nicely done. finally, the bride buddies her way all the way up the aisle. here she comes. hold on. jill hines said she always knew she wanted to dance down the aisle when she found the right guy. bill: have a great weekend, everybody. [captioning made possible by fox news channel] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- jon: what a way to kick off york friday. the future of your health care. the president is about to meet with top democrats that say they will not meet the august deadline. can he keep health care reform on track? juliet: and would you rush into a car on fire? meet the man who did. jon: the astronauts take a

stroll hundreds of miles above earth to replace batteries in the international space station. their last what was cut short because of a problem. in cambridge, mass., police are speaking out, sticking behind a federal officer who arrested a renowned black scholar, henry louis gates, jr., at his home. we will carry the news conference live at noon eastern time. the arrest of the professor is now a full-blown racial controversy, with the white house smack in the middle of it after president obama said wednesday that the police acted stupidly by arresting professor gates. he said this on a prime-time news conference. now, cops in cambridge and across america are crying foul, saying that the president did not have all the facts. officer sean crowley acted on a call, rusting gates for disorderly conduct -- arresting

at gates for disorderly conduct after gates got angry when asked for identification. the officer said he was acting properly, but gates says he might sue, calling the incident racial profiling. it has become quite a big brouhaha. mike emanuel has more. mike emanuel has more. >> that they say that the incident may have distracted fuehrer's from more substantive issues, like health care reform. -- they say that the incident may have distracted of viewers off for more substantive issues like health care reform.

jon: a guest of ours asked the president about his opinions on the case. what kind of reaction has she got in? >> she has been asked whether the question was planted or the white house knew about it, and she has written, "when president obama called on me, he had no idea what i would be asking. i had not written about the incident, so nobody had a clue that i was interested in obama's reaction." jon: it sounds like the president is surprised of the controversy -- surprised about the controversy it has kick off. >> you are right. he is surprised about the uproar coming from the comment

that the police department acted stupidly. here is what he had to say in an abc interview. >> i do not know all the circumstances. i respect for police officers do. from what i can tell, the surgeon involved is an outstanding police officer -- the sergeant involved is an outstanding police officer. >> robert gibbs today said the president had great respect for the work police officers do, but it is not clear whether this will make it all go away. jon: thank you. as we mentioned, we will take you live to cambridge, mass., for that news conference a little less than one hour from now, noon eastern time. juliet: should obama have commented on the arrest of the professor? send us your comments on foxnews.com. another setback for the president's effort to pass health care reform. despite obama's public push, it

now appears that the senate will not meet his august 7 deadline as the finance committee remains deadlocked. he is about to meet with a key player, max baucus, as well as harry reid. reid has suggested that a slower pace on health care reform might be the wisest way to do this. nancy pelosi says that she has enough votes to pass a bill before the august recess, but conservative and moderate democrats, the so-called blue dogs, are putting up a battle. as of right now, we are told that almost all of them are going to vote against the current measure. their support of a plan is far from certain jon: jon . jon: two american soldiers killed in afghanistan. 59,000 are in afghanistan now,

nearly double one year ago. that is part of a big push in the volatile south to route the taliban for good. later in the hour, we will hear about how they have gone high- tech in afghanistan in hopes of reducing casualties among the troops. juliet: stocks is starting in the red after rocket reports from microsoft -- rocky reports from microsoft and american express have stocks starting in the red. adam has details. >> the rating is 66. 100 is great. 66 is below june, where it was 70. that suggests consumers are not feeling too confident. without this survey, economists would have nothing to do end

might wind up unemployed. so it is essentially just a bellwether. do not take it as the gospel. jon: minimum wage earners will see a boost in their paychecks today. a federal increase goes into effect, raising it from $6.55 an hour to $7.25 an hour. for some states, though, like minnesota, a hike could result in job losses. we are in minneapolis to see about it. >> i just arrived in this busy kitchen in minneapolis. they are preparing for a new day. to give you an example, there are about 60 employees here working at joe's garage, and more than half make tips. when you multiplied that out, that is a lot of money. the owner says he will lose $15,000 to $20,000 immediately off the bottom line to buffer the loss.

he plans to cut back hours at a time when strong losses are present. what we see over the next few months is probably that folks go off together and businesses may slump. jon: thank you. meanwhile, the california senate announces a plan to close their $26 billion deficit. the more controversial proposals call for borrowing billions of dollars from cities and counties. that would also eliminate 60% of deficit by cutting corestates services like education, health programs, and even staffing. the rest would come from a onetime ray's on local government funds -- a onetime raise on local government funds. but this could sink california

further into fiscal chaos. juliet: police are investigating the death in california of the border patrol agent. he was found shot and killed near the mexico border in san diego county. it is not clear whether he was on duty at the time. we will bring you more details as they come in. jon: investigators are looking into a deadly helicopter crash in maryland. it crashed right into interstate 70, washington county, ripping down trees and power lines and bursting into flames. the victims and poor's three employees of a helicopter instruction company and -- the victims were three employees of a helicopter instruction company and one passenger. there were no survivors. juliet: in hoboken, bribery, money laundering, kidneys for sale, gucci bags for sale.

rabbis and politicians were arrested in a scandal spanning the globe, from hoboken, new jersey, to tel aviv. is this bust just the beginning? will there be more arrests? jon: astronauts are out spacewalking. take a live look there. they are making up for some unfinished business. why today's stroll in space is on like any other. wwwwu5+.

jon: a couple of american astronauts are very busy with an important chore in space. they awoke this morning to the sounds of pink floyd's "wish you were here." that is why we were playing that music on the break. chris cassidy and tom marsh are

now replacing batteries on the space station. it is a 7.5 our walk today. two of the six original batteries were changed on wednesday, but it had to be cut short because carbon dioxide levels in astronaut cassidy's suit unexpectedly rose. he was moving so fast at the start of the last walk, his air cleansing canister could not keep up and did not work as well as it should have. both astronauts are moving a bit more slowly today, taking it easy. [inaudible] juliet: we wanted to give you a little bit of an earful there. it is fascinating to watch. this has everyone talking. a corruption scandal in new jersey and new york, but it

also basically spans the globe. more than 40 people arrested, including three mayors, state legislators, city councilman, even some rabbis. it started in an investigation into an international money- laundering ring, but soon led to the sale of fake gucci bags and black-market kidneys. fbi agents called the corruption one of the worst, if not the worst in the nation's history. joining me now is an officer from bergen county. i live in hoboken, and everyone is talking about this. the newly elected mayor has been in office three weeks, and everyone thought this guy was going to save the day. how is he connected to black- market kidneys? take us through the genesis of this? >> politicians are connected like this. there were two parallel

investigations going on with the fbi and u.s. attorney's office in new jersey. one was the international scope of money laundering involving rabbis, charities, and people in israel to launder cash from the sale of state goods, including one of the kidneys. during that investigation, they came across a corroborating witness who had ties to developers as well as rabbis, but he also had connections to the political world. the fbi was apparently able to use this investigation to connect to politicians in new jersey. two worlds combined, hinging on a cooperating witness.

juliet: i was surprised that the mayor was elected. the feds were obviously onto him away before the election. -- way before the election. >> he was on tape, bragging to a confidential witness, while taking bribes, about what he would do in office. gov. corzine, together with bob menendez, had a bright moment for the new jersey democrats with the election of this mayor. yet according to information we now have, he is telling people there were three people and the world. those who are there and the beginning, and the others -- those their in the beginning, those who joined on, and those were not on board, and he said he would grind the last ones into powder.

juliet: i guess the big question now, are others point to follow? -- are others going to follow? >> one of the most powerful men in the state senate, chairman of the budget committee, is being sentenced on charges relating to an investigation that relates to this one. yesterday, one cabinet member, the mayor of bay on -- bayonne -- his house was raided, along with his office, and he was forced to resign as they took boxes of documents. they have done this in pretty much every county in new jersey, finding people taking bribes through wiretaps. juliet: there are probably a lot of people shaking in their boots as we watch this. thank you. this is an unbelievable story. jon: new plans announced for the

white house to keep up the health care reform plan, this after a big hit was taken in congress. the president will visit north carolina and virginia next week, and it just so happens their home to the blue dog democrats that have been fighting against his plan. coming up, how it may play into what he wants. and as a pilot, i can tell you that you want to take off and land with all parts of your airplane attached. this one had a close call, losing a crucial part in mid- air.

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juliet: the beach becomes a

landing pad for a pilot in california. the pilot reported mechanical problems and decided to bring the chopper down in the sand. no one on the beach or in a helicopter got harmed -- or in the helicopter got harmed. a close call. eight transport plane fell from the skies, landing near the woods. the pilot was able to land safely and there were no injuries. the military is investigating. this is one of the largest military planes in the world, with 28 wheels. it is often used to deliver troops. jon: a plan to defeat the taliban takes a page from iraq.

they are trying to go high-tech, using the missile predator drowned. some of the allies baulked, extending more troops to afghanistan. in u.s. and canada, there is opposition to increasing troop levels. let's talk about it with major- general of scales, a retired army officer who is a fox news military analyst. there is double the number of troops in afghanistan than a year ago. people are seeing casualties rise and saying it is starting to look like a bad situation. >> a couple of factors are play. any time you increase density in a theater, casualty's increase.

american and british troops. frankly, the taliban are getting better, importing it sophisticated technology that has been so effective in iraq, using them on the roads and highways, and we're seeing a proportionate casualty increase. the same thing happened in 2007 during the early days of the surge in iraq. there was a spike before the enemy was defeated. jon: they're also using suicide bombers, and heard of a year ago. -- unheard of a year ago. >> they are doing many things like that. they are increasing ambushes, the use of snipers and sniper rifles. as i mentioned before, ied

technology is improving and the density of ieds on the roads is going up by a factor of 5 or 6. it increases the chance of soldiers being harmed in afghanistan. jon: france has something like 2200, australia has 1500, 1800. it numbers less than 2000. why is that? >> nato has made a commitment to use european soldiers in afghanistan and they have been there for some time. a lot of it has to do with political push back. it is also important to note

that the enemy knows that. but it is important to see that support may wane in the future. jon: 57% of americans surveyed still favor keeping troops in afghanistan. 60% oppose keeping troops their, their own troops. >> it is interesting to note that even secretary gates said publicly that american support in afghanistan is probably good for another 18 months to two years before that begins to erode. so it is important to start having some serious effect on the taliban over the next year, year and a half with these forces. similar to what petraeus did in iraq in 2007 and 2008.

jon: 1 of the things the military is trying to do is use high-tech tools like predator drones and go after taliban forces without incurring a civilian casualties. >> i was in afghanistan back in november and had a chance to set the command center, watching the predators work, these eyes in the sky. and commanders said that having beestings overhead makes a difference not only for our soldiers, who concede the enemy better than the enemy can see us, but it also has a psychological effect on the enemy, who see these aircraft overhead and get less frisky when they know they are being watched from this sophisticated eye in the sky. so the net effect outweighs any disadvantage by far. major jon: general bob --

jon: major general bob scales. thank you very much. juliet: we will take a closer look at officer james crowley and how he is no stranger to the public eye. and is there a sign that happy days are here again on wall street? limb: dude that was sick! i've been hangin' up there for, what, like, forty years? and then - wham - here i am smacking the pretty off that windshield of yours. oh, what you're looking for an apology? well, toss another coin in the wishing well, pal. it's not happenin'. limb: hey, what's up, donnie? how you been? anncr: accidents are bad. anncr:but geico's good ding! with onsite windshield replacement.

juliet: welcome back. the controversy over the arrest of a well-known black scholar is putting race in america back in the headlines, pitting the behavior of a harvard professor against a white police officer. so what we know about cambridge police sergeant james crowley? joining us is a reporter from the "boston herald." the second police officer says

he will not apologize, because he has nothing to apologize for, he is not a racist. what are you finding out about him. -- what are you finding out about him? >> [inaudible] he was in the news back then, trying to give reggie lewis mouth to mouth resuscitation. but at the time, he told the paper that people were saying about him, "there is the guy who killed reggie lewis." he said that left him broken hearted and he cried out for several nights. he also teaches racial profiling courses, instructing police recruits in avoiding the very practice he is accused of

the engaging in by the harvard professor, henry louis gates, jr.. juliet: what are people at brandeis saying about him? >> everybody we talked to so far says he is a by-the-book officer, very even keel, and even the police commissioner said he stood firmly behind him, saying that he acted according to protocol. good things are being said about this of surt by his colleagues. -- about this officer by his colleagues. it will be interesting when the tapes are released. the radio transmission from sergeant crowley will be

included in the tapes, and we may or may not hear the answer in the background between the harvard professor and officer crowley. juliet: the widow also spoke to you. what would she sang about the office of -- what was she saying to you about the officer? >> she said that people would see her husband, who is now in the news, in a very different light. jon: more rain is on the way for big parts of the country. we're taking a look at your rate are today. -- radar today.

>> this could be the second coolest on record for new york city, with an average temperature of 71.6 degrees for july, taking into account overnight lows and temperature during the daytime. we have not hit 90 degrees, just 85 a number of times. lots of love to you. ok, let's take a look. we're seeing the rain, and it is pushing in towards the new england area. flood watch is in effect from manchester, anticipating more rain. and look at the temperatures right now.

70 degrees for new york city in the 60's, 75 in the baltimore area. incredibly, we have seen such cool temperatures, not only across the northeast but the midwest. on the flip side, close to 90 degrees across seattle, washington. there is the potential for severe weather today. we do have a thunderstorm warnings right now -- thunderstorm warnings right now. the national weather service has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for parts of the upper midwest, meaning that we could see hail, damaging winds, and isolated tornadoes. 97 in wichita, 81, hopefully, in new york, 70 in seattle. towards the weekend, we could hit 90 degrees, even 100 in medford, oregon. the northeast has seen incredible lows of this summer.

-- incredible lows this summer. jon: thank you, janice. we now take it to capitol hill for developments with so-called blue dog democrats, who say they do not agree with leaders of their own party in resolving the dispute over the massive health care reform bill. but who are the blue dogs? molly henneberg is in washington. they have taken a big role in this debate, obviously. why? >> there are 52 in the house, and sources tell fox that most if not all are against the legislation in its current reform. president obama invited some to

the white house. seven on the energy and commerce committee, who party leaders are saying hold up the bill there, met with speaker pelosi and rahm emanuel yesterday. still no deal. jon: so they will face a bunch of angry folks when they head home to the recess? >> absolutely. they do not want to make this difficult vote and have the senate set on the legislation for months, leaving them with no cover. take a listen to what one dog had to say about that. >> there is frustration here, and they feel that the senate committees need to complete work and they need to act on the product soon so that the house version is not just target practice out there somewhere. >> harmon says that what happened to cap and trade in the

house has put some blue dots in the doghouse with fiscally conservative constituents. jon: coming up, we will talk with congressman john larsen, one of the top democratic leaders. we will get information from him as to where this thing stands, whether the president will get this health care bill on some kind of a timetable. juliet: a good samaritan did not have time to weigh his options. he saw little girl in a burning car, ran over, and pulled her to safety. he will tell us his story and why he ran over to the burning car, coming up. and jeep dealer, and get up to double the government's cash for your old car. now get up to $4,500 for your old car... plus, up to an additional $4,500 cash allowance. no turn-in? no problem. your dodge, chrysler, and jeep dealer guarantees everyone up to $4,500 cash allowance... on virtually every model.

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jon: the rush to pass health care reform before the summer recess runs into a major roadblock called congress. the president's fast-track approach is on the verge of

derailing in the senate. senator harry reid says it will not happen before the recess. meanwhile, democrats are discussing a plan for a vote, skipping a stalled committee. a group of seven blue dog democrats on the energy and commerce committee is blocking the bill. john larsen chairs the house democratic caucus. there has been discussion about bringing the bill straight in for a vote, bypassing the energy and commerce committee. is a possibility? -- is that a possibility? >> anything is possible, but we will make sure we have a caucus starting monday morning at 4 in the afternoon, making exceptions for those who have to travel to the west coast to get here, where we will travel through every section of the bill, page by page by page. and members have a lot of

reading to do over the weekend and a series of questions to put the caucus in a position where we have consensus to move forward next week and into september. but there are meetings around the clock, a breakthrough in terms of regional disparity and an issue that means a lot to 17 states and whether they be on the west coast or not, this is important for the american people. it is something that we cannot but failed. jon: there has been a lot of criticism from within your party. john tanner of tennessee is a saying the house democratic leadership and senate and democratic leadership need to do more to get both houses of congress on the same page. how do you answer that?

you are part of the leadership in house. >> it would not be a democracy without criticism, and a number of concerns raised are valid. but we have to come together as a caucus, because i think john tanner would be the first to agree that the most important thing is that we of health care for the american people. that you do not have to worry about a pre-existing condition. if your heart disease or an autistic child, that they are covered. you will not go bankrupt. these are the important things. and to do nothing leaves us in such a got awful state, both economically and also morally, in terms of people. 14,000 people a day lose coverage. health insurance coverage has become synonymous with a job. under this bill, we will be guaranteed no pre-existing conditions. this is what the american people

want. whether you have a job or not. it is portable. it goes with you. we will create a new, unique, american system, combining the entrepreneurial strength of this great nation with, and arguments bringing us together as a nation. -- along with common arguments bringing us together as a nation. jon: that sounds like a great plan. how do you pay for it? >> the president has summoned everybody down to the white house. important industries stepped to the plate, saying they could save two trillion over 10 years. the plan we are talking about cost a trillion over 10 years. what we want to do is make sure we have a trigger. here is what the trigger says, very simply. you say you can achieve those goals. we believe you.

we just are going to hold you accountable if you cannot. so in doing that, we have more than ample savings. some which cannot be scored, which becomes an issue. changing the language, having outside elevators. there do not have to be a tax on people until we exhaust every single attempt. jon: congressman, it will be interesting to see if democrats can come together and make things happen. john larson from the democratic leadership. thank you very much. juliet: a car goes up in flames, and perfect strangers try to

rescue a victim. this is a car crash that happened a few days ago in the los angeles area. he fought through these claims to save a little girl. f

jon: the dowel is above the 9000 mark for the first time since january, raising hopes that the worst could be behind us -- the dowel is about the 9000 mark for the first time -- the dow is above the 9000 mark for the first time since january. >> many investors are taking retirement plans for the first time in months and seeing gains. that is a good thing.

the question is, is a sucker's rally, and will main street be burned again? there is a continuous parade of companies delivering better than expected earnings. ibm, intel, each day, and several other blue-chip companies. but is this because of cost- cutting, considering most big businesses have reduced costs by laying off employees or just simply cutting back on other business basics? companies like ford, for example, are reporting good earnings, but that is based on last year's disastrous earnings. so a comparison today is based on lower standards. as for small investors, they are seeing a gain. but this is how we got burned the last time. they hit 89,000 mark on the dow,

and that is the key word of the day. -- they hit by $9,000 mark on the dow, and optimism -- and they hit a 9000 mark on the dow, and that is the key word for today, optimism. juliet: 3 victims of a car fire were pulled from the vehicle, but the rest your suffered severe burns, 30% of his body. he had skin grafts yesterday. we will keep you updated on that story. this rescue happened near los angeles. at the suv you see here rolled over on a busy freeway and burst into flames. you can see that three people were inside the vehicle. they were able to get out of the car on their own, but there was a 3-year-old girl still inside. that is when john mcdonald's jumped into option -- action.

he is joining us on the phone right now. people call you a hero and a good samaritan. i think that is what you are. you are driving on this busy freeway. what did you see? >> i saw probably about 100 yards away and as you feed that blew out a tire -- and suv -- and suv - an suc that blew out a tire. it burst into flames. juliet: this is a burning car that looks like it could explode any seconds. did you have any hesitation running over there to save the child? >> no hesitation running over. i think when i got there are realized it was more serious than i thought. but the mother and her older daughter were able to climb out through the moon roof. but the time i got there, she was screaming, "my granddaughter

is trapped inside." so i pulled it out of the way and climbed through the moonroof, probably halfway and, and the 3-year-old was hanging upside down. juliet: what is going through your mind as you're trying to get this child out? >> i thought it would probably blow up, because it was taking me a long time to get myself oriented without the seat belts worked, because she was up died -- upside down. as you can see, there was smoke and fumes coming out. i could hear things pumping, and i was panicked. she was screaming, i am trying. i'm having second thoughts. juliet: he did a fantastic job spree congratulations, amazing. you are a great guy.

jon: it has got to be pretty hot with all that gas burning. we're waiting for a news conference from cambridge, where police want to respond to presidential criticism over the arrest of henry louis gates and defend the arresting officer. that conference will get underway any minute now. some lunch.

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jon: the second officer at the scene here says that the police followed all proper protocol in the arrest of henry louis gates. [captioning made possible by fox news channel] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- the union for the arresting officer is holding the news conference when obama was asked to comment, he said police acted stupidly. let's take you live to molly, who is waiting to do the news conference. >> we're waiting to hear from union officials.

and they are also expected to address comments recently made by president obama as well as messages from the governor, duval patrick. he was quoted as saying that this is every black man's nightmare. there is a strong possibility they will also call for an apology. so here we are waiting to see if that happens. we're still waiting for officials to come in, but essentially, they're standing by their statement that they believe sergeant crowley did nothing wrong. the police commissioners also stepping forward and saying that this is a stellar member of the department to did nothing wrong.

they were investigating a report of a possible break and when he arrived at the home. no more information is coming out about that now. officer crowley was an 11-year member of the force, and he provided mouth to mouth resuscitation when a celtics' star passed out during a practice and work very hard trying to resuscitate him. sadly that day, reggie lewis did pass on. but many people are coming forward in defense of the officer, saying that racial bias is not something he is known for in any way, shape, or form. juliet: jon: thank you jon -- jon: jon -- jon: thank you. we're waiting to hear the details of the conference.

juliet: senate democrats killed any hope of passing health care reform bill before the august resource. meanwhile, democrats are hoping for a vote on health care reform before they go on vacation. carl is live on capitol hill with our latest developments. what does it mean for the democratic leader and chair of the finance committee to be called to the white house. >> chairman of the senate finance committee working on health care, presumably in the oval office. these meetings are very controversial after yesterday's announcement they would not be able to make it before the august break. yesterday, they were imploring

lawmakers to hurry up and get it out. the finance committee is the only place in all of congress that republicans are participating in crafting this legislation. it may come to nothing, but it is one place where at least the republicans are involved, and baucus is there now trying to make sure that the president is patient. nancy pelosi has said it his her intention to have the vote before the august recess. every day, she has said she had the votes to pass the package in the house. it is 5250 sleet conservative blue dogs -- 52 fiscally

conservative blue dogs who can block the legislation. so the expression of policy's hope is the white house's hope, but it is pretty much just hope right now. jon: taking you back to cambridge, mass., where the police press conference is going to begin, with them responding to charges from the oval office. president obama said that police acted stupidly. somebody saw this, thought there was a break-in, officers responded engaged on up under arrest. he is pretty fired up about it. he said that police acted stupidly, and he has a

longstanding record of teaching courses in how to avoid racial profiling, that kind of thing. we will listen out to the news conference now. >> with me now is the president of patrol officers association and the president of the municipal police coalition. earlier this week, we issued a press release expressing full and unqualified support for the actions of certain crowley in connection with this encounter with professor gates on july 16, 2009. yesterday we were pleased to learn that after his

investigation, the police department also expressed support for certain crowley, declaring his actions consistent with local and national standards the police practice. officers from both associations are here today with their leadership today, offering unequivocal and enthusiastic support. we have a pledge to support certain crowley, and i am authorized in his absence to express support of anthony santiago, that the

organization's president, who is only not here because of babysitting issues. he wanted me to make sure i conveyed the issues. on behalf of the unions and their members, let me assure everyone that the officers of the police department are committed to non discriminatory enforcement of law. they embrace diversity in their own community and their own ranks. to make hundreds of decisions each week and thousands each year. year. sgt crowley is here today, but

he will not be making any statements or answering any questions. his comments about the event in interviews conducted with radio and channel 7 news are available for view that those facilities. if you're interested, you can see every word he has spoken. for purposes of today, we are here to support him and the press -- expressed to all of you collectively and individually that we believe he acted appropriately. at this time, i will turn to the

other leadership members on the panel to make comments on their own. thank you. >> good afternoon. i would like to thank my brothers, sisters, fellow officers who have sent us thousands of emails of support, and the citizens of cambridge to have come forward to support us. i've and going to read a prepared statement. regarding this case, they did not have all the facts. when one usually hears those words, both officials and friends proceeded to insult the handling of the case by the cambridge police department.

president obama said a police action was a stupid and linked it to a history of racial profiling. his remarks for obviously misdirected and made worse by suggestion that somehow this could remind us of a history of racial abuse by law enforcement. whatever the history, we deeply resent the implication that in any case they have allowed a person's race to direct activities. however, we hope they reflect their comments to the cambridge the police department. >> the president of the police patrol officers association.

>> thank you for coming. i'm here to put full support behind the sergeant's actions. he has done a marvelous job, and for this to happen is wrong. cambridge police are not stupid. i am proud to represent the department. by may 3 generation of sir, i think when the time is right, an apology should be made. i think the president should make an apology to all law enforcement personnel for what the entire country hurt. thank you very much.

let's get behind this. >> president of the medford police patrol officers association. >> i am here representing the 22 unions, speaking on one unified voice on behalf of the membership. we completely support sgt crowley and define men and women of the cambridge police department and want viewers to know that our website is being inundated with e-mail, and we would like to thank everybody for their support.

we would like to say that we have sergeant crowley and his family in our thoughts. thank you. >> we will open the floor for questions. >> [inaudible] >> in retrospect, given the publicity, it would have been better to let the matter go forward to a trial of facts of the truth could have been disclosed by means other than debate and the media. we have no control, and that is the best way i can answer your question.

>> [inaudible] >> [inaudible] [inaudible] >> i think the answer to your question is both. support has been shown, and i have been authorized by the organization to express support.

right now, our main concern is that everybody understands the position with respect to the sergeant and our dislike of what is happening to him. >> apology from the president? can europe -- [inaudible] >> let me make it clear. we are not demanding an apology from anyone. we think that if governor patrick and the president review all of the information, they would comment differently. we hope that upon reflection, they will realize their

statements are going to lead to corporate action. we're making no such request and we will leave the decision to him. >> [inaudible] >> is hard to say. we have not heard the tapes. they will be released when the city solicitor conducts his review and as you know, if you listen to the press conference, there will be a panel authorized to review the matter and i presume that they will have access to those tapes. >> [inaudible]

>> i cannot comment on the timing of the release. people responsible decide that they do so. quite frankly, we have been so busy answering your calls and emails and will consider everything on the table.

we are happy to speak with anyone on this matter. we will meet following this press conference in coming days to develop a strategy. >> [inaudible] >> [inaudible] >> let me ask the attorney at my

left. i would ask him to comment. >> we're here to offer whatever support we can. the new business of prosecuting, as well as defending many individuals, including police officers -- anyone will tell you, and a law professor, a judge, defense attorney, that one of the most difficult crimes to define and categorize is the crime of disorderly person.

he or she on the street does not have the luxury of studying the law books, pondering the hundreds, if not thousands of cases forming this crime, to determine it. you could find hundreds of lawyers who would debates this. the police officer on the ground.

i would also like to emphasize another point. district attorney leo any determined that he was not going to go forward with this case. there are many considerations with regards to regulations and the like that he has to consider. his decision to not go forward with those charges is not the same as a finding that anyone did it. that is a big difference between that -- and some people are attempting to find wrongdoing far from it. that has not happened. i do not think that will happen.

why -- >> [inaudible] >> he has made two or three comments about this. the first interview expressed the fact he was disturbed by the arrest. >> [inaudible] but -- president's remarks first. he wanted -- he had a personal bias and did not have all of the

facts. he said that the cambridge police acted stupidly. they will cooperate with the investigation, and sgt crowley could have cleared the matter and removed himself to his office, where he wanted to be, doing his regular work. in our view, there was nothing stupid about what happened. what happens to produce a different outcome was directly under the control of professor gates, and that is something i think the president does not fully appreciate. second, the president suggested, at least implied a history of

problems between a person of color and law enforcement. it is true in some localities. whether you can debate the propriety of the arrest based upon the disorderly person statute, there is no evidence whatsoever that the rest was unwarranted. >> [inaudible] >> you have a long list of things for us to do, and i'm sure we will get to them. >> [inaudible] >> [inaudible] >> is open to interpretation.

i believe that that mark refers to press the gates -- professor gates. we believe that there was a prior break and within the

recent past. >> [inaudible] >> as attorney drexler said, you have someone on the scene of the situation, whether it is a home invasion or domestic violence situation, he is encountering a lack of cooperation. he encountered a full lack of cooperation, with that behavior consistent with making the arrest, and we will not second- guess that decision. guess that decision. >> [inaudible]

>> ok. last question, last answer. we are concerned about that. thank you. >> we want to thank everyone for coming today. thank you very much. jon: things are heating up in boston. they are fully behind this. james crowley is accused of arresting henry louis gates, a

well-known professor, after a charge that gates was being belligerent. gaitskell's that racial profiling. gates said he thought that police acted stupidly. police are riled up. the case is not over yet. they used words like, "deeply resent" the president's statement. we will be back with more coverage happening now in just a moment. gecko vo: takes lots of sweat to become that big. gecko vo: 'course, geckos don't literally sweat... it's just not our thing... gecko vo: ...but i do work hard, mind you. gecko vo: first rule of "hard work equals success." gecko vo: that's why geico is consistently rated excellent or better in terms of financial strength. gecko vo: second rule: "don't steal a coworker's egg salad, 'specially if it's marked "the gecko." come on people.

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$1 million total service guarantee. security. peace of mind. protection. that's what lifelock provides. you can take control of your identity. call now for special savings and we'll also give you... 30 days to try lifelock absolutely free. call now and mention id. call now or go to lifelock.com. ♪ jon: the president, the professor, and a police officer. racial profiling, or just cause? no one seems to be basking down on this one. how did this fire storm and? juliet: a border agent shot and killed on patrol.

jon: 0 woman struggles to get back a precious memory offer child after a heartless thug stole it in the town that came to her rescue. we just heard a news conference from cambridge, massachusetts. sergeant james crowley was singled out for criticism by the president of the united states after he arrested the president's longtime friend. here is what the president had to say in his statement from the white house wednesday night. >> any of us would be pretty angry. number two, the cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proved that they were in their own home.

jon: joining us now is joe hicks, a vice president of community advocates, who was actually acquainted with professor gates. did the president must handle this? >> i do not think he did at all. he was asked a question and answered it the way he thought was best. clearly, there is racial profiling in this country. maybe it did not happen in this particular case. the other question that has to be asked is, was the driver's license issue on, there was proof that this was the professor's home, why wasn't the incident over? anyone could get agitated if someone was trying to arrest them and their home.

that is a question that has to be answered. jon: isn't there a question about whether the proper identification was shown and when it was? >> absolutely. that is a question as to be answered. one thing we all support, police officers do wonderful work, but you cannot just dismiss the fact of racial profiling in the country, and that is another issue we have to deal with. jon: the president started his remarks by saying he does not have all the facts. should they have ended there, saying that he did not have all the facts and was not going to comment? >> he should have. it was shocking and surprising it would intervene in a police matter of this kind. gates is a body of this person, but it does not give him the prerogative to engage this when

clearly he did not have all the facts. clearly, i have been acquainted with gates, and he is a smart, articulate it guy, and that is why this is so sad and depressing. hearing that it evolve to that point. michael says, why after he showed identification, as we just heard, this was incumbent upon this man to understand that the cop was responding to somebody, and it was interesting that no one yet has made any allegation that this police officer acted inappropriately, used racial language, or was disrespectful to the professor.

that is not racial profiling. the specter of racial profiling is inappropriate. jon: gates admitted that he lost his keys and had to force entry in his own house. >> the neighbors knew each other. they called it in. it could have been dark, maybe they could not see. but clearly, if i saw one of my neighbors trying to break out, i first thought would be that they lost their keep. so clearly, there are other issues here. we may never have all of the answers.

i was giving my opinion. the president was asked a different kind of question, and at that time, someone presented identification. jon: race relations have, a long way. we just collected our first black president. how much does this setback? >> america has been making progress for years now and i have always made the argument for several years that we are in a post-racial america, that this nation has made amazing progress.

it is interesting that he himself may not be post-racial, because he often engages in which -- language that in first that that is the way they acted without the facts. he lies is history in a situation that is not applicable here. but what i am most disappointed in barack obama about, why he chose to polarize this in this way. it got me stumped. jon: michael, thank you. juliet: this has everybody fired up. a lot of emails are coming in.

this sparked a debate among you. earlier, we asked if he should have made a comment on the arrest. here is what you are saying. here is what you are saying. juliet: a mother's heartbreak over her baby's death was made even worse when a thief stole her babies ashes.

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juliet: welcome back. a grieving mother today thanks police for retrieving a lost treasure. the baby's body was cremated after it died, but right after picking up the ashes, the mother was robbed at gunpoint at a bus stop. the thief took jewelry and the ashes. they pleaded, but the chief refused to give the ashes back. >> it was just for us. they took my baby. that was all i could say. they took her.

i love her. i really do. i tried so hard to protect her. juliet: sometimes, good things happen. florida cops tracked down the ashes and called the mother with the good news. she arrived at the station, cheerfully hugging the police officers. all of them are happy to note that her daughter is back where she belongs. >> my daughter was perfect. the world was not ready for her. god called her home. i am grateful. juliet: police are still looking to find a thief who stole the ashes.

jon: a sad story with a happy ending, i guess. solar flares, high-tech soda machines, and 30 apartments. courtney friel has been pushing around. >> you know the cellular phone towers disguised as palm trees? toyota is planting these 18-foot solar towers in several cities, and they're charging stations that also provide free wireless as part of a marketing campaign for the 2010 toyota petraeus, and as an option, you can get solar panels in the moonroof that power air circulation. also tested around the country, the fountain of the future. a new interactive coca-cola machine where you can mix different flavors and make over

100 drink combinations, and you enter your selection on the screen. the drink is mixed right there, and it has scanners matching highly concentrated flavor cartridges to the scanners that up load information to their headquarters. early reviews say it is confusing and complex but space- efficient. i am very messy, but not like the candidates in the dirtiest apartment contest. the top finalists have been announced on a side listing apartment for rent. the top three filthiest win cash. 300 for third place, and all renters have to list whether places are dirty. they had funny answers and there are funny your comments. users have until midnight tonight to vote for their favorites. good luck.

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[captioning made possible by fox news channel] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> despite the president's best efforts, health care reform will likely not take place before the august break. americans are split over whether we even need health care reform. this is a brand-new fox news

opinion dynamics poll, finding 49% want congress to pass health care legislation this year. about the same number, 48% say that they want legislators to do nothing on the issue for now. also, some 58% think that health care reform will cost them money. only 24% say that it will save them money. so, here is the question. is the president losing the pr war? we are joined by a professor and fox news contributor. thank you for joining us. i will ask you the question. it is the president losing the health-care battle? >> i am bummed that my apartment did not make that list. the answer is, -- he has been behind the curve, but that poll was taken before obama had his

national press conference on tuesday night. i would be a little surprised if it did not go up some. while obama was overseas, opponents have done a great job of rankling the airwaves with a lot of misinformation. it is -- it has affected public relations on it, as far as the democrats are concerned. now he is back and he feels he can take the fight back to them. >> was specific misinformation are you referring to? >> socialized medicine that it is going to drive these insurance companies out of business. the republicans are so disingenuous -- they said, we politically have to be obama on this. you had the health-care challenge, jim demand from south

carolina saying that this will break obama. these guys put politics before they put health care. >> come on. the republicans are looking to work with democrats to get something done. it is the democrats who are stopping this from getting through the house of representatives. you mentioned that things may have changed before wednesday night. after wednesday night's press conference, thursday morning, the senate majority leader said that he was not going to pass anything before an august recess. nothing changed wednesday night. the more the president talks about the issue, the less happens about it. i think that is a fundamental problem for the democrats. >> democrats were behind bush on his tax plan, on his war, on no

child left behind. and number of democrats can to support. republicans have given exactly 3 votes 2 barack obama. it is very clear that they want to derail the guy because he is very popular. they are playing politics with people's health care and with their lives. >> that is absurd. the republicans in the senate and the house are eager to work with the democrats. when we disagree, we will say so. medical liability reform. portability of health insurance. these are too easy ideas that we have proposed. >> on that no gentlemen, we have to wrap up. i will give you the information about the messy apartment thing. you have next year. thank you very much. have a good weekend. jon: there is a situation under

way at the university of florida. text messages were sent out to students on the emergency notification system on the report of a gunman on campus. students are being told to stay inside camelot their doors, and avoid the area near the science building. this is at the university of south florida. the university of south florida in tampa, florida. a gunmen reported on campus. we will keep investigating and let you know the latest. újúj (announcer) illness doesn't care where you live...

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jon: a fox news alert just within the last half-hour. a gunman has been reported seen on the campus of the university of south florida school students are being alerted on the school's web site, which you see here, to avoid the area near the bioscience building. there is a report of a gunman on the campus of the university of south florida. a very serious situation. no shots reportedly fired. there has been this report of a gunman cited. we will continue to take -- to stay on top of this story. to take you now to outer space where a space walk, almost in eight-hour space walk -- a look at that. it looks almost like a hurricane forming. the crew