steve: tomorrow on the program, geraldo rivera will be with us. çgretchen:ç have a fabulous thursday. bill: we expect a statement from the white house. ççthe pentagon planning major adjustments to a missile defense shield inç poland and czech republic> and that gives us -- critics say the move and a victory of sortskr to vladimir putinç and pulls the rug out of theç important allies. more important than, critics say it appears to be appeasing the russian government, looking to reassert itself in the soviet

bloc. ç[captioning made possible by fox news channel] captioned by the national cttioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- this is a fox news alert. "the wall street journal" offering new analysis from a new health plan thrc morning saying çinterlocal hall insurance for every single american. the right, the centerpiece of the obama-baucus plan has a çdegreeç -- decree -- thatç means all of us. we are live in "america's newsroom. megyn: want to know how busy it is? çwe got the adeooishment from r producer, no chit-chat. çyou do not get to keepç it, basically that is what the

doctors all means. it would force new government regulations restricting what your insurance company can and cannotç do. accordingç to the journal, it s nationalization by another name. bill: stu varney lead to our coverage right now from the fox business network. çthe journal saysç that the pn makes all of our insurance indifferent and, if it passes in this form. >> ituses financial portionç, taxes, fees, fines, to apply to every insurance contract and thenç applies another layer of federalç rules to influence every contract for every american. that raises the cost. the problem is we allç have to have insurance, it isç mandated under the plan. as costs rise, a lot of people cannot afford to pay, so what do

you do? ,x#eyou subsidize it. çthat isç paid for by all of e people making more than $66,000 a year. bill: max baucus says his plan is a deficit neutral and is paid calculations, it is paid for. if not, it is not.3 other name. here is what the journal said -- thatç is very strong stuff. çbill: chuck grassley is one of those moderate senators. he has been involved in these negotiations with max baucus. g to him about this. çmegyn: no health care reform

abortion yesterda, pro-lifer democrat mark tupac disputed that claim. he said abortion fundingç with taxpayer dollars is veryç muchn the table. amendment process. we added an amendment calledç e caps amendment which saysç pubc funds can be used for abortions and the public option in particular, at least one plan must have abortion coverage in that plan. everyone thatç participate in e áublic option has a premium to which the taxpayer would pay at least $1 and no more than $12 per month norman into this fund to pay for abortions. ççmegyn: he says he has the vs to stop that vote in the house, if that is the case.

today, a group ofç pro-life activists are goingç to the whe house to discuss this issue chuck grassley is also expressing concern that texas could fund abortions under the baucus bill.  will be us in a few minutes. bill: there is a grim prognosis on health care from america's doctors. çaç new poll shows 65% are opd to health care plans making their way through congress. only 33% support them. most ofç their concerns are soaring costs,ç declining care, and possible health care rationing. 45% of the doctors said they would consider closing their practice is a reform ble is passed. think about that. çsupporters are challenging the fact that it was done by mail

and does not reveal how its results were compiled. megyn:ç two governors are ordering stateç investigations into what is going on with acorn. the group offered community centers across the country that çloans, for low income folks. an undercover film producer and another girl went into acorn offices, gettr hideç illegal earnings, among other things. this is the alleged prostitute claiming that she was going to bring in girls from all salvador brothel. in the wake of the states, the u.s. census cut off ties from the group and theç senate agred to cut off funding toç the gro.

to his constituents -- çça similar directive coming m gov. arnold schwarzenegger. could a federal investigation of thisç group the far behind? çmolly henneberg has the lates. so will there be any federal investigation, and if so, who is it most likely to come from? ç>>ç several are asking the fo investigate not just criminal activity, but if acorn is a criminal enterprise. çthe fbi director said that he çonly heard about these tapes recently been given the preliminary information, it is the type of thing the fbi and department of justice would look at. çthe white house has also!geigd in. >> obviously, the conduct that

you see on the tapes is completely unacceptable. withç that. the administration takes accountability extremely seriously. >> there are also calls for çvarious committees to investigate. çmegyn: in the meantime, acorn has said they would change their procedures, but they are also firing back at the governor of minnesota. çó>>ç you mentioned that tim pawlenty was cutting off funding to the group, but the group says that they do not receive any funding from the state of =q9 that isç true, as of 2008, but between 1996 and may of 2008, they did get about $100,000. çthey areç also making changes after some indefensible action from its employees. training for staff and willç pk

an independentç auditor to revw its systems and process these. megyn: it is interesting because the chief organizer has hadç an about face on herç tone and the are questions about who may have spoken with her to encourage that. ççthank you. coming up, we are going to be joined by someone who has more breaking newsç on acorn. who may haveç spoken to the chf organizer? what, if anything, showed the white house to? bill: maxç baucus stood alone yesterday when heç made his pln public. we will ask senator chuck grassley why he made the decision to stay farç away from this announcement. çmegyn: could you please get to

your television? she is 23 years old. she2==- down anç 11-foot alligator. she is with us live. hey, has anybody seen barney? he better not be on the bed. you know you're gonna need it. why not stock up now? get everything you need for fall cleaning and fall allergies at an unbeatable price. save money. live better. walmart.

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megyn: appears suspect is now under arrest in the murder of annie le. this is videotape of the suspect arriving. this could be his last moments of freedom. he is accused of associating le, whose body was found stuffed inside of a wall in the campus lab. police announcing the arrest of a lab technician in the building, raymond clark.

he became a person of interest in the case after his indian name reportedly matched samples from the crime scene. police this morning say that he is expected to be arraigned within the next 24 hours. bond is set at $3 million, which we assume it is no bond at all. bill, after months of negotiation, max baucus unveiling his version of the health care reform bill, when he says will gained support as people get to know it, but during the big announcement, not one democrat or a single republican was there. that includes my next guest, and chuck grassley -- grassley -- , chuck grassley.

you have been working with senator baucus every day for the last six months. here comes the big day and you are nowhere to be found. why did you choose to stay away when the announcement came? >> we have not reached an agreement. we had made little agreements, but not agreement on some controversial things, and without having a complete agreement, i could not be there, other republicans could not be there. let's suppose, even if we had reached an agreement, do you know the situation would have been a real determinant whether or not by and other republicans would have been there? in july we sat down with democratic leadership in the senate. i even spoke to the president about some of these things. what bill when they sign? if i reach a bipartisan

agreement, all would want to make sure that was not carved up by the house or by merging with senator kennedy's bill, which came out in a partisan way, and we could never get an answer from anybody on what we call end game. we want to know that our agreement would not be dissected hundreds of times between now and when it reaches the president. otherwise, what is the point of an agreement? bill: we have been trying to figure out what a final reform bill even looks like. from i understand, you want stronger language about money not going to abortions, making sure that the illegals are not covered. if you had those two points, would you support it? >> no, let me mention something that you did not. a federal mandate which would cause a federal penalty on people without health insurance.

i could do that through risk pools to make sure that we get more people insured in a voluntary way. i am reluctant to go along with an individual mandate. bill: help me understand this. we require every american who drive to have car insurance. why would we not require every american to carry health insurance to take care of themself? >> driving a car is voluntary. you do not have to do that. people who do not drive do not need that kind of insurance. in this case, every american would be required to have insurance, or you would have a penalty assessed against you. for a family of four, it is in the neighborhood of $3,000. bill: the estimate is 15% to 18%

of your income per year for a family of two $66,000. max baucus insists his plan is paid for, it is affordable. do you believe that? >> you have to. cbo is non-partisan, they are professionals. in every case, i find them to be intellectually honest. and they say it does not add to the deficit, that it decreases inflation of health care, and those are two things -- if a bill does not do that, we should forget about it. the pelosi-dodd bill does not do that. if someone wants to override the congressional budget office, it would take 60 votes. bill: the bipartisan effort is

still there, trying to get some republicans, but who knows at the moment. anthony wiener, a congressman from new york, he is looking for bipartisanship, too. here is how he classified it. >> to some degree, the senate, the president, have been like children looking for a unicorn. we would like it if it exists, and it would be nice if one came here, but bipartisanship on health care reform is the political equivalent of that. bill: have you found any unicorns? >> a person saying something like that does not want a bipartisan bill, and he wants a partisan bill. i think he is among the larger number of democrats that won a

canadian-style health care program. we want to reserve force for the american people, not one size fits all. bill: thank you. megyn: some high-profile supporters of the president's agenda winning the race card fly, so are you a racist if you do not support the president's health-care overhaul? rasmussen reports on how many americans agree with that charge. bill, a horrific accidents in california. what happened when an ultra light airplane took a nosedive? >> suddenly, there was this large crash. you could tell that he lost power. it was like he was trying a stunned.

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megyn: this is a fox news alert. new-home construction in august rising to the highest level in nine months. it rose 1.5% to an annual rate adjusted rate of five under 98,000 units. -- 590,000 units. today's numbers seem to indicate how the market is taking a turn. [applause] of course, there is still plenty of bad news out there. then there is a turnaround in the housing market which is critical to any kind of

meaningful economic recovery. nowhere more so than in the south, florida, georgia, and atlanta. the last time we spoke to this real estate agent one month ago, things were not looking great, but now he says business is up 50% over the last 45 days. the average sale price remained steady and 80% of his sales are to first-time buyers. and jonathan serrie is with us from georgia. >> right now we are outside of atlanta. our realtor that we have been speaking to -- we mentioned that your sales are up and you are seeing more first-time home buyers. what is driving this? >> probably the first time home buyer tax credit. there has been chatter about

extending the program but right now it ends november 30, and that is driving all lot of the sales. >> tell me what is going on here in the area with homes sales. >> this is a great, family- oriented neighborhood. public schools here are pretty great. but we have definitely seen a slowdown, prices are down, probably 15% year over year. it is taking a bit longer to sell. the average is about 35 days longer. >> thank you. back to you. megyn: we like could house a news. bill: gas price is another indicator of the economy. when demand is high, it means that business and travel are picking up. right now the national average is $2.58. that is $1.30 less than where we

were last year. kris gutierrez is with us in dallas, texas. >> we are checking in at this gas station that we have often been at. how are things? >> prices are going down. when school is out, prices go up, but they are going down right now. they have gone down 10 cents in the past two weeks. we expect in the next few weeks they could go down up to 20 cents. >> you have been in the business of selling and buying wholesale gasoline here in the area for about 30 years. you keep a close eye on the futures market because that helps you save money and pass those savings on to consumers. >> if prices are going down, we will wait to get more gas in the afternoon, but otherwise, we do it in the morning. i am going to be watching prices

this morning and i will be getting delivery this afternoon. i will probably lower my prices later today or in the morning tomorrow. bill: thank you. thanks to both of you, checking on the economy. megyn: this time last week we were talking about the biggest speech of president obama's political career -- at least of his presidency. his attempt to push health-care reform closer to the finish line. one week later, what does america think? did the president change the numbers? bill, and in 15 minutes, you will need a girl who volunteered in a stage engine alligator hunter in florida. things are going pretty well until she hit a 400-pound alligator. [ woman ] dear cat. gentle cat.

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bill: this is a fox news alert. we expect a statement any time from the white house from the obama administration on and determination to change a military decision made by president bush. the pentagon says it will make major adjustments to the european missile shield. if you remember, they wanted to place that in poland and the czech republic. the strategy was to protect u.s. bases and allies in the u.s.

against a potential missile strike from iran. critics say the move appears to hand a win to russia. wendell goler is at the white house. >> the original plan was to put a station in poland to guard against an intercontinental ballistic missile attack from iran. officials say they will use a more flexible system which to just -- suggests a portable interceptor missile intelligence shows iran has focused less on intercontinental missiles and more on short-range missiles, and they are also thought to be further behind on developing a warhead. u.s. officials say different kind of system could be used to protect u.s. forces in europe as well as allies.

there is tremendous russian opposition to this and criticism from republicans, specifically from john kyl, that we have backed down in the face of russia, but most believe that this has to do with iran. bill: likely to be one of the first questions asked to robert gates when he briefed the pentagon, as well as robert gibbs. we will be keeping an eye on those. thank you. megyn: first, some top democrats accused those who opposed this health care reform bill as nazis. ;úñno carrierringconnect 1200

ç>>çrje towards president barack obama is based on the fact that he is a black man.+ ç>> i am not sure that i see ts march and national conversation going on. i am simply saying i do notç kw if the president agreesç with that. megyn: do the american people agree with former president carter? former -- latest numbersç from rasmussen poll suggests, o' just 0% believe that those who oppose reform are racist. çç67% say that he is from.

21% say they are not sure. ççscott rasmussen joins me wih more. he has some interesting numbers. that is the headline onç this race question,ç which started with jo wilson accusing the president of being a liar. clearly, americans do not policy. >> this is a tough spot for pulp -- democrats to be in. çç22% of democrats say it is t racism. 39% say in is not, but four out çof 10 democratsç say they art sure. it creates an awkward situation for them. they need to move beyond as part of the debate and get back to health care. ççmegyn: it is clear the white

house does not want to get anywhere near this. it is interesting because this timeç lastç week, we were talg about president obama's address. they described it as a hail mary,ç the address of hisç te, his chance to turn health care numbers around. here we are seven days later. where are theç numbers on suppt çfor health care reform as it s right now? >> exactly the same,ç 44% in çfavor, 53% opposed. the president had a bounce that lasted for about one week, but not only are the nume[s back to where theyç were one week ago, they are about where they were in mid-july. it looksç like all the town hal speech, press conference in

july, has not changed the public mood. çthat suggests opinions are gettingç firmer on both sides. megyn: do you see anyç likely çchange coming our way in those numbers? >> not unless they change the substance of the bill. çalso, the number ofç people o strongly oppose the bill out number the people who support it. that has been consistent. megyn: sinceç president obama tookç office, where does his rating stand now and where does it -- and what does it look like compared to when he took office? ççright now 47% approve of hi. that is about normal. his numbers went as high as 52% earlier thisç week,wué++ but nw

the president leaves a nation that is --ç leads;ó3mó a nationt is divided politically. megyn: and his numbers went up temporarily andç now they are backç down, was that sort of a honeymoon period after they heard him speak and then remember that they were against all of this? ç>>ç the night he gave his sph -- first of all, most of the people watching were supporters of his. demmc$ats became much more çactive. that led to an overall amount, but as the week went on, people maxç baucus coming in with his plan. no shift about the public option. nothing seems to have changed. given, the numbers move temporarily because people like what they hear.

megyn: onw of theç biggest obstacles for those pushing for reform is your number of americans who are happy with their current coverage. insurance believe it is excellent. 4% to not. çby theç way, a 53%, half of e with insurance, fear if this plan passes, they will have to change coverage. ççmegyn: that could explain se of the early number that you were discussing. always interesting. çwe appreciateúyfu being here. bill, there is a memorial for u.s. war veterans standing for çnearly 80 years, so whyç is e group of americans trying to tear it down? megyn: and a young woman takes

down an 11-footç alligator. i doç not speak for all young women, but i would run in the other direction. not her. çsheç is a lot smaller than h, and what is even wilder is what she used to kill çit. ç♪ well r a new car, ♪ ♪ which one's me - a cool convertible or an suv? ♪ ♪ too bad i didn't know my credit was whack ♪ ♪ 'cause now i'm driving off the lot in a used sub-compact. ♪ ♪ f-r-e-e, that spells free credit report dot com, baby. ♪ ♪ saw their ads on my tv ♪ thought about going but was too lazy ♪ ♪ now instead of looking fly and rollin' phat ♪ ♪ my legs are sticking to the vinyl ♪ ♪ and my posse's getting laughed at. ♪ ♪ f-r-e-e, that spells free- credit report dot com, baby. ♪

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>> you haveç oneç eye. chubbs, you took his hand. ççç[applause]

çbill>ú$e made it look easy. çmatching wits with alligators. it is not an easy task, especially if itnight hunter.t lookç at what she brought home. she took the beast down with a crossbow. she fired at it four times. çhere to telluj about a night she will never forget -- good morning. i read that you said you were freakingç out. çi think everybody would be. you pick a certain part of the st. johns river in jacksonville, florida. why is that?

exactly where to go. itç was near lake washington. çneighbor watching this one ara for a while. bill: so he luredç you into th. çi want to know what you were seeing, what you were thinking. did you see the alligator's eyes? ç>> we hadç been there beforee sun went down and were watching two big ones. 45 minutes went by and we did not see them come back up. çwe are getting ready toç leae and then we saw these red eyes. i told him that i did not want anything less than 10 feet. it happened pre(py fast. çwe drove up pretty fast and we were 100 feet away. once i got 20 feet close, that is one i made my first shot.

ççbill: i think that is the moment where i would start freaking out. you missedç last year's hunt çbecause you were pregnant. congratulations on that. let's talk about this one. how did you do it? ç>>ç we shot in with an arrown the back. it started to go crazy. it went under, and then in went wm)jz the marsh, and gotç caugt in some trees. it is kind of like playing tug of war. then i was able to shoot him in the neck again. ççabout one hour went by and t was another killer shot. we had a broad head aero that we bill: what is talk of war about?

how do you do that? ç>>ç robert and another one or friends, they had both of the ropes. put a new era in and get the next one ready. once we had both air rose in there, it was time to put a kill shotç in there. çit has a soft spot>gjk about s big. if you miss it, it will bounce off of the the skull. çwe are getting ready to pull that on the boat and then it's just &jap shot. we gotç closer and we had to shoot it once more. that is what did it. it was quite an adrenaline rush. bill:ñi you keep on mentioning robert.

robert, what do you have to say for yourself? thisç is all your idea. ç>> it was a pretty good night. we were excited. she wanted a 10-footç alligato, and we founv a pretty big one. we were able to get this one which we had seen before and we were able to seal the deal. bill: congratulations. çiç think she is about 80 pous soaking wet. i am reading that you are going toç harvest the meet and have d toç harvest the meet and have d a mountain? tik"tsend a picture to us. enjoy the rest of your vacation. enjoy the rest of your vacation. çthanks to both of you. 3 what is next, dinner?

megyn:ç i wound up feeling bad for the all[gator. bill: you are allowed. megyn: undercover video raising questions about possible illegalç activities involving acorn. now the white house is being asked, what are you going to do about it? bill:ç you are going to meet a ago -- the new miss cougar ç çamerica. there is not another one, right? now that title is taking her to some special places.

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megyn: we are moments away right now from president obama coming out at the white house to talk about missile defense.

this after word this morning that the obama administration had scrapped plans to put in a missile defense shield in the czech republic and poland. that was very controversial. russia did not want it at all. president bush has stood guard against russia, saying it was necessary to protect our european allies and for her -- perhaps others, potentially some american terrorists, from a missile attack. now it appears president obama is doing an about-face. we will hear what the president has to say when he speaks to the public on this. also, scandal inside acorn. they live look inside of the briefing room where other action will take place this morning. the administration is now condemning acorn, in specific,

these tapes that we have seen in the past few days. the activist organization, which helps poor folks get housing, as well as with their taxes, has a ton of support in the democratic party and now at least two states are launching investigations into the group, considering cutting its funding, as the group itself says that they are launching an internal investigation. do you trust them? is this good enough? bill: would house press secretary robert gibbs reacting to the undercover acorn tapes for the first time. >> obviously, the conduct that you see on those tapes is completely unacceptable. i think everyone would agree with that. the administration take accountability extremely seriously.

megyn: now questions on what the white house intends to do, if anything. major garrett, we are going to have some breaking news momentarily when president obama speaks. actually, that will be from jennifer griffin, who has an update from the pentagon, but let's get to acorn. i do not remember hearing any comment about them in the wake of voter registration scandals since president obama took office, before yesterday. >> all of this began friday when the census bureau severed ties with acorn participating in the 2010 census. i have confirmed that the white house signed off on that move to cut ties. that was the first bit of evidence that we got from the white house that this

administration is taking a harder look at acorn and its receipt of federal funds, what ever they may be. this week we saw on the senate vote against having any money in the appropriations bill go to the group. harry reid voted against them. christopher dodd also voted against the group. you are beginning to see signs that democrats are trying to find ways to put distance between themselves and this group for the first time. we paid quite a bit of attention to their activities, some of them criminal. democrats had nothing to say about it then, but these videotapes have moved this issue to a much more visible level of thcriticism. megyn: what have we heard in

terms of a federal crackdown on acorn? this is a group that candidate obama's campaign paid $800,000 to. as a community organizer in illinois, they were a client of his. when he was running for president, he said that they could have a seat at the table. is it reasonable to expect the president to put distance between himself, the group, and to sit at least that he is having his justice department look into it? perhaps somebody looking into the group? >> we have no formal declaration of inquiries by the housing and urban development agency or the department of justice. what i have been led to believe, and what robert gibbs more or less said, was that all federal

money is already in the pipeline. the bush administration signed off on appropriations bills that send money to acorn. a couple points of clarification. they would say that president obama was one of several lawyers working for a law firm that represented acorn in a lawsuit against the state of illinois about enforcing voter registration laws. the justice department was also involved in that, so ties with acorn are not as pronounced as we are suggesting. but they have not made any permanent decisions. megyn: did president obama not say that they could have a seat at the table? >> not acorn alone, but other community organizing groups. he said that during the transition. megyn: as far as i know, acorn

is the only community organizer -- organization group that has this type of thing. we will see what the white house says about it. major garrett is on it. bill: in the meantime, the senate finance committee taking up a health care reform plan brought up by max baucus. the session began moments ago on the hill. the proposal calls for health care co-op's instead of a government auction and it received a chilly reception. the plan would impose a fine on anyone who does not buy health insurance. we expect major developments again today with reaction from both sides. stay tuned for more. health care is a big deal. megyn: an update on mondays anti-terror raid in new york.

the investigation has moved west to colorado with officials searching the home of one man claiming that he has ties to al qaeda. it was his arrival in new york that triggered a series of raids. authorities also searching another home in the colorado area belong to relatives of the individual. >> i heard that the fbi from new york and from washington is here and that it has been one of the most sensitive terror cell investigations since 9/11 -- and it is five houses from where i live. >> how does that make you feel? >> scared. megyn: can you imagine? in the meantime, he claims that he has no ties to al-qaeda and

travel to new york for business. bill: in a dramatic about-face from the government, we are getting word from the president after he decides to scrap the missile defense shield in europe. this was meant to protect the u.s. and our allies from possible missile attacks from iran. president bush fought for this thing. the russians despised it. the jennifer griffin is live from the pentagon. we expect the president to give a further explanation in a few minutes. for now, what can we conclude about why this decision was made? >> the decision was made to change this missile defense system because the intelligence changed coming from iran,

suggesting their long-range intercontinental missile system was much further behind than they originally thought and the threat from short and medium- range missiles was greater. that is why they decided to change. i spoke to a former bush administration secretary who was involved in negotiating missile defense, negotiating with poland and the czech republic, and he expressed serious skepticism that the intelligence has changed. he had access to the intelligence and iran was certainly making progress on these long-range missiles. so that is a contradiction that we will be asking about when we speak to officials this morning. essentially, a very big change and we are getting some reaction from poland and the czech republic.

bill: polling done in those countries suggest that they do not want it, but political leaders have gone against the people, pushing for it. what have we heard? >> leaders in poland or taking a political chance. the pentagon press secretary says that this has nothing to do with russia and changing our strategic relationship with them, but already, skeptics are saying that this is about russia. bill: thank you. we will be in touch. megyn: it has stood in the mojave desert for 65 -- 75 years. 65 years of those were nice and quiet, but now the aclu is challenging a war memorial and hundreds of our veterans are fighting for it.

it is in the middle of federal land and the aclu said that is the problem. it is unconstitutional, claiming in is a government endorsement of religion. the supreme court is going to take up this case next month and it could impact memorials across the country, if they find that this is unconstitutional. joining me are two people who have been caring for this cross for many years. their attorney is also with me. good morning, everyone. henry, let me start for you -- with you. you cared for this since 1984, and then 10 years ago you guys a complaint -- you've got a complaint. what was his complaint? >> and that it was on public

ground and also, it is part of a government park, that this was upsetting to him. megyn: i know that you and wanda have been taking care of this thing. you do not believe it is religious, even though there is a cross, but in this circumstance, you do not believe it is. let me turn to your attorney. that argument has been accepted in some cases, rejected in others. what are your chances, do you believe? >> pretty good. this was put up by veterans who were not religious at all. we have process all over the place. arlington memorial cemetery, there is a big one there.

everyone knows this is here to honor those who have given their life to the country. if the 10 commandments is ok in texas, a cross honoring our veterans, put up by veterans is ok. megyn: this is an old picture that you can -- that we are showing. from what i understand, it is a very liberal court that is deciding on this, and there has been able in box put up to cover this in the interim. wanda, do you get any complaints, anyone from the a non-christian religion complaining saying, could we have a non-religious symbol? >> yes, i have heard that a lot. i have been asked if we would be

ok with someone putting a buddha or star of david there. my answer is it was put there in 1974 by world war i veterans. it was their choice. the plaque is there to honor all of the dead. most people agree in that across should stay as it is. these were men in world war i there were traumatized from it, and they came to the desert to recuperate and to make a life. they got together and they wanted to do this, and they did it, and henry was a good friend of one of those veterans. that is how we came to take care of it.

megyn: when you think about this case, do you think your friend would fathom that all of these years later this memorial will have to come down because of the aclu? >> no, not at all. he was a world war i veteran. it was put up in 1934. he asked me if -- he wanted to see someone maintain it. that is how i came about this. i have been doing it ever since it was covered by that box. megyn: it is ridiculous, but you have to do it. it is such a shame. >> we did not do that.

megyn: i know, but that had to be done. you must be encouraged that the supreme court agreed to take this case. it is one of the first cases they will be hearing in october. how do you handicap your chances? >> i feel like this is going to be reversed. i do not think this is something the country pulls stand for. there are some more facts that have not come out. 5 acres of private land have been offered in exchange for 1 acre with the memorial. congress passed an act to do that but the aclu came back and said that they were trying to get around the ruling. if it is offensive because it is on government land, that should have taken care of it. megyn: we will see what happens. the supreme court does not take

many cases, so this is a good. all the best. bill: this is a fox news alert. we expect to see president obama in a matter of minutes. he will explain his decision to reverse the decision on the mental -- reverse the missile defense shield in europe. major garrett is with us from the white house as we wait to hear. you know that the first president -- question that the president will get is this -- the russians hated the idea from the beginning. now the white house will be accused of capitulating to vladimir putin. how will they defend that decision? >> we have already begun to hear

this from the defense department, but we hear the intercontinental missile threat from iran was not as immediate and important and not as vital to u.s. national security in the short term as the mid range and short range for its -- threats. is quite clear in this administration, when it said it wanted to reset relations with russia, it was difficult to see how you could do that if you did not deal with this issue. the administration will argue this is a smarter, wiser approach to a more immediate threat from iran and will give the president leverage in dealing with iran in terms of sanctions. bill: thank you. we are waiting on the two-minute warning for when the president will enter the room. we have not received that, so we

will continue to stand by. as we wait, we want to move onto a few other stories that we are watching. there we go, the two-minute morning. remember in the bush administration days, how critical it was to have this technology? we spoke with dan for griffin a short time ago and we are getting reaction from warsaw and prague on this idea. they're people did not like it that their politicians went down on a limb and went against the will of their people and suggested they could open the door and allow this defense shield to be placed in their country. that was a big deal. now we enter this debate about european security and how other european allies will react to it. also, next week in the u.s., the

u.n. general assembly will be getting together and topics like this, including nuclear development, will be at the forefront. this is a bit of a precursor of what we could see and hear. jennifer griffin is at the pentagon, major garrett is at the white house. here is president obama. >> as commander in chief, i am doing everything in my power to advance national security, that includes strengthening our defenses, any threats to our people, troops, and friends and allies around the world. one of those threats is the dangers posed by ballistic missiles. as i said in the campaign, president bush was right that iran's ballistic missile program poses a significant threat. that is why i am committed to deploying strong missile defense systems which are accountable to the birth of the 21st century.

the best way to enhance our security in the security of our allies is to deploy a missile defense system the best response to the threats that we face and utilizes technology that is both proven and cost-effective. in keeping with that commitment, in a congressional review, i ordered an assessment of our missile defense program in europe. after an extensive process, i have approved unanimous recommendations of my secretary of defense and a joint chiefs of staff to strengthen america's defenses against ballistic missile attacks. this new approach will provide capabilities sooner, build on proven systems, and author -- offer greater systems against the threat of missile attack than the 2007 missile defense program. this decision was guided by two openable factors. first, we have updated our

intelligence assessment of iran -- missile programs, which emphasizes the threat posed by the short and medium-range missiles, capable of reaching europe. there is no substitute for iran complying with its international obligations regarding its nuclear program, and we along with our allies, will continue to pursue strong diplomacy to insure that they live up to these international obligations. but this new missile defense program will best address this threat posed by iran's ongoing defense program. second, we have made proven advances in our missile defense technologies, particularly with regard to land to see interceptors, and the centers that support them. our new approach will therefore deploy technologies that are proven and cost-effective, and counter the current threats sooner than the previous program. because our approach will be faced and adaptive, we will

retain that the ability to adjust and enhance our defenses as technology continues to evolve. to put it simply, our new missile defense architecture will provide stronger, smarter, and swifter defenses of american forces and american allies. it is more comprehensive than the previous program, the ploy's programs that are more cost- effective, and sustains and build upon our commitment to protect the u.s. homeland against long-range ballistic missile threats, and in stores and enhances the protection of all of our nato allies. this is also consistent with nato's missile defense effort to and provided opportunities for enhanced international collaboration going forward. we will continue to work collaborative the with our friends and allies, the czech republic and poland, who had agreed to both elements of the previous program. i have spoken to the prime

ministers of both countries about this decision and to reaffirm our deep and close ties. together we are committed to a broad range of cooperative effort to strengthen our collective defense and we are bound by the solemn commitment of nato's article 5 that an attack on one is an attack on all. we have also repeatedly made clear to russia that it's concerned about our previous missile defense programs were in turn the unfounded. our clear and consistent focus has been the threat posed by iran to this program and that continues to be the basis of the program that we are announcing today. in confronting that threat, we will come russia's cooperation to bring its missile defense capabilities into a broader look into our strategic interest, even as we continue our shared efforts to end iran's alisyn nuclear program going forward, my administration will consult closely with congress and our

allies as we deploy the system and we will vigorously analyze the threat posed by ballistic missiles and the technology we are developing to counter it. i am confident with the steps we have taken today, we have strengthened americans national security and our capacity to confront 21st century threats. thank you very much. bill: no questions, just a three-minute statement. a significant military reversal for military defense and eastern europe. he says availability would be made sooner, some sort of mobile system with greater flexibility. he also insisted that the defense of europe remains. he says that they have passed the word to moscow, saying a clear focus is on iran, suggesting there is no concern about placing this system in

eastern europe as a result of russia, as some have suggested. what will be interesting to note is how that question is addressed when robert gates answered that question. he will be briefing reporters at the pentagon. we will be watching for headlines from that. we will wait for the questions to come at the pentagon. megyn: he is accused of kidnapping and raping an 11- year-old girl, holding her for nearly two decades, fathering two children with her. soon there could be more people like phillip garrido on the streets of california, about 20,000 more on the streets. and two officers cut loose after this jailhouse beating caught on tape. the inmate is a woman suspected of drunken driving.

they are fighting back and they say there is much more to the story. we will show you the tape. gecko vo: geico's the third-largest car insurance company in the nation. but, it's not like we're kicking back, now, havin' a cuppa tea. gecko vo: takes lots of sweat to become that big. gecko vo: 'course, geckos don't literally sweat... it's just not our thing... gecko vo: ...but i do work hard, mind you. gecko vo: first rule of "hard work equals success." gecko vo: that's why geico is consistently rated excellent or better in terms of financial strength. gecko vo: second rule:

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megyn: this is a fox news alert. you just heard from president obama and about base about decisions on a european missile defense shield. now we are waiting for robert gates. that is the pentagon, where he is expected to take to the

microphone. we will hear what he has to say after the u.s. has announced that they will not be going forward with a missile defense shield. >> i would like to first the knowledge and the loss of six italian soldiers and a number of civilians from an attack in kabul. our condolences go out to those involved in the attack. this week, and a recommendation from the president and national security team and senior leadership, decided to change the architecture of our missile defense in europe. i believe this will enhance our ability to respond to the most immediate threats in the continent as well as future threats. first, some background. on december 27, 2006, i recommended to president bush that he initiate a european- based missile system that would put an advanced radar in the czech republic and 10 ground interceptors in poland. at that time, this was

considered the best way to protect the u.s. and our european allies from the growing threat looming from iran. since then, two important developments have prompted a reassessment of our approach. first, a change in our intelligence community's 2006 view of the iranian threat. the intelligence community now assesses the threat from iran to short and medium-range ballistic missiles is developing more rapidly than previously projected. this poses an increase and more immediate threat to our forces on the european continent as well as our allies. on the other hand, our intelligence assessment also now assesses the threat of potential iranian intercontinental missile capabilities has been slower to develop and was estimated in 2006. the second development relates to our technology. over the last few years we have made great strides with missile

defense, particularly in our ability to counter short and medium-range missiles. we now have proven capability to intercept these missiles with land and sea-based interceptors with much improved centers. these provide the capability to track and shoot down enemy missiles. this allows us to deploy a district in its center network rather than a single fixed sites like the kind slated for the czech republic, enabling greater survivability and adaptability. we have also improved the standard missile which has had a tussle flight tests since 2007. these tests have demonstrated the capabilities and have given us greater confidence in the system and its future. based on these factors, we have now opportunity to deploy a new test -- sensors and interceptors in europe that, near term, can

refine missile defense coverage from more immediate threats. in the initial stage we will deploy ships with days and the centers which provides the flexibility to move interceptors from one region to another where needed. the second phase, about 2015, will involve upgrading field- based missiles. consultations have begun with allies starting with poland and the czech republic, about holding a land-based version of the missile and other components of the system. basing some interceptors on land will provide additional coverage and save costs, compared to a purely sea-based approach. over time, this architecture will incorporate new technologies as well as more interceptors, expanding the range of coverage, improving our ability to knock down multiple targets, and to increase the

survivability of the system. this also provide that with greater flexibility to adapt to the developing threats and evolving technologies. for example, although the iranian long-range missile threat is not as in the as we previously thought, this system will allow us to incorporate future systems against such threats. perhaps most important, we can feel the initial element of the system to protect our forces in europe and allies roughly six earlier than the previous plan, in fact made irrelevant by -- relevant by the delays in the european process. i would also no plans to cover most of europe and add to the defense of the u.s. homeland will continue on about the same schedule as before as the president has said clearly, as long as the iranian threat persists,persists, we will pursn

and cost-effective missile defenses. today, we are briefing the congress and nato allies about the plan. one of our guiding controls for missile defense remains the involvement and support of our allies and partners. we will continue to remain -- work with our allies and develop a system that mostly defend against real and growing threats. those who say that we are scrapping missile defense in europe are either misinformed or misrepresenting the reality of what we are doing. the security of europe has been a vital national interest to the u.s. for my entire career. this circumstance, borders, and reps may have changed, but the commitment continues. this approach provides a better missile defense capability for our forces in europe, for our european allies, and eventually for our program -- homeland,

from the program i recommended years ago. it takes advantage of new technical capabilities given to us today. with that, let me turn to general court right who has been involved in the development of this. megyn: there you have it, bob gates lang, the plan in detail about the plan to scrap the missile defense shield for europe, saying that decision was made by the president on the advice of his national security team. he is talking about how he was the one who recommended the missile defense shield to president bush, but that he has also done an about-face, saying based on a couple of developments, including our view of the threat from iran and our ability to counter short and medium-range missiles, saying we have new abilities to intercept

those with our own missiles. those who suggest any other reason, striking a deal, are either misinformed or misrepresenting the facts. as he spoke, we got statements from certain republicans on capitol hill, including john kyl, who called the decision dangerous and shortsighted. he said it means america vulnerable to the missile threat the pope -- posed by iran. essentially, a warning to the people of eastern europe. despite the fact that poland and the czech republic have committed their soldiers to fighting in iraq and afghanistan alongside u.s. soldiers, today the administration has turned its back on their allies. that is just a sample of the republican blowback that we are starting to hear.

much more on this. bill: mike emanuel is also reporting -- not expect a statement from former president bush. there will be constant reaction throughout the day, so we will be all over it. in the meantime, -- megyn: two officers fired after a jailhouse beating caught on tape. one woman goes from suspect to victim. even officers -- even their boss wants them gone, but they are not going down without a fight. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert

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bill: any moment from now we should see robert gibbs in front of the microphone. they are watching the briefing at the pentagon, so perhaps there waiting for that to conclude.

expect two major topics. one in the announcement 20 minutes ago about scrapping the missile defense shield. they are going for a different option. they believe the intelligence on iran has changed and they do not have the advancing capability for a long range intercontinental ballistic missile. the other topic is health care. kathleen sebelius, the secretary of hhs, we expect her to be standing up side by side with robert gibbs. when that meeting starts, we will be covering it. in the meantime -- megyn: officers back on the court -- on the force now after surrounding -- surrendering their guns and badges after beating a woman one month and was brought in for being drunk. she is one against the wall.

you can see her head smashing against the wall. a short time later she is back on her feet and then the same officer sticks his finger in her face. and then the deputy lands a haymaker and knocks her to the floor. as he walked out, she follows him and they come back in the cell and throw her to the ground. both men were fired but an independent review panel said they should be reinstated, but their own boss says that that is unacceptable and is trying to keep them out. let's ask our panel. good morning. it is shocking to see, and the sheriff is not happy, but does he have a point trying to keep these guys off his force? >> my father is retired nypd so

i hope i have a good appreciation of what they do. although it is a tough job. i took we side with police in these types of cases. i have to be honest. notwithstanding that, i cannot defend this. this is a textbook excessive force. this is the video they should show at the academy as to what you should not do. look at what you have. you have a woman who is maybe 100 pounds -- and she is not armed. she does not even have shoes on. in the other corner you have two officers who are pretty big. maybe 500 pounds collectively between the two of them. is she annoying, issued on and on the doors? yes. is there another way to deal

with this? absolutely. megyn: their defense lawyer has said that you have not seen the whole tape. not only that, she was offensive, combative, noncompliant, and was making an attempt to escape. can we trust the tape? >> when i watched this video, i had the same reaction, definitely excessive force, but then i watched it again and thought, definitely, excessive force. they had a three-day hearing and they are learning things that we are not privy to. i do not know what they are. i do not know what supplemented the record to let them conclude -- that led them to conclude something different. typically, statistically, the chances of a higher tribunal reversing facts found by a lower commission, are very low.

they are going to uphold. megyn: i will tell you what the officers' defense lawyer is arguing. he says -- let's put this in slow-motion. they say if you watch this in slow-motion, the officer slipped. he does go down. he did not mean to slam her into the wall. look, he is going down, and that is why she hit the wall. there are other police who are supporting that. they also say that she was trying to escape. and you cannot hear the audio. >> admittedly, when ever you are dealing with a video tape, you have to allow for these types of things, what happened before, what happened after? there might be some things going

on outside the frame as well. i cannot think of any possible scenario that can lead to this situation. i cannot fathom what could have happened before that would result in this type of force being used against this woman. >> there is more. do not kill the messenger, but they are alleging the bruises she sustained on her face happened days earlier than this, and the bruising on her leg came because she was banging on the door incessantly. >> i don't care if she does not have any bruises. if you are blessed with the gift of sight, you need to only look at this videotape. he pointed out to the commission -- you pointed to the commission, it sounds like this body had been around for awhile, but this is just five individuals that have been appointed. there could be a lot of

conflicts of interest, politics. i do not know if that is going to apply in this situation. >> it is not much different from the average juror on any criminal case. >> the judge was there judge wasthe law and make his -- there and made his ruling. megyn: one final word, as disturbing as this video is, it could be misleading. since it is only snippets and there is no audio, i.m. reluctant to condemn officers, but it looks bad. the share admitted the decision of the panel and perhaps the need to live up to that. perhaps he should be putting the officers through additional

training in the meantime. bill: also in the meantime, officials looking at possible al qaeda agents here at home. we have new details on when troubling find in one of those states. megyn: and we may learn more about the murder of a yale student when the suspect is arranged. . . sfx: coin drop, can shaking

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bill: we are waiting on robert gibbs to come before that microphone. he will brief reporters on to big topics today. and we should see a rare sighting today. kathleen sibelius is expected to enter the room along with robert is a -- robert kids and talk about where we are with health

care today. this is a day after max baucus came out with his plan, which he announced himself. he was a brave soul. not a single democrat or republican in the committee he chairs can stand by him and endorsed his plan publicly. -- endorse his plan publicly. the other situation is president obama's decision to reverse this military and strategic move in eastern europe, to block away from the planned missile defense move towards a shield in poland and the czech republic. we are waiting on that briefing. two big topics. do not move. we will have it all for you. megyn: as we await that, witnesses marvel this morning that the pilot of a small plane that crashed after takeoff was able to walk away injured -- uninjured. it is a quick shot, but watch

this. here it is. something bad is happening there. you can see t of a warehouse complex in california. people heard the impact inside. they were stunned. no one was hurt. look at the aftermath. i am stunned, too. it was taking off from an executive airport when a bank and went down. according to witnesses, it immediately burst into flames. >> we could not get within 100 feet of the fire. it was an inferno. all of the sudden, the guy on the other side of the fence, 50 feet away, is yelling at us, asking how to get on the other side. we get a little closer, and one side of his pants are ripped to shreds and his hands are burnt. he said he just unstraps, bolted out the back door when the plane

hit, and made it out. megyn: it is unbelievable. witnesses say it looks like the plane suddenly lost power. the faa is investigating. bill: there is a lottery to get out there in california that has that guy's name on a -- there is a lottery ticket out there without a guy's name on it plus a powerful decongestant. zyrtec-d® lets me breathe freer, so i can love the air™. (announcer) zyrtec-d®. behind the pharmacy counter. no prescription needed.

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