you heard josh ernest there not getting into the speculation about whether this was a bomb, explosionid that the united states has made offers of assistance to participate in the investigation, but there had not yet been a response, which is a bit curious to me. i asked him about that, how involved is the united states. here's some of what he had to say. >> i think the first thing that we should step back and recognize is that this is an aircraft that did not originate on american soil, not an american airline, i'm not aware that the pilots were american, the plane didn't crash in america. so there are other countries that have appropriate jurisdictions. other countries have the lead, we stand offer to help, as soon as they're ready to integrate it into their efforts. >> reporter: there's every expectation that the united states will be involved because of the expertise that it bricks to an investigation like this. of course these are some of our key allies on the front lines of this particular investigation. and of course there is the issue of the possibility of terrorism hanging ove

. >> josh ernest there at the white house. we begin with keir simmons who led our coverage last hour from charles de gaulle airport in paris. one of the biggest developments is this word from egyptair that they debris found could in fact be part of this plane. >> reporter: that's right. and at the same time, the news from u.s. officials that they believe that what they have seen through satellite images, the kind of coverage that u.s. intelligence always has, what they have seen in the place where this plane disappeared was some kind of explosion. and of course what you're seeing here is a multi national attempt to find the wreckage, the debris, but also an attempt around the world to try to understand what happened. all of those governments will be talking to each other. for example, you heard the egyptians say they believe this is more likely to be terrorism related before we then got the news from u.s. officials of that possibility that there was an explosion on board. now, we just have to say that that explosion may not ha

as josh ernest said ahead of time, he uses humor to get some really important truths, whether it's about what he believes his republican obstructionism, conflict over in-depth issues. sometimes the president isn't able to make these points in a serious way, so he uses humor in order to get them across. we saw it again and again. also the way he took donald trump very unseriously. eric trump was in the room, so were some of trump supporters. i saw scottie hughes, coming up this hour, there was sort of a trump contingent here in washington, but president obama really wanted to mock and skewer donald trump's run for the white house in a way he can't do when he is talking in a serious way. >> let's listen to the president here, joking about his recent meeting with the royals. >> even some foreign leaders, they've been looking ahead, anticipating my departure. last week, prince george showed up to our meeting in his bathrobe. that was a slap in the face. a clear breach of protocol. although while in england, i did have lunch with her majesty, the queen. took in a performance of shakespeare, h

josh ernest says it's urgent we get funding for virus so doctors can complete reserve and keep the virus from spreading and 425 people across the u.s. have been diagnosed with zika. a extension with the team. and strasburg can opt out of the deal after third or fourth season. so far this season strasburg thrown 58 strikeouts and 49 innings and led national league in strikeouts in 2014. >> and somebody has got a little potty mouth. bryce harper erupted last night after getting ejected from the game in ninth inning. harper joined teammates on the field though after clint robinson home run and he pointed at the ump and yelled at him using choice four letter words. he'll number trouble for that by the way. >> celebratory choice words. >> yeah. >> 5:08 now and coming up on "fox" news morning, new reports about alberta wildfire suggests things may not be as bleak as we were led to believe. >> and warmest, sugary treats about to c sglment as long as it does change the flavor. >> let's take a live look across the d.c. region. little hot rumbling on tuesday. 5:09 right now. fox news morning back

here's how the white house press secretary josh ernest addressed the controversy. >> i feel confident specifically do this myself that if you were to google news coverage from may 18th, 2008, the tenor of the coverage would be quite similar to the tenor of the coverage today. there would be all kinds of hand ringing among party activists about whether the party would come together after a divisive primary between senator obama and senator clinton. there would be pundits with decades of electoral experience, posing difficult questions about whether or not it is even possible, given the passion of clinton supporters, for even somebody with all the skills of president, senator obama to unite the democratic party. there would be republicans salivating at the prospect of a divided democratic party limping into a general election giving an advantage to the republican nominee. i guess the point is that we've seen a lot of this before. and that's not to diminish anybody's candidacy. it's not to diminish the passion and commitment of supporters for either candidate. but it is an indication tha

the white house press secretary josh ernest said a while ago he's not concerned of convention riots,he case of not trying to confuse passion in the primary for unrest in the general. here he was. >> i think if anything the reason people are so passionate about the current primary process is they understand the stakes of the general election. >> however, the former texas governor rick perry back in the news today. he said on a conference call for a newly formed superpac backing donald trump that they feel good that sanders supporters will either do one of two things. either move to trump's side in the general or as perry put it, go fishing. shepard? >> blake, thank you. >>> we'll be back with a look at the day a female pilot soared right through a major glass ceiling. and it happened on this day in history. ♪ ♪ (charge music) you wouldn't hire an organist without hearing them first. charge! so why would you invest without checking brokercheck? check your broker with brokercheck. i thodid the ancestrydna toian. find out i'm only 16% italian. so i went onto ancestry, soon learned that o

goingi to prevent every tragedy, buty, what if they prevented even onen the white house person josh ernestpoke about the new actions taken to get the technology developed says maker products safer is common in i every industry.indu that's what people do. that's what the manufacturers do. i think the best example, this is in the auto industry. > the national rivalval association telling fox the nra technology but they do oppose any law prohibiting americans from owing firearms. adding in this statement at a time when we are activelyivel fighting terrorists at home and abroad this esr'istration wouldr rather focu'is the military's efforts on the president's begun control agenda. and some people have wondered what if the begun doesn't fireun when you you need it to. so far there is no evidence of any flaw. for example, in a heated moment where you would need a gun you might have dirty hands or sweaty poms and it wouldn't fire.nd i so far the technology proofs to be pretty accurate.y right now the department of defense, hope land security and justice continues to conduct oro sponsor research i

and i think the question that we just heard put to josh ernest is interesting. from the obama administration that they're concerned that donald trump could win this election? what does that say about the president's agenda? hillary clinton's vulnerability in the election? i think it's an interesting political story behind that big, big price tag that i know you would focus on on "fox business." >> look, he's seen the polls and hillary clinton has seen the polls and this is not going to be a lay-up for her. not going to be as easy as she may have originally hoped in terms of beating donald trump. but you know, all this economic regulation, i'm always struck by the fact that, look, the president's trying to do the right thing. he wants to help people. he wants people to earn more money. everybody wants that. but sometimes, guy, what you call the law of unintended consequences and if you regulate the heck out of everything, the reality is those people that you're trying to help, they're not fwoings going to have a job >> that's right. there's such high cost for com

josh ernest in the clip you played, he started to deflect and deny and point fingers at somebody elses what they do. if he goes, if he goes up, they will try to get the truth out of him but one or two things are going to happen. he will deny that is the case. or if he admits it is case he will come up with some flimsy excuse hope at that that the liberal media just dismisses it. harris: if they're spinning it communicates they felt like there was a need to spin something that was true. >> exactly. harris: my question what is view about this deal that you did not want us to know? i want to know. but you don't just spin for the fun of it. i guess, except for maybe washington they do. maybe it's fun. >>> the battle over transgender bathrooms is is can lating. white house is sending a letter to every public school district in the nation, telling them to allow transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms of their chosen gender identity. not what is listed on their birthcertificate. while the guidelines don't have the force of law, the obama administration warns that schools could

here's some of what josh ernest had to say about the u.s.e in the investigation. >> this obviously took place near greek waters. so there are reasons why there are other countries who were immediately responsible for dealing with the situation. given the strong relationships between the united states and france and the united states and egypt, i'm confident that we'll be able to provide them the needed support. >> reporter: and part of those relationships with egypt and france and others is airport security. the tsa homeland security has been involved in enhancing security at airports in europe and elsewhere where there was a direct flight from that airport to the united states. that was not the case here in that this aircraft was not coming to the united states. it was going from france to egypt. that's ongoing. a lot of concern about intelligence sharing, security, and of course the obama administration trying to keep close tabs on what's happening because of the possibility that this was a terrorist incident. >> ron, thank you very much.

and reporters did ask josh ernest about it afterward.e story started to get some traction after the journalists went after the piece online so far. what's really irritating about this incredibly puffy profile of ben rhodes is how smug he sounds in bragging about bamboozling the press. he talks about using the media as an echo chamber, he and his deputies say that reporters know nothing about policy, these young reporters they deal with. so they feed them color and talking points which are then kind of repeated online and on twitter. and you know, it's not that this doesn't go on to some degree in every administration, but usually you don't have a deputy national security adviser bragging about it on the record. >> you say how smug he was and that in a way he was taking a victory lap in all of this. but at the same time, howie, you're saying that he's on target with some of his points here. >> yeah, i do think ben rhodes make a's couple good points which i want to grant. one is that he says increasingly -- i hear this from other politicia

you heard josh ernest deny that iraq's instability is hurting the fight against isis.s the case? can you fight against isis with the politically weak central government in baghdad? >> no. you cannot. i mean, you k it will increase the malicious fighting against isis as opposed to an iraqi government fight against isis. the more you have militias fight clg is mostly by iraqi definition shia ma ligss, the more we exaspirate the tension and exaspirate the fear. so it's not that there will not be fighting against isis. it's who is leading this fight and whether it is a legitimate iraqi government that includes sunni or shia or whether it is a militia that is mostly see shia militia fighting against isis. that makes a difference how we're going to stabilize the country. does it make a difference in even how do we get rid of isis or not. >> let me get your take on this real quick. all of this is coming at a time when americans want their government to actually to do less overseas. this is according to a new pugh research poll that showed 57% want the focus to be on domestic

here's spokesman josh ernest. mr. earnest: good afternoon, everybody. do have some brief comments before we get to your questions. in response to specific requests i received yesterday for additional information about the zika virus, i also have a visual aid. you can see. it's for everybody. but it's certainly a response to your request. earlier this week i highlighted the letter from the national governors association urging congress to work, quote, as expeditiously as possible, to ensure that funds are available for states, territories and the public at large, to combat the threat of zika. many of will you recall that the president convened a meeting with some of his national security team and our public health professionals back in january to discuss the potential impact of the zika virus on the united states. that meeting led the president to note in early february that he intended to forward a formal equest to congress for specific emergency supplemental legislation that would be focused on fighting the zika virus. a couple weeks later, in mid febr

josh ernest from the podium there at the white house openly mocked congress and said that perhaps we should be calling other members up such as and af and answer questions. i took that suggestion, shared it with senator cotton. we accommodated that. mr. cotton, senator cotton, had agreed if mr. rhodes would be here, to also be here to answer questions. and ferret out any of these details, but mr. rhodes elected not to speak. now, he does have a public speaking engagement today. he's out giving a public speech today, but refuses to come and speak with congress. i'm going to play a clip, i got two clips in my opening statement, and i think you can see where maybe some on the other side of the aisle will say, oh, we know everything about this. it's been thoroughly debated, but we're going to go to what we call clip b, if we could, and let's watch this. >> one final question on the subject, there are been reports that intermittently and outside of the formal p5+1 mechanisms, the obama administration or members of it, have conducted direct secret bilateral talks with iran. is that true or

. >> press secretary josh ernest finishing up with reporters. one question was involving the health care law and the federal judge on today ruled for house republicans in their lawsuit against the obama administration over obamacare in a major ruling. the judge and an appointee said the administration does not have the power to spend monocost sharing reduction payments to insurers without appropriation from congress. they argued it did not need appropriation from congress because the funds were appropriated by obamacare in the same section as the law's better known tax credits that pp people afford coverage. the story on today's ruling on the obamacare issue involving the power to spend monocost sharing reduction. >> james baker, former secretary of state for george h.w. bush testified as a hearing on leadership in the world. they talked about global economic challenges and administration. the senate foreign relations committee held the hearing this morning. >>> senate foreign relations committee will come to order. we are excited about the hear

i think josh ernest has a bit of a different rapport with reporters.rican people. i do think this white house, like most white houses, are trying to spin and put out good images of the president, and they often do, look at the shiny thing over here if there's something bad happening. they do it pretty well, to be honest with you. as far as everybody signing on, this president has had some elements of this presidency that he got some bad press. >> right. we just have to find a microscope and we'll find it. brett, it's amazing because they've all been called out in that ben rhodes column that they're all 27-year-olds who don't know anything. i know you have to run. you going to do a special report tonight? >> i think i am, yeah. >> from the pool. >> from the pool, yeah. >> we'll definitely be watching. >> watch at 6:00 eastern time. >>> let's hand it over to heather who has the headlines. >> we were just talking about president obama. he's overseas in vietnam. overnight president obama lifting a decades-long arms ban on that country. listen. >> the unite

josh,ary ernest: obviously as i mentioned yesterday, the united states and turkey are nato allies.have worked effectively with the turks to expedite some nter-isilof our cou campaign. turkey has given the united states and other members of our coalition access to military sites in turkey that have made our military campaign even more effective against isil. we have seen turkey make other progress securing our border with syria that has blunted the flow of weapons and foreign fighters across the board in syria. both of those things of beneficial in our efforts to degrade and ultimately destroy, isil. that has not prevented the the unitedes -- states or even the president of the united states -- from raising concerns about situations in which the turkish government does not seem sufficiently committed to protecting the basic universal human rights of their people. by the way, in shrines in the turkish constitution. these are rights that the united states advocates for around the not hesitatedo raising concerns, even when those concerns and volvo the actions of a government with which

jo ling: fox news's kevin corke did ask press secretary josh earnest if any members of the administration lied and ernestan emphatic -- replying an emphatic no. so is ben rhodes complicit in this issue? >> no, he lied. i'm sure you read the "new york times" magazine piece. he boasted about putting one over on the american people, and boasted about setting up that false choice between war or a nuke deal. and by the way, the journal that did that never got around to asking about putin or libya. so what emerged was a picture of a white house that as some of the sources said, just refuses to learn. it's ideologically based. they made up their minds before they get the expert briefing. and i have said on fox many times, what stuns me about this administration isn't that it came into the office naive. but that it never learned. even jimmy carter learned. but obama refuses to learn and ben rhodes was proud of that. he would have done just fine work for joe stalin. jo ling: certainly major disagreements in policy from what you sit versus where the white house sits. i wonder how this affects the market going forw

josh earnest describes -- answers questions about the recent white house directive on transgender students. this is one hour and 20 minutes. mr. ernest: happy friday. glad it is finally here. i do not have any announcements to begin so we can go straight to your questions. >> thank you. i will start with the letter on transgender and bathrooms in schools. >> i thought you might. there was -- [indiscernible] called the letter blackmail and said the administration is doing everything -- she said this is about to divide the country and has everything to do about keeping the vote away from local issues. mr. ernest: this is about electing a right-wing radio host to a state-wide elected office. let's just walk through the facts here. the first is this is a guidance issued by the apartment of education and the department of justice in response to a request for information and guidance from school administrators. week, the national association of secondary school principals put forward a specific formal request to the department of education about how to create the kind of respectful, inclusive environment that school administrators across t