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

wendell goler is at his house now, wendell? >> shep, with nearly a third the world's economy and about a quarter of its people, the president might have called the u.s.-chinese relationship the world's most important. he didn't but he got close. >> the relationship between the united states and china will shape the 21st century. which makes it as important as any bilateral relationship in the world. >> thable meeting brings together hundreds of u.s. and chinese officials who attended four separate gatherings in the bush administration twice a year meetings on economic and strategic issues. the artificially low value of china's currency makes its manufactured goods cheaper than ours. that costs american jobs and deepens the impact of the recession. but u.s. and chinese officials aren't talking about it in their public speeches. >> we're not going to see these rifts open in the public. they will be papered over. over the long term, these are going to have major impacts around the world. >> with china starting up a new coal fired

wendell goler in washington with more.he new guidelines. >> shep, the embryos must be donated by couples or women who underwent infeet vo invitro because they couldn't conceive on their own. the donors must understand that the embryos could be used by other childless couples. president obama lifted the bush administration's restrictions in march. he said medical miracles don't happen by accident. the stem cell miracles haven't happened at all yet. though researchers think they hold great promise for neurological disorders like park sans and alzheimer's, shep. shepard: how are republicans reacting. >> republicans have been divided for quite some time over the issue of stem cell research. house minority leader john boehner today released a statement saying the new guidelines, quote, will create incentives for destruction of human life. when former president bush cited the belief that conception begins -- that life, pardon me that life begins at conception when he froze the number of stem cell lines that could be used to grow

wendell goler at the white house now. wendell, this isn't just about michael steele here. >> president is not likely to be listening to michael steele. is he likely to be counting votes on capitol hill and looking at polls that show increasing skepticism about his handling of health care reform. especially among imedz. his aids blame the slide in support on the toughness of the problem but a new "the washington post"/abc news poll shows support for the president's hand ling of health care reform has now fallen below 50% for the first time. though his overall job approval rating remains high. he will try to boost the health care numbers and eased pressure on lawmakers a bit. mr. obama had been calling on congress to give him a bill by the end of next month. now he says the end of the year. republicans think the health care issue can be used to take down his overall numbers. south carolina senator jim demint says it could be the president's waterloo which is where napoleon lost his final battle. in his remarks today, presid

we also know that the summit is 19 minutes away, and white house correspondent wendell goler is on it. wendell? >> you have to figure that sasha and malia did not want beer stains on their equipment. there is this evening's kumbaya moment. professor gates has called for an apology to and has hired a lawyer, although he has not filed suit. sargeant crowley said he will not apologize, and officers have rallied around him, and mr. obama has been asked to apologize for saying that the cambridge police acted "stupidly to " he said he did not call professor gates an officer crowley to the white house for apologies -- for saying that the cambridge police acted "stupidly." >> i do not think the president has expectations that one cold beer at one table here is going to change massively the course of human history by any sense of the imagination. >> the president says what we are calling the beer summit is just three guys having a drink at the end of the day and hopefully listening to one another. neil: bud buddy. i do not know why they have not gotten back to me on that. they can run with it,

white house correspondent wendell goler reports on the potential of co-ops. >> at a town hall meeting in raleigh, north carolina, president obama addressed what is arguably the second greatest concern about healthcare reform outside of costs. >> we've got to overcome the understandable skepticism that somehow washington can never get anything right. i mean, that's the biggest challenge we have right now. his goal is health insurance for people who can't afford it, or who the companies don't want to sign up. i'm for the public option. >> but republicans are not, and neither are moderate democrats. they worry about unfair competition for private insurance companies and government involvement in healthcare decisions, which is why cooperatives like this one in seattle are getting a long hard look. >> it is a system where patients being actively engaged in their care with their care providers, we believe, ultimately, will be healthier and see better results in the long run r >> health co-ops can hire their own doctors and negotiate ates with doctors and hospitals. this he can provide insur

wendell goler is here with them. wendell?ment report raised bipartisan concerns on capitol hill with democratic worried the stimulus money is not going where it's needed most and republicans feeling we're just not getting enough bang for the bucks. >> 150,000 jobs created or saved. how much have we spent? >> we have obligated $57 billion. >> that's $380,000 a job if you do the math. but of course a lot of the obligated money hasn't been spent. a lot is paying for food stamps and medicaid in schools, things that make a bigger difference to governors than they do to members of congress. >> the american recovery and reinvestment act has really been a life line. it is helping us to create and save jobs in maryland. it is allowing us to position our state's economy to bounce back from this recession. >> the g.a.o. report says half the money set aside for road and bridge repairs is being used for simple repaving. states are using stimulus money just to stay afloat. while the president won't rule out a second stimulus plan, his aide

wendell goler report mrs. obama concentrated today on reassurance. >> at his ninth healthcare event in as many days, president obama focused on selling reform to people who are already insured. >> you won't lose your healthcare, if you change jobs, lose your job or start a business. you won't lose your insurance if you get sick. >> mr. obama aimed to counter growing concern that the healthcare reforms he eventually approved might have a negative impact on existing plans. he said each of five bills being considered on capitol hill would let people keep their health insurance plan. each would cut costs and provide catastrophic care. >> each of these bills will provide incentives so that patients get the best care, not just the most expensive care. >> in an earlier interview on nbc's "today show," the president suggested that none of the bills has his seal of approval yet. >> right now they're not where they need to be. >> some of the blue dog democrats are asking what's the your? >> i have a lot of folks in my d

wendell goler, fox news. bret: pope benedict will have a cast on his right arm for about a month.e 82-year-old pope fractured his wrist in a fall at his alpine vacation shall lay. he was in good spirits after he left the hospital today after a surgical procedure to realign the broken bone fragments. the president insists healthcare reform is coming and it won't inkeys the deficit. we will see if the fox all-stars agree when we come back. port dot com! tell your friends, tell your dad, tell your mom! never mind, they've been singing our songs since we first showed up with our pirate hats on! if you're not into fake sword fights pointy slippers and green wool tights take a tip from a knight who knows free credit report dot com, let's go! vo: offer applies with enrollment in triple advantage. >> we actually believe that about 2/3's of the cost of e forming healthcare -- of reforming healthcare could be achieved through these savings alone without any new revenue, of course, that still leaves 1/3 of the costs in order for us to cover all americans that we're still going to have to fin

chris: wendell goler reporting from the white house. thanks for that. president obama's approval rating is down this month. gallop says that the president is averaging 58% support for the first eight days of july. that is down from ra 61% average in june. the bigest slippage is among independents from 59% last month to 53% now. spies are, are by necessity, professional liars, but now the people who run this country's spies are being accused of lying to their overseers in congress. that war of words is escalating. catherine herridge is here with the latest. >> thanks, chris. the dispute between congress and the c.i.a. opened a new and angry chapter today when democrat jan shahkowski of the house intelligence committee claims that panetta killed a covert program after she said it had been did deliberately hidden from congress for eight years. now, the congresswoman is calling for hearings. >> there is really two issues. there is the issue of the substance of the program, and we will look at that as a member of the intelligence committee but the serious qu

wendell goler, fox news.ret: a new poll indicates that most americans believe healthcare reform will mean higher taxes for the middle class. we'll find out what the fox all-stars think, next. gecko vo: takes lots of sweat to become that big. gecko vo: 'course, geckos don't literally sweat... it's just not our thing... gecko vo: ...but i do work hard, mind you. gecko vo: first rule of "hard work equals success." gecko vo: that's why geico is consistently rated excellent or better in terms of financial strength. gecko vo: second rule: "don't steal a coworker's egg salad, 'specially if it's marked "the gecko." come on people. when morning comes in the middle of the night... rooster crow. ...it affects your entire day. to get a good night's sleep, try 2-layer ambien cr. the first layer dissolves quickly to help you fall asleep. and unlike other sleep aids, a second dissolves slowly to help you stay asleep. when taking ambien cr, don't drive or operate machinery. sleepwalking, and eating or driving while not fully

in washington, wendell goler, fox news.ret: republican party chairman michael steele says the g.o.p. wants to renew its relationship with the african-american community and the ncaap. the party's first african-american leader spoke to the civil rights groups centennial convention today in new york. he said that his appearance did not represent a miraculous breakthrough, but rather a baby step with more to come. nevada republican senator john ensign said he isn't resigning and plans to unfor re-election in 2012. ensign has admitted an extramarital affair with a former campaign stafferment he has also acknowledged that his parents paid $96,000 to the mistress and her family. ensign tells the las vegas sun newspaper that he has heard from supporters in both parties encouraging him to keach your head up. this thing will pass. so, how hot was the hot seat for the president's supreme court nominee? the fox all-stars discuss the first day of questioning for sonia sotomayor. ♪ fortunately, there's charmin ultra strong. with its dia

wendell goler at the white house. thanks very much. again, while in ghana, he will address that country's parliament. he will visit a hospital, and if the weather holds, as wendell mentioned, he is supposed to fly with his family by helicopter to the coast to tour a notorious slave embarkation point, obviously all overseas trips are full of symbolism, and this one more so than most. of course we will continue to follow it for you as president obama touches down in africa. we will have all the news on fox news channel. for now, let's go back to eric bolling who is filling in for glenn beck. eric: thanks for staying on top of it. we will keep on top of the president's trip to africa right now. the media often misses the big story because they don't tie together all the news of the day. with that in mind, we will break it all down to you in a nutshell. >> seiu in a nutshell. why is the service employees international union leading the push in health reform. andy stern, the head of seiu who visits the white house once a week. when the presi

in washington, wendell goler, fox news. >> brian: and then you've got to have a czar to look over allther czars, a czar-czar. is your state facing tough economic times? no state is going through worst times than the great state of california and as california goes, so goes much of the countries. we'll talk to san diego's mayor how bad the crunch is. it's brian wilson in washington, there's much more and at the end of the broadcast your personal thoughts on walter cronkite and what he meant to a young broadcaster on the way up. [ indistinct conversations ] ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] for underarms that are sexy smooth, get secret flawless touch with olay. it even reduces irritation caused by shaving. oooooo-lay... [ female announcer ] secret. because you're hot. garth, you're up. hold on, i'm at capitalone.com picking a photo... for my credit card. here's one from my prom. oh, what memories. how 'bout one from our golf outing? ( shouting ) i know, maybe one of my first-born son. dad, mom says the boys gotta go. >> topping the news right now. walter cronkite the cbs news man considered to

at the white house, wendell goler, fox news.t: today the president tried to put out the fire over his comments on the arrest of a black harvard professor. we will get reaction from the fox equal stars, next. limb: dude that was sick! i've been hangin' up there for, what, like, forty years? and then - wham - here i am smacking the pretty off that windshield of yours. oh, what you're looking for an apology? well, toss another coin in the wishing well, pal. it's not happenin'. limb: hey, what's up, donnie? how you been? anncr: accidents are bad. anncr:but geico's good ding! with onsite windshield replacement. are more than words here. it's personal. i have diabetes. rodney's kid too. so we're so proud to manufacture... the accu-chek® aviva meters and test strips... here in the u.s.a. plus, we've proven you'll waste 50% fewer strips... when you use our meter, which means greater savings... for people with diabetes, like me. now that's a true american value. accu-chek® aviva. born in the u.s.a. >> the cambridge police acted stupidly

wendell goler has been looking into that. he is live in d.c. with it. wendell? >> shep, former health secretary mike leavitt said there are already internal squabbles about who is in charge of president obama's health care reforms. he blames czars although leavitt admits president obama's aides and food safety czars sometimes trampled on his turf. >> both of them did. actually, these were different than their so-called czars inside the white house. >> leavitt says they typically didn't work inside the white house. most of president obama's czars don't work inside the white house either, and most report to cabinet secretaries, not to him, which some people feel makes them ineffective. >> if you don't have a bureaucracy behind you, you don't have a massive budget behind you, you have a nice title czar, but you are in effect a union i can. >> most of president obama's czars don't have big staffs or budget authority either, but some experts say it is not those things that make a czar powerful. >> i think most of their power derives from their relationship with the p

shepard: wendell goler live tonight in washington. wendell, good to see you. h1n1 virus, what we used to call swine flu is now said to have sickened thens of thousands of people across the united states and blamed in the deaths of more than 200. now new information. and fears that the virus has closed a summer youth camp at the university of northern colorado. that's confirmed. we're told ten students and three staff members showed symptoms of the disease on the grealey colorado campus. about 32 students from 10th to 12th grade attend the camp. the 13 who fell ill reportedly are responding well tonight to treatment. a sudden burst of violence has he iraqi christians wondering whether they are facing increased persecution now that american troops are withdrawn from their cities. it's a top story on the fox trip around the world in 0 seconds. iraq. police imposing vehicle bans in two mostly christian towns in the north after a series of bombings targeting churches. security is also beefed up around christian churches in baghdad. several bombs killing at least fo

in washington, wendell goler, fox news. >> oil stayed below $60 a barrel today. august futures fell 20 cents to settle at $59.69 a barrel. gasoline dropped 8/10 aof a penny overnight. it is at $2.5 53 a gallon. the dow gained 185 points. s&p 500 rose nearly 22 and the nasdaq was up 37 and change. senate majority leader harry reid is hurting in the polls and it could cost his son an election, and is new york's "you call, we haul" policy wasting millions of dollars? we report, you decide. quleer friskies feline favorites. clear my doctor told me something i never knew. as we get older, our bodies become... less able to absorb calcium. he recommended citracal. it's a different kind of calcium. calcium citrate. with vitamin d... for unsurpassed absorption, to nourish your bones. it hard to breathe. but now that i'm breathing better with advair... i can enjoy the zoo with my grandkids. (announcer) for people with copd including chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both, great news. advair helps significantly improve lung function. while nothing can reverse copd, advair i

and that takes us to wendell goler live at the white house. wendell,ummm beer. the president did not invite officer crowley or professor gates here to apologize. he made clear he thinks this whole event has been blown out of proportion in a brief exchange with reporters earlier today. >> i notice this has been called the beer summit. it's a clever term but this is not a summit, guys. this is three folks having a drink at the end of the day. and hopefully giving people an opportunity to listen to each other. >> and that's all it really is, mr. obama said. but it was the president himself who said he hoped this would be a teachable moment about how to disagree without being disagreeable. still, any lesson was in the pictures. the microphones kept simply too far away and the white house learned each three guys having a beer at the end of the day or four, since vice president biden joined at the last minute is no simple matter. the original plan was to drink the beer on maliyah and sasha's picnic table. that got canned when somebody thought what the pictures would l

shepard: wendell goler earlier on the hill.oogle shutting down an office in india after seven employees there became infected with the h1n1 virus, what we used to call swine flu. 250 workers from the google office in southern india staying home for two days while the facility is sanitized. the company says all seven have tested positive for h1n1 are in quarantine. so far there are no reported swine flu deaths anywhere in india. thailand has seen more than 4,000 cases of h1n1, and the government is now trying to stop the virus from further spreading. our top story on a fox trip round the world in 80 seconds. thailand, the government closing more than 400 schools in bangkok to slow down outbreaks of the h1n1 virus. each school getting a thorough cleaning. the nation has reported 24 deaths from this virus since mid may, 10 of those in bangkok. jerusalem. hundreds of ultraorthodox jews protesting the arrest of a woman. she has been charged with abusing her 3-year-old son by not feeding him. the woman said to be mentally ill. the re

here is wendell goler. >> vice president biden said the administration misread how bad the economy really was and the president refused to rule out a second stimulus package. >> i don't take anything off the table when unemployment is close to 10% and a lot of americans are hurting out there. >> more jobs were lost in june than may, but less than in any of the first four months of the year. house majority leader steny hoyer says congress needs to be open to taking additional action, but senate majority leader harry reid says 90% of february's stimulus mop ny hasn't been spent yet. >> there is no showing to me that another stimulus is needed. >> republicans bristleed at the thought of a second stimulus package. >> down home, we used to say there is no education in the second kick of a mule. >> they think the first bill was poorly written. the largest portion is devoted to infrastructure improvements like road construction and energy efficiency, things that take the longest time to make jobs. the small sefts devoted to tax cuts which get money into the economy faster. >> a second stimulus i

martha: thank you very much, wendell goler at the white house. trace: 2 and in tonight.dent is pitching his plan to the nation. coverage will begin at 7:55 p.m. eastern time. martha: let's talk a little bit about this. he is facing some push back from members of his own party. energy and commerce committee delayed to the legislation after party leaders felt they could not get the votes. our next guest is a member of the committee. good to have you with us today. we have talked a lot about the fact that democrats are at odds over the spill. -- at odds over this bill. is there anything that you see coming out of this in terms of a cohesive plan? a lot of people hear about raising taxes on the health care benefits and they wonder where this will all end. >> i remain confident we will have a bill. we have seen our premiums double. we have seen our kids and their loved ones with diabetes and cancer and they cannot get insurance because of pre- existing things. i do not think it is a surprise that this is a complex, difficult issue. we are trying to find a solution and i think

harris: thank you, wendell goler. we reported on this yesterday and it was horrific. of people are taking cruises. this is vacation season for most people. another horrible thing hams on board an american cruise liner. the latest a murder of shirley mcgill killed travelling to mexico. it was a cabo five-nighter. her husband is accused of killing her in the cabin. 's school teacher. cops arrested him when the ship returned to port and kept all 2,000 passengers. mcgill had just retired from her job last week. he was about to do the same, the husband. joining us over the gone is the former deputy assistant director of the f.b.i. taking the lead on the cases. thank you for joining us. i know they did board that ship when it got that port in san diego. >> apparently the coast guard brought them out by cut are and the f.b.i. does have jurisdiction of these. crime of high seas is a jurisdiction they have had and unfortunately this case carnival cruise line did a good job of preserving the crime scene. that always doesn't happen. terrible tragedy but the case will be solved a

wendell goler is live with more on that. >> it is bad enough that medicare is running out of money.sident obama wants to use medicare savings to expand health insurance to millions of people who do not have that now. that is worse than robbing peter to pay paul. >> what we ought to try to do is to channel those funds back into the medicare program to make it more solvent. i frankly do not understand the reasoning behind their thinking on it. >> white house says the answer is to slow the rise in health- care costs, twice the overall inflation rate and going up three times as fast as wages. >> you're going to take a trust fund and drawdown on it less rapidly. >>ne the congressional budget office says none of the health care plans in the house and senate will bend the cost curve. that means none of the plans have met the test. >> i will not sign it if the reform ads one dime toward deficit. i mean what i say. >> the first of 77 million baby boomers will start to retire a couple of years from now. protecting the budget may not be much comfort for their grandchildren. >> long term for me

white house correspondent wendell goler reports on just what mr. obama is up against. good evening, wendell. >> good evening, 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 ha

wendell goler is with the news live at the white house for us. wendell?> rick, health secretary kathleen sebelius who think we dodged a bullet with the relatively mild swine flu outbreak this past spring should think again. it may be back in the fall. it may be a more virulent strain. and while sebelius says the government will pay for a soak seen, that's only if it passes tests that will be conducted next month. >> because the scientists are busily trying to grow the appropriate virus, figure out if we have an effective strain that will combat h1n1 and a safe vaccine based on, you know, how many doses will be taken, what the side effects are so that process is underway. >> sebelius says the good news is the h1n1 strain seems to be easily treated with medications like tamiflu and ralenza. there is plenty of that production of this fall's seasonal flu vaccine is finished to so those production lines can be used for swine flu vaccine. the fall strain could be different than the one that began in mexico city it could make the seasonal flu strain more potent.

wendell goler is at the white house. >> his aides say the president will talk about health care reform in the context of the economic crisis we face earlier this year to try to make the point that he and his advisers know what they're doing. and also a warning that we are certain to face another economic crisis in the future. polls show green public skepticism. -- green public skepticism. larry sabato says mr. obama has a big job tonight. >> this has gotten very personal. the last time it got this personal was clinton-care. we all remember how that happened. president obama has to rewrite the script and he has to do it quickly. >> he thinks it is time for the president to compromise on his goal of a health-care plan that covers everybody. and take one that as many uninsured people as he can get. he says that if the president gets no plan, democrats will be hammered in the midterm elections. to get a plan, he has to convince people that they will be negatively affected by the changes to. he says that just stressing the moral imperative is not enough. officials at the white house said th

wendell goler is live tonight. >> ghana has had four elections in the row, free and fair.sident obama is the third u.s. president to visit the country. it is not just that democracy is more fair, but much of africa's poverty is the result of poor government. often come if you want a job or want to start a business, you have to pay a bribe. >> when my father traveled to the united states from kenya to study, at that time, the per capita income and gross domestic product of kenya was higher than south korea's. >> can impose a per capita is now just 5% of south korea -- kenya's per capita is now just 5% of south korea's. the political parties will have to find a way to resolve differences peacefully. mr. obama has a tough act to follow. george w. bush tripled u.s. assistance to africa. he became a hero there, drastically reducing malaria, the leading killer of children under 5 on the continent. he will ask for help from african immigrants to the united states. they are the highly educated and in print group in the country. rick: president barack obama has canyon ancestry, but

wendell goler is live tonight. >> ghana has had four elections in the row, free and fair. it is not just that democracy is more fair, but much of africa's poverty is the result of poor government. often come if you want a job or want to start a business, you have to pay a bribe. >> when my father traveled to the united states from kenya to study, at that time, the per capita income and gross domestic product of kenya was higher than south korea's. >> can impose a per capita is now just 5% of south korea -- kenya's per capita is now just 5% of south korea's. the political parties will have to find a way to resolve differences peacefully. mr. obama has a tough act to follow. george w. bush tripled u.s. assistance to africa. he became a hero there, drastically reducing malaria, the leading killer of children under 5 on the continent. he will ask for help from african immigrants to the united states. they are the highly educated and in print group in the country. rick: president barack obama has canyon ancestry, but is it possible he also -- has kenyan ancestry, but is it poss

wendell goler reports on the global connection between the world's most populace country and the one with the largest economy. the president lost two days of talks with senior chinese officials with a big prediction -- >> the relationship between the united states and china will ape shape the 21st century, which makes it as important as any bilateral relationship in the world. >> the annual meeting brings together hundreds of u.s. and chinese officials who attended four separate gatherings of the bush administration, twice a year meetings on economic an strategic issues. the artificially low value of the china's currency, the yuan makes its manufacture cheaper than ours, and that costs american jobs and deepens the impact of the recession, but u.s. and chinese officials aren't talking about it in their public speeches. >> we are not going to see these rifts open to the public. they will be papered over but they will have major impacts around the world. >> instead, president obama urged china to do more to stimulate its economy. >> as americans save more and chinese are able to spend

wendell goler has been hot on this story. çwe are trying to figure out wo gets the beer.three men, two benches. is there a seating arrangement? >> there is not. and there are more than three people involved. they will be at theç picnic tae attached to the swing set, but there is. he is bringing the lawyer from the cambridge police office, as well as family members. there is not much space for them, which includes brass plaques representing each of the president's. professor gates may also bring friends and family members. officials said it is all very informal, a chance for them to get to know each other, step back from what has pushed them to the front of the news. there will be red stripe for professor gates, blue moon for officer crowley, and bud light for the president. bill: is there any feeling that they will perhaps allow this to drag on too long? >> i think they allowed it to drag on as long as they did that today they plan to put a book and on it. the president believe this is a very teachable moment, showing that we can disagree without being disagreeable, but

wendell goler reports on the policemen, the professor and the president. >> having said he didn't know what role race played in his friend henry gates' arrest, the president weighed in anyway in a primetime news conference. >> i think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry, number two, that the cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. >> the fraternal order of police reacted sharply, saying in a statement, quote, it's unfortunate that mr. obama chose to say anything. as he traveled the next thing, aides said mr. obama wasn't calling the police officer stupid, but the cooler head should have prevailed once it was clear gates wasn't a burglar. late today, cambridge police dropped a bombshell. someone else had tried to get into gates' home while he was away. >> we understand there was a risk to his home. >> the disorderly conduct charge was dropped. he was quoted as saying this isn't about me. this is about the vulnerability of black men in america, but the arresting officer, police sergeant

white house correspondent wendell goler is live on the north lawn, and we are looking now at the >> tape of this as it comes in. this is folks from the white house pool. you send in a pool photographer, and there you see the wrought iron table in the rose garden, and there you see sergeant crowley, from the cambridge police department, and also professor henry gates. you see president obama and vice president biden there, as the pool were escorted in. wendell, what about this? >> we know more, bret, about what is happening in the rose garden than what is. the president is not attempting to get sergeant crowley and professor gates to apologize to each other, not doing what one official called and after-action report on the arrest itself. instead, this is what the president has called a teachable moment, an example of people sitting down and disagreeing perhaps without being disagreeable. bret: wendell, they didn't say anything, we understand. we didn't get any audio throughout this whole white house pool photo op. you can see the president eating some beer nuts there, and everybody has so

wendell goler has the story. >> less than three months after the swine flu spread from mexico arounds prepare for a more lethal outbreak during the regular flu season this fall. health secretary kathleen sebelius says tests on a vaccine will begin next month. >> that's why we're starting this discussion right now, knowing that, and the best case scenario is that the vaccine will be available by mid october. we hope to have information for parents and others as schools start. >> the good news, she says, is there is lots of tamiflu and relenza, which seem to be effective, but the bad news says the c.d.c. is that the swine flu may change the regular seasonal flu. >> we anticipate the influenza viruses change from season to season, year to year. >> all these officials warned against complacency and say we haven't yet dodged the bullet. >> it is not gone. it is continuing to spread. it is in 102 countries. we have it in every state in this country. >> scientists are trying to figure out vaccine dosage and side effects. there are drark memories of the vaccinations in 1976. the government p

wendell goler reports there are still plenty of concerns about the first one. >> the vast majority oftimulus money so far has been spent on medicaid and protecting teachers' jobs, according to a government accountability office report. maryland governor o'malley is delighted. >> the american recovery and investment act has really been a lifeline. >> but there are bri partisan concerns on capitol hill about how the stimulus money is being spent. >> it is unclear as to recovery act funds are going where they are needed most. >> and about how many jobs it is creating. >> 150,000 jobs created or saved. how much money have we spent? >> we have obligated $57 billion. >> that's $380,000 a job as lawmakers did the math for robert nabors, the deb ti of the budget office. the president made clear he is not considering a second right now even though he won't rule it out. >> nobody in the administration is talking about a second stimulus at this point. >> the g.a.o. says half the money for road and bridge repairs is being used for repaving instead and most infrastructure projects won't get underw

wendell goler reports the president addressed worries about another sensitive issue. >> answering calls from senior at an aarp town hall meeting, the president was asked about a healthcare reform bill being considered in the house. >> i have been told there is a policy in there that everyone that is medicare age will be visited and told to decide how they wish to die. >> aarp moderators suggested it is a well-known misperception and identified it by page. >> the infamous page 425. >> president obama was reassuring. >> nobody will force you to make a set of decisions on e.n.d. of life care based on some bureaucratic law in washington. >> aides ak nom it is a sensitive issue, a quarter of all medicare spending takes place in the patient's final year of life and most people facing a terminal illness or old age prefer less intervention to more. that suggests the potential for savings. the house bill would allow medicare to pay for counseling on end-of-life issues but doesn't require them, and lawmakers say it is a good thing but do it early. >> think about it when you're 50 instead of when

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administration and congress bitterly fallingt back still less than a 12 of the stars report -- trace: wendell golerive in d.c. thank you, wendell. martha: as we mentioned, articlen specter is the one doing the questioning right now of the woman who wants to be the next justice on the supreme court. sonia sotomayor. bret baier and megyn kelly who have been covering these hearings, you know, so far what are you hearing from articlen specter, megyn? megyn: exactly what i said before, focusing on abortion rights trying to get her to say row v way is a roe v. wade is a super duper -- to which she said i never use the word super. but now the governing law and then he did he also folksed on the wise latina remark she made and this is a guy who was a republican for almost all his life and now switched over to the democrat and said i got to say i think people are making a mountain out of a mow hill and any justice that had a minority status or the women have talked about their experience and how it affects them and this is much adieu about nothing so he sort of pooh-poohed the whole issue and now on to the

trace: wendell goler is at the white house. what is the gop strategy here? >> republicans want to capitalize on new polls released showing americans are growinstarting to be concerned h health care reform. still, more people support reform than oppose it. michael steele tried to reverse that trend, calling the plan risky. >> candidate obama promise to change. president obama is conducting an experiment. -- promised change. he is a pair minting with the quality of our lives, experimenting with the quality -- economy, and experimenting on necessarily with our tax dollars. >> he accuses the president of pushing us toward a socialized health-care system. trace: how is the gop strategy playing on capitol hill? >> the rnc is targeting read state democrats. -- red state democrats. they will be airing certain commercials that assert that the health care plan is risky. meanwhile, another group is targeting republicans. charles grassley, saks be chambliss, -- saxby chambliss, and others, have all been singled out, labeled as potential turncoats. martha: how is the pre

wendell goler is covering this really important story for us live from washington. hi, wendell. >> hi, martha. former health secretary mike leavitt says there are already power squabbles inside the obama administration about who is in charge of health care reform. now, leavitt feels too many czars are like too many cooks in president obama's kitchen, although he admits former president bush's aides czar and his food safety czar sometimes spoiled leavitt's own soup. >> both of them did. these are different than the so-called czars inside the white house. they typically did not work in the white house. >> in fact, most of president obama's czars don't work inside the white house either. most of them report to cabinet secretaries, not to the president. but a czar's power depends a great deal on his or her personal relationship with the president. sometimes it's easy for them to walk into the oval office and bypass the cabinet secretaries they actually report to. the best historical example of that is henry kissinger when he was president nixon's national security adviso

brian: wendell goler started and i want to know details about what they're going to be drinking at thislic beer summit. i hope they get real stuff done. i'm not sure how many beers they should have if they are going to. the president has selected professor gates has selected red stripe and blue moon. is there a problem? gretchen: there is if you are an american beer maker. they are saying we got left out in the dust. why are we not going to drink american beer at the white house. another good point i keep coming back to i'm not sure why they are having this beer fest. but be that as it may. they should be drinking american beer in my mind. steve: they are trying to sort it all out. those are the beers that they have liked in the past. now, i feel kind of sorry for president obama because he does say that he loves budweiser, which is bought by inbev which is belgium and brazilian. steve: originally for many, many, many, many years. it comes down to beer taste. when you develop the taste for a beer, over time you just like that beer. obviously he developed a taste when it was still owned

waiting to see how the beer summit goes and how everybody gets along, and gibbs mentioned when wendell golereverybody would be drinking, gibbs suggested wendell and he should be making the beer run. but i don't think that will happen. steve: why not? this bud's for you, mr. president and mr. professor and mr. sergeant. hey, mike, any chance that there could possibly be an apology from anybody before the actual beer summit? >> that's a great question. everybody is thinking this will be neat, they're going to sit down and have a beer, but the question is what if they don't go along? what in the detective basically says i didn't do anything wrong, and the professor mentions racial profiling? what if there is some kind of flareup and this thing goes terribly wrong? we'll have to watch and wait. steve: they will be there. gretchen: mike emanuel, good to see you this morning. brian: and that's why there's reggie love, just for the beer summit. he has a body man, reggie love. he's still with him. good job, mike, we're going to get you a body man too. bill maher was on television yesterday, and he's

. >> how about that wendell goler from fox news. he sort of -- >> he looked like he didn't believe him. turned his knows up at the idea of a bud. wendell, come on. >> let's look at this. come on. i love this rendering. our producer's take on how it might look there. there you go. the blue moon on the left with sergeant crowley. double fisted -- the harvard professor double fisted. the red shirt at the top and the president with his budweiser. >> interesting that the harvard professor would drink a beer from jamaica or beck's -- is that holland? >> imports either way. >>> other news, in a few hours, judge sonia sotomayor should be a giant step closer to becoming the justice. the senate judiciary committee will vote on her nomination this morning. republicans managed to delay for a week but the outcome is not in doubt. democrats have a majority on the committee. they're all expected to support sotomayor. after the vote, the nomination will move to the full senate. >>> democrats are making progress on health care reform. house leaders c