or foxnews.com and take the 40-day challenge. the information is there. see you again. from new york, good night, from new york, good night, america. a fox news alert. the president of chile saying that 33 trapped miners can be rescued in the next 27 hours. a rescue shaft finished early this morning and the head of the mining operation say it will take between three and ten days to begin evacuating those miners. family and friends have been holding a constant vigil at the mine site and we may here from authorities later on if any significant developments occur. >> government of iran just coming out saying they are willing to hold talks with the united states regarding controversial nuclear program. tehran saying they will be ready later this month or even by early november to hold such

talks. this comes just after islamic republic is acknowledging that personnel at their nuclear plants worked as spies for western countries. i'm going to have a live interview. more on that, i'm julie banderas. >> gregg: i'm gregg jarrett. welcome to america's news headquarters. we're going to be talking to a former c.i.a. operative about what iran's admission really means, how it could be a game changer for potential nuclear talks. >> julie: counting down to the mid terms and supporters of the tea party agenda are gathering at this hour in richmond, virginia. they call it the tea party patriots convention, politicians and supporters are taking advantage of the stage with just over three weeks until election day. group is also looking ahead to the next election, the one for president.

is live in washington. >> the nation's largest gathering of tea party activists more than 2,000 people signed up descending on virginia's capitol. they came to organize and be heard not just about the mid terms but looking at the next presidential campaign. they are using a presidential straw poll today to measure tea party support and power in 2012 and some of the possible contenders are rubbing elbows including ron paul. he revved up the crowd just a short time ago. >> today i am pleasantly surprised to find out there are so many of you that really care and you are sick and tired of what you have in washington, d.c. >> reporter: in other political news, tea party's favorite sarah palin was in the in richmond today but she is set to appear in california at a big gop fund-raiser. it's interesting to note who

won't be with her, neither meg whitman who is running for governor, nor carly fiorina who is running for senate there will appear with palin at the event. both candidates say they have prior commitments but the polls may have something to do with it. a new california field poll found 52% of california voters say a palin endorsement would make them less inclined to vote for the candidates, 21% say they would be more inclined. tea party activists are fired up in richmond today. with 24 days to go before the crucial midterm polls show enthusiasm at a low pointed for democratic voters. you'll find president obama and vice president biden together in philadelphia tomorrow. obama and biden hope to invigorate voters in philly for two crucial races there. >> julie: thank you so much.

>> gregg: obama administration is now giving some big organizations a pretty big break on the new health care law giving waivers to companies like mcdonald's and national teachers union. those waivers are supposed to protect low wage workers but some say it dilutes the entire point of the health care reform law. managing editor of the hill, bob good to see you. granting waivers to a law designed to be mandatory would undermine the entire point of the law. is this perhaps some evidence that this new health care law was not well considered to begin with? >> this is significant problem for the obama administration. the mandates increase in subsequent years, if they are giving mandates of only $750,000 and that is the mandate that mcdonald's did not want to meet, it's going to be a problem when it's $1.25 million and then $2 million and eventually there is no mandate that companies want.

this is going to be ongoing problem up and beyond the 2012 presidential election. >> gregg: let me understand this. unions who were the biggest supporters of this plan, they are the ones at least for now, the teachers union in particular that are getting waived out of the plan. is that because they don't even believe the promise that they are going to get to keep their plan? >> this is political problem for the obama administration does not want to have people not having insurance. right now they don't have much of a choice. they have to give the waivers or these companies are going to drop these employees, that is only 30 waivers. there is 114 now pending. the department of health and human services didn't put out a press release but as more people found out about it, now there are more people seeking waivers. this could increase beyond one million, it could be two million people. >> gregg: out of all the democrats that are up for re-election, senate and house of

representatives only four mention the new health care law in their political ads. even then only the parts that they agree on. to the extent which this issue is now a political liability for democrats politically toxic? >> it is. republicans have won the message war on this. the we did a poll recently that one in four democrats, democrats want the health care law repealed. so that is why democrats aren't talking about it on the campaign trail. they are trying to go after republicans. they would put it back but the democrats don't really have a lot to talk about. surplus, unemployment rate is 9.6% and the health care bill which is the major accomplishment, is not popular. even independents don't like it. >> gregg: i was looking at polling down a couple of hours that shows health care is second most important issue.

economy is the first. most americans don't like it. the majority still want it repealed. will that drive voert turnout, especially among independents because 51% of them want to get rid of it? >> it definitely will. independents are the reason obama won and they will be going to the poll. some democrats say, eventually the public is going to like this but right now in november, november 2nd, healthcare law, when they go to the polls, people are thinking about the health care and economy and president obama. >> gregg: people are looking for jobs in an economic recovery. they got health care instead. there is precious time left before the election. in the year end lame duck session there is no budget bill, no appropriations bill, there is no tax bill. is there a perception therefore

that congress, at this stage, dysfunctional? >> congressional ratings -- congress was never popular but they are really not popular right now. the problem for the republicans they have promised to repeal the health care law. that can't happen until basically they have a new president. republicans could be overpromising a bit like democrats did on the stimulus. if republicans do win the house and senate they will have a narrow majority. that will mean a showdown with the white house. i think the president and vice president, they already have their plans, they know there lab lot more control republicans and they have to -- more congressional republicans. >> julie: 24 more days to the midterm elections, a war of words over, this time, spending. during his weekly address he ripped into republicans for 20% cuts in education he says will reduce financial aid for 8

million college students. listen. >> i'm not prepared to do is short change our children's education. i'm not prepared to do is undercut their economic future, your economic future or the economic future of the united states of america. nothing would be more detrimental to our prospects for success than cutting back on education. it would consign america to second place in a fiercely competitive global economy. >> julie: and the republican response, they criticized the president for spending and broken promises. >> the president's policies are irresponsible and unsustainable. worse, many americans fear the damage done by these policies may also be irreversible. i believe there is too much at stake and far too much to lose for us to allow bad policies and reckless spending to remain

unchecked or unchallenged. >> gregg: their ordeal is finally almost over. chilean president says dozens of trapped miners will be rescued next week. just hours after rescuers finished an escape shaft that is meant to save those men. the 33 miners have been stuck underground for two agonizing months, sitting in a very tight area. steve has the latest from the san jose mine in chile. >> reporter: the breakthrough came through at 8:00 this morning. sirens went off that families had been waiting for not here at mine but all across the chile but the escape hatch finally reached the miners after two months of drilling. we poke to one driller at the scene and he says the work was most difficult technically and stressful that he's ever had to

face. >> this is toughest thing i've been involved in. you have to cut through rock or dynamite and the rock right above it is fractured and to put a roof bolt to make it stronger. we had to cut through all that. just the fact we've been drilling for 33 days and we knew those guys could see us. they say hurry up, we can see you. we were about 33 meters. >> reporter: there are still more challenges to come. final rescue might take place as early as fuss but that depends on whether or not the rock is stable. cameras will be dropped down. if it is stable away could see the first miners come to the surface in just a few days' time. >> gregg: steve harry gan. thanks. >> julie: politicians pulling out all the stops to reach the voters and in time. that means texting, so don't be

surprised if you see a candidate popping up on your cell phone but getting numbers can require creativity. casey stegall is live in our los angeles newsroom. why have text messages an ideal way to campaign? >> reporter: these things right here have changed the way we communicate as a whole. text messaging allows folks to reach the masses because there is more of a guarantee that a text message will be seen as opposed to an e-mail because oftentimes e-mails can get caught up with spam filters. fewer americans have land lines before. the only way you can reach them is on their mobile phone. almost everyone has one. 290 million americans, that is 94% of the population. so no surprise that politicians are getting creative holding contests, jumping on the wireless bandwagon to not only

reach voters but campaign volunteers, as well. >> we needed a way to reach younger volunteers. you see the folks behind me, high school students or college students, people that wanted another medium to get involved in the campaign. it allows in the state like california to engage every part of the county. >> reporter: listen to this. americans send nearly 5 billion text messages every single day. that number is only expected to rise as more people get these cell phones and smart phones in their hands. >> julie: how many candidates are using this technology? >> reporter: surprisingly it's only a handful. there are currently about 500 campaigns and only dozen is using this technology. why? because it's still relatively new. however, pretty notable candidates are among those that are doing it like carly fiorina,

gubernatorial candidate meg whitman is reaching out to voters in this way. senate majority leader harry reid is, as well. it's estimated 50% of the phones that people carry will be smart phones so we're talking about the blackberries, the iphones and droids. you can bet by the time the next presidential election rolls around the number of political text messages will only surge. >> julie: casey stegall, thank you very much. >> gregg: sad story, failed rescue effort in afghanistan. aide worker linda norgrove was killed in an attempt to free her in the eastern part of the country. u.s. special forces and afghan troops believed to have taken part in that raid killing the hostage takers. militants kidnapped a 36-year-old british citizen and three afghan colleagues two weeks ago. >> a fresh attack on nato oil

tankers. militants, rockets fired on those tankers. more than two dozen up in flames. this is the latest attack on the supply line for troops fighting in afghanistan. trucks have been stranded since pakistan closed the border after the dispute with the united states. today pakistan said it would reopen an important crossing into afghanistan. >> julie: hungary's prime minister is warning that a sludge spill could be coming at any moment. a deadly river of red sludge seen from above blanketing several villages after leaking from a plant reservoir earlier this week. now, the prime minister says that reservoir has so many cracks it's likely to collapse. gregg burke has the latest from western hungary. >> just as fast the disaster was coming to an end, the prime minister says it's likely a wall of the damaged reservoir would

give way. they had to evacuate 700 people, some of them coming here to a sports center. many of them, some spending night, many of them coming to pick up supplies as they stay in the homes of friends and relatives. more importantly perhaps more than 5,000 people in the nearby town on standby to be evacuated if in fact that wall does collapse. if it collapses we're probably going to see half the amount of red sludge that came out in the initial thing. so the damage, of course, would be terrible in terms of ecological damage and the homes and people would be safe. finally, the situation here is still very dire. there is a lot of debated how much ecological damage has been done but at least the danube river the damage is minimal. >> julie: thank you very much. >> gregg: they provided her with new life and love. now a teenage girl is accused of

poisoning the very people that gave her a second chance. >> julie: now the donald, he is weighing on politics, specifically president obama? >> he's having a hard time. president obama is having a very hard time. i think he would be the first admit that things weren't easy for him. >> julie: president trump? what he is considering to help out the president. thas to the venture card from capital one,

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>> julie: here is a look at some

of the other stories we're following for you. several newspapers are reporting that apple's iphone 4 will be available to verizon users. both companies are not commenting though. >> an american astronaut is heading to the international space station aboard a russian rocket. scott kelly are expected to dock their soyuz spacecraft later tonight. and kim jong-il making a rare appearance, his youngest son. north korean leader is celebrating 60th anniversary of the communist workers party. >> gregg: young teenager accused of poisoning her adoptive family. she was a young orphan from mexico when the family took her in providing food and shelter and lots of love. melissa reports from orlando. >> the family provided love and a home for the 13-year-old girl they adopted from mexico years back. they even sent her to private

school. things were not going well between the girl and family. according to an incident report in the summer 2010, she was spraying bug spray on food for her mother. she put dog feces in some of the meals. the family had sent out an e-mail asking neighbors to keep them in their prayers. >> i was shocked to hear. seemed like such a great girl and did great things to adopt her. >> recent tests traces of arsenic in the mother's blood and for the past year her health deteriorated. she planned to have two biological children whether the girl poisoned them. they provided mental services but that is all they could do. >> she was a child and loved her unconditionally. it's very painful.

>> gregg: from our fox affiliate. the girl has been sent to an assessment center and being charged with felony poisoning. >> julie: a college party turns terrifying after overdosing on drugs and alcohol. police say they had to rush 12 people to the hospital and even interrupted a possible sexual assault in progress. several victims are still in the hospital at this hour. in fact one, in critical but stable condition. police haven't arrested anyone yet in the possible sexual assault. >> gregg: construction workers saving the day in a school shooting in carlsbad, california. gunman opening fire on a playground full of little children leaving two girls with minor injuries. when one of the construction workers swung into action. he jumped on his truck and he ran the gunman down. >> when he shot, he took off.

his car was parked on the sidewalk. he had to jump a fence. i noticed he was leaving the playground. i ran across the street to grab my talk and had to drive over and hit him with my truck. >> you ran over him? >> yes, sir. >> gregg: the other construction workers held the gunman for police who then arrived moments later to arrest him. he faces numerous charges including attempted murder. >> julie: donald trump picking up a degree in business and campaigning for president? he got an honorary degree in scotland and there were protests that he doesn't deserve it. meanwhile, he told reporters that the u.s. needs better leadership and he might be the guy to offer it. >> there has been a lot of talk about me running, a lot of people want me to run. a recent poll was run, i guess it was very favorable based on the questions i've been getting

but i have not decided. >> julie: trump also said it's too early to think about a running mate. he laughed when somebody suggested sarah palin. >> gregg: why is he laughing? >> julie: i haven't read the poll. >> gregg: its private poll. >> julie: we need to talk to scott rasmussen. >> gregg: the iranian presiden mahmoud ahmadinejad may be trying to keep up appearances but there is strange doings behind the scenes. islamic regime makes a stunning announcement what has been going on. we'll tell you about it next.

>> gregg: time for top of the news. in chile a drilling rig punching a hole that will allow an escape capsule to be lowered to those 33 miners that have been trapped since august. >> julie: in hungary the country's prime minister warning a reservoir wall holding back tons of toxic sludge could give

away at any moment now. the new fears of another spill forcing more evacuations. >> gregg: vatican says pope benedict has received a letter from mahmoud ahmadinejad and in it, he calls for cooperation by divine religions against secularism. >> julie: iran's country admitting that spies have infiltrated some nuclear facilities and workers had taken bribes to pass secrets to western officials. what information may have been leaked. joining me is mike baker a covert officer and president a global intelligence and security firm. mike, great to have you on. this is very interesting to hear that the west is in there and they are getting information because clearly, u.n. sanctions have done nothing to stop their nuclear ambitions.

is espionage the only option left? >> i think it's the most efficient and potentially likely tool we've got to try to prevent them from reaching their capability, desired nuclear weapons program. the u.n. somewhat less than efficient and you look at the sanctions. the sanctions have had some bite to them but ultimately they are not going to change their position because the chinese and russians refuse to play ball. they are working on their own agendas. the military action, frankly it's very difficult and politically it's unpalateable. so we have a very covert but less than covert but aggressive intelligence collection program teamed up with some capability, some non-military aggressive effort to try to slow down for stop their efforts to create

nuclear program i think it's our best option. >> julie: what do you make their claims that a scientist was kidnapped by u.s. agents and returned home. they are saying that he was actually willing defecter that was offered $5 million by the c.i.a. but then he changed his mind. this is a picture of the guy? >> frankly, it's not uncommon for individuals like this to get buyer's remorse. the excitement, the possibilities of some payoff may overwhelm them. they become a cooperative source and contact and then they decide ultimately that, wait a minute, my family is back home. maybe this wasn't such a good move. his situation not unusual. iranians are trying to cover up and saying he was kidnapped. we heard precious little about him. i seriously doubted he a national hero at this point. they 4 number of issues, a

couple of spies they publicly announced within their nuclear facilities and they talked about a computer worm. so it appears they are doing a spin and getting ahead of the problem, we got it all taken care of. >> julie: i can't imagine what is going the happen to this guy. first of all for you to be spy in a country of iran is committing the worst crime you could commit in that country. what kind of protection are western countries offering to these spies as the guy we're seeing here in order to go in and get information. the risk that they are taking is pretty intense. >> that is true of any time you are trying to recruit something that is going to work and stay in their own country, you've got a range of issues. in a place like iran, limited access to the individuals to begin with, it's an incredibly difficult problem, but away feed

to be hopeful that we do along with the israelis that is interested understanding what the threat is. we better hope that we do have an aggressive collection program. we shouldn't underestimate how difficult this is. what the iranians seems to be a pr effort. >> julie: but saying espionage routes have been blocked and now it's impossible. how do they contain their secrets, considering like you mention china and russia continue to pursue their agenda, so what is the c.i.a.'s next step? >> we looked at, who knows who created this, very efficient computer worm that not only hit the iranian facility but shown up in india and indonesia and shown up in the u.s., as well. that a good example frankly of

how we should be tackling this problem. our other options. we've been trying and they are not working. military options would spiral quickly into a nasty regional conflict. it's the intelligence, at the end of the day having very, very strong intelligence capabilities is our best defense and best offense what the iranians are doing. >> julie: you are mentioning the computer worm, it has swept through industrial sites in iran india and indonesia. it was found on personal laptop at iran's first nuclear power plant. how could computer worms actually stop iran from producing a nuclear bomb? >> the one we're talking about is decidedly different than other viruses we've seen out there. this essentially, i'm not a computer expert, these things actually, it's designed not only to infect the system but then to have a physical response, to

actually reach out and destroy physical infrastructure. it's an intriguing idea. it has obviously been efficient to some degree and certainly captured the attention because we're talking about it now. we've got an issue because the iranians, they are aware of it and been aware of it for decades that the u.s. and others are interested in collecting their secrets. idea they've been surprised but we got the problem out, you know it's a little weak on their part. they have been very efficient over the years at trying to prevent this from gathering their secrets. >> julie: mike baker, thank you very much. >> gregg: u.s. military pilots busier than ever in iraq. thousands of men and women using their fly skills to help with the drawdown of military bases around the region.

>> 6,000 members of the u.s. air force are among 50,000 troops remaining here in iraq and the air force says the pace of the work hasn't slowed since the end of the official combat mission on august 31th. >> a blinding sand storm blinded the flights but crews don't take a break. when the air clears, flights resume immediately. the air force is still moving out equipment and supplies as the ripple effect of the drawdown and preparations are in full swing for december 2011 when all-american is supposed to leave iraq. >> the draw-down of forces and how we are going to transition our installations to iraqi government and the u.s. state department. >> fighter jets and drones fly regularly and still carry firepower. they say the aircraft remain as surveillance and watching over ground troops but the top u.s.

air force for the next 15 months is training and equipping the new iraqi air force. >> i just can't say enough about the importance what americans are beginning to do and iraqi partners between now and december. >> reporter: 15 months is not a lot of time to rebuild the iraqi air force and he says it could be ten years before they are self-sufficient. if our u.s. troops really do leave here by the end of next year it could be left up to private contractors to help them learn how to operate and maintain some of the u.s. companies are very eager to sell them over here. >> gregg: thanks. >> julie: car rer if i on fire on the balance particular sea. an explosion triggering the fire with nearly 250 passengers on board. firefighters and fire fighting ships sprayed water on the ferry to keep it from breaking apart

and spilling fuel into the sea. everyone on board has been rescued. three people were seriously injured. ferry was heading from germany to lithuania. they are saying the blast appears to have been a technical mishap but investigation going on. >> gregg: also learning at least five people have been killed in a drone attack in pakistan. they were involved in plotting terrorist attacks in europe, at least that is what the pakistani authorities are telling us. the attack was carried out by the c.i.a. and sources say the plot surrounded three german brothers. the united states has stepped up drone attacks in an effort to break up terror plots aimed at european cities. >> julie: this is a fox -- put or on your batman tight, it's

comicon, annual convention for superheroes. it seems like it should be for children. i just never get it. arch enemies and people that love them all. it's the second biggest pop culture in the nation. >> gregg: i can identify. >> julie: speaking of children, i'm only kidding. peter, where is your spider-man costume? >> it's underneath my clothes. >> julie: of course. >> this is the largest pop comic culture. they expected hundred thousand people between today and tomorrow. with tickets at $65 a pop, there is no sign of the recession in here. watch this. >> i have a ph.d. in making

people smile. >> what is there to do? you can meet stars or go to panels and walk see the cool new toys and video games or just people watch. it's fun on to itself. >> you get to hang out, you are doing at work and this weekend you can go and be silly and being i am mature. let your hair down. >> my gray and brown hair. >> so you're going to get rid of the wolverine sideburns before you go back to work but what about the claws? >> they are with me all the time. so i can't let them go. sorry. >> the fantasy economy is thriving. pop culture is on the rise, even a comic book, they are small

expenditures. it's fun. is that your real hair? >> no, sadly it is not. i could only dream to have hair like this. >> are you here for comic con or a shoe shine? >> so you can tell some people have scary costumes, everybody has a big smile. it's very fun event and we'll be here the rest of the afternoon. >> julie: thanks so much peter. >> gregg: looks like great fun. on a more serious note, celebrating what would have been the 70th birthday of john lennon a peace and love march taking place in new york city central park. fans of all ages coming to remember the music icon, three of lennon's band of the group

before the beatles. mood was somber. she was shot and killed outside his new york city apartment back in 1980. >> you know how many americans are underwater on their homes? the number might surprise you. banks are now backing off foreclosure sales. we'll take a look on the struggling housing market and what the obama administration says is going to do to fix it. >> gregg: take a look at this. that is just outside the fox news studios of sixth avenue. julie moved into her new place, these are few friends invited over for house warming. >> julie: that is what we call a street fair in new york city. these things are going to end soon because winter is around the corner. >> gregg: find elmo, please. >> julie: we'll be right back.

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÷÷xxxxppúúúú@@ú@ú@úúú@@@ú@@@ú@úc xx÷÷÷÷xñ >> julie: developments in the housing crisis, another big bank stopping foreclosure sales, it's the nation's biggest bank of america, it brings the nation closer to a total freeze on such sales. meanwhile, more than two million american homes are in foreclosure right now. about 23% of all homeowners are underwater. that is, they owe more on their

mortgage than their home is actually worth. we're joined by todd, managing director of land call trading. that scary concept that you owe all this money to a bank and paying off what you'll never get back because your home isn't worth as much as your mortgage. how could this impact the nation's housing market and economic recovery? >> it could make it much worse. one thing you are telling the banks the put this moratorium. this isn't a bank of america issue this is spread across the big banks. when you start talking about deflation pressures on housing. this is going to cause values to drop further. then you start the talk about the economic recovery. keep in mind, you still have 53 million outstanding mortgages out there. you have all these people out there that need to see some sense of recovery on the balance sheet to help improve the economy. this is going to be a big roadblock to that.

>> julie: with bank of america saying they will stop foreclosure sales, chase expanding freeze in 23 states and pmc financial services stopping some of their foreclosure proceedings, how long could it take to see the results that you speak of? >> we already had a problem with the housing sector before this started to come to light. we were already a couple years away from a full housing recovery. now you have to expect, people are living in their homes in the foreclosure process are living their homes for free for 15 months. bank of america says 18 months. what that means, if you have the bank halting foreclosures. would people pay mortgages. you'll see smaller banking out of business. people are saying, i'm going to say here forever. big winner is the person who is in the foreclosure process who hasn't been --. >> julie: we don't want to encourage people to go in

foreclosure? >> let's look back at the great depression. when congress told the rest of the country all the nation's bank to halt foreclosures. there is only one state that did the state of minnesota. people that were paying their mortgage just stopped doing it. you hope that isn't the case going forward but all signs are leading to that right now. >> julie: what is the white house doing. they held meetings this week to discuss reports the banks filed fraudulent borrowers that missed payments and banks seizing property without having clear ownership of the mortgages. what is the obama administration doing to protect homeowners from banks wrongly getting this property? >> they are having committees and they are having a couple of groups that are investigating. the issue is the u.s. should start to look back provision here. people that have already been evicted out of their homes, they

probably are going to have class action lawsuit brought out. don't forget those initial 23 states are judicial foreclosure states, meaning those lenders have to go to a judge to actually seek eviction. now you are talking about 27 of the non-judicial foreclosure states. this the entire country. we have to start worrying about. where is it going to send the rest of this economic recovery going forward if we take care of the ones that have already been evicted out of their homes. >> julie: great information. >> gregg: all right. so much for the don't kiss and tell. this former student, we have her picture -- is steaming up the internet with her sex thesis. a mock sex thesis, duke university. that's right. highlighting the ups and downs. this thing has gone viral. with the names of those guys and whole lot more.

what rights do they have? a legal debate coming up next. [ female announcer ] when you save an average of over 50 a year with the humana walmart preferred prescription plan, you have more time to remember what it's really a about. enroll starting november 15. go to walmart.com for details.

>> gregg: all right. maybe you think to send the kids out of room for this one. a college adventures in bed are going viral big time on the web leading to book offers and maybe some lawsuits. it begin as a spoof of senior thesis, former duke senior, there she is karen owen and a gave a 42-pend of her adventures in bed. do these guys have any rights, any legal recourse or is all of this protected by the first

amendment. joey jackson and bob matthews is a fox news legal analyst. bob, listen to hear, that is the sound of lawsuits. if any of these young men sue karen owen, what would be the causes of action, the legal grounds, what would they be? >> not to make light of this. i was telling the producer, some of the guys are patting themselves on the back. look, obviously these guys have no anticipation of this. do they have a viable potential invasion of privacy, potentially, of course, they do. emotional distress not likely but ultimately, the question is going to be what is the actual damage to them and to their reputation. from a defamatory perspective, as it relates to what information was given out. >> gregg: you know what, joey,

the title of this thing, an education beyond the class rumor excelling in horizontal academics. 42 pages of a power point. isn't that evidence that this was not, joey, just a private joke. she intended wider dissemination which is evidence intent to cause harm? >> they got nothing. in the end of the day, what is it about, first amendment and about her opinion and disseminate go physician based upon occurrences with these gentlemen. you heard before, buyer beware, we live in an age of myspace and facebook. >> gregg: wait a minute. >> julie: not only name names.

>> she took pictures and provides graphic details. before high-tech, the whisper campaigns were not good but the audience was limited. bob, this thing went viral, millions are going to see it. does the shear scale of dissemination alter the legal equation? >> first of all she could have written it with fictitious names which supports what you are saying, gregg. to are a take late in detail there was some attempt to cause some type of embarrassment. >> wait a second. if you have had a son, if you had a son that is involved with this. would you want his name to be out there and describing specifically what he did with this girl? hey, let's go have a beer, i'm really proud of you.

>> we're not at that age yet but he started saying people are walking about i'm proud of what i did. you have to anticipate this could happen. >> okay, bob, joey, thanks. >> julie: thank you, boys. >> gregg: we are boys. >> julie: rescuers frantically trying to get 33 men out from a mine. they have been trapped in for two months, latest on their efforts and when they might actually see the light of day again, next.

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>> gregg: i'm gregg jarrett, welcome to a brand new hour of "inside america's news headquarters". >> julie: i'm julie ban days, a story out of washington state, dozens of young people hospitalized after mysteriously overdosing on an unknown substance at a house party. >> gregg: a videotape that backs up tiffany hartley's story on the day her husband was allegedly murders bides mexican pirates. -- by mexican pirates. >> julie: and accused of opening fire on children outside a california school, the latest on why police think he did it. >> gregg: we begin with a "fox news alert." we're waiting a news conference, updating the status of the 3rd

miners trapped underground in chile. and, an escape shaft reaching the space where they were trapped more than nine horrible weeks. the entire ordeal, the rescue crew, erupting into cheers, as the drill finally punched through. it is not over yet for then underground, steve harrigan has the story, from chile, steve? >> reporter: the break through team, 8:00 this morning, the sire sirens went off, the sound families have been waiting for for more than two months at the mine and across chile, the symbol, the escape hatch reached the miners after more than two months of drilling. we spoke to a u.s. driller here at the scene and he said the work was the most difficult technically, and, also the most stressful, that he has ever had to face. >> this is the toughest operation i have been involved in, any time you make a mine you have to cut through rock or dynamite, and, that causes, obviously, the rock above it to be fractured. and, you will go there and they

put the roof bolts and things to make it strong and we had to cut through all of that and this fact that we have been drilling, 33 days, and knew those guys were down there, they could see it and actually told us, hurry up, you guys, hurry up, we can see your... because we were about 33 meters. >>. >> reporter: there are challenges to come and the final rescue might take place as early as tuesday but that depends on whether or not the rock is stable. cameras will be dropped down and fit is stable we could see the first miners come to the surface in a few days' time. gregg, back to you. >> gregg: steve harrigan, san jose, chile. >> julie: a cave-in trapped the men on august 5th. no one knew if they were dead or alive until 17 days later, rescue teams, drilling more than 2200 feet down, before hearing someone tapping on the machinery. food, water, medicine, then lowered down into the tiny shaft, along with a small

hand-held camera, which gave us this video, here, and, these were the first images of the miners since the crisis began. the men thanking those working, to save them up above, and chanting, long live chile and long live the miners. we know a lot of you are on-line, while watching the show and you can track the story on-line as well as foxnews.com, and you'll get the latest on the efforts to free the trapped miners and the other stories we are working for you, here on fox. new developments on the reported shooting of an american on a border lake, with mexico. mexico's government now opening a federal investigation into the alleged murder of david hartley. his wife says he was shot by mexican pirates while the couple was jet skiing on falcon lake in texas and mexican authorities questioned tiffany hartley's story and new video surfacing that may support her account. three hours before the hartleys went to the lake they were

pulled over by police for an expired registration sticker. now, listen to the conversation the dashcam picked up: >> where are you going today... >> julie: david hartley would have been ticketed but police saw two trucks drive by with marijuana in the back and this went after the truck and left the hartleys -- let the hartleys go. >> gregg: the tea party has been pulling off surprising victories this political season and now the inaugural virginia tea party patriot's convention is underway in richmond, there are pictures and we were expecting the results of a presidential straw poll at any moment, julie kirtz is live in washington. how significant is the straw poll? if at all? >> reporter: it is significant.

the tea party organizers in richmond say they'll have the results of the straw poll in a half-hour, and of course, it's an unscientific vote but gives us a look ahead at the huge question, gregg of who will tea party activists throw their weight behind in the race for the republican nomination in 2012 and, really, no g.o.p. presidential hopeful looks as though in 2012, can expect to really make a go without winning some tea party support. we have seen it in the midterms and this isn't your typical political movement and not organized that way and tea party voters are fired up, for the mid terms, and, they are likely to be that way for 2012, so, it does make a difference, and i think the g.o.p. is watching to see who tea party activists will throw their weight behind. >> gregg: i have a pretty good guess, i mean, who do we think will win at least, be at the top of the list. >> reporter: sarah palin is the tea party favorite, and, she is not there today, and rick santorum attended today and ron paul, a favorite with small government conservatives, and

got a great reception and told fox he has not ruled out a run for the white house and revved up the party, the tea party supporters today and here's some of what he said: >> this is very important what we believe in and i believe we come together with many, many beliefs we agree with. i am sure there are a few that there might be some disagreements on. but, i believe we can agree on the fact that the government we have in washington, d.c. is too big. [cheers and applause]. >> and you can hardly solve the problem of a government too big by making it bigger! >> reporter: a lot of talk about needing a smaller government, at the meeting in richmond and by the way, rick santorum on the stage a few moments ago, made a big move toward a presidential run on thursday by launching a political action committee in iowa. >> gregg: julie kirtz, interesting, live in washington,

thanks and again we are awaiting the result from the presidential stau parole a straw poll and, we'll announce it as soon as it is announced from the tea party patriots convention and later on this hour i'll be talking to tim pawlenty, boots on the ground, you might say in iowa today and may be a 2012 presidential contender. >> julie: in politics, an october surprise a game-changing events that swings the polls in the week ahead of election day. well, a third of the month is nearly in the bag and well, so far no surprises and polls suggest democrats could really use one, the latest real clear politics tracking poll has the dems losing 9 senate seats in november, giving each party an even 50 seats apiece and could anything flip the election's likely outcome? joining us is penny lee, former senior advisor to harry reid and, a former white house

political director under president george w. bush. thanks for coming on. >> thank you. >> julie: patty, since the nixon era, there were many surprises, hostage release deals and criminal indictments and i bet a lot of democrats are praying for anything to upset the notion they'll get swamped in the house and hang onto the senate by a few seats, do you think they'll be planning a late october surprise. >> i think the midterm elections, it will be hard to have a real october surprise. you know, there is always that reserve you want to make. obviously, something could happen on the national security front that no one is expecting but no one, also, really wants as well, but i think when the october surprises will be coming, a -- the -- it will come in individual race and we just saw it this week in california. where you had allegations with meg -- meg whitman had to deal with, as far as her housekeeper is concerned and jerry brown had

unexpected allegation, when a conversation of his was taped, saying -- putting meg whitman in unflattering terms and if you are looking for october surprises, those are the things in individual races, because you have many untested tea party candidates new to the system. >> julie: this is ironic, i just got the press release, meg whitman's camp releasing this, the statement says jerry brown refasths to address the matter and i'm talking about the matter where he used a disparaging term, to describe meg whitman and it says here, that brown is still -- has refused to personally address the hundreds of media reports that he or an unidentified staffer called meg whitman a, quote, whore, matt, is this an october surprise, i'm reading? >> no, i don't think so. but i do agree with penny that, what happened in this election cycle is that it is nationalized. it is about leads toship of president obama, in what i view

as radical policy, alternatives for the terrible economic mess we're in, the only hope democrats have is really an october miracle. and that miracle is to look at individual races, like you are referencing in the california governor's race and try to bring issues in that relate directly to that race, and that is their only shot, in trying to hold back this onslaught of republican victories. >> julie: his camp did, brown's camp apologized, so, i mean, there was some resolve there, but the race in california, i mean, it could potentially be a little bit of a game-changer, couldn't it? >> absolutely, it is a key state, both because it has a governor's race and also has a contested senate race and many, obviously -- the congressional races are hotly contested as well and so california is a key state and so are so many others. you saw nonestablishment candidates in about 7 of these states in the senate, be elected and they are untested, christine

o'donnell, is having to deal with allegation of being involved with witchcraft and other things i'm sure she didn't expect to document how they deal with these individual questions will have bearing on what november comes to mind. >> julie: could anything at this point, a huge uptick in employment numbers, perhaps flip the election's likely outcome, do you think. >> no, if you look at where president obama's approval rating was a year ago, it is roughly the same. and, the unemployment rate, it was roughly the same. the bottom line is, the american people have a perception of the president and what nancy pelosi and harry reid want to get done in congress, and they are rejecting it and rejecting it overwhelmingly, which is why you see larger generic ballot numbers than we have seen in modern history and more people have voted in the republican primaries than democratic primaries for maybe only the second time in modern times, the american people, independents included have -- wants to send a message to the white house they want things to change. >> julie: is the stock market closed friday up 11,000.

that is a sign of economic turn around? or, would it be, could it be enough to help the democrats significantly? >> it is very positive news, but unfortunately with stock markets they go up and down and is not something that you can bank on every, single day, as you see these wild fluctuations happen. i agree that we are probably in the economic numbers that we'll be in through tleks derek elect which are the key numbers, and they are too high but remember, barack obama is not on the ballot, individual candidates in individual states and individual races are and many are doing better than the national polls so i think the big surprise might be how much better democrats do than what the pundits all want to say. >> julie: penny -- matt, a quickly. >> penny is technically right, president obama is not on any of these ballots across the country. but, really, he's on every, single one and that is what people will be voting on. >> julie: all right, penny lee, thank you very much, and matt

matt schlaff, we appreciate it. >> gregg: iran saying it is ready to hold nuclear talks with six major powers, possibly a bit later on this month or next. this is -- as the rogue nation reveals it arrested several alleged spies at the nuclear facilities. according to iran, workers in some of the nuclear sites were lured by promises of cash to pass secrets to the west. as for the international nuclear talks, no specific data has been set but iran's foreign minister saying they would be ready for talks, later this month and maybe next. onto pakistan, the country is reopening the border crossing nato uses to transport supplies into afghanistan. not clear just yet when the trucks will begin rolling, across the northwestern region, but, this delay has created sitting ducks to be sure. nato supply trucks have become the target of many militant attacks. pakistan closed off the area, after a nato airstrike killed

two pakistani soldiers along the perk border and the u.s. apologized for the strike. >> julie: some of the nation's biggest banks put a freeze on foreclosures, bank of america halting foreclosures in all 50 states, over allegations of shoddy paperwork. the growing mortgage mess could end up hurting all homeowners, or, drag down your pension, anyway. and caroline shivley reports in washington. >> reporter: julie, it started off a banking paperwork scandal and whipped into a potential crisis. bank of america is the first big name to shut down foreclosures in all 50 states. and gmac and jpmorgan chase, pnc have also stopped some foreclosures, across about half the country. it doesn't mean these homes shouldn't have faced fortunately but the paperwork might not have been in order. these companies are accused of using a robo-signer. bank employees who sign paperwork that said, yes, i have reviewed what is in here and it is true but never opened the

foreclosure files. some employees allegedly were signing thousands of documents, a month. bank of america said it would take weeks to check their books. >> we haven't found any errors and there are technical issues and we're checking our homework and making sure we have it right after it is being checked multiple times and then we'll continue the process. >> reporter: if you are facing foreclosure in the short-term it could give you more time to save money and stabilize housing prices nationwide since the cheap homes would not be flooding the markets, looking at the long term the housing market is what hases pulled the u.s. out of the past 7 recessions and it could delay the recovery for another few years. the senate plans hearings on this, mid next month, after the elections. julie? >> julie: caroline, thank you. >> gregg: minnesota governor tim pawlenty is hitting the campaign stale en iowa, looking to help g.o.p. candidates head of the midterm elections but is the governor also laying the groundwork for his own presidential run in 2012? governor pawlenty will be joining us in just a few moments.

police now accusing this man of going on a shooting spree at an elementary school playground wounding two small children, now a nearby construction worker helped save the day and end that savage attack. >>... this guy came, carrying an orange box and black gun, shooting it. >> i looked out the window, saw the suspect walking across kneeled, shooting into the children. >> and a girl got shot and blood splashed onto the back of my shirt and i was looking forward and running for my life.

>> julie: a look at other headlines, we're following for you here on fox, a house party, filled with students from central washington university, sending a dozen people to the

hospital, suffering drug overdoses. police believing something may have been slipped into their drinks. iran's president mahmoud ahmadinejad sending a thank you letter to pope benedict xvi, the vatican, not releasing the message, but iran's mahmoud ahmadinejad thanked pope benedict xvi for his stance against a florida pastor who threatened this burn the koran. now, "the new york times" is reporting apple's iphone-4 will come to verizon, it is currently available only through at&t. and the "wall street journal" reporting the move earlier this week. >> julie: the virginia tea party is holding its first convention now. >> gregg: another first, their presidential straw poll and governor tim pawlenty you of minnesota is on the list, but he's not there, he's in iowa raising money for g.o.p. hopefuls in 2012, and this year as well. and, any time a politician goes to iowa, it also raises

questions about... well, you know. joining me on the telephone is republican governor tim pawlenty of minnesota, thanks for taking a few moments on your busy day to speak with us. your party is expected to make gains in november, how big do you think they will be? >> well, naturally, here in iowa and minnesota i think they will be significant. clearly there is a tail wind in favor of conservatives and in favor of republicans, across the country. and i think we will take the u.s. house back, we may well take the senate, i think you will see major gains in the governorships in favor of republicans across the country. and, in local races as well and that is the story i didn't wa, alsos. >> gregg: as you travel around the hawkeye state helping out the candidate, are you doing work of your own, with the presidential caucus only 16 months away. >> the whole team is focused on 2010 and helping the candidates in the message for this election out burt if we make friends

along the way that is nice, too, but we need to focus on 2010 and there will be a time an place for people to decide what they want to don't 2012 or before. and for me that decision is not going to come until early next year. >> gregg: you made six visits, i must say to iowa, and you have a full-time staffer there and it is fair to say you are seriously weighing a presidential bid. >> i haven't ruled it out or in, but is something i'm open to in the sense of what i'm going to do after i am governor but i will not make a decision until early 2011, about whether i weill do that for n-- will do that are not. >> gregg: iowas is contiguous to minnesota and i have a speech, that you gave, and i'll quote, minnesota and iowa have a lot in common, common values, common traditions, common perspectives. do you think that gives you a phones advantage? >> well, it is certainly

familiar and comfortable to me, people in the maheartland, we he a common value and when you cross the border you cannot tell the difference other than the sign changes and there is a consistency in terms of what people value and a common tradition in history, in these two states and so it is very familiar and comfortable to my, and also, you don't get votes based on that. you have to have good ideas and good values and good perspectives on what people mostly want to know is what will you do to get the economy going and provide jobs and they know president obama and nancy pelosi aren't getting the job done and look to the republicans to improve that. >> gregg: and you are geographically close and you could pull out of your driveway and drive 100 miles an reach the iowa border. i would expect greater name identifications, but i looked at the latest poll, let's put it up sdlee screen, the iowarepublic.com

poll, august of this year, huckabee, 22%, and room, 18 and newt gingrich 14% and you are way down at 1%. why do you think that is? >> there is not much over left between the media in minnesota and iowa and though they are neighboring states i'm unknown outside of minnesota for the most part, and that is changing but those candidates you mentioned, are folks who have run before and have national profiles and reputations, and, early polls often reflect name i.d., and that -- if you run and be a significant candidate for president your name i.d. goes up, reliably and i don't think that... remember, rudy giuliani, for example, i admire and respect led the polls halfway through this presidential election cycle and we know the rest of the story. >> gregg: i guess the republics like you down there, you are the headliner tonight at the hamilton county chili supper which is a big deal and i might

suggest, you give the keynote before you try the spicy chili andtongs... >> a beautiful fall evening and high school football games under the lights in rural iowa, today, beautiful blue sky and the sun is out and it is harvest time and you see all the farmers in their feeds and the harvest time and cha chili supper is a slicef american heritage and see it unfolding here in iowa and across the country, good people with good values and make sound and good decisions, and kick the tires pretty hard and that is why i think, they are engaged and informed and ask tough question and are not easily snookered. i like to campaign in iowa and cut through it quickly and get down to the merits. >> gregg: and they make great chili. >> that's right good good luck, thanks. >> take care. >> julie: thousands of fans from around the world marking john lennon's birthday in new york central park. the former beatle would have been 70 years old today.

he was gunned down by mark david chapman in 1980, google honoring the music legend in their own way today, releasing a 32-second video, featuring lennon's songs, imagine. and, a concert is planned for tonight in new york and proceeds going to the human rights organization, amnesty international. >> gregg: ever been over to strawberry fields. >> julie: i have been there and walk through there often and love it. >> gregg: moving. >> julie: it is incredible, people from all over the world go to that one spot. beautiful spot. >> gregg: come to new york, everybody, great time of the year. we are getting new details on the suspect in the shooting of the elementary school playground, what the man's neighbors say about his strange behavior, and, their frequent calls to police. >> julie: and we're listening to america. hear what voters are saying about our government, as we head into midterm elections. >> i'm a little upset with the

current situation with congress... >> i don't see a lot of progress happening. >> i would like to hear real, viable solutions to our economic issues. so you think your kids are getting enough vegetables? yeah, maybe not. v8 v-fusion juice gives them a full serving of vegetables plus a full serving of fruit. but it just tastes like fruit.

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>> julie: is the bottom of the hour, time for the top of the news, police dashcam video seems to support the story of a woman who says mexican pirates shot her husband. and killed him, david hartley is presumed dead, his body has not yet been found. hundreds of villagers fleeing their homes, in hungary, fearing a damaged reservoir could collapse at any moment, sending a second wave of thick, toxic through the country signed i huge car ferry on fire in the baltic sea and an explosion on the upper deck triggering the fire. everyone on board has been rescued. >> gregg: and a "fox news alert." want to tell you about the latest an update on the news conference expected on those trapped miners in chile, expected to begin, really at the

top of the hour. these are live pictures from the scene. rescue crews today breaking through to the cavern where those miners have been trapped. the last 66 agonizing days. we could actually hear when the rescue teams expect to started bringing those miners up through that escape shaft, the president in chile saying it could be in the next 72 hours. stay tuned. we'll be carrying that news conference. >> julie: agony, how parents were describing the minutes, slowly ticking by after a gunman opened fire in a school playground and were forced to wait to find out what happened to their children and police in carlsbad, california arresting 41-year-old brendan o'rourke on 6 counts of attempted murder and weapons charges. according to police, he is not cooperating with them. his neighbors say that he has been behaving strangely, screaming obscenities and racial epithets in his apartment. to the point in time where they

had to often call police. affiliate kfwb talked with the kids and parents about the shooting. >> a guy came, carrying an orange box and a black gun, shooting it. >> i look out the window after the first shot and saw the suspect, walking across the field, shooting into the children. >> popping like... really loud popping, like, balloons popping and fireworks. >> trevor was lucky, he was standing next to one of the students shot by the gunman. >> i girl shot shot and blood splashed onto the back of my shirt and i was looking forward and running for my life. >> i got nervous and saw the blood on him and i thought he was in trouble. >> reporter: that is exactly why the mood was so tense at the adjacent park next to kelly elementary as hundreds of worried parents waited on word of their children's safety. >> it has been terrible. to sit and wonder, what is going on with your child, not being

able to get access to them, being held away from them, not knowing what is going on at the school, not being able to help, you feel helpless, the worst feeling you can have. >> reporter: the shooting happened lunch time for the kids and by 2:00, word spread there were no life-threatening injuries. >> very excited, relieved. relieved. >> reporter: when this parents began their long wait. as schoolchildren were released shoal but surely. >> so happy, so relieved. so... happy. >> i have so much joy in my heart, you cannot -- you cannot put words on the feeling of, when you see the kids walk out and you watch the tears start from the parents, and you see your own child, walk out, and you are -- the heart, like, releasing... oh, it is really hard to put words on, the tears started flowing and, here she is, safe. >> julie: san diego affiliate

kfwb reporting. >> gregg: a man is hailed a her row for taking brown the suspected gunman, a construction worker as close to the school and the shooting began, listen to carlos' story. >> i can't really explain it, man, a crazy, crazy feeling. like that it happened, you know, it is real. he shot and took off toward his car, parked on the sidewalk and had to jump the fence and i noticed he was leaving the playground and i ran across the street to grab my truck and hadded to drive over and hit him with him truck you. >> ran over him. >> yes, sir. >> gregg: bullets grazed the kids and, fortunately, their injuries are just minor. >> julie: fox news, your election headquarters, 24 days, until the midterms, we're finding out exactly what you think, what americans are thinking, talking to voters from new york to atlanta, to seattle, to find out what every day

americans think, about our government. william lajeunesse lit the road for a series, listening to america. >> i give you my word... >> reporter: what politicians say... >> i know we can change america. >> reporter: is not always what voters want to hear. >> it is about your life and not mine. >> they're in la, la land as far as i'm concerned. >> reporter: in atlanta... >> my concern is that they don't tell you much about specifics. >> reporter: they are talking about jobs where they are not doing anything about it. >> in new york... >> you hear political fights, commercial on tv all day. >> seeing them in the streets, with the grassroots people, not seeing much of that. >> reporter: in seattle... >> i would like to see a shift towards more collaboration between the parties. >> i really would like them to lean back off the government. >> they take too much control and it concerns me, because, maybe... they'll take over and control other things. >> it concerns me we are spending and spending and we think we have a bottomless pit and we don't. >> reporter: compare with

seattle, new yorkers were more liberal and less worried about this fed's role in the economy. >> it is relative, today we might need more government control to get the economy back on track. >> to be more focused on the economy, would certainly be a good thing. >> in atlanta, more conservative. >> that is a definite concern for me, the government needs to stay out of the private sector. >> to me, the government has too many hands in the kitty pool. >> reporter: if perception is reality the reality is many voters believe that washington is broken, congress is dysfunctional, and many candidates are not listening to them. some are fed up and frustrated, and others hopeful and optimistic and both believe the election is about the president's agenda. and, not the local issues that help define a congressional candidate. in los angeles, william lajeunesse, fox news. >> believe this?

what is the world coming to... >> that's not a bottle, this is a date. >> gregg: my oh, my, john boehner, don draper, separated at birth? word on capitol hill is that the house minority leader could soon be the majority leader is often compared to the main character in the hit television show, "madmen." see in there you are. split screen and some saying john boehner and don draper, played by john hamm, have the classic style and speak the baritone voice and like to kick back with a drink and a smoke? we report, you decide. >> julie: i'm a don draper fan, i'll will say. >> gregg: a great show. >> julie: and he's just... delicious. >> gregg: delicious. >> julie: that is how we refer to men who are absolutely gorgeous. >> gregg: never heard that. >> julie: i'm a married woman. new york city looking a little more like gotham city today, the new york comic-con is under way,

and, costume clad fan boys are out in force, and, it is a show case for the entertainment industry and peter dies covering the serious story, live, in new york city, and, are these people serious? they take it very seriously! >> reporter: you couldn't tell, i think i'm really undressed for work, i'm sorry, you guys. but, you can see, halloween, not for a few weeks but all of these people dressed up for comic-con, the biggest convention on the east coast and they expect this weekend at the javits center over 100,000 people to see the latest and greatest in movies and video games and, most importantly, of course, comic books and i'm here with heros and legends, alike, we'll talk to them in a second and the tickets for the whole weekend here are $65, a pop, and so, in here, in this wonder world, really no sign of the recession, listen: >> the economy is thriving, man,

in fan turketasy and look at mo and comic books, they are adventures, there is escapism and it is fun, you know. >> reporter: and, first we'll talk to one of the x-membn, pri. >> i'm actually rogue, from the x-men, i assume you don't know anything about comics, it you are here to learn, right. >> and idle have you teach me how to do the white hair just in the front. >> that is my secret. i can't tell you that. >> you and jay leno, what do you do when you are not here. >> i do have a government job, but i won't state, but it is a government job. >> probably top-secret, she's one of the x-men and one of the ghost busters are here and what is that. >> a neutronolon and attaches to the proton pack. >> where do you get one of those. >> where? i can't really tell you. i actually hand-made it. myself. and, through a couple of friends. >> and, in your other job, you

are a bartender and has anybody -- do you want to shoot them. >> i have one under the register, prepared, and waiting for the tippers, my friend. >> i told you they take it seriously, julie. >> julie: interview the guy that is serious to your right. he's staring at the camera like he's going to break it with his eyes. >> are you going the burn the camera with your eyes. >> yes, i am. >> okay. we should probably go. >> julie: you should go look for a firefighter. by the way, what would you be -- if you could be a superhero, what would you be? >> probably the man of steel. >> gregg: yeah. >> julie: man of steel. >> gregg: had a thing for lois lane, didn't you, pal. >> yeah. >> julie: what is your superhero. >> gregg: an each character, so many to choose from. >> julie: i'd like to be super

woman, because as a child, i dressed up in the super woman -- >> gregg: wonder woman. >> julie: it was wonderwoman, are right. and i used to twirl around and pretend -- i'm wonder woman. super woman, i don't go to the comic-con for a reason. >> gregg: right, all right, 24 days, and everything on the line, and what is the latest in the polls and what are they telling us about the midterms? we that he have numbers, straight ahead. >> julie: and brett favre caught in a bombshell scandal. what he's accused of doing, and what the nfl has to say, next. i. i love my job. i can see what's it's doing for the community on a day-to-day basis. natural gas is cleaner burning than most fossil fuels and it's vital to our energy needs. increasingly we're finding gas in hard to reach areas, but now we've developed technology that enables us to access gas in hard rocks so we can bring more fuel to homes and help provide a reliable source of energy into the future. ♪

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>> gregg: it would appear to be a dark cloud hanging over senate democrats in the midterm elections. look at the senate map. these are seats up for grabs, showing who currently holds the post at each stated, evenly split, nearly between red and blue. >> julie: check out the latest projections, based on rasmussen polling, many of those blue states, now toss-ups or leaning toward the g.o.p., joining us the co-author of "mad as hell, how the tea party movement is fundamentally remaking our two-party system" scott rasmussen, president of rasmussen reports, now these states were toss-ups to leading gospel. >> now our map says 48 seats would be held by the democrats, and 48 by the republicans. and four toss-ups and nobody at the beginning of the year gave the perhaps a chance to be this

competitive. the odds are still tough for them to take control, but it could be close on election night. >> gregg: let's break down, some of the individual races, look at the senate race and analyze this for us, will you? >> sure. tell me the race, i'll be happy to talk about it. >> gregg: i didn't i say nevada senate race. it was a virtual tie, two weeks ago, wasn't it. >> that's right, sharron angle inching ahead and the real big story is that harry reid was gaining groundsen five straight polls through the summer and labor day came and his progress stalled, the last several polls, he has been steady or fall in a few points, and this one is close an sharron angle, at least, so far, weathered the storm from all of those challenges, early in her campaign. >> julie: other senate changes, west virginia, i guess watched john raese gain, against joe manchin in the special election to remace the late senator

robert byrd and the race the last few weeks changed quite a bit. >> it sure has and the reason is. raese is not running against joe manchin, he's running against barack obama and mentions his name every chance it gets and joe manchin was the dream candidate for democrats and is a governor with a 69% job approval rating. and the reason he's struggling, barack obama has a 69% disapproval rating. >> gregg: let's move to the connecticut senate race, blumenthal versus linda mcmahaon. he's gaining. >> this is a race, good news for the democrats and bounced back and forth between solid democrat and leaning democrat for the last few weeks and now this is a race the democrats don't want to think about and want to believe it is put away. but, they are nervous because, linda mcmahaon is spending a lot of money on hard-hitting campaign ads. >> julie: how do americans feel about the government and whether it has enough, too much or too little power over the economy?

>> 53% say it has too much influence over the economy. only 20% say not enough. democrats are evenly divided in the question, republicans are not affiliated, and, you know, have way too much power for the federal government. >> gregg: an old cliche but a true one, many people, when it gets into the poll station and they pull the lever, they are really voting their wallet and their lives, and, how they feel about their lives, and you measured that and what did you find. >> 61% of americans say their own life is good for excellent and that is the good news and, when they think back to the golden his years, 64% say they were pretty good as well and when they get into the voting booth, 32% believe the country is heading in the right direction and, 63% are angry at the policies of the government. so, a big gap between their personal lives and what they are seeing in the political world. >> gregg: all right, scott rasmuss rasmussen, as always, good to see you, thanks very much. >> great to see you, gregg.

>> gregg: we are following what may be a news conference -- it is a news conference but we aren't sure when it will happen, expected at the top of the hour and that is 13 minutes from now. we are going to be live in chile, the trapped miners there, how long before they are free from the underground chamber where they were trapped for more than two terrible months. >> julie: and a major american bank freezing all foreclosure proceedings and other financial institutions could follow suit and what it could mean for all homeowners across the u.s. hello, a "penny" saved a "penny" earned. oh, that's 'cause fedex ground helps you save money. that'sht, penny. do you know ours? heavens to betsy. dwayne the bathtub. magic wanda. ah! what's mine? uh, you're a dan fool. oh. it's just a device, dan. you c take it personally. yeah, i suppose. [ male announcer ] we uerstand. you need a partner whhelps you save.

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>> julie: the top to the news, the flofl will investigate allegations brett favre sent racy messages and photos to a woman who worked for the new york jets, while he was quarterback for the team. apparently. a 13-year-old girl accused of

trying to poison members of her own family and the girl confessed to putting rodent poison and dog feces in food eaten by her adoptive mom, and, hand soap in her drinking water. hungary's prime minister warns a reservoir wall holding back tons of toxic sludge seen here could give away any moment and fears of another spill forcing more evacuations. >> gregg: you have probably noticed americans are spending more and more time reading and sending text messages these days, more than 4 billion each and every day. julie was doing it during the commercial break, now politicians are tapping into reach voters the same way. casey steegel is reporting live in los angeles on that. hi, casey. >> reporter: greg and julie, you guys to need to put your blackberries down for the report and let's see how many you can keep from sending while we are telling you about this. 290 million americans have a mobile phone and that is 94% of

the total population. can you believe that? and the reality is, as we all know we're doing a lot more than just talking these days on our cell phones, texting, a whole different way to communicate, and it is literally taking over. get this: it is estimated we send nearly 5 billion text messages every day in this country, according to the wireless association. so, it is no surprise that more and more politicians are now turning to sms for campaigning, california senate hopeful carly fiorina, california gubernatorial candidate meg whitman, and, senate majority leader harry reid among thy growing list of politicians who are texting voters and collecting their mobile phone numbers, to reach out. >> we're definitely embarking on new technology, many campaigns have not been brave and bold enough to be able to step into the realm, but whee are comfortable and have had excellent results and made thousands.thousan upon thousand calls through the technology.

>> you may not read it because it is in your junk mail folder but you will read the text message, you have the big tv, the laptop computer, and you have the cell phone. the cell phone is the one you have with you all the time. >> reporter: another reason, while mobile phone numbers are so important. fewer americans have land lines than ever before and so for many people a cell phone is the only way you can reach them and the number, expected to grow in time for the 2012 presidential election. gregg? >> gregg: casey steegel, live in los angeles, thanks very much. >> julie: the soyuz spacecraft is closing in on the space indication, cosmonauts and american astronaut scott kelly are on board, set to hook up with it two hours from now, starting next year all astronauts going there will travel on the soyuz and some question america's right lines on russia in -- amy kellogg reporting from kazakhstan. >> reporter: american astronaut

scott kelly is suited up for a trip to the international space station. only, this time, he doesn't go from cape canaveral. rather, from the steps of kazakhstan. sometime next year, all astronauts going to the space station will travel on russian soyuz spacecraft. >> if we want to, you know, move forward, beyond where we are, the economic realities, this is what we have to do, retire the space shuttle and build the new vehicles. >> reporter: the russian space shuttle has been grounded for decades but crank out the soyuz and some question the wisdom of relying on old soviet technology to travel astronauts at tens of millions of dollars per ride in the old workhorse but nasa calls the low-tech spacecraft solid. >> simple boilerplate technology that world for 50 years almost flawlessly and the russians are elegant by their simplicity. >> reporter: some things have

changed, since the soviet times, now a priest blesses the spacecraft before each journey and the one that went friday morning had a new brain installed. >> we had a significant upgrade, and went from the digital system, more than 20 years ago, this time, another big step in software. >> reporter: astronaut scott kelly's twin, mark was at the launch and he'll join his brother at the space station in february, commanding one of the last shuttle missions. >> it is kind of sad the shuttle will be retired. you know? it is incredibly -- incredible vehicle. and there has never been anything like it. >> reporter: in the meantime, the space race is long over between the u.s. and russia, economic realities rule and space is expensive. the cooperation works well on both sides, the money that nasa saves on the shuttle program, it will put into future plans and scott hopes the visiting asteroids and mars and they russian, too, putting aside

money for a future launch pad, they are planning to build in the far east, and that will be finally closing the chapter on the old soviet space program. in kazakhstan, amy kellogg, fox news. >> gregg: we'll have breaking news, for you from the virginia tea party patriots convention and have results of the presidential straw poll, it is in. and the winner may surprise many of you. >> julie: yeah and we're also waiting for a news conference, now that rescuers have broken through to the underground cavern where 33 miners, in chile are trapped. we'll have new details on that, coming up. >> gregg: that is going to do it for us, for this hour, rick folbaum and jamie colby on deck to take you through the next hour. >> julie: and i'll see you one hour from now on the fox report. don't be late! .

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