after the show show. >> someone said our show is almost as long as a school day. a school day is six hours. >> it's more like a telethon. those of you who watched all four hours, thank you. >> have a great rest of your weekend. sunday fun day! a fox news alert on a violent threat from syria that's going on right now. just as the white house says they believe the regime of bashar assad did use chemical weapons against its own people, women and children included. the united nations is now confirming they will begin a fact finding mission in syria as soon as monday. good morning, everyone. welcome to america's news headquarters. i'm jamie colby. >> i'm eric shawn. good morning on this sunday morning. now syria is threatening, quote, a ball of fire that would burn the whole region if the u.s. leads any military action against it. this as four u.s. destroyers are now poised and ready in the region. we're also following reports that assad launched chemical weapons attacks, reportedly

killing more than 300 people. his regime, though, denies that. they blame the rebels. the defense secretary chuck hagel says we must be ready to act, whatever the president decides. >> president obama has asked the defense department to prepare options for all contingencies. we have done that. again, we are prepared to exercise whatever option, if he decides to employ one of those options. >> now this morning iran is warning that a u.s. military attack would have, quote, serious consequences for the white house. with iran and russia in bashar assad's corner, does this conflict now pit tehran and moscow against us? u.s. ambassador john bolton joins us now as he does every time this sunday. ambassador, good morning. >> good morning, eric.

glad to be with you. >> what should we do? >> well, the president, i think, is responding here because he has been so heavily criticized over the past six months after the last reports of serious chemical weapons usage by the assad regime for not responding. so i'm very much afraid now he feels he has to take some military action for his own political reasons. that makes it very hard to predict what he's going to do. but i think given that he has received so much criticism, that's why he'll respond. i think that's a mistake. i think it fails to say what our objective would be in using military force. but i think that iran and syria as well are now threatening obama because they think they can back him down. >> what type of response do you expect will come from the united states? >> well, you know, if we have a response that simply lobs a couple of dozen cruise missiles into syria, it won't seriously

affect the balance of power between the assad regime and the opposition. it won't affect the outcome of the ongoing struggle. i think, if anything, it will make the u.s. look even more impotent. the president's got to make up his mind what his objective is. over the past 2 1/2 years he's said all kinds of things. but our strategy is fundamentally incoherent. i think the reason is primarily that the president has not been willing to take on the real problem in syria, which is not the assad regime, it's the regime in tehran. >> what should he have done? certainly he would not want american boots on the ground or american blood spilled in a syrian civil war. so what type of actions do you think he should have taken? >> right. well, i wouldn't have gotten involved in the syrian civil war since i think it's a secondary issue. i think the policy of the united states for a long time should have been to overthrow the ayatollahs in tehran. they're the ones who are financing and arming hezbollah and hamas.

they've financed, armed and supported in many ways, including deploying their own forces in syria to help the baathe party there. if the regime in tehran were removed, the syrian situation would look a lot different. so would the threat of a nuclear iran to the middle east as a whole. i think there is zero chance, zero chance, that obama will really address the iranian threat. and i think he's looking for some pretext, some excuse here in syria now to use military force so he doesn't, again, come under criticism for drawing a red line and then forgetting about it. >> he set that red line last august. that it was totally unacceptable to use chemical weapons. he said there will be con kwenss. in the last year there haven't really been any. the announcement that they're considering that, did that force the syrians now to accept and agree to the u.n. inspection team there to open up potential sites of where those alleged

chemical weapons are used? the u.n. official, he is there on the ground. what do you know about the team he is leading? 20 members? they may get tissue samples from victims. if they approdo prove tem cache weapons were used, can they prove who did it? >> he's working with the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons. the question is what will be his terms of reference when the syrian government takes him to the areas near damascus where the chemical weapons will be used. under the terms he and his team are currently in syria, they have no authority to determine who actually used chemical weapons in the episode from six months ago. but it will be very interesting to see if security conditions, quote, unquote, permit him to visit the areas tomorrow and under what circumstances. every day that goes by makes it

harder to find traces of the use of chemical weapons or certainly to find any attribution of guilt. >> can the syrians hide and deceive? >> they will certainly try. but i think this demonstrates why it was so foolish, so stupid, let's be honest, for the assad regime to use chemical weapons on the scale that many people believe they did. with the u.n. team sitting there in damascus after they had negotiated for five months to limit this team's scope of responsibility, to keep them out of syria, basically. they are in danger now that enough evidence will come out that will make it unmistakably clear that it was the assad regime and not the rebels. >> good to see you as always. we are waiting for a news conference in damascus from u.n. officials. when we get that, we'll bring it to you, thank you again. >> thank you, eric. >> jamie? >> we thank the ambassador as we tell you about more breaking news out of that region today. former egyptian president hosni mubarak appearing before a judge

in cairo as he faces retrial on charges of complicity in the killings of those protesters during the uprising that toppled him from power two years ago. it was mubarak's first court appearance since he was released from prison last week and then transferred to a military hospital, as you're seeing here. he had previously been sentenced to life in prison after his overthrow by a popular egyptian revolution back in 2011. but his sentence has now been overturned on appeal. that follows the ousting of former president mohamed morsi. now we have a fox news extreme weather alert. san francisco this morning, right now, in a state of emergency. that was declared by california governor jerry brown because of those wildfires that are burning 150 miles away. those fires now tearing through one of the nation's most pristine natural landscapes, yosemite national park. firefighters there are bracing for strong winds of up to 40 miles an hour.

those winds could fan the flames even more, threatening thousands of homes in the area. the massive fire burning more than 200 square miles so far. that is the size of chicago. it now is only 7% contained. people living in the path of the fire are being told to get out. >> 15 minutes to be out of our house. so we only got our kids, our animals and a little bit of pictures. you know, paperwork that we really needed. it was hard. >> it's a lot right now. i mean, we just moved in three months ago. we're just getting on our feet and getting stable. >> what's next? meteorologist janice dean is in the fox weather center. is it going to get worse before it gets better? >> it's so heartbreaking to see those folks. the tourists are gone. firefighters have taken their -- replaced them. this wildfire could burn out of control.

winds could be erratic. it's really hard to get in this mountainous terrain. speaking of yosemite, we're not just watching this fire. we have 50 fires burning across the west. as you can see, 13 in idaho. 13 across california. this is an ongoing issue. conditions have been incredibly dry. they didn't get the snow pack that they needed this winter. in some cases, we're dealing with moderate to extreme to exceptional drought in all of these states. they need a lot of moisture. unfortunately, it's not going to get into this area. so conditions are going to actually be more favorable for the spreading of wildfires as we head into today and monday. with temperatures very warm, gusts of 30 to 40 miles per hour. so dangerous. these fires can kind of create their own weather pattern. so very erratic winds. really dangerous for those firefighters who are trying to save homes and businesses and people. now, speaking of moisture, we are going to get some moisture into the southwest. but it's not going to make its

way up to yosemite, unfortunately. we had tropical storm evo yesterday. that has dissipated. in its wake we've got all this moisture that's going to feed into the southwest. this area needs the moisture. but, look, it's not going to get up to the areas that really need it right now where we've got wildfires burning out of control. forecast rainfall, some of these areas could get three to five inches. a rarity to see this much rain in this desert region. flash flood watches and warnings are up for the next several days. people are urged to be careful in this area as well. back to you, eric. >> sounds like a tough few days. coming up in the next hour, we'll have some live reports from the fire scene. the very latest on how the crews are trying to get a handle on this inferno that right now is only 7% contained. there is a central question emerging over our other big story. that's obama care. as congress nears the midterm

elections. what will actually happen in the republican effort to defund or delay the president's health care law? some in the gop are now said to be considering a new strategy for taking on the president's law. joining us now, shane deapril, editor of campaigns and elections magazine. shane, always great to have you with us. good morning. >> good morning, jamie. >> let me start by asking you, who is supporting which strategy and which is the most likely to make any changes to obama care? >> right now there's a core of conservatives in the house and the senate and they essentially want to take this to the brink in terms of defunding obama care. they want to draw a hard line in the sand and say that either democrats defund the law, do not fund obama care, don't go forward with its implementation or they will go so far as to say let's shut down the federal government so that the fundi ii does not get there. there's the establishment core of the republican party. that includes seems to be house

speaker john boehner and more of the core of the establishment republicans here in washington who don't think that's the smartest political strategy. ultimately see that as not being successful in the end. that would open up the possibility for democrats to sort of blame a government shutdown or some sort of chaos in washington fight right at the doorstep of republicans before the 2014 midterms. so the question right now is which direction do republicans go? are they going to fight within their own ranks, or are they going to unite and try to find a way to delay implementation as opposed to drawing the hard line in the sand as some conservatives want to? >> i want to get back to the actual delay and possible defund in a second. i want to ask you a timing question. is this a last chance time to come up with a strategy that will actually make changes? >> well, i think that that's what you're hearing from a lot of the conservatives. if you listen to senator mike lee or ted cruz in the senate, marco rubio is also in the corner of let's defund

completely, let's take the government potentially to the brink of shutdown to do so. they feel that this is the last chance to put the brakes on a law that they feel is fundamentally destructive. and so they're willing to do whatever it takes in order to do that. i think that there are some other folks who don't think that there is no -- there are other mechanisms, jamie, that you'll hear from more clear headed republicans, i think, in the house in the senate that they can delay as opposed to really draw this hard line and say it's a defund or it's nothing. so i think there's clearly two different camps here. >> can you threaten a government shutdown and actually get one and defund without the president's approval? >> ultimately, there is no real clear path. and if you listen to, you know, allies of speaker boehner and folks in washington who don't think this is the smart political strategy for republicans, they do not see a

path by which this group of conservatives actually wins this defunding fight. that's the issue. because if you do take the government to the brink here, if you do threaten a shutdown, if, in fact, a shutdown does occur over this issue, and there's no clear path to victory, that's a huge political opening for the white house, for democrats, because they are already preparing to paint republicans in both the house and the senate as inherently obstructionist. as only thinking about their own ideological objectives as opposed to moving the country forward. so politically it could be a disaster for republicans if they go this route. and ultimately don't succeed. and a lot of republicans in washington don't think it's going to succeed if, indeed, they go down that road. >> it seems many people, the big question is the cost of obama care. certainly for businesses. they got a bit of a delay if they have more than 50 employees. but the real cost of obama care, it's still inclear if even the cbo knows what it will cost for this country.

you have the deficit. the clock ticks. tick, tick, tick. it keeps going up. so the question is about the cost. how do democrats feel about that? everybody's home now in their jurisdictions and they're hearing from their constituents. do you think they're hearing, we can't afford it? >> yeah. i mean, they -- democrats are undoubtedly concerned. senate democrats who have got some tough races in 2014, democrats are looking to potentially take back the house of representatives in 2014. so from a political lens, yes, there are many democrats, jamie, who are worried about this. this is why i think you hear a lot of republican strategists and other folks, more of the establishment republican breed, essentially suggesting that let's not take the lens off of the implementation problems we've already seen with obama care. let's keep the focus on that. let's keep the pressure on democrats. lawmakers who are in tough districts in 2014 and in tough races. if we can keep the focus there as opposed to turning the lens to the infighting in the

republican ranks here in washington, that is much more advantageous for the senate out look in 2014 and to keep the house. >> they have to be thinking about it. we'll know as soon as they return after labor day. thank you so much. shane, great to have you here. eric? jamie, there's a new promising discovery in the fight against cancer. this as doctors pioneer a new treatment that they say uses the human body as the greatest weapon against the disease. doctors on "sunday housecall" will explain it all, coming up. plus, there is a conviction now of the ft. hood shooter, nidal hasan. the debate, though, over whether he'll actually get the death penalty starts monday. the historical evidence that suggests the ultimate sentence may never come. a threat of home grown terrorism. retiring fbi director, robert mueller, talking about that in his interview with fox news chief intelligence correspondent. >> should americans expect more

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in australia hundreds gathering from a memorial service for a college baseball player who was killed in that horrible incident in oklahoma. gunned down in what police are calling a thrill kill.

christopher lane's former baseball teammates and his american girlfriend were among the mourners. three teenagers now are facing murder charges in oklahoma over that horrible murder. one of those teens reportedly told police that they saw lane jogging and just decided to kill him because they were bored. his former teammates and coach back home are understandably devastated. >> today is part of the grieving process. it's important for our club to be around each other to make sure that everyone including the family feels the support and make sure that they feel like they're not alone. >> the baseball fraternity will be here in big numbers. but there are plenty of people here that are just, you know, local people. they know that chris was an oak park boy. >> chris was in the united states on a college baseball scholarship. oklahoma's governor and the district attorney there appeared on "fox news sunday" to react to the senseless shooting that has

stirred outrage both here and abroad. we'll bring you their comments a little later on in our newscast this morning. fbi chief robert mueller is stepping down after a dozen years on the job. he was at his desk barely a week when terrorists attacked on 9/11. he says the danger is not over. especially after a credible threat this summer. director mueller talks about that and future threats with chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge. >> we are closely monitoring the situation. i would say that it may well have been postponed. 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 between terrorist leaders? >> we are seeing dialogue between core al qaeda and the affiliates. the countries are going through the arab spring that will territorially present the

substantial threat down the road. >> so al qaeda is not dead? >> no. >> reporter: the threat connecting most home brown plots from the ft. hood massacre in 2009 to the boston marathon bombing earlier this year is that the suspects are followers of anwr al awlaki. the first american targeted for death by the cia. >> the increase in individuals who are radicalized on the internet and in addition to that can gain the knowledge on how you develop an explosive device on the internet, that is the biggest threat at this juncture. after that i would say probably al qaeda in the arabian peninsula out of yemen. >> reporter: fox's ongoing reporting of the cleric in newly declassified documents are raising questions over whether the u.s. government tried to recruit al awlaki as an intelligence source in 2002. >> i am not personally familiar with any effort to recruit anwr awlaki as an asset. that does not mean to say there was no effort in some other

bureau to do so. come pg ing up, keeping our immune system strong to ward off colds and ailments. new research says it can help in the fight against cancer. another big issue over the summer. ticks and lyme disease. why the cdc says the illness is on the rise and what you need to know about it. "sunday housecall" straight ahead when we come back. ♪ for a strong bag that grips the can... get glad forceflex. small change, big difference. uh-oguess what day it is!is?? huh...anybody?

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it's now time for "sunday housecall." dr. david samadi, chairman of urology at lennox hospital. dr. marc siegel is here. author of "the inner pulse: unlocking the secret code of sickness and health." that is what we do here on "sunday housecall."

great to see both of you. >> good morning. >> let's get healthier, shall we? there's some new research actually in the fight against cancer. everybody wants to do what they can. scientists have discovered a way of firing up your immune system to go ahead and attack cancer cells. so dr. samadi, fire it up. >> yeah. our immune system is very complex. yet it's very interesting. over the years, we've talked about the fact that we have used any way to boost the immune system and weakening the cancer cells, which is the way to go. surgery and radiation and chemotherapy was a way to treat the cancer cells. what we're doing now in the future is really to boost the immune system. in urology, for example. for bladder cancer we've used tuberculosis to boost the immune system so they can treat bladder cancer. now we have taken some of the blood and re-engineered it and put it back in again to fight the cancer. this particular study coming from dr. wayne hancock, a very interesting one, there's a balance between the