iran's media says they failed to heed warnings from iranian border guards after wandering over the northeastern border from iraq. the news comes amid a very contentious relationship between the u.s. and iran. david piper has the latest from baghdad. >> iran's state run media says the three u.s. tourists arrested north of the country near the border. the state department says they are well. the tourists were staying in a hotel. iran state tv says they crossed the border and were arrested by border guards after refuse to go heed warnings. the kurdish authorities confirmed the arrests. they lost contact and made contact to a friend. the arrests come at a time when there is tension high over tehran's nuclear program and controversial elections there.

as for being a tourist in iraq, yes, indeed, tourists come here because it's safe tore travel and there are regular flights from turkey. back to you. >> thank you very much. iran also conducting a mass trial for about 100 people arrested during political protests in june. leading reformists stand accused of trying to topple the government. they include former minister, former vice president, lawmakers. the protests erupted after opposition supporters accused president ahmadinejab of stealing the presidential election. opposition leaders called today's trial, quote, laughable show. violence erupting between muslims and christians in pakistan. police say at least six people were killed in riots, including one child. muslims protesting, burning and looting homes in eastern part of the country, violence between the groups erupted on thursday after word spread of a defaced koran. >> deadly day for u.s. forces in

afghanistan. three american soldiers killed there in road side bombing in the southern part of that country. the area is the center of taliban-led insurgency. thousands of troops are conducting anti-taliban operations there ahead of this month's presidential election. and a new g.i. bill takes effect today just in time for the fall semester. it's the first since the attacks of 9-11. many veterans are eligible for full tuition and fees at state universities for a full four years and can get up to $1,000 a year for books. the benefits are similar to the one signd into law by president roosevelt after world war ii and in the next decade, $78 billion is expected to be paid out under the new bill. >> congress approving a major health care reform package late last night. the house energy and commerce committee narrowly green lighting the legislation by a vote of 31-28.

every republican and five fiscally conservative blue dog democrats voted against the measure. molly is live in washington. president obama must have been pleased with the vote. >> yes. he clearly was pleased at the third and final house committee moved forward with its version of health care reform before going home for the august break. in a statement, the president said, quote, this historic step by the house energy and commerce committee moves us closer to health insurance reform than we have ever been before. president obama, who left the white house with his family this morning to go to camp david for the weekend, says the bill would lower costs and improve care. but it's not all said and done in the house. there are three bills that have three different committees and democratic leaders will have to combine them into one bill that will go to a floor vote in the fall. >> republicans say the democrats plan is going to hurt the economy. >> yes. republicans in the house and senate, they don't want a government-run insurance plan

that they say will put private insurance plans out of business and they don't like the $1 trillion price tag to that plan. listen to this. >> the democrats who control congress has been racking up debt at an unprecedented pace. >> senator thune says republicans want to allow small businesses to pool their resources to buy more affordable health insurance for their employees, and they want to give tax breaks to individuals who buy their own health insurance. >> molly, it's obvious that august is going to be a key month, very important in the outcome of health care reform. what do you think will happen? >> that's the most -- they will try to sell it. democrat also try to sell that this is a good plan. and republicans will try to sell that this is not a good plan, that will hurt the economy and give consumers fewer health care choices. >> stay tuned. good seeing you.

>> good to see you. >> rising unemployment now forcing more and more people to go to free clinics for medical treatment. the extra workload is strain ago system also suffering from a steep drop off. laura ingle is live in our new york bureau right now. here is a question that many people are asking, how do these free clinics first of all work and how can things like physical exams, x-rays and even prescription medicine be free? >> a whole lot of questions. these medical centers are privately run. they do not receive funding. most don't from any federal or state funds. they are run by volunteers and we're talking about doctors, nurses, physician assistants, all donate their time and energy. we are talking about medical exams, x-rays, chronic illness checks, and prescription drugs, all things that can really add up. so these clinics by and large really have to rely on community support.

overall, funding right now is down 20% across america, while there has been an increase in patient load by up to 50%. it's a big gap that really needs a lot of attention. >> these services are valuable. can anyone go in and use the services? >> wouldn't it be great if everyone could get free medical care? no, there are stipulations and qualifications to go and use these things. you have to be uninsured. you have to be in low income bracket. depending on the rules of your state, you have to live within the area of the free clinic. medical experts right now estimate up to 8 million people will be using these clinics this year and for some, for many of these people, it is more than just saving of our health. take a listen. >> i had to pay all those bills, i probably wouldn't be able to pay electric. it's hard trying to keep our heads above water. >> a lot of these people using the clinics never dreamed they would have to use these services. they lost their jobs.

they've lost their insurance and this is the only place they can turn. >> you were talking about the lack of funding. how do the people who run these free clinics think this is all going to pan out? how are they adjusting to the fact that there is an increase in patients and there is also the lack of funding? >> it's a terrible see saw to ride. but they are getting creative. cutting hours in some cases, maybe doing -- some clinics will do visual exams once or twice a month and they'll have to cut those down. they're cutting down, moving patients over to different clinics that are also free clinics to try and lighten the load. >> that can only increase the pain as well. thank you very much. >> thanks. >> the president continuing his full customer press on the health kerik reform. a recent poll finds the president is enjoying good popularity numbers. 62%. 33% disapprove. but when it comes to his work on health kerik reform, not so

much. more people disapprove than approve. is president obama ready to take a hit in his own popularity? if it means that he gets one of his pet projects passed? joining us now for a fair and balanced debate is fox news political analyst angela mc gluean and others. great to see you guys. let's start off here, the president's poll numbers are strong as far as approval ratings go. a lot of folks are pointing toward the whole health care plan when it comes to little hits here and there. what do you think? >> i'll start off on this. the president popular over all job approval is much higher than it is on health care reform because he hasn't passed health care reform yet and the voters, especially the moderate persuadable voters, expect him to get it done and to get it right. the republicans have this all

wrong. the electorate is not against health care reform and right now in terms of public relations, it's being defeated in details. the details the republicans are picking apart, you even hear things like on conservative talk radio, the antichrist from kenya, not a legitimate president. >> she was snickering. go ahead, angela. >> here is what i would like to add to that speech. it's something that five democrats on the commerce committee voted against the democrat president's plan. also you have several blue dog democrats are against the plan. you have a congresswoman from las vegas who is against the plan. and no, republicans are not against health care reform. what republicans are against, we're against universal health care. in the state of massachusetts, you have this program, universal health care, that's not working. i've spoken to doctors in

massachusetts. >> your next presidential nominee -- >> excuse me. >> sir, you have now a democratic governor who took over that program and yes, mitt romney started it, and he started with a idea, but sometimes you have to reform things. but you're saying republicans are against health care reform. >> we're veering off the whole topic here. do you think the president is going to stick with it and hope that his popularity doesn't take a hit with this? that's what we want to focus on. >> absolutely. angela. let me address this. absolutely he's going to stick with it and he's not going to take a hit unless he doesn't get a sensible health reform bill passed. he knows that's what's on the line and those democrats in congress better know that's what's on the line and they better understand that the republicans are determined that this be, as jim demint said,

observe answer's waterloo and they want to defeat health care. >> angela, i know you would like to advise the president. what do you think he should do and how should he ham things? >> what he has to do is talk about this is a problem that has been here for a while and we have to take it step by step. i'm from the colin powell school, you can't take on everything at one time. it's kind of sad when you have harry reid saying in essence that it's the media's fault that we're having a problem with health care. you have the senate majority leader blaming the media, they're getting ready for a big hit. so if i had to advise obama, i would say that we got one step done. now let's do another step. but you can't overhaul this program with just one bill. you can't. you have three committees overseeing this project. >> i'm going to give you the last word, steve, on this. and then maybe angela. angela, those five democrats on the commerce committee who oppose the legislation are just

like the right wing republicans who oppose medicare part b, the medicare prescription drug plan. the last great expansion of federal health care. it's going to be the same way this time. the center is going to get good health care reform passed. >> i'm so glad that you're optimistic, my dear. but with the ways and means committee and energy and commerce and education and labor overseeing this bill, i think you're going to have some issue there is and big egos. you're a democrat strategist, i don't think that's democrats are so happy you just said that. you need to go council them. >> on that note, let's take a little break here. bye, guys. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> summer drought in the billions of dollars in ruined crops from farmers in texas. they've been hurting in parts of the fort bend county.

they're below average right now. the crops are so damaged that many farmers say they aren't going to be worth harvesting. is there any relief on the way? let's check in now with domenica davis in the fox news weather center. hello. >> hi. unfortunately all the rain is going to the places that don't need it. that means we have flash flood watches and even some warnings up by the i-20 area in the eastern part of texas. the showers continue to come down. this is courtesy of a slow moving cold front now that's pushing in to the tennessee valley. we have pretty widespread showers and thunderstorms. the main threat is this evening will not only be the flooding, but also some strong thunderstorms and some gusty winds along with possibility of decent size hail. for the rest of the evening, severe weather threat that goes from dallas all the way into memphis. those thunderstorms die off by tonight and then this front will move past the tennessee valley and by tomorrow, it will be

along the east coast for your sunday. back to you. >> oh, boy. oh, well. >> thank you. >> government program helping those in need save money and energy by weatherizing their homes. now the program has a whole lot more money to hand out thanks to the stimulus package. but with the new cash there are also new concerns of fraud and waste. now a closer look. >> reporter: for juanita having her home weatherized is a godsend. >> they're going to help me. >> the program meant new insulation, weather strips and a liner under her house. the money she saves on energy means she won't have to choose between paying her electric bill and buying her medication. >> i take 22 pills a day, plus others. that's expensive. >> the energy department efforts to reduce costs for low income families got a ten fold increase from 450 million to $5 billion under the stimulus program.

>> it creates tens of thousands of jobs. it saves energy in each of those homes. it puts money back in the pockets of the homeowners and it makes those homes healthier and better to live in. >> reporter: but the traffic increase in funding has brought heightened concern over accountability. both in the approval of low income applicants and the contractors who do the weatherizing. >> there is a lot of layers here to oversee. i suspect that we will see a lot of it gone through inefficiency and fraud. >> even officials who support it are expressing concern about the potential for waste and fraud. in pennsylvania in recent years, they've had problems verifying the eligibility of homeowners and some homes were even weatherized twice. pennsylvania's auditor general says the increase in funds could magnify the problem. >> you're getting four times as much money as you were getting previously. it requires much more internal

management. we're not at this point comfortable that that's in place. >> reporter: other officials tell fox new measures to track the funds will be in place when they are needed. >> we already have systems in place. it's just a matter of expanding this system. >> reporter: tracking the money is the furthest thing from her mind. >> i feel thankful 'cause i have this. >> reporter: in harrisburg, pennsylvania, fox news. >> that's a good report. you wonder about people who have to go through that kind of situation. nearly 2,000 show horses poisoned on a california farm and police now tried to determine who would do something so sick. what they figure out and the condition of the affected horses next.

it's time for a check of today's headlines. three americans in the hands of the iranians. they had been making or hiking near their border when they were taken by iranian security forces. the gop talking health care reform in their weekly address. saying republicans are committed to getting it done because the democrats plan would pile up higher costs and burden every state. and new york's la guardia airport is evacuated after a bomb scare. the incident leading to major delays. one man has been arrested and charged charged with making terrorist threats. police now trying to determine who poisoned nearly two dozen show horses in southern california. the horses live at rock ridge farms. investigators say the horses may have been tricked into eating poisonous oleander leaves. each arrest injected with a compound that basically helps remove the toxin from their

system. now their angry owners want to know who is responsible. >> i don't know if we'll ever get answers unless somebody who knows something can come forward and help us because this is horrific. >> at least three horses remain hospitalized under the care of a vet. they are expected to recover, but at a cost of about $1,000 a day per horse. military making plans tore a major outbreak of swine flu. troops will be used to help civilian authorities, but there are also preparations being made to protect military forces from catching and spreading the disease within their ranks. mary ann is live in atlanta. why is the military so concerned and what led to this type of action to try and stop the spread? >> hi. the military has confirmed over 2300 cases of swine flu among active duty troops and if you add to that some of the family members of active duty troops, it's over 3800. they're very concerned about it

spreading. a lot of military personnel work in close contact with each other, often work in the same office and bunk together. like we see with the kids in summer camp, the virus spreading quickly, they're worried about the same thing happening to the military. >> certainly it could weaken the military troop strength. what is being done, however, to prevent the h1n1 from spreading to begin with? >> military personnel are being advised to take all sorts of precautions, including if they're bunking next to somebody, they're asking them to please head to toe rather than right next to each other to avoid coughing or sneezing in each other's faces. also they've advised people to move their bunks further apart, just for space between each other. they're thinking of anything to do to keep it from spreading. they want to get a handle. the military offered to be there, to provide testing. also to distribute vaccines once they've been developed. they want to be ready in case

something happens. >> it really isn't unusual you're taking those precautions to make sure it doesn't spread. like military troops, young people seem to be at a greater risk for swine flu with kids going back to school now in the fall, what are health officials saying about that scenario? >> that is a big concern. cdc officials announced this week that they are worried that we're going to see a huge increase in the number of cases even more so than in the spring when everything started because kids will be going back to school. they identified cases where kids attended summer camps. that's got them worried because the kids in classroom also be in close contact with each other and they're racing to get a vaccine available. they'll have 40 million doses they hope by september and another 120 million by mid october. they're hoping that's going to help it keep it from spreading. >> absolutely. you can be sure a lot of parents are very concerned about this one.

live in atlanta, thank you. good to see you. >> thank you. >> i know you like to go to movies and have the big drink. here is a great application of modern technology to an age old problem. when to go to the restroom when you're watching a movie in the theater. you don't want to miss an important scene or pull yourself away. bring your i phone next time. amy allen has that story. >> it's a big concern for many movie goers. # you head to the theater, get the popcorn and the large coke, then three quarters of the way through the movie, you just can't hold it any more and it's a dash for the bathroom. what did you miss? hopefully nothing important. a new web site is making it easy for you and your bladder to enjoy movies. it's called run p.com. it lists movies currently in the theater and gives you clues on a good time to go to the potty. >> i think it's genius. a great idea.

especially it gives awe queue to run out and do what you have to. >> katy spent 2 1/2 hours watching angels and demons. afterwards, it was a bee line to the ladies room and she wasn't the only one. >> it was long and i had to -- i could have got up for sure and -- but i didn't. >> the site also tells you any small plot points you're going to miss while you're gone. so your friend doesn't have to whisper the whole story in your ear. >> it's great when you don't have to miss any of the juicy parts. >> what if you didn't know you were going to the movie or just forgot to check the internet before you leave home? that's where the i phone can help. there is an i phone application for run p.com. but not everyone is a fan. this movie goer prefers to take care of business ahead of time. >> part of going to a movie or any sort of performance or show is you go and stay the whole time and don't need to go to use the bathroom. i think it's rude to get up and leave. >> it was started by a developer

and gets 3,000 to 6,000 hits a day. it's an innovative idea that helps you keep up with the plot while you head to the pot. >> he thinks it's rude to get up? sometimes -- >> i tried to hold it. not going to happen. i would rather get out, run, pee, and come back. >> shooting that story must have been pretty funny. anyway. >> you heard about the cash for clunkers program and how popular it's become. it's such a success right now that it's actually running out of money. oh, oh now after getting a government bailout of its own, the program is back on its feet. but why should it work any better this time around and will car buyers be able to take advantage of this one-time offer?

it's the bottom of the hour, time for the top of the news. stun allegations from florida police officers. accusing 911 operators of putting their lives in danger. >> we'll do an interview on that in a little bit. the government offering a banks big incentives to keep you in your home. some banks may have more to gain by letting you lose it. >> and deep down in the heart of texas, they're praying for rain and hoping it will come soon. parts of the state in a severe drought and that could mean millions of dollars worth of ruined crops for farmers. >> the cash for clunkers program, you heard about by now, running out of gas until congress gave it a $2 billion

fill-up. now consumers are heading back to the dealer again, but will the program survive this time and will it leave dealerships holding the bill? that's what they're worried about. caroline has the latest. >> people who want to get cash for their clunkers better head to the dealer right now. after this weekend, the billion dollars program may be done. it was supposed to last through the fall, but was so popular, it blew through the billion in a week. the way it works is if you trade in your old gas guzzler for a efficient vehicle, you can get up to $4,500 bucks. the dealers say submitting the paperwork is a nightmare. they don't get reimbursed until later, they worry they might be on the hook for the money. yesterday the house rushed to put more money into the program. the senate takes that measure up next week. fiscal conservatives say it's a government handout. >> maybe we should have a cash for cluckers program and pay people to eat chicken, then after that, we can have a

program to pay people to buy tv's and then a program to pay people to buy lumber. >> the clunkers program is working perhaps too well. the rest of the economy shrank less than predicted. here is the president's take on it. >> business investment which was plummeting in the past few months is showing signs of stabilizing. this means that eventually businesses will start growing and hiring again. >> the president also -- did she. thank you very much. >> the government is giving money to the nation's bank to modify homeowners mortgages, help avoid foreclosures and keep as many americans in their home as possible. but are the banks trying to hamper those efforts because they want to get their hands on your money and your house? what are your rights?

let's ask ed, a managing partner of an investment management company and creator of the chatwood portfolio investment. thank you for joining us today, sir. >> absolutely. thanks for having me. >> let's get to the question. why in the world would banks who are receiving billions of dollars from the government try to hamper the rights of every american to try to get some modification of their loan? it sounds sinister, but are they hoping for that, that they'll allow these people to go in foreclosure and if so, why? >> it's really a great question. it's something that i think everybody is trying to get their hands around. i don't think it's quite as troubling as people are making it sound. banks make money real simple, by having loans and having people pay the loans. why they would go out and try to recapture some of these houses really is something that i'm not exactly sure. the only thing i could think of is they've written some of these off their books and they want to go back and bring them in and sell them at profit. i don't think that's happening that often. the problem i think is happening

and the people who do make money by foreclosures are the mortgage services companies. those companies are out there servicing your mortgage, but built into those contracts, they're going to make a windfall when those homes come back into the bank and when they are foreclosed on. so that, i think, is where the problem is. i don't think it really is the banks. >> as you make a very good point, let's talk about the difference between the banks and mortgage service lenders because those mortgage lenders can actually sell those loans, am i right, to investors so they obviously want to make some profit. >> that does happen. there are so many parts to this, and that's why it's so confusing. anybody who is in a situation where they're getting close to feeling the pinch on their mortgage, they need to know who the different players are and utilize the system to keep their house. i don't think the banks wants their house t. takes their capital, cash reserves and a lot of their manpower. they're in the business of

making loans. don't forget for a moment that they are absolutely in a for profit business. they do not want that house back and if they lower it, they might not lower it as much as you want, but get out in front of the problem before it become has real problem for you. >> good point. because we hear things like short sell, loan modification, getting out of the arm, adjustable rate mortgage, and some sort of fixed mortgage. but having said that, it would appear that some banks are -- some mortgage lenders are basically stating, hey, we're not going to help you. we're not going to comply. we're going to foreclose on you. so what do those mortgage lenders have to gain by doing that? >> again, a lot of people are saying that, but i think what you're seeing is they're in the business of making these loans. they're not going to do business with somebody who doesn't qualify. that's what really is. it's not so much of a problem

that they don't want to do that. you have to be qualified. >> some people aren't qualified to get it done. let me ask you this, let's say a homeowner who is trying their best to find themselves in a situation like this and yet they're trying their best to get that loan modification. what's your advice to them, should they not qualify? >> if they don't qualify, then they have to really rethink where they're going to live and how much they paid for the house and especially in an economy like this, there is tough choices you have to make. and some of those choices might be, i can't afford this house. i need to sell it and find something else. those are some of the negative things that happen in an economy like this and happens because some people overbought and overpaid for houses. that's the other problem. >> that's the unnorth nate problem because those people who overbought and overpaid for their houses, a lot are out of their jobs now and they don't have the income coming in to stay afloat. thanks for sharing your insights with us. have a great day.

>> as if flying wasn't bad enough for me, can you imagine this happening. la guardia airport reopened, the passengers, following a bomb scare. thousands of people had to get out of there after a man who was apparently drunk, approached airport security. the ticket agent noticed his odd behavior and alerted security officials. they noticed then that wires were sticking out of his did you feel bag. police say the device was a few batteries and wires, but wasn't dangerous. they arrested the man. he faces charges of making terror threats and placing a false bomb in a transportation facility. >> thousands in the philippines, paying tribute to the former leader. passing away after a battle with cancer. she became a global icon of democracy in the 1980s, leading an uprising that ousted one of the 20th century's most

corrupt dictators. in a statement, hillary clinton said she was, quote, admired by the world. akey know's funeral is wednesday. >> two kayakers from israel stranded on the high seas off alaska. they sent out a call for help and had it comes, they turn it down. a strange tale. very strange tale. very dangerous, coming up next.

39 minutes past the hour. checking our top stories, iranian government confirming

three american citizens are under arrest there. they are tourists who apparently strayed across the border while on a hiking tour in kurdish northern iraq. christians and muslims clash in eastern pakistan. extremists started burning christian homes after accusations that a koran cass destroyed. and a new g.i. bill goes into effect in time for the start of the new school year. the first since the 9-11 attacks. soldiers are eligible for full tuition at state universities, monthly housing stipend and cash for books. we want to talk about health care. national conservative blue dog democrats and their mayor liberal counterparts fierce fiercely debating health care. but both sides manage to go hammer out a reform deal in the house energy and commerce committee last night. joining us is california congress woman a blue dog democrat. thank you for joining us today. >> thank you for having me on. >> it's great to have you on.

i'm sit hearing and thinking, i'm looking at you and i'm saying, what will you be talking to your constituents about during your recess and i can almost guess, hmm, would it be health care? >> certainly everybody has been very interested in health care. about two weeks ago i did a health care forum in my district. 450 people showed up. we went for two hours where they were able to ask questions about the process, what was going on, they had a lot of misperceptions about what was really in the bill or what bill we were talking about. for now we have a compromise by the energy and commerce committee, but as you know, now the three chairmen have to bring their three bills together in the house. they have to take a look and see and sort of sift through that and put together a bill for when we come back in september for the house to vote on. we'll also be able to amend it at that point either through the rules or the floor and who knows

what the senate really is going to do? so you can think you know what's going on, but the reality, things can change quickly. >> what do you hear from your constituents about health care? >> well, everybody -- i believe back here, people understand that the system is getting more expensive as time goes on, that one of the reasons we need reform, the biggest reason, i believe, is we need to insure that the inflation on an annual basis is under 5%. right now it's 15 to 20% on most health care plans. i also have about a third of the people in my district have no coverage at all. so they are very interested in being able to get health coverage. the problem is what is it going to cost? who is going to pay for that? are people who already have health insurance going to have to pay towards some of the people who don't? and so this is what we're sifting through and trying to

explain to people. >> let me ask you about this one as well. is it true that every -- we're hearing every house member has been given a card, basically summarizing details of the $1 trillion bill that you're proposing, including new insurance subsidies for the poor, tax credits for small businesses. are you holding that card in your hand right now? >> i actually don't have a card, but i know nancy pelosi, the speaker of the house, told me that we would be receiving those. it could be i was on a plane late last night and mine wasn't prepared. but die have is a list from the chairman, henry waxman, about how it might affect my district. they took a look at how many uninsured we have, what's our medicare rates and medicaid rate and i have to sift through it. i have to listen to my hospitals and my doctors and by the way, i've had a 100 person task force for the last three or four months who have done phone calls

almost every other day talking about what's moving, what we think, what we need to see. we've been very plugged in trying to figure out how this bill will affect us. we still have to take a look and really think about how it will affect and then go on. >> congresswoman, i got to ask you this question. republicans are saying that despite the changes made to this conservative democrats, you would be among those, to address your concerns, that this legislation, it still remains costly and in fact, i'm going to quote what representative mike rogers of michigan says. he says, it's just the color of the lipstick on a pig that you've added to this. what do you say to that response from the republicans? >> i would say that's not helpful for people to sit down and really try to make a health care system that will work. i will say that i'm happy with some of the changes and i'm not so happy with some of the

changes. for example, californians, because we're efficient in delivering medicare, when the medicare formula was put together, means we get paid lower reimbursement than most of the states. by the way, many of the blue dogs, because they're in rural areas, get very low reimbursement for their physicians, for example, for procedures under medicare. this is one of the reasons they did not want a public option tied to medicare rates and one of the things they fought was the negotiated rate, which if negotiated the right way, in orange county, for example, will help my constituents out here who right now don't even want to take medicare patients because they are paying out of pocket to be able to take care of these people. >> congresswoman sanchez from california, you've got a lot of work to do and you're doing it right now. thank you for joining us. >> thank you very much. thanks for putting this out there and letting people understand what we're trying to

do. >> you're welcome. >> dramatic rescue of two israeli kayakers off the coast of alaska. they were stranded in rough waters off of anchorage. the two activated their emergency beaken and they were located by a u.s. coast guard helicopter, but when the diver jumped into the water to help them, they didn't want to leave the kayak. they're expensive. i don't know. fishing vessel later picked them up. >> are you kidding? >> they should be charged for that, don't you think? like money. >> risking life. >> yeah. >> in order to save them. all right. get this, a police officer caused for assistance to a dispatcher, but she's too busy to be bothered. >> you're on stand-by. >> you won't believe what this dispatcher thought was more important than one officer's safety.

>> you really won't believe it. %

washington, d.c. police officers in the middle of a traffic stop and their 911 dispatcher can't be more unhelpful. one operator attempt to go interfere. >> this is going to absolutely blow your mind. this is not an isolated incident. police and fire departments say some 911 operators are routinely unprofessional on the job. we have tape of one incident that will shock you. now here it is. >> she's in charge of the agency meant to protect you. 911. >> we want to talk to you about the problems. >> but she does not want to talk to us about what is really going on behind these gates. >> can you find out

#. >> you're listening to a recording obtained by fox 5 of a 911 dispatcher on the job interrupting an officer in the middle of a traffic stop. >> before you complete a traffic stop, i need to call you. that vehicle belongs to a worker here at this time. >> that's irrelevant at this time. >> he's nasty. >> determined, the dispatcher calls the police supervisor. at the same time, another police officer in the field goes by the call at 11:05. calls in to 911 for back up.

>> the dispatcher finally responds to 1105, trying put him on hold. >> give me another unit. >> you're on stand-by. >> give me another unit. >> instead, the dispatcher continues to talk on a separate line about the ticket. >> i don't like this officer because he told me he was going to arrest me 'cause -- i don't like him. >> police spokesman says incidents like this one from last summer continue to happen every day. >> the amount of times that happens on a daily basis is astounding. >> dc firefighters union agrees and is especially frustrated about dispatchers giving long information -- wrong information. >> we get there -- the recording, fox 5 obtained, is an example.

>> the union's filed formal complaint, cite ago lack of professionalism. they responded, saying, although radio etiquette is open for discussion, at no times is the dispatcher negligent in her response. we tried several times to talk with the director about the concerns. finally meeting up with her at her office. where security guards wouldn't let us near her. we want to talk to you about the problems of ouc. we've been trying to talk to you about the problems. police officers say your dispatchers are putting them in danger. >> you're shutting the media out when you're shutting the city

council out. you should be alarmed because this means there is no way to change anything and someone is hiding something. >> that was tisha thompson. we left messages with the local 911 dispatcher's office in washington to get their reaction to the story. they didn't call us back. shocking. but joining us now is someone with firsthand experience policing the same area of washington, d.c., rod wheeler, former homicide detective and fox news contributor. i know you want to jump in on this. please do. rod, we're listening to this and kind of laughing, but by the same token, you have to sit there and say, these officers, especially that cruiser, he was calling in while these two chatty caths were having a conversation about their personal life. it's shocking. it's not an isolated incident. have you ever experienced anything like this? >> absolutely. let me tell you, what you just heard on that tape is indicative

of the imcompetence of several of the police dispatchers. chris baumann is the chairman of the fraternal order of police and he's been raising this issue for years about the imcompetencey of some of the dispatchers. let me share with you and the viewers the fact that that cruiser, 1105 was a one-man unit. that's a sergeant. he's out there by himself. so any time you hear a cruiser on the radio ask for a backup, you immediately send somebody to that. you treat that as a priority. clearly in this tape, the dispatcher did not do that. >> that's the one thing that really blew me away when the read the transcript and now hearing it as well, the 911 call where the officer saying i need back up and he has to do it a second time. that's unheard of and what kind of actions do you think needs to be taken at this point? >> first of all, those dispatchers should immediately be suspended and probably retrained. that's just total incompensatey. when you're out there on the

street and i've been in that same exact area of the 7th district where i started out in uniform, that's a very dangerous area. if you're out there solo or by yourself, any time you're calling for back up, you expect that dispatcher to be on that radio getting you help there. i can tell you this, most officers on the street look out for each other. we have to do that because we can not totally rely on the dispatchers. >> i'm surprised you say they should be suspended. i would think a lot of people would say why are they working again? that's scary. it's also lack of morals, lack of ethics. lack of professionalism. >> the unfortunate thing is there are so many more stories to go with that story you heard. and you can also hear the attitude in the radio. if the dispatcher doesn't care for the officer, she will actually give him attitude over the radio. that's just not good. >> that could lead to loss of life. >> absolutely. >> what needs to be done? we've got 0 seconds -- 30

second. >> all those dispatchers need to be retrained and those specific dispatchers, any situations like that again, they need to be terminated, obviously. >> the thing is that you have people come in and their job is to protect these people, but -- >> the good thing is the mayor is looking into it. he'll probably look into it and get it corrected. >> rod, thank you very much. we'll keep an eye on this story for you because our producer, she was looking at it today and say we have to bring this story. it's not isolated. that's it. good working with you. >> been a long time. >> i want to say hello. there are some fox viewers down in new jersey and they're watching right now and it's tim jerken's 40th birthday. happy birthday. >> now you're going to the beach? >> going down there. >> stay tuned for the fox report

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