it. [ laughter ] tomorrow, no more refs! the official score, 2-1. we'll settle this tomorrow. so long. bill: that is how brian ends every day by the way. that wasn't just today. morning, everybody. fox news alert now. we have gone face-to-face with the syrian strong man as you probably have never seen him before. fox news exclusive. defiant bashar assad admitting for the first time that his country indeed has a stockpile of chemical weapons but he denies he has used them. there are a lot of headlines from the interview. that's where we start. i'm bill hemmer in "america's newsroom." good morning. >> good morning. i'm martha maccallum. it was a hour-long interview. it was fascinating. at times it was chilling to listen to what he was saying. foreign affairs correspondent for fox news, greg palkot did a

wonderful job as well as congressman dennis kucinich who conducted the interview as well. the dictator believed by many for the death of so many of his people. >> we know that president obama and secretary kerry have said in the past that you were lying. now that is their words, not mine when you said you didn't have any chemical weapons. a few days ago in an interview with russia channel 24 you admitted you had chemical weapons stockpiles. i want to make sure we're clear before we go forward. do you or do you not have chemical weapons? >> first of all regarding what obama and kerry said, i dare them to say that we said no once. we never said it. >> you never said -- >> no, no. >> what about now. >> we never said no. we never said yes. we always -- but we always say as this issue we don't have to discuss it. if you want to talk about, we say if, if means you may have

it, you may not. this is blatant lie. >> can you tell us now, do you have chemical weapons or don't you? >> when we joined, when we joined the treaty last week, it means that we haven't said that. it is not secret anymore. bill: when that interview was over charles krauthamer and the "special report" panel examined parting the language. here is charles's take immediately from assad last night. >> bashar assad has a reputation, has had for over a decade that he has been in power for being simple and stupid as opposed to the father who is a wiley dictator. i think if you watch him for this hour you would have to conclude the exact opposite. he is very smart, extremely sophisticated and one of the great liars of all time. he spoke for almost an hour. i don't think there was a true word in anything he said including the words and and but. bill: the point he made, assad

got with he wanted audience with the american people in this interview. byron york, "washington examiner." what did you take from this? >> assad did basically deny everything. while he said he had chemical weapons he denied using them against his own people. he denied the attack. in the face of the evidence greg palkot presented which is the amount of gas was used, the weapons delivery systems that were used he denied it all, said, terrorists can make sarin gas in their kitchens. he made a very unbelievable story as far as the gas was concerned. in a larger sense he blamed all of the problems of sir why on quote, the terrorists coming into the country. he said they were meeten al qaeda-related terrorist who is came into syria to make trouble. the fact of that, there are actually terrorists coming into syria, whether it is 15% of the rebel forces as secretary of state kerry suggested one time

or maybe it is 50% as some republicans on the hill said or 80 to 90% as assad claimed the fact there really are a significant number of terrorists among the syrian rebels. that's a big problem for americans as they try to figure out what to do in syria. bill: he also said the u.s. is backing some of what he called terrorists. what we would call rebel fighters on the other side. but he raise ad complexity too, this is still a serious problem for the u.s. in what way, byron. >> well, who to help. it is always been a problem who to help. we know there are homegrown opposition forces who want a better syria. we also know that there are terrorists, al qaeda, and al qaeda-affiliated groups that come in from the outside and want to create trouble and practice jihad in syria. we know that, and the question for u.s. policymakers is, how so get involved in syria and not help the bad guys. this was the problem in libya too and we weren't entirely

successful at it. bill: thank you, byron york examing that the morning after. there is much more throughout the day. byron thanks. >> thank you, bill. bill: martha. martha: let's look how we got here. the back in 2011 the u.s. slapped sanctions on syria's intelligence agency after a crackdown on the government on the antigovernment protests that cropped up there during the arab spring. then a year later in the summer of 2012 syria said it could use chemical weapons in response to an external aggression but they claimed that they would not be used on the internal opposition forces a month later president obama warned assad that the use of chemical weapons in any significant way would be a quote, red line, the famous quote that has gotten us to where we are today in many ways. this past march of 2013, syria's government and the rebels accuse each other of launching a deadly chemical attack in the northern city of aleppo. on august 21st, syria's

opposition accuses government forces of gases hundreds of people near damascus, killing men, women and children as they slept. bill: who believes assad will give up his chemical weapons? or is he just trying to buy time? democratic congressman eliot engel has been at the forefront of this topic. he will be our guest in the next hour. send us a tweet @billhemmer and martha maccallum based on what you saw last night. he said a billion dollars is the price tag to destroy the chemical weapons stockpile that is in syria today. martha: suggesting that the united states should pick up the bill for that as well. very interesting conversation. we have this fox news alert for you this morning. an industrial plant explodes in oklahoma. it has sent a ball of fire shooting into the night sky. fortunately, unbelievably, nobody was hurt, thank goodness. surrounding neighborhoods though have been evacuated as the threat from dangerous chemicals to the people there continues this morning.

casey stiegel is live for us from dallas this morning. have the crews made progress, casey? >> reporter: fortunately they have, martha. shocking when you look at those pictures but even this morning there are reports of smaller miner explosions. it happened in pamas, oklahoma. that is hour 1/2 northwest of oklahoma city. very small town. only 1200 people. the fire erupted at the danlin plant. they use produced chemicals in oil field production. look at the flames. a representative said no employees were in there at the time. work already wrapped for the day. folks in surrounding neighborhoods were evacuated because of chemicals in the air and the threat of flare-ups. >> it is scary, yeah. i didn't know what to do at first. i didn't know if we were going to have to leave town. my dad is not here so we wouldn't be able to do much so. it is kind of scary. >> reporter: no word yet on a cause on this, martha.

martha: what about when people might be able to return to their homes, casey. >> reporter: some already have with the exception of some people living to the north of the facility. firefighters on the ground say they will likely have to let this burn out but they do believe however most everyone will be able to go home later this morning once the threat of those explosions diminishes, martha. martha: casey, thanks acres little background on danlin industries. they supply chemicals to the oil industry. 75 people likely out after job for the moment at least temporarily as the fire investigation continues. this is taking place in thomas, oklahoma, small town, population of only 1200 people. martha: there is a gloomy outlook on the economy ended up sending stocks soaring to record highs yesterday. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke announced that the federal reserve needs to keep printing money and pumping it into the economy because he

believes that the economy is still in a very fragile position. so we're basically in the posture we have been in now for almost five years. stuart varney joins me now, host of "varney & company" on the fox business network live this morning. stuart, good to have you here. this is one of those things. i mean the market loves it in the short term because it means you will have lots of liquidity and it will keep stock prices high and bond prices low but is it really good for the overall economy and for our investments? >> it is very good for your investments. whether it is good for the overall economy long term that is another story. you have to ask, is printing a trillion dollars a year, has it been good for the economy so far? a lot of people are saying no, not much good so far. martha, let me tell you exactly what it means to you right now. four things. number one, mortgage rates, going to come down a little. number two, your 401(k) is going to be a little bit more valuable because stocks surged all over the world. number three, those gold coins

you might have bought for the kids, worth a whole lot more this morning. gold is up $90 an ounce. number four if you have a bank cd it is not paying you very much money at you, it still won't pay you much money at all way out into the future. four impact on you, all of it pretty good. but as for the economy, the jury's out. martha: yeah, i mean that's the big question here, whether or not, obviously the obama administration is betting that, you know, the more money they print and the more liquidity that you put out there it's going to improve lending and it will improve employment down the road swan wally, they will borrow money and improve their companies. that is the idea, right. >> that is the theory. it hasn't worked so far. you could say ben bernanke is bailing out barack obama's failed economic policies. okay you keep on printing a trillion a year, what happens when you stop because sooner or

later you have to stop? then what? do we crash? that's the big question. martha: it is whether or not we've got an artificial inflation of the money flow out there is a big question this morning. stuart, thank you. we'll watch how it opens. we'll see you later. bill: i thought what the fed said yesterday was stunning. they were telling us our backs are not off the mat just yet. martha: decreased growth rates going forward. they also said the employment numbers will slip down ever so slightly. when you look at participation rate in the job market you wonder if the number goes lower really because people continue to drop out. bill: 7.3% stiffle. those are the folks we know anyway, right? showdown though over the budget, showdown over obamacare is coming your way. house republicans are drawing the line saying it is senate's turn to step up. republican senator rand paul reacts when he joins us today in "america's newsroom." martha: what police say may be the connection between kidnappers of this teenage girl and the victim's fam lift the family now reunited after an

awful 36-hour ordeal. bill: crazy story, huh? martha: yeah. bill: minutes from now two investigators who republicans say let senior state department brass off the hook will be forced to answer questions on benghazi. one of the congressman who will be asking the questions will tell us the answers he still is not getting more than a year after four americans were not killed. >> was additional security provided on that day, weeks before the september 11th attack? >> we never received that additional request. there was no way i could respond to a request that had not yet been submitted. ft. too tasty. [ both laugh ] [ male announcer ] introducing progresso's new creamy alfredo soup. inspired by perfection. new creamy alfredo soup.

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martha: we are now hearing eyewitness accounts of a terrifying bus crash that left six people dead in canada yesterday afternoon. passengers say that despite their screams the driver of that double-decker bus failed to stop for an oncoming train. >> i seen a few people dead. someone ripped in half.

[crying] i'm just a little shaken up right now. >> the bus driver jammed on the brakes. the lights were all flashing. thing was coming down. it wasn't quick enough i guess. >> gaetz were coming down? >> oh, yeah, the gate was down. >> i didn't hear much. all i saw, felt was a bump and i saw smoke and we were going off the tracks. i thought we were going to flip over. martha: scary. the driver was among those killed in that accident. 30 others were injured. 10 are in critical condition. an investigation is underway. bill: got a fox news alert. minutes away a house committee will question the lead investigators who found no fault among state department officials in benghazi. it was heated when the issue came up at a hearing just yesterday on this. >> let me get this straight. i know this has been covered before but i think it's very important. the only disciplinary action meted out to the four who failed

in the performance of their duties was being put on administrative leave for a while, then reassigned to other positions within the state department. i mean it seems like pretty pitiful discipline to me. >> i submit respectfully, mr. chairman, accountability includes being relieved from your job and assigned to other positions. >> no one miss ad paycheck. >> in the real world, this would never happen. this would never ever happen. they would be fired. they would be terminated because they failed. >> who made the decision, you or secretary clinton to not be transparent with regard to bonus incidents? >> i don't think it was either. i have to go back and find out. >> the real people who should be held accountable are not even interviewed. that is appalling. bill: that is yesterday. what will happen today? south carolina congressman trey gowdy is on the committee. you will ask questions moments from now. what will this hearing show,

sir. >> good morning, bill. we heard there was no accountability within the account ability review board. today we'll learn there was no review in the accountability review board. how can you conduct an investigation that is supposed to show everything, that's hillary clinton's word, everything about benghazi the president used the phrase, every element of benghazi is going to be unlocked by the arb. they never interviewed hillary clinton. they never interviewed susan rice and they never interviewed the commander-in-chief. so how can you possibly ask secretary clinton, why did you leave the facility open despite the terrorist attacks in benghazi in the summer of 2012? why did you leave it open? how can i answer that question for the victim's families if they never bothered to interview her? bill: is this interview about the fact that hillary clinton and the fact she was never interviewed? >> she was the secretary of state. 1998 another arb made this

recommendation after another attack on another embassy. the secretary of state shall personally review the security of our facilities. i think it's a fair question. while this arb is being touted, did you follow the recommendations of previous arbs? so it is inescapable she was the seg tear of state. we all would only like to take credit for the good things that happen on our watch but life doesn't work that way. she was the secretary of state. she has to give an accounting at some point about why she left that facility open. and the president has to give an accounting at some point on whether or not he ever called our allies in the region and said, we're under attack, can you help? bill: we're watching the room screen left. but two of men who conducted this investigation, they have got impressive resume's. one is a former ambassador, thomas pickerring. the other is retired admiral mike mullen. they will handle the questions and answers first. what democrats are saying folks like you will find out all the

questions have been laid out and they have been answered and all the criticism from the right will be squelched. what do you think about that? >> we, let me ask you this, or let me ask my friend elijah cummings. can you tell me when hillary clinton became aware there were security issues in benghazi? can you tell me why client hillary clinton did not close the facility because only she can? can you ask me did the president call any allies during the siege, can you help? can you tell me the origin of falls talking points that susan rice perpetuated on five sunday talk shows? those are the same questions we've had ford 12 months. i know my democratic colleagues would like to change the conversation. i get that. there will be victims, family members on the second panel. so i would encourage anyone who is interested in benghazi to ask them, are you satisfied with the answers you've gotten today? bill: sounds like some day very

soon hillary clinton will be back in the hearing room. >> gosh i hope so trey gowdy, republican from south carolina. the hearing starts in 10 minutes. thank you for your time, sir. >> thank you. bill: mart. martha: there is harsh new criticism of the president's strategy in syria coming from his last two defense secretaries. this is stunning. what they believe the president needs to do. >> what will happen at that point, haven't iraq, afghanistan and libya taught us something about the unintended consequences of military action once it's launched? martha: closer look at the esident's strategy in syria and what it could mean for u.s. foreign policy. bill: also a teenage girl kidnapped at gunpoint from her own home is back with her family. how she was found and who were these abductors anyway? >> this is a good day. this is a good day for the

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martha: let's get you a look at some of the latest right now. the washington navy yard is open this morning three days of the shooting rampage that left 12 people did. we'll have a live report on the gunman coming up in the next hour. someone in south carolina is a whole lot richer today, folks. lotto officials say a winning powerball ticket for an estimated $400 million was sold in that state. the powerball prize is the fifth largest jackpot in u.s. history. and it is not ours. well a teenager we've been talking about last couple days

who was kidnapped at gunpoint at her home is happily back with her family today. the police chief is thanking everybody who helped to bring her home safely. >> she is safe. she is safe. i want to thank the community as a whole for supporting the clayton county police department and all of the collaboration between the agencies, federal, state and local agencies throughout this ordeal. she has been reunified with her family. we currently have two suspects in custody. we're looking at some other suspects. >> that is great news of course. it leaves a lot of question what happened here. jonathan serrie is live from he will lenwood, georgia. how is she doing. >> reporter: by all accounts he is fine. she returned to neighborhood in this small town south of atlanta. neighbors said the girl was smite smiling and seemed relax.

police say she was physically unharmed. listen. >> she was checked by medical personnel, the girl was fine, happy to be home and very happy to see her mom and dad. >> reporter: ayvani perez is back with her family but the investigation into her kidnapping continues, martha. martha: all right. so what about a motive in this case, jonathan? >> reporter: yeah, police don't have a motive yet but it appears that the mother of this teen was, has some connection to at least one of the two suspects already in custody. according to law enforcement sources maria coral was arrested in a marijuana sting last year along with 40-year-old juan contreras rodriguez however the chargeses were dropped. rodriguez, a mexican national, is being held on immigration charges. a success speck arrested today, 29-year-old, wildrego jackson is being held on a charges of

conspiracy to commit kidnapping. police point out that the two suspects they already have in custody in connection with yesterday's arrest are not believed to be the men who actually broke into the house and abducted the girl. those men described by the mother appear in the police sketches released earlier in the week. police are still seeking the public's help in finding them. these suspects are still believed to be at large and police say they anticipate additional arrests as the investigation into this kidnapping continues, martha. martha: good luck to them. jonathan, thank you. bill: good for that girl, huh? wow, a lot of attention for a while. we're awaiting the start of a critical hearing on benghazi. the numbers have not changed, folks. four dead americans, no arrests, no firings, more on that when it begins in a moment. >> take a look at this. a little girl dangling from her sixth floor window. oh, my goodness. we'll show you what happens here.

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martha: some very harsh comments for president obama and his strategy in syria and they are coming from a very high place. from his two former secretaries of defense. both robert gates and lee on panetta say going to congress about the strike in syria was a mistake. they have different ideas what they think the president should be doing in syria.

>> my bottom line is that i believe to blow a bunch of stuff over a couple of days to underscore or validate a point or a principle is not a strategy. but we need to understand that if we launch a military attack in the eyes of a lot of people, we become villain instead of assad. >> when the president of the united states draws a red line, the credibility of this country is dependent on him backing up his word. that once the president came to that conclusion, that he should have directed limited action going after assad to make very clear to the world that when we draw a line and we give our word, damn it, we back it up. martha: boy, i don't think those two can expect a invitation to the white house anytime soon.

steve hayes, writer for "the weekly standard" and fox news contributor. steve, welcome. i can't remember a time when two secretaries of defense with a sitting president who just made a decision a couple weeks ago were this strong and outspoken against him. >> no, this is rather extraordinary. what is interesting to watch particularly in those comments and comments from former deputy cia director mike more rel, they're criticizing the way the president handled syria looking backwards, but they're also skeptical, deeply skeptical the way he is handling going forwards with this deal with russia and bashar assad. martha: you look at morrell's comments he says that the president has been played by syria. that phrase puts to my mind the interview last night and listening to bashar assad. let's play this sound bite from him last night. >> have you spoken to president obama? >> never. >> have you ever spoken to him? >> never. >> are you interested in speaking to our president? >> that depends on the content.

it is not a chat. >> if you wanted to send him a message right now, what would you say to him? >> listen to the, to your people. follow the common sense of your people. that's enough. martha: that exchange was fascinating to me. what did you think about that, steve? >> it was, it was very interesting and was a number of one of interesting exchanges in the interview. what you saw there from bashar assad is somebody who is relaxed, doesn't feel like he is being threatened. he thinks he bought himself time. to go back to the comments that mike morell made, number two official at cia been recently. he says assad is buying time and they have no intent whatsoever to give up their chemical weapons program. that is pretty striking critique from the former number two intelligence official at the cia. martha: it sure is. it feels like the president is very much alone on his syria policy it also feels, steve,

given the white house through the department of state yesterday is backing off the seven-day deadline. that they want nothing more than -- we've gone from this is a heinous act and how can everybody not understand what has happened to these women and children and gassings that happened in syria, and we must do something, to never mind. >> yes. that is exactly right. this is yet another example of this ad hock decision-making that we've seen from the obama administration on this and the arguments that they have made in public that totally contradict one another. on the one hand as you say you have chuck hagel calling this a moral obscenity. john kerry making suggestions that assad is the new hitler. then you have a deal that effectively leaves assad in place. now you're having the united states potentially in talks with the assad that treat him as if he is a legitimate international actor despite the fact that he slaughtered 10 of thousands of his own people including using sarin bass, something that is so far beyond the pale.

he now being treated as a potential partner in peace. martha: i also was struck by that exchange about the president never speaking to him. that is exactly the opposite of what candidate senator obama said he wanted to do. >> right. martha: he felt there was not enough diplomacy that happened in the world. yes, he said i would sit down with ahmadinejad, because you have to start with talking to hear assad say, no, we never had a single conversation. i never spoken with the man. >> i don't at all fault president obama for not talking to bashar assad because i think it has been clear for quite some time what kind of a person assad is, what kind of a ruler he is, but the remember the president sent two years ago ambassador to damascus after we had withdrawn our diplomatic presence for quite some time. the president sent an ambassador there. he presented his credentials to bashar assad. at the time the administration said look, we're under no illusions that this guy is necessarily a good guy but you

did have people like hillary clinton calling him a reformer and others who had a optimistic take. it is very clear the obama administration broadly if not the president himself wanted to engage assad and sought to deepen u.s. ties with syria in the past. martha: see how that turned out. thank you, steve. really interesting. >> thanks, martha. martha: thanks a lot. we'll talk to you later. bill: amazing thing how the story, it was front and center. it was on the front burner. martha: oh, yeah. bill: for the whole world. now where has it gone? martha: away. bill: curious. group of some 300 teenagers, they trashed his home and posted it online. how a former nfl player is reacting and the message he wants to send to the kids who are responsible. this is amazing. martha: unbelievable. and house republicans saying that the senate has caved in the showdown over defunding obamacare. this is a hot one. we will talk about it when we come back. rand paul will join us live. >> the president has protected

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martha: all right. look for some fireworks this morning, folks on capitol hill because the house oversight committee and government reform is questioning on benghazi and the unanswered issues surrounding the security at our consulate and who was truly responsible and why the people at the top of the chain have not answered questions as part of that accountability review board. this of course is chairman darrell issa. he is reading a letter from glen doherty's family. one. four americans who was killed and nobody has lost their job. let's listen. >> working to build bridges of understanding and mutual respect between people of the united states and the people of the middle east and north africa.

he was loved by many more libyans than those who hated him for being an american. a few dozen fanatics penetrated his compound but more than 30,000 people in benghazi demonstrated in protest over his death. chris was successful because he embodied the traits that have always endeared americans to the world, a commitment to democratic principles and respect for others regardless of race, religion or culture. chris regarded and liked each person he met as an individual. he respected their views whether or not he agreed. one of his friend told us a tale that reflects his success on a small scale. picnicking in libyan countryside -- martha: we're going to continue

this. darrell issa is reading a letter from ambassador chris stevens's family. he read a letter from glen doherty's family before that. obviously very emotional to hear about how the families felt about their loved ones. and still unanswered questions what left those people so julier inable at the facility in benghazi. we'll keep an eye on this we'll get back as soon as they get into the questioning part of that as. we'll keep an eye on it. >> the fight over here has been won. the house voted 40 times to defund, change, obamacare, to repeal it. it's time for the senate to have this fight. bill: what about that now? house speaker john boehner drawing a line in the sapped saying he and fellow house republicans are ready to offer a spending bill that guts obamacare. that sets up a potential government shutdown 12 days from now. but they say republican colleagues in the senate already thrown in the towel. what about that?

senator rand paul is with me live from the hill. senator, good morning to you, fresh off your magazine spread in "vogue". very well-done. not easy to do from western kentucky. listen, your republican colleagues are saying that you guys are waving the white flag already and that the republicans in the senate are just going to cave in. what do you say to that? >> well, that would not be me. i'm not planning on voting for any funding for obamacare. i think, i'm also not planning for any funding that breaks the sequester. we really have to do something about this spending problem, this debt problem. but i'm not going to vote to fund obamacare. i think it's a disaster for the country. bill: all right. another republican says, we expect them to stand and filibuster like rand paul. that's you. is that going to happen? >> i don't know but i better look for my better shoes. last time my feet hurt for two weeks. but they have to realize that a filibuster, my filibuster delayed things for 13 hours but

didn't stop things. so obamacare can only be stopped if 41 republicans got together and said, we're going to, we're going to have things come to a standstill and we're going to say to the president, you don't get 100% of what you want. see the president has it exactly backwards. he says, oh, republicans want to 100%. no, he is getting 100% of what he wants. what we want him to understand, there are many republicans democrats and independents in this country who are worried about obamacare and we want him to dial it back. we want him to compromise and which want him to make this bill less bad if possible. bill: if obamacare is subject one, government shutdown is subject 1-a. back to speaker boehner on that. >> there should be no conversation about shutting the government down. that's not the goal here. our goal here is to cut spending and to protect the american people from obamacare. it is as simple as that. there is no interest in our part

of shutting the government down. bill: what about the government shutdown aspect of that, will that happen? >> i agree completely with the speaker. i have not intention of shutting the government down. i think shutting the government down is a bad idea but i also think republicans should use our leverage. almost 50% of the people voted for republicans. in my state, 61% of the people voted for governor romney. they want us to stand up against big government, against debt, and against this overreach of obamacare and they want obama to dial it back. they want president obama to compromise. this is about a president who wants 100% of obamacare or he's going to shut the government down. i don't want to shut the government down but i also don't want to shove down the throats of americans an awful piece of legislation that will cause unemployment, higher insurance costs and will cost some part-time workers to lose their hours. so i think this is a bad bill. bill: harry reid, president saying, republicans would bear

the brunt of a blame for a shutdown if it goes that way. do you agree with that? >> you know i think that that's what they say. that is an argument but the argument is that we are voting to fund government minus a certain small amount for obamacare. they're the ones wanting to shut the government down. in if you go back through the clips last two months and google shutdown and politicians, it is all democrats. it is all democrats saying that somebody will shut down the government. we're not in favor of shutting the government down. we're in favor of funding all of government minus obamacare. bill: okay. we're going to watch obamacare, that issue as it moves through both houses, through both chambers i should say. we'll watch the government shutdown because the calendar is quite clear. you were pushing yesterday your sport for mandatory minimums or to work against that rather. saying it is bad law. you're one of only republicans

coming out on this joining a lot of democrats. why have you positioned yourself that way? >> i think kids make mistakes with youthful possession, sale, involvement with drugs. i think their life should not be ruined for rest of their lives. the president admitted using drugs when he was a kid, i don't agree with much of him on anything but i would hate to see his life ruined by this i came up with three examples i mentioned yesterday. one man 24 years old, sold marijuana, he was caught and caught three times and he wasn't the do the right thing. but 55 years in jail. you could kill somebody in kentucky and be out of jail in 12 years but selling marijuana you goat 55 years. that is crazy. the drug laws have been disproportionately used to put young black men in jail and i think it is wrong. bill: senator, thank you for your time. you're running neck-and-neck with chris christie in new bill: rand paul, we will speak

i think you were aware of that. senator rand paul. hemmer@foxnews.com and twitter@bill himmer, because you asked. bya. thank you, martha. martha: this story would make any homeowner nervous, a former nfl star has thousands of dollars worth of damage after his home was invaded and trashed while he was gone by a mob of teenagers. this happens in other places. i'm sure you heard of it. interesting things. [ male announcer ] progresso's so passionate about its new tomato florentine soup, it took a little time to get it just right. [ ding ] ♪ but finally, it happened. perfection. at progresso, we've got a passion for quality, because you've got a passion for taste.

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bill: terrifying scene, a little girl getting stuck hanging from a sixth floor window by her head. it happened in china. she's 3 years old. apparently, climbed out the window, was standing on the security railing when she slipped and fell down between the bars. rescue crews were able to reach the girl by loring themselves

down from the rooftop. she's 3, and she's okay. wow. ♪ ♪ martha: this just burns me up, this story. apparently, a party to end all parties. hundreds of teenagers broke into the home of a former pro football player and trashed the place. he wasn't there, of course, and it caused thousands of dollars of damage. and this happens in towns all across america at times. david lee miller's looking into this for us. so what happened? >> reporter: well, i can tell you, martha, that this labor day party at the home of brian holloway is going to be remembered for a long, long time but for the wrong reasons, most especially because holloway was not there. a mob of an estimated 300 kids broke into his property in upstate new york and did tens of thousands of dollars in damage. holloway, meanwhile, was more than a thousand miles away in florida. he learned of the so-called party as it was going on because many of the kids who were there sent out tweets. holloway says, at first he

thought it was all a joke until he saw photos of the damage on the internet as the party was still taking place. fox news talked to holloway this morning, and he recalls some of the tweets from those who invaded his home. >> we started reading all these tweets, people tweeting, you know, i can't believe holloway's house, this is awesome. we're trashing the joint. >> reporter: by the time sheriff's deputies arrived, windows and doors were kicked in, carpets were destroyed with beer, vomit and urine. the damage tab still not calculated, martha. at least, he says, $20,000, possibly more. martha: disgusting and so stupid because there's pictures of these kids, right? so have there been any arrests yet? >> reporter: incredibly, so far no arrests have taken place, but holloway says he expects

that's soon going to change in just the next few days because he believes by then he will know just about everyone who was there. so far, he says, about 50 of the intruders have already come forward to ask for leniency. and he had this message for those who he says must take responsibility for their actions. >> these kids and participants don't step up -- parents don't step up, i promise there's going to be an experience that's going to be called shock and awe coming down. >> reporter: holloway has set up a web site called help save 300.com, posting photos of the intruders, and he says some of the parents of the kids who broke into his home are now threatening him with legal action for putting their kids' pictures on the internet. he is cleaning up his property hosting a party this weekend to honor local veterans. many in the community are

helping out, but so far only one of the kids involved in the so-called party has come forward to assist. martha: unbelievable. i believe some of those parents are saying they can't believe that their kids' pictures were on the internet. bill: back in a moment to headlines from our interview with this man. >> we went out and asked people a simple question, how old is the oldest person you have k known?no who's lived well into their 90s. and that's a great thing. but even though we're living longer, one thing that hasn't changed much is the official retirement age. ♪ the question is how do you make sure you have the money you need to enjoy all of these years. ♪ still running in the morning? yeah. getting your vegetables every day? when i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. two full servings of vegetables for only 50 delicious calories.

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more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. ready to plan for your future? we'll help you get there. martha: we are back s and this is a fox fuse alert, getting ready for a tense debate today on capitol hill. lawmakers are set to grill people who republicans say gave top state department officials a pass on benghazi. there's elijiah cummings, he has a report out this morning as well. brand new hour starts now of "america's newsroom," i'm martha maccallum. bill: i'm bill hemmer. months of delays now, that house committee finally getting the chance to question those who conducted the review at the department of state. the board's report blaming systematic failures for last year's terror attack, but it does not hold anyone there accountable. four americans dead, no arrests, no firings.

lawmakers demanding to know why senior state department officials are being let off the hook. martha: chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge joins us now. what are we hearing in there so far? >> reporter: well, thank you, martha, and good morning. the hearing began about 20 minutes ago with the republican chairman quite unexpectedly reading from a series of letters from the family members who lost one of the four americans at benghazi. the family of ambassador chris stevens asking that his death not be politicized and that ambassador stevens underthe risks of diplomacy in high-threat areas. now, from glenn doherty, his sister wants answered a simple question, not only why was there no immediate military response that evening, but why to this day there was no response at all by the u.s. government. the focus of today's hearing is on the state department investigation known as the accountability review board or arb. it has been held out by the obama white house as thorough, rigorous and hard-hitting.

basically, the final word on benghazi. but what's being challenged today is whether it was truly independent, whether there were conflicts of interest and why the investigation was allegedly designed to affix blame at the lowest possible level at the state department. a key data point as the congressional investigations focus in on senior leadership at the state department is the testimony of ambassador stevens' deputy. you see him there, greg hicks, that it was mrs. clinton's personal goal to establish a permanent diplomatic mission, and that's why ambassador stevens was in benghazi. >> he was doing the preparatory work because hillary clinton wanted to have a permanent presence in benghazi by december. she wanted to be in libya to announce it. and if that's true, as suspected, then, in fact, to a great extent he was going there either to see if it was possible or to bring the evidence back to dispel any chance that benghazi could be ready by december to be a permanent mission.

>> reporter: we're expecting two panels of witnesses today, ambassador pickering and admiral mike mullen, they were the two senior executives, if you will, that led the state department investigation as well as the relatives of the victims in that attack, martha. martha: as i mentioned, we were just watching elijiah cummings on the dais there, so where do the democrats stand on this investigation in this panel today, catherine? >> reporter: well, prior to the hearing today the ranking democrat, elijiah cummings, issued fox news with the following statement, and it reads in part: >> r eporter: pardon me, i'm reading from something completely different, that happens every once in a while.

you should stick with what's on the screen, my apologies. martha: thank you very much. bill: a closer look at the review board's findings. state department suffered from systemic failures in the response to the threats at benghazi. security was grossly inadequate leaving u.s. personnel highly vulnerable. state department officials ignoring more requests for guards and safety upgrades. that compound had profoundly weak physical security and lacked proactive senior leadership for that security. martha: so in the last hour we were joined by republican congressman trey gowdy, member of the house oversight committee, saying that the arb investigators failed to interview the major decision makers whose failures he believes allowed this tragedy to happen. here's what he said. >> yesterday we learned that there was no accountability within the accountability review board with. today we're going to learn that there was no review within the accountability review board. how can you conduct an

investigation that is supposed to show everything -- that's hillary clinton's word, everything about benghazi, the president used the phrase the element of benghazi is going to be unlocked by the arb. they never interviewed hillary clinton, they never interviewed susan rice, and they never interviewed the commander in this chief. martha: so how could they have complete accountability without interviews with those individuals? that's a big question, and congressman goudy pointing out that the families of the benghazi victims are present in that hearing today. sean smith's family and also tyrone woods' family are there today, and he wants answers to their questions and believes that the arb failed to address so many of them. bill: back to that in a moment. want to get to this now in a fox news alert now, there's new video of workers at the washington navy yard returning for the first time since a gunman opened fire and killed 12 people monday morning, 8:20 a.m.

local time. and now details about the shooter, aaron alexis. police say he carried a sawed-off shotgun with cryptic messages. steve centanni, what were the messages on this gun, steve? >> reporter: well, bill, as you know aaron alexis did buy this remington shotgun just saturday in virginia not far from here. into the wooden stock of that shotgun, someone had carved the words were better this way and o my elf, two different inscriptions. the second one particularly puzzling, authorities don't know what either of these mean, my elf could refer to a computer program he might have been familiar with or a low-frequency wave as he had complained to police when he called hem in august in rhode island that he thought people were trying to penetrate him with microwave devices. so that could be one part of this. as we know, he did have a history of mental troubles, he had a spotty history when he was in the navy.

he did have some run-ins with police, some of them involving weapons raising a lot of red flags as chuck hagel, the defense secretary, acknowledged yesterday, and here's what he had to say. >> where there are gaps, we will close them. where there are inadequacies, we will address them. and where there is failures, we will correct them. we owe the victims, their families and all our people nothing less. >> reporter: hagel has ordered the review of base security and clearance procedures at u.s. military bases around the world. bill? bill: there's something we're trying to hunt down on this, too, about these s.w.a.t. teams, the early response teams from the u.s. capitol police that were given a standdown order after they had arrived at building 197? what about that, steve? >> reporter: yeah, that's what we're hearing. as you know, quite a few police agencies responded immediately, apparently, capitol police was among them. but when they were about ready to respond to actually confront the gunman, they were told to stand down, to back off.

we don't know exactly why. capitol police not explaining exactly why, but the chief said they believe in mutual aid and cooperation and put out a statement which says in part: because of the concerns that have been raised and my strongly-held beliefs -- that is in mutual aid -- i have asked the capitol police board to lead an independent review of our mutual aid efforts. people are returning to work at the navy yard but not to building 197 which was the scene of monday's horrific shooting. that's a crime scene, the fbi have commandeered the gym at the base to use as their headquarters. bill: steve centanni back at the navy yard. building 197 is here in the western part of this large area here in the navy yard in southeastern washington d.c. so that's a four-story building. advance it one time, and you can see the split levels here. floors 1-4. we're starting to piece together based on eyewitness accounts what we believe happened between

8:20 and about 8:20 in the morning -- 9:20 in the morning monday morning. we're told that he entered this building, went immediately to the fourth floor, checked into a bathroom there, and that's when he merged with the shotgun, opened fire on the forty floor down -- fourth floor down on the cafeteria below, and then moved for some reason down to the third floor as well. and some are suggesting that a security guard that was shot in the head down on the first floor, it was his handgun that alexis took and then went back to the third floor to continue shooting up there. did not say a word according to eyewitnesses during all of this. and now we're hearing that transpired over at least 30 minutes in a fierce gun battle with police who were trying to take care of him and eliminate the shooter. that's what they did, firing a bullet into his head to end all of this. we're just working through this, and the police are too, talking to everybody inside that building to figure out how this

happened. and the ultimate question about centanni, what he was just saying, was there a response team there? were they told to stand down and not enter that building? and if so, why in the world would that order be given? we're looking for answers on that. martha: and the shooter's family is trying to figure out what happened as well. the mother of the suspected killer is now speaking out for the first time. she read a brief statement from inside her home in brooklyn, new york. >> his actions have had a profound and ever-lasting effect on the families of the victims. i don't know why he did what he did, and i'll never be able to ask him why. aaron is now in a place where he can no longer do harm to anyone, and for that i am glad. to the families of the victims, i am so, so very sorry that this has happened. my heart is broken. martha: boy, got to feel for her too. this is just an awful story, and despite his history of mental issues and gun incidents, the big question here is how he continued to hold that security

clearance that allowed him to so easily get onto that base. we're going the hear from more families this morning and also talk about this tragedy a little bit coming up in our panel in a little while. bill: major headlines out of damascus, the syrian president giving an exclusive interview to fox news for one hour, brushing off the pile of evidence indicating he's responsible for last month's chemical attack. >> all that you've mentioned is not realistic and not true. definitely so far as government we have evidence that the terrorist groups have used sarin gas, and those evidences, those evidence handed over to the russians. bill: there are headlines from moscow at this hour, we'll update you on that. also, a war still going on. so is assad a delusional dictator, a defiant head of state? we'll ask congressman eliot

engel, he's live on capitol hill. martha: and the sparks fly at the white house press briefing when jay carney and ed henry go at it. we're going to show you what happened. >> the president changed his mind on syria. it wasn't a bad thing, he thought it was smart. i'm just asking. tease are the facts you've been presenting every day at this podium for the last couple weeks.

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bill: mentioned this right before the break, there are headlines out of moscow, vladimir putin saying moments ago he cannot be 100% sure that the syrian government will comply with the deal to destroy its chemical arms, its chemical weapons. he says he sees reason for hope. assad pretty much admitted all of it last night in that exclusive interview with the fox news channel that ran for an hour. and then he put a price tag on destroying the weapons. he put it at a billion dollars. what do you think about that, folks? martha: yep. bill: headlines out of moscow, we'll get you more on that in a moment. martha's got more.

martha: lots of reaction coming in this morning to the interview while denying any responsibility in last month's chemical attack and instead putting the blame on terrorists from other countries. listen to part of it. >> the majority of the innocent people have been killed by the terrorists, not by the government. you cannot -- not the government, one government in the world that would kill its own people. how can you withstand if you kill your own people for two years and a half? why the west of you is against you, and your people are existence you, is it possible, is it realistic? martha: very interesting watching assad at work more an hour. congressman eliot engel joins me now, ranking member of the house foreign affairs committee. your thoughts on what you just heard there, first of all, congressman. >> well, it's no surprise to me that assad is a liar and a thug, and i think that he's just continuing more of it. he must think people are stupid.

his country has turned against him. the only thing that's propping him up right now are hezbollah forces, a terrorist organization, which have come from lebanon into syria and backed by iran. so i don't believe much of what he says. i think he's going to try to spin things for his own benefit. martha: you know, we just mentioned a moment ago that there was a headline that crossed just about ten minutes ago from vladimir putin, and he's now saying that he can't guarantee that syria will turn over these chemical weapons. what do you think of that? >> well, speaking of another liar and a thug, i don't doubt that putin would make statements like that. look, we are going ahead with this agreement, and it's not either/or. we're going to see along the way if syria complies and if russia complies. and hopefully, they will. not because it's in our best interests, but because it's in

their best interests. and we'll see. if we find out that they're really not complying, then we can take over steps. that's why i think the credible threat of american force backing this up must always be on the table. martha: so where is that? you know, i mean, i think a lot of american people look at this situation. the president came out weeks ago and said that horrendous behavior was so reprehensible that we had to strike syria to take out these chemical weapons. then the back pedaling, then the will congress agree. then john kerry came out and said that it had to happen in seven days. he said assad has a week, we are not messing around here. he has one week. yesterday the state department said, well, actually that's just a sign that there's forward momentum in all of this. what are we doing here? >> well, i think we're hoping that one of the large stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction in the world can be somehow looked at by international inspectors, taken away and

destroyed. now, there's a long road from where we are now to where we get there at the end, and i think we're going to just have to see. i don't want to jump to any conclusions one way or another. it is disheartening, what you just said is very disheartening, and if it's an indication that the syrians and the russians are not playing it straight with us, i think we'll know very, very quickly, and i think there'll be time to act then. martha: a lot of folks look at this and say putin is now the biggest player in the middle east. he has told us that, oh, yes, assad's going to agree, we're going to come to an agreement, now those deadlines are not taking place. the president seems to have taken his eye off syria, he seems to not be talking about it anymore either. i mean, do we stand against this or don't we stand against this? and does the administration, have they moved on? >> well, i don't think they've moved on. i think the president is very much focused on this.

there was an agreement. if the agreement can be implemented, i think it's good for everyone concerned. but we'll see. i mean -- martha: but let me ask you -- >> our patience will not last forever, and we'll see as the days and weeks go by. martha: if there is another chemical weapons attack, what do you think the u.s. congress would do at that point in terms of giving the president the authority that he asked for? >> well, i don't know what the congress would do, i'll tell you what i would do in that instance, i would vote, yes. but as you know, if we go to congress, we've got to get a majority, and i would hope that democrats and republicans would put political interests aside and do what's right. if gas was used again, we would have to make a move. martha: are you satisfied with the president's leadership on this issue? >> i am. i think the president wanted to go to congress because he felt strongly about it. i think that this agreement -- if this agreement can get rid of syria's weapons of mass destruction, then i think it's a tremendous coup for the president.

i'm shul in favor of it. we'll -- i'm absolutely in favor of it. martha: congressman engel, thank you very much, sir. >> thank you. martha: our pleasure. bill: meet a beauty queen breaking all types of stereotypes, an army sergeant who is not afraid to show huerta toos. miss kansas is here today. ♪ ♪ this man is about to be the millionth customer. would you mind if i go ahead of you? instead we had someone go ahead of him and win fiy thousand dollars. congratulations you are our one millionth customer. nobody likes to miss out. that's why ally treats all their customers the same. whether you're the first or the millionth.

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martha: just moments ago the white houss now weighed in on the gop budget bill from the house that would defund health care, and it is no

big surprise that they say that they would absolutely veto h.r. 59 if it were to come to the president's desk. doesn't look like there's much chance of that at in this point, but they have made their feelings clear on the house budget bill that would defund the president's largest legislation to date. ♪ bill: could get a vote tomorrow on this, right? now comes the massive cleanup in colorado, this is a long and difficult task for many. >> lucky for me, my job was allowing me to stay at home, so i could be with the kids. i know that others didn't have that opportunity. >> we kind of need to talk about things like this before we can get on with our day and focus on what we need to focus on, and it's important because we're a community here and, you know, we care about each other, we want to know what we've all been up to. bill: a lot of them have been up to their knees in water. alicia acuna's live in boulder, near boulder. the work's just getting under way, where does that stand?

>> reporter: take a look, this is what we've seen in a lot of different neighborhoods of longmont. the town was hit pretty hard, the floodwaters came in and took out a lot of basements, and all of the items that were in there are now up out onto the driveways here covered in mud and dirt and a lot of the stuff is just so toxic now because of the debris that's covered in sewage and chemicals, things like that. now, it's not just longmont that was hit hard. do you remember we told you about the town of jamestown? a small community in the mountains that was cut off by the floodwaters. they're finally getting back into that area now, and the mayor has had a conversation with the residents there. he had it last night. and he had to tell the residents there that there is nothing left in the town of jamestown because the infrastructure has been wiped out. the flood waters took everything. and it's very similar in the town of lyons, the shock is still there. >> the whole river patterns have changed. it's not just like it floods and

goes back to where it was. i think that's been, for me, the most surprising thing is just to see a river reorient from where it was. >> reporter: very few people who are hit hard by this disaster have flood insurance, bill? bill: that's an amazing sight behind you, really takes your breath away. folks there getting some special help. who's doing that? >> reporter: they are. we're talking about team rubicon. they have arrived here on the ground in colorado. this is an extraordinary team that was formed by two former marines. back in 2010 after the earthquake that hit haiti, they've been to places like where hurricane sandy hit. of they ute the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to quickly deploy emergency response teams. the teams go in and identify areas within disaster zones that demonstrate the greatest need for help. they have medical specialists with an array of trauma expertise. they travel all over the world,

and now they're here in colorado. bill? bill: our best to them. alicia, thanks. there's a long road ahead. alicia acuna near boulder, colorado, again today. martha's what's next? martha: sparks were flying in the briefing room at the white house. press secretary jay carney on the defensive after our own ed henry grilled him over syria and health care. >> not going to vote on syria, then he changed his mind. everyone here says it's a great idea. he slowed things down. he changed his mind, what's wrong with that? 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.

bill: it is getting hot inside the white house briefing room. jay carney sparring with fox news's ed henry after being asked by president obama to allow congress to weigh in on syria but will not negotiate with pub pubs on the federal budget. have a listen. >> couple times you mentioned john boehner in march, shutting down the government is bad. >> overobamacare specifically. >> specifically. now he is changed his mind. president chenged his mind on syria. wasn't a bad thing. thought it was smart. go to congress. i'm asking, these are the facts you present every day at this podium for last couple weeks. he would not go to congress to vote on syria. he changed his mind. everyone here says great idea, changed his mind. john boehner changed his mind. what is wrong with that. >> shuttings down government over obamacare is bad idea. going to congress for seeking a

use of military force was a good idea according to hundreds of members of congress. >> haven't been able to get it. >> there hasn't been a vote. i see the arguments you're making. i see oranges and i see apples. bill: and i see a good panel. doug schoen former advisor to president bill clinton. monica crowley radio talk show host. both are fox news contributors that is the tone. what did henry say, i'm just asking? i'm just asking. >> carney gets a little testy, what do you know. thank god for ed henry. a members of the white house press corps are suddenly discovering what their jobs are supposed to be asking tough questions of the president and president's team. syria is so grossly misl mishandled creating an opportunity for the reporters to ask tough questions. neither carney or president's team have not faced tough questions. they're not sure how to handle it. bill: they don't like it or? >> and they're not used to it. and they don't like it. bill: doug. >> monica is right, they're not

used to it. here is the problem the syria problem policy has been incoherent and unfocused. it could be, i emphasized could be a salutary outcome but bottom line there are zigzags by both sides in washington and jay carney who takes the president's line has been having to defend policies incoherent as best. bill: as a democrat he calls this is a political circus. >> it is. it is. but bill, here is what doesn't get discussed and i think monica would agree with me. solving our budgetary problems, dealing with the debt ceiling. resolving syria in way american interests come first. both parties need to get together to deal with issues. otherwise we could have a calamity. >> i always thought and i suspected over last five years there would be a issue bubble up beyond the president's control, something he didn't create, something he couldn't control that would expose the emperor has no clothes. bill: and? >> this case was syria crisis

and he put himself in the box and box got even tighter around him and became a foreign policy and national security disaster for him and his team. what has never been exposed he didn't face tough questions. he acts if he is the first president to face tough decision and make tough decision. the press corps all these years supported him. bill: that is not what you saw with henry yesterday. >> ed henry is the exception to the rule. bill: gotcha. what he was doing talking about syria and the budget showdown. now speaker boehner's office has come out with a theme along that line. i want to play a little bit of that. >> sure. bill: watch what came up this morning. >> what i will not do is to have that negotiation -- >> let me reiterate what our position is and it is unequivocal. we will not negotiate with republicans in congress -- ♪ >> he will certainly meet -- >> i did discuss this with

president putin. this is something that is not new. i've been discussing this with president putin for some time now. >> we're going to work with the russians. >> mr. foreign minister, we are as serious as you are, about engaging in substantive, meaningful negotiations. bill: it goes on from there. that came from speaker boehner's office earlier today. effective? >> very effective. points to all the gross inconsists in the president's messaging and policies, what he is telling the american people, our adversaries allies alike. this is such a mess not just over syria but for the past five years. syria is in bold relief bill, but this has been going on for a long time. now the united states is in much graver and precarious position. bill: effective, doug? >> it saddens me. it is pretty incoherent but the larger message -- bill: what is incoherent? >> the idea of equating negotiating or not negotiating with republicans domestically with the syrian situation to me it is really two different

things but there is a larger issue, bill. we tried to solve problems as americans. the budget affects us all. syria, and international crisis as monica said is larger than politics. to politicize it when we're going into difficult times here and abroad i think is not constructive and harm youful. saddening. bill: thanks to both of you. i which we ended on better note. >> i hope so. bill: doug schoen, monica crowley thanks to you as well. martha? martha: a fond farewell to a great champion. legendary boxer and former heavyweight champion ken norton has died. his family says he has been in poor health for several years after a series of strokes. he took on all the greats of his era including three, look at these incredible pictures, right? it takes you right back to the fights with muhammad ali. in one of those fights he broke ali's jaw and became only the second fighter to ever beat muhammad ali.

ken norton dead at the age of 70. and you know, when we were kids, bill, the family would watch those big fights and they were so exciting. bill: big deal, friday nights. martha: he broke his jaw and went to the hospital to visit muhammad ali who's jaw was wired shut who managed to say i'm never fighting you again. he did two other times which he was beaten. bill: what a life. what a fighter. martha: great story. bill: search-and-rescue as new rush of potentially deadly floodwaters hammering parts of the u.s. where this is coming from and the hardest hit areas. we're hearing from family's of victims in the shooting in washington. how we can better protect ourselves from tragedy. >> i'm so shocked and stunned. we were going to retire soon and he loved his job. he wanted to keep working because he just loved it. when we made our commitment to the gulf, bp had two big goals:

help the gulf recover and learn from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company. i can tell you - safety is at the heart of everything we do. we've added cutting-edge technology, like a new deepwater well cap and a state-of-the-art monitoring center, whe experts watch over all drilling activity twenty-four-seven. and we're sharing what we've learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. our commitment has never been stronger.

bill: so from new mexico now,

they're trying to pick up the pieces. heavy rainfall cause ad nearby river to overflow. homes, trailers and cars partly submerged putting at least a dozen families out of their homes in that state. >> this is one of homes that was affected. see what is happening. seeing the families here. there is pretty high emotions. bill: well, no injuries reported. officials have now opened up a shelter for flood victims in new mexico. martha: gut-wrenching reaction from the families of the victims of monday's deadly rampage at the washington navy yard. 12 people lost their lives that morning. 11 of them are pictured here. among them was 73-year-old grandfather, john roger johnson. his widow, surrounded by her family, gave this heart-breaking tribute. >> my husband was wonderful, wonderful man.

he was always happy, always positive. never had a bad word to say about anybody. loved the world. love the life. loved his faith. and, just proud to be an american. and it's more than i can tell you. i just am so shocked and stunned. we were going to retire soon and he loved his job. he wanted to keep working because he just loved it, loved all the people he worked with. never met a stranger in his life and just a very happy, positive, wonderful, loving human being. more than, more so than anyone i have ever known in my life. and he is going to be greatly missed by a lot of people. he was a great father, a great-grandfather and just, just an awesome human being. and i loved him very much. martha: what a beautiful tribute

that is from judy johnson but it shouldn't have to happen. this woman should be spending the rest of her years with her husband and we need to figure out why this keeps happening in this country. leslie marshall joins me now, radio talk show host. david webb is the host of the david webb show, cofounder of tea party 365 both are fox news contributors. i can not listen to judy without getting emotional because she encapsulates how all of these families must be feeling right now and we have to ask ourselves this question because, how many times has this happened just in the past couple years, you know? you got to look at the system and every single time afterwards we say, well, yes, there were many red flags. this person was clearly mentally ill and yes, we knew about them and that about them and got his gun last weekend and all these issues and everybody gets up in arms but we're not getting anywhere. we're not making any forward progress, doesn't feel like, leslie. >> i don't disagree with you

there and i know a lot of people, especially in our line of work like to make this political but mental illness is not political. i mean it does not discriminate. whether you're a democrat or a republican but politicians have the power to do some things, not to cut funding to have. a programs, not to cut funding to medical programs or to first-responders. the issue with mental illness in our country is a multifaceted problem that needs a multifaceted solution. i believe it encompasses many areas, not allowing those with mental illness to have guns. having a transitional program for those who were in the military. they're trained to kill. they go overseas to kill and they come home and say, welcome home, two on with your life. so many of these people, perhaps this man, suffer from ptsd. they don't want the stigma the label put on them. we definitely need to address that. >> i understand what you're saying, but, david, i think in many ways mental illness has

become politicized in this way. have we become so pc that we do not understand that there are categories of people, many people who do not deserve to be institutionalized but some do, and if this man had been institutionalized something we seem to never do anymore, in fact, adam lanza's mother, according reports after newton. wanted to institutionalize her son. she was worried about him doing something. but unless you have been convicted you can not be institutionalized. what do we do about this, david? >> there's a fine line and i don't disagree that he agree we shouldn't politicize this issue because it is not a political issue. there is fine line between systemically failures and what we have with individual rights and privacy rights. without that conviction, that is the protection of our legal system. but in light of the safety that's needed i think we need to

look at the system. when you look at aaron alexis, he had problems in the navy. there was an attempt to discharge him with a general discharge which would have given a red flag and maybe led to further treatment and further assessment. he had issues that were clearly along a violent strain, even in his private sector, even after the military in his reservist days. so we need to look at the systemically issues. we need to not cast a wider net that says, that if a police officer reports or in anybody reports someone we suddenly gobble them up and put them in an institution. and in fact, when you look at the numbers -- martha: of course not. but we're having this conversation again and again. >> when you look at the numbers -- martha: i don't mean to cut you off, david. we have the same conversation and shake our heads and say, isn't it so sad? every time the first comes out he was normal guy. i knew him. no problem. then invariably hours tick by, people say oh, yes, we knew there was a problem. >> he wasn't a normal guys. there were signs that were

missed and signs ignored with major nadal hasan and others. not putting everybody under the same blanket. a report put in and taken to someone to get him further evaluation at va where he had gone and reported troubling sleeping and asked questions. the base police reported it in rhode island and it was missed. what i don't want us to do to turn this into a bigger problem and it's a tragic problem but only 69people were killed last year in intentional violence in the work place. that is according to the bls. martha: it is one too many for all the families. >> certainly is. martha: which got to go. we need to figure out where to draw that fine line that you talked about, david webb, to keep other innocent people safe. >> absolutely. martha: so we realize someone is a danktory society. there has to be a way. leslie, david, thank you very much. >> sure, martha. >> thank you. bill: "happening now" rolls your way in a couple short minutes. jenna lee is standing by waiting in the wings you are. how are you doing?

>> hi, bill, nice wings to be in, appreciate it. the clock is ticking on voting to defund obamacare. will gop leaders find a compromise or push forward with an attempt to stop the health care law even if it means a government shutdown. >> well-ask the question. a young woman famous for her hiccups is deemed able to stand trial. flu season is around the corner. but if you're sick can you be sure you get the right treatment? a new test can pinpoint what you need to get back in shape. all at the top of the hour. bill: that's it, all it takes? >> easy, breezy, bill. bill: see you at the top of the hour. meet a woman who has it all. she has beauty, brains and guts. the army sergeant who is breaking the mold. miss kansas is up here next. >> nebraska expects this tattooed, gun-toting army chick to be feminine and soft on stage and rock the stage with miss america. i'm all about breaking

stereotypes, doing things that society says i shouldn't. ♪ ♪ unh ♪ [ male announcer ] you can choose to blend in. ♪ or you can choose to blend out. the all-new 2014 lexus is. it's your move.

bill: new miss america crowned on monday night. miss new york. nina davouri. first with indian desent at bow-shooting tattoo-wearing beauty queen. miss kansas. earlier yesterday afternoon we had a chance to catch up with theresa vail. theresa vail with mee from wichita, kansas. how are you doing? good morning to you. >> hi, how are you? bill: i'm doing fine. i want to know how you're doing. you had a really big week. >> i'm doing great. bill: you said they don't expect to you be a beauty queen but i'm all about breaking stereotypes.

what does that mean? >> that's right. i showcased it on stage. nobody expects this tattooed, gun-toting army chick to be feminine and soft on stage and rock the stage of miss america. so, yeah, i'm all about breaking stereotypes, doing things that society says i shouldn't. i wanted to do archery but, you know, they have a clause against projectile objects and blah, blah. i did say, that, in my defense, i have never missed anything i tried hitting but that didn't go over so well. bill: you have two significant tattoos. serenity prayer on your rib beige. >> yes. bill: and a smaller military insignia on back of one shoulder. >> yes. bill: obviously you did that for a reason and you strutted on stage and everybody could see that. but you also want to explain how beauty comes from the inside. >> i think the stigma is that women with tattoos are, you know, like, butch or bikers, you know, whatever the stigma is. i wanted to show them is does

not matter what you put on your body. it is self-expression. it is creativity. that beauty, it is what is on the inside. if you're a compassionate person, if you're a genuine and kind person that is all that matters. bill: yeah, you didn't win. how did you feel about that? >> you know what? it doesn't even matter because i did what i set out to do was to break stereotypes. i may not have won the crown but i think it is safe to say i won the hearts of american people. bill: that's cool. congratulations to you. what do you do next by the way? >> a lot of press. a lot of media appearances. bill: for the military, how many more years or you know what's your objective there? >> yeah. i signed up for another six years but i plan on doing it for a career. they will pay for my dental school and i will be an army dentist until i retire hopefully. bill: nice. keep on breaking barriers. okay? nice to talk with you today. >> thank you. bill: sweet lady. wants to serve six more years in the military. good for her. martha: wants to go overseas.

bill: went to youtube and watched pavrotti sing a song. she mimicked. she need ad talent. it was terrible. martha: she went for it 100%. she did not hold back. you go, girl. dow is down about 18 points right now. big, huge run yesterday. we'll see where it heads today. we will see you after this break.

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martha: when you go to costco you think about buying big things of pretzels and peanut butter at bargain price, right? how about a single bottle of rare aged scotch? a store in scottsdale, arizona, selling a bottle for $17,000 for one bottle of scotch. that is a thousand dollars of shot for those who want to use shots. th