we were able to execute a plan in a relatively short time frame that resulted in a good outcome. but each country's different, as david just mentioned with respect to syria it is extremely complicated situation. the best things that can do right now is make sure the international community continues to unify around the fact that what the syrian regime is doing is unacceptable. it is contrary to every international norm that we believe in. and you know, for us to it provides strong support to kofi annan. to continue to talk to the russians and chinese and others about why it is that they need to stand up on behalf of people who are being shelled merslessly and to describe to them why it is in their interests to

join us in a unified and international coalition. that's the most important work that we can doo right now. there may be some immediate steps that we've discussed just to make sure that humanitarian aid is being provided in a robust way. and to make sure that a opposition unifies along principles that ultimately would provide a clear, platform for the syrian people to be able to transition to a better form of government. but, you know, when we see what is happening on television, our natural instinct is to act. one of the things that i think both of us have learned in everyone of these crises, including in libya, is that it is very important for us to make sure that we have, we have thought through all of our actions

before we take those steps, and that is not just important for us. it is also important for the syrian people because ultimately the way the international community mobilizes itself, this signals, we send, the degree to which we can facilitate the more peaceful transition or a soft landing rather than a hard landing that results in civil war and potentially even more deaths, the people who are going to ultimately be most effected by those decisions are people in syria. so, all right? thank you very much, everybody. enjoy the day. see, some of you tonight. >> beautiful day it is. president obama and british prime minister david cameron just wrapping up a brief news conference at the white house rose garden. that's where we begin today's edition of "america live". welcome, everyone. i'm megyn kelly. one of the big he had lines

last half hour the president thinks there is enough time for diplomacy to deal with iran's nuclear program before it gets a nuclear weapon but the president says that window for diplomacy is quote, shrinking. mr. obama also warning about a possible nuclear arms race in the middle east several topics on the docket. the president and british prime minister david cameron talking about topics like syria, and british prime minister saying there should be a political solution there, as civil war, a revolution is inevitable if president assad is to continue megyn >> reporter: yesterday after the news broke about the fed stress test with the statement criticizing the federal reserve's take on the stress test and citigroup's f grade on

it. they put a post on their employee blog today. take a look at the statement from what citigroup is saying about its failure to pass the fed's stress test. it is basically saying ... they still want to return meaningful payouts back to shareholders. insiders hoped for a dividend increase and a stock repurchase plan. saying he wanted a stock repurchase plan, found it attractive. security was saying city wante wanted -- our operating expenses are way too high. we are way too bureaucratic, two hraurd and we nee layered and node to cut through all of

that. when you look at the banks that rushed out the door. morgan chase, wells fargo, american stress. serious incidents than is first being reported by the military. some time around 11:00am this morning a vehicle was stolen. minutes after secretary panetta's plane was landing. that vehicle was seen racing towards the landing ramp area, and was then stopped. it hit a coalition service member and that some type of explosion or fire broke out. the individual we're told is an afghan national who was work on that base.

he suffered severe burns. panetta's plane was not diverted from landing at camp bas tia n but it was diverted to a different landing area. right now we are being told that the military is investigating who this individual was and what his motivations were. i says there were no explosions found. they don't believe it was a suicide bombing but it was still a serious incident megyn. megyn: conor powell, thank you. another alert we have breaking news from the campaign trail, new polling just in on the race for the white house signaling a new challenge for president obama's re-election team. a bloomberg poll out shows mitt romney with a significant lead over the president when it comes to the critical independent voters. look at the numbers. mitt romney holding 49% of that vote right now. the president with 41%. chris stirewalt is our fox news digital editor and host of power

play. gym messina sent out a campaign mailer last night, yesterday, saying the latest polls show that mitt romney is going to beat barack obama if the election is held right now. the democrats are likely to turn out for the democratic candidate, the republicans are likely to turn out for the republicans, those independent numbers matter. >> reporter: they matter a great teal especially because mitt romney is running behind the level he should among conservative independents. mitt romney has room to grow, as far as the independent vote goes, because as we talk about independents go across the political spectrum, there are liberal independents, and conservative independents, mitt romney if he were to become the republican nominee would improve his number among independents. president obama right now is maxed out among liberals and democrats. they are already behind him, they are already supporting him. what that tells us when we look at a poll like this is when you

get down to the fight for the persuadable independents, the moderate folks in the middle that get to decide every election mitt romney has an upper hand in this poll. megyn: rick santorum also beats the president with independents. the question i have for you chris i haven't been able to find a month ago numbers from bloomberg, but a month ago numbers from pew put it the opposite way. president obama was beating mitt romney by a significant margin with independents. the president's numbers seem to be going in the wrong direction over the past four weeks. what is it? >> reporter: part of it is what we just heard the president and david cameron talking about, in the rose garden. afghanistan has americans unhappy with his leadership. certainly high gas prices have him unhappy with his leadership. the economy, all of those things. it adds up to a general sense of slide. americans are still overwhelmingly unhappy with the direction of the country.

this frustration is growing. the president is talking a great deal. he is out in the swing states, he's talking a lot. he has good rationals, he's explaining the complexities of his current situation. you get to a point where americans want action, they want results on thins and that frustration manifests itself in the kind of numbers you're seeing. megyn: do these numbers, is it just they change month to month, don't put any stock in them or do they reveal some weaknesses in the arguments that there is no enthusiasm for the g.o.p. candidates. it's going to be very hard for them to unseat an incumbent president. if that is true why are the independents favoring these g.o.p. candidates significantly as of today over the president? >> reporter: it's part of that arc, butt other thing, megyn don't forget when the republican contest concludes whoever the republican tphopl nice is going to get a bump among the independents that is going to help them a great deal. megyn: chris stirewalt thank you. coming up in our next hour mitt

romney will be here, live right here on the set to answer some questions, along the lines of the headlines raised by some of the mainstream media today, talking about a lack of enthusiasm for mitt romney. is that the case? does he believe it's time for rick santorum, newt gingrich to get out of this race so the party can coalesce around what he claims is his frontrunner status? i will ask him when he joins me right here 2:30pm eastern time. three decades after ronald reagan first asked this question it is being asked again. >> i think when you make that decision it might be well if you would ask yourself, are you better off than you were four years ago? megyn: in three minutes, michael reagan on the response in a new poll that is getting a lot of attention. plus, you just heard president obama talk about the growing concern that iran is leading the middle east into a new nuclear warms race. we will speak with general jack keen about how that could mean a

truly frightening future. and president obama and stripes for ever? we are on the developing story of what happened when a group of veterans asked a group of democrats to take this down. >> we want to do it in our own time and we'll check it out. >> you're in violation of the code. >> i'm saying i will check it out and verify that. >> let me give this to you. >> thank you very much. >> we'll take it down for you and put that up. >> no you will not. this is violent property. >> watch us take it down. you know when i grow up,

i'm going to own my own restaurant. i want to be a volunteer firefighter. when i grow up, i want to write a novel. i want to go on a road trip. when i grow up, i'm going to go there. i want to fix up old houses. [ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're never done growing. i want to fall in love again. [ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. g this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday.

here's a chance to create jobs in america. oil sands projects, like kearl, and the keystone pipeline will provide secure and reliable energy to the united states. over the coming years, projects like these could create more than half a million jobs in the us alone. from the canadian border, through the mid west, to the gulf coast. benefiting hundreds of thousands of families throughout the country. this is just what our economy needs right now. or creates another laptop bag or hires another employee, it's not just good for business, it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities. that's why we extended $6.4 billion in needit to small businesses across the country last year. because the more we help them, the more we help make opportunity possible.

[ speaking in japanese ] yeah, do you have anything for a headache... like excedrin, ohhh, bayer aspirin... ohh, no no no. i'm not having a heart attack, it's my head. no, bayer advanced aspirin, this is made for pain. [ male announcer ] bayer advanced aspirin has microparticles, enters the bloodstream fast, and safely rushes extra strength relief to the sight of your tough pain. feel better? yeah...thanks for the tip! [ male announcer ] for fast powerful pain relief, use bayer advanced aspirin. megyn: fox news alert, we are just getting word ever a hostage situation right now at the jefferson county texas courthouse. we are told four people have been shot, one of them has died. trace gallagher has more live from our west coast newsroom. trace. >> reporter: it's happening in beaumont, texas which is about an hour and a half northeast of houston. in fact what you see right here is the chopper from kriv that is our fox affiliate down there in houston on their way to the scene right now.

they should be there momentarily with live pictures. there is a shooting at the courthouse in jefferson county. we know four people have been shot, one confirmed fatality. three were shot in the parking lot of the courthouse and another person was shot somehow in the basement of that courthouse. the courthouse is now on lockdown, and the shooter is now reportedly in a building that appears to be directly across the street from the courthouse, and he is holding hostages. the police say he is armed with a rifle. they did not say what type of rifle or how many hostages are actually inside that building. as you might imagine as kriv makes their way to the courthouse so are swat teams and all other responders. as soon as they arrive and we get more information we'll bring you details on this hostage situation unfolding in southern texas. megyn: trace gallagher, thank you. >> next tuesday is election day. next tuesday a lot of you will

go to the polls and stand there in the polling place and make a decision. i think when you make that decision it might be well if you would ask yourself, are you better off than you were four years ago? is it easier for you to go and buy things in the store than it was four years ago? is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago? is america as respected throughout the world as it was? megyn: well it is a question ronald reagan made famous. are you better off than you were four years ago. now a new poll that asks that very question could spell a new challenge for the white house. the cbs new york times poll finds just 20% of americans feel their family's financial situation is better today than it was in 2008. 37% say it's worse, they are worse off than they were four years ago. and 43% say they are about the

same. michael reagan is chairman of the reagan group. michael, that was so pointedly put by your dad and put in a way -- dash it was an easy met rick to understand, rather than looking at numbers, and trying to do math, am i or aren't i, and the numbers here show that 80% of the country say they are either worse off or their situation hasn't changed. what do you think that means? >> i think the 20% all work for congress, because certainly they are better off today than they were four years ago. those are those people there. but, you know, america is worse off than it was four years ago. it's worse off than it was two weeks ago. it's worse off and it was yesterday. that's what is going on in the america that we live in today. and the president of the united states and congress just don't seem to get it. harry reid, who is quoted in that survey says, oh, polls are polls, they still elected me. nevada still has a 12% unemployment rate, they are

worse off today than they were yesterday afternoon, and harry reid, who hasn't passed a budget in three years in the senate of the united states, guess what, he's better off than he was four years ago. it's amazing to me that those on capitol hill just don't get it while the rest of the world, the rest of america is suffering. megyn: let me play the sound byte to which you refer by harry reid. listen to this. >> i think this poll is so meaningless, it is trying to give the american people an idea of what 300 million people feel by testing several hundred people. i think the poll is flawed in so many different ways, including a way that questions were asked. i don't believe in polls generally, and specifically not in this one. >> here is somebody who still refuses to pass the stock act in the senate of the united states. the only place where insider trading is legal is in

washington d.c. the rest of us get put in jail for things of that nature. harry reid won because the unions and all the hotels told the people working at the hotels, go out and vote for harry reid, and that's exactly what they did, and that's why he was reelected. they are out of touch in washington d.c. and i think america is truly starting to understand that, because we are the ones going by the gas pump, we are the ones having to pay for gas. gas is what, almost -- at least in california, $3 a gallon higher now than it was four years ago. my god it's 20-cents higher than it was two weeks ago. megyn: i think the president has admitted that most people are not better off than they were four years ago. but his point is, but we're getting better, you know, it's going to take some time, and he's got some economic indicators that support that claim. i mean the unemployment rate, even though it's higher than it was when he took office it spiked significantly immediately there after and we are down on the unemployment rate.

why is there such disparity between the progress we have seen in the unemployment rate and retail sales and other indicators and the number of people who say they are better off? >> there is a lot of people who in fact don't even go any more to get their unemployment checks. they've just given up on the market, they've just given up and those people are aren't in fact being counted. there is nobody out there up lifting the people of the united states. ronald reagan when he raised his right hand and took the oath of office there in 1981 the tax act hadn't passed, a lot of things hadn't been done because he was just sworn in. people automatically felt better because i had somebody in leadership who was in fact leading, somebody in leadership who really did feel our pain, somebody in leadership who in fact you trusted to get us to the end of the road, if you will. i look at barack obama and the fact of the matter is i don't think he relates to us any longer. he is better off today than he was four years ago. four years ago he was making $150,000 a year now he's making

over $400,000 a year. when my father became president of the united states he might have gone up in stature being the president but he went way down in income. he understood he was serving his country, he saw it as a service, he saw it as a citizen. too many politicians including the presidency it as a lifetime commitment and a job. megyn: michael reagan, thank you, sir. see you soon. >> thank you. megyn: breaking news just ahead on a terror plot to attack a u.s. embassy overseas. we are getting reports that iran is behind the attempt. plus, in less than 24 hours former illinois governor blagojevich will report to a federal prison to start serving a 14-year sentence for corruption. some rare moments with the illinois governor next. >> i'm left with gridlock. [bleep] potential impeachment and -- [bleep] and a president who is all particular and no give. >> i've got this thing and it's golden, and i'm just not giving

it up for nothing. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. but my nose is still runny. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your ruy nose. [ deep breath ] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth! or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

megyn: fox news alert. an update for you now. we are being told that some there i have ma foiled a terror plot by iran to strike the u.s. and israeli embassies. the country's security forces arresting 22 people they say were hired by iran's revolutionary guard to carry out attacks there in the capitol. the u.s. and israeli embassy were apparently not the only alleged targets. several western linked organizations and companies said to be on iran's hit li list. the details of the alleged plot showed a lot of planning went into this. now listen the country says iran's recruiting of suspects began as far back as 1999.

their terror raining took police at military camps in iran. the police found an arsenal of firearms, explosives and spy equipment during the raids. more on how they tracked this ahead, and traced it to iran. former illinois rod blagojevich is using his final hours of freedom to get one more moment in the spotlight. he's about to deliver a statement billing it as a final goodbye. tomorrow he's set to report to a federal prison and begin serving his 14 year sentence for corruption. greg jarrett with that story. he will be speaking in a few hours from now outside the very home where f.b.i. hauled away the sleepy i'd blagojevich one morning three years ago. he thought it was a joke at the time but there was tphaog to laugh about on the wiretaps, as he tried to sell a senate seat vacated by president obama. >> i've got this thing and

it's. [bleep] golden. and i'm just not giving it up. [bleep] for nothing. >> reporter: he said it was blustery talk. he refused to apologize claiming prosecutors. he said he was not trying to solicit bribes. >> i said repeatedly these are lies. i've been lied about. ahh and the media have been lied to. i will prove my innocence and i will testify. >> reporter: he didn't testify until his second trial. the jury didn't buy it convicting of 17 counts. only during sentencing did he admit to his lies and apologize, the judge said too late slapping him with 14 years behind bars. that will begin at a federal prison in colorado, which means the last two illinois governors are in jail. blago goes from celebrity apprentice to prison apprentice which is a whole different game. megyn: oh, boy, we'll leave it at that. the fight over healthcare hits the campaign trail in a

provocative spot by pat boone. >> a lot of promises were made regarding healthcare reform. america's seniors knew forcing a bill through congress when americans overwhelmingly opposed it would be disastrous and they were right. megyn: how this spot could affect the balance of power in the u.s. senate, plus the president's face where the stars should be, on the american flag. that deeply offended a group of veterans, who got the flag taken down, but not before things got a little tense. we'll show you the tape. and a jury is now deciding the fate of a man who admits he's a killer, but blames the crime on olivia newton john and barry white. will the jurors buy his story? we'll play you the update we saw in the final arguments yesterday in "kelly's court." >> this selfish individual, this twisted little man, he did this to rusty snyderman.

this is real, and they have the tamara taoerbgs the unmitigated gall to call him a good man? good men don't sleep with other men's wives. good men don't sit at their table when they know they are having an a fair with the man's wife. good men don't do what he did. good men do not do this. choose control. introducing gold choice. the freedom you can only get from hertz to keep the car you reserved or simply choose another. and it's free. ya know, for whoever you are that day. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. delicious gourmet gravy. and she agrees. with fancy feast gravy lovers, your cat can enjoy the delicious, satisfying taste gourmet gravy every day. fancy fst. the best ingredient is love.

megyn: fox news alert with more

now on the courthouse shooting in jefferson county texas. we are getting new reports that two people have tied. several others are injured and the gunman may now be in custody. trace has more from the breaking news desk. >> reporter: again it's beaumont, texas, 80 miles east of houston. kriv still on their way there. four people were shot, some conflicting reports, one report saying two people confirmed to be killed, the other one saying that it's still one people killed and three wounded. now we're getting a local report that says police say the gunman has been wounded as well as captured. remember, the earlier reports were that he was in a separate building near the courthouse, and was holding hostages. so we're trying to confirm that as we speak right now. we just talked to a woman who is in the basement of the courthouse, where one of those people reportedly was shot and she says, they did not hear any shots fired, but the coffee shop has now been placed on lockdown. we'll try and figure out exactly what happened there, but right now we're hearing the gunman has been wounded and captured.

breaking news as it comes in, megyn. megyn: trace, thank you. the fight over the president's healthcare law hits the senate campaign trail. we knew this would be an issue in the upcoming elections and indeed it is. a multi-million dollar ad campaign unveiled targeting five democratic senators who are up for re-election this fall. it is from the conserve sieve 60-plus association. conservative version to the aarp. it says unactable bureaucrats are able to ration healthcare thanks to the new law. and that is not all. here is part of the ad. >> hi, friend i'm pat boone. last year a lot of promises were made regarding healthcare reform but america's seniors new forcing a bill through congress when americans overwhelmingly opposed it would be disastrous and we were right. megyn: joining me now monica crowley a radio talk show host,

and sally cohen, a fox news contributor. he starts out so cheer re. hi, you're all going to die. he made some claims about medicare, and this new board, dr. siegel was on railing about it saying this was a board that can effectively ration care, not technically but in effect. now pat boone is trying to call it to people's attention. >> it's called the ibave group, and it's about 15 unaccountable president lea pointed bureaucrats who will be making these decisions for you. in fact this is so politically toxic now that it's not just republicans who oppose it, there are an increasing number of democrats saying we have to take a second look at this. and maybe eliminate this from the whole obamacare scheme. megyn: if they eliminate the board that is supposed to review the medical care who makes the decision about where we cut costs? that is part of the president's

healthcare law. >> let's back up first. monica i'm more concerned about your healthcare, you need to see a good doctor because you're having a little trouble grappling with the facts here. it's not rationing care. megyn: sally, sally, sally. >> it is statutorily prevented from eug anything that would look like rationing. we need to do things to improve medicare. american people agree, they think it works, it's the thing we like. on both sides we want to talk about protecting medicare. democrats want to protect it by cutting wasteful spending, that's what the board will do. the republicans are the ones who are out there saying, no, no, no, they are going to hurt medicare when in fact the republicans want to take it away from the american people and hand it over to the insurance company so they can make a buck and drive down the quality of care. >> let me just break it down. you're talking about republicans want to destroy medicare. if democrats were all that

serious about rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in medicare hef they've had decades to do it when they had control of the congress. they never did it. it is arrive with fraud. in order to pay for obama care, in order to get the numbers to work, and by the way the cbo yesterday said by the way obamacare will cost about a trillion dollars more than we expected over ten years, well, duh. they took half a trillion dollars out of medicare. let's be really clear it's the democrats that are gutting medicare in order to make this whole obamacare scheme work. it's already not working. if you've got to get these numbers to jive of course you've got to ration care. megyn: as a political matter you put out pat boone who is a well-loved figure in america and have them say look it's a disaster and it's going to affect your medicare and you better be concerned. is it effective? >> it's scaring senior citizens into thinking that democrats want to hurt them, effective,

yes it is. it has the affect of distracting them from the fact that republicans the last 40 years have been the ones shouting from the rooftop about what a bad idea medicare is. ropld reagan said we can't pass medicare that is decent into socialism. now they are saying they want to protect it when the fact of the matter is, the same thing with the 60-plus association it is funded by pharmaceutical and health insurance companies, they want to take medicare that we've paid our tax dollars into into public, safe protected fund and give that money to the insurance companies and say here is your sroeufrp, if the insurance companies are willing to provide you with care, great, then you're covered, if it's not enough money, so what. by the way the insurance companies can now -- megyn: the democrats have said repeatedly that when these types of ads, right, or criticisms come up that it is the republicans trying to scare the seniors into disliking this healthcare law, but, but what is good for the goose, take a look at this democratic ad about paul ryan's plan.

[music playing] ♪ megyn: i'm just saying, sally, listen. >> both part trees try to scare the seniors. >> that's true. of course, and, you know, i'll agree with -- i mean, you know i said at the time no actual senior citizens were hurt in the making of that ad. the real thing is everybody tries to scare people. megyn: i have to go. i have to give monica time. >> medicare is speeding towards inch doll advance see. we cannot continue down this road. what paul ryan and the republicans are trying to do the save the program. they are trying too save the because unless you have reform

the entire program goes away. the ad works because they are telling the senior citizens of this country the truth, unless we do serious entitlement reforms medicare will not be there for future generations. by the way obamacare now is absorbing so much of this money that it is damaging some of the other -- megyn: can we see the ad, that individual kwroeft lady in the wheelchair. is that an actual old lady? i don't know, i'm not sure. >> it's a stuntwoman. >> separating fact from fix in political ads and medicare. megyn: she looks like she is putting up a fight. that is awful. that's what my nana would do to if they wanted to push her off a cliff. >> that's what americans will do if they don't repeal obamacare. megyn: okay. thank you both so much. >> we love each other you know it. megyn: they do actually they do. coming up today there are new calls for the united nations human rights council to get

involved with voting rights in the united states. you know those photo id laws? apparently it's reached an international level in terms of controversy. we'll explain. plus fears iran is triggering a nuclear arms race that could be a bigger threat to the world than the cold war. general jack keane is next on that. the fight for the republican nomination, mr. romney will be here next hour to react to harsh new criticism from his rival rick santorum. >> this is one of the most liberal guys we've ever had, and for him to go out there and attack him as being a moderate is just truly laughable. okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle -- 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve,

and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! ♪ oh, my maltipoo's depressed. but my affordable prius c means i can pay for his acupuncture. whew. i love my pooch. oh no! my homemade sushi... turned p-ushi! use estimated 53 mpg to find a gluten-free alternative. look, this means i'm a chef. [ male announcer ] be a winner with the all-new prius c from toyota. ♪

i want to fix up old houses. ♪ [ woman ] when i grow up, i want to take him on his first flight. i want to run a marathon. i'm going to own my own restaurant. when i grow up, i'm going to start a band. [ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're ner done growing. thanks, mom. i just want to get my car back. [ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday. my son and i never missed opening day. but with copd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be over. so my doctor prescribed symbicort. it helps ificantly improve my lung function, srting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. with symbicort, today m breathing beer, and at means...

game on! symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye oblems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. [ whistle ] with copd, i thought i might ms out on my favorite tradition. now symbicort significantly improves my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. and thatakes a difference in my eathing. today i'm back with my favorite team. ask your doctor about symbicort. i got my first prescription free. call or click to learn more. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. >> i'm determined to prevent iran from getting a nuclear weapon, in part for the reasons that david mentioned. it would trigger a nuclear arms race in the most dangerous part of the world. it would raise nonproliferation

issues that would carry significant risks to our national security interests. megyn: that was president obama less than an hour ago talking about growing concerns that iran's nuclear program could set off what some are already predicting could become a mideast arms race and a new cold war. joining me now retired for star general, general jack keane. he's a fox news military analyst. thanks for being back with us. you have raised this same concern and sadly it is very real. outline the scenario for us, if iran gets the nuke and now it's -- taken to a presidential level, what is he talking about, what could happen? >> as a result of the nuclear weapon, because of the fundamental distrust of iran and its motivations, and the fact that what they clearly want is regional domination, the countries in the region that are opposed to them certainly understand that, and their

politics and their voice has been so strong, in terms of using violence to achieve that, they've used it for 30 years now to achieve their regional and global objectives. we know it's a rogue country. we know it's a violent country, and that is the elephant that is in the room. if they have a nuclear weapon then those countries will arm themselves. certainly saudi arabia who is their arch enemy, possibly turkey, possibleee the uae, and bahrain as well will have nuclear weapons and that is a very dangerous situation. we will try to offer those countries if iran has a nuclear weapon, a nuclear umbrella much as we have done in european also in asia. but in talking to the leaders of those countries, as many of our government officials have, and as i also have myself, they will reject that. why? they fundamentally do not trust iran and they also have less confidence in the united states than what they have had in the past. so they will arm themselves.

the danger of that is, this is the most troubled neighborhood in the world. in the last 50 years there's been ten-plus wars there counting four conflicts of our own. and you have that many countries with their finger on a nuclear trigger, it's not just that iran may strike first, it's one of those other countries would strike first, feeling a threat and the eventual iranian use of a nuclear weapon. >> we had such an arsenal and russia would have its arsenal and no one would pull the trigger because it would be mutually assured destruction to do so, wouldn't that same principle hold if we looked at a nuclear middle east? >> the problem with that, megyn, is the iranians themselves and the character of the regime, and also the voice that they provide to the world that is such a threatening, violent voice, in terms of the destruction of

israel and the domination of the region. certainly the soviet union wanted to preserve the nation state. it's not clear that the iranians are only interested in homicide and not interested in suicide. that is the reality that people have to face dealing with that regime is that it is not predictable, and it's not persistent in terms of not wanting to use violence, and using diplomatic efforts to achieve their goals. they use violence to achieve their goals, there is no doubt about it. megyn: i know you've spoken of henry kissinger and his forecast for this region if iran does get a nuclear weapon. >> dr. kissinger, a dear friend, he's not an alarmist for sure, but he believes if iran high school a nuclear weapon, he has said publicly, certainly he knows there will be nuclear proliferation, but he's also said that the first nuclear exchange is inevitable in that region if iran has a nuclear weapon, and how sad is that. megyn: those are just some of the stakes that are involved right now as we wait to see what israel does and whether it is

going to in fact strike iran and try to takeout its nuclear facilities. general keane thank you as always for your expertise. >> good to see you, megyn. megyn: we will go live to jerusalem in five minutes for new information on a terror plot broken up earlier today that reportedly involved a group linked to iran and plans to attack an american embassy. plus, outrage in florida when a group of vets come across an american flag that's been altered. this particular one altered to include president obama's face. we'll show you what happens when the vets, and the local democrats came face-to-face. that is next. >> we want to do it in our own time and we'll check it out. >> you're in violation of the code. >> and i'm saying i will check it out and verify this. >> i'll give this to you. >> thank you very much. >> and we'll take it down for you and put that up. >> no, you will not. this is private property. >> watch us take us down. [ male announcer ] if you think tylenol

is the pain reliever orthopedic doctors recommend most for arthritis pain, think again. and take aleve. it's the one doctors recommend most for arthritis pain. two pills can last all day. ♪

megyn: a fierce backlash forces the democratic party in florida to take down an american flag bearing president obama's face. you can see the stars are cut out and replaced with a picture of president obama. apparently flying there proudly for weeks until some outraged citizens, including a group of veterans demanded that that flag be taken down. trace gallagher has more live from l.a., trace. >> reporter: this was the lake county democratic headquarters, just outside of orlando and korean war veteran jim bradford is the one who happened by the headquarters when he saw the flag you just showed. you see the american flag up top and the american flag on the bottom instead of the stars president obama. he was outraged, calling it a

desecration. he went home and did research and found it was a violation of the flag code passed by congress which says and i'm quoting, the flag should never have placed upon it or any part of it any marks, insignia, letters, words, figures, designs, pictures or drawings of any nature. here now is jim bradford, listen. >> i mean whether they were democrat or republican i have no idea, the people there what their political stand was, and more importantly i really don't care, because like i say if it had been a romney on the flag i'd have done exactly the same thing. >> reporter: so he went home and he began e-mailing other veterans and along with the veterans and some of the media they showed up on the door of the democratic headquarters and they said, take the flag down. things got a little bit tense, watch this. >> we want to do it in our own time and we'll check it out. >> you're in violation of the code. >> and i'm saying i will check it out and verify this. >> i'll give this to you. >> thank you very much.

>> and we'll take it down for you and put that up. >> no, you will not. this is private property. >> watch us take it down. >> reporter: you heard her say this is private property. she also threatened to call the police. she never did call the police. she went back inside, did some research and she came back and said quoting here, we were given this as a gift. we are proud of our president, we are proud of the united states and we felt it was time to display that, but after the chairwoman of the democratic party in lake county went back in and did some research, she came back out and they took the flag down. the veterans gave them a pow-mia flag to replace it with. it's unclear if they actually did replace the president obama flag with the mia-pow flag. megyn: wow, when a story. trace, thank you. taking your thoughts on it. follow mow on twitter at megyn kelly let me know what you think. we are going to get back to that courthouse shooting we told you about in texas in three minutes. our news helicopters have

arrived on scene. you saw them en route. this is the overhead shot. new details on the hostage situation there and what may have triggered this. not since the days of van jones has a member of the bottom station stirred so much turmoil. up next we'll show you what energy secretary steven chu is now saying about gas prices to make peace with his critics. >> it's the overall goal is to decrease our dependency on oil, to build and strengthen our economy. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

is this where we're at now? we just eat whatever tastes good? like these sweet honey clusters... actually there's a half a day's worth of fiber in every ... why stop at cereal? bring on the pork chops and the hot fudge. fantastic. are you done sweetie? yea [ male announcer ] fiber one.

i worked at the colorado springs mail processing plant for 22 years. we processed on a given day about a million pieces of mail.

checks, newspapers, bills. a lot of people get their medications only through the mail. small businesses depend on this processing plant. they want to shut down 3000 post offices, cut 100,000 jobs. they're gonna be putting people out of work everywhere. the american people depend on the postal service. megyn: fox news alert. we are awaiting a news conference and getting details on this gunman who opened fire outside a southeast texas courthouse. fox news is confirming one person has been killed, three

others wound. according to police a suspected gunman is injured and is in custody. there are reports a gunman was holding hostages. trace gallagher has more from the breaking news desk. >> reporter: the houston control kel is reporting two people dead. and we just got off the phone and they say the fatality was one elderly woman. this went down in front of the courthouse in front of beaumont, texas, and the shootings we are told happened in front. there were reports one was inside the building. not you reports are the shootings happened in front in the parking lot of the courthouse. there were people in there. the concerns were there would and hostage situation. but then there was apparently a shootout with police and the suspect when he was wound. krib has been over the scene for

the better part of 30 minutes. we are anticipating a news conference to be held. that should give us information about what the motive might have been in this shooting in beaumont, texas. when we get that information we'll bring it to you. megyn: 22 suspected iranian agents arrested oversea, accused of plotting terrorist attacks against is rail -- i should say israeli and american embassies. security forces say the suspects trained with iran's elite revolutionary guard. the targets all appear to be in the capital city there in szerbaijan. >> reporter: probably what is more telling is the 22 fawrds

trained inside iran in order to carry out these ledged attacks planned against the american and israeli embassy. it fits into a larger narrative of iranian operatives being sent to georgia. also to thailand where they filed that attack. you remember that guy who blue on the side of the street and his accomplices who were iranian fled. video shows some of the arrests and some of the weapons these guys had, heavy sub machine guns, ammunition, passports, and then lastly they had extensive military explosives they were carrying. that last piece of information is significant as the attacks against the israeli embassies in georgia, india and those attacks in thailand using satchel ex closives or magnet bombs placed on the sides of israeli

embassies. this is the next chapter on what has become a cold war between is rail and iran. israel aas united nations nuclear scientists. iran then strikes back in georgia, delhi and azerbaijan. but this is a new chapter and perhaps because americans are have stepped up their pressure on tehran. we heard today from the president there is continuing rhetoric coming touts of washington about how the iranians must give their nuclear weapons program, something tehran is not interested in doing. megyn: the window for resolving this diplomatically is shrinking. iran has a long history of international terrorism. it was first designated as a state sponsor of terror in 1984. so far tehran has ignored five

u.s. security council resolutions to freeze its nuclear fuel enrichment program. it's estimated iran gives hezbollah somewhere between $100 million to $200 million a year. appreciate off a pair of victories in alabama and mississippi, rick santorum is in puerto rico. not on vacation. it's a campaign stop. puerto rico is home to the next primary this sunday. but last night rick santorum took some shots at mitt romney. >> people said you are being outspent and everybody is talking about the math and all the things this race is inevitable. for someone who thinks this race is inevitable he spent a lot of money against me for being inevitable.

[applause] megyn: about 20 minutes from now governor romney will join us live right here on the set and he will respond. i will ask him about the comment made by rick santorum and newt gingrich and i'll ask him about these head-to-head polls that show him beating president obama with independents. on the heels of the justice department blocking new voter i.d. laws in south carolina and texas. liberals are takingfight to the world stage appealing out u.n. human rights council to get involved. ken blackwell, the former ambassador to the human rights commission, thank you so much for being here. your reaction now to apparently some groups are so upset with these laws that require people to show a photo i.d. that they are going to the united nations. >> they are going to the human

rights council, a council that's composed of nations like china and russia and cuba, they have had the likes of venezuela, and the southern sudan. these are pair gones of freedom and democracy. i say with tongue and cheek. look, the voter i.d. laws that are popping up across the country that are based on the indiana voter i.d. law will be found constitutional by the supreme court. what the justice department is using is section 5 of the voting rights act which gives them -- gives them the authority to prescreen any move in the voter voting laws in states that fall under their jurisdiction. megyn: they have a history of

discrimination. >> many of these states have made tremendous progress in voting rights laws and practices. megyn: our viewers are familiar with that. what's new today is this appeal about it naacp to go to the u.n. human rights council. you know a thing or two about this body. are they in any position to be passing judgment on these states in america whether photo i.d. requirements are a violation of human rights? >> no, it's ridiculous on its face. but some of these groups have been to this body before because they know there are many actors within the mission that would like to embarrass the united states, and so it's disheartening that these american organizations, ng tos, would take this case to this body, this council just for the purpose of embarrassing the

united states when they know this will have no impact and no bearing on the laws under consideration by the supreme court. megyn: why would they do it? why would they take the complaint to the u.n. when the human rights council when eric holder has put the hold on these laws. he said no, you can't do it. i think they will discriminate against minorities. >> in large measure it's part of political theater. this is a political ploy by the united states department of justice. they know that there are critical states where large minority populations in the south swing states like north carolina and virginia that are very important to the president in his reelection efforts. so if they can raise the temperature and get more of their base vote out, they think that that is the strategy or the path to victory. so this is a political ploy and

it's unfortunate that there are groups in the united states that will use a political strategy to embarrass the united states for purely political purposes. megyn: ken, thank you. see you soon. new polling shows mitt romney well ahead of president obama with independent voters. 2. >> minutes from now governor romney comes on "america live" to react to that. and to the shots he's taking from this two gop contenders. are we getting flood reaction to our report about a vets group that confronted some democrats in florida over this flag, a version of the stars and stripes with the president where the star.should be. plus, he was for higher gas prices in the united states before he was against them. dramatic new developments involving energy secretary steven chu * and a fierce debate

over the president's energy policy. >> are you saying you no longer share that view that we need to boost gas prices in america? >> i no longer share that view. plus omega 3's. there's one important ingredient that hasn't changed: better taste. better taste. yum! [ female announcer ] eggland's best. the better egg. uh, nope. just, uh, checking out my ad. nice. t, you know, with every door direct mail from the postal service, you'll find the customers that matter most: the ones in your neighborhood. print it yourself, or we'll help you find a local partner. and postage is under 15 cents. i wish i would have known that cause i really don't think i chose the best location.

it's not so bad. i mean you got a deal... right? [ bird cries ] go online to reach every home, every address, every time with every door direct mail.

8% every 10 years.age 40, we can start losing muscle -- wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor

and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! megyn: fox news alert. police say a man has stabbed four people at a downtown columbus, ohio office building. the man was then shot by a police officer as he left the building. columbus police say three of the victims are in critical condition. they say they do not know what prompted the attack or whether there is any connection between the suspect and those who have been wounded. these are live pictures of what? of this building. you can't see much unfortunately. but that's what we are being told. we'll try to get more details as they come in other than that police vehicle with the lights on top of it and some commotion, very little out front. we'll get back to that as we get

more details. new reaction today to the debate raging in recent days about energy secretary steven chu and the president's energy policy it started in 2008 before mr. chu became energy secretary when he said quote somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in europe. during a recent capitol hill hearing he attracted new attention when he said he was not interested as his goal in reducing gas prices. >> but his overall goal to get our price. >> the overall goal is to decrease our dependency on oil, build and strengthen our economy and decrease our dependency on oil. >> we think if you consider all these policies including energy efficiency, you know, we think that we can go a long way to

becoming less dependent on oil he and it will help the american economy and the american consumers. fox news alert when asked by fox's ed henry the next day whether the white house agrees with that jay carney said this. >> reporter: does the white house agree with secretary chu's testimony that the goal of the administration is not to lower gas prices? >> i'm not aware of that statement other characterization you have given. megyn: that made a lot of headlines. and just yesterday, when the issue came up again at another hearing, mr. chu appeared to shift into reverse. >> are you saying you no longer share the view that we need to figure out how to boost gasoline prices in america? >> i no longer share that view. >> when i became secretary of anything represented the i.s. government and i think that

right now in this -- in this economic very slow but -- you know, in return, that we need to -- we need to have these prices well -- could well effect the come bask our economy and we are very worried about that. so of course we don't want the price of gasoline to go up, we want it to go down. megyn: joining me now to discuss it, christopher hahn, and chris plante, the host of the chris plante show. did it make you feel uncomfortal at all? >> it made him feel uncomfortable quite obviously. megyn: and therefore the rest of us. >> it was a classic demonstration of the word for double standards, liberals would have no standards at all it's situational morality in a full-screen sort of way. they have been telling us

including secretary include * for decades they need to wean us off fossil fuels. and now suddenly there is an election year in play, he no longer hold the view that he held a week ago. isn't that convenient? no problem for him. but i'm not surprised. this an administration that has evolved substantially over time. i remember when the president didn't have the authority to hunt down american citizens around the world without due process and the next day they did have that power. so nothing surprised me with this administration at this point. megyn: this reminds me of when i was practicing law. then we would have the woodshed moment when you take your witness out behind the woodshed and say what? remember? remember what you told us before the trial? what we told the jury you were going to say? why did you have say something totally different when you got on the stand.

now mr. chu has come back out and said, yeah? raise gas prices who? me? no. >> i had those moments, too. in my practice of law. listen, secretary chu was a guy in the theory business before he became secretary of energy. he was a guy into trying to find new ways to wean us off energy and he was theorizing that if gas was so expensive people wouldn't want to buy gas which is true. but it's not his job to hope gas prices go up until we have a reasonable alternative which we do not have. that said we have to find and we have to find it soon because we can't be dough pendant on the middle east and the radicals there to provide us with energy. we don't have enough here at home. there is a difference in the type of soil we drill here and the light sweet crude that makes gasoline that they make over

there. megyn: the image of our energy secretary going up and up and doing this. they had to dial his back, did they not? >> they can get away with all the flip-flops they want. the president said his goal was to close down guantanamo bay. we were talking about the $750,000 astro turf soccer field they are building for the terrorists. things change over time. this phoney argument. this is an important argument. energy policy is very important. there is plenty of oil here. plenty of energy resources. the president declared a unilateral embargo against the united states, and the president was in the theory business -- >> we drilled more here than we drilled under bush. >> george bush opened the leases. megyn: i want to go back to

chris hahn. i want to ask if this is effective in your view. when there is a lawyer and a witness on the stand says the thing that's not helpful to your case. the witness can clarify it or revirlts, about it many already out there. the jury already heard it. have the american voters already heard on you mr. chu feels when it comes to gas prices? >> they heard it, and if gas prices stay high on election day they will remember it. if gas prices are down in the $3 range on election day they won't remember anything secretary chu said because most of them don't know who he is. if chris is so concerned about flip-flops. let's talk about mitt romney whose only consistent position is he wants to be president. megyn: be careful, he's sitting in the green room. >> challenge me on that, mitt. >> when you are on the losing end of an argument, change the subject of attack.

megyn: i have got to change topics because we have to save time for the governor. thank you so much for being here. newt gingrich has been hammering this gas price issue on the campaign trail. what does governor romney think about that? we'll ask them when he joins me 10 minutes away. the fast it an admitted murderer is in the hand of a jury. he admits he shot and killed the husband of a former employees. the lawyers say they were having an affair. but he insists barry white and olivia newton john are to blame. the jury is deliberatele. we know a place where tossing and turning

have given way to sleeping. where sleepless nights yield to restful sleep.

and lunesta can help you get there, like it has for so many people before. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions, such as tongue or throat swelling, occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. ask your doctor if lunesta is right for you. then get lunesta for $0 at lunesta.com. there's a land of restful sleep. we can help you go there on the wings of lunesta.

megyn: it could be a trend for cash strapped community. reform public union pensions and take control of their financial futures. >> reporter: votessers here in june and also in san jose can tackle what officials call a growing liability that is unsustainable and unaffordable. they say half of every payroll dollar in this cities pays not for currents work salaries but it goes to retirees and pensions. here in san diego * we have a retired librarian who draws a $234,000 annual pension.

and workers are getting -- can retire with full benefits at age 55. new employees won't get a pension, they will get a 401k. currents employees will pay more on politicians will get no pension at all. >> i want our taxpayers to know government employees are going to receive no better retirement package than the hard working families that pay the bill. >> this ballot measure is illegal. if it passes we'll see if you court. and the city can spend more money on legal fees. >> reporter: the initiative just qualified soy don't have the attack ads on tv and radio yet. taxpayer's exposure is limited to 9%. however, former mayor roger hedge come believes unions will have major opposition.

>> san diego will be the next wisconsin. i think you will see a confrontation with these unions who have a hammer lock on the public sector. >> they admit if successful other cities could adopt this strategy which is why it will be a big fight. megyn: brand-new polls show mitt romney well ahead of president obama with a key voting group. plus, for those of you who emailed or tweeted about a report on this flag fashioned to show president obama instead of the stars, we have read most of the 200,000 messages and we'll share some of those just ahead. believe it or not they started publishing the encyclopedia britannia back in 1768. even before we were a nation. but not any more.

will be.

[♪] change for just a little money? let's start with a paint we know can do the job. new glidden duo paint plus primer available only at the home depot. one coat does double duty. and fits our budget perfectly. so there's a brand-new room... ...right where the old one used to be.

more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. new glidden duo paint plus primer. only at the home depot. and starting at only $24.97 a gallon.

megyn: president obama talk tough on iran. in a joint news conference, president obama saying there is still time for diplomacy with respect to iran's nuclear program but he says that times running out.

prosecutors in windserland say there were no signs of speeding after a deadly bus accident. they say 22 children and 26 adult were killed. the rutgers webcam spying trial, the former student facing bias intimidation charges which is a hate crime. he could face 10 years behind bars if convicted. his roommate committed suicide after allegedly being the target of that spying effort. we have some big news from the campaign trail. a bloomberg poll shows mitt romney well ahead of president obama among a critical group of voters. independents. he leads by 49-41%. joining me to react, former

massachusetts governor mitt romney. what do you make of that. independents will be a key voting block. >> there is no question in my mind the republican party will come together. president obama has convinced us we need to get him out of office and the key will be to get the hispanic voters and women voters to support us as well. i think if i'm the nominee we can get that job done and we can get him out of office. megyn: he said recently he has five more years as president. does he assume too much? >> he has a terrible record. 34 million people out of work or underemployed. gas prices twice as high as when he took office. he has a lot of explaining to do. i think he understands this will be a tough battle for him to get reelected. i expect to beat him if i can get that nomination first. megyn: you say the' the delegate

count. but your rivals are pointing out you came in third. states in which you were expected to do well and might possibly have won. i'll show you what newt gingrich said to bret baier last night. >> governor romney as the front runner was remarkably weak. two out of every three delegates will be for santorum or gingrich, they won't be for romney. phase one of this campaign has to be is romney inevitable, everybody in the media told us he was over and over again. with each passing week he looks less inevitable. >> if i'm a weak front runner what does that make newt gingrich. i have got twice as many delegates as anyone else in the process. but this is a question about who can get the support of the republican party and independents to win the white house? i'm pleased with the fact that over the last several contests i earned a million more votes than

either rick santorum or speaker gingrich and the reason i have done that is because my message about strengthening our economy and putting peek back to work and seeing rising incomes, lowering gas prices, this economic message is connecting with voters across the country. that's why i'm leading in that vote tally and become the nominee. megyn: you know the counter argument to that. half of the voters in alabama and mississippi said were not conservative enough. the a.p. has on this morning, was romney's losses in alabama-mississippi underscore a stark reality? the core of his party does not want him. >> they have to look at other states that are important. let's say florida, for instance where i won. and michigan and ohio and nevada and new hampshire. they are forgetting there were a couple other contests. last night i got more delegates

than anybody else. this is a process of becoming the nom knee. conservatives when you ask in these prior elections, who has conservatives did you vote, i won the conservative vote. some who are very conservative may not yet be in my camp but they be when i become the nominee. what the nation wants is someone who understands the economy, not if you will an economic lightweight. senator santorum is a nice guy but he does not understand how the economy works. he never had a job in the real economy. you have to understand this economy to be able to fix it. megyn: you suggested that he just this week is less conservative than you are, at least economically when it comes to fiscal matters. he is not to your right on those issues. he apparently wasn't too happy with that statement and went on laura ingraham's radio show and said this. >> coming from mitt romney who donated to planned parenthood

and went to fundraisers for planned parenthood. he is one of the most liberal guys we have. >> first all as you pointed out i was talking about his check record. he voted to raise the debt ceiling five times. he voted -- to put money into planned parenthood, millions of dollars into planned parenthood. so his record is one of not being as fiscally conservative it's interesting here him say those things when four years ago on the same program he said he was supporting my i candidacy for president because i'm a real conservative. when campaigns get tough and you get towards the end of this process and you are behind in delegates you say some things which may be contradictory of what you said four years ago. megyn: he's calling on gingrich to get out of this race. santorum is the not romney.

do you agree that newt gingrich should get out of this race now? >> i don't think it's my place to tell other candidates when they should stay in or get out. this is newt's decision. and i'm just not going to give him advice on that at this point. megyn: he does not want you to get this nomination. there are reports saying at this point is about making sure you don't get to the magic delegate number and they are going to stay in this as long as possible to prevent from youing to that. any regrets going after him so hard with the negative ads? advance of iowa. >> i hope those quotes you describe aren't accurate. newt and his wife are friend and i hope what they are focusing on is the country. who can do the best job replacing barack obama and returning to america the principles and values that made us the hope of the earth. he has made our economy less

productive and able to provide for our people. he's shrinking our military an, turning america into something we wouldn't recognize. replacing the president has to be our priority, not stopping one candidate or another. this is a big per matter than replacing one person with another. it's about saving the soul of america. megyn: one thin the president had when he was running for election. he seemed to have the ability to connect with and inspire people. you have been criticized as someone who doesn't have that ability. but this has been a recurring theme with you. and they point to things like you have been making some gaffes. you are talking about people ask about football, you talk about how you know the nfl owners. you talk -- people say he's so rich he can't relate to the rest of us. why do you keep doing that. >> i made a lot of money.

i have been very successful. i'm not going to apologize for that. i know the dnc tries to push this out and that's where you guys sight and everybody laughs about it. in this country we want someone who can help other people become successful. this is a nation which is not going to choose our president based on these little innuendos and personal attacks. we'll choose a president based on keeping america safe, keeping iran from having a nuclear weapon. restoring freedom, retaining the ability of americans to have confidence their kids' future is brighter than their own past. this is what america is looking for. they want a leader in the white house for the first time in three years. i believe i can bring that to this white house. megyn: you are struggling with the folks who make less man $100,000. >> we -- you don't win a million more votes than anyone else in this race by appealing to

high-end americans. i have support from tea party supporters. men and women, i have got good support with women. you just saw the poll you showed me with independents. those aren't all wealthy people. these are average americans -- megyn: most america is not. >> these are americans that wants someone who can help us as a nation lift our citizens with better jobs and incomes and can get america strong again. i know how to do that. i understand the economy not because i debated the economy in a subcommittee of congress. i understand the economy because i have been in it. i lived it. if we are going to get someone to get this country on track again it will have to be someone from outside washington who has had the real experience of creating jobs. i have. megyn: one thing that's been an albatross around your neck is romney care. our viewers know you backed that in massachusetts and they want to know whether it's going to be an issue for you against barack

obama. you said i'm for states figure out what they want to do. that's what massachusetts did. i don't back a national mandate like the president's healthcare law. but on the internet some people are circulating a clip of you back in the last campaign during an abc news debate in which charlie gibson asked you a question about national mandate and you seemed to back them. i'll play you the clip then give you the chance to respond. here it is. >> on the issue of mandates. >> i like mandates. the mandates work. >> i beg your pardon? >> i didn't think you were going to admit that. >> let me tell what you kind of mandates i like. >> what did you come up with? >> here is my view. if somebody can afford insurance and decides not to buy it, and then they get sick, they ought to pay their own way as opposed

to expecting government to pay their way. that's a principle of personal responsibility. megyn: charlie gibson said you backed away from mandates on a national basis. you said no no i like mandates. >> people have looked at this topic 100 times. more than 100 times. i agree a state should have the capacity if it wants a healthcare mandate. we had that in our state. megyn: why did you say that there? >> time and again i pointed out i'm not in favor of a healthcare plan that includes a national mandate. i put a presentation together describing my healthcare plan when i ran last time. in that i said not national program. state by state. let each state croft its own program. this thing -- if you want -- if you want to go back -- the answer is, i believe we should get rid of obama-care it's a disaster, it's going to cost ade

trillion dollars plus. megyn: thank you, we'll be right back. sweet honey clusters... actually there's a half a day's worth of fiber in every ... why stop at cereal? bring on the pork chops and the hot fudge. fantastic. are you done sweetie? yea [ male announcer ] fiber one. diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'.

megyn: jurors finally begin their first full day of deliberation. newman is accused of killing a former coworker's husband after allegedly having an affair with that coworker. he admits he shot the victim outside of a georgia daycare but he claims it was only after he received visits from a demon who sounds like barry white and an angel that looked like olivia new stop john. new man's defense team has attacked the victim's widow claiming she essentially drove him to do it. she denies there was any affair whatsoever with newman. but the defense and the prosecution claim there was. the prosecution turned the focus back 0 newman. >> this selfish individual, this

twisted little man, he did this. this is real. and they have the he te merks rity to call him a goodman? good men don't sleep with other men's wives. good men don't do what he did. good men do not do this. megyn: joining me now, lis weihl and jonna spilbor. whoa! they were not holding anything back or pulling punches in that courtroom. did the prosecution get it done? >> this makes the jury revile this guy, that he would sit there and have food and joined in the family events knowing he

was having an affair with the victim's wife. but the real issue they will be focusing on is really only one. did he know right from wrong? get them to hate him and get them to say he knew right from wrong. megyn: i want to ask you about a sound bite we have from the defense. listen to this. >> what about scene trea snyder? what about somebody that is an adull interpreter and a tease. and a calculator. and a master manipulator and who is just as evil as i have ever seen in any case i have ever been involved in. megyn: where does that get them? >> the defense strategy is the defendant is not guilty by reason of even sanity. they tried to prove their clients was fragile and snyderman knew this and

manipulated him. their client may have held the gun but snyderman pulled the trigger. taking advantage of his mental state and forcing him to do this deed for her. that's where the defense is going with this. this is the first one from the prosecution. >> she wants to protect him and she wants to protect herself. this isn't manipulation, this is cahoots, this is conspiracy. why would she hide for three months? unless she was trying to protect herself and him. f about that's true, that makes him a coconspirator, not crazy. megyn: where is he going with that. >> they planned this. he just exploded one day. it was planned out. that's what they are getting. they haven't charged her.

crisp, clear, untouched. that's why there's brita, to make the water we drink, taste a little more, perfect. reduce lead and other impurities with the advanced filtration system of brita. not financially. so we switched to the bargain detergent and i found myself using three times more than they say to and the clothes still weren't as clean as th tide. so we're back to tide. they're cuter in clean clothes. that's my tide. what's yours?

megyn: prosecutors said they are in cahoots but they didn't charge the wife with anything. >> they should have prosecuted her. the jurors are wondering why they didn't prosecute her. it doesn't take away from the fact that the only thing they have to decide in the case is did he know trite from wrong. he rented a car. he put on a disguise. he left his cell phone at his workplace. all of those things tell the jurors he knew what he was doing was wrong. why hide it, why conceal it. megyn: it's an uphill battle to prove insanity to a jury.

>> it's always an uphill battle. what the defense did, they put on expert witnesses which they had to do who testified he was suffering from manic dlawtion and he didn't know the difference between right and wrong. now it will be whether the jury believes his experts other prosecution expert who said the opposite. they did not charge snyderman. so the defense will point at an empty clare. she was the puppeteer. megyn: you think he will get free and clear all together? what's the best option for him. >> guilty but insane. he goes to a mental institution. he has to stay there nell's quote-unquote sane. but it would give him loot of motivation to say insane.

megyn: about as slim as olivia and barry actually coming. >> barry told the defendant, why don't you kill yourself? he didn't follow that order. megyn: panel, thank you. coming up. we are getting lot of reaction to our interview with mitt romney and our report on president obama's picture replacing the 50 stars on the american flag. we read your emails and we'll share some of them after the break. 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over t :

[ rosa ] i'm rosa and i quit smoking with chantix. when the doctor told me that i could smoke for the first wee.. i'm like...yeah, ok... little did i know that one week later i wasn't smoking. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help rightway if you have symptoms of a heart attack. use caution when driving or operati machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. it helps to have people around you... they say, you're much bigger than this.

and you are. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you.

>>megyn: lottery action for those folks in florida, starting with president obama's face on the flag. and "a travesty politicizing the american flag is a disgrace." this should not be the face of america, not just one person. and lots