. >> fox news alert, moments ago the most powerful republican in washington just laced into a bipartisan group of lawmakers over their failure to slash more than a trillion dollars in federal spending. welcome to "america live," i'm megyn kelly. with less than six days to a do or die deadline, house speaker john boehner saying it's time rip off the band-aid, claiming democrats on the congressional supercommittee have yet to propose a plan saying, quote, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make 'em drink. co-carol patty murray saying republicans are stonewalling on taxes. >> well, we have made it clear

or that we are willing to meet their offer, but it has to be in a way that is fair to working families and puts our country back to work. that's the test that we have on hand. i would hope that that is a way for them to understand that they need to compromise, too, and come back to us and reach a deal which is critically important today. but i think the challenge is that they have to resolve the differences in, on their side on revenue. megyn: alabama republican senator jeff sessions is the ranking member of the senate budget committee, and he is my guest now. senator, welcome to you. now there is more and more of a push on both sides to reach some sort of a deal so that the automatic cuts don't kick in. 600 billion to domestic spending, 600 billion to defense spending. and we are seeing some republicans even start to talk more about revenue hikes meaning tax hikes, including the third ranking senate republican

leader, senator lamar 58 sander of -- alexander who argued that the republicans need to offer more revenues if this panel hopes to balance the books. he wants the democrats to do the same with entitlements on the table, but do you agree with senator alexander that the republicans need to administer revenues on the table? >> no, i don't agree with that. and i'm really uneasy about this whole process. it's in secret, they obviously haven't reached any kind of detailed agreement about how the, some sort of accord would be reached. it's supposed to be filed monday and voted on by them wednesday of next week. this is a very dicey situation. the future of the american economy is at stake. the democrats are resisting almost any significant spending reductions except a huge slam of the defense department which former secretary gates called a

total catastrophe for america. so i'm very uneasy about the process. we can hope something good will come out of it, but it's not the way congress should be operating, in secret. it ought to be open and public. we ought to be casting votes, defending our position, and then the american people can be a participant in this process. megyn: the democrats claim that they put $350 billion worth of medicare cuts on the table and that that's actually a larger proposal than that offered by the gop. in other words, they would have us believe that they are offering more entitlement spending cuts than you are, than the republicans are. is that true? >> well, you know, megyn, i don't know what they've offered. what i've seen, though, historically is when they make these claims, when you actually examine it, it results in a demand for a huge tax cut as a way to handle this or that problem. they've demanded larger and larger tax cuts. when the republicans offered a

$300 billion tax -- excuse me, tax increases. when republicans offered a $300 billion tax increase, they walked away a few days ago, said that was nothing. so i don't see -- i'm really unease about this process. we're in a real situation. it'd be unthinkable if they don't reach an agreement. but if democrats think that they can put a gun at the defense department and force the republicans to accept the bad deal, they are mistaken. i don't believe the congress of the united states will allow and could possibly allow what secretary of defense panetta says is a hollowing out of the military. and so i think that would be ultimately reversed. so we've got to come up with something that in the long-term lays out a fiscal plan for america. the best one that's been done is the house budget. they did their constitutional responsibility and passed a budget. the senate democrats have refused to do so, and they

remain unwilling to lay out a real plan that reduces spending and puts this country on a healthy path. megyn: right now the stalemate continues. i want to shift gears with you for a moment, sir, because you're the ranking member of the senate judiciary committee and as such have a thing or two to say about supreme court justices and supreme court confirmation hearings and so on. and there's been a dust-up this week about supreme court justice elena kagan and whether she should be allowed to sit when the health care law goes up to the supreme court in march. they've accepted review of that case. a conservative group sought information on her e-mail correspondence and obtained an e-mail, among others, in which she wrote to a colleague within the administration, quote: i hear they have the votes, two exclamation points. simply amazing. and now some conservative groups are suggesting that this is information she needed to share with you during her confirmation hearings when you asked her about her role in the health

care law or comments on it, and others are suggesting it's a basis for her recusal, saying she should recuse herself from the case. your thoughts, sir? >> megyn, the key thing in those e-mails was a clear evidence that she directed her chief deputy, her personal deputy to take charge of for legal defense -- of the legal defense of the health care bill after it passed while she was solicitor general. and, therefore, she made decisions in the legal defense of this bill. and you're a lawyer, but, you know, in a law firm if a superior lawyer directs a subordinate to take a position in a case and begin work on it, they can't then if appointed a judge sit on that case. so -- megyn: well, let me ask you about that, senator. because what should she have done? she was the solicitor general, she couldn't have taken it -- >> megyn, i'm not criticizing -- megyn: she had to give it to

somebody else. >> absolutely. but then you can't sit on the case. that's the question. i'm not saying she did anything wrong in commencing the legal preparation to defend the health care bill. that was perfectly all right for her. but once she's done that, she's involved herself in the litigation and is not, normally, any private lawyer would not be able to sit on the case. don't you think? megyn: we'll be talking about that on reilly tonight -- >> we'll see. you're right. it's a -- megyn: you've got to show that she made decisions in the case, not just that she delegated it to an underling. >> i don't think so. if you're responsible for the litigation, you're participating in the litigation, then -- i don't know. we'll see. we'll hear what -- megyn: you watch o'reilly tonightment. [laughter] he's going to thank me for the plug. senator sessions, thank you so much. >> thank you. megyn: all the best. fox news alert now from the campaign trail. moments ago rasmussen reports releasing a new poll from iowa,

and it has big news for newt gingrich. taken over the last few days, it shows mr. gingrich at 32%, romney 19, cain 13. look at that. this is the first primary survey conducted entirely after last week's gop debate on foreign policy, and there is big news in the national polls on the gop leaderboard today as well. we will have that coming up at the top of our 2 p.m. hour. now we go live to lower manhattan where occupy wall street protesters promised to shut down wall street today, but the nypd not letting it happen. there have been several arrests, and rick leventhal is live near wall street right now. rick? >> reporter: and, megyn, the nypd getting an assist from mother nature, a steady rainfallen for the past hour or so, and the crowds have definitely thinned out. there's still a couple hundred people inside the park. the main action this morning was near wall and broad.

police set up these metal barricades around the stock exchange and wouldn't allow protesters to get to that building, but the protesters still flooded down there in numbers estimates between one and two thousand. they were chanting, they were holding signs, they were confronting police officers who were clad in riot gear, and at last count there were at least 75 arrests in lower manhattan of protesters who either refused to move out of the street or got in direct confrontations with police officers down here trying to keep business running. of course, the stock exchange did open on time, but there was a lot of opposition from people on the street trying to make sure that people heard their voices and that their protest was heard. again, megyn, this is expected to move around the city to subway stops and a major protest this afternoon at foley square. they're expecting thousands for that. and then a march across the brooklyn bridge, and the last time that happened, 070 were arrested -- 700 were arrested. megyn? megyn: thank you. it's not getting much

fanfare, but today marks the kickoff of a massive case review by the department of homeland security, one that may end in the release of hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who are now being held for deportation. the goal, they say, is to focus on getting the most dangerous illegal immigrants out of the country faster. trace gallagher has more. >> reporter: and, megyn, we certainly knew this was coming because this is the memo by immigrations and customs enforcement director john morton issued back in june, and it really details the whole plan. basically, the policy is to kind of slow down or scale back the deportation of illegals who do not commit crimes and then speed up the deportation of those who do. it really is a three-step process. step one is you go through, and you examine all of the cases now arrive anything the immigration courts, and you close out the low priority ones before they get into the court system, and then you process all the others. step two is to comb through the cases already in the court system.

you do the same thing. you close out those not accused of a felony, and then you deport those who are. and step three is kind of controversial because it's to train the immigration agents nationwide to use their discretion to hold illegals who pose a threat and then free the ones who don't. that's a major change since the agents are all trained that anybody who enters this country illegally should be held and processed. now, the obama administration says the goal here is to unclog the immigration courts. but republican lawmakers say this is an end run around congress, it is back door amnesty, it is blatantly unfair. texas congressman lamar smith who's the chairman of the house judiciary committee issued this statement saying, quote, the administration's decision to move forward with back door amnesty could mean jobs but not for unemployed americans. the administration keeps touting its record of deporting 400,000

illegals each of the past three years. megyn? megyn: trace gallagher, thank you. well, the eventual big break in the missing baby mystery in missouri could come from a phone call made the night little lisa irwin vanished. today we're learning more about that call from a private eye. he joins us live. plus, penn state assistant coach mike mcqueary claims now that he did tell police he saw coach jerry sandusky abusing a child. the problem is, the police just spoke out, and they have a much different recollection. the troubling new turn in the penn state investigation right after the break. and six people have been killed by mother nature in a series of storms that spawned at least two twisters. we'll show you what's next just ahead. [ male announcer ] if you think tylenol

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megyn: fox news alert, minutes away from the first court appearance by a man accused of opening fire on the white house. 21-year-old oscar ortega hernandez was arrested in pennsylvania yesterday charged with firing two bullets at the white house from an assault rifle. one hit a bullet-proof window, the other the side of the building. the suspect, an idaho man, was cuffed after a hotel clerk recognized his face. new developments today in the penn state child sex abuse scandal. mike mcqueary, the former graduate assistant -- now assistant coach -- who says he saw jerry sandusky raping a child in the team's showers now says in an e-mail that he did call the police. the problem for mcqueary is that the police are saying something very different. david lee miller live from beaver stadium at university park, pennsylvania. and this mcqueary has now been

placed on administrative leave, david lee, as the facts around this case continue to evolve. >> reporter: that's right, megyn. in fact, he's placed on paid administrative leave, but there's a considerable amount of fallout after this e-mail was made public. very briefly, this was reportedly sent by mcqueary to a former classmate after he came under a lot of pressure for not intervene anything the sexual assault in 2002 and criticism for not going to the police. mcqueary wrote his former class mate: i have -- did have discussions with police and with the official at the university in charge of police. now, in the aftermath of that e-mail university police say they have no record whatsoever of a police report filed by mike mcqueary, the local police in state college also do not have a report. and if you look at the very precise language in that e-mail, he does say he talked to gary

schulz. he did according to the grand jury report, gary schulz, the vice president of finance and business, it is under his responsibility to coordinate the police. and schulz is now charged with perjury. if you look at the grand jury report, the grand jury said that schulz said that mcqueary's allegations were not that serious and that no crime had occurred. so if mcqueary's testimony comes into question, the case against schulz as well as others here could fall apart. bottom line here is that mcqueary still has a great deal of explaining to do. there appears to be a very great inconsistency. we have to learn more about what he said before the grand jury. megyn? megyn: david lee miller, thank you. joining me on the phone is ellis cannon who is a pittsburgh-based sports katzer and a former -- sports caster.

and a former attorney. this guy mcqueary witnessed the rape, according to the indictment, he left immediately is what the grand jury indictment said and called his dad. his dad said, go talk to paterno, which he then did. the report said none of the coaches ever called police. then an e-mail surfaces in which this guy, mike mcqueary, wrote just this week from his friends, and i'm quoting from the e-mail: i did stop it -- because he was criticized for not stopping the rape -- i did stop it. not physically, but made sure it was stopped when i left that locker room. i did have discussions with police and with the official at the university in charge of police. so you heard david lee miller talk about how he did talk to one guy, but according to this e-mail that he wrote his friends, he says he also had discussions with police suggesting directly. now, you tell me, why would he be saying that and why would the

police be saying something else? >> well, there may be two different recollections, there may be two different realities. and, frankly, the grand jury testimony at this point is the most important. it could be that he's looking to, um, you know, save face or, for that matter, try to portray himself a little bit more favorably once the heat came down. the report from david is right, there's just been a tremendous amount of attention. even last week when you and i were together on the show, i was a little surprised then that there's this much attention on mcqueary for a lot of reasons, including the context to which this all unfolded being much greater. um, and, again, if it turns out that he has a significant role in the ultimate criminality being apportioned against those that have been charged, then clearly it'll be critical, his credibility will be critical, and it'll all be taken into

consideration when, in fact, a jury goes to decide on who's responsible for what. megyn: well, there's no reason to not know the true facts about mike mcqueary just because he may prove a critical witness in connection with the prosecutions of the others. if he has, you know, blood on his hands, then we need to know that too. and there's a question about how this guy walked in on a rape, guy did not stop it, not physically, but made sure it was stopped? what we know, ellis, is when he left, that little boy was still alone in the locker room with that coach. that seems to be the case according to the indictment. moreover o, according to reports mcqueary went on to participate in fundraising events with sandusky. it doesn't look like he had a real problem with that coach. >> i understand that. but i asked you this last week, and i'll ask you again. what's the point? he was -- megyn: the point is he's still getting paid by penn state up until last friday he was coaching young boys. >> i understand that. but where does that fit in relative to the ultimate responsibility of criminality?

megyn: it's just, it's not criminality, it's just in the interests of uncovering the truth, the truth in this case, ellis. you've been great. thanks so much, we've got eight seconds to the hard break. join us again, please. coming up, an update on solyndra and the drama on capitol hill today.

megyn: new fallout today there the fast and furious gun-running sting that went bad. kevin olson is the former chief of staff for attorney general eric holder, and now his nomination for a federal judgeship is running into a buzz saw of opposition from republican lawmakers at hearings today on capitol hill. they're upset over how mr. holder's justice department handled that operation that lost track of so many guns, two of which turned up at the scene of a murdered border patrol agent. shannon bream has more live from

capitol hill. >> reporter: top adviser to the attorney general through january of this year but said during that time he never knew anything about a gun-walking option that was allowing guns to flow from the u.s. into mexico. olson faced some big skeptics today. chief among them was senator john mccain who seemed very skeptical that olson could be in such a critical position and know nothing about fast and furious. mccain also asked why olson had no questions about the weapons linked to the death of border patrol agent brian terry or the circumstances surrounding his death. here's some of their exchange. >> so when you learned about it, to matter what you were doing, it didn't arouse your curiosity as to ask what the circumstances were? >> we were briefed on that, sir. it certainly aroused my sympathy for the family -- >> but you didn't ask enough to find out that this was part of fast and furious. >> senator mccain, there was

not a basis for me to ask that question at that time. >> reporter: in his written response to the committee, olson acknowledged, quote: >> reporter: there were plenty of folks on the panel today in the senate armed service committee who had a tough time digesting that information, especially when olson admitted he was basically the gatekeeper for all the information that was coming in the to the attorney general, he was the one who decided what was important enough to get to the attorney general's desk and what wasn't. by the way, the first time he heard about operation fast and furious, exactly what it was and the gun-walking side of that operation, he said it was february of this year. he heard about it in the press after he had already left the doj. megyn: interesting. that may hurt his chances at getting on the federal bench but help eric holder that he relied on staff to bring this stuff to his attention. never mind he read them and didn't think it was important,

he didn't review them either. let me ask you, we had senator jeff sessions on, now we understand there's been some breaking news on capitol hill with respect to his office. what's happening? >> >> reporter: yeah. he is in an office just around the corner from this rotunda. we just got an alert from his staff they have a suspicious package in his office. there are some evacuations, a lot of folks out here. we've got u.s. capitol police on the scene. i can't tell you anything more about it, but they have evacuated and said there is something in the office that has come up just since you talked to him that's been deemed suspicious. police are on the scene. megyn: wow. all right, shannon, thank you. it sounds like the script of a comedy movie, but it is deadly. how a pilot took a trip to the restroom and ended up triggering a hijacking scare. this is unbelievable. plus, the energy secretary on the hot seat today after taxpayers lose a half billion dollars on green jobs. can the solyndra scandal do serious damage to the obama administration? we'll have a fair and balanced

debate next. >> how much money do you think the federal government will be able to recover? >> well, that remains to be seen. >> well, what's your -- >> i'm anticipating not very much. [ male announcer ] drinking a smoothie with no vegetable nutrition? ♪ [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8. for a hot dog cart. my mother said, "well, maybe we ought to buy this hot dog cart and set it up someplace." so my parents went to bank of america. they met with the branch manager and they said, "look, we've got this little hot dog cart, and it's on a really good corner. let's see if we can buy the property."

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[ male announcer ] that's a part d prescription drug plan. tell us about your prescriptions and we can help you select the right plan. like a stand-alone plan, or you can combine part d and medicare supplement plans for complete coverage. is there a single plan that combines medicare parts a & b with medical and drug coverage? [ male announcer ] absolutely. a medicare advantage plan can give you doctor, hospital and prescription drug coverage for nothing more than what you already pay for medicare part b. don't wait another day. you only have until december 7th to make sure you get the medicare coverage you need. call unitedhealthcare to learn about medicare plans that may be right for you. with some plans, you can enroll right over the phone. don't wait. call now. megyn: well, you may have seen the breaking news during this hour yesterday. deadly storms ripped through several states killing at least six people, injuring dozens of others. two tornadoes were just confirmed in alabama, and more are suspected.

trace gallagher joins us live now with more on the extreme weather. >> reporter: in fact, megyn, as many as 14 more may be suspected, 16 tornadoes in all may possibly have ripped a across the south. this was the worst series of storm outbreaks since back in april when hundreds of people were kill inside those devastating storms. this is beginning in southern louisiana where the red cross is now on scene after a reported twister touched down there. i mean, this is an isolated area, but the damage across the whole, this vast area looks much the same here. this thing also scared the daylights out of a number of residents. listen. >> it was terrifying, you know, to be lifted up in the air. it's very scary, worried about everybody that's in the house, not sure where they are and how they're doing. you just have to wait until it's out. >> reporter: next door in mississippi, 15 people were injured. in the right here is alabama. this is in the eastern part of the state near auburn university.

several homes were demolished in two separate housing parks. the university was spared, but now they have widespread power outages across that area. in southern georgia a man who was killed when his suv was struck by a tree. um, boy, the storm also caused widespread damage across many homes and hiss, and now thousands including in metro atlanta are now without power. listen here. >> it also dropped a tree in our swimming pool in the backyard, took down all the fence around the swimming pool, so significant damage. >> it was like the rains were, like, really heavy, and the winds. we were all inside in the hallways ducking down and stuff. >> reporter: yeah, the carolinas were the hard hit, three people killed, many, many more were injury z. they are now still searching, the death toll there may rise. this is north carolina. you can see multiple homes very badly damaged, very rough,

dangerous weather throughout the night across the south, megyn. megyn: trace gallagher, thank you, sir. >> reporter: yep. megyn: well, congress today grilling the president's right-hand man on energy about how the doe made a bad loan with a half billion dollars of your money, taxpayer dough. energy secretary steven chu on the hot seat at a hearing of the house energy and commerce committee. two burning questions on the solyndra financial catastrophe: why did he approve a $535 million loan for this company when there were red flags all over it, and why did he let private investors jump ahead of taxpayers on the payback line? >> were you aware that your own staff that worked for you was predicting bankruptcy in 2011, prophetically two years -- yes or to? >> it wasn't predicting bankruptcy of the company, it was predicting a cash flow issue that upon further analysis did not appear, and, in fact, it did not appear in reality.

>> how much money do you think the federal government will be able to recover? >> well, that remains to be seen, i'm anticipating -- >> well, what's your -- >> i'm anticipating not very much, but we would not of had we said no stopped disbursement of funds, stopped completion of the factory. we were, we were -- we felt that we weren't going to recover much of anything at all at that point as well. megyn: was this deal about politics and political meddling, or wasn't it? that's what they're trying to get to the bottom of. simon rosenberg is director of the new democrat network and a former clinton campaign adviser, and neil boris is a syndicated talk show host. it comes up in the context of the secretary getting grilled on capitol hill and these e-mails that have been released that suggest, according to the administration's critics, that it was political and that there was political meddling including -- i'll start with you on this, neil -- an e-mail that

says this is from a solyndra board member who wrote the department of energy really thinks politically before it thinks economically, and talks about how the doe pushed very hard, meaning department of energy, pushed very hard for solyndra to hold off on its announcement of laying off 100-plus employees until after the election. and they talk about how they wanted this bad news out of solyndra to be postponed until after the midterm election of 2010. neil, what does it tell us? >> well, we also have an investment adviser to kaiser who wrote him and said that -- megyn: he's the money guy behind solyndra. >> right. thinking politically on this issue. and how strange is it that these layoffs at solyndra happened on the day after the 2010 elections? of course, this is all political. and, megyn, it doesn't matter whether it's republicans or democrats in power, seemingly it doesn't matter.

this is what you get when you get a command economy. when you have the political class deciding where the economic winners and where the economic losers are going to be. who's going to get the loan to expand their business, who is not? these are marketplace decisions, they are not political decisions. when they become political decisions like $30 billion slush funds for obama's dream of green energy, you're going to get corruption. and that's exactly what we're seeing here. megyn: simon, i mean, i think the doe comes out and says, look, some win, some lose when you do an investment portfolio which is what we do for taxpayers. but the stuff about trying to delay bad news announcements until after the midterm elections and some of these e-mails that suggest some political meddling by the doe, that leaves a wad taste in -- a bad taste in people's mouths about honesty from the administration. what does it say to you?

is. >> well, 36 of the 38 investments in the portfolio are still kicking along and doing well. and so it's, first of all, not been a disastrous effort by the energy department, and i think most investors would be happy if 36 of their 38 investments actually worked out. i think in this case with solyndra, there were clearly mistakes made, and we have to learn how to do this better. it's critical for the government in being involved in making sure the clean energy industry takes place. there's been long history of subsidizing energy because of the nature of the energy business. we've got to be in it. we've got to win this arms race -- megyn: what about, i think you could win that point, but it's other stuff that makes people upset, you know? there were red flags, and they pushed ahead with it anyway, and you've got chu going up there according to one of these correspondence and telling, telling the public that an announcement on solyndra's loan approval is imminent, and the loan is theirs as soon as they get some additional capital, and

then there's an internal e-mail at the doe saying this nonsense has to stop. the conclusion that the loan is theirs doesn't help us in the negotiation with this company. they're suggesting that even our own energy secretary was a shill for getting this loan to a company with a red flag. that's the kind of people that makes people on both sides of the aisle say i don't like how this went down. >> megyn, i think there were mistakes made in this process, there's no doubt about it. and be i think we have to learn from them so we can do it better because the critical thing is we have to be competitive in this field in the 21st century. and the most important thing is not to, you know, criticize people and lambaste them, but to do a thorough investigation of what took place. let's make some recommendations about how we can make it better. and i think that, hopefully, will come out of this process. megyn: neil, do you think mr. chu keeps his job and ought to after this? >> well, he's been, clearly, every administration you always, you insulate yourself from these decisions, and you always have somebody who's ready to fall on a sword.

that might be mr. chu in this case. but as far as, well, we have to be involved in promoting this green energy, let the marketplace decide where we are going to go in our energy future. if we -- >> so, neil, are you for eliminating oil and gas subsidies? megyn: let him finish because he didn't interrupt you. go ahead, neil. >> if we're going to let barack obama get in the way of the expansion of these immense oil supplies that are still available to us in this country, then we are going to run into more problems like solyndra. megyn: okay. >> and as for oil subsidies, those are the same subsidies that virtually every other corporation in this country receives. you want to end it for oil, end it for all of them. fine with me. megyn: all right, guys, i've got to run. thank you so much, simon and neil. >> thank you. megyn: well, a phone call made the night missing baby lisa irwin vanished could be the big

break need inside the investigation, and we are learning much more about that call. a pi who's been investing it joins me next right after the break. and watch this -- if you think this is firepower, you haven't seen anything yet. the pentagon says it is working on a new bunker-busting bomb that can level a mountain, and there may be a very specific reason why they're showing it off right now. what's better than gold ?

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megyn: well, a phone call made on the night missing baby lisa irwin disappeared could prove critical in this case. this child disappeared from her missouri home last month. her parents claim she was abducted in the middle of the night. today we're learning more about a mystery phone call that was made at 11:57 p.m. that night

from the phone of baby lisa's mother, deborah bradley, to a woman who's been very mysterious in this case named megan wright. ron is a private investigator, and he's been working this case extensively. ron, thank you for being here. so at 11:57 p.m. the phone call, deborah bradley says her phone service was restricted and couldn't make outgoing calls, but the police are telling the family that they saw a call at 11:57 p.m. from deborah bradley's phone attempt today this woman, megan wright. and the family defense attorneys come out and say we checked automatic records for a year prior -- all the records for a year prior. deborah bradley's phone, jeremy irwin's phone had never called that number before. therefore, they say, the evidence suggests strongly it was an intruder who made that 11:57 p.m. phone call at the same time he was making that baby, and now you say your investigation tells you that megan wright only had that phone

and that phone number for a month prior to the baby's disappearance? >> i was told yesterday afternoon by members of the household where megan wright lived that night that they thought that she may have only had that phone for about a month and a half, maybe two months when she first moved into the home. i've reached out to megan wright, she doesn't have a phone right now, and so i reached out to her by e-mail last night and again this morning trying to confirm that. we don't know for sure yet, but we're looking at that possibility. megyn: ron, do you know if this is one of those prepaid phones or a phone where you have monthly service? >> megan told me last week when we sat down -- i visited with her for over two hours last week face to face, and she told me she owned a virgin prepaid mobile, or a pay as you go. megyn: so on that kind of a phone, if you -- can you transfer a number? if she had a number six months ago to a phone and got rid of that phone, could she transfer

that number onto a prepaid phone, do you know? >> i doubt, but i can't say for certain. we have reached out to cell phone experts to ask those questions. megyn: yeah. my understanding is you cannot do that, the number is what it is which, you know, isn't necessarily, you know, damning to either side, but it doesn't -- it makes the family's claim that deborah bradley had never dialed megan wright at this number before as dispositive of this case less credible. it's not dispositive of the case if woman just got this cell phone number 30 days earlier or so. >> it would appear that whoever dialed that number that night trying to reach megan wright's phone, whoever the intended recipient was, would either have had to have that number memorized, or it would have been prom programmed into the phone. megyn: what is the latest on -- because it doesn't matter, i think it doesn't matter whether megan wright had the phone, this guy dane who may have been in the house had the phone, isn't

the relevant question here, rob, who was the 11:57 p.m. caller trying to reach? what was the connection between those two people? do we, do we know? there's some speculation that that house megan wright was in was a source of drugs. >> we don't know who made that call. the two things that we don't know for sure are who made that phone call from deborah -- who made the attempt to make the phone call from deborah bradley's phone that night and who the intended recipient was, whether it was megan, whether it was dane, whether it was intended for jersey. we don't know that. megyn: you've raised an interesting question which is the family believes this was an intruder in part by pointing to evidence that the 11:57 p.m. phone call was made or attempted, and they say the mother was asleep at the time. they point out it was to a number that deborah bradley's never called before, and the neighbors at 12:15 saw a guy who

was bald carrying a baby down the street. now, this homeless guy jersey matches that description. you raise the point of how would an intruder, why would an intruder steal a baby at 11:57, make a phone call and then wait 15 to 18 minutes in the home before running, you know, two doors down with the baby? the house is that close, ron? >> the house is across the street and down the block. from the information i have. i don't know the exact address of the house, but i've been told that's the case. and it makes no sense to me. if it -- well, i say if, but it appears that phone call was attempted at 11:57, and does it take 18 minutes? do you stand around, smoke a cigarette, take a baby and then decide to leave? megyn: you know, this case continues to have more questions than answers. ron, thank you for being on with your part of it. we'll continue to ask on both side. we appreciate it. ghoo well, if you get caught insider trading these days, it

is practically straight to jail unless you work for congress. why do lawmakers appear to have a different set of rules? and is that legal? that's coming up. and up next, we'll show you a commercial pilot making a trip to a bathroom who touched off a hijacking scare in the process. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone deserves the gift of a pain free holiday. this season, discover aleve. all day pain relief with just two pills.

megyn: well, this next story would be funny if it didn't involve a hijacking scare. it all started when the captain of a commercial jet got locked inside the bathroom in a flight from asheville, north carolina, to new york's laguardia airport. when a good samaritan came to his rescue, the situation quickly spiraled out of control. heather childers is live in our new york newsroom with more. >> reporter: can't make this up. fighter planes alerted, an emergency landing all because of a bathroom break.

this flight from asheville, north carolina, to new york last night, the captain of delta flight 6132, he decided to head to the head before landing, but the door got jammed. he couldn't get out. a passenger tried to let the crew in the cockpit know what was going on. here's the first officer who was flying the plane at the time raising concern with the control tower. >> reporter: so the pilot declares an emergency landing. fighter planes are alerted, but before they're scrambled, the captain manages to escape the bathroom. here's what he said.

>> reporter: now, the plane only had one flight attendant onboard due to its small size, so when one of the pilots leaves the cockpit, according to protocol, that flight attendant goes to the cockpit to help out. no one was injured, although the captain may think twice on hitting the head on his next flight. [laughter] megyn: oh, that's terrible. my heart goes out to that captain. can you imagine? okay, heather, thank you. >> reporter: you're welcome. megyn: i'm filtering so many jokes right now, just editing them out. daytime tv. john? i'll tell you later. we are learning more about the young man isn'ted of firing -- suspected of firing an ak-47 at the white house. we'll show you what we have dug

up on his background. what's he going to say? plus, big news on the campaign trail for newt gingrich and the rest of the field. that is immediately after this break. and watch this! you think that was loud, the pentagon is now working only someone that is four to five times more powerful. we'll show you why. [ male announcer ] attention medicare beneficiaries.

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annual enrollment ends wednesday, december 7th. call unitedhealthcare today about an aarp medicarecomplete plan. you can even enroll right over the phone. or visit us on the web. don't wait. call now. megyn: fox news alert. we are waiting for the first court appearance for the man accused of firing shots at the white house. oscar ortega hernandez scheduled to appear in front of the judge at this hour, right now. authorities say he fired an assault rifle at the white house friday night, cracking a window in the first family's living quarters. look at this balcony. it is the center window there. you can see them doing the repair work. the first family goes out on that balcony from time to time. they were in no danger. this particular incident we're being told. still, we're told that the shots came from south of the white house. around the intersection of 16th and constitution avenue,

no more than 800 yards away. we'll have a live report in just a few minutes. another fox news alert. for the first time in the race for the gop presidential nomination newt gingrich catapults to second place in an average of all the national polls taken so far. we're not talking about one outlayer. we're talking about an average of all the national polls. look at the numbers. it is neck-and-neck. welcome to a new hour of america live. i'm maybe begin kelly. a "fox news poll" released last night was enough to boost mr. gingrich's standing from the third place standing to the second place slot and it is just inches away these top candidates from one another. look at the results. and what is more remarkable than the gingrich surge is how fast it happened. just 10 days ago the former speaker was at a 12% average. now he has shot up to over 20%. joining me now, chris stirewalt, our fox news digital politics editor and host of power play on

foxnews.com live. chris, go from 12 to 20 and now number two in the national polls. it is by a sliver. he is almost tied for first. what's going on here? >> well, what's going on newt gingrich has all the momentum and just basically surged to the front of the primary within a primary for the republican party. and i have talked about this before that there are two primaries going on. mitt romney sitting on his quarter of the electorate, more steady as more moderate choice for republicans. conservatives gone back and forth time and time again with the different candidates. it was michele bachmann, it was rick perry. it was herman cain. now it is newt gingrich. this is a most a's amazing horse race to watch and absolutely fascinating and i'm loving it. megyn: we have a couple debates in the past two weeks and newt gingrich has done his standard beat up on the marked for identification rat tour thing. saw that with cnbc with contentious exchanges with maria bartiromo and saw it

saturday night in the cbs debate. how much is that, that particular dynamic helping him in your view? >> well, it is huge because what the republican electorate doesn't like, one, attacks on each other. so gingrich wisely avoids that. keeps his attacks focused on moderatetores and president obama. the other thing is, he offered a tantalizing proposition to republicans. gingrich, who is a very smart guy is offering this proposition. wouldn't you like to see me debate barack obama? they think gosh, that would be good. you know all this stuff. you are so smart. that allowed gingrich to rice to the top in remarkably fast fashion. megyn: he doesn't like to beat up on fellow republicans at stage, chris. he declines to do that. there is always someone there he can beat up on. he can beat up the nonpresent barack obama. he does that in terms of his arguments and can also beat up to the moderatetores. it seems to play very well with the people who support him. i want to ask you about, you know, hey, been there. but i want to ask you it is

no the just the national polls which are important but to win the gop nomination you got to go through iowa. you got to go through new hampshire. look at the latest iowa polls. we just got these from scott rasmussen at the top of our last hour. look at this, 32% for gingrich. romney is way behind in iowa. according to razzy. doesn't like when i call him that. are we possibly looking at newt gingrich win in iowa now? >> you're looking at possible newt gingrich win in iowa. you're looking possible herman cain win in iowa. looking at possible rick perry win in iowa. you're looking at a possible ron paul win in iowa. anything is possibly in this wacky election year for republicans. conservatives decided they will kick the tires and check all their options. six weeks is short period of time to come and decide who is your presidential nominee. republicans will soak up every last second. it will be high-stakes and

high drama. megyn: it is political theater. i understand when you say you're loving it. nothing is secured. nothing is locked n as a news person it is fascinating to cover because the headline changes week to week, chris. >> i love it. megyn: thank you, sir. >> you bet. megyn: with these new numbers it will be interesting to hear how republican presidential candidate mitt romney reacts. he is on "your world" with neil cavuto four poom eastern time. neil always has a great interview. 4:00 p.m. eastern. set your tivo. less than six days to go until do-or-die for congress to cut the federal budget, now the powerful lobbying group aarp is running a controversial new ad threatening lawmakers trying to rein in spending on entitlement programs. that is really at the crux what the super-committee is doing. the aarp apparently not happening. jim angle in d.c. >> reporter: hi, megyn.

groups representing seniors and voters on the left are running ads and issuing pointed warnings to congress. listen. >> washington, before you even think about cutting my medicare and social security benefits, here's a number you should remember. 50 million. we are 50 million seniors who earned our benefits and you will be hearing from us today, and on election day. >> reporter: now former senator al simpson who was co-chair of the president's fiscal commission calls that the most disgusting ad he has ever seen. he notes the language abt we are going to be watching you and we'll be looking on election day and calls that ugly, ugly because simpson and other who is work on deficit reduction plans point the numbers showing senior programs are unsustainable unless they are changed. nevertheless, liberal members of congress followed up with a rally today, also warning congress to make no changes. listen. >> we are not going to

accept social security, medicare, and medicaid cuts. we are not going to abandon seniors and children. >> reporter: the problem is the federal government made tens of trillions more in problem is -- promises in medicare and other problems than it can possibly pay for. that's why the super-committee looked at modest changes to entitlements including means testing, making wealthy seniors pay more and get less. listen. >> even the president has said the major drivers of our debt are medicare, medicaid, and health care. nothing else comes close. >> reporter: key democrats also acknowledge the need to do something. >> my point is that reforms are necessary. what we will not do is end the medicare guarantee. >> reporter: now budget negotiators recognize something has to be done about programs such as medicare and social security for two reasons, megyn. one, they will bankrupt the u.s. as currently constructed. second, they promised a good

$40 trillion more in benefits than they have away to pay for and if the programs collapse, it would be the poor that would get hurt the hardest. megyn? megyn: jim, thank you. >> reporter: yes, ma'am. megyn: is alan simpson right? is the aarp's position not to reform social security or medicare threatening the financial future of our country? we'll have a fair and balanced debate on that in 30 minutes right here. back now to our breaking news. the be man accused of shooting at the white house making his first court appearance. authorities say oscar ortega hernandez fired an assault rifle at the white house friday night. secret service service says two bullets hit the a window in the president's residence. he was arrested in a pennsylvania hotel. there are lots of questions about motive. wendell goler has more live at the white house. wendell? >> reporter: megyn, oscar ortega hernandez is having a initial appearance before judge cynthia eddie at the u.s. district court in pittsburghburg. he will be informed of the

charges against him. will be offer attorney if he doesn't have one. almost certainly won't be offered bail. he was picked up yesterday in indiana, pennsylvania, 30 miles from pittsburgh after a hotel clerk recognized him. that was the day after investigators discovered two shrugs fired at the white house friday night. -- slugs the one was in a window in the truman balcony which is the middle of the first family's living quarters. president and first lady were on a summit headed to hawaii. it believes two daughters and mrs. obama's mother were here at the time the shots were fired. neither the white house or the secret service will confirm that. neither will say if a member of household staff first noted the shrugs. 21-year-old ortega hernandez is from idaho. his family reported him missing on halloween. he hates the president, washington and society in general. he was stopped by police in a virginia suburb hours

before the friday night shooting after people reported he was acting strangely. the officers didn't detain him. in fact the police weren't sure that shots witnesses heard friday night were aimed at white house. finding shrugs seemed to confirm that police have not said that assault rifle they found in a car traced to ortega hernandez matches the slugs based on ballistic tests. megyn. megyn: wendell, thank you. i want to clarify. according to reports that anybody would have been in danger. now they're not confirming which members of the family were inside the house particularly the daughters and of course the staff. we'll bring you more on that as we get it. up next we're getting our very first look at a massive new political operation. pumping out opposition research designed to help the president get reelected and other democrats as well. they're watching this right now. hello.

we're going to talk about rf this break. see why it is unlike anything, any political party has ever used. plus, big news from the pentagon. [explosion] where work is underway on a bunker buster bomb five times more powerful than this one. why are she showing it off now? one school is now banning hard sports balls. no soccer balls, no footballs, no volleyballs. just soft and squishy nerf balls. the ban is sparking a student revolt. we'll tell you where the children are storming the playground. [shouting] >> we want our balls back. we want our balls back. we want our balls back!. we want our balls back!. we want our balls back claim. we want our balls back!.

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megyn: some good and strange news from the capitol right now. we told you at the bottom of last hour that they found a suspicious package in the office of senator jeff sessions. now they have been given the all-clear on capitol hill. but they're unsure what the suspicious package was. or at least they're not telling us. all clear has been given. that's the update. fox news is america's election headquarters and it looks like president obama's 2012 campaign cavalry is kicking into high gear. not just his but the democrats in general. we're getting new reports today about a massive political operation machine unlike anything a political party has used to date. they're watching right now. pay attention. ed rollins is former national campaign director for the reagan-bush campaign. former campaign manager

chairman of mike huckabee for president and former campaign manager for michele bachmann. he is a hall of fame political consultant, folks. he is here with his take. >> pleasure. how are you? megyn: pleasure. welcome aboard. this is according to an article in the "huffington post". talks about a bare bones room in second floor office office building blocks away from the capitol. 40 staffers. dozen 42--inch televisions watching all day long each of the three major cable channels. we see you too. in any event we know what they're doing, ed. and they say it is unprecedented in terms of opposition research. >> first of all you have to understand, most campaigns don't have 40 people. romney only one with anything near that. megyn: this is campaign, american's bridge to 21st century. >> what you do for opposition research, go read newspapers. now any word said anywhere on television by a candidate or a surrogate, they instantaneously have it and

basically contrast it where they may have said somewhere else. megyn: someone is logging? >> someone logging and watching it and basically making a judgment if someone slips up and make as statement that is improper or something like mr. cain on his libya, instantaneously they have got it out there and they're ready to go with it. megyn: they're no so interested as i read the piece folks like ed rollins coming to talk to megyn kelly. >> no. megyn: they're interested in newt gingrich coming on or mitt romney or candidates they might be interested in defeating. >> they will watch the surrogates later on as the campaign gets down to one or two people to see if there is any slip up or contrast. right now it is candidates. you've seen a couple candidates make mistakes. they think out loud. they say something basically contrasts with something they said before. in particular case of mr. romney who they tried to make a flip-flopper. newt gingrich with thousands of words he said very articulately and sometimes not so articulately and

mr. cain who stumbled of late and mr. perry who stumbled of late. megyn: how unusual is this? you've run a lot of campaigns. you've done lot of opposition research. how unusual is this. >> this is state-of-the-art. this is like a large campaign in off itself to have 40 people involved in opposition research. what it tells us is, what i would have to say with a candidate today, be very, very careful. think about what you're saying. don't ad-lib. go to some place, say something, respond to the audience. go to tv show here. say something somewhere else. you never live with it again. megyn: look at mitt romney. he doesn't ever really seem to slip up. he has flip-flops but doesn't have gaffs as much as some other candidates. even your former candidate michele bachmann, she is very rigid in her speech. and her delivery. but, those two seem to be failing to connect in way that herman cain connects or people who are a little loser with their language. >> the key thing is not talking in sound bites or

not having everything controlled. you have to be conversational. you have to make sure the knowledge and the states you're making are consistent. you can't go out one day say something about nuking iran and next day basically know that those words aren't going to be back at you. it is not sound bites as much as it is have a consistent knowledge, expand that knowledge every day and connect with voters. megyn: maybe you speak more informnally. >> you can. it has to be conversational. megyn: they say well-known democrats in here, paul begala and others talking about how they're really proud of this group. they feel republicans are better organized, better funded and doing things like this for a long time and now that the democrats will be in a position even if they don't have president obama at the top to be in very powerful way to respond to attacks on their candidates and so on. do you think this is a game of catch-up for the democrats or do they understate how well they have done with opposition in the past? >> begala and carville, his

partner have been state-of-the-art. combination of using he will television monitoring on cable television which is important way of communicating today is an add on. they have been doing opposition research a long, long time and they're very good at it. megyn: do you feel there is kid in some room with pipes exposed on at the top and logging what you are saying right now? >> that's why i will be careful. megyn: do you have any message for said kid? >> keep watching. keep watching. megyn: that's what we always say. keep watching. >> at end of the day we'll have something equal. this will be extraordinary campaign and very close campaign. megyn: thank you, sir. always a pleasure. ed rollins. >> thank you. megyn: for those in the windowless room and pipes exposed -- >> we know what you're doing. megyn: we know what you're doing and thank you for your interest right here in "america live". moving on, a new ad campaign warning lawmakers that cutting social security and medicare is off limits but is this position threatening our financial future? that fair and balance debate

just ahead. if you get caught, you, you, i mean you get caught insider trading you will be in big trouble unless you, happen to work for congress. is that fair? kelly's court takes a look. and one school banning any sort of hard sports balls. children no longer allowed to play with them on school ground even during recess. did you see the outrage in the last break? ♪ .

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megyn: violence erupting at cal state university. long beach police in full riot gear clashing with

angry protesters. the demonstrators taking to the streets after university trustees agreed to a 9% tuition hike. police using pepper spray but they say protesters sprayed them first. police eventually putting cuffs on four demonstrators. two officers were injured in the chaos. sometimes the best way to slow down the bad guys is to let them see your gun. some military analysts think that is why the pentagon is suddenly talking about its new super strong, bunker-buster. [explosion] think that is impressive? just a standard bunker-buster with 5,000 pound of explosives. but this new bomb, the new one, has at least 4 to five times more than that particular bomb you just saw in terms of power and it can blow apart 200 feet of concrete. simply put the most powerful

bomb of its type in the world. the national correspondent steve centanni live at the pentagon. like a bunch of guys with shiny toys they want show off, steve. >> reporter: yeah there is certainly no secret about it. we've known about this hung bunker-buster for several years. they have now starting to deliver the things to the air force. they are operational. they have been delivered and ready to be used if we ever need them. we have picture of so-called mac, stands for massive ordnance penetrator. weighs 15 tons. carries powerful explosives. its weight helps to penetrate deep underground as deep as 200 feet. the weapon was tested earlier this year in white sand, new mexico. previous versions of the bunker-buster have been tested as well in video we have. this is six times more powerful than the last version of the bunker-buster. it is estimated eight weapons have been delivered to the air force.

a air force spokesperson talked about the new capability yesterday. >> it gives us a far greater capability to reach and destroy an enemy's weapons of mass destruction, weapons of mass destruction that are located in well-protected underground facilities. without getting into specifics to a magnitude far greater than we have right now. >> reporter: now the new bomb was specifically designed to be dropped by the b 2 stealth bomber. the pentagon says the bomb is not designed to target any one country. the announcement comes at a time when tensions are high over at iran's nuclear program. iranian facilities are believed to be buried 180 feet underground in natanz. the u.s. is trying to round up international support for stronger sanctions against iran. israel is threatening military action to take out the sites. the pentagon ordered 20 of these massive new bunker-busters. they have started to be delivered. megyn, back to you.

>> steve send town think. thank you, sir. for more on what the pentagon has the world's biggest bunker-busting bomb, say that 10 times fast. the biggest bunker-busting bomb in the world. go to foxnews.com. you will find steve centanni's report on the brand new weapon. a brand new ad to the aarp campaign as they lobby against cuts to social security and medicare. this as the super-committee on capitol hill is grinding to a halt, so it would appear cutting our national debt. what will congress do as the deadline fast approaches and with this powerful group weighing in as it has? we'll go in depth. recess will never be the same. what one public school is now banning for safety reasons. we've got a hint coming up in the next sound bites. students getting ready to play a little hard ball of their own. we're live with their story next. >> we want our balls back! we want our balls back!. we want our balls back! we want our balls back!.

we want them back! we want our balls back! we want our balls back!

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megyn: the deadline line for congress to slash the federal budget is six days away and the powerful lobbying group aarp is running a new ad campaign targeting lawmakers trying to tackle entitlement spending and our nation's skyrocketing debt and deficit. take a look. >> i'm not a number.

i'm not a line item on a budget. and i'm definitely not a pushover. but i am a voter. so washington, before you even think about cutting my medicare and social security benefits, here's a number you should remember, 50 million. we are 50 million seniors who earned our benefits and you will be hearing from us today and on election day. megyn: joining me now, simon constable, columnist at "the wall street journal.". jemu green, former president of the women's media center and fox news contributor and steve forbes, chairman, editor-in-chief of forbes media. former u.s. senator alan simpson coming out and calling this is the most disgusting ad i have ever seen he writes. simon, do you share his view? >> that seems a little bit hyperbole there perhaps. maybe. that seems a bit extreme. you can't blame aarp for appealing to their own constituency. still, i don't agree with aarp. i think we've got to look

back to the beginning of the social security and look what it was for. it was a stopgap to keep the wolf from the door and at a time when most people were expected to be dead. people were expected to be dead at 63. the benefits would kick in at 65. it was a good deal all around. we were expected to live longer now. that is one thing. look at age and i think we've got to look at means testing. do you need the money? megyn: that has not gone over well with democrats, jemu. let me ask you this, jiang gel, jim angle as i call him, reported medicare in particular promised 10 of trillions more than it can deliver. the response seems to be got to do something otherwise the good gentleman in the center of the crowd or his descendants will wind up with nothing one way or the other? >> well i think the aarp has long said that they are in favor of revenue enhancements and enhancements to benefits that would get us to

long-term solvency. megyn: not cuts to the program? >> i agree with simon. they are are protecting their special interests and i think it is important to note social security doesn't just benefit retired people. it benefits many children who would be living in poverty. 3.1 million children who received direct benefits from the social security system. so i don't see this as a generational warfare standpoint but more about negotiation strategy. in the same way that the tea party staked out a position, no compromise, and back in june, the aarp actually was accused of selling out seniors because they said, okay, let's talk. let's compromise. they're just saying from a negotiation standing point, you know, we're here to like put it on the line. not go after our benefits. megyn: is it realistic not to be touching social security or medicare in the context of this super-committee meeting or otherwise? >> when you're looking at 10 or 20 years you obviously will have to reform both of those programs, medicare and

social security but there are positive ways to do it which won't aarp won't even consider. for younger bring in genuine accounts, personal accounts or bulk or at least part of your payroll tax goes into it. megyn: politically a northern starter for. >> for them. for them. for younger people it would be a huge win. the key thing on all of this is to make clear, this is doable, that for people who are on the system today, you don't have to make a real sacrifice. megyn: everyone has said that. why does that continue to be made an issue? that guy, nothing is going to happen to his social security. >> what they don't want any change to the system which is preposterous and there are positive ways in whole health care delivery is predicated on obsolete system. >> one thing i'm still very curious about the why the discussion about means testing is not being brought to the front and center. megyn: explain what that means? >> if you have the means, if you are very, very, very rich, should you be collecting social security? right? that is the question. megyn: when steve finally reaches age 56, will he get

social security payments? >> no, i have to wait until 66. megyn: you don't need them. you're a today zillion nair. >> that should be on the table. megyn: should it be on the table? >> and get rid of the cap and should be on the table. many republicans say that is tax increase. megyn: cap is only pay into social security up to $105,000. >> if we get rid of the cap that is $124 billion in revenues that we see per year. if you have folks coming to the table saying no, no opportunity for dialogue around tax increases of course aarp will say this is our starting point. hopefully both side can get to negotiating point where there is compromise. megyn: but is there any reason they will get to that point? remember president bush he tried to do with social security, it was complete nonstarter. >> massive tax increase, 15% to income tax rates that will be huge depressive onto the economy. won't raise near 120 billion. >> if you raise the social security cap. >> people raising income tax

rates from 35 to 50%. >> he tried to privatize before the social security before recession. imagine if that would happen have happened. there was generational point on the table, they want young people going out to senior citizens. we'll never benefit to program. this goes back to the '80s. >> there is positive way to do it. take off benefits cuts for those on the system. we're rich enough as a nation to pay those benefits. megyn: right. >> some costs --. megyn: don't touch nana's money. >> younger people, there are positive ways to do it which aarp won't consider. if you're below the age of 50 we can bring you in to privatization. >> young people are rather jaded with the stock market. a lot of young people i talk to think it is a bit of a swind i will did. they certainly want to put their money into stocks. >> the nice thing --. megyn: those are the bad bets. like, my brother always says. i don't have a gambling problem. people who have a gambling problem are called losers. if you win in the stock market, you love it.

if you don't, you don't. >> people in their 20s, i've seen people in 30s and 40s completely get wipedded out some way through the housing market and stock market. they're very wary. >> we tried this in three counties in galveston, texas. government workers were allowed to go out the social security in the '80s when you were allowed. guaranteed interest contracts from sound insurers. no risk from the stock market. those folks ares retiring with benefits 50% to 100% higher. >> but studies show that low income workers did not fare as well. >> yes they did. if you make $17,000 a year, you and your spouse would get $680 a month in social security. in galveston you're getting 1,000. megyn: that is not according to research i read. if you're low income that doesn't work. i refer to the master. thanks guys. coming up, right now, playing ball on the schoolyard. we all remember doing it. i remember it like this. now a move to ban it.

all in the name of safety. trace gallagher live with the story. this is unbelievable, trace. >> reporter: i think the kids summed it up yesterday you can take our balls but you can not take our freedom. apparently this activity much more nefarious and dangerous than we ever thought. here is what the school said there have been incidents they say, incidents of parents, staff and students being hit by a hard ball or nearly being hit by a hard ball. that is bad, right? megyn: the horror. >> when they say hard ball, they're not talking about baseballs, talking about soccer ball, footballs, volleyballs, tennis ball. anybody ever been hit by a tennis ball? megyn: marcia got hit in the nose with the football and something suddenly came up. her date couldn't go with her to the dance. >> how lethal are tennis balls. when did somebody die getting hit by a tennis ball. the kids, by the way are outraged. listen? >> i feel like going to a different school right now. >> we want our balls back!

we want our balls back!. we want our balls back!. >> reporter: we want our balls back! not only kids chanting by the way, they're circulating a petition. they have 100 signatures now. because they want their balls back and the school says, this isn't the final decision on this, megyn. they will wait and see exactly how much karnage they can cut down on, how much devastation from these balls. they might redecide. there is no more tag. no more red rover. no more dodgeball. megyn: no more tag? >> reporter: there is nothing in school. can't play tag in school. too dangerous. red vofer, bust arms playing red vofer. megyn: i wilx be the first to go out of him, some element of this segment ends up on "jimmy kimmel". i don't know. >> reporter: they're using nerf balls. sponge balls. megyn: back in the day how many times did we get beaned in the head for dodgeball? many, many times for me. >> reporter: back in the me.

i was in the days where they didn't have face masks on helmet. megyn: you wore helmets in dodgeball? california thing? >> reporter: no, no. it is, right. it is. we all are very smart out here. >> picture like a barrel that they, put apples in or wine in. it was enormous. they used to let us get in it. we would run inside the barrel and elementary school and trample all over each other. people would fall and trample your elementary school buddy. people would leave bloody. they allowed that back in the day. that was 1920's. >> reporter: this before or after you were stealing stuff. megyn: before the stealing. before the stealing and before my i was reformed. let's point that out for the record. trace, thank you. >> reporter: thank you. megyn: want to point out we have people on both side of the aisle sitting on this desk. i feel they were all equally outraged over the banning of the hard balls. hello, jimmy. coming up, new outrage over

claims of insider trading on capitol hill. are members of congress getting away with stock trading that would send ordinary people to prison? that is next in kelly's court phillips' colon health. [ male announcer ] you love the taste of 2% milk. but think about your heart. 2% has over half the saturated fat of whole milk. want to cut back on fat and not compromisen taste? try smart balance fat free milk. it's what you'd expect from the folks at smart balance.

megyn: kelry's court -- "kelly's court" back in session. on the docket, why is it illegal for regular folks to make stock trades with inside information but apparently not for members of congress? joining me now fox news legal analyst mercedes colwin, and anna nick lawssy, a new york attorney. this has been in the headlines this week because of the "60 minutes" piece in depth talking about how everyone from nancy pelosi to john boehner according to the "60 minutes" piece has made invests curiously, very close in time to the date confidential information was being discussed about those companies on capitol hill. and that "60 minutes" piece suggested, mercedes, that that is perfectly legal but

shouldn't be. is that true? >> well, certainly there is no law out there that forbidding this but it was really over simplification of the securities & exchange commission act which makes this type of behavior illegal. hear is the key issue here. it is not just nonpublic information, it has to be material nonpublic information. let's say there is press conference and ceo will come forward and say i've been stealing for this company for hours, for years, rather and the press conference is a day or two away, somehow members of congress know about it, they trade off and sell off their stock immediately. that is the kind of conduct, that the kind of nonpublic material information really at the crux of it. but there are so many factors involved. megyn: i know, of course there is. of course there is. but the suggestion is that because they will have hearings now on capitol hill. >> right. megyn: to change this law because they say actually right now the law is such that members of congress if they're doing, having a debate on like a critical, let's say, i don't know,

some company, let's use pelosi example, visa. having this debate and they learn in this debate behind closed doors there will be very unfavorable thing coming up for visa, then they go and short the visa stock, that right now is legal? >> it is. and the reason that it is because no law in place specifically addressing it. now when mercedes talking about material or not, when we're talking about congress. the reason there is no rule in police saying they are technically under an obligation to keep that information they learn confidential about current or upcoming congressional activity. so is it curiouser that they are just using rules in this case not in place to their advantage? that's why people are so outraged on this. there is nothing --. megyn: not all of the time, but most of the time they go into the confidential meetings on capitol hill and have debates. they're talking about it on fox news and cnn it is out there anyway. the fact they may have a tiny nuanced detail should

that make the difference to make what they do unlawful? >> you think exactly right. there is so much information out there. the internet. 24 hour news cycle. print media. there is so much information out there, folks are trading on that information all the time. and the bill, the bill sometimes are proposed for years. so folks know the bills are pending. what is the, whether its going to be passed whether it is not going to be passed probability of each, all of those factors do have an influence whether stocks rise and fall. frankly the stocks rise and fall based on consumer confidence. so if someone feels confident about a cop company, based on wealth of information that is out there, sure enough they will buy more stock. that doesn't mean what they're doing is illegal. megyn: they were talking in the "60 minutes" piece about spencer bachus. they were suggesting he went into the meeting in 08 with ben bernanke and hank paulson in this dark meeting where the whole financial system is about to collapse, and then he came out and he made a bet against the financial system, that paid well for him.

you know, there was all over the headlines at the time. does it somehow transform into something that is illegal or inappropriate or unethical just because he knows a little bit more than "the new york times" reported? >> that's why these are either so hard to prosecute or just aren't prosecuted because then who is to say he was not already thinking about selling the stock. this is a guy doing this for years. that is his hobby, besides his profession, he trades in stocks. how much was based on information. again you're talking about public confidence. so that is really the issue here. >> that is the issue, anna, because you want to believe that your lawmaker is making a decision based on what is good for the country and not based on, if i make a decision i bet on the stock i could wind up a millionaire which i'm not now. >> that's it. i don't think this is so much can we prosecute or not because they're very tough to prosecute. i don't think really big issue as a crime. the issue what does this do to public confidence? certainly at a time we need to believe in our members of congress that they're doing right for the constituents and the country that is

where it becomes a problem. megyn: i don't know about confidence but creates public envoy. -- envy. thank you, panel. we'll be right back. don't go away. rmation. i trade tradearchitect. this is web-based trading, re-visualized. streaming, real-time quotes. earnings analysis. probability analysis: that's what opportunity looks like. it's all visual. intuitive. and it's available free, wherever the web is. this is how trade strategies are built. tradearchitect. only from td ameritrade. welcome to better trade commission free for 60 days when you open an account. but don't just listen to me. listen to these happy progressive customers. i plugged in snapshot, and 30 days later, i was saving big on car insurance. i was worried it would be hard to install. but it's really easy. the better i drive, the more i save. i wish our company had something this cool. yeah. you're not... filming this, are you?

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♪ . megyn: yeah. takes me back. does it take you back. well, ford, is looking forward, looking to set a new standard for the livery and limousine industry, rolling out revamped models of the lincoln town car at the los angeles auto show today. casey stiegel live at the l.a. convention center. hey, casey. >> reporter: megyn, good to see you. we're waiting for the simulator to gear up. we're talking about the town car replacement. first you have to check this out. this is one of very cool things to do here at the

l.a. auto show. this is a simulator for the ford focus is. t, which is, by the way, the vehicle used in motorsports. i just crashed. that is what you get for taking your eyes off the road, megyn. no shortage of stuff to see. check out the video just around the corner the new lincoln mk. it was just unveiled here, a very short time ago. these will replace the old lincoln town cars which have been a staple in the livery business in the 1980s, but were just discontinued this last summer. the new vehicle is a crassover. a mix of a suv and a sedan with more room for luggage. it was wi-fi and better fuel efficiency. but, not everybody is pleased actually with this redesign. listen. >> i think when people see the vehicle and particularly when the drivers get a chance to drive it and their passengers really get a chance to really experience the comfort, they're going to come around i think real, really fast.

>> you have to evolve and keep on moving forward. however the changes they have made personally isn't, i think they have missed the point or missed the mark in which the livery companies are looking for. >> reporter: now the 2013 mkt will be rolling off the semibly line in the spring and be in dealerships. l.a. auto show opens to the general public tomorrow. it was open today and yesterday to members of the press to get a sneak-peek of the cool gadgets and latest automotive things, megyn. will be open tomorrow. and through thanksgiving. always a good time out here at the l.a. convention center. megyn: casey, i know you say you're in a simulator. i suggest to viewers looks similar to the another vehicle that is known as --. you do you know what i'm talking about? e-mail me and i will e-mail you, casey stiegel with the results after the break. don't go away. ♪

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