not a morning show dog. but a lot of fun. >> steve: we'll talk to dog owners and gina in the after the show show. we'll see you back here tomorrow, same time, same channel. election this hour, brand new state polls from the fox news channel and these numbers will cause concern for the president and democratic party. we are 21 days away, exactly three weeks, and good morning! there we are. i'm bill hemmer. welcome to "america's newsroom". martha: hi bill, how you doing? >> bill: welcome back. martha: thanks, great to be here. bill: this is the home stretch. martha: it's crazy out there. i'm martha maccallum. it's pretty crazy this morning. stunning numbers in all of these but take a look at this one for starters, the president's approval rating in ohio is at 33 percent. ohio, of course, one of the battle ground states that was huge when it went for obama, a turning point in the presidential election, not good news for him right

now. bill: there is a lot of news in some of the other key races. steve centanni leads our coverage from d.c. start with ohio. >> reporter: right, ohio, very important, as you just mentioned, republicans continuing to dominate the buckeye state this year amid widespread dissatisfaction with president obama. when asked if the election were held today who would you vote for, 36 percent said obama, and 54 percent said they'd support an unnamed republican. so quite a wide margin there with the republicans dominating, obama simply not very popular right now in ohio. a very contentious contest underway for governor in that state in which republican challenger john casi -- kasich, congressman, holds a five-point lead over governor ted strickland, 47 percent to 42 percent, kasich's advantage, and his advantage has been five or six points, while the last week in september, law

strickland's poll within two points. but worrisome for strickland should be the nine percentage points who remain undecided in that race. history show undecideds, very important, especially this late in the game. and jobs, of course, are the biggest issue, when asked who would bring more jobs to ohio, 37 percent said strickland, 43 percent had more confidence in kasich. bill: political watchers will tell you it will be a late night when it comes to balance of power in the senate because washington state is neck and neck. what's happening there in the senate race? >> reporter: that one is very tight, a very close race between patty murray and dino rossi for senate. let's look at the issues around this, when asked whether the senate vote would support the opposition, 32 percent would express support, 45 percent said they should show opposition and 17 percent,

not a factor at all. another picture of the electorate, 42 percent said obama's polices have hurt the state's economy there in washington compared to 23 percent who said they helped, a 19-point discrepancy. and let's take a look at that very tight senate race now, our poll numbers showing republican dino rossi with a one point lead over incumbent patty murray, murray in what promises to be one of the hottest contest at all. rossi's lead is well within the margin of error, it's proof that it's heading down to the wire, rossi is 47 percent to the 46 percent for murray. bill: i think that's the first time he's been up in that, right? in our pollings, for the first time. we've got washington state, ohio a bit later. steve centanni, a bit later, we have a look at delaware,

what's happening there, connecticut, nevada, so all that's coming up throughout the program here this morning. martha: you know what, we're going to take a look at kentucky now, democrats bringing out big guns in the race for the senate seat in kentucky, former president bill clinton there be will campaigning for jack conway. conway has faced an uphill battle against rand paul ever wins the primary win in may. there they are yesterday, campaigning together, conway and rememberer president clinton. clinton tried to rally support for conway, saying the gop used voter frustration to his advantage. >> i like that conway, i believe in him. don't pretty him play you. if you want every american to go to college, and get a degree, you'd better vote for jack conway. >> there he is on the campaign trail, the former president working hard there, clinton went on to say that rand paul has radical ideas with no record to back it up and paul countered, he brought up the monica lewinsky scandal and

questioned the rememberer president's character, so it's messy out there, folks. bill: from wisconsin now, senator russ feingold defending his support for health care reform as he tries to keep his job, one of the few democrats doing that, facing off against ron johnson, one of the few democrats defending health care, johnson leading by as many as ten points. two men went at it in the second of three scheduled debates and johnson slamming the health care bill as a waste of tax dollars and resources. listen here from yesterday: >> the individual problems facing health care could have been addressed with individual bills. we didn't have to take $500 billion away from medicare. we didn't have to increase taxes, $500 billion. we didn't have to put on 16,000 additional irs agents >> what does that have to do with health care? >> i want what i voted for. i want this bill, because i think it's the right

solution. yes i would have prefer dollars a public option -- option, i think it would have made it stronger but mr. johnson says we should pass individual bills to deal with these problems. bill: the two also clashing on afghanistan, the government's jump start in the economy and the economy is word one in places like wisconsin, martha. martha: coalition of civil rights groups winning their first legal battle in an effort to challenge arizona's immigration law, judge susan bolton dismiss ing allegations about the constitutionality of the lawsuit. the january brew running for reelection and according to the latest poll the incumbent is leading terry god arrested, 46-35 percent, and as we've seen tile and time again in arizona the people have been very supportive of that law that would make tougher immigration laws in arizona and that's showing up in the numbers for now. bill: here's the deal, to

our viewers at home, our polling comes out fresh every tuesday morning, at 9:00 a.m., when martha and i come on the air, but you can get it two hours earlier if you go to the website, fox news.com, and download our america's election headquarters iphone app, or get it there at the app store and get the results two hours earlier so then you don't have to wait for martha and me to come on the air. martha: that's not necessarily a good thing! bill: the app is out there, check it out. martha: think about this for a moment. imagine, spending went up 20 percent. well, that is what's happening in washington, d.c. get a load of this. washington spending for the past couple of years, up 21.4%, almost a quarter of all that is spent has been increased over that period of time, nearly $7 trillion, going out the door. that, according to the nonpartisan congressional budget office whose job it is to add up all of these numbers. fox business network's

stuart varney joins me. let's take a look at this, if you can pull up where the spending is coming, from medicare and other places, it's astonishing. >> it really is. what you're doing, the congressional budget office is putting a dollar number on the cost of government action. look at this, unemployment benefits up 240 percent. it cost $150 billion. medicaid, 35 percent higher. by the way, that's got nowhere to go but up when health care reform kicks in. medicare, up 15 percent. it consumes $450 billion, each and every year. you're up 21 percent in two years, those are the two obama years. now, you can call this a response to the recession, you can call this the cost of reshaping america, you can call it both, but it is a huge increase in government spending over the last two years. martha: and it falls into two categories, paying unemployment benefits, which that number is no surprise to anybody, we're at 9.6% in this country and all those unemployment benefits keep being extended and extended

and extended, then you've got the health care money on the other side of that equation. >> yes. as i said, watch medicaid because when health care reform kicks in, tens of millions of people will be kicked into medicaid, so the expenditures on that will go up, indeed, through the roof, much more than the 35 percent we've already seen in the last two years. let me draw your attention to one other quick thing, martha. look on the other side of the coin for a second, where does the money come from, who is paying into the federal treasury. last year, the central bank, the federal reserve, made a profit. that's $76 billion. this is almost unheard of. $76 billion profit by a central bank? and the contribution of corporate taxes went up 38 percent. you don't hear a lot about that. martha: no, and one -- $144 billion on wall street, a record year there, incredible story. stuart varney, thank you, we'll look for you on "varney & company" on the fox business network. bill: on a related matter,

over in france, we are seeing now giant labor unions staging a nationwide protest, and the sounds from the crowds in the streets are well into the thousands, just just getting underway, 3:00 in the afternoon, they are protesting the bottom's plan to raise the retirement age from france from # on to age 62. there's been a lot of support on behalf of the government, the unions don't like it and marijuana making their -- they're making their voices heard. that's live in downtown france. we'll keep an eye on that for you. another news, survivors of fort hood shooting, going face to face with the alleged gunman in court, the hearing underway at the moment to determine if army major nidal hasan will be tried for the massacre that left so many dead. rick leventhal, live on post, fort hood, texas, that hearing is underway, is that right, right? good morning. >> reporter: good morning, bill.

we believe that army major nidal hasan is in the courtroom, that article 32 hearing should be getting started any minute now. it's like a grand jury proceeding or preliminary hearing where prosecutors show evidence and called witnesses to try to demonstrate probable cause to bring this case to trial, which in this case would be a general court marshal, which is the highest level of military court and can include the death penalty. as you know, hasan is the only suspect in the shooting spree that took place last november here on post at fort hood. dozens of witnesses say the military psychiatrist jumped up on a table in -- in the soldier readiness center and held allah sp*s aqbar, and when they returned from deployment he allegedly shot and killed 13 people and wounded some 32 others, firing 100 plus rounds before being brought down by two civilian police officers who were shot. they're being hailed as

heroes and could be called as witnesses. bill: we'll keep an eye on that for you, when there are headlines, we'll bring it to you. martha: it's been called a foreclosure fiasco and it's calling into question the practices of our nation's biggest lenders. at least 40 states attorneys general are planning to investigate this now. we'll take a closer look at what it might mean for homeowners and you -- and you. bill: christine o'donnell is running for senate. if you haven't seen this ad -- >> i'm not a witch. i'm nothing you've heard. i'm new. bill: she wants to be a senator in delaware. what else o'donnell about the folks who dumped her campaign. we're back in three short minutes.

bill: so we mentioned the latest polling minutes ago and also in the "new york times", that paper writes about this, many of the so-called democratic state seats in the house are

looking shaky for democrats and with three weeks to go, what do you do? doug schoen, pollster, fox news contributor, brad blakeman, former assistant to president bush, good morning. you wrote about this in foxnews.com. what's happening? >> there's basically a meltdown, bill, for democrats. let's be honest. seats that were once considered safe are now in play. the democrats are out of step on fiscal issues, on budget issues, on health care, the bailouts, and they're just attacking republicans indiscriminately, every way they can, and that may get them a few points but in the absence of exercising a fiscally conservative agenda that the american people want, i think it's going to come up short. bill: why would they not go to that theme, then? >> i don't think the president has articulated it as a party, the democrats have moved away from the centrist that clinton advocated in the 1980s. bill: or maybe in the --

>> they don't have a record to run on, and since they don't have a record to run on, all they can do is attack the republican which is they're doing indiscriminately. bill: let me bring in brad. what do you think is happening out there based on this story? >> what i think, bill, is the democrats have failed in their leadership. they promised great hope for this country and now all the electorate want social security change. look at ohio, steve centanni reported a few minutes ago about the disastrous polls for the president, yet the president has spent more time in ohio than any other state. let me give you two examples of what's happening out there. this is a national election, but the democrats are in trouble, not regionally, but nationally. in alabama, there's a guy, a democrat freshman named bright, he's running commercials telling his voters that he spends more time voting with republicans in and boehner than the democrats, then manchin, west virginia, is running, you know what he says to his people in i'm going to fight back against obamacare, i'm going to fight back against

cap and trade, the two signature issues for the democrats, so democrats either demonize republicans or jump against democrats. bill: the word is meltdown and the article you wrote for the websites, what democrats must do to avert a disaster, what must they do? >> they have to emphasize their commitment, however slight it appears to be now, to fiscal discipline, to the balanced budget, to fixing health care, to positively changing the agenda to be more in sync with what the american people want. so far, no sign, bill, that they're doing it. brad blakeman is absolutely right, democrats are running away from the president and the democratic agenda. bill: is there enough time, doug, do you think? >> i don't think there's enough time. but they've got to keep distancing themselves from an unpopular president. otherwise, seats we never would have expected to be in play will be in play. bill: what do you think of that, brad? >> i think the democrats' only hope at this point is preserve the seats that they are sure to win and hunker

down and try and regroup for january, because there is going to be a new sheriff in town in january, either the house, senate or both, and the democrats have to resign themselves to the fact that this election cycle is over. bill: we have found numerous seats, dozens, that are really up for grabs. the times piece that i pointed out that we pegged this segment toward says 75 congressional districts now hang in the balance that could flip. doug, thank you, brad, thank you. all right, gentlemen, 19 past. martha. martha: well, this is a fox news exclusive. they are serving their country proudly in iraq and afghanistan, but now they may not get the chance or the opportunity to vote in this upcoming election. there's a federal lawsuit now that is taking this on. bill: a race against the clock in hungary to save a town from deadly toxic sludge. it is not over yet. it's been going on for well over a week. the latest on the newest danger that's happening today in minutes.

bill: emergency crew necessary hungary raising a wall that could protect sludge from three villages flooding,. authorities fear new cracks on the second storage pool could break open. if that happens, we could see a repeat. eight people dead so far, hundreds evacuated in that mess. martha: we're back to politics for a moment here, now to a fox news exclusive, it was first reported on foxnews.com, new york state's board of elections is bracing for a possible lawsuit from the feds. at issue is the board's colossal mistake, missing the deadline they needed to hit to send ballots so those

fighting overseas in the military could vote. eric shawn has the latest. how could this happen? >> reporter: they may have missed the deadline but the new york's board of elections says the ballots are in the mail. the question this morning, will they make it in time for the members of the military to vote. the tkr-pbty -- complaint yeah raised allegations that the troops from the empire state may not be able to return the absentee ballots in time for the upcoming election. five counties missed the legal time period to mail them out. but the board says all but new york city have fully completed the process and they claim they will deliver the ballots as quickly as possible. new york democratic senator charles schumer and others are blasting the board of elections over the delay. the board says there are over 20,000 registered military absentee voters in new york state and say they may try to extend the deadline to make sure all votes are counted. martha: we mentioned there's a possible lawsuit in the works. what it about that? >> the story is first reported by fox news.com

which is reporting the feds may sue new york state over this. election officials say the justice department may slap a consent order on the board to make sure the absentee ballots are indeed counted, the board and state also says members of the military can now vote on the state's e-mail system, that's been up and running since last month, but you know the problem of service members overseas being able to vote has plagued election officials across the country. last year they tried to run the issue for a variety of ways, especially after the commission found four years ago that half of military absentee ballots were never even counted. martha: what a shame. that's terrible. eric, thank you very much. >> bye martha. martha: you can read more about this military ballot controversy on our website, log on to foxnews.com, you can get all the latest updates on that story. bill: a shame, huh? they need to work that out, figure it out, and if there needs to be a delay, so be it then, right? martha: absolutely. bill: two conservative

candidates, carl paladino and christine o'donnell fighting back against their critics, why the latest controversy facing these two could show the tea party's lasting effects.

martha: you know what the tea party stands tporbgs it stands enough for taxed enough already, tea, right? but now democrats want the social views of tea partiers in the mix as well and some

of these candidates are kind of helping then out in that regard, new york candidate for governor carl paladino and senate candidate christine o'donnell, both fighting back on ideas. paladino is in hot water for suggesting andrew cuomo is a bad parent because he let his kids march in the gay parade in new york city. here is the latest. >> 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. martha: all right. so christine o'donnell's political ad attempted to sort of overcome some comment that is she made about dabbling in witchcraft when she was in high school and the ad is taking a lot of heat. we'll look at that first: >> i'm not a witch. i'm nothing you've heard. i'm you. i'll go to washington and do what you'd do. martha: so last night,

o'donnell went on the record with greta van u.s.ern and she asked the question what does i am you mean? >> it means i'm not a career politician, i'm not someone who's inherited millions of dollars, i'm not someone who's been groom to run for office or picked and annointed by the party elite and the party boxes, i'm someone who ran for office because people in delaware asked me to. martha: all right. so cofounder of the st. louis cofounder and a talk show radio host, it's good to see you, dana. >> thank you for having me. martha: the tea party has gained a lot of strength in this country, they're gaining a lot of attention and in some cases, sort of the idea of what they're talking about is being engineered in a different direction. carl paladino seems to be doing that kind of on his own, don't you think? >> carl paladino, oh, man, the left is gunning for this guy. when i look at everything that's been said about him, paladino, over the recent remarks that are being reported, that he's made,

he's denying that he's made a lot of the remarks being attributed to him, and i know that it's something that the left likes to do, they like to fabricate these quotes and falsely attribute them to someone else. he was expressing his stance as a social conservative, he's speaking as someone from a -- he was raised as a catholic, he is a catholic, he's talking about his views on sex from a religious perspective. i don't think that what he said in terms of teaching sex to young children is -- >> martha: but don't you think he brought this on himself? you know, he was the person who sort of brought up this infidelity -- infidelity issue after he had his own issue and it raises as a political strategist, you've got to look at some of this and say maybe you need to get back on message, this isn't where he wants to be, aren't the battles he wants to be having and these are the balts he's having. >> he's deflecting. he didn't bring up the infidelity issues, that was something that decker did in

buffalo news, that was sending photographers to paladino. martha: i'm pretty sure that was in reaction to something paladino said about believing that cuomo had had affairs, but the point is, there's always a fight to get the other side off message and my question is, are they succeeding to a certain extent with the tea party candidates? >> i think that they're getting close to it. i know that if i were a democrat operative, the first thing i would do is try to exploit whatever rift i could find within the grassroots movement and a lot of people, because the grassroots movement incorporates independents, libertarians, evangelicals and everything else, there are going to be varied views on social issues so i think it's a strategy for them to deflect to -- from the fact that the polices are superunpopular and focus this as a wedge in the social issues. martha: it turns out the tea party candidates are much less socially conservative, they just don't want to talk about it and as you talk

about, it's a very diverse group. i want to take a look at christine o'donnell's poll numbers, we got new poll numbers and she has been kind of scrambling. do you think it was a good idea, the ad she came up with, i'm not a witch, was that smart to go down that road? >> i think there are two things that she's done that's smart. she's making herself available to the press, that's good, she wasn't doing that initially. i think it's good she came out with an ad saying i'm like you, i am just a regular american. whether or not i would have directed a candidate to include the fact oh, i'm not a witch, and even give validity to that ridiculous ness, that i probably would not have done but otherwise i thought her ad was pretty good. i really hope grassroots shows support to this woman because i feel as if she's hanging in the breeze a little bit. martha: very interesting. dana, i think we're going to be talking to you lot over the next three weeks. thanks dana. bill: everybody is fired up, right? barney frank out of

massachusetts, republican challenger sean vilott, have a fiery debate last night, the two talking about everything from the economy, health care, to social security, when this happened: >> you know, police stop -- can i get back to what the rules are? can i ask what the rules are about interrupt something i'm trying to talk, but i just don't think that -- >> i don't understand -- >> please stop interrupting me. >> he said stop interrupting me. >> you keep interrupting me. >> go ahead, you're spending more time talking about the interruption. >> i know, but -- >> why are you guys so tense with each other? you can just relax. >> voters don't like it when people interrupt reach other i haven't interrupted mr. b once. he's interrupted me four times. bill: frank has been elected continuously since 19 # on, bielat is making the first attempt for office. how about a moderator, huh?

>> martha: the operative word, interrupting, that's all they talked about! bill: i'd like to see the body language on that. of course, it was on radio. martha: well, nevada's republican candidate for governor, denying that he ever employed an illegal immigrant as a housekeeper, brian sandoval said he removed this woman, republicans say it's must desperate attack by his opponent, democrat roy reid, harry reid's son, but the woman claims sandoval was family never asked for a work permit when his wife hired her. >> what's up with that? >> they ordered it signed, and brian sandoval -- [inaudible] >> why she hire me in that

time. martha: wonder what's going on there. she's now a u.s. citizen and has no proof of those check that is she's talking about, the nevada flap echos what's going on in the california's governor's race, meg whitman's former housekeeper says the republican knew she was in america, that the housekeeper was in america illegally, whitman says the scandal was orchestrated by jerry brown. bill: fox news alert, this is breaking now, and a few hours from freedom. after more than two months trapped underground, three chile -- 33 chilean miners will be pulled up to the surface and see the sunlight yet again. button wi -- one by one, with the world watches -- watching, rescue teams are putting the final touches, and hoping this will go smoothly. steve harrigan is there, streaming live from the san jose mine in chile. what's happening right now, steve, how far away are we from seeing these men?

>> bill, we could be about 12-14 hours away from the first minor, after 59 days, finally coming to the surface. as far as preparations, they finally finished that platform that's going to hold the wench that is going to pull that capsule up and lower it back down for each of the 33 miners, that trip could take 15 minutes to an hour, the first miners that go, the first four at least are likely to be healthy, strong minors in case there are setbacks along the way. we saw the clothing they will be wearing, yesterday, it's protective clotheing in part designed to prevent blood clots and the first person down into the mine will be a navy medic. he'll test all their vital signs before they come up. it's going to take perhaps a day in all for the entire rescue to begin and one of the reasons they are beginning at night, there is concern about the miners' exposure to the bright sun after two months underground, a real sense of optimism and hope, despite

the obstacles involved. there's not a lot of leeway between this capsule and the escape shaft itself, just about 2 inches on each side, but this they have carried out a number of tests and lowered that capsule within 40 feet of the miners before pulling it up. so there is a sense of confidence that this is going to work, at the entire nation waits and watches. bill: when you talk about the risks and obstacles, specifically, is there one that stands out more than others that the -- i guess the rescue workers are most concerned about, steve? >> i think speaking with engineers, there is some concern that this is not a straight shot, it goes on a curve, so this capsule is going to have to rise and turn. it might spin, also, on the way up. that's why the miners are going to be put on a liquid diet of liquids and vitamins in the six hours before they do come up the surface to make the trip more comfortable. bill: it's going to be scene, and a sight to see. thank you, steve harrigan,

68 days, what will these miners go through? dr. keith ab below will join us later on that. one of the rescue workers down there is from the united states and they said they were honored that the chileans even allowed them to come down and participate in this, and they're all psyched and jacked up for it, but they lowered this canister down into the shaft and they said they didn't want to go right where the guys were because they were afraid one of them might hop in. martha: imagine that sensation. bill: but you're going to watch this maybe over the next 48 hours and they're debating over who goes last. martha: that's what i think. you don't want to be the last guy left down there and they were talking about whether they would have issues or problems with this thing, i wonder how they're going to organize and discuss who goes and what the order is. bill: the word is that all the guys have said they want to be the last one. martha: my gosh. bill: you go first and you can go first and i'll be the last. martha: incredibly good sports. bill: at that point, you

draw straws, last straw wins. martha: it will be something to watch. this could set the stage for every trial of a suspected terrorist and the prosecution, already lost their star witness in this case, which is very significant. is that what khalid shaikh mohammed might face? will he ever see justice in a courtroom for the attacks of september 11th? we're going to talk about that in a minute. bill: what a mess this is, the foreclosure meltdown, what happens if the states force the banks to stop and change millions of mortgages, possibly even wipe the slate clean for homeowners? the judge will weigh in on his decision, help us navigate this mess, and believe me, this is a mess. back in three minutes on that.

bill: how are they going to figure this one out, new developments on a nationwide foreclosure meltdown. forty states are expected to announce an investigation into the mortgage lending industry tomorrow. possibly setting the stage

where banks will be hit with big fines, and then what happens to all these loans and what happens to the real estate market in america? senior fox judicial analyst judge andrew napolitano to weigh in on this decision. sir, good morning to you. should the foreclosures be stopped? i mean, in your judgment, is that the right thing to do right now? >> well, they shouldn't uniformly, universally be stopped. i mean, it's the reason we have judges, to look at these things. i've presided over foreclosures. the overwhelming majority of pre-2008 foreclosures, it was very clear who owned the mortgage and who had the right to take the house and sell it when the person was not making payments on the mortgage. but since the crisis of 2008, that's not clear. so it is the job of a judge to put the bank to its proofs and to force the bank that says they own the morton that house to prove they do. if they do and the lender hasn't been paying on the house, the bank is entitled to recoup the money it lends. if the bank can't make its

case the foreclosure has to be stopped. so bill, the short answer is these have to be looked at on a case by case basis. there are valid foreclosures that should go forward, and there are ones that the bank can't prove its case, and those should not go forward. bill: so if the bank went off your -- after your home, you're on that list for a reason, anyway, now you have to figure out based on the collapse over the past 2 1/2 years how you're able to weed out the dead beats and able to keep the good ones in their homes. >> the banks can weed out the dead beats. that's not the problem. because the bank knows who stopped paying. they may have stopped paying not out of want to go steal a house but because they don't have a job anymore, so they're going to lose their house, but the bank has invested a lot of money in that house and it's entitled to recoup the money back. the problem is that the bank that wants to get the money back may not be the bank that loaned the money. bill: i see. that was the shell game moving around the real estate, the mortgages and everything that happened in terms of bundling these

loans. >> precisely. bill and taking it to different banks. okay, i'm going to show you, judge, just how big this issue is in america today. on the screen, we can show you the millions of people in america today who are facing the possibility of foreclosure, or already in foreclosure. this is only 2010, judge. three million expected. >> these numbers are extraordinary, bill. and over the charts. but of course, when the mortgages were given, because the government encouraged the banks to lend, lend, lend, whether people were able to pay the money back or not, people didn't expect the bull and they thought the value of the homes would continue to go up and these people would be able to pay them or they'd sell the homes or pay off the mortgage, but now that so many of these houses have mortgages on them that are worth more than the house is, somebody has to take the loss. bill: and what you saw on that screen, at the bottom, are states demanding action. that's a few states. you said this is a state issue, not a federal issue. so if you live in a state that wants to take action,

that is the attorney general's decision in that state, be it delaware, texas, maryland, ohio, connecticut, florida, north carolina, iowa, illinois, and others. >> foreclosures are in states' courts, bill, because it's a function of local state real estate law. they are not in federal courts. the congress is do nothing about this. bill: okay, but if you're on the bench, do you give any consideration to the housing climate, to the economy, and what can happen if you sell it for two months -- stall it for two months, or beyond? >> if you're on the bench you're force that they pay the mortgage, and you sign an order, deeming the house over to the bank so they can sell it and recoup their loan. if the bank can't prove they own the mortgage, you journ the case until the bank comes back with the right paperwork, but you don't stop the bank from attempting to get back its money. if that happens, across the board, the banks will lose a fortune. bill: some of these foreclosures will be halted for sure. >> absolutely. absolutely. bill: judge, we'll see how

many in the end, how many states it affects and how many homeowners. thanks judge, see you later. check out freedom watch, fbn, with our man, the judge. martha: our man, the judge! we know voters say it's all about jobs this time around and that message may be hitting home in a big way in one very hard hit state where you may watch the state watch -- the state house, rather, flip from blue to red. bill: he sits in a courtroom in new york, accused of being an accomplice to bin laden, the judge has already said he cannot hear from the main witness because he was water boarded. what does that mean for the ksm trial? will it ever take place?

bill: quick check of the markets right now, the stock, the dow 30 giving back a little bit, we're

down 90 points during the break, and here's the deal, the fed is meeting and investors are waiting to see what they say about the health of the economy and what is right around the corner. we've had a heck of a run, it was over 11,000, now below that number, 10924. martha: all right, folks. don't forget about the governor's races that are 21 days away. these are the folks that run states, that handle the budgets, and the face of these governors' mansions may be about to change because you've got 37 seats up for grabs right now. among them, michigan. just like many areas around the country, very tough economic times in michigan, and that has fueled a lot of voter frustration in that state, but will it be enough to turn the state from blue to red? that's what folks are asking now. mike tobin is live in lansing, michigan. how is this race shaping up? >> reporter: well, martha, it is a case of a

traditionally blue state on the verge of going red, and although it is a contest between democrats and republicans, you can really look at this as an antiold school vote and that is causing a majority of those polled to line up behind the political newcomer and republican rick schneider. he is a businessman, former president of gateway and successful venture capitalist, he promises common sense, private sector solutions to the one issue michiganers care about most, creating jobs. >> government doesn't create jobs. it creates an environment where people can flourish. i know what it takes during tough times to keep a company going. >> his opponent is the mayor of lansing. the senment on the streets of lansing is that democrats have been in power, the democrats have had their chance, the jobs didn't come, so the voters are ready to try something new, martha. martha: very interesting. you've got an experienced

politician lagging. how is he not finding ways to pull ahead? >> vanero is clearly the more skilled speaker, he seemed to dominate the only debate the two have had, but it's interesting because snyder's lack of polish seems to enhance his appeal as a political outsider and that leaves benero with only one option to attack snyder as a corporate fat cat. >> well, while i'm busy creating thousands of new jobs here, unfortunately my opponent has shipped thousands of jobs overseas to china. >> snyder hangs on to that lead, the polls, between 20 and 30 points. years ago, no one would have known the name rick snyder and no one would have predicted at this stage of the game he would be the gubernatorial leader. martha: thank you, mike

tobin from lansing, michigan. bill: it might be the hottest story today, spending in washington, like a runaway train, $3 trillion of taxpayer dollars, this year alone, an increase. where all the money is going and whether or not the spending will ever stop. we'll show you the numbers in a moment. martha: the numbers are looking very tight, folks, for the balance of power in the senate. it could come down to connecticut. the battle between linda mcmahon and dick blumenthal. brand new numbers into the newsroom. we've got them for you. we'll be right back. s changing n too bad these cheap props aren't but la quinta is! la quinta inns and suites? yeah, buddy changing? lets take a gander captain they are changing! they have thousands of new rooms! and lots of neato new lobbies! they're even better than before book rooms at lq.com hey, who's captain here? (laughing)

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martha: a "fox news alert," this morning, we have brand new numbers on some of the hottest races in the country, right now and majority control of the senate, could hang in the balance. in connecticut, democrat richard blumehthal leading republican newcomer linda mcmahaon by 6 points and that gap is closing

by four points, in just one week, since we last looked at the numbers, that is how we start a brand new hour of "america's newsroom," 21 days to go until the next election, i'm martha maccallum. bill: i'm bill hemmer, good morning, martha, dick blumehthal seemed like a shoo-in, but more and more people are warming up to linda mcmahaon, in a debate a week ago and, she has been on the air, all over, talking about blumehthal and whether or not he has the right idea for creating jobs and that has helped her. martha: we'll show that in a moment and i'm joined by brit hume, senior fox news political analyst, 21 days to go and connecticut looks important at this point. >> it is, one of the handful of states that republicans would not normally be expected to win, but would have to win, in order to get to the magic 51 seats in the senate and the race which looked to be out of reach as you

pointed out, has tightened a bit to the point where, it no longer seems -- blumehthal is still the favorite, but an upset, certainly seems possible. martha: we'll look at that, those numbers, again in a second. and first i want to show everybody at home, this moment, from their last debate, which has gotten a lot of attention on the internet and elsewhere and, certainly in connecticut, and let's look at that. >> tell me something... how do you create a job? >> the job is created and it can be in a variety of ways, by a variety of people, but, principally by people and businesses in response to demands for products and services and the main point about jobs in connecticut is, we can and we should create more than by creative policies, and that is this approach i want to bring to washington. martha: jobs are good, right, brit? >> well, he went on and, that was -- that was all -- the

answer went on and on and on and she talked about the jobs and, she stood up for the new jobs, at various plants around the state of connecticut and so on, and she respond, you know, government, government, government. and what is striking about that moment, in the debate and it doesn't happen all that often, most debates end up, as washes. but, here we had one of those moments, that do affect the course of a campaign and i think this one, because it was on the central issue of this election. which is, unemployment, and the need to create jobs. was really a critical failure to have a sharp answer. martha: and the question, so essential to the debate across the country, about the best way to create jobs in this country, let's look at nevada. and the race there, between harry reid and sharron angle. this, of course, is huge because it is harry reid and is a tight race now. >> well, it's a tight race, and,

sharron angle appears to have a lead but within the margin of error, a couple 0 points there, but, as a lot of people pointed out, late deciders in the races tend, not always, but tend to break for the challenger. reid is very well-known in the state of nevada, to say the least and he's of course the senate majority leader and, so he needs -- 47%, at this stage of the game, he obviously has real reason to be worried and sharron angle is an unusual candidate, she's not someone you would -- if you are drawing a profile, of the best candidates to beat harry reid you might not draw her. but, she's held up reasonably well in the and i think this race, the connecticut race, and these others, show how the playing field has kind of widened. i mean, reid appeared to be in trouble, and it looked like he was going to come back and probably win and now, it looks less doubtful, connecticut is a state that i don't think, many people thought republicans had any chance of winning, so, as we move forward, in this race, while some races indeed tightened, democrats doing a little better, more and more races appear to be in play. and, connecticut is a great

example of that. >> when you look at the numbers, whether republicans could take 8, maybe 9, possibly ten to get command of the senate, delaware was one of the big focuses and, when christine o'donnell won the primary there was a lot of heat within the republican party, a lot of people were concerned, she couldn't win and it looks rough for her now, brit. >> well, you know, you get the democratic candidate there, well above 50%, o'donnell hovering under 40, you know, even with the -- allow for margin of error, it is a significant lead and is late and is a little difficult to see, what would change, the course of that race, although, you do have this question about turnout, and, if you get an exceedingly weak turnout, among democrats, which is certainly possible, democrats, throughout the election cycle, have seen much lessen gauged than republicans and independents, who are reacting against the obama agenda, she might yet be able to pull that out. she has not so far been all that effective of a candidate.

martha: always good talk to you, we'll be watching all of this over the next 21 days, pretty huma-- brit hume, thank you very much, head over to web and you'll find information on all the hot races, coast-to-coast, good stuff to click on and check out, all over the web site. bill: we are watching hurricane paula, the 9th named storm of the season, prompting people in the caribbean coast, including cozumel, at the moment is not expected to affect the u.s. but watch what she does in the gulf of mexico. we'll keep an eye on it for you and see if it happens. if the storm changes and in the meantime, the moment awaiting the start of the first civilian trial of a guantanamo detainee, and it could set the precedents for other terror trials going forward. manhattan courthouse, lower part of new york city, prosecutors deciding to move forward even after a judge ruled a key witness cannot testify. the defendant is ahmed ghailani,

suspected of playing a key role in the deadly 1998, attacks on two u.s. embassies in africa. tanzania and kenya, in august of that year. that was 12 years ago. now, a dozen years later, david lee miller stands live outside the courthouse in new york. how significant was the judge's decision there, that i mentioned? and what are the implications, going forward, for either this case or those to come, david lee? >> reporter: bill, it was a serious set back, for the prosecution. when the judge made the ruling. the prosecutor was considering appealing it to a higher court, they have now decided to move forward. and, just to tell you, a little of the witness who is not allowed to appear in the courtroom, he allegedly supplied the truck and the explosives to ghailani, and the judge ruled that his name only surfaced because the questioning that is

being revealed was coercive and took place overseas at a cia detention center and the judge decided it was not appropriate for him to testify. the prosecution has notified the judge now, bill and they believe they do have enough of a case, a strong enough case, to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. and, very quickly, i should point out, some of the evidence that they say they do have, we'll likely hear about as the trial moves forward will be business records, that prove how ghailani was involved in this plot, to blow up the two embassies, also, the prosecution maintains, bill, they found tnt explosive residue on some of his clothing, and it will be some of the evidence that will likely be introduced, especially, more important, now, because, the witness's testimony will not be permitted. bill: the white house and department of justice, have emphasized they want this trials in civilian courts. not military tribunals, can we say what the outcome of the case suggests about that policy,

david lee? >> reporter: you are very right. there's a lot more at stake here than simply the fate of one man. what really, to a great extent is at stake here is whether or not these civilian trials for gitmo detainees are going to proceed. a lot is going to depend on whether or not the outcome is perceived as successful. presumably that will mean a conviction. but, the judge here, bill, has said that even if there is an acquittal and the defendant faces 286 different criminal counts, even if there is an acquittal, he might still be detained, as a military combatant. which raises all types of additional questions, such as why they even had the trial in the first place. bill: david lee miller, live outside the courthouse in new york city, watching it closely, every move, inside the courtroom, martha. martha: we are minutes away from the update on a missing ten-year-old survivor of cancer. zahra baker, left with a

prosthetic leg and forced to using hearing aids as a result of her cancer is reported missing in north carolina over the weekend, police say the stepmother's story does not add up. and, relatives say that the little girl was being locked in her room, nearly 24 hours a day. it is an awful, sad situation, elizabeth prine joins us live. >> reporter: martha, we are hoping to hear more answers at the press conference later this morning because the police and investigators cannot pinpoint a timeline, the neighbors have not seen the ten-year-old outside in weeks and on the other hand, the parents reported her missing 2:00 on saturday. but, they said they hadn't seen her since 2:30 that morning. now, the police chief in hickory is pleading for the public's help, listen to what he said, one day ago. >> we are running out of time, folks. the longer this thing goes, the

likelihood this outcome will not be positive. so, please, we need help. >> reporter: now, martha, there's a lot of confusing details coming in from saturday. first of all, police were called to the mobile home around 5:30 that morning, because there was a mulch fire and they found gasoline and burnt parts of an suv and car out front and this is where cadaver dogs picked up a scent on sunday and we know there was a ransom note found on the windshield of one of those cars, and so there's a lot of details they need to sort through. now, the mother, alisa baker is the stepmother of the ten-year-old girl and is in jail on unrelated charges and the police have not deemed her a person of interest, on this case, but, police say that her story is not adding up, and she's not cooperating with investigators, as adam baker is, the father of the ten-year-old. martha: what an awful story, elizabeth, thank you, we'll get an update on that later today. bill: 10 minutes past the hour, now. ever wonder how much the federal government spent last year?

i mean, more money than ever. better sit down for the figure, because, when we tell you, you will go -- maybe you will not be stunned, we'll see. martha: we're about to see them above the surface, they are trapped a mile below the surface of the earth, stuck inside a pitch-black cave cut off from the rest of the world, think they might have trouble readjusting, we'll have an interview, with a psychologist, about the rescued coal miners. bill: ever been a thousand feet from a raging funnel cloud? you have now and you'll get even closer, in a few moments. martha: wow! jaguar platinum coverage is not just a warranty.

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of thousands of union workers who have taken to the streets. they are protesting the government's decision to raise the retirement age, they want to tack on 24 months, given the financial situation of the country, of france, and they want to up it from 60 years to 62, required age, and, these folks don't like it. i guess the work week increases from 35 to 40 hours a week. martha: all the way up to 40 hours a week! are you kidding me. bill: you, my friend have to work an 8 hour day, mccallum, you too, hemmer! that is what is happening in the streets of paris and we wants to keep an eye on this, too and we have seen police move in and things have gotten ugly -- it hasn't happened yet, we want to emphasize that, but 4:15 in the afternoon, they've taken to the streets in force. martha: they are trying to repair their economies, through these measures and now we get reaction from the streets and this will be some story, doctors and family members wonder what kind of a psychological effect these 33 miners who have been

trapped down there now 68 days may have to deal with when they come up. if everything goes as planned, those men are just hours from freedom, right now, and dr. keith ablow is a psychiatrist as well as a member of the fox news medical a team and joins us now, good to see you, welcome. >> good to see you, martha. martha: it almost seems, when you read about what is going on with the mines underground and the families on top, it is the families on top who will need attention from psychologists, some of them, they are scrapping and fighting over long lost relatives, who apparently have come back to get donated items, and they are talking to the press, and angering them and is it harder for those up there, waiting than those down below? >> here's the thing: being down below is really like a contained scenario. the last place that you would be tempted to come out with all of your chaos and to have in-fighting is in fact in the chamber under ground.

think volcano. when you think of the man coming up the shaft because the bottom line is, they will emerge into all of their repressed emotion and it will come forth. martha: it is hard to imagine what it will be like for them when they get up and, guys, bless the whole operation, that everybody gets up safely. what about the decisions, bill and i talked about earlier, who comes up first? and, i am -- i'm understanding the officials on scene do have a list, they have an order of how they want to do this. >> well, listen, i like the idea of the strong men, the strongest physically and emotionally, these men coming up first, because there may be glitches on the way up. i understand that and ultimately the order in which they are released, probably matters less than the fact that when they get to the surface, it will be so important to psychologists and psychiatrists, to try to modulate the way they express themselves, they've held inside them their hatred for other of the men, the fact they may feel

terrible about their confinement given the employer and whether everything was done to safeguard them before the disaster, they'll have a lot of feelings about whether life is worth living in their families and all of this will come out and in the context of fame and riches, potentially that flow to them. martha: money will be a major issue and a lot of the families don't have a lot of money and there may be some flowing their way as a result of this, the men are well-known in chile now. are you struck by the fact that it appears, down there, they really have managed to be there, together, really, very well, from everything we have seen and heard? >> well, here's the thing. what choice do you have when you are confined, 33 of you, thousands of pete beneath the earth? you have no choice get to get along, what are your alternatives, anarchy, chaos and cannibalism and you have to hold it together and it happens when you come out of there that could surprise everyone and the miners themselves could be shocked, with the waves of despair, of

exhilaration, of depression, elation, it is really going to test the soul of even the strongest miner. martha: not to forget the man who apparently has a wife and girlfriend up there waiting for him. side by side, should get interesting. dr. keith ablow, good to talk to you. >> thanks, martha. bill: and picking up on that, i don't want to see you, man! time for a... martha: could you imagine? they have been through a lot together, right. bill: they have a fraternity that is truly unique. martha: indeed they do. bill: battle ground states of '08 cobb swinging the other direction, the obama impact and what our brand new fox polling says, you'll see in a moment, mar, they and a front row seat to this, nature's fury, the storm chaser team finding out what happens when a twister tears up the vehicle that is supposed to be protecting these storm chasers. >> whoa!

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bill: brand new polling information out now, trying to figure out how the race goes in 21 days, three weeks from today, and the key battle ground states are fox news opinion dynamics polling shows in ohio, if the 2012 presidential race were held today, with the president seeking re-election, a generic republican candidate would handily beat him, 54% to 36%, in the buckeye state and remember that is the state president obama won in 2008, that brings us now to bya, because you

asked. we get this question, nancy writes: what states would president obama carry in the 2008 election now showing high disapproval ratings and this is the way to drill down on some of the three critical battle ground states, ohio, florida, and pennsylvania. you need to win them in order to win the white house, this is what we find now in ohio, among likely voters, the disapproval rating for the pit is at 58%. now, this is a state he won in 2008 by 4.5 points and george bush won the state in 2000, 2004 and that is ohio and also, in florida, the disapproval number that comes up on our polling is 56%, president obama won this state, too, in 2008, after george bush had won it and the tight election in 2000 and won it handily over john kerry -- by a few points in '04, and, in the state of pennsylvania the

disapproval rating at the moment in the keystone state for the president is 52%, consider this: president obama won the state, two years ago, by a total of 10 points. john kerry won in 2004, al gore won it in 2000 and to see these numbers, right now, in these critical battle ground states is stung, and, certainly, not good news, that you want to hear at the white house, among democrats trying to seek re-election in those key states, we show you these states, too, because it gives us an idea, a bit of a reflection now, 21 days away, about how people are feeling about themselves and the course of government, so it is quite revealing in that sense, if you have a question you want answered, shoot an e-mail, hemmer@foxnews.com, and twitter,@witwitter twitter, @bill hemmer. because you asked and thanks to nancy, again, in minnesota. martha: there are new concerns

about the foreclosure fiasco. and, how it could all affect the housing market, does the speed of a foreclosure actually help the market? in virginia, the stats show it can, and fox business network's peter barnes is live in northern virginia and, home prices are starting to come up, hey, peter. >> we're at the convention for the northern virginia realtors and, we are asking the question, what happens if there is a big delay the foreclosures because of the national foreclosure freeze, what impact would it have on the housing e market and we have answers here, across the river, maryland is one of the states that requires a bank to go to court to complete a foreclosure, one of 23 states where that is required and here in virginia, a bank doesn't have to go to court, just has to file the paperwork with the county, 27 states have that process and guess which market is doing better, which one is clearly out, foreclosures, faster? virginia. it only takes 67 days here.

to complete a foreclosure. because of the easier process, 265 days in the state of maryland. virginia, realtors say this quicker foreclosure process, definitely, helps the market. take a listen: >> there is no doubt about it, certainly has helped. it is not as cumbersome and as bureaucratic and, so, it does help the transaction move on much more rapidly. >> so, the market here in northern virginia has bottomed out, more quickly and, price are on the rise, up 5%, in fairfax county, where we are now. in montgomery county, maryland, where again we have the court process, prices are flat and in prince georges county, maryland, prices are falling, down 14%, year-over-year, martha. martha: interesting, peter, thank you very much. peter barnes. bill: 27 minutes past, how are you doing over there. martha: great, how are you doing over there, bill. bill: fine.

to be frank with you, in a moment he beat a sitting senator, taking the republican nomination for senate in alaska and the tea party favorite, joe miller says he's done answering certain questions. and we want to know which ones are off limits, yeah, we'll tell you on that in a moment. martha: and uncle sam has a hole in his pocket, folks! and, boy your tax dollars are just falling through it every time he takes a step, what the federal government has spent this year, is going to shock you. and how it stacks up, to the record that was set just last. >>. when we come back. >> here in washington, the spending binge is going on, that threatens our prosperity. this is not what americans asked for, when they sent, then senator obama, to be our president in the oval office and a big flip should be going to workers in ohio, they should be going to the members of president obama's economic team. [cheers and applause] [ advisor 1 ] what do you see yourself doing one week, one month, five years after you do retire?

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bill: 10:32, if you are joining us here's what is happening on the political front, alaska republican joe miller will no longer answer questions about his background or personal life, he says. >> there is' line that has got to be drawn in the sand with respect to some of these in equity markets and there is no question that i have had incomparable scrutiny in the race compared to the other candidates. bill: a tea party hopeful,

citing a leak of personnel records from his time as a government attorney though he offered no concrete proof and joe biden jumping on the campaign cash bandwagon, criticizing republican groups, report sending vast sums of money into campaign coffers and indicates some of the money may have come from foreign sources and blanche lincoln saying she may seek a compromise on the bush tax cuts, considered one of the most vulnerable incumbents seeking re-election, a member of the tax writing senate finance committee and is in a battle in arkansas, trailing in our latest polling there, blanche lincoln is. martha: a massive strike is taking place in france, tens of thousands of workers, protesting in the streets an flights are cancelled an trains and buses are not running and we have been showing you the live pictures, in the streets of paris and people are angry because the government is proposing to raise the retirement age, from 60 to 62 and extend the work week to a

whole 40 hours, greg burke is live in london, has been covering this for us, and how old do you have to be to retire in france and what rules do they want to change and why is everybody so upset. >> reporter: basically people don't want to work longer than they have to, there are two things going on, the minimum retirement age, the government wants to change from 60 to 62 and full benefits from 65 to 67. basically, it is who will pay for this and the unions don't want to, they want to keep those entitlements they have and the government says, we have a huge budget deficit and have to do something about it and, the strike is not -- has not shut down cities but put a major dent in train and air travel, at one of the airports in paris down 50% and another one down 30% and what is different about the strike and dangerous, e the unions say it is open ended, it's not a one day strike and it could go on for days and one union, is threatening, even for weeks. martha: and, the kind of impact that that could have on a lot of

things in the economy in paris, i guess doesn't dampen their desire to do it and, who is behind it and what is the broader sentiment, of whether or not people are supportive of the changes. >> reporter: well, there are a half million people out there, altogether and the biggest supporters are the unions, they have gained the entitlements over the years and don't want to lose them, on the other side, of course, you have the president sarkozy, it has been a major point he wants to push through, public sentiment split, people realize they have to pay for the pensions and this is what the battle is all about, who will pay the bill? martha. martha: interesting to see this happening in paris and the issues we a dealing with here at home. bill: break out the bubbly, martha, it was another year of record setting spending, uncle sam, dropped nearly $3.5

trillion in fiscal year 2010, second only to, 2009. last year. and, the federal government spent $3.5 trillion in 2009 and you see the $3 trillion mark in 2008 and the two largest budgets on the books in washington in history. john fund, "wall street journal," is on this today, good morning to you, put the cork back in the champagne, 21.4 increase in federal spending in two years. what does it say about the direction of america? and whether or not we can stabilize this thing? >> a little bit more and we become, if not a banana republic, something akin to it. look, inflation during the period of time has been, what, 5%, 6%? so, this means the government has run away with spending, obviously, everyone's family income has shrunk or retains stagnant but the government is growing by leaps and bounds,

$3.5 trillion may not mean something directly to your audience, but think about this, a trillion is a million-million. 3.5 of those, that is how much money the federal government is spending and the debt, the debt we are accumulating for our children and grandchildren is of a crushing variety, and, it could lead us in the direction of greece. bill: and, i'm sure you'll take the pulse of the folks in mill cookie, medicaid raise 8.7% and the health care expenses, too and many people may have expected that and you may not have expected unemployment benefits, rose 34.3%, last year. that is extraordinary and the other thing, when the economy is tanking like this, your tax revenues are less and the government is taking in less money. which makes it more challenging to balance the books, john. >> much of the stimulus package that passed last year was designed to make it possible tor state and local governments not to lay off their worker and private sector workers have gotten laid off, and, now, that

there is no more stimulus money, sometimes the government -- will have to lay off workers, too, and, all of this is on top of the fact that the stimulus package was supposed to keep unemployment below 8%. it has be colossal failure and, 40 million people are now on food stamps, we are developing a new welfare society. 15 years after welfare reform it is coming back and entrenching itself in the fabric of american life. bill: there is one thing written in your newspaper, "wall street journal," owned by our parent company, news corp. and i want to you explain this, the federal reserve earned $76 billion during the same year, 2010. that is an increase of 121%, now, why is that happening? why is the government making more money? >> because, the government is printing so much money. and, in printing money, and in

spending money out the front doors of the federal reserve it collects various fees and what that number maps is the fact that our money supply skyrocketed. a figure straight up on a graph. and that means, that once the economy starts to recover, finally we will see rampant inflation and inflation is bad, because it destroys the life savings of people, retirement savings, and that will be the next crisis we will have to deal with. bill: and, another point the article makes is the government is making more money, because, it controls more capital and when the federal government controls more capital the private sector controls less, doesn't it? >> absolutely, the government is taking over the automobile industry and much of the financial services sector and the banks and obviously those are the fees the federal reserve is conflicting, in addition to the printing of money it is taking over large sections of the economy. bill: john, thank you, the 21.4% federal spending increase in two

years, ought to put to rest any debate about the nature of michigan's fiscal problem and you laid it out well. we're in the hole, john fund, from the "wall street journal," traveling in milwaukee, be curious to find what you find there in wisconsin when you come back to new york. 21 minutes before this hour. martha: headline coming out of the white house, they are talking about the foreclosure issue and robs gibbs says there are unintended consequences to a broader moratorium and they are not in favor of that, as we were discussing, backing up some of the process, of allowing the real estate market to bottom out. and they are also talking about oil, saying the oil moratorium is coming to its natural end, and, that that will happen -- will be happening fairly quickly and those are the snippets, and we'll continue to keep you post on the developments coming out of that, you see on the right-hand side there, the white house. bill: see what the white house does, how much influence they

can exert and you heard the judge say last hour it is a states issue and if they want to pursue it they are within their rights to do it and you have 40 now, lined up. martha: and that is a problem for them, on the other hand, if you halt everything you will be sitting in the mud. bill: and the mud is getting thick, sit in. martha: it is. bill: 21 minutes before the hour, texting and driving not a good idea, an interesting plan to keep you from doing it. we'll try that one on. martha: and while most people love to get away from something that looks like this, our next guests went right at it, folks, we'll talk to one of tv's storm chasers! >> put it on the ground. >> no, turn around. >> we get overenthusiastic and so excited... >> get out -- >> it isn't safe here. >> get out of here! jaguar platinum coverage is not just a warranty.

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>> i'm jon scott, along with jenna lee, 15 minutes, we'll be along with "happening now, our town hall yesterday saw a huge response from you and today we are take your understanding questions, on the panel, juan williams, kevin madden and nina easton, give answers to you. >> we're looking forward to hearing from you and a hearing in the fort hood shooting and the first trial of a gitmo detainee resumes, we're all over that and we have your midterm election news including the new polls, next, on "happening now." martha: all right, thanks, jon and jen, we look forward to that, taking major risks in the face of danger. all in the name of science, folks. that ills the life of an extreme storm chaser! tracking and predicting twisters, here is a taste from the discovery channel's fourth season coming up of storm chasers. >> the ground! >> the ground, on the ground -- look! look! >> touching down, see that? >> feel the wind out there?

>> yeah. >> it is going north! >> get back in the car. >> i'm going for this one. >> let's go! >> gotta roll! >> right there. >> turn around -- >> no, turn around. martha: oh, boy! chris is one of the storm chasers in the crew and is also a meteorologist, my heart is racing watching that and, getting back in the car was probably a pretty good idea. tell me what this season was like for you guys and what was happening in that video we watched. >> that video was actually, the 17th of this year, we intercepted the tornado, clocked winds over 200 miles an hour and it was pretty much one of the most extreme seasons of our whole -- since we have been chasing since 1998 and saw 42 tornadoes, this year. martha: look at these pictures, and what is the dynamic like in the van, we saw in some of the

clips, someone said reid takes too many chances and is not all race safe without there. >> he likes to push the envelope a lot and we are there to tamp him down a little bit and he has passion and love for the choice and actually, we're in mississippi, and, the tornado devastated the town and we were first people on the scene, and, went in there and helped out. martha: how do the cameras work? as a television person i'm interested in the angles you get and how it captures all of you in there. >> it is difficult, we have a guy in the vehicle with us, and, we have a follow vehicle. martha: does he say, guys, let's get the heck out of here, i'm night storm chaser, i'm a cameraman. >> he flips out but he's been with us three seasons now. martha: and, the photographers are usually not afraid of any situation you put them in, we're looking at the incredible pictures and was it more active, of a storm season, for you guys

this time around. >> it was a el nino year and ramped things up and moisture comes from the gulf and huge storms. martha: look at that, an incredible picture. what does your family think of you saying -- i'll be a storm chaser when i grow up. >> my mom gets a little upset and is scared and does not like the tornadoes. martha: but she's okay -- is she okay with hurricanes. >> no, she hates the hurricanes worse. martha: call me when it's over. >> yeah. martha: i don't want to know when you are heading out. martha: does he watch the show? >> she does. martha: i love this stuff but i like to watch it from this distance. when is the next time you go out. >> probably will be this winner, actually we'll try and go down to argentina and chase down there. martha: have you ever gotten hurt. >> last year, we got a window blown out and, we got cut pretty bad, my ear lobe was cut. martha: we'll be watching the storm chasers on the discovery channel as the season gets started, thanks for stopping by. good to meet you. >> nice to meet you.

martha: all right, over to you guys. bill: we will see that, real soon, right? martha: yes. bill: that show. martha: coming up this season. bill: storm chasers, wednesday, the 13th, 10:00 p.m., eastern time. martha: thanks, bill. bill: you get my back next time, brand new fox polling numbers, interesting story, 21 days from election day, you'll see them in minutes and, before you reach for the cell phone, while driving, think about this:

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bill: as martha mentioned a short time ago, we are hearing from the white house, that deep water drilling freeze, the moratorium, will be lifted, likely within the week. no specific date given, only

saying very soon, imminently, was the word i think they used and it does not necessarily mean we'll see drilling right away and companies will have to prove they have a backup system to prevent significant blowouts like we saw in the gulf several months ago, watch for the space on that story, breaking now from the white house, in the meantime, a brand new effort to get drivers to put down cell phones while behind the wheel and the campaign is called "phone in one hand, ticket in the other" not good. right now police departments in syracuse, new york, and hartford, connecticut are getting federal tax dollars to enforce the program. we wants to know whether or not it is working, laura ingle went out and checked it out and is here now and what did you find. >> >> reporter: the pilot program that you mentioned, called "phone in one hand, ticket in the other" $400,000, going to put extra officers out on the streets. be on the lockout for people using their phones and they've written up 10,000 tickets, since the program began in april and

we went on a ride-along to check on how the enforcement was working. >> i saw you talking on the cell phone. >> bad drivers' behavior, cell phone talk and teching are earning chatty motorist a trip to the curb for a pricey lesson from the law. >> a woman was talking on the cell phone, had the phone in her left hand, up to her left year. >> reporter: the captain says he issues one ticket every 15 minutes during the stepped up patrols conducted every few months. >> i stopped you because i saw you texting on the phone. >> reporter: what are you looking for. >> i'm focusing on driver behavior. so i'm looking to see what they are looking at. is their head down? are their eyes down? where are their hands? >> reporter: the ticketing blitz is paired with the public service announcement to drive the message home. >> 5500 people killed last year, as a result of distracted driving. a half a million people injured, as a result of distracted driving.

and, we all could be one of those people, if we don't take personal responsibility and obey the laws. >> reporter: some of the electronics industry say if using device while driving is illegal things like eating, smoking and grooming should be, too. >> i feel any laws passed on safe driving should focus more on behaviors than -- and attitudes than specific technologies. >> reporter: and it will be reviewed by national transportation officials next year who hope to turn it into a national campaign. bill? bill: laura ingle, thanks, interesting report, we'll see if people listen. five minutes before the hour, no grooming while driving, bill! bill: just that one time, the one time! martha: i don't think so. all right, just when you thought the story was over, folks, anna nicole smith's name is back in the news. did her doctors and her boyfriend play a role in her death? there is a trial ongoing, right now to decide that, happening now, next.

bill: before we check out here, halloween is around the corp and it's my favorite holiday. people are crazy enough, right? when you give them a reason to be crazy behind a mask, anything could happen! charlie brown would love this one, talk about a great pumpkin, the winner of the annual world championship way off in california, 1535 pounds! ron lou grew that sucker, he's won that four times and he knows pumpkins. it did not break the world record, becauseis greater than that, i guess, greater than 1500 pounds. martha: look at that thing! a lot of seeds in there. bill: a lot of pie, martha, a lot of pie! we have to run, great to have you back, by the way. martha: good to be here. bill: on we go. martha: on we