he may have them. >> reporter: it's unclear if they are hinting they actually have the votes, hoping out loud they have the votes. as far as we know they definitely have 40 votes on their way to 60. they could pick up a couple of republicans. the big task here is to pick up the democrats on the fence. when the bill came up three years ago there were eight democrats to helped block this thing. i want to put them up on the screen to remind our viewers. of the eight come krats who blocked 4 this senator byrd has passed away. of the eight five of them remain undecided. those five are on the screen. one of the big concerns is by attaching the dream act to this defense authorization that you would weaken it. instead he says that he acknowledges there could be problem with that instead of having a stand alone bill that would be stronger. acknowledging this is new jersey senator roger menendez. he met with the senator last week regarding this bill. he says he will in fact introduce major immigration reform legislation. he knows it's going to be a battle in this political climate trying to get that passed, especially with the midterms coming up. while congress is battling that, you know you've got immigration memos that we have uncovered over the past three weeks, three internal memos, three different agencies, megyn and they are talking about ways of going around congress. if they don't pass immigration form saying instead of going after all illegal immigrants the common theme is they would just go after illegal immigrants that commit felonies. the critics of course call that back-door amnesty and ice, immigration customs enforcement says they are in the process of cracking down on more illegals than they have in the history of the agency. jonagency. megyn: we will talk much more about the reform push, and the controversy around it coming up in a few minutes when lou dobbs joins me live. from america's election headquarters, lots of action on the campaign trail today. we are waiting for president obama to take off from the white house any moment now. he's on a mission to keep a pennsylvania senate street in the hands of the democrats. the president will be stumping for joe sestak who is trailing pat too many me in the polls. isn't this interesting, he's going to campaign for the same guy he tried to get out of the race, according to reports. this is going to be a big challenge. 58% of pennsylvania locals think they think the state is on the wrong track, and that has tended to mean that they will vote for the party out of power, this is for arlen specter's old seat. soon to be old seat. he's in it right now. we are 43 days out from the midterm elections and the early voting starts today in at least 33 states. analysts say more people are working away from trekking to the polls on election day in favor of casting their ballots ahead of time. if the trend is similar this year we could see an increase to 20% of midterm voters. it's so miserable standing in lines on voting day. you've got to get to work, you don't know when it's going to end. if you're eligible it's not a bad option. fox news confirming now that a convicted sex offender wanted for murder in north carolina is now in police custody in new york. police arrested 35-year-old michael neal harvey in niagara falls. he's wanted in connection with the murder of a daughter of a police chief. her body was found in a storage unit over the weekend. that is the headline in the past hour, jonathan that they actually arrested him. what led police to this guy harvey in the first place? >> they were suspicious from the get go because originally harvey, or a man closely matching his description appeared in video surveillance from a security camera at a bar in charlotte. he was seen leaving that bar with the victim early wednesday morning, and because of his sex offender status police were immediately suspicious and they went and searched his home in the charlotte area, as well as a motel where witnesses say he had been staying last week, and then they finally searched a storage unit on saturday where they found the victim's body, megyn. megyn: that is so disturbing. in a lot of these cases where a young woman or man goes missing they wind up searching the storage areas, which i guess one of more -- one than more criminal has thought about storing the body of their victim. tell us about her, jonathan. >> she was 23 years old. her name was valerie hamilton. she was a college student who worked part time at a swim school for children. she loved children, outgoing, friendly, very close to her parents. she spoke every day by phone with her father who happened to be the police chief in concord, north carolina, a suburb of charlotte, north carolina. chief merril hamilton now has the difficult task for asking for information in connection with a murder case that is all too personal, megyn. megyn: so sad. jonathan, thank you so much. >> certainly. megyn: another fox news alert for you. reports not long ago that the recession has officially ended. in fact they say it ended more than a year ago, in june 2009. at least according to the national bureau of economic research, a group based in cambridge, massachusetts that keeps track of the data. some of the folks in the rest of the country would now like to throw something at the bureau of economic research. eric bowling joins me to you to explain these economists or not. so it's over, not to worry. >> the national bureau of economic research. megyn: they sit in cambridge with their pipes and say i'm good, how about you malcommb. >> biff, i'm good. they look at home prices i don't know what they are spoking -- smoking in those pipes that you referenced. 3.5 million jobs have been lost since the recession. 21% of homes are underwater. one in five homes are underwater means -- megyn: where would you normally be. >> 5, 8%, household debt, 122% of income, that means people are just completely in debt on the household level and we know that the country is in debt to the tune of $13.4 trillion. if there is an end of this recession it may come as little comfort to the 14 hoeupb 7 million people out of work. or this one came out late last week, 21,560,000 americans, megyn live below the poverty line. we may technically be out of a recession eye corresponding to the mbbr a bunch of people in calm ridge but the american people don't feel it. megyn: isn't there some empirical way of determining whether we are in or out of a recession that is not subject to partisan chit-chat? isn't it like six straight quarters are nongrowth. >> new quarters of negative growth would signal the beginning of the recession. two quarters of positive growth signal the end of a recession. by the time you're technically out of a recession, maybe we were out of the recession in june of 2009, we're a year later. it's kind of like the weatherman telling you, last week it rained a lot, great, it rained a lot last week, where are we going from here. megyn: we have a 9.6% unemployment rate that's what we can cal late. >> more disturbing than that is that 14% of americans below the pafr towline that is a scary number. megyn: is it time for them to revise the definition of what makes a rescission? >> this is a group, this is a group in cambridge, this doesn't come there the government. the government puts the numbers out and there are little various groups. megyn: they can't be having president obama and the democrats coming out and saying, not to worry we're out of the recession great job. >> we got you out of the recession, good job we only spent $4 trillion and put us 13 trillions in the whole and honestly americans aren't feeling it. megyn: i think malcolm and biff need to get out of cambridge. you can check out money rocks eric's show. >> 8 and 11 p.m. megyn kelly thank you very much. megyn: we told you about the breaking news on the big immigration bill in washington. democrats may have the votes to push through a bill that critics already are slamming as amnesty. lou dobbs joins me next to weigh in on the breaking news and what happens if this thing actually passes. how does it affect the midterm. a high school quarterback throws a winning touchdown and then collapses on the field. new clues on what might have caused his sudden and shocking death. a mother's last attempt to save herself and her daughters. chilling, within an hour she and her daughters would be death. the father was left behind and he is fighting for the death penalty. it is a crime that has horrified and gripped in nation. a top former prosecutor is saying this should not be a temperature case. she'll be here to explain. >> what's your emergency? >> i got bill petit here, who is hurt, my neighbor. >> he's at your house? >> yes, he's right here. get in the house, get in the house. i need someone here now, now, head injury. 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>> absolutely. megyn: this is not like the stuff we've been seeing coming out of ice, don't remember them unless they have a felonious history. this is help the kids who came here with illegal parents, through no fault of their own before age 16, now they want to go to college, serve in the military, those people can be american citizens. >> isn't it interesting we know all of that thanks to congressman gutierrez who i personally like a great deal. megyn: he says he watches every day. he's watching right now. >> that's wonderful. we can communicate frankly and fully. this is not the way to do this legislation. this could have been done four years ago had senator kennedy and senator mccain had the honesty and forthrightness to stand up before the american people and say this is what we want to do. this is how many people will be given amnesty, and call it what it is. this is what we will do to secure the border and mess that you are security. this has been a four-year gambit and a scam on the american people and it continues with this administration. megyn: how is it a scam? he came on and said the children, the children. >> the children in this case range in age up to 35 years of able. a lot of people have not looked at that part of the fine print. there is no limit on the number of those that would be participating in the so-called dream act. if we want to know how bad the scam is, what does it cost? how many people will be receiving, in effect amnesty? why are we talking about up to the age of 35? why does it begin at the age of 6? megyn: they point out they are going to have to eastern it it's not just like they say you were brought here by your parents illegally, now you're citizens. you have to go to college or enroll in the military. that's been one of the big talking points. the department of defense says the passage of the dream act would quote, help shape and maintain a mission-ready all volunteer force. the dod is going to get more soldiers out of it. >> you mean the same one that has reduced its physical and mental standards and put the age up to 42. we are a country right now so frightened of the facts that we are not holding public hearings. i define public hearings by senator where they listen to the public. megyn: and this show we've been covering piecemeal the leaks that have been coming out of the department of homeland security and ice in particular on sort of this bit by bit, sort of death by a thousand cuts of whatever you want to call it, amnesty or making it tougher to arrest or convict or deport illegals. >> they are effectively giving aamnesty to those they will not prosecute. there are two ways to go about it, either remove them lawfully from any status where there would be enforcement or prosecution. they have decided they will not enforce the law. megyn: i don't have it open, but they keep pointing out immigration does, department of homeland security, they say they are deporting more illegals right now and more have been deported under this administration than at any time in the past. and so they really believe that critics like you are not looking at the big picturement. megyn: right. well -- >> right, well i'm looking at the picture that is presented. one, we are watching cases be thrown out of immigration courts all over the country by the thousands. and this administration doesn't have the guts to announce publicly what it's doing as a matter of policy. it doesn't have the guts to say, nor its head of cis does not have the guts to say they couldn't handle this dream act under their current man pow err. we have a disaster in this administration. it is refusing to enforce law. it is refusing to secure our boarders, and playing games with the american people. megyn: what will happen if they pass this? what will happen politically in advance of the midterms. harry reid is pushing this many people think he's doing that because he's in a tight re-election bid in nevada that has a high hispanic population. >> the high hispanic population i suppose. i don't think that matters. people forget hispanic americans in this country voted 70% for president obama in 2008, but 30% for john mccain. there isn't a monolith at work here. it's an untkult to them otherwise, the insults is emanating from the soerb kwroe interest groups and some members of congress. megyn: we've heard from hispanic voters that say i came here legally i don't approve of it them being able to cut it short. >> we bring in 3 million people legally ao year, what is the problem here? megyn: lou dobbs thank you, sir. a democratic group this is a big group founded by howard dean using some ugly slurs combined with accusations of racism by conservatives in describing the tea party. is that standard political rough stuff or did they finally go too far here? a fair & balanced debate next. medical mystery in texas. a high school quarterback throws a touchdown pass runs off-the-field with a big smile on his face and then falls over and dies. dr. manny next with a possible explanation. >> things happen, kids get in wrecks and stuff like that but not during a game. there was apparently no contact to cause the thing. and there's just no explanation for it right now. ♪ i thought it was over here... ♪ [car horn honks] our outbacalways gets us there... ... sotimes it just takes us a little longer to get back. ♪ megyn: a terrible tragedy on a high school football field in beaumont, texas. 17-year-old reggie garrett a popular quarterback throws a touchdown pass during the game on friday night. runs off-the-field in a smile, falls over on the side lines and within one hour is pronounced dead. how on earth does this happen? here is reggie's coach. >> reggie threw the ball, he came off-the-field he was smiling, he ran by me and i said good job or something. i started looking at the special team for even extra point. i looked over an was on the ground. they didn't know what was wrong, they was working on him the doctors and trainers and put him in an ambulance and passed and took him to the hospital and he passed away. megyn: doctor manny alvarez is my guest. how? >> reporter: this is the most devastating thing that could happen to anybody, the parents, and it happens a lot. we have -- we see full of stories, see all these papers here, these are all cases of young men and women that have died in these types of sports. there are several reasons behind this. megyn: just want to point out apparently no contact in that, it wasn't like somebody hit him. >> reporter: no, this was called sudden death. there is a genetic condition especially in the age between 13 and 20 years of age, that the heart muscle begins to thicken to the point that then it's impossible almost to pump blood. when you have an athlete running around when they have this condition the heart can go into electrical atypical rhythm and the heart stops. megyn: how do you find out if your child has it. >> reporter: you can go to our website foxnews.com. we have a couple of stories. there are national campaigns now telling parents if they have a child of athletic age that is participating in any kind of sports get a physical, get a cardiac physical. the cardiac physical is the ekg, an echocardiogram. megyn: it's an x-ray of your heart, it's not that big of a deal. >> reporter: no it's not a big deal. they can tell you if there are things in your heart you have to take notice them. cardiomyopathy accounts for 40%. there are other ab nor phaplts. megyn: if you have a child of sports age you would recommend they have a full cardiac work up before going into this. >> reporter: absolutely. this is a debate. i have been tph-pl, many panels talking to pediatricians. for a lot of pediatricians especially people into pediatric cardiology they will tell you they are not satisfied with the standards this a lot of sports people get their physicals, did you get your flu shot things like that. a good cardiac physical is the best thing. megyn: a high school junior also had just thrown the winning touchdown or caught the pass for the winning touchdown, collapsed, heart stopped. happened to be a cardiac nurse in the stands who came out and revived him but he was done and he's lived. now this guy, this is the other kid, hayward demison is going to be okay. he needs heart surgery, he has a defective heart. >> reporter: all these things can be picked newspaper a cardio physical, that's the whole point. the other thing is the defibrillator. if you play any kind of sports in town talk to the coaches and ask them what kind of emergency services do you have available in the field? many times if you have a defibrillator, an electrical defibrillator you can strap it on the person and you can save their life. megyn: why wouldn't that just be a matter of course. >> reporter: because these are expenditures that a lot of times teams don't want. it's not expensive, it's like $1,500. if you're in your town you can get people to give you $20 and make sure that your local teams have these kinds of electric defibrillators, because they can save a life. if you don't have them by the time the person gets to the hospital they could be dead. megyn: one last question, this boy who died his mother said when he was three he had a very high fever and that resulted in a seizure, a history of seizures, when he was three. might that be related? >> reporter: it might not be related. there are people that because of childhood decisions they have electrical abnormalities and arrhythmias in their heart. maybe this is con gent althat the cardiac work up would have at least shown the big ticket items and they perhaps would have prevented his death. megyn: it's worth a doctor's visit. >> reporter: absolutely mandatory. megyn: thank you so much. all the best to his family. 43 days away right now from the midterm elections, can you believe that? we are doing it in days now. a big democratic activist group is sparing nothing to drum up votes including using nasty slurs and filing new claims of racism again the tea party. you're not going to believe their latest mailer courtesy of a group howard dean started. fair & balanced debate in minutes. look at this security camera footage, a connecticut bank in 2007. you are watching one mother's desperate attempt to get money to pay two men who would allegedly murder her and both of her daughters in the next hour. the men have her captive here, they are forcing her to withdraw $15,000 from the bank. she is fighting to save her family. it was a fight she did not win. and now, now, a prominent former prosecutor is coming out arguing against the death penalty for these two. she is here live just ahead. >> we have a lady who is in our bank right now, who says that her husband and children are being held at their house. the people are in a car outside the bank, she is getting $15,000 to bring out to them. that if the police are told they will kill her children and the husband. 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[ male announcer ] marriott hotels & resorts knows it's better for xerox to automate their global invoice process so they can focus on serving their customers. with xerox, you're ready for real business. so they can focus on serving [music playing]s. when you take away all the canned chicken broth that adds msg, one stands alone. the secret is swanson 100% natural chicken broth. megyn: some ugly words ahead of the midterm elections, a democratic party activist group founded bee howard dean fundraising now by calling tea party members racists and extremists. the email sent out by democracy for america urging democrats to take back the country from vote tea baggers and their quote weirdly racist tinge. brad bake lee is my guest and dick harpoo tia n is also my guest. this was a group started by howard dean and his brother runs it. they aeu partisan lee have more than a million members. what do you think, dick about this group and their outreach. >> i think the extremism of the tea party has the opens and equal reaction as the extremism of this group. how extreme are these folks? i think the answer to that is easy to see. in delaware where the republicans nominated a tea party candidate who was a selfprofessed wiccan, a witch. megyn: with when she was in high school. >> i'm sorry, since high school she's described masturbation is adultery. she's taken every weird, weird, strange position one would take. why would the republicans in delaware nominate her? not because she is conservative, because she professes the ronald reagan, george h. bush conservatism, it's because they have been stampeded by the extreme positions taken by the tea party leadership like sarah palin who distorts, lies, and miss characters what is going on in government, death panels which was a lie. when you do that you get extremes. what is the reaction to that? the oppositio open opposite andl reaction is disportion on the left. a pox on both their houses. megyn: we heard this was their tragedy, paint the tea party as extreme, fridge and racist and use it to energize the base. "the new york times" had an article saying the obama administration is considering funding national advertising to cass the republican party. before that hit the news standses white house is calling every reporter around the country and saying, we deny that, you put it in perspective for me. >> desperate people do desperate things. the handwriting is on the wall. independents are leaving the democratic candidates in droves that they once support. these are independents they have no alignment to the tea party, or republicans. if you can't turn out your base, and the democratic base is totally disinch franchised. what do you do you pick on a nonparty. this is not an independent party. what you're doing is you're painting independents with a tea party brush and that's why they are leaving you folks in droves and that's why they are going to support republicans. and i hear you guys like sweet tea down in your neck of the woods. you're going to get about 40 or 50 lumps in your tea because you're surpbg so negative and devisive when america is looking for inclusion. we want to be united again and you guys are not doing that for our country. megyn: go ahead, dick. >> i mean, united, again, the most devisive political elements in today's society are newt gingrich, sarah palin, these folks are taking the common, ordinary people that are scared about their future and attempting to stampede them by making up stuff, and by the way, what happened in delaware, even karl rove, dr. evil in the bush administration, mr. republican says, she is extreme. he worked in the bush white house. karl rove your buddy says she's too extreme. >> he didn't say that. you're mischaracterizing what karl rove says. the object as you well know, dick you're a political operative. >> what did he say. megyn: he said she said nutty things. >> democrats that you don't align yourself too much with, do you support charlie rangel who cheats on rent-stabilized apartments? what about charlie rangel. >> allegedly, allegedly. megyn: is there some risk, this is a big group, you know, more than a million members and they are out reaching to all these folks for money and so on. they spent more than $5.6 million i guess was the latest number in connection with the campaigns. is there some risk to them, dick, because more and more we are hearing democrats running on a tea party-like message of i'm anti-big government, i'm anti-out of control spending, i'm anti-big taxes. how can they goat coop that message and denounce the tea party as weirdly racist, that the tea bagger which is a very derogatory term, they can't have it both ways, can they? >> i don't think tea baggers is a derogatory storm. >> it is. megyn: it is too. they do not call themselves that. in the beginning of the movement that came out. that is widely accepted as a derogatory term for tea party members. >> that's absolutely right. >> let me say this. i would suggest to you that racism is not the issue in the campaign this year. the issue is whether these folks, other than just being against have anything they are for. megyn: you're not answering my questions. you're not answering my questions. >> what is your question? megyn: how can they have it both ways, to denounce the tea party as racist, weird, extremist and at the same time say we're anti-government, apt tie spending, ant toy tax. >> this group is a small group. hell there are a million members of the group that wants to cede from the united states. that's not barack obama, that's not the democratic party. >> it's howard dean. >> the brother. >> he started it, the brother is running it and now you're saying it's a fridge group. they are an adjunct of the democratic party, you know that. >> oh, brad, brad, brad. michael steele, do you agree with everything he said. >> michael steele is our chairman and i'll put him against mean dean any time. the fact is you guys cannot speak as a democratic national committee. megyn: it ain't mean dean any more. we have the former governor of virginia as the chairman and he's very, very good. megyn: i've got to run any way. thank you, always a pleasure. thanks, guys. well she may have spent more time on her hair than she did in for the. -- court. paris hilton today made a deal to duck felony drug charges and did it in less than 30 minutes. celebrity justice anyone? on "kelly's court." a bank surveillance camera captures a desperate moment in a horrifying crime. a mother right here withdrawing thousands of dollars in order to pay a ransom for her captured family. her captors were outside. within an hour she and her daughters would be dead, brutally murdered. a fierce debate is underway over the death penalty for the accused killers. the next guest after the break says it's not appropriate here. foxnews.com has details, you can get them now and join us for the debate in three minutes. >> what's your emergency? >> i've got bill petit here who is hurt, my neighbor. >> he's at your house? >> yes, he's right here. >> get in the house, get in the house. get someone here now, now, head injury. activia has delicious news for dessert lovers. often, the best part of a meal is the dessert. but sometimes after a busy day and a heavy greasy dinner... my system needs some tlc. now there is something new. introducing activia dessert. rich, silky, smooth yogurt with desserty flavors like strawberry cheesecake, blueberry cheesecake, and peach cobbler. and because it's activia, it helps regulate my digestive system. mmm. works for me. ♪ activia new activia dessert. ♪ savor and explore, a the great indoors ♪ ♪ ♪ friskies indoor delights. ♪ feed the senses. megyn: it was july 2007 when two men entered the home of dr. william petit and brutally murder terd his entire family. new developments in that case out of connecticut. we are learning that the presiding judge has been hospitalized. there have been a bizarre string of medical problems with all of the trial team and parties in this case. the trial is now scheduled to resume on wednesday. prosecutors accused steven haze and another man in the rape, murder and burning of jennifer hawk petit, that's the mother and her two daughters age 11 and 17 back in 2007. the husband, dr. petit was savagely beaten but managed to escape from the basement where he was tied up. now he is pushing for the death penalty. my next guest says that should not happen. former federal prosecutor annmarie macavoy is my guest now. she was aligned with judy guiliani and john mccain, known for being tough on crime. and you say you're against the death penalty in this case? >> you know it's a horrendous case and certainly if there is any case that would warrant it this would be it, but unfortunately to be honest my views over the years have changed. when i was a prosecutor, and that was quite a few years ago i was straupb much lee in favor of the death penalty, although i never wanted to be the one to pull the switch or make the decision. but over the years, having seen how the legal system works, the mistakes that are made in the legal system, how people sometimes are pushed to plead to things, and to -- it just doesn't always work the way it's suppose to. megyn: i'll grant you all that. we mentioned this earlier, just in case you missed it. the videotape we are showing of the mother, the captures brogue into the house, tied up everybody, then dragged the mother to her bank, made her withdraw $15,000. she is telling the teller what is happening. she's trying to be cool about it, i have to take out this money, she thought it would by her her life. she brought her back home and they sexually assaulted the girls, mother and burned them alive, burned the house and they died of smoke inhalation. those are the details i can tell you. i'm not even going to go beyond that. i get you, in the overall sense there are problems with the death penalty, there is no problem here. it is clear, they were willing to plead guilty, even they may arrest paob saying, yes we did it, please spare our lives. this is the case, this is the flag ship case for the death penalty. >> sometimes what happens is people will plead guilty to life in prison in order to avoid the death penalty possibility. megyn: even their defense lawyer is not getting up in the courtroom and saying they didn't do it. he's trying to blame the police for taking too long to stop them. >> there is no way to do the death penalty so it only applies in this case. megyn: why not. >> it just doesn't work that way. you can't do it statutorily so it only applies in this case. megyn: only if the worse saysess though. >> it's impossible to apply it that way. when we think about dna evidence they only have dna evidence in less than 20% of the cases where they can look at it and determine for sure whether somebody committed a crime or not. 80% of our homicide cases, including many of them -- megyn: i guess all that. as long as it's legal which it is in connecticut right now, which it is in connecticut right now, how can you be against killing the two savage animals who did this to that family? how can you against this case resulting in the death penalty? >> first of all, there are a lot of different reasons for me, but i mean part of it is who are we to make that decision and i think that leaving them in a super max facility. megyn: the fact that they want it makes me not want it. >> if they are there for the rest of their lives and they are in basically a cage. megyn: they can read, watch tv, have correspond, much more than jennifer petit and her daughters can ever get. >> that's absolutely true. you can't just apply it to the case. megyn: why not? >> because there are other cases that will also be death penalty eligible. it's not so easy. there is the systemic cost involved in doing this. this makes it a much more difficult trial. most of these cases don't ever end up with the person actually getting the death penalty in the end any way. megyn: do you think this one will? >> i don't know. megyn: that jury was a tears as they saw the crime scene evidence and the murdered bodies. >> this is a horrendous case, it turned my stomach just reading about it. it's horrible, horrible. certainly this is a horrible case there is no question. but the problem is you can't just -- if it gets applied potentially in other cases,. megyn: got to leave it at that. kelly@foxnews.com with your comments. cker stix. ♪ so delicious... your mouth will be stranly attracted to them. everything pops with pringles cracker stix. 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[ male announcer ] aleve. proven better on pain. megyn: some of new york's city's construction workers are joining the protest against the mosque near ground zero. those workers taking the hard hat pledge, vowing not to work on the project if it remains in that current planned location near ground zero. eric shawn is live in our newsroom. is this a big movement or what? what are they trying to accomplish. >> reporter: they want to prevent the building from being built and they want construction workers to boycott from working on the mosque. it's called 911 hard hat pledge.com. they are signing up people that say they will not lift a hammer arrest hacksaw to make the islamic center a reality. they say they have the legal right to build the project where they want they believe it's inappropriate to do so so close to ground zero. they call it an american battle field. the effort is the brainchild of construction worker andy sullivan. >> i started the 911 hard hat pledge. it's a grass roots effort. it has nothing to do with union leadership. the unions and all it's leadership are staying away from this. this is a very controversial issue right now. the guys that i have signing up, it's starting to happen throughout the nation. >> reporter: we talked to a variety of construction workers down there, most say they would not want to work on the building, some says they would only to keep their jobs. others said they would flatly refuse. megyn: what is the reaction to this group. this is the latest to come out against it in its own way. >> reporter: the corboba initiative has not responded to us. the unions have not taken a position telling us they have not taken a formal position on the issue. there have been a gathering of islamic groups that are now calling for a national week of dialogue next week to promote what they say is religious tolerance and understanding. they held a news conference, you can see in front of the site, they want to have that week next month, because they say every american has the right to put a house of worship where they want. megyn: all right, eric shawn, thank you. >> reporter: all right, megyn. megyn: president obama is on his way to pennsylvania on a political rescue mission of sort. a big rally to try to keep a pennsylvania senate seat in democratic control. in three minutes we'll show you why that may be mission impossible. and paris hilton cops to cocaine possession in court. you'll be shocked to learn it actually was her purse. then she walks out with a shr-p on the wrist. did the -- slap on the wrist. did the road to justice take a wrong turn? we'll have that coming up, the debate in "kelly's court." 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[ male announcer ] ducati knows it's better for xerox to manage their global publications. so they can focus on building amazing bikes. with xerox, you're ready for real business. the truth, sooner or later, a little mayhem hits us all. today, there will be 15,920 accidents. and that's just cars. if you've got cut-rate insurance, that probably doesn't make you feel too good. but this will: allstate can give you a low price without cutting coverage. dollar for dollar, nobody helps protect your car, your boat, your home... your world from mayhem li allstate. megyn: fox news alert on a big story from last hour, news that the great recession officially ended. more than a year ago! last june, in fact. who knew? president obama now reacting to that report in a new hour of "america live." hi, everybody, i'm megyn kelly. we go to mike emanuel at the white house. all right, mike, some economists out in cambridge, massachusetts, decided that the recession ended in june of '09. what does president obama say? >> reporter: well, he didn't seem overly dazzled, megyn, because he recognizes for millions of americans who are out of work, looking for work or underemployed that the suffering is still ongoing, they're still dealing with the realities of the recession. so he seemed to try to call for a little bit of patience. here's more from the president a short time ago. >> we have put forward proposals, for example, to accelerate investment here in the united states instead of overseas in research and development and plants and equipment that could put people back to work. so there are a lot of plans in place that can make improvement, but it's slow and steady as opposed to the kind of quick fix that i think a lot of people would like to see. >> reporter: the president insists he is not anti-business, not anti-wall street. he understands the business community develops jobs in this country, so the president making his case today on a cable news town hall, megyn. megyn: all right. what are some of the interesting exchanges he had with people in that town hall? those can get interesting. >> reporter: yeah, he was asked about the tea party movement, and he said the challenge for them was, ultimately, what would they do if they had power? what would be their solutions to some of the problems? you can't just say lower taxes and things will instantly be much better, so he seemed to challenge them to present more of hair ideas. he also -- their ideas. he also faced folks who said they were strong supporters of his campaign in 2008, sounded rather demoralized. they said they've been talking about change, change, change, and they're running out of juice. it's interesting for him to hear from people who were loyal supporters who are now struggling two years later, megyn. megyn: all all right mike emanu, thank you. >> reporter: sure. megyn: and to the campaign trail, now, where the president is diving head first into a crucial race for control of congress. the commander in the chief leaving the white house within the hour headed for pennsylvania the campaign for senate hopeful joe sestak. isn't this so interesting? just think of the visual. the president backed his opponent in the democratic primary, that was arlen specter, remember? and, you know, basically, the whole story about how they used president clinton to try to convince joe sestak to get out of the race. now the president's behind sestak all the way because he wants him to beat the republican nominee, pat toomey, come november. some say, however, support for president obama especially in pennsylvania could do more harm than good for sestak. right now president obama's approval rating in the pennsylvania not so hot. 37% of voters say the president's doing a good or great job. we had a fox news opinion dynamics poll last week that put him at an all-time low nationally at 42%, 37 in pennsylvania. carl cameron's following it live in philly. all right, carl, some democrats running away from the president. president who? obama who? never heard of him. and this president actually ran against sestak, there can't be that much love lost between them. nonetheless, together again. >> reporter: it's all lovey dovey now, megyn. the president can't wait to come up and help joe sestak, the man he said couldn't possibly beat toomey in the general election. it's ironic, and it's awkward, and it's difficult, and the president's going to come up here, nonetheless, and say that joe sestak should be the next u.s. senator from pennsylvania. what's at stake? a currently democratic-held seat. arlen specter switched out of the gop and became the democratic senator for pennsylvania, and when sestak beat him, the administration worried. he is making no apologies for disagreeing with the president on that and much more. listen. >> everybody knows the washington establishment democratic party didn't want me in the race. i bucked the party because i want to fight for the middle class and those who want to move into the middle class. >> reporter: sestak stands to get a couple million dollars from this evening's fundraising exercises, and the idea that the president will come here and campaign for him leaves sort of open questions. pennsylvania is a state where the president is not particularly popular, and joe sestak has supported just about every single aspect of the obama agenda, and it may be part of his problem. he's trailing in a lot of the polls, and this is a state where since the stimulus passed they've lost 80,000 jobs, so the president's presence may not be the kind of help sestak had hoped. megyn: very interesting campaign, carl cameron. that is one to watch in pennsylvania, and we trust carl to do it. thanks. over to delaware, now, and senate hopeful christine o'donnell. heard of her? she's getting twitter advice from sarah palin who endorsed her. alaska's former governor tweeting the republican nominee after she, christine o'donnell, canceled her appearances on two sunday talk shows including cbs' "face the nation" and fox news sunday with chris wallace. sarah palin saying, time's limited. megyn: critics say o'donnell bailed on those interviews because she didn't want to face questions about an 11-year-old clip saying that she once dabbled in witchcraft, and she later came out and said, well, that was as a high school senior. the campaign says, look, we canceled before that video was released, and we did it because we need to focus on local issues. and president jimmy carter, former, is today talking about the tea party saying that he sees parallels between the tea party and his own election. he thinks the anti-government movement will heavily influence the midterms just like anger over watergate and vietnam led to his victory. but he thinks the party's impact will fade before the next 2012 presidential election. moments away, a political analyst from the left on why democrats are trying to make christine o'donnell and the tea party so very much the focus this november. what is this obsession with o'donnell? it's one race, one state. little old delaware. how did she become this huge international, or at least national figure like sarah palin? that's up in about six minutes. thereby. well, a terror arrest at amsterdam's airport, the same airport that played a role in a botched christmas day attack. abdulmutallab boarded a plane there bound for detroit with explosives in his underwear. now today a new arrest. what's the deal with amsterdam? catherine herridge is live from washington. >> reporter: thank you, megyn. the original tip came from the british authorities, and the man whose name is not public is being questioned after his arrest at the international airport in amsterdam over the weekend. the disturb prosecutor said he -- dutch prosecutor said he could not provide further details except to say the man is of british and somali descent. suspect was catching a connecting flight in amsterdam on to uganda, and under the law there they can hold the suspect for three days while they question him without any charges being brought forward, megyn. megyn: all right, catherine, thank you so much. well, the leader of a cult-like group out in california is now undergoing a mental evaluation. reyna chicas and 12 followers sparking a frantic sityesterday after they left behind notes saying they would soon see jesus and their dead relatives in heaven. trace gallagher has the latest on this. yeah, those would be clues something was about to happen. >> reporter: palmdale, about 60 miles north of los angeles. either this was a huge misunderstanding, or we're not getting the whole story. all weekend long the authorities kept saying this was a cult-like religious sect. they believed they were going to go out and commit mass suicide. we're talking about 13 people, eight of them under the age of 17. this thing issued an all-points bulletin all over california. the governor's office got involved. it all began when a husband of one of the missing women said that he was told to pray over her purse for several hours. well, he did that, then he got suspicious. he looked inside, he found five cell phones, id cards, real estate deeds and letters that said they would soon see jesus and that they wanted to move on to the next life. well, the husband was afraid they had been brainwashed, right? brainwashed by the leader, this woman named reyna chicas. well, turns out they all showed up in a park the next day. they were praying. now, they were a part of a mainstream church a couple of years ago, but they say they are not a cult. listen. >> then you see me, i'm okay. my son, the dogs, everybody's okay. we eat like you guys, we drink the same soda that you do, we don't say nothing bad, and we okay. >> reporter: again, very important they take suicide cults in california very seriously. you just go back and talk about heaven's gate, 39 people who killed themselves in san diego back in 1997 and, of course, jonestown. we don't even need to mention jonestown, but remember jim jones was based near san francisco before moving those 900-plus people could down to g. the leader, by the way, is undergoing a psychological evaluation, but the rest of the members are not being questioned. they haven't been charged with anything. megyn: maybe they're busy evaluating the dog which, apparently, is big evidence they're not part of a cult. according to that woman. >> reporter: apparently. [laughter] megyn: thanks, trace. less than a week since her big victory in if delaware, but nearly every political story in every paper on every web site is about christine o'donnell. up next, the inside story on why democrats and the mainstream media are so fixated on one political newcomer. and woody smith is accused of strangling his wife. he says, however, it wasn't his fault, that the soda and diet pills made him do it. a unique defense upcoming. plus, it turns out -- shocker -- it was her purse, and it was also her little baggy of cocaine that fell out of it. so did paris hilton just get a free pass on a serious drug charge, and let's not forget the lying to police. or didn't she? >> i want to warn you, ms. hilton. you've now been sentenced to one year in the tricounty detention center. activia is better than ever! hey, you guys. want to try activia's great new taste? isn't this the yogurt that, you know... helps regulate your digestive system. ooh, i think i'll pass. no, no, no! trust me. it is beyond tasty. mmm! wow! i can't believe it, i love it! mmm, this is really good! new best tasting activia ever! ♪ activia now you can join the fight against breast cancer every time you enjoy an activia. give hope with every cup of activia. 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[ man ] freestyle lite te strs. call or click today. can be unsettling. but what if therwere a different sry? of one financial company that grew stronger through the crisis. when me lost their way, this company led the way. by protecting clies and turning uncertainty into confidence. what if that story were true? it is. ♪ so i got my nephew to build a website. i hired someone to make my website... five months ago. we are building a website by ourselves. announcer: there's an easier way. create your own small-business site with intuit websites. just choose a style that fits your business and customize, publish and get found in three easy steps. sweet. all from just $4.99 a month, get a 30-day free trial at intuit.com. megyn: you've heard of the twinkie defense? how about the caffeine claim? a kentucky man is now using that legal strategy in a murder case. police say that woody will smith strangled his wife last year, but his lawyer said smith had so many caffeinated sodas, energy drinks and diet pills before the killing, it drove him insane. and get this, this kind of defense has actually worked at least once before. in 2009 a washington state man was cleared in many a hit and run case because of caffeine "squawk box"ification -- intoxication. caffeine intoxication. wow. well, delaware gop senate nominee christine o'donnell canceled two sunday show appearances yesterday, and sarah palin praised her saying, quote, the national media is seeking her destruction. so does the former governor have a point? mary ann marsh is a former adviser to senator john kerry. thanks for being here. these were scheduled to be with bob schieffer of cbs and fox news sunday's chris wallace. she canceled both, and the speculation was because bill maher released a clip of her saying she used to practice witchcraft, and the speculation was she didn't want to face those questions. before i get an answer, just want to show the audience how she dealt with that issue. watch this. >> that witchcraft comment on bill maher? [laughter] i was in high school. how many of you didn't hang out with questionable folks in high school? but, no, there's been no witchcraft since. if there was, karl rove would be a supporter now. [laughter] megyn: that was her at a gop picnic. does she handle that the right way, and does sarah palin have a point about the national media? >> she made the exact right call, and it's not surprising. of course she canceled the appearances over the comments, and instead she got to deal with them in front of a hometown crowd. it was exactly the right thing to do. why this is such a big story in terms of christine o'donnell and delaware has nothing to do with witchcraft or a witch hunt by the media. this is now a fight between christine o'donnell and chris coons because one week ago the democrats did not have delaware on their radar screen. right now we have coons up by 11 over christine o'donnell. delaware could be the difference between democrats keeping control of the senate instead of republicans, and that's why it's a big story. megyn: we would probably hear both sides going after them, but they're not. mary ann, there is an obsession with christine o'donnell, an obsession by some on the right, some on the left and certainly in the media. it's incredible the amount of interest in this one gal. why? >> well, you know, you saw a similar trajectory with sharron angle as well. you knowness -- you know, when there are big upsets, you saw it up in alaska with miller unseating murkowski -- megyn: we haven't seen nothing like this with respect to joe miller. >> you're right. you saw it for a little bit, but here's the difference now. democrats never had a shot at alaska. they believed they didn't have a shot at delaware. now we're down to the end game, 43 days to go, and now here's a state back in play for the democrats they never thought they could have and could make all the difference. when yo look at christine -- you look at christine o'donnell on paper, on its face and the republicans that are equally upset, they know she could be the difference between them getting it which is why you've heard so many republicans doing the same thing. megyn: but to what extent is this, you know, to steal a phrase from maureen dowd, to what extent is because she appears to be a sarah palin mini-me? she looks like her, she sounds like her, and you know the national media's obsession with sarah palin. some smell blood in the water because she's got some, well, interesting history, and the people on the left love to revel in comments like that witchcraft thing and, you know, opposing masturbation, thing which, by the way, the catholic church does teach. and some on the right are obsessed with what's going to happen on november 2nd. >> look, sarah palin's on a roll right now. the candidates she's endorsed have been pretty successful. she's three for three in the last three primaries, so the better someone like christine o'donnell does, the better sarah palin does. and you sandwich in there her appearance in iowa over the weekend, and that makes her a big story. so you and i both know on november 2nd at 12:01, make it november 3rd, we're going to be talking about the presidential campaign nonstop, and everyone will look at the sarah palin scorecard and see how she did with these -- megyn: i know, but it's not so much about her endorsement success which has been considerable. it's about this woman. why -- you tell me, mary ann. you're a woman, you're a democrat, you have a strong professional history of accomplishment. what is it about this woman and sarah palin that so gets under people's skin? >> i'll say this, megyn, i don't think it's just a republican woman issue. i think it's a woman in politics issue. megyn: what democratic female candidate has had this done to them? >> hillary clinton. in the presidential campaign. you can take almost anything said about hillary clinton or sarah palin, change their name, they got the same kind of treatment, the same kind of attacks, the same kind of scrutiny. now christine o'donnell is the proxy for sarah palin -- megyn: but sarah palin and hillary clinton were running for the white house. sarah palin was the vice presidential nominee, hillary clinton was trying to become our next president. this woman? it's delaware. it's delaware. one little senate race. [laughter] >> you know what? and two things. nikki haley went through similar treatment, wrong, very wrong, and i called it at the time. megyn: she's a republican. >> this one little state, delaware, could be the difference between the democrats controlling the senate or the republicans. that could be a supreme court nomination, that could be a lot of things. that's what the stakes are. there's no presidential game this year, the game is the senate and the house, and when it comes down to the senate, this is a big race. meg it's fascinating. all right, mary ann marsh, thank you so much. it's just delaware. it's, like, this big. well, mexico's drug violence, as you know, has been spiraling out of control, and it's now so bad one mexican newspaper is offering a deal to the drug cartels just to keep their own staffers alive. what's on the table straight ahead. disploo and the gop has a new strategy for getting rid of the big health care overhaul. see how they hope to use money as a weapon in the war over health care for every american. stay tuned. ♪ @=h megyn: pop star lady gaga once again weighing into national politics. she may have a career in the senate waiting for her. or not. opposing don't ask don't tell helping to help end the ban on openly-gay americans serving in the military. language is included in the annual defense appropriations bill. the senate could vote as early as tomorrow, and if they do repeal it, will they have georgia da to thank? -- gaga to thank? stay tuned. well, the biggest newspaper in mexico's most violent city taking a drastic step announcing it will restrict coverage of the country's drug war after one of its own journalists was murdered. and juarez's "el diario" is now going further. william la jeunesse is now going further. this is just incredible, what's going on here? >> reporter: it's called narco censorship. we won't report the news if you don't kill our reporters. "el diario" is the largest newspaper in juarez which is across the river from el paso, texas. two years ago the cartels killed a reporter as he took his daughter to school. then thursday they gunned down two more employees as they went to lunch. one died. so in this a front page editorial yesterday, the paper said two things. one, it admitted that the cartel's run juarez, not the cops, federal troops or the mention con government. and secondly, it asked the cartels what they want and don't want published. here's part of the editorial, and i'm quoting: we do not want more death, we do not want more injuries or even intimidation. >> reporter: this means that the people of juarez will not know where, when and who is being murdered or what politician is being corrupted by drug money. now, juarez is not the first. 22 mexican journalists have been murdered, seven missing, dozens attacked or kidnapped, so many mexican media have stopped covering the drug war already. there were two big shootouts earlier this year with mexican police and troops that went entirely unreported. reporters know, for example, to ignore kidnappings and extortions so, megyn, silence right now is survival for reporters. this is one more battle that the cartels have won. megyn: wow. william, thank you. well, few, if any, republicans support the overhaul of health care. and now they have a new strategy to overturn it, and we'll look at whether it could actually work in three minutes. plus, she says she weighs about 110 pounds. he weighs in at more than half a ton. the pint-sized femme fatale who bagged a prehistoric predator. look at the size of this thing, next. >> just pumping and pumping, and he was enormous. i mean, you could see this part of him coming out of the water, his big belly, and then you saw his head because his head had to come out for to shoot. 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[ tires screech ] [ engine revving ] [ drums playing ] [ male announcer ] 306 horsepower. race-inspired paddle shifters. and f-sport-tuned suspension. all available on the new 2011 lexus is. it isn't real performance unless it's wielded with precision. megyn: police in upstate new york arresting a convicted sex offender after a nationwide manhunt. michael harvey is accused of killing 23-year-old valerie hamilton. she is the daughter of a police chief in north carolina. firefighters in utah are trying to gain the upper hand in a fast-moving fire in salt lake county. so far four homes have been destroyed and more than a thousand buildings evacuated. the sun is shining in bermuda right now after hurricane igor blasted the island yesterday. the cat 1 storm causing beach erosion and power outages all across bermuda. well, republicans lost the health care overhaul battle on the floor of the u.s. congress, but now they say they've got a plan to stop it from taking effect. saying they plan to starve the white house by withholding funds. but is that really even possible? doug and brad woodhouse, communications directer fact democratic national committee. all right, we've got two giants who are ready to battle this out. [laughter] >> i don't know about that. megyn: let me start with you, doug, because "forbes" came out with a piece that's not good for europe side saying, not possible, that this is a dream by john boehner and other republicans saying much of the new health care legislation is funded by mandatory spending requirements. you can't touch that. and the rest, the discretionary stuff that you can touch, would have to be approved by the president and, guess what? he's not going to sign off on any such measure. go ahead. >> well, we know it's a tall order. i think mitch mcconnell put it very well in saying we're not going to be get absolutely repeal and replace without a new president. but what we can do is start to chip away, we can pass an amendment like the johanns amendment from last week with the 1099 requirement -- megyn: nobody knows what that is. [laughter] >> that's right. >> well, it's a job-killing measure that's in obamacare. we can start with, also, the language for irs agents that's included in this, so we can chip away at that funding. and eventually, it's like a bit of jenga. you remove one piece, another piece, and slowly this bill that's wreaked havoc so far will come apart. it's something that not only republicans agree on but, again, more and more democrats every day are running ads opposing obamacare. it's something that ought to concern democrats. megyn: brad, the thing about jenga is it's politically popular. 53% of the country want to see the whole thing repealed, so how do you guys fight that politically? >> well, first of all, they have three problems. one, we don't think they're going to take back the house and the senate. secondly, i think it's a political problem. remember, september 23rd, this thursday, most of the initial benefits of this bill come online for the first time. children being able to stay on their parents' insurance policies, some of the benefits for preventive care for seniors. so, you know, this bill will become more popular over time. so they have a political problem. but they're right, procedurally, there's no way that they could do this if they were in the majority which we don't believe they will be. megyn: what about that, doug? are you guys going to run around after the kids get to stay on the policy until 26 and you can't be cut off because you spent too much on the policy -- are you guys going to run around and say, no funding for that, you 26-year-olds, you go find a job. is that going to be the policy? >> one, we want 26-year-olds to have jobs, that's something -- megyn: i know, i know, but it's not a popular message to try to defund it once it's out there. that's brad's point. >> well, it would have been nice if some of the doors weren't locked on us so we could participate in things like portability, pre-existing -- megyn: okay. would have been nice. would have, could have, should have. how, as a practical matter, do your republican people run on either repeal for that matter or defunding when you're going to have brad and his bosses out there saying they want to, basically, put the screws to the 26-year-olds and the rest of you who are now benefiting from no caps on your insurance and so on? >> you know, brad's boss, president obama, today in the town hall said something, i think, that was pretty interesting. he said that things looked good on paper, but when you actually implement them, they don't turn out the way they were meant to. there's no better example of that health than health care, ad that's why we slowly and methodically need to take pieces out of this bill that aren't popular with the american people, certainly not democrats who are running against pelosi and obama every day in television commercials, but also have a dangerous effect on our economy and on small businesses. that's what our priority is. megyn: brad, what i hear doug saying is that you, brad, are all about the micro. let me show you this piece, that piece and the other piece, and you love it, and the republicans are going to try to defund it. and i hear doug saying we're going to talk macro. we're going to talk about the law that people don't like. several months after it was passed. how do you get past that, brad? the bottom line here is that even though you claim people are going to wind up loving it, as soon as these provisions go in, but you've been saying that, and people don't like it. >> well, but, megyn, most of the provisions haven't occurred yet. the seniors got rebates on their prescription drugs over the summer -- megyn: the seniors still hate it. we just looked at a poll on that. the approval rating amongst the seniors is even lower than the overhaul. >> but, megyn, what they really want is the doughnut hole which the republicans created, they want it closed entirely which this bill will do over time. it's very expensive. they talk about the macro. why? because this is all political posturing. when you start breaking down pieces of the bill, doug will say, yeah, we do want kids to be on insurance policies until they're 26. you know, we do want, we do want portability, we do want insurance companies to have to rein in some of these abuses. all of a sudden they start agreeing with the particulars, and that's the point we're going to make to the american people. and that's when the americans start enjoying this bill, they will not want to see it repealed in whole or piecemeal. megyn: i don't know -- >> you know, megyn -- megyn: go ahead, doug. quickly. >> i say again, the one group of people more than any other it seems every day that doesn't enjoy this bill are house democrats. you and carl cameron were talking earlier about congressman joe sestak. on the one hand, he likes to say that he stood up to the washington democratic establishment. but the reality doesn't really match the rhetoric because he supported obamacare, he supported the stimulus. that's why we know that pat toomey's going to win in pennsylvania, because of joe sestak's record. and so many democrats are having to distance themselves from obama and pelosi every day because they're politically toxic. megyn: well, they're not running on it, that's clear. >> not one democrat is running ads supporting this bill. megyn: these two guys are tied in, they know. this is a preview of the messages we're going to get, so it's always interesting. brad and doug, thanks so much for coming on. come on back, would ya? >> sure thing. thanks, megyn. megyn: folks, in about 20 minutes the guy -- those are the guys, this is the guy. >> reporter: megyn, genetically-engineered food. do you want to eat an animal that has been designed in a laboratory? the fda's about to make a decision over whether to approve something like that, and in addition, the man who claims he got all caffeined up, drank too many energy drinks and took too many diet pills, and that made him murder his wife. details on both of those top of the hour on the beat. megyn: i have to watch that, and i will. thank you, shepherd. see you then. >> okay. megyn: she swore it wasn't her purse, that's not mine. nor was it her little baggy of cocaine. that either! turns out, shocker, paris hillson was fibbing. so what exactly is the punishment? usually some jail time for a lot of toke bees -- folks, but paris isn't like a lot of folks. during the break check out fox news.com/america live, check out the latest. the gavel drops on kelly's court. here we go. ♪ everyone has someone to go heart healthy for. who's your someone? 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[ male announcer ] don't spend life wondering about your medicare coverage. talk to securehorizons today to get the answers you need. call now. >> i'm going to warn you, ms. hilton, you've now been sentenced to one year in the try-county detention center. it's not the waffle do have astoria, but i assure you if you violate the terms of your probation, you will serve one year. treat this very seriously. do you understand me? >> yes, your honor. i promise. >> anything else? megyn: i promise. her mouth says, yes, but will her brain say, no? kelly's court is back in session, a free pass for princess paris hilton. walking out of a sin city courtroom just a short time ago pleading guilty to lesser charges below her listen felonye rap. sentenced to one year probation, drug treatment and 200 hours of community service, a deal that spares her another stint in the slammer. reports say she was in and out of court, we're talking the entire building not just the courtroom, in less than 0 minutes. right this way, ms. hilton. could i get your autograph, ms. hilton? so lying to the police, having cocaine on you, did lady justice really have her blinders on today? let's ask arthur aidala and defense attorney mark. i'm sure this is exactly how it works in your average case, right? joe normal in middletown, usa, who's a convicted felon gets caught with cocaine and then lies to police to their face, and it's off to community service you go. [laughter] >> well, you know, it's usually not how it works. and a lot of it the judge has to do with how much cocaine she possessed. and it was, clearly, user amounts and not dealer amounts. i think what really where they missed the mark here has to do with that drug treatment. that drug treatment should have to be in-patient drug treatment. she should have to go into a facility. and, quite frankly, i think it would be saving her life. it would be keeping her -- sparing her the fate of a nicole -- come on, who overdosed? megyn: anna nicole smith? >> yeah. she clearly has a problem. her coming in and out of court the way she did, quite frankly, megyn, having been involved in a couple of these cases, they do that the as a -- not to accommodate her, actually to accommodate the courthouse and the facilities facilities and tw justice to carry forth. megyn: because they call it the scrum when you have those reporters flanking the person -- >> the $2,000 fine is absolutely a joke. megyn: you know, mark, she looks all glamorous here, she's got that fancy hairdo, and i feel like, oh, the little girls probably admire paris hilton. she was found with cocaine in the her purse and rolling papers. i'm no drug expert, but i understand you use those to roll something illegal and then smoke it. she's been in prison before, and what kind of a message does this send? she lied to the police. let's not forget, she was arrested for having the coke on her. when they found the coke on her person, she's like, that's not my purse. that wasn't mine. and now she admits she lied. she lies to the cops. >> right. i thoroughly disagree with you, megyn, i thoroughly disagree with arthur. i'm no fan of paris hilton, i'm not really sure why she's famous. maybe that sex tape. megyn: yes, you're right. >> but aristotle defines justice as like cases being treated alike. anyone in las vegas, forget about south florida or where you are in new york, but in las vegas whether they have a public defender or whether they're defending themselves would get a similar deal. i repeat, she would get the same thing as anybody else. to suggest otherwise is not being intellectually honest. >> what about the drug treatment part though, mark? the fact that she does have a history, the fact that she's been in trouble for drugs before, the fact that she's defied court orders before. don't you think that would warrant a judge saying i'm going to give you drug treatment, but i want you to go in, i want you to live there for 30 days with the counselors, the drug addicts and see where you're going to wind up? >> i do not disagree that someone who has an active addiction, assuming she is, would benefit from that, but that's not the issue. the average person does not get in-patient. rather, they get outpatient. why? because if you don't make the resolution outpatient, then nobody's going to take pleas. think earth them and lucy, everything will stop. you're not resolving cases, and the system would shut down. megyn: what about this prosecutor, did he or she need to cop a plea? i know it's good to spare the citizens a trial, but they had her red-handed. you had eyewitness testimony from the officer that she opened her bag, out popped the cocaine, and then she looked him in the eye and lied. >> megyn, anything else wouldn't be a plea bargain, it would be a declaration of war, an ultimatum. and the criminal justice system must keep moving along. everyone caught red-handed and lying to the police would have gotten a similar deal in las vegas under those circumstances. megyn: what about it, arkansas there are? should the prosecutor have said no to this deal? and i know it's more expensive and you're looking to spare the taxpayers of a trial and trials have uncertainty associated with them, but to send a message, maybe that's harsh celebrity justice. in particular, the lying. i'm not excusing the drug charge, but apparently, it was a small amount. that's not okay, but to lie directly to the officer and try to pin it on, you know, some friend when it's, you know, thanks a lot from the friend. when, in fact, we all know because it turns out she tweeted a photo of that purse a couple months earlier saying, oh, i just bought it, and it's mine. so she got caught. >> i think, you know, the point that mark makes referencing aristotle is probably the analysis that the prosecutor did knowing that this case was going to be spoken about today on fox news and everywhere else in the country. he could not -- i don't, i believe it's a male prosecutor -- could not handle this so drastically differently than anyone else. that's why i'm trying to make the nuance of instead of outpatient drug treatment, inpatient drug treatment. but if it was joe schmo who got caught under the same circumstances and their policy is you get probation first time out in their county, then it's very hard to say to her just because of who she is -- megyn: all right, mark, thanks so much. according to local viewers, she didn't get what others would get. maybe that's true in vegas, but don't you wonder what would happen to you if this happened in normaltown, usa? regardless, here's what you need to know the next time you see paris hilton hamming it up on the red carpet, she's a convicted felon. with a penchant for drugs. nothing to admire whatsoever. we'll be right back. you know, fresh green beans lose half their vitamin c in a week. so, you can eat them right here... or eat green giant beans at home... ...frozen within 8 hours to lock in nutrients. up to you. [ green giant ] ho ho ho ♪ green giant. 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. megyn: independent voters could be the ones who decide who controls congress after november. washington voters may have a clue as to how it's going to turn out. hey, dan springer. >> reporter: hey, megyn. in many ways it is the perfect way to gauge where the country is out. it's loaded with independents, some pundits put it at 30% democrats, 30% republicans and 40% independents. you also have two strong candidates. on the democratic side, denny heck, who talks very little about his time in the government in a district with about 13% unemployment. he'd rather highlight his experience in the private sector creating jobs. he also appears to be running against congress and his party. his slogan is, get this, give congress heck. he doesn't include democrat on the sign, and he's critical of aspects of the stimulus package. >> they promised us it would targeted, timely and temporary. we can't afford it on an ongoing basis, but i don't believe it's been targeted to high-need areas, and it hasn't been timely. >> reporter: on the other side, there's republican jamie herera who is a current state lawmaker in an attempt to win over independents, she touts herself as a fiscal conservative. and she scoffs at the idea that heck is not a true-blue democrat in lock step with party leaders like house speaker nancy pelosi. >> the very policies he supports; increased spending, taxes even during a recession, those are the policies that got us into the mess we're in today. so to continue to advocate for those and call yourself an outsider, it makes me wonder what's going on. >> reporter: now, the most recent survey usa poll has herera up nine points, but a lot of people think it's closer than that because independents are very fickle and hard to poll. megyn? megyn: dan springer, thank you. well, recession? what recession? turns out it is so over. you say it doesn't feel like it to you? some context and perspective on a new economic report out of cambridge, massachusetts, coming up. 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