>> good morning to you. i am heather noward. >> i am heather childers. it is tuesday march 13th. thank you for watching "fox & friends first". >> it is a big day for republican candidates in the deep south. alabama and mississippi holding primaries today. >> rick santorum newt gingrich facing off must wins as they battle it out with mitt romney. exactly what is at stake we have kelly rice. thank you for being here. >> good morning to you as well. it's decision time in alabama and mississippi. voter also go to the polls to

decide who will win primary day. the race shows a three-way race between mitt romney and rick santorum. >> do you think we havei think a good chance to win both states. governor romney will get most one out of every three delegates. once again he will fall dramatically short. >> romney is hoping to pull off wins from both states. he has jeff fox worthy to help get out the vote. romney would like to win in the south to solidify his hold as a frontrunner. if he loses he is still confident he will go on to win the nomination. >> no, absolutely not. john mccain didn't win any of these states alabama or mississippi. we are delighted we are doing so well there. the polls are suggesting it's

kind of a three-way tie. it's an away game for me. >> evangelical christians and conservatives the core of the gop. rick santorum is hoping those voters will propel him to a victory. >> it will be close. i think the people of alabama and mississippi are figuring out if they want a conservative challenger in the general election we have to get this race to a one-on one. a quick note about ron paul. he choose not to compete in alabama and mississippi. hawaii which is president obama's state is holding the first ever presidential caucus tonight. none have campaigned there in person and said they sent representatives and ran tv and radio ads. quickly, why this race is so important in alabama and mississippi is because of the delegates. 37 delegates are available in mississippi, alabama has 47 delegates and hawaii has 17. back to you. they have been working it hard down there indeed. kelly rice, thank you so much.

talk with you later this morning. now it is time to look at who is talking. dick morris is talking. you heard kelly wright talk about the candidates. listen to this. >> if mississippi and alabama vote for gingrich tomorrow, that is a vote for this thing to go on and on and on. the only way newt or santorum can win this nomination now is to deadlock it and fill the convention floor. my job is winning a campaign. as a professional i am telling my friends in alabama and mississippi, we can't win this election if we don't have a nominee until september 1st. >> also talking this morning, the american people. they are sounding off about gas prices. they continue to sky rocket. according to "washington post" abc news poll 65 percent of

americans disapprove of how the president is handling high gas prices compared to only 26 percent who approve. jay carney talked about the president's handling of gas prices and he got a quick dig into newt gingrich. >> the president is absolutely committed to do anything he can to mitigate the effect of high gas prices on american families and to lower gas prices. what he is not willing to do is to look the american people in the eye and claim there is a strategy by which he can guarantee the price of gas will be 2.50 at the pump. any politician who does that is lying. >> in case you didn't get it, that $2.50 comment is direct attack on newt gingrich the presidential candidate reacting only the way he can. >> i want to take a moment to respond to the president and the

press secretary. first of all i would be happy to debate you anywhere in the country any time on energy. i believe your energy speeches have been so patently incoherent they are indefensible. i would be glad to meet you at an oil rig where, a refinery, a gas station or a university campus where you will feel comfortab comfortable. i will be happy in advance that you can use a tell prompt ter. >> your next 5@5:00. overnight taliban militants attack a delegation leaving one person dead and two others are hurt. the delegation was visiting the

shooting sight where 16 civilians were killed by an american soldier. it happened one day after the taliban vowed retaliation for those deaths. we are learning more about the 38-year-old staff sergeant. the american soldier a married father of two suffered a traumatic brain injury but was cleared to serve overseas. despite rising tensions the white house insists their timetable for pulling out troops will remain the same. it is important that all of us, united states, afghanistan, forces all stick to the strategy we have laid out. >> in no way misrepresent the sacrifices that the men and women in uniform have made in afghanistan. it does signal the importance of us transitioning in accordance with my plan so they can take over their own security and we can start sending troops home. >> the death penalty under

consideration as a possibility punishment. new overnight a truce to end the cross border violence between gaza militants and israel. security official claims his country helped organize the cease fire. palestinians agreed to tstop firing rockets at israel. in return israel will answer quiet with quiet. the deal comes after four-days of clashes leaving 25 palestinians dead the lives of 1 million israelis were also disrupted by the rocket attacks. an update to the growing list of lawmakers calling for eric holder's resignation over operation fast and furious. now a democrat appears to be jumping on board. dan borin was asked if he still supports holder. this is the first time a democrat has openly refused to support holder. all are demanding his

resignation. remember casey anthony? she would be in grave damage and forced to attend a defamation trial against her. anthony acquitted in july of murdering her daughter is being sued by gonzalez. anthony gave cops her name as the nanny to allegedly kidnapped caylee. a judge ruled anthony should attend the trial and would likely receive protection. he also ruled gonzalez attorney can subpoena anthony for trial. >> we know too well some of the best moments are caught on live tv. this one is no exception. presidential pops beau. beau up staging her running through the shot. how about that? that is your 5@5:00. >> beau is pretty smart. >> beautiful weather to get out there and run on the front lawn of the white house. on that note it is time for your

first degree weather update with maria molina. >> good to see you and good to see the other heather as well. we are looking at warm temperatures across the area east of the rockies. temperatures are so warm they should be more like what you are expecting during the month of may. get out and enjoy it. although you will have to deal with showers especially across parts of the northeast right now. a few rumbles of thunder across the northeast and southeast. otherwise dry, warm and breezy across portions of the midwest. that whole combination will be elevateling that hire danger. we have warning from north dakota to parts of kansas. otherwise big primary today. forecast for the state of mississippi which is that warmth again. high temperatures in the low 80s with thunderstorms possible. we could see isolated showers. you will not need a sweater because it will be a warm day

out there. >> maria thank you so much for that. >> now it is time to brew on this. >> the white house blocking a texas law requiring voters to show photo id before casting their ballots. the law discriminates against voters. rick perry reacting on "the factor la factor" last night. >> there has been fraud in our voting process through the years and having a voter id is one of the ways to put a stop to that. hispanic voters in the state of texas don't want someone stealing elections either. the democrat voter and republican voter in texas want good clean elections. >> with this ruling, you don't need an id to vote. but take a look at this. check out what else you do need an id for? you have to have an id to buy cigarettes, alcohol, to purchase an r rated movie, to buy sudafed

a car to get a hotel room. >> to get into a whole lot of office buildings as well. is the department of justice ruling for attacking people's rights or is this politics as usual? the president needs the hispanic vote. some are saying it's the president pandering the administration. if you need an id to get into an r rated movie you should need an id to vote for the most important office in the country. i think. that's my opinion. >> e-mail us your comments at friendsfirst@foxnews.com and tweet your thoughts at fox friends first. i love tweeting. >> you are good at it. it is 11 minutes after the hour. coming up they cheated our military veterans out of millions and millions of dollars. this morning justice is being served. that is -- or justice is being served to one of the nation's

largest banks. there's a shocking connection between game change, the movie bashing sarah palin and a former bigwig with the obama administration. first a late night funny courtesy of jay leno. >> president obama today released his ncaa bracket. he does it every year. he predicts every single game for the men and women's game. he is a huge basketball fan. but privately white house aids say he spends so much time on this it could effect his golf game. ♪

it is now 5:16.

we are p on the east coast. here's what you missed while you were sleeping. (chanting) >> despite a tense union protest the state of minnesota is one step closer to being a right to work state. a senate committee approving a constitutional amendment making union membership voluntary. protestors so angry about this republicans who voted yes had to be escorted out of the building by state troopers. it has to go to the full legislatures. >> dancing in the dark. venus and jupiter getting very close. the gas has been narrowing since february and now they will begin to widen tonight. but are visible through the end of the month. now let's head back to the ladies on the set. good morning. lots of ladies here in the morning. stories you can bank on this morning. joining us in the fox business network lauren simoneti.

lauren is looking to pressure china on experts. this is possibly flaring over trade negotiations. >> the obama administration is expected to bring a major trade case against china asking the world to intervene right now because china is restricting exports with key materials cars electronic tv's giving them an unfair trade balance city point. >> gas prices, we have heard a lot about this. they are on the rise. they continue to sky rocket. >> we are dipping into the train, bus and ferry. the transport association says riders are up last year second highest level since the 1950s as gas prices averaged more than 3.50 this year. that could be good news.

better for the environment possibly. >> military vets and celtment involving foreclosures. jp morgan stays they are suing $45 million saying veterans and taxpayers had millions of dollars by hiding fees in mortgages and refinancing transactions. four others have been accused. $45 million. how can you cheat any one first of all that has cheat our veterans. it is now 18 minutes at the top of the hour. you heard it right here on fox and friends. chris christie calling a navy seal an idiot. >> i have absolutely no regret about it. just because he was a navy seal doesn't give him the right to be a jerk. it just doesn't. >> so does he regret what he said? come on. not a chance.

this is governor chris christie. he is going one step further this morning. we will tell you about that. a shocking new warning about how it can tell you. fox and friends first back in a flash.

>> 23 minutes after the housh as we take a look at the good, the

bad and the ugly. start with the good. american and delta airlines starting to offer larger over head bins. they aren't charging you fees for it. red meat can tekill you. eating a single serving of red meat each day may increase the risk of early death by 15 percent. that it when it comes to unprocessed meats. when it comes to cold cuts or sausage it has 23 percent risk of death. high laundry detergent on the rise. this guy takes the cake. he hit up one wal-mart 28 times in a matter of months stealing 25,000 dollars worth of the stuff. tied sells on the black market fo10-15 bucks a bottle. that stuff is expensive. 20 bucks or so if you just go to the market. who knew for a box of

thaied. >> -- tide. >> "washington post" abc news poll has president obama neck and neck with romney and santorum. romney ahead obama right behind. mi those polls makes him feel good heading into the show down in the south. newt gingrich and santorum are banking on wins. could their divide actually help romney? joining us to talk about it is sash saw burns and ford o'connell. thank you for getting up bright and early for us. >> hey, heather and heather. >> let's talk first about the big fight going on, mississippi, alabama, florida. i will start with you. who is going to go away with southern comfort tonight. >> anyway you dice it mitt romney is going to come away but the question is whether or not newt gingrich wins alabama and mississippi. given that mitt romney is not

the favorite candidate in the south the best thing going for him is gingrich bolstering his money. >> you almost wonder if he is being paid by the romney campaign to keep gingrich in. that is absolutely what is helping him. if you have romney at 30 percent and santorum and gingrich at about 30 percent he would be try um offed if they don't split the vote. >> he is prove to go do that so far. who is your pick for tonight's races. >> fif anybody tells you why it wouldn't shock me if romney won both of them. the primary might wind down because he has shown himself to be a candidate with strength and all reason if he wins. >> it's about the delegate count. 1,144 is what it takes.

sasha, romney is in the lead so far but can it lessen? >> if he wins one of the races tonight, it sort of -- it brings back the elect ability factor which is really what romney has had going for him. the longer this goes on and santorum beats him in various states, he starts to lose it so it brings him back. santorum it's about whether he can appeal to southerners because he's not a southerner. for gingrich if he doesn't take it he has to show he's viable. >> we will see what happens. i have to wrap it up. thank you for joining us this morning for fox friends first. we appreciate it. see what happens when the numbers are counted tonight. we have southern accents to accompany that segment. thanks, guys. 26 minutes after the hour. the fur is flying this morning over these pictures rate here. we will tell you why donald trump's son are now coming under fire for going hunting. if you are listening to the other networks if you think the

presidential nomination is the nastiest race ever. really? we are about to take you on a trip back to 2008. >> first on this day in history in 1975 the very first chili's restaurant opened in dallas. >> i love chili's. @?

>> are you ready for march madness? (cheers) >> you know what's amazing. there are 68 teams playing for the title. 68 teams. yet they will decide a winner before the republicans do. >> that's true. >> isn't that the truth. >> welcome back at f"fox necessary frien -- "fox & friends first". >> today is a big big day for the republican presidential candidates in the deep south. alabama and mississippi holding their primaries today.

candidates are coming out swinging. if you listen to the democrats you would think it was the gn nastiest race on earth. here we have kelly wright. >> i can't get over the jay leno information. that was very good. there are a lot of gop voters who are looking at the campaigning among presidential hopefuls saying enough already. stop the attacks on each other and get on with the strategy to quote make barack obama a one-term president. that quote being made famous by senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. each of the candidates continue to attack each other. mitt romney out spent his opponents with negative television ads. rick santorum newt gingrich countered that negative attacks by questioning romney's ability to lead and criticizing his every move as the frontrunner.

>> he will fall dramatically short. he may be the frontrunner but he is the weakest frontrunner since leonard wood since 1920. i think the odds of him getting 1144 delegates is very very high. i think he will be the more likely the frontrunner who ends up not finishing the race. all right. so with all of the squabbling going on between the candidates some voters are wondering if the republican party can full things together and unify behind a candidate before the republican convention as a general election. truth is these kinds of debates are nothing new to politics. look back the as recently as 2008 when a bitter feud was raging between then senators hillary clinton and barack obama. listen. shame on you barack obama. it is time you ran a campaign consistent with your messages in public. >> i think i have a lifetime of experience i will bring to the white house. i know senator mccain has a

lifetime of experience he will bring to the white house and senator obama has a speech he gave in 2002. >> in this campaign she has taken nearly double the amount from lobbyists than any democrat or republican running for president. that's not being a part of the solution's business. that is being in the business as usual business. that is what we are trying to change so we can finally take on the special interests, bring people together and pass the solutions. of course as we now know the two candidates settled their differences conducted a unity rally and senator barack obama became president of the united states. hillary clinton became secretary of state in his cabinet. when you look at the republican context and put that into context of campaigning it can be bitter right now but if they coalesce and rally behind a candidate they can unify a party and who knows what can happen. >> a lot of good perspective on

that. seems like it was just yesterday the candidates were battling it out and very fierce at that time. in a lot of ways more so than today. >> that's what i say. i agree. now it is time for the top stories at 5:30. newt gingrich on the record with greta van susteren last night. listen to this. i am not talking to rick perry. i think it's premature to talk about anything. i am not worried very much about about who the vice presidential nominee is i am worried about what is the path to the nomination. >> gingrich says he stands a good chance in both states. anita dunn not listed in game change. but she has direct ties to the film that bashes the 20078 mccain, palin campaign. >> the hollywood style movie premiere for game change in

washington, d.c. her people in charge of coraling the test on the red carpet. her firm representing georgetown student sandra flux who is making the rounds advocating contraceptive coverage. >> has a pr rep. didn't know that. chris christie not apologizing calling a former navy seal an idiot. governor taking criticism even further. >> i have absolutely no regret about it. just because he was a navy seal doesn't give him the right to be a jerk. >> the governor criticized the seal once a one-time democratic candidate. the seal kept interrupting him during a town hall meeting. you know how the governor handles those things. he did likes that too much. >> doesn't mince words. image this being told you can't show anything related to your religion at work. in england it is a reality for christians. they are banned from wearing the cross. the case originated back in 2006. that is when a british airways flight attendant was put on

unpaid leave because she would not cover up her necklace. the british government claims wearing the cross is not a requirement of the state and therefore employers can ban workers from wearing it. a lot of controversy for that unwith. >> the trump family holding test round in the face of criticism from pita. check out the photos showing donald trump junior and his brother eric holding wild animals they hunted and killed while on a safari in africa. don tweeting i am a hunter and i don't hide from that. the 34-year-old went on to say he has the utmost respect for nature and they have always hunted in accordance with local laws and regulations. that's your 5 at 5:30. 5:30 on the east coast that is. >> 5:36 to be specific. they are disturbed by the nypd watching places where muslims gather. one muslim woman says she welcomed the surveillance and others should, too.

katherine is here with the story. not everyone is critical of the new york city police department surveillance program. >> using religion as a cover. >> this is from saudi arabia. >> a practicing muslim and journalist shows off this core rain at a mosque in west virginia. the saudi publisher used negative language choosing christians. this interpretation is part of a larger problem. >> why are you speaking out now? >> we are saying you can't go into our mosque. you can't look at our muslim organization. can't even look at muslims because that is to target us. the truth is we do have a problem in our muslim community. >> have you been threatened for what you said? >> i have death threats. i am not going to be voted most popular at the local mosque, but i think that those are the calculations you have to make when you want to make a difference. >> wall street journal reporter daniel pearl who was kidnapped and taken by islamists.

>> they did their prayer on the blood soaked floor of the room where he was murdered. so that was when i knew that we needed to challenge how it is that people of supposed faith use religion to sank their v-- n their violence. our five weeks searching for danny i understood the pakistani police had no place that was off limits to them. there was no political correctness in their books about the mosques that they couldn't enter. >> last week the attorney general confirmed the justice department is reviewing complaints about the nypd's surveillance. >> if the new york city police commissioner were here? >> i would tell him keep going for it and really help us clean up our mosques and our community. she added she believes police commissioner ray kelly has a sophisticated understanding of the problem.

critics say the new york police department has over stepped his authority. ladies, back to you. >> katherine, thanks. before you head out of the house this morning let's get your first degree weather update with maria moline gnaw. how are things looking today? >> it will be a warm day anywhere east of the rockies. looking at temperatures well above average this time of year. once you enter the afternoon hours it will feel like it is may not the month of march. we are already seeing warm temperatures into the 60s across texas. 54 degrees in new york city. across parts of the northern plains it is chilly right now. 35 in rapid city. those temperatures will warm up quite rapidly. we are looking at highs that can make it into the 60s across parts of the northern plains. we have some precipitation to talk about today. while the center of the country remains dry we are seeing showers early this morning across parts of the northeast and a heavier line of storms forming on the lake.

that line will continue to move eastward. even though you will see dry weather coming up in a couple hours you will get a second line of showers and thunderstorms as we head into later on this afternoon. across the carolinas, georgia, alabama already seeing some of the spotty showers early this morning and that will be the story for you guys as we head to later on this afternoon. if you are heading out to do voting across alabama or mississippi grab an umbrella. atlanta not really expecting that this hit or miss activity will be causing too many problems early this morning. guys, back to you. >> thank you very much. >> talk about a fan frenzy. hundreds of people camping out to catch a glimpse of the red carpet last night for hunger games in los angeles much anticipated movie based on the best selling book stars oscar nominated actress jennifer lauren. it is estimated the post apocalyptic survivor flick will make $95 million possibly

surpassing twilight breaking dawn it opens march 23rdrd. in a twist worthy of desperate housewives nicolette sheridan the actress producing bombshell evidence they have abc private coverup plans to fire her. she got a voice mail claiming he was accidentally copied on an e-mail telling executives to get rid of all communications relating to her death on the character on the tv show. she is seeking $6 million in damages on the network. get ready to rock and roll all night long. kiss' new mini golf course is opening in las vegas. only in las vegas. besides an awesome glow in the dark course it features an arcade and what else do you have to have in las vegas? a wedding chapel of course. how would you like to be married by gene simmons or an actor dressed like gene simmons.

>> after playing putt-putt. >> on your honeymoon. the most wanted drug kingpins sitting in plain sight at one of the world's top beach resorts. the mexican government missed him. you have to hear this one. >> last chance to e-mail us on this story. the white house moving to block a texas law requiring voters to show photo id before they head out to vote. we want to know is the justice department practicing rights or practicing politics? ♪ [music playing] confidence. available in color. depend® for women is now peach. looks and fits like underwear. same great protection.

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>> it is 45 minutes past the

hour. a terrifying chaotic scene in bangladesh. 200 people crashes into a cargo ship and cap sizes. 30 people have died. that number expected to go up. mexican police miss capturing the world's most wanted drug lord. u.s. officials alerted this. goo guzman was in cab pose visited by 2 and a half americans every year. guzman escaped. his hinch men were arrested. it went down less than 24-hours after secretary of state hillary clinton was in in the same town. it took more than a year to build but only seconds to bring down. >> massive cooling towers and a chim th chimney leveled. the more than 50-year-old

structures were destroyed to make way for a green energy park. >> at the top of the show this morning we asked you to brew on this. the department of justice now looking texas' voter id law. it says the law discriminates against minority voters. is this a case of protecting people's rights or politics as usual? >> we are getting a lot of feedback on this. here are some of your responses. comments the woodsman treatweet this. the law being blocked is business as usual for the obama administration. >> elizabeth e-mailed us saying id is required to set up any bank account or cash checks. how do folks who don't want to hoe id get paid or pay their bills. >> i will halive in texas i hav problem with showing id to vote.

>> keep the e-mails coming at friendsfirst@foxnews.com or tweet us at fox and friends first. >> i am on twitter, you are on twitter as well. i will pass those along to you on twitter. >> 5:48. have you seen this commercial? >> if that gave you chills, we will play the entire thing for you. >> what did you give up? chocolate, meat? some are taking a different approach this holy season. they are taking their money out of big banks. we will explain what that is all about. up front let's check in with brian kilmeade to see what's coming up on "fox & friends". >> good morning to both of you. fantastic show as ever. important day for the race of the gop nomination.

voters in alabama, mississippi and hawaii head to the polls today. newt gingrich will join us live from birmingham. also do you need a job? we will tell you how to get one right here along with a few of victoria's secrets. secret's hottest super models. you don't want to miss that. i know i won't all on this very couch. fox and friends starts at the top of the hour. eric bolin wearing a tie. it's true.

>> it is 53 minutes after the top of the hour. they are giving up something for lent but it's not food.

diane laz zia lazado has the an. >> several churches are giving up big banks. the national network of justice of coalition of networks tells the new york times about 25 congregations over the past three years have used lent to move assets from big banks to local banks in protest to mass foreclosures. baipgs are ourt more than $30 million in assets. banks reportedly foreclosed on a record number of churches last year. needless to say the churches weren't too happy about those. one pastor told the times during this season when we were individually examining our lives we think it's appropriate for the institutions that effect us to examine theirs. they are calling for a foreclosure sabbatical eluding to a biblical term to for give debts. they are working with the community even before being a part of the $26 billion settlement with federal and state officials over

foreclosures last month. it had already modified mortgages for 1 million customers and already met with religious organizations including this organization that spoke to the times. the bankers saying they are try to, would wirk with people here. >> what do churches expect if they are not paying the mortgages what are the banks supposed to do? >> that is the flip side. if the banchurch survives based contributions from the parishioners. if the churches have to leave communities because they no longer have homes there they don't get the contributions and they can no longer pay their bills. >> are the banks saying anything about it today? >> we have only seen that comment from them. they are doing what they can to restructure the mortgages. the church the reason they are going after the bangs is many of

the priests worked with parishioners to try to get deals and the banks were not reaccept tive. >> so far $30 million between the banks and individuals pulling out their money. diane macedo from the fox business network. thank you. >> it is 55 after the top of the hour. have you seen this commercial? there are a few would work toward the chaos. the other>> if that gave you chills stay tuned. we want to air the entire thing for you. it is our word of the day all scrambled up. can you figure out what it is? we will reveal it after the break. stay tuned. [ male announcer ] what if you had thermal night-vision goggles,

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they are corps in the crucible of training. they are the few, the proud, the marines. >> that is great. that makes me want to be a marine for sure. >> it does. >> now it's time -- now it's time to get all scrambled up. bring in eric bolling. >> foreclosure. foreclosure! >> plural. >> foreclosures. >> you have to at least let us play the game. >> i'm so nervous because i gave brian so much grief when -- remember when he couldn't get kindergarten? >> yeah. >> it's supposed to be a game, eric. is that how you play in elementary school? >> yeah. that's how you played, isn't it? no, look, you don't understand how much grief they give me in the