payroll company showing private sector employers added only 119,000 jobs last month. that is way lower than expected. good morning, everybody. that's where we start today as we struggle along. welcome, i'm bill hemmer. martha: good morning, bill. i'm martha maccallum. hey everybody. this reported serious concerns about the health of u.s. economy once again. analyst were looking for 177,000 jobs expected to be added to that number. bill: 40% lower. stuart varney, fox business network breaks down the numbers. first the news, stuart. >> in the last three weeks all indicators pointing the economy heading south. job creation cut in half. new home prices down. cash in your pocket, down. rate of growth for the overall economy, down. now we have this private sector report which is extremely disappointing. only 119,000 jobs last month. that cuts the private sector job creation rate almost in half from the month before. it confirms the view the

economy is now headed in a weaker direction all over again. bill: so you think we're going backwards then? >> it looks like it. we had a rate of growth at 3% at the end of last year. all indicators saying that rate of growth is not being maintained. we're weakening. we're heading south. we're going down. bill: why is this private sector number so important? >> because the private sector is the vast bulk of america's economy. you have to create jobs in the private sector if you want to get the unemployment rate down. it is important because private sector rules the american economy, couple that with information we picked up over the last few months when the government has been cutting jobs too. >> that is why everybody's nervous about friday's big jobs report which will include any cuts in government jobs. you will get the overall number on friday. if you have only got 119,000 private sector jobs last monday and going to cut and take away government jobs, we could, repeat, could end up with less than 100,000

new jobs come friday morning that would be a very bad report. bill: that number is considerably lower than expected. if you were expecting 177,000, you're below 120,000. that has to be a huge disappointment? >> yes it would be a huge disappointment for people watching the economy and it is a disappointment for president obama politically as well. bill: stuart, thank you. we'll catch you on fbn, okay? our sister network at 9:15. martha. martha: put this in a little bit of context for you. the jobless rate has been above 8% for 38 straight months. that is the longest stretch above eight on record. 22.8 million americans are unemployed or underemployed, meaning they're only working part time or making a lot less than they once did. the average duration of the unemployment right now is roughly ten months. bill: hear is the ripple effect. not much better overseas. a new report showing out bleak numbers are in europe. a new record for unemployment in the 17 countries that make up the

eurozone. a new high for that number. jobless numbers over there rising to 10.9%, the highest level since the euro was launched 13 years ago, 1999. and now you ask, how does that impact us here at home? roughly 15 to 20% of corporate revenues of the s&p 500 companies come out of the continent of europe. more than 20% of all u.s. exports go to europe making it the nation's largest trading partner. we're locked in with them, martha. martha: the riots we've seen overseas may be coming to the united states at least for one day anyway. yesterday may day, we saw protests that tued violent in seattle after anti-wall street protesters smashed windows of banks and stores. we have seen similar scenes abroad. they threw smoke bombs and faced off with police in the streets there. seattle police made at least eight arrests. similar scene unfolded in san francisco and oakland. the protests were part of

demonstrations supposed to be across the country. a little less than expected on that front yesterday. overseas where it may be a tale of two afghanistans. president obama arriving in the country to deliver a prime time address last evening, heralding the coming war, the coming end of the war i should say and just hour later, this was the scene in kabul. [, explosion] martha: massive explosions and gunfire there. they rocked afghanistan's capital. the taliban took full responsibility. they said it was in direct retaliation to the president's visit that end ad short while before that. they warned that this is just the beginning of their period, renewed period of i should say of fighting back. connor powell joins me live streaming from kabul. what is the reason given behind those attacks and what is the situation on the ground there, conner? >> reporter: well the

taliban say they are starting their spring offensive now targeting afghan government and military officials. they said today's attack was a direct response to president obama's visit and the signing of the agreement between the united states and afghanistan. it is tough to verify those claims but afghan media did leak president obama's trip to afghanistan yesterday. so it does seem possible that the taliban were able to organize an attack in just a few hours because they had been given a head's up notice by some afghan media and afghan government officials who said president obama was on his way long before the international media announced it. now president obama was here to sign that agreement that essentially commits u.s. troops and money to afghanistan. to 2014 although not in a combat role here in afghanistan, martha. martha: hear is the big question as we look ahead what is increasingly long timetable in afghanistan. some presence there through "20/20" four. how do you -- 2024 how do

have emthat troops on the ground and in combat and things like this happening deep into the future? >> reporter: it makes an assumption that this country is going to have improved security going forward and that the u.s. can just operate in an advisory and training role going forward although there will be u.s. special forces here operating in counter terrorism. and while the u.s. is not allowed to attack other countriesers ie, iran they will be able to launch attacks on al qaeda in pakistan because of a long term agreement. there will be u.s. combat troops but they won't be operating in the manner which they do today. martha: more to come on that. connor, thank you. connor powell in afghanistan. bill: before the latest attacks, martha. the president announcing american people a new security agreement. saying the end of the u.s. war in afghanistan is now in sight. have a listen. >> we traveled through more than a decade under the dark cloud of war yet here, in the predawn darkness of

afghanistan, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon. bill: that statement coming a year since bin laden was killed and nine years today after the president bush's mission accomplished speech on the iraq war which later caused a problems for the president later. is this president obama's mission accomplished moment? a fair around balanced debate straight ahead. what do you think. is the war in afghanistan now over, yes or no. log in and vote. we'll bring results throughout the show here. martha: we'll ask that question quite a bit throughout. and the president's speech was indeed tough to listen to for one mom from north carolina. her son was just 11 years old when the war in afghanistan began. and now he is is among thousands of military men and women who have died fighting there. >> time for this to be over. 11 years is a long time. he talks about a year for

bin laden being gone and, it seems like yesterday, you know when it happened and getting a call that he was, jacob was coming home for the first time. mother's day is coming and i'm, he won't be here physically. and i know, you know, i'll be okay. martha: brave woman. those are pictures of her little boy who grew up and went off tonight in afghanistan. he was shot and killed five months ago while giving ammunition to a fellow marine in afghanistan. bill: what a sacrifice that is. mitt romney also reacting to president obama's trip in afghanistan saying, quote, success in afghanistan is vital to our nation's security. would be a tragedy for afghanistan in a strategic setback for america if the taliban returned to power

and once again created a sanctuary for terrorists. we tolerated such a sanctuary until we lost thousands on september 11th, 2001. many brave americans have sacrificed everything so that we could win this fight for a more secure future. end quote. martha: back to the election front now. it is closing time for newt gingrich. the presidential candidate will suspend his campaign later today. it has been about a week-long process since we heard this would happen. not going to be the last of seeing newt gingrich of course. he is expected to be back in the spotlight we hear in a couple weeks. that is when he will formally come out and endorse mitt romney. this is a very stretched out, prolonged process here for newt gingrich. he will officially end the campaign this afternoon. that will happen in arlington, virginia. we'll carry that announcement for you live. bill: that is another phase in the campaign as we roll on. martha: arrangements with mitt romney and saying much kinder things he said in the past. we'll see where that goes and what kind of meaning it

has for the romney campaign. bill: we're just getting started. two years after a deadly boat crash, a brand new look at this accident. dr you seen this? this took the lives of two tourists. it is what happens next that will stun you in those waters there. martha: quite a picture. remember when president obama said this about his health care overhaul? >> if you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan, period. if you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. [applause] martha: well, is that really the case? now that this is playing out, how many employers now say they could save billions of dollars real lay if they skied decide not to offer any health care to their employees? that would leave you without a doctor in that case. we'll be back with more in "america's newsroom" this man is about to be the millionth customer.

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threat. dust devils form when hot air near the earth's surface rising quickly through a small pocket of lower pressure air from higher above. they are shocking and usually harmless. check that out. no damage or injuries reported in that case. they need a dirt devil to pick all that up. bill: they do. have a few of those in the closet, right? martha: so do i. bill: right on. 15 minutes past the hour. to a jaw-dropping report, suggesting under president obama's health care law dozens of the best american companies could save billions of dollars every year if they dropped their health insurance for you and opt for the fine instead. the report from house republicans says the law actually creates incentives for employers to drop their health care plans. chief political correspondent from the "washington examiner", byron york looking into this. also a fox news contributor. good morning to you. >> good morning. bill: the house ways and means committee on the house side. what did they conclude in their report, byron?

>> it is almost a no-brainer. companies that offer insurance to their employees pay $4,000 right now per employee per year. it will be $5,000 soon. should be $6,000 by 2014. if they drop those employees from the health coverage under obamacare they have to pay a $2,000 fine. so on one hand it costs $5,000 to offer the inshins. on -- insurance. on the other hand it costs $2,000 for the fine. it is a no-brainer. we have a number of reports up to now a certain number of calculations will make that calculation and drop employee health insurance. bill: some of the numbers are staggering. a total of 28.6 billion and 2014 by putting their employees on government exchanges. if you're running a business, this is a no brain, isn't it? >> it is and the important thing that you just mentioned is the exchanges. today and in the past if a

company dumped employees for health insurance they would be out in the cold. a lot of companies don't want to do that. they want to attract good employees so they offer health insurance after 2014 if obamacare is declared constitutional and goes into effect you will have these exchanges the company says we're not dumping people. they will go on instead of having employer provided health insurance they will have government subsidized insurance on the exchanges. there will be somewhere for these dumped employees to go. bill: was that the intent all along, do you believe? >> certainly republicans believe that. by setting a fine, a penalty that was so low that created a financial incentive to drop employees from, employer health coverage, certainly republicans suspect that the design all along was to push people into these exchanges. bill: one of those republicans is dave camp from michigan, right? >> right. bill: he says clear to me because of this law americans will not be able to keep the health care plan they have and like.

which is counter to what we were told during the health care debate. if you like your insurance you can keep it. >> president obama said that over and over and over again. the experts that i talked to about this believe if the law goes into effect there will be transition kind of like what happened years ago when a lot of companies dumped old defined benefit pensions plan in favor of new defined contributions plans, 401(k)s. didn't happen all at once. one company did it. then another company did it. pretty soon old-fashioned pensions are rare as they are today. bill: one fine point on this. employers spent $1097 on health care benefits. exchange that for $2,000 fine you have a answer. you want to balance the books and save money there is the way to do it, right? >> the estimate by 2014 that will be $6500 per employee and you know, in comparison to a $2,000 fine. bill: so you save two third

eventually. byron, thank you. we'll see where this goes. you were right by this in august of 2011. we found our piece. >> a lot of people saw it coming. bill: here we go. thank you, byron. >> thank you, bill. bill: martha? martha: house republicans many of whom have called for him to be fired say that eric holder oversees the most political department of justice ever. we're going to lay out the case and you decide. bill: how about this in your living room, martha? what a nice conversation piece this would be. martha: ah!. bill: record-setting price for iconic painting that will go up for auction today and how much will the scream get? ♪

bill: 22 minutes past of the hour now. police in riot gear moving in on protesters holding up inside a vacant building in san francisco. those protesters seeking to make the building an urban commune. one of them throwing bricks and metal pipe off the roof. new jersey mother charged with child endangerment. police say she burned her 5-year-old daughter taking her into a stand you have tanning booth. the school called after noticing her burns. the scream painting could fetch up to a million dollars. on the auction block in new york city later tonight. martha: that could look so good in your room. bill: i think that thing goes for 100 million and history and iconic status of it. martha: he is from norway. circle get the square. bill: get your bid in folks. martha: well it is a important day to say the least for pitching great

roger clemens. he is facing some very damaging testimony in his perjury trial. clemens former yankee teammate andy pettitte arrived in federal court in washington. he is expected to face more cross-examination today. yesterday he said that clemens admitted to using steroids which clemens as you know has denied under oath. so a bit of a discrepancy there. and important one. peter doocy joins us from washington. petit and clemens used to be teammates. does that team to affect anything about the proceedings yesterday? >> martha, andy pettitte was uncomfortable yesterday. he called clemens his good friend but they never even made eye contact in court until the prosecutor asked him to i.d. the seven-time cy young award winner by then the damage was done. he said in 1999 and 2000 i was working in rogers house. don't remember whether it is with inside the gym or outside the gym but roger

mentioned to me took hgh and it could help with recovery. that is all i remember the conversation. he said he was flustered a few years later as hearings on steroids in baseball. i asked him if anyone used performance-enhancing drugs. he said what are you talking about. didn't you tell me that. no, i told you my wife iced it. he just said my wife had iced it. andy pettitte is making a major league comeback this season. his last outing in the minors was wasn't so hot. he gave up five runs. yankees manager, joe gerard did i said he was sure this trial was on his mind. martha: how are the lawyers defending him from this statement from andy pettitte. >> reporter: his lawyer reminds the jurors that the was nicknamed the rocket for a reason. he struck out 20 batters in 1997 and 1998 before every.

how clever clemens was to pitch inside and the split fingered baseball that clemens learned how to throw later in his career. pettitte is on the stand as cross-examination continues. martha: clearly dramatic and tough day for those two former teammates. thank you very much, peter. good to see you. bill: both from the state of texas. they have been buddies forever. some drama. martha: very, very hard for andy pet trim. bill: -- pettitte. bill: all the baseball players playing have a half an eye on the trial. martha: they should. bill: 25 minutes past the hour. was this president obama's mission accomplished moment? did he defy his own rhetoric and spike the football and dance in the end zone? we'll like at that. martha: one of mitt romney's potential running mates says he it is not about the sizzle. it is about getting things done. is boring a campaign slogan perhaps for 2012? we'll talk about that.

we report, you decide. we'll be right back. does your phone give you all day battery life ?

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president. >> we traveled through more than a decade under the dark cloud of war yet here, in the predrawn darkness of afghanistan, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon. martha: in 2003 president bush took a lot of heat for standing in front of that mission accomplished sign you see on the back of the aircraft carrier there as he delivered his speech on iraq. >> major combat operations in iraq have ended, and the battle of iraq the united states and our allies have prevailed. [cheers and applause] martha: big question today, is the president risking his own mission accomplished moment with this speech last night? tucker carlson, editor of "the daily caller" and fox news contributor. alan colmes is the host of the alan colmes radio show. welcome to both of you gentlemen. i looked up some numbers this morning. after president bush gave that speech on the aircraft carrier talking about iraq,

4270 servicemen and women were killed in iraq. after that date. do you think, alan, let me start with you that president obama risks seeing the same kind of unstable future in afghanistan given the format? >> i do think there will be unstable future in afghanistan. i'm against staying there and spending millions, trillions of dollars for 10 years after 2014 but the difference is he didn't arif top gun style in flight suit landing on deck of an aircraft carrier saying mission accomplished. after which we had years and years and years of battle. this is very different scenario and very different dynamic. we say we're getting out by 2014. i may not agree staying there in advisory capacity for another 10 years but we're not saying they're in battle. i don't know how you can compare this or anybody can compare it to the top gun moment which was really the beginning of combat in iraq. martha: tucker, is it unfair comparison? >> i don't think there is anything inherently

illegitimate the president traveling to iraq giving a speech noting our progress there. i don't have a problem with that. the problem of politicizing a national security event the killing of usama bin laden last year a year ago and the president politicized it. his campaign put an ad bracking about it and suggesting his opponent would not have done it that is outrageous. americans supported killing of usama bin laden. clearly the polls show that. president can stand back and take implicit credit for it. he attempted to take explicit credit for it that he snuck in the compound with a bow which knife and did the killing him see. this is massive overplaying his hand and i think they regret doing it. martha: the white house said this speech last night it was all part of planned quite a while ago for him to make this trip it was part of the commemoration of that moment and the bin laden hit a year ago, alan. speak to tucker's point here. do you think it is despicable as

arianna huffington has said? >> no, of course not. no. politicizing it? mitt romney last time he ran for president said we shouldn't go into sovereign country. hesitant to do that we wouldn't put all the resources getting behind one guy. now he has done a typical romney flip-flop saying i would have done that. don't forget president obama had number of advisors said i'm not sure this is good idea. not like everybody was in concert with this before they went in a year ago to get bin laden. there was much dissension among the ranks in the white house. this was not an easy decision. he is always credited the troops with this. martha: so much of this, when i look at it, compare this mission accomplished discussion, right, is what happens from here in afghanistan? you know, where do we go from here? and will the president achieve his goal? he says this is quote for him, the goal i set to defeat al qaeda, to deny it a chance to rebuild and that is within reach. so, tucker, whether or not that's accomplished is something that he will be measured by. he doesn't talk about afghanistan a whole lot. we may not hear much about

it next six months. >> that's true, he doesn't. i think you're always wise to bet on instability and uncertainty in afghanistan. let me say alan's position and white house position on this doesn't actually make sense on simplest level here they're conceding members. administration, high-ranking opposed mission to take out bin laden yet attacking mitt romney for taking that same position. >> no it is up to the president to make a decision. >> internal contradiction. it doesn't work politically. what they would this again? run this ad again. of course not. it was a massive mistake. no getting around that. >> he made the decision, tucker that is job of commander-in-chief listen to advisors who don't all walk in lockstep and make a considered decision based on the information he has. that is what a commander-in-chief does. >> but to attack coming for coming to same conclusion. >> he didn't attack romney. >> they just put up an ad attacking romney with former president bill clinton. >> romney has been all over the place. martha: alan, would you concede the discussion moved to that rather than, you know, focusing on exactly

what you point out, that president obama, both sides agree made decisive decision in that room that night he credits credit for? >> moved to that by a bunch of con serves tiff hate anything this president does. can't really beat him on national security where he kid more top al qaeda members, gotten bin laden they're trying to make it political issue and nitpick at stuff that has nothing to do with our national security because they can't beat him on this issue because he done so well at it. martha: mission accomplished. >> bragging how many people he has killed? i love this. it has come full circle. the left sold out its own ideals. he is a great killer. that is why we should vote for him. i never thought i would see liberals to make this case. >> the point, this is arguement conservatives always use their number one on national security. that they're much more bullish. don't forget, dick cheney said you vote for kerry we'll get attacked again. this is kind of fear-mongering we hear on other side. martha: gentlemen, thank you very much. alan colmes. tucker carlson.

the conversation continues. see you soon. bill: as mitt romney considers the we're hearing from ohio senator robb portman, one of the names thrown out there when a short list is talked about. ohio is always critical. he told bret baier he has never been about the flash or sizzle as he asked. >> i would like to think i'm a serious legislate tore to try to get things done. that is my goal in life is to get things done. it is not about sizzle for me and, so, i think it's fine. america made a decision in 2008 to go with the president who did have sizzle and look, he was kind of a celebrity. he also had a very compelling message which was, remember this, i'm going to bring people together to solve problems. didn't happen. and didn't happen because he didn't have the experience. he didn't have the record. he didn't have the policies to do it. >> so 2012 is the

anti-sizzle election? >> i don't think mitt romney has no sizzle. don't get me wrong. i think he is a dynamic guy. i think ann romney is dynamic. i think, you know, he will be well-liked as people get to know him better. i think about romney did at the olympics. the thing was rife with scandals and huge financial problems. turns it around not having big ego making it about him but working as a group to get things done. that is what we need to do in this country now. >> what is something surprising somebody wouldn't know about you even if they follow politics? >> i have broken my collarbone mountain biking and dislocated my shoulder all last year-and-a-half kayaking. so you know, kayaking, mountain biking, yeah i love that stuff. i like to hunt. i like to fish. bill: he is popular in ohio too which you would think help romney in a state so critical and will be again this year. romney makes an appearance in virginia today with

another possible vp pick. governor bob mcdonnell, from virginia, in 2008 democrats won the state for the first time since 1964. considered a swing area this year in 2012. so that is critical. >> one of rob portman's major mountain biking buddies is one of mitt romney's top advisors. so we'll see if that relationship comes into play at all when they decide to pick a vice president. a lot of people have their money on rob portman in this vp race. we'll see. that is interesting series bret is doing. bill: i agree with you. running with romney what we call it 6:00 eastern time. bret talkings with paul ryan. which will be another interesting conversation. check it out later tonight. only here on the fox news channel. martha: eight minutes into the trading day let's take a look at the markets to see what is growing on. investors reacting to the new adp jobs report. down 47 points on the dow. that was disappointing number on payroll figure. 13,230 is where the dow is.

it was up 65 points on monday. bill: that is really, that's a bummer. thinking 177. you're way off of that. martha: we'll see what the big number is on friday. bill: that's right. a new and scathing attack on eric holder. some republicans charge he disregards the constitution? the justice department now more partisan than ever? what is the basis for this? we'll break that down and see if they have a point today. martha: there is new developments today in the case of a florida a&m university student who died in a horrific hazing beating. his bandmates getting ready to face some very serious charges in his death. that's coming up. >> it hurts to know that this happened to my son and it hurts to know that the mentality, the way people think that this is okay. you know, it's obvious things are so hushed and quiet.

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martha: we're back. prosecutors are expected to announce criminal charges in the hazing death of a band member at florida a&m university. you remember this story? awful story. 26-year-old robert champion died when he was aboard a bus in orlando last november. the police say that he was killed by hazing beatings from fellow band members. awful, awful story. more than five suspects are facing charges in this case. they range from misdemeanors to felonies, possibly even manslaughter or second-degree murder. more on that ahead. bill: by the way, paul ryan is a member of house. i don't know if he wants to be a senator some day. but we'll not give him upgrade. i think he is quite happy in his job in wisconsin. eric holder is accused of having, complete, quote, disregard of the constitution, end quote. new reaction now to a house report blasting the administration and attorney general for practicing partisan politics more than

ever. is there truth to this. jordan second cue law, american center for justice. good morning to you. >> good morning. bill: what is the basis of it. >> some that involve eric holder directly. they're political and legal but issues the administration started on their own. they weren't responding to lawsuit or handling something that already existed. this is they decided to take preemptive step. think about the supreme court case just happened. arizona sb 1070. administration filed the lawsuit before the law went into force. issues like the cordray appointment. no regard for article ii or section two or three, calling it recess appointment when there was no recess. there was business being done. won't defend defense of marriage act. they dropped that. look at issues like the border, for instance not going after sanctuary cities, at the same time still going after arizona. the list goes on and on.

not responding to the inquiry of "fast and furious". bill: lamar smith is texas republican. he came out with this report. his words were scathing. i want to take them one by one here. "fast and furious." failure to provide documents. >> yeah, listen they have only provided a few thousand pages of documents. they're requesting 60,000 pages. we have a dead border patrol agent. eric holder remember gave the testimony in may last year and came back in november and sate it wasn't accurate. that is the testimony where he said i only found out about this just a fuse days ago. we learned he actually knew about it a year before the hearing. if other people did that before am house congressional hearing, you would be in serious legal trouble but the president has stood by hess man on this issue which i have to wonder if it is because eric holder is playing politics with everyone of them because he is taking flak but keeping the left happen --. bill: failure to enforce immigration laws state by state. what is your view there?

>> we have all the sanctuary cities, states that aren't complying with federal law, massachusetts, new york, indiana, with secure communities law. and at the same time, they're going after arizona who is copying federal law. you saw the supreme court justice who are pretty clear on that as well this. why don't you want them to enforce the law? why don't you want them to find illegal immigrants. that is another issue. they could have waited for law to go into force said there is civil rights violation. they never said that in court. this was preemptive strike on arizona. bill: what about the voter i.d. law, taking texas on, taking south carolina? >> sure, a absolutely. bill: others done this and not been challenged. what is partisan about that? >> indiana had law challenged by outside party. they won in 2008 supreme court. they had voter i.d. voting rights act applies to texas and south caroline. speech by holder before he made this move attacking texas an south carolina and

note toe i.d. laws as if they were preemptively racist. this is hurting election process and cost states millions of dollars. this is obama and holder's war on states. bill: there is charge about protecting elena kagan, solicitor general on health care. isn't this part of the gig? doesn't this come with the territory when you're attorney general? >> i asked people to look back in it had. of course you would say, general ashcroft was prominent but because of 9/11. there were cases but they were involving how to conduct terror trials and what to do with laws passed by congress and defending those laws like the patriot act. remember the politicization of him giving speeches to crowds and cheers saying we'll go after texas and look at these laws and racist laws. that didn't happen. even attorney general reno, there was controversies there. obviously waco was very controversial. elian gonzalez extremely controversial when they decided to raid the home and send hill back to cuba. political issues? not really. you could debate whether or

not good or bad decisions but not politics. bill: you agree withla march smith on all this then? >> absolutely. this is not the department of justice's job to enforce administration's policies. their job is to enforce the law on books and stand by the laws in court. they're not doing that. bill: jordan, thank you. to our viewers at home what do you think. shoot an e-mail to bill hemmer.com or bya, because you asked. what do you think. is holder right or eric holder doing his job? martha: tourist boat disaster. the people on that duck boat, helpless as a barge came charging their way. the incredible moment of impact and why it is so crucial in this case. [ male announcer ] the inspiring story

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bill: here we go out of north carolina. fox news alert. the defense team for john edwards filing a motion asking to strike the testimony of sherry young. -- cheri young. the wife of edwards' former aide andrew young. she believe what she said is hearsay or not admissible. the judge has not ruled on the motion. quote, we were not allowed to touch the baby. my kids were not allowed anywhere near or anywhere they might breathe on the baby, end quote. jonathan serrie is standing by. he is outside the courthouse. we'll check in with him in a couple minutes to see how this is going on. martha: high drama in that one, huh? bill: that's right. martha: for the first time in nearly two years we're getting a chilling look at a disaster on the delaware river and the devastating chain of events on one fateful summer day for almost 40 people who were stranded on this duck boat as this barge approaches. hard to watch this. and it goes right into that

duck boat. the families of two of the victims who died in that crash are the ones who have released this video, they want it out there for very good reason. boy, what a horribly tragic site. julie banderas in the newsroom in new york. what do families hope this getting out there will accomplish? >> reporter: martha the dramatic video comes days before a civil wrongful death lawsuit goes to federal court in philadelphia. attorneys for the families of two students killed say hopefully it will provide fresh clues who was at fault. this dramatic video, killing two students on board. ultimately determining how much money in damages can be awarded to the victims family. the video which their attorneys believe was shot frost a camera on the delaware port authority building in camden, new jersey, shows the tragedy as it unfolds. horrifying scene as the barge smashes into the duck boat on the delaware river that killed two european students visiting the united

states two years ago. an attorney for their families say they are still traumatized almost two years later. >> every day they wake-up and go into the child's room, they have a memory of this fateful day. >> reporter: and, you know at this point now we're just waiting to hear if the investigation will help this family actually collect money. martha: julie, explain, for everybody, what exactly happened? did they lose power on the boat? how did this come about? >> reporter: the duck boat had almost 40 people on board before this happened t became stranded after captain shut down the engine. he thought there was a fire on board so he shut down the engine. that trapped passengers on board as a barge, bared down on them and then seconds before the impact the deck hand jumps for his life. then a passenger jumps. then the barge smashes into the back of the duck boat and pushes it along for a short time before the tour boat was literally crushed and dragged under with most everyone still on board.

those two hungarian tourists that were killed, 16 and 20, part of a church group visiting from out of the country to philadelphia and now, i also got to mention this. because this is key, an intense extensive investigation by the national transportation safety board eventually determined that the probable cause of the accident was two-fold. the failure to the mate of the caribbean sea, which was the tugboat to maintain a proper lookout due to his decision to operate that vessel from the lower wheelhouse. also distraction and intensiveness as a result of his repeated personal use of his cell phone. also turns out that the driver of the duck boat was anchoring his vessel in an active navigation channel, something he shouldn't have been doing. martha: looks like he was smack in the middle of that channel when they shut down the engines. julie, thank you, what a story. that is awful. bill: never get a view like that before. but it really drives it home too. there is fresh fallout in this diplomatic crisis. why china is now demanding an apology from us.

we'll explain. martha: plus a new security agreement now with afghanistan. what exactly does that mean? and who will fill the vacuum once u.s. troops are out of there in 2014? will the taliban fight its way back to power? we'll be right back. ♪ dad, why are you getting that? is there a prize in there?

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martha: the big question this morning, what happens next in afghanistan? a deadly taliban attack this morning in kabul. that happened just 90 minutes after president obama was safely out of the country. that's how we start a brand new hour of "america's"america's newsroom"", good to have you with us, i'm martha maccallum. bill: i'm bill hemmer, the president making this trip to afghanistan to sign out an agreement that lace the role in afghanistan's future after the troops come home: >> today i signed an historic agreement between

the united states and afghanistan that defines a new kind of relationship between our countries. a future in which afghans are responsible for the security of their nation. and we build an equal partnership between two soften states. a future in which war ends and a new chapter begins. martha: here now general tom mcinerney, a pks news contributor, he served 35 years in the air for as pilot, commander and strategic planner, retiring as assistant vice chief of staff. good to have you here, sir, welcome. >> thanks martha. martha: we know this bombing came about 90 minutes after the president left afghanistan, and it was clearly sent as a signal that the taliban is not giving up this fight any time soon. >> absolutely. you know, this was kind of the mission accomplished moment for this administration. saying that we've won in iraq, and now we're transfering it over to the afghanistans in afghanistan, we're moving from a

counterinsurgency strategy to a counterterrorism strategy. now, there are a couple of very worrisome points about this. number one, there's no way we can negotiate with the taliban. they're radical islamists, you can't have them part of a government. number two, we have to change our rules of engagement and be far more aggressive as we remove the ground footprint and be far more aggressive in attacking the taliban, and we have those tools, martha. martha: you know, one of the big questions, though, is the haqqani network that has supplied the insurgency in afghanistan and our government has been reluctant -- they refused, actually, to go after the haqqani network and their havens in pakistan. can we ever get anywhere in this fight without doing that? >> that's great question, martha. absolutely not. the haqqani network is funded by the pakistani isi, the intelligence service, and they want to keep the instability in afghanistan. if pakistan cut them off and cut off the other taliban

groups that are operating out of pakistan, this war would be over. so that's the key point, is this administration, is nato, going to take on pakistan and get them to stop feeding this instability. that's the crucial point. martha: and what about the afghan security forces? you know, you hear different things about how capable they are, they have fought off some attacks in a fairly impressive way, but what happens -- will this actually -- does this send a message that we in this to really, literally, until 2024 to back them up and will that give them the support they need to keep going? >> that's another great question. that remains to be seen. what really is going to determine it is what kind of political leadership they have that can lead shall. -- lead this. the afghan military can do it, but we have to realize the culture that we are operating in, in which the counterinsurgency, winning hearts and minds, failed, and so how the

counterterrorism -- i fbl we work the pakistani issue that we can do this, but there are so many open spots there that remain to be nild on how we'll execute after 2014. martha: not a lot of political will among many people out there. i asked folks to send me a tweet, do you think we should get in or out, i got to tell you, most of them said out. >> yes, that's one of our problems. that's why i think as we go to this reduced footprint we can aggressively attack the taliban, we have the tools to do that. martha: general mcinerney, always good to have you with us, sir, thank you very much. >> thank you martha. bill: background now, the first american troops arrived in october 2001, less than a month after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and as of today, there will eight -- are 88,000 u.s. troops in afghanistan, most on the schedule to leave by the year 2014. more than 1800 service members have been killed since that war began. foxnews.com/"america's

newsroom", is the war over? has the u.s. won? yes or no. what do you think? log on and vote right now. martha: we've got a fox news alert for you right now on what appears to be a resurgence of deadly clashes that are erupting right now in egypt. >> here we go again. at least 20 people are now dead, following a new round of protests again the country's ruling military generals. this comes ahead of a critical presidential election, just week away now, which could see the emergence, significantly, of the muslim brotherhood in egypt. everyone that watching -- everyone is watching that election closely, new attacks follow months of angry demonstration and protestors say the military has refused to hand over power since the ousting of hozni mubarek which happened february, so the arab spring goes on in a decisive

manner. bill: the center of a diplomatic dispute between the u.s. and china, leaving the american embassy in beijing, chen wong chiang, said to be in a chinese hospital, the government assuring u.s. officials he would not face retaliation. he sought refuge at the embassy after escaping from his village where he was under house arrest for 20 months for human rights abuses allegedly. molly henneberg is live in d.c. is he seeking asylum in the u.s. or did he want to stay in china, do we know that, molly? >> reporter: bill, a u.s. official says chen wanted to stay in china, wanted to get medical treatment and wanted to be reunited with his wife and daughter. he was escorted today to a hospital by u.s. bedroom too embassy to china, gary lock. he was injured during a daring escape on april 21st from house arrest and sought protection in the u.s. embassy for six days. secretary of state hillary clinton, who's in china for talks with the communist country, put out a statement saying chen's departure from

the u.s. embassy reflected his choices, and our values. she went on to say, quote, mr. chen has a number of understandings with the chinese government about his future. including the opportunity to pursue higher education in a safe environment. making these commitments a reality is the next crucial test. chinese authorities have been after chen for exposing the that china is forcing some women to have abortions because of the nation's one child policy. bill. bill: molly, is china calling for the u.s. to apologize, have they gone there? >> the communist nation says the u.s. is meddling in its internal affairs and the foreign ministry spokesperson said, quote, china demands that the united states apologize over this. thoroughly investigate this incident. punish those who are responsible. and give assurances that such incidents will not recur. a u.s. official says not gonna happen, that the u.s. has nothing to apologize for. bill: the timing sure is interesting, with secretary

clinton. >> exactly. bill: in china. molly henneberg in washington, thanks. seven minutes past the hour. martha. martha: fascinating, brewing story and there's background for you on who exactly this man is. chen won chiang is a self-taught attorney, he was blinded by a fever when a baby and is responsible -- molly was talking about it, for exposing forced abortions and sterilizations which are a huge part of the policy of population control in china. that handed him for four years behind bars, then he was released but dpien dollars to his home in a rural village and that is where he has been since 2010, then he succeeded in escaping from there, escaping a wall, and finding himself out of there in very difficult circumstances. bill: rather convenient to be out of the embassy as opposed to being there when secretary clinton sifs. martha: yeah. bill: that would have contributed to the headlines so perhaps we side-stepped it for this step. we'll see whether or not that's for good. the president's prime time speech in afghanistan,

facing some criticism this morning. why a picture of an empty room has many calling it a campaign stunt. is that all it was? we'll find out. martha: and arizona police getting back on track in their search for six-year-old isabel cellis. they are looking for more video, they had a video mistake with that. we'll get the latest on that coming up. bill: sure was. also, illegal immigrants able to cheat the country out of billions in tax dollars because of a loophole that some argue is entirely legal. what's that all about? we'll explain, minutes away.

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bill: now a public plea for help in the search for a mission six-year-old, isabel cellis is her name, said to have vanished from her bedroom more than a week ago according to her parents and police are looking for

anyone who may have home video from the park where cellis played little league, this as surveilents from a nearby club turned out to be useless, from the wrong day. >> i was thinking a lot about that question that was posed to me yesterday about how the family is doing and how they're feeling and that sort of thing. you know, i don't know. i didn't know them before this incident. so how can i really judge? other than make my own perception as to they appear to be concerned, but aside from that, i think they are the ones that are best suited to answer that question. i hope they do so. bill: police have seized a computer server from the club that we mentioned with all their surveillance footage but so far, not a single lead to find little isabel. martha: well, there's new questions this morning about president obama's speech from afghanistan's war zone after critics claim it sounded like a campaign speech. one reporter pointed out the literal timing of his comments. it was 7:30 p.m. on the east

coast, it was 4:00 a.m. in the morning in afghanistan. the same reporter tweeted this following comment, which is getting a lot of attention today. he says the view of the president's speech from the press pool with him at baghram airfield, he's speaking to voters at home, not us. this is the picture that was attached to that tweet, and it shows an empty press corps room when the president gave that speech. joined to talk about the politics of all of this, in an election year, that's inevitable, ed rollins, former deputy chief of staff to president reagan, he also managed the campaign for mr. reagan's reelection in 1984, he's had major roles in many other presidential campaigns, and he is a fox news contributor. tamra holder is on attorney and fox news contributor, sabrina schafer is executive director of the independent women's forum. welcome to all of you. so ed, i'll start with you. no doubt, you know, you worked at many political events that were of a sitting president i would assume at times. this is -- is this one of those? >> this certainly is one of

these. you see calendar events that are coming up and you try to plan something around it. i think it's great he talked to the troops, i think it's too bad it became political and what was really political was attacking romney on the issue with a commercial, saying romney wouldn't have made the same decision i made, which is basically very misleading. martha: let's look at a piece of the president's speech and this is sort of the tone that's getting attention this morning. let's take a look. >> as we emerge from a decade of conflict abroad and economic crisis at home, it's time to renew america. an america where our children live free from fear and have the skills to claim their dreams. a united america. of grit. and resilience. martha: time to renew america. sabrina, that sounds like a campaign slogan, doesn't it? >> absolutely. you'd have to be living under a rock if you didn't know there's an election going on. there's definitely political theater at baghram air force base. the question is was it necessary and i think was. forty-one american soldiers

were killed in april, 61 percent of the country is opposed to pursuing this war any further and i think the president has been knowbly absent all of this tile and he needs to be there. he should have been there sooner. so it coincided, clearly there was theater going on, but i don't think it wasn't necessary. martha: 17 months since the president visited the troops in afghanistan and we all know, you have the koran burning and the horrific murders in the meantime so this might have been a window that was a good time for him to go over for a lot of reasons. tamra, what's your take on all of this? >> there is, like sabinea said, political theater on both sides. i think president obama made a pathetic statement assuming or making the assumption that romney wouldn't do the same in killing usama bin laden, but at the same time, all americans are supposed to be voters, so of course obama was speaking to voters. he's speaking to the american people, that we killed usama bin laden, it was a major defeat for the americans and for our country, and we need to unite as a country and move forward. martha: i guess, ed ed, if you look at it from a purely

political standpoint, the question will be will it work. what they want very much is to present the president as a tough man on national security. and that he's tougher than mitt romney would be. so that's the argument in this venue. >> in this venue, that may be the argument. at the end of the day, it's going to be about the economy. it's not going to be about the war. martha: what if somebody happens between now and then? that's a big question. >> hopefully it won't and if it does the president will rise to the occasion as america, we all want him to do the right thing and lead the troops in the correct way. >> i think we remember when karl rove was saying americans trust republicans more than democrats, and i'm sure that republicans are gearing up to say the exact same thing this time. i don't think that -- it doesn't matter, you know, where the economy is, i don't think that this is going to be -- >> martha: that's a good point. you've got mitt romney, who really his strengths are the economy and domestic policy so this president may be sort of reversing that equation for republicans. ed, you go first, then

tamra. >> there's no question he has done correct things. he kept gates, first of all, secretary of defense, you can't second-guess a lot of mention he's done. at the end of the day, it's very complicated as we know but at the end of the day this campaign is about leadership coond me and nothing else. >> our president has leaded very well. you cannot say what if something happens. in 3 1/2 years we've had not a terrorist attack on american soil. that is a huge, huge plus for obama, on american soil. but also, abroad. we've not had terrorists strike our soil. that's to me a huge victory. martha: but how do you -- when you're mitt romney and coming from, you know, his background, how do you in this campaign get out there and convince the american people that you would be, you know, as strong if not stronger than the president has been? >> i don't think that criticizing the president on this is necessarily the right approach. i think he should stay focused with whatties strong with, which is theoretically the economy and he has his business background to thing to the table but criticizing

the president is not a good strategy, i think better to focus on things that he would be doing. martha: and mitt romney, how does he build up his national security -- >> let mitt romney run his campaign and let the president do what he has to do. this president cannot basically undo the last 3 1/2 years and the american public, it's why it's a dead even race, the american public has not been satisfied with his leadership. i think the key thing, you run your own campaign, the president will run the presidency as effectively as he can and in the meantime the american public gets to make their choice. martha: one word answers, everybody. has the president used the word "i" too much, has he taken too much credit? george pataki was here yesterday, he said you constantly want to turn it over to the great work the men and women in the field have done. does he say that, i did it, too often? >> only when he's not blaming someone else. no. >> i think he way overuses it. this is about the navy seals and our great military and that's what the dialogue should have been about. martha: great talk. thank you to everybody. good to have you here.

see you soon. bill: how about ed hanging out with the ladies? >> my goodness! thank you for staying over there! bill: point taken. what do you think? foxnews.com/"america's newsroom". here's our question of the day, vote now, haw the u.s. won the war in afghanistan? yes or no? so far, an overwhelming number of you say no. at 96 percent. only about 4 percent so far say yes. log on, vote, lines are open right now. all right, they say they went to enormous lengths to help john edwards cover up an affair with his mistress and today defense attorneys want to know what was in it for them. the wife of john edwards' former aide getting grilled on the stand for a third day. martha: wait until you hear this. she won a million dollars on a lotto ticket, but she didn't realize it and she threw it in the trash, but one person's trash became another person's treasure, and now, the judge has ruled in this case why the person who tossed the ticket may

still get the money. we'll explain when we come back. >>

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martha: all right, it's about 24 minutes past the hour now and a suspected tornado tore through a large barn, destroyed at least two homes, montgomery county, indiana. no reports of injury necessary that case. and large fire breaking out at tyler perry's studio necessary atlanta, destroying much thaf lavish complex. the cause is not known. he was reportedly there at the time but not hurt. and how about this? a motorcycle lost during last year's tsunami in japan

washed up in canada. local authorities are trying to find the bike's owner back in japan through the license plate number. isn't it just stunning, bill, to see these things, these personal objects, washing up? on shore? bill: yeah, and they have the serial number so they can find it, they can make that connection. but this is just the first of the beginning of a literal wave of items that will keep coming, canada and here in the midwest. there is high drama in the john edwards criminal trial, today his defense teams goes after one of the prosecution's star witnesses, grilling the wife of a former aide, asking what the couple was seeking, seeking to gain by helping edwards cover up an affair with his pregnant mistress. jonathan serrie is live in greens borough, north carolina, the defense team has been going off the couple's bank statements and tax returns. what are they hoping to show here, jonathan? >> reporter: hi bill, they're trying to establish that cheri and andrew young kept most of the donor money

in question for themselves, bank records suggest the young's obtained $1.2 million from two wealthy donors during 2007 and 2008, but forms filed with the irs during that time list less than $200,000 in so-called conduit money the young's transferred from the donors to edwards' mistress, rielle hunter. yesterday, edwards' lawyer, alan duncan, asked cheri young, do you think he would have asked you to do something that was illegal. mrs. young replied, i hope not. >> seems like it's the tale of 2cheris, on monday, on direct animation, she was animated, spirited but comfortable, on tuesday, on cross-examination, we saw a much more defensive cheri, a lot of sparring going on. we don't know how that will play with the jury, who however. >> reporter: the defense argues that much of mrs. young's recollection of key events including conversations with john edwards is based on secondhand stories that she

heard from her husband. at one point, they had filed a motion to strike. yesterday, the judge suggested in court that motion would likely not hold up. but it's an issue that the defense has brought up in front of the jury during cross-examination, bill. bill: so what else is the defense, or how will it continue to try and discredit her testimony? >> reporter: the defense seems to be trying to suggest that mrs. young was out to get john edwards. that she resented him because of the long hours she and her husband were putting in, not only for the campaign, but also, hiding his pregnant mistress, rielle hunter. lawyer duncan asked, if you can get john edwards, that's what you want to do, isn't it? mrs. young replied, excuse me? duncan repeated the question. young replied, sir, that is a completely false statement. i'm here to tell the truth about my experiences, about my life. meanwhile, bill, we've seen josh brumberger, former chief of staff for john

edwards, saw him entering in the courthouse here. he is currently on the witness list for both the defense and the prosecution. bill: jonathan, thank you. we roll on there in that case in greens borough, north carolina. some of the allegations are that they used the money to make improvements with their house and some of it is not disputed. some of it has been admitted. martha: what a mess. they think they're bailing out john edwards, and say what you want about that part of it, but the money doesn't go to them, it looks like it ended up going to these two. bill: and the swimming pool out back. martha: how about this, this is coming up, folks, illegal immigrants reportedly claiming tax credits for their children that don't even live in this country, and somehow, that turns out to be legal. i kid you not. we're going to tell you about a loophole that costs us billions of dollars, every year. bill: also, who's the best, and who is the worst? the country's airport list is now out and rated by you, the traveler. who made the list? was it your home town? martha: i doubt it!

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martha: mitt romney back on the campaign trail this morning as they await his flifl chantilly, virginia this morning at that event where he will be speaking. we'll continue to keep a close eye on that as the campaign revs up in the head to head contest.

newt gingrich is out today officially, so this becomes head to head. i guess ron paul is still in there. bill: and the governor there, bob mcdonald, a lot of folks think he's on the short list. we saw him yesterday in virginia. martha: it's like speed dating! traveling around the country, spending time with each one of the contestants, right? bill: so how do we look? martha: please send in your tweets and messages. bill: more than $4 billion of your tax money, every year, said to be going up in smoke, because of a loophole that the irs has known about for years. it's a child tax credit that allows illegal immigrants to claim up to $1000 per child, including children who live in mexico. michelle fields can with the daily caller is covering that story today. michelle, good morning to you. what is up with this? >> reporter: good morning. illegal immigrants are taking advantage of this tax loophole by claiming both children in the united states and children in mexico, with some people

claiming up to 12 children, who have never, ever set foot in the united states. and what makes this so frustrating is that the department of treasury's inspector general says that the irs has known about this for years, and the irs knows that this is costing $4.2 billion to taxpayers, and they've done nothing to remedy the situation. bill: why haven't they done anything about this if they've known about it? one report says they've known about it for a decade. >> they say they're not going to discriminate. it doesn't matter if you're illegal or not, they won't discriminate and one of the individuals who was interviewed, he admitted his address is being used by four other people who don't live at the address, and they're claiming 20 children, they got $29,000, and only one child actually lives at the house, the 20 other people live in mexico. they've never even been to the united states. bill: from what i read they're not even sons and daughters, they could be labeled as nieces and

nephews. >> exactly. bill: for our viewers, this is what the child credit does for you as a taxpayer, $1000 per child, claimed by filers without a social security number, and i'll come back to that in a moment, $1800, and in 2010, 9000 filers claimed $10,000 or more. the point about not having a social security number, i believe, is because the way the system is set up, the irs is still trying to get tax dollars from illegal immigrants. >> sure. bill pill that way -- >> they give them an i.d. number. bill: an i.d. number but here's the catch, this is from the irs back on the screen, the law has been cleared that eligibility for these credits does not depend on work authorization status or the taxpayer identification number used, and it continues, and this is important, the irs administrators the law partially and guys it as it is written. what that tells me is that the irs says the law is bad, so if you want to fix it, you have to change the law. >> exactly. but you know what? they're so incompetent.

we are in such a dire economic situation, why are taxpayers' hard earned money going to people in mexico who have never been to the united states? this money could be used for individuals who put food on the table, who are struggling just to buy school supplies for their children here in america. bill: well, dan burton is an indiana republican, member of the house, he has upon soared this bill to get this whole thing revoked. it will come up for consideration this month. but will it even pass? if it goe for the -- goes to the democrat-led senate, do you know? >> i doubt it. i doubt it. but we'll see. bill: in the meantime, it's $4 billion a year. keep an eye on it, michelle, we'll bring you back and talk about it when there's progress. michelle fields, daily caller in washington. $4.2 billion. martha: a racket. all right, this new video that's come out from syria shows what appears to be ongoing protests there. take a look at this and had not. -- and listen: >> brave protestors, because

they are protesting their president, bashar assad. it's amateur video that's emerged as a humanitarian rights group released it. accuses the regime of war crimes. we have watched the videos and seen this playing out. thousands of people have been killed in recent months in syria. leland vitter joins us on this story from jerusalem. good morning, leland. >> reporter: good morning, martha. you are right, those protestors are taking to the streets at the risk of their own lives. and there is a lot of violence inside syria, from the reports to the video that's coming out of that country. there is anything but a ceasefire. >> [gunfire] >> this is amateur video from the town of homs where the artillery assaults are continuing there by the syrian army, and they are also rounding up a number of dissidents and a number of suspected opposition members. the opposition is taking

part in the violence as well, 15 security service members, killed today in a roadside bomb attack by the opposition. those u.n. observers were on the ground, aren't doing a lot of good. there are only 16 that cover a country roughly the size of washington state, and the death toll of 9000 people is continuing to rise, though it's still very difficult to get an accurate account because journalists are just not allowed inside that country. and syria seems to be slipping in towards a sectarian civil war, like we saw in iraq. in fact an al-qaeda syndicate just claimed responsibility for one of the suicide bombings there and that would certainly give the syrian government a lot more leeway to crack down on these rebel groups and continue these kinds of artillery assaults. it also gives the syrian government a little bit more cover from their ally, russia, to try and say that the u.s. and western world cannot intervene inside syria, and it looks like that western military intervention is the only hope that is really left for those opposition and those protesters that you were

talking about, martha. martha: a lot of people wondering if and when that would come. leland, thank you very much. leland vitter. bill: new survey, rates the best and worst airports in the country. you were waiting for this, weren't you? rated by you, the traveler. best place to fly is minneapolis, according to the survey now. charlotte, number two, detroit, orlando and sphran. that's the best five -- and san francisco. that's the best five. martha: everybody is happy going to orlando. bill: la guardia is the worst, philly, newark. martha: newark is the best of the bunch in my opinion for this area but i'm not surprised they're all on the were sto -- worst list because all of the regional places are far better to go to. bill: travel and leisure magazine did that. i like la guardia. esny, easy out. there's a new thing out there, tsa pre. the an experimental program that's now getting underway.

martha: you can go through with your cell phone in your pocket. bill: everything, you just have to sign up for it on your airline website. i think orlando and new york and about three others right now. but look for this thing to spread. it is a joy to pass through tsa pre. martha: sign me up, bill. it is a picture that is worth a million words, the woman who found a winning lotto ticket, wait until you hear this, she may not get the keep the cash, though. she found the ticket in the garbage, okay? finders keepers? not so fast. you're not going to believe this judge's ruling. bill: watch the video, ten students on that big yellow bus tossed around, hits an embankment and flips over. that is not good. and now why the driver could face charges. >> i'm not sure. i just like kind of blacked out at the end. >> scary. because you know, you don't know how they are. [ crunches ] mmm. ♪

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a terrifying crash outsides of willsborough, north carolina, police say the bus carrying elementary and prek children lost control on wet roads, hit an embankment and flipped over, that accident left the kids stunned and frightened, as can you imagine. >> there was a hole or something, and then the bus, she lost control of the handle wheel and it flipped. >> the bus went by, and everybody was down -- >> bill: she's sweet. ten students and the driver treat fod minor injuries, thankfully, the 74-year-old now facing charges of speeding. martha: new controversially after -- controversy after an arkansas woman threw out her winning lotto ticket and ended up collecting the $1 million jackpot. we're going to explain this to you. sharon duncan says she chucked the ticket in the garbage after a ticket scanner read out not a winner, so she's like well, this is garbage, threw it in

the garbage, right? then sharon jones collected the ticket from the trash, she's done this before, she grabbed a whole bunch of them and goes back through them and she got the million dollars. but now a judge is siding with the woman who originally made the purchase. put yourself in the shoes of these folks, okay? judge andrew napolitano is our fox news senior judicial analyst. as i said to him in the break, finders keepes, that's why the -- keepers, that's in the constitution, right? >> it's the law of the land in all 50 states. this particular judge, it's tough for me to second guess him because i didn't hear the testimony but this particular judge in arkansas, apparently wants to change the law, at least in that state. the general law is when you throw something away, when you put it in the garbage, you are giving up your ownership rights to it, and if the garbage is in a public place, as unseemly as this is, people may come and go through the garbage and lawfully own what they take out of it. so we have two issues here. one is, can the woman who took the ticket out of the garbage collect on it. she did. and she spent the money. and then the woman who threw

the ticket out didn't sue the lottery commission, she sued the woman who picked through her garbage and the judge sided with the woman who threw the ticket out. martha: there's a couple things here. one of them is that the store, there is some discrepancy over whether or not the store had a sign that said do not take anything out of the garbage, that's one issue, the other issue, in my mind, is that when it's scanned, it said not a winner, so she could also, this original owner of the ticket, sue the lottery company and say you know, your scanner is invalid, i had a million dollars, and it told me i had nothing. >> absolutely. and as a result of my reasonable reliance upon your telling me that i wasn't a winner i threw away a million dollars, therefore, you, the manufacturer of the scanner, owe me the million dollars. that would be a result consistent with the laws of all 50 states, rather than as this arkansas judge has chosen, based on the facts in this case, to change the law in arkansas. i predict there will be an appeal here and a different outcome, because this is so

radically different. martha: is it relevant at all that the store owner says that this is a superone stop store manager, she said she had taped a sign that said do not take on the garbage can, telling people they weren't allowed to garbage-pick in that store. the woman says that sign wasn't there at the time. relevant, not relevant? >> i don't think the sign is relevant, when you toss something, you're giving up your ownership. martha: boy, more power to her for -- she gets it and lucky, one day, a winner! judge, always good to see you. i think finders keepers ought to be amended to the constitution. let's work on that one. bill: he can get his political friends on that! martha: losers weepers, right bill? bull bill i would cash it and take you all to lunch! martha: and -- just lunch? thanks bill! woohoo. we'll pick the place. bill: 12 minutes now before the hour. i want to check in, see

what's coming up next with jon: scott, "happening now". jon: i just saw the judge throwing out lotto pickets -- tickets! martha: everybody run! jon: there's new fall out to tell you about from the president's trip to afghanistan, as he returns state side, with all the hoopla over the anniversary of the death of usama bin laden we do not want to forget our brave fighting men and women, april, the deadliest month for u.s. soldiers in afghanistan since september last year. we'll talk long term strategy on the war on terror. some say it's over. and get into the politics of it, straight ahead. >> plus, have you been con fiewts dollars by all the conflicting studies and guidelines and recommendations on cancer? we have answers today, "happening now". bill: jon, see you then okay? 11:00, a couple minutes away. restricting who you can friend on facebook. there's a community considering a ban on certain interactions. where this is happening. is it your town? and the debate -- debate over how much government can control your life online, in

moments. martha: and a pregnant woman, hit by lightning. what happened? and what doctors say may have saved her life, next. wake up! that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. fohalf the calories plus vgie nutrition. could've had a v8.

martha: we want to get to this video which just came in to "america's newsroom" this, is president obama exiting air force wurntion he has arrived back in the country safely from his trip to afghanistan, where he made a speech about the agreement that will go forward with the karzai government, the afghanistan government, that really extends to 2024. this will be a major focus of the foreign policy part of the discussion for 2012, but president obama, on the

ground at andrews, moments ago. bill: one california teacher faces big trouble today. police say she engaged in lewd acts with a 13-year-old student after they chatted on a social network. which is raising new questions this morning, and claudia cowen is live on that in san francisco. how do you set online rules, claudia, for teachers and students? it seems like quite a challenge. >> reporter: bill, it really is. and with so many teenagers using social media sites like facebook, the debate is growing over whether teachers should be allowed to friend their students. educators use social media to provide home work, help and links to academic sites, bill, in this digital age, it is a powerful resource, but private messages are raising red flags. >> there are always going to be bad actors who will use the tools at their disposal to act on their bad impulses. >> >> reporter: authorities cite numerous exanlels of teachers luring

students into sexual relationships, by exchanging hidden messages with them on facebook alone, including a high school math teacher in california, an an eighth grade english teacher in georgia. the students in both those cases, just 14. across the country, schools are now moving to limit or ban the exchange of these hidden messages. new york city just issued its guidelines this week. the state of missouri now requires districts to develop social media polices, because, bill, what starts out as an innocent exchange of private messages can end with a teacher being fired, and a whole lot of heartache to the student. bill:bill and in the case you're watching this was a male teacher, he was a man. but are most teachers on board with this, what do they have to say about it? >> some argue a sweeping abandon messages could backfire. a teacher who communicates on facebook with a student who's also a relative might be violating district policy. some teachers also worry that banning private messages could discourage questions about home work at a fear of crossing the line.

surveys show 95 percent of america pts teenagers connect to the internet and 80 percent of them use social media, and bill, supporters say these guidelines, seeking to limit student-teacher communications, to who is only academic, and not personal, these guidelines certainly have a place in today's digital age. back to you. bill: unfortunately, i think there's more to come on this. claudia cowen in san francisco, thank you. martha: big question for women, should you or should you not get a mammogram? answers on when and if is the right tile and if they are reliable. wig questions for all women. -- big questions for all women. more when we come back. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

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bill: boirks here's a twist. breaking news out of beijing, that chinese acoo activist, chen guaongchang, moments ago he's telling the associated press he was told that chinese officials would have killed his wife had he not left the u.s. embassy in beijing. hillary clinton, by the way,

has arrived in china. we believe chen is at a hospital. that's the report we got earlier today. we'll watch the wires to see if there's more updates as to what he's saying about his fate. wow. an activist who was up in arms for a long time about abortion policy in china. martha: that's right. this is a shocking and terrifying moment, really, for a pregnant woman. she was struck by lightning, kelly lowe, and she described a huge flash and big boom, followed by what she says felt like a full body jolt. >> it was sprinkling so i had my umbrella and put a big loud -- heard a big loud thunder clap and my umbrella lit up and i felt a jolt through my arm and out my other arm. martha: wow, that must have been very frightening. scary enough if you're not pregnant, but she has her unborn little baby and apparently the doctor checked them both out and says she are doing just fine. they added that the rubber

soled shoes she was wearing may have saved both of their lives. so that baby is in there going what the heck was that! mom! what's going on out there. bill: it happened in cincinnati. they've had boomers out there. everything leads back to ohio! or jersey! martha: for both of us. i think people are tired of hearing about ohio and new jersey! billion bill this activist, by the way, is also saying he wants to leave china and fears for his family was safety. all that is happening on the associated press. we'll follow that for you. martha: we love wednesday, don't we? everybody should tune in, you're going to be on the rido with brian, motel early, we get started and "happening now" gets started right now. see you tomorrow. jon: new information on the secret service prostitution scandal, the agency just submitting two dozen pages it calls, quote, law enforcement-sensitive, those pages turned over to the congress alt committee investigating charges t