>> save it for next week. >> eric: thank you. that does it for us. i'm eric shawn. thank you for watching. >> jamie: i'm jamie colby. great to have you with us. shannon bream takes you from here. america's news headquarters continues from washington. have a great day. >> shannon: a wildfire north of los angeles is threatening 10,000 homes. it tripled in size yesterday to more than 3500 acres. at least three homes have been destroyed and 1,000 homes have been evacuated. the u.s. forest service calls the fire "the perfect storm" of fuels, weather and topography. first we begin with a fox news exclusive. former vice president dick cheney hasn't minced words in his criticism of the obama administration. and now he's blaming the justice department after attorney general eric holder went forward with a probe of

the c.i.a. molly has more from washington -- malani wilkes has more from washington. >> they called at it terrible decision to appoint a special prosecution. saying that the obama administration is caving to pressure from the left wing of the democratic party and calls the investigation a clearly political move. >> an outrageous political act that will do great damage long-term to our capacity to be able to have people take on difficult jobs, make difficult decisions, without worrying what the administration will do. >> obama said he wants to move forward, not backward with looking into the interrogation techniques but cheney sugge cheney denies that. and the bush administration

had guidelines that gave c.i.a. ability to use water boarding and other tactics that some consider torture but the attorney general report said some v interrogators went beyond that. dick cheney called the interrogations good policy that worked well. it's a claim some democrats dispute. >> it got some to information but there is a great discrepancy and error out there in what people say it did produce. we need to straighten it out. >> senator feinstein said she read the unredacted report and is horrified but thinks the attorney general should have waited until the senate intelligence committee completed its review of interrogation practices. >> shannon: thank you. we'll check back with you soon on this. we have also learned the c.i.a. director leon panetta will offer financial support to agents involved in the investigation into alleged interrogation abuses of

overseas detainees. could the investigation do more harm than good? we're joined by republican congressman ed royce. thank you for your time today. i have to ask you, your initial reaction to the news this week about the investigation launch? >> i agree with leon panetta the c.i.a. director. i think country will pay a price as you said and as you pointed out the career professional looking at this said it was not warranted. it's the political appointee eric holder who is making the decision to prosecute and ross cute those individuals specific -- prosecute those individuals specifically going after the top two terrorists here who gave us information that allowed to us preclude attack on heath row airport and preclude attack on the consulate in karachi and prevented an attack in los angeles with a jetliner. all the information that came out, came out as a result of

the work of the c.i.a. professionals who now face the prosecution. >> shannon: congressman, what do you make of the role for leon panetta? we understand he sent over a top lawyer from the c.i.a. to make a final ditch last effort argument to head off the investigation or convince it wasn't necessary. he's been cast of trying to keep morale up and protect his agents over there at the c.i.a. where does it now put him? >> well, his concern, of course, is on several fronts. one, the constant leaking of the information by eric holder and others is creating an environment our ability to extract information out of future terrorists is put at risk. it had a chilling effect on the c.i.a. agents. you talked about morale. imagine your morale if the rules changed after the fact when you know the inspector general and five years ago the justice department professionals who looked at it said no. there is no case here and you

get a political appointee who reverses all of that and attempts to put you in prison. this will have have an effect. the united states of america will pay a price for the decision made right now against the central intelligence agency professionals. >> shannon: congressman, i want to play more of the exclusive interview that "fox news sunday" had with the former vice president and then get your reaction. >> we had a track record now of eight yea years of defending the nation from further mass casualties effect of the al-qaeda. the approach of the obama administration should be to come to those who were involved in the policy and say how did you do it? what were the keys to keep the country safe over that period of time? now they threat on the disbar lawyers give the legal opinion, threaten contrary to what the president said they'd investigate the c.i.a. personnel who carried out the

investigations. >> shannon: mr. cheney pointing the finger at the obama administration. while there continues to be arguments eric holder is operating independently, do you buy the investigation? >> i'm on the sub committee and i used to chair the committee and i'm aware of the series of attacks that have been precluded and prevent prevented. here is my bottom line on this. i think when the vice president says that when you look baback, when you look at the attacks prevented when your current c.i.a. director who is a democrat says going forward the country will pay a price for this, every american should be very, very concern concerned about the politicalization of the process and the career professionals don't want to move forward with the prosecution but it is in fact the political appointees who are engineering this.

after congress was given information on 40 separate occasions according to the c.i.a. director. leon pointed out 40 cases where congress was informed every step of the way in terms of the investigation, the top three al-qaeda targets whom we glean most of the information as they begin to turn over subsequent attacks on us and on our allies in the west. when you look at all that's been prevented ask can yourself going forward how are we going to stop the next attack? now that the justice department is going after our central agency intelligence rather than going after the terrorists. >> shannon: congressman, thank you for your time today, sir. >> thank you. >> shannon: you can catch all of this, all the interview with former vice president dick cheney right here at 6:00 p.m. eastern on the fox

news channel. now the latest on the california wildfirement it has surged in the last 24 hours. destroying three homes and injuring three people. the fire is a danger now to some 10,000 homes in the area north of los angeles. it nearly tripled in size in triple-digit heat yesterday forcing evacuation of 1,000 homes. more than 3,500 acres have been scorched by the fire that's only 5% contained at this point. the fire is the largest and most dangerous of several that are burning in southern and central california and in yosemite national park. autopsies are scheduled today for seven people found dead in a mobile home in southeastern georgia. a family member of one of the victims called 911 yesterday morning when he found the bodies and two critically injured survivors. now we learned that the 22-year-old man who called 911 has been arrested. but not charged in the killings. the man is charged with drug possession and making false

statements to police. we're learning more today about the shocking kidnapping of jaycee dugard, taken from a bus stop 18 years ago and found days ago living in her captor's backyard. that crime scene has now expanded. casey stegall is live in an antioch california with the latest on the disturbing case. >> brand new information coming in. just within the last few minutes or so we saw a number of police that were carryi inin shovels and other digging equipment up the driveway to the backyard of the home that they have been processing for days now. national center for missing and exploited children is lending a hand here. as you can imagine the trauma that the three children have gone through. they have sent counselors to work closely with the dugard family. not only jaycee but her two children. children we know were fathered by her captor, a man who admitted to kidnapping jaycee when she was 11 years old in 1991, but also having sex with her and keeping her

in a soundproof shed that could only be opened from the outside in a compound of sorts in that horrifying backyard. what is more, 58-year-old phillip garrido who was kidnapped of rape and kidnapping in the '70s is considered a suspect in several unsolved murders in the area. according to the police. the man's father says accident and drugs may be to blame. listen. >> he's crazy. he's out of his head. he was on lsd and he had a very serious motorcycle wreck and hit his head. he was still a young teenager. >> his father there characterizing him as "crazy." meanwhile, multiple police agencies have been scouring garrido's home and backyard for several days even expanding their search to his neighbor's backyard. after the neighbor called police in 2006, saying that the children were living in

tents in the registered sex offender's yard. as we know, a sheriff's deputy who came out to investigate didn't go as far as the front porch, missing the opportunity to bring this whole nightmare to an end. the county sheriff since apologizing to the public and taking full responsibility for that. but the sheriff's office is not alone. this man was on parole for life because he was convicted of federal crimes and through the years, multiple parole officers made routine visits to the family. no one knew just what was going on in that backyard. hard to imagine, shannon. >> shannon: it sounds like it just keeps getting worse. casey, thank you for keeping us updated. advocates for public healthcare option lost one of their strongest voices last week with the passing of senator ted kennedy. will democrats try to use his memory to push healthcare reform through congress? caroline shively has more from washington. hi, caroline. >> hi to you, shannon. the death of ted kennedy could dra matt through change

the fight -- dramatically change the fight for healthcare. one, he's been leading the charge for reform for four decades. the dems and independent has fallen below the 60-vote filibuster proof majority. if if they go to partisan bill they may have to use maneuvering for the vote instead of the 60-vote threshold. last week, majority leader harry reid said, "teddy, as you know is dead, that's why i'm stuck on bipartisanship." republicans are no fans of the plan which would cut them and conservative democrats out of the deal. republican orrin hatch tells abc that lawmakers can learn a lot from kennedy. >> the one thing that kennedy has, he could bring together all of the base groups of the democratic party. they wouldn't take him on once he made up his mind. as somebody whoever the last 33 years passed almost every healthcare bill that works, many of them was ted kennedy.

mews of them were. >> one leading the fight is his longtime friend chris dodd. he called kennedy a tactician and master of the senate. dodd said senators would bring bipartisanship to the table to work out differences. >> if you want to honor teddy's memory, it's to come back and sort of, as i said the other night, put behind us the blistering days of august and to enter the cool days of september. and start acting like senators again. >> so far, there is a lot of talk about compromise from both sides but no action. next up on the healthcare fight gang of six, bipartisan group in the senate finance committee has a conference call this friday. shannon? >> shannon: all right, caroline. thank you. president obama is heading back to washington today after wrapping up his vacation in massachusetts. there is plenty of work waiting for him in the nation's capital. molly lion is with the president on martha's vineya vineyard. >> the president has been in vacation but the critics have not. he continues to push toward

healthcare reform. one of his allies chris dodd spoke about the effort and the role he'd like the president to play. >> the president has to step up and frame this for us. the leadership can do it pelosi and harry reid, and max baucus is working hard with john and the finance committee. >> certainly the president having an active vacation as we. somewhat of a working vacation. and also a vacation interrupted by real life. the president's good friend senator ted kennedy passed away. the president and first lady flew to boston on friday night and the president giving the eulogy for his friend. on saturday morning he said that ted kennedy led an extraordinary life and his extraordinary life has come to an end. the extraordinary good he did on kennedy's commitment to civil rights, to healthcare reform, to immigration reform. today is the president's last day of his vacation. he did kind of the fatherly

thing, took the kid out the a general store and sounded like the dad, less than the president when he said they could each have one treats. malia asked for gum and sasha wanted some too, so he said you have to share. playing the father before returning to washington on the last day of the vacation. a busy day ahead. he heads to camp david later in the week where he will likely have the daily briefing and hopefully spending more family time with his wife and kids. shannon? >> shannon: thank you for the update. three texas boaters missing at sea for a week have been reunited with their families this morning. the men were found sitting on top of the capsized catamaran 180 miles from land. they were rotted missing last saturday after they failed to return from a fishing trip. the coast guard called off the search for them on friday. but then the crew of another boat spotted the men last night. coming up, we hear from the stepfather of the whom was held captive in backyard for 18 years. he was actually a suspect in

her disappearance. now he speaks out talking about his family's ordeal. plus, the postal system may be worse off than we thought. find out just how bad things have gotten right after this break. if you're taking 8 extra-strength tylenol... a day on the days that you have arthritis pain, you could end up taking 4 times the number... of pills compared to aleve. choose aleve and you could start taking fewer pills. just 2 aleve have the strength... to relieve arthritis pain all day. real food at the right price! this is the primo stuff. one appetizer and two premium entrees. just twenty bucks-every day. genuine food. generous portions. genius price. 2 for $20! only at applebee's.

with you. step forward. help renew america at usaservice.org >> shannon: topping the news right now, former vice president dick cheney has strong words for the administration. in an exclusive interview with fox news sunday, cheney told chris wallace the obama administration should keep the country safe, by debriefing the ver gators not -- interrogators not punishing them. eric holder last week said he'd appoint a special prosecutor to investigate c.i.a. interrogators. they're trying to get a handle on the southern california wildfire that

ballooned yesterday. fire official said the station fire grew to 35,000 acres in the angeles national forest. thousands of nearby residents have been evacuated. six towns are under evacuation orders. police are arrested the man who called 911 to report seven people found dead in a georgia mobile home. police charged 22-year-old guy heinz jr. with drug possession and making false statement to police, but not murder. medical examiners are set to perform autopsies on the seven victims today. jaycee dugard was taken from a bus stop when she was 111 years old and -- 11 years ald and aedly held by nancy and phillip garrido for the last 18 years. dugard lived in the country's backyard with two children fathered by her captor. geraldo rivera first interviewed her parents 18 years ago and now the stepfather carl probyn tells them about the nightmare the family endured and says jaycee is fragile and doesn't think she ever tried to escape. probyn relived the moment

that the mother told them that their daughter was ti still alive. >> we both cried for five minutes and she told me the story how the f.b.i. agent called her at work and said that they had found her. and she didn't believe them at first. really, i'll put her on the phone for you. he put jaycee on. had a small conversation. she talked to the f.b.i. agent again and says she has something else to tell you. put jaycee back on and she says, "i have babies." >> probyn told fox that jaycee is an extremely good mother and his grandchildren were home schooled by garrido. he says the children now 11, 15 just found out that the mother was kidnapped. florida police caught 75 criminals in a stimulus sting as part of operation "show me the money." authorities in fort lauderdale sent letters to the fugitive offering them stimulus money. the suspects were asked to set up a hotline, call that and set up an appointment and when they showed up they were identified and arrested.

the offenses range from grand theft and fraud to attempted murder. the u.s. postal service may trim the number of post offices in the country by more than previously estimated. in august the usps said 677 offices were being evaluated for possible closing but friday they raised the number to possibly reach in the neighborhood of 750. the postal service faces a potential deficit of $7 billion. and has been looking for ways to save, including buy-outs, spending cuts, and, of course, closing the offices. well, while some sectors of the economy seem to be bouncing back, next week's unemployment numbers should say quite a bit about how far america has to go on the road to economic recovery. brenda buttner has more from new york. hi, brenda. >> hi, shannon. that's right. no holiday for a number crunchers ahead of labor day. in fact, labor will be the name of the game for wall street this week. out friday morning, the jobless report for august. expectations for the unemployment rate will rise slightly to 9.5% from 9.4% in

july. but that gain probably because more of the unemployed have given up and stopped looking for work. still, employers probably cut jobs in august at a slower pace. payrolls forecast to fall by 230,000. that would be the smallest decline this year. remember, they peaked in january at more than 700,000 losses. now housing will also hit home this week. we find out the number of contracts signed for previously owned homes. expected to rise last month to the sixth gain in a row. for once the auto industry may be looking forward to the new vehicle sales report. thank you, cash for clunkers. new vehicle sales revved, probably up 18% in august from july. no such luck for retail sales overall. we find out thursday if you are hitting the malls. maybe. but not buying much. we could see a slight improve. over july. that's not saying much, because then same-store sales

fell more than 5%. all of that could keep wall street busy right before the labor day holiday. last friday, the dow snapped an eight-day winning streak but all the major indexes going to the last trading day of august ahead for the month. the s&p and dow up 4%. friday's unemployment report could determine if the bulls or the bears will be working hardest for the next month. back to you, shannon. >> shannon: we'll all be watching closely. thank you, brenda. well, stronger strain of the h1n1 virus may be developing just in time for flu season. we're going to tell you who is most at ris this can time. up next.

new developments in a story that's outraged many americans. british newspaper is digging deeper in the decision to release and return the lockerbie bomber. it's the bottom of the hour. caroline shialy at w the top of the news. >> hi, shannon. new report could prove truth behind rumors that a multi-million dollar oil deal was behind the release of the lockerbie bomber abdel baset ali mohamed al-megrahi. there have been cited leaked correspondence between correspondence saying that the lockerbie decision was part of "wider negotiations with libya." the decision to release al-megrahi on compassionate reasons have caused outrage.

police have expanded the investigation of the kidnapping of jaycee dugard. the home of the people who allegedly kidnapped her have been searched. now they call the neighbor's house also a crime scene and won't elaborate. stronger form of the h1n1 virus may be developing. doctors reporting a new strain of the flu virus what goes straight to the lungs. the world health organization says the illness is hitting younger people and sending them to the hospital for intensive care. expresidents, foreign dignitaries, friends and family gathered to pay tribute to senator edward kennedy. >> my name is ted kennedy jr., a name i share with my son, a name i shared with my father. although it hasn't been easy at times to live with this name, never been more proud of this than i am today.

>> he was laid to rest beside his slain brothers at arlington national cemetery. he was 77. those are the top stories. back to you. >> shannon: thank you, caroline. well, we're now hearing that hurricane jimena strengthened to category four storm that's moving closer to mexico. of meteorologist domenica davis jo joi -- our meteorolog joins us from the weather center. am i pronouncing that right? >> it is. you're right. this is a dangerous storm. look at the storm. to the eye and to a meteorologist this is a perfect storm. but potentially deadly. look at the eye, like a pinpoint right there in all four quadrants of the storm filling out nicely. category four. potentially a deadly storm. we have to pay close attention as it's very close to cabo san lucas. category four storm.

145-mile-per-hour suggestion stained winds. once it get to the gugulf, the waters are warm. i won't decrease in intensification much. we could see the potential for actually for moisture to move in four corners region. this is a potentially dangerous storm. we have a nice beach resort along the mexican coast we have to watch for. real quick, i want to point out we have a tropical low in the atlantic. this could bomber ecome erica. we'll keep an eye on that. the other big story is the incredible wildfire that is burning in the angeles national forest. temperatures are warm, close to 100 degrees. low relative humidity and breezy conditions not helping those poor firefighters that are protecting homes and property. back to you. >> shannon: all right. we'll check back in soon. thank you, janice dean. israeli aircraft bombed a tunnel in the gaza strip a mile from the border with israel. mike tobin is in jerusalem with the latest on this.

hi, mike. >> hi, shannon. they're at it again in the gaza strip. i should tell you over the last hour the red alert warning system in the town that is next to the gaza strip sounded three times. this is the warning system that alerts to incoming rocket fire. now the rockets themselveses have not been found having made impact. so it's possible that the red alert system itself is malfunctioning but it's malfunctioning at a time of rising tension. the latest confirmed strike coming this morning from israeli aircraft. they hit a building near the israel gaza border on ttonga sa antonio side. hamas claims it was an empty building. but others say it was used to transport gunman into israel for cross border attack. no one was in the building at the time of the strike and no one was injured. the israeli army said it was in response to crude rocket fired out of the gaza strip in israel on saturday. the rocket landed in an open area and hurt no one.

over the past week, skirmi skirmishes along the israel gaza border increased with frequency. they involved mortars fired at the israeli positions and israeli soldiers opening fire with machine guns when they reported seeing individuals approaching the border fence. through it all, that egyptian mediated truce that ended the gaza war is still loosely holding together. that truce was negotiated with hamas. now intelligence indicates that the fire is not necessarily coming directly from hamas, but from other rebel groups inside the gaza strip. still, israel holds hamas responsible for all of the fire because hamas controls the narrow strip of land. back to you. >> shannon: thank you so much. israeli president perez says if hamas attacks israel, israel will hit back immediately. in a fox news exclusive interview along the israel-gaza border, told bret baier he's not afraid of hamas. >> just yesterday a rocket was fired from here, landing somewhere out here.

>> yes. the story is if they shoot at us, we will rely immediately. >> so you are standing here looking at this. they can see you at this location. do you get worried? >> no. i think they won't do it because they know immediately there will be retaliation. and there is an unwritten game between us and them. they know if they don't respect it they'll pay heavily. >> shannon: you can catch the rest of the exclusive one-on-one interview with president perez, including sit-down interview, tour of the presidential garden and tour of the border in gaza tomorrow at 6:00 when bret baier will be anchoring special report live from jerusalem. you don't want to miss it. two virginia tech students are dead and the killer is still at large. as loved ones mourn the loss authorities are stepping up patrols in the area where they died. we have the latest on the investigation after the break.

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>> shannon: if you are just tuning in, here are the headlines. 10,000 homes in danger and six towns under evacuation order as a wildfire rages in southern california. the blaze which started as a minor fire in the mountains above los angeles nearly tripled in size yesterday, forcing the evacuation of 1,000 homes. more than 35 square miles have been scorched so far. former vice president dick cheney says politics are behind the justice department decision to investigate alleged detay knee abuse by c.i.a. agents. in a "fox news sunday" exclusive, cheney said enhanced interrogation technique provided good information and saved lives after the 911 attacks. police hope that a resolution to a shocking kidnapped case may shed light on other unsolved cases in california. police arrested the couple last week charged with kidnapping jaycee dugard and holding her for 18 years.

they are searching the couple's property looking for open cases including unsolved murders. authorities are stepping up patrols in the area where two were killed. it appears that the two were shot. laura ingle is live with the latest. the investigation is ongoing. the sheriff office told us there is no new information that they can release at this time. the significant development is this this case appears to be a random act of violence. no murder weapon found on scene and neighbors in the area reportedly did not hear gunshots leaving authorities to believe it could be random as they scramble for clues. the couple has been identified as metzler and highly lynn child. they described the couple as good church-going students

who served their community well. they worked together at a local ice cream shop and they were referred to as wonderful people. fellow employees were too upset to even make it to work today. >> genuine, rare young people. who were wonderful to be around. they were easy to talk to and trust. you could depend on them with the greatest of ease. >> the 19 and 18-year-old were found in a gravel lot overlooking a field of wild flowers surrounded by mountains near a popular campground for virginia tech students. the crime scene is 15 miles outside virginia tech and is where many of the students hang out when school is in session. school is set to start tomorrow, by the way, though the area has been known to host some rowdy college

party, cops say it's never been a place of violence or heavy crime. back-to-back family funerals are monday afternoon in lynchberg and visitation with family members and viewing held today. we'll continue to touch base with the sheriff department who is leading the case and keep you updated on any developments. >> guitarist john mair has to cough up money to charity after losing a bet over the arrest record. mayor bet tmz they couldn't come up with a mug shot after he was arrested for driving where a suspended license eight years ago but they found it. mayor says it will go to an animal charity. promising news in the housing market. today, sales of new home rose 9.6% from june to july,

prompting would-be homeowners wonder if now is the time to buy before the housing market hit answer upswing. with the national sales number showing they're down 13% from the same time last year, are we seeing real estate turn-around yet? we're joined by katrina campen. thank you for joining us today. >> how are you? >> shannon: i'm terrific. >> thank you for having me. >> shannon: well, you're the expert here, so tell us, should people be running out to buy a home just yet? >> there are mixed signals out there. i think the worse is behind us but i am cautiously optimistic with the health of the housing market. the sales volume is up. now we're seeing the sales prices sliding up ever so slightly but with regard to unemployment it's still rising. people are defaulting on the mortgages because they lost their jobs. we have to be cautiously

optimistic. there are compelling arguments why a potential purchaser should purchase a home, such as first time buyer tax credit, low intest rate and the fact that prices have been cut in the last three years in half. with regard to the economy if we continue to see it improve, it will help the housing market. but by the same token there will be a lot of skepticism and concern out there that a large amount of default will negatively effect our economy in the future. >> shannon: you mention the tax credit for first-time home buyers. that's been very popular. i believe it's set to expire november 1 or december. >> november. >> shannon: can you tell us a little bit more about that? and maybe how that is pushing folks to say all right, i want to be able to get that credit before it goes away? >> it is given to the irs if

time home buyers. we have seen the market rebound and seen increase in the bracket as opposed to the luxury market. the luxury market has been as well. so the first time buyer tax credit is going to benefit more of the lower income bracket homeowner. people need to take advantage of that quickly. >> all right. a lot of food for thought. katrin katrina, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> shannon: well, it may be only 9 1/2 feet wide and 42 feet long but this house in green witch village comes with a hefty $2.7 million price tag. built in 1873 and rumored home to famed anthropologist margaret meade. purchased the home in 2000 for $1.6 million. nothing luke new york real estate. eric holder says he will appoint a special prosecutor to look into possible illegal

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-d-d-dgive to save lives-d-d-d-d and reach for the cure. call now or log on to childrensdiabetesfoundation.org. >> shannon: former president, foreign dignitary, family and friends and thousands of people paid tribute to the late senator ted kennedy yesterday. let's look at what some of his family and friend had to say. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

>> when i was 12 years old i was diagnosed with bone cancer and a few months after i lost my leg, there was a heavy snowfall over my childhood home outside of washington, d.c. my father went to the garage to get the old flexible flier, and asked me if i wanted to go sledding down the steep driveway. i was trying to get used to my new artificial leg and the hill was covered with ice and snow. and it wasn't easy for me to walk. and the hill was very slick. and as i struggled to walk, i slipped and i fell on the ice. i started to cry. and i said, "i can't do this!" i said, "i'll never be able to climb up that hill." he lifted me up in his strong gentle arms and said something i will never forget. he said, "i know you can do it. there is nothing that you

can't do. we're going to climb that hill together. even if it takes us all day." sure enough, he held me around my waist and we slowly made it to the top. you know, at age 12 losing your leg pretty much seems like the end of the world. but as i climbed on his back and we flew down the hill that day, i knew he was right. i knew i was going to be okay. i will miss my dad's wonderful sense of self-deprecating humor. when the far right made dad their poster child for their attack ads he used to say we kennedies sure bring out the best in people. and when we first got elect and my cousin joe was a member of congress and i came to congress, dad finally celebrated saying finally after all these years when someone says who does that damn kennedy think he is? there is only a one in three

chance they're talking about me. [ laughter [ laughter ] >> well, he was seen by the fiercest critics as a partisan lightning rod. that's not the prism through which ted kennedy saw the world, nor was it the prism through his colleagues saw ted kennedy. he was a product of an age when the joy and nobility of politics prevented differences of party, platform and philosophy from becoming barriers to cooperation and mutual respect. a time when adversaries still saw each other as patriots. that's how ted kennedy became the greatest legislator of our time. he did it by viewing the principle, yes, but also by seeking compromise and common cause. not through deal-making and horse trading alone, but through friendship. and kindness and humor.

the greatest expectations were placed upon ted kennedy's shoulders because of who he was. but he surpassed them all because of who he became. we do not weep for him today because the prestige attached to his name or his office. we weep because we loved this kind and tender hero who persevered through pain and tragedy, not for the sake of ambition or vanity. not for wealth or p power. only for the people and the country that he loved. ♪ ♪ >> a special report exclusive. the next step for peace in the middle east. what will it take for divided region to come together. bret baier is live with an exclusive one-on-one with israeli president perez. monday, must-see interview on special report. heering )

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>> shannon: take a look at the top headlines. autopsy for the seven people found slain in a mobile home in southeast georgia are scheduled for today. the bodies were discovered yesterday along with two critically injured survivors. police arrested the man who made the 911 call to them, but they're saying they aren't charging him with with murder. hurricane jimena strengthened to category four storm. 300 miles off the mexico pacific coast. forecasters say the strong could stronger in the next day or two. people in mexico and the baja peninsula are advised to monitor the storm. the father of terri schiavo the woman who became a national symbol over the fight to whether or not to give life extending treatment has died.

robert shindler was a tireless advocate for his daughter through years of legal wrangling. could a special prosecutor assigned to probe c.i.a. interrogation tactic through the last administration compromise the agency today? democratic congressman joe sesnak of pennsylvania is member of the armed services committee and joins us live. we thank you for your time today. >> good to be here. thank you. >> shannon: tell me why the attorney general's probe, if you believe it is, is a positive step forward? is it necessary? >> i headed the navy anti-terrorism unit deep blue after 911 and after 31 years in the military protecting the laws of this nation, i have great respect for finding out the facts. we need to find out if the apparent violations which the inspector general of the c.i.a. pointed out were incidental to non-adherence to the law or whether they were systemic.

this is important because not to find it out then says they might become systemic without making sure that the laws were followed. no. i'm a strong believer that we have to be able to fight an adversary without, without violating our own law. that's why this is important. >> shannon: do you have any concerns about the potential impact on c.i.a. morale given that the president made a pretty strong statement in the past that he wanted to move and not look back to the interrogations? >> i do not. i believe public servants, public officials actually want to serve this nation. this is a nation of laws and therefore adhere to its laws. as long as we ensure that the guidelines were followed, even if we may not have agreed with the guideline, if we agree with the guidelines, if they were followed the non-senior, the more junior ones who may have followed them but may not agree with actions are not persecuted at

all. shannon, the important point i found when i served in the military was this. when we had for example an aircraft crash, we had two types of investigations. one was under the uniform code of military justice to see if there might have been criminal negligence. then what we had and i believe we need to do both of the two-track approach and not just for c.i.a. and overall is we had another investigation. where everyone was given immunity. so that we could find out if something occurred to prevent it happening again. therefore there should be an independent commission set up. outside of congress. we're the hatfields and mccoys and we can't do anything in a non-partisan way. they could be retired judges, where everyone, congress included, those are the intelligence committee. how do they fail in the oversight role? find out what the facts are? they can't allow it to occur

again. that's good governance. proper investigation under special prosecutor overall is needed. we do it in the military. we should do it in this case for the goodness of good government. >> are you saying you would be in favor of an investigation that would give immunity to everybody involved so we could find out what the practices were and block them if they were illegal from happening again? >> absolutely. i very much respect president obama's desire to move forward, but you cannot not look at the weight to see where you're coming from. there should be two investigations. special prosecutor to look at the overall issue of torture across the whole board. not just the c.i.a., but what happened in guantanamo bay, et cetera. and what happened in congress. but there should at the same time be one where immunity is given. in a separate independent commission outside of congress where we are able to find out what really did happen so we can fix it as we

go forward. two crack approach. we do it in the military and we do it well to learn what went wrong criminally if anything and second, because we did want to follow the laws in the military. second, with a can we do to fix it so -- what can we do to fix it so it doesn't happen again? that's what the church committee tried to do in '74 after the c.i.a. as is nation report. the problem was today we don't have the types of titans who could be non-partisan within congress to work together. it should be outside of congress for independent commission. >> we thank you for your military service and time on the hill as well, sir. >> thank you. >> offends the hell out of me, frankly, chris. is we had a track record, now, of eight years of defending the nation against any further mass casualty attacks from al-qaeda.

the approach of the obama administration should be to come to those people who were involved in the policy and say how did you do it. what were the keys to keeping us safe over that period of time? >> former vice president dick cheney lashes out at the current administration in an exclusive interview seen only on fox. i'm shannon bream live in washington. in the interview, dick cheney said the obama administration is making the country less safe. just a few minutes ago i talked to chris about the conversation i had with mr. cheney. >> you had an interesting interview with former vice president dick cheney and quite a backlash he had to the cia interrogation investigations being reopened. >> i think he is offended as hell. i was shocked. this is dick cheney unplugged. he says that since he has left the vice presidency and official office that he feels some what liberated. he just feels that it weakens the country and thinks job one

after 9/11 for any president that came, protecting the country and that the enhanced interrogation worked and got top cia operatives who weren't going to cooperate to give up information and that information stopped plots that would have killed more people in this country and around the world and he thinks the pontiliousness of the obama administration is going to weaken the country and demoralize the cia. he feels people signed up to for war on terror and we are now turning on people that protected the country for the last eight years styl. >> does he feel this is the president going back. even though the attorney general is supposed to be independent in these kind of investigations. >> he feels that the president and blames it on the president. he says look, under the constitution the president is the chief law enforcement officer.

the attorney general is a cabinet officer serving at the pleasure of the president. and he feels that the president, that obama has been kind of using holder to deny responsibility. he says that absolutely the buck stops with the president and he feels that he went back on a -- he says he thinks he did it for political reasons, that he was playing to the left wing of his party and this was a bone that they threw them, a bone at the expense of the nation's security. >> he doesn't sound like he is impressed with anything the president stands for. >> he did credit him for continuing the predator drone program. i was surprised. it is kind of a fiction but top officials never talk about the fact that we are using unmanned drones in pakistan. he said we started that program and it is effective and i'm cleeseed tha -- i'm pleased the

president has continued the program. but with barack obama, he said i wasn't a fan before, i'm not a fan now. >> shannon: let's turn to the passing of senator kennedy. what do you make of the tributes and what we have seen this week? >> i know from my demails there are a lot of people who watch us who don't like him or didn't like him, his politics, didn't like his personal life. but i think that if you like democracy you have to admire any one who got the response that ted kennedy got for thousands of people in boston, and here in washington to come out in the street. they weren't sent by advancement, it wasn't, you know, ginned up by some special interest group, to just come out in the street because they liked him and respected him and felt he was looking out for them in his view of america. you have to admire a politician who touchd that many people. >> i think you made an interesting point about the way

he was covered in the immediatey versus other conservative leaders who didn't get the same i don't want to say kid glove treatment because there were references to his failings as well. >> jesse helms, the conservative senator died last july and the new york times editorial, rather, obituary, the front page story, said jesse helms, the mossy drawl who was against guay right gayd today. >> and the kennedy said one of the most effective senators died today. it just struck me and i'm not saying i'm comparing it ted kennedy and jesse helms. in one case it was all about what he did and the other case it was all about what he was against. i find it striking. >> shannon: no doubt he had an impact and will be long remembered in american

politics. thank you, chris. >> check out chris wallace's exclusive one on one interview with dick cheney. congress is set to return from recess next week. the healthcare debate has raged at townhall meetings while lawmakers have been at homes. with the passing of one are the fiercest advocates, senator ted kennedy, where does the debate go from here. caroline shively to tell us more. >> the death of ted kennedy could dramatically change the healthcare fight for capitol hill. he has been leading the charge for four decades. if they go for a partisan bill they may have to use senatorial maneuvering called reconciliation for a majority vote. majority leader harry reid said if he can't get a bipartisan bill through, he will go

partisan. senator orrin hatch says that is a lesson both sides could learn from kennedys it career. >> we used to get in tremendous fights he and i but we would always come together in the end and it was always because both of us were willing to go to the center and sometimes he would go to the center right. >> in kennedy's 47 years in the senate he had just a few elections that were even close. plus, he didn't have to worry about attacks from the left. >> ted kennedy had the ability and the knowledge to get into a political situation and make the compromises and he knew that there might be some people that might be unhappy with this one and that one but no one was going to say ted kennedy sold us out for no good reason. >> a lot of talk about compromise from both sides but no action. the gang of six, the bipartisan group in has a conference call

this friday, four days before the the full senate returns. >> back in action before we note it. thank you, caroline. >> shannon: police made an arrest in connection to the case of seven people found dead in a mobile home in southeastern georgia. 292-year-old man who originally called 911 has been arrested but not charged with murder. he is facing other charges of drug possession and making false statements to police. autopsies on the seven victims are scheduled for today. now, to the amazing story of jaycee lee dugard taken from a bus stop 18 years ago. police are investigating the alleged kidnappers possible connection to unsolved murders in the area. casey stegall is live with the latest on the investigation. more developments by the minute, it sounds like. >> absolutely, shannon. you took the words right out of my mouth. we were here all day yesterday, not much activity and it is really getting interesting out here in the last hour or so. we have seen a flurry of

activity at the house right behind me. we want to show you a brand new video. we have seen a number of law enforcement officers showing up here with rakes, shovels, equipment, and they have begun to dig in the backyard where the three children were held captive for years and years and years around went undetected. police have been referring to this ail along as an extensive crime scene, one that is being processed for days now and expanded by the way to not just the main backyard but also the neighbor's backyard. the neighbor who called 911 back in 2006. but a sheriff's deputy came out here to investigate we know now and never even looked in the backyard. the department apologizing for the mistake. we have also seen chainsaws out here in the last 30 minutes or so clearing away brush. fast forward to last year. multiple police departments were that the house. they searched it as part of a routine check on local registered sex offenders.

officials then still did not notice that three children were being held captive in the backyard at times locked in a soundproof shed that could only be opened from the outside. and now today with phillip finally behind bars, cops are looking into whether he is responsible for murdering several local prostitutes. some of whose bodies turned up at an industrial park where he worked back in the early '90s. jaycee dugard getting reacquainted with her family nearly two decades later. her parents say she looks almost the same as she did when she was kidnapped all those years ago at only 11 at a bus stop. her parents say that she felt close to the man that was holding her hostage all these years even though she was closed off from the outside world. the kids never went to the doctor, never went to school. shannon? >> such a shocking disturbing

case. casey, thank you. 10,000 homes in southern, california are now at risk as a wildfire is straigh spreading y direction. emergency crews are hoping a drop in temperatures will help them. the fire tripled in size yesterday and then triple digit temperatures. a thousand homes evacuated. three people have been burned and three homes destroyed so far. california governor arnold schwarzenegger is expected to speak within the hour and we will take you there live when that happens. the polls closed in japan's parliamentary elections, bringing more than a half century of power for the country's conservative party to an end. members of the democratic party are expected to take over 300 seats. the opposition campaigned on promises of reviving the ailing economy and turning around record high unemployment. an independent commission is now investigating nearly 600 complaints that if proven true could seriously affect

afghanistan's election results. results so far show hamid karzai leading. the commission has gotten more than 2,000 allegations of fraud or intimidation so far. and cbs radio reporter tammy mccormick is in stable condition at the u.s. medical facility in lanclville germany. she was wounded when the army vehicle she was traveling in hit a roadside bomb. mccormick is the third western journalist so be wounded in the country this month. more than a dozen pakistani recruits dead after a suicide bomber attack in the swat valley. police are denying rumors that the suicide bomber was one of the police volunteers. congress is set to return from its august recess in a little more than a week.

tense healthcare town hall meetings have been the hot torrey during the time off, not really time off but time at home. will it reshape the debate when congressmen are back here in washington? let me ask you, the town hall meetings, how did they go? >> i did, i'm having some more. went great. we had a town hall meeting just last week that has been covered by your network as well as some others and it was very civil, respectful dialogue. it was, you know, points of view on all sides of the issue. but people actually instead of shouting people down, people actually respectfully listened to each other and i think we all learned a lot collectively and it was helpful to me as a member of congress that is still undecided on the issues. >> anything that you picked up to lean one way or the other. >> you have to get through

misinformation. are there going tobie to be deh panels and silly things like that this aren't true but have been propagated. establish the one common set of facts and then we can have a dialogue about what if anything needs to be done. there is common ground hello is getting worse and is not sustainable. the question then is what do we do about it. i think most people fivary meaningful basket of reforms. most people agree we have to get down long-term costs. we want to make sure that we preserve the private insurance system that we have now, absolutely. we want to make sure we preserve the federal health programs that do exist like medicare and veterans benefits and t tricare that are popular and work very well. >> shannon: you mentioned keeping private options alive, private industry but the public option has been one of the most

heated points for a lot of folks. all three versions of the house legislation have a public option and a number of members said if you strip it out you will lose maybe even a hundred votes on the house side. can you tell us where you stand right now? >> i agree having a public option in the house version certainly is the difference between passing and not passing a bill. there has to be a public option if you want to get to any chance of a majority. it is not a matter of theology and there has been a lot of misinformation about what the public option is. it is just that, an option. you never have to choose it. no one is going to force you to use it. it is, however, going to provide competition to insurance companies which is precisely why insurance has spent a lot of money trying to make sure there is disinformation and people hollering and fighting and trying to defeat it because they don't want the competition. >> thank you for sharing your experience with the town halls and see you back here when it

all kicks up again in a week. tank you, sir. >> shannon: up next, the latest on three boaters lost at sea for days. the coast guard had given up the search, but there is a happy ending, after the break. so what do you think? i think i'll go with the basic package. good choice. only meineke lets you choose the brake service that's right for you. and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. introducing the all new chevy equinox. with an epa estimated 32 miles per gallon. and up to 600 miles between fill ups. it's the most fuel efficient crossover on the highway. better than honda cr-v, toyota rav4 and even the ford escape hybrid. the all new chevy equinox.

>> shannon: top of the news right now, wildfires in california are threatening as many as ten thousand homes today. the flames nearly tripled in size in the 100 plus degree temperatures yesterday. three homes destroyed and a thousand more evacuated. governor schwarzenegger is expected to speak within the hour. of course, when that happens we will take you there live. former vice president dick cheney says interrogators act under presidential orders should not be prosecuted. cheney appeared on "fox news

sunday" exclusively with chris wallace today and discussed the cia investigation as well as healthcare and also his upcoming book. and senator edward m. kennedy laid to rest alongside his two brothers john and robert. the burial followed a funeral service in boston and procession through the streets of washington. senator kennedy was 77 years old. tropical storm dani dropped a lot of -- danny dropped a lot of rain. expected to produce dangerous surf and rip currents throughout the next several days. the wildfires burning in california and hurricane jimena rolls toward mexico. >> we are watching jimena very carefully as is mainland mexico and southern baha.

this is a very dangerous potentially deadly storm, category four, 130-mile per hour sustained winds moving northwest at nine miles per hour is expected to strengthen the waters, very warm, very deep around the system. you can see the well defined eye just in terms of picturesque, it is a beautiful looking storm, but again, potentially very dangerous, even deadly if people are not taking precautions. if you live in cabo san lucas or you are visin visiting you o make preparations now. still expect told be a category four as it makes its way to cabo san lucas and the southern tip of baha. some of the moisture making its way into the four corners. one other area of concern in the atlantic, this could be the next named storm. just a wave right now around 900 miles away from the lesser antilles. this could become erica and we will have to watch that carefully the next several

days. the other big story is the fires that are burning across southern, california. this is one of a few fires that firefighters are taking care of. angelos national forest only 5% containment. temperatures still very warm. low relative humidity and breezy conditions unfortunately not helping firefighters at all. we will keep your fingers crossed and thoughts and prayers out to everyone who has friends and family there. for the latest on the growing wildfire in southern, california, we go to bruce hurricane frances h ho i who ih the u.s. forest service. what is the latest there? >> the latest in terms of acreage, it burned 35,200 acres. it is 5% contained so there is a lot of uncontained fire line to be dealt with. >> it sounds like the

conditions there are working against crews. how do they surmount a fight back against these blazes with those kinds of conditions? >> that is kind of the nature of the fire fighting community, persevering until the bitter end and they will keep flogging their way through. >> how many people are needing to leave the area? we heard maybe 10,000 homes at risk? >> well, that is true. there is some 10,000 homes that are potentially threatened by the fire. we just got a recent update. some additional areas are being evacuated as we speak or have just been evacuated within the

la cocinta vicinity of the fire. >> we know california battles fires every year but i have to imagine there is a lot of pressure on the crews that the point. >> there is always a lot of pressure but like i said, they are a determined group and it takes a lot of people from a lot of different agencies cooperating together and that is exactly the scene we have here. the sheriff's department, the american red cross, multiple agencies and fire departments from across the state and even out of state are assisting in the event. >> we thank you so much for your time. we are sending prayers and good wishes to all of you working so hard out there. >> thank you very much. you're very welcome. >> three texas boaters missing for a week were reunited with their family after being found alive last night. >> they were found as they sat on top of their capsized catamaran.

they were reported missing last saturday when they failed to come back from a fishing trip. the coast guard had to call off the search after searching 86,000 square miles of water. when first took office, two thirds of americans approved of the job that president obama since then he has fallen fast. is it time for the administration or republicans to start making changes because of the polls? we will ask our political insiders, coming up. i never thought i would have a heart attack, but i did. you need to talk to your doctor about aspirin. you need to be your own advocate. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. you take care of your kids, now it's time to take care of yourself.

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effect for parts of california because of all the dangerous wildfires. it is the po tomorrow of -- it is the bottom of the hour, caroline shively with the top of the news. >> three separate wildfires burning in los angeles county forced more evacuations. in all, ten thousand homes threatened and mandatory evacuations posted in a number of communities. california officials say the fire is causeth heavy smoke and have issued an air quality alert. police arrested the man who called 911 to report that seven people were slain and two others critically injured in a georgia mobile home. guy heinz, jr. has been charged with drug possession and making false statements to police but not murder. at least 14 people dead in the suicide bombing in pakistan's swat valley. the worse violence as an army offensive. authorities were looking into the possibility that the bomber may have hidden among the

dozens of uniformed recruits. in nearby afghanistan, accusations over voter fraud are continuing to pile up. the number of formal complaints doubled in the past couple of days. final results not expected until mid september are likely to be delayed either further by the accusations of fraud. those are the top stories right now. shannon, back to you. >> shannon: thank you, caroline. two virginia tech sophomores found dead earlier this week at an off campus camp ground. laurielectorlaura ingle is fole case and has the latest. >> the murders of 19-year-old david metzler and heidi child has rocked the school. locals describe the park as a peaceful and serene place that is popular to students looking

for a quick getaway to campus. they were described as honest church going students who were role models to their friends. investigators believe they were just hanging out when they were shot in what abeered to be a random act of violence. >> appears they just came here to park and were sitting there probably talking. >> the bodies of the couple were discovered by a man walking his dog at 8:00 a.m. thursday morning and at this hour they are continuing to search for clues. nearby residents reportedly did not hear gunshots wednesday night or thursday morning when investigators believe the couple were killed and no weapon has been found at the scene. the public has been asked to come forward if they have any information about a an older model chevrolet car chevrolet a

ford. amheidi was attending college n a full scholarship according to her father. the couple workle together at a local ice cream shop. residents and friends have placed flawers today atop a fence post where metzler and child shared their last moments together. if you have any information on the case you are urged to call the montgomery sheriff's department. >> so heart breaking, thank you, laura. the honeymoon for president obama may official by be coming to an end. his popularity dropped to 50% in the latest gallup poll. if the approval drops below 50% before november it will be the fastest drop since gallup has been tracking the polls. the former communications

director to kay bailey hutchisoninson. thank you both for joining us today. >> good afternoon. >> is it a case of he was so high there was no where else to go coming in. >> he has come from the stratosphere back to reality. most economists are saying the economic recovery plan is working. the second thing is he has to -- he can't bank on changing politics. and this comes up in the healthcare debate and people like that. people like that he has taken the partisan vitreal out of politics. people also want a tough leader as well. these two goals sometimes are in conflict and he has to resolve these and i think he will find the sweet spot in the healthcare debate. hasn't done it yet. >> he did campaign on change. a lot of people are saying maybe we are not up for some of these exact changes.

mass influence healthcare reform and the other things. maybe he has a full plate right now. >> maybe it is too much change too soon. charlie cook the respected political observer wrote about that. the massive job loss that we have seen has give and lot of people pause. i do think that president obama's popularity is personal when was elected. he has not brought that much change although certainly the amount of deficit and debt that we have seen is historic. clearly the concern he has politically right now is on the economy and on healthcare. contrary to what julian said, i think it is an open question as to whether the stimulus had the type of effect they promised it would. only 10% has been spent so far. so important that even members of congress didn't even have time to read it. on healthcare, he has disapproval on healthcare. he has to make progress on healthcare and the economy over the next six months.

>> i think can he more than take credit for what is happening in the economy. we were looking at negative 6% growth and now we are probably outside of the recession. we recovered from the recession and back into positive growth. most of the analysts on wall street say it is the obama economic recovery plan responsible for that and there are economists on record saying that. i think he can take a lot of credit for what is happening with the economic turn around. on healthcare what he has to do is what he should have done three months ago. get the liberals and moderates together in the party and a couple of reasonably minded republicans like matt and cut a deal and he has got to cut a deal and it has to be an understandable deal and when cuts that deal that is the changing politics part. once he cuts the deal he has to sell the deal with a take no prisoners kind of approach and has to be tough in doing. >> that has he mad a misstep in

that? there is talk that they were trying to avoid the defeat of the clinton healthcare reform. kind of kept himself out of direct involvement. that was is a plus or a minus? >> i think there is a lot of merit to the fact that he overlearned from the clinton debacle. obama has strayed above the fray and put principles and said you guys do the work. the american people are not in five sore far of the specifics of the where -- are not in five sore far of the specifics of the bill. i think that ted kennedys death may play a role in the bipartisan compromise. >> i agree the democrats did misread 1993. the lesson is that you cut a

deal early. get the committee chairman together with the blue dogs and a couple of republicans and cut the deal early and sell it. i think we are close to something that looks like a deal. i think that we can get regulation of the insurance industry so you get them somming the wrongful denial of coverage together with universal programs of medicaid and medicare and those would be sweeping reforms and through in minor tort reform and i think you get some republican support and you have a major bill on your hands and a major victory for the president. >> shannon: thank you both for your debate today. >> thanks for having us. >> chief negotiator on the healthcare reform debate is slamming the democrats' plan. in the gop weekly address, senator mike enzi says any bill has to reduce healthcare costs without raising the national debt. will healthcare reform be bipartisan at all. joe barden of texas, thank you for your time today. >> glad to be with you,

shannon. >> shannon: does bipartisan reform happen? >> i think the president has so fumbled the football that it will be very difficult this time. the clintons did an insider deal with their staff at the white house. this president has let the democrat liberals on capitol hill do an insider deal among themselves. the american people aren't buying it. in my town hall meetings it is about 95 to 5 against it and these are town hall meetings i had almost five thousand people attend in the last two weeks. >> how does the gop translate what we see to real activity here on capitol hill because we sausage that the savage making making process is a difficult one. it is there things you can take to what we have seen on the hill. >> i disagree with what the two political commentators said,

tweak the current bill and take out the public option and then get a deal. too many people have looked at what this bill really is and it as massive socialization of healthcare in america. i had one man in rural, texas, took two days downloading on a dialup modem the entire bill and then read it cover to cover and zenaida is absolutely opposed to it. -- and he is absolutely opposed to it. the deal that could be made would be a clean sheet of paper that have real eform for people that don't have insurance. give them coverage through a co--op or some sort of opt-in pooling arrangement and then tort reform and some transparency to control costs. i don't know if the president is willing to go for that transparent of a deal. but take the current bill and just tweak the public option and call it a deal, you know, you can put lipstick on a pig but it is still a pig and i

think this bill is dead on arrive school if the bill is pushed through and it is completely partisan because the democrats have the numbers. what other reaction do you expect based on what you have seen at the town hall meetings? >> if they somehow manage to get the votes and get enough democrats to walk the plank and commit political suicide in the next congress i will be chairman joe barton and we will repeal it. i don't think that they can get this bill through. the president's real decision in conjunction with speaker pelosi and chairman waxman and majority leader reid and people like senator b bachus, do you t it go or try to muscle it through. if he chooses to muscle it through, he is committing his party in my opinion to the political wilderness. >> shannon: we will see how it plays out in the mid term elections next year. thank you for your time, sir.

>> thank you. >> shannon: a major wildfire is scorching parts of southern california and threatening thousands of homes. we are now waiting to hear from governor arnold schwarzenegger. g insuring your family's "ifs" can be confusing. so metlife removed the guesswork. combining two essential insurances... term life and disability... in one affordable package. start building your safety net with our term life and disability tool at metlife.com

governor arnold schwarzenegger out in california now talking live about the wildfires they are watt battling there. >> the county undersheriff and i want to thank them for taking me through the briefing and giving me an update on the fire conditions. i also want to thank congressman dryer who is here with us. thank you very much. who is always coming to the fires and always interested to get rid of the fires as soon as possible and congressman shipp

and secretary bettenhouser from the homeland security who is here go ho i who is going to sk afterwards and supervisor antonovich and general wade. thank you very much for being here today. before i left on friday to go to senator kennedys if funeral and wake, i signed an emergency evacuation for los angeles county and also monterey county. and then yesterday night because of the briefings that i have gotten from my staff and the fire of friday and saturday, i felt that i needed to immediately leave the site and go to the airport and fly back home. i think it was a wise decision

because this fire is still totally out of control. the emergency declaration will help to cut through the red tape and we have additional resources to assist the response in the recovery efforts and i want the people to know that i'm fully committed to the public safety and it is extremely important to us to save lives and to save people's properties and to save the memories. and the most valuable resource, of course, is our firefighters and i want to say then thank you, thank you thank you to our at any time california firefighters. the toughest firefighters, the most experienced, best trained, best equipped firefighters in the world. we want to thank them and give them a big hand for the great job that they are doing. [ applause ] >> it is also very important to know that they are very well coordinated. the local firefighters and all of the federal firefighters,

everyone is working together and this is why they have this great operation going here. not only to they coordinate well but the firefighters and law enforcement communities working well, together. we want to thank the sheriff and all law enforcement. they came out here and have been working 24 hours a day. that is extraordinary work because when you talk about evacuation you need law enforcement involved so there is no looting going on. we want to thank law enforcement for their great effort. we also want to urge any one living near the fires, please listen and follow the evacuation orders from local officials. they would not tell you to evacuate if it is not necessary. listen carefully. there was again people that did not listen and there are three people that were burned and really badly injured because they did not listen. listen carefully and immediately move as soon as they tell you to move.

we have evacuation centers set up. four evacuation centers so far and there will be more evacuation centers set up. we will continue to closely monitor the situation. >> i think it is important to monitor to the safety of the 50s. they are really out there and working with only 25 and 36 hours straight without any rest and they are doing a perfect job. let me just give you an update on the situation we have right now. 35,000 acres burned. we have five percent containment. three homes were destroyed. 12,500 structures threatened right now. mandatory evacuation. one of the firefighters was injured. we are fortunate that only one has been injured so far.

and 2200 personnel right now are out there fighting this fire and there is 12 124 engins being used. statewide, there isite fires right now. but let me say 8 fires, eight huge fire. there is in the meantime yesterday alone there were 89 fires, small fires that started statewide but they were put out very quickly because we have such great firefighters. it is important to know why they move the equipment into one area because there is little fires all over the state because now it is fire season and it is prime so we want to also mention to the firefighters. but seven structures destroyed. firefighters and other

personnel. 437 being used statewide right now and 59 helicopters. thank you to the red cross who is setting up shelters and doing an extraordinary job as always when it comes to those kind of things. we also wanted to say that each one of the fires is always a huge challenge no matter when it is and where they are. sometimes you hear fire is you know, that there is too much wind. or it is too dry or too hot or the terrain is too challenging. this time again we have -- the fire has its own challenges. this time out here there is no wind but because there is no wind it is challenging for aerial fire fighting because the smoke clouds stay above the wind above the fire and then helicopters drop the fire retardant. it makes it challenging especially during the night. >> you have been listening to a

live update from california governor arnold schwarzenegger praising the crews and many agencies that have come together to fight very serious fire there's in california. reminding people to listen to authorities. if they are told to evacuate, it is not for no reason that they must immediately comply. he is praising those on the frontline. we will continue to monitor the press conference and bring you the latest and much more news, right after the break. i never thought it could happen to me... a heart attack at 53. i had felt fine. but turns out... my cholesterol and other risk factors... increased my chance of a heart attack. i should've done something. now, i trust my heart to lipitor. when diet and exercise are not enough, adding lipitor may help. unlike some other cholesterol lowering medications, lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk... of heart attack, stroke,

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opec is unlikely to announce a new production cut during its meeting next week, according to a senior kuwaiti oil official. oil prices are stable according to the official. oil prices have rebounded from the highs of $147 a barrel.

opec last year cut production by 4.2 million-barrels from december 2007 levels. crude oil futures settled at $72.74 per barrel on friday. this week the white house announced the ten year deficit projection is at $9 trillion. but our next guest says that really isn't is big deal. james joins us. a columnist for dow jones news wires. the author of the forever portfolio. james, thank you so much for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> shannon: listen, i got to ask you. $9 trillion. most americans hear the t and they don't think it is not a big deal. is it? >> is iit is scary and you have nightmares about what if we default. putting it in perspective, our debt over gdp ratio is not so bad. we are actually less than

japan, nor way, canada, france. we are probably not even in the top ten of industrial countries in terms of debt over gdp. second of all, it is not so bad if the dollar weakens as a result of it. it makes our eck ports go up and our tax revenues go up. >> shannon: past the time in u.s. politics and finance that people will even try to take care of the deficit. has it now become an accepted reality that that is how we operate? >> it is an accepted reality. look, interest rates are going to go up. it looks like the crisis is over but better to borrow now when interest rates are so cheap. this is prudent financial management to borrow now and increase the debt levels now because we need stimulus helping this economy. >> shannon: do you think we will get to the point where the

federal government operates at deficit neutral? is that a pipe dream at this point? we look out at states and most have to balance budgets or they shut down like we have seen many local and state governments will have to do that. will the federal government ever get to a balance of zero? >> i think so. i think we will borrow this money and stimulate the economy, the dollar is going to get weaker so goods are going to be more attractive and eventually tax revenues will go up because the eck ports will go up and goods will be attractive to the rest of the world. eventually we will pay down this debt. >> shannon: we all hope that is the case. thanks for explaining it and breaking it down for us. >> you, too. >> shannon: the shuttle "discovery" is scheduled to dock with the space expectation later on tonight. nasa officials said they didn't see any debris hit the shouldle

but they will photograph the underside tonight just to make sure. a thrilling site. michael jackson fans unite for a tribute to the king of pop. find out if they were successful, up next.  ♪ till now - ♪ i always got by on my own - ( audience cheering ) ♪ i never really cared ♪ until i met you... a1 makes the burger king steakhouse burger sing. (announcer) what are you going to miss 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.

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bonus on every single purchase. what you do with it is up to you. what will you get back with your cash back? it pays to discover. >> shannon: topping the news right now, a new report says the lockerbie womanners

reportedly released from for oil.ison they concluded it was in the overwhelming interest to spring him after a billion dollars deal with libya gets snagged. afghanistan more than doubles the figure reported just two days earlier. the spike indicates how pervasive ballot box stuffing and voter intimidation may have been during the vote. former vice president dick cheney has strong words for the new administration. in an exclusive interview with "fox news sunday," cheney said the obama country should be keeping the country safe by debriefing cia interrogator, not punishing them for doing their jobs. the singer's 51st birthday. fans began practicing routines last tuesday. looks like they got a down.

a total of 13,107 people participated in the event including some zombies. the guinness book will decide if they broke the record officially this week. they are into it. >> we have interesting video to show you. a tug boat from the world war ii era being lifted from the bottom of the fran bay. the vintage sub sank on august 17th. unfortunately, the coast guard believes that 100-gallons of oil leaked from the boat when it went down. >> that is it for us here in washington. bulls and bare bears up next. tune in at 6:00 eastern for chris wallace's exclusive interview with former vice president dick cheney. and tomorrow at 6:00 eastern, check out special report, broadcasting live from jerusalem. bret baier has an exclusive sitdown interview with israeli president simone perez and more. thanks for joining us.