we're getting more breaking news on the persian gulf. a u.s. navy oil tanker firing on a small boat that got too close. at least one person is dead, and we're going to have a live report from the pentagon and exactly what this means ahead. >>> plus, this used to be the image of american leadership in space exploration. today an american astronaut is having to hitch a ride on a russian rocket. thousands of former nasa employees are not only just looking for work, but now are having to volunteer their time giving tours down at the kennedy space center. really? how did the once-grand dream of space exploration become another victim of a country that may have lost its way? former nasa astronaut scott horowitz joins us live next. >>> and president obama refusing to apologize for his campaign's attacks on mitt romney, calling them appropriate. we've talked about this moments ago. john sununu is here just ahead. >> can you imagine how dumb this president is introducing the concept of felony into the discourse when this president comes out of chicago p

the chinese military would love to see us go at it with iran in the persian gulf. are worried about two things: our sophisticated aircraft and naval capabilities. the air force and navy both have a big dog in the fight. the air force premium fighter, f22, $350 million each hasn't been working well, oxygen problems, pilots blacking out. radar problems. if we lost some, it would be a devastating for the air force but also it would tell the russians and chinese a lot. the bigger worry is for the navy. for 70 years, since the battle of midway, our naval power has been constructed around a lot of carriers. if the iranians were able to damage one of our carriers. not sink it but damage it, it suggests the chinese could sink them and changes the paradigm. the world military powers will watch this closely and we're confident we can take the iranians apart but we may pay a higher price than we'd like. >> neil: thank you for your words and your service to this country. good seeing you. >> thank you. >>> we're going to have a lot more on this tomorrow with colonel allen west.

navy ship in the persian gulf was 1988.s crippled six iranian naval vessels in a series of clashes then. the 1988 battle followed an incident in which a u.s. ship was danieled by mine thought to have been laid by iran. >> bret: jennifer griffin at the pentagon. syrian ambassador who defected last week has a chilly warning how far bashar assad will go to hang on the power. correspondent leland vittert has the story and what the rebels in syria are trying to do to snatch that power away. >> rebels in damascus lit fires blocking a main highway, forcing the regime to send tankses to the street of the syrian capital to maintain control of the city. this dramatic shift in 18-month long uprising could be enough to force president aside to use chemical weapons against his own people. speaking to the bbc, he offered no proof to accusations but said he thought the syrian army may have used chemical weapons and would for sure as the conflict worsened. syrian army gunship opened fire. amateur video appeared to show some bomb dropping f

. >>> the united states flexing military muscle in the persian gulf amid claims iran test fired several medium-range ballistic missiles. the state tv was told the test was in a response to israel and united states and their refusal to rule out military strikes. this comes days after the european union launched a ban on iranian oil imparts. iranian lawmakers are pushing a bill to keep oil tankers from passing through the strait of hormuz en route to nation that support the embargo. experts say closing the strait of hormuz would effect delivery of 1/5 of the world's oil. the u.s. is positions fighter jets, mine sweepers and other assets in the region to keep iran in check. jennifer griffin is live for us at the pentagon. what is the administration saying about the iranian mills test? >> ed the state department spokesman described it as not a positive development. that's diplomatic for they're annoyed. the iran janice tested a medium-range ballistic missile and could strike all the israel and u.s. basis. that's new. the iranians practiced on targets that were mockups of airbases in the reg

after the pentagon announced the unprecedented large war game that is going to take place in the persian gulfn september. secretary panetta, today, issued his wanting after meeting with the u.k. defense minister here at the pentagon and he told the iranians to think twice before closing the strait. >> the united states and the international community are going to hold them directly responsible for any disruption of shipping if that region. >>reporter: the iranian parliament has simply issued verbal threats, threatening to target any ships going through the strait would take part in the oil embargo against iran's oil industry. but they have not taken any moves yet to close the state. >>shepard: "hold them responsibility," does not make anyone quake. did he give specifics? >>reporter: he said they are increasing their resources, assets in the region, and he is referring, of course, to some of the recent reports that the pentagon is sending, an anti-missle defense shield out to the persian gulf, but, also, on its way is the demining flotilla, a floating base for special operations forces that wi

country we have to look at the fact every time the west and the arab persian gulf countries and. we still see a civil war taking place look at the situation and libya because the alliance to france and other western countries turkey qatar involved the process of killing still continue even after he is gone what they want to syria they want the same thing destruction of a country so they can have their wars in the middle east and they have their dominance over the middle east. as you say certain elements of the global community here eager for dominance in the realms of the middle east some people say libya some people say iraq but let me let me ask you this before run out of time and i do apologize for the shortness of time here what will the outcome of syria if the rifle factions fail to implement any peace plan could it be the violence escalates and the un has no option but to dive head first in. well i think the i think the president of syria he started the real meaningful dialogue and i think he has to stand by the people and he have to actually look for ways to ease the viol

of fighter jets in the persian gulf. uss ponce reconfigured for floating dock for special operation and demining ships. in 2006, iranian drivers carried out a military exercise shown here, placing mines under water. mines designed to stop international warships or traffic in the persian gulf. it came after an incident where the uss rappahannock fired on fishing vessel after the navy says the boat ignored warnings to halt. one indian was killed. three injured. the indian ambassador says he spoke to survivors and they say the uss rappahannock fired the 50-caliber machine gun without warning. >> there were warning measures that were taken based on what we know now. this is under the investigation. full facts, that the investigation is complete. >> the last time shots were fired in a hostile incident involving a u.s. navy ship in the persian gulf was 1988. warships crippled six iranian naval vessels in a series of clashes then. the 1988 battle followed an incident in which a u.s. ship was danieled by mine thought to have bee

second breakthrough and it's bad news for the biggest enemy is so who are his very own and the persian gulf countries like saudi arabia and qatar one significant development and that is of course russia has been accused of supplying arms to the assad regime now is saying it is not supplying any more new arms to syria but what about those countries giving weapons to the rebels will they stop to. i think that's the biggest challenge the biggest challenge to the success of all these diplomatic activity the florey is this issue which you just mentioned the sending of arms no i don't especially now after iran is seeing as playing a bigger role i think this will very much and i don't go the persian gulf countries saudi arabia qatar because they have been so enthusiastically asked of us shutterstock or the i am of dealing king syria from iran and weakening iran because they have a sectarian view of things and against the shia are regime or a shiite country iran is sort of for this reason i think that more iranian of will lead to more escalation and more sending of weapons from saudi arabia and qat

meantime we turn to the persian gulf where the u.s. has a stern warning for iran. defense secretary leon panetta saying the u.s. will hold teheran directly responsible for any attempt to block shipping and that the united states will defeat any iranian attempt to disrupt the oil markets. the strong words come as a floating military base the u.s.s. ponce is steaming its way into the gulf ahead after 20 ship mine sweeping exercise. some 20% of the world's oil passes through the strait of hormuz. we have the latest live from the pentagon, jennifer griffin, here she is. >> reporter: just moments ago secretary panetta did reiterate that he thinks that things are spiraling out of control in syria. he also told iran to think twice about closing the strait of hormuz. he spoke one day after the pentagon announced war games of an unprecedented scale in the persian gulf starting in september. his warning to iran came after meeting with british defense chief phillip hammond at the pentagon today. they discussed recent developments in the middle east. >> the iranians need to un

assets in the persian gulf, and that they did hit their practice targets.oday the new york times reports that united states has moved reinforcements into the persian gulf to prevent any attempt by iran close the strait. syrian president is stopping short of apologizing for the downing of a turkish warplanes 11 days ago. but he tells a turkish newspaper that he wishes that his forces has not shut it down. today turkey scramble f-16 fighter jets for the third consecutive day. in another development, human rights watch released drawings depicting torture that they say it is happening to civilians and syria. >> the fda has approved the first rapid resolve hiv home test kit, it can detect the presence of the aids causing virus within 20 minutes using a mouse swap. other home test kits have to be sent out to a lab to be developed. testing is one of the chief means of slowing the spread of hiv, it is estimated one of five carriers in the united states does not know that they are infected >> let's see if we can find some good news in the u.s. economy because it is

navy sending some small weapons to the persian gulf that pack a very big punch?al jack keane joins us in moments on his thoughts, with his thoughts. >>> plus, new detail on a madoff-type swindler -- remember we'reny madoff -- who supposedly killed himself just as the feds started asking questions. today new evidence that this guy may be alive and well and still enjoying other people's money. >> subsequently, we do not know whether he exited that boat willingly or if he actually got off the boat in fort myers. megyn: new federal charges against a fugitive banker who may be hiding out now south of the border. 46-year-old aubrey price is missing after allegedly stealing $21 million from the montgomery bank and trust. could be more than that. a bank that he was running before he allegedly took the money. after he disappeared in june, price wrote letters to his relatives saying he was despondent and wanted to end his life, jumping aboard a ferry and jumping off in the middle of nowhere. but the fbi thinks mr. price is very much alive and well and may be hiding out in

navy ship in a deadly encounter in the persian gulf.n the same waterways at the center of a tense war of words between iran and the west. according to sources at the pentagon, sailors on the navy oil tanker rapahanak ownershipped fire on a smaller boat. officials say it was rapidly approaching the navy ship. its captain ignoring repeated twoorntion turn back. in the end, one person dead in the gunfire. three others hurt and we're told it lasted 15 tense minutes. it happened they tell us right off the coast of the europe nighted arab emirates south of dubai and strait of hormuz one of the world's most important shipping lanes. comes over tension of critical waterway. iran repeated threats to block the strait in response to western bands on iranian crude. fox news has confirmed new details about the boat in today's incident. we now know it carried the flag of the uae and we're learning now about who was on that boat. jennifer griffin with more from the pentagon tonight. who was on it. >> four indians on board and two passengers from the e

ships in the persian gulf. these war games coincide with the start of an oil embargo by the european union. the u.s. is quietly increasing its forces in the region. >>> july fourth plans may be going down the drain for many, as widespread power outages and stifling heat plague the mid-atlantic and midwest. the extreme heat is now blamed for eight deaths in maryland. and the number of people killed in those violent weekend storms has climbed to 22. abc's tahman bradley has the latest. >> reporter: the misery continues. brutal temperatures are expected again today, adding to the agony for millions of americans still without power. still without air conditioning. yesterday, 45 states had temperatures in the 90s or above. many soared past 100. >> it was hot and sweaty. and when i come in, i expect a burst of cold air. but now, it's just hotness. >> reporter: this entire neighborhood in randallstown, maryland, is in the dark. >> it's been hot. it's been dangerously hot. >> reporter: angela griggs can't remember how

moving more assets into the persian gulf, especially the mine sweepers. ambassador john bolton, good to see you, as always, perceptive, thank you. >> thank you, eric. >> jamie: another "fox news alert," the syrian regime denies accusations their security forces massacred civilians last week, the foreign ministry saying the comments by u.n. special envoy kofi annan were, quote, rushed. the associated press is reporting new details from u.n. observers on the ground. what are they seeing? a mass grave and pools of blood in homs. activists saying as many as 220 people have been killed there. the regime insisting they killed rebel fighters. meanwhile the red cross is declaring a conflict in syria. a civil war. as a result, the international humanitarian law will apply, throughout the country, which regulates conduct in armed conflict. >> eric: the family of a boston pastor abducted in egypt, appealing for his release. reverend michael lewis was on a church trip to retrace jesus' steps in the holy land and he and two others were kidnapped. the reverend is diabe

clouds brewing washington deploys underwater drones the hunt for a rainy and many sobs in the persian gulf as more military no oil plants and use bombing date. and red faces in london as a limp dick organizers are forced to call in thousands of british army troops to plug a massive security gap just days before the plane is that emergency deployment comes after a private firm admitted it can't provide enough cover because of the sort shortage of trained guards. facing virtual isolation in south america with neighboring states describing the swift ousting of former president fernando lugo in june as a new kind of coup he was impeached by the country's senate and replaced by his former deputy french rico franco in little over a day but brazil argentina and venezuela you know how to loosen ties with paraguay in response and several regional trade groups have also suspended the country's membership before being ousted ferdinando lugo was the leader of power why since two thousand and eight he told. r.t. in an exclusive interview that he was compelled to step down without a fight by the threat

. >> we will take good care of the security of the persian gulf because persian gulf and strait of hormuz is important for iran as well as for the regional countries and for the international community. >> salehi said the iranians want regular meetings with their counterparts in the west. he said they're ready to allow the international atomic energy agency to conduct surprise inspections of nuclear facilities. >> we can extend this to additional protocol, additional protocol would give more leeway, but this we can do when we reach a mutual agreement. >> salehi said they would only allow the inspections if international negotiators acknowledge the iranians' right to a peaceful nuclear program. >>> in cambodia, the government and the world health organization have found a clue regarding the origin of a mysterious disease blamed for the deaths of more than 50 children. they say a virus that causes hand, foot and mouth disease may be responsible. the w.h.o. says the unidentified disease has been spreading in central and southern cambodia since april. it affects children, mainly infants aged

jenna: congressman, you were most recently in the persian gulf in early 2000s as you were die employedat area. did you do this as well? >> yes. we conducted operations there with the gulf cooperative council states in order to make sure we were prepared to address this issue. this is a type of asim met i can trick warfare. jenna: what is asymmetric warfare? >> it means they buy very cheap stuff that can do great damage and take us a lot of time, if we don't want that damage to be done, to clear them. so they have over 2,000 pretty sophisticated but relatively inexpensive mines to put into transit lanes only a couple miles wide there in the straits of hormuz. it would take us months in order to clear them, if we don't destroy the fishing vessels that drop them off, chief fish vessels first. second, they have several hundred missiles that could land into saudi arabia, israel and southern turkey. that is why you said at beginning of interview we're putting out there some better missile-acquiring radar. why this second carrier battle group that is going to come into the gulf will have addi

they want to be the most power until country in the persian gulf region in the middle east at large. why? that is the choke point of world's oil. 40% of the exported oil goes past the iranian border. if iran controls the persian gulf region iran controls the world's oil and if iran controls the world's oil iran controls the world's economy. that is the second greatest threat facing america today and that is one that is present and you know they don't see there is any impediment to what they are about to do. the third thing to think about is israel. in the last four years we have walked step-by-step by step away from israel. some people say that's a good thing. we were too pro israeli and anti-arab in the past. but what it does is it convinces israel they are on their own. if they feel that america doesn't have their back, particularly this administration, they're going to feel compelled to deal with the second threat i just talked about which is iran's nuclear weapons program. israel has said time and time again the israeli leadership, both political parties, the elites in israel hav

. >>> and now we another overseas to the persian gulf. in the waters off of dubai, a small fishing boat seems to be there. here's abc's jon karl. >> reporter: it was just this february that our own martha raddatz saw just how tense and dangerous the waters surrounding the strait of hormuz in the persian gulf can be. she was on the destroyer "u.s.s.s starrett" when it was harassed by smaller iranian boats, a frightening but increasingly common occurrence. in today's incident, when an unidentified motorboat approached the u.s. navy ship rappahannock, the u.s. sailors aboard did not know who was coming towards them. u.s. officials say the incident happened at 2:50 in the afternoon, ten miles off the coast of the united arab emirates. the navy ship first attempted to make radio contact with the boat -- warning it to back off. the boat kept coming at a high rate of speed. the rappahannock then flashed its lights and issued warnings over a loudspeaker. the boat still did not slow down. the rappahannock then fired warning shots in the water. usi

ponce is in position in the persian gulf.wly refurbished mother ship capable of serving as floating dock for de-mining vessels and there is a squadron of stealth fighter jets that was in the united arab emirates. these could be used for deep strikes into iran. >> john: jennifer, thanks. >> we're also looking at getting new satellite images of a uranium facility. they suggest the iranians may try to cover up what has been happening there. leland is kovl that from our newsroom exactly what do they show? >> reporter: they show at least or they think they show is a massive cleanup, par particularly at a military facility. this is the first image from april 19. if you look closely there is a large white building where there is a lot of intelligence are saying that the iranians carried out high explosive tests that could be used for a nuclear trigger. since the inspectors have asked for access, a lot of stuff have been happening there. skip forward to june 7th. a new satellite image where you see earth moving equipment there and la

aircraft carrier to the persian gulf region four months ahead of schedule. it is supposed to arrive if the region late this summer. it is important to point out that back in 2000 when the "uss cole" was struck it was struck by a civilian boat that was filled with explosives, and 17 u.s. sarah palins were killed and at that point the navy changed its rules of we engagement and they have been different ever since the "uss cole" incident. >>shepard: the red cross international committee confirms what many have been saying for a long time, the uprising in syria is create a full scale civil war. the red cross civil war designation now puts syria under international humanitarian law. that is because it could lead to war crimes charges at some point down the road. and an opposition activist in the capital of damascus tells fox he is witnessing the worst fighting between government forces and the rebel fighters. then there is the diplomat front, russia's foreign minister today accused the wet of blackmail, claiming that western leaders are threatening to scrap a uni

also, the united states has doublinged the number of mine sweeping ships in the persian gulf. what is the pentagon expecting? the medicare debate continues in washington... ...more talk on social security... ...but washington isn't talking to the american people. [ female announcer ] when it comes to the future of medicare and social security, you've earned the right to know. ♪ ...so what does it mean for you and your family? [ female announcer ] you've earned the facts. ♪ washington may not like straight talk, but i do. [ female announcer ] and you've earned a say. get the facts and make your voice heard on medicare and social security at earnedasay.org. or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today. but last year my daughter was checking up on me. i wasn't eating well. she's a dietitian and she suggested i try boost complete nutritional drink to help get the nutrition i was missing. now i drink it every day, and i love the great taste. [ female announcer ] boo

navy ship in a deadly encounter in the persian gulf.ways at the center of a tense war of words between iran and the west. according to sources at the pentagon, sailors on the navy oil tanker rapahanak ownershipped fire on a smaller boat. officials say it was rapidly approaching the navy ship. its captain ignoring repeated twoorntion turn back. in the end, one person dead in the gunfire. three others hurt and we're told it lasted 15 tense minutes. it happened they tell us right off the coast of the europe nighted arab

warships in the persian gulf.why are always negotiations failing to produce any kind of breakthrough. while the such a situation on the ground is certainly intensifying the united states has said for minesweepers to the persian gulf to boost its fleet there and that comes amid renewed through its value run that it is closing a wall potentially could potentially close the strait of hormuz there have been three rounds of negotiations between iran and the six world powers and so far things have yielded no breakthrough there is another meeting happening today tuesday in istanbul it's a low level meeting that is looking at seeing whether or not there's any kind of common ground between the sides that could they need to fully fledged negotiations but the expectation of today's meeting is rather dismal iran accuses the international powers of dragging their feet and says that it's not in their interest to reach any kind of compromise or any kind of solution at the same time iran is insisting that its nuclear program is f

and then there are all kinds of scenarios that could occur in the persian gulf.y iran decides to sink a tanker loaded with oil from, let's say, iraq. would the united states, do you think, you know, consider this an act of war? and if so, what would be the response? >> well, it wouldn't just be the united states. it would be in international waters. that would be an act of war. >> it would? >> and the entire international community would respond accordingly. this isn't just an issue between the united states and iran. this is an area where most of the world's oil comes from every day. and the vast majority of that oil is not used by the united states, but used by europe, japan, and in some cases india. so that would be a significant military action done by the nation of iran and i think any legal expert would understand that and declare that an act of war. >> before i ask you about these aircraft carriers, i'm just curious when we talk about this threat, do you think, and i'm sure part of this as a result of all the sanctions that we've slapped on iran, could the

its disputed nuclear intentions ball ordering a fourth aircraft carrier and water drones to the persian gulf and paraguay is in diplomatic limbo with its south american neighbors over the recent ousting of x. president fernando lugo he was impeached by the country's parliament in little over a day but local told r.t. in an exclusive interview that he was compelled to step down without a fight but the threat of widespread violence being provoked in the country. but up here and mr president welcome to the program how do you feel about recent events what are people saying b. and. i would first like to say hello to your audience i'm happy to see the international press interested in the events in paraguay the parliamentary koon the paraguayan people who resist it we have all lost here this parliamentary cooed disrupted the democratic process in the country and made it lose as well as the whole region it distressed mercosur and illness over the paraguayans around raged but some say there was no coup because of zero violence and no tanks on the streets for them indeed it was nothing like a militar

eyes are on iran and the persian gulf and a new build-up of forces by the u.s. military in and around the persian gulf, moving ships and fighter jets to keep open the strait of hormuz, a crucial shipping lane for a third of the world. martha, we reached out to you today. what do you make of the build-up? >> it clearly shows concern on the part of the u.s. when you transit that strait of hormuz, as i did with a carrier strike group recently, you see how easy it would be to shut it down and what a disaster it would be. the shipping lanes are only two miles wide in some places. all iran would have to do is lay a few mines or even just say they were laying mines and traffic would halt. so everything the u.s. is now doing is to protect our interests in those key shipping lanes. >> any response from iran tonight? iran is not backing down. today, iran launched a barrage of missiles as part of a major war game aimed at "mock enemy bases." but this is a delicate dance for the u.s. they don't want to provoke iran, but they want to have everything ready in case iran does s

as barbara was enumerating all the different parts of the navy fleet in the persian gulf, those are veryfor the iranians to get at. they'll try to go at them asymmetrically. they'll use various devices, various methods, various techniques, to go after these ships in a way that is hard to detect. they will try to do it. they will try to swarm these ships through smaller vessels that they have, very small vessels they can use. they can create a lot of havoc. they can create "uss cole"-type incidents and that's what we want to avoid. >> i'm just purely curious from a technical perspective. where do they test those 30,000-pound m.o.p.s? >> states like new mexico, nevada. they will be used in very, very precise areas, where they can actually measure their effectiveness against concrete and other things they're interested in. >> all right. interesting to learn the defenses we have from barbara but also they study concrete hardening in iran universities. >>> is a nuclear power plant in california about to be the next fukushima? on a day when the nuclear regulatory commission actually met to tal

we begin in the persian gulf where an american naval ship fired on a boat killing somebody.rbara starr's following the story. i asked her why the navy opened fire. >> reporter: erin, a u.s. navy supply ship in the persian gulf fired on a small boat apparently killing one person and wounding three others when this small boat came too close to the u.s. navy ship. navy officials, pentagon officials tell us that it may have been fishermen on board but in those busy and tense waters of the persian gulf, when a small boat approaches a u.s. navy ship and does not obey the signals to stay away and keeps coming, that they really have no choice but eventually, if they have to, to use lethal force to stop it. erin. >> all right, thanks to barbara. now we go to syria where fighting intensified today. the red cross announced the spread of violence means the entire country they say formally is now in civil war. ivan watson has been following the story and told me what this new fighting in damascus means. >> reporter: erin, ferocious gun battles have been raging in the heart of the syrian