doug mckelway says there is new information about just how involved -- some of the president's supportersnce or roles at the department of energy, as it passed out billions of dollars in stimulus money to green energy firms, including solyndra. one of the fundraisers, steven spinner is a former nbc executive and clean-tech consultant. he advised energy secretary steven chu on the green energy loan program, while his wife, allison's law firm, received 2.4 million dollars for representing a number of green companies that had applied for the doe loans. representatives for spinner told abc news that the couple - quote - "took elaborate steps to avoid conflicts between his government work and her legal work." questioned today about spinner's role, white house spokesman jay carney denied any impropriety. carney says: "it is my understanding, at least with regard to the gentleman [steve spinner] you just mentioned, that he had no connection to overseeing the loan guarantee program."the white house later added that "spinner had no role in the decision making process." the former ceo of allison sp

doug mckelway has the report from washington. congressional republicans want to know why broad band light squared with very close political connections to the white house was granted a waiver from the fcc last january to construct a satellite based brond band service despite concerns that it could disrupt important communications including g.p.s. systems that guide missiles, troop movements and more. air force general was urged by the white house to down play that disruption to a congressional committee. >> that type of attempt to bias testimony on something that goes straight to the issue of the heart of our national security is certain whether i of grave certain. >> further raising suspicions phil cohen gives a lot of money gave at love money to the green square project. another invested money in light square. donald gibbs who now serves as u.s. ambassador to south africa had $500,000 investment on light squared. william shelton did not directly state that he changed his testimony under white house pressure but he hinted at his

doug mckelway has the latest live in washington. >> reporter: when was the last time you saw two grownme reports say three grown men, locking themselves in an airplane restroom at the same time? it raised a lot of suspicion yesterday, enoug that two f-16 fighter jet were scrambled to escort the plane to the airport. here's what one passenger said upon landing. >> up until that point, there was actually nothing really suspicious or alerted us to anything, although i understand that people locked themselves in the bathrooms and a little bit of a queue for some time. but they did a great job, the staff, the hostesses, all the air crew because no one really was panicked, everyone was really calmed, and it was handled very professionally. >> reporter: all of this happened in the context of that fbi alert issued late last week to a possible al-qaeda attack during the 9/11 time frame. the threat believed to be centering on car bombs. but one of the more troubling scares was not at a car bomb atmosphere or in the air but, rather, on facebook. the secret service investigating three threatening

thank you very much, doug mckelway reporting for us.king about the $25 billion in government loan guarantees that went to energy companies along with companies like solyndra that was in 2008. >> greg: two american hikers jailed in iran for more than two years could be a step closer to freedom. the country's foreign minister said the countries are willing, quote, unquote, in the near future to commute the prison sentences for shane bower and josh fattal did not give any clear indication on when the two men could be released. the latest word out of iran comes just as international efforts intensify to see a 1 million bail for freedom deal for the americans. >> new reports from the front lines in libya. rebel fighters are plotting their next move after suffering a major setback in the qaddafi strong hold of walid. after being driven back after fierce resistance. david piper joins us from tripoli with the very latest. hi, david. >> hi, heather, yes, there is street-to-street fighting now in qaddafi's hometown of sirte. but the qaddafi follo

doug mckelway in washington.a: as the wrangling over the president's jobs plan continues in washington, we've got brand new fox polls that shows some interesting numbers here. take a look at this, 74 percent of americans now say the u.s. political system is not working the way that it's supposed to work. only 22 percent out there feel pretty good about the way things are working in washington. let's bring in a.b. stoddard, associate editor for the hill, a.b., always good to see you. what do you think of that number? >> that number, john mccain -- once senator john mccain once joked about low approval ratings that when you get down to numbers like that you're talking about friends, family and paid staff! that is a profound number. we've seen it coming for a while. americans have watched under republican president and a republican congress, that party run up the debt, and then they've watched a democratic president and democratic congress do the same under obama, and then they've watched both parties try to blame e

doug mckelway is live in washington with more on this. na. we're expecting quite a speck kag -- spectacle when ceo and cfo are expected to plead the fifth before a house committee. this is prudent maneuver to protect themselves against misstatements that could be used in the ongoing justice department investigation of solyndra. some republicans believe there is more behind pleading the fifth than just that. >> there has been a suggestion, we haven't documented it a suggestion perhaps that testimony was trying to be manipulated by the white house. those are very serious allegations and something a committee like the oversight committee is supposed to dive into. >> reporter: while we're awaiting that no shortage after fireworks at another hearing as the government oversight committee release as majority report deeply critical of the administration's green jobs gend today. the report accuses the bureau of labor statistics using questionable accounting methods to count green jobs even though that term is vague it says, poorly defined and such

doug mckelway in washington.enator john mccain, reflecting on our country's two wars since the september 11th attacks. here he is on fox news sunday. listen: >> and chris, whether we should have gone to iraq or afghanistan, i believe we should have. whether it's miss managed and whether we underestimated the enormity of the challenge we face, i think historians will judge. but i don't think we should ever forget that those attacks originated in afghanistan. and it's -- i think we did the right thing there, but i also think we've learned a lot of lessons, and frankly, i don't think you're going to see the united states of america in another war in that part of the world. i don't think the american public opinion would stand for it. martha: very interesting given john mccain's history on those -- on both of those wars in iraq and afghanistan michael scheuerer is with me. always nice to talk to you. >> thank you. martha: john mccain says he doesn't think americans will be able to stomach further wars in the middle e

doug mckelway has more live this washington. doug? >> reporter: good amp -- good afternoon, megyn. one glimpse into why so few employers are hiring these days, as you said, their health care costs are spiraling out of control. expenditures on health care in the u.s. are more than three times what they were 21 years ago n. the last year alone, health care costs for a single worker rose from $5,049 to $5,429. for a family costs rose from $13,370 to $15,073. obamacare causing 20% of the rise in the costs. they specifically point for coverage of children up to 26 years old, and prevention services such as mammograms causing so of the rise. but there are other things too. technology and r&d on prescription drugs are raising costs, an increase in chronic diseases like diabetes has placed a tremendous strain on the system. administrative costs impose a considerable burden as well, as much as 7% on health care costs. and then finally, and this is a health care tsunami that will only get worse, the aging of the baby boomers. they have begun qualifying for medicare this year, and with better

doug mckelway is live from our washington bureau with more. doug. >> reporter: good morning, jenna. the u.s. postal service is in really bad financial shape and increasing the cost of a postage stamp won't cut it this time around. it's the victim of changing technology, especially from e-mail and the union contract that is prevent the service from downsizing a any private business would do under similar circumstances. the postal service expects losses of up to $10 billion by the end of this fiscal year. it's seen a 2 percent drop in its core service first class mail since last year. without an infusion of money, the service is up against its $15 billion borrowing limit and faces default. postmaster general patrick donaho says the postal service can't reach it's goals under contracts, quoteing from testimony to be delivered later today, with more than 85 percent of career employees covered by collective bargaining agreements, making significant changes to compensation and benefits is challenging. we must be able to reduce up to an additional 120,000 career positions over the next thr

doug mckelway is on that ory. he is in washington. doug, good morning. what do we expect?reporter: good morning to you, bill. solyndra ceo and brian rrison and bill stover both annound they will plead the fifth on during their question on advice of their counsel. the ficial that represents solyndra in the hearings advised the clients not to talk because the ongoing justice department investigation over sole lynn drachlt they are expected to testify tomorrow. republicans investigating the obama administration's green jobs policies are now focusing on key private investors in the failed solyndra solar company asking them for all pertinent documents. we're talking about thousands upon thousands of documents. two of the companies that they have asked to turn over docs are argonaut private equity and madrone capital. one of those, argonaut is headed by george kaiser. he is the bundler of obama campaign funds. the fact they're pleading the fifth is obviously a maneuver to protect themselves from potential misstatements that could be used in the ongoing justice department of inve