this, it will be his waterloo. it will break him. think about that. this is not about me. this is not about politics. this is about a health care system that is a breaking america's families, breaking america's businesses, and economies. we cannot afford the policies of the lay and defeat when it comes to health care. -- delay and the feet when it comes to health care. there are too many families that will be crushed if premiums continue to rise. -- defeat when it comes to health care. the reforms we seek would bring greater competition, choice,

savings, and inefficiencies to our system, and greater stability to american families and businesses. for the average american, it will mean lower cost and coverage you can count on. it will save you and your family money if we have a more efficient health-care system. you will not have to worry about being priced out of the market. you do not need to worry about one illness pushing your family into another group. we can and we must make all of these reforms, and we can do it in a way that does not add to the deficit in the next decade. i have said this before. the bill i sign must reflect my commitment, and the commitment of congress, to slow the cost of health care over the long run. that is how we can insure health

care reforms strengthen our nation's fiscal account at the same time. we always knew passing health care reform would not be easy. we always knew the wing what was right would be hard -- doing what was right would be hard. there is a tendency toward inertia in this town. i understand that as well as anyone, but we are a country that chooses the harder right over the easier wrong. that is what we have to do once more. let us fight our way through the politics of the moment, passeriform by the end of the year, commit ourselves to delivering our country a better future, and that future will be seen in a place like this children's hospital when young people are getting the care that they deserve and need, when they need it, so that we do not have

an overcrowded emergency room putting a burden on this institution. i think we can accomplish that, but we need to do some work in the next few months. thank you, everybody. [applause] martha: president obama making it clear he wants this health care reform bill passed right away. he said, we have talked about it to death. that is a response to people who say that we do not have enough time. we need to accept the fact that health care reform is needed. he talked about children being denied coverage with pre- existing conditions. we are going to talk a bit about that. a couple of things that i picked up on. he said we must hapass insurance reform, talking about insurance companies.

doug scheon, let me bring you on the con -- you in on the conversation. a lot of people believe their health care is ok. but in terms of insurance reform, is that a better way to package it? >> i think he was speaking directly to the cost issue, as well as the suspicion that people have against insurance companies. martha: people against it are against it because of special interest. when i am hearing is a lot of these people do not want to hear in 2019 that it is going to cost $2 billion. he keeps saying this is deficit neutral, but the cbo says that is not the case. >> he tried to make the message that this is not politics,

health care. -- this is not politics, this is health care. >> it was a great speech about doom and gloom if his plan is not passed, but it was the void of any specifics. how do you overcome the fact that the cbo tells you that not only will it raise our annual budget, but it will also had increased deficit to the already ballooning deficit, and we do not know what the cost benefit analysis plan would be. you are not going to get health care reform in this present package. what you might be able to get bipartisan is true reform in medicare and insurance. that you can get bipartisan support on, but not the kind on the proposal you are talking about, in an economy that is

strong going. -- struggling. martha: david, are you still with us? are we seeing a sliding of the deadline? now he is talking about the end of the year. we have not heard too much about august. >> i think it was clear over the weekend, the white house recognized making the deadline would be very difficult, not only in the senate, but even in the house, conservative democrats are putting up a fight. that will make it hard for the house to pass something. usually, it is pretty easy in the house. martha: we might hear a change in how this is presented. if he starts calling this insurance reform -- a possible area where there might be some meeting in the middle -- and that may bring us in public option. perhaps both sides will day able

to agree on insurance reform. thank you for being here. trace: the soldier kit -- captured in the taliban. -- by the taliban. we have a live report on what the government is trying to do to find him and remember the president making this request to his cabinet? the them identify at least $100 million in additional cuts to their administrative budgets. trace: guess what? today is the deadline. we will tell you what they came up with. years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

martha: a lot of fascinating news today. astronauts taking a space walk on the 40th anniversary of apollo 11. in the middle box, barbara mikulski is awaiting surgery after breaking her ankle. in the bottom box, hillary clinton is in india today where she announced a new trade agreement. back on the international scene and doing some work. trace: we are learning more about the american soldier captured by the taliban and the town hoping for his return. though bird dolls was captured earlier this month. -- though bird dolls -- bowe b

ergdahl. his hometown is showing the their support. >> we felt like we needed to come together as a community to support the family, bowe, and keep up our spirits here. trace: the community kept quiet about him for weeks. the local sheriff says that the town is doing all they can now to show their support. >> you will find from the bergdahl family thinking the community, they are not going to do anything to jeopardize bowe. there were some england that he was captured, but -- inklings that he was captured, but they kept quiet on it. trace: the family, authorities,

do not want any information getting out about this because if any of that could be used by his captors. what is the military doing? >> you are right. they wanted to keep his profile low for weeks. we knew the names and we decided not to release it because the military did not want the enemies to be able to use that against him. in terms of what the military is doing, they have the entire unit on the ground looking for him. they are also dropping leaflets and fires in the province where he disappeared. it is the same area that a group kidnapped a "new york times" reporter not too long ago. trace: was the pentagon asked to stay quiet on this?

>> listen to what he said. >> i was contacted by the military. i did not know specifics, but i was contacted that this was going to be coming out. >> [inaudible] >> that was last week. >> this is extremely common, to try to keep a kidnapping like this low-profile. that is usually what officials recommend. trace: any reaction on the hill over this? >> there have been some statements. he was a member of the 501 parachute infantry. mark begich released this statement.

the pentagon saying that the taliban, by releasing this video, which was made under duress, are breaking the geneva conventions. trace: thank you. martha: there is a deadline today and we have not heard much about it. perhaps the administration would like to forget about it. the president said he wanted to crack down on excessive spending, asking them to cut $100 million in savings per cabinet area. not much money when you consider the billions of dollars that we are talking about in terms of deficit and stimulus, but has the cabinet stepped up to the challenge? peter barnes is with me from washington, d.c. what is the background here?

where are we on this? >> you will remember in april, he was talking about trying to control federal spending. at that meeting, he ask cabinet second trip -- cabinet secretaries to come up with $100 million in cuts of administrative deductions. now those 90 days have passed and technically the white house has until the end of the day to tell us where the cuts are, but so far they have not. a spokesperson, when we called and asked about it, said the the recommendations have been gathered and will be reported to the president shortly. we are waiting to see if the president delivers on this $100 million request. martha: what are you hearing, peter? any indication that this is a

project they have been actively working on? >> no indication of that, but now that we have drawn attention to it, we can expect to hear something. we are not trying to be budget weenies here. even the president said that that is a drop in the bucket, but he made a big deal out of it. he said, essentially, that would add up to real money. the president is also talking about cutting hundreds of billions next year, as well as money in medicare and medicaid spending. if he cannot deliver on administrative expenses the white house, i can he be credible when he talks about these other budget things? martha: you would think that it would be great pr for the white

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martha: very strong words from the president on health care reform. he said that we have talked this problem to death, and other words, wanting to get something passed. in the middle box, al franken is looking to expand the number of service jobs available to wounded veterans. in the bottom box, we are awaiting a briefing at the white house. also, we will be seeing the three apollo astronauts. perhaps the president is hightailing it from the hospital to the white house. >> one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. trace: today, there at the white house, 40 years ago today, those three astronauts were on the moon. they will be meeting the president today.

at the smithsonian's air and space museum, they are commemorating the event. brian wilson, how is the crown d? >> there are tremendous. behind me is an actual lunar excursion module. it has been laid out here to look like how it would have looked on the moon. there is neil armstrong. this would be bought aldrin. where were you in 1969? -- buzz aldrin. i just spoke to this young man, and she was 12 when it happens. >> i remember it like yesterday. we were on vacation. it was a small black-and-white television. we were watching in land, and of

course, walter cronkite was doing his thing. i just remember "manned landing on moon" splashing on the screen. >> and we all have those little models and and i were rooms on our desks, the apollo module. the question is where do we go next? some people say we are going back to the moon, others say that we should be going to mars. when apollo astronaut was asked the question and said that it is time to take risks in space once again. >> we need to get back to the point where we are no longer a risk-averse society and recognize there are things risking your life for. >> there you have the astronauts talking. and here we are right now in what they took man to the moon in. trace: thank you.

martha: on the anniversary of that first moon landing, three of the moon astronauts are setting out on a new mission today that you rarely -- and you rarely see these three together. michael collins, on baa's aldrin, and neil armstrong hoping to support a manned mission to the moon, perhaps back to mars. here is an interesting question. if it takes three days to get to the moon, how long will it -- would it take to travel to mars? the answer depends on where mars is, because it is rotating, but at the shortest distance, 180 days. this is a two, three-year mission to go to mars. it will be fascinating to hear

what they have to say. trace: it could even be tens of millions of miles further away. martha: we are talking about millions of miles away. that is simply an entirely different prospects. trace: you are driving along and you see them s.u.v. crashed into a tree and burst into flames. a mother and her kids are trapped inside. what some people did to save a mother and her children. you have to see this. you talk about people doing the right thing. it is all caught on tape. we will show it to you next.

[captioning made possible by fox news channel] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- trace: brand new stores and breaking news this hour. in the top box, astronauts from the space shuttle endeavor mark 40 years since man first walked on the moon. in the middle box, we are waiting for robert gates to hold a news conference. he is expected to make a major announcement about the size of the u.s. army. he wants more troops. in the bottom box, president obama pulling out the stops to drum up health care reform.

the president planning a prime- time news conference to make his case this week to the american people. you will see him talking about this every day. martha: congress passed a massive $787 billion stimulus package in february. so far it has not accumulated a lot of jobs with unemployment region close to 10% now. by that measure, mitch mcconnell is calling the plan a complete failure. but the president's budget director is defending the administration's effort, telling chris wallace and that the situation was much worse than most people thought when the president took office. he said we may have to wait a few more months before the stimulus starts to work. >> there is still more than needs to be done but we are not in the same position. >> the fed said that 9.5% at the

end of 2010. >> it is going to take time to work our way out of this. >> so are you are not going to dispute this? martha: joining us now is mitch mcconnell. great to have you with us. talk to me a bit. you said that stimulus package was rushed and spend -- rush and spend. we were told that if we did not pass the plan, unemployment would go up. >> that is exactly what they said. we have this almost $1 trillion stimulus package and now unemployment has gone to 9.5%, and everyone is anticipating it to go above 10%. based on any standards, right now, i would call the plan a

failure. martha: poll numbers that we are seeing now indicate people are a bit fed up. they are not sure health care reform is the best thing, and they are concerned about these unemployment numbers. >> we are going to have a bigger deficit this year than the previous five years combined. the american people are looking at this health care proposal, saying that this looks all lot like what we were told about the stimulus. we have to get it done tomorrow or bad things will happen. this poll indicates that political independencts disapproval of what the president is trying to accomplish on health care because they are suspicious. they believe this could be a duel over from the stimulus we had a few months ago, being sold to us as something that we have to do immediately, which might

not even work. trace: thank you for joining us, sir. you mentioned independent voters skewing away. even olympia snowe saying, what is the rush? she was in support of the stimulus but now she is saying, let's take a deep breath and past the right bill. that seems to be the way that things are going. >> people feel like they got burned on the stimulus vote. a lot of us now are saying, we told you so. look at the halfway the health- care issue has developed. -- look at the way the health care issue has developed. it is a systemic challenge to prevent america up from turning into europe.

this would be a big permanent change, not a one time shot like stimulus. this can do a lot of damage to the country and people want us to take our time and do it right. trace: a lot of people say that they do not trust the numbers. the cbo says that it will add to the deficit. the president said that it is a deficit-neutral. either the cbo got the numbers wrong, or the president is twisting the numbers. who do we trust? >> at least the cbo is supposed to be objective. they were hired by the democratic majority, but they have indicated that this may not be deficit neutral. let us discuss that it is deficit neutral. how will they pay for it, by cutting seniors, raising taxes on small businesses which employ 70% of americans, cuts to

doctors, hospitals, seniors, raising taxes on businesses? martha: before you go, one last question. when you look at the stimulus package, there were three republicans who voted in favor, olympia snowe among them. how is it looking now on health care on the republican side? >> republicans would like to do something but they do not want to do what the president wants to do. we know there are problems with health care. there is a cost problem, an access problem, but there is no quality problem here. we do not want to lose that. martha: the president talked about insurance reform. he has talked about health care reform before. do you think he is moving his definitions around a little bit? >> what we never hear about are

the lawsuits that are made against doctors frivolously. if the president truly wants a bipartisan bill, he needs to forget about getting it done overnight before anyone can read it. martha: thank you. trace: by the way, in the bottom region bottom box, that is robert gates speaking. -- bottom box, that is robert gates speaking. this live shot is from fort worth, texas. this is a train derailment pictures coming from this are amazing. we do not know how many passengers were on board. you can see the e logo there.

the other consideration here is what the train may have been carrying. was it carrying toxic chemicals? what kind of cargo are they carrying? were there any people on board? you can see it is a mass of twisted metal. it almost looks like it collided with some of them. we will be getting more information and pictures from our affiliate there in dallas. the driver of a san francisco train told investigators he blacked out before truck -- crashing into another train. four people suffered severe injuries in the collision. investigators also say the operator switched the train from automatic to manual control and just moments before the accident.

it was one of the worst in the city's municipal train history. there are new developments in the boston trolley crash. the driver was arraigned today in a court room. he entered a not guilty plea to a charge of gross negligence while operating a train, a felony that could send him to prison for three years. prosecutors say that he was text messaging his girlfriend before he plowed his train into the back of another trolley. prosecutors say that the age of the law but they are citing is irrelevant. martha: governors from both parties were read that their states could be hit with increased costs, when they are already under enormous stress.

they are wrapping up their annual meeting. the governors have expressed some concern, jonathan, so what are they saying? >> kathleen sebelius spoke with the governors and managed to reassure at least the democratic governor is that the current bill in the house would have the federal government funding any additional health care cost, but republican governors are still focusing skepticism. they fear the final bill that passes in congress would end up meeting some on mandated federal -- unfunded federal mandates left over. martha: there were several high- profile governors that were not at the conference. they are still being heard, so what are they saying? >> sarah palin has already gone on record expressing opposition to any sort of universal plan. bobby jindal of louisiana published an op-ed in "politico"

saying that social security and medicare are the two biggest entitlement programs. he goes on to say -- martha: interesting. i bet it is pretty hot down there today. nice to see you. trace: in haley, idaho, the family of a captured u.s. soldier has just released a statement. 23-year-old bowe bergdahl. we will tell you what the family is saying and what the military is doing to free him. did you see this videotape?

a crash leaves a family trapped in a burning s.u.v. as a good samaritan to risk their lives to save them. the reason there are about to open the window there is because there are two kids inside.

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trace: that is the daily white house briefing. robert gibbs announcing the news conference of the president will

be at 8:00, not 9:00. in the middle box, officials are searching a park in massachusetts for a 2-year-old girl. martha: she was last seen at 10:45 this morning. this is a very popular summer camping spot in north-central part of cape cod. we are told she has pink leggings and a skirt. they have a couple of atv's looking for her right now. trace: in the bottom box, we are getting amazing pictures from the dallas-fort worth area. this was a commercial freight train. to be honest -- i believe that is a crane. we do not know if this collided. we know that the train has gone

off the track, commit -- carrying commercial freight. at this point, we do not believe there are any hazardous materials on board. we have not confirmed anything officially, so we are just speculating. we do know this is commercial freight. just trying to figure out what that red thing is. it looks like a crane near the tracks. martha: in a small town in idaho, a waiting game for the family of bowe bergdahl. the taliban released a videotape of him yesterday, which many are calling umbrageous. the soldier's family wants to maintain its privacy for good reason. >> family members do not want to

risk doing anything to inflame the situation. you can see how easily that can happen. martha: our correspondent is with us from afghanistan now. how is the military tried to track him down? tell us about the ongoing search . >> forces are searching in the pakita region, where she disappeared. they are using a two pronged approach. they are searching the area and the military is also dropping leaflets on the villages and towns below. one of them has a picture of american troops holding hands with afghans and says that one of the troops are missing, please help us find him. the other is more aggressive,

showing an american peaking in the door of a home, suggesting that they need to help. also, they are offering an award, however, the fear is that he could have been moved from that location. as you said, secretary clinton called this an outrageous. they are upset about the fact that he is being paraded about as propaganda. this video, however, gives proof of his existence for those searching for him. he looks like he is in pretty good health, does not look like he has been physically harmed, but of course this is a

dangerous situation. military officials are doing everything to bring him back. martha: we decided not to show the video because of those concerned that you just pointed out. thank you. trace: robert gates was just talking about this, and he said that he felt discussed on watching the exploitation of the captured soldier bowe bergdahl. meantime, it is crunch time for president obama's push for health-care reform. but it is coming at a bad time. americans can't seem to be concerned about other issues like spending, unemployment, the economy. is the president losing grass- roots support in the biggest political fight of his career? we will have new poll results, and analysis, to talk about this.

the option to name your price -- new and only from progressive. call or click today.

martha: the defense secretary announcing moments ago with a temporary increase in the size of the u.s. army, by 22,000 troops over three years. in the middle box, we just told you about that top alert. good news, she has been found. she was found at home, hiding under the covers. in the bottom box, the push for health-care reform is becoming a heated battle. trace: president obama: the need for former urgent and indisputable. the time to act is now.

>> this is not about me, this is not about politics. this is about a health care system that is breaking american families. breaking american businesses, and american economies. trace: the president made those remarks a short time ago in washington, d.c., but a recent poll numbers show that the president's numbers on this issue are dropping. with me is the communications director for the white house office of reform. i know that you are here to put a happy face on this for the white house, but you have to be concerned about these numbers. >> honestly, there are polls that come out all the time showing up and down movement. the concern here is rising premiums, rising expenses for families, expenses that are crushing businesses -- trace: what about the poll numbers? americans are concerned about this.

that has to be a concern for the white house. >> if you look at the pole in its it took a holiday, the president's overall approval rating is very strong. -- in its entirety, the president's overall rating is very strong. trace: but they do not believe the president. >> they do not want to endure the status quo any longer. trace: we are going to move on. a 49% favorable rating. let me move on to cbo numbers. these are numbers that they give congress to make their decisions. they say that this will add a lot to the deficit. close to $250 billion. the president said it is deficit neutral. someone's numbers are off. >> i am glad you asked me that,

because i was hoping for the opportunity to explain. the president is clear that his legislation will be deficit neutral. the laws that he signed will be deficit neutral. what the congressional budget office and is factoring in it is decisions already made when the present first came into the office. he made the decision based on honest -- the part of the control the congress over the past several years had many problems that were not paid for -- trace: [unintelligible] >> this has already been dealt with. we are going to -- trace: how are you going to pay for it? >> when you look at the overall health part of it, it is a deficit neutral. trace: linda, thank you.

martha: let us take another look at this plan because it is a hot issue right now. we also just heard moments ago president obama pushing back against critics, pressing for a bill that he wants passed now. now he is talking about getting it passed by the end of the year. our senior our political analyst brit hume jusoins me now. you have the question of how this will be paid for. the president says it will be deficit neutral, but the cbo has different numbers. >> the cbo numbers are important. it portrays the real economic reality, and second, the cbo has a better reputation for a trial in the than the office of management and budget,

obviously, an arm of the white house. that does not mean that cbo is always right and omb is always wrong. however, right now, the public is expressing rising concern about rising deficits. so this is a serious blow, in political terms, to what the president is trying to do here. i think that explains, in part, the urgency in which he is approaching the mannetter. we have not often had a democrat in the white house, and in control of congress -- by the way, we have never had as complete control of the house as we do now -- so this is a rare opportunity. however, popularity is starting to wane.

time is running out. martha: of course, he is well aware of these things you are pointing out. i wonder if you see a difference in how he presented it today. clearly, he wants to sound tough on the issue, but he called it insurance reform, not health care reform. i thought that was interesting. he also talked about the end of the year. the believe that he is seeking some common ground here? >> he is a right to call it an insurance reform because that is what we would be changing most, possibly by adding a government- sponsored option. martha: the reason i bring it up is because people believe that the health care system here is pretty good when you change the

language and you start talking about insurance companies, that is a slightly different thing in people's minds. >> it is also the case that he appears to have backed up on his demand that this be done before the congressional recess, which plan they will not happen. clearly, he is looking for a way to get this done. what you are seeing here is the president trying to spend his political capital in an important way. he is finding, as many presidents before him have found, that political capital is perishable, that the value of his own people -- speeches is perishable, and his popularity on these issues is perishable as well. you have this public worry about this, as well as the timeline. if this goes on much longer

without a resolution or enactment, the impetus for it against -- for it begins to fade. i think he is right to worry. i believe this is in trouble. martha: thank you. trace: he was one of the first men to step foot on the moon. they landed 40 years ago today. now these legendary heroes are focusing on the future of space exploration, asking nasa to bring man where he has not been before. >> one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. discover new seafood creations...

inspired from around the country at red lobster. from the northeast, try our new maine lobster and crab bake, with garlic-roasted tender maine lobster, jumbo shrimp, scallops, and a full half-pound of snow crab legs. or from the south, try our new orleans... wood-grilled shrimp jambalaya, simmered with creole seasonings. taste these regional dishes for a limited time. at red lobster. trace: brand new information on three big stories. we are watching something critical to the survival of small business.

>> of the largest small-business lenders, cit group, will be avoiding bankruptcy without the help of the government. bondholders agreed to provide $3 billion -- $3 billion in financing. trace: thank you. now to the weather center. summer is here. >> it certainly is, especially for the southwest. we are above the 100 degree mark for the past 20 days. that he continues for the better part of the week, but in another part of the country, we have a cold front. right around here in bismarck, we could have some isolated storms. trace: now across the newsroom, courtney friel on details on the

new home of bernie madoff. >> his new job is making desk and a door nameplate. his favorite fruit is the fish fillet with back injuries. as for his jail mates, someone to try to smack him around to increase their stock. now some respect him because he pled guilty and did not take anyone down with him. trace: thank you. martha: today marks 40 years since man took his first steps on the moon, one of the greatest achievements of the 21st century, and a proud moment for all americans. >> we can see the stars and stripes now. beautiful, just beautiful.

martha: nasa is already making a plan to go back. some legendary astronauts are saying, forget about the moon, let us go to mars. let me speak to some experts in all of this. tom jones is with me. i am also joined by a physicist. good to have you here. we know we are about to hear the three original apollo astronauts speak to president obama. they want to see the program become more aggressive. what do you think? >> i think we should go back to the moon, perhaps to mars, but as a scientist, we need to not repeat the mistakes. if we go to the moon or mars,

what is aft to? a permanent base, colony? -- what is act two? we need to have some sort of an end game so that we can look back at this as a success. martha: with me now is the former nasa chief historian. john, how compelling is this argument today? there are some of us who would love to see this happen again. is there the political will for this to happen now? >> just so i do not get in trouble, i am not the nasa chief historian. i am a retired professor from george washington university. i think the case for going beyond earth's orbit, 1st to the moon and then other destinations, it is very strong. if we are going to continue to put humans in space, then they

should go somewhere, not just in the endless circles around the planet. martha: tom jones, you did some work on the international space station. we are looking at a picture of the three apollo astronauts. what is the strongest argument for going? in these economic times, it would seem like a tough sell for many people. >> first of all, what we spend on space every year is a fraction of what the government spends. the stimulus bill last year was 40 times more expensive than any budget announced by an asset. it is worthwhile in terms of what we get out of it. and to actually get industry involved in space, that is what your studio guest is referring to. we need to do something to generate wealth and taxes.

the government would be interested in that. martha: how long would it take to get a program together to go to mars? >> technically, about 25 years to learn. that is not the way we should look at it, though. it should be seen as small stepping stones. first the moon, then nearby locations, and then mars. martha: do you believe this is the way to do it? >> that is right. eventually, we should be a two plant species. not in the next several decades -- life is too precious just to be placed on one plant. again, this is a long-term goal. martha: can you a imagine if president obama said that we needed to be a two plant species?

>> i think some version of humanity's future lies in space. i do not think the president will say that we will colonize mars, but saying we have our sights on moving humanity off of this planet as the first step is a person it -- perfectly reasonable statement. martha: people have talked about the alternative of living on the moon. you have not quite been to the moon, but you have almost been there. what do you think of that, reasonable? >> if we can find resources at the polls of the moon, we might be able to establish a colony, like the one that we have in antarctica. that would be a reasonable proposition. lacking that, i would say short scientific visits, and then

harvesting what we can. the ultimate goal would be finding these resources available. it is tough to stay there in space, but it is worth at the scientific benefits, as well as the possibly limit last sources of energy we could find in space. martha: and i understand it would take over 180 days to travel to mars. we are talking about millions of miles. >> remember the world record for weightlessness is one year. that was just a one-way trip to mars. we need tremendous breakthrough in research and development, and we also need to drop the cost of space travel. it cost $10,000 to put 1 pound of anything in orbit. we have to find a way to drive

the cost down. martha: this is fascinating. one real unknown in this is how president obama feels about space travel. he has a commission looking at the possibility of perhaps going back to the moon. it will be interesting to see what kind of impact he gets from this meeting. we are looking forward to that. thank you, everyone. trace: before we leave, i need to show you this on foxnews.com. 1969, chris wallace gives you some feedback. it goes through everything like joe namath, the new york jets, space landing. if you go through this, it will give you a great deal of information on the year that

changed history. the summer of love. many others called it the summer of dreams. foxnews.com. a tragic and shocking story. this young man lost both of his legs, but not in combat. he lost them in a routine operation on his gall bladder. he has no legal recourse. why? wwww are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert

your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

martha: we are in a place that you have never seen before on fox news. where are we? >> control room 8, where my program originated. i have never been in here. during the program, i am out there. i did not even know that jenna and eric were here. two things that we are talking about today. insurance care reform?

we are going to have one speaker from each side. the best story of the date is secret herbs and spices. it is a great story. this person on wall street is living it up, then come up with copycat recipes for things like kentucky fried chicken, food items from red lobster. the website got so popular, that hhe was able to do this full time, and he is going to be here. martha: red lobster cheddar biscuits. it sounds so good. >> we are going to find out exactly how to make some of these things. martha: thank you. back to you. trace: the air force is

investigating how a routine operation left a young arab men in double ntt. colton read was having his gall bladder removed. the surgeon made an incision to ease his recovery but apparently cut a major involve supplying blood to his heart. the family claims the doctors waited hours before transferring him to a specialist. then doctors had to amputate both legs because of massive blood loss. the surgeon admitted it was a mistake, but by military law, cannot be sued. a trial attorney is now with me. it is unbelievable to me that you can lose both of your legs and there is nothing that you can do about it. >> this is an egregious case about malpractice. this was a simple gallbladder surgery. they cut his a or a bell, and by

the time he gets help, he has lost his legs. trace: so this person cannot even sue the government. talk about that. >> if you are in active duty, whether through an accident, war, or malpractice, you cannot sue. trace: they are trying to change the law because there was one man who had cancer, they did not tell him, and he died of skin cancer. now congress is trying to change it so that they inform them of their rights. >> obviously, there might need to be some adjustments when it comes to the battlefield, but medical error, that needs to be covered. this guy has no legs for the rest of his life. trace: thank you.

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>> operated but also the entire nasa family that was able to at great risk, with the great danger, was somehow able to lift our sights not just here in the united states but around the world. we now have a wonderful nasa administrator, charles bolden, the deputy administrator, laurie garver. we are confident they are going to be doing everything that they can in the decade to come to continue the inspirational mission of nasa.

but i think it's fair to say that the touchstone for excellence in exploration and discovery is always going to be represented by the men of apollo 11. so i'm grateful to them for taking the time to visit with us. the country continues to draw inspiration from what you've done. i should note just personally, i grew up in hawaii, as many of you know. and i still recall sitting on my grandfather's shoulders when those capsules would land in the pacific. we'd go out and pretend like they could see us. we were waving at the folks coming home. i remember waving american flags and my grandfather telling me that the apollo mission was an example of how americans could

do anything they put their minds to. i also note that as a consequence of the extraordinary work of nasa generally that you inspired the entire generation of scientists and engineers that ended up really sparking the innovation, the drive, the entrepreneurship, the creativity back here on earth. i think it's very important for us to constantly remember that nasa was not only about feeding our curiosity, that sense of wonder, but also had extraordinary, practical applications. and one of the things that i've committed to doing as president is making sure that math and science are cool again, and that we once again achieve the goal by 2020 of having the highest college graduation rates of any country on earth, especially in the math and science fields. so i think on this 40th

anniversary all of us are grateful to all of you for what you've done. we expect as we speak there's another generation of kids out there who are looking up to the sky and may be the next armstrong and aldrin. we want to make sure that nasa will be there for them. thank you so much. trace: you talk about a defining moment. you have buzz al drin, michael collins, neil armstrong and, of course, the president. the nasa administrator is also in the room. but, boy, what a gathering 40 years, 40 years ago tomorrow is when neil armstrong first stepped foot on the moon. july 21, 1969. they landed 40 years ago today.

martha: three really cool guys. they did an extraordinary thing. neil armstrong you almost never see. he's very -- not reclusive but just very reserved. he doesn't like to make a big deal about him being the first person to step foot on the moon. you wonder what's going through the president's minds, the space program. that's what they're wondering and nasa as well. it will be interesting to see. trace: neil armstrong maintains that he said -- remember, the statement was, "one small step for man, one giant -- well, he says it was one small sell for a man. he said that and they have analyzed it and said a was in there, you just couldn't, because of the audio transmission, couldn't hear it. one small step for a man. martha: meaning for him. one small step off of that staircase. it really does have that desire to get back into space. when you hear it could take 25 years to get to mars, tom jones is saying it's good to think about all of that and have a

goal and to reach the stars. reach for the stars as those men does in their day. trace: that's one of the reasons they were there in the white house today. they were lobbying the president saying it's time. it's time to move beyond the moon. we're going back to the moon we hope 2020, 2025. tom jones said maybe that's the base to go to mars. we said three days to get to the moon. depending where mars is at a particular of time, 180 days to get to mars. martha: about 177 days closer to mars. incredible. thank you for watching us today, everybody. we'll see you back here on "the live desk" tomorrow. shepard: president obama ramping up his push for health care reform. what you need to know about the rush to get the controversial program signed into law 30 seconds away. first, three boxes full. box one, brand new details on the light rail crash in san francisco, including reports of the operator just blacked out.

the chief fox report correspondent jonathan hunt with a closer look at who is driving our transportation. box number two, two off-duty firefighters rescue a child from a burning car. we'll show you the rest of the video and talk to one of the hero firefighters live on "studio b." and in box three, hunting pythons. have you seen any of these stories out of florida? a python takes on a gator and kills that gator over and over. these pythons are massive. there's a hunt going on. we are on the hunt. experts trap and killing the snake that can grow larger than a car. hear from one of the people who has three. children and was there. they caught this python. and why they've unleashed the hunters on florida. plus we have food today. this dude copies the recipes, puts them on the website so you can get some of your favorite stuff and h