that's the way it would go in the best case scenario. bill: tom jones is standing by. let's drop into nasa, new mexico. >> five, four, three, two, one, launch, launch, launch. >> the orientation started? the orientation complete. fbc jetson. >> deploy. sharp cut. a deploy. mains are out.

first stage reached. second stage is reached. full open, three mains. bill: all right! i'm not an astronaut, but that looks perfect. martha: that was perfect. bill: tom jones is with us. he is an astronaut! tom? >> good morning, bill. bill: how did it look to you? >> it was an incredible jolt, i think, if there had been a crew onboard. this is an unmanned test force, the g load would be 18 times normal force of gravity, a little more than an ejection fire, this is a ryan abort test, to test to get astronauts away from a failing booster in the early stainches of launch and it looked like it went incredibly well. it's ironic the test, which was supposed to be the first of certainly leading up to an astronaut escape system fully qualified may be

canceled by the president's potential to do away with the rocket and the capsule we're supposed to use aboard this system. bill: we launched the -- we watched nine launch from nasa and it looked like it laid it out. the shuttle mission, it never had an option like this to get out. >> well, that's true. and when my crew had a board back in 184, we had a main engine failure on the launchpad, we had no way of getting out of the shuttle except crawling out through the hatch and running down escape wires that would have taken several minutes to get away from the rocket and as you saw here in a split second or two they could get away from a failing booster and the question is whether nasa can use this information for launch providers in the future to let them develop a safe system as well. martha: tom, as you mentioned a moment ago, this project is not going to happen under the current scenario, because what the president wants to see is more private investment, more private companies involved in it and you're saying this is sort of good

advertisement, so to speak, to them about what nasa could offer, correct? >> true. instead of a nasa system flying ats we saw here on a future nasa rocket, this technology could be transferred to commercial providers, and i'm sure it will be. that's what nasa does is transfer technology to the commercial sector. and so these control motors, the guidance systems, the parachutes and all the elements that we saw tested here this morning should be paid close attention to by the commercial developers like spaceex, orbital sciences, trying to develop nasa's launch services contract over the next five years or so. bill hats off to nasa. tom jones, thank you for your time. good to see you. we're watching the parachutes drape over the sands of new mexico. thank you tom. four minutes past the hour here. what a way to start the day. they said light this firecracker, they did! arizona is dealing with major fallout from the immigration law, new

lawsuits and boycotts, nba players wearing jerseys they never wore before. new president -- now president obama signaling he's ready to address the hot button issue on cinco de mayo and the november elections just got more interesting. here's the president on that late yesterday. >> we need bipartisan support. but it can be done. and it needs to be done. so i was pleased to see a strong potential for comprehensive reform presented in the senate last week, and i was pleased that it was based on a bipartisan framework. i want to begin work this year, and i want democrats and republicans to work with me, because we've got to stay true to who we are, a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. bill: we are hearing from lindsey graham, republican in the senate, not so fast and not so easy. in about 30 minutes from now, national civil rights groups and labor organizations will hold an arizona boycott rally in washington. we'll get you updated on that when it gets underway.

martha: the other big story, we're awaiting new details we're expecting in the case of the suspected times square bomber. about an hour from now, the nation's top law officer goes before a senate subcommittee, and that is where attorney general eric holder is expected to provide an update on the latest on this case of the alleged terrorist. this is what we are learning. brand new information about faisal shahzhad, the naturalized american citizen from pakistan. accused of trying to spread a fire ball through the heart of new york city. fox news confirming now that he made a dry run, days before his failed attempt. he even reportedly had a getaway car, but he forgot the keys. he left them in the suv that was parked in times square. that was the one he planned to detonate, then he wanted to get into this other car. it would seem he had it worked out according to these reports, but then he ended up having to take the train back and call the landlord to get the keys to get into his apartment. we're seeing a new picture of him and this one is stunning, it's him in times

square, smiling with his friends like so many tourists and folks do in the heart of times square with the big tv there behind him. he's out for the evening, it looks like. david lee miller has more from the new york newsroom on this. what were the events that we're learning, david lee, in terms of leading up to this, the planning, those details coming out? >> reporter: let me give you the timeline. you touched on some of it but we now know as far back as march shahzhad had -- shahzhad had been buying components for the attack, we know he bought the fireworks, also the gun in march, the gun that was found at jfk airport in his car. as a you mentioned, days before, and this is significant, he made a dry run in the suv that would be a car bomb to times square, and in the day before, he dropped off what he had hoped would be a getaway car. but on the night of the attack, after trying to detonate the device and fleeing the suv and leaving times square, he had forgotten to take with him

his keys. he left a key ring in the vehicle. the key ring to his home, as well as the keys to his getaway car, which was parked about eight blocks away. he then took a commuter train back to connecticut. he had to ask his landlord to let him into his apartment. the next day, on sunday, he returned to times square, this time, to remove the getaway car. so increasingly, martha, the question being asked is how did he get caught, but why did he -- why didn't he get caught sooner. if this hadn't been so potentially tragic it could be comical. martha: and it had clues for the investigators trying to crack this case, because they ended up with keys to his door. we're learning where he lived, what his apartment was like. did anybody work with him? that was one of the biggest questions. >> >> reporter: that perhaps is the biggest question and fox news has talked to a news official who says authorities are trying to determine whether

he had been working with the pakistani taliban. right now, there is nothing that links him to the pakistani taliban, but authorities are intensely investigating this, and they also want to try and corroborate his claim that he received bomb making training in pakistan, something that they have not yet been able to do. last point i'll make, the pakistan's interior minister now saying this morning that he believes shahzhad was not working alone, but this is part of the investigation that still has a great deal more to move forward. martha. martha: and getting a lot of cooperation from them as well. bill: we know folks are on the computer now, they're online, the blackberry, iphone or ipad, we want to hear from you. today we're asking should shahzhad be tried as a citizen or enemy combatant. click on the you decide link and see what other folks are saying. at the moment, martha,

55,000 people have taken part from that -- in that survey. martha: wow. bill: 79 percent say try him as an enemy combatant. martha: we had the move by senator lieberman, basically you saying you give up your citizenship when you attack your country. it's an interesting argument. we'rewe're going to hear more about that. bill: 55,000 in ten hours. that's remarkable. martha: news is breaking on america's economy, folks. we just got the new weekly jobless claims numbers, 444,000 americans sought first-time unemployment benefits, that is about 7000 less than the week before, and it is the third straight week of a drop, and that's what you want to see in economics, you want to see a trend, you want to see that line moving downward, but that number is still a little bit more than economists were expecting for the week. more evidence that we could be looking at a jobless recovery at this point. right now, 15 million americans remain unemployed, and this number includes those discouraged workers who have stopped looking for work. we're going to get a monthly number soon. bill: we are, tomorrow.

the market has taken a big drop this past week, investors growing increasingly concerned, watching the deadly riots unfold in greece as that country falls into an economic abyss. two hundred twenty-five, the close on tuesday, wednesday, closed down 60 points in the end. bring in stu varney from the fox business network. stuart, good morning to you. we move from athens, to new york city, across the country, stocks are taking a beating. >> when you've got this financial and street chaos in europe, the chaos really watches over us in america. four points -- four points. on top of the stock market reaction, number one, europe looks like it's going to go back into recession. that slows the whole global economy. number two, the dollar has gone straight up. but that makes our products more expensive over there, so we export less. number three, whenever you've got scenes like that, riots and death on the street of a liberal democracy, which is one of

our allies, you get a sense of unease here. and number four, bill, some states in america, notably california, are in the same debt position as some european countries. they're out of money. they're close to default and they will require a federal bailout. watch the price of gold, bill. that's a good indicator here. bill: it was up yesterday a couple of bucks, as i recall. >> yeah. bill: stu, does greece move to spain, does spain move to portugal, does all of that move here? >> yes, that's way over the horizon. the distant horizon, moving here. it is already moving to portugal, spain and italy. the cost for those governments to borrow money has gone straight up. that's a surefire indicator there is great doubt that they can borrow money and repay it. so you've got a case of this in europe but will it spread to america, initially for the federal government, absolutely not, top money

from there comes here, but at the state level, yeah, you're looking at a very similar situation. california is broke. bill: what a scene it has been on the street of athens this week. stuart varney, check out varney & company, 9:00 a.m. eastern time on the fox bit network, thank you sir. martha. martha: well, what is the bomber's connection to pakistan? that is the question today. and it lies thousands of miles away. we've got more on the terror training that faisal shahzhad could have obtained from the pakistani taliban. bill: also, there's another piece of evidence found in the brutal murder of this young college athlete with her former boyfriend now as the prime suspect. we're learning more about their past relationship and why police say it led him to kill her. martha: and this is a terrible story as well, folks, and it cannot be forgotten. this is what it looks like in tennessee today. under water. and it is just beginning. >> the water is startingco

come up pretty fast. we had to get everybody out. >> my house is gone. the rest of our stuff is gone. i mean, it's kind of nerve wrecking. >> we thought it would never get this high. it's sickening. it breaks my heart. martha: it is heartbreaking. we have a live report from the disaster zone coming straight ahead and why the flooding is not the only problem for the good people of tennessee. we'll be right back.

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captioning performed by mediacaptioning. com bill: welcome back, everybody. the question, has the taliban out of pakistan now reached the heart of new york city? reports of the times square terror suspect allegedly trained with that terror group, and may have met with top taliban leaders while in pakistan. if true, some say it shows the taliban is no longer just focusing on attacks overseas and places like afghanistan but might be opening a brand new offensive here on american soil. stuart vedre is my guest, good morning, he's the former assistant secretary to the department of homeland security.

wow! do we have a new threat in the war on terror? >> well, i think people are used to the idea that the threat is overseas. unfortunately, it's only one flight from overseas to the u.s. to bring people in. we've been trained to think it's people overseas, foreign visitors and they need to be screen but now we're approaching the situation britain has dealt with, home grown folks can become radicalized and fit in a very large population. bill: that's critical. in the past we've thought about al-qaeda and al-qaeda suspects but not the taliban out of pakistan. if this is the case, how do we best effectively fight it? >> you need a couple of things. clearly, as the 9/11 commission said many years ago, terrorist travel is something we have to target. people have to move back and forth, whether they're foreign visitors, u.s. citizens going over for training, the fact that they've got to get on a flight is a great opportunity to intercept them, we need to do everything we can to get data on people traveling, find out accomplices, travel

patterns and the like. the same thing, with the times square incident, there's nothing like great police report. from the progress report it sounds like there was bumbling involve -- involved, but -- >> bill: thankfully he was a bit of a bumble, too. the taliban is claiming credit for this and that claim was quickly dismissed sunday. mehsud, the guy who's the leader of this group back in pakistan, he said, i'm quoting on this videotape, our fighters are ready, in the united states. can we afford not to believe him? >> i don't think -- we can't afford not to believe him and everybody knows with a large population in this country there's always going to be people who are potentially threats and the question is how can we condition our constitutional system try to detect and deter them. again, i think the kind of activity overseas, traveling back and forth, whether they're e-mailing, receiving financial report, that's the critical thing, and so we've got to be aware of people in this country, especially as they're going through

naturalization ceremonies, they're going through that process, they are being background checked, fingerprinted, we've got to make sure the people are checked thoroughly. it's not just people coming in from overseas. bill: one more point on this, that group in pakistan is under heat, the pakistani military is going after them and our military drones into been very effective, too, that's an active campaign. i'll give you the last word in 15 seconds. >> obviously we have a good ally in pakistan in many levels but they're facing a tremendous threat within their own borders. we've got to do everything we can to support them, to get the legal tools, whether it's drone attacks, intelligence gathering and the like. but we have to have the best intelligence possible. we have hundreds of thousands of people traveling back and forth. we've got to find the needle in the haystack. the administration has to do everything they can to find those deals. bill: thank you very much. >> thank you. martha: it's never been tried but a few hours from now a response team is going to lower a 100 thon dome -- 100-ton dome down through the ocean, over the geyser

of oil spewing hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude by the day. as trace gallagher explaining, it's not going to be easy. >> reporter: martha, this might be their best shot of containing this oil. it might also be a one-shot deal. coming up, we're going to give you the details of the exact plan to get it down there, and show you the biggest problem. next.

bill: we are learning more about the brutal murder that's rock o'clock the university of virginia. police have found a red stained jersey in the apartment of the main suspect, george huguely, they also found a letter addressed to yeardley love, seen here, the graduating senior found in a pool of blood early monday morning in her bed. both players on uva's highly ranked lacrosse team, had recently gone through a bad

breakup, we're told. meantime students, faculty and coaches remembering love at a memorial service last night, that university saying the family supports the men's and women's team, adding that yeardley would not have had it any other way. a bit later a live update on the latest evidence they've found in that case. martha: it is dome day on the gulf, folks. this is going to be extraordinary. fox news is just getting word there's a rapid response team, they are on their way to the center of all of this, of this massive oil spill off the tip of louisiana, and they've just headed there a short while ago. at high noon, we expect that they will lower 100-ton concrete and steel contraption a mile below the ocean surface. can you imagine trying to take that on? right over the spot where a blownout well is spewing 200,000 gallons of crude every day. this has never been done before on this scale. >> i want to remind

everybody that this containment system is a first of its kind, deployed in 5000 feet of water, so please, i have to manage your expectations. >> we're doing something unprecedented, there's never been done to this scale before. martha: trace, when they put this dome in the water today, this is mind-boggling, how long before they think it will be able to cap it, and then start to funnel what's spouting out, so they can basically pump it out of the ocean? >> reporter: yeah, and it's a good question, martha, because everybody says this is a very tricky operation. you mentioned it's 100 tons. it's actually 40 feet high. they'll actually dump this into the water and use the robotic cameras, as well as gps, to slowly lower this thing down. they think it could be on the seabed sometime in 24 to 48 hours after it first goes in the water. a couple of very big concerns they have, one is once they get it down to the

bottom, is the oil pressure pushing up. on top of that, you have the seawater pressure. remember, 5000 feet down, the immense seawater pressure actually pushing down on the dome. if they get it in place and they can trap all the oil the next problem is to get the hoses linked up to the surface, a mile long hose, that will siphon that out and once they get it to the surface they have to separate the water from the gas, from the oil, put it into tankers and put it away. it is a very long, arduous process but they're going to take their time because really this may be their biggest and only shot to cap this thing in the next couple of weeks. martha: you just try to picture this, trace, it's almost like a broken sprinkler, right, and you try to put something on top of it, but that thing you put on top of it is going to bounce around because the water is shooting with such force underneath this dome. they've had to do some very interesting physics to try to figure out just how much weight and just how deep the dome needs to be to work,

right? >> reporter: and keep in mind, that we've kind of used a coffee cup analogy, that it's like a coffee cup, they're trying to place this thing on, which you said is the sprinkler, that gushing well, and you had that straw coming out of the coffee cup, that goes to the surface but there's going to be wiggling around and once you drop it, they believe it will sink 15 feet into the mud on the seabed, but then you have to make sure that it doesn't tilt up. it's 40 feet high. if it tilts off to the side, you have the oil seeping underneath. there are a million logistical problems with this, and if they can just place it over the cap, they think that will take care of a lot of their concerns. martha: what about the burning of the oil, trace? how is that going? >> reporter: it's going slow, like the rest of the project out here. they went out yesterday and they take these fire booms, which a way to corral. they tried 75,000 gallons yesterday. you have to corral this oil, then you light it on fire. the fire booms have the ability to burn off

1800 barrels an hour, or 75,000 gallons. that's a lot of oil. there are four fire booms out there. the problem is that you have to get everything in order, you have to get it around the oil slick. if you've seen it, martha, it looks like a dragon, it's not this blot of oil. the oil slick looks like a dragon, so they have to go in and out and try and corral this oil inside the booms and once they get enough, they can light it. like everything else, logistical nightmare trying to get this thing taken care of. the good news is, the wind is almost dead calm, for the third day in a row. this thing hasn't moved. and noaa says we could be five, seven, eight days away from any kind of land, but they're checking on the chandelier islands to see if maybe they've reached those off the coast of louisiana. martha: this is an unbelievable undertaking. thank you very much. great to see you. >> sure. martha: that's the question trace and i were just talking about, will that containment dome work. for a in depth look for how it works, go to foxnews.com

and click on the how it works link, that's going to bring us to the sky-tech page, with a complete look at how this might happen. it's mind-boggling. bill: we had t. boone pickens on the show yesterday, he said they tried it one other time in the yucatan peninsula, the depth of the water is 200 feet. this is 5000 feet. we'll find out later today whether or not it works. it is a tradition honored by presidents for more than 50 years. today is national day of prayer. but now it's ruled unconstitutional, and activists want to scrap it all together. should they? can they? a fair and balanced debate on that, minutes away. martha: the country music capitol, quiet, days after record -- look at what's going on. i mean, if it weren't for all the huge stories we have right now, bill, this would be on the top of everyone's mind, and clearly it is for these poor folks in the nashville area. we're going to have the latest on how things are doing there. bill: he is part engineer, part dare devil. how far and high will shean riley go for a repair job?

check this out. >> i'm on the ski lift on the side of a mountain, with tons of steel, with a helicopter. now, nuts? it is.

bill: you may not want to look at your 401(k) today. we may have saved you a little damage there. markets have been hammered, taking a sharp two-day drive, investors watching the financial crisis unfold in greece, concerns it could

spread across europe and have an impact here. we got the jobs number, too, and investors are considering that, 27 points off the open. we'll watch it for you on the billboard. martha: here's the question for the day, what does eric holder have to say about the handling of the times square bomb suspect? we are about to find out. he's going to be questioned a few minutes from now on capitol hill. we'rewe're going to take you wil there live to see what his response is to the questions congress will have for him, and also learning of possible missteps that led to the arrest of this suspected times square bomber on monday night, including the controversy over, who you heard about this, the no fly list which wasn't able to keep him from boarding the plane and he almost flew right out of the country, but now there's a lot of backlash about the way that no fly list works this morning. we're going to show you that and what police say about shahzhad travel to go this store, where he purchased fireworks used in that attempted car bombing. a lawyer for fant iom

fireworks said the fireworks didn't have enough power to create the blast that was intended. >> typically, our products just are not valuable to a terrorist. they just -- there's not enough power in them, this is a shock to us, it's -- you know, everybody is just sort of shaking their heads, how did somebody like that find their way here, but it happened. martha: investigators are taking a closer look at the surveillance that shows shahzhad inside that store to get more clues. bill: in the meantime, parts of nashville still without power as the city goes through one of the worst floods in history. emergency crews now racing to get the city's electric and water systems up and running again. it's not easy there. flash flooding devastating america's country music capitol, strike ago sour note for the music city. jonathan serrie is live there and since the power is out in many areas the traffic is being rerouted even as we speak today.

jonathan, how extensive is the damage you have seen in that city? >> reporter: well, officials are beginning to get their first look as the river waters recede and the mayor is estimates damages in excess of $1 billion, bill. bill: wow. $1 billion? >> reporter: that's right. a lot of damage to homes and businesses, particularly in some of the outlying areas. and then in downtown nashville, of course, there was the issue of infrastructure. you had the water knocking out power for much of downtown for a long time. i'm now happy to report that most of that electricity has been restored, but they're still having an issue with water, bill, one of two water treatment plants is still not running, and so the mayor and other city officials, urging residents to cut back on their water usage, to limit it to -- cut back by 50 percent if possible, limit the amount of time they flush toilets and really just use water for personal hygiene and cooking, that's it.

they say water usage is down but not as low as it needs to be. residents are still using more water than is available. bill: these pictures are stunning. jonathan serrie, thank you, downin -- down in downtown nashville at the moment. we will not forget that story, many of you writing in to make sure we won't, and we will not, down in tennessee. >> we're in war and we need to pray for our military, we need to pray for our president and all those in authority. that's what the national day of prayer is all about. it's not about islam versus christianty or whatever, it's about the nation, coming together, and praying for its leadership, and that's what we're going to do on may sixth, national day of prayer, to focus this nation on praying for god, to ask for his help. martha: that is did -- that is today, that is what's happening, and as you may remember the pentagon decided to disinvite elanguage list franklin graham, claiming the past description as islam as an evil religion might stir up

extremists. the culture war goes way past this one man. activists are in overdrive, some saying the national day of prayer should be scrapped in favor of a national day of reason. joined now by father jonathan morris, a fox news contributor and dan barker is the president of freedom from religion foundation, a group who filed a lawsuit against the federal government claiming this day is a violation of church and state. welcome to both of you, great to have you both here today. >> thank you. martha: jim, what's the problem with this event? there's a lot of people that really get a lot of spiritual goodness out of this event, so why not just let them do it? >> well, they can do it, privately. our problem is with the government doing it. there's a difference between free speech and government speech. read the judge's good decision, the united states is a secular country, our nation cannot officially endorse a religious ritual. millions of good americans don't believe in god and we think prayer is a waste of

time. prayer is counterproductive, when we should be working on real solutions. prayer can even be dangerous. christians can pray, this whole thing was orchestrated by the evangelical crystal right, billy graham and the religious right, they're free to pray but not without the endorsement of the government. that cheapens prayer. martha: father, he is saying go ahead, have a day of prayer but it can't be government-led, it can't be government-sponsored, under church and state. >> well, first of all, let me say that i am all in favor of a proper separation of church and state in which the government allows and protects the freedom for the exercise of religion, and secondly, does not choose one denomination or religion over another, but what we're talking about here is a national day of prayer, it has nothing to do with supporting one religion over another. in fact it's not even about religion. it's about an expression of faith. and however you want to come up with a revisionist story

of what our founding fathers and our country mean and care about in terms of faith you're never going to be able to say that they didn't believe in a higher power on whom we are dependent and whose help we need, and you know what, i just don't think it's fair to say this is an evangelical right wing thing. i'm a catholic priest here, i've never been accused of being part of an evangelical conspiracy to turn our christian prayer into a theocracy. martha: i should point out the picture you're looking at is a reading of the bible marathon that's been going on for hours already at the capitol. mr. barker, what do you say in response to what father jonathan had to say, that it's clear in so many of the documents in the founding of this country that a belief in a higher power was part of the construction of the united states of america, and you know, i go back to, again, just -- you point out that 15 percent of americans don't believe in god. well, 85 percent do. so why not, you know, allow

them to continue this tradition that they find, you no -- you may not find it spiritually enriching but they do. >> they can continue it. privately. we're not objecting to them. the christian right. -- by the way, this whole law that we have challenged was instigated by the evangelical right and is being orche stated -- orchestrated by the evangelical right and many jews and others have been frozing out of this, but as your guest has said, it's only faith that's being recognized. what about those without faith, what about those of us that think faith is being dangerous? they are excluded out of this. so -- >> it's funny that you're suggesting that you're being excluded from a day of prayer. when you say that prayer is dangerous, that would be like me saying i'm being excluded from some event that you're putting on that i don't believe in. quite honestly, i happen to believe in reason and i support reason, i don't think faith and reason are a

contradiction but nobody is freezing you out of a day of prayer that you don't want to participate in. the government is giving a platform for the people to express things that are to deep and important to them. they are not in any way pushing one religion over another. let's -- we're going through tough times in our country. let's allow good people who want to ask god for help to have that possibility. martha: gentlemen, thank you very much. it's good to have bot of you here, dan barker and father jonathan morris on this national day of prayer. that is some of the debate going on surrounding it, and we'll continue to keep one eye on the capitol while -- where they are doing that marathon. bill: if you're living in pennsylvania, you might want to say prayers for yourself. there is something you need to know about, the $3 million ad targeting those who have not paid their taxes. martha: also this question, how did the times square terror suspect, faisal shahzhad, slip through security at jfk airport when he was on a no fly list as of that morning? he was put on that list, managed to make it on to the

plane. we are minutes away from seeing attorney general eric holder address that question, right after this.

martha: all right, feeling a bit paranoid? bill: hope not. there's a state that hopes you are. pennsylvania is running an orwellian ad for people that did not pay tax that is big brother has not forgotten about you. >> tom, we can make this easy. pay online by june 18th, we'll skip your penalty and take half off your interest. because tom, we do know who you are. bill: i guess that comes from -- that goes for tom and everybody else in the town from uncle sam, the state says it's lost hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue from unpaid taxes and with the economy in the tank, it needs that money. to get that money, the state spent $3 million on that ad campaign. martha: well, shakedown time in pennsylvania!

this has been a very controversial, emotional story. we may get a verdict today in the navy seal trial. petty officer second class matthew mccabe, accused of punching a terror suspect in u.s. custody in iraq. just to remind you, that suspect, the alleged mastermind of the gruesome murder of four u.s. contractors in fallujah, you remember this story very clearly, i know, their bodies were burned and dragged through the streets, two of them were hung from a bridge, two other seals, who were in this case acquitted in connection with this alleged abuse case, and steve centanni is live in norfolk, virginia and joins me now. steve, is it possible that the testimony, that we might move forward to the verdict phase here in this today? >> reporter: that's possible. the defense is wrapping up its case today with a couple more witnesses. then we could have closing arguments today.

possibly deliberations and a verdict today. but that could be today or tomorrow. we'll just have to wait and see how things go. the defense has two more witnesses that we're aware of, one an overseas witness who we're not sure who that is, somebody serving in the military in iraq, possibly, possibly even one of the other navy seals who was acquitted in this case, maybe jonathan keefe. we're going to hear from an oral surge who will before that aba, the accused terrorist who says he was beaten up, may have caused the blood from his own lip from bite ago cancor sore. the officer in charge of the detention holding cell says he saw mccabe punch the prisoner in the stomach. so that is the key witness for the prosecution. back to you. martha: we will be coming that very closely. steve, thank you very much. bill: in the meantime, we mentioned the story out of virginia. new developments on the story of the tragger murder of yeardley love, her

ex-boyfriend is charged with murder. what police say they found in his apartment. martha: a new clue there. here is a guy who knows how to live on the edge, folks, literally. he takes the phrase repairman to a whole new level, you might say. the world's toughes fixes. kind of like that dome project today, right? a tough fix. that's coming up.

martha: this is a fox news alert for you, this just crossing on the afp wires, it says that the taliban in pakistan is now denying that they ever recruited or trained fast yale shahzhad, a spokesman for the group

says they don't know him, never trained him. this has been part of the back and forth, trying to figure out what his ties are to the area or whether he as he claimed was ever trained there at all. that's the latest wrinkle in that coming in from the spokesperson for the pakistani taliban. we're going to continue obviously to stay on top of that story, get you more that comes in. >> kyle and i are trying to muscle the frame on to the top of the tower. and we're hanging on with one hand, it's like threading a giant needle with over 2000 pounds dangling overhead. everything has to go smoothly. there's no second chances on a job like this. bill: there are not. you heard it, sean riley is master at living on the edge, literally, if it's broken and dangerous, he will do whatever it takes to fix it. one wrong move and it's over, baby! sean riley is host of national geographic's world's toughest fixes. how you doing? >> doing great. bill: you know what i

learned about you? you are not afraid of heights! >> that's not a fear i have. bill: frankly, i'm not doing there! in a parachute, maybe i am. this is tonight's episode. what are you doing in woam something. >> we're outside of cody, building a ski lift out of recycled parts on the side of a mountain that's that's not been developed, the only way to get anything up the mountain is by helicopter. bill: you brought it all in. i get the impression you're the guy that would hang on a manhattan skyscraper and clean windows. >> definitely. bill: just for the thrill. i want to figure out what in the world is going on. number one, the hoover dam, do we have that? look at you! >> yeah. bill: that's standing on a lock system on the river dam, that's a giant gate that holds back the whole river and that gate is broken. bill: that was in -- >> that was in oregon, on the columbia river. bill: we had it confused, i apologize about that.

take me to number two, tell me what you're doing here. >> san antonio, texas, we're taking an antennae, a giant antennae down off the top of one of the oldest buildings in san antonio, a landmark, downton san antonio, they're trying to get this antennae off, working over the heads of the city without getting anybody hurt. bill: what height is that? >> somewhere around 600 feet or so. bill: that's 60 stories, right, that's like an afternoon for you, pack a lunch. this is hoover dam. >> yes, absolutely. that is hoover dam. believe it or not, people who go to hoover dam, for a -- they throw a whole lot of things off the dam. don't ask me why. there's a ton of garbage that collects at the bottom of thedom and -- dam and someone has to repel off the side to clean it up. bill: who better than you. have you had a close call? >> in the course of my work, i've been bumped, bruised, scraped. i recovered from frost bite. i was in the being sea and

got frost bite on my nose and ears but we put a lot of tile and effort in making the things as safe as they can be. that's the point, someone has to do this. bill: is there a challenge out there that you would like to get that you haven't had yet? >> absolutely. bill: tell me one. >> i'm constantly learning every day. i've been watching closely what's going on in the gulf now. that is an amazing scene developing. it's a tragedy and my heart goes out to the people involved in it, but there's a lot of incredible engineering happening on the fly to fix that. bill: that's a great point. t. boone pickens said the same thing sitting in that chair yesterday. you said about tonight's premiere, if you think ride ago ski lift is scary, you should try building one. later tonight, national geographic, premiere, 9:00 eastern time, check it out. good luck. good luck with the frost bite. nice to see you sean. martha, what's coming up? martha: u.s. attorney general eric holder is set to take questions on the times square terror suspect, faisal shahzhad.

the budget hearing is about to get underway. as soon as he gets there, they'll start asking questions and we'll take you there live, right after there live, right after this. they're even better than before! book rooms at lq.com right-o! wake up on the bright side at la quinta inns and suites la quinta! there's a new 24-hour heartburn formula. it's called zegerid otc. it's been proven in a clinical study to provide acid control that's greater and faster than prevacid. for all day and all night relief. try zegerid otc. even me. just by drivin' smarter routes and making sure our trailers are packed fuller, we save millions of dollars on fuel cost. and when costs go down, prices go down. we're talking about thousands of rollbacks on the things you need every day. is a beautiful thing. my name is mike, and i save people money so they can liveetter.

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martha: all right, a "fox news alert" for you. we're moments away now from what could be some new blockbuster details in the case, folks. on the hunt for the suspected times square terrorist. and trying to figure outer exactly what it was that he was trying to pull off and who he might be connected to. will be a lot of question and answers from eric holder, inside the senate subcommittee hearing. he's set to take the mic any minute now and we'll get you right back there. keep in mind this is a budget hearing and has been scheduled long before the weekend's botched bombing but lawmakers, no doubt, are ready with questions about several of the missteps in the tailing and the capturing of this suspected terrorist. why were the airlines not alerted to update their no fly list? it is shocking, really, ten years after september 11th, that somebody could be on a plane,

and walk into an airport in this country and get fleon the plane bill: a great source of this debate, why you are relying on the planes and an e-mail was sent out in the afternoon, but it is important the airlines check the e-mail. martha: and the tsa says, let us take this over and it has not happened, for reasons, some think are unfounded and how did they lose the suspect for hours on monday afternoon, questions like that we expect to hear today and that is getting underway live from the capitol. soon as, that heats up we'll take you back there, if you are home with your computer nearby the entire hearing is streaming live on foxnews.com. you can have the tv on in one place and catch it in the other, on your computer. and immigration, one of the hottest topics in our country, right now and there are calls to boycott arizona at a rally in the nation's capitol right now. there is a live look in washington, organized labor leaders and civil rights activists are gathering there as we speak, protesting arizona's

new immigration enforcement law. they say it condones racial profiling and are asking americans to sever all ties with the state of arizona which would be unprecedented. we're watching a lot of breaking news, at the top of the hour, right now, on america's newsroom, welcome back i'm martha maccallum. bill: i'm bill hemmer. good to have you back today, couple days off, well deserved, martha. on the push to boycott arizona, catching the eye of the white house and congress, president obama calling on lawmakers to set the wheels in motion for an overhaul, of federal immigration laws, sometime this year. perhaps, though, easier said than done. martha: and the political editor for the washington examiner joins us, chris, it is cinco de mayo, talking at that speaking event yesterday, the president was and he sort of reopened the issue of getting immigration on the front burner again, what do you think the reason is? >> it sort of depends on who he is talking to. when he talked to the press corps, last week, we talked in

understanding terms, about why democrats and congress were not eager to take on this very controversial issue especially at a time when americans express aid lot of sympathy with arizona, dealing with a crisis in illegal immigration en that are state and democrats don't want to take on that issue in an election year and this week, when he's talking to hispanic activists and officials from mexico, and others, at the white house, he talked about the desire to bring the legislation ford and it points to the political box the president finds himself on the issue. if he doesn't talk up the desires for comprehensive immigration reform, that includes some sort of amnesty provision for the 12 million illegal immigrants who are here we'll lose the support of a lot of hispanics in the pose and democrats will lose the support of a lot of hispanics at the polls in november. on the other side, if he pushes too hard we'll put moderate democrats in a terrible bind,

and, perhaps cost himself and his party more seats this fall. martha: and we're already getting indications that, you know, some more moderate democrats are asking to straddle the fence as well. get tough on border security. and, it seems to be the line they feel like they can, you know, walk successfully, and keep those latino voters on their sides. and tighten up the border security and then, all the, figure out a path to citizenship for people who are here illegally, right. >> it depends on whether do you them at once or in two parts. there would be broad support nationally and probably in congress for legislation that said before we do anything else we'll get serious about border security and build the fence and check people's identification and there will be real penalties for people sneaking into the country illegally, et cetera, et cetera. there is real support there. if you do that, what you end up doing is disspiriting hispanic groups and interest groups that deliver a lot of important votes, for democrats, in key districts. because, they feel like if you do border security, first, and

do it without so-called pathway to citizenship, the pathway to citizenship part will be forgotten later, because it is generally unpopular, in the rest of the country. martha: all right, chris, thank you very much. we'll hear a lot more about this in the coming days and weeks and it will be a very hot election issue heading to november. thank you, chris, always good to see you. >> you bet. bill: "fox news alert," take you out to the airport in seattle, washington. there has been a delay in the departure of numerous planes because of a smoking piece of luggage. the information we have, airport employees said a smoking bag was spotted outside of a tarmac. the employee believed the bag was set to be loading on a departing delta airlines flight, the flight now delayed. we understand a portion of sea-tac international airport has now been evacuated, due to the suspicious bag. and, the baggage handling room, tsa saying the baggage room and surrounding area, has been cleared out, at the concourse

where the piece of luggage is now sitting and we're watching the story, and in touch with officials at sea-tac in washington, crossing the wires here on "america's newsroom." in the meantime, incriminating new evidence in a frightening story from the past, as new details emerge about the suspected lacrosse killer, the university of virginia. 22-year-old george hughley charged with murdering his former girlfriend, yardley love, a female lacrosse player, they found a shirt with red stains on it at his campus apartment and a female police officer recalling a terrifying confrontation with the suspect, in a drunken rage, some time ago. molly henneberg britons us up to speed, live in d.c. what more do you know about the suspect's run-ins with the law in the past and -- was it two years ago, 2008? >> reporter: bill, there were a couple of them, but, yes, george hughley was arrested in '08 in lexington, virginia for public intoxication and resisting

arrest and the cop said he was yelling obscenities at her and became combative and so much so she tasered him and last night students at the university of virginia gathered for a candlelight vigil for yardley love, the senior, about to graduate, found dead monday in her off campus apartment and he was charged with first degree murder in the case an end washington examiner reports today, that he was charged with possession of alcohol by a minor in '07 in palm beach county, florida and as you talked about, the local paper in charlottesville, virginia, said police took a red stained t-shirt from his apartment, and as well as two laptop computers, a bathroom rug, socks and a shower curtain. bill: the school is saying it did not know about his previous arrests? is that their position? >> reporter: in virginia, yes. uva's president said it was news to the university that came out after he was arrested and uva did not know about the arrest or

combative struggle with the female police officer and, says the law doesn't always require that college and universities be notified when students are arrested off campus. bill: such a sad story. molly henneberg, thank you for that, in washington. martha: more on that in a while. but, this morning we saw something spectacular, folks, nasa's test launch of a new astronaut emergency escape system and fired on all cylinders in the test. look at this: beautiful morning in new mexico. blasted off from the white sands missile range there. simulating an accident, an unmanned mission. and the orion launch abort system fires the crew capsule away from the malfunctioning rocket and you can see it cruising through the sky there and the crew in the case, if there were crew there in an actual mission, floats to safety, supported by the three parachutes which all expanded right on cue, this morning. nasa holding a press conference

now on the test launch and if you want to watch that, it is streaming live on foxnews.com or watch the replay of that over and over and over again. bill: nasa, well done today. let's hope they work the magic in the gulf, right? because at this moment a specially built containment dome has arrived in the side of the massive oil spill, and we're watching the story, closely in the gulf, and the plan is to lower a 100-ton device over the ruptured oil fell and funnel the spewing oil into a surface tanker on the sea. and this is the first time it has been attempted at 5,000 feet below water and meanwhile on the surface above, dozens of boats are trying to fight back the slick. including laying out miles of boom and barriers to try and keep the oil from the coast. phil keating is on that side of the story, cape canaveral, florida with more and you are at a factory, they are producing the booms? >> reporter: american boom and barrier, in cape canaveral, florida and it is boom, boom, going on here! i'm telling you. this is oil containment boom and they are making it, manufacturing it, sealing it, as you see here, cutting all of

these, essential looks like your backyard swimming pool noodles but they are larger and this is inserted into the pvc fabric and it goes all the way down the line and, eventually, will be strewn out along the coastline, in and around the gulf of mexico. two things you have seen over the past week. as far as video goes, number one, the big oil slick and yesterday from flying, from new orleans to orlando, i knew over some of the ribbons of brown and rust-colored oil over the gulf of mexico. 141 miles of this boom now, strewn along the coastline, trying to protect the fragile wetlands especially in the bayou of louisiana from the approaching oil and according to the command center it is 5 to 10 miles away from the shoreline in louisiana today and so, here they've doubled their staff and are operating 23 hours a day. this will -- little factory is producing a whole lot of boom, and is big distributed and by all accounts they cannot make it and put it out there past

enough, bill. bill: cape canaveral, they need all they can get, at the moment, thank you, phil. martha: a lot of you are following this on-line that's story unfolds and we have full coverage at foxnews.com, click on the link at the top of the page, we're following all angles, on the situation, this will be an incredible effort, to lower this thing over that spill. and, try to get the oil to the surface, how will it affect your kitchen table? another big question. about the fish in the area, and what might be affected in that way. and, we'll get you all that today. bill: i figure by afternoon we should figure out whether or not it will work. 100 tons? martha: and describing -- and needs to sink in on the ocean floor to create a vacuum and then suck the oil out of the top. bill: they have the best people on it. we'll see if it works and do you know this guy? this is tom strickland, chief of staff of the interior department and his agency is responsible for managing the oil catastrophe. guess where he was while the

massive flood spread out across the gulf? he was on the water and taking heat because he was nowhere near the coast. martha: and this poor puppy. look at these dogs, coming face-to-face with a not so friendly neighbor, folks. what is on the prowl along the pacific coast? wait until you see what did this to this dog. bill: nine years since 9/11 and a man on no -fly list, able to board a plane, with out even a second look. taking the tsa to task and the airlines, after the break. úñçqp [ wheezing ]

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bill: heat directed at a member of the administration whitewater rafting on the colorado river, interior department chief of staff, tom strickland touring the grand canyon while crude oil fanned out on the gulf of mexico, and, they were on a work focus trip and his agency is coordinating the federal response to the gulf oil catastrophe and serves as

assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks and was airlifted out of the canyon three days after the leak began when the administration realized it was far worse than they thought, originally. martha: you know the story, police officers got him just in time, but we're learning new details about this. and, of course, we all know that it is nearly ten years, since september 11th. so, how does a flagged terror suspect manage to get through security? think about what it is like when you go through security and he boarded that plane. the times square bombing suspect, faisal shahzad was on the no-fly list as of that morning and the airlines were e-mailed, to add him to the no-fly list. he bought his plane ticket in cash on his way to the airport. and airlines are not required to report that right now and perhaps they should be required to report that. senators demanding that these tsa fixes happen to eliminate these loopholes, and one of those senators is democrat mark

udall and he called it a fugitive dream, the system, the way it is, the senator joins me now, senator, welcome, good to have you here. >> thanks. martha: it is shocking to me as apparently it is to you, as well. that anybody who is on a no-fly list, can walk into an airport, look at the security that we all go through, to get someplace, how on earth is this still happening, all these years later? >> martha, the intent of what senator schumer and senator cardin and i called for yesterday, is to streamline the process whereby we identify people who could be a threat. you pay in cash, right now, you are required to be checked every couple of hours. that didn't happen at the airport, the other night but, fortunately, we were able to apprehend, shahzad, what we are calling for is that if anybody pays in cash, the tsa will come over and physically consider the person who is paying in cash,

for this ticket. i think it is a common-sense way forward, in the near future, the tsa is required to take over completely. these processes to check on the potential terrorists who would be flying out of our country. martha: it is so shocking, senator, you know, right after september 11th, we heard about all of this stuff and about facial recognition and technology, and, we heard about the -- buying your ticket in cash, should cause a red flag. and, when you look at the ridiculous waste of money, perhaps, that is happening, in the security systems in every airport around this country, it is none of these extremely simple things you are talking about are actually happening? >> yes, and what the good news is, is that we apprehended this man, the good news is... martha: absolutely. >> he's giving us a lot of information. and i would prefer to say, what have we learned from this, let's improve and get better. let's acknowledge the success and by the way, too, what i

think was experience, times square, citizens said something is not right. martha: absolutely. >> all of us are on the front lines in the war on terrorism. martha: but i have to ask you, how long will it take before you go through security, and, you let the tsa handle the job, and they have a scanner, a computer, instantly the guy's face pops up and somebody says, no, no, no. this person can't go anywhere. call the police... >> we obviously need to deploy more technology and interestingly enough the airlines have the responsibility to look at these watch lists, and what we'll do is move the responsibility fully to the tsa. and, i think that is an important step, and we can use technology and monitor it not just on a two hour basis but real time minute-to-minute basis. >> thanks for your attention to this. martha: we're out of time, thank you, senator. bill: we got lucky, and we're learning as we go. >> good police work all along, but too many loopholes. bill: there is a driver leading

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bill: we mentioned this 15 minutes ago and have our first live pictures from sea-tac airport south of seattle, washington, a bag was apparently spotted on the tarmac, that was smoking according to an airport employee. and that employee believed that the piece of luggage was set to be loaded on board a departing delta airlines flight and where it was going, we don't have the information and the flights now on concourse a at sea-tac are grounded. and nothing is moving until they figure out what the suspicious bag is about and it was in the baggage handling room and went

to the tarmac, set to be loaded on the flight and the baggage area and the surrounding areas are shut down for the moment. at least two delta flights, and two american airlines flights in concourse a are now sitting idle in addition to what looks like anyway the virgin plane. the virgin airlines flight, sitting there on the tarmac as well, and all of this is happening while eric holder is about to go before a committee in washington. and we believe the attorney general may take questions, more questions about what happened with the attempted times square bombing over the weekend. we're watching that in d.c. and also keeping an eye on this, too. what is inside the bag, if it is smoking, what is the substance and what is it all about? we're reaching out to authorities at the -- officials at the airport in seattle. stay tuned, more when we get it here. certainly has got our attention. martha? martha: it does, and in the meantime a suspect so anxious to get away from the police the allegedly pushed a pregnant woman out of the car. getting up to 120 miles per hour.

in the chase, check out the video. the black sports car weaves in and out of traffic in st. louis, missouri, the back streets of a neighborhood, later in the tape the car jumps the sidewalk and narrowly misses the pedestrians and look at it go and slows down and a pregnant woman falls out onto the curb. here's the neighborhood video. look at on the sidewalk -- look at this. authorities later arrested the suspect in his home and they always end up driving, back through this area they know best, but, boy oh, boy, this one, was a dangerous one. bill: the folks on the small little streets, too. not cool. by the way, they got him. huh. martha: they got him, near his house. bill: today is a national day of prayer and observances, in the capitol underway, though a federal court judge ruled just last month a government sanctioned national day of prayer is unconstitutional. shannon bream is at the capitol building and why are these events going on despite the ruling?

good morning,there. >> reporter: good morning, bill. the judge in this case did a couple of extraordinary things and first of all enjoined the president of the u.s. from taking part, in taking part of the national day of prayer and issuing the proclamation, and recognizing that was a huge step and she said she'd hold it en reserve while the case is on appeal and the president issued an appeal and also issued a proclamation supporting the case and listen to people fighting it, saying it is unconstitutional, an entanglement of government and religion and i talked to one of the plaintiffs and she said this is while they'll keep fighting. >> it is very unamerican, unconstitutional it gets to the heart of our first amendment, which protects freedom of conscience and which considers that these personal decisions are paramount matters for protection. and, the government should not be telling me to pray. >> reporter: so they are calling this unamerican, the national day of prayer and have signs and billboards up a full page ad in

"the new york times," decrying everything happening in the capitol and across the country. bill: and supporters say they'll take it all the way to the supreme court? do they have a chance. >> reporter: they think it is necessary, and they are feeling pretty good about it and it was instituted in 1952 by a joint resolution of the house and senate, and you think about that, today, why it is so hard to get anything done that doesn't involve partisan bickering and it was done in 1952, and they say it is part of the foundations of our country and will continue to fight for it and here's what the american center for law and justice representative told us. >> look i'm not happy they won at the district court level but ultimately and may take the supreme court of the u.s. to get it resolved, but, ultimately we'll carry the day and the court will declare the national day of prayer, constitutional. the resolution supporting it. but, now we have the uphill challenge. >> reporter: we may see it there in a few years, bill at the supreme court. bill: shannon, thank you, martha? martha: he was at times square on a dry run days before. what he did there, and what we

are now learning, about his apartment, next. bill: and president obama doing the cinco de mayo two-step, announcing it is time for an immigration overhaul and one week ago the issue was moved to the back burner. does the change of political heart have a chance on the hill? we'll debate it. [ female announcer ] last year, the u.s. used enough plastic water bottles to stretch around the earth over 190 times. each brita filter can take up to 300 of those bottles out of the equation.

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martha: attorney general eric holder testifying on capitol hill, we have been watching to

hear what he says about the times square suspect. let's listen in for a moment. >>... new threats and ongoing war, your support will be critical in helping the department meet its goals and our obligations. as we move forward i look forward to working with all of you as well. once again i thank you for inviting me here today and now i'm happy to answer any questions, that you might have. >> thank you very much, mr. attorney general. we are going to proceed this morning, and, in terms of arrival... note the chair of the judiciary committee and i'll ask some questions, reserve my right for a second round, to be sure that members who have demanding schedules have their opportunity and obviously the times square bombing attempt is in everyone's -- the news. there are those who will raise issues related to the miranda reading rights and so on.

that is not my focus. my focus is the questions to you related to the way it worked and the way you feel you have the resources for it to continue to work. as press accounts report, vendors saw a smoking car, they said something, n.y.p.d. arrived. they took the actions they were supposed to. then, federal officials came in. you can relay that story. my question to you is, is that the way you -- you can't have and fbi agent on every corner but you can have police officers on many corners. how do you say -- first of all, it is amazing the man was apprehended in 53 hours and 24 minutes. >> that was -- >> i think we have to congratulate law informant -- law enforcement for that.

but watching this is like chalk on a blackboard but let's talk about what our law enforcement did, both state and local up the chain, and then you feel you have, what did it take to do that and do you have the resources to make sure whether it is in los angeles or baltimore, or... et cetera, that we have these security mechanisms and people. >> i think that the success of that effort is a direct result of the joint efforts we have between the federal government and our state and local partners, the work that the fbi did in new york with the new york police department. as well as our counterparts, the department of homeland security. all of that combined for making the -- our attempts to disrupt that plan successful. and that is why the budget focuses on getting money to these joint terrorism task forces, getting money to our state and local partners, i think what you said is exactly

right. we have to use our state and local counterparts, as force multipliers. they are the people who are going to be most familiar with the communities in which they operate, and they -- there are far more of them than federal law enforcement officials and without their assistance and without their partnership, we will not be as successful as we were in foiling this plot. >> so what is it then, do you feel, would you elaborate on your programs, your grants, do you feel it is because of this or do you feel police departments, where there is high risk of threat, new york is one, l.a., we know the risks, washington, d.c. that there needs to be special i said training? what do we need to do to put it in the budget so we can deploy people in communities and they have the right training and equipment? >> well, i think we have -- >> it's not getting -- putting somebody into uniform on the

street, it is boots on the ground, in urban neighborhoods, they have to be trained and equipped. >> there's a number of steps and we have to first support the hiring of state and local law enforcement officials. the cops hiring plans, we have -- program, we have fiscal year 2011 request for $600 million, and that is up $297 million from this year. so that is the first step. to get these people on the force, but, the point you make is an excellent one and that simply having them there is not sufficient. they have to be adequately trained. and they are interacting with their federal counterparts and the joints terrorism task forces and training opportunities that we can make available. the training that the -- knowledge we can glean from them, and the interaction we have, during training. martha: we'll continue to monitor attorney general eric holder, as he talks about -- it is a budget hearing and they are talking about increased law enforcement and money for the

joint terrorism task force and that is all a -- of the moment in what we're talking about, now, we're also learning that faisal shahzad in the days before this attempted bombing attack, scoped out times square. and we're also talking a lot about what happened once he was apprehended. and, exactly how he should be prosecuted and how he should have been questioned. as an enemy combatant or as, you know, a civilian, in these cases. let's bring in catherine herridge, tracking the story for us. there is activity on capitol hill, and, about changing the status of someone, once they commit a terrorist act for attempt to commit one. what do we expect along those lines, catherine? >> reporter: well, we'll expect a number of questions, in the hearing this morning, which -- which tries to lay out how it was that the suspect in this case, shahzad was able to take the car bomb into times square, one of the things i have seen developing, martha in the last 48 hours, is a growing debate on capitol hill about what i'll

call the two strikes debate. the number of lawmakers have spoke ton me and said, look we had the attempted christmas day bombing and that failed, because the detonator failed, and now we haved this the attempt on times square and that failed because the detonator failed and that is two strikes, clearly these people are getting through the system and just yesterday the letter was sent to president obama by republican congressman frank wolf and he's urging him to bring back the cochairs of the 9/11 commission to do a review of suome of the intelligence-gathering practice, to see if they are being effective and one issue the congressman is focusing in on is biometric information and points to an interview recently with one of the commission members saying we have done a pretty good job gathering biometric data for people coming into the country but we need to do a better job of gathering this information of people who are leaving the country. and, in other words, trying to create new mechanisms to ideally prevent people follow reaching

the point we saw on christmas day and last saturday. martha: and his point is very well taken, two very, very close calls. make the situation too close for anybody's comfort, at this point, catherine, i know you'll continue to monitor the hearing and we are all watching the investigation, as it unfolds, thank you very much. catherine herridge in washington. we know a lot of you are watching this story, as it develops on-line, so many questions. about how this man got as far as he did. and how we got on the plan. and, we want to hear what you think about that. today we are asking, at foxnews.com, should shahzad be tried as a civilian or as some are now suggesting including senator joe lieberman, whether an attempted act of terrorism puts you automatically in a different category. as an enemy combatant, that is our "you decide" question, go to foxnews.com and click on "you decide" an answer the questions and see what other folks are saying and we have gotten more than 5,000 people. bill: oh! martha: who have take then

survey and 79% believe his action put him in the category of an enemy combatant and we'll continue to watch those come in and keep them coming. foxnews.com. bill: wow. update from seattle now, fox in seattle, q-13 is reporting the fire trucks left the scene in concourse-a, and the smoking piece of luggage has been taken care of, apparently and we don't know what was in it but several planes, delta airline flights have been delayed and held up in concourse a and apparently they can travel now and are okay. four flights delayed as a result. the baggage area at the airport was evacuated. folks are now moving about, so we believe things are taken care of. wanted to give you an update on what is happening in seattle. watching it for the past hour and, thankfully it looks like everything is cool. at sea-tac. martha: new information that has just come through. in the brutal murder of a college student. the dna evidence, discovered in the suspect's apartment, and where that is leading them. that is next.

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bill: president obama is calling for a sweeping federal immigration overhaul, did you hear what he said at a cinco de mayo event. >> president barack obama: we need bipartisan support but it can be done and needs to be done and i was pleased to see a strong proposal for comprehensive reform presented in the senate last week and i was pleased that it was based on a bipartisan framework. i want to begin work, this year, and i want democrats and republicans to work with me. because we have to stay true to who we are, a nation of laws and nation of immigrants. bill: there he. martha: he said, right? and he gave a shout out to the phoenix suns, los suns, for one night and the reverend al sharpton warning followers against supporting arizona's new law, roll this: >> and, let me say this, to my african-american or black brothers and sisters, that think

this is not your fight, let me tell you something, we all look mexican. bill: and a former spokesman for jeb busch joins us out of miami, gentlemen, good morning to both of you. juan, are those just words? are is there common ground for immigration reform. >> i think what we have seen over the last few weeks, now, with the new lawen arizona, is that it has been a catalyst for action on the left. and, here i come to president obama and i think what he's saying is he'd like to see something, this year and the problem is, as you know, bill, president bush tried to get something done, and, nancy pelosi has said right now she will not take any action, unless the senate acts first and harry reid wants to do something. because he has an election coming up in nevada with lots of hispanic voters, but, can he get the likes of lindsey graham on the republican side... bill: graham is saying the

docket is full this year, that was his earlier comment yesterday and, juan, you talked about what the president said about the issue, a week ago. we'll roll this: >> president barack obama: i know there may not be an op tig -- appetite, immediately to tabling another controversial issue, work still needs to be done on energy and midterms are coming up. i don't want us to do something just for the sake of politics. that doesn't solve the problem. i want us to get together, get the best ideas on both sides, work this through, and when it is ready to go, let's move. bill: no appetite for immigration reform, and, justin is he changing -- has he changed his mind in a week. >> i read it that way and last week he shrugged his shoulders and not making it a priority and not willing to put the presidential oomph behind it and

cinco de mayo says it is something we have to get done this year and compare what he is doing compared to what president george w. bush did, who made it a priority and was willing to work with members of both parties including liberal member of the senate ed kennedy and willing to take on his on base in the republican party, i wish we'd see president obama demonstrate the same courage and same leadership we saw president george bush... bill: you are calling it a flip. juan is it a flip, technically? >> i don't think it is a flip. i think they've wanted to do it at the white house. as i said i think the political dynamics here at the moment, make it difficult, unlikely that you could get the votes to get it done. so, i think what the president is saying now, may be in the sense, something along what justin is saying, i think he wants to make it clear to the hispanic community, that he wants something that he is trying to get something done but i'm not sure that even the white house believes at this point, that this cake is cooked and ready for the hill to handle. bill: why did he make the

comment, it is cinco de mayo and fits with the theme in the country yesterday. >> no, it is political, he's trying to say to the hit panic communi -- hispanic people that he is one with them and he's getting pressure from the hispanic community and, even al sharpton saying, why isn't the president acting and people think the federal government is at fault and should have taken action. bill: as yyou are talking, justn is shaking his head in agreement? what are you agreeing to, justin. >> the president and people in the white house need to give the hispanic community for credit and this recognized and saw when president obama wanted health care reform, they saw what he was willing to do to get it and now, they are seeing the president, basically, last week, shrugged his shoulders and this week puts out a statement and are smart enough to realize it it may be window dressing and he's throwing a bone to placate them for the november election and where is this presidential leadership. bill: we have to lift there, justin, thanks for coming back,

juan williams, and we'll continue this later, martha, you have more breaking news. >> crossing the wires, breaking news and will send shockwaves through the world of sports, folks. a legend dealeary hall-of-famer arrested under investigation for rape, we'll tell you who, right after the break. are you receit from a legal settlement or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

bill: breaking news from the world of sports, hall of fame former nfl star lawrence taylor is now arrested in a town of ramapo, new york, police are investigating a reported rape that occurred in the early morning hours at the holidome hotel, montebello, new york. and taylor is aged 51 and has lived a very tough life. this guy has been in and out of jail, numerous times for

attempted drug possession, and they say he's been clean for 12 years, going back to 1998. and he's admitted to his difficulties with cocaine abuse, and use while he was a player and also, after he was a player, and this just crossing right now, and fox news now confirm that lawrence taylor is being investigated as part of the rape that allegedly occurred in montebello, new york, sometime earlier today. there is a press conference, this afternoon, 2:00, eastern time, we should get more information, then. fox news confirming that, moments ago. martha: and there is new evidence, surfacing today, in the brutal murder of the uva lacrosse player, yardley love. virginia police have found a red stained jersey in the apartment of her poisboyfriend, who is al the suspect, george hughley, and the graduating senior was found in a pool of 0 her own blood that morning and details are emerging regarding george

huguely's incriminating past and an officer is revealing she recalls a terrifying confrontation with him two years ago where she had to taser him and yardley's teammates as they continue to mourn her loss honored her during a campus vigil last night. >> as a student body we are struggling to comprehend what was done to yardley and our confusion and grief is compounded by the arrest of another classmate charged with her murder. yardley's death is beyond belief. and the actions that led to her death are painfully difficult to think about, but for many of us, there is little else we have been able to think about. these past three days. martha: boy, the emotions on that campus, you can hear them, in that young woman's voice. as she talked about it, and i'm joined by chief al thomas, who is with the lexington police department. he led the investigation against yardley's boyfriend back in 2008. chief, good to have you with us today.

>> hello, martha. martha: the more we are learning here about this is past, more disturbing this story becomes. talk to me about what you are aware of in terms of the altercation that he had with this other woman, this police officer. >> caller: well, he did have an encounter with one of our officers, back in november 2008. officers received a 911 call regarding an intoxicated male in the city of lexington, virginia and when the officer arrived on the scene he observed him and he appeared to be in inebriate and he was unsteady on his feet and stumbling into oncoming traffic and after investigation he was placed under arrest for public intoxication and during the course of the arrest he became combative, and physically resistant to the arrest, and, began shouting obscenities towards thor if. -- towards the officer, to the point the officer was not able to gain control of him and made a decision to deploy her taser,

in an effort to gain control. martha: chief, you know, when you look at the latest in the case we're learning of the red-stained shirt, a jersey found in his apartment, can you confirm that evidence. >> caller: i cannot. i don't have any involvement in the case in charlottesville. so i cannot confirm any information on -- regarding their case. martha: all right, chief al thomas, it is such a disturbing and sad story and the more we learn about his history, the more complicated it appears. thank you very much, chief thomas, good to have you here today. bill: fox news confirming moments ago, hall of fame nfl star lawrence taylor is arrested, police investigating an alleged rape at our new york state hotel, details when we continue in three minute. -- three minutes. [ wheezing ]

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