>> reporter: some relieve in connecticut after the guilty verdicts against steven hayes. jenna: absolutely. jon: "america live" starts now. megyn: the verdict just in on the horrifying murder case in connecticut that has captured the nation's attention. now we are waiting to possibly hear from the one family member to survive the brutal attack, dr. bill petit. i'm megyn kelly. steven hayes found guilty on all the charges. dr. petit was the only survivor. he was beaten and left in the basement. he was hoping for the death penalty for the men charged with the murder, arson and sexual assault of his family. that is why his case went to trial. although steven hayes offered to plead guilty the prosecutors

wanwanted to pursue this case aa death penalty case and try it before a jury. that jury has rendered its verdict and lawyer a ingle is outside of the courthouse in which they did it. >> reporter: we are waiting for dr. petit to come out with his family. we have been told from the people who were inside the courtroom as the verdicts were read one by one and slowly that it was very quiet. there were no gasps, the jurors only looked at the court clerk as the verdicts were being read. dr. william petit held his head down appearing to hold back tears. jenna: r-r's sister appeared to be appeared to be shaking. they were all holding hands and holding their breath as they waited to hear the verdicts. as you mentioned, guilty on 16 of the 17 counts. 6 counts of capital felony.

a first degree count of sexual assault that is for jennifer-hawkepetit. that makes him eligible for the death penalty. the penalty phase will be this month. this jury that sent down the guilty verdict will be back. they have been asked not to discuss the case. we will not be hearing from jurors today. if anything we will only be hearing from dr. william petit. he has been here every single day with his family and he has said that he wanted to wait to find out what the verdict was before he made a comment to us, megyn. megyn: the nation has just extended him such sympathy as we've waited and watched this trial along with him. that man sat there through every bit of gruesome testimony and crime scene photos. the only time he got up to leave was when the coroner got up and spoke about the autopsies and they spoke about exactly the con

of the -- the condition of the bodies which was too much for him. we understand the family is leaving the courtroom, he's there, he's being supported by his surviving family members. to hear from him directly after this horrific case where everybody asked how could one go on and lead a life after seeing what he saw and knowing what he knows happened to his family. he has been an example in courage for many in the country. now we wait to hear from him and hear his reaction in the wake of these verdicts in this case. keep in mind this is only the first of the two defendants to be tried. steve hayes guilty on 16 of the 17 charges. there is still yet another defendant who you see there, who will go on trial next, who was accused, if possible of behaving in an even more heinous matter inside that house including the assault of the 11-year-old. he'll get his next. today is the day about steven

hayes and today is the day of justice for the petit women who have now officially identified one of their killers, that is steven hayes. the family is leaving the courtroom. these are some of the family members. we seat microphones there, do we know if he'll be making a statement? >> reporter: we've been sitting outside this courtroom every since this trial began with those microphones. he's only come out to talk very briefly, i believe only twice, once to say it's been a very difficult day, that was when the crime scene photos and the burned out beds of his daughters were shown, one of the worst days of the trial for dr. petit and his family. he came out and folk once more when the other suspect's lawyer came out to say that he didn't want the petit family to believe that the 11-year-old was sexually assaulted in the way

described inside court. he broke the gag order in that case. most believe there will be a hearing later on this week about what that attorney had to say outside of the courtroom. dr. petit came out that day, said he was very disappointed that the other attorney spoke and he was going to hold all comments until the verdict. we believe safe to assume he is going to say something on this very dreary, rainy day outside of this connecticut courthouse. again the cameras are ready for him, he knows we want to hear from him, every other day he walks right by that podium and says not today, guys, not today. megyn: just tell us, laura, when this jury has gone through, what they have been forced -- hold on. i'm trying to see. i don't know if you have return here laura to see who is coming up to the microphones. let's take a listen. >> i would like to say on behalf of our daughter jennifer

hawke-petit and for hailey elizabeth petit and makayla rose petit, we say for them that we are pleased with the verdict. we feel that as far as the trial has gone justice is being serv served, and we appreciate the support of all the people who have been behind us through this particular time. thank you. >> thank you very much. megyn: there you saw jennifer hawke-petit's parents also having gone through hell in this case. and we expect dr. petit to come

out and say something, he has another trial to go through and the sentencing phase in this trial to go through. you can argue the sentencing phase is the most important thing in connection with this trial. steven hayes wanted to plead guilty. they caught him redhanded. he barely put a defense one. he tried to blame the police for not getting there faster and stopping him. he tried to blame his codefendant for some of the more heinous crimes. but the defense seemed to be, it just got out of the control. we wanted to rob the family and somehow it spun into murder and sexual assault in the most gruesome fashion possible of a mother and her daughter and the murder of the second daughter as well. that seemed to be the defense. so the guilty verdict is not particularly surprising. but a guilty plea and get the death penalty. he's not allowed to plead guilty to a death penalty crime and

then have that death penalty administered in the state of connecticut, therefore they needed a trial. now we go on as of october 18th to the sentencing phase, that is the phase in which dr. petit most wants to seek justice for his family. this case has become a referendum on the death penalty. most people believe if there ever were a case where it should be administered this is it. the details of what these two men, including this man did to these women inside this home are too horrific to be shared during daytime television. they are too disturbing for me to even want to put them in your heeds which is one of the reasons i was asking laura what the jurors have gone through. they don't have the luxury of turning the channel and avoiding the horrific details. they were forced to sit and listen to it all. nonetheless they were able to come to the verdict, and administer what they believe is justice and what the parents of

jennifer hawke-petit believe is justice. they believe justice is being served, note the present tense because the case is not over and they appreciate all the support they've been given. this case a referendum on the death penalty, and the question is, will the jury get there and will they reach justice in connection with the second defendant as well? we have our producers monitoring this courthouse-step situation. if dr. petit comes out and wants to speak you won't miss it. we would love to hear what he has to say if he's so inclined. if he does not that's his own choice and we respect it. meantime we have plenty of other news for you today, including this hrert hrertd fox news alert, the department of homeland security moments ago weighing in on a brazen ambush by mexico's most notorious drug

cartels. reportedly targeting two american tourists and killing one of them. tiffany hartley says she and her husband were attacked by a drug gang while jetskiing on the mexican side of lake falcon. mexican authorities questioning her story, indicating they don't believe it happened the way she said it did and they are not sure what parts of truth or fiction. >> he was my rock, he was everything to me, and i loved him, and there is no way i would do anything like that. i can understand that they say they can't find the body, but they are not looking, they are not looking for him and that is what is frustrating because we can't go over there and look for him, we need them to do it. we need them to allow the u.s. to go over. megyn: trace gallagher has more live from our west coast newsroom. he has breaking news on this

investigation which is getting bizarre. >> reporter: they shall saying that mexican authorities are now looking for the body of david hartley. we are getting mixed stories here. mexican authorities certainly are not letting u.s. authorities on their side of the lake to help in this search. u.s. authorities that we have talked to down there -- let me stand you by, dr. petit is now outside of the courtroom let's listen. >> our faith in god that justice would be served. we really thank the jury for their due diligence and careful consideration of the charges in reaching what we feel is an appropriate verdict, and we hope they will continue to use the same diligence and clarity of thought as they consider arguments in the penalty phase of the child. >> doctor petit even though there was a sense of

inevitability about the verdict was there any sense of relief when it came down for you? >> there is -- there is some relief, but my family is still gone. it doesn't bring them back. it doesn't bring back the home that we had, but certainly a guilty verdict is a much better sense of relief than a verdict of not guilty. >> dr. petit what is jennifer and the girls saying right now about this verdict? >> i think jennifer would say that she never prayed to god to ask for a specific thing, she prayed to god to ask for the strength to be able to handle

things that occurred to her in her life, such as the ms, and i think probably they were all praying for our strength to be able to be here beginning back in january of this year when jury selection began. >> dr. petit was there any point in this trial where you felt that maybe this outcome wouldn't have turned out the way it did? >> no, i thought the evidence was fairly overwhelming and i thought mr. derrington and mr. nicholson did a very nice job in presenting the state's case. >> [unintelligible] >> i don't know if it was a

reaction. i think the family thought from the beginning that each of the defendants would point the finger at the other defendant as being more culpable so we sort of expected it thee years ago. >> are you disappointed that one of the counts was not guilty. >> no. >> will you going to be able to do it again. you have a penalty phase, another trial, another penalty phase, three more trials? >> people keep asking that question, why do you do it, or how do you do it. i think m most of you out here, you know, are good human beings, i think that you probably would all do the same thing for your families if your family was destroyed by evil, i think that you would all try to do the same thing and be there for their family. it's the one thing you can do,

so did i really want to do it? do i look forward to this fight every day? no, i have a little nausea every time i get off the exit ramp, a little nausea every time i get out of the car and walk across the street, but i do it for my family, but i think all of you i think would do the same thing for your families. >> how will you spend the next week and a half when you don't have to do that? >> haven't really thought about it. have a couple of golf invitations from some good friends. if the rain stops. >> you waited three years to get to this point, were you happy to see that the jury did deliberate a short period of time and didn't deliberate for another week or two weeks?

>> well certainly it's much easier psychologically on us to only have to wait several days than have to wait several weeks, but having never been in this position before i have no idea what to expect and in fact our victims' advocate and mr. derrington and mr. nicholson didn't know what to expect either, so i had no predictions from anybody as to whether it was going to be hours, days or weeks. >> dr. petit you talk about your family. we as the media see a glimpse of how strong you guys are. what do you guys do -- what will you guys do tonight? >> good question. we'll probably sit on the couch and talk and probably have dinner together and decide what we're going to do over the next couple of weeks. talk with dick and mary, my

in-laws, they are here en route to their home in florida. whether they will stay for the two weeks and wait or whether they will head to florida and come back for the second part the trial. there's been no plan to date as to what exactly their actions would be, and when cindy, general's -- jen's sister would come back for the next part of the trial. >> dr. petit -- [inaudible ] >> i really don't want to comment on that and interject anything at this point that may affect the second part of the

trial. >> he is a convicted killer now, it is official, they've ruled on that. does it matter what happens to him at this point? does he matter any more to you? >> well what matters to me most is my family and my memories, my memories of my family, and trying to do good things through our foundation. i don't know over the last couple of weeks i just kept trying to tell myself that good will overcome evil and we'll keep trying to do good things and try to refocus myself on the positive and stay away from the negative. >> thank you everybody. we are going to try and get home. >> thank you. megyn: what that man has been through. what he has been through. he was tied up and beaten in the basement of his home.

he managed to escape through a window and literally tried to crawl, that was too much for him so he rolled, physically, over to the neighbors' house barely able to function and the neighbor made a frantic 911 call which was on tape and which is chilling. we've played it for you here before. he was in no condition. but as that happened his wife and daughters were being murdered back in his home. his wife and his younger daughter the 11-year-old were being sexually assaulted, and then that man, steven hayes and his codefendant set the house on fire killing all three women. and now they will face justice. steven hayes is guilty according to a jury of his peers, 12 men and women listening to the evidence and finding him guilty beyond all reasonable doubt. now they will decide starting october 18th whether he will face the death penalty, and then on to the second defendant.

dr. petit who we have not heard from much at all in this case saying he is feeling some relief but my family is still gone. the verdict doesn't bring them back. and answering the question that so many of us, including me, including me, my staff, everyone here has asked, how does he do it, how does he sit in that courtroom and listen to the horrific evidence about what his wife and family went to. the pain they must have experienced with the smoke inhalation that filled them when the house was set on fire. he said you probably would do the same thing if it was your family if it was destroyed by evil. it's the one thing that you can do. he said it was easier to wait psychologically a couple of days instead of a couple of months because the jury got the case on monday. saying he did feel nausea every time he came to the courthouse but he does it for his family and what matters to him most are

the memories of that family, finally saying that good will overcome evil, and hopefully it has today. more on that case as we get it. i want to take you back now, we have a lot of other news breaking. we were trying to get to this before we went to dr. petit. this is another big story and it is getting more and more interesting and complicated by the moment, including this afternoon. we have new developments. there was an attack near the u.s. border in an area where mexican drug cartels reportedly traffic i can, where they have reportedly ambushed other americans on boats or jet skis, although nothing had happened in a couple of months. now they are accused of targeting two american tourists on jet keys and killing the husband shown here. the wife says she barely escaped within inches of her life. tiffany hartley says she and her husband were attacked boy a drug gang while they were jetskiing. they were sightseeing on the mexican side of this lake known

as lake falcon. the mexican authorities have come out on offense questioning her story saying it did not happen as she said it happened. we heard a sound byte from tiffany where she was saying on fox this morning that the thing she is most upset about here is that the mexican authorities weren't even searching for the body of this american, and you now are hearing what, trace? trace gallagher we are getting conflicting reports that's the problem. the department of homeland security believe mexican authorities are searching for david hartley. now we are hearing that mexican authorities will not let the u.s. authorities go on their side of the lake to help with the search. the law enforcement officials we talked to said they don't believe they are looking, the boat they normally would have used is broken down. on top of that you had the district attorney in that province that does not believe that a crime happened here. this is coming from marco

guerro. he says we are not sure, we are not certain that the incident happened the way they are telling us. he says there was no jet ski found, there was no body found, therefore there is no evidence of a crime. tiffany hartley says they were in there three or four miles inside mexican waters looking at some old ruins, they spotted the boats, they spotted the guns, they fled and then she heard the shots and she saw her husband get shot. listen. >> yeah, i had swung my jet key back around to go get him because he was in the water, and i tried pulling him up, but before that a boat had approached me with a gun, had pointed the gun at me, and then they left, and that's when i tried pulling him up on my ski. >> reporter: he weighs 250 pounds. tiffany understands the skepticism of her story because

they can't find the body or jet key but she says they are not looking for either one. the local sheriff down there tells us that he believes these pirates are young kids, 16, 17-years-old, teenagers who do surveillance for the drug cartels and are heavily armed with ak-47's. he calls this area the wild west, listen. >> the lake is not secure, the border is not secure. the incident that i've dreaded the most has in fact happened. we cannot go to mexico, recover the body, we cannot conduct the investigation, we have to tell the family we can't do anything about it. >> reporter: four other incidents in the past five or six months involving these so-called mexican pirate, one believed to be on the u.s. side of that lake. you have congressman down there in texas and law enforcement authorities, the governor rick perry calling on the department of homeland security to beef up the security in that area. we'll keep updates as they come

in, megyn. megyn: joining me now on the phone is david's mother, pam hartley. thank you so much for joining us. i want to start with this news out of mexico that they are now questioning tiffany's story and saying, quote, we are not sure, we are not certain the incident happened the way they are telling us and questioning whether the attack took place at all, pam. >> there is no truth to anything that is being said about this not happening. it did happen, and there is no way that tiffany had any involvement, other than trying to get away. they attacked them. they were not provoked. the ruins are surrounded by water. they were never on the land. there was no reason for this. they have been down in reynosa

and mexico for about two and a half years. they know the environment. david would never have taken tiffany any place where she would have been in harm's way. megyn: pam, for those out there who are at all persuaded by the statement out of the mexican government can you describe the relationship between tiffany and david, you know, was it a loving one? was there any trouble in the marriage? >> no, they couldn't have loved each other more. they've always been happy, loving. david cherished her and she cherished david. no, they were so in love. it was almost like an endless honeymoon for them. megyn: we are now being told that a third party has actually come forward and told deputies of seeing a personal watercraft speeding back from mexico while the boat followed behind, and its occupants were firing at the

smaller craft. so it could be that there will now be witnesses who come out and can lend support one way or the other so that they can figure out once and for all what happened. what do you think is going on here? do you think the mexican officials are not being straight with us? >> they are not letting us over there in any way, shape or form, so it's like, why not? all we want is david home. we don't care about anything else. all we want to do is to put david to peace, and to have closure. megyn: and now they say, pam that the mexican authorities are searching, but they are saying that they haven't been able to find any sign of his jet ski. they say they can't find any evidence that a crime has been committed. they are questioning why they can't find a body because they say that david was wearing a life vest, but there are questions about whether, you know, the mexicans who would shoot and kill an innocent man

might try to hide the evidence. >> they wanted his jet ski. he had an extremely fast jet ski. he could have easily left, and, you know, made it out of there, because like i said it was an extremely fast one, but he stayed between tiffany and them. he gave his life to protect her, and it's like nothing is there? if you murdered somebody would you leave the evidence? the key to that jet key was on that life jacket. when you fall off a jet ski it has that switch. the key 0, they needed his life jacket to take that jet ski. no, they took all that. they just need to give him back. megyn: i know that now you are making a personal plea to the

government officials here. to whom is that plea being made? who do you want to help you specifically? >> everybody that can, specifically it's like the president of mexico, please, just let us go in there and get him. president obama, whatever he can do to help us, hillary clinton is a mother, she can understand. she could help. she could get other people out, if she could just help us to get in there to get him home. megyn: oh, pam, you know, i can hear the pain in your voice as a mother, my condolances to you, our hearts go out to you. we hope his body is found and we hope you get what you need. thank you so much for joining us by phone. all the best to you. >> thank you. megyn: we've got breaking news on those terror arrests that have just been made overseas.

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this comes as we also get word that five german militants have been killed in suspected u.s. missile strikes in pakistan. the situation in europe needs to be watched carefully folks. it is getting more precarious by the day. chilling records from the times square bomber shahza faisal sha. he told a federal judge this morning, quote the war with muslims has just begun. the defeat of the u.s. is imminent. he pleaded guilty to ten counts of terrorism and weapons charges for the failed car bomb in midtown manhattan last may. a brand-new gallop poll getting a lot of attention now. it has to do with president obama's overall approval rating. in september the president averaged 45 approval among voters with 48% disapproving of

his performance. more importantly that poll shows that he is losing confidence with a critical group of supporters, middle class white americans. leslie marshall is a syndicated radio talk show host and fox news contributor and lars larson is a syndicated talk show host. the racial dived in the polls is quite something. it shows 91% of blacks support president obama still, just 36% of whites. when you break it down on racial lines look at that. what does it tell us, lars? >> it tells you that black americans, for whatever reason have decided to support this president and it's hard not to read the race-by as in that. to suggest that the president has failed, his policies have failed, he doesn't appear to be listening to the american public and the american public has figured that out. the only ones that are still solidly supporting him by 91% are people who happen to share his skin color.

it's hard not to see that that support is because of skin color, and i would think that if this was reversed. if this was white voters supporting a white candidate in the face of overwhelming failure people would say they are supporting them because they are being racist. i think black americans should be ashamed of those numbers. megyn: rush limbaugh raised a similar point. he said 91% of american blacks give obama big time approval numbers. 36% of whites do. he says aim the racist because i don't support the regime or is it the 91% of blacks, because they do. is it based on race. >> i don't want to say birds of a feather flock together. it's not surprising that certain groups, whether it be based on race, for example, if mitt romney were president i think we'd have numbers that high. if we had a jewish president we'd have numbers that high. this is a group that entrusts this man not just because of his

skin color but this is somebody they consider from their community and they want to give him his full time as a number of whites do. you also have to look at when he what's elected president, although a majority of votes came from the white community, because we hold the majority of the population, we as whites, but we also have to look proportionate to the population, this is not disproportionate to the numbers back then. the black community has also always had a much higher number when you look at the number within the population. >> i believe she is defending racism. megyn: let me ask you this, lars. it shows he still has 57% of the youth voters backing him 18 to 29, but just 38% of seniors. the seniors tend to be the ones who vote, young people also voted not to the level of the seniors how does it bode for democrats. >> it doesn't bode very well.

the seniors have properly figured out that president obama just stole half a trillion dollars from medicare and used it to fund his obamacare plan. they've also figured out that they are going to really get really badly treated under the obamacare plan. the death panels prediction of governor palin i think are going to turn out to be true that there will be bureaucrats within the federal government that decides what gets covered and what doesn't. if you were heart part of that older american group would you be thrilled with a president that has done that to you. they don't care about race, they care about how they'll be treated under his federal policies. i hate to say it, young people don't vote. 4% of 18 to 25 kwraoerdz voted in the last presidential election in my neck of the woods. they are basically a nonnumber. whether they support the president or not it doesn't matter they don't bother to go to the polls. megyn: seniors do. presidents who have less than a 50% approval rating including right now in connection with the midterm election tend to lose

significant seats in the house and senate. these may be a harbinger of things to come on november 2nd. jonnovember 2nd. >> well i don't think there is any big surprise there are going to be losses for incumbents on both sides especially in the house. i think both sides are ready for that and bracing for that. as to the president and i've said it before the better the economy gets, unemployment goes down the better those numbers will get among seniors and the youth. and remember the youth did show up in numbers maybe not in your neck of the woods, lars but nationwide for this president, and we are two years away from the presidential election and that is more than two lifetimes. megyn: that gallop poll is his highest rating. fox news had one that was significantly lower. the 45 was good news for the president from gallop. we'll see, we have 28 days to go. we'll wait and see how it all shakes out on election night. thank you both. megyn: chilling details are coming to light about a man

accused of having ties to al-qaida and to nuclear facilities in our country, not a combination we want. plus fresh controversy surrounding 60s radical bill a ayers. a group of professionals want to give him a very special honor. we talk with the group that he used to lead. the petit family got the verdict they hoped for in the horrible home invasion murder trial in connecticut. does that mean they'll see this man put to death, ahead. >> we really thank the jury for their due diligence and careful consideration of the charges in reaching what we feel is an appropriate verdict, and we hope they will continue to use the same diligence and clarity of thought as they consider arguments in the pepbld phase of the trial -- penalty phase of

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>> megyn: the administrator of bp defending his job by explaining some of the khal -- challenges he's been facing. he says he has been flooded with claims and some are inflated and some out right flawed ooh leng length. police in gainesville, florida say a man who went on a shooting rampage yesterday had a history of mental illness. the man wounding one man and killing five others before turning the gun on himself. brand-new controversy involving former weather underground radical bill ayers. faculty alternate the university of chicago are considering asking the board of trustees to reconsider its vote that denies ayers honorary status at the school. he retired and wanted to

honorary title. 16 faculty members were up for it they denied it for one man him. they attacked our next guests home when he was nine years old. john murtoch is a yonkers councilman. tell us what he did to you. >> in february of 1970 my dad at the time was a judge here in new york. he was sitting on a trial of a group of the black panther party when the ayers weather underground fire bombed three places, a new york city police precinct. a recruiting station for the army out in brooklyn. and my home while my parents, my brother, sister and i were home a sleep in our beds. megyn: he decides to bomb your home with all of you a sleep. incredibly nobody was hurt but obviously you have no love lost for this man. he went onto have a successful

career as a university pro*fz. now he wants to emeritus status. it's an honorary title, it's an honor to be given this. all the other professors got it and he didn't and the faculty supported him but the board of trustees said no, now the faculty may be pushing the board of trustees to reverse their decision. the board of trustees you say did the right thing. >> i give them credit, i particularly give credit to chris kennedy, bobby kennedy's son who was the member of the board that led the charge to deny him the status. on top of every other crime he committed, in 1974 mr. ayers published a book which he dedicated to sirhan sirhan, the man who killed bobby kennedy. one of the professors who is leading the charge for reconsideration, professor kaufmann said mr. kennedy has a conflict of interest, he should recuse himself. bill ayers dedicated a book to a

man who pumped four bullets into robert kennedy's body. credit to chris kennedy for saying what is right is right, what is right is right. megyn: the board of trustees voted unanimously to deny bill ayers that title. the faculty is ticked off. kaufmann says his politics were irrelevant and they should not have entered into the board's decision. they are saying that kennedy should have recused himself all together from the issue he's basically not allowed to have an opinion because one could predict what the opinion would be. >> it's fascinating how they operate. one of the faculties members says that was the old bill ayers, the bill heirs who bombed the pentagon, and the police station, this professor says that is the old bill ayers, this is the new bill ayers.

this is the same folks that because christine o'donnell made a comment about witchcraft 15 years ago she is not qualified to be a senator. bill ayers was a terrorist, he never renounced the violence that he personally engaged in or caused or -- created. he said a few years ago, my only regret is we didn't do more. megyn: what kind of mess anal does it send to the students at this university or others, it's one thin to give him a job and let him teach what he teaches. but to give him an honor, a man who has done all the things, to your family, not to mention dedicated a book to a man who killed one of the biggest men in history. >> they tried to create a car bomb. i watched your show a few minutes ago. we just sentenced a man to life

in prison and rightly so for trying to set off a car bomb in times scare. bill ayers and the weather underground was trying to do exactly the same thing at my house. they succeeded doing it in other places. killing police officers with nail bombs, blowing up rooms in the pentagon and we give him a professorship and frankly the people in chicago, the poll situations in chicago have spent a generation heaping raise and award on a man who did nothing but create violence and commit crimes against this country. megyn: this committee who has the faculty members on it they say they are going to weigh their response very carefully some what the board of trustees does, basically you know holding some sort of a stick over their head saying you better reconsider and give him this moneyer otherwise we'll see what happens. thank you very much, we appreciate it new concerns about nuclear plant safety as we today learn about a guy who reportedly

had ties to al-qaida and managed to work at six different nuke plants. right after this break. a cheerleader refuses to cheer for the boy who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting her. she would cheer at the games she didn't want to cheer while he shot the free throws. instead of supporting her the school throws her off the squad in "kelly's court." and republican alaska senator lisa murkowski, now she is running as an independent under attack from the tea party as she tries to win her old seat on the write-in vote. the ad on tv she does not want america to see. >> lisa is trying to pretend she is running to serve us? yeah, right. >> i am here to tell you you are disinch franchised no more. >> you lost lisa, and it's time you respect that this senate seat doesn't belong to you. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert

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megyn: we are getting trouble new details about a new jersey man who worked at six nuclear plants and is now getting looked at for possible ties to al-qaida. according to a new report sharif mobley a radical muslim spoke openly about his militant views while on the job. the nuclear regular torrey commission is considering some serious security changes. trace gallagher has more live from l.a. >> reporter: big time eye-opening report. this was actually pushed forward by senator chuck schumer. this thing has very square reintel in it. it's about a 26-year-old, a new jersey guy he went to yemen hooked up with al-qaida. he got arrested, tried to break out of prison, in the pros sis -- process shot and killed a guard now he's being held in yemen on murder charges. while he was in the united states he worked at six nuclear

plants in different states. new jersey, pennsylvania and maryland. he was a laborer, he had access to the interior of the plants though not to computers or secure areas. he was open about his militant views telling others, if you can put this on the screen it's a quote, we are brothers in the union, but if holy war comes look out. he referred to nonmuslims as infidels an went onto unusual web sites that his cowork withers, even web sites with nuclear clouds on them. the experts say this could have been a major problem. listen. >> vigilance is continual. you have to accept the fact there are holes and you're always trying to plug the holes before someone finds out they exist and that's the struggle we are in. >> reporter: the nuclear regulatory is considering these changes. help employees try to spot those with terrorist intent.

match nuclear employees names with the terror watch list and disclose where they are traveling so they get a better idea of where they are going and when they are coming back. they are trying to work out, the feds are, how much contact mobley had with al-qaida in yemen, megyn. megyn: the verdict just now in on a horrifying home invasion murder case in connecticut. the sole survivor speaking out today about the brutal murder of his wife and two daughters. will this death penalty conviction, i should say conviction in a death penalty case result in an execution? in a state that has only put one person to death in the last 50 years. and are thousands of troops about to lose their chance to vote in the midterm elections? critics are now demanding answers from the white house on why our military is being shortchanged. neil bortz weighs in next.

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megyn: this is a fox news alert. emotioned running high outside of a connecticut courtroom as family members react to a verdict in a triple home invasion trial. dr. bill petit speaking just a short time ago. first time we heard from him since the verdict came down. the verdict guilty for one of the men accused of killing his entire family. steven hayes now a convicted murderer charged with murdering petit's wife and two daughters and raping two of them before torching the home.

we thank the jury for their diligence and consideration of charges in reaching what we feel is appropriate verdict. and we hope they will continue to use the same diligence and clarity of thought as they consider the penalty phase of the trial. there is some relief but my family is still gone. it doesn't bring them back. it doesn't bring back the home that we had. but certainly a guilty verdict is a much better sense of relief than builty -- than a verdict of not guilty. megyn: what are the odds that

this verdict will lead to steven hayes being put to death once the jury begins this sentencing phase? phase? ann marie has been on the show before. you used to be a federal prosecutor. lean to the right, yet unlike a lot of folks on the right you don't believe in the death penalty. now we have a verdict in this case. if he is put to death, he will be the first one in 50 years in connecticut, understanding the law does support the death penalty in connecticut, can you now get behind tonight this case? >> the problem is you can't apply the laws only to this one case. if there is a case that supports the death penalty this is it. this is the most horrific set of facts you can imagine. the guys were found their socks wet from oil they powered in the

house. but you can't apply it to only this case. a woman with an i.q. of 72 didn't commit the murders but she was executed. she paid supposedly for the guys to commit the murder. an i.q. of 72. megyn: that's above the number that is considered mentally challenged legally. >> but this is where we get into issues. what is appropriate? this case obviously if there is a case for it, this is the one. but you can't apply to it just this one. megyn: do you have questions that this jury is likely to find he should be sentenced to death? it is connecticut. do you have doubts about whether this jury will come back with a death penalty recommendation? >> i suspect they will find he should get the death penalty. but problem is sometimes they will beforehand questioned to

mind out what their leanings were. sometimes when that issue is put to them where you are the one -- even when i was a prosecutor and i would favor the death penalty i never wanted to be the one to make that decision that someone's life would be taken. if they do come to the conclusion that he should be put to death can the judge overrule it? >> unlikely that they will, especially in a case like this. the facts are so horrific and you have the guys dead to right. there is no question. if the jury find they should get the death penalty they will. there will be appeals. megyn: how long does it take? there are 10 people we are told on death row now. these are a couple of examples. convicted back in 1989. still sitting there. another guy convicted in '87, still sitting there.

you know. on and on it goes. they get convicted and it's a death sentence, but is it really? these guys are going to die of natural causes. >> there are so many appeals involved and so many issues that come up. and the cases are also involved. the hearings that we are going to have now on the death penalty will deal with every aspect of this guy's life potentially. then there is the story about he had a bad childhood. >> it shouldn't be relevant given what he did. but that's part of the death penalty phase. megyn: is it an exercise in formality at this point? >> in this case probably. it's so horrific the fact.involved. but he has the right to show mitigating circumstances and the other side has an obligation to show how awful this guy is. megyn: how does it affect the

trial of the next guy who is yet to be tried on the merits? there is no guilty or innocent verdict for him yet. >> it should be a separate trial because they want to try it together. megyn: the jurors know what happen in the steven shays trial. >> when they pick a yuri they will asked if the information they know about this case will affect this case. megyn: will the jurors tell the truth? >> it depends,. megyn: some people want to serve so they say what they need to say to get on. some people don't want to serve and they say what they need to say to not get on. >> they may also wanted me yeah attention.

some of these jurors will be questioned by the media. megyn: look at the o.j. case. though that one was extraordinary. that sentencing phase now october 18. it is exactly four weeks until voters head to the polls in the crucial mid-term election. a brand-new fox news poll shows the senate majority leader harry reid may be in trouble. he's now trailing his republican rival sharon angle by 3% points. i think that's within the margin of error. last month reid was just bare live ahead with 1% point separating reid and angle. the trend not in the right director him right now. the latest fox news poll puts democrat richard blumenthal

ahead of his republican challenger linda mcmahon. he had a 40-point lead a couple months ago. the candidates faced off in a debate and they both took aim at the other's negative ads. one with the minimum wage and blumenthal blasting criticism of what he said about his own military service. >> let me say that is false and incorrect in this ad that i would consider reducing the minimum wage. that's a lie. you know that's a lie. and it was said in an ad. let's take that off the table. >> i commented on it, i described it inaccurately. and i regret it. i take full responsibility for it. it was not intentional. but that is no excuse. megyn: bret baier moderated that

debate and he's also the anchor of "special report." congrats on a job well done. the reviews were smashingly good. all jus -- all justifiable. >> reporter: those ads we played the attack ads each campaign has leveled against the other and those were the responses. dick blumenthal responding to the ad that mentions him talking about being in vietnam several times. using that video of him actually saying it and he apologized again. megyn: she was accusing him of lying about his service. >> reporter: if he lies about this, what will he lie about if you vote for him to be senator. that was an interesting moment. there wasn't a knockout moment in the debate. i didn't think from both sides. they both made points throughout on various issues. one interesting moment happened when we allowed the candidates

to ask each other a question. linda mcmahon asked dick blumenthal, how do you create a job. take a listen to this. >> i stood up for jobs at pratt and whitney when they wanted to ship them out of state. i stood up for jobs at stanley when it was threatened with a hostile takeover. i know how government can help preserve jobs. >> reporter: he says a job is created a variety of ways by a variety of people but principally by businesses in response to demands and businesses. she pounced on that and sit's not government -- said it's not government that kree 80s jobs. it's the entrepreneur that takes the risk. megyn: she is saying he spent his life in government service. she says she is an outsider.

we talked about the poll numbers. he's still got a 10-point lead on her. we are less than a month away. four weeks from the election. the trend is in her favor, but does she have enough time to close it? >> reporter: that's the question. real clear has it at 8 points. our poll is 10. she has a good ground game in connecticut, but she is running out of time. i think she wanted to be cautious at this debate. she did make some points. but there were a couple slipups. she couldn't answer specific programs she wanted to kit in the federal government. it will be an interesting race to watch. megyn: one funny moment in the evening was he mentioned the fact that she spent $50 million of her own money on her campaign. she said if you don't mention money i won't talk about the fact that your family owns the empire state building which is a good thing to own.

12 new suspects just arrested in connection with the terror plot act pond. 12. but the big target is still out there, that of course is osama bin laden. we'll have a report on the worldwide manhunt that's underway. what a situation in europe. less than a month until the mid-term elections. thousands of our bravest americans have yet to get their absentee ballots. who cares about the military? who cares if they get to vote in apparently not enough people. right after the break neal boortz whether they have any hope of being heard. flight attendants prepare to party.

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cancelled after four council members facing charges didn't show up. one member had to field dozens of questions from angry residents. check out all the empty seats from that meeting. 8 city leaders are accused of stealing the citizens' money. now they are raising questions how the government would operate during this scandal. a lot of people want less government. how much less? willing to serve? not able to vote in two new states. new mexico and connecticut. at top of the list of states now apparently not able or willing to comply with the new military voting act. this act would require that troops get their ballots 45 days before the elections, troops serving overseas. critics are asking whether the department of justice is supposed to be looking out for enforcement and compliance with this law. what they are planning to do

about protecting the rights of our troops. neal boortz is an attorney and syndicated radio talk show host. thank you so much for being here. did this guy eric eversol who has been all over this. he hired a group of volunteer law students to make phone calls to see if compliance is taking place and he found it's not in at least those two states i just mentioned new mexico and connecticut, as well as five counties in several other states. >> well, in what part of that surprises you? megyn: it's military voters? the department of justice under every administration has its flaws. and they have their lazy people. but the question is whether military members serving overseas to protect us should get the ballot in time.

>> let's turn the clock back to 2000 so we can show this is pretty much par for the course when it comes to democrats. in florida where i am right now, we have the great 2000 debackle. the recount. what does the democrat national committee do? what does al gore do? they put out the call for volunteer attorneys. they send these attorneys to the dnc and gore california pain expense to florida. they have a meeting. what are we here for? you are here to go to every voting presning this state. and you are job is to make sure that the fewest number of military ballots are counted as you possibly can. the democrats have a very rich history of trying to suppress the military vote. because they understand that the military is going to trend republican. so now here we are in 2010, 10

years later and clearly eric holder's justice department does not care about making sure that military personnel get their ballots and are able to cast a vote in this mid-term election. megyn: can you say they don't care? they did go after hawaii. they did not grant a waiver to every state that asked for it. there are 20 attorneys dedicated to making sure -- it's called the move act -- is enforced in advance of the election season. in some cases they have held state's feet to the fire. >> you say 20 attorneys. 14 law student on telephones uncovered all these instances where the act isn't being enforced. if those 14 slaw student did the job these 20 justice attorneys couldn't do, then the attorneys need to go back to law school and the law students need to be hired by the justice department. megyn: what is the theory?

that the doj lawyers are saying to themselves, we want to make sure the democrats get elected so let's deny our men and women fighting on the front lines the right to vote by allowing states like connecticut and new mexico, they lean blue, we'll try to ignore the military voters, we don't want those votes to turn more red. we'll ignore those but protect voters in other states like wherever they are doing it. and therefore we'll give the victory to the democrats. it's so conspiratorial. >> take a look at eric holder. let's go back to the pardon of the fla terrorist when hillary clinton was running for the senate in new york. is there anything about this man's background that would indicate to any rational human being that this man is going to try to do his job in the justice department well no matter who's

ox gets gored? megyn: his lieutenants met with johjohn cornyn and sat down with him and went over case by case what they have been doing. they attempted to show some responsibility for this. i guess the question is how much and is it enough. >> as little as they can possibly get away with. megyn: mid-term elections don't draw an especially high military turnout. >> unlike any other mid-term election. megyn: thank you so much for your thoughts. a high school basketball player accused of raping a cheerleader at a post-game party. he wasn't just accused. he pled guilty to sexually assaulting her. what the victim did when this guy returned to the basketball cortlanded them both in "kelly's court." lisa murkowski trying to block a

tv ad that is out to derail her write-in campaign. just ahead, the ad she does not want you to see. >> lisa is trying to pretend she is running to serve us? right. >> i'm here to tell you you are disenfranchised no more. >> you lost, lisa and it's time you respect this senate seat doesn't belong to you. [ commentator ] lindsey vonn! she stays tough!

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nomination, joe miller. >> lisa murkowski first got her senate seat when her father appointed her. she didn't earn it. she said she would respect the will of the electorate in this election and support the winner of the republican primary.

what does she mean about this ad and what is she threatening to do? >> reporter: everything she has it about the ad. one thing we know for sure, lisa murkowski is ignoring the tea party express no longer. she has taken the gloves off and this is getting nasty. the tea party express says they are here to let the voters know they fired murkowski when they have defeated her at the polls and with the write-in she is acting like a diva. candidate joe miller got donations from all over the country. they raised $30,000 which will help fund more ads like this. >> thee tried to influence the absentee vote count. >> reporter: murkowski called the commercial a lie and dirty politics. she challenges another point in the ad that she tried to

manipulate the libertarian party in getting spot on the november ballot. it might be a stretch to say that she manipulated anyone. the tea party express stands by its commercial and tv stations will air them, even under threat of being siewfed by murkowski. the senator and her supporters sasay joe miller's wife once collected unemployment. they are saying to point out the subsidies miller israeling against he and his family have -- miller is railing against, he is benefiting from. megyn: meg whitman's former housekeeper and her high profile

attorney just held another news conference. we'll tell if you they made any news. gillibrand is the incumbent senator in new york, but she may be in trouble. why her republican challenger may pull off something no one has done in 50 years. you can call it take off on "dancing with the stars." flight attendants getting into the act. what the airline is saying about the routine. i thought they were there for our safety. >> diabetes testing? it's all the same. nothing changes.

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megyn: news break on the terror front today in southern france. police arresting 12 men. they have say three of the men were recruiting fighters for afghanistan. catherine herridge has been following all of this. she is live in washington with more on who this guy is. >> reporter: ilyas kashmiri is not a household name, but u.s. officials are focused on him because he worked directly with american recruits in the past. he is a long-time al qaeda operative whose training goes back to the russian war. headley is from chicago.

he pled guilty to multiple terrorism count. kashmiri told headley he was ready to carry out a suicide attack on a dutch newspaper. headley was a critical component of the mumbai attacks that you heard so much about in the last 10 days. helpedly trained in pakistan and traveled to india five times to give the videotaping of the targets and other reconnaissance work. separately multiple forces confirmed to fox sunday a joint force by homeland security and the fbi was sent to state law enforcement with respect to the threat in europe. the madrid commuter attac aattak

timed to coincide with the elections. all of those are examples of what is seen as the emerging threat, the small-scale attacks which are more difficult to penetrate because there are not as many intelligence streams connected to them. megyn: catherine herridge, thank you so much. >> reporter: you are welcome. megyn: new york is one of the bluest states out there. but democratic senator kirsten gillibrand may befalling behind in the polls. she has been hovering around the 50% mark which is considered dangerous for an incumbent. the latest real clear politics poll shows she is still there at 50% with her republican challenger at 39 per. if he were to win this seat sit would be the first time since

1958 an incumbent democratic senator lost reelection in new york. joe dioguardi is gillibrand's challenger. thank you so much for being here. i want to make sure i said it right. this is the deal. no democratic senator has ever been defeated in a reelection campaign in new york. how are you going to turn that around? >> let me make a prediction. are you ready? my prediction. the -- if the republicans are going to take back the u.s. senate and put a real check on the mindless spending of barack obama, they must win new york. i'm the tenth seat. you can be sure i'm closing fast. are you ready to join joe 2010.com? megyn: i guess that was

rhetorical. let me show you the latest polls you have seen. >> you picked the one. megyn: you like this one. this is survey u.s.a. it shows you within 1 point of the democratic incumbent which is incredible for you. yet there is this one. this is from see even a college. it shows her 57% to 31%. that one has got to hurt. that's a lead of 266 points. -- that's a lead of 26 points. >> the one that shows likely voters. the poll that shows 1% was taken from people who definitely will come out to vote. listen, republicans are energized, democrats are exhausted. you have seen it. this is the time to do the impossible. and i'm on my way to do it. megyn: generally in this state,

you have new york city which is very, very blue. then upstate new york is a little bit more red. that's how we wind up sometimes with republican governors if this state. it's not impossible for a republican to win at the senate level or governor level in the state. but how are you going to translate that? you need some votes in new york city, very blue. and west chester went for president obama by big numbers. how do you afeel those people who sleeve gillibrand who is really popular. >> i have done it before. i was elected in a district with 3 to 4 democrats to a republican. you need go and talk to the people as i have. if you want to see my audit trail. look at my 18,000 views on youtube, my facebook pages and twitter. and you will see what i have done for the last five months. no candidate has been as active as i have. don't forget i have to take on my own party.

i came out of the convention and had to go back to main street to get 25,000 sittings. then i went into the primary. megyn: let me ask you this. she came out of -- gillibrand came out with a memorandum attacking you. you are the father of somebody very famous. the "american idol" judge. she plays off that gillibrand does in her memorandum saying joe dioguardi is no "american idol." she calls you way, way, way out of step with most new yorkers. she is particularly hitting you on the issue of being pro life versus pro-choice. she says you want to overturn roe versus wade and eliminate a woman's right to an abortion then the case of rape. that's not going to fly in a state like new york. >> she is cherry picking what

she wants. the bill on the exceptions was a funding bill. i would not as a conservative republican allow money to be spent on abortions. but in rape, incest or the death of the mother, yes be i would. life to me is not an issue of human rights, life is a precious thing, and it has to be viewed that way. but the exceptions i'm on record for that. why are we talking about that when under her watch we lost 125,000 jobs. now new york has a million people out of work. we have 15 million in the country. what is she hiding? she is hiding her record for over 10 years. the tobacco industry, they were perjuring themselves in front of congress. philip morris was hiding the fact that they had a lab in germany that proved tobacco was addictive yet they come to congress before a hearing and said it was not addictive. megyn: as somebody who worked

with jones day which is a well respected law firm who also represents one of the defendants in the tobacco. that doesn't necessarily mean the lawyer believes what the client says. they pay good money and you represent them. that's what you do as a lawyer. can you paint her with that brush? >> she did it for over 10 years. then when she left them, they still gave her money. worse than that, what happens when she leaves? she goes to hud with andrew cuomo. guess what the first new product she put out there. sub prime mortgages. they wanted to increase the amount of people in homes by 40% to 50%. no documents, no jobs. that put this economy into a stale spin. megyn: we know where that led. our invitation stands for her to come on and sneek us as well. you are an interesting man and we appreciate you coming on to be a standup guy.

>> she is concealing a lot. i'm revealing a lot. look at joinjoe2010.com. we'll make history with this race. megyn: coming up at the top of the hour, studio b. shep: today on studio b we'll talk about the banks. a number of banks got bailed out when the government knew of they had financial problems. jerry willis from the fox business network will interview sheila bayer. megyn: a cheerleader refuses to cheer for the boy who pleaded guilty to her assault. instead of supporting her, the school throws her off the squad. during the break you can check out the facts of this case by going to foxnews.com. click on our on the docket

section and read up on it before the gavel drops. 1965, a lot of good thing came out that year like medicare. this year, like always, we'll have our guaranteed benefits, eric bowling eric bolling

megyn: "kelly's court" is back in session. on the docket today, one student standing silent and still as classmates cheer for an athlete accused of raping her. bolton initially charged with sexual awe assault on a child. later misdemeanor assault, pleaded guilty and sentenced to one year? jail suspended. back in school, the girl who said bolton violated her at a post-game party kicked off the. he squad for refusing to cheer when he came to the foul line for a free throw. the school says her silence amounts to a display of personal opinion and the fifth circuit court of appeals in the texas agreed. right decision? let's ask our panel. mercedes colwin and joey

jackson. he's charged with that and he pled one count below that which is just assault. she claims she was sexually violated by him at an off-campus party. she cheered for the team. just not for him when he's doing his free those. the fifth circuit says she didn't have the right. >> rah weather rah,ist. -- rapi. if she had done that, they would say she was disruptive. she was disruptive by being quiet. but that's outrageous. the judge has got it wrong. she was simply not saying a word. not being disruptive it's a false statement by the school

officials who say somehow what she said was disruptive. megyn: there are two things. the school has to profit substantially interfered with the school activity to silence the speech and they said sit did. the court found that as a cheerleader she served as the mouth piece for the school, and support for thea let i can teams and by standing there silently she was being a bad mouth piece. >> i understand mercedes' outrage. there is no place for mistreatment of girls. let's look at the law. you can express yourself. but if it interferes with the school activity it's prohibited. if it's substantially interferes -- what you have here is this. you have a girl rightfully want to go express herself. but there is a forum for expression. i'm sure she feels violated. it's horrific what he did.

he pled guilty and got suspended sentence. but there are forums for expressing your opinion and outrage. megyn: what is so substantially disruptive about the girl doing this? >> exactly. it's unconscionable that the school officials did this to this young girl. it's outrageous. it's insane. megyn: normally you have first amendment rights which are broad in this country and they get narrowed when you go on a school campus. but they are still protected. it has to be substantial interests force. joey, i don't see it. i didn't heart complaints. i didn't hear how the crowd burst out. when you are a cheerleader you get distracted and start talking to your boyfriend. >> let's look at the law for one second. bear with me. there is an issue of a person

who does something horrific. he violates this woman. that's abhorrent and shameful. but assuming for purposes of this discussion that they allow her to cheer, they don't want any political expression, any individual expressions there. not to cheer -- when you are not cheering, that is a form of expression because you are on the scene expressing yourself. megyn: the guy we know did assault her. why is it you need to stand up and cheer. the school says she should not have joined the cheer squad. >> they should have us spended the boy for the year he had to do his community service. megyn: they say it's her obligation to get herself away from him. thank you very much. one final word for our viewers. her failure to cheer for one player does not substantially

interfere with the school's activities. the school was quick to show tolerance for this man when he was accused. how about tolerance for the victim. another tearful plea from the woman who was meg whitman's housekeeper. here is a preview of what we just heard. >> housekeepers are human beings, too. we love, we cry. f@@

megyn: we are going to have that meg whitman housekeeper in a minute. you won't believe what she is saying or maybe you will. a fallen hero who made the

ultimate sacrifice in afghanistan. andrew miller gave his life. now his parents are getting ready to accept the medal of honor for his courageous actions. >> reporter: staff sergeant robert miller will be given the medal of honor tomorrow. he was the youngest member of the quad when they were ambushed on the bored with pakistan in afghanistan. his captain was injured immediately and staff sergeant miller took control, take cover and saving the lives of 22 men. his parents explained to us what happened january 25, 2008. >> as they got near the truck sure there was an ambush. they were attacked by over 100 insurgents who had hidden behind boulders. it was an intense situation. >> he stayed in the skill zone

to keep control of the situation. and allowed everybody else to get out of the skill done and gave them a chance to organize and regroup of and take command of the situation. he spent two towers in afghanistan. he spent 25 minutes fighting for his life after he was shot. he died holding his rifle. megyn: now we heard the full statement that former maid to meg whitman has made. you have to hear it to believe it and you will right after this break. captioning made possible by fox news network structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

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>>megyn: meg whitman's former maid says she is not a puppet and no one forced her to speak. and there is this. >> housekeepers are human beings, too, we lost, we cry, we have feelings.