bret. bret: in an interview with the wall street journal, rahm emanuel seemed to suggest that the white house was not fully committed to a public option, that the goal is non-negotiable but the path is. what is that about? >> it is not something that liberals happy about. they want this public option in there, but today, and in conversations over the last couple of days, democratic leaders have been sounding out republicans on an option proposed by kent conrad, the democratic chairman of the senate's budget committee, and he has proposed cooperatives for healthcare in which people could pool their e sources and get insurance cheaper, perhaps as non-profits that. is getting currency and may be an alternative to keep an eye on. bret: we will be watching. carl, thank you. the globe of the economy and climate change are two of the big issues in italy. president obama promised action to fight climate change but senior white house correspondent major garrett reports that the deal may be more rhet

i'm bret bret. as president obama was preparing to throw out the first pitch for baseball's all-star game tonight, his supreme court nominee got a mix of softballs and brushback pitches during questioning from senators. judge sonia sotomayor handled the topics from abortion to gun rights to her now infamous "wise latina" comment. we have fox team coverage tonight. carl cameron brings us reaction from capitol hill and correspondent shannon bream has an overview of today's session. good evening, shan shannon. >> hi, bret. today was the first chance for sotomayor to answer her critics and to explain that wise latina comment. when given the opportunity, did she really explain it or as some argued, did she simply shift course? i do not believe that any racial or gender group has an advantage in sound judging. >> that's what judge sotomayor told judge senators today but it seems in conflict with the line she has uttered "i would hope that a wise latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more

that was part of the question asked of me. >> bret: fair enough. last thing, friday when the president came back out and said he made -- need to calibrate his words differently, how much did the news conference friday afternoon in which cambridge police officers and union leaders said the president should apologize, to, quote, all law enforcement personnel throughout the country, affect the president's decision to come out friday afternoon? >> brett he did not watch the news conference. he was working in the oval office, throughout most of that day. i think that at that point, he understood that, again, his words had unnecessarily contributed to the frenzy around this. that he felt it was important to reach out to the police officer, and to explain what he was trying to say, they had a very good conversation. and i think cooler heads prevail. >> bret: today joe biden writes about the stimulus package, and the act was intended to provide steady support for our economy over an extended period, not a joiltd that would last only a few months and the vi

i'm bret baier. the process of getting legislation through congress has been compared to the making of sausage. the more applicable metaphor during the healthcare fight might be playing pin the tail on the donkey, going round and round in circles and not hitting very much. james rosen reports on the effort to please much that is pleasing almost no one. >> maybe some radical blog is telling you you won't pay more taxes. >> sounds to me like you will try to do a hopscotch markup. >> republicans on the house energy and commerce committee made their marathon markup session for the panel's healthcare reform bill a lively affair, prompting liberal chairman henry waxman alternately to reassure them -- >> we're going to take all the priority amendments and try to be fair for every member. aridiculed them -- >> this is a message amendment and i don't understand the message. >> and rolled right over them. >> the amendment is not agreed to. >> one such instant came when republican joe barton of texas sought to

bret: ok.thereç you hear from the capitol hill police saying that essentially they believe that this person is dead from a shooting that started with a routine traffic stop. molly hennenberg, i believe, is joining me on the phone with what we know from the vantage point down there. molly. >> hi, bret. well, what was interesting about that police press conference there is that we had not heard anything from eye-witnesses about the suspect having a gun, and that he was threatening or in some way challenging police officers in that way. we heard about the police chase and heard about trying to go through a barricade but hadn't heard about the gun. bret: can i get carl cameron, is he up and running there? carl, can you hear me? ok. we're going to try to get carl's audio. i just saw him and wanted to see if we could get him. molly, what appears to have happened here is there was a robbery at union station, according to witnesses, and according to the capitol police, they continued to follow this ca

bret. bret: we will be following it every step of the way. shannon bream live on capitol hill. we want to give you a feel for where we are in all of this. let's look at what is on the table in both the house and the senate. here is chief political correspondent carl cameron. >> in the house, two committees, the tax writing ways and means committee and the education and labor committee have both passed separate versions of healthcare reform. both have a public option for government-run insurance. the non-partisan congressional budget office says the ways and means version would total more than $1 trillion over a decade, raise taxes and add to the federal deficit. the only thing bipartisan in the house is the opposition. six democrats and the two committees joined all the republicans voting against both bills. the third house committee, energy and commerce, has ground to a halt because of democratic opposition. the conservative blue dogs' stalemate in energy and commerce effectively stalled t

bret. bret: catherine, thank you. >> you're welcome. bret: the chinese government has imposed a curfew in the provincial capital following more violence there today. mobs of chinese with meat cleavers and clubs roamed the streets looking for muslim uighurs who had beaten up others earlier. rioting broke out in the region sunday leaving at least 156 people dead. the president of the costa rica will serve as an international mead ater in the honduran presidential dispute. secretary of state hillary clinton made the announcement today of following a meeting wih ousted president zelaya in washington. zelaya is not a favor its of the u.s. but despite that, clinton says the u.s. supports the restoration of democratic order in the country. >> we respect the universal principle that people should choose their own leaders, whether they are leaders we agree with or not. bret: the pez will be in italy wednesday for the g8 summit. one unusual aspect of this story is that the owe occasion of this meet something a story in and of itself. corresponden

i'm bret baier. there was plenty of talk but no discernible action today as both chambers of congress tried to move forward on healthcare reform legislation before their august vacation. correspondent james rosen has an update from capitol hill. >> there's probably a consensus and an agreement on almost 80% of this. >> there's not a plan that i have seen that people can support on a bipartisan basis. >> and that was just the senate, where the finance committee met behind closed doors tuesday, but failed to hammer out a compromised healthcare reform pack package besides the version already passed. over on the house side, an emissary of henry waxman, the liberal democrat from california, evidently failed in another closed-door session to win the support of blue dog democrats for waxman's plan, which would be the house's third version. the blue dogs emerged from their briefing vowing to wait for the congressional budget office to score the cost efficiency of the waxman package. >> i think what the chair

i'm bret baier. president obama today took steps to try to diffuse a story that has taken on a life of its own over the past 48 hours. his comments over the arrest of a black harvard professor by a white police officer in cambridge, massachusetts. today, the president made a surprise appearance at the white house briefing with an even more surprising revelation. white house correspondent mike emanuel has the story. >> after a day and a half of controversy following president obama's comment that the cambridge police department acted stupidly in the arrest of henry louis gates, the president had a five-minute conversation with arresting officer james crowley and then stepped forward to try to calm the situation. >> in my choice of words, i think i unfortunately gave an impression that i was maligning the cambridge police department or sergeant crowley specifically, and i could have calibrated those words differently. >> now the president says he thinks there was likely an overreaction on both sides in

i'm bret baier. the police officer at the center of this month's racially-charged controversy in cambridge, massachusetts was back at work today. also today, the voice of sergeant james crowley was heard as his confrontation with a black harvard professor was playing out. correspondent molly line reports on the tale told by the just-released police tapes. >> saying they wanted to dispel any lingering doubts about what happened in the arrest of harvard professor henry louis gates, cambridge officials an police today released the recordings of the radio transmissions of officers responding to the scene after this 911 call. >> they are using their shoulder to try to barge in. >> the caller describes two men forcing their way into a home, gates and his driver who, returned from a trip to find themselves locked out. the 911 call revealed the caller never mentioned race until prompted by the dispatcher. >> and what did you see? >> two larger men, one looked hispanic but i'm not sure. >> the arrest that fol

i'm bret baier. allegations first made by house speaker nancy pelosi that members of the intelligence community have lied to members of congress have resurfaced, and this time, the current head of the c.i.a. is being dragged into it. correspondent james rosen has the story. >> the fact is that there is a briefing that is of serious concern to members of the committee, and they have their course of action to deal with it. >> and that course of action, for 7 democrats on the house intelligence committee, was to send a scathing letter on june 26 to c.i.a. director lee onpanetta, calling on panetta to retract his statement in may that it is neither the practice or policy of the c.i.a. to mislead the congress. the 7 lawmakers cited a closed-door briefing panetta gave the committee on june 24. the letter said "you testified that you have determined that top c.i.a. officials have concealed significant actions from all members of congress, and misled members for a number of years from 2001 to this week." >>

i'm bret baier. there was a bit of a chill left over from the cold war as president obama med with russian prime minister vladimir putin today. the president told senior white house correspondent major garrett that he doesn't expect a meeting of the minds with putin at any time soon. >> it was very nice weather in moscow. >> that's one of the few things prime minister putin does not control. putin devoted nearly an hour to a lecture on the cold war and all that has gone wrong in u.s.-russian relations since. in the second hour, mr. obama talked about iran's nuclear ambitions, alternative energy and climate change. senior u.s. officials described putin's tone as cordial. this contrasts with khrushchev's hectoring in vienna of a young president john kennedy. after his session with putin, fox asked if the president still believes as he said five days ago that putin still has one foot stuck in the cold war. >> i think that he would admit that his formative years were shaped in the cold war, and that some

bret: amazing. the man fired by president obama from his job as inspector general of the corporation for national community service is suing to get his job back. he says the president's action was unlawful because it violated congressionally enacted projections for inspectors general in order to prevent interference. the taxpayers really for over more than $1 million for two pounds of ham? we report, you decide. and an american military commanders as american forces are acting as if they are under house arrest. but with my schedule, getting everything i need from food alone... is almost impossible. that's why i love new fiberchoice plus antioxidants. with the natural fiber and protective antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables, all in a delicious berry-pomegranate flavor. to feel my best... every day. new fiberchoice plus antioxidants. available in the fiber section. geico's been saving people money and who doesn't want value for their dollar? been true since the day i made my first dollar. wher

bret. the p president will be talking tonight to people who already have health insurance. he won't be focused so much on the moral imperatives of covering people who do not. remarks in the president's opening statement released a couple moments ago, one of his lines "if we do not control these costs, we will not be able to control our deficits." the president's aides believe that republican calls to slow the process down are really efforts to kill the health reform process, and they're telling reluctant democrats they can iron out differences later. >> even if they pass on the floors of the house and senate, there's still a lot of work to be done before this is done. >> but the shrinking public support for the president's handling of healthcare reform and the growing push in congress to slow things down are reminders of the clinton administration's health reform failure, according to the university of virginia larry sabato. >> president obama has to rewrite the clinton script and he has to

i'm bret bret. if president obama does not get his moch coveted healthcare reform legislation by the august congressional recess, he won't have republicans to blame. democrats, congressional accountants and the public are all voicing serious reservations about the primary hangup -- how to pay for t senior white house correspondent major garrett has today's skirmishes in the battle over the big bucks. >> the top senate democrat in charge of finding a way to pay for national healthcare reform snapped under white house pressure to produce a bill. >> the president is not helping us. he does not want the exclusion. that is making it difficult. >> exclusion means taxing healthcare benefits, something candidate obama campaigned against. the white house has been coy about raising these taxes but the president has now apparently ruled them out completely, leaving a gaping funding hole in the senate bill. >> with the tax exclusion off the table, it is difficult to come up with revenue measures and other savin

bret. bret: catherine, thank you.he democratic may quors of three new jersey cities, two state legislators and several abbeys have been arrested into a money laundering ring. 44 people were taken into custody. federal prosecutors say the group trafficed in items ranging from fake designer handbags to human organs. republicans on the house oversight committee are accusing the voting registration group known as acorn of tax evasion, obstruction of justice, racketeering and investment fraud. the report characterizes acorn as a criminal enterprise. it says acorn illegally tried to further a political agenda, giving money and personnel services to then candidate obama, along with that illinois governor rod what goy sich and current ohio senator sherrod brown, all democrats. acorn is attacking the report as a partisan attack job. so who are the millions of uninsured americans? we will have answers a bit later, and hillary clinton talks to our own james rosen about north core requarks the c.i.a. and her own political future.

bret. bret: shannon bream live at the supreme court. now let's get reaction from capitol hill and chief political correspondent carl cameron. carl, any real surprises today? >> not particularly, bret. the pan many broke down pretty much along party lines, but there was a great deal of discussion not just about judge sotomayor, but obviously about president obama, and his assertion both as a candidate and as president that he wants judges to have empathy, suggesting that there is some level of subjective opinions, feelings, emotions, behavior and experience that could ultimately affect judging that. came up time and time again. jeff sessions, the ranking republican from alabama really laid down the line. here is a little sampling of that. >> call it empathy. call it prejudice. call it sympathy. whatever it is, it is not law. in truth, it is more akin to politics and politics has no place in the courtroom. >> politics has an awful lot of place in the confirmation room, however, and jeff sessions is likely to go back as well as the republi

i'm bret baier. president obama says he and his russian counterpart are complited to putting the suspicion and rivalry of the past in the past, for good. the two leaders met in moscow, rolling out a series of agreements on issues large and larger. even though serious disagreements still exist, senior white house correspondent major garrett reports the emphasis today was on the positive. >> the first family arrived in moscow to minimum pageantry, a signal this summit is all business. one sayer moan qual stop at russia's tomb of the unknown preceded a lengthy one on one between president obama and dimitry medvedev. a meeting with the advisors dealt with mid level agreements. it is the first ever russian green light to u.s. military shipments of lethal weapons and]xñ?ñ? personnel across its airspace to afghanistan. the biggest breakthrough may have been this -- >> i trust president dimitry medvedev to not only listen and to negotiate constructively, but had also to follow through on the agreements that

bret. bret: construction of new homes has risen to its high highest level in 7 months, up 3.6 p% in june. applications for building permits oze 8.7%. -- rose 8.7%. the dow gained over 32 points and the s&p 500 fell a third of a point and the nasdaq rose a point and a half. we will tell you about a self-proclaimed fiscal conservative who has a somewhat lavish travel history on the taxpayers' dime, and suicide bombers strike luxury hotels in indonesia. [ female announcer ] which new product do women think is best? according to a study presented by better homes and gardens, definity color recapture. it corrects the look of wrinkles and discoloration. 50,000 voters. one brilliant winner. bret: suicide bombers attacked two hotels in jack carta, indonesia, and the bombings come as hillary clinton was in mumbai, india, the site of the attack last year. james rosen is traveling with the secretary. >> a security camera inside the j.w. marriott hotel in gentleman carta captured these im-- in jakarta

bret. bret: wendell goler live on the north lawn. the recession started out worse than we thought but recovering better than we expected that. was the word from the commerce department today, news that president obama welcomed. mike emanuel looks at the story behind the numbers. >> the economy has done immeasurably better than we had thought, better than expected. >> president obama took the commerce department's announcement that gross domestic product or g.d.p., the measure of overall economic growth in the country, shrunk by 1% annual rate in the second quarter as good news after revised numbers showed g.d.p. fell 6.4% in the first quarter. >> the g.d.p. revealed that the recession we faced when i took office was even deeper than anyone thought at the time. it told us how chose we were to the edge. >> in fact, the revised numbers showed during the first 12 months of this recession, the economy shrank more than twice as much as previously estimated including bigger declines in housing and consumer spending. how could the economists

bret: to that, major reported that the u.s. administration officials are saying that the two presidents had a frarch discussion about -- had a frank discussion about georgia and russia's actions in georgia this past year. what about that? >> well, obama still was wobbly on that, frank or not. what he said actually is we work through our disagreements on georgia's borders, so it's a matter of disagreement should you innovate or -- should you invade or not, should western russia detach georgia as it has? it sounds that he is equivocal on this. when he talks about a sense of drift, it is coming out of the mutual actions. it was because less than a year ago, russia invaded friendly democratic neighbor and split off the western half of that country. that's not adrift. that's aggression. bret: juan, last word. the president says he trusts dimitry medvedev. that's not like looking into his eyes and seeing his soul but he did say he trusted are him. >>fully close! he trusts him to follow through on the deal, and by the way, he, in the

bret. bret: this could be the real battle. wendell, thanks. the quest to find revenue to pay for healthcare reform has sparked all kinds of possibilities. correspondent shannon bream explains a proposed tax on very expensive insurance policies. >> the so-called cadillac health insurance plans come with hefty price tags and generally don't call for a co-pay and allow the insured to see any doctor they like, but the insurers who provide those top tier plans could be in the crosshairs of senators looking to find revenue to offset the cost of healthcare reform. >> we were talking about capping the tax exclusion at $25,000, which means any insurance product over $25,000, that was worth close to $100 billion over ten years, so it is real money. >> how much revenue would this excise tax really raise? some experts estimate less than one half of 1% of all americans with healthcare coverage have plans of premiums of $25,000 or more. >> we don't seem to know how many people have cadillac plans or even very high-cost plans, but we don't think there are ve

bret: bret: judge sotomayor will be introduced by her home state senators, charles schumer and kingston gillibrand. she will be sworn in by chairman leahy. in the highlight of the day, she will give her opening statement. things could get interesting. her past statements could be called into question. her past rulings will be put under the microscope. megyn: before we get to that, a quick update with other headlines this morning. congress left in the dark, democrats wondering if the george bush administration broke the law by concealing a cia counter-terrorism program from congress. "the wall street journal" reports that the program was a plan to kill or capture al qaeda operatives. there are reports that kim jong il has pancreatic cancer. he may have been de not -- diagnosed at about the same time he suffered a stroke last summer. his third and youngest son has widely been reported as the successor. trouble getting off of the ground, nasa might have to scrub the endeavor mission once again. scheduled for tonight at 6:51, this is their fifth attempt for the launch. there is a 60% chance

bret: and good morning, i'm bret baier. judge sotomayor heading to capitol hill this morning, looking to win support in her bid to become the nation's first ever hispanic justice. as you look live at the hearing room in the hart senate office building. around 9:30 eastern the senate judiciary committee will resume its first round of questioning for judge sotomayor. eight more senators are on tap today beginning with republican john cornyn of texas and ending with democrat al franken of minnesota. just like yesterday each senator will get 30 minutes to ask questions. and once this round is finished, the committee heads into a closed session to discuss sotomayor's nomination further. basically going over her f.b.i. file behind closed doors. then it is on to round two, supposedly. megyn: before we get to the hearings, a quick update on some other headlines. a live look at the white house where president obama will make a big push today for his health care plan, this after house democrats unveiled their $1.5 trillion plan that

fantastic bret:. thank you, carl -- bret: fantastic. thank you, carl. megyn: south carolina senator, lindsey gramm, expressing concerns about this nominee. >> the drama created here is interesting. my republican colleagues that voted against you, i assure you, they could vote for a standing nominee, but they feel honored by your speeches and some of the things you have said, as well as -- they feel unnerved by your speeches and some of the things you have said, as well as some of your cases. megyn: he is with us this morning. you took some hits in the press for saying that sonia sotomayor would sail through. some suggested that you should not treat this like a foregone conclusion. are you sorry that you said that? >> i am never sorry to be honest. she would have to lose 10 democrats and every republican would have to vote against her. i was in a gang of four, we boarded changing the senate rules to require a simple majority. the minority has the right to hold up the nominee. i do not see an extraordinary circumstance developing here. i am telling people

bret: yeah? go ahead. >> i'm sorry, bret.hat there is a possibility that the suspect in this may have been shot in the exchange. again, this is unconfirmed, but there are a number of senior capitol hill officials that have now begun to arrive here, and this information, though unconfirmed, has begun to leak out, but it's possible that the driver of this vehicle may have been shot, perhaps even killed in the exchange. bret: ok. we're getting word that the capitol hill police are beginning to start talking around this area. they're blocking it off, as you know, with the yellow tape. the police tape, and this, again, is in lower senate park. this is just beyond -- below the russell senate office building, and that is a couple of blocks from the actual capitol dome. as we know, the confirmation hearing, and i keep on mentioning this, because it continues at this hour in the hart senate office building, which is just one building up, and if we have one of those maps with the buildings eventually, we'll put it up for you, and you c

bret: major garrett, thank you. megyn: back to our panel for some quick thoughts on health care before we get back to the sonia sotomayor coverage. you heard of the update that it is not looking good for the president. the president said do not bet against us. i think i heard you say last night, it is amazing that the white house has been able to spend health care reform in a way that it feels like it is within reach. >> it is. this is the first time we have any action on health care not coming from the house. the clintons did not give a vote on anything. the idea that they made this much progress is astounding. the cost issue continues to dog them. it is doddie them with the conservative democrats. this potential idea that there's this huge deficit. if there is a huge deficit with the number two issue on the agenda, they will have to explain why they might have to incur tax increases and inflation. the first issue is jobs. if the president does anything more in terms of a second stimulus package, that it will drive

bret: thank you, carl cameron. megyn: we understand that after the break, we are going to hear from among others, the freshly minted senator from minnesota, al franken. also, senator arlen specter, a newly turned democrat. he has been in more of these and any other center of the judicial committee. i'm going to ask about shannon bream about the assertion that these are only one or two lines from speeches. we live in answer for you on how judge sotomayor and i wound up wearing the same outfit today. in six different ways? introducing listerine® total care. everything you need to strengthen teeth, help prevent cavities, and kill germs. introducing 6 in 1 listerine® total care. the most complete mouthwash. and to complete your oral care routine add superior plaque removal in places that are hard to reach last month, this woman wasn't even able to get around inside of her own home. they chose mobility. and they chose the scooter store! if you or a loved one live with limited mobility call the scooter store! no other co

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bret. bret: any reaction from democrats after the judge said that she did not believe that a judge should judge the way president obama thinks a judge should judge, basically with empathy. she said, "no, sir, i wouldn't approach it the way the president talks about it." >> i talked to one senior democratic staffer, and they have to remain nameless because of the conditions of the conversation, but the response was what did you expect? we knew she would have to walk these statements back because to org otherwise wouldn't fly. the flip side is interesting as we determine whether or not this is a feisty confirmation process or not, there is a point at which you got to wonder whether it's truly critical to say don't you agree that judges should be objective? i mean, it's kind of basic. bret: definitely. megyn. megyn: as we wrap up the day here, steve and look back at what blows have been landed and what whoas were unsuccessful, clearly you have to look at sessions in the beginning and graham at

let's understand this, bret. the proposal was not intended to garner a huge amount of savings in the first 10 years. included in the recommendations is savings wouldn't come until 2015. the notion that you wouldn't see savings in the first 10 years for a proposal that isn't going to make recommendations for six years isn't that surprising. it's modeled after medpac which is what republicans in 1997 developed to cut waste and inefficiency out of medicare and medicaid. every year that this medpac has been available, they have forwarded to congress a suggestion that we cut the fee that is paid to private insurance companies to handle medicare. basically, to do on top of what the government is always doing by paying them a subsidy. each and every year that recommendation comes before congress and congress doesn't act. the president has included cutting that subsidy in more than half a trillion dollars of savings. >> the cbo projects that the house bill as of now increases the deficit over the 10 years by $230 billion

bret: think it is fascinating. megyn: the cross-examination have not been exciting except for a couple, but we're hoping for more interesting ones to happen this afternoon because we have had the meeting. bret: right. next up is chuck grassley. carl is back at it. are you working and talking or perched above? >> the first member of the committee lived through robert bork, clarence thomas, john roberts, and he said that republicans are justifiably criticized a ball. he has set on the record he intends to even up the disparity, meaning that he could be going after sotomayor very hard, and he is particularly upset about unresolved issues with wise latina and whether or not the judge agrees or disagrees with sandra day o'connor. bret: not many people have that phrase starting a sentence, chuck grassley will be fun. >> hold on, hold on. i will plead guilty to being a want, ok. we all did schoolhouse rock 6. but charles grassley will be tough and interesting, and afterwards, you will say carl was right. bret: what about

and now, stay tuned, bret baier and megan kelly, a special from and megan kelly, a special from d.c. captioned by closed captioning services, inc. . >> it's one of the most powerful positions in america. >> we're not talking about tiddly winks, this is serious business. >> a nominee who could remake the law. >> i know this is on tape, i shouldn't say this. >> a president who some say is rewriting the rules. >> i view that quality of empathy as an essential ingredient for arriving at just decisions a decisions. >> i think it's a threat to our system and i oppose it. >> and the battle for the future of the court. fox news reporting. judging sotomayor, from washington, bret baier and megan kelly. >> welcome to the nation's capital, megan, it's great to have you here. >> great to be here and we got lucky with the weather tonight, bret. >> the setting for tomorrow's senate confirmation hearings for supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor. >> over the last century, the supreme court has become an enormous force for political and social change here in america. there's barely an aspect of our

bret: politically, this is difficult. >> the democrats have t

bret: juan, it was bad at least six times. for republican senators to keep pointing that out that this was something she said over and over again in numerous circumstances, isn't there a concern that on the supreme court with a lifetime appointment that we could see the true justice sonia sotomayor in these feelings? even if she is walking it back and we see two different sotomayors in the speeches and what we see today? >> no question about it. she is walking it back. here's the question. are you going to believe me and what i say today or are you going to believe that speech that sits on the paper in front of you? what is the audience that's listening -- >> in fairness, though, i think she does make a point when she says you also have to look at my record of 17 years on the court. she is in effect saying what i said in those speeches when i was talking to women's groups or to latino groups isn't the way i judged for 17 years. and, you know, of course they have their -- their studies which indicate that she agreed with republ

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let's go to bret baier in washington for that. bret: the white house has just released a statement.nkite was the most trusted vice in america. his rich baritone reached millions of living rooms every night, and in an industry of icons, walter set the standard by which all others have been judged. he was there through wars and riots, marches and milestones, calmly telling us what we needed to know, and through it all he never lost the integrity he gained growing up in the heartland. built walter was always more than just an anchor. he was someone we could trust to guide us through the most important issues of the day, a voice of certainty in an uncertain world. he was family. he invited us to believe in him, and he never let us down. this country has lost an icon and a dear friend, and he will be truly missed." that's president obama's statement released by the white house just a few moments ago. >> bret baier, thank you. rita braver is cbs news national correspondent. rita, our condolences to you and everyone over at cbs news. what's the mood? it must be a very somber evening there?

as he made matters worse in some ways, bret? well, with this cambridge story, there was the pitch. they continue to believe that the president is their best salesman, but there are some analysts that say he has been out 11 times in as many days to pitch health care, and as you mentioned, the polls are going south, particularly with republicans and independents that once signed on to the obama presidency. it was said he could have calibrated his words differently, and he unfortunately gave the impression that i was maligning the cambridge police department. when tonight, he said the cambridge police department acted stupidly -- earlier this week, he said the cambridge police department had aed stupidly. we have white house press secretary robert ggibbs this weekend on "fox news sunday." gregg: remarking on something he knows nothing about. at least, that is according to many of our viewers. bret baier, host this weekend of "fox news sunday." neil cavuto is minutes away. boy, it was a down day for a while, and now, we are seeing s

let's go to bret baier in washington for that. bret: the white house has just released a statement.for decades walter cronkite was the most trusted vice in america. his rich baritone reached millions of living rooms every night, and in an industry of icons, walter set the standard by which all others have been judged. he was there through wars and riots, marches and milestones, calmly telling us what we needed to know, and through it all he never lost the integrity he gained growing up in the heartland. built walter was always more than just an anchor. he was someone we could trust to guide us through the most important issues of the day, a voice of certainty in an uncertain world. he was family. he invited us to believe in him, and he never let us down. this country has lost an icon and a dear friend, and he will be truly missed." that's president obama's statement released by the white house just a few moments ago. >> bret baier, thank you. rita braver is cbs news national correspondent. rita, our condolences to you and everyone over at cbs news. what's the mood? it must be a very

baier, fox news reporting, judging sotomayor, and join bret and megan for a fox news special coverage for confirmation hearings starting tomorrow morning 9:00 a.m. on the fox news channel. >> jamie: and i think, eric it could be a hearing that is watched by more americans than any of the other confirmation hearings we have seen, i also think that judge sotomayor is probably one of the most prepared, you heard what is going on at the white house with the mock questioning, and some of the best people that have ever done it before have been working with her on it. that will get underway tomorrow, and, of course, fox news will have complete coverage for you. all day. and president obama has a plea for patience, talking about the federal stimulus plan in an op-ed in the "washington post" and is talking to you. saying, the plan, quote, would -- was not expected to restore the economy to full health on its own, but to provide the boost necessary to stop the free fall. so far, he says it has done that. joining me is republican congressman from california, a ranking member on the house adminis

i'm bret baier, the "o'reilly factor" starts now. bill: how do you think president obama did tonight, that's the big story tonight, and that is the subject of this evening's talking points memo. his intentions are good. he wants to clean up the health care mess match that's hurting millions of americans. what's wrong with that? nothing. but his plan is chaotic, and the expense ill-defined. but the president sees great urgency. >> this debate is not a game for these americans, and they can't afford to wait any longer for reform. they're counting us on to get this done. they're looking to us for leadership, and we can't let them down. we will pass reform that lowers cost, promotes choice, and provides coverage that every american can count on, and we will do it this year. bill: probably not. dick durbin says it will be fall before any meaningful debate takes place in the senate. tonight the president faced a rather docile press corps and buried them with rhetoric. >> you may not see it because if you have health insurance right now, it

bret: we are told the democrats in the house are not rolling out a health care bill today. we are looking live at steny hoyer, talking about health care at a news conference. we are told that the blue dog democrats are upset that the moderatand there are talks that the bill is ready to drop tomorrow. a development on infighting between house democrats in moving forward on this bill. >> we have been talking about it. policy issues are tough, financial issues are even tougher. over the weekend it was trotted out as if it were a done deal. charlie rangel came to this conclusion that they were going to pay for about a half trillion dollar package through savings, the other half through a tax on people making over 200 e thousand dollars per year. -- $280,000 per year. bret: a second source is now saying that attorney general eric holder is leaning toward appointing a special prosecutor to looking into the bush interrogation methods. where that goes from here will be fascinating. megyn: without further ado, the affirmation on why sonia sotomayor and i have the same outfit. someti

bret: i am bret baier. you are looking live at the east room inside the white house. we are awaiting the start of president obama's formal news conference. it is his fourth in prime time. george w. bush had four prime- time news conferences over his eight years in office. the main topic will be health care reform. the president will deliver an opening statement before taking questions. let's check in with the bill o'reilly for a look at what is coming up right after the news conference. bill: 9:00 this evening, a special addiction -- special edition of "the factor." we will analyze the president's joust tonight. we will bring in dennis miller. he is worked up about the barbara boxer controversy. we will look at aaron anders being victimized by a cyber starkelker. back to you. bret: sounds like a good show. we will be watching. this is the fifth formal news conference, his fourth prime- time news conference. the big discussion is about how the health care reform package will be paid for. the