the president has the country on the wrong track. wendell goler live from the white house where we soon expect to hear from the president, wendell? >> reporter: jenna, the numbers less disappointing than they have been recently. the white house says they show the economy is continuing to recover but no one here is saying 163,000 jobs is enough. in fact, president obama's about to speak within the hour. he won't be focusing on the jobs in members. he will push congress to extend the current tax rates for families making less than $250,000 a year and to let rates rise for families making more than that. the jobless rate rose a tent of a point to 8.3%. this is based on a survey of households even though more people gave up looking for work with. presumptive republican presidential nominee mitt romney said in a written statement, quote, today's increase in the unemployment rate is a hammer blow to struggling middle class families. my plan would turn things around and bring the economy roaring back with 12 million new jobs created by the end of my first term.

still the number of jobs created in july was about 50% more than analysts had expected. it came after three straight months which fewer than 100,000 jobs were created. at can campaign speech last night mr. obama rejected romney and other republican claims that upper income tax cuts would spur job creation. >> they have been trying to sell us this trickle down, tax cut, ferry dust before. [cheers and applause] we have seen this, we've seen this before and guess what? every single time, it doesn't work!. it didn't work then. it won't work now. it's not a plan to create jobs. it's not a plan to lower our deficit. >> reporter: july was the 29th straight month of job creation but the 42 san diego which unemployment is over 8%. no postwar president has been reelected with

unemployment that high. jenna: a lot to consider today, wendell. thank you. jon: unsettling new information emerging from the battle to control syria. look at new amateur video from damascus reportedly showing mortars exploding in the streets. now in the midst of out of control violence there u.s. intelligence warns al qaeda's influence is growing. our chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge is live in washington right now. so the violence in syria, that benefits al qaeda, catherine? >> reporter: that's right, jon. al qaeda has not gained a foothold in syria intelligence analysts warn that al qaeda is finding it easiers to recruit and raise money after morale was wipe out by u.s. forces in iraq. car bombs recently in syria, they are improvised explosive devices are carbon copies of ieds used by al qaeda in iraq at the height of the insurgency. fox news was told that jihadist from iraq are flown into syria. they share a common border.

the head of the house intelligence committee broke down the numbers. >> 275 plus different groups identified themselves in opposition of the assad regime. we think as many as 25% have some degree of extremism, some hezbollah but some al qaeda. that is what is so concerning to us. >> reporter: some analysts believe that the syrian crisis which is giving these groups really a new open something feeding the recent uptick in violence in iraq. that is creating a scenario that affiliate weakened by u.s. forces may be able to reconstitute itself or at least be more effective, jon. jon: how does it all happen so quickly. >> reporter: well to the credit of the director of national intelligence which is the nation's top intelligence official, james clapper, he testified to the senate armed services committee in february there were already signs that al qaeda in iraq has crossed the border into syria and was infiltrating. at the time he said they did not believe the opposition was aware of al qaeda's presence. there is a key marker we've not yet seen in syria when

it comes to al qaeda. what we've not seen is the traveling of foreign jihadists to that region. it is almost entirely from iraq. that's a change from pakistan and afghanistan where they became, if you will, sort of collecting sites for jihadists from different parts of the world with, jon. jon: catherine herridge, our chief intelligence correspondent in washington. thanks. >> reporter: you're welcome. jenna: another one our big stories today america's worst drought in decades is being felt in grocery stores across the country. damage to this year's crop could have a big cost to everything from grocery products to dairy products and meat you put on your plate. there could be a way to can taken the surging prices. that could be potentially good news. let's talk to mike tobin who is on a farm in bradford, illinois. mike? >> reporter: if you're driving through the cornfields you may not notice how bad the conditions are because looking over the fields it looks okay. the catch is the corn should be twice as high as it is now. when you look at the corn

after it is shocked the corn is is missing from these spots. the yield will be less than half what it should be in the drought stricken areas. let me bring in rob who owns the particular farm. explain how tough it is for farm mers. it is very tough not just because the crop production, mentally a farmer wants to grow kroop crop and feed people and put time and effort to a crop and withered up and dying it is mentally tough. >> reporter: everybody at home with less corn in supply in the market talking about a three to 4% increase in terms of putting food on the table. if the rain comes at this stage of the game, can you guys save the crop for this year? >> i'm afraid the corn is pretty much done. we might put on a slight bit of weight onto the kernels but at this point the corn is done. the concern is trying to save the soybean crop so we have protein coming out of this farm. >> reporter: thank you very much for your time. good luck.

hope things get better in the rest of the year. they talk about decreasing ethanol production but most of this corn is not good for livestock feed or food production because the condition itents ends up in because of the drought. back to you. jenna: we feel for mike on the farm. a big story for us. thanks very much. jon: it is day four of testimony in the drew peterson murder trial after prosecutors avoided a mistrial. who they are calling to testify as they try to prove the former illinois police sergeant killed his third wife. we're also awaiting live remarks from president obama and governor romney on the heels of this morning's jobs report. those coming this hour. we'll have the reaction coming up ♪

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♪ ♪ jenna: right now the latest on some top stories we're watching for you here on "happening now." day four in testimony on drew peterson's murder trial. the former illinois cop is charged with killing his third wife, kathleen savio. vandals in california defacing a chick-fil-a restaurant. this week as supporters rallied around the fast-food chain after its president was criticized for supporting traditional marriage. today same-sex marriage advocates are planning their

own demonstrations. we'll keep up to date on that. in arkansas, police are searching for an escaped inmate. authorities say charles hamner broke through a fence and stole a pickup truck. he is six feet tall and weighs 235 pounds and they're looking for him. jon: just in those new jobs numbers the labor department saying that the u.s. economy added 163,000 jobs in july. that's the most in five months and much more than most economists expected. but the unemployment rate also ticked up to 8.3% from 8.2% in june. what's the impact on november? monica crowley is a fox news contributor and radio talk show host. julie roginsky also fox news contributor and former political advisor to senator frank lautenberg of new jersey. what is the impact, julie? >> good question. remains to be seen. the numbers are good for the administration obviously we have strong job creation and

we have the strongest job creation in the past five months. however the unemployment is rate is unacceptably high for most people, democrat or republican. in that sense remains to be seen where the american people feel, feel the economy going in the right direction. they feel the job creation is going in the right direction, benefits the president. if they don't think it happens fast enough obviously it hurts the president. jon: last month's numbers were pretty abysmal and revised them downward from last month. >> that's right. we'll have to see if the number holds up month to month. everything is relative. 16,000 if that number does hold up because previous months are so bad it looks like improvement but relatively speaking this is not a meaningful recovery. this is a joke. when you compare this recovery to say the reagan recovery in the 1980s there is no comparison. we should be generating 250,000 new jobs a month in order to get this economy back going and bringing that unemployment rate, which ticked back up again, this month, bringing that rate down. we're seeing nothing like

that. jon: jenna flagged my attention to an article, julie, timothy geithner, treasury veck tear wrote two years ago today, welcome to the recovery. are we still waiting? >> we have a recovery in a sense unemployment was above 10% when obama came in. in that sense we're recovering. are we recovering as fast as some people like obviously note? are we trending in the right direction? that is decision american people will have to make. governor romney is a one when page job plan. one page. we saw the essentially a nonpartisan tax center say that under governor romney, taxes will go up on 95% of the american people. that's not going to help create jobs. it will only hurt the middle class. it will not help anybody but the richest among us. that is where with the problem begins for governor romney because he is not operating in a vacuum. obama is not run on his own. >> the truth is this election will not be about governor romney. it will be referendum on president obama.

we have 3 1/2 years of evidence of a pathetic economic situation. you talk about jobs that is one element. last week we got an anemic gdp growth rate of 1.are 5%. that is going in the wrong direction. consumer confidence, home foreclosures all of those other numbers are going in the other direction. so it is a very mixed bag but it doesn't look like this is meaningful recovery. it is not being felt that way by most people. >> it is interesting even republicans like monica feel this is not about governor romney because they're not enthusiastic about governor romney. >> that is not true. i am enthusiastic. >> how are you enthusiastic, because you said it is not about governor romney. when i go into voting booth i just don't vote against somebody i have to vote for somebody. it is hard to vote for a guy he essentially proposed a plan 95% of the people in the country see the taxes go up. he proposed a one-page job creation plan which is joke. >> actually when you have incumbent running almost always a referendum on this incumbent. >> not true. >> you have 3 1/2 years

evidence of economic destruction under this man. when you look at government romney he lowered unemployment state of state massachusetts. >> 48th in job creation when he was governor. >> he brought the rate down below 5%. >> because people moved out of the state. jon: well, if you want -- >> basic philosophy unleashing private sector and stopping incredible wet blanket of regulations on obamacare on this. >> here the problem for governor romney. nobody will be able to move out of the united states the way they were able to move out of massachusetts to lower the unemployment rate. 48th in job creation under governor romney. i lived back in massachusetts under '90s. >> that is not right. lowered taxes and -- >> no, no. people moved out. he raised fees on everybody from businesses to unemployment to everybody else. having lived in massachusetts i can vouch for that first-hand. governor romney was disaster in massachusetts and would be disaster. jon: flip side of that most effective employment tools the obama administration has

seen is adults leaving the workforce because that has done more to bring down unemployment. >> what you've actually seen ironically despite polls --. jon: 348,000 more left the workforce. >> what you have essentially seen is a huge spike in private sector employment but a huge lowering of the public sector employment. complete opposite what happened under george bush. jon: isn't part of that because the stimulus money went away? >> exactly right. if you look --. jon: 9,000 jobs lost in state and local government last month. >> exactly right. look why unemployment is high as it is could be much lower if the stimulus had been bigger and continued. but the -- >> spend more money. we are broke. we are broke. hold hon julie. we spent nearly one trillion dollars and jon points out in that initial stimulus they sold it as kind of a economic stimulus and infrastructure all the things america needs. the bulk of that money, nearly a trillion dollars went to transfer payments to states and local governments to keep government payrolls going. we've had over the last 3

1/2 years unprecedented fiscal an monetary stimulus and this is the kind of recovery we get? pathetic. >> under george bush the complete reverse happened. you had private sector employment go down. public second tore employment go up. despite the rhetoric under president obama, public sector employment has gone down. >> we are broke. >> we were broke under george bush. but didn't prevent him from hiring public employees and, basically unemployment rate is --. jon: we are going to hear, we are going to hear later this hour, from both governor romney and president obama. so we'll have those remarks for you live. stick with us for that. monica crowley, julie roginsky, always a good argument. feisty argument. >> happy friday. jon: jenna. jenna: we appreciate it very much. what would you do if you find yourself in the middle of a work place shooting? there is a new push to araise awareness about steps you can take to save your life in a worst-case

scenario. we'll tell you what they are just ahead. take a look at that video. nasa days away from the most expensive and most complicated mission to mars. what will it take to land safely on the red planet? we have the right stuff for you as one of america's former astronauts joins us live.

jenna: on the heels of colorado movie massacre happening now in houston, some new training to teach people how to react in the event of a shooting. key part of the training, three words they say may save your life. harris has those from the newsroom. harris? >> three words in particular, jenna, run, hide, fight. a lot of people are clicking on the new video. it is on youtube. at last check there were 220,000 views of it. here it is.

♪ . [gunfire] >> reporter: wow, it is powerful to watch. that gunman of course is an actor. the set is an office building. you hear some ominous music when the narrator begins to talk. that ney rate tore is saying your survival may depend on whether you have a plan. viewers are told life can occasionally feel more like an action movie than reality. boy, don't we know that's true. the advice continues with harsh realities or coworkers in danger with you. the narrator says quote, your number one priority is to owes cape, get out as fast as you can even if others insist on staying do not let the others slow you down. your life is more important. he said that more than once. houston officials decided to release it early after the shootings in aurora, colorado last month. other cities want to use it in their own safety campaigns.

federal gants paid for the new video which costs more than $200,000. jenna. jenna: harris, thank you. >> reporter: sure. jon: all systems go for nasa's most expensive and ambitious mission to mars yet. the curiosity probe just days away now from ending its eight-month journey to the red planet. in order for it to reach the martian surface in one piece nasa will use a complicated landing sequence. you're seeing it animated here. the craft will deploy a heat shield, a parachute, and for the first time ever a sky crane. this is an example of what the sky crane's going to look like. rocket-powered. it will float there in the air, deploy a cable, that will then drop the one-ton rover down to the martian surface. that is if everything goes well. the question is, will it? let's bring in scott horowitz, a former nasa

astronaut and president and ceo of docks aerospace. this thing is heading towards mars at 9,000 miles an hour. it is supposed to get there when, sometime sunday, scott? >> yeah, jon it is supposed to get there late sunday night, early monday morning eastern time. jon: it will be a white-knuckle few minutes for the folks at nasa and the jet propulsion lab. >> abs sly. -- absolutely. they will be holding their breath. it will take them 13 minutes just to get a signal back as to what happened. it will all be over before they get the first signal. jon: they don't know whether, by the time they know what has happened to this craft, whether it works or whether it doesn't, everything will have been done? >> right. that is exactly right. the, the events will all have occurred. nicknamed it seven minutes of terror from the time it touches the martian atmosphere to the time the rover is on the surface.

since it takes 13 minutes to get the signal back, basically it will all be over and they will be waiting to see what the results were. jon: you heard criticisms of people who say we're spending millions and millions of dollars to go explore a planet that as far as we know doesn't have life on it. couldn't we sues that money better here at home? what do you say? >> well, what i say, that is pretty shortsighted when you think about, first of all the money spent here on earth, with people who are the rocket scientists, engineers and science people that put these missions together. and also it's really important for us to explore and to answer some really basic questions, are we alone in the universe? this is important stuff. and plus, what we learn in doing these really hard things pays off time and time again in the rest of society. i've seen reports that indicate all the money we

spent on going to the moon and the space program has had up to a 7 to one return on investment back here in the economy because of all the technologies that are developed. jon: we're getting a look at nasa's animation of the rover, the curiosity rover itself. that thing weigh as ton almost. >> right. jon: five times bigger than any rover dispatched to mars? >> right. it is the size of a small car. people equate i had it to a mini-cooper. a ton is a small car. so it's a pretty big feat to put that accurately on the surface of mars and then have it operate there and do all the science that it is expected to do. it is a very, very caveable rover. jon: i love this animation. it looks like exciting stuff. i hope it works just for, just for the folks at nasa and for a little good ol' usa pride what we can accomplish. i hope this thing goes off. sunday night we'll be watching. scott, thanks. >> i'll be watching too, thanks. jon: scott horowitz.

appreciate it. jenna: well, in syria a mortar attack hitting a refugee camp in damascus. more than a dozen people killed there. we'll have a live report from the middle east next. the big question is what is ahead for us and what we're going to do in syria. a teenager says she was taunted since first grade because of how she looked. she took a nonprofit group up on its offer for free plastic surgery. the group offering cosmetic surgery for kids who have been bullied. is that the answer? we're going to debate it, coming up. we're waiting for remarks from both the president and governor romney after this morning's new jobs report. we'll bring this to you live here on "happening now." born with. and inspires the things you choose to do. you do what you do... because it matters. at hp we don't just believe in the power of technology. we believe in the power of people when technology works for you.

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jenna: right now in syria fighting intensifying across the country. a deadly attack on a refugee camp in damascus. security forces fired mortar rounds into the camp.

the camp is home to thousands of ref few guys. dominic di-natale is live in the middle east bureau with more. >> reporter: jenna, yes, sir, 21 people were killed after the mortars landed in the center of a market with shoppers buying food to end the fast foreramadan. we blurred out the very worst of it. those involved in attack rushing away from the scene. many lost limbs in the explosion they're struggling to get away. it is quite horrific stuff. the rebels are not entirely sure whether it did come from syrian regime forces or whether came from their own people. the government is blaming it on the rebels. if you look at the map we've got, you can see how easily this could have been simply stray gunfire. just to the east of the camp you've got actually the last rebel stronghold there. it is tatdamon.

we understand the neighborhood has been taken by regime forces. it was an intense fight that went on there. the u.n. is now saying not just damascus is concerned about level of violence they fear the long-awaited onslaught of the city of aleppo up to the north is about to begin. rebels say the death toll is about to pass the 20,000 mark, they think that battle could be the most lethal we've seen since the uprising began 17 months ago, jenna. jenna: most lethal since the uprising began. that is something we have to continue to watch. dominic, thank you. jon: well, the u.s. economy adds 163,000 jobs in july. that is more than analysts expected. no enough though to bring the unemployment rate down. in fact it went up to 8.3% last month. so what do these numbers mean to the millions of americans who can not find a job or have simply stopped looking for work? chief washington correspondent james rosen is live in d.c. with a look at that, james. >> reporter: john and jenna,

good morning. economists are calling this the worst recovery in modern times, slower even than followed the great depression. ironically the american economy is bigger than it was when the great recession hit at the end of 2007. we're producing more goods and services but there are about five million fewer jobs than existed five years ago. our population has grown as well. companies learned to squeeze more productivity out of fewer employees. factors which combined to produce a stagnant labor market, meaning no real movement in the jobs picture. what gains were seen were certain largely across the board. education and health services posted 38,000 new highs. restaurants and bars added almost 30,000 jobs. manufacturing added 25,000 jobs. that is better than at any point since march. retailers however hired just 7,000 new workers. now let's look back over the last year. as you will be able to see from this chart, the addition of 163,000 jobs in july makes july the best month since february but the monthly average for job growth in the year 2012 now

stands at 151,000. that's enough to keep pace with population growth. it is not enough to improve things materially for 23 million people out of work, who are part-timers looking for full-time work or who left the labor force all together. before election day we'll see three more monthly jobs report from the bureau of labor statistics. leading economists are projecting more of the same. >> our best guess is, that in terms of payroll jobs growth, the next three months will be somewhere between 100 and 150,000. which won't be great. so there's a fair chance that we'll see the unemployment rate continue to add jobs between now and the election. >> among those hardest hit by this nonrecovery recovery, iraq war veterans. the bls report shows that veterans from all wars endure a jobless rate of 6.9% right now, but for the period since the toppling of saddam hussein that rate rises to 8.9%. jon and jenna, not a lot of good news in there. james rosen.

>> reporter: afraid not. thanks. jenna: this next story certainly caught our attention on "happening now." a nonprofit organization is offering free plastic surgery for kids who are the victims of bullying. one teen took the group up on the offer saying she was taunted since the first grade because of her ears. now she feels better about herself and ready to face her bullies. is going under the knife the answer for these kids? dr. keith ablow, psychiatrist and member of the fox news a-team. we have a plastic surgeon. welcome to you both. >> thank you. jenna: dr. ablow, is this a solution or is it a copout? >> i don't think it is a copout, jenna, you might be surprised to hear that from a psychiatrist. self-esteem has to come from inside out. listen, why work against things that are causing you at that to be taunted and teased. kids can be cruel. if you had teeth in several different directions, most parents, many of them if

they have the money get their kids braces. even if there is a, not a problem for the bite do it more cosmetic reasons. no different for ears. i don't see the issue. it is fine. jenna: i was one issue with teeth. eight years of braces. >> look at you now. jenna: look at me now is right i don't know. is it safe though? doctor, something safe for a child say 12 years old to do something like fix a nose or fix their ears? is that something good for their bodies? >> well the answer actually depends on the area where the problem is. so for the ears a child could safely after surgery after the age of six when the ear reached 95% of its adult size. noses however, continue to reached a adult size through puberty. doing surgery on a nose at age 12 might be premature unless a child goes through puberty earlier. jenna: doctor, nonprofit we mentioned, little babyface

they're explicit on the website they're dealing with deformities. for example, some of the photographs they show a child born without a ear. something very severe they have to fix. not something like, listen my nose is a little big for my face right now. as a doctor where do you think you should draw the line if if you think you're okay with this plastic surgery where is the line drawn? >> i think the question really isn't whether the child can have the surgery safely. it is whether a child is entitled to this kind of surgery and whether an organization should pay for the surgery. cosmetic procedures really tend to be procedures that are available to patients who can afford to pay for them. but in this case, if an organization can raise enough money to offer that, to patients who can't afford it, far be it for us to judge whether or not that's something that a doctor should offer. in fact, with the economy and health care system reimbursements the way they are, i think it is commendable doctors would offer their services for free. jenna: dr. ablow, what about the message?

do bullies win here because someone bullied so badly they feel they have to go under the knife to fix themselves for those same bull i hads -- bullys? >> couple things. i have no tolerance for bullies. you have to push back against the bullies regardless. the schools dropped the ball again and again controlling bullies. kids are vulnerable. here is what i am here to say. the toll of being bullied because of your facial appearance if it is sadly disfigured in some way or a way that catches the attention of these bullies, the toll can be so severe that you got to intervene if you can because we can't change the whole world. and it is your kid who will be sustaining this psychological injury, why put them in the line of fire? jenna: well so they become strong, decent people, that understand that they deal with the cards that they are dealt with. that would be argument. i put this out over twitter. a lot of our viewers feel that way.

>> if everyone felt that way there wouldn't be any contact lenses there would be no makeup. there wouldn't be nice clothes. jenna: no makeup? >> so for people to say, easy for people to say that, unless it is their kid. jenna: doctor, a quick thought from you as well? >> i agree. if the surgery is safe and the child is ready for it mentally and physically then the scars from the surgery heal in just a few weeks but the emotional scars from repetitive bullying can last a lifetime and affect self-confidence. jenna: very interesting conversation. you scared me with the no makeup bit, dr. ablow. what would i do on air? >> you would be fine. that is the truth. jenna: i don't know. nice to have you both today. >> thank you. >> take care. jon: for the record i have never teased you because of our ortoodonia. jenna: for eight years. i needed them for a lot of different reasons, cosmetic and otherwise. i couldn't be able to speak. where would i be then? dr. ablow is right.

jon: good for you. a update on truly uplifting story we brought you in the past. the recovery of army staff sergeant travis mills. he is a great guy who lost both arms and legs to an ied attack in afghanistan. but it didn't take his spirit. why travis mills is standing taller these days. you do not want to miss the update. new reaction from president obama and governor romney to july's jobs report. the up side and downsides to both candidates. "wall street journal's" paul gigot what is behind the numbers three months from election day.

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the war of words over all this. we're talking a lot about the new jobs numbers today. there are signs that the housing collapse may have hit bottom. we'll see. we'll explain how significant this is for the entire economy. plus there is this. a little tough to make out. that is a bear cub struggling for life, getting a helping hand. what happens when mama bear joins the party? we'll talk to them. jon: right now we are awaiting reaction from both president obama and governor romney to july's jobs report. it has something for both campaigns. nearly three months before election day. paul gigot is editorial page editor for "the wall street journal." paul, we created more jobs than anybody expected but yet the unemployment rate ticks up. can you explain that? >> two different surveys, jon. one showed an increase in the number of jobs is the survey that goes to employers.

they said okay, how many people did you hire? that found some new hiring. the other one goes to households that is you and me and assesses the size of the labor, to. that found that the labor force shrinking. so therefore the unemployment rate ticked up. it is not that unusual to have these two surveys in somewhat of a conflict in a month like july which is the middle of the summer where you get some seasonal adjustments. they work out over time. jon: i also read that almost 350,000 people just quit looking for work? >> that's right. overall if you look at this report, both reports, household and establishment surveys, the news is you've got a job market that is basically mediocre. it is adding some jobs. of. not falling off a cliff. we're not going into recession based on this report, but on the other hand, you've got really slow job growth. you've had an average for across this year since january of about 150,000 a month. that's, that's not good at all.

then you look at the average hourly earnings which is how we feel about, how big are our paychecks getting. that only increased 1.7% in the last year which is barely enough to keep up with rising prices. jon: president obama will take to the microphones almost 15 minutes from now. you can almost expect what he will say. i don't expect any off of cuff remarks about how the private sector is doing. >> probably not, jon. jon: you can expect he will say we have 27 months of consecutive job growth. >> right. jon: is that a bragging point? can he say. >> jon, if you have lemons you have to make lemonade. he will try to put the best possible spin he can on it. we're not in recession. the question voters will have to make, the question they will have to answer to themselves, is this good enough, is this kind of job

growth good enough? what we're seen employers are basically saying we're going to do status quo. we're not going to move. we'll only hire the number of people we absolutely need to until we see what the outcome is of this election and what policies will be flowing from it. jon: i have read a couple of statements from the white house from the, you know, president's economic advisors as well as democratic leader in the house, nancy pelosi. they both blame republican obstructionism, for the current situation. whatever happened to the buck stops here? >> well, look, i mean that always happens in an election back and forth but you had president had two years with a democratic senate and a democratic house. huge majorities in both. they got pretty much everything they wanted. okay? they got the stimulus. they got the health care bill. they can't really, republicans couldn't stop anything. basically, democrats could pass anything. and now the thing the president is proposing that republicans are stopping are

more of the same only smaller. they wouldn't make that much difference. jon: paul gigot from "the wall street journal" paul, thank you. >> thanks, jon. jon: be sure to catch paul tomorrow. he will be hosting the "journal editorial report" 2:00 p.m. eastern time, discussing the big financial issues right here on fox news channel. >> we'll look forward to that. a wounded war i don't remember standing taller today. we've been following the recovery of staff sergeant travis mills who lost both arms and both legs in ied attack in afghanistan. that video is from a few weeks ago. we'll speak with him about the progress that he is making. >> when my guys get back later on in the year i want to be on tall legs. those are short legs. they make me 5'4". i'm really 6'2" legs. my goal so get in the 6'2" legs, stand in uniform and get a hand and salute my guys coming in. that is my goal right now. of mo. but today...( sfx: loud noise of large metal object hitting the ground)

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jenna: well we certainly have a big update on a story we've been following very closely here on "happening now". the recovery of army staff sergeant travis mills. he was critically injured as might remember in an ied attack last april, a few months ago. sergeant mills lost both arms and both legs. last time he joined us he talked a little bit about the legs he was working with. they said they left him a little shorter than he was. take a listen. >> when my sfwis get back later on in the year i want to be on my tall legs. my short legs make me 5'4". i'm 6'2". maybe stand on a uniform and get a hand on this one and salute my guys when they come in that is my goal. jenna: get 6'4" legs why not? >> pump them up with shoes. jenna: why not? >> i could be as tall as i want but it is a long fall

to the ground. jenna: he is taller these days. staff sergeant travis mills is standing taller literally and joins us on the phone. how tall are you now, travis? >> i'm currently 5'10". next week i will be 6'2". jenna: we'll show you some video. we haven't talked in a month. we feel like we have a lot to catch up on. what has been going on? >> just working harder to get better. i keep getting better and better. i go to pt and they keep pushing me more and more. jenna: right now you said, we're showing some video, you were still on the short ones here. looking what looks like a stair. how difficult is it to accomplish these goals? how long does it take, for example, to try to master a skill like that? >> that was my first attempt really doing that. it's hard because you don't have the ankle and calf muscle to help you push but it is doable. definitely doable. i did more of that today. and you know, definitely

just difficult to process. jenna: now we're showing you with a video and you're pulling behind you the weights. kind of looks like a ball and chain literally if you will that you're pulling behind you. and we also are showing a little bit of video of you feeding your daughter. you paid a visit to capitol hill recently. i heard you played a little joke on some of the lawmakers you met there? tell us about that. >> well, everybody, you know, see me and want say hello and ask what happened or thanks for your service and everything. they asked -- [inaudible] get so excited and they want to see it. and it works great. not get too upset. i say stay open. i open my hand. stay closed and i will close it. once i get them hooked on it, tell them if they open it again i move it and rotate it and say it louder. [inaudible]

jenna: well, so next week you said you're going up a little bit higher, 5'10" this week. next week around 6'2", is that right? >> yeah, that's right. jenna: well you're looking -- >> actually broke my right arm on monday falling. it is a prosthetic. they fixed it. jenna: you're looking great. we're so proud of you. we're keeping up-to-date with you to see how you're doing and we appreciate the time, travis. keep it going. we have the whole crew and all our viewers rooting for you. >> thank you so much. have a wonderful day. thanks for letting me have time on the show. jenna: absolutely. we'll have you back soon. we'll run into breaking news now i believe that we have on the jobs market and otherwise? jon: that's right. governor mitt romney is getting ready to make remarks. we expect to hear about the jobs report, unemployment report just out this morning. let's listen in for a moment. >> i'm glad you did and good to be with my friends in nevada. you guys, i'm counting on

you to help me win in november. [cheers and applause] jon: and it appears that we have lost the satellite feed from nevada. that happens once in a while. we'll try and get reconnected. okay, there it is. >> under state law and said this economy has hurt american families right here and we need help. this is a place that is really struggling. and, of course today we just got a new number from the unemployment report. and it's another hammer blow to the struggling middle class families of america because the president has not kept policies that put american families back to work. i will put them in place and get america working again. [applause] there are, i mean you know this. these numbers are not just statistics. these are real people,

really suffering having hard times. 23 million americans out of work or stopped looking for work or way underemployed. 23 million. the official unemployment number, 8.3%. that's the longest period of time, 42 months, the longest period of time we've had unemployment above 8% in american history. since this has been recorded. this is an extraordinary record of failure. the president's policies have not worked because he thinks government makes america work. he is wrong. it's people like john that make america work. [applause] i hope the president understands but mccandless trucking and sierra, all the businesses that the mccandless family has organized they were not built by government. they are built by the

mccandless family and people that work for that family. they were built by people. not by government. for a plan that will actually get america's workers back to work, that'll create more jobs and more take-home pay. and i know how to do that. this is not a mystery for me. this is not theory. this is practice. and i've got five things i'm going to do, five things i'm going to do in my plan to help get the middle class working again with more jobs and more ke-home pay. five things. putting them in place is going to get this economy going again, get higher incomes again. let me tell you what they are. number one, we're going to take advantage of energy in this country, oil, gas, coal, renewables. [cheers and applause] and when i say take advantage of our energy, let me tell you the

goal. by the end of my second term, by the end of my second term -- [cheers and applause] you got that, did you? yeah. by the end of my second term, north america will be energy independent. we will not need to buy any oil from the middle east or from venezuela. [cheers and applause] number two, we're going to make sure that the american workers of today and tomorrow have the skills to succeed in america. that means better schools, better job training programs. we cannot continue to allow our schools to perform at the bomb in the worth -- become in the world. i can do it. we can be competitive and give our kids the future they need with great schools. [cheers and applause] number three, we've got to have

trade that works for america. that means if people cheat like china has cheated, we don't let them keep doing that, and we also open new markets so we can sell our products, and in particular i want to open up latin america so we can sell more goods to latin america. we have skills there, we have language skills that'll help us get there, i want to open up latin america. [cheers and applause] number four, number four, there's a problem in a country that has too much debt. because what happens, the the people who have looked at the amount of debt that a country has and how it effects their economy have shown that if you have too much debt, it slows down the rate of growth of businesses and job creators and the overall economy. so we're going to have to get serious about doing something politicians talk about but don't do, and that is cut spending, cut the deficit and finally get america on track to have a balanced budget, and i'll do it. that's number four. [cheers and applause]

and number five, number five, we finally have to champion small business in this country instead of attacking it. [cheers and applause] almost everywhere i go people who are in small business say why does it feel like the government treatme like i'm the enemy? the government is always on my back. and i know the president now has a plan to raise taxes on small business, taking the tax rate from 35% to 40%. the nfib, the national foundation of independent businesses, has said that will cost the president's -- jon: mitt romney in north las vegas, nevada, speaking about his plans for the economy. let's take you to the other side of the country now. president obama is speaking at the eisenhower executive office

building next door to the white house with. let's hear what the president has to say. >> but let's acknowledge we've with still got too many folks out there who are looking for work. we've got more work to do on their behalf. not only to reclaim all the jobs that were lost during the recession, but also to reclaim the kind of financial security that too many americans have felt was slipping away from them for too long. and we knew when i started in this job that this was going to take some time. we haven't had to come back from an economic crisis this deep or if this painful -- or this painful since the 1930s. but we also knew that if we were persistent, if we kept at it and kept working, that we'd gradually get to where we need to be. here's the thing, we are not going to get there, we're not going to get to where we need to be if we go back to the policies that helped to create this mess in the first place.

and the last thing that we should be doing is asking middle class families who are still struggling to recover from this recession the to pay more in taxes. rebuilding a strong economy begins with rebuilding our middle class. and what we should do right now is give middle class families and small business owners a guarantee that their taxes will not go up next year. when families have the security of knowing that their taxes won't go up, they're more likely to spend and more likely to grow the economy. when small business owners have certainty on taxes and can plan ahead, they're more likely to hire and create new jobs. and that benefits all of us. and that's why last week i was pleasantly surprised. i was glad to see the senate come together and extend tax cuts on the first $250,000 of

every family's income. that means 98% of americans won't see their income taxes go up next year. that means that 97% of small businesses wouldn't see their income taxes go up next year. not a single dime. that would be important. and that's why it's so disappointing that so far at least house republicans have refused to follow the senate's example and do the same thing. on wednesday they voted to hold these middle class tax cuts hostage unless we also spend a trillion dollars over the next decade on tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of americans. jon: so there you have it, the president and the man who wants to be president making their comments about the jobs and unemployment numbers just out this morning. interesting that both of them talked about small business during their remarks.

tracy byrnes is with the fox business network. this report today a mixed bag, what's the good news, tracy? >> well, good news is we got some job creation, right? we got about 163,000 jobs created net-net, manufacturing up 25,000 jobs. that actually was a surprise, it was 15,000 more than they were expecting. health care hired, service hired a ton. travel industry in particular. so we know that tourism is back. we saw that in the beige book the other day. so that's the good news. but, jon, unfortunately, there's some bad news too. the participation rate fell. that means the people that are out there looking for jobs, they're discouraged. they left. the all-in rate, that's all the people that have jobs, part-time people, full-time people, that actually has gone up because, well, part-time people want full-time work, they can't get it. we've got a lot more unemployed people than we want to have so, unfortunately, this is a really mixed bag. bottom line, though, we see that workers are discouraged and

payrolls are not keeping up with population at the end of the day. 8.3% unemployment, it's a calculation rounding error. there's two different surveys that take place. but again, at the end of the day we are with over 8% for well over 42 months, i think, and none of this is good for the economy. jon: and the statistics, we get so caught up in the numbers, but the fact is it's millions of people who cannot find a job, and that's the really heartbreaking part. >> absolutely.jon tracy byrnes from fox business, thank you. >> thanks, jon. jenna: we'll return to the jobs story, but in the meantime, we have this alert out of syria. a deadly barrage raining down on a palestinian refugee camp on the outskirts of da damascus. at least 21 people are dead, regime and rebel forces exchanging fire nearby at the time. it's not known which side actually fired the mortars which struck this camp. this as the u.n. takes up a resolution condemning syria's deadly crackdown on the

uprising. the vote comes after kofi annan, the guy that was trying to bring these people, these sides together, resigned citing divisions within the security council. that was the news we broke yesterday during our show. now 24 hours later the question is, what's next? david lee miller is live outside the u.n. headquarters with more. david lee? i'm not sure if david lee can hear us, obviously. i think he would start his report if he could. guys, do we have him? i also am not hearing the control room, so that's not going to be the most helpful thing. we're going to go back in a moment. we have a guest coming up that actually is saying we could see division inside the country. one of the questions becomes in this civil war, does the country actually divide? we're going to be talking about that. jon: one of the problems post-assad, assuming that happens, is who winds up in power in that country.

jenna: a big question. jon: big question and washington and elsewhere. a fox news weather alert for you now, strong storms knocking out power in the atlanta area. the national weather service lifting flash flood warnings for dekalb and fulton counties but not before heavy winds and rain sent trees crashing into buildings, including a restaurant right in the middle of dinner service. thankfully, no one was hurt. warnings are in effect for many tourist destinations as tropical storm ernesto moves through the caribbean. the storm was upgraded last night, it is expected to get more powerful in the coming days, could reach hurricane strength next week. rick reich muth is live in the fox extreme weather center. >> reporter: yeah, the official forecast brings it to hurricane strength within three days. right now a lot of very heavy rain towards the lesser antilles, vacation into ts -- spots, and they're getting

pummeled right now. places like martinique, st. lucia, barbados. everything pulls it off towards the west, some of them may be a little more towards the northwest, and that's when it becomes more interesting, potentially, in towards the gulf. here we are about 6 a.m. wednesday, so we're still about five days away from this, and we're talking about something certainly in the western gulf. one of the models that we like, the gfs, doesn't do anything with this. by about wednesday somewhere across the yucatan peninsula, and then it pulls in towards north mexico, south texas. but that's not until around eight days from now. so we've got a long ways to go here, jon. this is the official forecast. cancun certainly under the gun. but we have plenty to of time to continue to watch it, especially in the western gulf, places like texas will need to be watching this one. jon: dare i say it's been kind of a quiet hurricane season thus far? >> >> reporter: we are ahead of

average, usually we don't get to this number until the end of august, and we have some more things behind this, so i think we're going to be getting more active right about now. jon: okay, so i won't say it. rick reichmuth, thanks. >> reporter: you bet. jenna: california firefighters are trying to beat back a wildfire that's threatening about 100 homes in the shasta-trinity national forest. major power lines as well are also sitting in the danger zone. the fire consuming at least 900 acres and forcing evacuations near the community of o'brien. it also closed a section of interstate 5 where it started from, well, what some believe is, actually, humans started this fire a couple days ago. containment is at 20% as of last night, so we'll pay attention to that. jon: we are talking a lot about those unemployment numbers today, but another key sector of the economy is housing, and some new numbers show the housing market just might have bottomed out.

william la jeunesse live in our l.a. bureau with details. could the worst really be over, william? >> reporter: it's been a long time. like other indicators, housing is a yo-yo. before it goes up, it's got to hit bottom. several indicators tell us the market is on the rebound finally. prices in america's 20 largest city up 2.2% in april, rather, from april to may, while prices in 12 of the 20 markets are higher than a year ago,ing suggesting this upturn is not a fluke, and the collapse of '07 is over. why? interest rates are so low, lower than they've ever been, that's doing two things: forcing investors out of bonds into rental properties where they are getting cash flow and upside asset appreciation. the rates are also fueling the residential market. real estate web site true lease says it is cheaper to buy than to rent in 100 of our largest cities. >> right now the housing market is showing recovery. it's been driven by the traditional market forces, higher portability, rents

rising, therefore, tipping some of the representers into buying a home, and job creation. >> reporter: example, phoenix where home values fell by 60%. prices from april to may rose about 3% and 11% over the last 12 months. >> right now the market has bottomed out, and we're now escalating up to 3%. so that's really the good news in the valley for home buyers and home sellers. >> quite a significant drop to the point it was much more affordable and doable, so that's why we took the plunge and bought this house, and the other one is now for sale. >> reporter: other markets on the rebound, chicago, atlanta up 4%, april to may, tampa-miami 10% aided by foreign investors. jon: thanks, william. jenna: well, back to syria as more violence is taking place there. the government tanks are moving into the rebel strongholds in the capital, the last stronghold that the rebels have there.

this is a 16-month-of long uprising which has left up to 20,000 people dead. we're going to talk about some of our options straight ahead. jon: also senate majority leader harry reid, he accuses governor romney of not paying taxes for ten years, did you hear that? well, now romney is firing back. well, i had all the classic symptoms... like the elephant on my chest... he thought he was having a heart attack. she said, "take an aspirin, we need to go to the hospital." i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. i'm very grateful to be alive. aspirin really made a difference. [ music plays, record skips ] hi, i'm new ensure clear.

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jenna: right now some new questions about u.s. involvement in syria. the president, president obama, signing an order directing the cia and other agencies to help the syrian opposition, but this order stopped short of sending lethal arms to the rebels. after 16 months of of violence, an estimated 20,000 people have died in the uprising. opposition groups reportedly are starting to resent the west standing by while syrians are being slaughtered, so the big question, what now? tony door ran specializes in this region.

so, tony, what now? what do we do? >> well, i mean, essentially, the same situation has been going on now for several months. although the obama administration pursued a diplomatic option, that wasn't really an option. this was going to be a fight to the finish from the get go, and the united states has a strategic objective in syria which is the eradication of the asset regime, iran's strategic ally of several decades, and it should be doing all it can to make sure that that outcome comes about. jenna: and does that include weapons? >> i would say, yes. i mean, ultimately, the united states has to pick a side, and we are definitely not on assad's side, and we have to be giving those who oppose assad and are seeking to depose him the means to do so. jenna: you know, it's interesting, we were taking a look at some history for context to this story, and back in the 1980s, 1980-1981, assad's father murdered 25,000 people in the city of hama. so this has happened before.

we talk about the numbers today, tony, and they're certainly big, but this has actually happened in syria before, and the united states didn't get involved then, so why is now different? >> the assad -- this is a family that's been ruling syria for 40 years, and the way it has kept syria together is through violence. the thing is the violence this family has exercised is not only against its own people, its neighbors -- jordan, lebanon, israel -- it's also against u.s. servicemen and women, recently in iraq where this regime has facilitated the axis of foreign fighters coming into iraq to kill americans. is so the history of this family is definitely soaked with blood, and it's not only syrian blood, it's also american blood. jenna: so it sounds like you're saying we need to talk about assad as an enemy. >> he has always been an enemy of the united states, and there's a reason why syria under assad has been on the terrorism, state sponsor of terrorism list

since 1979. i mean, they have supported every sort of terrorism directed against the west, against israel, against allies in the region since the list was formed in 9796789. jenna: tony, the united united s is taking another look, another vote at a resolution against syria. it doesn't include the resignation of assad. you're seeing some live pictures on our screen of the general assembly discussing this. what role, if any, does the u.n. have to play now? >> at this point i don't think the united nations really has any possibility to play any role. i mean, especially with the russian veto being the way it is. russia has interests in syria that are diametrically opposed to ours, and the idea we can reach an agreement with the russians on this has been a fantasy, in my opinion, from the get go. so i think the united nations security council has been largely irrelevant from the outset, and the fact that the obama administration decided that's the only route it's going to go suggests, as many have

proposed, that this is the way for the administration to appear as though it's doing something without actually having to do anything. jenna: sixteen months in we wonder when, if a change comes, will it come? tony, thank you so much for your insights today. >> thank you. jon: those new numbers are in on the economy just this morning, and they are a mixed bag. the unemployment rate rises in july despite more than 160,000 new jobs added. our panel breaks it down with jenna next. and some fishermen spring into action to save a bear cub fighting to stay afloat locked in a whirlpool, the little guy crying for help. their firsthand account of how they saved his life. ooh, and what did mama bear have to say? is that's coming up. [ kyle my bad. [ roger ] tell me you have good insurance. yup, i've got... [ voice of dennis ] ...allstate. really? i was afraid you'd have some cut-rate policy.

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jenna: welcome back, everyone, to "happening now." we want to take a little closer look at the jobs report, those new numbers on the jobs market that we got today, and kind of take a peek behind some of the numbers we saw. more private sector jobs were created than what economists thought. but we did see the unemployment rate go up to 8.3%, that's up from 8.2. the white house, by the way, is saying that the real unemployment rate is 8.25, so we're rounding up here. just a note, just a note of caution because you might see that splashed across the papers tomorrow morning. sometimes the unemployment rate goes up when the amount of discouraged workers goes down because more people get inspired to enter the work force, and that can sometimes be viewed as a good thing. but that's not the case here. we're actually seeing this month more people added to this category, the folks that have given up looking for work, and right now total unemployed is at 12.8 million. now, the bigger number that we

also look at is this u6 number. this includes all the discouraged work withers, all the folks that don't have full-time unemployment, that have temporary employment. that's at 15%, and this is a big number to take a look at as well. more than 23 million americans -- so that's one out of seven of us -- that are in the labor force are somehow affected in this way, either out of work, discouraged or temporarily employed. mike santoli is joining us on our panel, he's from barron's magazine, steve moore is also with us, he's a writer for "the wall street journal," jeffrey frankel, a harvard professor who was also economic adviser for bill clinton is joining us as well. mike, let me just start with you. if you could give a grade to the unemployment report, what grade would you give it today? is. >> well, it's probably in the c +/b -range, the the same grade you would have been giving it. it's better than fear, we didn't want to see a further deterioration in the labor force. we didn't see that. it stopped a string of more

disappointing numbers. but really this is right on the 12-month average of net job gains somewhere around 160,000. so it's unsatisfying, but it's still steady, if uninspiring growth. jenna: jeff, one of the ways this was described this morning and the many commentators it's not bad enough to cause a panic, but not good enough to reaffirm all the policies that have been in place over the last couple years. how do you see it? >> well, i think 163,000 jobs created is a good number, it's better than expected, and if we continued at that rate, we would bring the unemployment rate down gradually. so i think this will be perceived as good news politically for obama overall. but in one month, as we all know, it doesn't really matter. the previous three months were disappointingly month over the string, the three before that quite strong. the only sensible thing to do is look over the last year or two years, that's where the real story is. jenna: steve, what do you think about that? the trend is better. >> yeah, look, i think that is

the point, that we should be looking at the two, three-year average, and that has been dismal. we've had the slowest job rate growth of any recovery, obviously, since the great recession, since the great depression, actually. and so these numbers are, you know, they're kind of middle, but it's interesting because there's two surveys -- i don't want to get too much in the weeds here, but if you look at the survey they do of households, that reflects the reduction in the people who are looking for work. and maybe the most important statistic of all is the labor force participation rate continues to fall, and that accentuates the point you just made, jenna, that about one out of seven americans now either doesn't have a job, isn't looking for a job or can't find a full-time job. those are abysmal numbers. jenna: so the big question then, jeff, is how do we make it better? what's the next move? >> first, first, let me clarify what the long run trend is. if you average over the last, let's say two, year, the average race of monthly growth is

137,000 per month. nowhere near what we want, nowhere near what we need. but compare it to the bush administration. forget the first year when a recession hit, forget the last year, just pick the six years in between those two recessions. the average rate of job growth is 76,000 per month. so this is getting close to twice that. and if you just look at private sector employment, the difference is even bigger. jenna: mike, often it's hard to make comparisons -- and i know we all do -- but when we look back on the bush year, we have to remember 9/11, the wars that were started. but some suggest, mike, as well that there's a limit to policy and what policy can do for the economy overall. >> well, there's no doubt there's a limit to what policy can do. i think you have to put it in the context of we have an extremely slow growth world economy right now, and the u.s. is holding up better than other economies, especially europe, of course. so it's not so much what was done here that can move the

needle on a month or a few months' basis. i do think the markets are celebrating because, a, it was not add because add feared and, b, it was also not good enough that the fed will be disquaided from doing something to further stimulate the economy. so it doesn't really mean this is all better. it doesn't mean that there's an easy way out of this really sluggish job picture. what it does mean is, you know, it's kind of more of the same, unfortunately. jenna: more of the same, steve? >> yeah, you know, i just don't see where the growth is going to come from. you know, we just had a vote yesterday on extending the tax cuts. i think if we don't do that, businesses are going to continue to be in a cocoon, they're not going to hire more workers in the face of higher capital gains and higher dividend, small business taxes. i think the economy is prepped for an expansion. i think washington is holding it back right now through tax and regulatory policy. jenna: two different schools of thought on that. steve, michael, jeffrey, nice to have you all today. thank you so much. >> thank you, jenna. >> thanks.

jon: boycotts and buycotts, demonstrations spreading across the country for and against the chick-fil-a company. why is the story not getting coverage in some leading newspapers? our news watch panel takes a look at that straight ahead. questions? anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'.

jon: right now millions of americans are taking sides in the controversy surrounding chick-fil-a. the head of that very popular fast food chain sparked all kinds of protests by announcing

that he opposes same-sex marriage. well, when word got out about the protests, supporters lined up, customers flooded chick-fil-a restaurants across the country in a huge show of support. but most americans didn't find out about the controversy from the mainstream media. there was extensive coverage in some smaller regional papers, but none of the leading national papers covered the story on the front page. let's talk about it with rich lowry, the editor of "the national review." did this story deserve coverage, rich? >> i think so. it was a big event. you had hundreds of thousands of people turning out at these restaurants to show their support, and beyond that, jon, it's just kind of interesting. it involves a hot button culture issue, involves waffle fries and fried chicken. you'd think that makes good copy, but it was almost ignored in the major newspapers and in the broadcast networks for a couple reasons, i think. one is a lot of these reporters just aren't plugged into these social conservative networks

where this kind of bubbled up from mike huckabee and other talk radio show hosts and on facebook, they're not plugged into that. and, two, they have very little sympathy for these protesters. there was a reporter down in florida who got in trouble because he posted on facebook these contemptuous, insulting remarks about the pro-chick-fil-a protesters, and i think that is the way most reporters probably regard these folks even though they're not as blatant about it. jon: well, and chick-fil-a restaurants on wednesday were flooded with supporters. i mean, there were lines out the door, and i guess there were rumors out there that they may have set some kind of a sales record for the amount of food they dispensed on wednesday, again, to supporters who are specifically going there to try to show their support either for the coo's position or for the fact that this is a free country, and you can say what you want. >> yeah. and another thing, jon, like, i knew lots of people who went and took part in this day and had a

lot of fun doing it and e-mailed around about it. i'm sure, you know, the average reporter from "the new york times" knew no one who took part in this whatsoever. and i think the broader trend which is very disturbing is, i think, this kind of bullying of people who have traditional views on issues like gay marriage is going to continue. it's one thing to have a boycott, that's an exercise of liberty. but it's bleeding over into the governmental sphere, and you saw this in the chick-fil-a controversy where you had mayors and city council people -- jon: yeah. >> -- saying they were going to use the powers of government to crack down on this company because they don't like the views of its leadership. jon: right. let's bring into the discussion judith miller, pulitzer prize-winning investigative reporter and author. judy, what about that? rahm emanuel, the former white house, you know, obama chief of staff is now mayor of chicago, he said chick-fil-a doesn't represent chicago, and he tried to lobby against expansion

there. same with the mayor of boston. should government be telling these businesses you can't come into our towns just because we don't like the way your coo thinks? >> well, obviously not. and i agree with rich, that's exactly what's happened here. every corporate executive to any american citizen has a right to express a view. you as a consumer have a right not to go to chick-fil-a if you object to the ceo's views. but when government starts deciding what is consistent with chicago or boston or new york values, they're really stepping over the line. and many, many liberal commentators, i'm happy to say, pointed this out and said this is a free speech issue. all you have to do is avoiding the chicken wings if you don't like his views. but this has really gone over the top. on the other hand, the media themselves have really been very critical of the reaction. jon: and the point was made by the company's pr person that, you know, it's not like they have a sign on the door that

says gays are not welcome here or something like that. this was the chief operationing officer expressing his opinion. and the company, you know, says we welcome anybody to come in. if you don't like our chicken, don't buy it, but we welcome anybody. >> well, some companies, some commentators have said, though, jon, that the company's policies actually go beyond that. there are several commentators that have pointed out that there have been discrimination suits filed by gay employees against the company. there haven't been very many given the fact they have about 1600 outlets, i think there have been about 12 in the past 12 years. but still the argument's being made that the company discriminates. i have yet to see that in the outcome of these lawsuits. but it doesn't matter. what goes -- what's really at issue here is whether or not what someone says rather than what they actually do should effect their right to own and operate a business in a city.

and i don't think mayors should be making that decision, and a lot of journalists agree with that. jon: yeah. rich, rahm emanuel got on the podium and said chick-fil-a's values are not chicago's values. based on what happened at those restaurants around the country, i'm not sure -- he may be eating his words. [laughter] >> also, jon, a lot of people consider that a backhanded or inadvertent compliment to say you don't have chicago values, the way that country is run by its politicians. [laughter] jon: yeah. chicago being the murder capital of the united states right now. [laughter] >> exactly. jon: at least rahm emanuel managed to keep his news conference free of four-letter epithets. at any rate, thank you both, judy miller, rich lowry. thanks. >> thanks, jon. jon: and we will have more tomorrow, 2:30 eastern time. our panelists assemble to cover the coverage of the big stories of of the week. jenna: new reaction from baseball hall of famer cal

ripken on his mother's abduction. vi ri ripken was taken from her home, later found unharmed nearby. how she's doing now, a week later, and why ripken believe that is this crime was premeditated. and one man not happy about his arrest, so he did this: jon: whoa. jenna: how? the whole story, next. man: there's a cattle guard, take a right. do you have any idea where you're going ? wherever the wind takes me. this is so off course. nature can surprise you sometimes... next time, you drive. next time, signal your turn. ...that's why we got a subaru. love wherever the road takes you. [ music plays, record skips ] hi, i'm new ensure clear.

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jenna: well, baseball legend cal ripken, jr. is speaking out today about his mother's abduction. 74-year-old vi ripken was taken at gunpoint last week. she was found safe the next day. ripken says the experience has been traumatic for the entire family, but his mom is getting back to a normal life. >> my mom has gone to her granddaughter's softball game, she's gone to the iron birds games, she's continued to live her life, she's going to the

beauty parlor n ways that she wants to. she refuses to let that effect it to that point. but, you know, from a mental traumatic stand point, you know, she's, she's still a little shaky, and we're all a little shaky. -and-a-half pennsylvania a little scary and a little strange, this story. molly henneberg's live from d.c. with more. molly? >> reporter: this case is a bit of a mystery, mainly because authorities don't know what this guy's motive was, why he abducted vi ripken from his home. he made no demands and, thankfully, returned her unharmed -- at least physically -- the next day. aberdeen, maryland, police believe they know what the abductor may look like. white male in the his late 30s, early 40s, around 5-10. police need help in tracking him down. today cal ripken, jr., a hall of famer who set a baseball record for most consecutive games played, was asked if he thinks the abductor was targeting his

family. >> i don't know. i mean, no one fully knows the motivation, um, or the reason why this occurred. and i would imagine you have to investigate all possibilities. it's quite possible it could have been a random act, it's quite possible it could have been more than that. >> reporter: police have also released this surveillance video of the suspect. ripken said today that the abduction, quote, had to be premeditated because the guy brought materials with him to tie up his mom. ripken says his mom has not yet returned to that house. ripken spoke about the night his mom was taken. he called it the, quote, worst feeling imaginable, when he got a call late last tuesday night from his sister saying police wanted to know if they could account for their mom, there was a report of of a car being taken and a person being tied up in the back. when the family couldn't find his mom, he got in his own car and started driving around maryland looking for her because he had to do something. ripken said it was, quote, a

horrible night, and he and his family prepared themselves for the worst and, obviously, were extremely thankful when the abductor left vi close to her home the next day. jenna? jenna: more on in the as we get it, molly, thank you. jon: well, life on the farm is supposed to be peaceful, right? especially in a place like vermont. you know, lots of pretty scenery, green trees, granite and that kind of thing? well, cops say a farmer there went on a rampage there with his tractor, and their department bore the brunt of it. harris faulkner, what's that all about? >> reporter: yeah. i don't think anybody had any idea 34-year-old roger pion might be so upset, apparently not police in newport, vermont, jon. at least not until they saw this. five marked squad cars, one unmarked car and a transport van smashed. that's half the fleet of the very's department in this rural county. the culprit driving a big old family farm tractor. they say he was angry about his

recent arrest for marijuana possession. the damage? more than $300,000. the sheriff says no one was hurt. the vehicles were parked and empty, and the officers were inside headquarters working. the roofs, hoods, crushed. the radios, radar detectors, ruined. even the cages inside the vehicles flattened. they plan to use the jaws of life now to pry open the trunks of these vehicles to see about the rifles and the shotguns inside. and i mentioned half the fleet of the cars was hit? the other half were out on patrol at the time. and moments after that they tracked down the offending tractor. roger pion held now in the state police barracks not far away from this town. no word on what his new charges will be after this incident, jon? jon: and i guess they couldn't chase him on the tractor because they didn't have any patrol cars in the lot. >> reporter: no. they had to call the other half of the fleet that was out, and they all had to come back from, you know, crime solving, what they were doing, to go after the tractor. jon: leaves you scratching your

head, doesn't it? >> reporter: i've been to vermont, but only for berry picking. i didn't know this sort of thing happened. [laughter] jon: thanks for bringing us that one. jenna: you like to fish, right? jon: i do, yes. jenna, well, these fishermen stumbled across something a little unusual, if you will, in the alaska wilderness. >> uh-oh. jenna: a tiny bear cub caught in a deadly whirlpool and fighting for its life. it's the quick thinking of two men that helped give this story a happy ending. there they are. we're going to talk to them about this incredible story, coming up. jon: he's got a bear shirt. ♪ constipated? yeah. mm. some laxatives like dulcolax can cause cramps. but phillips' caplets don't. they have magnesium. for effective relief of occasional constipation. thanks. [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life.

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jon: even in the wilds of alaska it's not something you see every day. three guys out on a fishing trip when they encounter a family of brown bears. but the men quickly realized something was wrong. mom and one of her cubs got out of the water okay, but this one was left behind, caught in a whirlpool and fighting for its life. at one point you can actually hear the little bear choking on the water as he or she is struggling to say afloat. >> uh-oh. >> now we're in it. jon: so what did these guys do? well, we'll let them tell you. joining us now two, of the three men in that boat, dustin kopacki and his dad, mike polis. so you guys are in a dory boat, basically, floating down the river, big water in alaska, frigid, too, we might add.

you see this big old brown bear, that's basically alaska's version of the grizzly, right? >> that's correct. >> so she's climbing out of the water, what, you startled her? >> she just, her and her other cub got out of the water when they noticed us coming around the bend and left that other cub to swim around in the water. jon: okay. and the cub is caught in a whirlpool or something, couldn't get to shore? >> that's right. it was just kind of, the trying to swim towards shore, and as it was trying to do that, the current just kept pushing it back towards us, and we ended up getting in the whirlpool with it, and that's kind of how we got into the soft water. jon: so we can kind of hear it as, you know, i've watched the tape, you can kind of hear the confusion. you guys don't quite know what to do. you didn't want to bring the bear cub into the boat. why not, mike? >> well, our fear was if we bring the cub into the boat, then mom's going to come off the

shore, and the story's going to be a little different, and the story would probably be about you guys still picking the three fishermen out of the river. so we just wanted to get it out of that fast water. jon: just for our viewers' edification can, how big was mom, would you guess? >> she was definitely not the biggest one we've seen, but she was, she was a pretty big girl. >> probably 3-400 pounds or something like that. >> yeah, that sounds about right. jon: with some serious claws that would lay you open if she thought you were molesting her little cub there. all right, so the bear -- >> right. jon: you pull out the fishing net and gave the thing a little nudge? >> we pulled out the net, and it was obvious that this thing was so distressed, it was trying to climb into the net, trying to climb into the boat. it really wanted us to help it. we just, we got lucky on a few of those circles, we were able to finally break the current with the side of the boat and push him on out of the current, and he did get to shore.

jon: all right. so the end of the story is the cub made it to shore, and did mama thank you? >> we didn't hear mama thank us, but when the cub got to shore, he did let out two more of those little cries that we believe was a thank you because he definitely was happy that we helped him out. jon: well, a great story. mike, dustin, we'll put it on our web site and let our viewers, if they want to check it out more, can find out more about what happened. great story. thanks for saving that little bear. and we'll be right back. >> hey, thanks, guys, for having us. jon: you bet. >> thank you. ♪ [muc plays] ♪ [music plays] that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm.

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it is a very controversial fight over early voting rights in a crucial battleground state. welcome to "america live," everyone, i'm alisyn camerota in for megyn kelly today. the obama campaign has filed suit against ohio, this is an ohio law that grants special voting privileges to military members. the law allows early voting, servicemen and women, they can vote up until the monday before the election. well, the rest of the public has only until that friday, november 2nd before election day to cast their early votes. the state of ohio is going to court to block the obama campaign, and a half dozen military groups are now asking a judge's permission to do the same. chris stirewalt is our fox news digital politics editor and host of power play on foxnews.com. chris, what is the problem here? >> the problem here is that the

president and his campaign would like to have the polls open as long as possible in ohio. they call it in-person absentee. they'd like to see it continue until the polls open on november 6th. they carved out a little area for military personnel, in case they were on-duty, and there are military installation tph-s ohio, wright patterson, air force base. they created a couple extra days for service members to go in. the obama campaign says, no, including the democrats that they are trying to mobilize in cleveland and cincinnati, they are trying to get them to the polls. the military says wait a minute this is a special privilege that was granted to military members so they could do this. it was not designed just to have inch person early voting all the way to election day. >> reporter: this is one of the things that is curious about the story. there are a whole bunch ofth