prompting new calls to bring an end to the drug war, mexican navy found 72 bodies inside a makeshift burial ground and the officers taken to the grave after a bloody confrontation with a gang that left a naval officer killed, bret stevens, foreign affairs columnist and deputy editor of the editorial page for the "wall street journal" joins me now, bret, you have a long history and a deep understanding of mexico and what goes on there. talk to me about the developments. you have the situation with the mayor, and bodies, headless bodies hanging in recent reports as well and now, 72 bodies, found in a mass grave. >> you know, the business of the 72 bodies is -- we don't exactly know what happened there, because, we don't know who the victims are, or, who killed them, but it looks to be another episode of the drug violence that is -- killed 20,000 people in the country, and, since the president declared war on the gangs, in 2006. and, you know one thing viewers need bear in mind, is 90% of the victims in mexico's drug wars are themselves, members of mexico's various drug syndicates and one of the reasons the violence exploded the way it has, in recent years, is that government pressure has forced these various gangs to go to war with each other, so that is part of what you are seeing and, of course, it also has terrible spill overeffects on the civilian population or noncriminal population of mexico. overwhelming majority of mexicans but it is still generally a case of a war being waged between the government and the drug cartels or between the cartels and, the various cartels against one another. martha: and president calderon does not expect to it get better. in fact he expects to it get worse. >> that is probably true but is also a function of the mexican government for the first time in its history, picking itself up and going to war with these gangs. i grew up in mexico, and i remember a murder in 1985 and the fbi investigation found out back then was the mexican government was involved in, or members of the mexican government were involved in the drug trade right up to nearly the very highest level. one reason why the violence exploded is because the government decided it wants no part of that business and in fact wants mexico to be a country governed by the rule of law and not the narcos, was in the 1980s. martha: thanks for shedding light on it, bret, thank you very much, bret stevens, from the "wall street journal." gregg: a "fox news alert" on key economic reports. we are awaiting the release of new home sales numbers, just one day after we saw absolutely horrible numbers, for sales of existing homes. stuart varney, charge or of varney and company of the fox business network is following it. what will happen here. >> it is a very bad week. no way to put it any milder than that. it is a very bad week. let's start with yesterday's housing numbers. down 27% the sale of existing homes and i have to tell you, if you dig within the numbers you will see one in five of those meager sales that were reported, ber in fact foreclosure sales, forced sales and it was probably even worse than that, raw number, implies. a half-hour ago we got new figures on the sales of dishwashers and microwaves and big ticket -- gregg: durable goods. >> that is the technical name, very very, disappointing. the lowest level since january of this year, now, fast forward to friday of this week, we get a new reading on the overall economy, likely to show we have virtually no growth at all. only maybe 1% of growth. that is it. this economy is stagnating and it is spiraling down, and the housing market is in disarray, and we are not spending our money. very bad week. gregg: and it looks like a lot of investors are pulling their money out of equities and pushing them into treasury bond market as well, and that will lower the rates there. lots, lots of -- >> we have 24 minutes of the opening bell on wall street, and it looks like the dow will drop below 10,000. this morning. gregg: okay. we'll keep an eye on it and check back with you, stuart varney, thanks very much. martha: a new call for agreement in the fiery mosque debate going on all summer in new york city. yesterday, new york city governor -- new york gordon david paterson met with archbishop timothy dolan and discussed ways to inspire an open dialogue in the debate instead of fighting and protests we have seen and here's what the archbishop said yesterday: >> how can we bring religion, which at its essence is meant to be a source of reconciliation and friendship and unity, how can we bring religion to bear on this issue, this religious issue that, unfortunately, is at risk of deteriorating, into a source of division? >> i don't have any quick answers or silver bullet, all i'm doing is ask that the dialogue go on as civilly and charitiably as possible. martha: trying to inspire dialogue and acted as a go-between with the mosque developers and the governor. gregg: not a lot of people feel the same way as mayor bloomberg, and other mosque supporters, look at the latest "pew research poll," a majority of americans, 51%, object to the plan. 34% say it should be allowed, 15% say, just don't know. former president jimmy carter now on the ground in communist north korea, he's there trying to secure the release of an american, sentenced to 8 long years of hard labor for trespassing. kelly wright is live in washington, following this. how are u.s. officials describing the former president's visit to the north. >> reporter: good morning to you, they are describing former president carter's trip to north korea as a private humanitarian mission. stressing that carter is not representing the u.s. government, this is a private matter. and, carters is hoping his trip to north korea will have positive results, as you were mentioning during the top of this and bringing home an american citizen would be 30-year-old al-jahlon gomes who is serving time in the north korea jail. gregg: there is his picture. why was he tossed into jail in the first place. >> reporter: he's accused of trespassing into north korea and he was arrested january 25 after crossing into the country. which sentenced him to 8 years hard labor, and, imposed $700,000 fine on him. by the way, he was there in south korea, teaching english and since his arrest the u.s. government has been trying to secure his release. >> we, the u.s. government take care of our own citizens and where we have individuals incarcerated, be support them. and where appropriate, we seek their return to the united states. >> reporter: for the moment it would appear, gregg the u.s. efforts to get gomes release have been unfruitful. gregg: president carter traveled to pyongyang before. >> reporter: that's right, he has experience with north koreans. he and his wife, rosalynn traveled there in 1994, and met with so-called great leader kim il-sung, whose son, kim jong-il is radioloduring that visit, ca negotiated to give up the nuclear weapon in exchange for foreign aid and a deal that north korea later reneged on and, last year, you will recall former president bill clinton traveled to north korea to push for the release of current tv reporters, and he was successful in doing that. and, obviously, carter hopes his experience with the north korean regime will help them be successful in getting him released, gregg. gregg: kelly wright, live from washington, thanks. martha: a story on the biggest threat the u.s. faces from al qaeda this morning, the cia analysts now see that the yemen-based group, now reporting the yemen-based group is the most urgent threat now the u.s. faces in terms of security here at home and our bases abroad. and, bigger even than usama bin laden's core group. u.s. officials told fox news there is no doubt al qaeda in the arabian peninsula is a mortal threat and the u.s. cannot afford to ignore anyone, anywhere working to attack the u.s., remember, the yemen based group is suspected in last year's plot to bomb a u.s.-bound plane on christmas day. gregg: one crazy class assignment lands a teacher in australia in serious trouble. that assignment that got her into hot water and the school's response to it, coming up next. martha: and, it is something rarely seen, a tornado made of fire. ripping through one town in brazil, we'll show you how it got started. gregg: and house minority leader versus the white house. vice president joe biden says the stimulus is working, citing a number from the number crunchers in washington. is it true and what do those numbers really mean? that is next. >> we were told the president's economic team is exhausted. and already, as budget director and chief economist, have moved on or they are about to. clearly, they see the writing on the wall, and the president should, too. eating healthy is important, but only vegetables can give you vegetable nutrition. one of these will get you more than half way to your five daily servings. a town where business is personal a health mart town. where second generation pharmacist, terry spears... owns his health mart pharcy. here terry offers free one on one diabetes sessions, providing information to customers in a way that... makes them feel comfortable, not confused. expert knowledge, personal attention it's what makes terry a health mart pharmacist and what makes vernon, a health mart town. there are health mart towns across america. nd your locally owned health mart at healthmart.com gregg: welcome back, you will not believe this one, a high school teacher in australia, handing out a school assignment that is causing a major stir. the task for the students, plan a terrorist attack and, an attack that would actually kill as many innocent people as possible. teacher is not actually being identified, as yet, but, she did tell the class to devise a chemical or biological plot and then explain how they would go about choosing their victims, and the teacher cancelled the assignment when suddenly, one 15-year-old student objected. and the school principal says the teacher is young, hard-working, just kind of inexperienced, and, simply made a mistake. martha: vice president joe biden says the obama administration's economic stimulus plan is working. very emphatic about that yesterday and pointed to a new cbo report, that shows the $800 billion spending package created millions of jobs and actually kept the unemployment rate from going higher, and biden says, quote: it is impossible for even the most cynical, bint on rooting for failure critics to deny and let's bring in the director of the cbo and is now the president of the american action forum. doug, welcome, good to have you here as always. when you go through the projects, the white house, the administration has lowered their gdp projections, over time, and have lowered their number of jobs that have been created or saved, and that estimate has also gone down and bottom line is, are we getting out of the hole or not and is any of it thanks to the stimulus? >> well, i think we are struggling to say the least, the housing market is finally looking like it will bottom after a whole series of attempts to prop it up, and, the economy is growing 1-2%, too slow to feel relief new are unemployed and the stimulus bill has not, met expectations and i think listeners should know a couple things about the cbo report, just put out and first, there is no new data, no new spending tor jobs to cause someone to reevaluate the stimulus and instead, it is repackaging previous analysis at the request of democrats in congress and the second important thing about the report is this is based on a computer model and with computer models you get out what you put in and the kind of model the cbo uses is one where stimulus cannot fail to work. >> it is interesting, when you get a look at these numbers and i want to pull up a tweet. that was a back and forth between the white house robert gibbs and john boehner and this is from the white house, he says, john boehner says an economy stalled by stimulus spending. cbo says, stimulus plan boosted gdp by as much as 4.5%, and to me, there is the operative words here, are "by as much as" 4.5% and when i looked at the numbers it says gdp raised 1.7 to 4.5, and you could drive a truck through that hole. 1.7 or maybe, it was raised by 4.5. i mean, you know, that is a huge disparity. >> that is -- the congressional number crunchers are being cautious and trying not to offend anyone in the process and i don't think you should take any of those numbers at face value, and i think the reality of the stimulus is that it has impact, bus is a misdiagnosis, and -- of more fundamental problems and we need to get the business community going and there is nothing in stimulus for the business community. martha: i'm hearing you, the things the administration has done are not stimulating the economy at all and i want to play a sound bite from joe biden. with regard to the economic team. >> it was billed this morning as a major economic address and the chief proposal, apparently was the president should fire his economic team. very constructive advice and we thank the leader for that. martha: all right, joe biden talking about something john boehner said and he said tim geithner and summers need to go. what do you think, do you think they need to go. >> i think it is august and things are getting heady in washington and the real problem here is, we have the wrong policies, for the problems this country faces and the people who are suffering are those out of work who need a job and need the income that comes with it and that should be the focus, not which faces are standing behind the president when he makes his speeches. martha: you know, it is troubling, and when you look across the board, really the bottom line is how people feel about their home, you know, whether or not they can pay their bills and they have a job and i don't know, you know, i think people listen to this cbo stuff and they say, what is the point? why have a cbo if they don't give -- if they give us a range from 1.7 to 4.5 you could drive a truck through, what good are the numbers. >> it is a political exercise and the democrats want cover for a stimulus bill that is not... you put your finger in the air and do a test it doesn't feel like it is working and, the other evidence is, yesterday, they explained how stimulus works because we'll get cheaper batteries and better solar power and the bill was supposed to create jobs and the problem is it was designed poorly and does have a lot of things in it that has nothing to do with create,ing jobs and doesn't recognize the fundamental problem is the financial problem and nothing helps a household get rid of its debt or mortgage lined up and nothing to get the government spending under control, causing the structural deficits and, especially nothing in it that helps us sell around the world, that is the key. martha: bottom line is, do you have a job, can you pay your bills and how do you feel about the direction the economy is moving in, we'll see as we move through the fall, it's always good to talk to you, sir, thank you so much for being here. gregg: fox cameras heading to the battlefield, up close and personal with u.s. top commander in afghan. what general petraeus has to say about american troops coming home. martha: jennifer griffin has always come home and we're grateful and happy for that and owning your own home has been the american dream for decades and there are growing fears that long term economic stagnation could be putting that home -- american dream, out of reach. is the american dream dying? we want to know what you think about that. no job and your home's value may be sliding. the american dream, how do we get it back? send us your thoughts, foxnews.c foxnews.com/"america's newsroom," we'll try and get some of those things on the air. we'll be right back. hi, may i help you? yes, i hear progressive has lots of discounts on car insurance. can i get in on that? are you a safe driver? yes. discount! do you own a home? yes. scount! are you going to buy online? yes! discount! isn't gettg discounts great? yes! there's no discount for agreeing with me yeah, i got carrd away. happens to me all the time. helping you save money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. martha: new details this morning about one of the iowa farms at the center of the salmonella outbreak, the decoster family empire, one of the largest egg producers paid out millions over the e last 15 years for health and safety violation and so far, half a billion eggs have been recalled in this country and more than 2,000 people is the rough latest count that have become sickened by this and the cdc predicts tens of thousands of people may become sick due to the outbreak. gregg: over the past several weeks we have witnessed some pretty crucial moments for our military combat operations, winding down in iraq, and, the fight heating up again, in afghanistan. with so much going on, overseas, we are very happy to welcome back a member of our team, who knows the military better than most, jennifer griffin, returning to work with an in-depth look at the situation on the ground in afghanistan, and, she is live in kabul, jennifer, great to have you back. what are your impressions since you landed in kabul? >> reporter: well, i think, gregg, what strikes me most, when i landed i didn't know what to expect and the last time i landed at the beginning of the surge it was 2007, in iraq, and general petraeus had taken over and literally when you landed at the airport you could feel how dangerous the city was, you had to wear body armor and duck the whole way to the bureau and it is a different feeling, kabul, i would describe it as a relaxed feel hear and i was somewhat surprised at all the -- you know, we have heard the reports about how the violence is ticking up, but, here in kabul you feel safe and we don't wear body armor walking around, that being said there was an attack on a girl's school earlier today, a strange gas was released and 46 young girls and teachers had to be hospitalized, and, they are seeing more and more attacks like that by the taliban, against girls schools, gregg. gregg: you had an interview with general petraeus, just a few minutes ago, as i understand it. what was the headline from that? >> reporter: well, i would say the biggest news that was made out of the interview was the fact that he talked about how the u.s. is in fact already helping the afghan government with reintegration talks with the taliban. a lot of commanders in the past, state department officials have been somewhat cagey about u.s. involvement and u.s. support for reaching out to mid-level taliban commanders, trying to get them to rein the great, also, trying to reconcile those lower-level taliban figures, but, he in fact seems to be fully behind it, in fact here's what he said. >> when we sat down across the table in iraq from individuals who had our blood on their hands. >> is the u.s. currently negotiating with the taliban. >> this is completely afghan-led process, the u.s. is very much in the information move and in a couple of cases has helped in a sense, but is not doing the negotiations. in some cases, there has to be safeguarding of movement or something like that, or at least assurances that we would not do something. >> reporter: but this is the first time we have really heard a top u.s. commander say that the u.s. is in fact facilitating in some cases, meetings between the afghan government and general petraeus also told me that in fact president karzai signed today reintegration orders that will make that process of reaching out to the taliban all the more crucial, and that is going to be the key to success here in terms of any sort of counterinsurgency strategy. gregg: jennifer griffin, just like you to jump right back in with both feet into the middle of it and we are thrilled here at fox to have you back. thanks very much for that report. martha: jennifer fought a courageous battle of her own, in her personal life and we are thrilled to have her back, a big welcome back and it is like her to jump in with both feet and head to afghanistan, we welcome her back today, coming up republicans looking to regain power and democrats looking to hold on to it. there are new questions about the president's role in the midterms. we'll explain that. gregg: plus key primaries decided and one we are actually waiting for results. the race to control washington, next. delicious news for dessert lovers. introducing new activia dessert. rich yogurt with desserty flavors like strawberry cheesecake and peach cobbler. mmm. you've got to try this. new activia dessert. ♪ activia in dishwashing history. the best of gel and powder join forces in o pac to create... cascade complete pacs. to obliterate grease and annihilate tough foods. 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[ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. martha: big race out there, still undecided, we are awaiting officials results from the gop senate primary in alaska and this one could be the big story of the day, folks, 98 percent of the precincts are in, incumbent lisa murkowski, trailing tea party favorite joe miller, 49-51 percent right now. this one is very tight. meanwhile n. florida, here's how things shaped up, mid-term battle lines drawn there, marco rubio set to face off in the november elections against charie crist who jumped ship from the gop, he's running as independent, also on that ballot, kendrick meek, you heard from him this morning. carl cameron is live. a big win for meek last night but let's talk about rubio's win as well, the significance of all of this. >> well, the thinking is that meek as the democratic nominee is a stronger democratic candidate and can sort of keep loyalists, more liberal progressive democratic voters coming to the polls than jeff greene, the billionaire self-funding candidate that did not prevail. had greene been the nominee the thinking was that might have helped charlie crist, running as independent, court swing democratic voters. meek as the democrat theoretically keeps the party unified, meaning this is a full-blown, three-way, tough, tough battle to the finish line with crist running out the benefit of party apparatus of democrat or republican but he is, of course, the governor, rubio as republican with all the gop's strength and meek is basically saying he's running against two conservatives insofar as crist used to be a republican before becoming an independent and here's how he put it last night: >> i want you to leave here and i want you to know what we stand for. now, this election is going to be about where the candidates stand. i am running against two conservative candidates for the united states senate that has similar records. >> reporter: charlie crist says he does have a similar record because he's an independent and the governor has been courting democrats and the obama administration, the president particularly, for weeks. one of the subtexts to this race as it unfolds now is just how close charlie crist is to trying to get tacit support from the president if meek proves to be a weak democratic nominee. martha: it's going to be interesting. rubio came on this morning and said both of the other two guys are sort of inside the whole washington administration scene, so they're all going to be playing the triangle game in that one, i suppose. talk to me a little about the governor's race in florida. that was an interesting one to watch as well last night, carl. >> reporter: and a big, big upset. rick scott, the self-funding , health industry executive, millionaire, won the republican nomination, defeating attorney general bill mccollum, a 20-year veteran of congress who had the benefit of widespread and deep establishment republican support. the republican governor's association, and its chairman, haley barbour, jeb bush, the former governor, republicans from washington to south florida were lining up against -- with bill mccollm, against -- mccollum against rick scott, his very is very big and sets up a hun coj test with allen sync, andure right, that race is a big deal, lisa murkowski could become the third isn't u.s. senator defeated in the primary challenge, joe miller would be the a # -- fifth tea party republican to win election. martha: thank you very much, carl cameron, reporting for florida, we are america's headquarter coverage, full coverage, foxnews.com, click on the aehq tab and you can find all of the political headlines, everything you need to know, the takeaway from last knight is all going to be there for you, plus somehow everything haips -- how everything shapes up. gregg: it's getting down to the wire and speaking of which, new questions today on whether president obama is a help or a hinderance to the democratic party as we head into those mid terms. now, recently, a couple of weeks ago, the president facing his lowest approval rating yet, 41 percent, according to a gap up poll. this could mean a huge advantage for republicans in november, or maybe not. former clinton adviser and partner and managing director, porter, and vinnie, good to see you both. it's not just low approval ratings for the president but john fund of the "wall street journal" pointed this out, in his home state of illinois, his home state, a poll there finds that by a substantial margin, voters are less likely to support a candidate endorsed by barack obama. is the president hurting his own party? >> you know, i don't think, gregg, that this is any different than you've had incumbent presidents historically, particularly in modern history. i worked in that first cycle when bill clinton was president and he wasn't very popular after that first 18 months. president obama has spent a lot of his political capital to make head way and progress on health care, on financial reform, on a lot of his accomplishments, so it's not shocking that that is sent down. what is more interesting, if i'm doing a straight analysis on a congressional race is who is really going to show up and i think you'll find, and this is true historically, if you're running a congressional race, in a specific district, illinois or anywhere else, you're going to look up and say how close are we, when do i need his help, when do i not need his help. if you're in a tight rairks you may need it at the very end. gregg: in a congressional race, it's advantage republicans, that's the headline, go to their website, gap up. let me move on. it might be dangerous for you republicans to get too cocky. i'm sure you saw "the washington post" that came out that only 26 percent have confidence in the gop to make the right decisions to the cup's future and that trails the democrats at 32 percent and it trails the president at 43 percent. republicans are not doing what's better, in fact, they're doing worse, aren't they? >> really, what americans want is a representative government and government that is going to listen to the will of the american people and not ram pom polices like our throat like obamacare. that's what the american people want and that is evident based upon the polls that are coming out to date, where obama, the polls are dropping on a daily basis and it's because of the debt, the spending, and the polices that he's pushing. the gulf war moratorium, the ban on drilling, he got a report that that would eliminate something like 23,000 jobs. people want jobs. we have 10 percent unemployment. why would you push a policy that would be detrimental to america and detrimental to our economy? gregg: kiki, joe bidden at it again today, the slam bush strategy. maybe it's working. don't start shaking your head! the president's own pollsters, they asked in a recent poll who is more responsible for the economic recession, the answer, bush, 53 percent, obama, 26 percent. are those poll numbers driving the blame blush strategy? >> no, i think, first of all, it's the bendensen strategy group. so folks can look it up correctly. gregg: the benensen strategy. >> what you're talking about there is where there's a positive economic plan to move forward. as you know, this was served by boehner's speech in cleveland, he gave a speech laying out his version of a plan, calling for the resignation of obama officials, which didn't seem like an economic plan to me. so i think that people believe that we are beginning to stabilize some, we have so much work to do, we are not in a forward position yet, but i still -- >> gregg: but people don't -- >> they want the -- we still have unemployment through the roof. gregg: i don't want you guys to go at it. >> i have a question for you. there are several prominent african-americans coming out swinging at president obama in academia. i'm thinking of dr. cornell west who has expressed frustration and disappointment in the president, spike lee has hauled off several tiles and ripped into the president. what's your reaction to that? >> this tells me that more and more people are waking up to the fact that obama is not the messiah that he is purported to be when he was running for office. you look at his failed policy, obamacare, which was rammed down our throat, it's not going to provide health coverage for all americans, it's going to be very expensive and there's a veil of uncertainty regarding jobs. employers don't want to hire. and even wall street recently came out and said there are concerns about a double-dip, just recession. so these are the issues that need to be taken into consideration here. gregg: jenin borelli, kiki, thank you both. jenna: keeping an eye on the market, we're about to get a major economic report from the housing market, new home sales out any moment and yesterday the market took a big hit on this. can it stay above 10,000? opening bell on wall street just happened moments ago, down 24 now. gregg: you know what the american dream dream is, right? owning your own home. is it a nightmare these days, with foreclosures and soaring home prices and sales plunging? a lot of folks seem to think so. coming up, we're going to take a look at what the economic numbers mean and if there's a silver lining. martha: how about this, they're wrecking homes and wreaking havoc in lake tahoe, a bath of wild bears on the loose and causing a major problem for folks out there. find out what's going on. gregg welcome back. you probably have not seen this ever before. a fire tornado whipping across brazil, brushfires and strong winds creating a whirling fire ball. look at that, the mini firestorm bringing traffic to an absolute stand still before it eventually dissolved. hasn't rained in that area in three months, and the drought has caused brushfires across brazil. martha: we are waiting for some economic news that is likely to move the market this morning, these numbers are going to be the new homes sales figures, just one day after we got pretty bad news out of july's existing home sales. when we saw this number yesterday, down 27 percent, that is not the kind of monthly number that you usually see, folks. it's the lowest number since 1995. a huge drop in home sales over the month of august -- july, i should say. there are a number of reasons for that. republicans may highlight some of these figures as we head into the election season, i think you can probably count on that, like gubernatorial candidate rick scott during the victory speech in florida late last night. look at this: >> today, the leaders of the other party, president obama, senator reid, speaker pelosi -- >> [booing] >> they're destroying the american dream for the nextgen j generation. we are not going to allow that to happen in florida. >> [cheering] >> martha: let's talk about the american dream a little bit, because maybe it's time to reevaluate what the american dream is and whether or not people are actually capable of atapeing it in this current environment. liz claman is archore of "countdown to the closing bell". good to see you. welcome. you look at the jobs market, very depressing, the housing market, a lot of people can't afford to pay their mortgages or they're losing homes or own ago home that's not worth what they thought, it's the biggest investment they have. is it change something sphwhroo i think people are saying stove the -- stop the economy, i want to get off. they feel this. a lot of people are unemployed or looking desperately for a job that even resembles what they used to have. however, i think that most americans who are optimistic would like hombrage that for anyone to say the american dream is dead, for now, perhaps it's on ice or slowed down. martha: we asked viewers to talk about this and what they think about the american deal and here's one of them, augusta, the american dream doesn't exist anymore for everyone, while john writes that to revive the american dream, america needs to manufacture again and we need those jobs. that's the big question, what drives it, what gets the american dream back, what gets people jobs in this country at this point? >> as we all know it's the small businessman and woman who do most of the hiring and inspiring those people to continue to start small businesses. the american dream used to include i want the house and at least one or two cars in the driveway and half the dog or whatever it used to be. first of all, people get to get on the reality bandwagon and realize that homeownership is not guaranteed, it is -- it's not -- >> martha: and it's not necessarily for everyone. robert sak yell said that we've had a homeownership fetish in this country and that you need to think about whether or not a home is for you, and maybe we do need to revise a little bit the american dream and what peoples' expectations are, because i feel like in the '80s and '# \on/zeros, everybody's expectations, mine, everybody else, it got out of whack about what you deserve, what you're supposed to have. >> i want an upgrade a. secretary of defense home. it is not the right to open a home, it is a privilege. we had a mortgage guy on yesterday on fox business network who said oh, they've become so difficult, yes, to have perfect paperwork. i said why not. what is wrong with that. >> and you're saving somebody from a nightmare of owning a home they can't afford. >> however, ultra low, historic low interest rates, huge inventory, two things we did not have during the housing boom, those two things are in place, yet also, it's people who are looking at the world and saying wait a minute, i got laid o we ber -- interviewed a guy who recently lost his wall street lawyer job, he turned around and said i like to bake, he started a macho cupcake company, david eric, called butch bakery, he now has a reality show contract, he's got a deal, you can still -- >> martha: you can get a reality show! >> exactly. only in america. martha: only in america. only in new york. >> that american dream of starting a business and making it work, that's in place, martha. it's just a very difficult time right now for people. martha: liz claman, always good to see you, fox business network. on the countdown to the closing bell, 3:00 p.m. around, folks, do not miss it, check your local listings, check it out. gregg: i'm afraid my reality would be a little boring. yours might be exciting! martha: your reality show? >> gregg: mine would be boring. ho hum! martha: gregg jarrett, very interesting! gregg: a top u.s. general with bold comments about a troop withdrawal in afghanistan, why he says president obama's timeline could be aiding the enemy. mayor marrowo martha: parachute, meet coal, what happenedfter the golden knights parachute team got stuck? gregg: a big ole hairy burglar named bubba is on the floos lake tahoe, california and he's not alone, bubba and company are black bears running through highly populated areas. claudia cowen is live in tahoe city, california. claudia, bears there, nothing new. last time i was in tahoe, there was one outside our kitchen door, but what's happening now? >> gregg, what's happening is that as residents in this area get serious about securing their trash, bubba and his below bears have taking to breaking and entering, well over 100 incidents reported so far this year in california and nevada. that's significantly higher than in years past. and gregg, what's sad here is that it often ends tragically for the bears, officials in the two states have had to exterminate 20 of the so-called nuisance bears this year, so far, thankfully, no people have been seriously hurt but those home at the time of this incident say it's terrifying to encounter a four or 500, even a 700-pound black bear, busting down the door to raid the fridge, and experts say if it's successful, that's a new learned behavior for that bear and he will almost certainly be back. gregg: what's driving this is sort of the weather, the lack of food, and so forth? >> reporter: yeah, a bit of clear-cutting in the forest, leaving the bears feeling a bit more vulnerable so they come down into the more heavily forested areas around the homes. but otherwise, the fact is there are simply more bears, the population of black bears around lake tahoe has roughly doubled over the past decade and that's due in large part to all the human food they're eating, it contains more calories than the usual worm and ber yes -- ber yes and all that is giving them energy to have more cubs and more of the cubs are tagging along as ma'am wra bear goes foraging for food through the homes, so that that bear behavior is getting passed on. gregg: that bear we ran across at tahoe banged through the kitchen door of the neighbor and made himself at home, opening the refrigerator? it was unbelievable. they eventually trapped him. but it's a real problem there. claudia cowen, thank you very much. martha: big news on the military front, on outgoing general says that president obama's troop withdrawal plans are giving the taliban, quote, sustenance, to keep going. karl rove is going to weigh in on that in moments and talk to us about the best strategy that he believes, also talk about what happened last night and the upstart situation that may be going on in alaska. we'll get his thoughts on that. >> they want new faces, they want to change out the process in d.c. so we can get back to what they see as the proper role of government, the constitutional role of government. i can tell you it's red hot on the ground, we're closing the gap rapidly. >> indeed, joe miller ms. murkowski, it's too close to call. we'll get the latest on that race, coming up. you don't get tn by curve balls. ♪ this is the age of knowing how to get things done. ♪ so why would you let something like erectile dysfunction get in your way? 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like the sound of no referrals needed to see a specialist? you get all that, too. call now to get your free information kit... and guide to understanding medicare. yep... this is one great card! call this toll-free number now for this... free information kit and medicare guide. martha: a date to begin a draw down in afghanistans may be giving the enemy, the taliban, hope in that country, that is the word from the out going head of the marine corps, general james conway fueling a firestorm around president obama's war strategy saying afghan forces are years away from standing up on their own and that is getting a lot of attention as you would match, brand new hour of "america's newsroom" starting now, i'm martha maccallum. gregg: i'm gregg jarrett in for bill hemmer. the president says a deadline is essential to spark a sense of urgency with this afghan governments but the commander says it tells taliban rebels to wait out the allied forces. major garrett is traveling with the president, he's live in martha's vineyard, mainljor, wh did he say. >> reporter: the sound bite from yesterday, jack conway, the marine general said that, about what affect the july 2011 dead fine to begin withdrawing combat surge forces from afghanistan is having on the battlefield. >> the president talked to several audiences at the same time when he made mist his comments on july, 2011 and in some ways we think now it is probably giving our enemy sus tenancy and we think -- sustenance and, we have intercepted communications that say, hey, we only have to hold out for so long. >> and the general went onto say in that session with reporters, that he was marines are going to stay in afghanistan, for many, many years, beyond the 2011, july, 2011 deadline, for that transition phase, set by the president. so, it wasn't as if the general was signalling, that this is going to be an immediate and rapid and possibly dangerous pullout for u.s. forces, come july 2011, he was saying, in fact, there is some sense a of -- of battlefield commanders, al qaeda fighters are hunkering down, waiting for that and marines will be there after the deadline and possibly and probably for many years thereafter. gregg: this is a military officer who is saying the president's remarks, are aiding the enemy in some way, so what is the reaction to this? >> reporter: the white house will not react publicly, so far, to general conway. i talked to a couple of administration officials today who say a couple of things, first of all, all of these issues about whether or not to set' transition phase deadline, set a withdrawal date for removing the surge forces was debated and the president made a decision, and, every stake holder in the conversation leading up to the decision is carrying out and believes it is the right policy and as you said at the introduction, the administration believes if you don't set a deadline in afghanistan, things will continue to linger and linger and linger and this afghan forces will not have a sense of immediacy about getting trained and preparing to step into the breach that will be left by the u.s. military and the nato forces and thirdly, administration officials say, look, the debate gets circular after a while and i don't need to tell you, our audience, gregg, the last couple of months, in afghanistan have been extremely dangerous and deadly for u.s. and nato forces. the casualty numbers are increasing. the administration's perspective, our critics cannot have it both ways, either the taliban and al qaeda forces are fighting and that is why they are dying and u.s. and nato forces are dying, or, they are hunkering down and it can't be both and the indications are, right now, the fight is being joined, and that it is likely to be joined more ferociously in the coming months now that all u.s. and nato forces are there and the kandahar operation we are led to believe, is set to begin, sooner rather than later. gregg: major garrett, live with the president, martha's vineyard. martha: let's bring in karl rove, president george w. bush's senior advisor and deputy chief of staff and a fox news contributor, karl, good morning, good have you here this morning. >> good morning, great to see you. martha: talk to me about your reaction to this. having been in the white house, having listened to the reactions from the generals in the field at different times, how big a deal is this? that this leader of the marine corps is saying that, given this date to begin a pullout in july 2011 is giving sustenance to our enemies in afghanistan. >> on a scale of 1 to 10 i rank it as a six or 7 and don't put it up with what general mcchrystal said to "rolling stone" magazine but it is a comment by a very respected commandant of the marine corps, who is retiring, incidentally, this fall but you need to put the the it into the broader connection and he said, look they might be taking sustenance from it but on the other hand they'll find out even if we have hey draw down of troops next summer, there will be plenty of marines, and, army and navy and air force around to do lots of damage and so it could be a big morale victory for the u.s. and i think you need to put the whole statement in context. i think it would be unfortunate, if the administration reacted to this candor by doing to him what they rightly did with general mcchrystal and that was ask for his resignation. martha: a very important point and when y sort you -- when you get into it, major garrett touched on this, the taliban will find out it is the beginning of a draw down and it is more and lower likely that the draw down will be small, i would imagine based on what is going on there, in 2011 and if they count on that they will be sorely surprised to find out the marines and the rest of our troops, may be dug in there for quite some time and when you look at the big picture of president obama's presidency, and, the fact that one of the mange things that he ran on was leaving iraq, which he felt was the wrong war, not the war that we needed to be fighting, and, going to fight the war in afghanistan, which now is looking more and more, as if it will be prolonged endeavor, and how do you think -- you know, how do you think he fares on that front, at this point. >> what is interesting is, he's doing what -- pretty much what he said he'd do during the campaign which is making the left unhappy. because they didn't believe -- they thought he'd get us out more rapidly out of iraq and essentially he abided by the terms of the status of forces agreement by bush's agreement and executed the bush war policy in iraq and afghanistan, the left thought he didn't mean it was a good war and i think they were taken aback when he decided to apply, i think rightly the principles of the iraq surge to afghanistan. and, to send additional u.s. troops there, to step up the pace of activity, against the taliban and al qaeda. so, you know, in terms of doing what he said he'd do in the campaign, he followed through on it and he is not cable, constitutionally, personally cannot acknowledge the fact that he is following the bush plan in iraq and, fulfilling the status of forces agreement there and taking a cue from the success of the iraq surge and applying the principles to afghanistan and he's right to do both of those and deserves the support of americans who are concerned about victory in both conflicts. martha: let's move on to last night, i'm sure you watched every bit of this as it came in and look at these primary races. talk to me, to me, the headline this morning is what is going on in alaska. joe miller and lisa murkowski. if she loses she'll be the third sitting senator to lose to a challenger. how big a deal would that be in your mind. >> this would be big. you know, i was reading "the new york times" this morning, which obviously but the story in long before the votes were counted in alaska and they said she appears to be comfortably ahead and she did appear to be comfortably ahead and don't expect a resolution, of this, quickly and she was down at 15,000 votes when they finished at 3:56 a.m. this morning and 7600 of this absentee ballots were returned and they had to be postmarked by yesterday and can be received to the third of september and there will be more ballots today and tomorrow and the days to come, all the way up to the 3rd of september and they have until t-- 8th of september to have all the military and overseas votes and they have until september 8th to arrive and what does it mean? she's down 1560 votes to joe miller, and if there are 10,000 absentee ballots she has to win 58% and, 12,000 votes, she has to win 56% of them and it is a steep hill to climb but if joe miller came on at the end and the absentee ballots were d dispudi disproportionately for her, the race, at all, is not settled. martha: and, we knew, you would have the answers, and we have breaking news, gregg jarrett will bring to us now and we want your thoughts on that and more with karl after the break, gregg, fill us in. gregg: martha, "fox news alert" here, the commerce department just released this new home sales number, down more than 12%, in the month of july. now, this is the lowest pace of sales on record. dates back all the way to 1963. it comes on top of yesterday's existing home sales numbers, that were abysmal. is all of this a sign that the economy is not recovering as well in karl rove, what is your take on that? >> well, these are another dismal sets of numbers for the administration and look, we have first time claims for unemployment the highest in nine months and we have unemployment rate stuck at 9.5% and an under employment rate at over 16% and we have all home sales in july, dropping to the lowest since 1995, new home sales number, being bad and this was supposed to be the summer of recovery in twhch the administration would spend three months heralding the recovery of the american economy and the discuss of the stimulus bill and instead had week after week after week of bad news, at the beginning of the summer, the president's approval on the economy was 42% and now it is 35% as of early this month and i suspect it will go even lower, for democrats, facing the election in the fall, these numbers couldn't come at a worse time. gregg: in fact, the white house promised in june, the summer of recovery, half a million new jobs, just the opposite, half million jobless new claims. karl rove, as always, great to see you, thanks so much. >> you bet. >> an amazing find, in the gulf, scientists discovered a microbe with a hunger for oil gobbling up the muck, all the while, without significantly depleting oxygen in the water. now, scientists at the lawrence berkeley national laboratory in california, say the bacteria may have adapted over time, to new periodic leaks, and, natural oil in the gulf and the hope is the microbes could help dispose of any oil plumes deep under the surface. martha: we have new video to show you of a missile test out of iran this morning, tehran releasing the footage. allegedly showing a launch of an upgraded short range missile and the thing is, it hits 120 miles away and they say, it improves the weapon's range and accuracy and none of this can be verified and this is what they said, and they unveiled an unmanned drone that can deliver bombs last week and they dubbed that weapon "the ambassador of death." gregg: we could be living inside a massive black hole. we're not sure exactly how that is possible, but it involves physics, einstein's theories and people with a closet full of college degrees, michio, the spin on the universe, just ahead. martha: and cops call him the grim sleeper. accused of murdering at least ten women and even if convicted and sentenced to death he could get up to a million dollars of your money and he'll keep getting paid. bill: and this was not part of show as you can imagine, one of the army's golden knights wound up on a flagpole at the baseball game. video you cannot miss, next. ya. uhhuh. mhhmm. oh i know. that was cute. right. honey eat. 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[meow] desperate for nighttime heartburn relief? for many, nexium helps relieve heartburn symptoms caused by acid reflux disease. and for the majority of patients with prescription coverage for nexium, it can cost $30 or less per month. headache, diarrhea, and abdominal pain are possible side effects of nexium. other serious stomach conditions may still exist. ask your doctor if nexium can help relieve your heartburn symptoms. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. martha: precision parachuting, not so much in the lone star state, don't you hate it when this happens, the army's golden knight, look, got caught up there, hype sure he's done it perfectly a million times and dropped in on the texas rangers game and wound up hanging from the flagpole and the army of one unable to unhook himself and we walked away, though -- he did and -- there was a famous parachuter, during the normandy invasion, and he got stuck on a church, and, he is known as a hero, and that should make him feel better, he's in good company. gregg: the next story will add to the outrage overrun away pension costs and turns out the man l.a. cops called the grim sleeper serial killer, the former garbage collector, lonnie franklin, jr. is collecting a big old fat pension, estimated $300,000, a payout to the a man accused of murdering ten women and it could be extraordinary, even if he is convicted in -- and sent to death row and the kicker, it cannot be taken away. joining us now, is paul hatfield the certified public accountant who broke down the numbers, he's a board member of the valley village neighborhood council in california, good to see you, and, now, give us the calculation of even if he's on death row, if he lives to a ripe old age, how much could he make? >> including what he has already earned, he could walk -- i shouldn't say walk away, but end up earning a million bucks. gregg: wow, he gets paid until when, his death? >> until his death, and, you know, god knows how long he'll be on death -- he's innocent until proven guilty, so, if he is convicted and put on death row, that could be a long time. gregg: how is it possible? >> how is it possible? well, we have very, very generous municipal union plans in this city and we're not the only city with the problem. it is bad enough, that we, the taxpayers, bear the brunt of the unfunded pension liability but when you have situations like this, it is insult to injury and salt on the wounds. here it is, you know, if he is guilty, or anybody who did anything like that, you know, you would think there would be a -- a provision in the contract, to say, i'm sorry. you don't get paid, by contrast, i believe if you were receiving, let's say, you were in the private sector and receiving a social security disability benefit, that benefit -- gregg: disallowed. >> it would be disa asallowed iu are incarcerated. gregg: roughly half of the state allows convicted criminals behind bars to continue to accept the state pensions, local pensions and so forth. is there any reason why the states and municipalities cannot follow the rule of the ssa, which is, sorry. you get convicted, you are out of luck? >> well, i'll tell you... the problem is, is basic politics. for example, in the city of los angeles, our city council and our mayor are so connected to the unions, i really doubt if we will see any serious pension reform, i understand there are negotiations going on, and, they just don't want to go against what i consider to be the unyielding sense of entitlement of some of these municipal unions. it is completely out of hand. and, the taxpayers will ultimately end up paying the bill. if we continue down this course, i agree with former mayor riordan, that the city will be facing bankruptcy. gregg: and california is already bankrupt, $19 billion defendant, they built the taj mahal with taxpayer money, the local school, out there in los angeles, and a couple of other schools. really unbelievable, the profligate spending and irresponsible spending. paul hatfield, thanks for being with us. >> thank you. martha: boots on the ground, putting a bit of a snag in the smuggling game along the mexican border, the bad guys going the easy route, adam housely, sailing on the new front lines, of the border battles. gregg: smoldering wreckage from a deadly plane crash in a remote region of china, but the real story may be how many people managed to survive. 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(announcer) general mills make getting whole grain an easy choice. just look for the white check. heath mart pharmacies are locally owned. so our pharmacists serve their communities... with a unique combination of clinical knowledge... and personal attention. to see if you live in a health mart town visit: healthmart.com gregg: 42 people died in a plane crash in northeast china. look at the fiery scene, the chinese passenger jet crash landed but it didn't really work well, as bad as it looked, 54 people managed to survive and chinese state media saying investigators on the scene have found the flight data recorder. and speaking of china, have you seen this? a monster traffic jam on the outskirts of beijing. martha: unbelievable. bill: whoever heard of this. it began ten days ago. and it cou last, this traffic jam, for weeks more. seems road construction just outside beijing is to blame and some folks making the best of it, playing cards and sleeping on the asphalt and holding a few parties and, paying high prices, too, the food vendors to prey on the people. martha: could you imagine, if it went on ten days and nobody communicated for people and there was construction and it would last more in the ten days. gregg: surely they can reroute, if somebody takes charge. martha: america is a great country, you look at that... over 100 miles of u.s. coastline the preferred smuggle route to mexican drug cartels and human traffickers and adam housely on the bluff of san diego. some would say the pacific coast is this longest open border in the u.s. and what is being done to protect it, as they make this sort of end run, around california, adam, how busy are these teams of agents and what is the action like around the coastline there? >> reporter: well, they are extremely busy and as you clamp down the left hand border, a lot of smugglers come to the water, and they formed a team, sea bed, the coastal border enforcement team and what they are covering in southern california is 114 miles, from the border, south of san diego, all the way up to the border of los angeles, and you talk about a significant area, where these smugglers are coming ashore and their coming ashore in small boats and we had a chance to go out with the team a couple of nights ago as they went out and did some of their rounds in southern california, and they are spread out over a very large area this, team has been built over the course of the last year and have come up, numbers wise and have a very difficult task and some cases, they are sitting on bleaches, using night goggle vision and getting intelligence as well to try and stop them from coming ashore and bringing drugs and people as well. martha: we are looking at some of the night video shot, and how tough is it, it looks stuff to spot the little boats in the middle of the night. >> reporter: it is, and think about this for a second, as one of them told us, you know how tough it is to have a search and rescue, trying to somebody who was to be found in the daylight and try and imagine finding a boat at night who does not want to be found, and you are talking about a vast area as they come ashore here and come into -- not just the beaches, they come into rocky shore lines and the marinas, whatever they can to get the people and drugs they are smuggling safely into the u.s. martha: wow, a whole other border to protect, thank you very much, adam housely, reporting from the beautiful scene, in san diego. gregg: you have to love it, one of my favorite places in the world. all right. maybe you are just waking up from a wild night of parties, party politics, alan colmes will join us on how last night's primaries will affect democratic strategies in the upcoming midterms and the fight to control capitol hill. martha: and earth, wind and fire. forming a once in a lifetime sight. this video is hot, i might say. gregg: yeah, i would call it hot. al qaeda's flagship posse in pakistan no longer the biggest threat to national security. there is a new report on the cell, that could now be public enemy number one. pwpwpspwpspw@sa martha: a quick look at the top stories in "america's newsroom" now, a fire tornado in brazil. tearing across the burning field, the country is struggling with three months of drought, and rampant brush fires and the conditions on the ground are said to be similar to the sahara zirt a desert and a team of archaeologists uncovered a 3500-year-old city in egypt using radar imaging, a bustling settlement along the nile river valley trade route, now covered by farmland and, homicide bombers in baghdad, detonating a car bomb outside a police station. that explosion killed at least 15 people, we're told and it comes as the u.s. is set to end all combat missions in iraq, by the end of this month. gregg: a new report in today's "washington post," it could change how we look at the war on terror, for the first time since the september 11th attacks, cia analysts are seeing one of al qaeda's offshoots in yemen rather than the core group in pakistan as the most urgent threat to u.s. security, greg palkot is live in london with more and why is the yemen group suddenly considered such a threat. >> reporter: very dangerous, gregg, fox news can confirm a heightened interest in washington in the al qaeda offshoot, it is called al qaeda in the arabian peninsula found in yemen and the "washington post" quoting a cia official saying the militants there are even, quote, more agile and aggressive than their brothers in pakistan or afghanistan. a government official telling our own catherine herridge that, quote, no doubt they are a mortal threat, and we cannot afford to ignore people working to attack us. the best-known people working to attack us according to government officials, the u.s. born radical cleric, anwar al-awlaki is in yemen, we have been tracking him there as well as the u.s. and he was part of recent attacks including the failed times square bombing and the christmas day plane bombing and the deadly fort hood shootings, gregg. gregg: what kind of terror activity is going on in yemen. >> reporter: there is a two-way activity, between the government and terrorists and we can confirm the u.s. is in fact, right now, actively involved in training up those anti-terror government forces, in yemen, and supplying yemen with intelligence, coordination, and even involved in some drone and cruise missile attacks, unilateral stuff and reports now say those activities, the u.s. assistance could be ramping up and the latest news, gregg, we are hearing is yemen forces have been clashing with al qaeda in the past couple of days in the southern part of the country, a base for the terror group, in response to an attack by al qaeda on yemen, and we are told by our contacts, in the country, that 19 militants have been killed, just in the past couple of days and we're told, the noose is tightening. gregg: greg palkot, live in london, greg, thank you. martha: we have been telling you about the grudge match primaries and the fallout this morning, alaska is still up in the air and karl rove said it could be up in the air for days, as they wait for absentee ballots and looks like we might see a changing of the guard, perhaps in that state and in florida, the up start took out the established candidate, we talked to karl rove about this this morning and now we want the democratic side of reaction to the elections last night, alan colmes is a radio talk show host and joins us now. how are you doing. >> how are you. martha: let's talk about florida and kendrick meek, when the race was -- crist versus rubio it was a different situation and now you have the independent candidate, charlie crist going up against kendrick meek, we are looking at the numbers there, resoundingly beat jeff greene in the race and seems reinvigorated, with help from the president and bill clinton in florida. >> you are looking for a narrative and the tea party candidate, the candidate outside of the establishment and kendrick meek shows that is not the case, because he represents the establishment candidate and there was no upset with that. martha: how do you think he'll fare now that the dynamic shifted, because, it is interesting to me, each character in the story is saying, those guys are exactly alike, and kendrick meek -- >> it makes it harder for crist or maybe is good for meek, he's the one left of attila filla th -- i'm joking, i'd like to see it happen. martha: how will they sort that out in the white house and look at the housing numbers from today and what is the argument they'll try to make to, you know, pull people in meek's direction. >> they'll have a hard time but i think, if people, if they vote locally, i'm not sure how influential the white house will be in this race and people will say they are dissatisfied with congress and are not happy with the president but, may not affect their local race, i'm not sure how long the arm is of the white houses. martha: the president is putting out a letter, how important all the race are and nancy pelosi wants to hold on to her job and the message i picked up from looking at a bunch of different place, the yes we can message and we are starting and stick with us, because we'll gain momentum and you look at the housing numbers this morning it will be tough to convince people. >> it is tough and the job numbers have to change and housing and jobs, two tough issues and the president needs to talk about what he has accomplished and 18 months had great legislative victories, done health care, first time in 40 years and reached wall street versus main street and has bailed out main street versus wall street which was -- >> i don't know how bailed out main street feels. >> he has a tough narrative, unless the job numbers change. martha: what will he do. >> there is only so much a president can do about job numbers, how much worse would it have been -- >> that is a tough argument. >> a tough argument. martha: you see the numbers, they need to feel better in their situation, and any thoughts on the alaska race, the republican primary. >> sarah palin, if the -- you know, if her candidate, miller wins, i think, that it is a surprising -- everybody expected murkowski would win and sarah palin went out on a limb and supported the tea party candidate against someone she doesn't like and seemed like' personal grudge match, but, it certainly, that would be a big victory for the right side of the republican party. and, would certainly be a feather in sarah palin's cap in terms of endorsements. martha: there was a big fight, john podesta arguing the bush tax cuts should be kept in place for the middle class, but not of course for, you know, those rich people in the top 2% will not get to keep their money and my guess is it will be sold as, you know, a big gift to the middle class. >> i don't know what... how republicans can argue to give away the big begin, small businesses don't really get hurt by this... martha: depends on your definition of small business. >> $650 billion added to the deficit, if you keep the bush tax cuts and no one answers on the right side of the plate, if you are a deficit hawk and you support continuing the bush tax cuts when it costs $650 billion. martha: the argument is those are actually stimulus dollars and stimulate the economy and ahow them to hire people. >> stimulate the economy, and the bush cuts didn't stimulate the economy, you can't say there was a healthy economy at the end of the bush administration. martha: we'll see, alan colmes, and, a lot of room to see things go the way you want them to go. gregg: fascinating stuff and something else fascinating, america may be bleeding jobs and unemployment remains near 10% but one sector of the economy is humming along, laura ingle is outside lincoln center in new york city. hi, laura. >> reporter: hi, gregg, this is a very exciting time for professional musician, if you have the talent and always wanted to be part of a major orchestra, maybe play at avery fisher hall at lincoln center, now is the time to bust out the chemical lower, violin or bass and go for it, be band, you will have fierce competition with salaries starting at 100, $136,000 a year you better believe there are hundreds of hungry musician ready for the chance to make beautiful music. ♪ >> reporter: the opportunity that highly trained musician dream about. >> we have a few openings in the horn section, and trumpet openings, we have roughly ten openings. >> reporter: a perfect ensemble of retirement. departures and positions long unfilled, have created rare openings at the boston symphony orchestra. and is a coveted position. >> we look for special, special players. >> the great musicians out weigh the demand, several hundred applicants apply for a single position. >> reporter: around the country major orchestras are seeking elite musician to hit the right note, the new york philharmonic has 11 openings, a number not seen in 20 years. ♪ 1. >> reporter: chicago, is looking to fill 9 seats and l.a., hiring 7. and orchestras provide more than just easy listening, nationwide the arts and culture industry brings in over $166 billion in economic activity. and, provides 5.7 million jobs. >> when there is a concert downtown, cab drivers work, parking lots make money, restaurants are full. >> reporter: while many orchestras rely on donations to stay afloat, the recession has put them in the red and as a result they haven't hired for the seats and new york, san francisco, dallas, cleveland are ready for new blood and this could be your chance if you have the skills. gregg? gregg: sorry, don't have 'em. laura ingle, thanks. >> reporter: specific skills, i should say. martha: can't play the cello, right? gregg: darn. martha: how about this on this morning, we could soon get the answer to the question, is this intelligent life out there, for real? michio kaku on the discovery of the solar system that looks surprisingly like our i know. gregg: and lindsay lohan set to learn her fate from a judge, where to now that she is done with jail and rehab is behind her. wait until you hear where mama lohan wants her to go, a long, long way from l.a. ♪ ♪ never see what you want to see ♪ ♪ take the long way home... martha: judgment day, we think for troubled star let lindsay lohan, attorneys due in court to discuss her next step after being released from rehab and the judge is expected to rule yesterday on where to send her and the decision was postponed, and, reports say that lilo has visions of coming back here to the big apple, hoping a return to her roots, might land her a broadway gig, and, a shot at redemption. or something like that, perhaps, her mother claims new york city would be best because l.a. is, quote, a whole different game and maybe it has been a while since mom spent the night in the city that never sleeps and we'll see what happens. gregg: and she doesn't have to drive her car in new york city. she can take a taxi, public transportation. that was a problem for her in l.a. martha: yes. gregg: all right, space enthusiasts, strap on your belts for this one, planet earth as we know it and maybe our entire universe could exist inside a massive black hole, well, that is what a cis said that the inda university, is that something you might just hear at a late night college dorm room, who better to tell us an michio kaku, from sci-fi science, physics of the impossible. okay. black holes, dense stars, i have to get sucked in tie bato a bla, you are crushed. >> it this is ultimate retch hotel, everything checks in and nothing checks out and now it is more like alice's rabbit hole and she wound up in a parallel universe called wonder land and when all the matter is sucked into a black hole, maybe it is blown out the other end as a white hole, like -- gregg: through a tube. >> a tube, think of our universe with a parallel universe wonderland next to us and think of a tube that connects us, which is the black hole, and so when waterfalls into the black hole it is blown out the other end and a white hole and, doesn't that sound like the big bang? gregg: it does. sounds just like it. called the multi-verse theory and does it fit the data. >> that's right, the satellite analyzing the aradiation, it seems as if it was blown out of another black hole and maybe or universe is connected to another universe. gregg: what is neening of that, then. >> it could explain what happened before the big bang, if you want to see a physicist blush, ask what happened before the big bang, we don't know but maybe our universe butted or peeled off another universe and could explain where the universe came from. gregg: i want to ask you about the other story, that is out there, apparently scientists now discovered a -- another solar system or universe similar to ours? >> this is big. we're talking about the holy grail of astronomy to find and earth like twinn ein outer spac and we have 8 planets, pluto got kicked out and this solar statement has planets and one is 40% larger than the earth and we are getting close to the holy grail of finding a twin of the earth in outer space. gregg: i was reading up on this and it would appear as though the only planet that could sustain life is too close to the sun, of that solar system. >> that this is big disappointment and that is why it's note smoking gun, almost like the earth, but is similar to mercury and zips around the mother star in about a day and it is very hot, too hot to sustain life. so, we are still waiting for the american satellite called keplar which hopefully will give us twins in outer space and will be coming out this year or next year from the u.s. satellite. gregg: if we find hundreds of other solar systems and some of them can sustain life, you think we'll find life on them? >> possible, we'll have an existential shock looking at the night sky, realizing there, there, there, there could be twins of the earth and, maybe as we look out in space, somebody could be looking back at us, from a distant star system. gregg: fascinating stuff and is our ability to see into the sky and the universe, is growing exponentially. >> it is, because of space satellites and giant telescopes now coming on line and this discovery was done by a giant telescope in chile and space satellites is revolutionizing our understanding of our place in the universe. gregg: great stuff, michio kaku, great to see you. >> my show starts, september 1st, sci-fi science, second season on the science channel. gregg: and quick plug. >> everything you see on the silver screen, time travel and warp travel, explained my scientists. gregg: first season was great, second season will be better, right. >> yes. martha: always good to see you, it can keep you warm at night as we snuggle with it under the covers and might be more for kids but why guys are apparently packing it up as well when they head on a trip. what is it? you may be surprised. plus... later, gator, how this guy got all the way up north and where the little one is headed now, we'll tell you, when we come back. look at that mouth. in health mart towns across america heath mart pharmacies are locally owned. so our pharmacists serve their communities... with a unique combination of clinical knowledge... and personal attention. to see if you live in a health mart town visit: healthmart.com the best time to crack it... twirl it... dunk it... and discove more new ways than ever to enjoy crab. starting at $14.99 only during crabfest... ends soon at red lobster. gregg: we're back, alligator bob to the rescue, a volunteer with an illinois naturalist tracking a gator in a chicago river, the three-year-old reptile was spotted four miles from downtown and the ferociousles moved in and snagged it. martha: wow! gregg: the second gator captured in the windy city and it will be quarantined to make sure it is okay, and healthy and will be sent to a permanent home, perhaps a farm in florida. martha: all right, a tropical storm is churning in the atlantic as hurricane frank -- we think that is what it will be named, we have to ask janice, will form in the pacific, janice dean is in the extreme live weather center. what are we watching. >> it is confusing, frank is in the pacific, we have danielle in the atlantic, followed by tropical depression number 7, and that will become earl, and, then we have another wave, off of africa that is probably going to become fiona. martha: okay. >> here's frank in the pacific, off the coast of mexico, that is a hurricane. and, there is danielle, also, a hurricane. and, you can see, right there, that is our tropical depression number 7, that is just formed and that will become earl later on today, there is danielle and there is earl and fiona is next they've coast of africa. let's look at danielle, real quick, because the track changed a little bit and includes bermuda as we head further out in time, and, as you can see, we are expecting it to become a category-2 hurricane, possibly close to a category-3, and, again, bermuda was not really in that cone of uncertainty, it now is. so, all interests, across bermuda need to keep an eye on this and we cannot rule out the cone of uncertainty going a little bit more to the west, so, i'm afraid we are still going to have to watch the storm as we head into the weekend. because, you know, anything is possible, these storms are fickle and we'll deal with a trough off the coast that is supposed to pick up danielle, but, again as we are a few days out we have to watch. this is tropical depression number 7, as you can see, becoming a hurricane by saturday, and, then it is monday, becoming a category-2 rand you can see, this is a little bit more southward, than danielle, and we'll have to watch this one, because it might have an impact on the u.s. i know it is confusing, we're into the active season now. martha: do they alternate boy an girl names, we wanted to know, janice. >> yes. martha: and as the dixie chicks we want to say, good-bye, earl! >> good-bye, earl. gregg: igor is coming up. martha: igor will be bad, with a name like igor... gregg: they would never have a hurricane named martha. martha: or, gregg, too nice of a name, thank you, janice. gregg: this year, eggs and meat, and, the food you eat, is it safe and who is keeping an eye on that. martha: and does your child have trouble sleeping without a teddy bear, a certain stuffed animal that is a favorite? what about your husband or boyfriend? why one in four men... gregg: come on. martha: i'm not kidding, carrying a cuddly something with them when they travel. you do not want to miss that. i'm not kidding you. gregg: na, maybe a blanky! boss gonna be great. got the gecko t-shirt... 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