the head of the government bach won an ig nobel prize. >> steve: we thank you very much. >> it's worth about $2. >> steve: see you tomorrow. all of us in america, new development necessary a foreclosure meltdown, that sparked an investigation, we're learning 40 states attorneys general will going to take a closer look at bank practices on foreclosures. it's the biggest financial story since the collapse of the housing market. where does this go and why? good morning, i'm bill hemmer, live from americaoos noose room. i couldn't get my shoe down over the thing here. >> want to make sure you're okay. bill: on a monday, i'm bill hemmer, welcome. martha is out today. how are you? >> i'm great, happy columbus eh. arthel: i'm in for martha maccallum. new investigations to help

banks come cleared on foreclosure fraud, now taking place across the nation. bill: the white house saying this is a serious problem, we know that, but they're also saying we do not need a nationwide ban on foreclosures. so why is this happen something stuart varney, i tried to figure this out all weekend. the banks don't win here, the politicians are saying this is not the way to go, so why is it happen something. >> it's lawsuit-driven. we're in the process of trying to close out hundreds of thousands of homes, foreclosed on homes. if the eyes are not dotted and the ts are not crossed and the documentation isn't perfect you could go to court and hold up the tpr-rg and unfortunately the paperwork is incorrect in so many cases that three big banks have had to stop all foreclosures, so bill, to answer your question, this is lawsuit-driven. everybody knows it's bad for the banks, it's bad for the

taxpayers and there's not many politician that is see an advantage in slowing down an already slow housing market. bill: is there evidence that americans are unfairly being kicked out of their homes, and if so, how many? >> no. let's be clear here. where foreclosure proceedings have started, the homeowner has not met his or her obligations of the mortgage. they are in debt. way in debt. the problem is with the paperwork of the banks. that doesn't mean that the foreclosure process should not go forward at some point. it means that it's got to be delayed until you get it legally, precisely right. bill: so sorry to cut you off here again, just trying to figure this out, but a delay of two months? more than two month? >> i think it's going to be more, because you're dealing with such an enormous volume of foreclosures. remember, foreclosure notices have gone out to the tune of 300,000, every month, for 17 straight months. that's the backlog that you're looking at, which has to be worked through.

with all the legalistic dotting of the is and crossing of the teufplts, it's got to go right. bill: so my neighbor down the street may not be paying his or her mortgage. >> right. and you have to ask the question -- >> bill: cay end up paying for that. >> precisely. that's moral hazard. now, if i have a mortgage and i'm in arrears or under water, i owe more than the house is worth, in this situation, if i can't be foreclosed upon, if the foreclosure, getting out on the street, is going to be delayed for a significant period of time, why should i keep paying my mortgage? bill: we've called it the biggest story since the financial meltdown and you think this is accurate. >> yes. bill: stephen moore is coming up from the "wall street journal". as i mentioned, the foreclosure mess raising a bigger argument, will taxpayers like you and me be on the hook for folks that could not manage their mortgages. a closer look with stephen moore on that in a matter of moments. arthel. arthel: there is news that

the contender for president obama's old senate seat in illinois, clashing for jobs in the overall economy in the first debate, democrat alexi gun you'llous -- giannoulis and mark kirk, drawing stark contrasts over the biggest issues facing americans. we'll hear both signs. listen: >> this is a fundamental public policy difference between myself and congressman kirk. he says he's a fiscal hawk, look, the congressman has told real whoppers during the campaign but that may be the biggest one of all. he voted for every one of the bush budgets, he voted to raise the debt ceiling four times, the list goes on and on. we now number our debt in trillions rather than in billions and i think that represents a long term danger, especially to the american dream. every american born today owes $43,000 to the federal government, the day she or

he is born and we are transferring a tremendous amount of debt to the new generation, much of it owed to overseas creditors who expect to be repaid by our children with interest. arthel: this is the first of three debates, kirk and giannnoulis face off later this month again in chicago. bill: new word in "america's newsroom" about a fresh development in one of the country was most closely watched races, president bill clinton goes to nevada to join senate imagine ord leader harry reid for a precampaign rally tomorrow, this comes as reid tries to fend off an upset from sharron angle, and the polls in nevada, it is neck and neck and too close to call right now. arthel: did you hear about this over the weekend? new reaction to controversial comments made by a man who wants to lead new york state, the republican gubernatorial candidate carl paladino making his feelings about homosexuality clear on a campaign stop. here is paladino addressing

jewish leaders in brooklyn: >> i just think my children and your children will be much better off, and much more successful, getting married and raising a familiar land i don't want them to be brainwashed into thinking that home sexually is an valuely valid -- an equally sal valid option. it isn't. arthel: paladino is speaking out once campaign about this ad where ando cuomo takes aim. david vitter, carl paladino had more to say this morning. it's all about damage control, right david? >> reporter: it appears to be that way. round two this morning had paladino appearing on national television, as well as local tv stations here in new york. what he appeared to be trying to do was to give context to his remarks on sunday that resulted in so many controversy. now he is citing his catholic beliefs, saying because of them he believes

marriage should be between a man and woman, he says yes, he does oppose gay marriage but he also is saying that he is sympathetic to discrimination and also saying that he does not discriminate against gays, he is acknowledging the gay life is a difficult knife, he has a nephew, as well as employees who are gay. he is -- here is some of what he said on the fox affiliate in new york any. >> this comment was made properly, the comment was directed at teaching young children about homosexuality at a young age. i don't think they're prepared, and i think that's a parent's job. i don't think it should be done in the schools. >> reporter: adding to the controversy now,ary r* arthel, is something that paladino did not say. apparently, a prepared test of his remarks was circulated to reporters, it contained the following phrase, quote, there is nothing to be proud of in being a dysfunctional homosexual. he did not utter that phrase when he addressed the jewish group, for whatever reason,

he decided that was an appropriate line, never the lot it was widely attributed to him. he also told reporters when he did speak the reporters in attendance at the meeting, the jewish leaders, he told them don't misquote me as wanting to hurt gay people. arthel. arthel: in the report there with andrew cuomo, what is he saying about this? >> andrew cuomo and his team weighed no time in coming out with a -- wasted no time in coming out with a response, cuomo issued a statement, and let's bring up the graphic, mr. paladino's statement displays a homophobia and disregard for basic equality, this along with other views that he has espoused, making clear he is way out of the mainstream and unfit to represent new york. in new york, there was a bill defeated, paladino said unlike andrew cuomo if the bill comes up again, he is going to veto it. arthel. arthel: -- arthel: david lee miller, thank you. bill: to a tough talking

governor now, chris christie, taking top honors at the presidential straw poll at the tea party patriots convention over the weekend, edging out former governor of alaska, sarah palin, 14 percent of the vote, palin came in second, missed it by half a point, one # .5% and the rest of the list is there, ron paul, newt gingrich, jim demint. congressman paul had this on the mid-terms: >> i believe we come together with many, many belief that is we agree with. i'm 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. and you can hardly solve the problem of a government too big by making it bigger. bill: so does christie's win that he'll run in 2012?

he says no. right now he's focusing on being the governor of new jersey, which has been his consistent message for some sometime. but christie, he gets ahead about everywhere he goes, doesn't he? arthel: he sure does. democrats working overtime with 90 seats said to be in jeopardy. we're going to find out if the gop has the advantage going into november. republican party chair michael steele will join us. bill: he's on the road and on the bus, too. meg whitman reacting to being called a very bad name. we'll find out her response for the very first time and take a look at this: >> karl rove, ed gillespie, they're bush cronies, the u.s. chamber of commerce, they're shields for business business and -- big business and they're stealing our democracy. bill: karl rove calls that a baseless lie. a closer look at the ad and taking an aim at the chamber of commerce. why would you do that, three weeks before the election? and big players in the republican party, next.

>> bill: so that's an ad, intensifying its attack against the chamber of commerce and its so-called questionable funding of republican races. democrats accuse the chamber of having ties to secret foreign donors. that's the suggestion. president obama talked about this controversy over the weekend. here's part of what he said. >> don't let them hijack your agenda. the american people deserve to know who's trying to sway their election. and you can't stand by and let special interests drown out the voices of the american people. bill: so that was yesterday in philadelphia. former senior adviser to

george burks and fox news contributor karl rove is one of the targets in the ad. he responded this way on fox news sunday: >> the president is completely inaccurate. he said i funded him. i wish i had the billions of dollars that george soros has that he used to fund democratic causes in the past. i'm helping these groups by raising money for them as is allowed under the laws of the united states. >> have these people no shame, does the president of the united states have such little regard for the office he holds that he goes out there and makes these kind of baseless charges against his political emme? this is beyond the pale, how dare the president do this. >> maria cardona, sr*eufan see, welcome back. andrea t -- santoros, how are you doing. the allegation is this, the chamber of commerce could, could, the words of the president, be using foreign money to contribute to campaigns here in the united states. no proof of this. and you heard what karl rove

said yesterday, okay? those are the balt lines being drawn, andrea. what are we to make of this? >> bill, you pointed out they have repeatedly asked for proof of these allegations, they're completely baseless and the white house has come up short. they refuse to give evidence whatsoever. the the chamber while they have overseas members keeps the money totally separate. a week ago, i said democrats are so desperate, be careful, because their strategy is going to be to distract from the issues at hand and destroy anybody they can and they are apparently doing this with karl rove. >> the next target is the chamber of commerce. maria, what are we to make of this three weeks away? do voters care? >> i think they should care in terms of the larger issue here, bill, which is that there are a lot of groups, not just the chamber, but many other groups who do not disclose their donors, who are going into these local races and to these state races with millions and

millions of dollars, trying to sway the elections to get conservatives elected so that the democrats who have been in the last two years standing town these special interests, including health insurance companies, credit card companies, wall street, so that democrats get to -- >> bill: and maria, if you could hold up a piece of paper and prove it right now, maybe people would care, but you know, and remarks i'm thinking, three weeks away, i mean, is this -- is it for the -- is it about the chamber commerce or the fact that people don't have a job? >> this is inside baseball. people don't care. let's assume he did. maria, i'm shocked you can sit there with a straight face and talk about funneling money when we don't know where it's coming from. in september alone obama himself and the democrats have taken so much money from wall street, he was the largest recipient of money from bp, george soros is planning on funneling

$75 million this election cycle, maria and guess where he gets his money? off shore hedge funds and keeps those investors hidden. >> that's why your argument is -- >> no one believes you. >> you know what, andrea, here's -- >> bill: me kwrarbgs respond to that. go ahead, maria. >> thank you. here's what voters should care about. first of all, all of obama's donors are disclosed. these groups do not disclose their donors. we have no idea who they are. and who were the ones who were trying to pass legislation so that everybody could see the open books of where this was coming in from? it was democrats. republicans absolutely refused to join us in that. so therefore, they are the ones who are standing with the special interests, and not on the side of middle class voters and working class voters. bill: we'll see very soon, ladies, whether or not this moves the meet stkpwhraoer it won't. bill: it won't? >> they care about jobs, they care about spending. this is just another distraction. bill: andrea, you say it

will or will not? >> i think that it will. >> i think it will. bill: we'll see, thank you ladies, have a good monday. >> thank you bill. bill: thank you ladies. arthel: an oppressive regime with nuclear weapons now on the verge of a major shift. we are live inside north korea, yes, with a rare look at how this secretive country prepares to welcome its next year's leader. greg palkot, just 75 yards from arguably two of the most dangerous men in the world. bill: also a gunman opening up on a crowd of school children, a heroic group of workers takes the shooter down. one joins us live. >> i looked out of the window after the first shot, saw the suspect coming across the field, shooting into the children.

arthel: those amazing pictures out of north korea, the dictatorship putting on a big public show, kim jung-il and his young son, an heir, making his first public appearance. greg palkot is in the capitol. >> reporter: greetings from pyongyang, north korea. i don't get to say that too often. it's the day after the big public debut of the heir apparent and there's reaction already from inside and outside north korea, we watched through the weekend and kim jung-un stood side by side his father and kim jung-il for various events, live on state tv and around the world, who came out of nowhere to become a top general and top party official. response from the key

military and political ally to the north, it was swift, they want them to come visit, obviously they want to meet the new guy, also response from the key military and political rival to the south, soth south south cree kwrarbgs they demanded north korea resolve the suspect nuclear program and dismiss the idea there could be any kind of generational shift here. here in pyongyang, this is an extended holiday, an anniversary of the founding of the people of the communist party, some folks laying flowers at a huge statue of the founder of this country, and there is an acceptance of this new guy coming on board and arthel, as you noted, foreign, u.s. media, got extensive access. we got to see both the youth of this new leader and a lot of aging faces in the government and military, somehow i don't think change will come here too soon.

arthel: thank you very much. new details in the alleged shooting death of an american tourist along the southern border. the search for suspects is underway but are we any closer to finding hartley? >> meg whitman says it's offensive to women, saying this about name calling on the part of her challenger, jerry brown's campaign. >> it's a slur and i'm not going to dignify it with a response. mill mill what else the candidate for governor is saying about the incident and her democratic challenger. that's out in three minutes.

bill: 930 time on monday morning, meg whitman, republican candidate for governor in california refuse ago comment made -- recusing a comment made by jerry brown. pwh*eutman -- whitman responding to the name calling saying the slur is, quote, offensive to women but she did not go much further than that on the current controversy. >> it's a slur. and i'm not going to dignify it with a response. you know, we try to run a campaign that is high integrity, we try to run a campaign that is a reflection of who i am, and that's what we try to do

every single day, and i would say to the media, i think want to campaign on the issues, they want to know what i'm going to do about jobs, what i'm going to do about education, how we're going to cut wasteful spending and i think the media needs to turn the attention back to the issues that are in front of every californian between now and november 2nd, because my view is, this election is an incredibly important election, people really want to know who's going to solve their problems. bill: whitman is facing jerry brown in that heated race, it is neg and neck at the moment. brown's camp has apologized for the slur, apparently quoted while discussing campaign strategy. apparently someone forgot to hang up the phone after the call. tips, were you are, download the app on our website or at foxnews.com, or pick it up in the apps store, it's all there waiting for you. arthel: tensions are reaching a peak for 33 miners trapped underground in chile, a bore hole, just

wide enough to fit a man, reached workers half a mile beneath the workers on sunday. each minor will ride one by one in a escape pod to the surface. rescuers say they're concerned about the injuries in the assent. the -- assent. the miners have been trapped two months. bill: they're bringing down sun glas -- sunglasses to those guys who they emerge from the depths of the earth, they'll be equipped and their eyes can take it. it's going to be great story down there when it happens, when they come back up. half a billion dollars down the drain, that's how much money california spent on college freshmen who eventually dropped out. a new study shows that california coughed up more cash than any other state, $467 million in taxpayer money on students who failed to come back for their sophomore year. in response, the state education officials say that schools should conduct exit interviews for students to

find out why they are leaving. arthel: a san diego area elementary school reopening its doors after a gunman opened fire on children playing outside, wounding two little girls. you can hear the full range of emotions of parents and those who helped sub due the suspect. listen: >> this guy came, carrying an orange box and a black gun, shooting it. >> i looked out the window after the first shot, saw the suspect walking across the field, shooting good the children. >> popping. really loud popping. like balloons popping and fireworks. >> a girl got shot and blood splashed on to the back of my shirt. i was looking forward and running for my life. >> i got nervous when i saw the blood on him, i thought he got injured but he did not. >> it's been terrible, to sit and wonder what's going on with your child, not being able to get access to them, being held away from them, not knowing what's going on at the school, not being able to help.

you feel 4e7less -- helpless. it's the worst feeling you could have. >> when he shot, he took off, his par is -- car is parked on the sidewalk there. he had to jump a fence. i noticed when he was leaving the playground, i ran across the street to grab my truck, so i had to drive over, and i h-t him with my truck. >> you ran over him? >> yes, sir. it kind of got him down and we all ended up getting your bodies and kicking him, you know. >> arthel: scott chandler is one of those quick thinking bystanders who helped save the day, tackling the gunman and taking the man's gun earnings is that correct, scott? >> yeah, i happen to live up the street and was watching the whole thing go down, and thinking it was an assembly, since they do do assemblies on fridays, outside assemblies, and ran down the hill, not knowing i was run to go that fence, tried to assess the situation, trying to figure out what i'm seeing, seeing a bunch of men around, trying to chase somebody, and there were gun

shots going on. after they got him down, started kicking, i ran up and helped detain him. >> do you live nearby, is that the case? >> yes, i'm right across the street from the school, i've been there about 15 years, my two daughters graduated from that school last year. arthel: how do you go from being in your front yard to face to face with this guy who has i would imagine a crazed look in his eyes? >> you know, i heard the first gun shot, ran across the street, and then heard several more, then several more, and as i said, i thought it was a simulated assembly, like on a gun shotting -- shooting, because i didn't see anybody hitting the ground, then figured out that it wasn't safe, then started running down the sidewalk to get a closer look or to see, you know, what i could do. told my wife to run in and grab the keys to the car, because she was half way across the street, and that's when the whole chaos, the kids were run ag cross the campus, screaming, and it just so happens i did not

know his vehicle was parked down the street, but when one of the construction workers pulled up his truck, he climbed over the fence, we all connected with him, so it was very quick and chaotic, and i didn't really know what was going on. arthel: how quick did it all happen? >> all within three minutes. three, four minutes. arthel: so cue see this fans chase, could you see his eyes? >> as i was kitting -- sitting there, they had been dressed up pretty well for the part, he was wearing a book hoodie sweatshirt, black shoes, and you know, dressed like he was ready to do something. we detained him on the ground, he had extra rounds of 357 ammunition falling out of his pockets, boxes, quick loads, then a gas can that he had carried with him to the middle of the school grounds with a box of matches. arthel: my goodness. so once this is all over and you had time to think about what it is that you did, what went through your mind? >> you know, actually, the

first officer pulled up as the shooting suspect was right there, his weapon is right there, another officer pulled up, the first ones on the scene. i'm pretty familiar with the principal, i've done some activities with the school over there and the staff, i yelled over to the fence to her, has anybody been hit, she wasn't sure, i then did a room to room inspection by running through the school, and it was lunch time, so the classrooms were empty. soz when i stumbled upon some trails of blood and i knew somebody had been injured, i then called 911 and followed the trail to the room where the two injured girls were and ran out to police officials and notified them we do need paramedics on the scene. >> and they weren't alarmed to see you since you lived across the street and had been for 15 years and two of your daughters lived there, so you are very close to that school. >> very close and close to the staff, the staff did a great job, the police department did a great job and i thank god that there wasn't any fatalities and we were able to sub due him at the time they did. arthel: and thank god that

you react sod quickly and didn't get hurt, either. scott chandly, thank you very much for staying your story this morning. bill: man on the scene, huh? good for him. you want that guy in your neighborhood, don't new you bet you do. there is breaking news overseas now, we're getting reports out of tehran that iran has arrested two foreigners who iran says they claim were journalists but actually, they're spies. we've heard this story before now and yet again it's happened, iran calling them fake foreign journalist *s. not much more on the incident. we're trying to figure out the nationalities, whether or not they are american. it's a story just breaking and when we get more, we'll pass it to you. but fox news confirming that two foreign journalists, arrested and charged with being spies. we're working on this, trying to figure out what actually is the confirmation on the story, et cetera. we're working on that now. in the meantime, americans have seen signs in the neighbors' yards, maybe

even their property, now washington weighs the fate of the housing market in the midst of the foreclosure freeze, but will u.s. taxpayers be on the line for those losing their homes? >> arthel: a tsunami of sludge and a investigation vor that's already turned into a deadly river. my word.

arthel: this is a fox news alert. police in hungary, arresting the head of the industrial plant at the center of the toxic sludge spill last week meanwhile authorities say no new cracks have been found on the wall of the reservoir, holding the shrupbl back, but the good news might not last for long. officials are also warning that the wall will eventually collapsed, unleashing a new wave of floods. engineers are busy repairing the old cracks. workers are race to go build a protective wall around the damaged area to hold back

any further spills. bill: let's get back to our top story now. this is a foreclosure fiasco there are questions again surrounding how america's biggest lenders process housing documents, calling into question the legality of thousands of foreclosures and now some financial institutions, halting all the proceedings across the country, so foreclosures are on hold. throw that into the mix with the housing crisis now. stephen moore, editor of the "wall street journal," one of the paper's senior economic writers, good morning to you. stu told us 42 minutes ago, this is all about the law. >> this is cya on behalf of the banks when it comes to facing lawsuits. do you see it the same way? >> bill, you called this a foreclosure fiasco. i call it just a god awful mess. and you're right, what's happening out there is that you've got thousands of homeowners getting foreclosure notices and eviction notices and paying their mortgages. i want to make this point, though, bill. we do know 95-99 percent of

the mortgage foreclosure notices being sent out are being sent out correctly that, is to people who haven't been paying their mortgages, but it's a big problem for the housing market now because if the foreclosure process does not work properly, i think it makes it very difficult to get to the bottom of the housing crisis so we can move out of this and move on. bill: so the answer to the why is this: that the banks are worried about legal proceedings down the road, okay? we got that now. >> right. bill: the white house, david axelrod, says he thinks it's a bad idea. >> this is -- for once the white house has taken apgs i agree with. i don't think the government should be involved in this, i think the idea of a blanket moratorium on foreclosures, bill, would be the worst possible thing to do right now. we want the foreclosure process to work properly, so people if they haven't been paying their mortgages for six months or something like that get taken out of the hole and you resell it. the banks need the money from these mortgage payments or you're going to have more banks fail. bill: i don't get that.

what's the incentive for the banks to cut off -- cut off the foreclosure proceedings? because in the end, ultimately they're going to get burned. >> well, the reason is they're worried about lawsuits, bill. i mean, if only even a few people get, you know, improperly -- improperly get the mortgage foreclosure notices, then you're going to have lawsuits. so i think that's what worries the banks. but you know, the real problem is we've had such a flood of foreclosures in the last 18 months, bill, when i talked to the banking people, they say we just weren't ready to process this massive number of foreclosures. i'm not trying to defend the banks here because i think they've acted incredibly improperly. bill: so you're saying the tidal wave of paperwork was too much for them to handle, that's the explanation you get. >> right, and that's no excuse. that's no excuse. bill: i agree. what about folks two months behind, three months behind, now they're thinking you know what, i can be six months behind? >> that's the problem. bill: then when they come knocking on my door, i'll take my stuff and walk out? >> that's exactly the

problem, bill, is that this almost gives people an incentive not to pay their mortgage. that's why aforeclosure moratorium would be just a horrible idea. as i said at the outset, this couldn't come at a worse time. because i was feeling like we're finally turning the corner on the housing crisis, we're finally reaching a bottom, but you know, when you look at states that have a good orderly process of foreclosures, those are the ones who are putting the old housing crisis behind them, it's where you've got a mess, where you can't filling out who should be in the house and who shouldn't, those are the states where the real estate market is in crisis. bill: which states would you be referring to there? >> just as an example, i live in virginia, we have a very orderly process and we've started to see the housing prices rise again, across the potomac river in maryland, it's a different process and maryland's housing process is still a disaster. bill: so this in -- in that case it varies in state to state but what about

california or azoo california or arizona? it's worse than virginia, i can tell you now. >> there's no question about it, these are what we call the fan states, states like california, florida, nevada, arizona, that have just such high foreclosure rates, and it's just a catastrophe. when you think about it, most of these mortgages should never have been made in the first place by the banks and now they can't get the mortgage foreclosure process. and remember, bill, these are the very guys we bailed out a year and a half ago. bill: that's the truth. a lot of that money has been paid back in all fairness but there's a moral hazard in all this, and also, you wonder for people trying to buy a home now, it's so darn difficult for them to either get the money to buy the house or refinance the loan they're sitting on now. >> well, that's exactly right. i've got a bumper sticker on my car that said honk if i paid your mortgage, and all people are honking at me as i go down the street because we have a situation now where we've spent about $400 billion at the federal level, helping people pay

their mortgages, which means taxpayers who are paying their mortgages like you and me have to pay extra taxes for people that aren't paying their mortgage. not fair. bill: send some of those stickers to new york, will new. >> you got it. bill: arthel and we are not the ones honking at you! but when we do pass you on the highway, we will! >> there you go. bill: stephen moore from the "wall street journal," go to foxnews.com/"america's newsroom", click on the bya box and shoot me an e-mail, hemmer, foxnews.com or on twitter at bill hemmer. you've got ways to reach you, bya, because you asked. wow. arthel: you know what, i have to say that i don't think that all homeowners under water are going there saying i won't pay my mortgage. maybe they'll take the opportunity to catch their breath. those people hurting legitimately and not being gir response stkpwhraoeubl but for the folks paying their bills, it's the american way, right? right? okay. all right. me? it's simply a stunning

admission, how a major mistake in one state can mean the troops overseas will not be able to cast their votes for the mid terms. not right. arthel: and he is hitting the road to go big game political hunting. rnc chair michael steele, hope to go knock nancy pelosi off her powerful perch as house speaker. so what's the strategy to regain the house majority? he's going to tell us. >> he's on the bus, by the way! have you heard? during the break, check out our home page, head to foxnews.com and see the most read stories that everybody is reading and click it on today. by the way, happy columbus day, america! back in three minutes. arthel: absolutely, happy columbus day!

bill: some breaking news from overseas, mention thunderstorm a few moments

ago, there are reports out of tehran that iran has arrested two foreigners who say they're journalists and iran calls them spies. iran calling them, quote, fake foreign journalists, no other details at the moment. we're watching this, we're in touch with the folks overseas and also in tehran, as to whether or not they're americans or where they are from, if not american. back on that story, breaking right now, in "america's newsroom". arthel: bill, meanwhile, we are learning about a stunning failure by new york state board of elections, less than a month away from november mid terms. the state admitting now they missed a deadline to mail absentee ballots to troops overseas, running the risk of robbing thousands of u.s. soldiers their right to vote. eric shawn is live with this story. how did this happen? >> reporter: it is disturbing. they're fighting for our freedom but now may be denied the ability to vote. a lot of members of the military from new york state may not be able to cast their ballot necessary this election because the state board of elections it turns

out did not mail the absentee ballots in time. under the federal move act, states must mail them out, 45 days before the election. despite an extension the ming of this past month, some of the state's largest counties, including new york city, admit they couldn't meet that new deadline, either. this means about 320,000 servicemen and women may not be able to vote in the election. the justice department has this reaction saying, quote, the department is aware of recent issues in new york, and we are in urgent discussions with state officials into achieving a prompt resolution. the department is committing sit resource toss vigorous reform of the move act, to ensure men and women in the military and those living overseas have the opportunity to vote and have them count this year's elections. we put into calls today to the city in new york board of elections. this of course comes after years of complaint that is

members of the military are too often denied the ability to vote. as part of our fox news voting fraud unit investigation, we looked into this issue during a presidential election in 2008. what we found, in 2006, ready for this, the federal election assistance commission said that half, half, of military ballots were not even counted. those ballots either did not make it to the troops on the front lines in time or they were returned to the state board of elections past the legal deadline to be counted we'll stay on top of this one. arthel: that's really too bad. i think we can -- what are you telling me again about the e-mails? >> yeah, we have our voter fraud unit, a site, we've had this up for a few years, it is called voterfraud, one word, at foxnews.com, orioo we can't always get to every single story we get and there are a lot of them but

we look at each and every e-mail, voterfraud at foxnews.com. bill: when he started that about six months ago, even eric, he was stunned by the response he got. no idea in certain areas, where it would be getting story. he's finding story after story after story. arthel: that is a fascinating story. bill: that's right. this story broke over the week under, no soup for you seniors, big news about social security if you're a senior, no increase for cost of living. willna have been -- have an impact on elections 22 days and count something. >> arthel: conflicting reports about the possible search for suspects involved in the shooting of david hartley, the american allegedly killed by a mexican drug gang. we'll hear from david's wife tiffany, why she says she just wants answers. >> hopefully these two guys are the ones that are responsible and then they can lead us to david, but then we're also hearing conflicting stories that

mexican government don't have any suspects. so it's frustrating because you just never know what to believe and what's true, what's not. medicare. it doesn't cover everything.

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threw a curve at my curves so i threw it right back... with yoplait light -- around 100 calories. now i love my curves in all the right places. ♪ bill: good morning, a "fox news alert," now, he's the head of the republican party and the political watchers -- if they are right, the party might regain power in the house, senate and in only 22 days and if that this is case, what will republicans do with the majority? chairman of the party, michael steele is here at "america's newsroom" to answer that. only 10 minutes from now. bill: more than 58 million seniors in this country get social security benefits, and, many of them depend on it to live. on them to live and now, very bad news for those people, no increase at all in payments this year. chew on that, good morning,

brand new hour, i'm bill hemmer, columbus day in america and... how are you doing, arthel, great to have you here. arthel: good to be here. last year was the first time the cost of living increase was scrapped. now, for the second year in a row, recipients will not get an annual boost to compensate for rising costs. bill: the analysts say it is tied to inflation and rising energy costs and there is no change there and, hence, no change in your check. dagen mcdowell, fox business network, does it happen often, last year and now. >> two years in a row, the first time that that ever happened and these cost of living adjustments were put into place, in the mid '70s, by congress and, based on the bureau of labor statistics, this is a -- part of the labor department, measures inflation in the third quarter of every year, and, the following year, it sees no inflation, and there by, social security recipients, you said it, nearly 59 million people, will not get a cost of

living adjustment this year and we should note they got $250 checks in the stimulus package last year but it really highlights the tug-of-war that is going on in terms of, do we want to -- do you help seniors who have been hard hit by the recession, interest rates are near zero and they are not earning anything on their savings, at the same time, gas prices are up, from a year ago, and, food prices have been going up, but, we have to face the grim realities, social security is running out of money, and, this year, remember, it is going to pay out more than it received in payroll taxes. bill: how is news like this received? you talk to the analysts all day long on the fox business network. what do they say? what is the psychological impact or the financial impact, of something like this, dagen. >> people who are not on social security, certainly, feel for the people who rely on these government payments. but, again, people look at

social security and say, we have to figure out a fix and it is talked about on the campaign trail, and, it is going to be painful, whatever fix we come up with. bill: you wonder, this is where economics meets politics, right? and, the election is in 22 days and could something like this have an impact on the race, one way or the other. >> yes, despite the fact the democrats are in power right now, who is at fault, it is hard to point the finger at any party but the democrats will be the ones that probably get hurt by this. bill: we'll see you on fbn, dagen mcdowell. >> thank you, bill. bill: see you soon. >> okay. arthel: we're waiting an announcement on a massive joint investigation into the home foreclosure melt down we've reported on the top of the hour, attorneys general in 40 states planning to look into what is becoming the biggest financial story since the collapse of the housing market. mike emmanuel is live at the white house now and, mike, we have to ask you, what this is white house thinking on a

national moratorium? >> reporter: well, good morning, white house officials say they do not believe there is a need for a national moratorium at this point, because there is probably some cases where foreclosure is appropriate. if you bought too much house, bought a getaway house and cannot afford it, then perhaps, the foreclosure is proper, but they are concerned, they say it is a serious problem, this foreclosure mess we're in right now and they are, woulding with the mortgage processing industry to go through the paperwork, to see that those who may have had their homes foreclosed on them, and, it was improper, that that gets thrown out, and, so, acknowledging, it is a serious problem and saying they don't see a need for national moratorium. arthel: we talked to stephen moore about the horrible timing of this and i imagine the administration has to be concerned about the political, potential impact on this, right. >> reporter: no question. obviously, they follow all the economic numbers here and have been looking for any signs of

good hope, you talk about the housing industry and that was a lot of the start of our economic troubles, and, so, they admit that the housing industry is very fragile now and they have great concerns about any impact it may have on the housing market in terms of prices, and whether, you know, there is a bunch of foreclosed homes on your block, will you be able to sell your home and get the value out of it? there are great concerns about the housing industry, and, the foreclosure problem, right now, and they say they are working with the industry, and with the regulators to try to deal with it as quickly as possible and, hopefully, move on. arthel:emmanuel, it has so many tents cals. bill: the president is going to be talking about the need for more infrastructure improvements which calls for billions of dollar in roads and rails and runways coast-to-coast and many asking whether or not more spending is what we need and others thought the stimulus plan, two years ago was to cover the infrastructure improvements. and, live to the white house

then' announcement comes down from washington. arthel: speaking of worrying about spending, new jersey governor chris christie putting the brakes on his decision to scrap a massive rail tunnel, between new jersey and new york. he said last week that he was stopping the project, the tunnel project, already under way, because cost overruns were going into the billions but after an emergency meeting with the transportation secretary, ray lahood he says he'll give a panel of experts two weeks to evaluate ways to continue the project. the tunnel would double rail capacity between new jersey and manhattan, and he says the state cannot afford it. bill: we're on the hunt, yet again, now for two suspects thought to be involved in the falcon lake mystery, the story along the texas-mexican border. reporters say -- reports, say authorities in mexico are searching for two brothers at the moment, part of an investigation into the death of american david hartley and his wife, tiffany, and she claims

that she and david were riding jet-skis on the like and david was shot dead in the head by mexican drug cartel members and she was on "fox & friends" a bit earlier today. >> it is day by day. i have some days that i am just kind of focused on bringing david home and other days i'm a wreck. it is... it's hard, it is just a day by day -- i miss him and it is hard not living with him and going to sleep with him and waking up with him. bill: so what happened on that lake? officers say the suspects were already wanted for terrorizing a nearby town and david hartley's body has not been found and the jet ski has not been found and video of a traffic stop the day of the incidents supports her story, that the couple was jet skiing on the lake. arthel: police in washington state are waiting for blood test results from a dozen young women believed to be drugged at a college party over the weekend,

when officers kicked down the door at the house party, west of seattle, they found several young women passed out and barely conscious, and most of them were students at nearby central, we university. >> i carried about four people downstairs. put them on their sides and then, pretty much worried about them, like passing out, because they were not responsive. they were pretty much dry heaving and coughing and stuff like that, they weren't doing anything, but... then we got there, and, yeah, we were helping people out. >> it was really, really stressful. like, everything was going fine, the music was playing and people were having fun and all of a sudden, all of the girls were puking everywhere and girls were outside on their backs and people were so drink they didn't know what to do. so i was like, tipping them over, trying to help everyone. arthel: police are looking into whether the overdose was linked to a sexual assault scheme, so far, no charges have been filed. but, coming up later in the hour, we'll talk with our legal

panel, over what criminal charges could come into play, and, who could be held responsible. bill: and afghanistan, taliban fighters launching a new attack on the military supply convoy. that incident comes as hamid karzai confirms that his government has been in talks with the taliban, for, quote, quite some time. kelly wright is on the story from washington. what can we report. >> reporter: we have been reporting the story for quite some time, and it's not clear how senior the officials are or how serious the talks are, but afghanistan president hamid karzai is talking with the taliban, on how to secure peace in afghanistan. karzai wants to bring an end to the nine-year war in his country and is talking with members of the taliban, and reportedly expressed sympathy for the members, looking at them as runaway children away from a family and karzai created a 70 member council designed to reach out and begin to develop a method of reconciliation with the taliban. and in an interview with cnn's

larry king, karzai said, we have been talking to the taliban as countryman to countryman and not as a regular official contact with the taliban, with a fixed address, but, rather, unofficial personal contacts have been going on for quite some time and nato's top commander in afghanistan, david petraeus is aware of the leadership's efforts to dialogue with the taliban and he said: afghanistan is leading the process but the u.s. is keeping in the information loop and in some case even helping the afghans, but, staying out of the negotiations. >> president karzai has been clear about the red lines for reconciliation, the constitution, lay down their weapons, accept the constitution, and, cut their ties with al qaeda and becoming participating members of society in that regard. >> reporter: the taliban have said publicly they will not negotiate until foreign troops leave the country. though, according to afghan officials, some taliban leaders already reached out direct or

indirectly to the afghan government. bill: see if those talks go anywhere. kelly wright, thank you, live in washington. arthel: he's in the thick of the midterm election fight, r.n.c. chairman michael steele has quite a bit on his plate, if republicans take congress, what will change for america? we'll ask him. bill: and last month she appeared on "america's newsroom" and said it was not the right time to raise taxes for anyone in america and turns out ann kirkpatrick did not always believe that. we'll get to the bottom of that. arthel: and needless to say, that is not where you want to put e.r. down -- put er down -- i get it, put her down! operating error that led to the surreal scene, just ahead. >> i hollered to my son, that plane is going down! >> like, my god, it is really going to crash! hey, did you ever finish last month's invoices?

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richard branson, his spaceship, one big step for space tourism, virgin galactic's spaceship 2 piggy backing a ride, above the mohave desert and released for the first solo glide flight and the plan is for the 6 passenger spaceship to carry tourists into space, someday soon. they are still in the testing phase, 370 customers put down their deposits another trip to space and it costs them $200,000, each. bill: we'll buy two tickets. arthel: absolutely. bill: imagine, frequent flyer mileage you get with that bad boy! rack 'em up, right? all of these fly miles, i went to space, for crying out loud! if republicans have a big night in 22 days they might take control of congress, both the house and the senate. they might and if they do, what are their ideas? one leading political handicapper is charlie cook out of washington and he now says, as of today, 90 seats currently held by democrats are in

jeopardy. now, that is up from 81 seats about a week ago and charlie cook is the guy a lot of people follow and give a lot of attention to, nonpartisan and now has 90 seats in the house, up for grabs, that are now controlled by democrats. so, what about all of this? you know, what happens ultimately, if republicans take control of congress? michael steele, is on a bus tour, right now, somewhere between billings, montana and i think fargo, north dakota, as a matter of fact. arthel: visiting 100 cities. bill: and also sarah palin will join them for a couple of stops now and michael steele, by the way, is on the phone, chairman of the republican national committee. how are you doing, good morning to you. >> caller: good morning, my man. bill: how will america be better, if you win the house and senate? >> caller: well i think america will be better because we have a better plan, what you have seen, from kevin mccarthy and the pledge to america, certainly, what we have talked about, in terms of what we want to do with health care during the long

health care rebate and restoring jobs and the economy, i think republicans have had a message out there, that is resonating with the voters and just the stimulus bill, $814 billion stimulus bill passed, 2.5 million americans have lost their jobs and i think that is resonating with folks, and the administration that claimed they were... jobs have not created jobs, and the anger and frustration and the fear, i site in neighborhoods and in the communities, it is palpable and you will see it manifest itself at the ballot box, this november. bill: you know what will happen, here, soon, if the election goes the way many project -- predict, rather, in 22 days you will have a good night. and all of the focus will be turned away from the democrats and the white house and the focus will be on you. give me specifics, what you will change, to help improve the economy in america now. >>caller: well, i think the specifics have been set out there. i think what we are talking about, putting -- pushing

through the bush tax cuts, making sure those tax cuts stay in place. bill: will that the be vetoed by the president? >> caller: well, that is up to the president. we would hope the president wouldn't veto and i think the fact that if the pat wanresidens to impose the $3.9 trillion tax increase on the american people, go ahead an veto the bill. the reality of it is, you have to start somewhere and you have to start by trusting the small businesses in the country to get the job done and that has not been the mantra for the administration. so i think, the reality now for us, bill is whether it's on health care, to repeal and replace the onerous portions of the health care bill that are imposing significant burdens through taxes and regulation of the small business owners, looking at the failure of the leadership to take the stand on the bush tax cuts and move forward, creating jobs by investing in small businesses around the country, those are some of the early steps i know the republican leadership has talked about, whether paul ryan's plan, john boehner's plan or the most recent choice put

out by kevin mccarthy. bill: do you have a projection, by the way, what will happen three weeks from tomorrow? because, part of what we are hearing is that democrats in power, they are having a tough time in the polling. but, conversely, a lot of people say they are sick of anybody who is in washington. and, you know, very -- the way the primary season is played out, no one... >> caller: that is true and that is something we have been seeing at the republican national committee for the past year going back to before the victories in new jersey and massachusetts and virginia. that the american people have s said a pox on both your houses and the opportunity for us was to go out and listen to the american people and that is what kevin mccarthy did and we are doing now on the national bus tour, going out and listening to folks and take the message back to the folks in washington, saying, this is what the american people want. this is not rocket science and, it's not complicated. bill: we'd love to get you on camera next time, i understand you know, given your proximity

it is not possible now and what is your bus tour and what is the sarah palin connection. >> we started the 15th of september, and it is 50,000 miles, 48 states, 117 cities, to take the message it is time to transform the direction of the country. i'm very, very grateful that sarah palin has agreed to get on the buses with us and she's going to be with us in los angeles, and in florida, and to help us raise the final dollars we need to push through the victory centers and we have almost 400 victory centers across the country, that is unprecedented. the r.n.c. never had 400... we are competing in 100 congressional races, directly, through the r.n.c. efforts and this is a grassroots campaign, we are tying ourselves to the people, because, that is where the energy is, man, and, we're glad sarah palin is on board. bill: i'm out of time, thank you, one of the more fascinating issues, right now, too, and next

time we talk we'll discuss this, where the money is going for the republican races and where the money is going away from in certain democratic races and you follow the trends, and many times you can see what the parties are seeing internally with respect to different districts and states, michael steele, thank you in montana, this morning on the bus. >> caller: you got it, bill. bill: what is coming up next. arthel: some people said it was a matter of time, pot growers are becoming unionized in california, joining the teamsters and big unions and not everyone is on board with this, claudia cowan will tell us about it after the break. bill: a college prank gone wrong or something more sin text a dozen students go to the hospital, after something is slipped into their drinks, what could be behind this, here's one woman. >> if you went into the basement, there were girls on mattresses puking and guys puking and one of the girls was brought to the hospital, why the cops came, which was the right thing. we know why we're here.

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bill: this is interesting. just breaking news on the stem cell research in america, we are hearing the first person injected with human embryonic stem cells has taken place, this is in connection with they company, dmoen as -- known as geron, and, dr. manny alvarez from our medical a-team will look at this, next hour on happening now. about 35 minutes away. arthel: in california, several large unions like the teamsters getting into the marijuana business, the unions are adding new members, to grow pot for a living, right now, for medical purposes. but, as you know, growing marijuana is illegal under federal laws, and are the unions in the golden state taking a

risk here? live in san francisco, claudia cowan, what is going on? >> reporter: well, you know, the unions really see this industry as one that is growing, here in california. and, they are right. with thousands of people who are growing, and selling medical marijuana and now, a ballot measure in next month's election to legalize pot use for adults in recreational manner, gaining in the polls and organized labor groups wants to expand their membership and employees want workplace rights, they certainly can't get any protections under federal labor laws, and, they also say they welcome the legitimacy that union representation brings to an industry that is not always seen in a favorable or legal light. arthel: and claudia, with so many dispensaries, i said going into it, it was a matter of time it would take place, and people say, no way, no way, jose and what do the critics have to say. >> they say the unions are really misguided here in doing

these new members a disservice by encouraging them to do work in an industry and in an area that is considered a crime under federal law, anti-pot advocates say, instead of getting benefits, these unions and workers ought to be sanctioned but if voters legalize marijuana next month, labor experts predict more unions will get involved, not just as negotiators for the employees, but, as allies for the marijuana growers to help the industry fight they've legal challenges, certain to come from the federal government. arthel: claudia cowan, thank you very much. bill: a lot of attention given to the races in the house and the senate and the governor's races, they hold huge importance, too, for the future of america depending hope to outcome. congressional seats, we looked at those and in a moment, the tightest governor's races, what we are seeing and the impact, the outcome will have america. and, the counts down to tdown t

midterm elections is, noon, and on the fox news channel, hit our politics web site on-line as we go to the commercial break. stephen hayes is on deck, don't move! that includes you, arthel! arthel: i'll be right here

arthel: developing now in "america's newsroom," two americans and a european win the nobel economic prize, the academy of sciences say they won the award for developing theories that help explain how

economic policies can effect unemployment. and, fort hood, texas, about a dozen people who witnessed the horrific shooting at the army base last year, set to testify at a hearing for major nadal hasan, who is charged with 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of attempted murder, and kim jong-il getting praise from his closest ally, china, the chinese government is inviting him and his sonics the heir-apparent, to visit china and over the weekend the two men made a rare appearance at a military parade. bill: columbus day, 22 days before america votes and back on the board and we talked a lot last week about the balance of power, where the democrats have the majority and the senate, also where they have a majority and yet, we haven't explored yet the governor's race and the map behind us, we have looked at the

governor's race and at the moment, there are 37 races up for grabs, three weeks from tomorrow, highlighted here in yellow and we have tried to zero down, zero in on about 25 different race and what we consider the races to watch. and, a lot of these races, frankly, they come down to local issues, and come down to the economy. and, the way it has been battered for the past two-and-a-half years, look at these unemployment numbers here, the state of nevada, now, the number one unemployment state in the country, 14.4%. harry reid's son is running for governor there and the state of michigan, jennifer granholm, is a democrat and has been very popular, and is up for a major challenge, and 13.1%, unemployment, in michigan and here you have in california, the race that so many have been watching between meg whitman and jerry brown, the republican, the democrat, california, 12.4%. how does it all factor into to what could happen in 22 days? stephen hayes, senior writer for "the weekly standard" and fox news contributor. how are you doing? thanks for coming in today.

>> how are you, bill. bill: fine. you can reflect on the nation and reflect on what is happening in washington but the unemployment figures i put up behind me, here, in these states, folks are voting, on things like this. and, this is what it has -- where democrats are concerned in states where you would think, oftentimes, the democrat would have an easy road. what is happening now. >> absolutely and democrats currently hold 26 of the 50 governorships and it is likely to impact democrats even more. the thing i think is most interesting when you look at the governors' there is are competitive and the numbers you guys have, the ones to watch are exactly right. is that, now, there has been so much talk about the anti-washington mood, the exposed anticipat-washington mod the competitive governors' races tell us it is far beyond that, this is a mood, voter outrage, that has a strong ideological component to it. and it's not just this people wanted to see you jobs created. it is how those jobs are created. they do not want more government

spending right now. governors can promise to spend a significant amount of money, to try and stimulate the job growth, and stimulate the economy in their state but if it is not going to be -- it is going to require more spending, people don't want it and i think that is driving a lot of these races on the -- >> does that spell doom for democrats? or republicans, certainly, aren't immune to that, i don't know if you heard michael steele on the bus in montana, 20 minutes ago, if you talk about the anti-incumbent mood, it reflects on both parties. >> it is beyond anti-incumbency and anti-washington and it's an ideological component, which is vastly understated and under appreciated by the conventional wisdom set in washington, d.c. these are specific complaint voters have right now, they think government is too large and government is spending too much money, and they are worried about deficits on the national level, to be sure, but some of these budgets are, you know, very nearly bankrupt. and, they are -- there are hu--

causing huge problems, and now coming to the federal government with their hand out. bill: that is an issue for today and one reason why it is so important to look at the governor races, is baugh whomever wins in these states, they will redraw districts, based on the 2010 census that was just taken. and, that will have a direct impact on future elections, how many representatives you have, or whether or not you can redraw districts in a way that favors democrats or republicans. >> exactly. bill: that has ramifications for the next decade and beyond, stephen. >> it does, huge, huge power and is another reason the races are significant and beyond that, look at places where the races are most competitive and where republicans stand to pick up seats, they are in battle ground states or states that are likely to be battleground states in the 2012 presidential election which i think is giving heartburn to the democratic national committee. bill: minnesota, that's ohio, that is wisconsin... >> michigan. bill: too many to name. >> florida, pennsylvania, you name it.

republicans have, in some cases, significant or commanding leads in states that have been trending very blue in just the past few years, look at michigan, for instance, with two democratic senators, and a democratic governor. the governor's race in michigan, with rick snyder, the guy who ran the clever ad touting himself as one tough nerd, the former head of gateway is not come fifth anymore and republicans are almost certain to pick up a governorship in a state that trended owe blue, that, you know, republicans have not been competitive for a couple of cycles and the same thing happened in pennsylvania, we aren't spending a lot of time talking about the governor's race there, because it is all most a forgone conclusion that... bill: is that right? two years ago it was all democratic. >> exactly. bill: obama country, and they were picking up voters all over the philadelphia area. central part of the state and the counties around pittsburgh and you say now, that is changing? that dramatically, only two years time? >> certainly, changing and we'll see, in two more years and four

years beyond that, we'll see how long lasting these effects are but, certainly, as we look at what is about to happen the next 2-3 weeks, there is pronounced change i think most gripping change in the midwest, where you had saw in 2008, president obama sweep the midwest, winning house seats, senate seats, governorships, and preseidency and now the midwest will turn almost entirely red which is really striking, two years after... bill: democrats would argue, they think they have a good shot, in florida, the governor's race and argue, they might be able to beat rick perry in texas. stephen, thanks for coming in, today? stephen hayes in washington. arthel: bill, fact checking what may be a flip-flop for the incumbent candidate in arizona's closest battle for congress. ann kilpatrick trailing her republican opponent, paul gosser, last month, kirkpatrick told my buddy, right here, bill hemmer it is not the time to

raise taxes, referring to the bush tax cuts and turns out he didn't always feel that way. >> and, now, william lajeunesse is live in los angeles with details, william, good morning. >> reporter: twice she voted against extending the bush tax cuts, for everyone, and the national taxpayers union gives her rating of 33 out of 100 and yet, now, she campaigns like a penny-pin cher, almost divorced from her party, speaker pelosi and much of her own voting record. >> i am proud to be a democrat. you know, i always say i'm a democrat. >> not in her campaign ad or direct mail does she say she's a democrat. >> independents, like arizona... >> reporter: nor does she mention voting for two big democratic bills, health reform and the stimulus. >> she's run from her record, a tale of two anns. >> reporter: critics point to

hire statements on fox news. >> i'm disappointed the president is talking about more spending. >> reporter: records show she voted for multiple spending bills including one experts say increased the deficit by $134 billion. >> people would say that you are trying to portray yourself as one thing when you voted as another. >> i am concerned about spending and those were tough votes, believe me. >> she campaigns like a fiscal conservative. >> this is not the time to raise tax, i have been an independent voice... >> reporter: but the "washington post" says she votes with nancy pelosi, 4% of the time. >> i have opposed all of the bailouts. >> reporter: she claims to have stood up to the democratic party, and voted against bank and auto bailouts when, in fact she wasn't yet elected and couldn't have voted. >> do you feel those were factually inaccurate statements, or misleading at the time. >> no. no. i have voted against every bailout since i have been in congress. >> yet many maintain the $26 billion bill, to help out the states, was a bailout bill,

t.a.r.p.-3 was $30 billion for small banks. and, there were homeowner bailouts you voted for as well. >> i don't see those as bailouts. you know, what a bailout is, is, you know, saying you are too big to fail. >> reporter: now according to roll call, she is one of the ten most vulnerable democrats in the house, arthel and is down now by as many as 7 points in the polls. arthel: like everybody is saying, it is hard to predict what will happen in three weeks. >> reporter: you bet. arthel: william lajeunesse. bill: 20 minutes before the hour, we're standing by in a moment to ask the question is america ready for more government spending? the president expected to call for billions more to shore up the nation's infrastructure, helping to strengthen the economy, and that will be the argument. will it help? is more spending the answer? arthel: all right, bill, a mass overdose at a weekend college party, 12 students, taken to the hospital and what they may have

been drugged with and the legal fallout. that is next. >> i carried four people downstairs. put them on their sides and then we were pretty much worried about them passing out, because they were not responsive. they were pretty much like dry-heaving and coughing and stuff like that. jaguar platinum coverage is not just a warranty. it's aelief in everything we do. it's a 5 year, 50,000 mile promise. with complimentary scheduled maintenance no-cost replacement of wear and tear items and 24/7 roadside assistance. because when you create the most beautiful, fast cars on earth, you create an ownership experience to match.

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>> i'm jon scott along with jenna lee on happening now, a tough reaction to a campaign tactic by democrats in the midterms and the increasing chances of a big quake in california. also, whiplash on just what the white house wants on foreclosures. >> a big debut for us today, our new town hall, america's asking, we want to know what you think and what you want to know ahead of the midterms. we'll have a daily panel, a political heavy weight -- of political heavy weights, you drive the segments. e-mail us at foxnews.com/happening now and also happeningnew@fox news, to get us started and we'll see you in a fuse minutes.

-- a few minutes. >> thank you, we are awaiting results from what police are saying is a mass overdose in washington state over the weekend and happened at a college party in the town of roslyn east of seattle and police say someone slipped powerful drugs into the victims' drinks and, when officers arrived they were already sick and some unconscious. here's how one party-goer described the scene. >> later in the night, there were girls on mattresses puking and other guys were puking and one girl was brought to the hospital, which is why the cops came which was the right thing and they were helping several other people who are now, a lot of people are in comas, or are now sober. and better. arthel: police say it also could have been a plot to sexually assault some of the young women. joining me, joey jackson, a former prosecutor and defense attorney, keith sullivan, good morning, devices.

>> good morning. arthel: talking legalities and liabilities, who is responsible and what can they be charged with. >> this is horrific conduct and i certainly applaud the police for acting swiftly and getting to the bottom of it and the university, obviously, made strong statements, too, but this is reckless endangerment to the highest order and, certainly, if there is an agreement amongst several people, conspiracy charges, that would reach out and could have been a group of people who decided to come up with the plan and after much investigation they will get to the bottom of this and i believe heads will appropriately roll. arthel: how will those heads roll. >> i think what will happen. martha: there will be a prosecution and the prosecutions will determine who the individual or individuals were, who actually precipitated this horrific act and will be brought to justice, by being, brought before a grand jury,into the da's office, et cetera, it's and there is a disciplinary component and the university strongly indicated anybody involved from a student's

perspective will be suspended or, worse, will actually be let go of the school. arthel: you think they'll end up in court and if so can they find a person or a couple people who did night before there is a race to make heads roll, let's make sure we have a person who is prosecutable, and, may have been the person who brought the alcohol or may be a person at the party, but you cannot rule out it was a manufacturing defect, though at this point, since several days have gone by we would have expected to see other episodes throughout the country. but, most experience, the statutes that seek to prosecute individuals who do this, they require an intent to sexually assault somebody and causing them to be physically disarmed and helpless and there is clearly no intent for that to happen. 12 people with 50 witnesses. arthel: hanging on, it he says the bozo or bozos, who did it

will get away with it. >> no. no. no. well spoken as usual, keith, but it doesn't require intent, what it requires is recklessness and that is the conscious disregard of a risk and certainly, if you spiked a drink, there would be that conscious disregard and you know there is a substantial probability people could get ill and i don't buy the fact that there would be a manufacturing defect there, 50 people at a party and all of a sudden, wow! the drunk, they are spiked and we purchased them this way, that didn't happen and the police will conduct the investigation and it will be wide-expanding and, someone will speak and when they do, heads as i indicated will roll and people will be brought to justice. this is note conduct we need to be supporting or condoning at all and it speaks to the dangers of underage drinking and cannot be tolerated. arthel: keith, this took place at the student's parents' cabin home and is there anyway, the student whose parents own the cabin, he is cooperating with authorities, now, is there any

way possible that his parents could be responsible. >> absolutely. they could always be -- there could be civil lie batteabilitye homeowner, the school shouldn't get involved, it took place in another county, 30 miles off campus and will subject the women, who are victimized will do it further by subjecting them to disciplinary hearings and that is outrageous and they have no place to get involved in private conduct taking place on the weekend and it didn't happen on the campus... >> they absolutely -- arthel: i have to go, joey jackson, by the way, i believe you, i agree, no way this is a manufacturing defect. keith sullivan -- >> something that has to be looked into. arthel: too bad that it happened. >> they have to get involved. all right, arthel. bill: so joey is all fired up! come on! can uncle sam spend his way out of the recession? the president is about to propose a series of infrastructure improvements, eric bolling follows the money. what it could and could not do

for the ailing economy, he's on deck, minutes away. arthel: i love when he follows the money! fiber one chewy bar. how'd you do that? do what? you made it taste like chocolate. it has 35% of your daily value of fiber. tasty fiber, that's a good one! ok, umm...read her mind. [ male nouncer ] fiber one chewy bars.

bill: five minutes away from a statement by the president, we'll hear what he has to say about stimulus spending, there's a lot from the rose garden, beautiful day there. in washington. updates for roads and railways and runways, coast-to-coast, eric bolling, follow the money! he's the host and the anchor or -- you are perfect for the segment, right. >> we're following the money, bill. bill: what is the proposal we're about to hear. >> he's looking for $50 billion, the president is looking for $50 billion, in general fund money, brand new money, to support a bank, called this infrastructure bank and what it will do is give low-interest loans for infrastructure projects. this problem is, bill, here it

is: here's the original stimulus plan, and remember it will be shovel-ready projects, $815 billion, and guess what, go to recovery.gov, and $237 billion of this is still unspent, you have plenty of room to take money from that recovery -- stimulus package, and, use that to fund the... bill: why don't they. >> because they wants to spe to more, the obama administrations told you the way to start the economy again is through government spending and we have seen the problems and they are temporary jobs, the construction jobs are temporary when those projects go away so do the jobs and the census workers, they are temporary jobs and when the census is done those jobs go away and, in fact, this stimulus plan, that is supposed to create so many infrastructure jobs, has only created 92 percent jobs. we're talking almost a trillion dollars in spending. bill: when they passed the stimulus, right?

787, upgraded to $862 billion. i think in general, most americans thought that every road in america was going to be repaved with the money. but, that wasn't the case. they thought that that money in the stimulus was going to go into the roads and railways and the bridges. that did not happen. >> they put up -- 14,000 road projects going on, right now but, again, 92,000 jobs, there are only 62 -- that is only 62 jobs per project and here's the other thing, let's not forget, this is not supposed to take care of everything. you pay, every, single gallon of gasoline you buy, you pay 18.4 cents, each and every gallon, that goes into the transportation system into the infrastructure system, so, there's a lot of money that keeps funneling in. bill: what is the stomach for spending more money? i guess we are about to find out three weeks from tomorrow. >> if it was a winner and we didn't have, 9.6% unemployment, 15 million people out of work,

that is what they sold us, if we came up with this money it would never go above 8% and we are massively above that, almost 25% above the number. bill: and perhaps that is why -- >> to answer your question, there is no stomach for more spending. bill: we'll check you later tonight, "follow the money", eric bolling, 8:00 and 11:00 eastern time on fbn. arthel: the chairman of joint chiefs of staff laying out what he says is the biggest threat to our national security. and it's not al qaeda or home-grown terrorists. wait until you hear what admiral mike mullen said. bill: should you hide the remote and videogames from the kids, why too much time in front of the screen could be bad for your children, you need to be 6 feet from the tv, or your eyes bill go blind. arthel: mom knows... to get you started. campbell's condensed soup. pass it on.

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