tv Americas News HQ FOX News May 15, 2010 4:00pm-6:00pm EDT
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they know how the truth is and we can fix it together. good night from new york. >> gregg: hello, i'm gregg jarrett. >> i'm in for julie banderas. more trouble in europe. ash cloud hovering over iceland could be putting a kink in some travel plans again. how serious is it this time. what are they doing at the airports now. >> gregg: and the only person to survive that libyan air crash is back in the netherlands. the latest on his recovery. check it out. taking a big chance. amazing pictures of what can happen when you risk crossing a train track when there is an oncoming train. we begin with a fox news alert.
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right now off the coast of louisiana they are working on plugging the massive oil leak. this time they are using underwater submarines to insert a tube directly into the gusher. crews had to bring in the entire contraption back to the surface to make adjustments. at that point, dp is highway patrolful they may be able to siphon oil up as early as tonight. david lee miller is live. >> no doubt there is a great deal of disappointment because they will be trying the same technique again. there is some cautious optimism. what they are trying to do is implement the riser insertion tool. let me explain that. the pipe that is leaking is 21 inches of circum france called the riser. they want to insert a six inch tube that would travel up to the surface, like a big straw funnel
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the oil up to a tanker. this increasing done essentially roboticly 5,000 feet down. it's like playing a very high-tech video game with billions of dollars at stake. just a short time a bp official explained more precisely what wept wrong with the first attempt. >> this tool sits in a metal frame so that the drill pipe lowered from the drill ship can connect to it. when they attempted to connect to it the frame shifted so they were unable to make that connection. what they had to do is bring the frame and tool back to the surface and reorient it so the next attempt would be more successful. >> reporter: now that adjusted frame and tool are now on the sea floor. in the next few hours they are going to make another attempt. secretary of the interior said earlier they are working on this problem, i'm quoting him, the
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smartest people in the world. >> i know that ken salazar was touring the rehabilitation facility. the obama said last week they are watching it hour by hour. what did he learn today. >> reporter: sn. >> reporter: so far at least 13 bird have died here because of the oil slick. the secretary actually tour add wildlife rehabilitation facility. he watched as the workers washed down a brown pell can trying to save it. at this particular facility, eight animals have been treated. one interesting static, it can take 10-12 days to rehab the birds once they are coated with oil. they are then sent back out the gulf. now, the question remains, what is it going to protect those birds in the future because the
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oil menace continues to grow. >> i was reading there is a lot of disagreement about exactly how much oil is coming out into the water. there is a lot of agreement about the fact they have to do something with that. what is the latest on that? >> reporter: for the first time now they are using chemical dispersants under the water. about 500,000 gallons have been used at the surface level. now, for the first time, possibly as an act of desperation, they are using them under the sea. epa is closely monitoring what the consequences mick to make sure that the cure doesn't kill the patient, more damage done to the environment. the initial report we received a short time ago suggests that the under sea chemicals is making a difference.
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in the vicinity of the rig itself, the amount of oil has diminished. once again, they are cautiously optimistic, but this is still a very big problem. in fact the problem is so big, harris, they don't even know how big it is. >> i was also reading with those dispersants, good news that it is working. it's a mystery and it's going to take more than one day. david lee miller off the coast of louisiana. thank you very much. >> gregg: another fox news alert. tensions are mounting in thailand's capital city. take a look. [ gun shots ] >> that is some of video coming in fox news. government troops designating part of bangkok a live firing zone, this as the prime minister vows not to give in the anti-government red shirt
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protestors as they are called. at least 24 people reportedly have been killed. nearly 200 have been injured since it began on thursday. the u.s. embassy is offering to evacuate family members of the staff and issuing a travel warning for all-american citizens to say away. we'll have a live report coming up in the next hour. a war of words erupting between peter king and the obama administration. as issue, claims that new york city is sitting on $275 million in anti-terror funding. molly henneberg is live in washington. i understand that the accusation there is a pot of money out there that new york is not using for terror combating and that is coming from the administration? >> reporter: homeland security secretary says there is $275 million federal dollars already approved going backs to 2006 for
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transit security projects in new york city. it hasn't been used yet. in a letter, peter king, napolitano, wrote, given the accepts of urgency we are working with state and local partners to make sure the funds are used quickly for the needs throughout the state. napolitano says her department is, quote, concerned that these funds are not being used. >> i mentioned the war of words. peter king, i understand --. >> he said he met with secretary napolitano and she never mentioned the $275 million. if there is such a pot of money, it's being slowed down on the federal level. here is more. >> any money is not being used it's being held up. for them to take this cheap shot.
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the mayor bloomberg is holding $275 million for all the terrible economic crisis and the security crisis we face. >> reporter: he calls the letter an unsuccessful attack on new york. >> politicians in new york are kind of like meth and yankee fans. i understand that king and schumer are saying the same thing, they are going to cut the funds to new york. >> reporter: the annual budget money that comes into certain states and cities. the congressman king says obama administration has cut 27% for mass transit security and 25% for port security. senator schumer says new york is quote, the prime target for terrorism in the u.s. and the funding needs to reflected that reality. napolitano says, federal funding plus what was set aside in the stimulus legislation for ports
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and transit security in new york is actually, quote a net increase of more than $47 million from the bush administration last budget. now congressman king counters that and says, stimulus money is not being renewed from year to year. he doesn't count that in the total. >> all right, molly henneberg, thank you very much. >> gregg: we are getting new reports that criminal probe has been launched in connection to la month's deadly mine blast in west virginia. department of justice is trying to figure out if there was, quote, willful criminal activity by the company that operates the mine. the company's performance, subside ear of masse energy company. f.b.i. agents interviewed former employees and 29 workers died in that terrible explosion. >> it is full speed ahead for the shuttle, a scheduled hookup for the international space
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station. the docking will not be delayed even if the space station needs to dodge space junk. the shuttle and six astronauts will spend a week at the station installing new batteries, six spacewalks are planned. after 25 years in service, this is will be the final voyage. >> gregg: there is a warning that volume i can ash may yet again threaten flights overseas. the british government saying there is a possibility the it's going to have to close part of the airspace for tomorrow through tuesday. last week the plume of ash forced closures at airports all over europe delaying many flights between europe and north america. sole survivor of that plane crash in libya is now back in his home country, the nether larndz. he returned on a medical plane with his aunt and uncle. his parents both died along with his brother in the crash. today the family is requesting
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privacy. security at the airport was pretty tight when he landed. local media says he left by a local ambulance to a hospital in his hometown. >> gregg: leadup to the november elections could be an uphill battle for many incumbents, case in point, bob bennett and west virginia congressman alan mullahan, both sent packing. coming up on tuesday we're going to test the political winds as pennsylvania senator specter and blanche lincoln fight for political survival. just how toxic is it for incumbents these days? joining me now is john, good to see you. polling data can be revealing.
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let me mention a few of them. the president's approval rating has dropped to about 50% which is pretty low. a poll shows preference 44-37% over democrats. i was looking at another poll just out that finds that republicans are far more motivated to vote, roughly two-thirds, compared to just half for democrats. then the "washington post" poll found almost 60% of american voters want to vote against their incumbent. in your judgment what does all of this portend? >> i think both parties are seeing a lot of ferment. senator bennett says people hate washington. no they don't hate washington. they hate what people we send to washington do. they ignore the american people. democrats are also upset because in utah, left wing democrats decided to attack the only democratic congressman because
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she voted against the health care bill. they forced him in a primary. and in virginia, they defeated congressman mollahan. the problem for the democrats, they control both houses of congress. so the vast bulk of this sentiment is going to be directed straight at them. >> gregg: all right. arlen specter has seen a 20% lead over sespak evaporate. is that because she viewed there a guy that switched parties and abandoning long time principles, that his own conviction is perpetuating his own power? >> the joke in pennsylvania is that arlen specter gives opportunityism a bad name. it features a quiet from specter saying i switched parties
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because i wanted to win. how much more honest or the and the can you get? >> gregg: let's go to arkansas. this is an interesting race. the democratic senator blanche lincoln is being challenged within her own party. by somebody who is really on the far left. explain in your judgment what is happening and what may happen come tuesday. >> people were upset at congresswoman lincoln, it's because the labor unions are upset because the democrats wouldn't give them, taking the right away for secret ballots for union members. they are running ago challenger using other reasons to run against her. arkansas is a 50% threshold to win. they may have to go to a runoff. >> gregg: i think the runoff is june 8. i don't think she can get the
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percentage points with the polls i saw today. let's talk about kentucky. on the gop side, the republicans sort of establishment candidate backed by washington insiders is losing by double-digit it's to rand paul who is championed by tea party conservatives. what does this tell you? >> i think it tells me that mitch mcconnell is very effective inside the senate. when it comes to anointing somebody to be a senator in kentucky, people are thinking for themselves. what has happened all over the country, gregg, is that people are reading the constitution, this little document here. they are deciding that government has gone away wai beyond the scope of the constitution. rand paul is the son of ron paul right in the middle of that debate. he has captured the imagination of the tea party crowd, sarah palin's endorsement, i think he will win and be a united states
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senator in kentucky joining tom coburn, both will be physicians and very much standing up for the constitution. >> gregg: last one is congressional race, this actually republican versus democrat. these are not intraparty races but interraces to replace john murtha, toward the end was embroiled in ethics controversies. this is a toss-up a long time held democratic district? >> absolutely. they are trying to run to the right of the republican. he is saying i wouldn't voted for obama he'll. he is immunizing his opponent of raising taxes because he made nice noises about the fair tax that would replace the income tax. republican response is saying, look, you represent the democratic candidates, but the politics are pork barrel.
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we need to get beyond that. the we need development in the state, not just charity from washington. i think it's going to be a very close race. if the republicans win it, it will be a tremendous momentum for the fall. >> gregg: john fund, good to see you. home foreclosures dropped last month. we'll tell you why some say those numbers could be hiding another problem, a big problem. that's next. know the stain. after an alpaca? i have. it was awesome. ♪ call 1-800-steemer
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check this out. he is trying to go around the barrier at a train crossing. you don't do that. security cameras catching the whole thing, the very moment when the train slammed into the car. the driver is 30 years old is hospitalized in serious condition. >> gregg: new numbers out for america's road to recovery the rate of foreclosures dropped to 8% but there is an alarming trend did he re-defaults. half of the borrows borrowers
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yet again. you can see this one coming. look, if somebody doesn't have a job, renegotiating their mortgage isn't going to help. they won't be able to pay the mortgage no matter what. >> reporter: that is absolutely right, gregg. experts say any drop in foreclosures is positive, but the recent dip should not be seen as a trend. the new figures called the reality trap, let's say the one month figure doesn't show the data. people losing jobs and many desperate homeowners are struggling through loan modifications which experts say adds up to a short term solution for a problem that is overreaching. >> what a loan modification is doing, when somebody can't keep up with it, is prolonging the inevitable. the inevitable being a short sale or a foreclosure. >> reporter: those in the real
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estate business is that banks are working through a large backlog and we could see a spike of foreclosure numbers soon. according to a report released this week by the office of controller, the re-default loans modified in first quarter, 51.5%. >> last year we saw the number zbrunl to 2.8 million. we're forecasting 3.1, to 3.2 million receiving a foreclosure notice which would set another record. it's likely we will exceed that again in 2011. >> you mentioned that static, more than half of borders that hold on to their properties average will default again within one year. >> gregg: all right. laura ingle, thanks. authorities working around
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the clock to bring those responsible for the time square bombing attempt to justice. they arrested three new swungs. what does it say about the growing terror threat on u.s. soil and our ability to stop the plots before they happen? we'll take a fair and balanced look, next. water, we take our showers with it.
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>> gregg: topping the news, a sole survivor of a plane crash in libya arriving back in the netherlands. doctors say the nine-year-old boy suffered multiple leg fractures but he is expected to recover. authorities are warning of a new round of travel disruptions tomorrow. an ash cloud from iceland i can volcano threatens airspace again. closures could last through tuesday. >> gregg: britain's new prime minister holding a meeting with hamid karzai. two talking about the war on
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terror and upcoming peace conference as well as strengthening ties between the two countries. new details tonight emerging about the latest men arrested in the failed times square bombing. the three pakistani man, a computer programmer a gas station attendant and one a cab driver. holder says they helped faisal shahzad. there was a strong response to terror but do we really have a handle on fighting home-grown terror plots. joining me now is mike baker. mike writes a column for fox news.com. we heard a lot this week, self-praise about how well they pulled this together. they followed the money trail. big ge, do we have insight
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before they strike? >> they have been putting themselves out there, in the past their talk has been conciliatory and not apologetic but diplomatic when it comes to the issue of muslim extremists. lead one in this investigation is f.b.i. they and law enforcement and other members of the intel community are doing a great job on this. in part, we don't lack in this particular case is evidence. terrific amount of evidence obviously from the suv that didn't explode. also we're getting shazad talking quite a bit. i suspect they are getting probably good information from the most recent arrests. i know they talked about how little it cost to put the operation. he said it only cost about
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$7,000 to acquire the use and pay for him and get the gas tanks and propane. tickets fly back and forth to pakistan. you say don't focus on the low price tag? >> at the end of the day, a terrorist attack pulling totaling that operation doesn't necessarily mean it costs a lot of money. it was a unique case but involved a great number of terrorists. there was great deal of time spent planning, a lot of travel and a lot of training costs involved. the average terrorist incident, we're not talking about a lot of resources. what we are talking about, the critical component is training and experience. we've been fortunate in the past handful of cases, the perpetrators haven't had the training and experience that would have allowed them to carry out a successful attack. >> you and i have talked about this. i wanting back to eric holder. there is havoc ready to break in
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this country, meaning that the attorney general not properly identifying the enemy among us. tell us about that. >> you could argue that the administration is less than straightforward in how they describe the enemy. other day, attorney general continue bring himself to mutter the words muslim extremist. we're having a hard time having an open and honest discussion who is the enemy. there have been people that have gone overboard, we can't solve the problem unless we have the conversation. common sense would dictate we should say muslim extremists are responsible for the terrorist event against us. we are looking at the issue of u.s. citizenship and we are going over alaki, who has been in yemen all this time and actively recruiting terrorists to work against us. we can't get to the point in
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this country where we can agree, it's common sense to pull his citizenship. we refer to him as we open a story about as u.s. citizen alaki. the man has picked up arms against us. we're having a theoretical argument. we can't bring ourselves to the most basic of yanking citizenship from people that are actively working the kill us. >> we have a lot of perspectives on this. thank you very much, mike. >> gregg: i was watching the hearing, eric holder refused to say the words as radical islam connected to it. >> and we were in a bill with lieberman, they want to put forth this idea that extends that says if you join forces
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with the enemy you lose your citizenship. they want to take it further. if you join ranks with plotting against the united states with terrorists you lose your citizenship. another point. >> gregg: the complaint, due process violation, no, there would have to be a trial to deprive you and you would have due process rights. >> you are the expert. >> gregg: sort of. >> more and more women, department of veteran affairs and improving health care for all the female vets who have served with honor. casey stegall is live in los angeles. what specifically vuz the va done to try to help female veterans. >> reporter: first and foremost they are doing a lot of research the explosion of the female veteran population, 15% of all
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veterans are female. that is about 1.5 million total across all branches of the u.s. military. so the u.s. department of veteran affairs is doing a lot of research. unfortunately, they are noticing disturbing trends in women. more women veterans are who homeless than their male components. women, three times more likely to get a divorce. they were diagnosed with ptsd more frequently than men and 40% of women shall seeking services by the va as opposed to 22 of male veterans. big question is why. there are several different schools of thought on this. one being that women by nature are more nurturers and primary caretakers for children. if they are deployed and separated from their family, the anxiety is much greater than perhaps of men. that is one of the issues why
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women seem to have more issues once this they have served the country. >> gregg: from a practical standpoint, what are they doing to address those specific concerns? >> reporter: as you know the whole idea of va system is to cater specifically to veterans' special needs. now more and more specific women's hospitals are opening up at va campuses all around the country. they only take care of women psychologically and physical health issues there. mortgagereach programs to get those veterans, making sure they get the assistance they need if they are running into problems. va tells us this program, the outreach programs are going to grow as the population of female veterans increases. >> gregg: casey stegall, thanks so much. >> laura bush giving a exclusive
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sitdown. touching on a wide range of topics including elena kagan. >> how do you feel about be president obama naming elena kagan the third woman justice serving on supreme court? >> i'm really glad there will be if she is confirmed. i like to have women on the supreme court. >> you think it makes a difference? >> i think it does make a difference. i like women to be represented in all parts of the american political and civic life. >> don't miss the rest of this in-depth interview on fox news sunday. check local listings for the time and channel in your area. >> gregg: have you read her book? >> i have. i immediately got an when i said you are the expert. you are an attorney. >> gregg: don't hold that
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against me. attorneys are right down there with politicians as least respected. >> i have jokes. >> gregg: don't go there. president obama wants congress to pass an massive overhaul. will it prevent an economic crisis or will wall street find ways to get around the brand-new regulations? we'll talk about it. presentatio? carl. i thought you said carl was our best presentation guy. [ worker ] well,e is. last wk he told my team about fedex office print online for our presentations. upload it to fedex office, then they print, bind, and ship it. th presentation looks good, right? yes, but -- you didn't actually bring carl with you. good morning! but i digress. [ male announcer ] we uerstand. you need presentations done right. and right now save 20% on all online printing purchases. visit fedex.com/print.
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it will give shareholders more of a say on change the recklessness taking in the first place. >> gregg: will it be enough to prevent another economic belt melt down. jonathan honig, sa regular on carb go in. i had a rap i was interviewing an senator that is behind this whole financial thing. i said it doesn't cover aig, fannie mae, freddie mac, three entities that came to symbolize the financial collapse. what is the point? he completely dodged answering the question. i'll put it to you -- what's the point? >> that actually caused it. the president is my opinion is continuing this revisionist history suggesting that wall street greed is what caused the
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collapse. we had greed long before 2004, 2005. the fact of the matter wall street, as you said, is already highly regulated. the s.e.c., we know how much they love dirty websites, the office of thrift supervision, the cra and wall street has been highly regulated. those regulations, those interventions in the market that cause the collapse in the first place. it was registered with the seck and unfortunately the president's version of reform, it's like giving poison to a dying patient. >> gregg: well, madoff bam boozeled the s.e.c.. you mentioned that. on the cover of the new times magazine. the head of the s.e.c.. you have sheila bare.
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they are new sheriffs of wall street as the title suggests. look, they don't know wall street like wall streeters. the folks on wall street and elsewhere that are involved in our financial empire are really bright people and they will invariably find ways around the new regs, won't they? >> let's hope they do, gregg, because they are good at creating wealth. there is a sense that wall street is inherently destructive. if we let them, as president said, they will burn down the house. what other industry can you get away making that kind of smear. we didn't see that about journalists after jason blair but it's okay to smear an entire industry like wall street. as long as they are driven by profit, they will continue on this path. >> gregg: ways about to ask you that. is there a mentality that this
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president has and one that he has set that greed is bad, and that anything that is profit driven is therefore inherently dangerous to the american economy. obviously, the evidence would suggest otherwise historically? >> bingo. if you are making a profit you are exploiting someone. it's ironic what he wants to implement, giving shareholders the right to vote on pay. our viewers don't have the right to vote on gm or any of the citigroup or other investments that the government made. if they want to ban something, ban bailouts instead of free trade. >> gregg: jonathan, good to see you. how many times have you gotten to a plane and guy next to you starts cuffing up a storm. if you are worried about getting sick, there may be a bigger
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have died during the disturb zblan is the sole survivor of the plane crash in libya is back at home in the netherlands. he is being treated in his hometown. and space shuttle atlantis scheduled to dock tomorrow. delivering a new russian compartment. this will be the last voyage. >> gregg: all right. you probably have it, the dreaded fear catching of a cold when you are board and airplane of passengers and crew. some of them are hanging up and you are breathing all that stale air that is being recirculated with germs. >> a new report out of australia that germs on the a plane is not so scary. the airport, not the plane, is where the bacteria like to run wild. how can you keep the germs at bay at the white at the gate?
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carolyn is joining us, a doctor and assistant professor of medicine at new york mt. sinai hospital. let me get this straight, a petri dish at a airport, it's really nasty. >> that particular place is the airport bathroom. think about the number of people that are going in and out of that batted room in a day. it's not it's getting cleaned but the volume of people going in there that increases the likelihood of germs being there. a study of 8,000 people showed a third of people are not even washing their hands. >> that is nasty. it's not like you said, it's not just getting cleaned but with a people are doing there. some of those people work at the airport when you are ready to get your sandwich -- i'm just saying. >> and speaking of stale air, that air is filtered. it's pretty clean. >> gregg: is it? they are circling around and not
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getting air from outdoors because its pressurized cabin area? >> right, but it's filtered and clean and relatively free of germs. airline bathroom is another petri dish, that bathroom is quite small, on the plane is still a problem. >> gregg: people come back and touch a arm rest and monitor in front. then you are the next passenger. who knows. >> a study was done out of australia by some doctors and they looked at travel analysis. i'm curious to know, what can you catch. >> sanitizers is great but the best thing to do is handwashing, use friction and soap. there are fancy things that you can buy that protect you,
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handwashing is the best thing. if you can't get to a sink, use your hand sanitizer. >> i travel with kids, i take diapers in there. >> gregg: thank you for sharing that. >> i have two little ones and it's hard to keep your hands off of everything. >> and they follow what mom does. they'll be washing their hands. >> gregg: and don't touch your hands to your mouth, even if you have watched. if you touch something else and it gets to your mouth, you are infecting yourself. >> don't put your hands to the mouth. make sure your hands are clean before you eat. >> that is hard to do when you're at your seat. >> real quick, it's hard not to be paranoid. how serious is this stuff we can catch? >> germs are everywhere, can catch e. coli, salmonella, a
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virus, but germs are everywhere all the time. ice your common sense. wash your hands frequently and be careful. >> gregg: a woman on a plane this week, had one of these masks. does she need that with the filtered air? >> generally not. people who are immuno compromised might be wearing that. it's common sense. >> doctor, thank you so much. i'll have to fly in a spacesuit. >> gregg: blood in the streets of capital city in thailand. red shirt protestors threatening the stability there. a live report from the streets of bangkok moments away. my doctor said most calcium supplements...
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>> gregg: this is a fox news alert. dead levi less than gripping thailand's capitol city. government troops designating a key area of bangkok as a live firing zone, putting anti--government protesters directly in the cross hairs. hello, everyone. i'm agreeing gregg jarrett. welcome to a grand new hour of america's news headquarters. we're getting reports of 24 people killed and nearly 200 injured since the latest wave of
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violence broke out on thursday. joining us by phone now, it is 4:00 a.m. in bangkok time, sunday. global news radio reporter, simon, are you there? >> i'm here. >> harris: it's early morning. i know violence takes a break. but i understand moments ago you could still hear gun fire. >> reporter: there is sporadic gun fire in different locations in the city. the main protest area is in a area which is the main high end shopping area in bangkok. they occupied that for a number of reasons. one, it will be very difficult for the army to move in and clear them and secondly, it let's the shut down of many of bangkok's business areas and hitting some of the supporters of the opposite side of thailand's political divide very hard in the pocket. since thursday, the army pledge to do try and lock down this
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site of protesters getting in and out, shut off water supplies. they haven't succeeded. protesters moved into other parts of the city, setting up road blocks on a couple of highways, either side of the main protest area and trying to stop troops from accessing where the rest of their colleagues are located. on one of those sites today there was gun fire, bomb explosions, petro bombs, and a number of people were killed. the army were firing rubber bullets, live rounds into the air, but also snipers on high-rise buildings, either side of this protest location were firing down. >> harris: we're seeing some of the pictures come in from those photographs, come in from that area. a live firing zone by government troops designated in thailand's capitol city. what are they fighting about? >> reporter: the protesters
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believe that the current government is illegitimate. the protesters are mainly from the north and northeast of thailand, the rural rice growing farming area. they support the former prime minister who was a telecom billionaire, who went into politics. he won two elections, but he was ousted in a coup in 2006. he was at the u.n. general assembly in new york. the army moved in and took over the country. and since then, a party link to him won a general election in thailand. he's in exile because of corruption charges: however, in 2008, yellow shirt protesters who believe the red shirts are a threat to the monarchy, thailand is a constitutional monarchy and the color of the crown is yellow, they occupy the airport last year after significant protests for months in bangkok.
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since then, the current government, which is opposed to the red shirts as well, have been -- has been running the country. the red shirts feel that there is a double standard and now they want to do something about this because the elections didn't work for them. >> harris: i mentioned the fighting because it looks like a war zone there. is this country on the brink of civil war? what do you think? >> reporter: it's very difficult to say, but yes, the country is very, very polarized. you have one side the pro-red shirts from the rural left, well off areas in the north and northeast and also taking in a lot of the lower wage earners in bangkok, which you have to remember is a vast sprawling city of 50 million people. on the other side you have the yellow shirts who believe the reds are a threat to the monarchy and the threat to the way business is done and the way politic social security done in thailand, which the red shirts feel is a elite oriented system. the problem now is that if more
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protesters are killed in bangkok and the army and the prime minister, as he spoke a couple of hours ago has pledged to see it through to the bitter end, whatever that means, you might see serious trouble in the north and northeast for the red shirts have their stronghold. the government has declare add state of emergency in those region, as well as bangkok. if the army tried to impose a state of emergency t could run into serious difficulties because you're talking about an area of 20 million people and the government's other dilet me ma is that the police might well be split. they're talking about watermelon soldiers, green on the outside with a uniform, but red inside. >> harris: basically police officer, law officers picking sides. our reporter is in the middle and will be watching this situation closely as it literally explodes on the streets of bangkok. simon, thank you very much.
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>> reporter: you're welcome. >> gregg: it has been two weeks, almost to the hour since an suv packed with explosives was spotted with smoke coming out of it in new york city's times square. now a very public battle is erupting over terror funding for the big apple. homeland security chief janet napolitano insisting new york is sitting on $275 million in unspent cash. in response, ranking conk man, peter king, calling this a cheap insult. molly henneberg live in washington on the latest war of words. where did the $275 million come from? >> reporter: it was mentioned in a letter from homeland security secretary janet napolitano to new york republican congressman peter king. napolitano said she and her department are, quote, concerned that new york city is not using millions in anti--terror money already allotted to it. she writes, quote, more than $275 million in federal funding for new york city's port and
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transit security since 2006 has not yet been drawn down. in fact, new york has yet to draw down on any of the transit funding it received last year. congressman king says he met with secretary napolitano on thursday morning about funding for anti--terror efforts in new york and she didn't mention this money then: gregg. >> gregg: congressman king doesn't think that new york had access to the money. is that correct? >> reporter: yes. he says if there is, that kind of money out there, $275 million for port and transit security, the mayor of new york city wouldn't just put it in a bank and not use it. king says the department of homeland security must be slowing down those funds. here is more from him. >> there is a $38 million grant to harden the path tunnel from new jersey to new york. that was supposedly made available in 2008. we can't get a penny of that because the department hasn't completed its environmental impact study. any money not used is because
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it's being held up in their bureaucracy. >> reporter: he calls napolitano's letter a cheap shot. but she says her department wants to insure the money is put to work quickly. >> gregg: molly henneberg live in washington. thank you. >> harris: now to the disaster in the gulf. bp crews will again try tonight to incerta spahning tube into the source of that oil leak after their first try ran into trouble. the federal government has given bp the green light to use a chemical technique to break up the oil before it hits the shore line. the government also pressuring bp to publicly state how much money it plans to pay for the environmental catastrophe. david lee miller is live in venice, louisiana. good to see you again. what went wrong with the latest attempt to stop the huge gusher? >> reporter: well, according to bp, it was a problem of
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alignment and to simplify this, the tube is one mile long in length. the tube is to connect to a framework type of box on the ocean floor and for reasons that perhaps even bp doesn't understand, the pipe and the framework wouldn't align. the framework has been taken to the surface and readjusted. now it is on the ocean floor and they are ready once again to attempt this idea of taking a 6-inch tube, putting it inside the pipeline and siphoning up the oil. if it's successful t should stop three quarters of the leak. this is not a solution. it is essentially a way to minimize the damage now being done. it's going to take considerably longer to actually stop the oil from leaking entirely that will ultimately require a second or third well-being dug and that could be months away. harris. >> harris: wow. slow it down.
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scary stuff i. know they'll use chemicals and there has been criticism that they don't really know what the chemical also do, but they're using it and what's the latest on that? >> reporter: early on they were using chemicals that would break up the oil. on the surface they were applied. that is historically how they've been used. that's the accepted practice. now for the first time, these chemicals are being used under water and that has a lot of people very, very nervous. what these chemicals essentially do is break the oil down into droplets so that the natural microbes in the water can then eat away what is left of the oil. in other words, to speed up nature. the chief operating officer for bp held a news conference a short time ago. he said he flew over the site where the rig once was located and he said so far it looks like the chemicals being applied under the surface are making a difference. here is what he had to say.
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>> it appears that the application of the sub sea dispersants actually working. the oil in the immediate vicinity of the well and the ships and rigs working in the area is diminished from previous oh,s. >> reporter: now, the head of the epa says she's closely monitoring how these chemicals are affecting the environment and if there is concern that serious damage is being done, the project could be halted. >> harris: i mentioned the government is pressuring british petroleum to say how much it will pay for all of this. an arm of the government, so to speak, interior secretary ken salazar was there and i understand he had some reaction to what he toured today. >> reporter: ken salazar was at a number of locations today. one of which was a rehab center for wild life. we've got pictures of the interior secretary standing by as they tried to save the life of a brown pelican. so far we know that here in
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louisiana and the gulf, some 13 birds coated with oil have died, presumably because of the spill and that's what they know about. there is concern that the damage to wild life could be far more significant. that's what they're now trying to get a handle on. authorities right now, and this is very important -- are saying that largely the oil spill does remain offshore. the manmade efforts as well as nature's cooperation have made a difference. many people here fear that it's inevitable that much of this oil is going to arrive on shore and when it does, the damage could be catastrophic. harris. >> harris: let's hope that that netability doesn't happen. david lee miller, thank you so much. >> gregg: well, health care reform, u.s. auto maker, the stimulus, just to name some of the highlights for democrats in the first 15 months of the obama administration. how is this playing for the
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party in the lead up to the midterm elections in november? according to a new fox poll, 40% of registered voters say they would vote for a democrat compared to 42% for a republican. so almost a statistical dead heat. the democrats reportedly plan to use the campaign slogan, the party of results this year. will it work for or against them? joining us for a balanced debate, former texas congressman martin frost, also a news contributor and frank donatilli. if you counted just the stimulus and health care, it would by most historical standards by a remarkably accomplished first year and a half for a president and another new fox news poll will put it up now seems to prove that. democrats get a higher job approval rating for what they've done than republicans. there are the numbers. so, frank, just how difficult will it be for your party, republicans, to run against the
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so-called party of results? >> gregg, i would acknowledge that the democrats have passed a lot of legislation. the problem is that not much of it is very popular. the stimulus that you talked about, the health care reform, those are very unpopular with the public. i think the president and democrats made a mistake. it's not the first time a mistake has been made, which is they overinterpreted the mandate of 2008. they were not elected to grow the size of the federal government, which they've done. they were elected to fix the economy and they have yet to do that. so that's why i think their prospects for 10 are very difficult. >> gregg: representative frost, what about that point? your party's legislative accomplishments have come at a steep political cost. they are not popular accomplishments. the rasmussen reports, and i just checked it today, their polling data found 64% of americans say we're heading down the wrong track.
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let me quote from an op ed by karl rove in the "wall street journal" a couple days ago. it's unlikely that swing voters will abandon their concerns about obama care, spending and deficits. the public especially independents, increasingly believe mr. obama's policies threaten america's economic future. aren't those the very voters, congressman frost, that eventually decide elections and does that bode poorly for your party, democrats, in november? >> gregg, as you showed in your poll numbers at the beginning of this piece, this is basically a 50/50 country. the country is practically evenly divided on the question, do they want democrats or republicans to be elected this fall. democrats took office. the president took office with an ambitious agenda. that shouldn't have been a surprise to the republicans. he said during the campaign he was going to do something about health care. he faced an enormous economic problem when he took office.
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the stimulus did help. the question is going to be where the economy is in november. we're six months away from that. i believe that if the economy does pick up, this election will be okay for the democrats. if, on the other hand, the economy is not doing well, none of this other stuff makes any difference. people will vote their pocket books. i think it's very important that the president and the democrats in congress focus on the economy for the rest of this year. i hope they will do that. they got a good start dealing with the stimulus and making sure the banks didn't fail. now we have to go from there. >> gregg: you make a very solid point about the economy may decide things. frank, let me go to you on that. while it is true that president obama vowed that unemployment would go no higher than 8% if they passed his stimulus bill, it's almost 10% right now, so much for that promise -- a gallup poll found 75% of americans blame president bush. i mean, that's got to hurt you, isn't it, frank?
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>> well, the problem for the democrats is, i don't know that the economy is going to get that much better on the key indexes. i don't know that unemployment will be that much lower. i hope i'm wrong, but that's what most economists say. the deficit is going to remain very high, tax increases are going to go into effect next year. >> gregg: frank, they step into that polling booth and go, it's not really obama's fault. it's president bush's fault. 75%. >> a lot will be determined if the congress can get its act together and let those tax cuts for the middle class that were passed earlier in the decade stay in effect. if they don't f they can't do that, then that's a problem. >> gregg: let's say, frank, it's not the economy that's the deciding factor. maybe it will be a referendum on health care. if so, here is what rasmussen reports found. substantial majority think health care law, the new one, is bad for the country, will raise the deficit, will increase health care costs.
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it will reduce the quality of care and a majority want it repealed. is that what your party, republicans, really need to run on? >> well, no. i think we need to run on the economy. i think we'll take care of health care once we take care of congress. i agree that the economy is going to be the deciding factor. >> gregg: if they blame bush for the economy, don't you really want to point all heads toward health care, which a majority dislike? >> it really doesn't make any difference what frank and i want to do. the people are going to care about the economy. and, listen, the republicans will be able to make their points about the economy. we'll make our points about the economy and we'll see what happens. you can't tell right now. you can't tell where we're going to be in november and you can't tell how successful both parties are going to be in telling their story. but they better talk about the economy. if the democrats talk about other things like immigration and the republicans talk about other things like health care, the public will say, these people aren't talking about what
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i care about. >> gregg: they are all perhaps intertyped. thanks both of you for dropping by. >> thanks very much. >> harris: this is a story that people are talking about all over the story. girls on a high school basketball team becoming a political football. this story has gotten a lot of attention all week long after a school canceled their trip to arizona because of its illegal immigration policy. and now a new twist. what an arizona company is offering a to the team. stay close. twine
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>> harris: new developments today in that firestorm over an illinois girls basketball team deny add trip to arizona. their school district backing out of the national basketball playoffs. officials citing safety concerns because of arizona's new law on illegal immigration. the girls at highland park high have been raising money to attend that tournament for a long time following the team's best season in 26 years. >> we were really excited to play in this tournament and to make -- really compete with these teams and it kind of devastating that we're not allowed to. >> harris: wait. a rainbow. new at this hour, a tucson company offering to pay for the girls to play in next season's tournament in scots dale.
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joining us by phone is the president of the company, a door and window manufacturer called american opening. and also with us right now, live from phoenix is glenn hammer, the president and ceo of arizona chamber of commerce and industry. gentlemen, thank you for joining us. tom, i want to start with you. are you there? >> i am here. >> harris: you're wading into one of the hottest topics across the nation right now, illegal immigration, and the new law in arizona. why would you do it? why would you offer to help these girls out? >> we decided to help the girls out for a couple of reasons. first off, they deserve the trip. secondly, we want to promote arizona. we want to show the country how beautiful arizona is and frankly, personally, my belief is that the girls, they're not the pawn of the education system. they're not their inventory. they earned it. the education system doesn't own these young ladies. >> harris: i know when you say promote arizona, it has to be on the heels of news that tourism,
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of course, is your biggest industry there. it has to be on the heels of news of all the money that you potentially could lose if people boycott your state. glenn hammer, i understand that the word boycott puts fear in the hearts of those who have to attract dollars. how endangered is arizona's economy right now? >> the new law certainly isn't helpful. the estimates in phoenix alone are $90 million. but people need to understand what this law really does. first of all, it's a lot safer to be in scotsdale, arizona than chicago, illinois. people need to understand that point. the way that this new law is designed, a person can only be questioned on their immigration status if there is another lawful reason for a person to be pulled over. there is a lot of bad information in terms of what this law does. and arizona remains a very safe, desirable place to travel to.
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>> harris: you know, glenn, i'd have to say those are fighting words. chicago, the home of the president, it's interesting that you say that it's got to be a -- >> take a look at the f.b.i. statistics. scotsdale is a much safer city than chicago. it's not even close. also the weather is a lot better. >> harris: tom, your company, american openings, have you talked with the coach or anybody representing the team in highland park, illinois to tell them your offer? >> we've talked to one of the parents and the coach has been e-mailed by our public relations firm and we're awaiting her response. but our offer was made to the coaches, the student athletes and the parents. not to the school. >> harris: in your tucson, not phoenix, but you say it doesn't matter 'cause it's your whole state that's in jeopardy here, dollars wide. >> arizona is arizona and we're all for arizona and we want to promote if. >> harris: what about the politics in all of this, are you going to get into that?
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>> i could, as far as what my beliefs are, but frankly, i believe that the girls, the young ladies deserve to come to a great state like arizona. politically -- i wasn't political at that age. i didn't even know anything about politics. we should leave them that way. >> harris: i understand you have young people in your own family, grandchildren and i've heard -- at least i've read you really, really can empathize with these young girls. >> that's correct. absolutely correct. when they worked so hard, they should get the reward and they earned it and deserve it. we're stepping in to help out. >> harris: glenn, i want to give you the last word on all this 'cause again, you are tasked with attracting dollars to your state. how important is tourism and is there anything that perhaps your governor, who signed this new bill into law, it hasn't taken effect yet. it doesn't until this summer. but is there anything that you want to see her do?
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>> in our view, governor brewer has been handling this matter in a very responsible way. what we'd like to see done is the federal government to finally do its job, secure the border, as well as to reimburse border states such as arizona for the costs incurred by its failure to protect the border. napolitano is now the homeland security chief. she sent half a billion dollars to the federal government during the bush administration saying, dear bush administration, you should be paying these bills. now that she's the homeland security director, we still in arizona do not see these bills being paid. so we would encourage the federal government to do its job, secure the border, and to compensate border states such as arizona for its failure to meet a core federal galation. >> harris: i can bet, glenn, you thought about calling your old governor, and i can say that the girls of highland park, illinois
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are glad you've been calling them. please let us know how it works out and if they accept your offer. gentlemen, thank you for being here. >> thank you, thank you. >> gregg: the assistant superintendent who made the decision in illinois to cancel the girls' basketball trip, is no stranger to controversy. about three years ago, she used to make it mandatory that all incoming freshmen attend a gay orientation class which they were forced to sit there and listen to the personal experiences of gay upper classmen and then they had to sign a confidentiality agreement, they couldn't speak about it to anybody, even their own parents. and then there was another time in which she made required reading angels in america, which is a very controversial and many people say lewd play. maybe a great piece of art on stage, i don't know. but for that age? >> harris: all of this and all of what you're describing has the kids right in a place where as parents, we don't want them to be. that's in the middle of something they can't control.
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>> gregg: welcome back. we're tracking america's road to recovery. new numbers showing that home foreclosures down about 9% in the month of april, but there is also a new federal report that points to an alarming trend, redefaults. they're on the rise, more than half of borrowers who received loan modifications defaulted again after just nine months. laura ingle is live with more. >> reporter: hi there. these figures come from realty track, a company that collects foreclosure data. this new report shows a 9% drop in foreclosures in april
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compared to the previous month. while it is always good to see foreclosures go down, there is a bit of a black cloud nearby. this one month figure really doesn't speak to the rough days expected to come. that's according to experts who say the evidence shows that banks are just working through a large backlog of foreclosures. >> like the analogy of a pig and a python. the banks are currently trying to clean up what they swallowed a year ago, trying to get all of those properties processed and back into the marketplace. but there is a much bigger pig yet to be swallowed and that is the 5 million homes delinquent. >> reporter: experts predict there will be record number of foreclosure notices sent out. more than half of all homeowners will default again within one year. the rate of redefault last year on modified loans was a whopping 51.5%. >> all those people that are here and maybe they had a loan modification, maybe it took a little bit of the pressure off.
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however, there is still downward pressure on salaries and wages. it's not like all of a sudden there was a big bag of money dropped on the doorstep that makes everything okay. it's still the struggle to eat and meet the modified loan. so the truth is, the problem emanating from the original decision to purchase something that put them right here. >> reporter: bottom line, many homeowners are being forced to sell under duress. good news for buyers looking for a deal. there will be plenty of opportunities in the next two years, at least as foreclosures are forecasted to rise. gregg? >> gregg: laura, thanks for that report. >> harris: touchy times between the united states and one of our closest neighbors, mexico. the issue of border security creating -- has become a tense topic. some u.s. officials seeing a window of opportunity to improve relations between now and 2012 when mexico elects a new president. the clock, though, is ticking. joining me now is the principal of the security and risk
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management group. good to see you today. first of all, what can we expect in 2012? how will things change, do you think? >> i think a lot is still to be determined. i think one of the most critical pieces is we look back over what president calderon accomplished. it will be important that we hope to see the sustain i want of the same strategy that it's taken strongly. >> harris: he's put more than 300 known drug cartel members behind bars. that's a huge number compared to his predecessor, really. that's made a huge difference. any concern that those number also be off and we'll see much more violence down there, at least on the onset of a new administration? >> certainly those numbers, just to be specific also, those are extraditions to the united states and those are critical. those are strong things for a leader like calderon to do for the united states. it gets some of those kingpin
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here's to be prosecuted and incarcerated in the united states where there is no chance of escape and as far as it sends a wrong message to the people of the united states to know how strongly committed the government of mexico is. >> harris: i don't think people have thought about how much the government plays a role down there and what's happening. but, in fact, calderon has been able to do some things with the drug cartels that we haven't seen before. >> that's absolutely true. when you take a look at the leadership of his particular party, he actually has been in office for close to four years now at this point. the previous leadership was also within his party and for 71 years prior to that it was the revolutionary party. we've seen huge steps forward supporting u.s. law enforcement and the united states government on having stronger border security protocols and taking the fight to the drug cartels. that's all the while while he's also dealing with a diminishing economy as well and trying to bat that will front for his country. >> harris: we talk about 2012 asking with when their
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administration will see a change because his term will be up then and then this nation also will be seeing a presidential election. what are your thoughts on that? >> well, i would like to offer for my 33 years of law enforcement experience, basically spanned over four decades, that the drug war and border security have actually been constant through the last three or four decades during my time. i think it will sustain itself as we also change the elections in the fall of 2012 here in the united states. the key thing is making sure the momentum is built in mexico and the united states, that we can continue to sustain the strategy going forward and there will be minor policy shifts, but for the most part, when you look over the last few years, we were able to accomplish building a good fence. doubled the size of the united states border patrol, adding additional aviation assets, putting more technology, more capabilities, those are strong things that we need to continue to build upon in the future. >> harris: you know, no matter
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who is in charge, i don't know if you can hear my previous conversation about arizona's illegal immigration law and their worries in that state in particular, border state, about their tourism impact there and what they've had to deal with with violence. no matter who is in charge, i know there are people along our border on our side who are hoping that things continue to get better no matter who is at the top of the helm. all right. thank you very much. jason ahern. >> thank you very much. >> gregg: an autistic boy in trouble after drawing a rather troubling cartoon showing him killing his teacher. but should he be charged with a terrorism crime? >> he's a really nice kid and this is obviously from his disability. >> gregg: a fair and balanced legal debate on a rather controversial case.
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shooting and killing his teacher. the school suspends him. guess what? now he's also facing a felony criminal charge of making terrorist threats. his mom says, look, he's 14 years old and he's autistic. >> i think there needs to be some sort of common sense used with these school systems that a 14-year-old autistic boy, who does not understand what he's done or what he's drawn, 'cause an iq of 75 should not be charged with a felony. i find it appalling. it's outrageous. >> gregg: now the mother of the boy tells us she's hired an attorney. let's bring in our attorney, some fine legal panel, defense attorney david wolf, former prosecutor tad nelson. david, let me start with you. the boy didn't conspire with anybody to harm anyone. there was no overt act in furtherance of whatever it was he was thinking. since when does drawing a little
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stick figure picture constitute making a terrorist threat? >> exactly. this boy has a 75 i.q. the intellectual capacity of a third grader. there is going to be a psychologist who will do a psychological evaluation and finds he had no criminal intent in this particular incident. there is no way this prosecution, this tribunal they're getting together for this poor kid is going to go forward. he's not going to be convicted of anything. should he be punished? of course. should he be suspended for a day? absolutely. but this is sort of that post-columbine siege mentality that goes way too far when it comes to punishing kids for things that when we were kids, 20, 30 years ago, never would have been punished, never would have been given a second thought. yes, it's wrong, but criminal prosecution, forget about it. >> gregg: where is common sense? tad, to make a terrorist threat, though, that requires under the law, intent. if this autistic boy has the mental capacity of a 7 or
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8-year-old, doesn't that cast doubt on whether he harbored the requisite legal intent that is demanded by the law? >> of course it does. but the issue is greater than that. in this situation, he drew the picture, it clearly shows he wants to shoot his teacher. the teacher has a relationship with this child and has had an extremely long relationship with this child. the year is almost over. obviously what this child did caused this teacher concern. i know we keep talking about the 75 i.q., but if this child can sit through eighth grade, this child can also fire a weapon. and in the post-columbine world, we just can't look the other way and say, hey, that's okay. >> gregg: you know, let's put up the statement -- i want to be fair to the school. here is the statement by the school. the school system does not have a zero tolerance policy. well, that maybe makes matters worse. maybe they'd have a better defense if they did have one. let's go to the next page of the
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statement. apparently they've interviewed the kid. the investigation includes interviews with the student about his or her intent and frame of mind, federal privacy laws, et cetera. go to the last page. this is -- the district investigation of this situation, david, revealed a credible threat to the safety of others, which is tad's argument. they thought it was a credible threat, david. >> yeah. i don't think so, gregg. these statutes, these terrorist threat statutes require an immediate, unconditional, reasonable threat, a reasonable person would see it as a threat. this child had no weapon. this child is closely supervised by his mother. there was no evidence that he had any means to carry out this threat whatsoever. i think this is the school district basically saying, look, we're covering the teacher's back. we're covering our backside and we're going overboard to insure that nothing will happen. there was never any indication it would.
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>> gregg: tad, kids draw pictures constantly. they regard it as their own kind of form of art. why not argue f you're the defense attorney for the autistic kid, first amendment artistic expression? after all, were he alive, would we prosecute the renowned old master artist, francisco degoya? let's put up one of his paintings. he used to paint macabre killings. here is one of them. you can argue that, wait a minute, the kid thought it was art. he's doodling. he's having fun. here is another goya painting. look at that one. if he were here, would we put him behind bars? he's making a terrorist threat here? >> well, that's what defense lawyers do is make arguments. that would be a priceless one, but it wouldn't work. >> gregg: i like that argument. >> this is a real situation. the district thought it was a
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legitimate concern. the bottom line is, if the very next day this same child with this 75 i.q. came in and just started firing up the room, then we'd all sit back and say, hey, we saw the signs. it was there. we knew this was going to happen. >> gregg: how about artist, first amendment? >> absolutely. this is an artistic expression. if pigs had wings, they'd fly. there is no indication there was ever any capability to carry this out. eighth graders behave this way anyway, let alone autistic, mentally challenged eighth graders. >> gregg: if we take it to its logical extension, maybe we should send dhs to raid every single art gallery in america where you've got all kinds of macabre depictions of death and killing. >> be careful, gregg, that may happen. >> gregg: napolitano may do that. tad nelson, david wolf, good to see you both. thanks. >> thank you. >> harris: with more women joining ranks, see how the veterans administration is changing to serve women who are
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honor all our military. it's important to point out that more women than ever are enlisting these days and over the next few years, the number of female veteran social security expected to increase. after calls by vets and members of conger, the veterans administration is doing more to help each woman with health care needs when she comes back. casey stegall joins us. good to see you. >> reporter: good to see you. we love our veterans and there are more than 23 million of them living in the united states, nearly 15% of them are women. a number that has grown by more than 100,000 in just the last five years. while women still cannot serve in combat roles, more and more are joining the military and the growing population forcing the u.s. department of veterans affairs to develop programs, outreach and clinics unique to women, a population we understand that has special
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needs. listen. >> women in our culture still have the primary role for care giving, with their small children. when women go into the military service, particularly if they're deployed overseas, they're separated from their families. i think this can be an issue for women when they return. >> reporter: other trends experts are seeing among female vets, they're quite disturbing. more are homeless than men. 11% compared to 7. and newer data suggesting that women are more frequently diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder or ptsd, than their male colleagues. >> i troubleshooted radios. i had to be better than my counterparts so they could take me serious. >> reporter: officials say that women are not the only ones that obviously receive unique care. the v.a. system is set up to cater to a veteran special needs, much like an were tee
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would need special needs. now women are being folded into the mix because they need help as some of sees studies are showing here. >> harris: thank you very much. >> gregg: finally, watch that potty mouth. could land you behind bars in pennsylvania. the aclu is suing police for writing tickets to people who swear and those tickets carry jail time. i swear. according to the hlu, right to use profanity is protected by the constitution and they're right. 1971 case, you can use the word constitutionally. that word we don't say. so there. aclu is right. that's going to do it for us. i'll gregg gregg. thank you for being with us. >> rick and juliette on deck next.
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