gretchen: good morning. the presidential elections underway in afghanistan this morning with reports of sporatic violence around the country. conor powell is live in kabul with the latest. a huge day there, conor, what's going on so far? [captioning made possible by fox news channel] >> the big question today was would afghans turn out to vote? so far it's a mixed bag. it appears there is very heavy turnout. it's a more staibility part of

the country. other parts in the south like kandahar which the taliban have a very strong influence, it appears turnout is very light. here in kabul it is also a mixed bag. we went to one polling station where there was a steady stream of people voting. but most of the polling stations from what we can tell have been very quiet. it's been a very calm day here in the city. and the violence that many thought would surround this election has not actually materialized. some rockets have been attacked or launched across the country and a few suicide bomb attempts, but nothing that has disrupted this election like many of us thought might take place. so far this election is said to have gone reasonably well despite the violence and low turnout. brian: who's favored to win? is it karzai in a run away or are the polls, indeed, closing? >> well it looks like president karzai will probably take the overwhelming share of the vote but probably won't get enough to avoid a second-round runoff.

he needs 50% plus one vote in order to win outright. and right now he looks well short of that. but it all depends on turnout to see just who who will win and if there will be a second round of this election. brian: all right, conor. thanks. gretchen: iraq's prime minister is calling for a security review after a wave of bombings. sunni insurgents are blamed for the violence yesterday in baghdad. malaki's statement is the first by government leaders there acknowledging security problems since the u.s. withdrew troops from iraqi cities. president obama called the violence "senseless." two soldiers are dead in the crash of an army blackhawk helicopter near the top of colorado's second highest mountain, mount massive. the wreckage is near 14,000 feet. this is as close as cameras could get to it right here. one other soldier was injured

and hospitalized. a fourth is missing. the army would say only that the helicopter wooz on a -- was on a training mission. and now steve has the latest on hurricane bill. steve: thank you very much. we've got brand new graphics and stuff like that. look at the map over here. thank you very much. there is hurricane bill out in the atlantic. as you can see, it's still got a well-defined eye but it is a category three storm with maximum sustained winds of about 120 miles per hour. over the next day or so it's going to build up back to a cat four tomorrow. then as you can see with any luck it's going to make a big right turn. however, as you can see from cape cod right up through nova scotia, they could be impacted toward the end of the week. meanwhile, look at the balance of the country. these are really cool pictures. good job, brandon, the weather guy back there. we have these thunderstorms moving through the mississippi, missouri and tennessee valley at this hour, affecting our friends in ohio and the virginias.

real quickly, take a look, these are the day-time highs. going to be 90 today in norfolk. 94, raleigh. about 100 through portions of central texas. northern plains, 60's and 70's. and out west it's going to be hot in phoenix. 109 there. 108 in vegas. and only 100 in reno if you're planning a quickly wedding or something like that. these your "fox travelcast." those are cool pictures. aren't they? gretchen: they cool. there's growing unhappiness among car dealers over the cash for clunkers program. some dealers in new york -- well, all across the country actually, they've stopped participating. >> the federal government, the department of transportation, has created a system that's very slow, very burdensome. not getting approvals. it's taking weeks and weeks to get applications through and approved. and very, very, if a small amount, of the deal of

transactions that's been done has actually been paid by the federal government. gretchen: dealers in new england say they've been reimbursed 2% so far. transportation secretary ray la hood says he understands the dealers' frustrations and vows everyone will get their money. you being the judge. remember dave carroll? he so memorably recounted his horrible experience with an airline by turning it into a youtube sensation. >> you broke my guitar. gretchen: now the man is at it again, releasing "united breaks gi fars song 2" where he takes on the airline once again. >> ♪ we could be best buddies but our friendship has been muddied by united airlines policy ♪ gretchen: don't worry, fans. this is the second in a planned

trilogy about united airlines. and those are your headlines. you know how necessity say to make the most of one particular incident. that guy's doing that. brian: i think he's got a wonderful voice. he's now my favorite artist ever. i wouldn't be surprised if he was on our friday music marathon. our concert series. gretchen: tomorrow that will be billy ray cyrus. brian: really? steve: hannah montana's dad is going to be on the program. meanwhile, a headline that says "firms with obama ties profit from the health push." it talks about how the health care overhaul is a financial windfall to a couple of democrat consulting firms closely connected to the president and a couple of his top advisors. $24 million worth of ads are being bought and put on tv. the two firms hired, one is gmmb which worked for barack obama during the 2008 campaign, and also akpd.

the a stands for axelrod started by david axelrod. of course, he has separated himself from the company. but there are some who are going, now, wait a minute, this seems a little too cozy. the white house denies that mr. axlerod is making any money from it. gretchen: they do still owe him # million from the stock sale. they're going to be making those payments over the next couple of years. but interestingly enough, at that firm that he created, his son still works there. and no surprise that the two top advisors to obama, these are their former jobs. that they would be behind health care reform shouldn't come as a shock to anyone, but some will say maybe the ties are too close. brian: right. for example, "it's hard to imagine a situation that would have karl rove if he was still getting checks from a firm employed to draw from the drug lobby not being fierdz from the left if president bush was still president." huffington post a big cheerleader fo president obama,

quoted a house republican conference statement saying "some may wonder whether the white house senior advisors earning millions of dollars paid for in part by the pharmaceutical industry represent the kind of change america can believe in." david axlerod's son works there. steve: exactly. here's the thing about it. the $24 million to buy the ads, that is being bankrolled by the pharmaceutical industry. $24 million from the pharmaceutical industry, pumping into our tv and radio bloodstream and what not, and stuff like that. now, wait just a minute. didn't the pharmaceutical industry strike a backdoor deal with the obama administration regarding health care? oh, yeah. that's why a lot of people are going, hmm. however, the white house deny that axlerod is making any money on it. brian: did you see what bernie goldberg said last night? i thought it was a great point. remember everyone said --

critics. bush administration said, what is dick cheney doing? did he start that work so he could get his halliburton company, they used to be an executive, get all of those contracts to help rebuild iraq? people kept saying halliburton, look at dick cheney. maybe people thought halliburton was the best and only company that would have this type of service. now, who wouldn't go to these two agencies to get your point of view across? they have a proven track record. they have already worked well with the people of the administration. it's logical. steve: they know people. brian: right. but you can't criticize dick cheney and not criticize this relationship. gretchen: that happens all the time. we'll be talking about that. brian: can i be naive, please? gretchen: that happens all the time. a big question. do you believe that it's your christian or religious duty to support health care reform? e-mail us or twitter us and let us know. because yesterday president obama had this big teleconference call with religious leaders from all over the country. and he basically said that it is

the moral obligation of religious leaders and their persons to support health care reform. now, this is a very interesting statement because i'm not so sure that that's necessarily true. do you agree with that? let us know. steve: well, at one point -- and we should point out, gretchen's right, it was a huge conference call. 32 religious groups, 140,000 people apparently on the call. and at one point the president of the united states, who clearly has been exasperated about the criticism regarding his plan, actually brought up the ninth command meant, "thou shall not bare false witness against thy neighbor." listen to this. >> i know there's been a lot of misinformation in this debate. --

gretchen: i don't really want to have to say this but i think it's a little disingenuous to call on religious leaders when, in fact, you have not chosen a church yet and you're the president of the united states if president bush had called out to religious leaders to try and pass something like this, he would have been annihilated. that's point number one. number two, i'm not so sure it's a moral obligation because you're religious. yes, you want to help other people, but the elderly would argue in this health care reform -- and by the way, they make up a huge portion of the parishioners going to church every day, they would argue they're not getting a moral obligation in this health care plan. brian: but is this a good

tactical move? sometimes in church, in times of trouble, when they lose insurance, lose their job, is it good to go to religious leaders and say, hey, here's the message i really want out, now spread the word? gretchen: of course, it's a great strategy. whether or not it's disingenuous or not is the discussion we're having. steve: and to mention bare false witness against your neighbor, is he saying that anybody who disagrees with him is breaking a commandment? is a sinner and a liar? if that's what's going on, i don't know, it's harsh. brian: there was a lot of biblical catch phrases in a row that came cascading out. steve: when you talk to people whose business is the bible, that happens. gretchen: let's go to barney frank. he lashed out at the same people who put them in office. steve: can't be. >> trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining room table. i have no interest in doing it.

gretchen: new details of what really went on from a woman who was there. she's next. steve: a man spends three months behind bars after police thought he was chewing on crack-cocaine. it turns out it was a roll yaid. he's going to join us shortly to tell us how he's fighting back in court.

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indoors and outdoors. with zyrtec®, the fastest... 24-hour allergy medicine, i promise not to wait as long to go for our ride. zyrtec® works fast, so i can love the air™. brian: they were taking a beating on twitter. now all of that negative feedback has forced general motors to scrap a proposed plug-in hybrid. g.m. says the response played a big role in its decision to cancel the model. a replacement has not been named. the new federal credit card rules go into effect today.

you can reject an increase in interest rates but only if you close the account and agree to pay off the balance in five years. some consumer advocates say it's a good first step but there still needs to be a cap on fees. steve, gretchen? steve: thank you. congressman barney frank compares his own constituents to a dining room table at his latest town hall meeting on tuesday night where things got heated. gretchen: and mary was at the town hall. she joins us live this morning. good morning, mary. >> good morning, gretchen. gretchen: so we looked at that video. we saw a lot of back and forth. what i liked was that there was standing room only in attendance. so a lot of people were very interested in coming to this meeting. what was your question to barney frank? >> well, i work in health care. i work at milford hospital which is one of the still community-owned hospitals. they work for the people in their town. they are not owned by a

corporation. earlier this year they weren't able to give a pay raise due to the economy so we got letters saying that all the members of the board, the c.e.o. and all managers in that hospital were taking a voluntary pay cut to keep from having to lay anyone off. this is a hospital that cares about their people, the community, the patients. they put that first. the problem with health care is the government. ok? the political committees. there was a movie that came out a few years ago, "the distinguished gentleman" with eddie murphy it shows it clearly. steve: i remember that. >> yup. the lawyers will give you the mfn if you wrote this way, the a.m.a. will give you money if they wrote this way. that's the problem. steve: obviously you feel passionate about it and you were in the healing business. we're going to show a little bit of congressman frank. i thought some of his responses to some of the questions were rude. let's listen to 20 seconds of it. >> trying to have a conversation

with you would be like have trying to argue with a dining room table. i have no interest in doing it. >> i thought you were thoughtful people here to have a conversation. >> are you incapable of a conversation in which you talk and i talk? you have to interrupt? >> you say you don't believe it you came here believing what you want to believe. nothing i say is going have any influence. steve: ok. so, mary, there's barney yelling at the people who put him into office. do you feel that he regarded that town hall as just a joke? >> yes. yes. because when i made my point, i was walking away. and immediately he said, "we need medicare and medicaid." i said, "no, we don't. you didn't listen." you find good people. the insurance industry, pharmaceutical industry, they can corrected this problem. steve: was he trying to get the crowd agitated to yell at him? >> i think probably. yeah. because it made for better tv. yeah. he wasn't listening to what

people had to say that were going against what he is determined to do. gretchen: mary, thank you so much for getting up early and sharing your story with us. >> thank you, gretchen. steve: you bet. straight ahead a mass exodus from aarp. now even health care workers are cutting up their cards. a registered nurse is going to tell us why she just canceled her member, next. gretchen: plus, going to get the morning paper could get you arrested in one new jersey city. a heated debate over a curfew for adults, coming up.

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brian: the aarp has insisted that it has not endorsed the president's plan for health care reform. but watch this.

>> special interest groups are trying to block progress on health care reform, derailing a debate with myths and scare tactics. desperately trying to stop you from discovering that reform won't ration care, you and your doctor will always decide the best treatment for you. tell congress not to let myths get in the way of fixing what's with health care. brian: our next guest says it was the commercial that pushed her to cancel her aarp membership and cut up her card. maryanne is a registered nurse. she says the aarp just doesn't get what's going on with this health care bill, at least the one in the house. welcome. >> thank you. good morning. brian: how serious did you take canceling your membership? >> i've been a member of aarp for nine years. and when i saw that commercial, i realized that they were

lobbying for a bill that is really not in the best interest of seniors. brian: so you saw the ad, but you also saw the statement. the statement said that the president was wrong to say that the aarp endorses his plan because they don't. yet you still cut your card. because of the ad? >> well, because of the ad because we're getting conflicting messages. i think aarp is saying one thing to members and yet it's doing another thing entirely. and i think that one of the biggest problems is -- i disagree with what they say. this is going to lead to rationing of health care for seniors. brian: for one thing, i want to check your i.d. you do not look like you should get an aarp card. but having said that you're an expert in this area. what jumps out at you that nonexperts would not conclude after reading the bill? >> well, one of the things is, first of all what they're going to be doing is shifting funds

away from the older population to cover younger members. brian: they deny that. >> well, what's happening is -- what they're saying is they're not going to cut benefits. by the what they're going to do is to cut reimbursements. so you're asking the doctors to work harder for less money. and what's going to happen is they're going to be ordering fewer tests, fewer diagnostics. and the seniors are going to have to wait even longer to be able to schedule doctors appointments and to get the tests and service that they need. brian: mary ann, a registered nurse and one of the 60,000 plus who have decided to cancel their membership card to the aarp. mary ann, thank you. >> thank you. brian: getting an early start could get you arrested. a fair and balanced debate on the new jersey city rule

considering the nation's first curfew for adults. violence is out of control. then a man spends three months in jail for chewing rolaids. now he's out, here on "fox & friends." what he lost and how he's fighting back is coming up. and, happy birthday to my childhood friend robert planted. the singer is 61 today. i was a freshman. he was a senior. it's what doct most for headaches. for arthritis pain... in your hands... knees... and back. for little bodies with fevers.. and big bodies on high blood pressure medicine. tylenol works with your body... in a way other pain relievers don't... so you feel better... knowing doctors recommend tylenol... more than any other brand of pain reliever.

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call now. gretchen: let's take a look at our "shot of the morning." this santa prefers a flock of geese to tag along on his outing. gooseman, as he calls himself, dressed up at the iowa state fair this week, parading around to the delight of fairgoers. he's named them the puddle jumpers. he said years ago he had serious health problems and decided to walk his way to good health. he's now 200 pounds lighter and able to walk a mile and a half with the geese. steve: i wonder how the geese feel about that? brian: they look thrilled. at least they have a direction. gretchen: good for you for losing all of that weight, by the way. brian: and special thanks to gretchen. my twitter alerts still come to my e-mail. i have to change that. but you blessed my twitter account. gretchen: staying in the

religious theme? brian: yes. if you don't mind. you never know when you're going to have a teleconference with 4,000 religious leaders. now everyone's following me, too. gretchen: i also blessed steve's account. you both owe me. brian: i'm closing in on steve, i have a sense. if you would only compete with me, it would be more fun. steve: i'm trying. gretchen: he's about ready to go on vacation. he's not competing. steve: i'm just not a big twitter guy. brian: you never know. steve: i know. let's start twittering about the news. gretchen: keep sending us your tweets. we have tons of them on what we were just talking about. the scottish government is expected to announce that the only man ever convicted in the bombing of flight 103 over lockerbie, scotland, will be released. the former libyan intelligence agent has terminal cancer and will likely be returned to libya. the 1988 bombing killed 270, mostly americans.

>> it's all being done because of big business and oil. the clinton administration started it. bush 43 complimenting qaddafi on renouncing terrorism. and now president obama shaking qaddafi's hand. gretchen: we'll have a live report when that release is expected to happen. transcripts out from the deadly mid-air collision over the hudson it reveals the conversations between karl turner, the air traffic controller, and his girlfriend. this is disgusting, by the way. he was talking about grilling a dead cat just minutes before a small plane collided with a helicopter. turner then talks to north airport until another pilot reports the crarn, leading to this exchange. operations asks -- gretchen: turner and his supervisor have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. reports that michael jackson's doctor will be charged with manslaughter soon, perhaps within the next two weeks.

investigators say dr. murray admitted he gave jackson the anesthetic hours before he died. and jackson's dermatologist is also expected to be charged but with medical malpractice. the l.a. district attorney denied charges will be handed down just yet. but a source says they are in negotiations. the creator and driving force behind "60 minutes" has died. don hewitt had pancreatic cancer. he was 80 years old. he put "60 minutes" on the air in 1968, intending a television version of "life" magazine. he produced the program until 2004. he would join cbs in 1948, working with edward r. murrow. "60 minutes" finished in the top 10 kneel sense ratings for 23 straight years. it's the d.c. metro police version of "the biggest loser" after the police chief issued a challenge to the men and women to start losing weight immediately. nearly 800 officers and civilians signed up to get fit for the force and it paid off in

a big way. a foot patrol officer took home first prize by losing over 30 pounds. all together the group collectively lost over 1,200 pounds. that's one way to get people involved. i like that. brian: it's a great idea. 25 minutes before the top of the hour. a nevada casino worker is aaccusing him of rape. now roth roth's legality team says they have proof she's making the whole thing up. roth roth's -- roethlisberger's lawyer says he has e-mails by the woman saying she was looking forward to having dinner with the quarterback two days after the alleged attack. text messages sent months later show the woman saying she would date roethlisberger. no comments yet from the woman's attorney. a bizarre story. you have a south african athlete who will be forced to prove that she is a she. yes, she is a woman. after she easily won an 800-meter race. her muscular physique and quick rise to the top of the sport

have sparked speculation that he might be a guy. the sports governing body is ordering the teenage tore have a gender verification test which could be visual, includes reports from gynecologists. we'll see if that person needs a gynecologist or has an appointment slip that could be a give away. brett favre has a new jersey. a wisconsin clothing store owner is hoping to cash in. isaac isn't selling vikings jerseys. his shirts say "we'll never forget you brent." that's brent not brett. it's not a mistake. he's urging packer fans to get rid of their old favre jerseys and buy anti-favre jerseys. he shocked fans when he unretired a bunch of times and went t from the jets to the vikings and used to be a packer. 34 minutes -- 24 minutes before the top of the hour. we should tell you right now that steve is not in studio. steve is outside. steve: that's right.

brian: what are you doing? steve: i'm on the streets of new york city where it's a little after 6:30 in the morning. if i were in patterson, new jersey and if a bill actually passes over there, what i'm doing could be against the law. because it is before 7:00 in the morning. let's talk about this. we have a fair and balanced debate. we've got with us the mayor of paterson, new jersey about 20 miles to the west of new jersey. and a professor of criminal justice. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. steve: now, i could be breaking the law if i'm outside on the streets of paterson, new jersey at 6:30 in the morning because your town is thinking of a curfew from midnight to 7:00 a.m. for everybody, including adults. this is something that has never been done in the country. why do you want to do that? >> actually, you wouldn't be breaking the law because you would be in transit, mobility. it's only the individuals in

high-crime areas that were identified by our police department. if you're moving through the streets, catching a bus. steve: trying to work. >> if you're on your house, front step. this wouldn't apply. steve: but a curfew even to the adults is because of the crime problem. but look at the statistics, you've got about half the number of murders in paterson. i only live five miles away so i know. what's going on? >> it's a good thing because we've been thinking out of the box. we've been proactive. we haven't been reactive. the fact is that over the past six months, five murders, the month of august, seven shootings two fatalities, and it calls to do something. when we find out that over the average of all of these fatalities are the age of 25, not juveniles -- steve: so you want to take all the grownups, kids off the street. professor, is this constitutional? >> probably not. and it would be hard for to us find the prosecutor's office will allow these prosecutions to go forward.

steve: so you got to understand he's got a crime problem there. maybe it's not as bad as last year, but he needs to do something. what's the matter with asking people to stay off the streets between midnight and 7:00 a.m. unless you're going to work or something? >> because in the united states, unless marshall law is declared, adults get to move around freely, as they please. there are prohibitions in certain areas, on certain things depending on whether or not you've been convicted. in new jersey the drug order restraining act allows the cord to prevent certain people from going to certain places during certain times. but that's not what we're talking about. we're talking about a blanket policy who says adults caught in these areas are going to be subject to arrest or stopping. steve: you just heard from the professor. it could be unconstitutional. what are the chances this is actually going to become law in paterson, new jersey? >> i thought it an emergency because of the increase in rapid crime. so, therefore, we treat it had as an emergency. the issue is that by the time

the council decides, the council president table it had to september. i was look for a 60-day stay. a time is adopted. it will probably be a moot issue. steve: we thank you very much. professor, we thank you. >> always a pleasure. steve: e-mail us. what do you think about the idea of a curfew for adults? now back inside. brian: your curfew, 6:40 eastern time. get back in. you got 10 seconds. 20 minutes before the top of the hour. gretchen: coming up, everyone wants health care to be cheaper. democrats say cost controls will do the trick. why that could put your health at risk, though. we're talking about technology and stuff like that. brian: then, police thought he was doing drugs. it turns out he was doing rolaids. he had a bad stomach. did he not have crack in his mouth. it was a chewable stomach item. he's here to tell us how he's fighting back after spending three months in jail. gretchen: here's a rolaid.

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automatically refills my prescriptions and reminds me to pick them up. you mean, reminds me to pick them up. [ chuckles ] stop by your local cvs pharmacy to ask if readyfill is right for you, and get a $25 coupon book. readyfill, only at cvs pharmacy. gretchen: new federal guidelines out for twieghting swine flu in the workplace. most of the suggestions are common sense, like this -- cover your mouth when you cough, wash your hands often, stay home if you feel sick. the c.d.c. says they should offer flu vaccine. brian: the theme the health care reform is cost control.

is saving government money worth the cost of patients' lives and innovation? gretchen: dr. siegel, a fox news medical contributor. good morning. >> good morning. gretchen: what are the concerns you have with this health care reform bill as it stands? le stifle or in your own editorial, kill medical innovation? >> because it's a one-size-fits-all concept. the problem with that is it's very expensive. all attempts at cost control in other countries has led to cutting innovations which are very expensive. i have to tell you, the way technology is going it's more personalized. it's not one size fits all. one treatment for you doesn't work for you. the more we go there, the more expense we have. i've made a promise to my patients to give them the latest and greatest treatments to keep them a live as long as i can, in the best possible shape. well, you know, all of these plans are talking about cutting hundreds of billions of dollars from medicare.

those cuts are going to go away from doctors, away from hospitals. there's been surveys out there, brian that says 85% of patients are happy with the health insurance they have. guess what. 95% to 100% of physicians do not want this change. brian: so bio-tech, that whole industry where they're coming up with new innovations and new medicines, new cures. for example, a.l.s. which you're going to talk about later in the show, there's going to be no incentive under this program to find a cure for that? >> who's going to pay for it? if a hospital gets a cut, how are they going to pay for the treatments for a.l.s. the one you're talking about is a tremendous treatment. we have new lasers for the eye, the brain, the skin. we have scopes that get into places that you had to open up before. what a great thing that you have a laproscope that can go in through the belly button and fix almost everything? you know how much that costs? very expensive. the more we have our scientists doing this, they're highly paid individuals. there's got to be an incentive.

at the other end, when the product comes out, it's got to be sold somewhere. if hospitals are paying for it or physicians aren't paying the amount of money they need to do it -- you know how much a cataract is reimbursed for now? it used to be $1,700 for a cataract. it's a very hard operation. now it's under $500. we're not going to get the physicians to be able to become ophthalmologists, neurosurgeons. we're not going to have them. gretchen: isn't that why people from all around the worldcom to america, for the best -- world come to america, because they know they're going to get the best treatment? >> that's true. when natasha richardson died in quebec, they didn't even have emergency helicopter service for her. here in the united states, we're right on the spot. we get people taken care of right away with the best treatment. brian: you have the moimple of investment -- mix of investment, people saying i heard about that cure, let's try to bring that to market. they're going to make money offer it. they want everybody to make money off it. but if you have no profit

incentive, they're not going do it. >> we love to bash private industry. it's ridiculous. a drug like lipitor, do you know how many people that saved from heart attacks? that saved a lot of money to the health care system. on the other end, we have cardiac stints. we're always innovating with that, treating them with different drugs. they're working better and better and better. more and more people are saved of heart attacks every day. in great britain they don't even reimburse for that. gretchen: fox news alert. we used to not bash private industry until about a year ago. >> yeah. gretchen: i got to wrap it up there. very interesting points today. >> thanks, gretchen. thanks, brian. gretchen: three months in the slammer for possession of rolaids? this guy needed a doctor. guess what. police thought it was crack in his mouth. don may is now a free man. he tells us how he lost everything. this is an outrageous story. this guy went to prison for three months for chewing on a rolaid. he joins us next. brian: then, the cash for clunkers program has been a great deal for car buyers but

dealers are still waiting for their payoff. why some of them are back out of the program even though they want to sell cars. that story's straight ahead. . -% show and tell you weren't always my favorite day. with all the pet hair in the air, i'd spend class preoccupied, bothered by itchy eyes. but now i have new zyrtec® itchy eye drops. it works fast, with just one drop,

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brian: a man serves three months in jail after arrest. the roll ladies he was chewing on was thought to be crack cocaine. it cost him his car, his job, even his home. is he taking action. steve: he is joining us live now. his name is don may. good morning, gentlemen. >> good morning. >> don, there is a police officer down there a while back, he claimed that he saw you buy

drugs at a stoplight, i think, something like that, but, in fact, you were chewing on roll ladies and breath mints? >> yes. >> ok. that would seem like something pretty innocuous. why did you get arrested? >> well, he told me he observed me buying the drugs, which i don't know where he was talking about. but he said -- buying the drugs. brian: he pulls you over because you didn't have the right tags. he put his hands into your mouth when he saw you chewing on something, pulls a sample out. brings to you jail, brings you into the station. did he ever test what was in your mouth? >> well, he said he did, but i never seen him test it. brian: so what happened? >> and when the drugs were --

the roll aids were actually submitted to fdle, fleas the florida department of law enforcement, they performed a lab test on it and in fact they came back negative for the presence of any drugs. so what don was saying all along, what he told the officer, what he told his lawyer at the time turned out to be true. he was not in possession of any drugs. he was not tampering with any evidence. in fact, he was just chewing on roll aids. steve: if the test tests them and says yep, those are not drugs, how did your client wind up in jail for three months? >> well, basically, it's because of the bond that was set because of the two felony charges that this officer charged my client with. he could not bond out because of those felony charges. so he spent 90 days in jail. meanwhile, the lab was testing the rolaids.

the lab comes back negative for presence of drugs. so the state dropped the case. brian: what happened to those three months of your life? >> it got turned upside down pretty good. i lost my car. they sold it at auction. i didn't have anybody to pay my rent soirks lost my apartment. everything that i had in my apartment was gone. and i lost my job. i get out of jail, i had no place to go. i lived on the street for the first month i was out of jail. >> listen, this is not about going after police departments or police officers in general. police officers have a very important job and for the most part they do a great job. but the problem is when an officer out of laziness or just stupidity doesn't do his job, falsifies a charging affidavit, this is what happens to innocent people. police officers have to understand. >> steve: right. and that is what you are alleging. i know you are suing the kiss

simy city and that particular police officer as well. we will keep traffic the case. don may and adam, thank you for joining us today from orlando. >> take care. thanks for inviting us. brian: good luck getting back on your feet. straight ahead, the democratic national committee has launched a new web site asking people to expose opponents of health care reform. something fishy all over again? steve: we're going to report. you decide. david axelrod's former company is making millions off health care reform even though the bill may never get passed. we will explain the connection. brian: amazing video of the world's youngest wing walker. tell you about this 8-year-old kid. steve: that's grandpa at the wheel. ♪ hang on sloopy ♪ sloopy hang on ♪ @ come on. [ kissing ]

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gretchen: with very good thursday morning to you. august 20, 2009. staying away froms polls. violence on voter turnout and what it means for the future of that country coming up. brian: auto dealers all over the country putting the brakes on cash for clunkers. pulling out of the program after getting certified by our government. if they can't run this program, how can they run the health care industry? steve? steve: brian, good question. thank you. 8-year-old boy putting his life on the line. the 8-year-old is on the top of that airplane and his grandfather is the pilot.

other than white knuckles a brand new world record. further details. look at the expression on the kid. brian: get a backseat. steve: slogan comes from joan in mississippi. sunrise, coffee and making up, "fox & friends" fills minus cup. [captioning made possible by fox news channel] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- gretchen: good morning, everyone. we do start with a fox news alert. the presidential election is underway now in afghanistan. this morning with reports of sporadic violence around that country. rockets have been launched in certain areas. most of the polling stations haven't reported any violence. officials say turnout though is low while more people are showing up to vote in northern areas, apparently southern areas not so much. new details this morning about the controversial cia plan to assassinate al qaeda leaders. officials say the agency had reportedly planned to hire contractors from the security firm blackwater. malini wilks is live from washington with the latest on

this. good morning. >> good morning, gretchen. there are reports that the cia hired the private security firm blackwater to track down and assassinate top al qaeda leaders. the program was launched in 2001, was never fully operational and leon panetta revealed it to congress in june, telling them that he had canceled this program. today both the "new york times" and "new york post" are reporting that the cia hired blackwater in 2004 to help with training as it developed this program. it's unclear whether the outside contractors ever would have been used to actually kill or capture terrorists. over the years blackwater has hired several former top cia officials and the newspaper report suggests that may be one reason why the company got this cia contract. blackwater has earned millions, providing security in iraq and afghanistan. in iraq, it has long had a reputation for high profile aggressive tactics, and the deadliest incident, 17 civilians died after blackwater opened

fire in 2007. afterward the iraqi government demanded that they leave the country. they changed its name but still has some staff in iraq. the house intelligence committee is already investigating whether the cia broke the law by failing continue to form congress that it was dropping this secret program to track down the terrorists. but blackwater's involvement in this controversial project is likely to spark even know controversy. gretchen? gretchen: thanks for explaining a very complicated situation. the government will announce today that the federal deficit this year will be $262 billion less than it predicted in may. most of the reduction is on paper only though. 250 billion is a contingency fund for bank bailouts that is no longer needed. washington will still spend over $1.5 trillion this year than it will take in. cancer-stricken ted kennedy has written a poignant leader to massachusetts leaders asking that they change state law to

allow speedy replacement for senate seat. kennedy writes that it is vital nor commonwealth to have two voices speaking for the need of its citizens. he no change in position but absence from the funeral of eunice shriver has raised questions about his health. the nation's second largest health insurance company is urging employees to take to the streets. united health group wants writing letters, attending town hall meetings and going to tea parties. argue against the public insurance option which the white house appears to be backing away from now. an iowa bus driver is suspended for driving a bus. it isn't because of unruly passengers. it's because of an atheist ad posted on the side of the bus. angela has been suspended after she refused to drive a bus from with an iowa eightist and free thinkingers ad on its side.

religious preference. interesting. 8-year-old british boy is flying into the record books. steve was talking about this a few minutes ago. tiger brewer strapped himself to the top of the father's bi plane and went wing walking. his goal is become the youngest wing walk ir. now send their testimony to the guinness world records who will then have to make an official determination whether b. whether or not he reached the world record. is that safe? brian: aren't we witnesses to it. gretchen: the witness is a video its itself. i asked the question is it safe? steve: i wonder about the conversation around the kitchen table. son, grandpa wants to put you on top of his airplane and we are going to go 100 miles per hour. look at the white knuckles and expression on his face. brian: use the wright brothers flying technology. second plane ever made. steve: remember the pepsi sky writer airplane would spell out

pepsi above the prairie. gretchen: you couldn't pay me enough to go up in one of those things. steve: i went up two loops i was up in the front seat taking pictures of one of him i was the photographer. he did one of those things. i never did it again. gretchen: that might make people hurl. that's what some people are doing. getting ill over the prospect of this health care reform passing. now, senator chuck grassley of iowa, who is a member of that group of 6. remember we have been talking about that republicans and democrats who supposedly were going to come together and have one great big plan that everyone agreed on. not so sure anymore. last night he was on greta's show. >> august could make a big difference. now, when i say that people in journalism like you have read things into it that haven't met. if democracy means anything and

you have town meetings, you have got to take that into consideration. you have got to listen to your constituents or else you don't have democracy. brian: talk about something else that's changing, democracy. it seems as though barack obama and his administration keeps changing his tune each and every day. remember they said we are going to have a public option. maybe we don't need a public option. then maybe we do need a public option. go if alone. well, yesterday was all biabout bipartisanship. now they said they can count on senator grassley and senator instancy and others and senator hatch to get a bipartisanship plan going. they think there is some common ground. in fact, they have an idea. let's split bill. let's have the stuff that only democrats like and have them vote on that. and other stuff come on and compromise and get the 60 votes.

steve: it's probably been about two weeks ago how the white house was asking essentially enlisting people throughout in tv land. if you see something on the internet that's kind of fishy regarding disinformation and the president's health care plan to send the stuff to the white house. send it to flag white house.gov. in the last couple of days, this is a bad idea. because of the presidential act all of the things sent in are going to be kept forever by the executive branch. now, could this possibly be fishy 2.0 because, apparently, organizing for america, which as you know, was the barack obama web site during the campaign. it is now asking people to essentially go ahead and if you see anything that you are curious about, go to their web site. this is where they are going to fight and expose the lies ginned

up by the other side. gretchen: they want to push back against lies about health insurance reform and attack groups who deliberately spread these rumors and lies in a a desperate attempt to preserve the status quo. so this is a new outlet for people who want to go and be able to express their views. it's interesting because this organization was the president's former campaign committee. they are the ones who set up this organization. steve: in fact, if you type in the site from the campaign, barack obama.com, it takes you to this web site. and apparently the president of the united states is going to be meeting with at 2 3506r789 0 today, have a strategy meeting with members of organizing for america to try to answer their questions. it is interesting that just a few days after flag at white house.gov gets killed, now they have got this new web site to expose the lies. they do also on this web site tell you how to write a letter to the editor so if you see something out there, you can write to your local newspaper and spread what they say is the

truth. brian: there is a conference call yesterday with the president. thousands of religious leaders across the country, all denominations essentially saying go out there and spread the word and get rid of all those lies they are saying about the president's health care plan. and tell people they have to do it, it's almost there their. gretchen: moral obligation. brian: he used a whole bunch of biblical terms to get that point across to win over his audience. gretchen: had a huge reaction from you so far this morning in the last hour about this since we started talking about it at 6:00 a.m. number one is, this the time to bring religion into the equation when you are talking about health care reform? number two, a lot of people are wondering whether the president should find a church first before he starts invoking religion. that may be disingenuous. if we take v. to take god out of the pledge of allegiance, off currency and out of schools why do we had his capital h on health care reform. others are saying as my screen

goes blank, no i don't think it would be a moral obligation to support health care reform i believe it would be immoral. gretchen: a lot of elderly, those are a lot of the peep who go to church, they are believing that sort of a thought process that maybe they wouldn't fair so well in the health care reform. would it be their moral obligation? it's been a huge firestorm morning. keep your thoughts coming. in email us or twitter us. steve: meanwhile, cash for clunkers has gone perklunker. the car dealer association says you know what? none of our dealers are getting paid, so we're just going to stop having our dealers ask for money. here is a new york area dealer talking about how cash for clunkers is just a dud and not paying. >> the federal government department of transportation has created a system that's very slow, very burdensome, not

getting approvals. taking weeks and weeks to get applications through and approved. very, very small amount of the deal, the transaction has been done has actually been paid by the federal government. brian: here is the problem from the dealer's perspective. how much more do they need to take, too? if you walk in and want to turn in your car and it has less than 18 miles per gallon you could get up to $4,500 back. until you get that reimbursement from the government $2 billion said aside for it you have to use your own credit. gretchen: you have to hand over the new car to the person. brian: give them credit from your own personal credit or dealership credit. only 2% of the entire have been paid out yet. so in pennsylvania, 950 delearships, half of the 950 delearships have halted. in new york 425 have dropped out. now, in the transportation secretary was asked about this, i know dealers are frustrated. they are going to get paid.

that was ray la hood. gretchen: said in separate interview this might not happen. brian: how could it not happen? gretchen: how could a lot of things happen with what's happened in the car business. people are asking if you can't run cash for clunkers? you can run health care reform? steve: my friend todd whose family owns a bunch of delearships in the new york city area is owed $700,000. he doesn't know if he will ever get that money. brian: he better. 1 minutes after the hour. straight ahead. politicians paying lip service on health care reform. what jesse jackson jr. said in his meeting. why he is starting to sound just like president obama. gretchen: bill richardson just met with representatives from north korea. what really happened behind closed doors? we will ask the governor when he joins us live. ♪ sugar ♪ honey, honey ♪ you are my candy girl ♪ and you got me wanting you ♪ bicycle, i've missed you.

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>> there is federal express, dhs dhs. the public option is a scam. it's email. because of the email and post office. it keeps dhl from charging $100 for overnight letter. because of the public option, some of us don't have a problem buying a stamp rather than going that route. gretchen: that was congressman jesse jackson jr. trying to dig president obama out of a hole. he says the public option will function like our postal service is that what america really needs with health care reform? that michelle malkin is author of "culture of corruption." she joins me live from denver. >> hi, gretchen. gretchen: have you congressman jackson reiterating what the president said last week which

you said was a gaffe when he compared the post office as not running very well as u.p.s. and fedex. what do you think of congressman jackson's comments now. >> if obama's blunder and botched metaphor was a gaffe. then jackson's is gaffetasticly gaffetastic on top of that i think ignorance about free market principles and the idea that it is the existence of a government bureaucracy that keeps prices down? it's scary that there is somebody in congress who actually believes. this also the ignorance about the state of the post office, the general accounting office issued a report this in the last month post office was on the brink of bankruptcy is a model of government inefficiency and outdatedness. at the time when they are thinking of moving to market-based reform. jesse jackson is arguing we should copy, essentially the

failed monopoly that the post office has been. it's mind-boggling. gretchen: if i were jesse jackson right now here is how i would respond back to you. they are trying to asswage voter concerns that the public health care option will undercut or eliminate private insurance. and you would respond? >> he is going even further than that, gretchen. he is arguing that the existence, the presence of the government monopoly is what keeps prices down when, in fact, it's basic competition, basic rules of how a free market functions. and the fact that there are antitrust laws already on the books. gretchen: maybe you should send that jao report for the congressman. if you want to stick around that would be terrific. david axelrod's old company is already making millions off of health care reform. is it a close connection? michelle malkin gives us her take on that controversy coming up next. it's a sweet celebration. where kids are marking a special anniversary with a life size

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steve: two democratic consulting firms with strong ties to the white house are getting millions of dollars to run ads from interest groups running pro health care ads. while top democrats continue to accuse big corporations of fueling that grass roots movement and the protests and the town hall, who really stands to profit from health care reform? brian: we're back with the author of "culture of corruption," michelle malkin. david axlerod's son works there. son works in the other. is there a conflict of interest here? >> there is a clear appearance if not reality of conflict of interest. and this is really a

boomerang that is smacking the white house right back in their faces. because, as you say, these same people, robert gibbs, nancy pelosi, the entire democrat majority leadership has been smearing ordinary taxpayers as the corporate chill. i guess since these are corporate chills for hope and change that somehow makes david axelrod's deals better? in fact, i think what it highlights is, this is something i talk about in culture of corruption. these are the astroturf. they are profiting from evil industries that they continue to demonize. gretchen: break it down in case they are not familiar. because this group is a group that david axelrod founded. is he no longer a part of it although they still own $2 million. >> that's right. he has owned this company. been the sole proprietor since 19 5. it wasn't until late last year when he was assuming his role as senior advisor for the white house that he finally stepped

down in name only anyway because, as you say, they're dolling out this money, $2 million to him even as he is serving as senior advisor. a.k.p.d. along with another firm that's founded by obama strategist called gmeb has taken in 24 money from other groups from the international union. health economy now. they do what they -- obama political machine always does, which is reconstitute it and add another name to it to try to avoid sunlight. the new name is now called americans for stable quality care. weave don't know how much money they will be getting. steve: we should point out that the white house has pointed out axelrod is in no way profiting from it at the same time pharma is funding this to the tune of

$224 million. axelrod's former company is placing millions of dollars worth of these ads on television and radio and stuff like that while at the same time apparently the white house struck a deal with big pharma behind closed doors so that. >> that's right. steve: essentially they guaranteed big pharma wouldn't be affected really adversely by any change in the health care. >> yeah. that's right. and the bottom line here is, that you have to ask who the corporate are. somebody needs to ask robert gibbs if is he going to question the motives of the obama administration officials who have been funded with this big pharma money. steve: yeah, that's going to happen. >> yeah, i know. and then the follow-up question, of course, is what is he going to do now? is david axelrod going to have a redo you feel oar disclosure policy from now on when he appears on all of the tv shows to chauffeur this plan? because, look, if the obama administration itself that

promised the most transparency and ethics ever. and we are not getting that that's the bottom line in culture of corruption. and i keep -- my thesis keeps getting proved every single day with these people. steve: perhaps why that's the number one book for the "new york times" third straight week. congratulations, michigan shed. thanks for joining us from mile high city in denver. brian: that's one story can you believe in in the "new york times," right? >> that's right. the only one. gretchen: we need to put on a little bit of a warning here. if you have kids in the room you probably want them to get away from the tv right now. the video we are about to show you is extremely graphic. it's very disturbing. it's hard for adults to watch as well. brian: new commercial is causing controversy in britain. gretchen: about texting. brian: supposed to shock teens about the danger of it more next. bill richardson sits down with two senior diplomats from north korea. what was on the agenda and will it change our relations with the

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steve: be sure to tune in tomorrow, a terrific show on "fox & friends." our all american concert series rolls on tomorrow with diamond rio. they are going to be live in the plaza all morning long. if you are close by, come on over for a free show at 48th and sixth avenue, the crossroads of

america. gretchen: country singer billie ray cyrus will be here and tell us what he is working on. we will be whooping it up with those two great guests. brian: i hope we have a falcon setter series. i love the concert series. i love the way it is set up in the back. we feel cool for that moment because you are hanging out with rock stars. steve: i'm with the band. public service announcement that is very, very graphic. if you are squeamish, little kids in the room. brian: if you want your kids to see this. gretchen: i don't know if you want kids under 15 seeing this video. people getting into a major car crash from texting or talking on cell phones. in britain as steve said. it's meant to shock teens about the truth. now, watch, they are going to

crash head on and seat graphic ramifications i'm not going to watch because i don't want to see that because can i guarantee that you people who do see this are going to be scared straight. no doubt about it. gretchen: i'm still not watching. >> you know what? something like you would see in a movie. the whole idea here is to talk about the dangers of texting. and we have told you in the past that the research has shown that if you are texting, your reaction time is delayed by 35%. it is -- you are actually more impaired mentally than if you were drunk in some cases. so the message is, at least from that commercial, public service announcement that started in whales is just don't do it. brian: if you saw seven powntsdz with -- pounds with will smith it changed his life because he was on his cell phone and his wife was killed in that and changed his whole life around. gretchen: i think adults should watch that more than teens.

i think adults are probably offending more than teens are with this whole thing. brian: eight years ago, new york state became the first state to ban hand held cell phone use while driving. today the nypd is launching another citywide crack down on the use of cell phones while driving. eric shawn has been up for a while now and tell us all about it he is here in the studio in midtown manhattan. >> the new york city police department today gifings out fines, $130 if you are caught driving while talking on a cell phone at the same time. this started at midnight last night. they did this in march. they gave out about 8,000 tickets. usually give out 500 a day. they say it is so dangerous, have you probably driven while you have talked on the cell phone i will do it for just a second. i will pay attention to the road. we saw that graphic psa that commercial to show what can happen. you know, they say one study found the increase in accidents by talking on the cell phone 300%. the university of utah found if

you text even dial a number, you take your eyes off the road for 4.6 seconds. think about that you are going 55 miles per hour, that's the length of a football field. statistics are grim and real. it is a danger. let's take a look exactly after the toll of having a cell phone while you drive has caused around our country. 2600 deaths from driving while on a cell phone. 12,000 serious injuries. 636,000 crashes a year. here are the states that outlaw cell phone while driving just six day states, california, connecticut, new jersey, new york, oregon, washington, d.c. 17 states outlaw texting while driving. former nypd detective tom ruskin thinks it will be outlawed across the country. >> i think eventually it's going to be banned everywhere in the country. we know this is leading to people's deaths all over the country. not just new york city. and new york city is setting the path to enforcing this. and showing the rest of the country we are going to enforce

our laws. >> study also showed that it's just not driving with the cell phone. it's also the speaker known, you think that's supposed to be safer. some study have shown that's equally as dangerous as driving while talking on the cell phone. i guess the message from the nypd today for folks across the country, if have you got to talk on the phone. don't do it while you drive. just wait, let it ring, could actually mean your life or someone else's. guys? steve: eric shawn joining from us 48th and sixth avenue. thank you very much. beware drivers of new york city today. gretchen: move on to news headlines for you. iraq's prime minister calling for security review after massive bombings yesterday. neuro yeahry al maliki blaming sunni insurgents. yesterday nearly 100 killed. 600 injured by a series of blasts. maliki's statement the first by the government leaders there acknowledging security problems since the u.s. withdrew its troops from iraqi cities.

president obama called the violence senseless. steve: meanwhile, gretch, vice president joe biden says he knows george bush and he is no barack obama. biden was responding to a suggestion that bush relied heavily on dick cheney. he was at a thousand dollar a plate fundraiser last night. he had this to say about obama. he is the president, i'm the vice president. we have the pecking order right. just last week former vice president dick cheney said mr. bush did not rely upon him especially in the second term. now mr. cheney is writing a book. brian: he saves lives because of he couldn't save his father. that's what hero captain chelsy sullenberger about his dad's suicide. he is writing about in his new book. he says quote: he also writes

about the incredible splash landing on the hudson river back in january. actions of the air traffic controllers and his flight crew. the book comes out in two months. gretchen: some people call them heroes. best buy store in colorado are calling them former employees. this after two workers fired after tackling a fleeing shoplifter. jared and collin were on duty when a man grabbed some merchandise and ran out the door door: the man tackled the shoplifter and track ran outside to help. the shoplifter got away. they were fired because they physically confronted the shoplifter. brian: are you kidding? gretchen: this is a trend now across america. both men say they won't try to get their jobs back. steve: meanwhile, san francisco's lombard street is the crookeddest street in the world. it's now the world's sweetest. to help celebrate the 60th an verse sear of the game candy

land. the famous street colorful path. very clever as part of the fun. patients from a local children hospital dressed as the colored game pieces up and down that street in san francisco. brian: let's switch gears, 21 minutes before the top of the hour okay recent meetings between new mexico governor bill richardson and senior diplomats to the yafingses sign a new chapter of relations with north korea. could nuclear negotiations be revived? steve: new mexico governor bill richardson joins us now from santa fe. good morning, sir. >> good morning. great to be with you again. steve: what is it with you and the north koreas. between you and bill clinton, both of you former governors are doing most of the heavy lifting on. this look, i'm not an emissary of the obama administration. the north koreans over the years they come to new mexico, they come three times. i guess they like me.

i don't know if i want to advertise that they know me. i have negotiated with them before i think they were just sending a signal. of the signal is the atmosphere for talks is a lot better. they felt the clinton visit to get the two americans out. they have recently been sending signals to north koreans like allow ago delegates of north koreans to pay their respects in the south korean president who just passed away. they released a south korean detainee from north korea. there is just a lot of positive steps that are taking place. and my point here is this is the time to negotiate with them. in a tough way. possibly bilaterally face-to-face within the six party talks which is consistent with our policy. >> the only problem, governor, some people would argue that kim jong sill still in power. by negotiating with his folks, you are still kind of negotiating with a dictator. so how do you reason that in

your own mind when you sit down with them? >> well, look, you have to look at what's in the best interest of the united states. we need to make north korea and their nuclear weapons. their export of nuclear materials that could fall, you know, in the hands of terrorists. so we want stability in asia. our allies, south korea, japan want that, too. we have 28,000 troops in south korea on the dnc. it makes sense to get them to curb their nuclear ambitions. the question is how do you do it? i think the policy of the past has made sense of getting six countries to basically pressure the north koreans but also in return give them food, electricity, et cetera. that hasn't worked. that kind of broke down. so now we need a new path, a new dialogue that involves the same tough standards, but getting them to curb their nuclear ambition. cism jong il, he looks like is

he turning over power to one of his sons, so possibly there is a potential for change. we don't know that but my point is it's best to talk to them and not isolate them. isolating them will not help. brian: how could we not be we regarding them? building a nuclear plant. missiles into the ocean, sending warning signals to the rest of the world that they have nuclear weapons. so we give them what they want a one-on-one meeting? what message is that to iran? >> well, no, you know. look, by not talking to them over the years, by isolating them, by calling the axis of evil, they build more nuclear weapons. they got more hostile. it makes sense to talk to them. now, by talking to them doesn't mean you are making concessions. we are protecting the american national interest. and the american national interest was get those two

american journalists out. these are good journalists. these are great family. they were doing their job. and i think the obama administration, by sending president clinton, not a member of the government to get them out, worked. it's improved the atmosphere for our talks. brian: governor that resume keeps you very busy. thanks so much for joining us to talk about mexico and north korea. good luck, sir. steve: all right. straight ahead. president obama trashed the pharmaceutical industry during his campaign now looks like big pharma is big government's best friend. peter johnson jr. explains what's going on behind the scenes. gretchen: little later on political correctness run amuck. a high school official now on trial for a prayer at a school banquet she didn't even deliver. her husband did. we will speak with her and her lawyer straight ahead. ♪ when this hotel added aflac to compliment their benefits package

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steve: 13 minutes before the top of the hour. reports that the made a deal with the pharmaceutical industry. during his campaign president obama released a commercial highlighting tauz-in as a example of the so-called game plan in washington. watch. this pharmaceutical industry, wrote into the prescription drug plan that medicare could not negotiate with drug companies. you know what in the chairman of the committee, who pushed the law through, went to work for the pharmaceutical industry making $2 million a year. >> imagine that. >> imagine that. that's an example of the same old game plan in washington. i don't want to learn how to play the game better. i want to put an end to the game plan. [ applause ] steve: so is the game plan over

or has it just began. let's talk to peter johnson jr. peter: we have the world series of games at this point. steve: he attacks big pharma during the campaign and -- >> not relenting attack. during the campaign on repeated occasions, just a month before, a month after that commercial, then senator obama, now president obama said there will be transparency. not only will i have, as the president, everyone around the table, everyone from the health industry, the pharmaceutical industry, we will -- discussions, the negotiations on c-span. well, i haven't seen that in tv guide. and so what we had, in fact, disclosed as of the last couple of weeks was a deal by which the president had promised before to repeal the law by which the government could not negotiate our drug prices with the pharmaceutical industry. that was allegedly going to save

$310 billion. that's a lot of mris that seniors might not get under big gov care. instead they said no, we are going to cap it at $80 billion. only $8 billion a year in half a trillion-dollar industry. on top of that pharmaceutical industry, you are going to put $150 million into an ad campaign. that's more than john mccain spent in the presidential campaign. steve: so you are saying that big pharma. they have struck a deal, obama's white house has struck a deal with big pharma and big pharma is going to buy over $100 million worth of adds to promote it? >> absolutely. and it's my opinion but i think any objective analysis will show that big government, big white house has gone into the tank for big pharma. and so $310 billion in savings in drug prices that we were promised during the presidential campaign, have gone into the sink hole. transparency has become a masma.

it has become a big dark abyss of secrecy of back door deals. we don't know what they have agreed to. they have had five different versions. we are going to stay on top of this. steve: peter johnson jr. thanks. we didn't know about that stuff. he will be back with us tomorrow. you know her as the blonde bombshell from access hollywood the teleprompter said. nancy adel is here to tell us all about it she is coming up next. first on this date in history in 2009 on august 20th, in 19 -- let's go back to 1967, the number one song in america is "all you need is love" by the beatles. ♪ love is all you need. . . r

on your screen.

gretchen: she is not only the lovely host of "access hollywood" -- she is here to tell us more about her mother's fight with als. when you were here the last time, i did not even know that your mother was diagnosed with als, and she passed away from this disease. >> it was the toughest thing i have ever been through. my mother and i were so close. she was by far my best friend, along with my husband. when she got the diagnosis, it took for one year to get diagnosed. we did not know what was going on. she had lost her voice.

we went to several doctors. als destroys all of your voluntary muscles, including breathing. there's no cure right now. there's only one medicine and it extends the life for only a few months. i cannot not do anything. this is so important in my life. the most important woman in my life. i have to try to do something to help other families not go through this. gretchen: it is so hon. that you are doing this. everybody who has a relationship with their mother would probably do the same thing. you are teaming up with the muscular dystrophy association and the world wrestling organization. >> mda was there from the very beginning and was there with my family every single day.

i want to raise awareness. mda has helped me do that. wwe is such a charitable organization. i found out how much they're involved in charity with "access hollywood." my stepson is the cutest anhuge. they approached me about working with the charity. tomorrow night there is a big party to launch betty's battle and to kick off summer slam. on sunday night, i will be on wwe. gretchen: there will be plenty of people looking forward to that. >> it will be on pay-per-view. gretchen: good luck with the betty's battle.

hopefully we can find a cure for als. >> everybody can find out more at bettysbattle.org. gretchen: confrontation over health-care reform. our democrats getting the message on how americans feel? and then face under fire. a school official is under fire court saying a prayer at a banquet. she will join us and tell us how she is fighting back. when you have an allergy attack? achoo! (announcer) benadryl is more effective than claritin at relieving your worst symptoms. and works when you need it most. benadryl. you can't pause life. check out the bass pro shops fall hunting classic with these amazing daily specials. thursday only the caldwell lead sled is only $75 and friday only a 3-pack of thunderhead broadheads is only $14.94.

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announcer: phones, plans, and advice come on. good girl.] mollie's never looked better. i really was amazed to see the change in her coat. people stop us when we're walking, and they'll say, "did you shine up her spots?" [ woman announcing ] just another way purina one... unlocks the brilliance of nature... to transform the life of your dog. for us to see the difference in mollie-- we were really excited about it. it just makes you feel wonderful. [ announcer ] it's amazing what one can do. [captioning made possible by fox news channel] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- gretchen: good thursday morning to you. we start with a fox news alert. the health-care system in canada is notimploding.

. some car dealers are putting the brakes on cash for clunkers. they're pulling out of the program because they are getting stiffed by an uncle sam. if the federal government cannot run cash for clunkers, how can they run america's big government health care? brian: a school bus driver collapse behind the wheel in the middle of traffic. we will hear from the teenager who came to the rescue. our slogan this hour comes from michael in new jersey. the bad news, i got laid off. the good news, i get to watch "fox & friends" for three hours. >> it's "fox & friends." steve: hurricane bill is on the big screen over there. this is a fox news alert. gretchen: presidential elections are under way in afghanistan.

officials said voting polls will be kept open one hour-long tour because voting turnout is low. the taliban threats are being blamed. officials say turnout is higher in the northern region. insurgents apparently launched rockets. ted kennedy has written a letter to massachusetts leaders. his aides insisted there is no change in his medical condition, but his absence for the funeral for eunice kennedy shriver has raised questions about his own health. a controversial prison release. the only man convicted in the lockerbie bombing is expected to go free today. >> a news conference is getting

underway right now in scotland where the justice secretary is expected to announce that abdel basset ali al-megrahi , the only person convicted in the lockerbie bombing, will be released on compassionate grounds. does an extremely controversial decision. the family members of the victims of the lockerbie bombing have been asking where was any compassion ever shown toward are innocent family members? abdel basset ali al-megrahi is the tune of prostate cancer. it is thought that he has months to live. it is expected he will be sent back home. the muslim holy month begins tomorrow. if the decision is announced now, that is why he may return home today. the decision was made by the scottish courts. kellogg the people accused the british government of wanting to make nice with libya.

-- a lot of people accused of the british government of wanting to make nice with libya. the scottish court is independent and has a policy for compassionate release. the lockerbie bombing was in december of 1988. 189 americans were killed. secretary of state hillary clinton has pressed on the scottish to not release abdel basset ali al-megrahi. gretchen: many of the families feel the same way. thank you. two soldiers are dead in the crash of an army blackhawk helicopter near the top of colorado second-highest mountain. the wreckage is near 14,000 feet. this is as close as cameras could get. one other soldier is injured.

a fourth soldier is missing to the army said the helicopter was on a training mission. reports this morning that michael jackson's doctor will be charged with manslaughter sometime soon. investigators said that he admitted that he gave jackson the anesthetic hours before he died. michael jackson's dermatologist is also expected to be charged with the medical malpractice. the los angeles district attorney has denied the charges will be handed out just yet, but a source says there in negotiations. take a look at that hurricane bill. steve: is still in the atlantic. the big question, how will hurricane bill, which is now a category three, affect us? by tomorrow morning, it will probably regenerate into a category four.

and then it will take a big right turn by saturday. on sunday, it will probably be downgraded to a category three. it could impact folks from cape cod. by monday, it will be a category one. the map across the midsection of the country is littered with thunderstorms. now moving to the chicago area and back through the panhandle of oklahoma. gretchen: new federal guidelines out this morning for fighting the swine flu in the workplace. when you hear this, you will say that is just common sense. like cover your mouth when you cough. wash your hands often. stay home when you're sick. the cdc recommends employers review sicklied policies and consider making them more flexible.

steve: if you're sick, do not go to work. not only will you probably belonged to your own personal illness, but you'll make of the people sick. brian: the american work ethic, i have to earn a living and put food on the table. the next thing you know you get everybody else sick. the cash for clunkers deal is being called a very successful program that the government started to boost the car industry. now car dealers are seeinaying o thank you. gretchen: they are waiting for those reimbursements. they have only been paid by 2%. only 2% of all those claims as the government repaid the car dealers. that means that they have had to put up that cash themselves. they have had to deliver those

new cars. car dealers were already facing tough economic conditions. will they ever be paid by the government? will it be too late? steve: they said the reason there is a delay -- administrative snags and heavy paperwork. wait until they're in charge of health care. here's the thing. in new york, the car dealers have said we're going to stop. according to the national automobile dealers association, they have done in an informal poll. they said the cash for clunkers program is out of money. according to their members, they have already spent $3.2 billion already. even though they say it will go through september, where's the money coming from?

brian: the diller's in pennsylvania are not doing it. -- half but car dealers in pennsylvania are not doing it. continue president obama in to sell his health care proposal. he did it on a conference call with thousands of religious leaders of all the abominations. an-- he did this with thousands of religious leaders of all denominations. gretchen: is really the moral obligation of a religious person to believe in health care reform? for the obama plan of health care? that was the message he seemed to be stating to these people on the phone call yesterday.

gretchen: there are so many unanswered questions, like mixing the separation of church and state. i thought people on the left seem to cry wolf on president bush when he did that. now we are mixing religion back into the discussion of health care reform. i'm not sure everyone would agree it is the christian duty to support this plan. let us know what you think. steve: it is interesting. there he was on the conference call with a 140,000 people from 32 different religious groups. this is the same man who during the campaign was famously taped

in san francisco that there were voters who were upset about the economy who claim to guns and god. brian: gretchen: joins us -- gov. ed rendell joins us now. at this moment, do you feel as though it is done in the water? >> no, but i think we need to be more clear about what is in that plan. the numbeproblem is that the puc is not clear. that opens the door for people who do want to come in and mislead the american people. there's no question about that. we have not done a good job

explaining with clarity to the american people what the plan is all about. gretchen: we have even had some democrats who say they do not understand the plan. when will the president nail this down and say you're the top five things in my health care reform plan? >> i think he needs to do that as soon as congress gets back. there are a couple of elements. the first element is, no one has the obligation to support the obama plan. all of us believe that we should take care of our fellow citizens. i think the idea that health care should be available to everyone is an idea pretty much everyone can agree with. the president does make a good point that this system is broken. consider in pennsylvania, in the last seven years, health-care

inflation has been 75%. regular inflation has been 15%. we cannot go on like this. people are losing health care. people are denied coverage when they get sick. that has to change. start with those two propositions. it frames the debate a little differently. now the question is, what is the most effective way to do it? in pennsylvania, there's virtually no competition. the large hmo's dominate each market. they can charge us whatever price they want. that has to change. steve: stand by. we want to continue the conversation with the governor to the has enlisted some serious star power in hopes of fixing the school system in america. a little later on, we will shift gears and we will talk to can

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>> it cost $33,000 car the same child to hold them incarcerated. steve: that is bill cosby. alongside him was governor ed rendell yesterday, who took lawmakers to task by saying do not cut the education programs because those kids are the future. >> not only the kids are our future, but pennsylvania is doing so well. i have a bill cosby to support our program. we just released a report that

pennsylvania in the last six years was the only state in the union to make significant achievement gains in elementary school, middle school, high school, reading, and math. the only state in the union. we are doing so well. our budget dispute is all about whether we cut education by $1 million bid is too important. 10 years down the road, it is the skilled, educated work force that will make the difference as to what regions have the most vibrant economy. we are competing against india, china, singapore, korea. gretchen: so many people would take you to task by saying that you could use the money that you already have for education and spend it more wisely. >> we have done that. we did not produce the results by accident. we did it by targeting spending.

we said, here is money for pre- k education. here is money for after-school tutoring. here is money to put a laptop in every desk in a high school. brian: newt gingrich, jeb bush, and the president all seem to agree. i think we could use something, a topic that we get along with it, rather than the friction which health-care greenspan. >> i agree. spending, if it is done well, and targeted, it can make the difference. that was my message to the legislature. they should be proud of what they have done. the appropriated the money. steve: it is always progress

when we get you on the show, governor ed rendell. thank you. gretchen: a high school official now on trial for city in a prayer in school banquet. she did not even deliver it. her husband did.

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steve: we have been talking about this case for the last week. a woman was told by her school district in florida that as an employee, she could not say a prayer at a school banquets. she asked her husband did to offer the breyer. she is charged with civil contempt and faces severe fines and penalties. gretchen: she joins us with her lawyer. good morning to both of you.

>> good morning. gretchen: you what to this banquet. you knew that you were not allowed to say a prayer. u.s. shoe has been to say -- you asked your husband to say it. >> this was a banquet that was held in the evening. it was a group of adults that joined together to honor one another. my husband and i have been married for 30 years. because i was told i could not say the blessing, i asked him to say it for me. i was not in violation of any court order. the aclu contends that i was. we will let the judge made that determination. steve: your trial will be tomorrow in florida. the school district struck a deal with the aclu. do not continue this lawsuit

against us and we promise that students and teachers will not talk about god. your client is in trouble. the principal is in trouble. the athletic director is in trouble. the senior class president who graduated a few months ago was not allowed to speak because they were afraid she might talk about god. what is the aclu trying to do to that school? >> that is a good question. the aclu has tried to justify its outrageous attacks of liberty by saying it is worried the estimates are being indoctrinated by overbearing teachers in the classroom. the latest event involved adults gathered at an evening event outside the school grounds. even though the aclu says one thing, its intentions are much more nefarious. gretchen: take a look at exactly

what they said. what did he say in the prayer? >> the prayer honor to the people who were there, the people who live work with. steve: what is going to happen to the kids to pray for an a on a math test? will they get taken to court? it just seems crazy at this point. the thank you very much. >> thank you for having us. gretchen: let us know how it goes. >> say a prayer for us.

steve: coming up, change we can believe in is what president obama promised. his plan for health-care reform may indicate this is not the president we thought we elected. gretchen: cash for clunkers could drive the story out of business. what is the connection? we will tell you. steve: a bus driver died behind the wheel with his foot still on the gas. we will hear from that teenage girl who saved every child on board. gretchen: if you're headed off to work, you can still listen to us in your car. back in a flash. (announcer) your doctor knows

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as the president tries to win over public support for the health care plan, new questions over whether david axelrod has ties to health care constituents. mike emanuel is at the white house. what does the white house say about this matter? we know that david axelrod no longer works for this firm. his son and obama's campaign manager still work for them. >> his son does work for that company as well. now they're getting multimillion-dollar ad campaigns for these two organizations running health care reform ads that are supportive of what the white house is doing. that raises questions when david axelrod has come to work at the white house. the white house has responded by basically saying that david axelrod has fully complied with

the strictest ethics rules by fully divesting himself before this administration began. they say he has no ties to this firm and his son does not work on the campaign of health care reform. here is robert gibbs when he was asked if david axelrod is profiting from this campaign. >> is ridiculous. david has left the firm. the agreement that i think was made because david started another firm. he left the firm. if i'm not mistaken, he is being paid for the fact that he created it and sold it. i think that someone based on the free market. >> the white house says david axelrod has had no contact with the two groups running the pro health reform ads. they say he is basically honored all the ethics rules and has fully divested himself from the firm and the campaign altogether. brian: yesterday we saw that

they have not given up the ghost of getting the republicans involved in some kind of bipartisan health-care insurance reform. do you buy that? >> it is interesting. robert gibbs, after we were talking about the go it alone possibility, he said the president has not given up on bipartisanship. the headlines this morning said the democrats are considering the nuclear option. 51 votes to get the most controversial aspects of health care reform through. the question is, are some democrats basically threatening republicans? you can see some flexing of muscles by some democrats out there. steve: mike emanuel, a thank you very much for joining us from the white house vice-president. joe biden has developed a reputation for speaking out of turn.

it appears he could have done it again last night. and a democratic fund raiser in florida, he said he is not the boss in the white house. it was a potshot at the idea that dick cheney iraran the whie house. gretchen: an update on the missing georgia mother we have been telling you about. investigators in the local sheriff's department had ended the ground search for christie cornwell. she has been missing to august 11. a concentrated search of the 3 mile radius where her cellphone was found has turned up no further evidence. she went for a walk and have not been seen since. she was talking to her boyfriend on herself and when she went out. he told police he heard her cry. he told a talk show this morning that he believes she is still alive. steve: minnesota is cleaning up

after a major storm pounded the area to the national weather service confirmed that one twister southey's of minneapolis. the residents cannot believe the power of the storm. >> debris was floating in the sky like it was in slow motion. >> it looked like a big, black cloud. steve: severe weather also hit parts of wisconsin, iowa, and illinois. brian: a 16-year-old from queens, new york is being called a hero. a bus driver collapsed and died. she jumped into action and stopped the bus before there was an accident. >> i just got up and put my foot right on the brake and i pulled this. gretchen: that was some quick thinking. the 59-year-old bus driver suffered a heart attack from natural causes. brian: thank you very much.

as the health-care debate continues to grow strong, obama's attempt to change america seems to be changing very fast. michael goodwin, welcome back. >> thank you. brian: his disposition seemed fine when he went to colorado. what do you sense is different? >> there is this demonization of anybody who disagrees. the president attacking doctors for taking out tonsils when they do not need to. and now to the insurance companies. everything is about the insurance companies and keeping them honest. the implication is that they are dishonest. the public does not buy it. the country is split in half

again. this is the kind of thing barack obama promised he would fix as president. he is making it works. brian: you say that if you like your health plan, you get to keep your health plan. he said those claims would be credible if there were multiple choice questions. we know that cannot be the case. >> he has basically said that whatever comes out of congress 's sausage factory will be a panacea, everything for everybody. what everyone's, you can't have it under the obama plant. that is not an unbelievable thing. -- what everybody wants, you can have it. that is not a believable. brian: they were stunned by the backlash after sunday's insinuations that they will call off the public option. >> not all democrats have the

same playbook. that is a wonderful thing for the country. there are more conservatives and liberals within the same party. so you do get a push back from within democrats in congress. that is what is holding up the president. he wants to blame republicans. he wants to blame fox and everybody else who does not agree with him there the problem is that he has problems in his own party. brian: talk about tactics. he praised senator chuck grassley. grassley said he did not agree with the president's plan. why do you think the president still thinks it is important to not isolate republicans? he has the majority. >> i do believe that the president would love to have some republican cover for this, has led democrats in congress. they do not want a real bipartisan bill. they want eight handful of republicans to sign on, as they

got in the stimulus. -- they want a handful of republicans to sign on. brian: but blasting, the civil rights legislation. -- the last thing, the civil rights legislation. it is an indication that health care may be passed piece mill. >> i think immigration is the same thing. same with health care. if you can save money first, then people would believe that you could overhaul the whole system. brian: it has been an interest in six months. michael goodwin, thank you. cananda's medical association president says her country's system is imploding. she is here to explain. cash for clunkers could tank this business. the owner is here to explain. when i was seventeen i was not good to my skin.

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gretchen: you are not going to believe this connection between gm's cash for clunkers hot line and one flower shop in illinois has suffered a the unusual consequence. its phone number is nearly identical to the cash for clunkers line. steve: the owner of the flower corner joins us on the phone. the gm number is almost identical to your number could understand you do not blame general motors. >> no. i think whoever issued the number should have checked to see if there was a similar number. gretchen: now you're getting about 150 calls per day.

people are calling about cash for clunkers. they're not ordering flowers. what is this doing to your business? >> one of my girls basically had the cordless phone and that is what she did. she answered those phone calls. it was constant. steve: i understand that a spokesman for general motors felt bad that you were getting so many phone calls, but he did say that i hope that the people that are calling by accident or at least by the flowers. are they? >> no. steve: have not seen any increase in business? >> no. steve: the only increase you will see in what it cost to have that phone line. when you have an 800 number, you get dinged a little bit.

>> yes, and our productivity -- heirs other stuff we need to be doing. monday was a horrible day. we were struggling to just answer the phone and get our work done. nobody is order in flowers when they call for cars. steve: you should answer the phone, carnations fo clunkers. gretchen: we do hope that they get it organized. thank you. >> thank you. steve: some democrats point to the country of canada as a model for health-care. the system is imploding. those are the words of cananda's medical association president. she will join us from canada, next. ññ - ( rock music playing ) - ♪ oh!

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megyn: today on "america's newsroom" -- if she really a he? she is going through three weeks of testing to see if she's really a man to me explain in kelly's court. are the democrats getting ready to go nuclear to force a health care reform? and the crackdown on the insurance agencies at the top of the hour. gretchen: i have been looking forward to this interview. earlier this week we started hearing about this story. the health-care system in canada may sound right from the outside. universal coverage for all and for free. it is not all it is cracked up to be. cananda's medical association president says the system is imploding and unless it is fixed soon, it will not be sustainable. brian: dr. anne doig joins us

now from canada to explain. what is wrong with your system? >> in the day and added focus on the patient and the focus on quality of care. by that time mean the ability of our system to provide patients with access and to provide them with the care that they need at the time that they needed in a matter that is free of the impediments that may be extraneous to the decision of health care. steve: dr. anne doig, that sounds a lot like the american health-care system. -- gretchen: that sounds a lot like the american health-care system. are you saying that the canadian system needs to be more like the american system? >> no, both the canadians and americans need to stop worrying about what each other's systems look like and look at systems elsewhere in the world that are

functioning much better than both the canadian and the american system. we are so caught up in comparing each other to each other that we have neglected to look at the deficiencies in asia are systems. we have neglected to look at examples of care elsewhere in the world that are much more effective than either the canadian system or the american system. brian: your main problem is the quality of care. what would increase the quality of care for the canadian people in your mind? >> it is not equality in the sense of good positions -- good physicians doing a good job here is the question of doing that in a timely matter and making sure it is appropriate and able to access patients. brian: can you give me an example of where the delay comes in?

>> delays come at multiple levels in the system. we have widely publicized issues with access to surgical procedures. we have wait time guarantees in canada, and the desire to bring down the surgical wait time. we also have problems with primary care access. that is sometimes due to an inequity in distribution or due to the fact that there are not enough primary-care practitioners to provide the service that people need at the doorway. gretchen: forgive me for interrupting for just a minute. i hate to do the comparison again, but i have to. canada has universal health care. that is what america is looking at doing. i have to make the comparison. you have been quoted as saying that canada is going to implode. the health-care system is going to implode. the delays you are talking about

-- people are dying potentially. they're not getting the care they deserve. they're waiting for six months to get a test. in many cases, they come to america for those tests. america is looking at your system to see what may be coming down the pike for us. >> there are elements of the canadian system that are good. the element of universality is a good element. the element that people are not financially penalized for needy in health care -- that is excellent. canadian doctors are in support of the concept that patients must not be limited for care because of the inability to pay. the comparison is how do we go about doing that? do we look at a totally publicly funded system? do we look at some combination of insurance that allows people to have freedom of choice, freedom of access, and at the

same time, good, high-quality care. brian: you said we need to look to other countries that seem to be doing a better job than the u.s. and canada. give us a couple of countries to look into. >> as you know, our former president went overseas to some of the northern european countries. belgium, france, the netherlands, england. there are elements of each of those systems that are better than what we do in canada. i do not know if they're better than my you do. gretchen: dr. anne doig, where will canada get the money to make your system better? will it tax people more? >> the question is not whether we need more money, but rather we can spend the money in a more effective way. that is what i was talking about with quality and access to care.

brian: for the sake of the canadian people, this has been fantastic. dr. anne doig, thank you. >> thank you. gretchen: it is fascinating to. she was elected into the office. people must agree with her point of view in canada. brian: next, we will see something fascinating when we come back in two minutes. . does your mouthwash work in six different ways? introducing listerine total care. everything you need... to strengthen teeth, help prevent cavities, and kill germs. introducing 6 in 1 listerine total care. the most complete mouthwash.

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