this story. meanwhile, our slogan this hour comes to you from sophia in perry hall, maryland. i spend time with you before my morning shower because being clean is important but information is power. >> i want to hear more about the guy who made the half court shot blindfolded. >> steve, you will. >> really? >> we have three hours to talk about who's able to see when they shoot and who isn't. but meanwhile, we should talk about the president. he's 24 hours from the major state of the union address. not a lot of people know the tone and content of what he's talking about. >> he's proposing now a spending freeze much that's going to happen in the state of the union address tomorrow night. joining us from washington with district attorn details is moliny wilkes. >> president obama plans to call for a three year spending freeze in his state of the union

address speech tomorrow. administration officials say this would not apply to defense related programs or entitlement programs so that means a huge part of the budget is exempted from the freeze. take a look. here is what exempt. the cost of wars in iraq and afghanistan, foreign aid, the budgets for homeland security and the veterans administration plus social security, medicare and medicaid. now, what will be frozen are the domestic programs and fees, relatively small portion of the overall budget. savings would be modest $10 to $15 billion next year. but the administration says that does add up to $250 billion over 10 years. the president also met yesterday with his middle class task force, outlining some other proposals that he says will give families a much needed break. he's going to ask congress to boost tax credits for childcare or dependent care. reduce monthly payments on student loans and require automatic signups at work for

individual retirement accounts. but tomorrow's state of the union will focus mainly on jobs. >> there's more we're going to talk about. we're going to talk about how we can first of all focus on job creation and growth and i met with the republicans, by the way, several weeks ago so i had their ideas. i know what they're proposing and some of the things we propose are things that actually should get some strong bipartisan support. >> now, on the spending freeze during the presidential debate last year, the first debate with john mccain, president obama said at that time, the problem with the spending freeze is that you're using a hatchet when you need a scalpel so it remains to be seen if there's going to be any kind of surgical precision in the cuts to those domestic agencies. gretchen, brian, steve, back to you. >> all right. >> dems are pushing back on that already before republicans even weighed in. >> all they have to do, though, is play the tape. we have the tape where during the debate with john mccain, now

president and then senator barack obama was against an across-the-board spending freeze before he was for it. >> he is also for change we can believe in and having a very transparent white house and now, in this interview with abc yesterday, one of the first things he said is that yeah, you know, i just can't change congress. i can't change the way they operate things on capitol hill. it was a very interesting thing. and part of that thing, he said i made a mistake and then he went on to say that i can't -- i can't make the changes here that i had hoped for and i think a lot of people will be disappointed with that because a lot of people voted for him based on the fact that they thought the change was going to happen. >> all right. let's listen. >> i think your question points out to a legitimate mistake that i made during the course of the year. and that is that we had to make so many decisions quickly in a very difficult set of

circumstances that after a while, we started worrying more about getting the policy right than getting the process right. i think the health care debate as it unfolded legitimately raised concerns not just among my opponents but also amongst supporters that we don't know what's going on and it's an ugly process and it looks like there are a bunch of back room deals. i think that this gets into a big mush so let's just clarify. i didn't make a bunch of deals. all right? there's a legislative process that was taking place in congress and i am happy to own up to the fact that i have not changed congress and how it operates the way i would have liked. >> but is it the answer to that statement that maybe if you had the proposal like hillary care and put it forward and said you accept this and you would have gotten involvement. it was backwards. he gave them a loose framework,

he claims and told the house and senate to come up with bills, told committees to come up with bills and spread it out, fan it out. they were cutting the deals. maybe he was twisting the arms. he was making the phone calls but he never had the plan that he was pushing. it was all formulated and put together there in front of all of our eyes or some of ours and we saw the aftermath of it so when he says it's an ugly process and he couldn't reform congress, if he wrote the plan and handed it down, it might have been a different story. >> yeah. so what they did is they learned from hillary care that, you know, it was all crafted at the white house and jammed down the throats of congress. now it's the other way around and now the president is saying hey, i didn't make any of those deals because people are frustrated at the deals that louisiana got, nebraska got, the unions got. it's interesting, there's a brand new poll out this morning and this is very bad news for the president. close to three out of four americans say that at least half, half of the stimulus money, $787 billion was wasted. and you know, that's the kind of

reputation that you don't want as you're trying to generate some jobs. >> if he says that he cannot control congress and these backdoor deals and he's not personally responsible, didn't a lot of those meeting where's they crafted those deals happen at the white house. didn't senator ben nelson come to the white house? correct me, guys, if i'm wrong. didn't some of these back room deals happen at the white house which is point number one. >> sure. >> point number two is there were eight times on tape when the president said that he wanted all of this to play out on c-span so i believe that as president of the united states, he would have had some control to be able to make this process more transparent for the american people. >> clearly, he wants a do over. he's going to -- you know, he brought back his campaign's number one strategist, campaign manager and in fact, david plaffe sent out a letter to supporters saying wednesday night, we got to regroup. let's have state of the union watching meetings and parties all across america and if you'd like one at your house, we will arrange to have total strangers come to your house and eat all

of your doritos. >> and he's a fan of using reconciliation to still jam health care through. are these deals actually happening right now as the president of the united states is making that interview and saying that he made a mistake in not being transparent? are those deals still happening with regard to health care? you have to be on the judge on that depending on how it all plays out. >> he was also -- he went on to talk about now he's going to put himself as the champion of the middle class. he blames the huge deficit on war spending that wasn't paid for, prescription drug plan that he claims it wasn't paid for and the stimulus plan he absolutely needed so here's president obama on the prospect of raising taxes. would he go back on that pledge for those making less than $250,000? >> can you guarantee them still, there will be no taxes on anybody who makes under $250,000 a year? that will still be absolutely true? >> i can guarantee that the worst thing we could do would be to raise taxes when the economy

is still this week. >> ok. so he's saying the worst thing that could happen is for them to raise taxes but when you listen to what senior advisor david axelrod said just on sunday morning, you wonder. here's that soundbite. >> we have to deal with these deficits. if anybody has a plan to do this without raising any taxes on anybody, you know, upper income or lower, or below, then they should come forward with it. >> so he's forming a commission, a bipartisan plan to reduce the deficit and reconfigure spending. if he does that and they come up with their conclusions and that includes raising taxes on those who make less than $250,000, we go along with it and say look, i'm doing what the commission told me to which the american people aren't supportive. is that a way of getting around it? >> yeah, but that would be probably the number two reason why people voted for president obama. the first one being change we believe in which we just discussed about transparency and

the second would be not being taxed if you made under $250,000, those would be two massive campaign pledges that were broken. thing that caught me with the president's statement, though, he said i can guarantee the worst thing we could do is to raise taxes when the economy is still this weak. that signaled to me that if the economy picks up, you'll be taxed. >> that's a good observation. >> that is good. >> but the big question is when is that going to happen? you know, what he really needs to focus on is jobs. and what is he going to announce? tomorrow, he's going to announce targeted tax cuts for families in the middle class. a lot of those families are his voting block. if you don't have children and have your own i.r.a., you'll be pretty were unaffected by it. ultimately, what we understand is the president will continue to push for health care and one of the other things, i thought the sound bite of the night with diane sawyer was when he said and this is astounding.

when he said, i'd rather be a really good one term president than a mediocre two term president. >> that was amazing. second time that he's signaled that he may not run for another term or was that another swipe at president bush? >> but the other thing is -- >> another way of interpreting it. >> if you're a really good one term president, you're going to get a second term. so, you know, you don't go hey, i'm going out on a high note, see ya! >> right. >> joe biden, the keys are yours. >> of course, we'll be joining you early thursday morning, 5:00 a.m. because that will be directly after the state of the union. we'll have complete analysis. now, a couple of headlines for you. we have to start with fox news alert today. another deadly bombing in baghdad. this time a homicide bomber struck iraq's interior ministry leaving 18 people dead. the majority of those killed were police officers who worked in a crime lab. the bombing comes just one day after three dozen people were killed in bombings outside popular baghdad hotels. haiti's president is asking the world for hundreds of thousands of tents to give his people some place to live. as many as one million people

need shelter now. tent cities popping up all over the place including a soccer stadium. meantime, royal caribbean's return to haiti is facing a new round of scrutiny as the first photos emerge of passengers relaxing 100 miles away from the disaster zone. the cruise company points out that ships are bringing relief supplies to haiti. royal caribbean promises $1 million in humanitarian relief for the country and will donate 100% of its revenue from the visit to relief efforts. the senate's homeland security committee holding another hearing this morning on the intelligence failures leading up to the bomb plot on christmas day. now, this comes as two top senators on the committee, joe lieberman and susan collins send a letter to the president. they want the underwear bomber, that guy, transferred to military custody so he can be questioned further. >> he may have information that will help us stop the next terrorist act. >> it's not too late for the

administration to try to undo the harm of its earlier decision. >> meantime in yemen, an official there says 43 people are being questioned in connection with that one plot. nancy kerrigan's brother mark says he thought his dad was only pretending to be hurt when he fell to the floor during a violent fight with him. but the dad was not faking it. he was dying. during mark kerrigan's arraignment yesterday, he hung his head and cried. he is charged now with assault after admitting that he locked his hands around his father's throat seen here with nancy and that that led to his death. they were fighting over the telephone in the house that they share in massachusetts. prosecutors say mark has a long criminal record, that it includes an arrest for assault with a deadly weapon. actor pernell roberts best known for playing adam cartwright on the hit "western bonanz bonanza" has passed away.

>> ♪ maybe somewhere there's someone waiting there with a smile and maybe ♪ >> roberts is the last surviving member or was of the classic tv cast shocked hollywood by leaving the show in 1965 at the height of its popularity. he later found fame again with his title role in "trapper john m.d." roberts died of pancreatic cancer at his malibu home on sunday. he was 81. >> i didn't know he could sing. >> all right. 13 minutes after the top of the hour. osama bin laden speaks out about the underwear bomber, the u.k. raises the threat level saying a terror attack is highly likely. do they know something we don't? we'll ask somebody who usually knows, former head of the c.i.a. bin laden unit will join us. and -- >> the coast guard to the rescue. why they were called in to save a 5-year-old girl from an oil tanker. and what was she even doing there? was it a he? find out straight ahead. ( inspiring music playing )

someday, cars will be engineered using nanotechnology to convert plants into components. the first-ever hs hybrid. only from lexus.

>> if you're just waking up, it's 16 minutes past the hour of 6:00 and some quick headlines, that would be from the east coast. big news from apple tomorrow, expected to up veil a highly anticipated cabinet type computer, supposed to be bigger than an iphone but smaller than a laptop. stay tuned. and ford will add 1,200 jobs there at an assembly plant. i guess that's going to be in detroit or is it chicago? chicago, i guess. to build the new explorer. the company in illinois governor

pat quinn are expected to make the announcement today. some of the new hires will be from ford's pool of employees laid off at other facilities. that's good news. >> u.k. has raised their terror threat to a severe level but won't say the reason why which drives people nuts. what do they know? what's behind u.b.l.'s comeback, is it really him? why did he choose to speak out now? >> we turn to an expert, former head of the c.i.a. bin laden unit, michael shorer joins us from d.c. good morning to you. >> good morning, sir. >> the u.k. raised the threat level from substantial to severe. we're not doing anything over here. what do they know and we don't? >> well, they have an extremely good internal security service. and i have to say that if they know something about a threat to the united states, we would know it. so it's not a question of them withholding information. this is a domestic problem for the u.k. they have a tremendous number of people who are more loyal to islam or their home countries

than they are to the u.k. and it reflects the number of threats that they're dealing with every day. >> why does bin laden come out and say i'm responsible and i salute you, crotch bomber. what was the sense of him saying that? >> well, you know, their theory of media is not to say anything until the power of the american media is spent on the crouch bomber, for example, the meaning of it is several fold. first, indicating that al-qaida is still in control of what's going on, whether it comes out of yemen or algeria or iraq. second, i think he wanted to put a lot of pressure on president obama for putting this man into the criminal justice system rather than giving him to the military. he gave abdulmutallab from al-qaida, he clearly was a combatant, not a criminal and that's just a couple of the things he's after in this statement. >> michael, what do you make of the analysis that some of the language that he used in this

particular tape seems to be the same kind of stuff he's said that's been a precursor to other attacks? >> well, everything he says should be considered a precursor to another attack. the really outstanding thing that sticks in my mind about this is he is on the same message today that he was in august of 1996 when he declared war. we have had repeated governments who pay no attention to what he says as if it doesn't make any difference. are there going to be more attacks? without question. america is wide open to attacks. >> michael, wow. interesting point to end on. michael, we'll have you on again. thanks so much. >> thank you, sir. >> all right. president obama announcing for the middle class there will be a tax cut. but with a series of tax credits and retirement be enough? we'll talk to three real middle-class people next. >> and it was the climate change summit that changed nothing except the size of our tax wallet. congress spending hundreds of

thousands of taxpayer dollars to take a trip, make a family vacation of it. you have to hear this one to believe it.

>> welcome back, everyone. president obama and vice president joe biden laying out their plan to help the middle class. >> we're going to keep fighting to rebuild our economy so that hard work is once again rewarded, wages and incomes are once again rising and the middle class is once again growing. >> but what do actual middle class americans think of the committee's proposal? here on our special panel this morning spencer holden, president of erickson insurance services, brett mcmahan, vice president of miller and long concrete construction and jeff blitz, independent communications consultant and freelance journalist. good morning, gentlemen. >> good morning.

>> let me start with you since you're sitting in new york. part of the task force proposals included this. let's take a look. help families with soaring childcare costs. help families pay for care for elderly relatives. cap payments on federal student loans and make it easier to save for retirement with making it, i think, mandatory that you have to set up retirement accounts. your take on that as a business owner. is that going to help your employees? >> i think given a little bit of money to the middle class is not going to solve our economic recovery. what we need to do is create jobs. right now, according to january 8th figures, with 15.3 million americans out of work, double digit unemployment, we need tax incentives for small businesses so we can grow the economy. >> mr. mcmahan, i know one of the things that concerns you when they set up this task force is you didn't feel that small business owners were represented in this group. >> yeah, you know, i really don't know who they talk to. it seems like they get a bunch of the larger unions, a bunch of the nonprofits and a couple of professors together but they

don't actually ask anybody who puts money at risk and employs people and signs the front of a paycheck so kind of par for the course for this administration and most government solutions is they don't talk to the people who actually make the difference. >> do you agree with that? >> i do. i think the fact that they're not reaching out to the people that are in the trenches every day is a serious mistake and could have some longer term ramifications. >> one of the things that we saw under the bush administration was they did send out checks to the american people and a lot of people said, well, that worked and some people said that didn't work so well. did you think that helps when you actually put the money in the pockets of the american people? >> well, certainly it helps but it's not going to bring us back to full economic recovery. i was speaking yesterday to a friend from michigan who has 16% unemployment in michigan. the factories are closed down. i'm giving those 16% of the population $200 to $300 is not going to help them survive. what they need are jobs.

they need small businesses coming to their state, they need the businesses that are there to flourish and we can only get that through tax incentives for small businesses. >> mr. mcmahan and mr. blitz, i'd like to get your thoughts real quickly of whether or not we'll hear more stimulus money in the state of the union speech tomorrow night. >> boy, i hope not. it's been a waste thus far. the, you know, my industry, we're at 23% unemployment. that's kind of the top line number. it's probably much higher than that. really hasn't solved the problem. it can't really. simplest thing to do would be across-the-board tax cuts and cut everybody's payroll taxes off the top. >> three out of four americans think most of the money was wasted the first time around. will we hear the president talk about more stimulus bucks? >> i do. i don't think you'll hear it listed out in terms or use that label for stimulus. you' you'll see a number of programs. like the middle class

initiatives you'll see more spending put out there for everybody trying to make people happy. >> we thank the panel for joining us bright and early this morning. we'll see what the president says tomorrow night. thanks so much. >> thank you. >> well, the polls show president obama is the most polarizing president ever. after one year in office, whose fault is that? well, not his. find out who the white house is pointing the finger at. a list of where not to stay. the top 10 dirtiest hotels in the country. oh, boy. and happy birthday to ellen degeneres, the talk show host and incoming "american idol" judge is 52 today. she can still dance, though, right?

♪ love hurts ♪ love scars ♪ love wounds [ male announcer ] before you ever love it, the nissan altima goes through over 5,000 tests. no wonder it's ranked highest in initial quality by j.d. power and associates. it's quality you can love. lease an altima for $189 a month or get $1,500 cash back. offers end february 1st. ♪

and how to get a month of boniva free. even though i tried to keep my bones strong, it wasn't enough. now, once-monthly boniva is helping me do more. boniva worked with my body to stop and reverse my bone loss. learn how you can get a free month of boniva by joining the myboniva program you'll also get bone-healthy exercise tips, calcium-rich recipes, and even a monthly reminder from me, all free. so call or go to myboniva.com and sign up now. (announcer) don't take boniva if you have low blood calcium, severe kidney disease, or can't sit or stand for at least one hour. follow dosing instructions carefully. stop taking boniva and tell your doctor if you have difficult or painful swallowing, chest pain or severe or continuing heartburn, as these may be signs of serious upper digestive problems. if jaw problems or severe bone, joint, and/or muscle pain develop, tell your doctor.

ask your doctor if boniva can help you stop losing and start reversing. (announcer) to join the myboniva program and get one month free, go to myboniva.com or call 1-877-287-9140. >> glad you're up. it's raining here but at least it's not that cold. that's my weather update. >> thank you. >> you're welcome.

you can take the rest of the day off. >> good-bye. >> here's what's happening in the world. new york's community board will vote today on a resolution asking the feds to move the trial of 9/11 conspirators out of their neighborhood. committee members say the trials will make them targets all over again just like on 9/11. they wanted the trial of khalid sheik muhammad and four others moved to governors island. new york city has asked the feds to help pick up the cost of security. >> meanwhile, a 5-year-old and his parents are safe and sound this morning after being medevaced from an oil tanker east of the island of bermuda. the boy was experiencesing symptoms of appendicitis. since the tanker was 250 nautical miles off shore, a coast guard chopper and crew had to come in and get the boy and his parents. they were taken to a hospital in bermuda. that's good. >> women in france may not be allowed to wear any face covering veils. parliament asking for veils to be banned in public places like

hospitals and schools. president nicholas sarkozy has said veils are "not welcome" on french military and that led to months of hearings and intense public debate. muslim leaders complaining their religion is becoming a government target. brian? >> why don't we say that in the u.s.? fox television is looking to move fast on a deal with conan o'brien. steve doocey, you owe me a buck. >> that wasn't in the prompter. >> talks with conan's reps could start as early as this week. the network already polling affiliates about the possibility of clearing an 11:00 p.m. spot for the host. o'brien has got $45 million to leave nbc. conan can work somewhere else starting in the fall. he's forced to take time off and live on zillions of dollars. >> yep. let's take a look at what's going on in the weather. we'll start with some video. look at this. these pictures out of western iowa. >> real? >> yeah, can you believe it? take a look at this.

deadly storm moving across mid plains states. this is of the i-35 area, they closed the road for a while as you saw a moment ago, the car flipped on the road and the blowing and drifting really, really bad out there. meanwhile, let's take a look at what's going on throughout the 48 connected states, we continue to have the pacific storm being felt all the way from washington down through oregon and california and some lingering effects of that big storm that blew through the northeast and knocked the juice out at brian kilmeade's mom's house yesterday. >> from 1:00 until 9:00 at night, she insisted on being left alone. >> do you blame her? >> meanwhile, luckily, it was not really cold at your mom's house yesterday. temperatures in the 40's for the most part. currently here in new york, we got 41. northern plains, it is bitter. temperatures in the single digits and then mid plains, 20's and 30's down along, as you can see the gulf coast temperatures in the 40's and 50's although

san antonio right now, 39 degrees. later on today, things will warm up. it will be in the mid 50's for the most part in the mid atlantic. 60's down through much of the great state of florida and texas as well. but chilly once again in the northern plains. all right. brian kilmeade loves soccer news and some sad news this morning. >> yeah, tragic it looks like. the top star in paraguay's world cup soccer team shot in the head. it happened at a mexico city bar. he is still alive after undergoing seven hours of surgery to remove the bullet but doctors say they cannot guarantee he will live. two men have been arrested in the shooting. police say it appears to be a barroom brawl. now, our football and it is good news especially for the networks carrying football. the nfc championship games get big ratings on fox. 58 million people watched the saints and vikings overtime thriller. that's the highest rating for a championship conference game since the 49ers and the cowboys

played in 1982. the saints won sending them to their first ever super bowl, as you know. for the record, president obama likes the saints over indianapolis. huge rating on the other side as well. take a look at this. joe branstrom, this is what steve was talking about in the cold open. he thought he would be the butt of the joke when he was blindfolded at the pep rally. he's the girls basketball coach and told if he made the shot in the half court, he'd win tickets to the final four. students were told to yell and scream when he missed. only problem is he made the shot! the other problem -- no tickets. >> you've got to be kidding me. >> you cannot be serious in the words of john mcenroe. that's a quick look at the -- somebody has tickets, they should give them to that guy in olathe, kansas. >> i think -- >> they polled the student body and they should get money to get them tickets. >> people at the final four should give him tickets and say here's the guy that did that. >> i got some inside information. >> which is. >> he got a gift certificate to a mexican restaurant. >> are you kidding me? >> is it el torito? because that's authentic.

>> i hope it's margaritas or something. >> teacher taking margaritas. >> not a student, right? he's eligible. >> yeah. >> but he might not be a drinker. >> get him tickets. 24 minutes before the top of the hour. let's talk about what the climate, political climate in this country. i believe it's partly polarizing. >> totally polarizing if i was to take the temperature. >> in fact, you know, a gallup poll takes the temperature of what america thinks each and every day. and we frequently have these presidential approval ratings. what they've done is they've taken a look at the average, the average difference in president's popularity between democrats and republicans and they figure how polarized or how divided the country is. well, take a look at what we've got right here. this is president obama's job approval rating. and this is the -- essentially, the most polarized president in the history of the united states. where you can see that 82% of democrats, that's the top line approve of them but only 18% of

republicans which is a 65% difference, that is a big hole. >> in the first year of office, we should point out, this is the highest it's ever been reported and another thing we want to point out, these polls do not add up to 100%. each one is out of 100, ok? so if you're breaking out your calculator and saying it doesn't add up, we're talking about the gap between democrats and republicans and how they feel about the president. now, i believe that the second place president in this was bill clinton at 52, at a 52 point spread during his first year in office. and so does anyone else find it ironic that we're hearkening back to bill clinton again and maybe president obama will take a page out of his book during his state of the union speech? what did bill clinton do? he came to the center of the aisle. he came to the center in his state of the union speech. is that when he said that big government is now over? >> eventually he would in the next year. here is robert gibbs yesterday talking about these polarization

for charts, the polls and the reason behind it. robert? >> i think we live in a very divided country. i think -- and he's worked hard to try to do that but again, as we've talked about here, it is -- you can't change the way washington works if some people don't want to change the way this place works. >> are you blaming washington for that kind of public perception? >> i'm saying that washington has been a polarizing place for quite sometime. >> and according to gallup, it's not getting any better. meanwhile, let's talk a little bit about this. cbs news last night had an exclusive. they took a look at the finances and how much it costs for us to send 160 -- let's see, 106 people from the house and the senate, 60 from the white house as well and they broke down the costs and extraordinarily, you know, if these guys -- they stay at a really nice hotel. they stayed at the marriott in copenhagen when they went to the climate summit.

it was five star. it was $2200 per night. each one of the congressmen had a bill for $4400. now, that is obviously way north of what the average american spends even on their mortgage payments. and that was just for two days of fun over in copenhagen. >> it was guys and gals. there were republicans and democrats there. the total bill was $404,000. here to me was the most disturbing part of this is that when these members of congress were questioned about this kind of expenditure and using taxpayer money, many of them said they'd never seen the bills or the expense reports. isn't there an inherent problem in that? that, i guess, we have so much tax money from all of us to just throw around that nobody bothers to look at how much things cost? this is what henry waxman had to say about it, democrat from california. i was there because i thought it was important for me to be there. i didn't look at it as a pleasure trip. only problem is i think the average american would look at $2200 a day as a pleasure trip. >> all right. >> yeah, do we need 106 people

there and can't they stay at a youth hostel? >> i think they should. get a backpack and go. >> look at expenses and start doing what everybody else in america is doing and tightening the belt. >> look, if they cannot negotiate a better deal at a hotel, do you really think they're going to negotiate a better deal in a climate summit? it's absolutely crazy. they also spent over a million dollars on air just to get them all over there. >> do you know what nancy pelosi's office said? the marriott wouldn't give in. they made us pay for six nights even though we were only staying for two. you can't use the leverage of the u.s. government to come down on the marriott? the guys painting in the hotel, couldn't we find out where j.w. marriott is now or his relatives? couldn't we go call them? >> and ultimately was any of that money well spent? well, we didn't wind up with any sort of a deal. >> didn't we solve global warming in the end, though? >> in copenhagen. >> it's still going on big time. >> that was one of the top hotels in the u.s. what about the dirtiest? >> copenhagen.

>> oh, yeah, copenhagen, sorry. i'm back to the u.s. now for the dirtiest ones. i don't know who does these polls. >> trip advisor. >> ok. america's 10 dirtiest hotels in case you want to know where not to stay potentially. number one award goes to the heritage marina hotel in san francisco. apparently, they have a bed bug problem there. >> yeah. i heard in an interview with somebody -- >> is that it? >> on the radio, i believe that's a picture taken by somebody who put their personal photographs on trip advisor. >> i'm anti-bed bug, by the way. >> they said there was a terrible smell in the lobby when they arrived. that's not good. let's take a look in eureka, missouri, the days inn six flags is apparently number two and there you can see a little problem with some carpet and what not. not good. >> moving on up. >> stay at the resort hotel in virginia beach, virginia, shouldn't go there. some problems with the ceiling fans and no pictures available at this hour? >> apparently not.

>> that's pictures at the super 8 in virginia beach. >> the super 8 in virginia beach, that's the number four. let's move to the number five. straussburg, pennsylvania. >> quality inn. look at that. the bottom of the bathroom door is chipped and they had -- that's actually a lovely area. according to one of the trip advisor rateers, mold in one of the rooms, a product stuck to another family member's blow dryer and dirty towels left in the room. >> so what's bad about that? >> the room is perfect. >> by the way, i went to a soccer camp and stayed in a barrack. >> really? >> more on that later. >> tripadvisor.com, you can find all the hotels maybe you don't want to visit. new details about the federal bailout of aig. remember that insurance giant, did the government bend its own laws to deceive all of us? judge napolitano weighs in next. >> haven't seen him yet. wonder if he's here. a bookstore owner wants workers

to only speak english in front of his customers. it's not going over well. even though we're in america. >> we're going to debate it. [ birds screech ] [ loud rumbling ] [ rifle fires ] [ announcer ] if you think about it, this is what makes theladders different... from other job search sites. we only want the big jobs. join theladders.com. only $100k+ jobs and only $100k+ talent. and now, all premium members get a free résumé critique.

it was really nice to meet you, a.j. yeah, you too.

a.j.? (alarm blasting) (screaming) (phone rings) hello? this is bill with broadview security. is everything okay? no. there's this guy - he just smashed in my door. i'm sending help right now. thank you. (announcer) brink's home security is now broadview security. call now to install the standard system for just $99. the proven technology of a broadview security system delivers rapid response from highly-trained professionals, 24 hours a day. call now to get the $99 installation, plus a second keypad installed free. and, you could save up to 20% on your homeowner's insurance. call now-- and get the system installed for just $99. broadview security for your home or business-- the next generation of brink's home security. call now. >> all right. it's about a quarter before the top of the hour on this tuesday. here's some headlines. good news for flyers, plans to raise airline fares grounded

temporarily. united, delta and american airlines all announcing they will not raise fares in this 2010 year. last week, american hiked its price but when other big airlines didn't follow, they rolled back prices to stay competitive. meanwhile, ticketmaster, the nation's dominant ticket seller and live nation, the world's largest concert promoter are now one. the newly formed live nation entertainment will own more than 140 concert venues globally and sell around 140 million tickets a year. all right. brian? gretchen? >> we're now finally learning about the details involved in the government's bailout of insurance giant a.i.g. we're getting a lot of these emails and it doesn't look good for the fed and the characters involved. a lot of them into jobs. >> let's go back to october 2008. lawyers for the new york federal reserve bank advised lawyers for a.i.g. which is receiving $185 billion from the treasury and the new york fed not to reveal the true identity of certain

creditors and not to reveal that some of those creditors had been promised 100 cents on the dollar. >> a big no-no in the judge's world. here to explain, fox news senior analyst judge andrew napolitano. wednesday, timothy geithner goes to explain himself about what he did in his old job on capitol hill. >> the only explanation he could give is i didn't know anything about it because there's no lawful explanation to this. there's two problems. remember, the treasury which has custody of american tax dollars and the new york fed which has custody of money from the federal reserve together bailed out a.i.g. for $185 billion. in order for a.i.g. to get the $185 billion, they had to fill out a lot of forms. who do you owe money to? what are you going to do with the money? >> just like individuals. >> exactly. you would have to fill out this form if you were going to borrow $5,000 to renovate a portion of your house. the lawyers for the fed tell a.i.g., don't put on those forms that you owe money to goldman sachs and you're going to pay goldman sachs 100 cents on the

dollar and then they approach the lawyers for the f.c.c. and say it's an f.c.c. regulation that requires us to reveal who the creditors are, what we're going to pay. can you see your way to letting us not comply with that regulation? and what do you think the f.c.c. says? yes. >> no. they should have said no! >> let's pretend this is a matter of national security. and therefore, we don't have to reveal anything. so you have the s.e.c. willing to break its own rules. you have the fed, the new york fed willing to break federal law, who was the head of the new york fed at the time? timothy geithner. where is he now? secretary of the treasury. who was the secretary of the treasury at the time? ken paulson, what was the job that he had right before he was secretary of the treasury? he was the head of goldman sachs. who was the chairman of the board of the new york fed? steve friedman. what was his day job? chairman of goldman sachs so this ruse, this scheme to get federal dollars to goldman sachs was hidden from the public by

the people who had sworn to uphold the laws that required them to reveal it. >> so this is so complicated but so fascinating, judge. who is going to get in trouble? >> i would guess that mr. geithner will say i didn't know anything about it. now, in fairness to tim geithner, i read the emails, anybody can read them. they're revealed and their public documents. his name doesn't appear on them. none of them is to him. none of them is from him. he will say, you know, this is the lawyers concocting deals. >> the lawyers get in trouble? >> yes. >> yes, it's a suggestion by people sworn to uphold the law that the people they're working with break the law. guess what? if you're charged with a crime and you say to the jury, the government told me to do it, not a defense. >> he is judge andrew napolitano, judge, we're just getting to the bottom of this. we'll be watching the testimony on wednesday. >> watch it together. >> meanwhile, straight ahead, the owner of the bookstore wants employees to speak english because it's in america. a lot of people not happy.

>> language especially in new haven with all the students from yale, people should be able to speak whatever language they choose. >> we report, you decide who is right stuck in the middle with simon, kara and randy, kristen got to be a judge on "american idol" she joins us live with what it was like behind the scenes. >> all that power wasn't helping the mood of a road weary simon cowell. luci: i'm luci romberg.

i'm a free runner... ...national champion gymnast... ...martial artist... and a stuntwoman. if you want to be incredible, eat incredible. announcer: eggs. incredible energy for body and mind. (guitar music)

>> new haven, connecticut, the home of one of america's most prestigious universities is all riled up this morning. a bookstore, atticus which serves yale students is enforcing a new policy for its workers. speak english only. the store states that the rule is to make customers feel welcome and comfortable but is

this new policy fair or discrimination? right now, we are joined by someone from the new haven workers association and jane from the english advocacy group, pro english. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> winn, as i understand it, the policy of this bookstore owner is that if you are in the public eye, dealing with the, you know, a member of the public who is there to buy a book, front of the store in the restaurant or something, speak english. >> that's right. that's the policy. >> and you got a frob wiproblem that? >> yes, i do. most of the employees of this particular bookstore speak spanish as a first language so obviously, when you have people dealing with customers, it makes them speak english because that's the official language of the country. >> not only that but it's good for business, isn't it? >> sure. >> if you speak english. >> yeah. of course, new haven is a particularly multicultural city. and so it's naturally you have a lot of people who do speak two

languages. >> sure. in fact, i think new haven was the first town in america that started issuing i.d. cards for illegal aliens, right? >> right, for undocumented immigrants. >> ok. all right, jane, you have a problem with this? >> no. we don't have a problem with the policy. employers have the right to determine how they want to run their business. and under the law, employers have the right to institute these english on the job policies. it's not discrimination. it's business necessity in this case in order for the employees to be able to communicate with their customers. >> ok. now, have any -- i know one employee gave you the note from the owner. said this is what we're going to do, you have to speak english in front of the customers. is anybody alleging discrimination because people do not speak english? >> well, not in the legal sense. it's not -- there's not a legal issue. we never really contested that the employer has the right to do it or not, but in the city like new haven where we've really done a lot to be sure that

immigrants are welcome in the city, then it doesn't match with the customers and with the city itself. >> jane, the guy who came up with this rule absolutely within the law in doing it, right? >> he is. he's completely within the law. courts have upheld it over and over again that english on the job policies are well within their legal rights. and the equal opportunity commission even says that they permit these english on the job policies as long as you let the employees know, let them know the consequences of violating it, and it's for business necessity reason. >> now, win, i know your group is upset at this. are you going to launch a boycott boycott or anything like that? you'd like this guy to apologize or change the rules? >> no, we haven't begun to police outside the store. >> he's doing something that's legal. >> it's legal. of course it is. we don't contest that it's legal. what we're saying is it's objectionable especially in a city like new haven. >> all right, jane.

we'll give you the final word. >> well, i just don't understand if he's well within his legal rights, why they would be picketing outside and starting facebook groups to try to get patrons not to patronize this bookstore. this man is just trying to run his business. >> there you go. all right. fair and balanced debate. email us, folks out there in tv land, what do you think? friends at foxnews.com. thank you both for joining us. >> thank you. >> all right. straight ahead, three different top white house advisors, three different stories on the number of jobs created. what kind of strategy is that? former white house chief of staff andy card is going to join us live with an insider's perspective. and they're student journalists who fight for the first amend want but their school is censoring them so they quit. we'll talk to them in the next hour of "fox & friends." overly sensitive skin? you would never know.

introducing aveeno ultra-calming with active naturals feverfew. we know feverfew... has properties that help neutralize irritation... to strengthen skin and calm redness in just one week. discover new aveeno ultra-calming.

>> very good tuesday morning to you. january 26, 2010. thank you for sharing your time with us today. it could be a first in washington. president obama ok with not being re-elected? >> the one thing i'm clear about is that i'd rather be a really good one term president than a mediocre two term president. >> is that why he just brought back one of his top campaign advisors? >> good point, gretchen. remember this, senator arlen specter tells congresswoman michelle bachman to act like a

lady. >> i'll stop and you can talk. >> ok. >> i'll treat you like a lady so act like one. >> i am a lady. >> she was so calm. now she says she may know what caused the riff. we'll talk about it. >> she won an emmy. she starred on broadway. she was not prepared of what happened on "american idol." kristen cenowitt is live to explain. watching "fox & friends" helps you keep up with current trends, get it? >> hi, everybody, i'm huey lewis. stand by for the news. >> that was good. and he was laughing but he was actually very stressed out that day. do you remember why? >> no. >> he was trying to pay for n.y.u. he has his daughter at n.y.u. and costs $50,000 a year. can you believe that huey lewis is stressed about college? there's no 529 with rock 'n' rollers. >> nothing too stressful for all the viewers out there to come

one some slogans for our show. keep sending them to us. email or twitter me, let me know some good rhyming tunes for us. >> all right. talk a little bit about what's going on, the president of the united states is going to address the nation tomorrow night. you'll see it live here on fox newschannel with his state of the union address. well, already, you know, we've heard from his advisors over the weekend and then we heard from him a little bit yesterday where he sat down with diane sawyer. it's interesting, he essentially portrayed himself as a man of principal. sure, he's hit his some speed bumps with the whole health care thing but listen to this. >> the one thing i'm clear about is that i'd rather be a really good one term president than a mediocre two term president. and i believe that. you know, there's a tendency in washington to think that our job description of elected officials

is to get re-elected. that's not our job description. >> clearly, the message there is he is not going to cave on health care. full steam ahead. >> i don't get that, though. brian pointed out this earlier, if you're a great one term president, then you get re-elected for a second term. so on its face, that statement is a little confusing. i also took it -- >> he's calling himself great so far. >> oh, ok. and then i took it as a mediocre two term president at yet another subtle swipe at george bush in a certain way, that he would rather be this great four year president as opposed to what we just had for the last eight years. but maybe i'm misreading that. let me know what you think. >> ok. let's talk about, too, one of his goals was transparency, a lot of people talked about who did dick cheney talk to when he talked about his energy plan. why didn't we know who is at those meetings. i'm going to be a very transparent president and so will everybody on my staff. it hasn't been that way. people wonder why it's a closed

door meeting with the vice president when he's meeting with the transparency chief. you're not allowed in. we don't know what is going on with health care. we find out that back room deals are done because nebraska has a sweetheart deal, and it's $300 million goes to louisiana. back-to-back deal. >> wait a minute, the president made it very clear yesterday he did not make any deals. >> let's listen. >> i think your question points out to a legitimate mistake that i made during the course of the year. and that is that we had to make so many decisions quickly in a very difficult set of circumstances. that after a while, we started worrying more about getting the policy right than getting the process right. i think the health care debate as it unfolded legitimately raised concerns, not just among my opponents but also amongst

supporters that we just don't know what's going on. and it's an ugly process and it looks like there are a bunch of back room deals. i think that this gets into a big mush so let's just clarify. i didn't make a bunch of deals. right? there's a legislative process that was taking place in congress and i am happy to own up to the fact that i have not changed congress in how it operates the way i would have liked. >> his signature proposal, health care, he's not doing it. and he says don't blame me for the deals that are getting it done for the plan that i support but i didn't write and not a part of making. >> but he also said he didn't do the back room deals. diane sawyer's follow-up question should have been what about the union deals that you have made? a lot of people would say that those were back room closed deals at least for people who aren't in unions so there's a slew, i think we could come up with a list of deals that have happened that the president may have had his hand in.

>> yeah. he might argue, then, look, those are the deals that congress made in trying to hammer out this health care thing. but ultimately, the deal that the president made was the deal he made with congress itself. he said, you know, when they tried to negotiate hillary care during the clinton administration, the white house did the whole thing so i'm going to go ahead and give ownership over to congress. you go ahead and work it out. my signature deal, my signature issue and then, you know, as long as we do something for the people that will be good. so the deal was with congress. then congress, of course, does what congress does, as he said right there. and that got us to this point. >> i think what's frustrating for the american people is that a lot of people voted for president obama because he said he was going to be able to change that. and i think a lot of people really had hope that that change would happen, that suddenly we would have a president. remember, president bush had angst about not being able to change what goes on in washington as well. but president obama, he campaigned on that mission. and i think that's very disappointing to many people. >> you know, we'll go over

that, more of what he said yesterday. give us an idea of what's happening in the state of the union address and by the way, as we watch on wednesday, just know that we'll be up early on thursday, 5:00 a.m. eastern time. >> wow. >> to give instant analysis, somewhat instant analysis on what took place the night before and what it's going to mean for you and me and maybe gretchen and steve. >> that's right. all right, meanwhile, we got a little back story here, something we told you about on friday. last wednesday in washington, d.c., michelle bachmann, congresswoman from the great state of minnesota. >> you said that because gretchen is right here. >> sat down -- indeed. sat down with arlen specter, the senator from the great state of pennsylvania and they were talking about the accomplishments of the president of the united states in his first year. well, mr. specter spoke to her in such a way, it's caused quite a firestorm. first, let's relive that moment. >> wait a minute. i'll stop and you can talk. >> ok. >> i'll treat you like a lady. so act like one.

>> well, i am a lady. >> what did you vote for? >> i voted for prosperity. i didn't vote for the government takeover of private industry. >> she said i voted for prosperity. well, prosperity wasn't a bill. wasn't -- >> why don't we make it a bill? >> wait a minute. don't interrupt me. i didn't interrupt you. act like a lady. >> i think i am a lady. >> i think you are, too, that's why i'm treating you like one. but just don't interrupt me. >> this is the worst relationship i've ever heard and i've heard some bad ones. and i watch a lot of reality television. >> worst broadcast. a congressman is running against him and was on the radio yesterday and just destroyed him and shows how out of touch and angry he is and has perceived to be. meanwhile, michelle bachmann was on bill o'reilly last night. >> she still appeared as a lady. >> she was calm. >> and she had -- i don't know if i could have been that calm like she was on that radio show. but incidentally, she was defending herself last night.

>> i wouldn't know why again, because it was the first time i met him but what it seemed to me, bill, it was emblematic of what happened last week. the voters have seen an arrogance come out of washington d.c. and i think that's kind of what you heard in that interchange, in that radio conversation was a sense of arrogance that came out and telling the people, the little guy to kind of sit down and shut up, washington knows better. that is not true. and i think the american people right now are trying to tell washington, listen to us. we've figured out some things. listen to us. we don't want you spending this money that we don't have and we don't want you taking over our health care. >> by the way, arlen specter finally did connect with her. he has apologized. she has accepted his apology. it's interesting, though, because that little interchange is going to give fuel to the critics of mr. specter, for his very harsh questioning during the clarence thomas hearings if anything else. >> don't interrupt me. >> sorry. >> gretchen, what's happening

in the news? >> let's do your headlines because we have the latest now from haiti. actor john travolta flying his private jet to visit haiti. his visit comes as residents there trying, of course, to get back on track. some of them rushing to the banks but there's limited cash to be had. amy kellogg is in port-au-prince for us this morning. so amy, what is the latest now as we are now on the two-week anniversary of that earthquake today? >> that's right, gretchen, and the banking situation is chaotic as so much else here is. you can imagine with the shortage of the local currency, people are lining up at banks. not all haitians bank but over the last few years, more and more of them have so they're lining up. some of them are sleeping, gretchen, outside of western union, cash transfer points because also a lot of haitians wait for remittances from abroad for the money they live on so the banks have said that each person is able to withdraw the equivalent of $2500. that's enough for individuals but then you think about people who need to pay salaries to

entire companies. it's frantic and i think the bottom line is people don't really know. they want some guidance from the government about how things are going to be going forward and if people owe payback from loans, that kind of thing. in the meantime, in terms of commerce, what we've seen more than anything are these street vendors lining up, some of them just with a basket of crackers. that really is the commerce. some of it extremely -- at extremely inflated prices and that's another reason why people are nervously trying to get their money out of the banks. but slowly, slowly bit by bit, some of the more established grocery stores and that kind of thing are opening back up, gretchen. >> all right, amy kel objecting live for us in port-au-prince today. thank you for that update. meantime, opportunities to take out may have been missed because of the legal questions surrounding an attack on an american citizen. this according to two people briefed by u.s. intelligence officials. he was born in new mexico is believed to be the top leader of

an al-qaida group in yemen. feds say he exchanged emails with the suspected fort hood shooter and played a major role in recruiting the underwear bomber. no comment yet from the white house on that. should illegal immigrants be able to pay in-state tuition rates? a prominent politician crossed state lines to file a lawsuit. the kansas candidate is suing to overturn nebraska's law that lets legal immigrants pay the in state rate. coming up next hour, an immigrant advocate will join us for a fair and balanced debate on that issue. glenn beck taking home top honors in a new poll. finishing second place in a harris poll focusing on america's favorite tv personalities. oprah came in first. jay leno dropped from first to third. poll has been around since 1993. i believe bill o'reilly was also on that list. >> number 10. >> congratulations to both of those guys. >> both bold and fresh.

>> they certainly are and traveling the nation. meanwhile, thousands or millions? which is it? we're talking about jobs saved or created but no one in the administration really seems to have that number. is this part of a new strategy? we're going to talk to former white house chief of staff andy card live next. >> do you have the chops to be a judge on "american idol"? she'll be here to tell us about the experience. [ male announcer ] the volkswagon routan is not only

unique in its german-tuned suspension, but in its maximum attention to detail, from individually operated dvd players, child monitoring mirror... [ gasps ] [ male announcer ] ...elegant leather seating surfaces and wireless headsets, to its voluminous storage compartments. make it the hero to any family. ew! ew! [ chuckles ] [ male announcer ] the volkswagen routan with 0% apr and 3 years or 36,000 miles of care free maintenance.

>> president obama's advisors gave three completely different reports on how many jobs his recovery act actually saved or created. listen to this. >> the recovery act saved thousands and thousands of jobs. >> the recovery act the president passed has created more than or saved more than 2 million jobs. >> largely as a result of the recovery plan that's put money back into our economy that saved or created a million and a half jobs. >> ok. so which one is it? and is reporting different numbers actually, perhaps, a strategy of the obama administration? right now, we are joined by former white house chief of staff andy card. good morning to you, mr. card. >> good morning, great to be

with you. >> great to have you as well. when you heard those three top people in the administration who exactly know what the number is, give three different answers, what did you think? >> well, you know, the obama administration has been so contrived, i can't believe that it happened by accident. the truth is, there aren't enough jobs that have been created so no matter what numbers they're using and i don't think they know what number to use, there aren't enough jobs that are being created in the economy and that's because the policies that have been put in place aren't stimulating economic growth. >> and that's the question that i had yesterday, andy, when i heard those different numbers. could it possibly be a strategy to, i don't know, confuse the american public about exactly how many jobs have been saved or created so you can keep the emphasis off of that high unemployment number which is the only true hard and fast number? >> well, i used to say when i served in the administrations of ronald reagan, george h.w. bush and george w. bush that if you're unemployed, the

unemployment rate is 100%. there are an awful lot of people in america whose unemployment rate is 100%. that's because the policies aren't stimulating economic growth and not providing good opportunities for small businesses to create jobs and that's where the job creation comes from the small business community and this administration has not done an awful lot to stimulate opportunity for small businesses to grow. >> uh-huh. andy, i know you are from the commonwealth of massachusetts and, of course, the big story, the big political story of the month has been that scott brown up there wound up taking that senate seat that was open. the administration had hoped that tomorrow night, they'd be able to crow, hey, we passed health care but instead, they're going to talk about the economy instead. do you think they've gotten the message about scott brown? >> today, i'm a little concerned that they haven't gotten the message. this election was a very significant election for america. scott brown did a great job as a

candidate but there was a wave and scott brown caught the wave. he rode it very well. he did a very good job but this was a wake-up call to washington, d.c. and i think members of congress and the senators got the wake-up call. i'm not sure that the white house recognized what the real call was. and they tended to want to dig in their heels and be strident and america said, step back. take a look at what's happening. this is not working. we cannot stand these policies. don't go forward. i don't think they have gotten the message. >> the president gave an interview yesterday to diane sawyer. one of the things that really stands out, andy, he says he'd rather be a better one term president. listen to this, i want your thoughts on it afterwards. >> the one thing i'm clear about is that i'd rather be a really good one term president than a mediocre two term president. >> on its face, you might think, ok, if you're a great one term president, you'd automatically be re-elected but i got another message on that. i'm interested to pick your

brain since you've worked with president george w. bush, was that a swipe at him? >> i do think it was a little bit of a swipe at the past. i think president obama has had a tendency to live more in the past than meet the responsibilities of today and drive toward a better tomorrow. but, you know, presidents should not do the job looking to be great. they should do the job and allow history to determine whether or not they're great. i want him to do the job and right now he's not doing the best job for america. >> hey, andy card, thank you very much for getting up early and joining us on this tuesday. have a great day. >> you, too. thank you very much. >> you bet. >> well, they are student journalists who fight for the first amendment. why is the school censoring them? violating their first amendment rights? we'll talk to them next. >> a congresswoman has a unique plan for passing health care reform. send the guys home! hahahahahan .

always well made. always well designed. always with free design service. now with extraordinary savings. ethan allen... always well worth it. looking for something extraordinary ? how about a new customedia cabinet from ethan allen ? with savings like these... it's never been easier. well made, well priced, well worth it. ethan allen... extraordinary savings. limited time. so, doctor... i've been thinking...

no. you know how... no. so, doc, i've got this friend... [ male announcer ] talking to your doctor about erectile dysfunction isn't easy. actually, doc, there is something i want to talk to you about. [ male announcer ] but it's definitely a conversation worth having. twenty million men have had their viagra talk. when you're ready for yours, visit viagra.com for helpful conversation starters and to learn how viagra can help. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. don't take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain as it mayause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects may include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. and ask your doctor if viagra is right for you.

>> should schools be able to censor their student-run newspapers? that's the subject of the heated debate at stevenson high school in illinois where several students have recently resigned from the school's paper. it's called "the statesman" and they did it in protest. two of them are joining us now, former managing editor, evan and former editor in chief pam sellman join us. what led, evan and pam, first you, evan, from you walking away from your position at the school? >> well, it was a really difficult and emotional decision, obviously. but when we weighed everything that had been going on over the past several months, we decided it was no longer appropriate for us to continue working under the circumstances that had been presented to us with the censorship that was going on. >> pam, the censorship really centers around a series of

articles that you guys had researched and put together on casual sex in the school, correct? >> last year, there was a package that was run on that topic and yes, that had initially started the prior review process. this year, there were stories on teen drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancies, teenagers using drugs that -- or prescription medication for different reasons. >> so you wanted to do these topics, these are controversial topics and evan, the school essentially said don't do it and they -- in your mind, they nit-picked their way through the research you've done and said this isn't journalistically up to the standard needed? >> that seemed to be exactly what they were doing. they seemed to have a problem with the way that we were covering these topics even though we were doing it in a way that we had been -- we had been told and we had thought was very journalistically sound and went with our journalistic education. we were told that these stories

were unbalanced, inaccurate and could not be run as they were even though we thought they were very much baseed on fact. >> so you made the tough decision to walk away from your job because journalistically you couldn't stand behind your work if it's being censored. here's what the district is saying. our mission remains the same regardless of who's in the course, we want to teach the fundamentals of journalism and produce a quality newspaper. that's from jim conroy, spokesperson for the district. is that true? do you think on the surface that they are standing up for journalism? >> pam? >> i believe that they probably do have our academic interests in mind. i would like to think so because they are a school. however, i don't think that censorship teaches any form of journalistic practice. >> and you both want to go forward with your journalistic careers after this is done even though you've walked away as your position at the student newspaper. evan and pam, courageous move everyone including your student advisor is on your side and has resigned as well. thank you so much for joining us today, sharing your story and

the courage to stand up and speak out. >> all right. thank you. >> thank you. >> all right. that's the local story and here's the national story. everyone is talking about ben bernanke's confirmation. but our next guest named stuart varney. i see him in the halls all the time says all eyes should be on timothy geithner getting the boot. there he is in our green room. hope he doesn't touch anything. and she starred on broadway and won an emmy for her tv work but none of that prepared for her days as a guest judge on "american idol." kristen chenoweth here live. i'm robert shapiro.

over a million people have discovered how easy it is to use legalzoom for important legal documents. at legalzoom we'll help you incorporate your business, file a patent, make a will and more. you can complete our online questions in minutes. then we'll prepare your legal documents and deliver them directly to you. so start your business, protect your family, launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. launch your dreams. [meow] desperate for nighttime heartburn relief? for many, nexium helps relieve heartburn symptoms caused by acid reflux disease. and for the majority of patients with prescription coverage for nexium, it can cost $30 or less per month. headache, diarrhea, and abdominal pain are possible side effects of nexium. other serious stomach conditions may still exist.

ask your doctor if nexium can help relieve your heartburn symptoms. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. my name is chef michael. and when i come home from my restaurant, i love showing bailey how special she is. yes, you are. i know exactly what you love, don't i? - [ barks ] - mmm. aromas like rotisserie chicken. and filet mignon. yeah, that's what inspired a very special dry dog food. [ woman ] introducing chef michael's canine creations. so tasty and nutritious it's hard to believe it's dry dog food.

chef-inspired. dog-desired. chef michael's canine creations. i'm a free runner... ...national champion gymnast... ...martial artist... and a stuntwoman. if you want to be incredible, eat incredible. announcer: eggs. incredible energy for body and mind. (guitar music) >> all right. it is time for your shot of the morning. my wife actually told me about this and we dug it up. you're about to see the most dramatic save the day video in the history of wedding receptions. it's all courtesy of the happy couple, jeff long, erin martin have been together for 10 years. getting hitched in october.

>> you are invited to witness an event. 10 years in the making. from the acclaimed director of "clones" and "momentum" comes a true story about love, family and friendship. and the two people who found it all. introducing jeffrey wong and erin martin. in the wedding of jeff and erin!

>> wow! >> and that is just the save the date video. can you imagine what the wedding video is going to look like? >> who would date someone for 10 years and then get married? >> that's what i'm thinking. i'm saying erin, what finally got him to commit? if you're watching the show, let us know. >> all right. i think it was the explosion. gretchen, it was the explosion behind after they played the piano that got him to commit. >> good cover for the guy. >> i think it's going to be a lifetime of series of "heart to heart." remember that? >> max the butler. >> that's what it looks like. the making of "hart to hart" the prekwaul. let me tell you what's happening with the rest of the headlines. in about 2 1/2 hours, the senate's homeland security committee holds another hearing on the intelligence failures leading up to the plot to blow up a plane on christmas day. this has been chalk full of information and comes as two top senators on the committee, joe lieberman, susan collins sent a letter to the president saying

suspect umar farouk abdulmutallab should be transferred to military custody so he should be, could be questioned further. listen. >> he may have information that will help us stop the next terrorist act. >> it's not too late for the administration to try to undo the harm of its earlier decision. >> they still aren't clear on whether they questioned him for 50 minutes or 30 hours. they could not answer that yesterday. meanwhile, we're learning that the crotch bomber, was at a conference at university college in london called war on terror week that explored the topic of jihad. the president of the school wants to know if the school drove him to extremism. it was speculated that is the case. >> another deadly bombing in baghdad this morning. this time a homicide car bomber drove into a police crime lab killing 18 people. yesterday, three dozen people were killed in bombings at three

different baghdad hotels known for housing foreign journalists. steve? >> meanwhile, a nationwide search for 7-year-old eisha johnson is under way. her mother was found dead in oklahoma over the weekend. police believe the little girl is with 46-year-old lester hobbs and wanted for questioning in her mother's death. authorities say hobbs is an ex-convict and the estranged husband of tonya hobbs. aja's biological father desperately seeking her return. >> make it, please, everyone who is listening and every parent who is out there, i need my little girl back! >> lester hobbs and aja were last seen saturday night after she and her mother visited him. hundreds of inmates in san diego are free even though their prison sentences are not up due to a budget crunch, california not letting low level offenders

out early. they hope to reduce the prison population by 6500 inmates over the next year. critics say the state is letting out criminals who are not completely rehabilitated. >> that's good news. talk about a costly fall. the woman who lost her balance at the metropolitan museum of art tore a hole in a picasso? likely cut the value of the painting in half. they say they'll be able to fix the six inch tear in the painting called "the actor." but the appraiser says the $130 million painting may never recover its value. you know, that's interesting because that's one of the things that insurance can't really do anything about. you can't get picasso back, steve. >> you can't. although now it has a story to tell. tie your shoes before you go to the museum. >> there you go. >> let's take a look at what's going on weatherwise. what kind of shoes should you put on? should you put on some winter boots? well, maybe in portions of the great lakes. a little bit of snow right now

and we've got some lingering effects of that big, big, big thunderstorm and rainstorm activity throughout the northeast that fell on a bunch of trees and knocked out a bunch of electricity yesterday. it is heading off shore throughout the northeast. meanwhile, it is only 7 degrees right now if you are in rapid city. you got 21 in kansas city and 27 in albuquerque. meanwhile, 30's and 40's for the most part in the eastern third of the u.s. and not counting florida which right now has temperatures in the 50's and eventually we'll get up into the 60's down in florida and portions of texas today. today in new orleans, 64. speaking of new orleans, brian? >> i'll tell you what, i did not envy -- actually i do envy archie manning, a former saints hero quarterback, the team never was winning with him but archie was great when he was with the saints. he's got a dilemma. who does he root for in the super bowl when his son peyton goes head to head with his former team? well, for archie, it's really not too hard. he's pulling for his son peyton when the colts meet the saints

in miami on february 7th and peyton will go one up on his brother eli who is better than peyton by snagging the second super bowl ring. there's all three of them together in happy times. that's right, it's way overdue, now that chloe and odom are married, she can go along for the ride for events like this honored by the white house for the nba title last season, the president is a big basketball player. the president is a bulls fan, though, impressed with what he saw during the lakers championship run. listen. >> i still get enormous, enormous pleasure from watching great athletes on the court. and nobody exemplifies excellence in basketball better than the los angeles lakers. >> let's see if they can repeat. the president has played more basketball at the white house than his 43 predecessors combined although james k.polk could jam. >> you have no idea what you're talking about. >> that's true. he loved the game. he loved the hoops.

>> sure. >> what the -- all right treshgsry secretary -- >> you wouldn't know. >> stuart varney is about to appear because we're talking about this, treasury secretary tim geithner is worried about what would happen to the markets if fed reserve chair ben bernanke is not reconfirmed. >> i think you're absolutely right. i think the markets would view this as a very troubling thing for the economy as a whole. as i said, i don't think they should be uncertain. i think they can be confident. we're very confident he can be confirmed. >> is it more complicated than that, though? is he trying to save bernanke's job? stuart varney is here to answer that question. he's the host of "varney & company" on the fox business network. he's trying to save his own job, isn't she? >> yeah, i think he's doing the president's job to try to save his job. both of their jobs and both of their futures are in doubt. now, ben bernanke, i have no doubt whatsoever he's going to get the votes. if he didn't, that would be an earthquake for the stock markets.

politicians will take the blame for it. >> there are a number of democratic senators, democrat senators who don't like him and threaten a filibuster. >> they want to get on the side of the populists who say those big, bad bankers, they should never have got it, bernanke had a hand in getting them their bonuss and bailouts, get rid of them. they're politically grandstanding. forget the economic consequences. >> i can't believe it! >> wow. >> so tim geithner is lobbying to keep bernanke, though. how does his job factor into that? >> ok, geithner is under enormous pressure because of the secrecy of the a.i.g. deal. you discussed this with judge napolitano. >> testifying tomorrow. >> testifying tomorrow. great political theater. he's under great pressure. why didn't he reveal or know about the secrets kept during the a.i.g. bailout? again, great pressure there. don't forget, he cheated on his taxes. and he was closely connected with the bailout of the fall of

2008. he's got some bad publicity behind him and he's under a great deal of pressure. >> and now we understand that paul volker's profile is being raised as someone who has the respect of both sides. right place to go? >> look, paul volker gives the administration enormous credibility. tim geithner does not. paul volker is the most famous and respected money man in the world, probably. and he's firmly with the obama camp on regulating the banks. >> find that geithner might be going bye-bye when volker had a big smile on his face last week and the president he was going along with volker's plan now. >> geithner took a back seat. he was dragging his feet on regulating the financial system. volker took first place and went out in front and enjoyed the president's support. >> that's the political theater. let's get down to the nuts and bolts and our money. when tim geithner says something like that to mike allen, the markets would find it very troubling if he's not confirmed. it makes it sound like if you don't confirm him, we could have

one of these things on wall street again. >> well, he is right in saying that. if you do not reconfirm ben bernanke for another term, that's a seismic earthquake for the financial markets because it introduces great uncertainty for the first time ever, you are removing a fed chairman, the key money man but then there's a question, who do you put in his place? if you put someone in your place who will do president obama's bidding, you have politicized the financial system. no investor wants that. >> well, what about another? >> he's my idea of the ideal fed chairman. he's a great guy. >> got to tune into "varney & company" and find out the likelihood of caputo getting this job. >> thanks, stuart. >> one congressman has a unique plan for passing health care reform. sorry, guys. she's suggesting to get rid of all the men? >> brilliant. >> fighting over the health care bill is if we sent the men home,

we'd get it passed. >> suddenly, i feel all by myself. anyway, we'll have reaction to that statement straight ahead. >> and kristen chenoweth. >> good, she's coming. >> may have an emmy. does she have the patience to deal with simon cowell? she's here live to tell us about her recent guest stint as a judge on "american idol." there she is. >> play the trivia game by verizon today.

people often choose light foods without really looking. 310 calories? 8 grams of fat? compare that to select harvest light soups. wow. 80 calories. and no fat. delicious, satisfying select harvest light. from campbell's. >> well, kristen chenoweth knows what it takes to become a professional singer. she's been on broadway and in movies and now a guest judge on "american idol." >> ♪ like a flower waiting to bloom ♪ >> you have a good potential and you're 18 and you have a lot more growth to do. but i think you have something there inside. >> so nice in a developmental way. yes, we're joined right now by kristen chenoweth who is the judge. you said that was very tough.

welcome back, by the way. >> thank you. good to see all of you guys. >> it was very tough, you said, to tell people the truth if they're not good. >> yeah, because i think and, you know, gretchen, you know this from being a musician, you don't want to lead people down a path or lead them on they'll have a future in something that they're not. >> build up their hopes. >> that's right. part of your position as a judge is to be honest. i'd rather have a root canal than have -- >> than be honest. >> you're not like simon cowell. >> no, i'm not like simon. i'm going to miss him on the show. >> well, he's going to do his "x factor" and make a trillion dollars. how different is it sitting at home watching "american idol" where you go, oh, that guy really stinks as opposed to being in the chair saying, well, i don't want to hurt your feelings. >> it's different because you don't, obviously at home sometimes you giggle a little bit and i tried really hard not to -- because you can kind of tell who is obviously making a joke and there for their 15 seconds and i think kara and i had a -- you can see that we had

a real -- >> no kidding. >> we really bonded. i love strong, talented women so we had fun. >> you didn't know kara before. >> no. but, of course, i text her all the time now. i love her. i love her. >> i'm against strong talented women. that's different. now, in between this relationship, obviously you're going to continue, though. do you think ellen should be a judge? she's not a musician. she doesn't know how to sing. she's a dancer. > >> yes, she is a dancer every day. yeah, i think she'll be a good judge. however, i think there will be a thing missing without simon, without that person that says are you kidding me? this is not as good as karaoke. we need to person. >> he'll be there for a year. >> he is? i'm out of the loop. that's perfect. i think ellen will fill the shoes that we want to get somebody else in there, too. >> one of the reasons that you may not know that is because you're so darn busy. you're on tv. you're judging "american idol" and now you're coming back to broadway? >> yeah, i'm going to come back and do the revival of a show called "promises, promises. "you guys remember the apartment

with neil simon writing it and jack lemmon starring and shirley mclean. shawn hayes and i will be reviving that show. >> that's terrific. tell us about oscar mayer while you're at it. >> this is the main reason that i'm here. i've been accused my whole life of being a little too happy. so they hired me -- >> blood test. >> exactly. >> you are down at the wienermobil. >> i know. i love that mobile. i have my very own. i want to say -- >> you have your own wienermobile? >> it's this big, i have it. >> congratulations. it doesn't travel well. >> yeah, you'll see it going up and down broadway today. let me tell you what they did. they came to me and said, we want you to be our good ambassador. i'm working with oscar mayer. we are doing something really cool. we are trying to get america to match their one million pound donation of food for feeding america which is our country's largest organization for feeding our needy here at home. and there's a lot of goodness going around in the country right now, as you know, for

other things. so we are -- we have until may to do this and the other day we kicked it off in l.a. and oscar mayer donated the first million pounds and now, this is how easy it is. it's free. all you have to do is go on www.goodmoodmission, just think of my face, dot-com and write what makes you feel happy. what makes you feel good. >> do you really want to sell these hot dogs? >> well, you know -- >> go back to the 1970's where you used to put the whistle in the middle. >> i have the whistle. >> put the whistle in the middle and we'll buy the hot dogs along with your face. >> my bologna has a first name. >> it's always a pleasure, kristen chenoweth, thank you very much. >> thank you. so happy to be here. >> if you'd like the web site as well you can go fox andfriends.com and you can get the web site. >> straight ahead, how can congress pass health care reform? one democratic congresswoman says send the men home.

>> when we're fighting over the health care bill, if we sent the men home, we could get this passed. >> reaction from the other side of the aisle. >> yeah, men. >> no, the other women in the room from a different political party who don't necessarily agree with that. >> time for this day in history. back in 1837, michigan became the 27th state. in 1988, the phantom of the opera premiered on broadway. you'd like to sing that, wouldn't you? and the number one song in 1999 "have you ever" by brandy. $

>> the answer to the verizon question of the day, wayne gretzky, of course.

the winner steve form -- no, just steve from hanover. that's spelled f-r-o-m teleprompter people. thank you. one democrat on capitol hill has a unique plan for passing the health care reform bill. check this out. >> if we sent the men home to get it passed. >> what that congresswoman said, congressman shea-porter if we sent the men home, we could get this health care bill done and now she's facing a lot of scrutiny from both men and women on capitol hill. we invited her to appear on this show this morning, she did decline so i'm joined now by republican congresswoman from wyoming, good morning to you, congresswoman. >> good morning, gretchen, how are you? >> i'm doing just fine. so this is a new wrinkle in the whole health care discussion. when you heard that congresswoman shea-porter had mentioned that this whole health

care debate could be done if we just sent the men home, what was your first reaction? >> well, i laughed because the fact of the matter is our problem with the bill was 110 new government agencies, was 7 years of benefits for 10 years of tax dollars from hard working americans and the fact that we didn't get to read the bill. >> so this had nothing to do with gender in your mind, why you didn't like the health care reform bill? >> nothing at all and, of course, it was drafted by a woman and her close codre of liberal friends. nancy pelosi drafted the bill. i think if you sent all the men home and left the republican women and the democratic women and nancy pelosi, we'd still be in the room arguing about this. >> so after this controversy erupted after shea-porter's comments, she had this statement. when congresswoman shea-porter mentioned that the republican congresswomen had said both men and women had laughed because they knew the women were speaking lightly and with humor.

i'm not sure exactly what that statement means but by the way, she said that all the women in congress had agreed with this because they had had a conversation in the restroom about this. do you remember that? >> not at all. we have a great meeting place. it's called the reading room where the women can go to gather. it's the former speaker's house in the old part of the capitol building. but that conversation never occurred. >> so shea-porter says this, she said that the reason she feels that women could get this health care bill done better than men is because women have greater family responsibilities when it comes to healthed care. -- health care. do you at least agree with her on that? >> well, i do agree that women are the caregivers in this country and they make a lot of health care decisions for their families. but they also have differences of opinion about what government's role should be in their lives. fact of the matter is, i think most women agree with the republicans that this is not an area where a big government intrusion is necessary. we actually need government to get out of the way of people and

support only those who really, truly can't afford it or have pre-existing conditions. we should start with the small issues first, not try to kill this fly with a baseball bat. >> all right. congresswoman cynthia lummis, interesting to get your thoughts on these comments this morning. thanks for being our guest. >> happy to. take care. >> thank you. is president obama being bullied by the unions? he just gave them a deal to avoid taxes on health care. now unions, guess what, when you do that, they want more. and they're threatening to pull out of politics if they don't get their way. laura is here to weigh in and military escort, luxury hotels, extra nights and bring the family, too. sounds like a great vacation. it was actually how congress went to the climate change summit and you paid for it. find out how much that bill was coming up. [ male announcer ] the volkswagon routan is not only

unique in its german-tuned suspension, but in its maximum attention to detail, from individually operated dvd players, child monitoring mirror... [ gasps ] [ male announcer ] ...elegant leather seating surfaces and wireless headsets, to its voluminous storage compartments. make it the hero to any family. ew! ew! [ chuckles ] [ male announcer ] the volkswagen routan with 0% apr and 3 years or 36,000 miles of care free maintenance. and 3 years or 36,000 miles here's an easy way you can enjoy the convenience of steam-in-the-bag vegetables and the great taste of sauce. try green giant valley fresh steamers. each bag microwaves in minutes, steaming the vegetables until they're cooked to perfection. try green giant valley fresh steamers.

and freedom of the outdoors for your indoor cat. specially formulated to promote hairball control... and healthy weight. friskies indoor wet cat food. feed the senses. we hope you're having a great tuesday morning. check the calendar because it's january 26 already, 2010. president obama answering some of the questions that have americans frustrated, like what's with all those back room deals? >> i didn't make a bunch of deals. it's a legislative process taking place in congress. >> so why is that process not happening in the open? remember transparency? >> meanwhile, should illegal aliens get a big price break on college tuition? one state -- my home state -- thinks so and giving another state a lawsuit essentially

because they give illegals a deal. a fair and balanced debate is coming up. >> do you know those students? >> not all of them. >> they look familiar. okay. and they were the real life inspiration for the new harrison ford movie "extraordinary measures." one couple never giving up to save their kids' lives. they'll be here with their amazing true life story. >> global warming health care the victory of scott brown, "fox & friends" fair and balanced tells what's going down. hi, everybody, this is kristen chenoweth and you're watching "fox & friends." sticks around. >> thank you very much. the only person we know with her own wiener mobile. >> that's true. a broadway show. she's a superstar that still likes us. >> thank you for joining us. we've got a very busy tuesday morning that starts with a fox news alert. >> nato forces say an explosion has hit near a u.s. military

base in the afghanistan capital of kabul. the head of the city's criminal investigation unit says it was a strike by a homicide car bomber in the vicinity of camp phoenix. president obama will propose a spending freeze in his state of the union address tomorrow night. joining us with details from the white house is molly henneberg. so some of these details are now leaking out, something about a three-year spending freeze? >> reporter: that's right. good morning to you and brian and steve. the president will lay it out in his state of the union address, but then flesh it out with more details in his second budget unveiled february 1. it will start in october and the president would like to freeze spending for 2011, 2012 and 2013, essentially the rest of his term. this would apply only to nondiscretionary defense spending, a third of the total budget. it would not freeze on the cost of the wars in iraq and afghanistan, foreign aid. >> homeland security and veteran

administration, on social security, medicare and medicaid. those last three alone make up 59% of all federal spending each year. all that would not be included in the spending freeze. the white house says this would save $250 over ten years by holding spending a domestic agency the 2010 levels. we're not talking necessarily about across the board cuts. just some cuts there, but the total would be a 2010 levels for agencies like commerce department, labor department, justice department, those kind of agencies. the white house says this will not solve the ballooning deficit, but quote, you have to take steps. republicans say the president has been increasing spending all year, including a 12% boost in nondefense spending just in december. and $787 billion stimulus plan. so the chairman of the republican national committee, michael steele, said, quote, giving washington democrats unprecedented spending binge, this is like announcing you're going on a diet after winning a pie eating contest.

democrats on the hill are suggesting they're not keen on this nonsecurity discretionary spending freeze either. massachusetts democratic representative tells the hill magazine recently that the freeze could hurt the economic recovery, he thinks. gretchen. >> all right. thanks very much for that very comprehensive report from the white house. let's move down to haiti because there has been another after shock this morning, but our crews there, they say there is no reports of any major damage. it measured 4.6 on the richter scale. john have a volume at that landed there, carrying supplies there. he and his wife packed the plane with doctors, scientology ministers and four tons of ready to eat meals. haiti's president is asking the world to donate tents now, up to a million people are homeless. coming up later this hour, we'll go live to haiti and get the latest on the situation there. this is a tragic story.

nancy kerrigan's brother, mark, says he thought his dad was only pretending to be hurt when he fell to the floor during a violent fight. but the dad wasn't faking it. he was dying. during mark kerrigan's arraignment yesterday, he hung his head and cried and charged with assault after admitting he locked his hands around his father's throat, leading to his death. they were fighting over the telephone in the house that they shared in massachusetts. prosecutors say mark has a long criminal record that includes an arrest for assault with a deadly weapon, although the autopsy not back, the wife there is saying that the husband died of a heart attack. five-year-old and his parents are safe this morning after being air lifted from an oil tanker east of bermuda. the boy experiencing symptoms of appendicitis. since the tanker was 250 nautical miles offshore, a coast guard chopper and crew came in to get the boy and his parents. they were taken to a hospital in bermuda so he could have treatment. no word on his condition this morning.

actor pernell roberts, best known for playing adam cartwright on the show "bonanza,," has died. ♪ >> robert, the last surviving member of the classic tv cast, shocked hollywood by leaving the show in 1965 at the height of its popularity and found fame in "trapper john md." he died at 81 years old on sunday. all right. joining us now from the capitol is laura ingram. we're going to treat you like a lady, so please act like one. >> you know he pulled the same thing on me. >> yeah. >> he pulled the same thing on me. >> young lady, look here, young lady. >> there was kind of a brouhaha that maybe joe biden misspoke or there was something going on.

would his son run for what was joe biden's senate seat? now we understand he will not run for the u.s. senate and that seat held by his father for many, many years. >> now, so much for the biden name being a gold standard in american politics. remember a year and a half ago when biden was selected by then candidate obama, all these people came out, no one has a better name when it comes to foreign policy and so well respected and blah, blah. well, all of us have been following politics for years knew that joe biden is a nice guy, he's fun to talk to and obviously he served a long time. but he's like a gaffomatic. he comes out with a gaf if e, which -- gaffe, which is great for us, but bow biden saying, huh-uh, the water is way too cold for me. i'm not going to jump in. it doesn't surprise me given where harry reid is, given the

fact that dorgan dropped out, blue dogs saying, huh-uh, we're not going to do it. that bodes badly for the democrats in november. >> this guy, mike castle is a leading candidate and leading by a wide margin. the former governor there. dorgan is a guy that left a very republican state. now he's a democrat, conservative democrat. looks like that could flip over. many are in trouble. this is not the time for bo biden not to listen to his dad. they need this seat. >> it's too late now. remember, there is an issue with mike castle. there are a lot of republicans who are not that happy that castle is the person who will be rushing into this contest with the democrat, whoever the democrat ends up being. because he's not the most conservative. he's a fairly liberal republican. you're seeing the same thing in illinois with the republican there. that's mark kirk, who is the congressman. he's very liberal, for cap and

trade, other issues, pro-choice, and patrick hughes is there and he's trying to eke it out. he's down in the polls. there is a lot of tension in the republican party as well that we shouldn't forget about. >> let's talk a little about the president's interview that he conducted with diane sawyer yesterday. he was asked a lot of interesting questions, but gave interesting answers. one question he was asked about was back door deals that the american public got upset about with regard to health care and also the unions. the president said this, quote, i didn't make a bunch of deals. there is a legislative process that is taking place in congress. do you disagree with that, laura, because i think some people this morning think the president did make back door deals, specifically with the unions? >> we know this, on health care reform, the unions got a carveout, and regardless of what happens with health care reform, they had a seat at the table. remember the guest log at the white house, gretchen, andy stern, the head of sciu, is one

of the most frequent guests over the last year at the white house. maybe he was just there to help michelle train bow or something, but i think he was probably there to talk with the president about these issues. the president can talk all he wants about oh, special interests aren't at the table, this politics of corruption in washington, we're going to turn a page from that, the fact is, the unions do represent a particular political point of view and they have enormous access and it's paying off for them. >> let's talk about what concerns americans, the second thing that concerns americans most is terror, bin laden in particular. the president asked about bin laden and why he was speaking out yesterday. listen. >> al-qaeda itself is greatly weakened from where it was back in 2000. bin laden sending out a tape trying to take credit for a nigerian student who engaged in the failed bombing attempt is an

indication of how weakened he is because this is not something necessarily directed by him. >> what do you think, laura? is this a nigerian student -- he trained with the al-qaeda camp for four months. it was a key terror forum leader at the university of london. >> every time bin laden releases a tape, he did that a lot during the bush administration. the president doesn't want to get into a back and forth with bin laden. that doesn't look good. but that having been said, the nigerian student, we still can't call this guy what he is. he has been al-qaeda operative, clearly a terrorist who wanted to do enormous damage to the united states, our economy and the lives of the people on the plane would have been snuffed out. it's the no drama obama. well, this doesn't really -- he's been very degraded throughout the last 12 months, and again, we're going to get into the bush bashing the next

segment. there were plenty of times during the last 12 months where they were doing a lot to degrade bin laden. he's still around, still doing audiotapes. >> you're going to be still around on the other side of a brief timeout. more with laura ingram in just a moment. where is the accountability? when will the bush bashing end by the democrats? laura will talk about that and why it doesn't seem to really be doing the democrats any favors? laura sticks around. you'll hear her take straight ahead. >> a republican candidate for kansas secretary of state is suing the state of nebraska because that state gives illegal immigrants the opportunity to pay the same amount as legal in state citizens for college. we'll take part in a fair and balanced debate.

we mentioned this a moment ago, it's a tactic that fairly has run out of gas and isn't working. but the white house continues to bash president bush. listen. >> remember what he inherited here, he walked in the door, we had the worst economy since the great depression. he had to take immediate steps to pull us back from what many thought might be a great depression. >> let's remember the conditions that the president inherited. a global melt down and we realize it was far worse than we

realized at the time when he came in office in january. >> the hole that we inherited and the hole that we have to fill is very, very deep. >> i am less interested in passing out blame than i am in learning from and correcting these mistakes. ultimately the buck stops with me. >> interesting, laura, is that his advisors did not get their save the job numbers all on the same page, but they did get that message all on the same page on the sunday talk shows. quite frankly, they've had a really bad week. >> remember last spring, you guy, i was here and we were talking about this. i inherited this, this is the worst economy ever. and in march of last year, i was saying, and i think you guys were saying, this just comes across as immature. you ran to be president of the united states 'cause you think you had a good set of ideas and you want to do implement them. and you know what it looked really ridiculous is when president bush was standing so graciously next to president obama and president clinton at the white house, he couldn't have been more gracious. he couldn't have been more kind.

couldn't have been more generous after everything that they said about him and after all the times they trashed him in the past several months, that shows you the character of that man. i think that's why a lot of people in these polls are now saying, well, maybe that bush guy wasn't quite as bad as we thought. >> you know, laura, the whole thing about blaming bush, you can do it the first day. you can do to the first month, and he -- he did it for a while. but now i think politico, the man who advised the administration, and he's a democrat strategist, he said, look, they got to can this 'cause it ain't working no more. >> look, they are either going to see a situation where jobs are increasing and productivityity is growing in this country or not. no amount of strategies and the garden and michelle and all the things they're doing and the razzle dazzle, none of that is going to matter if jobs are not grow not guilty this country, period.

>> i want to take a look at last night. i'm sure the president didn't bring it up to diane sawyer. >> no. >> listen. >> one thing i'm clear about is that i'd rather be a really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president. >> again, i guess he's saying president bush was a mediocre two-term president. what do you think about that statement, laura? >> well, i have to agree with the great man who said, there is another possibility. you can be a really mediocre one-term president. that's always a possibility, too. so i don't know what that was about. he's trying to, i guess, have a moment of humility. none of this is working. >> what president of the entire free world says that they would only want four years? i mean, in a way, it doesn't make sense on its face. it doesn't make sense. >> well, what he's trying to do is say, look, it's not about me.

it's about the american people. so if i'm not reelected, so be it. but the point is, everything they're doing now is geared toward the next presidential election and that's why you're seeing the rollout of the supposed budget freeze that will cut a whopping $15 billion out of a 1 trillion-dollar budget over the next 18 months. it's window dressing. again, growing jobs, that's what needs to happen in america. that's not what's happening right now. >> she's got to go to her radio job that kicks off in 41 minutes on radio stations across the country. laura ingram, we thank you very much for getting up early on this tuesday. >> straight ahead, in-state tuition for illegals is happening in kansas. one man is trying to stop it. he'll be here for a fair and balanced debate on whether we should pay for it or not. >> their kids were not given that long to live, but the family kept fighting. now their story is being told in a new film, "extraordinary measures." their story. live.

23 minutes after the top of the hour. a few quick headlines. apple posting its most profitable quarter ever. i phone sales contribute to go a nearly 50% surge in profit. tomorrow apple is expected to unveil the highly anticipated computer. our own clayton morris will join us live tomorrow morning from california with a very big announcement. ford announcing this morning it will add 1200 jobs at their chicago assembly plant to build the new explorer and ford will hire some employees who were previously laid off. good news. steve? >> thanks. a state law allows illegal aliens living in nebraska to get in-state college tuition. but immigration attorney says that this violates a 1996 federal law prohibiting institutions of higher learning from giving benefits to illegals without offering a the same

breaks to u.s. citizens. so he is suing the state of nebraska. chris filed the suit yesterday. by the way, he's a republican candidate for the job of secretary of state in kansas. he joins us live in kansas city. on the other side of this issue we have gabe gonzalez, he is the national campaign director for the center for community change. thanks for joining us. >> good morning. >> chris, let's start with you. you're running for secretary of state in kansas and yet, you are suing the state of nebraska. kansas' neighbor to the north. why? >> well, i'm actually, it's not me personally suing. i'm representing nebraska taxpayers. i'm doing this because i actually represent a number of cities and states around the country on the issue of illegal immigration and in some cases where the cities and states are trying to solve the problem and trying to cooperate with the federal government, i represent them and other cases like this and in california, i represent plaintiffs where the states are actually breaking federal law. as you mentioned, there was a

federal law in 1996 that says no state can give in-state tuition rates to illegals unless they give the same benefit to every u.s. citizen. california in in 2002 broke the law. nebraska in 2006 is breaking that law. and the governor veto that had bill in 2006 saying hey, this is against federal law, guys. we can't do it. but the legislature overrode his veto. now it's time for the law to be vindicated. >> all right. gabe, how do you feel about this? i would imagine you would think that this guy should just butt out. it's fine law, let the people in this country illegally get the in-state tuition. >> well, i think fundamentally what this is about is what's best for america and americans. at the heart of his argument is that this costs money and that's why he's going after this. but his argument is fundamentally flawed and here is why. there is 12 million undocumented living in the united states

right now. law that he would like to see changed. laws like the ones he would like to see changed push them -- bring them out of the shadows, make them more productive members of society, make sure they're doing things like paying tax, paying into the system, earning a good living, being good neighbors. we think that that's a more practical, more fundamental way to approach the issue rather than punish ago bunch of kids who want to go to college. >> but gabe, you're talking about fairness. ultimately it is not fair for -- if illegal families wind up with the in-state rate and, you know, people from other states want to come in, there is no fairness there. one family in the country illegally, the other in the country legally, paying taxes and everything else. where is the fairness? >> so that's the good point. what we ought to do is make them get legal. make them learn english, make them go through background checks. >> right. >> make them pay taxes. then it would be fair. >> all right.

chris, i'll give you the final word on this. >> well, there are a couple of problems with his argument. one if you make them legal, you're rewarding theirle legal behavior when millions of people are trying to play by the rules and come in legally. more importantly, it's entirely impractical because nebraska now is spending millions of dollars subsidizing the tuition of people who can't work in the united states once they graduate. it's illegal for them to get a job. so what is a waste of money while meanwhile, many american kids are mortgaging themselves to the hilt or some can't afford to go to college. so the subsidy should not be spent on the illegal population. >> we'll have to end it right there. chris and gabe, thank you very much. i got a feeling you two are not going to agree on this. thank you for joining us today from kansas city and chicago. e-mail us, what do you think? who is right on this? all right. the climate change summit that changed nothing except the size of your wallet, we're learning now. congress spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to take that big trip. was it worth it?

look at the floral centerpiece. we're going to report, you're going to decide. and cities and towns welcome stimulus funds with open arms. but some schools in wisconsin are saying no thanks. the reason why straight ahead. and what would you do to save your children's lives? one couple went to the edges of the earth. their story now at the movie theater. we'll meet them straight ahead.

thank you for joining us on this tuesday. right now on the half hour we start with a headline and the latest shot of haiti. the banks are reopening there following that devastating earthquake. but getting money is still no easy task for many survivors. joining us from port-au-prince

is amy kellogg. amy, they're still picking up from a terrible situation and it's not like they have a lot of atm's on every corner to start with. >> reporter: no. frankly a lot of people here don't bank. those who do bank have just savings accounts. don't have checking accounts. but if you could see the lines outside these banks, steve, it is something to behold. they stretch for about a block, if not more. people are literally body to body in this intense heat because they don't want to let anyone cut them in line. they want to withdraw money, apparently there aren't enough gourds, the local currency in the country. people have questions. people have bank loans. that's not too common here, but there are people who have taken out loans to build businesses. those businesses have been shattered by the earthquake. so people want to know what's going to happen when the banks want the money back. it's really chaos. a lot of banks collapsed. there is a lot of money under the rubble. a lot of employees dead. a lot of systems down. western union is another feeding

frenzy. people sleeping outside waiting for money wires from their relatives in the united states, canada, europe. so that's one thing. commerce slowly kicking back to life, so we've got street scenes to show you. these are little impromptu businesses on the streets, people selling crackers, selling chair, selling box springs. that really seems to be the commerce that's happening vigorously now with any consistency. some bigger stores are opening back up. but this is kind of the subsistence business going on. going on at extremely inflated prices. it's hard to get things in and out of the country, especially with the main port destroyed at port-au-prince after the earthquake, steve. >> all right. amy kellogg live in port-au-prince where clearly there is no fdic. >> in terms of the americans, we're still looking for 36 more americans. we had 56 now sadly confirmed dead. still trying to find out the whereabouts of 36 more. >> it's awful. >> let's move to other headlines

for your tuesday because the pilot of an ethiopian airline plane that crashed off the coast of lebanon may have been flying the wrong way. that's according to lebanon's transportation minister. the pilot flew in the opposite direction from the path recommended by a beirut control tower. search crews from several countries, including the u.s., are on the scene still trying to recover the victims. all 90 people on board are feared dead. new york's community board one will vote asking the feds to move the trial of 9-11 conspirators out of their neighborhood at the cost of $200 million a year. committee members say the trial also make them targets all over again just like 9-11. they want the trial of khalid shaikh mohammed and four others moved to governor's island. better than that, keep it on a military tribunal. >> the mayor of new york says that's a stupid idea. meanwhile -- president obama and vice president joe biden say they are fighting for the middle class. they want to help families with soaring child care costs and

care for elderly relatives as well. so what do middle class americans think of the proposals? earlier we spoke with a group of them right here on "fox & friends." spencer holden said the key to recovery, though, is jobs. >> 15.3 million americans out of work, we're in double digit unemployment, we need tax incentives for the small businesses so we can grow the economy. >> the panelists we spoke with are concerned that small business owners are not represented on the white house's task force. gretchen. >> author gerald posener cracked the secrets of the saudi family. he's cackling -- tackling the night tiger crashed his suv. he claims tiger's wife pretended to be tiger when she sent a text message from his phone to mistress. according to posener, asking when they would be together

again. after rachel texted back, she called her and said, quote, i knew it was you. the mistress reportedly hung up then and said a couple other choice words. he says elin chased tying better a golf club before he crashed his suv. >> she woke him up and then there was the golf club thing. >> they were not golf not guilty western iowa. this is video from yesterday. blizzard conditions out there with high winds and a lot of snow. as you can see right there, i-35 closed for a while after that car flipped on the road and we don't know the condition of the driver. but the situation driving wise there yesterday was dreadful. eventually the sun did come out and take a look right now this is the doppler and also the satellite. we've combined the two to show western iowa does have a little thin cloud cover. but for the most part, it is a sunny tuesday morning out there. also a little bit of snow on the

eastern shores of erie and ontario, the great lakes and angering shower activity in portions of the northeast. that is for the most part, going out to sea. right now it's only 10 in minneapolis. double that in chicago. about triple that in raleigh at 32. it's freezing in the mid atlantic. eventually later on today, things are going to warm up into the 50s, in the raleigh area and much of north and south carolina. down through georgia, temperatures dropping a piece, 49, daytime high at the airport in atlanta. central plains, 30s for the most part. teens up north. 60s down south. and it should be about 48 degrees today in washington, d.c >> best indoors. one man pleads guilty to misdemeanor gun charges today. he says the only reason he had a pistol was because he was feared

teammate gilbert arenas would blow up his car. he was sentenced to one year unsupervised probation and community service. you know about arenas. the nfc championship game got huge ratings. 58 million people watched the saints upset the vikings in overtime. that's the highest rating for a conference game since 1982. that is when the san francisco 49ers beat the dallas cowboys. that was a long time ago. the super bowl, president obama likes the saints. he met drew brees and loves their story, how they helped rebuild that community after katrina. joe thought he was about to be the butt of a joke. he was told that if he made the half court shot, he would win tickets to the final four. students were told to yell and scream when he missed.

only problem is, he makes the shot. the other problem is, there are no tickets. they never thought he'd make the shot. so according to steve's fact finding mission, it's been confirmed, he's going to a mexican restaurant for free. >> maybe someone will see this story and offer up their tickets to him. >> coming up, doug weed, historian, john from real clear politics.com, and john avalon will be joining us. >> independent thinking. >> something about wing nuts. >> okay. >> let's talk about this right now because if you look at this latest poll that talks about polarization, president obama and his -- in his first year in office has the greatest disparity between what republicans and what democrats think about him. in other words, that gap that you see there between the red line and the blue line is 65%,

the highest first year gap of any president that has been measured in the last couple of decades. >> you know what, when you look at the blue line at the top, you can see his popular with democrats has held pretty steady. it started in '88. right now it's at 82. he dropped 6. but the red line is the republicans and there is such a enormous gulf between them. yesterday robert gibbs was asked about the whole thing. was it the president or was it simply a polarizing era in american history. listen to this. >> i think we live in a great divided country. i think -- he's worked hard to try to do that. again, as we've talked about here, you can't change the way washington works if some people don't want to change the way this place works. >> are you blaming washington for that kind of public perception? >> i'm saying that washington has been a polarizing place for quite some time.

>> so much in that exchange right there. first of all, he did run -- obama did run on the entire campaign of change, remember? change we can believe in. so the idea that now you're sitting in the white house and figure out you can't change it, so you blame it on the way that this place has always worked, i'm not so sure that will sit well with the people who voted for you because you said you could change. also what i caught from that little exchange was that that reporter was relatively combative. i don't think we would have seen a reporter be that combative with this administration four, five, six months ago. >> i read a column on-line this morning that said that the honeymoon with the press is over. in comparison when george w. bush was president, it seemed like a very polarized time. right? we've got the facts on that. actually his point spread was just 45 at the conclusion of his rookie year. bill clinton had 52. but as you can see, barak obama, the gap between the ratings of republicans and democrats, the number in the upper right-hand

corner, the biggest. 65. >> we'll see if he begins to change that with the state of the union address comes up. we'll be here in the morning to give you the analysis on what took place. straight ahead, military ex supreme courts, luxury hotels and bring the family, sounds like a great vacation. but it was actually how congress went to the climate change summit and you paid for it. >> hope they had fun. >> the real life inspiration behind the new movie, "extraordinary measures."

time for news by the numbers. first 39%, that's how much wind we used to generate electricity. almost 2% of our electricity comes from wind turbines. >> put one of those in washington. >> i think it would be able to blow all atone. next, 4,000, that's how many footballs are being made each day at wilson sporting goods in ohio. since 1941, every football used in the nfl has been made there. that's a lot of skin pigs. and finally, 300,000, that's how many different burger combinations you can order at the counter restaurant in carlsbad, california. they have ten different types of cheeses and tops such as dried can berries. >> i'll pass. >> now i know why you want to always read this, because it's

your time to get in your standup comic past. >> i do think that it's amazing manufactured story. we have not outsourced the football. >> i'm just hungry. they were tying on the feed bag when we sent a huge congressional delegation to copenhagen for that climate summit where they, you know, they didn't get anything accomplished. except they ran up a really big bill. >> what do you mean by big? >> cbs, did a report last night where they tracked things down and discovered that 15 democrats and nine republicans were part of the 106 people from the house and senate. that does not count the 60 that the white house sent over there. their hotel bill alone, not counting food, $4,040,000 -- $404,000 each. how did they get there? air travel, commercial,

$408,000, just for air fare. >> that's 2200 bucks a day for each member of congress and i believe they were able to bring a guest as well. daughter, spouse, husband, wife. here is what you should be concerned about, i think, that many of these members of congress who were asked about this kind of spending for this, what some people call a boondoggle, said this, many said they never had seen the bills or expense reports. i think times are changing in this country where the american public wants their elected people to kind of look at those expense reports because they're tightening their belts personally at home. shouldn't members of congress be doing that with our money? >> this will make you feel better. waxman commented, i was there because i thought it was important for me to be there. i didn't look at it as a pleasure trip. he's one of those people who said, i had no idea how much it was. he committed to a six day stay,

even though he was staying for two. he's a u.s. government. >> i know these deals are done by the staffs of these lawmakers, but still, it just seems a little tone deaf because there are so many money problems in the country right now. for them to spend $2,200 per night, per legislator, which is more than the average american mortgage payment for a month, that's simply tone deaf. >> maybe americans wouldn't be so upset if they actually got something huge done. >> or if believed it was global warming. straight ahead, you're going to love this. this story is the inspiration for a brand-new movie called "extraordinary measures." john and eileen crowley told their children that they were told their children did not have long to live. they did not give up and they are here next. let's check in with bill hemmer for what's on his show at the top of the hour. >> we're stacked this morning. good morning to all three of you. karl rove this morning on what the president will talk about

tomorrow night. how did he address the spending cuts, the health care issue, the vote in massachusetts. with the christmas day bomber have a status change and why is that so significant in the war on terror? who is this lyght character? why are dozens of newspapers printing her letters? we'll investigate. see you at the top of the hour with martha and me right here on fox. ÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷

brand-new film out called "extraordinary measures" about a couple who did do whatever it takes to save their kids suffering from life-threatening diseases. they enlist the help of a scientist to help them find a cure. >> we're going no business together. i'm tired of begging, bread crumbs from the university and

giving them the patents to my ideas, which is why i'm setting up my own shop. who is going to be half as motivated as the dad? >> our next guest, the movie is based on their real life struggle and the book that comes out and available on amazon. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> first off, they looked at this story and said, we got to make this movie. what disease did you find out your kids have? >> we found out in 1998 that two of our three children had a form of muscular dystrophy. it's a rare genetic disease, no history of it in our family, so we didn't know about it until our two younger kids were diagnosed. >> they tell you, hey, spend as much time with them because they're not going to survive alone. what was your reaction when someone gives you news like that? >> well, first is devastating. devastate to go get. but john immediately started doing research and trying to

find what we could do to help do something. >> you would not accept it? >> no. >> you're in the pharmaceutical business before. how did you spring into action? was there really a harrison ford person doctor? >> there were. there were a lot of great doctors we worked with. i think that's one of the neat parts of this story, brian, is that it really is about american ingenuity, people coming together to help some of the most vulnerable and innocent kids in society and people, adults who also suffer with the disease. so it's a real testament to the american spirit for a lot of people. >> meghan is in the 7th grade and patrick in the 6th and they're both going to school and doing okay. you defied expectations. are you out of the woods yet? has this medicine helped you turn the corner? >> no. this is not a cure for their disease. it's a treatment. they're still very fragile. they're both still on life support n a wheelchair. but like we said, they're in school, they go to public middle school in new jersey.

they do terrific. they're main streamed. they have friends. and they're very fragile, but they're doing great. >> what do you want people to take away from the movie and from your book, chasing miracles? what should be the message? >> the most important thing is really two parts. we picked the title, chasing miracles, for two reasons. one is about chasing the miracles of treatments and cures to get the best advocate for your kids. yeah they may be in wheelchair, they're full of life and smart and vibrant. that's the other part of chasing miracles. we realized it took me a long time to realize that they're special kids, despite their special needs, they have remarkable special gifts and we've learned more about life and love from the kids than we've ever taught them. >> you've known each other forever and you said you can see how it could break up a marriage but it brought you together. but what's it like seeing your life on camera, on the big

screen? >> it's been great. it goes from surreal to it becomes part of your life. and now it's really neat for the kids, even in the premiere in new york last week, we watched our kids more than we watched the screen. to see their joy and the smiles and the self-esteem and i think that's a pride that a lot of people can feel in this film and hopefully our book. >> there has got to be, whether there is health care reform or not, there has got to be money for innovative money, so people coming up with answers to disease. >> it's how we solved the problems. there are 7,000 rare diseases that affect more than 30 million people just in the united states. we've come a long way, but only with risk taking, entrepreneurship and really cutting edge medicine and science so we can solve these problem. >> it's about time we get a good news story. if you want to watch it on the big screen, "extraordinary measures." thanks so much for sharing your story. great meeting you. when we come back, we're going

to wrap things up and maybe talk to you in the post-game show right after this.

fox news alert, new video right now of that blast near an american base in kabul, afghanistan, camp phoenix. officials say a homicide bomber used a mini bus packed with explosives. taliban claiming responsibility. stay with us throughout the day for this. that's going to be it for today. we'll see you back here tomorrow.