>> on a scale of 1 to 10 chances in your future that you run for political office. > >> i have no idea what the answer is. >> rush will give us that be n definitive answer. our slogan this hour comes to us from trish in indiana. we're going to miami for exercise and tanning so watch your hides, we plan to win and we're bringing peyton manning. >> ok. >> that was so thrilling, we don't have any opening music. let's sing our own music or maybe not at this hour. >> good news is joel is back after -- joel after a few days, i guess, we'll find out the details of what he was doing. >> and now that slogan was apropos, brian, you are headed to the sunny climbs of south florida later on today. >> it's true. through -- we were going to be at shula's at fort lauderdale and through the magic of social

media, gretchen carlson will again tell everyone of the tens of thousands that follow us on twitter that i'm going down there as well as facebook, it will be fun. >> shula's fort lauderdale, that's all they need to know. >> be there tomorrow and be on tv with brian. >> yes and see what steve is really like. the story in the breaks. meanwhile, we have also to tell you about the headlines. and then we got some exciting things to tell you about in politics including a big swearing-in. >> we got three big hours. >> that's what i'm thinking. >> all right. let's talk about toyota. they're now admitting there are design problems with anti-lock brakes in the prius that sometimes cause them to fail for just a second. the car company says it fixed the problem for models sold since late january but are still trying to figure out how to inform people who bought them before. in washington, transportation secretary ray lahood startled the public with this comment. >> my advice is if anybody owns one of these vehicles, stop driving it. take it to toyota dealer because

they believe they have the fix for it? >> lahood later clarified people should drive recalled cars to the dealership immediately. toyota's stock fell 4% after that comment. president obama says north korea will not be on the list of countrys that sponsor terrorism. he says the regime does not meet the criteria. over the summer, secretary of state hillary clinton raised the possibility of putting the north back on the list after it conducted several nuclear missile tests. the bush administration had removed it in 2008 to keep a nuclear deal from collapsing. too close to call. both illinois primaries for governor are so close, absentee ballots could decide them now. only about 300 votes separate the top two republicans, bill brady and kirk dillard. the gap is wider among the democrats, though. the governor leads by 8100 votes. the fate of 10 americans detained in haiti could be decided today. authorities will decide whether to file charges against the baptist missionaries accused of

trying to take 33 haitian children into the dominican republic without proper documents. secretary of state hillary clinton says the u.s. is speaking with the haitian officials. >> the haitian nation acted to protect children who were being removed from their country without appropriate documentation. it was unfortunate that whatever the motivation that this group of americans took matters into their own hands. >> haiti's government now raising the death toll from the devastating earthquake to 200,000 people. cops on long island, new york, they're no dummies. a woman tried to fool them by driving in the h.o.v. lanes with a mannequin in the passenger's seat and it was a good looking gal. >> she was. >> you're only allowed to drive in the lanes with a passenger. the dummy was completely dressed in a leather jacket, scarf and sunglasses. but that didn't fool one deputy. >> they actually arrested the torso. >> fairly normal until i jumped

out of the h.o.v. lane and got up next to her and i said you got to be kidding me. the weather was cloudy and what i noticed was the passenger was wearing sunglasses and the sun visor was down on the passenger's side window. >> this is the second time deputy sheriff howard has stopped a car with a fake passenger. he gave this driver, was it the mannequin or real driver, $135 ticket? >> look at that. >> he is so comfortable with that mannequin. i mean, the mannequin is in the picture with the press conference, drove with him back to the press conference. >> they ought to give her a bonus for being that ingenious. >> that's the only dummy in long island, by the way. >> thank you. >> the good news is -- >> now that i'm here. >> the good news is brown mania starts today. you know, we learned a couple of days ago that scott brown, the senator-elect from the commonwealth of massachusetts was going to be sworn in next week on february 11th. but yesterday, mr. brown's attorneys said, you know, in a letter to duvall patrick, the

democratic governor of the commonwealth of massachusetts, you know what? there are a bunch of votes he'd like to take part in. we'd like to do it as quickly as possible. it could happen as quickly as possible as, perhaps, 5:00 this afternoon. >> that would be interesting. i don't know what the votes are but obviously the whole scheme of things have changed in washington since he's the 41st vote at least on the republican side. and we all know what that did to health care so whatever these other votes are, he wanted to be a part of and i find it very interesting that the governor acquiesced on this. i think they're going along with this whole thing now. they don't want to be in the way of anything. >> his poll ratings, duvall patrick's is in the toilet and doesn't want to stand away in the most popular person in massachusetts. he has one committee he wants to serve on, the senate appropriations committee so he'll go in there and meanwhile, the president yesterday reminded democrats don't be down. you have the largest majority still of a generation in the senate so you're still doing pretty -- you're still doing

pretty well. >> there's a caveat to that. don't be down and let's pass health care still. >> they had 60 votes and the filibuster proof super majority and they blowed it. this has taken two weeks. had martha coakley won, do you think it would have taken two weeks for her to get sworn? >> you mean marsha coakley? you called her marsha. >> patrick kennedy jr. probably not. 6 minutes past the top of the hour. hearings on capitol hill providing some ominous warnings about threats from al-qaida against the united states. caroline schively up early with the very latest. caroline, the national intelligence director dennis blair talked a little bit about how tough it is to fight these guys yesterday, right? >> he certainly did and blair is telling congress that the multiple attacks we've seen over the last year from really these off shot terrorist groups makes harder to attack them if there's one central enemy. we may be shooting behind the rabbit here and it's moving faster than we thought. here's part of the testimony. >> solved with the recent rash

of attacks last year both successful and unsuccessful, identifying individual terrorists, small groups with short histories using simple attack methods, is a much more difficult task. >> blair cited terror suspects like the christmas day bomber umar farouk abdulmutallab and also army major nadal hasan charged in the fort hood shootings. they wouldn't call them al-qaida members but warned inspired attackers that are outside the usually complex maneuver that the u.s. has trained against. authorities say abdulmutallab used a simple bomb while hasan used a gun in a base where he worked as a soldier making all their work a little bit harder, steve. >> caroline, he also talked a little bit about these living abroad. he talked about how the united states could assassinate american citizens if they need to. how does that work? >> very interesting. the u.s. government, he said, has the authority to kill an american outside our borders if they present a direct threat. he said look, we don't target

people for free speech. we target them for taking action that threatens americans. in the past, the u.s. has killed some americans but they were really collateral damage. like in a drone attack. blair's assessment was the most blunt we've ever had saying americans abroad, if you're a threat, they can take them out. >> all right. caroline schively, thau thank yy much. >> yesterday, we started this discussion about the hearings on capitol hill about the crotch bomber and whether they were disclosing that they had received more information from him in a political way. is this helping the democrats politically to say that, oh, yes, we did read him his miranda rights after putting him in custody after one hour but guess what? he's still talking. that offended some republicans yesterday that said don't give the american public a pushover on this whole thing. we should have handled it differently from the start. >> i do find it interesting strategy that we hastily call a briefing to let america and our friends and our enemies in the

middle east know that he's now singing like a canary. >> the reason that people were told about the success of these interviews didn't have to do with politics. no information that was given out over the course of those briefings compromises that in any way. >> well, i have -- a lot of people think including peter king and like working on the intelligence committee say why does it work to our benefit to tell the enemy that we know that the crotch bomber is now talking? how does it help the people in yemen when they realize that, they got to pick up stakes and go somewhere else and they think there's some holes in the argument saying nobody was hurt by reading the miranda rights. we know that timely intelligence is key and that's gone out the window. they do deserve credit for sending f.b.i. agents overseas to nigeria to talk to the crotch bomber's family. saying do us a favor, talk to your son, get him to talk and it would help us and they did that. they came over. they talked to him and he has begun to talk. but in terms of politics coming

into this, the national intelligence director, as you saw in the cold open, he's upset. dennis blair is upset by it. >> the political dimension as you put it. also simultaneously, eric holder the attorney general of the united states yesterday came out with a letter because a number of republicans had wanted him to come up and answer some questions about what went on with the so-called unick bomber as they're calling him on one of the blogs and he sent out a letter to mitch mcconnell and in it, he said it was my decision and my decision alone to try him in court giving it a -- so it's not a political thing. it is a legal thing, according to mr. holder. >> and the caveat to that letter is that he didn't have any resistance from the president on that decision and any of the president's advisors. how did you take that letter? i'm wondering this morning, did you take it as eric holder putting himself out there falling on the sword saying it was my own decision or did you take it that it might be the beginning of the end for eric holder? >> it's hard to believe that he -- you know, you've got this great big administration and the

political dynamic is so strong with this for him to say, yeah, i'm the guy who made the decision. we've had some people on this show. we had our attorney general a couple of days ago. he said it was not his decision alone. it was a big decision made by a bunch of guys. >> well, the problem is a lot of people are on the record saying they were not in the loop when this decision was made and that's a problem. meanwhile, let's talk about what the president did yesterday. you remember, it was a great moment in television, hour and 22 minutes when the president went down and took on republicans. talked to republicans about his point of view about the way they were acting and not acting because he was invited to the -- to the congress, the house's retreat on the republican side. yesterday in baltimore, the democrats invited the president to come down and he showed up at which time he gave a little speech and then took some questions and answers and then answered some of the questions. you could see the senators that seemed to be in somewhat in trouble at home or with their upcoming election by the tone in which they took on the president with their question. >> it makes perfect sense because a lot of the president's

policies are unpopular and a lot of those senators who were depicted right there on the big screen, for instance, arlen specter, barbara boxer, blanche lincoln and bill nelson, they are in some tough fights. so what do you do politically? well, because it was televised, you make it look as if you are actually standing up against the president. for instance, one congresswoman -- congressperson from down in florida talked about how hey, look, you're eviscerating nasa. this is a terrible thing for my people back there and so the president, you know, stood there and took it. but clearly, there is once again a political dimension to this. >> who would have thought one year after the president was elected in a landslide victory, the most popular president maybe in the history of our country, that now democrats would be distancing themselves from him. i don't know. just go back in time in a year and think did you think that would happen? senator blanche lincoln is one of them. she's in a huge fight in her home state, down 23 points in

the polls. only has a 27% approval rating. here's what she said to the president yesterday. one constituent fears there's no one in your administration that understands what it means to go to work on monday and make a payroll on friday. ouch! >> and then on her web site, she had a thing that says she's standing up for the people of the great state of arkansas. >> what does this mean for the president? let's find out. coming up next, dick morris is here to talk about some digging into president obama's budget. what he found out in those thousands of pages that were released earlier this week. he says the deficit numbers are not right. he'll explain. >> we're only three days away from the super bowl. time to check out some of the super ads we've been waiting all year for. we'll preview some straight ahead. when you're living with bipolar depression...

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controversial self-help guru james ray will appear before a judge this morning charged with manslaughter now. three people died following his five day spiritual warrior retreat in arizona after spending two hours in a sweat lodge. and a man is killed by sharks in a rare fatal attack off the coast of florida. it happened in stewart near west palm beach. authorities say steven schaefer was kite surfing when he was attacked. a lifeguard pulled him away from the sharks and carried him back to shore but he died at the hospital. officials think that it's the first fatal shark attack there in 25 years. steve? >> that's awful. all right. the president has not been shy about telling everybody about the deficit that he inherited from george w. bush. he reminded everybody again at the state of the union address. >> by the time i took office, we had a one-year deficit of over $1 trillion. and projected deficits of $8 trillion over the next decade. all this was before i walked in

the door. >> and i heard him last week say that before he walked in the door, the deficit was $1.3 trillion. well, is the president, perhaps, playing a little fast and loose with the numbers? fox news contributor dick morris is a former advisor to president bill clinton and knows all about numbers and he's joining us right now live from atlanta. good morning to you, dick. >> first of all, that shark attack, i'm occasionally in those waters off west palm. my goodness. >> watch it. well, you've been -- >> not only got to be afraid of obama but of sharks, too. >> yeah. dick, let's talk about this. the president has said this past week that when he walked in the door, the deficit was $1.3 trillion so when he's saying the deficit next year will be $1.5, $1.6, doesn't seem like it's such a big gap between him and president bush. but that's not necessarily the case. right? >> right. well, you know what mark twain there are three kinds of lies.

lies, damn lies and statistics but the facts are that when bush -- in bush's last year, 2008, the deficit was $485 billion. the fiscal year begins october 1st, in this case, 2008. right before bush left office and the deficit rose another $100, $150 billion up to about $600 billion which was the real deficit at that point. then the tarp money comes along and they have to lend it to the banks. $700 billion. but it's a loan. it's not a grant. $500 billion of it has been paid back already but it counts as part of the deficit. so technically, for five minutes when obama took office, it was up to $1.3. but then a few weeks or months later, it would have gone back down to $800 billion which is about the real figure. but obama took the money that was being repaid on the loan and as fast as it came in, he threw it out in spending which he'll

never get back. and that moved the deficit up to $1.1 to $1.2 and then revenue collections fell off and it went up to $1.4. so the real number is $800 billion under bush, $1.4 in the first year under obama. if you haven't kept notes on this, go to dickmorris.com and i lay it all out there. >> you do indeed. i read your column on this very topic last night. so the real number is $600 to $800 billion. >> when he walked in the door, it was $200 billion of tarp loans that were outstanding that were never going to get repaid so say $800 up to $1.4. that's the real truth. >> all right. dick, thank you very much. stay tuned. we want to continue the conversation with you. you know, canada is supposed to be the model for the american health care reform. so why is one of its most popular leaders coming to the united states for heart surgery that will save his life? we're going to talk to dick about that. do you remember this song by men at work?

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>> so i would just suggest to this caucus, if anybody is searching for a lesson from massachusetts, i promise you the answer is not to do nothing. we've got to finish the job on health care. we've got to finish the job on financial regulatory reform. we've got to finish the job even though it's hard. >> wow, that was president obama talking to democrats yesterday about pushing through health care reform. but if an overhaul is such a good idea, why is a popular canadian official choosing to come to the u.s. for care? >> that's right. we continue the conversation with dick morris.

dick, the story is the premiere of newfoundland and labrador up in canada, danny williams known as danny millions is going to come down here for treatment. some say well, we don't have the equipment up there. nonetheless, kind of becoming a poster boy for the other side that is against health care in this country because canada has been held up to be a model. >> yeah. absolutely. in canada, the cancer death rate is 16% higher than it is in the united states. the heart disease death rate is 6% higher. the colon cancer death rate is 25% higher and it should be lower because canada has fewer poor people. but it's because of the long waits and the inadequate medication. best drug to treat colon cancer vastin is illegal in canada, not for safety but because of costs. so naturally, they come down here. >> but the -- >> i'm hearing in atlanta today, last night i spoke to a group

called the american seniors -- americanseniors.org which is a competitor group to aarp and they make the point that our system will be exactly like the canadian system if obama has his way. >> but we've been hearing this for months and it was -- this is part of the town hall meetings over the summer but isn't this exactly the wrong p.r. that the president needs this week to have this premier from canada coming down here and at the same time in front of democrats he's saying let's finish the job even though they had total control for a year, they couldn't get the job done! >> yeah, of course. and i think it's not something that he needs. but did you hear the second part of what he said? regulatory reform? that's as pernicious and as dangerous as health care. what that reform will do in its current form and believe me, this sounds crazy but it's true, is it will give the secretary of the treasury the power to take any business he wants, take it over, seize it, fire the board,

restructure the management, sell off divisions, wipe out the shareholders, only if in his opinion it presents a risk to the economy because it's too big to fail and borderline insolvent. in his opinion with no judicial review, no objective standards. it's absolutely ridiculous and it really is power that fidel castro would have loved to have had. so when obama says let's finish the job on health care and financial regulation, what he's saying is let's finish the government takeover of the 16% of our economy that's health care and the 25% of our economy that's financial or, in fact, the whole economy through this regulatory reform bill. >> it's going to be fascinating to see what happens next politically because he still has majority. it's just not enough. dick morris, congratulations on the success of "catastrophe" and thanks for joining us this morning. >> thanks, brian. >> all right. >> straight ahead, 28 minutes after the top of the hour, 30

seconds for $2.5 million. that's how much you, the taxpayer, are shelling out for a government super bowl ad. we're going to -- this is it. we'll tell you what it's for because it's kind of hard to figure out. >> this is not even a health care bill. this puts people in jail potentially if they don't have health insurance. >> much more from rush on that. on that story, that issue and his own political future. plus could tiger be out of the woods? strong reports that his comeback is coming shortly. yes. >> i'm going to lose a huge bet on that if that's true. happy birthday to alice cooper, the rock 'n' roller is 62 years old today. [ female announcer ] for dazzling white teeth, give toothpaste the brush off.

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>> hey, welcome back. glad you're up. let me tell you what's going on in the world and then we'll show you some great super bowl ads. meanwhile, senior intelligence officials in the u.s. believe the leader of the taliban in pakistan dead. they think he died during a u.s. drone attack last month. i think they're related. no official word yet from pakistan or the u.s. . he commands the al-qaida allied movement that's blamed for a number of homicide bombings including last year's deadly attack on the c.i.a. base in afghanistan. he would be the second pakistan taliban leader killed in five months. we also took out their operational leader. >> that's right. >> meanwhile, more dirty money coming into the united states. a senate report finds foreign dictators, high living bureaucrats and arms dealers are

still funneling money into the country despite a post 9/11 crackdown. for instance, a fellow by the name of mangay, the son of an african president smuggled in more than $100 million in cash, mr. mangue did over four years and jennifer douglas who is an american and the wife of a former nigerian vice president allegedly brought in $40 million through off shore accounts. hearings into this loophole start next week. >> in less than two hours this morning, president obama will speak at the annual national prayer breakfast in washington. despite controversy already surrounding this event. protesters say the sponsor of the breakfast, an evangelical network called the fellowship has ties to legislation in uganda that calls for the execution of homosexuals. that's not all. more controversy because of a pro life ad featuring former heisman trophy winner tim tebow and his mother.

the commercial will air during the super bowl and tebow is set to speak at the breakfast today. we'll bring you the event live as soon as it happens. >> it probably has something to do with the fact that he played so poorly in the senior bowl. how to care for people suffering from severe brain injuries who are said to be in a vegetative state. five people thought to be in a vegetative state are showing brain activity. some snhow awareness, intent an in one case a wish to communicate. standard tests may overlook patient who's have some consciousness and that maybe some day they will be able to communicate. wow. >> we'll discuss that with the a team doctors coming up. and remember, this popular 1980's song from the band men at work? >> ♪ i come from a land down under could you hear ♪ >> the band just lost a lawsuit because an australian court

ruled that the song sounds too much like this children's class classic. take a listen. >> ♪ sitting in the old gum tree merry merry king of the bush is he laugh kukabarra your life must be ♪ >> never heard that song in my life. >> we used to sing it. >> in australia or here? >> no, we sang it here in the united states where i grew up. legal experts say compensation to the copyright owner could be millions of dollars. i never knew you were an aussie. >> no, i'm not. we sang it in kansas. >> if you sang that song growing up, email us right now. let's take a look at the weather ahead. there's a big storm going on this morning, take a look from texas to the gulf coast and moving up through the mid missouri and mississippi valley at this hour, this is going to

be a big, big powerful snow event through portions of the northeast and mid atlantic tomorrow night into saturday. and just for your thursday morning commute, it's going to be a little on the slippery side in some spots. as you can see, another cold one today in new england. caribou, just 6. we have 29 in new york city. same for cleveland and much of the ohio valley. everywhere from the northeast up through the northern plains below freezing. then the freezing temperatures starts in the mid plains states as you can see right there. and then we got some 40's down south. real quickly, taking a look, later on today, it will be freezing in minneapolis. it's going to be 34 in chicago and kansas city. we're going to have 40's all the way from memphis and tennessee down through portions of texas and back through the mid atlantic. it will be a beautiful 74 today in tampa and 61 in new orleans. and that's a quick look at the fox travel cast. now, brian, a moment ago, you had a tantalizing tidbit about

tiger woods. >> it's amazing. strong reports that tiger woods will reportedly leave sex addiction clinic where he's not allowed to practice golf over in mississippi right by brett favre's house and maybe back on the pga tour in just two weeks. at the assensure. the herald song reporting that he may make a return to golf in two weeks at the play championship over in arizona. we'll see what that will be like. first, the paper says tiger and wife elan plan to take a few days off and travel together alone in an effort to fix their marriage. cashing in from the carlson kid. fox news's major garrett reportedly reporting that president obama will have a super bowl party at the white house on sunday when the colts face the saints. while the list of those invited isn't final, the president will invite members of congress from indiana and louisiana where players are competing from.

he's pulling for the saints to win the game, they say. we'll be at shula's tomorrow. amongst our guests we just found out, the governor will be there. james brown of cbs will be hosting the pregame show and i'll be wearing that same outfit with the same smug grin. >> if anybody is watching right now and you're down in the fort lauderdale, broward county area, go to shula's on a1a in fort lauderdale and you can be part of the big crowd tomorrow between 6:00 and 9:00 a.m. >> that will be fun. >> let's talk about one ad in particular that's going to be at the super bowl, going to be on the super bowl broadcast. >> yes, it's one that you might not expect, one that you would only see every 10 years. can you guess what it is? it's one you'll pay for. it's $2.5 million for one ad during the super bowl to get you to pay attention to that questionnaire that's going to come to your house. it's only 10 questions. one of the first questions is what's your phone number? we need to spend $2.5 million to get the word out that thing is coming to your mailbox. >> well, gretchen, it's mandated

by the constitution. >> to spend $2.5 million? >> the census is mandated by the constitution. >> the super bowl. >> that came later. so we got to go out there and figure out how many people live all over the place. this is the ad. it was created by christopher guest who, as you know, was once upon a time in "saturday night live" and a bunch of movies and i think he's married to -- >> married to jamie lee curtis. >> exactly right. he produced and directed this and let's just take a little listen to it. >> because we've made six biggest blockbuster movies of all time and now, i'm asking you, i'm begging you, to be part of something even greater. i want to do a portrait of every man, woman and child in this beautiful country of ours. 300 million people. >> yeah, that's right. it's the national head count and we're paying close to $3 million for it. the vice president for citizens against government waste calls this an absolute waste of money. >> colossal.

colossal waste of money was the actual quote. >> wow. >> i like to add the word colossal because it is colossal. >> this is only $2.5 million. they're blowing $133 million just for publicity on the count. >> we saw preview of the census ad. let's see a preview of some of the other ads we expect to see at the super bowl. for example, the doritos ad. >> ok. >> the first guy to flinch has to make a run for more doritos. >> dude, you ok? >> he flinched. >> thanks. >> no problem. >> we got to get out of here before -- ahhhh! >> you want a dorito, you got to speak. >> is it a guy thing or am i totally confuse ed? >> i think you're kind of confused because i think that is a montage of the dorito ads.

>> i was going to say that's one bad ad. >> just -- they should be more deliberate. stop being so subtle. stop making us laugh. tell us what you want us to eat. >> etrade, the on-line trader, take a look at their 30 second ad. >> so this is my friend frank and his retirement plan. >> one golden crown, come on, frank, how long have we known each other? go to etrade, they'll help you nail a retirement plan that's fierce! two golden crowns. >> you realize the odds of winning are the same of being mauled by a polar bear and a regular bear in the same day. wow, you didn't win? i want to show you something. it's my shocked face. >> very cute. i love the talking baby. >> yeah. >> i think he premiered one or two years ago. >> didn't he get the food in the mouth last year where he spit it out, i think, is that the same commercial? >> i'm not sure. >> there's a lot of spitting out in the super bowl. >> let's watch one more ad for homeaway.com.

>> reservation under griswold. >> short film about hotel rooms. >> we have you in this suite. >> at homeaway.com, rent a house for half the cost of the hotel. >> a little takeoff on the national lampoon movies with chevy chase. >> i never tire of them. 18 minutes before the top of the hour. quick look at the super bowl ads coming your way and now it's time for a preview of the show coming your way. he left his cushy corner office to pick up trash and clean toilets. we're talking about a corporate executive to go undercover to learn more about his own business. >> what a good idea. >> and i give rush limbaugh a pop quiz in part two of my exclusive interview. one thing i like to do at the end of interviews is quiz the interviewee on a scale of 1 to 10. >> ok. >> so on a scale of 1 to 10, do you think barack obama will be re-elected in three years? >> his answers and more coming

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>> all right. 14 minutes before the top of the hour. here's what else is happening on this thursday. according to the u.s. army, three crew members were killed when a uh-60 blackhawk helicopter crashed in germany yesterday. the soldiers were on a training mission. after $672 million, the virtual border fence between the united states and mexico, doesn't work. 23 mile stretch was supposed to go into ser last month but boeing says glitches kept popping up. now, homeland security is apparently thinking about cutting its losses. great. brian? >> ever wish your boss would walk a mile in your shoes? a new reality show -- can i continue? a new reality series challenges bigwig xektd actives to do just that, give up their fancy

offices to go undercover as lower level employees at their own companies. take a look. >> this week, the boss of america's largest trash company, waste management, a $13 billion business with 45,000 employees and 20 million customers, the boss is going to trade in his executive office and expense account for a hard hat and a bagged lunch. he'll assume a new identity. >> good morning, randy. i'm janice. nice to meet you. >> and pose as a new recruit. >> so larry o'donnell is the boss you saw in the clip. he's the boss sitting on our couch. he's the president and c.e.o. of waste management and stars in the debut and in the pilot of "undercover boss." what made you agree to do this? >> i had to think about it for a while because i'm not a reality type person. the opportunity to engage with our employees in a whole different way, i couldn't pass that up. >> they didn't know who you were, right? >> they did not know who i was. >> what was your job

description? >> what they were told is i was a brand new employee that was just coming into our industry, that i had been in the construction industry and there was a camera crew there to document, they were doing the documentary to show what it was like for new employee to come into our industry for the first time. >> how were you treated? what did you discover? >> i was treated unbelievably well, you know, every single employee, every job i had, they reallime reallime really wanted me to succeed and cared for me as a person. i wasn't good at any of the jobs i did. >> really. it was a lot harder than you thought. >> a lot harder than i thought. >> this gave you somewhat of an awakening being in there mixing with the men and women who do -- work with the same company on a daily basis. >> no doubt about it. you know, i go out in the field a lot. i travel a lot but i always show up as the president of the company. to go in as a brand new employee, it gave me a whole new perspective. >> and you've already made some changes to your company. for example, because of your experience as a worker.

>> absolutely. one place i've found, you know, i've worked with a guy named walter and he had a lot of health problems that he could have avoided. he's been on dialysis for 20 years and didn't pay attention to some of the signs. we've now made him a health mentor and he is now going throughout our company talking to employees about how important it is to know your health numbers and stay on top of those things. so they don't end up like he did. >> we know that it debuts on the 14th at 9:00. now, we don't know if larry o'donnell walked up to any of the employees and said hey, what do you think of our c.o.o. for c.e.o., did you get any feedback about what the workers think about their management? >> i sure did. i was actually working on a residential garbage truck one day with a female driver and she started telling me about a policy that i had actually put into place that was causing a lot of frustration out there and i asked her, where did that come from? she said oh, some bigwig in houston and i said well, who is

that? she goes, i don't know. well, she was talking about me. >> larry, you turned this company around and i imagine this is an experience you'll use to your advantage. that's why you had all this success. i look forward to seeing this series. larry o'donnell, president of waste management. thanks so much. >> thank you a lot, brian. >> we'll see that on the 14th. coming up straight ahead, by the way, we know that debuts super bowl sunday on february 7th and moves to the regular time slot on cbs. coming up next, gretchen puts rush limbaugh on the hot seat. >> chances in your future that you run for political office, scale of 1 to 10. >> his answer and more of the exclusive interview next and a kid yanked out of class and suspended over a two inch toy gun. did the school overreact? we'll report about it. you decide about it. it's a rule of nature. you don't decide when vegetables reach th peak of perfection. the vegetables do.

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>> welcome back, everyone. rush limbaugh sat down with me over the weekend in las vegas where he was a guest judge at the miss america paneli pageant. this is what rush had to say about where he thinks health care will be one year from now. >> i hope nowhere. i don't trust all this news that they're going to shelf it. i hear axelrod and pelosi, having to parachute in behind enemy lines to get it done. i wouldn't be surprised if they go reconciliation process. they've already, gretchen, illustrated profoundly no problem governing against the will of the people. >> the republicans will be on the hook for coming up with a plan now? >> they've got plans. there's all kinds of conservative plans for health

care. this is the greatest thing. we don't want our fingerprints anywhere on this one. this is not even a health care bill. this is a bill that raises taxes 14 times, puts people in jail, potentially if they don't have health insurance, mandated by the government and this is an avenue to control every aspect of life. >> were you surprised at the downfall of barack obama in the last year? and you were criticized, by the way, for saying you wanted him to fail and then you clarified and said you wanted his policies to fail. but were you surprised that in one year's time, there is such a different perception? >> gratified. i was afraid, you know, that election, the way obama was being received, the messiah, the one, we've never seen anybody like this in politics, post racial, post partisan, post accomplishment, didn't matter what he said, he's somebody smart who can speak and represent america. the world will love us again, i thought, my gosh, he wins. does it mean the country has gone socialist?

that's what i worried about. 53% of the vote he got. so my faith in the country was always no, we haven't gotten that far. >> one thing i like to do at the end of interviews is quiz the interviewee on the scale of 1 to 10. >> oh, ok. >> so on the scale of 1 to 10, do you think barack obama will be re-elected in three years? >> 1 being no and 10 being absolutely? >> right. >> 1. >> really? >> yeah. >> on a scale of 1 to 10, will hillary clinton challenge barack obama for the democrat -- >> 7. laying the groundwork even as we speak. >> in what way? >> saying, no, i have no desire to run for president. they say that. it's like a coach getting a vote of confidence and the owner gets canned next day saying you don't want to run is a clear signal you're thinking about it and you want to mu. the clintons have just as much ambition to get back there and they'll pounce on it weakness. >> scale of 1 to 10, that the

tea party will become the independent party? >> 3. >> why? >> they're going to come to their senses and realize that all third parties do is guarantee the election to democrats. the perot party was the same thing. if elected democrats did the third party thing, the success here and in the future is going to be conservativism dominating, retaking, if you will, the republican party. >> chances on a scale of 1 to 10 that you will end up owning an nfl football team. >> 7. >> so there's optimism there. >> absolutely. there's always more opportunity. >> all right. and on a scale -- >> and you learn things. >> what would you change about rush to be able to get past the criticism that you faced the first time around? >> that criticism is going to come no matter what. look at where it came from. it came from liberal political opponents in the civil rights movement. that's always going to happen. >> on a scale of 1 to 10 chances in your future that you run for political office.

>> absolute certaintude 0. >> why? >> pay cut. >> that's it? >> no. >> you made enough money for life. >> the getting audience, attracting an audience and holding an audience is a far different thing from getting votes. you have to go out and raise money. you have to ask people to donate to you. i couldn't do that. i don't accept freebies now. i don't -- because i don't want to be obligated to anybody. that's the thing about politics that i'm not cut out for. i could not ask people because you owe them something. >> i knew he would never run because of the pay cut. >> it's interesting because he certainly has enough money but then he went on to clarify, he doesn't want have to go out there and ask for those kinds of favors and such. on the scale of 1 to 10, the chances that brett favre comes back as quarterback of the vikings. he said well, march 1st, a 6. april 2nd, a 10. june 17th, a 2 which was a good

answer. >> because he never makes up his mind. great guy and great job, gretchen. excellent. >> thanks very much. >> coming up tomorrow, we're going to be talking to some military widows and their daughters who had a chance to go to the miss america pageant and they got a day at the spa. got a day at macy's to shop. they were also given honorary crown pins from the miss america pageant and then, of course, they were sitting front and center for the pageant. all there for a very sad reason, they've lost their husbands in the war, but this is a chance for moms and daughters to come together for a weekend just for themselves. >> that's great for them. >> story coming up tomorrow. >> straight ahead, when you thought you heard it all from john edwards, revealing voice mail messages are coming your way and they're being revealed this morning and -- >> live pictures in right now from washington as two pandas get ready to head back to china. so long, panda bears! pandemonium in d.c. vernon, texas

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>> good thursday morning, everyone. february 4, 2010. thank you for sharing your time with us. the future of politics about to change now because massachusetts senator-elect scott brown says let's get this show on the road. he's going to be sworn in today. what will his 41st vote be? >> a cancer survivor has a simple question for the president. >> how are the jobs bill and the proposed health care legislation going to account for

the level of variability of the needs of cancer survivors? >> well, look, first of all, we're proud of you. you look great. >> but did the president actually answer the question? that woman will join us live. >> and bumbling biden at it again. the teleprompter says. why the vice president is raising eyebrows this morning. say it ain't so, joe. meanwhile, our slogan this hour comes from 14-year-old trevor in kentucky. i get up every morning, and i get ready for school because watching "fox & friends" is fun because they're all so cool. thanks, trevor. >> hey, i'm joe biden. you're watching "fox & friends" and i'll tell you what, you'll enjoy it. >> you will enjoy it. thank you very much, mr. vice president. >> a lot of interesting soundbites. >> he has. >> right. >> thanks very much to trevor, the 14-year-old. i don't think the three of us have been called cool for at least a decade. >> i do in my money mind.

that's fine. played a song. >> as for songs, ok, ok, a lot of you sang kukabarra growing up. good to know. we got some headlines. >> all right. toyota now admitting there are design problems, uh-oh, with the anti-lock brakes in the prius that sometimes cause them to fail for just a second. the car company says it fixed the problem for models sold since last january but are trying to figure out how to inform people who bought them before that. that would be a lot of people. in washington, transportation secretary ray lahood startled the public, though, with this comment. >> my advice is if anybody owns one of these vehicles, stop driving it. take it to toyota dealer because they believe they have a fix for it. >> uh-oh. lahood later clarified he meant people should take recalled cars to the dealer immediately. after that statement, toyota's stock fell 4%.

whoopsy daisy. a busy day at the white house for the president. lawmakers are expected to unveil a jobs package that could pass the senate as early as next week. top republicans and democrats say the bipartisan deal would give businesses a tax break for hiring workers who are currently unemployed. it's an alternative to president obama's proposed tax cut of up to $5,000 for each new worker. the new plan would exempt companies from paying the employer's share of social security payroll taxes for new workers. the nation's pay czar say he's angry about the millions in bonuses a.i.g. is going to pay its top people but there's not much he can do about it. he told neil cavuto on fox business it was about locked in, contracts signed deals. >> these contracts that are being honored occurred years ago before the top law was even implemented. not on our watch. >> feinberg says he'll have

control of compensation this year and will insist that everything over a half million dollars be in stock which will tie an executive to the future of the company. that was an idea promoted 25 years ago. brian, pay attention. these are the stories that you like. panda stories. the time has come in about an hour, tai shon, is that how you say it, one of the giant pandas at the national zoo of washington is off to china. he is being joined by the panda from the atlanta zoo. they're flying nonstop, i hope first class to central china on a donated fed ex 777. all right. the move is heart wrenching for some panda loyalists. china loans pandas to zoos around the world on the condition that the offspring are sent back. didn't know that. well, the house from the hit show the jersey more is a gold mine. the owner of the infamous party house say he's making three times the money for those

looking to rent the place. it's loeblthed in seaside heights, new jersey. it has six bedrooms, three bathrooms and currently going for $3500 a night. but once memorial day weekend comes, that cost skyrockets to $6500. a night. that's what you call a party pad. >> i think you might want to sanitize the jacuzzi. >> drain it! >> while we're speaking. >> today is the day, stand by, brown mania officially starts, perhaps, today. remember, there was some question after election night up in the commonwealth of massachusetts when he would be sworn in. would the democrats be able to jam through health care before he becomes the 41st vote? and their filibuster proof majority, super majority goes kaput? well, it's been almost two weeks, what's taken so long? we heard yesterday and the day before, he would be sworn in on february 11th but yesterday, he decided through the lawyers, i'm ready to go. >> yeah, so he's going to do it on the 11th. it will be after 5:00 and at

which time -- >> today, the 4th. >> excuse me. it was supposed to be on the 11th. it will be today after 5:00 at which time he says he's a few key votes he wants to be a part of. if he had his druthers, he wants to be part of the senate appropriations committee. >> why not? >> have to do with spending. >> i don't think anybody will stand in his way right now, specifically governor duvall patrick who is down in the polls and is not that popular, he's not going to be that guy to say oh, let's hold off on getting scott brown seated. nope. that's why i think it will happen today. we all know it will happen at 5:00 p.m. today and as brian mentioned, he wants to be on the senate appropriations committee but what are those votes? he said there were some key votes that he wanted to be in on before next week. it would be interesting to know exactly what those are and whether or not he would be the deciding vote to change the course. >> yeah. and so his attorneys wrote to the governor and said, come on, you got to certify them quickly so as soon as harry reid's office gets the certification from the state of massachusetts, they'll go ahead and swear him in.

howie carr, friend of this show who wrote in "the herald" up in boston said today is the official end of camelot much the kennedies owned this seat for 57 years which is one for each state in barack obama's union. oh, howie. >> joe kennedy was saying i'm kicking myself for not running. he might have run and be able to tap into his dad's legacy or his uncle's legacy. meanwhile, the president of the united states talking yesterday to the democratic retreat, yes, the democratic caucus. he said i know the numbers aren't going to add up. find a way to get health care done. listen. >> so i would just suggest to this caucus, if anybody is searching for a lesson from massachusetts, i promise you the answer is not to do nothing. we've got to finish the job on health care. we've got to finish the job on financial regulatory reform. we've got to finish the job -- we've got to finish the job even though it's hard. >> interesting thing is a lot of the moderate democrats probably sitting there were probably not applauding or maybe they were

applauding in private like oh, my goodness, thank god scott brown got elected so i don't have to cast another vote on this because most of them are up for re-election and it's not a popular position to have. >> i'll tell you what, it's almost as if they're on the clock anyway. they cast a vote for something that's not going to happen which i think is worse. senate already voted on it, right? now when it comes to an alternate, they're not going to have the legislation but yet, they have the record. >> he should have given the pep talk a little while back. now that -- remember, they had the filibuster proof super majority. they had 60 votes. they could not act on it and now, they're a little behind but they still have the majority. they still have ways of doing it. meanwhile, let's talk a little bit about the underwear bomber. you know, there's been a big brouhaha, why did they mirandize him and treating him like a common criminal instead of a national security threat. have the white house politicized this? there's been some give and take yesterday in washington. here are both sides on telling

the enemies about what we're learning through interrogation which has happened. >> i find it an interesting strategy that we hastily call a briefing to let america and our friends and enemies in the middle east know he's now singing like a canary. >> the reason that people were told about the success of these interviews didn't have anything to do with politics. no information that was given out over the course of those briefings compromises that in any way. >> how can you say that? >> the white house had to get the word out that he was singing like a canary now because they stopped that process from happening when they gave him those miranda rights so now, they have to politically get the message out, see, the way we did it worked. he is still talking to us. the only problem is every time you arrest a terrorist, you're not going to have a family that you can go find in nigeria who is going to come back over here to the u.s. and convince the guy to talk which is what happened here. imagine if that family would not have done that. this guy wouldn't be singing like a canary. >> the attorney general came out and said i'm the one who is

responsible for deciding him to mirandize him. i had a meeting on january 5th to say who wants to step up and decide if anybody has a view on whether he should get his miranda rights and tried as a criminal and not as an enemy combatant, nobody put up their hand. "time" magazine did an interview with the intelligence director dennis blair at which time blair said i was never called and tell. they have this thing called a high value interrogation unit that is supposed to be mobile and ready to go and talk to the would-be terrorist, whoever comes down the line immediately. they were never called. >> right, but president obama no doubt signed off on that and some of his close advisors and i think that letter from eric holder yesterday could just be the beginning of the end of falling on the sword. >> email us right now. do you think it's been politicized by the white house? nothing to laugh about. go ahead, email us at foxandfriends.com. >> cancer survivor has a simple question for the president. >> how are the jobs bill and the proposed health care

legislation going to account for the level of variability of the needs of cancer survivors? >> look, first of all, we're proud of you. you look great. >> but did the president actually answer the question? the woman who asked the question joins us after the break. then -- >> take a close look. a coach wins the volleyball and his own player? what's that about? fiber one -- i'm looking for some fiber. this bar is an excellent source of fiber. there's no fiber ithis. it tastes too good. they have 35% of your daily value.

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...right for you. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. >> supporters of health care reform say the bill would help provide coverage to millions of uninsured americans. but what would that legislation do to help cancer survivors since their care tends to cost more money? well, one woman asked that very question at the president's town hall in new hampshire on tuesday and got an interesting response. listen. >> how are the jobs bill and the proposed health care legislation going to account for the level of variability of the needs of cancer survivors? >> well, look, first of all, we're proud of you.

you look great. you agree, huh? you should, you know. >> healthwise, i'm great. >> you look good, too. go ahead. >> yes. >> the -- there are a couple of aspects of this. >> that was the woman who asked the question is this woman right here amy kaplan, a three time cancer survivor. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> you're a resident of connecticut and felt it was important to go to new hampshire to this town hall meeting, a three time cancer survivor. >> right. >> you asked the president that question. did you feel he answered it? >> when i first heard him, i wasn't sure. as i've gone back and listened to the clip numerous times, i realized he did. he did talk about all different levels of potential support for people who have pre-existing conditions and have different varying levels of income. the problem with cancer survivors is they lose their jobs. they lose their coverage. and even if they could buy it,

they don't have the money to pay for it. >> right. >> you say this president has done more for people who have pre-existing conditions than any other former president? >> right. he has. and he's trying to. he's trying to get it passed. you know, i'm worried it won't pass because at any time, any of us could lose our jobs, any of us could be unemployed, have no money, not be able to afford insurance and is your life worth less because you don't have money? is it worth more when you have money and can buy insurance? i hope my life would be the same value whether i could buy insurance or not or for all of us. >> let's take a look at some of the other points that the president made during the answer to your question. health insurance exchange for small businesses. >> uh-huh. >> health insurance subsidies and hardship exemption. no refusal of coverage for pre-existing conditions, panel of experts to control costs of medicine. >> right. >> so you would be one who would hope that health care reform when he's speaking to the democrats yesterday, that they would take his initiative and still find a way to pass it. >> absolutely.

because doctors do that even now. i have numerous doctors. and they all get together so i do my blood work twice a year, and the test results go to all the different doctors rather than each of them ordering the tests they need. most of them need many of the same tests. so we're already starting to do those kinds of things, even in the medical practices now. >> amy, do you have any concern when we hear the reports in the last couple of days that this premier from canada who needs heart surgery is going to come to the u.s. to get that surgery instead of staying home in canada. many people say that health care reform would turn us into canada. >> you know, i have had many canadian friends come here 20, 30 years ago because when i needed my cancer surgery, i got it within two weeks or a month which is the appropriate time and my canadian friends would have to wait six or eight months and they were coming here to pay for their own health care so that when they have diseases that can go quickly, they weren't going to wait. this isn't new. people are trying to make it

sound new. >> my point of the question is they're coming here for the health care. do you worry if we become like canada, our health care quality will go down? >> no, it's not quite the same. you still have your own choice of doctors. i'm not really worried. not that much is changing. what's changing is people won't get pushed out of the health care system. i don't think too much else is going to change. actually speaking with both -- many of my doctors, most of them think it's going to help health care for us. >> all right. varying opinions on this very controversial topic. amy kaplan, we're so glad that you're healthy, three time cancer survivor. >> thank you very much. >> coming up on the show, we're measuring your quality of life. john stossel takes to the streets to see what people think. and "the hurt locker" have you seen the movie? it's taking the lead for oscar gold and actor jeremy rener leading the way.

>> time for your news by the numbers. first, 0. that's how many phone books the state of california wants to see. the state wants to stop giving everyone a phone book and instead just hand them out to people who actually ask for one. i vote for that, too. what do you think about that? next, the number 20. that's how many stories high the tower that will be known as one world trade center is so far. it's expected to reach 104 stories by 2013. and $104,300,000, that's how much someone played at auction for the walking man, the most ever paid for a sculpture. steve, brian? >> thank you very much. are you unhappy? john stossel taking to the streets to ask real americans about the quality of their life. watch. >> the world is going to hell in a hand basket. at least that's what people around here keep telling me.

>> everything is going downhill. >> i think things are getting worse. >> so are things really that bad? john has done some investigating. you'll be pleased by his conclusions. john, welcome back. >> thank you. >> and you're the same john from john stossel on the fox business network, right ? >> last i checked. >> what's the truth behind the worry? >> the truth is that in free societies, most things get better and yes, it's our job to focus on the problems and the terrible things that happen but we -- we should at least point out now and then that the air is getting cleaner. we're living longer. most people's incomes are going up despite people who are unemployed now. and even though we're saying horrible things happen in the culture, crime has gone down. >> you know, you can say that but i just wish you had some sort of graphical depiction of the fact that things are getting better. >> oh, my goodness! he came with chartsz. -- charts! >> very important to illustrate these things.

this is life expectancy. all this stuff about how we don't have good health care in america steadily going up to almost 80. >> about 30 years we've added. >> that's right. >> thank you. >> income. >> yes, we're in a recession. income has gone straight up and you can say that's just because steve makes so much money and bill gates. all these billionaires but you take the -- whoops, the poorest 1/5 of americans over time despite some setbacks over time, the poor have gotten richer as well. >> so it's even better for the poor. what about teens? this is the teen violence chart. you saw the word teen there and picked up on that. you know, all the grand theft auto, the video games clearly is practice for killing and people go on tv and say it causes these school shootings. teen violence is down, too. >> indeed. >> school shootings are down as well. last month, we heard teen pregnancy was up.

it's true except how come nobody points out all those years before that when it's been going steadily down despite all the sex on tv. >> right. >> i could go on but i won't. >> you could. >> this is great. america needs to hear this. >> yes. there's good news around. >> good place to live. >> are you taking a slam at the media as portraying things as being oh, look, we're in a hole. we're in trouble here? i think you are. >> yes, i always do that. i mean, it's the nature of news to be negative. nobody is out by the back fence talking about who is faithful to their spouse. we cover the trouble. but the good news happens and we ought to step back sometime and point that out, too. >> those are good statistics but it doesn't mean we can't want things to be better? >> that's true. and it doesn't mean that tomorrow, with all the debt, things will get worse. we should point out that americans live like kings and queens used to live. and we should be happy to live in the freest and richest country that's ever existed. >> in fact, brian has a moat

around his place. >> exactly. it's to keep people like stossel and doocey away from my compound. the name of the show is "stossel". it's at 8:00 eastern time and that's the man, john stossel. john, good job. you lifted me up and put a bounce in my step. for that, i will be forever grateful. >> they did a nice job. >> forever. >> good. >> why can't we ever get charts? >> steve, we're on. >> sorry. up next, a kid yanked out of class nearly suspended over a tiny little two inch gun there in the hands of the lego man. did the school overreact? we're going to report and you're going to decide. yeah, probably. >> hope,ney, i shrunk the weapo. he wore a 100 pound suit in the desert for a week on end. it was worth it. jeremy renner is up for best actor. this movie is tremendous. it's called "the hurt locker" and that superstar will be joining us live. >> stuart varney says our credit rating equals bad news for america.

he's here to explain. come on in studio e. you're next on "fox & friends."

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the new luxury collection lease. >> well, it's the biggest movie in the history of movies moneywise. everybody is talking about that movie, you know, the big one, don't say it. starts with an a. watch a little of this, the vice president of the united states is describing a movie that he apparently doesn't know the name of. but he sat through for two hours and 40 minutes. watch. >> you ever notice how long it takes vice president joe biden to get to the point? now, we haven't altered this. he was on andrea mitchell the other day. she asked him if he had seen any of the movies nominated for the academy awards. >> been a very busy man. do you and mrs. biden ever get to the movies, academy award picks, anything? >> yeah. >> oscar nominees. >> as a matter of fact, we do.

and i think the one of the odds on favorite is -- is -- this new program that i looked at it and wish i was seeing it in 3d and you sit there and you watch this science fiction thing unfold in front of you. >> avatar? >> avatar! just say avatar. get to the point! >> i don't think he saw it. >> i was going to say. that's how i would describe the movie because i haven't seen it. >> at least i could say there were blue people in it. >> the blue people are the avatars. >> i know. the thing is i was like joe biden, i did not see it in 3d. i saw it in 2d. >> you saw it now? >> no, not now. i mean, i've seen it. i'm not changing my story for the show. i actually have seen the movie. ok? >> ok. last week, you hadn't seen it yet. >> no, i saw it. >> he doesn't do a lot of movie

reviews because he's always busy doing the sports. >> yeah. and the news in this case. now time for your headlines. the c.i.a. being accused of a cover-up in the death of two americans in peru and lawmakers are calling for accountability. the video shows when american missionaries ronnie and jimmy bowers plane was shot down killing ronnie and their infant daughter, c.i.a. operatives were in contact and watched the shooting happened even though they questioned it. >> tell them to terminate. >> no, i won't shoot. >> tell them to terminate. >> congressman is calling for a complete accounting from the c.i.a. the c.i.a. says it's protested the shooting and blames the peruvian air force for executing it. >> john edwards' former aide on the show yesterday revealing some shocking voice mails from his former boss on hannity last night.

he asks andrew to play along with deceiving his wife elizabeth. >> the reason we're calling is because elizabeth is standing there. i'm calling saying what happened? how did this happen? what's going on? that's because elizabeth is standing there. >> dr. phil mcgraw tried to explain why young was complicity in that scandal. >> he was very, very involved in this and i guess thought at some point that america is just stupid. that they're going to believe the stories even though they know that people around them, 10, 20, 30 people maybe know what's actually going on. >> dr. phil suggested edwards thought he was invincible during the affair. steve? >> what a story. meanwhile, today, massachusetts senator-elect scott brown will probably officially finally be sworn in as the junior senator from massachusetts. so what sped up the swearing-in process? joining us right now from

boston, keba arnold. we thought it was going to happen last week. we thought maybe next week. but it could happen at 5:00 today. what happened? >> well, you know, a lot of speculation over just what caused this sudden change. let's give you a little background. two days ago on tuesday, scott brown said yes, he's perfectly fine with it happening on february 11th. but yesterday, his attorney sent out this letter to the governor and the secretary of state asking them to certify the election results right away which is set to happen this morning at 9:30 in a special meeting with the governor here. now, what caused this? well, really a lot of speculation. some are saying that republicans pressured him to get -- to get sworn in right away so they could have those 41 votes so possibly block any kind of democratic appointees but scott brown, he is denying the pressure saying, you know, he just wants to get to d.c. he just wants to get to work and again, that's going to happen today at 5:00. scott brown saying he's got to fly out here, get there by 2:00,

even at 3:45, you'll have the interim senator paul kirk, he will speak and at 5:00, what we are hearing is vice president joe biden will swear him in today. so it's going to happen. not exactly sure why he suddenly changed his mind. we just don't know. >> all right. keba arnold reporting live from boston. thank you very much. all right. >> a 9-year-old boy nearly suspended for bringing this two inch gun to school. check out this picture right here. >> so cute! >> looks huge on your screen. that's a nickel and a quarter. that is like a little tiny play gun. >> less than two inches. >> total of $0.30. >> ok. the fourth grader was playing with the lego figure in the cafeteria of his school in new york when he pulled out the toy machine gun. and stuck it in the hands of his plastic police officer. >> it's a lego guy. come on. >> and then he was sent to the principal's office. >> he explained to me like a gun is a gun even if it's like a

toy gun it's still a gun. >> after a meeting between the principal and the parents, they decided not to suspend him. his mom says the school should be embarrassed and should have used common sense. all right. i guess that i can just hear the school right now, the no tolerance policy. >> it's that big. it's plastic. the kid's dad is a cop. >> i had a miniature machine gun for my g.i. joe with the kung fu grip. >> check out this video. >> unrelated. >> girls volleyball coach from new jersey got too aggressive on the court after getting frustrated over the last call. he apparently doesn't have good aim as he throws it hitting one of his female players right in the face. but wait, the video looks familiar. remember when another played by ben stiller found himself in the same predicament. let's flashback. >> oh!

>> there you go. good impression, yeah. >> meet the faulkers and meet stuart varney, a flashback to when times were simpler. >> that's right. stuart is here joining us live on the set because the united states gets a stern warning from a top wall street credit agency, get the deficit down or lose your status as a financial superpower. it all has to do with this gold standard, we've got this triple a rating right now but because we've got so much debt, we could be downgraded to the same level that a number of third world countries are. >> this is a huge slap at the obama administration and in particular, the budget we got this week. financial people are saying you want to borrow how much? $1.6 trillion and another trillion and another trillion? that's too much. they're saying look, if you can't get this borrowing, this spending, this deficit under control, you're going to lose that gold plated triple a rating and that will cost the american taxpayer a lot more money because we're going to have to

pay more interest to borrow all of that money. >> uh-huh. so this is the top wall street credit agency who is determining this? >> moody's. >> and they can just determine whatever they want? >> yeah, they take a look at the numbers. they don't care whether they like america, hate america, they don't care about obama. they care about the numbers. how much are we proposing to borrow from the rest of the world and from our own people? $1.6 trillion, too much. they're worried we can't repay it on time. and so down goes your reputation. this is all about -- not about dollars and cents of how much it's going to cost us. this is about our financial reputation. we're the gold standard and we might lose it. >> how does it affect the dollar? you said dollars and cents. does this have anything to do? >> yes, it does affect the dollar. it does. i mean, the dollar may go down in value because we're trying to borrow so much and we're pumping out a lot of dollars into the world. the real threat here is our reputation. our standing in the world. >> japan did this, didn't they

get downgraded? >> no, not that -- no, not even close. >> california did it. >> excuse me. no. you're thinking of japan as the world's economic supermen and they were a few years ago. now, they are double a rated. america is still triple a rated. the downgrade came in spain, it came in ireland, it came in greece. their reputation not good news. >> we're almost out of time. what's the difference between the rate of repayment, the interest rate between triple a and double a? >> i can't put a number on it. suffice it to say -- >> hundreds of billions of dollars. >> oh, yes, over a long period of time, no question about it. >> this is -- this is really bad news. >> yes. >> it is bad news. it's a real shot across the bows to the obama administration and its financial policy. >> stossel lifts us up and you bring us down. varney & company coming up. it's just a fact. at 9:20 eastern time, that will be coming up very shortly and we're very excited about your

new show. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> no matter what stu says, as long as that accent stays put, it's optimistic. >> there will be something good happening. >> one of these days i'll come up with an american accent and you better like it. >> not working for us. >> ok, thanks. >> his job is to risk his life by diffusing i.e.d.'s in iraq. >> i got the suit! just go. >> 45 seconds, you have 45 seconds! >> we'll talk to the star of "the hurt locker", jeremy renner up for oscar gold as is the picture. he did an incredible job. and is this the -- the angel of death. the cat's name is oscar. supposedly knows when people are about to die. we'll talk to a doctor who says he has got scientific proof that oscar knows what he's doing. >> first, the verizon trivia question of the day born on this date in 1973, he has won 10 crowns in six classes. his father and grandfather competed in the same sport. who is he?

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>> his powerful performance as an army bomb disposal specialist in "the hurt locker" has earned actor jeremy renner his first oscar nomination. here's a look. >> everybody get back! >> go, go, go! >> go! >> get back! get back! get down! >> there's too many locks. there's too many -- i can't do it. i can't get it off. i'm sorry, ok? you understand? i'm sorry. you hear me?

i'm sorry. >> i'm sorry! >> get down, now! >> wow, best actor, best actor oscar nominee jeremy renner joins us this morning. jeremy, unbelievable. a slice of life as in the bomb squad essentially in iraq. what went into preparing for that role? >> you know, about a year worth of training at a military base in california. >> you found out what these guys are going through or were going through on a daily basis, shot around 2007. "the hurt locker", what does the title mean? >> to me, it means a lot of things. it's sort of a slang term. if you survive the i.e.d., you'll be put in "the hurt locker." the ultimate place of pain essentially. >> what did you have to do? what are you doing in that suit or who were you portraying in that suit? >> it's explosives orders disposals, volunteer part of the army where this is essentially our warfare in iraq and afghanistan which is rendering

safe i.e.d.'s. >> because the enemy is not there. the enemy is in the ground and the enemy is there when you're not and it's up for you to have really the stone cold heart to go in there and not fear death. >> right. >> right. very cat and mouse kind of chess game kind of warfare. >> i felt like it was a reality show. what did it feel like being -- doing it? >> it felt more -- more real than i wanted it to be because of the heat and difficult shooting conditions for any film crew. >> you shot in jordan. >> shot in jordan, yeah. so it was amazing because the landscape was as close as we can get to iraq without being there, you know? >> jeremy, it's hard to do a movie and not have a political slant in it. i didn't get a political slant in watching this movie. did you hear from some of the soldiers and men and women who were fighting this war who do the job that you portrayed? what did they say? >> most of them really, really dig it, you know, sort of like i said, some people kind of technically can pick it apart here and there.

but once they get past that, i think most are very appreciative that it kind of links civilian and soldier life and understanding what that -- the differences between that, you know, and coming back from post traumatic stress syndrome and that sort of thing. >> so they make the announcement that the nominees are out, this movie has been nominated for nine. you're nominated for best actor. what's that like? what goes through your mind? >> i don't know. sort of -- i don't know, i kind of melted and screamed. i wanted to punch somebody in the most loving way, you know. >> you're an aggressive guy. >> no, not really. very passive and loving. give you a big hug, you know. it was just a plethora of emotions that kind of ran through my body and had no control of it really. >> you got like morgan freeman who is also nominated, george clooney is also nominated and now you're in that class. >> yes, jeff bridges and colin firth. >> i'm sorry, i don't care about those guys. i'm talking about the other guys. but in particular, but could you

tell me about the mind set? because you're not just saying wow, can you imagine if there was a war in the middle east in iraq and there was a bomb squad and they have to take these i.e.d.'s down every day. can you talk about the mind set of somebody who stares death in the face, who sits there and has to snip wires with these -- if you hit the wrong wire, everything explodes, you die and so do your friends. >> it's pretty harrowing, isn't it? it's, you know, could be the world's most difficult job. i'm not sure. but i think, you know, these guys that are so brave, they're not really so afraid of the explosive itself or the i.e.d. itself, they know how it's built a lot of times before they walk up to the thing. it's being shot at. i don't think anybody likes to get shot at, do you? >> no. >> and finally, the good messages, we have to let you go, jeremy, is the adjustment back into real life. nothing is that harrowing and challenging as that type of adrenalin rush. congratulations. great guy with a great story and

great movie. thanks for coming by. >> thanks. >> is the health care bill getting better with time? the president thinks so. peter johnson jr. might have a different take. he'll join us next. [ birds reech ] [ 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.

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>> all right. the answer to the verizon question of the day, come organization it's oscar de la hoya. >> it's not. >> who is it? >> that's right. wrong picture. sorry, the winner, mike buckley in charlotte, north carolina. thanks, mike. all right. president obama talking to democrats about health care reform yesterday and trying to rally the troops for them to finish the job. >> the truth of the matter is that the process looked painful and messy but the enumerable

hearings that were held did give an opportunity for the product to get refined so that i think that the ultimate package after potential negotiations between the house and the senate is better than where we started. >> really? peter johnson jr. is here with prescription for truth. you know, peter, it would have been easier for them yesterday because today, scott brown comes to town and suddenly, they're filibuster proof super majority. poof. >> they gave up a couple of weeks ago when he was elected and the president is talking about the ultimate package that's potentially going to happen. i don't know what he's talking about. and i think he's imagining an outcome or hoping for an outcome that hasn't occurred first. but what was -- what's going on is again, there's a disconnect. the president keeps jamming, you know, punching away at this health care issue but there is deep division in the democratic party with regard to health

care. let's understand that the house and senate passed separate different bills. and they can't get together on those bills. and no one wants to go first at this point. the house people are looking at the senate people and saying, you know, could you pass our bill maybe? the senate is saying no, you pass our bill, house and the president and the house and the senate democrats are saying, you know, we really need the republicans involved with this even though we've kept them out of this for the last year, let's get involved here, republicans. we're going to have these -- we're going to have a little bit of a televised press conference with you republicans and then, we're going to create the transparency again with the democrats, we'll have another meeting with you but meanwhile, i won't hold a press conference. >> that's right. >> not since july. >> that's right, dela hoya have held more press conferences between them than the president of the united states has. >> so when the president says let's get er done to mangle with what larry the cable guy says,

right now, they're sitting on their hands because they're afraid if i do this and i'm in the congress, i might lose my job come november. >> that's what's -- and everyone, even the mainstream media said, you know, needs to get done in 2009 because once the witching hour is invoked in 2010, is anyone worried about the people's business or are they worried about their own business in getting re-elected? it's -- there's going to be a meeting between the democratic leaders and the president. they're going to decide whether to scrap what they have, start again, try to put the republicans on the pan for what they couldn't do in the last year. it's going to be very, very interesting. >> all right. stand by. peter johnson jr. prescription for truth. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> straight ahead, when is someone really brain dead? new research out changing the way scientists look at the issue. the medical a team is here with their take. and the national prayer breakfast getting under way in washington, d.c. that's a live picture. the president has just arrived at the hilton in washington up

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it's the last hour of "fox & friends" for thursday, february 4, 2010, thank you for sharing your time. say good-bye to the democrats filibuster proof majority because scott brown says let's get this show on the road.

swear me in today. >> steve: the president telling fellow democrats to tune out cable television? what? >> just turn off the tv and as nbc blogs, and just go talk to folks out there instead of being in this echo chamber. >> steve: he just told people to turn off msnbc. michelle weighs in straight ahead. >> gretchen: guess who was televising his speech? cable news, thank you. part 2 of gretchen's interview with rush limbaugh. >> on a scale of 1 to 10, chances that you will run for political office? >> gretchen: rush will answer that and a few more. slogan this hour comes from theresa in minneapolis. it's my birthday, i'll get presents and no work. i'll watch "fox & friends" and an additional perk. happy birthday.

>> steve: you're looking at live pictures inside the international ballroom of the washington hilton in northwest washington, d.c these are pictures of the national prayer breakfast. this is held every year on the first thursday of february. the president will be the speaker, he's going to be there shortly. we'll give you his comments. there is tim tebow star not guilty a big super bowl ad. >> brian: the chairman of the joints chief of staff, tebow is there listening to "god bless america" right now. ♪ god bless america, my home sweet home. ♪ god bless america, my home, sweet home. ♪ >> steve: fantastic. very nicely done.

the president will talk in a couple minutes and we'll give it to you live. stay tuned. >> gretchen: let's get to some other quick headlines. toyota now admitting there are design problems with the anti--lock brakes in the prius that sometimes cause them to fail for just a second, but the car company says it fixed this problem for models sold since late january. they're trying to figure out how to inform people who bought those cars before that time. in washington, transportation secretary lahood startled the public saying americans shouldn't drive their toyotas anymore. he later clarified, he just meant people should take recalled cars to the dealer immediately. after that statement, toyota stock fell 4%. several toyota dealers announced they are extending their hours to accommodate all the service repairs op the recalled cars. too close to call. both illinois primaries for governor are so close, absentee ballots could decide them. about 300 votes separate the top two republicans. the gap is wider among the

democrats. the governor leads heinze by 8100 votes. the fate of ten americans detained in haiti could be decided today. authorities will decide whether to file charges against those baptist missionaries accused of trying to take 33 haitian kids into the dominican republic without proper paperwork. they say they were trying to help the kids. secretary of state hillary clinton says the u.s. is speaking with haitian officials. >> nation acted to protect children who were being removed from their country without appropriate documentation. this was unfortunate that whatever the motivation that this group of americans took matters into their own hands. >> gretchen: haiti's government now raising the death toll from that devastating earthquake to 200,000 people. an update to a story we've been following, the town in listen f.d.a., connecticut makes a ruling. it will just allow one yellow

ribbon to be hung on the town green instead of the five for the branches of the military. there will be a flag at that says, support troops. the board says too many ribbons could encourage people to tie even more for other 'causes. a woman tried to follow cops by driving in the hov lane with a dummy. a mannequin in the passenger seat. you're only allowed to drive in the lane if you have a passenger. the dummy, well, what was the give away? the officer figured it out. listen. >> everything looked fairly normal until i jumped out of the hov lane and got up next to her and said, you got to be kidding me. i noticed the passenger was wearing sunglasses and the advisor was down on the passenger side window. >> gretchen: so the driver, who put the dummy in the car, got 135-dollar ticket. those are your headlines. don't you get any points for

being creative? >> steve: maybe points added to your license. >> brian: i love the way they sat the mannequin next to the police officer at the press conference. he carried it in the front seat to travel it. could have jammed him into the trunk. >> gretchen: maybe he's going to use it now. >> steve: we know it's time to turn to michelle. good morning to you. >> steve: good morning. >> steve: have you noticed that over the last couple of days, the white house is suddenly telling us a lot of stuff that has been gleaned from the underwear bomber. you've got transparency when it comes to the underwear bomber, but when it comes to health care and the negotiations for that, not so much. what's up with that? >> steve: yeah. quite a contrast. they're all singing let the sunshine in now because this is politically calculated disclosure. they're under heat, a lot of

heat and fire by both sides of the aisle for botching the abdulmutallab case and so now we're hearing things that frankly we should not be hearing about the interrogations, about what they didn't know and at least now we're hearing, i think wanting -- one thing is eric holder, the attorney general, in a corrupt department of justice, finally taking responsibility for the decision to read abdulmutallab his miranda rights and waiting five weeks now to let us know that actually this has yielded very valuable intelligence. a disclosure which i really discount at this point. but i think the contrast that you pointed out is very telling, that at a time last month when the public really needed to know about what was going on behind closed doors, they weren't

there. now all of a sudden, because they need to justify the decisions they made, they've opened up the windows and the doors to let us see. >> gretchen: there is so much politics involved in this. is there not, michelle, because eric holder started taking the fall for all of this yesterday in this letter that he wrote. no doubt he was told to do that. but also, the fact that now -- are they off the hook to a certain degree because they can say that the underwear bomber is still giving them information? >> steve: well, i think this disclosure has been met with skepticism. not just by folks in washington, but also by the main stream media, which i think is very significant. every story that has covered these disclosures over the last couple of days has pointed out that they are only telling us this now because there has been so much controversy about those initial decisions. and the kind of intelligence that they say that they claim

that they've gotten only raises more questions about why they waited five weeks to tell us about it. >> brian: just so strange and awkward to see secretary of defense gates talk to john mccain and not answer, as john mccain knows, seemingly knows how he should answer because he works for a different president now. it's so awkward watching dennis blair, national intelligence director, saying don't get me involved in politics. his quote is we should have automatically deployed the high value detainee interrogation group. we didn't. we will now. now all of a sudden his feelings have changed. oh, yeah, we did everything right. but you know that dennis blair as an intelligence expert doesn't feel that way. >> yeah. it put him in quite a predicament and i think now what we're seeing is the left getting hoisted by his own folks who told us during the entire bush administration and the post-9-11

era that it was the republicans politicizing national security. now look what this current administration is doing. >> steve: all right. michelle, let's switch gears a little bit. on friday, the president addressed the republicans who were in retreat at their retreat. yesterday he addressed the democrats who were in retreat at their retreat. has any -- and he had to say this which people saw on cable television. watch this. >> if everybody here turned off your cnn, your fox, your -- just turn off the tv, msnbc blogs and just go talk to folks out there instead of being in this echo chamber where the topic is constantly politics. >> steve: is that what cable news is? it's just a great big echo chamber where you should get information directly from the administration? >> if you look in the dictionary under hootspa, this sound bite

ought to be there. there is more packed in there than i've ever seen in the last year. not least of all because if you turn on cable tv, who have you seen constantly 24/7 over the last couple of weeks endlessly campaigning? this president. but more to the point about getting out there and talking to the folks, what was the last year about with the tea parties and the town hall meetings? in fact, these politicians did everything to avoid talking to folks and the biggest echo chamber that has been created over the last year has been the manufactured town halls and manufactured campaign rallies that this white house has been responsible for. >> gretchen: at least he put all the cable channel noose that particular sound bite, which i found interesting. let's talk a little about this ad which will come out during the super bowl. it's gotten a lot of attention. tim tebow, he's in this ad about

abortion, and now a lot of groups are saying, they should not have this kind of ad during the super bowl. >> i think that tim tebow, his family and focus on the family, which is based here in colorado and colorado springs, that is producing the ad, have done a very marvelous, fantastic and remarkable thing. and that is to show just how intolerant and ugly the feminist left and the pro abortion activists can be when somebody stands up very simply for life. the ad is about the incredible choice that this family made to go ahead and have tim tebow and look at the career and life that he has made for himself and it's been a very ugly and dirty open secret that these pro-abortion feminists do not want to hear the other side. they have very little tolerance for women who have regrets about their abortions, for example, and to have a figure like tim tebow who is an enormous figure

in pop culture stand on this side, very unorthodox is a huge threat to marathon knopf plea. >> he will squeak at the prayer -- speak at the prayer breakfast. >> steve: all right. michelle, stand by. we'll continue the conversation with you in just a moment. meanwhile straight ahead, 30 seconds, an ad for $2.5 million. that's the ad right there. we are paying for it as taxpayers. we will tell you what it's for and get michelle's reaction straight ahead. >> gretchen: landmark study linking the rubella vaccine to autism now retracted. what should parents do now? the medical a team is here to weigh in on this.

>> gretchen: michelle decided to stick around because we wanted to -- >> steve: we booked her. >> gretchen: bipartisanned to get her thoughts specifically on this because this will outrage, i think, plenty of people across the united states. when they find out that their taxpayer dollars are going to pay $2.5 million for one 30-second advertisement during the super bowl for the u.s. census. when did we sign off on that, michelle, for to us spend ha kind of money to get people to open their mail and fill out ten questions? >> yeah. as the president always reminds us, elections do have consequences. one of those consequences is that the democrat party is in control of the slush fund for the census. and i think that the context is very important here. this ad is just a drop in the bucket of the advertising campaign and public information campaign that the white house is spending. there is 340 million total for ads and actually, total of $13 billion for public information campaigns and also

training our kids basically to become census enumerates. so the democrats see the census as a permanent reelection campaign fund and they've been reaggressive about reaching out to open borders groups. they want to count illegal aliens in the census. they see these as future democrat voters and of course, because the census determines congressional districting and a portion, they see this as a reelection fund, essentially. >> steve: the thing is, sure, go ahead and spend $13 billion to try to get people to fill the thing out, but if you are in the country illegally, there are a lot of people who think, i'm not going to do that 'cause i'll get arrested or i'll get sent home. so i'm not going to do it. so try as they may, if people want to fill it out, it's going to come to your house, you got a choice. here it is right here. a lot of people aren't going to send it back in and it's just the way it's been forever. >> yeah. well, it is part of the

constitution. so there is no quibbling about that. but i think the aggressiveness with which many of these left wing groups that are getting all of this funding to do it, remember, it's acorn style community organizing groups getting money to do this. it raises a lot of concerns about how the money is being spent and i think with regard to the super bowl ad, i think it just points out the fact that there is very little fiscal oversight. so much for the era of fiscal responsibility about whether these things are actually cost effective. >> gretchen: i was thinking about that when they were talking about the freeze. maybe that should have been one of the items. >> brian: michelle, thank you for joining us. have a great weekend. >> thanks. >> steve: coming up, a fascinating new study shows people who were considered brain dead are actually communicating with their brains. they're not brain dead, apparently. medical a team weighs in on that straight ahead. >> brian: and do you remember this song by men at work?

♪ it wasn't really an original. that's the story. you'll never believe this one.

glove 23 minutes after the top of the hour. some quick headlines on this thursday. self help guru james ray now charge with manslaughter after three people died in his sweat lodge in arizona. that was a big story a while back. well, he is going before a judge today. and rare mass shark attack off the coast of florida. a swarm of sharks surrounded and killed a 38-year-old kite board surfer yesterday. officials think it is the first

fatal shark attack there since 1882. terrible. >> gretchen: after years of controversy surrounding the link between autism and the mmr vaccine, the british medical journal, the lancet is retracting the findings. the editors say it has become clear that several elements of the 1998 paper are incorrect. contrary to the findings of an earlier investigation. let's bring in our expert medical a team. this is fascinating news when it broke yesterday, doctor, because so many people had depended on this study, saying that yes, there is a link between vaccines and autism and many parents didn't give the vaccines to their kids. you have an autistic child. what do you think? >> i was very upset. i got angry when the lancet took the paper down in the sense that it took them ten years to do it.

and the reason that they took it down, i read all 12 pages of what the board of medical examiners in england said, and it had a lot to do with the structure how the study was conducted, the lies that were told by some of the scientific groups that were doing the research, the ethics behind the way they we want about treating these 12 children as they did unnecessary testing, colonoscopies and things like that this the kids didn't need. one thing they didn't touch is the link between vaccines and autism. so that question is still out there. so they retracted the paper on the basis of the quality of the ethics and the lies of the doctor incurred presenting this. at the end of the day, i think that you still are not going to convince a lot of parents that feel that vaccines are harmful. my personal experience, i think that vaccines have saved thousands of children around the world, especially in the united states.

vaccines are a good thing to give children. but the question remains, are we given still a lot of vaccines that perhaps is incurring another layer of potential harm to children. >> gretchen: dr. siegel, was this finding yesterday, was it more clear to you than it is to dr. manning? >> absolutely by the way of the but i want to say dr. manning is a role model in how parents should treat autistic children. he's unbelievable with his son and people should learn from that. in terms of this study, i think a lot of evidence has shown no link between vaccines and autism and i'm much more concerned about measles, by the way because there has been so much fear of the measles vaccine, mmr vaccine as a result this that compliance in great britain is 86%. you have to have at least 95% compliance to stamp out measles. it's still a world wide killer on a grand scale. countries that use the mmr vaccine, it goes way down. it's on the increase in great britain to 1300 cases last year because of the loss of compliance. >> gretchen: we all agree the

controversy probably will not go away with vaccines and autism. i want to go to the next subject because there is this amazing new study coming out about the fact that people in a vegetative state may, in fact, have brain waves that they use that they want to communicate, that they're more alive than they think they are. what do you think? >> i don't think it's they're more alive. the tests they're using, mris and tests are newer techniques that were able to detect some brain wave activity. but may not necessarily mean they're aware to the extent we know what awareness is all about. one of the patients they thought may be trying to communicate by yes or no responses. but again, this is a small study. it's a sample of 54 people. five out of the people had a positive response to the questions that were asked. and of those patients, five of them, all five had traumatic brain injuries as opposed to a brain injury where they have brain injuries that were caused

by either cardiac arrest, that caused complete loss of oxygen to the brain. >> gretchen: will this add controversy to the whole idea of whether or not -- we face this all the time, but whether or not families should cut off the plug. >> the last line in one of the comments that i read that one of the scientists gave is that it will create some hope for families that have a brain injured relative. i think that is the key. there is going to be hope. hopefully more research and perhaps this is going to amend some of the protocols that hospitals will use to recommend for pulling the plug. >> i think it's a reminder to doctors not to be so quick to jump in there and say, you're not inside that patient. we have new technologies that can get to things we didn't know before. >> gretchen: very interesting topics. coming up on the show, the state of the economy. the latest unemployment numbers out in just minutes. we'll have them for you. the video will make your heart stop. terrified workers manage to hide inside the freezer seconds before armed gunmen find them.

a cat has been predicting death at a nursing home for five years. can a cat really do this? we talk to a doctor who thought no way, and then he changed his mind. hey, oscar.

>> gretchen: fox news alert. live in washington, d.c. where the 58th annual national prayer breakfast is underway. we are waiting for the president to speak. wendell goaler joins us from the white house with more. good morning, wendell. >> good morning. like all of his predecessors since harry truman, president obama will address the national prayer breakfast, unlike george w. bush, it won't be held at the white house. mr. obama went back to the previous practice of holding it off site, this year at the washington hilton.

one group says the president shouldn't even attend, that he shouldn't promote religion. last year in his address, the president noted that the prayer breakfast itself began in seattle at the height of the great depression when community leaders were surrounded by so much suffering they couldn't alleviate that decided to gather together and pray. it spread across the country over the years. eventually making its way to washington. the president pointed out the country was once again suffering economically and he quoted saint augustine who said, you should work as if everything depended on god -- pray as if everything depended on god and work as if everything depended on you. the president, after his address, comes back to washington to the white house and gets back to work on the economy with a meeting with house and senate leaders, democratic house and senate leaders. they'll focus on the 2010 legislative agenda. the focus of which is jobs. it is, in fact, the first meeting with democratic leaders here in the white house in this

new year that has been focused on health care reform. >> gretchen: and as we said, we will wait for the president to speak and bring that to you live. >> gretchen: might be interesting to see what tim tebow has to say. 26 minutes before the top of the hour. another fox news alert. the pandas are on the move. he's leaving the national zoo on his own. he's escaped. >> steve: he has not escaped. he's in a box and going back home. >> brian: you're looking live at a picture where he's been loaded onto a truck. he'll go back to where he belongs. the panda is going to china. he was on loan with the condition we give them back. their offspring have to be returned, too. >> steve: if they're born in the united states, they go back to

china some day. another fox news alert, this is big. the labor department reporting the new weekly jobless claims and that number is 480,000. 470,000 had been predicted. so it's about 10,000 worse than they thought. >> brian: senior intelligence officials believe the leader of the taliban is dead. they think that he was killed during an take tack that happened last month. no official word from pakistan or the u.s. he commanded an al-qaeda movement blamed for a number of homicide bombings. he also appeared in the video with the homicide bomber that killed those eight c.i.a. guys in afghanistan that's been devastating to the agency and this country. he would be the second pakistan taliban leader killed in five months. >> gretchen: the names of the nearly 3,000 lives lost in the

9-11 attack are set to be added to downtown manhattan's memorial this month. an $11 million contract has just been approved that will start the process of etching each victim's name. the names will be cut through two-inch thick pieces of bronze surrounding the foot print of the twin towers. >> steve: scott brown senator-elect, outside of his home this morning. there he is. he talks about being sworn in later today. >> there is speculation why i want to go down allegedly a week earlier. the 11th was a tentative date based on the information we were getting from the secretary of state office as to what he would need for certification. when he called me a couple of dates ago and indicate he would have it ready yesterday, we moved our plans up because it's been a couple of weeks and it's time to get to work. >> brian: that's the way he feels. he was supposed to be sworn in on the 11th. it will be about 5:00 o'clock today and he wants to be on the appropriations committee.

>> gretchen: brazen robbery in milwaukee all caught on surveillance video. robbers barge into a sub shop. one with a rifle. workers managed to lock themselves in the freezer. the robbers apparently didn't notice. they just grabbed some cash and left. brian. >> brian: remember the popular 1980 song from men at work? ♪ >> brian: the band has just lost a lawsuit because an australian court says the song sounds too much like this children's classic. how do you say this? kukaburra. >> gretchen: don't ask me. i've never heard it. >> brian: take a listen. ♪

>> brian: i say not guilty. >> gretchen: it sounds nothing like it. >> brian: they say compensation could be millions of dollars. those are the headlines. steve, take it away. >> steve: thank you very much. a kukkaburra is a bird. 22 before the top of the hour. a nursing thome in rhode island has its very own kind of grim reaper. this angel of death has fur. oscar the cat has been predicting the passing of patients for five years now. joining us is one of the doctors as well as the author of a new book, making rounds with oscar. good morning to you, doctor. >> hi. >> steve: we told this story a couple years ago where oscar, who was adopted by the nursing home a couple years ago, he would walk through the halls and he wouldn't stay in anybody's room too long, unless what? >> oscar has been living on this unit for about five years now and he has the run of the place. so he walks in and out of rooms.

he's a somewhat can tankerous cat. but stays with people when they're near death. and that's obviously gotten everybody noticing his behavior. >> steve: exactly right. he just walks through most of the rooms unless somebody is near death. and i understand it's gotten to the point he's predicted something like 50 imminent deaths and now the nursing staff sees oscar go into a room, stops there. do they notify the family? >> well, oscar is not a replacement for what we do at the nursing home. obviously there has been wonderful care before oscar and there will be wonderful care after oscar is gone. but he does allow us at times to notify families perhaps a little earlier than we normally would. it has allowed us to call in rabbis and priests and bring family in. as a physician, i'm always asked, should i fly my daughter

in from california at the end of life? and truthfully, it's very hard to answer that question sometimes. if you do have this cat sitting on the bed, it sometimes makes that question easier to answer. >> steve: here is the hard part, doctor. how does it work? this is what's puzzled you as a scientist. the cat does that, stops in somebody's bed, stays there a while. next thing you know, they pass on. how does that work? why is the cat sensing something or what? >> well, i like to think that there is a couple things going on. number one, perhaps he is patterning the behavior of the staff on the floor. but there are times where oscar is the first person to know. and my sense is that there is probably a smell that is emitted that he's sensitive to or more perceptive to. we've heard of other animals that are able to predict cancer. we know of epilepsy predicting animals.

so animals have a remarkable perception above and beyond our own. >> steve: it's not necessarily just oscar, but animals in general. >> i think it's animals in general. >> steve: it's a great book. we thank you for joining us from rhode island. >> thank you for having me. >> steve: gretchen, over to you. >> gretchen: rush limbaugh sat down with me over the weekend in las vegas where he was a guest judge at the miss america pageant. we got the chance to discuss the current political climate as well. talked about the future of health care, and this is what rush had to say about where he thinks health care will be one year from now. >> i hope nowhere. i don't trust all this news that you're going to shell it. i hear axelrod and pelosi having to parachute in behind enemy lines to get it done. i wouldn't be surprised if they go to reconciliation process. they've already -- gretchen, illustrated profoundly no

problem -- >> gretchen: the republicans will be on the hook for coming up with a plan, won't they. >> they've got plans. there is always kinds of conservative plans for health care. this is the greatest thing. we don't want our fingerprints anywhere on this one. this is not even a health care bill. this is a bill that raises taxes 14 times, puts people in jail if they don't have health insurance, mandated by the government. this is an avenue to control every aspect of life. >> gretchen: were you surprised at the downfall of barak obama in the last year? you were criticized for saying that you wanted him to fail and then you clarified and said you wanted his policies to fail. but were you surprised that in one year's time, there is such a different perception? >> i was praying -- that election, the way obama was being received, the messiah, the one, we've never seen anybody like this in politics, post-partisan, didn't matter what he said, he's somebody smart who can speak and

represent america. the world will love us again. does it mean the country has gone socialist? that's what i worry about. 53% of the vote he got. so my faith in the country was always we hadn't gotten that far gone. >> gretchen: one thing i like to do at the end of interviews is quiz the interviewee on a scale of 1 to 10. so on a scale of 1 to 10, do you think barak obama will be reelected in three years? >> 1 being no and 10 being absolutely? >> gretchen: yes. >> 1. >> on a scale of one to 10, will hillary clinton challenge barak obama for the democratic? >> 7. laying the ground work even as we speak. >> gretchen: in what way? >> saying no, i have no desire to run for president. they say that. it's like a coach getting a vote of confidence and the owner gets canned the next day, saying you don't want to run, clear signal that you're thinking about it and you want to. the clintons have just as much ambition to get back there as

obama had to get there and they will pounce on this weakness. >> gretchen: on a scale of one to ten, the tea party will become the independent party? >> 3. >> gretchen: why? >> they're going to come to their senses and realize that all third parties do is guarantee the election to democrats. the perot party was the same thing. let the democrats do the third party thing. the success here in the future is going to be conservativism dominating, retaking, if you will, the republican party. >> gretchen: kansas, on a scale of one to ten, that you will end up owning an nfl football team? >> 7. >> gretchen: there is optimism there. >> absolutely. there is always more opportunity. >> gretchen: all right. and on a -- >> you learn things. >> gretchen: what would you change about rush to be able to get past the criticism that you faced the first time around? >> that criticism will come no matter what. look at where it came from. it came from liberal political opponents in the civil rights

movement. that's always going to happen. >> gretchen: on a scale of one to ten, chances in your future that you run for political office? >> absolute certainly zero. >> gretchen: why? >> pay cut. >> gretchen: that's it? >> no. >> gretchen: you made enough money for life. >> getting audience, attracting an audience and holding an audience is a far different thing from getting votes. you have to go out and raise money. you have to ask people to donate to you. i couldn't do that. i don't accept freebies now. 'cause i don't want to be obligated to anybody. that's the thing about politics that i'm not cut out for. i could not ask people, 'cause you owe them something. >> brian: that's what everyone says, they don't have the stomach to continue to raise money. >> steve: it's hard to walk around with your hand out all the time. >> brian: that's cool. we got to -- rush is always a great interview. >> gretchen: speaking of what he said about hillary clinton running, he gave it a 7 against

barak obama. the two of them together at the prayer breakfast right now in washington, d.c we will cut away to that as soon as the president speaks. hillary clinton speaking now. coming up tomorrow, we're going to talk with military widows and their daughters who had the chance to go behind the scenes at the miss america pageant. these incredible women received a day of shopping and special treatment at the spa. that story coming up tomorrow. >> steve: a nice day for them. meanwhile, as we mentioned, there is hillary clinton right there. live at the national prayer breakfast where she's speaking right now. president obama set to speak shortly. we will take you there live. >> she asked me or more properly she directed me. 

glove welcome back. it's interesting, last friday the president went to the republican retreat and they had a good time.

yesterday the democrats had their retreat and what was interesting is that some had suggested, wait a minute, some of the democrats are being really tough on the president. they're asking him some hard questions. >> brian: they're creating distance perhaps. >> steve: exactly right. then you look at some of the people were who asked hard questions. wait a minute, these are people who are in tough reelection campaigns. clearly they're speaking out because the president's policies in some case are very unpopular. >> gretchen: arlen specter and others, one has been lock in step with him. >> brian: he called her kristen yesterday. >> gretchen: but also, blanch lincoln, the senator from arkansas, known as a centrist, maybe a blue dog, more conservative than other democrats, she is in a really tough race back home. she's 23 points behind right now. so she asked this question. one constituent fears that there is no one in your administration that understands what it means to go to work on monday and make a payroll on friday.

oops. >> steve: you know what? for blanch lincoln, the best way for her to have pushed back against the white house would have been to vote no on health care. >> brian: so to create distance, he said do what you have to do to stay in office. >> steve: sure. i don't have to run for three years. >> brian: i also thought both sides is a push for both sides to reach across the aisle. when the president says work hard to get health care passed, it's really not a matter of working hard because republicans are there, democrats are there. it's really, it seems to me, up to the president to reconfigure the dialogue and say where are we going to give to get those votes. >> gretchen: finally taking control of the reins because some argue he passed that to nancy pelosi and he should have been more in charge of health care reform from the beginning. so maybe now to help his own ratings he could reach across the aisle and have more of a compromising bill. >> steve: he did step in a a bit

yesterday. he was off the prompter and he said, you don't blow a bunch of cash on say cass when you're trying to save the college. the mayor of las vegas said, he did it again. remember last year? barak obama had spoken out and said, the ceo's of these companies shouldn't be blowing a lot of dough on retreats and stuff like that in vegas and then he had to apologize. now the mayor is saying, look, i just don't get it about the president. why is he doing that to us? he said, people say i shouldn't say this, but the president is a real slow learner when it comes to stuff like this and should not be speaking out against our town. >> gretchen: he even apologized to harry reid, who speaking of battles, is in a big battle. >> steve: he took a shot at the president. >> gretchen: he did. because part of his constituents live and breathe in las vegas. >> brian: the mayor is not happy. i want to go live to the prayer breakfast where the president is in attendance, right to his

secretary of state's lower right. this is, of course, senator hillary clinton, also further down the line on the dais is tim tebow, the outstanding quarterback from the university of florida. should be a first round draft pick, i have money on it, and he will have an ad out that was essentially talking about his story and his mom's decision not to have an abortion and give birth to him. that's creating quite a controversy. >> steve: hillary speaks and the president is next and we will bring it to you live next on fox. >> being a protestant or catholic determines where you lived

>> gretchen: you're looking at a live picture of senator hillary clinton speaking at the national prayer breakfast. it's a pretty high end day on the people because the president is up next and tim tebow is there. former heisman trophy winner. and part of a controversial ad that will air during the super bowl about abortion. >> steve: he talks about the choices his mother made and she went on to say she chose life and what a life tim has had. it's interesting, the other side, the pro-abortion side, has created their own ad as well, features i think, a couple of former olympians. but i'm not sure whether or not that's going to run on super bowl sunday. i know that tim tebow ad is. >> brian: i think they're sold out. i think even if you had $3 million laying around, i think you'll find a hard time finding yourself on the schedule. i understand it's a slice of life type thing. this is what i did, this is what happened and this is where i

went from here. while i'm really into the game and i think most of the games in the studio are into the game, most -- a lot of people of the 100 million that will watch are into the commercials. >> steve: absolutely. something that dorito's did is opened it up. why don't you make us a commercial and we'll put it on during the super bowl? there is a little of that home made stuff. >> the first guy to flinch has to make a run for more dorito's. >> is he okay? >> he flinched. >> thanks. >> no problem. >> you got to get out of here before -- (screaming). >> you want a dorito, you got to speak. >> steve: makes perfect sense. that's good acting for nonprofessionals. >> gretchen: it is. remember that last year, i think

it was during the super bowl, you saw that cute baby who was talking about stuff. big words. here is their latest version for this year from e trade. >> this is my friend frank and his retirement plan. >> one golden crown. go to e trade, they got killer tools, man. they'll help you nail a retirement plan that's fierce. >> two golden crown. >> you realize the odds of winning aren't very high. >> frank! >> oh, wow. you didn't win? i want to show you something with my shock face. >> steve: my shock face from e trade. also this sunday you will see a couple of the stars from the national lampoon vacation series. chevy chase and the woman who married the prince. beverly deangulus. they are in a reprize, they reprized their role as the

griswolds. >> a short film about hotel rooms. we have you in the napoleon suite. >> rent a house for half the cost of a hotel. >> steve: funny stuff. brian, you later today will be flying down to -- >> brian: how about now? >> gretchen: you're making your flight arrangements now on the computer. >> brian: i got to brave traffic and possibly will be snow over the weekend. this is really my last chance to get away. >> steve: friday into saturday throughout the northeast is going to be a big storm, rain and snow. if people are watching right now and want to join brian live tomorrow at shula's restaurant in fort lauderdale, you will be there and you're inviting everybody to come join you. >> brian: yes. and i'm not really stuck up and i'm really the same person. i just have gotten clearance to not wear a tie. >> steve: really? >> gretchen: the big debate is, e-mail us, should brian go, one of the three? should he w