he will kill me. back on monday. gregg, thank you very much. >> i will not touch that one, man. that will do it for us. martha: batman and robin they're both cool. bye, everybody. heather: right now, brand new stories and breaking news. jon: there is chilling new info out of syria as brutal violence there continues a new report says more than a million children are refugees there now, as pressure mounts for the president and the world to decide on a course of action. growing anger over a horrific murder in oklahoma. new details about three teenagers accused of gunning down a college baseball player just for fun. plus hillary clinton ahead in the polls but she might face real competition if she decides to run for the white house. why some big names are testing the waters now to see if they might jump into the democratic primary race. it is all "happening now." but we begin with this fox news alert on new protests in egypt.

good morning to you, i'm jon scott. >> i'm heather childers in for jenna lee again. nice to be here. jon: good to have you here, heather. heather: the muslim brotherhood call it a so-called, friday of martyrs. jon: the rallies are another show of support for ousted president mohammed morsi. egyptian security is deployed around cairo. traffic to tahrir square is cut off. barbed-wire set up at some of the entrances. armored vehicles are surrounding the presidential palace and near a mosque where morsi supporters held a sit-in for weeks. that sit-in violently broken up resulting in the deaths of hundreds. but the muslim brotherhood is showing no sign of backing down. leland vittert is live in our middle east bureau. leland. jon: hi, jon. the muslim brotherhood may not be backing down but there is not a lot of support on street backing them up. the video today decidedly less impressive in terms of numbers from what we've seen in the past

but still the fiery and angry rhetoric. five or 10,000 brotherhood supporters gathering in south cairo. they are chanting in the streets, the coup is terrorism. referring to the military coupe that took over seven or eight weeks ago over throwing mohammed morsi, the democratically elected president there. the army instituted what they call emergency law, authorizing the roundup if not a couple thousand of brotherhood leaders and top tier and second-tier. a number about people who were rounded up, their pictures were carried through this leadership during this protest. so far the arrests have worked to really turn down on the flame of the pot that is boiling over. in this video we haven't seen any gunman and haven't heard attacks on police stations or attacks on military bar racks. the army still has shoot to kill order on people trying to attack. looking forward seems the muslim

brotherhood doesn't have the spoehr on the street in order to continue these kinds of protests. the real concern of course was that these protests would be further ignited by hosni mubarak's release. he got out of jail yesterday, placed on house arrest. the american equivalent out on bail awaiting retrial. he was flown in a helicopter from the prison to a military hospital where he is being kept. he was convicted of ordering the killing of a number about protesters during the 2011 revolution. that conviction was appealed, overturned. now he is awaiting retrial. the retrial could start anywhere up until about a week from right now, jon. obviously if he acquitted during this retrial and truly set free, that is something that could spark things going off once again in cairo. jon, back to you. jon: if the violence has been tamped down there that is a very good thing. thanks very much, leland vittert. heather: we have new details on the three young suspects in the brutal murder of an australian baseball player. christopher lane was gunned down

while jogging in oklahoma neighborhood. it is being called a thrill kill. two teenagers are charged with first-degree murder and a third is charged as an accessory. garrett tenney from the midwest bureau. we're apparently hearing more about the racist remarks that one of the teens made on social media? >> reporter: yeah, heather. the tweets from the youngest of those three tweens, james edwards, jr., are really quite disturbing. this is the first one from just a few months ago. this is what it reads. 90% of the white people are nasty, hashtag, hate them. then in another post, this was just a few days after the george zimmerman trial was over, there was this message. we're using slang he brags about knocking out five white people since the verdict was read. we're also learning more about the family situations of these teens. the district attorney in this case, jason hicks, he tells us that the boys had very little parental supervision. essentially raised themselves.

we know the mother of james edwards, the one who allegedly sent those tweets out, has been in and out of prison since 1994. she is currently serving a five-year sentence for forgery and fraud. heather? heather: so, garrett, how is christopher lane's family handling all of this? >> reporter: well, i think just like any family would be they're continuing to strug to understand the why. in coming to terms with the loss of their son but there has been such an enormous outpouring of support for them, both in the oklahoma community as well as across the entire world. earlier this week an online fund-raiser was established to help cover all the costs for lane's family to fly to oklahoma to retrieve their son's body and take him back home to australia. more than $135,000, in donations have poured in for that. and a private memorial service is scheduled for saturday afternoon at oklahoma christian university. that is where his girlfriend

attends. organizers are planning to have all who attend write-down memories they have of the 22-year-old to send back to his parents in as you trail yaw. heather. heather: garrett tenney, thank you, garrett. >> reporter: certainly. jon: a sad story that one. new potential candidates might be testing the waters for the 2016 democratic primary. hillary clinton has been out ahead in the polls but lately the headlines are turning a bit negative. other liberals are talking about running in 2016 as well. carl cameron has details in washington for us. carl. >> reporter: while headlines have gotten sour for mrs. clinton. she and her husband and family are on the hamptons taking a break. she is more public then she tended to be in the nascent campaign and frankly headlines have been negative. a whole series of things gone wrong. the whole benghazi investigation. there is investigation whether strings were pulled to help her

brother's company get visas for foreign investors. even anthony weiner scandal, her wife is one of her top aides and shy has had to take a leave of absence. for all the headlines, liberal candidates are trying to suggest they need clinton all terntives. lo and behold howard dean stepped up and volunteered himself. looks like he will be serious about this. i lost a bruising nomination fight to john kerry in 2008. he will now visit iowa twice and new hampshire once the next few weeks. dean, the first democrat to tap the internet for major donations in 2003 has suggested that there's plenty of room for a progressive to run for the 2016 nomination. if people like what they hear on the upcoming jaunts he says he will do it. in addition, minnesota senator amy klobuchar visited iowa recently and spent a whole bunch of time on the stump talking about how great minnesota is next door to iowa. they're all the same, one big family. sounded frankly like republican

michele bachmann who did the exact same thing in 2007 and went on to win the ames straw poll. klobuchar joked like bachmann did, minnesota had a lot of vice presidents but now is time for a president. you hear it here in cocktail fathers in washington and activists getting ready. elizabeth warren matches mass. polls include her in tests for other democratic candidates. liberal blogs are on fire. she has been as most candidates are downplaying this sort of thing. way too early, too soon. she has just gotten to the senate yet she not ruled it out. hillary will likely face serious challenges the people on the left, progressive in the democratic party are pushing for something shows they're concerned not only about the headlines but about hillary. jon? jon: isn't it the case, carl, there are 100 u.s. senators who look in the mirror every morning and see a potential president? >> reporter: call it most exclusive debating club in the world and others call it a

locker room for presidential wannabes. jon: thank you, carl. you can say up with all the political developments with the power of fox news. sign up for our daily politics newsletter, foxnews.com/foxnewsfirst. heather: still to come, new concerns about how obamacare could be affecting jobs as we get reports of a number about local governments cutting back on people's hours to avoid paying extra in health care costs. coming up, a look whether the affordable care act is hurting our workforce. al-jazeera america launching this week. we will talk with howard kurtz about the new cable player. too big. too small. too soft. too tasty. [ both laugh ]

[ male announcer ] introducing progresso's new creamy alfredo soup. inspired by perfection. [ crashing ] [ male announcer ] when your favorite food starts a fight, fight back fast with tums. heartburn relief that neutralizes acid on contact and goes to work in seconds. ♪ tum, tum tum tum tums!

heather: right now some international headlines that we're watching for you at this hour. two deadly explosions in

northern lebanon. it may have been a coordinated attack at two mosques packed with people on a day of prayer. the health minister saying that more than two dozen are dead and more than 300 have been injured. the bombings come as tensions rise over the civil war in neighboring syria. and another attack in lebanon, this one coming from the south. israeli warplanes striking suspected terror target out of bay right. after al qaeda inspired militants fired 4:00 rockets from lebanon into israel. look at this. a massive tidal wave in eastern china sends people running for their lives. the wave was more than 60 feet high. at least 30 people were injured. jon: "happening now," new concerns about the impact obamacare is having on the workforce under the affordable care act. employers including state and local government, will be required to offer health care coverage to employees who work at least 30 hours a week.

that begins in 2015. take a look at this map. it show as number of local governments reportedly cutting hours for their part-time workers to avoid paying extra costs under obamacare. in a statement to the "washington post" white house counsel of economic advisors chair jason furman says, since the aca, affordable care act became law, nearly 90% of the gain in employment has been in full-time positions. furthermore, the law is helping make health insurance coverage more affordable which supports job growth. joining us now, monica crowley, fox news contributor and author. joe trippi, former howard dean campaign manager and fox news contributor is also with us. and i suspect that they don't see this issue the same way. so, monica, to you, first, what about what jason furman has to say from the white house? 90% of the job growth he says is in full-time positions? >> this is a desperate kind of spin coming out of the white house. they know that obamacare, contrary to what they claimed at the time when it was signed into

law three years ago is increasingly unpopular. they also know that as more as more american people and businesses understand what actually is required by this law, the more they hate it and more the consequences are kicking in as we get closer to full implementation. it is not just local governments. we have private sector businesses across the board, big businesses, small businesses, reducing hours and laying off workers because they can not afford the increased costs associated with obamacare. jon: when i first saw the headline, joe, i wonder whether these were bunch of red state counties trying to sabotage obamacare, by, you know, laying off workers and thereby making headlines but one of them, for instance, cited in this article is middleton township, new jersey. they are reducing the hours that their employees work so they can make them part time so they don't have to pay for obamacare coverage for them. >> well, what's happening is, first of all is health care costs have been increasing every year and they would be anyway.

jon: sure. >> the fact that obamacare is bent the curve. it is, costs rising is actually rising a lot slower than it was. these counties and cities would have to be laying off or cutting back on hours anyway, actually a lot more people, a lot more hours, if you didn't have that cost curve bending. so, i think, you know, again, it is, i agree with monica, the thing is becoming more unpopular as we get closer to full implementation. that is always the right time to make the arguments, if you don't stop a program like this before it gets fully implemented it is very hard to pull it back. jon: so -- >> i'm not arguing about unpopularity. i think monica is actually right about that. i think it is way too early to see the consequences. it was going up 8% a year since obamacare, health care costs are going up 5%. they're now going to go up 4% projected for, for next year. so, it is still rising but much slower than it was before

obamacare. jon: but there is arbitrariness that didn't exist under private health care laws, that we had before, this arbitrary 50 person figure. once you're employing 50 people you're considered a large company or i pose maybe a government agency and you have to provide, you know, so many of the features under obamacare that you otherwise would not have. >> which is huge disincentive for companies mid-sized to actually hire people. jon: right. >> this is why we've seen businesses of all sizes but especially small and mid-sized businesses put a brake on hiring. this is individuals acting economically rationally. they see what is coming down the pike. they're saying we can't afford these new costs so how do we make it up? we'll cut hours so we don't incur the new costs or don't hire people. that has a huge consequence to the broader economy. jon: what about joe's costs the costs are going down to obamacare. >> that remains to be seen for now, anytime the government intervenes in the economy it

warps incentives. it warps market forces this is socialized medicine. this may be a temporary break you but know costs and taxes are going to explode to support this whole socialized medicine scheme. >> so far the cost, the curve has been bending down but the other thing, analysts at moody's came out yesterday or day before reported they were looking for exactly what monica was talking about, looking for employers cutting workers in the private sector. this is private sector. looked for it. thought they were going to see it. have not seen that happen yet. >> wait a minute. we have big private sector companies like, like darden restaurant group, regal entertainment group, forever 21. ups is saying they will stop providing health insurance for people who's spouses have health insurance. this is ricocheting throughout the broader economy. -- >> whether it will have impact. jon: we'll continue the discussion another day with you too obviously. good discussion. monica, joe. heather? heather: still to come president

obama said a year ago, remember this, the use of chemical weapons would be a red line in syria but now that there are dramatic new claims that the syrian government is behind a deadly chemical attack, what is the president's best next move and is he willing to make it? plus a manhunt is underway for two thugs who randomly beat to death an 88-year-old world war ii veteran in an empty parking lot. the disturbing details and who police are looking for up next.

>> we can not have a situation where chemical or biological weapons are falling in the hands of the wrong people. we have been very clear to the assad regime but also to other

players on the ground that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. that would change my calculus. heather: that was president obama a year ago, speaking about the use of chemical weapons in syria and today there are growing calls for the president to act, after video reportedly out of syria is said to show another chemical weapons attack. that opposition groups say injured or killed at least 100 people, including children. the assad government denies using chemical weapons but it is refusing to let united nations inspectors to see that for themselves. , even though the inspectors are already in syria investigating claims of earlier chemical attacks. we have mark mardel from the bbc writing in an editorial today, quote, president obama clearly has a problem and will be

accused inaction and dithering. senator john mccain says mr. obama blurred his own red lines earlier in the summer by not responding militarily to reports of attacks so encouraged this latest incident. his whole philosophy warns him against intervention in the middle east. domestic politics suggest americans don't want to get involved. getting embroiled would rather undermined his boast to be the president who brought the troops home. meantime the u.n. is reporting today the number of child refugees fleeing syria's violence, it has topped the one million mark in another grim milestone of the deepening conflict. president obama jibed in an interview what the u.s. is doing now about the conflict in syria. >> we are right now gathering information about this particular event but i can say that unlike some of the evidence that we were trying to get

earlier that led a u.n. investigator going into syria what we've seen indicates that this is clearly a big event of grave concern and, you know, we are already in communications with the entire international community. we're moving through the u.n. to try to prompt better action from them. and we've called on the syrian government to allow an investigation of the site because u.n. inspectors are on the ground right now. heather: and, in nearby egypt the muslim brotherhood and other groups taking to the streets in protest today, dubbed, friday of martyrs as ex-leader hosni mubarak is freed from jail. so a whole lot to discuss today. david schencker, director for the program on arab politics for the washington institute for nearest policy and former middle east advisor to secretary of defense donald rumsfeld. thank you for joining us. >> my pleasure. heather: let's start first with syria. you heard the president speaking there, a big event of grave

concern, very troublesome, requires america's attention, but yet a year ago he said if syria crossed the red line there would be action. we have proved there was the use of chemical weapons back then. there does not appear to have been any action. do you think he will take some this time? >> well, i find it very hard to believe that he will. the fact he referred this to the united nations a strategy which typically is time-tested way to do nothing suggests that he doesn't want to do anything. the policy is focused around not getting involved. so far you have had 100,000 dead, mostly killed by bullets and missiles, hard to see how one thousand or a couple hundred dead from a chemical weapon, while deplorable would impact his calculus. heather: but on the other side of it, by recalling a the rebels are we in essence arming

al qaeda? how do we know who in fact we're arming? >> well we have great intelligence. we have spent a huge amount of money on intelligence-gathering. we have people in turkey and jordan. we meet with rebel leaders. we say we don't know who the good guys are, who the guys are in the free syria army, the rebels that are not allied with al qaeda but we actually do know who they are. president obama said some two months ago he would arm the rebels, the vetted rebels and yet, just this week you had a rebel leader, secular, non-al qaeda leader tell "the l.a. times" that no weapons have arrived yet. if we don't know who the good guys are, it is because we don't want to know. heather: definitely divided in his administration what to do, whether to arm the rebels, provide arms or not. also a similar situation going on in egypt, a decision that needs to be made. do you think we should end military aid in egypt? >> absolutely not. if you look at the value of this

assistance, it is $1.3 billion a year. the egyptian military government after toppling the islamist president, mohammed morsi, received almost $16 billion, from saudi arabia, u.a.e. and kuwait. we don't have much leverage. it may make us feel good to cut this aid because of the coup but reality we would be shooting ourself in the foot. we would be cutting our relations with the military and giving us even less leverage than we have right now. it is good to maintain the open line of communication. heather: david, thank you for your insight. we appreciate you joining us today. >> my pleasure. jon: an update on former new england patriots star player aaron hernandez, formally indicted now fon first-degree murder charges. we'll take a look at the case and the evidence against him. plus new details in an alleged plot to kidnap, torture and kill police officers. police say these two suspects are members of an antigovernment movement and they say it is not

the first time they have run into trouble with the law. >> you have a long, long history of, of targeting or being involved with criminal activities that are, that extremely violent. and enforcement is one of their favorite targets. they don't think that the laws apply to them. with diabetes, it's tough to keep life balanced. i don't always have time to eat like i should. that's why i like glucerna shakes. they have slowly digestible carbs to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] glucerna. helping people with diabetes find balance.

heather: right now, washington police announcing an arrest in a

horrific murder. an elderly world war ii veteran, beaten, and left for dead in his car. investigators believe that a pair of teenagers are responsible. this story infuriates me, dan. dan springer with the latest for us from seattle. it should infuriate everyone at home as well. >> reporter: it is really senseless, heather. spokane police told me they made an arrest at 10:00 last night. that suspect was booked into the spokane jail on two charges, one of first degree robbery and the other first degree homicide. the victim was 88-year-old delbert belton, who went by the nickname shorty. he served in world war ii as a teenager and got shot in the leg in the battle of okinawa in the south pacific. he was waiting in his car in the parking lot of the eagles lodge on tuesday night when two young men beat him and took off running. a witness saw suspects running

away, tracking dogs were brought in and fingerprints were taken but the trail ran cold. late yesterday police released surveillance images of two suspects. cops tell plea the pair were captured on four different cameras at different nearby businesses. these were taken at a lowe's store. tips rolled in and one arrest was made. one suspect in custody is a juvenile. no name release. they will have a press release later on today at a news conference. friends and relatives of shorty were stunned by the brutal murder. >> delbert, really did, he seems trivial but he really did save my life. he made it possible for me to go get a job, find work. he wasn't just my great-uncle. he was a great person. he didn't deserve to die like that. >> reporter: police say the attack was apparently a random robbery. one relative told reporters that the guys used those long, heavy, flashlights to beat shorty. he died thursday morning. as of yesterday afternoon there was a already a makeshift memorial outside the eagles

lodge. heather. heather: a gentleman at that. he was waiting in the parking lot for a female friend to arrive so she wouldn't have to walk in by herself. did not deserve that. >> reporter: that's right. heather: thank you, dan. jon: some new information in an alleged plot by members of an antigovernment movement to kidnap, torture and execute police officers in las vegas. police have arrested these two suspects in the case. they say they are members of the sovereign citizen movement. they say they shopped for guns, found a vacant house, and recorded videos in which they explained their actions and why they believe officers had to die. >> i wanted to be able to film these things and turn them in to internal affairs and to the d.a. so that these people could be brought back under control. jon: there have been other cases involving the sovereign citizen movement. this dash-cam video captures one of them when a member of the sovereign citizen movement opens fire with an ak-47, gunning down

two west memphis police officers during a routine traffic stop. >> the other one were in the ditch. >> these guys shot a police officer. jon: monica lindstrom, is a criminal defense attorney. fred tecce, a former federal prosecutor. talk about the case. the las vegas case in particular. it almost sounds like a comedy until you see that footage from memphis, for instance. that's awful. >> it extremely sad. not even close to being a comedy. this is so incredibly sad. the first thing i would do is look at these two's competency and where they're coming from. we might think it is all good because they had an elaborate plan for a long time. something has to be broken inside their head when we look at something like this. jon: are we looking potential of insanity defense, fred. >> no they have a better chance to go to the moon. bottom line, these are knuckleheads. don't like plan to can kill police officers with 30 taped

conversations. they were under surveillance by undercover. jon: the under cover officer is taping everything because they think, this is going to be part of the plot. >> having said that, this group, this, basically domestic terrorist group is very dangerous and they are a fringe part of society. they have got to be dealt with. that is very frightening. jon: they apparently wanted attention for their group. that is why they were supposedly going to kidnap these police officers. they wanted to draw attention to their movement. they got it monica. >> the lady said she wanted to just videotape thinks. she didn't want to hurt anybody. i don't think we can believe that. this is another reason they need to test their competency. she wanted to record these things and send them to the d.a. to show how corrupt the police officers were. fred is right. they are very dangerous. a statement needs to be made to be dealt with harshly and properly. >> it is in the constitution that they. their case is over.

move on. i'm more worried about this organization they tried to join or alleged to be a member of. jon: let's hope more under cover officers with more videotape from inside of this organization. speaking of moving on, let's talk about the aaron hernandez case. he was in court yesterday. we heard some of the evidence against him, perhaps most, damning, fred, they have surveillance video that shows him in the car that rolled into that industrial park along with three other guys, when it rolls out, there are two other guys. >> oops. jon: one guy is left behind dead. >> they have surveillance video from his house. there is allegations surveillance tapes were stopped and hidden from police to show the wife was less than honest with the police at the time. there is a lot of evidence against him. of course people, like defense lawyers like monica, there is no evidence against this guy. absolutely nothing. can't wait for the day in court. they would never come out and say our guy is guilty as hell, he will go to jail. so i think the case against him is overwhelming. i think law enforcement is still looking for him as two other

murders i suspect they will tie him to that they have a long way to go. jon: got grand jury indictment. >> that's right. grand jury indictment doesn't necessarily mean beyond a reasonable doubt because the standard is much lower for the grand jury to return an indictment but like we just talked about, there is a lot of evidence. however there's a chance aaron could turn, maybe states evidence and give information on some other killings or rat other some other people involved in this and other things and it could help his case. jon: let's talk to the former prosecutor about that. doesn't he seem to be like the guy that, the authorities really want to nail in this case. >> of course, they made the statement. >> i'm sorry, the guy was a full-time gang member and a weekend football player. that is all he was. as far as what he can give me and other people, okay, fine. tell you what. when you go to the prison for the rest of your life, get you on a-prison football team. that is as much as i'm growing to give him i'm not letting him out being involved in three homicides and gang member. >> not convicted yet. >> you're absolutely right.

he is innocent until proven guilty, the day after that he goes to jail for a long time. remember arraignment, this guy is a bad guy. he is a scary guy. jon: we will continue to follow that case obviously. going to be in the news for quite a while to come. >> thanks for having me. jon: monica, fred, thanks very much. heather? heather: well, a crucial meeting at the u.n. this week. the security council discussing a suspected chemical weapons attack in syria but the u.s. ambassador to the u.n., samantha power, wasn't there. where was she and why is no one saying? we'll talk about it up next. a wildfire near one of our nation's most precious parks more than tripling in size during peak season. the latest on firefighters efforts to control those flames. golden opportunity sales event to experience the precision handling of the lexus performance vehicles, including the gs and all-new is. ♪ this is the pursuit of perfection.

too small. too soft. too tasty. [ both laugh ] [ male announcer ] introducing progresso's new creamy alfredo soup. inspired by perfection. new creamy alfredo soup. wit's hard to find contractors with the passion and the skill, and that's why we use angie's list. online or on the phone, we help you hire right the first time with honest reviews on over 720 local services.

i want it done right. i don't want to have to worry about it or have to come back and redo it. with angie's list, i was able to turn my home into the home of my dreams. for over 18 years, we've helped people take care of the things that matter most. join today.

heather: brand new stories coming up in the next hour. it has been nearly a year since the deadly 9/11 attack on the u.s. consulate in libya but new

developments in the region lead many to believe that we're no closer to finding justice for the four american victims. the latest on the investigation. a cancer patient whose dna was sampled without her knowledge finally getting a say in the matter decades later. latest chapter of a story of a woman who unknowingly laid the groundwork for medical breakthroughs. a computer glitch shuts down the nasdaq for hours yesterday. regulators now trying to get to the bottom of it. we'll take a look at the consequences of high-tech trading. jon: well, right now, a lot of questions about the whereabouts of newly appointed u.s. ambassador to the u.n. samantha power. she was replaced by an associate during a emergency meeting of the u.n. security council this week, a meeting called at the last minute over the crisis in syria. our chief washington correspondent james rosen asked state department spokesperson jenn psaki about the incident. >> where exactly was ambassador

power that she could not take part in this emergency security council session? where exactly was she? >> well, i think the u.n. has spoken to this but, since you asked, and i like to be transparent as possible, ambassador power is on a prearranged trip. >> stand by -- tell us where ambassador power was? there is no dishonor having a scheduled vacation if that is the case. >> she had a previously scheduled trip. i don't think i need to go into detail from here. jon: get into that as part of our news watch segment. howard kurtz a fox news media analyst. is this an issue the media should be asking about? >> i cut a slack to people with families and samantha power and has vacations. started, 19 days. very, very important meet about chemical weapon use in syria, issue she cares passionate about as human rights advocate in previous life. to be missing in action at fair game for media, power shortage,

power failure, unfortunate for her. jon: rick grenell, fox news contributor who has been critical for her. used to work for the state department under the bush administration, says, look, this is her job. this is her, her post. she ought to be there. >> i would regard this as emergency. if it's a an emergency, give up what you're doing. u.s. officials are putting out privately, couldn't get from the mysterious place she was vacation or not vacation, and couldn't get to new york and worked out in advance. jon: it is august and a lot of washington takes vacation in august. >> the city is shut down. >> very much a very special case. when you look at polling numbers, not at love americans favor getting involved when asked whether they, whether we agree with the idea of sending arms and military supplies to syria, 70% say they are in opposition to that idea. 20% are in favor of it. if there isn't great outcry from

the american people to get involved, i mean is that reflected in the media coverage? >> i think so. i think that both egypt and libya earlier and now syria, these are very difficult issues for the united states because, while we want to be on the side of the good guys against the authoritarian regimes at the same time i don't think there is much public support and i don't think the obama administration is pushing any kind of boots on the ground or active arming of the reb before. these are important issues that deserve more media coverage maybe beyond the distraction of where in the world is ambassador power. jon: another big story that got some media attention this week, that horrible killing in oklahoma. >> horrible. jon: two black teen tankers, one white teenager, all conspire because they are bored, one of them says, to shoot a white kid, a college student in the back. where are the, you know, the jesse jacksons of world? where is the president calling for a dialogue on race like we saw in the trayvon martin case? >> jesse jackson spoke up on

this the president and white house have not addressed this. i find the whole spectacle depression. i had feeling during the trayvon martin as well. there are tragic local murders that take place. media are interest only when they can be cast in some kind after racial way. a lot of people felt the trayvon martin story got too much attention, now, we see a backlash from the other side saying, well there needs to be more about black on white crime even though we're not exclusively alleged black assailants. i do fear, jon, it is a little bit too much agenda-driven commentary and score settling when it comes to cases undeny bly tragic where you have a young man that lost his life. jon: maybe the president should have stayed out of the first one, the trayvon martin case? >> maybe he should have. it was unique situation. it he made a comment if he had a son it would look like trayvon. a lot of people thought barack obama should not have gotten involved. he was our first african-american president. it was unique circumstances. media doesn't have to elevate

every single tragedy into a media soap opera. jon: new media outlet, al-jazeera america. it launched. i was one of those not launching. available in 40 million homes. what do you think? >> i watched a lot. because it is part of my job. the graspings look good and anchors that were picked up from other networks. it doesn't live up to the pregame hype. there are substantive discussions and reporting. given baggage with al-jazeera name, the outfit owned by royal family of qatar, promised more in depth and decisive stories you don't see anywhere else. i'm seeing conventional newscasts and stories i would see on other news outlets. jon: howard kurtz, see how it goes. thanks for coming on. heather? heather: linking oral hygiene to cancer causing infectious. the doctor is in on what you can do to cut your risk. social media buzzing about

the ben affleck's new film and the iconic role he is stepping into and what the entertainment world has to say about it.

heather: well the wait is over. warner brothers ending weeks of speculation confirming that ben affleck will be the next batman. he will join other big names in the superhero crossover films slated for release next summer.

julie banderas here now with the "fox 411" on it. what are you hearing? >> mixed reviews here. the internet going bat crazy over the news ben affleck is new batman. from franchise fiancee famous friend. richard dreyfuss had fun. you read for a part, feel good about it. you feel confident and then they cast ben affleck. will wheaton, looking forward to seeing affleck bring the depth and gravitas that he brought to daredevil and geli. trending topic, call better batman than ben affleck with people typing up suggestions. regardless, warner brothers made their decision and caused quite a frenzy announcing thursday that ben affleck will play the caped crusader what is set to be a sequel most recent superman film, man of steel. it will feature batman and superman squaring off in the first-ever on-screen pairing. christian bale played batman in

"the dark knight" trilogy but three times in the costume was enough. affleck has a lot of juice in the hollywood. off his oscar win for argo. this isn't the first time in costume. he started in the marvel comic superhero film, daredevil, a decade ago it was. that is where he met his future wife jennifer garner. fans never thought too kindly. affleck didn't. he said if you ever saw him in come big book movie he lost all his money. affleck starred as the late actor george reeves, who played superman on tv in the '60s, in the 2006 film, ""hollywoodland"." we'll see how you does on this. you think oscar-winning performance? heather: i don't know about oscar-winning performance. i think he will do a good job. christian bale ins last one? i didn't like his voice through the whole thing. >> littlest thing annoys people. who knows. sometimes he does great and other times he bombs.

we'll wait and see. heather: thank you, julie. >> sure. jon: it will be fun. a possible deal involving the mayor of san diego. he has been as you know the in a major sexual harrassment scandal. we're now awaiting word what comes next. some interesting movement there. plus president obama is out on tour taking a bus ride to share his plans for higher education. we have the latest from ed henry who is traveling with the president. what makes your family smile? backflips and cartwheels. love, warmth. here, try this. backflips and camm, ok!s. ching! i like the fact that there's lots of different tastes going on. mmmm! breakfast i'm very impressed. this is a great cereal! honey bunches of oats. i hear you crunching.

[ male announcer ] staying warm and dry has never been our priority. ♪ catering to the conveniently lated has never been our priority. our priority is, was and always will be serving you, the american people.

we get to see everyone in america almost every day. and we've noticed that you're sending and receiving more packages than ever. so we wanted to give you a more reliable way to ship them. with improved priority mail flat rate. don't just take our word for it -- now we'll prove it every step of the way with tracking up to eleven scans, specified delivery dates, and free insurance up to $50 all for the same low rate. we'll never stop delivering for every person in this country. [ woman ] we are the united states postal service. [ man ] we are the united states postal service. [ woman #2 ] we are the united states postal service. [ male announcer ] we are the united states postal service. and our priority is you. go to usps.com® and try it today.

jon: right now some brand new stories and breaking news. a rare one-on-one interview with outgoing fbi director robert mueller. what he had to say on the fbi's ability to collect millions of americans' e-mails. plus, a wildfire threatening

one of our most famous national parks triples in size. we'll take you live to yosemite. and the news that bradley manning wants to live life as a woman sends the media scurrying to be politically correct. our news watch panel weighs in. heather: and welcome to a brand new hour of "happening now," i'm heather childers in to jenna -- in for jenna lee. jon: happy friday, heather. i'm jon scott. it's been nearly a year since ambassador chris stevens and three other americans were killed in the september 11th attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. heather: but special operators who have tracked the suspects for months and passed along their whereabouts to the white house wondering what the holdup has been in getting these bad guys, this as fox news is learning that the majority of america's response team on the

ground in libya is leaving the country. adam houseley live in our los angeles newsroom in a fox news exclusive. so, adam, where are we now in the invest? you have a lot of stuff to cover here. >> reporter: yeah. you know, heather, it's interesting, these same special operators say the administration's going to have to do something by september 11th, but what is happening right now is the group of -- they're special operators that work under 1208 that allows the department of defense to put military in foreign countries to help them a train people to fight terrorism. they've been there since last november. we're told a majority of this team is being pulled out, but they're also there not just to train. it's part of their cover. they're there to find, fix and finish those responsible for the attack that happened last september 11th. now, one source insists much of the information on benghazi suspects has been passed along to the white house after being vetted by the department of defense and the u.s. state department, and at least one direct recommendation for action on a suspect was given to the

president back on august 7th. also another special forces leader, we were told by special forces that a leader literally yelled at the acting u.s. ambassador in libya, william roe buck at the time, that he was upset at the fact that these men were there, they had all this information, and nothing was being done. we've also been told by a special operator that another special forces leader was there when carter hamm, the former leader of africom, gave information to the man who would follow, lawrence pope who came in as the acting ambassador, and that, again, nothing was done after carter had given him a plan on how things could have gone and how these men could have possibly been captured. heather? heather: adam, all right, the bottom line we know where the suspects are, we have people on the ground. what is preventing the u.s. from making a move? >> reporter: well, right now it's insecurity, that's a big issue here. in the last few weeks, they've had a massive prison break, but there's been a few other smaller prison breaks also that helped feed the insecurity in the area.

there's been kidnappings, killings. in the east, significant insecurity there. the muslim brotherhood working with ansar al-sharia is really putting a sentence threat to this -- significant threat to this very, very new government in libya. these men who were there to train and track were actually in their own camp, funded by u.s. taxpayer dollars, and the new u.n. security chief came in about a week ago and told them to get out. so today had to go back to their villa, and they were basically sitting in limbo, not training libyans any longer. a lot of insecurity going on, and it's really curious to see what's going to happen. the administration's going to have a lot of pressure as we approach september 11th, but these men have said and some other media outlets have come out since then that the first information on these suspects was given to u.s. leaders last november. then they returned, checked a second set of boxes, and as the quote was, handed them the information on a silver platter in january and still no one's

been arrested and no one's been held accountable, and we do know, of course, the doj did file charges against a number of suspects a couple of weeks ago. heather: man. first information given to them last november. adam, thank you so much. >> reporter: yes. heather: we appreciate it. jon: a rare interview with outgoing fbi director robert mueller before he leaves office. the man who took the reins of the bureau just weeks before 9/11 telling fox news how that september day reshaped the fbi's mission and why as the recent closings of u.s. embassies across the muslim world demonstrate the threat of terror is still real and still out there. chief intelligence correspondent be catherine herridge live from washington. so what are we learning about this month's threat, catherine? >> reporter: well, jon, the threat earlier this month is described to fox news as specific and credible and the most serious threat since 2006 with the fbi director saying the danger has not passed. >> we are closely monitoring the

situation. i would say that it may well have been postponed, but we're monitoring it to make certain that we don't miss anything. well, it's hard to say, but i think one of the contributing factors, i believe, is the fact that we ramped up and that precautions were taken and that the opportunity they thought they may have had at that juncture was no longer there. >> reporter: as for a reported conference call among al-qaeda leaders, you see zawahiri on the left and the leader of al-qaeda in yemen on the right that led to the shuttering of nearly two dozen embassy overseas, director mueller confirming the terrorist leaders are in contact with one another, describing it as a dialogue. >> i would say we are seeing dialogue between core al-qaeda and the affiliates. i'm not certain it would raise to the level of coordination which would presume that somebody is orchestrating from pakistan. i don't think that's the case. >> reporter: connection stretching from pakistan to

yemen, africa and knot africa is -- north africa undercuts the administration's claims that al-qaeda is merely a disjointed operation, jon. jon: and there's new information about the first american targeted for death by the cia, anwar al-awlaki? >> reporter: well, that's right. fox's ongoing reporting of the cleric and these newly-reclassified and heavily-redacted documents show that in 2002 al-awlaki was released from custody at jfk international airport with the okay of an fbi agent. al-awlaki later showed up in the same counterterrorism investigation in virginia raising questions over whether the u.s. government tried to recruit al-awlaki as an intelligence source. >> what i'm telling you is i am not personally familiar with any effort to recruit app war al-awlaki as an asset. that does not mean to say there was not an effort at some level of the bureau or another agency to do so.

>> reporter: the reason all of this matters is really twofold. one is that anwar al-awlaki, about eight years later, was the first american targeted for death by the cia, but perhaps more significantly, the feds had anwar al-awlaki in their grasp in 2002, and they let him go. and think how history would be different for those families at fort hood, because the accused shooter, major nidal hasan, was in active contact with al-awlaki before that shooting. jon: yeah. he was arrested as part of that prostitution investigation, right? >> reporter: yeah. he had a very long rap sheet, and he was allowed into the pentagon shortly after 9/11 to host lunch on moderate islam at an executive dining room, something that most members of our service will never have the chance to get inside of. jon: yeah, that's true. catherine herridge, thank you. >> reporter: you're welcome. heather: right now president obama weighing in on reports of a chemical weapons attack in syria, calling it, quote: a big

event of grave concern. this as the commander in chief wraps up his two-day bus tour today with a town hall-style appearance just moments away from the university of binghamton and a final stop in scranton, pennsylvania, focusing on his proposals to rein in skyrocketing college costs. chief white house correspondent ed henry live in binghamton with more on that. hi, ed. >> reporter: good to see you, heather, you're right. for the second straight day, the president trying to keep the focus on domestic issues, but his credibility is very much on the line on the international stage, because as you look at what's happening in syria, that alleged chemical attack just days ago that allegedly could have killed up to 1800 people, the president doing a cnn interview in which he got questions about this. and and on one hand he seemed to be very firm in terms of putting out more tough talk at least about how u.s. core national security interests could be at stake here payoff the fact --

because of the fact that weapons of mass destruction may be spread around the mideast. but on the other hand, he seemed very reluctant to commit u.s. military force to deal with syria right now, suggesting there was a comparison between syria currently and what happened in iraq in terms of that war. take a listen. >> you know, sometimes what we've seen is that folks will call for immediate action, jumping into stuff that does not turn out well. it gets us mired in very difficult situations, can result in us being drawn into very expensive, difficult, costly interventions that actually breed more resentment in the region. >> reporter: pressure on the president, though, because it was one year ago this week in a white house news conference that he said it would be a red line for him if, in fact, syria used chemical weapons and went on to

say there'd be enormous consequences for syria. that's why republicans like john mccain have been suggesting it's not a red line, a green light for president assad in syria to thumb his nose at the u.s., the united nations and others. the president, though, trying to continue that tough talk while working the diplomatic channels and while also dealing with these domestic affairs. vice president biden will be joining him at his next stop in scranton, pennsylvania, together for an event, again, talking of domestic issues while all these global issues feed a lot of their attention as well. heather: ed henry live for us with the president, thank you. so let's talk more about the domestic issues. a hook at how president obama is hoping to tackle the rising costs of college. here's the president be speaking at the state university of buffalo yesterday. >> the fact is that we've been spending more money on prisons, less money on college. [applause]

and meanwhile, not enough colleges have been working to figure out how do we control costs, how do we cut back on costs. so all this sticks it to students, sticks it to families but, also, taxpayers end up paying a bigger price. heather: tim carney is a senior political columnist for the washington examiner, and he joins us now with more. thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. heather: so the centerpiece of president obama's education plan was a proposed new rating system. it would allow prospective students to evaluate which schools provide the best educational bang for the buck. would then tie student aid to value. it's been called the name and shame list amongst other things. does it sound like more government intervention and oversight to you, and is that the best way -- more government intervention -- to lower college

costs? >> well, government intervention has driven up college costs. subsidizing student loans has made it so that students and their parents are not as price sensitive. in other words, they're willing to pay more because the government gets behind them, but then that leads to the situation where these schools end up being four-year resorts. oh, fancy dorms, great athletic center, but the money's not going to instruction. so obama responds to this with more government intervention. that seems to me exactly the wrong course to take. heather: yeah. it was estimated in the 2011-2012 school year alone, the academic year, 93% of all student loans were issued by the government. now, some other proposals in his idea called for, you know, rewarding schools that maxize the use of technology in education as well as easing the burden of student loans for recent graduates by capping loan payments at 10% of their income. is there anything in the plan that you see that you like? >> there's definitely some positive reforms that he talks about there which includes, you

know, moving towards online education or, hey, maybe these credit hours shouldn't be everything, and as the white house put it, it's not the amount of time you spend in the classroom that matters, but how much you learn that can work towards your degree. these are great ideas. but this isn't the federal government's business. why is washington trying to hand down these rules? we know the problem. we know what will happen is that it will get politicized. that's why we don't want washington telling these schools and rating these schools. heather: come on, they never politicize anything in washington. [laughter] all right, tim, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you for having me. jon: "happening now," where ethics meets medical research. the cells of a woman who lived decades ago now among the most useful in science, but what rights do her descendants have to her genetic code? a fox news medical a-teamer weighs in on the brewing controversy. plus, new developments at a nuclear power plant ravaged by

earthquake and tsunami, what investigators are saying now about leaking radiation in japan. jon: and what a catch. watch out, the story behind these fishermen's haul of a lifetime, coming up. >> hang on! ♪ turn around ♪ every now and then i get a little bit hungry ♪ ♪ and there's nothing good around ♪ ♪ turn around barry ♪ i finally found the right snack ♪ ♪ his day of coaching begins with knee pain, when... [ man ] hey, brad, want to trade the all-day relief of two aleve for six tylenol? what's the catch? there's no catch. you want me to give up my two aleve for six tylenol? no. for my knee pain, nothing beats my aleve.

the next powerful storm is going to hit... but it will...

that's why there's a new duracell battery. introducing duracell quantum. with its high density core, it's a quantum leap in battery power. the next storm is out there. but so are the heroes. so we're giving a million duracell quantum to first responders everywhere. power. in the hands of the most powerful. duracell. trusted everywhere.

heather: right now nuclear watchdog team is inspecting the crippled fukushima nuclear plant in japan after reports the reactor was leaking contaminateed water. about 300 gallons leaked earlier this week. workers are continuing to measure radiation levels near those tanks. the plant suffered multiple meltdowns following that massive earthquake and tsunami that happened in japan back in 2011. ♪ ♪ jon: her life and death set the stage for groundbreaking medical

treatments and research. henrietta lacks, do you know that name? she was a poor black woman suffering from cervical cancer in 1951 when doctors removed and tested those cells without her permission. the cells were used in tens of thousands of studies, but her family never had a say in any of this until now. dr. marc siegel is a professor of medicine at nyu land gone's medical center. >> henrietta lacks died 62 years ago at johns hopkins, but her cancer cells have lived on, hijacked by science for research on everything from cancer cures to vaccines to new drugs to the effects of outer space. more than 50 million tons of her so-called cells have been created. they are now at the center of a controversy over privacy, and your rights to your own screens. it's now the first cell to have its genes identified and published on the internet,

opening the door to countless new cures but raising concerns about exploitation. america has a sordid history of experimentation on the poor and on african-americans. >> they took my grandmother's cells without her consent, without her knowledge, then in the '70s they took, they did research on henrietta's children without their consent, without their knowledge, and then here we go in 2013 henrietta's genome is published without the family's knowledge or concept. >> the national institute of health has brokered a deal with the lacks family this month. they will not be paid, but they will now have some control of henrietta's cells. an author introduced the plight of the lacks family to the world. she now raises serious concerns about what might happen to your cells once they are removed from your body. >> some people feel like, you know, their soul is in these cells and that their family's

dna is in these cells, and it guess to the question of where does life begin and end. and for other people they're like i'm not using the cells, you can take them. so everyone would answer the question of what do i deserve from this differently, but the one thing that i hear universeally from the public, from the lacks family and even from scientists is people want to know. they want to be asked permission. >> the lacks family opens the door to a brave new world over control and use of our genes. jon? jon: dr. marc siegel from the fox news medical a-team, thank you. >> thank you, jon. heather: stay with us, because we have breaking news on the growing wildfire at yosemite national park. the fire has now tripled in size, and there are reports that it's burning inside the park. a live report up next. okay ladies, whenever you're ready. thank u. thank you. i got this. oh, no, i'll get it!

let me get it. uh-uh-uh. i don't want you to pay for this. it's not happening, honey. let her get it. she got her safe driving bonus check from allstate last week. and it's her treat. what about a tip? oh, here's one... get an allstate agent. nice! [ female announcer ] switch today and get two safe driving bonus checks a year for driving safely. only from allstate. call 866-905-6500 now. here we go! hold on man. is that a leak up there? that's a drip. whoo. okay. aah. now that's a leak. that is a leak! and if you don't have allstate renters insurance... game over. [ female announcer ] protect your valuables from things like water damage for as low as $4 a month when you add renters insurance to your allstate auto policy. call 866-905-6500 now. plus, drivers who switched saved an average of $498 a year. just a few more ways allstate is changing car insurance for good. [ female announcer ] call an allstate agent and get a quote now.

coffee should come in one size: mug. stay grounded with the rich, bold taste of maxwell house coffee. always good to the last drop. ...and a great deal. .coffee. grrrr ahhh let's leave the deals to hotels.com. oh my gosh this is so cool... awesome! perfect! save up to 30% plus an extra 12% off with coupon... now until labor day. only at hotels.com

heather: well, a raging wildfire at yosemite has now tripled in size and is burning inside the national park. this out of control infer know be prompting california's governor, jerry brown, to declare a state of emergency, and more people are being told to get out. dominicty anialty is on the phone with us at yosemite national park, and he joins us with the latest. >> reporter: hey there, heather, yes. the wind fire expanding by an amazing 50,000 acres overnight. big growth to the north and east. and as you say, yes, it has moved into yosemite national park. it's in a remote corner in the reserve area, it's north in the valley. of course, the valley a world famous natural heritage site. five service members saying they expect to apply major and serious resources to the valley should it come under risk. right now 4,500 homes at risk of

the flames, particularly in the groveland area and also the pine mountains lake community area. that is twice the number of homes that were at risk this time yesterday. 2,000 firefighters are being brought in, and the authorities saying they are going to continue bringing them in day and night. it's now one of the biggest blazes in the country, and with 1% containment, it's one of the least controlled. this fire is raging in very steep territory. it runs high over the mountains, and it rushes through very steep canyons. firefighters just can't get to some of these areas, it's completely inaccessible. but dc-10s are dumping fire retardant where they can, and really they're struggling to use the resources they've got to actually try and tame it, and they're not making any estimates on just how big the acreage is going to be. their priority is really protecting homes and with thousands, thousands of homes

that do need protection, those evacuation orders in place at the moment, that is proving to be the toughest challenge. at the moment we've got a weather with inversion, that's basically a layer of cool air trapping in the hot air. that hot air is going to expand, increase the temperatures and add further fuel to the fire. when i say fuel, this is one of the driest areas in the country. there's been a drought for two years, and even the live vegetation is pretty dry, so plenty of fuel for the fire to consume. it's going to be a tough day for the firefighters. heather: thank you so much for joining us with the latest. jon, only 1% contained. jon: that's bad news and, unfortunately, thunderstorms and dry conditions are keeping the fire danger elevated. fire watches remain in effect all across the west. rick reichmuth in the fox weather center for us now. >> reporter: you know, dominic was saying that very well, it's the drought that's the problem. you get some moisture, it's the monsoon system, so we're getting thunderstorm, but with that

comes strong winds and more lightning. what you need is a lot of moisture, and we've been getting good showers across parts of arizona, not as many fires burning across that area, and most of the moisture is across this southern part of the southwest. we haven't seen it across idaho and montana and such. yesterday this fire had been at 6% containment. it has gone down with that big explosion in the fire that happened overnight. temperatures still remaining warm, and it's still remaining dry. take a rook at all the states across the west that are dealing with some sort of large fires. idaho, certainly the worst of it, but california. want to tell you, we do have one thing that is potentially going to bring us some big relief and help over the next couple days. there is a tropical storm off the coast of mexico. it is going to go over of cooler water, so we're not talking about a tropical storm making any landfall into southern car, but that moisture associated with it is going to pull in towards areas of the southwest, it looks like.

if that happens, we could be seeing a good area here across parts of southern california into nevada, maybe all the way eventually up towards idaho where we see an inch or two of rain. if we could get a widespread be rainfall, that would be great news, and at this point it looks at least the southern tier of the southwest gets that, but hopefully, we can get some of that in towards parts of california and idaho as well. the good news is at least the moisture content in the air goes up, and that helps matters a bit as well. jon: yeah. looks like it would miss that yosemite fire, huh? >> certainly not in the area, but moisture in the air helps firefighters. jon: rick, thank you. heather: a scary reminder of the automated, computerized world we live in. nasdaq shutting down for several anxiety-producing hours. was it a glitch or something deliberate? what federal investigators are saying was the cause. plus, hours after he was sent to prison in the wikileaks case, bradley manning saying he wants to identify himself as a woman and will undergo female

hormone therapy. how the media covers manning's story going forward. our news watch panel weighs in. >> he wants benefits from the military for a sex change, um, he's convicted. >> i don't think so, no. i don't think they should pay for it. after what he's done, i don't think he should get any help for us. >> why should my taxes go to pay for his gender or assignment? no. hey kevin...still eating chalk for heartburn? yeah... try new alka seltzer fruit chews. they work fast on heartburn and taste awesome. these are good. told ya! i'm feeling better already. [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer fruits chews. enjoy the relief!

heather: welcome back. "happening now," a scary reminder of the automated world that we live in and the consequences that go along with that as we check in on the markets. federal investigators trying to get to the bottom of yesterday's big freeze on the nasdaq, shutting down trading for three hours. fox business network's rich edson, he is live from washington with more on what happened. rich? >> well, from the beginning, questions of whether a technical glitch or a cyber attack halted trading, the nasdaq exchange at a standstill for more than three hours. nasdaq blames a connectivity problem, though the glitch was of enough concern to officials that it reached the highest levels of the federal government, and one security expert says it may prompt officials in washington to react. >> it's a significant enough concern that they wanted to make the president aware and keep him appraised of the situation. and it highlights what a number of people have been talking

about, which is that the more technologically-driven our economy is, especially these high-speed trades and, you know, smart grid, etc., the more vulnerable we are to potential interruptions. >> reporter: securities and exchange commission chair mary jo white says she plans to host a meeting with exchange officials and market executives about the nasdaq freeze. she says she's pushing the sec to approve new standards and fines for electronic trading networks. the rules would require exchanges to test their systems and design plans to prevent failures. another regulator, the commodity futures trading commission, according to people close to the matter, say they are getting ready to put out new rules for high-speed computer trades. and congressional staffers say they are also examining the nasdaq freeze. back to you. heather: rich edson joining us live, thank you. jon: well, the mainstream media seem to be wringing their hands over how to identify private bradley manning. this after he was sent away for a long prison stretch for his leaking of classified documents

to wikileaks. the former army intelligence analyst now says he wants to be known as chelsea manning and says he hopes to undergo female hormone therapy while in prison. so is he a him or a her? witness this exchange on the "today "show. >> is there a chance that she, as we're now referring to her, would be then transferred at some point to a women's prison? >> i think it would be far down the road and probably if she had that is sex reassignment surgery that we don't know if she actually wants and, by the way, the army has said it doesn't provide hormone therapy or gender surgery, so if they want to go down that road, they're going to have to sue to get there probably. jon: so doesn't that mean she is going to remain a he for a very long time? let's talk about it with our news watch panel, judith miller is the pulitzer prize-winning reporter and author, kirsten powers a daily beast columnist, both are fox news contributors.

what do you think about this controversy? >> well, this has sent editors scurrying to the ap style book to see what it says about it. you know, look, the media are plural, and they have divided down the middle. msnbc was very quick to say we're going to call him a her. this gives new meaning to the term he said/she said. but, basically, "the new york times," most newspapers are still using the he because, as the times said, we really don't want to spring this on somebody, a reader who's been used to hearing bradley manning referred to as a he. jon: he still has male equipment, kirsten -- [laughter] why not call him a man? >> yeah. well, i think that seems right. i think as long as he is a man, he should be referred to as a man. i understand there's an argument that people should be able to be called what they call themselves, but if you think about that, what if people just start deciding all of a sudden judy says i demand you refer to me only as he?

i mean, there does seem to be -- there should be some correlation between reality and how you're referring to a person. jon: well, from the now on i would like to be referred to as your royal highness. [laughter] >> your eminence. jon: that's even better. i mean, is this political correctness gone amok here? >> well, the ap style book does say we go in general with what the perp -- the person wishes to be called and if the person's financial physical attributes support that. look, this is going to go on. i think the situation will evolve. there's a bigger issue here which is should the american taxpayer pay for bradley manning's is sex change? jon: the army is saying, no, no way, but is there going to be a lawsuit? i suppose, probably. >> well, i don't know enough about the medical facts behind this, and i wouldn't make light of it. i think it is a pretty serious thing as i understand it, and if it's a true medical condition and they cover other medical conditions, then i would say that it should be covered.

and i know a lot of people are rolling their eyes, but i think there's a lot of suffering that goes along, i think, with a lot of people who are confronted with this. >> well, the army ignored this before the fact, and did that affect his behavior that, you know, has left him in leavenworth? maybe, who knows, but it didn't come up a lot -- jon: you know, there are cynics out there who say maybe this is all part of a plan to get, you know, early release or parole or a new trial or something by maintaining some kind of a ruse here that isn't necessarily the case. >> no, i think that he made it clear, his lawyers made it clear in the beginning, there's e-mails, there's really correspondence be with the army about this issue. this was a troubled young guy. whether or not that exonerates or, you know, justifies what he did, obviously, the court found, no, the military court said no. jon: all right. let's turn our attention to the other story that we're paying attention to. samantha power, the president's

representative to the united nations, ambassador to the united nations, was not there when the syrian vote took place, the syrian issue was presented to the united nations. this after roughly a thousand people, perhaps more, died in what the syrian rebels are calling a gas attack, a chemical weapons attack. the question is, where is samantha power? she may have been on a trip, whether that's a vacation, we don't exactly know. but, kirsten, what do you think? rick grin el says, look, she is the president's representative, she's a human rights advocate, she should have been there for something this important. >> well, it's the end of august, a lot of people go on vacation. i don't know where she is, but it's not unreasonable to think she may have a long-planned vacation, and i don't think we can read into that to say she's not engaged. she sent her deputy who i presume she has confidence in, so it seems a little unfair to me, honestly. i think she is very engaged on

the issue, but it's hard to know also without knowing exactly where she is. jon: and that's why i think we wonder shouldn't the state department provide a little more information about where she is? i mean, people can understand if you're on vacation, you booked a trip, nobody wants to, you know, pay the airline fees. we get it. but why don't they tell us that? >> well, especially, because the state department spokesman said and in the interest of transparency before saying she wasn't going to reveal where samantha power was. look, this is a very important moment, and she's been on the job 19 days. if she's on vacation, she owes it to the american people to say that. jon: i remember, you know, my first job i didn't get a vacation for a year. i mean, you had to work a while before you were entitled to a vacation. >> well, she strikes me as somebody who works a lot, and she's been in different positions in the administration, and she does have a child and a husband. i think people should be allowed to spend time with their families, and you can't plan international crises. so, like i said, i think that they should be more

straightforward with it, absolutely, at the state department, but i think she can do what she needs to do probably from wherever she is. jon: the question we often ask on this panel, if a republican president's u.n. envoy didn't show up for a big vote, wouldn't that person be hammered in the media? >> yes. [laughter] jon: that would be unfair. okay, all right. there you have it. kirsten powers, judy miller, thank you. heather? heather: and you can actually watch more of that panel, right, jon? jon: we've got news watch coming up this weekend, i should add that, 2:30 p.m. tomorrow. thanks for that, heather. heather: yeah, you're welcome. coming up, brushing your teeth, it keeps away cavities and gum disease not to mention keeps your breath fresh, but wait until you hear what a new study has to say about brushing your teeth and preventing cancer. and fishermen onboard this boat didn't have to look far to land this huge catch. the story just ahead. here it comes.

[bleep] >> you all right? >> yeah!

test .... test... and i decided i would never, ever leave it anywhere. because that wonderful, bouncy, roll-around thing... had made you play. and that... had made you smile. [ announcer ] beneful. play. it's good for you.

beneful is awarding a $500,000 dog park makeover... in the 2013 dream dog park contest. enter now. i'm here to get the lady of the house back on her feet. [ all gasp ] oj, veggies you're cool. mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! 'cause i'm re-workin' the menu, keeping her healthy and you on your toes. [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein.

i see you, cupcake! uh-oh! [ bottle ] the number one doctor recommended brand. ensure®. nutrition in charge™. heather: we all, of course, always know brushing our teeth every day prevents cavities and gum disease, but there is a new study that regular brushing lowers our risk of cancer. the chair of urology at lennox hill hospital, dr. samadi, and a member of the fox news medical a-team, thank you for coming in. >> sure. thank you. heather: so what is the connection? >> so the throat cancer was always one of major risk factors with smoking and alcohol, and that has been in decline. now we know that 60% of all these throat cancers are related to hpv, and that's a really big news. the study that we're talking about that's coming from texas health center is that they did a

survey of about 4,000 people, and now their -- they're finding out that poor dental hygiene correlates to getting these kind of hpvs which can relate to throat cancer. >> and about a year ago michael douglas, it was discovered that he had the throat cancer from this hpv virus. >> yeah. it was great that he really talked about it, he brought it to the news, and now more and more people are aware of this. hpv is extremely easy to get, there's no good vaccine for this, and about 10,000 men end up with this, about 3,000 women get this. but so now we're finding out that brushing your teeth and keeping a real good dental hygiene can prevent this kind of hpv contamination. even if you get it, by brushing your teept, you can reduce the risk of cancer. it's big news. i also want to tell you something about brushing your teeth. it's not just about cavities. two years ago we had this huge study that talked about the poor

dental hygiene and what heart health. so a lot of these bacterias can get into your gums, your system, your blood and cause dementia, stroke, heart disease. so brushing your teeth is extremely important, and now we can see it can actually reduce the risk of hpv. big news in the field of cancer. heather: yes. now, is there a test available to track and discover hpv? >> i'm glad you brought it up and, unfortunately, the answer is, no. it's extremely difficult to find oral hpvs. of course, a lot of ear, nose and throat surgeons can scope for lesions, but there's no good test, so prevention is a big key and also continue to brush your teeth. that's really important. heather: all right, doctor, thank you so much. i'll see you again soon. good to see you too. jon? jon: president obama is making the final stop on his two-day bus tour. take a look live as he is laying out plans to tackle the rising costs of college. this in hard-hit scranton, pa.

mike tobin is live with a preview. mike? >> reporter: and, jon, the president's talking about aodder bl tuition, but what do the people here in scranton want to hear from him? details coming up. [ male announcer ] running out of steam? ♪ now you can give yourself a kick in the rear! v8 v-fusion plus energy. natural energy from green tea plus fruits and veggies. need a little kick? ooh! could've had a v8. in the juice aisle.

jon: the second day of jury deliberations underway right thousand in the fort hood shooting -- in the fort hood shooting trial. if -- hasan is charged with killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 others at the texas military base back in november, 2009. hasan gave a brief opening statement to jurors nearly three

weeks ago admitting to the deadly rampage. since then he has remained mostly silent as prosecutors called nearly 90 witnesses, many of whom identified hasan as the gunman. ♪ ♪ jon: "happening now" as we await president obama's remarks at the university of binghamton in upstate new york laying out his ideas to rein in the rising costs of college, he is also wrapping up his two-day bus tour in hard-hit scranton, pennsylvania, later today. it's a city of just under 80,000 with an unemployment rate well above the national average and a long list of major economic troubles. mike tobin is live in scranton with more. so what is the president planning to do there in scranton, mike? >> reporter: well, as you mentioned, the primary focus of the president's talk is to talk about the affordability of secondary education. but when you talk to the people here in scranton, pennsylvania, only one thing is on their minds, and that is job creation. they say without a solid income

nothing, including tuition, is affordable. >> but, you know, education, we've got to talk about getting jobs around here, because there ain't no work. >> well, for me who, i'm still in school, so it's kind of hard for me. i, obviously, have just one job and try to go to school, work full time, so, you know, the cost of education for me is just astronomical at this point. >> reporter: there are only three economic drivers in this town. you have the university withs where the president will speak today, a couple of big hospitals, and then you have retail which really, jon, is dependent on the first two. jon: we mentioned that the economy overall is not so good there. give us, you know, some of the highlights or low lights as it may be. >> reporter: yeah. you know, in scranton like a lot of other talk abouts in this part of the country had its heyday. it garnered the nickname

electric city for the streetcars that ran through the center of town, but when the mine dried up, the prosperity dried up as well. scranton saw a resurgence in the '90s, but this day and age this town is struggling. >> scranton is not having a good time in terms of employment in the sense that our unemployment rate, the last that was published, the data came out of the state is standing around 9.2%. that's in june. which is higher than our state average. our state average is right now somewhere around 7.6, 7.5 last month. nationally, slightly better, 7.4. >> reporter: and to update the numbers, it even gets a little bit worse jumping almost a full percentage point to 10.2% unemployment in scranton, pennsylvania, and it should be noted this is the hometown of vice president joe biden.

jon? jon: and the president is going to have his work cut out for him later today. mike tobin, thank you. heather: still to come, talk about the one that didn't get away. this group of fishermen got quite a surprise when a massive fish jumped right into their boat. up next. ♪ for a strong bag that grips the can... get glad forceflex.

small change, big difference.

people wait for this promotion all year long. and now there are endless ways to love it... from crispy to spicy to savory. [ man ] you cannot make a bad choice. [ male announcer ] red lobster's endless shrimp! as ch as you like, y way you like! you can have your shrimp. and you can eat it, too. [ male announcer ] try our new soy wasabi grilled shrimp or classic garlic shmp scampi. all just $15.99 for a limited time. it's gonna be a hit this year. [ male announcer ] red lobster's endless shri is now! we would neveriss endless shrimp. [ male announcer ] but it won't last forever. so come and sea food differently. how about this fish tale? a grouch fishermen from florida

snagging this. a monster 350 pound marlin, john. >> comes right in the boat. >> comes right in there. off of the coast of the dominican republic. the crow of the marlin, named appropriately. this one died of self sustained injuries and they gave it to the local fishermen. they were lucky. that could have been a fatal lope with that bill. >> knocked one guy over and surprised the rest. >> i am sure they are thanking their lucky stars. >> have you ever been deep sea fishing and caught that? >> i have dolph dolphin off of the coast of carolina. >> carolina is my neck of the woods. >> i know it. anyway, good for them. >> nice to have you