>> reporter: general allen, the tom commander here that the attacks are erosion of trust that really undermined the overall effort here in afghanistan where u.s. troops are trying to build up the afghan security forces but having u.s. and international troops train the afghan security forces. as we see a drawdown of u.s. troops here in afghanistan one of the disturbing trends that may make the problem from worse, it was equal amount of u.s. and afghan troops on patrol. now we're seeing three or four u.s. troops patrolling with 15 or 20 afghan troops. that puts more u.s. troops in danger. the u.s. military says they have to build on trust and work on training and root out the insurgents part of the afghan security forces. they don't have a good answer how they're going to do that, rick. rick: conner powell, live from kabul, afghanistan. thanks. heather: rick, for a little context on the so-called

green on blue killing, when afghan forces wearing afghan uniforms ascribed when they turn their weapons on nato soldiers the pace of these at trashgs has risen steadily since 2009. there were almost as as many reported in first seven months of this year as all of last year. half of the attacks are said to be carried out by taliban infell traitors. -- infiltrate tore. rick: governor mitt romney raising big bucks and hitting the road in the race for the white house following up a string of fund-raisers with a bus tour through some key swing states, florida, ohio, and north carolina. at any time we could learn who governor romney picked to be his running mate. steve hayes, writer for "the weekly standard" and fox news contributor. >> good morning, rick. rick: i want to talk about "fox news" polling numbers that came out yesterday

afternoon, early evening. look at this first one. the choice for president among registered voters. back in july, steve, the president had a four percentage point lead but that has grown now. we're looking at a nine point lead for president obama, if you're in the romney camp how troubling is that? >> well i think you've got to be worried. i think he has had by all accounts difficult several weeks here. a lot of negative coverage of his trip overseas, some of it undeserved in my view. he had attacks, consistent attacks on his tax cuts. he on his unwillingness to release hess tax returns. he had attacks on bain capital. he has been sort of on the defensive for the past several weeks. i think that is what we're seeing to some extent in these polls. rick: there was a lead for governor romney when it comes to the economy. when people were asked who they trust to do a better job with the economy the governor has a slight lead there. we can put those numb

business up there, 46% very just 4% of people who said they would trust the president with the economy. still that number is within the margin of error and it is four points lower than it was two months ago, steve. >> if you look at the broad economic context we're talking about here, you've had six months of not just bad but very bad economic news for the president that should have left the white house on the defensive. unemployment at 8.3%. you've had economic growth slowing pretty considerably. you've got a very poor economic environment, 3 1/2 years after this president ran as the guy who could fix the economy. those numbers have to be bigger for mitt romney to win in november, i want to know what you think about the effect the up in members might have on governor romney's choice on the a running mate. first on the choice of the running mate. second on the time of that announcement. could he be compelled to to bolder because of these numbers and also maybe push up the time frame when he

makes an ounce nont to be positive and grab headlines. >> the good one would be even better numbers but i think there is stronger case now not just because the "fox news" polling but because of polling we've seen across the spectrum that suggests even if democrats are overrepresented in these samples they suggest some sort of movement towards president obama over the past several weeks. that has to give them concern. i think it is one of the reasons we've heard so much talk about paul ryan. one of the reasons, at this point, if i had to guess, i would have been skeptical three weeks ago. but today i would say there is more, a better chance paul ryan is chosen than he is not chosen as mitt romney's vice-presidential running mate. rick: steve, thanks for talking with us. steve is a senior writer for "the weekly standard" and a fox news contributor. we'll see you soon. >> thank you. heather: speaking of possible vp candidates,

louisiana governor bobby joined call campaigning for president rom governor romney in colorado. >> median income has gone down nearly $3,000. 22,000 fewer coloradans with jobs across the country. median family income gone down $4,000 and unemployment above 8% over 4 months. every year president obama has been in office, the national debt has gone over a trillion dollars. we simply can't afford four more years of the taxing increases and spending increases and borrowing policies from this administration. that's why we're here. we're here to make sure folks know this is an important election. we need to make sure the american dream is available to our children and grandchildren. heather: governor jindal considered by many to be on governor romney's short list for running mate. he has been busy campaigning for the presumptive republican nominee since june. jindal has traveled, to

illinois, utah, ohio, pennsylvania, iowa and florida. colorado by the way is in play for republicans this year despite president obama defeating senator john mccain by a nearly 10 point march begin in 2008. rick: remember, fox news is america's election headquarters. america's newsroom will be live in tampa for the republican convention and in charlotte for the dnc and in prime time. join bret baier and megyn kelly with entire fox news election team for complete analysis. heather: busy time for all of us. in other news bad weather around the world triggering a huge spike in food prices here at home. now the rising cost of feeding a family is threatening to slow down the global economic recovery. stuart varney is anchor of "varney & company" on the fox business network and he joins us now with more. good morning, stu. >> good morning heather. look, agricultural products, products at the farm level, the price of those products

eventually find its way into the grocery store for the price of food that you pay at the grocery store. well the truth is that those basic farm products are spiking in price. just look at this. because of the drought here at home in america, we have the price of corn up nearly half, 47%, since june. and the price of soybeans has gone up by a quarter, 26% just since june. the news this morning from the u.s. agriculture department, the harvest for corn and soybeans will be the worst we've seen in many, many years which means prices will go up some more. the bottom line, heather, that food price inflation is right very close to it. here it comes. you could see it coming. heather: stu, those prices going up. beef prices are going down. why is that? >> that is an anomaly. beef prices are going down because cattle in america for beef are fed on corn. corn is very expensive. farmers know they will have to pay a fortune to feed the

cattle in the fall and winter. so i hate to say it, heather. they're slaughtering them now so the supply of beef on the market is very, very strong. so prices of beef are falling now. heather: i like that word anomaly. you mentioned corn, going back to that, are we still going to burn 40% of the corn crop for ethanol and why? >> yes we are. there is a man state that every year we convert corn into approximately 15 billion gallons of ethanol. that is mandated by law. congress is in recess. the administration doesn't want to change that mandate. even though corn supplies are way, way down and the price is way, way up, we will still be burning an awful lot of our corn for ethanol, rather than for cattle feed or human consumption. heather: stuart varney, thank you so much for joining us. we'll catch you on the fox business network. >> thank you. heather: thank you. rick: coming up new controversy in a fiercely contested senate battle. a state spend more than a

quarter of a million dollars to send out voter registration letters to one group of people. why some are arguing the move is politically motivated. heather: new fallout from the pro-obama ad that links governor mitt romney to a woman's death. you heard about this. we're talk about it with former presidential candidate mike huckabee and we'll ask him about the romney team's response to the whole thing. rick: reports of another solyndra type grant gone wrong. this time could be even bigger problem for the white house. we'll explain why. last time i was at a sleepover my parents had kraft mac & cheese without me. so this time, i took precautionary measures. looking for these? [ rattling ] [ male announcer ] kraft macaroni & cheese. you know you love it.

heather: welcome back. incredible video out of colorado of a man engaged in a four-hour standoff with a s.w.a.t. team. the 34-year-old suspect allegedly stabbed his father and then punched his mother before officers arrived. the s.w.a.t. team cautiously approach the home once on the scene, first sending in a robot. but the suspect tossed it back out the front door. they fired a tear gas

canister into the home but the suspect threw that back too. officers eventually subdued the man with the help of a taser. rick: nothing but mud in the 2012 presidential campaign as both candidates ramp up attacked as last week. several political candidates says the negative campaigning has reached a new low this election season. former arkansas governor mike huckabee was a 2008 presidential candidate. we were warned it was going to get ugly. >> it is just august. this kind of stuff happens in october. we're seeing this level of negative campaigning in august, when no one is really paying attention to politics we better buckle up and put on the heavy-duty armor. it is going to be nasty. rick: you were pretty much universally praised for the tone of your campaign in '08 when you were going for the republican nomination. >> i lost too, rick. rick: i want to ask you about that. first of all why do

candidates resort to these kind of tactics? >> the tragedy is works. i hate it. i deplore it. i didn't use it. i don't want to win in a way i have to be ashamed of. i rather honestly not win in office if you have to lose your integrity and soul in order to do it. but the fact is negative advertising works. remember the election is not decided by intently tuned in political voter. they're appalled by this and they know what the facts are but the elections are won by 10 or 12% of voters in six or seven states who really aren't paying that much attention to the details. they just get it, 12, 15-second big hits and a negative ad works with folks like that. rick: we just did a segment with steve hayes. we looked at "fox news" polling that just came out. apparently it is working. the negative ads that the obama campaign and pro-obama super packs put out there apparently helped the president to a substantial

lead. >> the one risk he takes. people want to elect someone they like. if he is continues and perceived by november to be a person who has gone deep into the mud to get there. it could affect his likeability. that could be negative. despite this is run by super pac, his campaign said we don't know about it, what a lie that turned out to be, with stephanie cut iron a conference dal. when you're explaining, the romney campaign said he left in 1999. this guy didn't lose his job for two more years. i wasn't there. it was three more years, his wife lost her job, three more years after that she got cancer. maxim in politics when you're explaining you're losing simple as that. rick: what advice do you have for governor romney. you stayed positive and lost. >> yeah. rick: what would you tell governor romney? >> to be fair i think my losing had as much to do with not having enough money. that will not be mitt romney's problem. he does have to be tough. the key thing using surrogates to make the most

harsh message. romney doesn't want himself established as the attack dog. the vp pick, that is one of roles the person will have to play and surrogates and other people out on his behalf can say things he doesn't really want to be seen saying but they have to lay the groundwork and punch hard. one thing about an election you can't win it anymore than a boxing match if you have only one punch. you may have a great jab. you have to have upper punch and sidewinder and a lot of things in the arsenal. the romney team has more than a one punch up their sleeve. rick: are you a sidewinder? >> only if i have to. rick: as a republican, governor, are you happy with the direction of your party right now? are you happy with it the message put out there by candidates at national, state, local levels? is it inclusive enough, is it broad enough when you take into consideration the growing demographics of this country, changing demographics? >> i don't think it is a matter of not being broad enough. i don't think it is specific

enough. i do think republicans have a problem we're not drilling down and saying, not we're going to create jobs, how. people want to know how you're going to do it. they want some specifics. they want two and three point plans that make sense to them. they want it delivered in language that makes real sense. sometimes you have analysts who are giving all these detailed answers that sound like something that comes out of a cpa convention. what we need is to be able to say something simple, if barack obama keeps his job you may lose yours. if barack obama loses his job you may get to keep yours. explain how you will make it so businesses can hire people again. explain how tax increases, that's the money that the employer would have used to hire you but if he is paying the government he can't pay you. make it simple but be specific. i don't think we're doing nearly what we we ought to be doing on that level. rick: you make it sound pretty easy. >> it is not easy but we have to make it where it can be understood by american casually listening as he is

driving on the freeway. rick: as we goat closer and closer to november, those casual listeners or people not listening are going to start. >> they will start listening. they will not listen to a 57-point plan. they listen to something said in seven words or 15 seconds. rick: good to talk you as always, governor mike huckabee. catch "huckabee" on weekends, 8:00 p.m. eastern time here on fox news channel. >> good to be with you, rick. rick: heather. heather: three u.s. soldiers shot dead by a gunman in an afghan uniform. what does the latest tragedy tell us about the mission in afghanistan? rick: did a swim in a lake cause a 9-year-old boy his life? a rare brain infection killed him days later. we'll tell you what health officials suspect may be lurking in the water.

rick: developing right now in "america's newsroom.". hundreds of nuns are meeting in st. louis to decide how to respond to a vatican order to reform. a report criticizing the group as dissenters who have not promoted church sanctioned policies on abortion and gay marriage. the group represents 80% of all u.s. nuns. jcpenney reporting bigger than expected losses in the second quarter. sales are down almost 23%. customers are apparently turn off by a pricing plan that replaces00 of sales with every day low prices. female pro surfers making history in california. 80% of the world's best competing in the paul mitchell super girl pro surfing championship in oceanside, california. it is the first all-woman competition. it runs through saturday. heather i could see you on a

surfboard. heather: i would love to do that. rick: have you been on a surfboard. heather: i would love to try it how about you? rick: no. i don't have the blond hair. i don't think i could get away with it. heather: maybe some streaks. switching gears entirely, thousands of people gathering in oak creek, wisconsin, today to pay respects to the victims of the sikh temple massacre. as we learn more about the suspect wade michael page. rick leventhal is live for us in oak creek. and, rick, we understand the memorial service has been expanded to accommodate large crowds? >> reporter: yes, heather. they're expecting thousands of people here. that's why they expanded the service from two to four hours. some very dark clouds have rolled in above the oak creek high school where the memorial service will take place. you can see the half dozen hearses parked out front. they have just brought the caskets inside the gymnasium. if you look to the right you see the large police presence out here.

heavy security guarding the parking lot. you see some members of the sikh community entering the doors to the gymnasium there inside. we can give you a live look inside the gymnasium where the ceremony will begin about 30 minutes from now, paying final respects to those half dozen sikh worshippers killed by a white supremacist on sunday morning. there will be prayers and hymns and speeches. this will be an open casket event. afterwards the mourners return to the temple for a 48 hour ceremony to remember the victims. in addition governor scott walker will be in attendance. attorney general eric holder is expected to speak at noon eastern time. u.s. representative paul ryan will be here as well, heather. heather: rick, what more have we learned about the shooter himself? >> reporter: well we've heard stories about how troubled he was. one of the stories is roughly 15 years ago his army buddies went to his apartment and banging on his

door had to break in and thinking he may have killed himself after breaking up with another ex-girlfriend, they found him drunk, passed out on the floor. we heard from a downstairs neighbor who said it was very clear to her that this man had serious psychological problems and should have been getting some kind of help for it. instead as we now know on sunday morning he went to the temple and opened fire on a number of worshippers before killing himself, heather. heather: thank you very much have. we appreciate your coverage. rick leventhal, thanks. meantime a massive taxpayer-funded voter registration drive in one state raising some eyebrows. an incumbent senator is saying something smells wrong because his opponent's daughter led the charge. we'll talk about that. rick: also a fisherman stranded when his boat sinks. then the situation goes from bad too much, much worse. >> a massive hammerhead shark circling around him. probably about 20 meters from him. he is putting his hands

together praying. there is boat behind him. mate, turn around and have a look.

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who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands a year in out-of-pocket costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. heather: welcome back. back to our top story for you. three u.s. servicemembers have been killed in southern afghanistan. we understand that the gunman was an afghan sealedder. it is the third time this week that someone who appeared to be our ally has attacked coalition forces and these type of attacks have gone up dramatically in

recent years leaving some to question if afghanistan is really ready to handle its own security. and peter brookes is a former cia officer and senior fellow for national security affairs at the heritage foundation. he joins us with more insight. thanks for joining us, first of all. >> good to be with you. heather: looking at the numbers the pace of the attacks has risen steadily since 2009. almost as many reports in the first seven months of this year as in all of last year. behind all the numbers, we have names. we have families left behind. loved ones left behind. how can we stop these attacks? >> it is very, very difficult to do. this is tragic reminder we're still at war in afghanistan and brave young americans are putting their lives on the line for us. i mean our national defense. unfortunately this is the third attack on coalition forces in a week. third attack in a week. and the trend line is not good as you pointed out, heather. it is very difficult to vet

these forces we're training. it's a challenging job but it must be done. i'm very alarmed by the fact a lot of these attacks are perpetrated by taliban infiltrators. people that have penetrated these organizations and the real problem is it will wund mind the trust between american and afghan troops. you have to remember besides the training evolutions going on, training the police and the afghan army they're also out on patrol with afghan forces. american forces are standing side by side, shoulder to shoulder with afghan forces. you have to wonder about the level of trust. that will undermined the training and undermined the effectiveness of them working together in the field against the taliban. heather: i put this question online and on twitter and facebook and the response i always get back from troop members who are there, they want to know what is the biggest threat to stabilization in afghanistan? >> well i think it obviously is the insurgency. there are many, many

challenges in afghanistan, heather. economic challenges. this is a country that doesn't have, it is not industrialized. there are the drug problems. remember afghanistan is the largest producer of opium in the world. you have governmental problems. governance is new to these people. democracy is new to these people. you have the insurgency are finding safe haven in a place like afghanistan. this is a tough neighborhood. the number of challenges that face afghanistan are huge. luckily we have brave forces out there willing to help to try to bring this country to a better future. they should be in our thoughts and prayers and safety for their safe return to the united states. heather: the western combat role scheduled to end in 2014. give the violence that continues, how realistic is this transition? >> well you know i have always had a problem with arbitrary deadlines especially when it comes to the conflict. heather, think about it. you want to do what you need to do to end this in a successful way for u.s.

interests, not based on some sort of artificial political timeline. you have to see the what the situation is on the ground. that is my problem with iraq and that is the same problem we'll have in afghanistan. if you look at the situation in iraq, in a way it is different than afghanistan. afghanistan is not iraq. afghanistan is another challenge. potential of safe haven and terrorists to rerise in al qaeda. you have to do what you have to do to protect and advance american interests. that shouldn't be based on a date sometime in the future. heather: thank you so much. >> thank you. heather: we appreciate your help today, peter brookes, thanks. >> good to be with you. rick: new controversy in one of the country's most closely watched senate races. massachusetts republican senator scott brown accusing his state's welfare department of helping his opponent. democratic candidate elizabeth warren. molly line is love in -- live in boston. the state is saying they're

just complying with federal law, right? >> reporter: absolutely. half a million welfare recipients have received voter registration because of a court settle mane. republicans are crying foul. they say that is political move to get voters to help candidate elizabeth warren. the price tag here is $275,000 in taxpayer money and the issue here isn't so much about the money according to brown's campaign but the real smoking gun that warren's daughter, amelia warren tiagi, is involved, chair of board of trustees of demos, an organization one of plaintiffs in the lawsuit that argued massachusetts failed to meet federal requirements to give people the opportunity to sign up to vote when they signed up for public assistance. senator brown says he wants every vote to count but there is something fishy going on here.

>> that being said, the elizabeth warren's daughter is head of a organization to get people on welfare out to vote. it doesn't pass the smell test. they can twist and turn and all the machinations to make it work but it doesn't pass the smell test and i find it outrage just. >> now massachusetts gop officials want to see correspondence and other state officials and anyone involved in warren's campaign and this issue. rick? rick: molly, what is the response from the warren campaign. >> the warren campaign says this is law in place over 20 years. it was passed with bipartisan support. here is what warren herself had to say. >> no one likes to see attacks on their family but this is about a law that has been in place for 20 years. and this organization was working on enforcement of this law before amelia ever even joined it.

and the organization was working with several states around the country including massachusetts and that was happening before i ever got involved in the race. >> reporter: massachusetts gop officials say that state's response was unprecedent. and other states didn't get involved in these mass mailings. but state officials defend the mailings say other states have in fact actually paid out bigger financial penalties when faced with the same sort of suits and settlements. rick? rick: molly line in boston. molly, thank you. congratulations to the women's u.s. soccer team, winning the gold in london. >> a goal. wonderfully crafted by the united states and abby woman back. -- wombach. rick: holding off the japanese team to win 2-1. it is third consecutive gold medal for u.s. soccer.

this is especially sweet since japan beat the u.s. in last year's world cup final. in the pool u.s. women making their mark in water polo, the americans beating spain for their first olympic gold medal. and the u.s. dominating in track-and-field. in the decathalon americans taking gold and silver. christian taylor capturing gold in the triple jump. in the men's 400 relay? did you hear hear about this, mantao mitchell heard something in his leg pop with half a lap to go. helping the u.s. tie for first. only laters did doctors tell him he had broken his leg. can you imagine? running on a broken leg. heather: wow, i don't know how he did that. but that is the definition of dedication right there. rick: that is the olympic spirit for himmers hear is the medal count. the u.s. out front with 90 medals over all.

china is second with 80. trailing with is russia, host country, great britain and germany. heather: still thinking about running on that broken leg. a preview of today's best action for you. the u.s. women's basketball team going for their fifth straight american medal. the american women are scheduled to play france in the championship game. rick: good luck to them. when we come back new controversy over a struggling u.s. green energy company that received government money. does this sound familiar, perhaps? could the company and technology now end up in the hands of the chinese? heather: if you thought gas prices were high, be glad you're not a trucker. a look at spiking diesel prices and how that may make everything shipped across our nation's roads more expensive. [ male announcer ] this is the land of giants.

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heather: welcome back. some lawmakers in california want to make it more difficult to buy large amounts of ammunition. they want authorities alerted if someone buys more than 1,000 bullets in a short period of time. the bill's backers say the ammunition should receive similar legal oversight as firearms. gun advocates, they're calling the move a knee-jerk reaction though to the aurora, colorado massacre. rick: new outrage after the obama administration grants $249 million in taxpayer cash to yet another failing green energy company. the department of energy standing by its grant to the u.s. battery maker despite announcement a chinese company is looking to take over. the doe has been under fire for backing these kind of financial flops like the solyndra solar panel company which went belly-up after getting $535 million loan. utah republican jason chaffetz is on the house committee on oversight and

government reform. congressman, you would think after the solyndra mess, the administration would be very careful about these kinds of things. yet it looks like it is happening again? >> they seem to have an ensashable desire to continue to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into so-called green energy types of companies. it's consistent with president obama's philosophy he believes the government is the solution as opposed to the private sector. this is totally unacceptable. this is even worse because this $249 million is going to go to a company that will be acquired by a chinese company. the company will end up benefiting the chinese probably more than it will the united states. rick: this is a company we should say that makes batteries that go into electronic cars. the company is called a-123. is there anything congress can do? any way congress can intervene? find a different way to keep the company afloat and keep the chinese from getting a

chunk of it? >> we should stop giving away billions of dollars to private entities and stop trying to pick winners and losers. my colleague cliff stearns has done a great job in the energy and commerce committee. this is not the first time this has happened. there was a solar panel company when they got this department of energy grant, immediately they signed a term sheet with a french company. these companies are savvy. they see the department of energy and the obama administration handing out literally billions of dollars and they sign term sheets and try to access that capital. if these were such good investments, private equity, private investment would have come in and supported these types of things but these are losing propositions and not something we should be gambling with american taxpayer dollars. rick: our country has a long history though, congressman, granting tax breaks or tax relief to companies. what is the difference between giving tax breaks to the oil companies, versus

giving grants to some of these companies that are working on clean air technology? do you see a future in clean air technology? is that something we should be investing in? >> well, you want to do is create an even playing field. so for instance, a research and development tax credit, which is across the board, anybody can access it if they're meeting certain criteria. what is unacceptable when you pick winners and losers and you literally use this crony capitalism where the obama administration will go to their friends or people they like, we're going to give it to this particular company. what are the other companies trying to compete in this sector? that is what becomes so unfair and so unacceptable and really what congress should dive into because the executive branch should not not be picking winners and losers like this. rick: when you look at the future of clean energy technology do you acknowledge it is a big part of the future and are we in danger sort of ceding that to the chinese, a country that has government mandates

in place that require certain types of technology to be in use by its people? what can we do? talk about a level playing field, to become level with the chinese? >> in this particular one we're funding what will be a chinese company. take a-12. i'm sure they're good fine people working there but with we're giving $249 million to a single company? that is just unacceptable. how about a research and development tax credit that would go across the board and create a level playing field and allow others to tap into this? that is what's wrong. imagine how frustrating to investors, people working at companies competing in this space and then the federal government comes along and gives somebody a quarter of a billion dollars? that is just not right. rick: jason chaffetz a republican congressman from the great state of utah. mr. congressman, thanks very much for your time. >> thank you, sir. heather: coming up the justice department deciding it will not pursue charges against goldman sachs in

relation to the 2008 financial crisis. this despite hefty allegations by a senate panel. we'll take a look at what the doj investigation found. rick: also what happened to this little boy after he went swimming in a lake in minnesota. >> once it hits it's tough to kick. i don't know if anybody's has been able to kick it.

heather: one minnesota lake is off limits to swimmers after a child who swam there apparently died of a rare form of meningitis. 9-year-old jack aerola, fell ill just days after swimming at lilly lake. it was near minneapolis. now the minnesota department of health is working to confirm if in fact he died

of the infection that is caused by an amoeba. the boy's death comes two years after a 7-year-old girl died in the same lake, the same type of brain infection. swimming in lilly lake. joining us now is dr. richard fer shine. he is the director of the fer shine center for comprehensive medicine. thanks for joining us. >> thank you. heather: just a horrible story. tell us how do you contract this rare form of meningitis? >> this is a tragic story. this particular bacteria is a msnbc ba, that enters the own terse the brain. the amoeba are mostly dysentery. this amoeba gets into the brain through the nasal passage and causes meningitis. heather: how do you avoid it? how can you a void it? >> by not swimming in lakes

that can be infected. it is important to understand this particular amoeba is prevalent in lakes, rivers and streeps particularly in hot weather conditions. that's what we're experiencing now. but the amoeba becomes more virulent when exposed to drought conditions because the water becomes concentrated. what people need to understand is, if they are concerned right now, avoid still bodies of water where the amoeba may be present. they can use nose plugs if you're concerned. that prevents the amoeba from getting into the nasal passage. >> that is the only place it enters? >> yes. if you ingest it is perfectly safe. that is only if this happens. the reason for that, it is actually fascinating because this particular organism is able to adapt its environment and grow a tail and swim much like a sperm would swim and cause damage because it is mobile. that can occur within minutes of it finding an

environment that it finds threatening. heather: and what about symptoms once the infection takes over? >> well meningitis has very specific symptoms. so the first thing you will notice is a headache, fever, stiff he can in, same kinds of things you experience with bacterial meningitis or men fwits caused by lyme disease or a virus. so encephalitis can cause the same symptoms. secondary symptoms are off then more severe. hallucination, seizures and ultimately coma. in this case, this particular organism, 100% lethal. only one case, 1978, where a person survives this. so it is almost always certain that somebody exposed to this will die. heather: try to avoid stagnant areas of water if you can. that is one of the things that you can do? >> absolutely. also be careful. nose plugs if you think about it, but really stay out of anywhere you think there might be a problem. heather: thank you so much for joining us with some insight. we appreciate it. rick? rick: heather, gas prices

are rising at the fastest pace since aaa started tracking that data. we'll explain who is being hit the hardest. why soaring prices at the pump could impact more than just your wallet. heather: plus it is the best kept secret in the race for the white house. earlier our carl cameron suggested to governor romney that convention speakers are out of the running to be his vp but the governor did not go alongwith that. so where do you things stand today? we'll take a look. >> think that we would be so silly as to not provide from time to time to throw the capacity people off, do you? the fact that somebody is speaking at the convention, doesn't necessarily mean they wouldn't find their speaking slot changed. with total customer support, backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee. so go to legalzoom.com today and see for yourself. [ female announcer ] you can always measure the growth of your children by the way they clean themselves in the bathroom.

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rick: who will it be? speculation mounting about who governor mitt romney will choose to be his running mate. the governor described the kind of person he's looking for in a vice president.

>> i don't think i have anything for you on the vp running mate, other than i certainly expect to have a person that has strength of character, vision for the country, that adds something to the political discourse about the direction ever the country. i mean i happen to believe this is a defining election for america, that we are going to be voting for what kind of america we are going to have. rick: thank you so much for being with us. for a brand-new hour of "america's newsroom." i'm rick folbaum in for bill hemmer. heather: i'm heather childress if nor marth for martha maccallum. four republicans considered to be on mitt romney short list. rob portman of ohio. tim pawlenty, marco rubio, and paou paul ryan.

march mary catherineham editor at large for hot news.com joins us. thanks for joining us. >> thank you. heather: there seems to be two schools of thought. be careful or daring. what do you think he should do? >> here in washington of course in the political press we all have master degrees and tea leaf reading which is pretty much what this is. i would say the romney campaign has been pretty good about stringing us all along. it's an exciting storyline, people want to talk about it and they are very happy to oblige them by showing up on the stump with various candidates who might end up being the vp. there are two schools of thought. i think the interview he gave last night mentioning that he wanted somebody with a real vision, and communicating that he wants this to be maybe a contrasty hrebgs suggested to the experts tea leaf readers around here that he might be referring to a more bold choice like a paul ryan who has a very

specific vision for where the country should be going, has a very specific budget that romney has embraced parts of in the past. people are maybe looking that direction. i think conservatives, who have disgivings with romney in the past would like to see something bold like that, a rubio, even a jindal of louisiana who has been talked about less or paul ryan as they see as heros for conservative politics, and really good communicators. if you're going to go for a bold vision and contrast you want somebody really good at communicating that. heather: it sounds like you may be leaning towards more of a bold choice. if he were to make more of a careful choice, though, who would be in that pool? >> i think the folks who are in the conventional wisdom among that group are tim pawlenty, bob mcdonnell, he has huge approval ratings, which is important.

portman from ohio. and pawlenty may be able to put his home state in play. those guys are considered not as spicy or exciting as the other group. i did see a story reporting on rob portman the other day how he has an nbc reporter tailing him all the time because of the vp rumors and the guy fell asleep on the plane the other day when he was following rob portman and the senator left a little card on his seat that said, hey, too bad you fell asleep, i was going to tell you whatever you wanted. he may not be quite as vanilla as we are led to believe. heather: you snooze you lose. thank you for joining us. bye. rick: you may have noticed the pain at the gas pump is getting worse. for one group of drivers it's posing a major problem. the average price of a gallon of gas is $3.67. that is up from $3.38 a month ago. the price for a gallon of diesel is a whooping $3.88.

that means big trouble for truck drivers whose deliveries keep our economy running on all sin eve cylinders. doug mckelway has more. >> we had peace of mind about gasoline prices andes he will prices earlier this summer. you recall last spring prices were really spiking knocking on $4 a gallon's door. people expected it to last through the summer. it died in late spring, gave people peace of mind. aaa says the price rises they've seen in diesel fuel and gasoline over the past several weeks are the highest they've seen since they began measurements back in 2000. i went up to the pumps behind me right now and took a look at how much diesel cost. one guy at the pump closist to me bought 58-gallons of diesel, he spent $223 for that. the next pump down the guy

bought 78-gallons of diesel, he paid $300 for it. what is the explanation for this incredible price rise we've been see, it goes back to global demand, and to the price of crude oil. it went from $78 a barrel all the way up to $93 a barrel in recent days. world-wide demand isncreasing, that kind of defies a lot of expectations. people say the worldwide recession is holding prices down, but the third world is increasing its demand for oil causing it to go up. tensions in the middle east causes the price rises. the refining capacity in this country is strained exacerbated by the refinery fire we saw this week. all of the prices eventually passed on to the consumer in the grocery store, for any commodity or product transported by

truck. rick: doug mcelway live for us in maryland. thanks. heather: the feds are investigating a massive fire at an oil refinery that is expected to drive gas prices even higher. hundreds of people forced to go to the hospital monday after these huge plumes of smoke from a california chevron refinery spewed toxic chemicals into the air leaving a lot of people feeling sick for days afterward. >> still feeling kind of lightheaded and dizzy, and stomachache, and short of breath. everybody that was sick from that explosion thing and the fire, i think they should get wade for something. heather: chevron is now opening a special claims office to handle more than a thousand calls from people complaining that they were affected by the fire. rick: brand-new for you this morning, sentencing in waco, texas delayed from this afternoon until tomorrow for a soldier convicted of planning to blow up a restaurant used by

fort hood soldiers. the soldier went awol from fort campbell in kentucky and was arrested last summer with bomb-making terms in a hotel near fort hood. heather: a new report just out that the obama administration is preparing new sanctions against the regime of syrian president bashar al-assad, this as syrian forces bound the northern city of aleppo, firing on the rebels with fighter jets, helicopters, and tanks. despite being outgunned, though, the opposition is holding on. leland vittert is live in our middle east bureau in jerusalem. what is the latest on the ground? >> reporter: every day seems to be less and less good news for the rebels, more and more wins for the government, who as of today seem to have denied the syrian opposition any kind of foothold inside aleppo they won the battle for a key neighborhood. what we are seeing from the latest amateur video is it's

shaping up to be an insurgent war the rebels lightly armed, and then the syrian army with tanks, artillery and attack aircraft. it's been like end to a tragic game of the game wack-a-mole where you have the rebels pop up in one city, the government comes and wa wacks them down there and neither side has the ability to change the balance of power. heather: do clinton's upcoming meetings about syria mean too much? >> it doesn't seem the syrians think so. the u.s. is promising greater sanctions on syria and some of it's lead tk*er. the leaders. they brush that off. the thing on the minds is foreign fighters. religious extremists from libya

or iraq. they have a different agenda than what is on the mind of the syrian rebels who are homegrown. while a yore ago, six months ago it was easy for the united states and other allies to say president a saad must go, now the question is what will happen if he does go, who will take control of syria, and it looks like right now nobody is in a position to take control, you'll have a position of just a long and protracted civil war inside that country which has chemical weapons and is a very powerful regional player in the middle east. heather: thank you. rick: when we come back, back to politics and the battle over the political attack ads, with both candidates crying foul over ads from his opponent could these negative messages actually end up helping both sides? heather: after two years of bomb threats, srapb vandalism, bomb threats and lawsuits one mosque

is holding meetings. rick: a test launch of this lander went up in smoke. a video of a nasa nightmare for you just three minutes away.

heather: so, you know, no one bats a thousand, right, not even nasa. days after that daring landing of a rover on mars, this mor morpheus, a green test lander crashed and burned at kennedy's space center, seconds after liftoff. it is a prototype for a cheap eco friendly planetary lander. this the first time it had been tested out without being hooked up to a crane. it is back to the drawing board, or these days a computer, rick. rick: we hear complaints about negative ads every election cycle, this year no different.

both presidential candidates accusing the other of misleading negative ads. how are voters likely to respond. chris hahn is a fox news contributor, brad blakeman is a former deputy assistant to former president george w. bush. good to see you both. brad, we spoke with mike huckabee the former governor in the last hour. he says if the ads are this negative in august wait until september or october. >> the governor is absolutely right. i think the american people are going to be very, very turned off by the type of negativity they are going to see. of course it's more likely to come from democrats because they really don't have a record to defend and there is no more bush to blame. the democrats embark on a 3-d strategy, distort mitt romney's record, distract away from their own a bliss malrecord and divide the country. abyss malrecord.

rick: chris, go ahead. >> you know, i've got to hand it to brad who is a veteran of the 2004 bush-kerry campaign where the president who dodged the draft, basically, took a war hero and made him into a guy who didn't really serve in vietnam. >> which president dodged the draft? president george bush served. >> yeah, he served, all right, whatever. the keg stands he was doing in the national guard was real service. rick: let's talk about 2012, guys. >> the bottom line is there is going to be negative campaigns, and negative ads work when you can define your opponent through those negative ads. when they speak to what the people perceive the opponent to be. obama has been very successful in continuing the dialogue that started during the g.o.p. primary where they basically painted romney as like a cross between richie rich and gordon gecko and that will continue through this election, and romney hasn't been able to shake it and he hasn't put forth any real ideas.

how long h really wants to do is complain about the negative campaign. rick: brad, can governor romney afford not to go negative, when you see some of these ads that are being run against him by these proobama super packs, how can he or his su surrogates not respond in way that hits hard at the president? >> they should respond. i'm not necessarily saying that mit romney should do it. i'm all for announcing the vp sooner than later. i hope it comes in the next couple of days. you have a vp candidate out there who can say things that the candidate can't say. of course we are going to define this president and point out the negative policies that he's brought upon this country in unemployment, in foreclosures, in bankruptcies and gas prices that we're seeing spiking. you have to blend the negativity with positive messages about what the difference is going to be between the romney administration and what we have now. rick: i wonder if the public -- i want to ask you, chris if the public sort of notices or distinguishes between the ads run by the actual campaigns

versus the ads run by the soup err pack superpacs that are not supposed to be coordinating with the actual am pains. campaigns. when you see these ads run doesn't it potentially damage the president's likability numbers. couldn't that come back to bite the president whether he's running the ads or the superpacs are? >> it hasn't happened yet, as far as damaging his numbers. i don't agree, i'm sure brad agrees with me on this that the public really makes a distaeupbgs between the superpac ads and the actual candidate-run ad. they'll see this negative stuff and when they are polled they are going to say we don't like negative ads, but brad and i both know, we've been on a lot of campaigns, negative ads are out there because negative ads work,ess specia, especially when you can define your opponent. it's harder for mitt romney to define obama. he has been president for four years and the people have made up their mind on who he is.

they don't really know who mitt romney is. if president obama continues to define him he's going to be in big trouble. >> there is a real danger, rick, i think you put your finger on it is the confusion that the public has as to where the messages are coming from. there will be confusion in the mind of voters as to who is responsible for the ads who puts the candidate on the defensive to go out and try to correct a message he has no control over. and i think after the 2012 election both republicans and democrats will be sufficiently burned by the type of advertising they can't control where i think it's going to cry out for more campaign finance reform to get some of this money out of the way so that the public is not confused. >> do you see that happening, brad? >> i do. i think republicans and democrats are going to be very angry at the type of advertising they are not able to control, and the kind of confusion that the public will be put up against because they are not going to be able to decipher, is this message coming from the candidate or someone else.

if the ads are purposely done by soup err packs in order to confuse the public. rick: would that maybe overturn citizens unite stphed. >> it woul united? >> it would take a constitutional amendment to overturn citizens united. perhaps that would be necessary, maybe a constitutional amendment to control spending in the presidential and national campaign and maybe shorten the campaign season. i think we have too much time right now so we can't really focus on the issues. in october we're going to have three debates on the presidential level and one debate on the vice presidental election, and i believe that's where this election will be decided. that's when everybody has got to see what these candidates are really about and what issues and how they are going to deal with the problems of this country. rick: interesting. you surprised me there at end, gentlemen, didn't think we were going in that direction. chris hahn and brad blakeman have a great weekend guys. fox news is america's election headquarters. "america's newsroom" will be live in tampa for the republican convention. live in charlotte for the

democratic convention. and in prime-time of course join bret baier and megyn kelly along with the entire fox news election people for all the big speeches and complete analysis right here on fox. heather: looking forward to all of that. a wall street giant dodges a legal bullet. goldman sachs was accused by lawmakers of misleading investors on risky home loans before the housing chanced. why is the company now in the clear? we'll have answers for you up next. rick: also attorneys for james holmes disclosing new information about their client in court. they say that he is mentally ill. are the attorneys for the city in the colorado move movie theater shooting spree laying the groundwork for an insanity defense? our legal panel takes a closer look. male spirit present.trong it's the priceline negotiator. >>what? >>sorry. he wants you to know about priceline's new express deals.

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on a friday morning.

the federal government cracking down on food stamp fraud imposing tougher penalties on stores that break the rules and weeding out those who should not be getting the assistance. lance armstrong going in front of a federal judge today fighting to block charges that he used performance-enhancing drugs. if he's found guilty the seven time tour de france winner could be stripped of his titles. this dime bringing $1.8 million at auction. minted in 1873 it is the only one remaining from a special batch made in carson city, nevada. we don't know who bought it, but -- heather: we know he spent a lot of money. rick: we know he spent more than a dime. heather: a dime or two on that one. wow. the justice department coming out with the results of a year-long investigation into financial giant goldman sachs and their role in the mortgage meltdown. they will not bring any charges

at this time. this comes a year after company executives testified on capitol hill. rich edson of the fox business network is live with us in washington. what were officials investigating, begin with that. >> reporter: allegations goldman sachs designed investments, marketed them to clients, bet against them, when they failed their clients lost money when goldman profited. that is what a report by carl levin and tom coburn charges. the department of justice looked into it and has decided against criminal charges. they write based on the law and evidence as they exist at this time there is not a viable basis to bring a criminal prosecution with respect to goldman sachs or its employees in regard to the allegations set forth in the report. the justice department says it could change its mind if officials discover new evidence. the reaction from goldman sachs, a spokesperson says only that they are happy the matter is behind them, heather. heather: i was going to say at this time, perhaps being the key

words there, because there are those calling for wall street prosecutions, right? >> reporter: absolutely. some lawmakers and watch dogs have questioned the justice department and the administration as to why there have been no high profile prosecutions of wall street executives stemming from the financial crisis. >> we connected in powerful wall street are getting away with crime after crime after crime. that's why wall street is a high crime area. >> reporter: justice officials say they are investigating and will bring charges if they find enough evidence that executives broke the law. heather: live in washington for us, thank you very much, rich. rick: new concerns over who will get hit hardest by new taxes in the president's healthcare law. the answer may surprise you. that is straight ahead. heather: members of a sikh temple paying their respects to six worshippers killed last weekend, reaffirming their faith one day after they were allowed back inside the temple.

>> have been your place of worship being violated, you kn know, like many houses of worship they are considered houses of worship and peace. this is and will continue to be our house of worship.

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so we found a plan that can travel with us. anywhere in the country. [ male announcer ] join the millions of people who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands a year in out-of-pocket costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. rick: the president says the richist should be paying their fair share. a new report shows that the wealthiest americans will take the biggest hit by the tax

laws. the top 2% will carry the highest burden, that includes individuals earning more than $200,000 a year, family making more than 250. among the increases, a .9% medicare tax and a 3.8% tax on investment income, that is already on top of the 15% capital gains tax which will also be going up. steve moore is a senior economic writer at the "wall street journal." good to see you, steve. >> good morning. rick: the rich get hit the hardest. >> it's true the rich get hit hard under the tax and healthcare plan. just about anybody who uses the healthcare system will be hit with higher taxes. taxes on medical devicess, taxes on healthcare plans, don't forget employers that provide healthcare, or don't bro vied pelt care are going to hav provide healthcare are going to have to pay higher taxes. it's across the board. i count 15 or 20 new taxes that take place in 2013, 2014.

let's not forget the supreme court determined last month that the individual mandates to purchase health insurance, those are taxes and that could cost people up to 1500 to $2,000 per family. rick: you're talking about the penalty for those who choose not to get health insurance, those are only people who make the decision not to get it, they'll be taxed as well. the ap analysis that i cited at the top of this in the introduction beings steve, says for the vast majority of people the healthcare law will not mean spending more money -- sending more money, rather, to the irs and roughly 20 million people eventually will get tax credits that start in 2014 that help them pay insurance premiums, is that accurate in. >> the problem with that analysis doesn't take into effect all the indirect taxes. the taxes on drugs, medical devicess, the kinds of things that we use when we access the healthcare system. it is true that are mr. gigantic tax increases on the rich under the obama care plan. for example you mentioned the one that i think is most

destructive to the economy, a 3.8% investment tax surcharge. by the way, you were right we virginia 15% capital gains tax right now. under the obama plan next year if we allow the bush tax cuts to expire that goes to 20, and then you add 3.8% on top of that, that is a 24% tax or just short of 24% tax on capital gains, at a time by the way when businesses are not investing. the dividend tax by the way would go up by almost threefold. i think these are very harmful to the economy. i think for a lot of middle class families struggling to get by owl of these little niece and taxes and penalties, whatever you want to call them, are going to really add up and put a pinch on their wallet. rick: what about repealing obamacare? that would have costs as well. who would pay for that? how much would that price tag be? >> reporter: that will be the big battle come 2013 especially if mitt romney win that's hrebgs.

republicans will make that a top priority. if obama care is repealed or big parts of it are you'll see something take its place and we don't know exactly what that will be. there is no question we have to reform our healthcare system because he's out of control costs in terms of the premiums on plans are like attacks on american businesses and consumers. and don't forget last year we saw a gigantic increase in premiums even though the idea behind obamacare was to lower these costs. rick: steve moore is a senior economic writer for the "wall street journal" owned by the same parent company as this network. thanks. >> we love being partners with you guys. heather: one major city sparking debate with a plan to pair pound puppies with pan handlers, hoping to provide loving companions all around. while the idea seems nice to some, others worry that those puppies may end up in bigger trouble than before. claudia cowan is live for us in san francisco with for on this. is san francisco giving dogs to homeless people?

>> reporter: no, heather, that is really important to keep in mind in all of this. these minds are only going to go to people living in city-run shelters and they have to agree to stop pan hand lynn. those who qualify get paid up to $75 a week, for some that could mean a pay cut to care for a troubled stray until it can be adopted. it will cut down on the out th on the rate of putting puppies down. >> some who may have emotional difficulties, may even have mental problems, there may be recidivism to alcohol or drug use, to simply stick them with a puppy who has problems of his own, it's a terrible, terrible risk. >> reporter: no tax dollars involved in any of this. a local dog lover is privately funding this $10,000 effort. critics have offered to put up that same amount to make the whole thing animal free but city hall wants to give it a shot and a pilot program begins this week.

heather: i've seen homeless people here on the street in new york where i've gone and got even doug food an dog food and taken it back because the animal with them looks like it's definitely not being fed. are officials really hoping it will stop panhandler stph-s. >> reporter: they are hoping it stops some panhandlers, specifically homeless people who have undergone job training and are out there begging to earn to extra income. >> you can push people, right, but what are you going to push them, a block or two away? it's not really solving it. maybe we have to take some risks, we have to let people make fun of us a little bit, and you just have to kind of stand your ground and say, no, we're going to try something different. >> reporter: supporters hope the program improves the city's image. a quarter of all visitors to san francisco say their biggest complaint is encountering homeless people and panhandlers. heather: thank you very much. we appreciate it.

rick: rescuers reaching a stranded fisherman just as a group of sharks closes in. the fisherman's boat sinking off the coast of in austraila. he survived by treading water for hours, you can see we've put a little thing on the screen there because he apparently lost some of his clothing in the process. it was all caught and tape by a news crew from australia, listen. >> we just spotted a massive hammerhead shark that is just circling around him, probably about 20 meters from him. he's putting his hands together crying buy doesn't realize there is a boat right behind him. mate, just turn around and have a look. >> he's yelling help to me. >> he's yelling help. right now he's just turned around and saw our boat and there is a hammerhead just pulled up alongside him. he's trying the breast stroke, not even moving in the water. he's reaching out from the side of the boat, they are going to

clasp hands with him any second now. they've just pulled him onto some stairs. finally after all this. he's actually safe. rick: wow, there were two fisherman on that boat before it sank. one of them died, the other one is still missing. heather: coming up attorneys for the accused shooter in the colorado movie massacre, they say that james holmes is mentally ill. is this the first sign that they might pursue an insanity defense? our legal panel will weigh in on that up next. rick: a floating body in a river causing panic. but things aren't always as they seen. coming up a mystery solved with a happy ending. heather: and he had some clothes on. hey, i love your cereal there --

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rick: a drowning victim who wasn't, a man floating on a central pennsylvania river mistaken for a drowning victim until the guy sat up. police, even a coroner rushing to the scene after swimmers reported seeing the man floating face up in a life jacket. the swimmer had no idea what was going on around him until a dragonfly interrupted his snooze. the swimmer apologizing for the confusion. the area which is just below a dam has seen drownings in the past. heather: the defense team for the accused shooter in the colorado movie theater massacre revealing in court that they believe james holmes is mentally ill, raising new questions on whether they will pursue an insanity defense at trial. we have a criminal defense attorney and a former prosecutor. they both join us now with some

more insight. thank you for joining us. >> my pleasure, thanks for having me. >> good morning. heather: greg i'll start with you. does this definitely show that they are going to go for the insanity defense in your opinion, and how difficult will that be? >> i think under the circumstances it's the only possible defense that they have in this type of situation. and, yeah, i absolutely do believe that they are going to go for insanity. i mean if you look at him you've got -- a jury may look at him and the situation here and think to themselves, i mean the guy does look like he's off and could that lead to an acquittal on the basis of insanity? it's always a possibility. if i'm his attorney that is the way i'm going to go. i mean look at the jerod laughner with congressman gabrielle giffords, that basically, that defense took the death penalty off the table. and if i'm the defense attorney in this situation that's what i'm going to go for, because obviously the prosecution is

going to go for the death penalty. heather: and, kelly i want to ask you as a former prosecutor, because i've been wondering this throughout, greg just mentioned that he looks insane. what control, if any, do prosecutors have over his appearance in the courtroom? can they do anything about the red hair, the black roots, the crazy looks that he has, if he is deemed mentally ill what does that mean for the case moving forward? >> the prosecution can't do anything about that. and it's interesting that you noted that. that's what i'm thinking from a defense perspective that is what you want. you normally would cleanup a defendant to try to make him look like he has it together, you know, get a closely cut haircut. in this case the crazier he looks the better for their building their case. and in terms of how does this affect the trial, first of all they have to see if he is mentally competent, can he stand trial. from a prosecution standpoint you're going to say, yes, it was carefully and meticulously planned. he knew what he was doing. the defense perspective is going to be, this is some guy who is off his rocker. not only did he understand the

consequences, he didn't know right from wrong, he didn't plan it out in a which that is normal, there is something off, he needs medical treatment, and until he gets it he cannot be tried for these cases and crimes, excuse me. heather: we have 12 people killed, 58 others who were injured. and i want to read a quote here from one of the victim's brothers. she was 23 years old. michaela med i-k died in this shooting spree. shane is her brother. he said this. they keep talking about fairness for him. it's like they are baby-sitting this dude, his words. so what about fairness to the victims, greg? >> look, the system is set up that better that one guilty man -- that ten guilty men go free than one innocent man is convicted. that's just the way the system has been. that is the criminal justice system. and, look, kelly is a prosecutor, and if i was

prosecuting this case, because of victims like that, i have to go for the death penalty, and i get that. but as a defense attorney i have to try and get that insanity plea in and hope that under the circumstances it makes some type of difference in the case. heather: kelly, how do you counter as a prosecutor that insanity defense? >> you say that he knew what he was doing. insanity defense in order to get it you have to say they continue understand right from wrong set of the act. so even with how he's acting right now, this was planned out. he ordered all that ammunition, he ordered those weapons. he planned, he bought a ticket, he propped the door open, he had a costume, he had flack gear to try to escape. i'm going to say this is not insanity, this was carefully planned, he's a smart guy who was in a program relative to brain sciences. he planned it out, he was not insane at the time. he maybe unfit to stand trial presently, he may need medical

treatment to bring him back to the norm an needs to be prosecuted. to touch on the victims after a conviction is secured that's when the victims come into play, because they get to weigh in on what the penalty that's given should be. victims sometimes do get the shortened of the stick in our judicial system. heather: thank you both for joining us, we appreciate it, greg and kelly, thank you. rick: m you. >> my pless pleasure. rick: jon scott is here with "happening now." jon: you should come over and join us for the next couple of hours. rick: i would love to. jon: the battle between mitt romney and president obama took a turn this week. there has been a slew of controversial new ads as speculation about a possible vp pick by mr. romney reaches a fever pitch. we'll take a lock at the ad wars. and who won the week. an in-depth look at the web that was and whether mr. romney or

the president came out on to. the ironman is coming to new york for the very first time, inspiring stories as we wrap-up a week of super human feats at the olympics and at home. it's all coming up. rick: i'll bring coffee and doughnuts. it's opening day for a house of worship today, a mosque in tennessee holding prayers for the first time after years of legal battles and vandalism. tensions in the community are still simmering. a live report coming up next. e to hotels.com. summer road trip, huh? uhuh yep uch let's find you a room. at hotels.com, you'll always find the perfect hotel. because we only do hotels. wow. i like that. nice no. laugh... awe uch ooh, yeah hmm nice huh book it! oh boy call me... this summer, we're finding you the perfect place - plus giving you up to $100 at hotels.com

heather: take being you now to live pictures from wisconsin. a solemn ceremony for worshippers at the sikh temple that was devastated by that suspected terror attack. a steady stream of mourners joining them to pay respects to the members that they've lost.

attorney general eric holder, governor scott walker among those expected to address the crowd today, just one day after the temple finally reopened to honor the five men and one woman, six people killed in that attack. rick: a controversial mosque today in suburban nashville holding its first prayer session after two years of lawsuits, bomb threats and arson. but that hardly means divisions in the community have healed. jonathan serrie is live from tennessee. what has been fueling this in this mosque. >> reporter: this has been here in rutherford county, tennessee for three decades. until the controversy erupted over the building of this mosque recommend pwers say they received nothing but warm hospitality from the folks in this community. that leads them to believe it's outside groups stirring up small opposition groups locally. these opponents launched an

unsuccessful legal challenge earlier claiming that islam is a falls religion attempting to replace the u.s. constitution with sharia law. a judge almost halted construction saying they failed to provide public notice of a meeting. they said the judge had created a separate standard for the mosque, and a separate judge ruled in the mosque's favor. >> a mosque has to be treated the same as other religious groups. the judge said you can't treat a religious group differently because it's unpopular. that is the rule that will protect the mosque today, a synagogue tomorrow and a church on sunday. >> reporter: they obtained signatures last month from numerous christian, jewish and other religious organizations supporting the right of this mosque to build here in rut they are ford county. supporters of the congregation say this is a victory for the first amendment. and rick i apologize, i lost

ifb, hopefully you heard all that. rick: we heard it all loud and clear. jonathan serrie, thank you so much. heather: you have to take a lock at this. an airport screening gone very wrong. security agents usually they keep an eagle eye on all that luggage moving through their x-ray machines. imagine their shock, yeah, when they saw this. that's exactly what you think it is, rick, a man curled up in the fetal position in the luggage belt. this is our travel story, up next. [ feedback ] attention, well, everyone. you can now try snapshot from progressive free for 30 days. just plug this into your car, and your good drivin can save you up to 30%. you could even try it without switching your insurance. why not give it a shot? carry on. now you can test-drive snapshot before you switch.

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>> fox news alert. we're just getting word of a life sentence of the soldier planning to blow up a restaurant used by soldiers at fort hood. he had gone awol from fort scramble, in kentucky. arrested last summer with bomb-making materials near fort hood.

a life sentence for him. so what is the last thing you saw that got you fired up, i mean really fired up? steve turico out of saratoga springs, may have you beat. >> yeah, listen to that bell. take a look at that. oh, my god!. listen to that horn!. oh, my god. she's beautiful. she is beautiful! yeah!. all right. >> she sis beautiful, i'll give him that. steve unable to contain his excitement when saratoga and north creek railway rolled out vintage locomotives. with more than a million clicks and

are before officials spotted his body. airport officials say he was drunk. >> no surprise there. thanks for joining us everybody. nice to be with you, heather. >> it was fun. >> "happening now" starts right now. jenna: thank you, rick and heather. right now brand new stories and breaking news. jon: both presidential campaigns reacting to new political attack ads taking aim at their candidates. with the mud sliging in overdrive have we passed the point of no return? a fair and balanced debate.

also jarring testimony in the murder trial of drew peterson. what one witness claims the former cop told his third wife just months before she was found dead in a dry bathtub. overcoming one incredible challenge to embrace another. one man's journey from near death to crossing the finish line in the "iron man." it's all new, it's all live and it's "happening now." jon: we won't be screaming like the train enthusiast. no screaming in this show today. jenna: hopefully not but you never know what could happen, jon. jon: 88 days before the election as the race for the white house intensifies. we have fresh reaction to the raging political ad war. i'm jon scott. jenna: hi, everybody i'm jenna lee we're so glad you're with us on this friday. we'll give you an update about the candidates are. they are taking a easy

friday. they have been out on the road a bit. the president has no plans on his calendar. he will have a indidder at the white house celebrating ramadan. likewise, governor romney has no public events scheduled. governor romney is spending the day in massachusetts, a state he formerly governed. that state has 11 electoral votes. mr. romney will not be in massachusetts very long. he will kick off a bus tour of critical swing states, virginia, north carolina, florida, and ohio. speculations growing that announcement could come soon but you never know. this is a brand new "fox news poll", showing if the election were held today, mr. obama would take 49% of the vote, compared to 40ers for mr. romney. the "real clear politics" average also shows a little bit of a closer matchup, but the president is ahead there, 48.4%, to romney's 44. the tightness of the race