Transcripts For FOXNEWS Americas Newsroom 20110310

republicans using a legislative move to pass a budget bill that strips unions of collective bargaining rights. democrats, caught off guard, protesting the move. these now the tense moments after that vote. watch: >> this is clearly a violation of the law. you are shutting people down. it is improper for you to move forward while this is a violation of the law. you're not allowing an eldand that is wrong. now, i disagree. chairman, this is a violation of law. this is not just a rule. it's the law. there must be -- this is a violation of an open meeting law. it requires one -- >> what have you done? >> okay. >> [yelling] bill: what a scene that is. that was representative peter barka, a democratic minority leader in the senate in wisconsin and now we get to the fallout. martha: you bet. bill: good morning, everybody, i'm bill hemmer. welcome here. martha: everybody, i'm martha maccallum, the senate republicans ending a contentious month-long standoff, voting on that bill late last night without those 14 democrats that fled the state. that resulted in this chaotic scene, thousands of angry protestors literally storming the capitol through the window. bill: in the meantime, the senators, they're still in illinois and mike tobin is still in -- is still in hadson, wisconsin. good morning. >> reporter: wisconsin is as bitter and divided and emotional as we've seen it yet, as soon as word started leaking out that republicans were going to muscle through the limits to collective bargaining with or without senate democrats. >> >> reporter: thousands streamed to the capitol, about 100 stayed overnight, the capitol doors are opening at this moment, more are pour going the rotunda. ultimately after all the demonstrations, all the standoffs, all the potential compromises they never gained an inch. this morning the assembly will take up the language of collective bargaining as it was on the day the senate democrats made the run for the border. >> the only thing they can negotiate on is wages, period, and i think the assembly is going to have success today. it's a very difficult situation to operate the legislateure in that building right now but i am confident the republicans have more than enough votes to pass this, whatever they can get to the floor. >> reporter: now, because of collective bargaining language was separated from the budget, democrats now say this show,o showed this was never about balancing the budge, this was always about breaking the union. i spoke with senate democrats, at least of one, who said they're meeting in illinois despite statements that some of them were going to race to the capitol, they're meeting in illinois to decide their next move. bill: what a day it will be there. mike toan tobin, leading our coverage. martha: what a story this is. this debate is far from over, folks. coming up we will speak with one of the democrats in the wisconsin state senate, he'll be talking to us live from an undisclosed location, one of the 14 democrats who left the state in protest last month, he said anyone who cares about democracy in his opinion should be very disappointed in what happened last night. he will be with us live. that coming up. bill: in the meantime the story getting a lot of reaction and we'd like to hear from you, our you decide question online, we ask should tenure for teachers be part of america's public education system. weigh in, cast your vote, foxnews.com, and see what others are saying online as well. meantime, from idaho now, lawmakers there following in wisconsin's foot steps, passing a new education reform bill in that state. this was the scene outside the capitol building in boise wednesday afternoon, about 1000 people converging on the state house steps to protest the measure, it would restrict bargaining collects for teacher salaries and arrangements, phases out tenure for new educators and teachers who are set to receive it. that from idaho. five minutes past. martha: all right. we've got some economic numbers out this morning, disappointing news on the job front, new numbers showing that jobless claims are up. you can see that number coming up about 7 percent. that is almost a three-year low, unemployment claims at 300,000 -- 397,000, i should say, last week. as you can see, that is up 7 percent from the week before. definitely not what americans were hoping for in this number. stuart varney joins us now. stuart, a lot of reasons so far being given for why we might have seen a pop last week. what do you think? >> look, it could be weather, it could be anything. the plain fact is you used the right word, martha, this is a disappointing number. plain fact: the downtrend in new claims is way too slow. we're 18 months out of a recession, we should be creating all kinds of new jobs, which take people off the new benefit claim line. it's not happening. the downtrend is way too slow. remind everybody, martha, you need way below 300,000 a week in jobless benefit claims to make a dent in the unemployment situation. one more point. we also have news today the trade decifit in america expanded by $6 billion. that is going to slow the economy. that's not good news for jobs in the future. martha: where are we headed, stuart? >> stagflation. that is a word that's increasingly used. a not very robust economy, way below 3 percent growth, not much improvement in the jobless situation. that's stagflation. martha: when was the last time we experienced that? >> i hate to 197 -- to say 197 os, late 1970s, the pickup in inflation is also worth noting. it's there. gas prices. martha: stuart, thank you. not a pretty picture. good to have you with us, stuart varney from the fox business network. bill: you and i weren't even more than in 1970! were we? out of london, heathrow airport closing down a terminal due to security reasons there. we're being told that planes are still being allowed to land. security, though, evacuating the area and passengers advised not to travel in and out of that terminal. the overall threat level in the u.k. has at what they call severe for about a year now. that's the second highest level there. it indicates an attack is likely. the highest level, critical, meaning an attack was imminent. london bureau is hustling on this story, greg palkot will be with us in a minute. we'll check in with him then. martha has more. martha: alabama governor robert bentley declaring a state of emergency after two tornadoes came through, snapping pare lines and winds strong enough to knock over a tractor trailer in its tracks and nearly take down a whole gas station. >> we saw the swirl and stuff and debris and it went over the top and before i could get into my shop and under the table to protection, it had already blown the roof off the dc station and we went under the table saw, something sturdy. i couldn't even get the door shut so i got behind the door and pushed it, putting pressure against it. and it was loud. >> it sounded like a freight train, it come through and the lightning was popping, it came in and tore everything up. martha: boy, what an experience. they are describing, as bad as this looks, fortunately, only three injuries reported. bill: watching that storm, it was a massive one, right? about two hours earlier north of new orleans, folks getting one scary wake-up call, a powerful tornado tear ago path through a subdivision there, roofs off, trees thrown around, tossing debris about everywhere in louisiana. >> we let the dog out and got the papers and just sat down to peed the rain -- read the papers and it kept getting louder and louder and my wife was looking out the back door and i heard the roaring and i got up to look out the door with her. >> it was white, it was scary, it wasn't real loud. it was just ominous. even our dog was acting funny. >> you could see the rain, and it was like shh, shh. , it was crazy. bill: more than 50 homes have some damage. one important note on this story, there was no one injured. out of louisiana. best of luck down there. >> martha: those folks have been through a lot. how about this, this union standoff in wisconsin coming to a head in an unbelievable way, people literally climbing through the windows to protest. so the senate republicans did pass that controversial bill in a surprise vote last night. coming up we're going to ask karl rove to weigh in on what has now become undoubtedly the hottest national issue. bill: back to square one, the senate down to voting on two spending bills. only eight days left until the government runs out of money. congress ron paul tells us what he would cut in a few moments.x@ martha: mother nature wreaking havoc in new jersey, flooding and rain causing this incredible scene, coming up. >> sure i'm worried. it's going to come up. it's probably going to come up friday night and what are you going to do from there? wait and get out. martha: all right. well, there was a scare at heathrow airport this morning, they had to evacuate it when a man came in and started saying he had explosives and was going to blow himself up, so they got everybody out of there. we understand that after a short standoff with armed police he is now in custody and things are back to normal at heathrow in the u.k. bill: so now, back to the fallout and stunning vote in wisconsin now, senate republicans, shocking democrats with a vote, passing a controversial budget bill that puts significant limits on the teachers union in wisconsin, the move taking just about everybody by surprise. >> this is illegal, what they tried to do today, and we're going to stay in this room for as long as it takes, because we know that tomorrow at 11:00 a.m., i don't know how the situation is going to be, we might not even -- might not even get a chance to be here. we're going to get to the capitol as soon as possible and they're going to try to pass a bill, and just get in and support us. bill: the governor scott walker, a republican, taking to the "wall street journal" today and writing it's a bold political move, but changes, he says, are modest. fox news contributor karl rove is the former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to president bush, good morning to you down there in florida karl. what do you make of this move last night, what happens today? >> well, it shouldn't have caught anybody by surprise. since the beginning, the republican majority has had the ability to do this. they've had -- the only reason the democrats could block consideration of this bill is because it had policy changes and so-called fiscal matters. what they did is they stripped out the fiscal matters and brought this up for a vote. they didn't need to have 20 members of the senate there in order to vote on it. they could quote on it -- vote on it as long as they had a quorum so this has been the ability of the republicans all along, they just waited and waited and waited to see if the democrats would return and finally decided the democrats are doing to be -- going to be sitting in illinois or whenever they are until the session was over so they went ahead and moved. bill: i don't know if you saw -- i read your editorical why -- editorial in the "wall street journal". >> i did. bill: he went through two pages and what he says is that actions speaker louder than words. that's the case he makes in his speech and what he says is that over the past couple of weeks unions across the state of wisconsin have continued to pursue contracts without new pension or contributions to their health insurance. that's where the proof is in the pudding, that they're not changing unless they're forced to change, which keeps wisconsin in the hole, it's a $3.6 billion tune, karl. >> he's been making this point all along. remember concessions were made by state employees but not by local employees. walker -- he was county executive in milwaukee county, with a huge budget shortfall he inherited and the only way was to deal concessions, and they refused to give him any. he had to fire 20 percent of the county work force. and he would give local governments and school districts rules to avoid this. in today's piece in the "wall street journal," he started with a powerful point, the most outstanding teacher in the milwaukee school district was fired shortly after being named the most outstanding teacher because they had to have reductions in the ranks of teachers and it was last in, first out, according to the union contracts. it took the most outstanding teacher in milwaukee and had to fire her because of union work rules. >> so megan sanchez was out of a job after winning nbc honors. >> right. bill: look, i don't know how this goes into ohio and indiana and the state of new york and new jersey, but there's a governor in indiana, mitch daniels, a republican, six years ago he did a similar thing and his poll numbers just went to the gutter. i think they were around 30 percent. and today they are sky high. and indiana, you have five states with a surplus. >> right. and mitch daniels did it by executive order. on january 12th, 2005. and not only did he end collective bargaining but vowed to return the full-time equivalent to the number of government employees to the time it was in 1978 and you're right his numbers tanked but then by the time of rehr-bgs he won overwhelmingly because people woke up and say this made our state's finances in a better state and helped us weather the storm and you're right, not only is its budget in good shape, it's better comparatively to the rest of the midwestern states when it comes to the jobless, the only industrial midwestern state to add jobs last year, so i think governor walker is making the same khral indication, i understand how unpopular it will be at first blush but people will wake up and find out the state is better and stronger for having done it. bill: karl, thank you for coming in. martha: it's supposed to get the crowd fired up, but this mascot, there he is, got one professor a little too fired up. you wonder what goldy the tkpwoefer might have done? he was assaulted! bill: goldie! and trump 2012, what do you say ms. maccallum? he speaks today. think he might reveal a little something something about his white house plans? martha: we'll see.  bill: all right. from china now, the search is on for survivors, a desperate one at that, a strong quake shaking the country's extreme southwest. they have pulled 22 people so far who did not survive out of the rubble. hundreds more, injured, though. reports of people buried under debris from buildings, 5.8 magnitude quake, hitting while many folks, including students, were home for a customary mid-day rest, in southwest china. martha: churches, of course, are supposed to be exempt from taxes, right? but some places of worship in one kansas town are suing over what they are calling a driveway tax, a fee based on the number of trips that parishioners take coming in and out, if you can believe this. douglas kennedy joins us live with more on this story. good morning, douglas. >> reporter: yeah, the churches say the town charges them based on the number of people in their pews and they say that is clearly unconstitutional. >> eric stanley says the government can tax your life and it can tax your life, but it's not supposed to tax your church. >> but that's exactly what you say is happening right here in mission, kansas. >> absolutely. the city of mission is taxing churches and that's clearly unconstitutional. >> like all other states, kansas law excepts -- exempts churches from the property taxes charged to residents and businesses but in august this small town north of kansas passed the so-called driveway tax, a controversial charge for everyone based on the number of times their driveways are used. homeowners pay $72 annually. but this baptist church has to pay $900, and the more popular catholic church pays $1700 a year. stanley is now helping the -- family is now helping the church. >> the city of mission taxes churches based on the number of trips in and out of the driveway, the number of people that come to church. that's a tax on church attendant. >> mission's mayor would not come on camera to explain the controversy but i did speak with her own the phone and she said the driveway tax is not a tax at all but a fee which she says mission has every right to impose. mission's mayor says this is a fee for services, like road repair. she says that's legal. what do you say? >> that's not going to work. this is not a fee for services rendered. this is a tax. >> the mayor points out both churches pay to use town water and town electricity. she says this fee is simply for use of town roads. that's it from here, martha. back to you. martha: very interesting. douglas kennedy, thank you very much. bill: we are moments away from the hearings on home grown terrorism, critics call it a witch hunt, supporters say it's necessary. homeland security chairman peter king about to give his opening remarks and we are there live on capitol hill in minutes. >> nidal hasan did not go to sleep a normal compassionate psychiatrist and wake up a radical islamist, it was years of indoctrination, of ideology, and there's this denial within many of the leadership of the muslim communities that needs to be shed so that we can start to deal with the ideology that feeds this. destined to shape our future. the jaguar xj. automobile magazine's 2011 design of the year. come on, guys. your dad's at the airport. see you. good game. see you guys tomorrow. dylan, you need a ride? no, my dad should be here. liberty mutual insurance. a body at rest tends totay at rest... while a body in motion tendso stay in motion. stayingctive can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if y have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with 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will be beefed up for the hearing on the hilda. on -- on the hill today. >> the reality is al qaeda is trying to radicalize the american muslims. and they have had success. major hasan. these are all people living in america legally under the radar screen. >> reporter: it's getting more attention than the average hearing on the hill, bill. bill: what do you know about the threats against them? >> reporter: we understand sometime in november or december he started receiving around the clock protection from the local authorities in new york. he says they have the information, they were the ones who picked up the threats. he feels good that they know what they are doing and they are on top of it. but apparently it's been going on for months. he says he will follow ahead with his job. he says nothing is going to slow him down. bill: now we await the witnesses. who tef guys based on the list and what will they say? >> reporter: we'll hear from the only muslim member of congress. he wants a voice. he will be one of the first ones up today. the los angeles county sheriff is going to testify and talk about his dealings with law enforcement in the muslim community. he has mum limb percent and he will talk about how they have been able to build relationships in that communities. we haven't seen the released testimony of others yet but there will be people on both sides of the issue. bill: there will be one character who will not be in that room. an american-born cleric who lives in yemen by the name athrougofalawki. he speaks english. he is said to be a charismatic speaker. how central of a figure will he be in these hearings? bill: you have to imagine he will be a common thread. he has an influence with those who are born american or are here now. share the muslim faith or are radicalized. he has been influential in a number of cases. because he has been a common thread you have to know his name will be invoked to number of times today. there has been a lot of time by congressman king, in his estimation a lot of people who live in the muslim communities are not cooperating with authorities. they are being warned not to work with authorities. it's an accusation he has made and many are fighting back against that including eric holder. bill: shannon bream, here is martha with more. martha: walid is a terrorism expert. i want to pick up on the point shannon was talking about, cooperation within the muslim community to points the finger at certain individuals who want to do harm. >> the angle representative king is trying to develop is there is a diversity of opinion within the community. it's not just the community and radicalization, there are multiple organizations and forces. each one has a view on it. some of the ngos we'll hear from today will say we need to work with government. they will be developing that point. others will argue within the hearings and from outside the hearings there is a pressure on the community and we need to not follow the line of representative king. i would say the major conclusion would be projecting a diversity of opinion within the community. martha: can i get one more question in to you? when you look at this situation with cooperation. there is a big battle over this. some people are saying peter king is totally wrong. muslims have cooperated on a number of occasion. peter king says that cooperation has been hugely overexang rated. -- overexaggerated. >> their methods will be neutral. what is it that radicalizes the kids is going to be the maker of this hearing. martha: that will be one of the most effective points in this hearing. we'll hear from parents who lost their sons some jihad after raising them in the united states. one went to pakistan and he was killed there when word started to surface questioning what he was doing there. another ended up killing somebody at an army recruiting center which was a tragic situation. tell us how that might impact this. >> what representative king would try to do is show individuals in the community, that there is a process, that there is a mechanism, there is an organized force radicalizing these individuals. this is what happens. this is the result. this will give representative king the ability to say we need to investigate who is radicalizing. martha: the whole point is to try to make us safer by better understanding this element within the country. this morning i was listening to and watching a number of different things about this. there is a lot of criticism out there. but one of them is europe has been blamed for not integrating muslims into the culture. and we may be catching up with them. they were saying these hearings make us look more like europe. we are falling to the way of france which banned head scarves and got backlash for that. >> once we are going to discover or see there is a force, an organized force that is either funding or recruiting such as alawki, there will be another debate to see how we can improving our legal system. martha: i know you will be standing by and watching this with us as it unfolds. we thank you for that. it's always good to get your insight. this is a cruded room, and this is said to be one of the most widely watches events that will unfold in congress in terms of these hearings. bill: there has been such a buildup. we don't know how this is going to go. it could be inane or quite firey. there is congressman king of new york. he has been at the center of all the heat for the past week but he has not backed down. today peter king has the hearing. >> there will be no use of signs or plackets or verbal outbursts. we'll maintain order and proper decorum. in the interest of time we have three member witnesses testify on panel one. after prior consultation with my friends, mr. thompson i ask unanimous consents congressman dingell, ellison and wolf not be subject to questions from committee members. without objection, so ordered. i believe the ranking member -- >> i would like to ask unanimous consent that congressman carlson, pasquel and green when he comes in be allowed to sit on the panel. >> without objection, so ordered. at this time i will recognize myself in opening statements. at the very outset let me thank all the witnesses, the member panel and the witnesses who traveled to be a witness here today. thank you for giving the time in what i believe to be a valuable and important hearing. today's hearing will be the first in a series of hearings dealing with the critical issue of the radicalization of muslim americans. i'm well aware the announcement of these hearings generated considerable controversy and opposition. some of this opposition such as my colleague and friend mr. ellison and pasquel has been measured and thoughtful. others have ranged from disbelief to rage and hysteria. i remain convinced these hearings must go forward and they will. to back down would be a surrender to political correctness and abdication of what i believe is the main responsibility of this committee, to protect america from a terrorist attack. despite what passes for conventional wisdom in certain circles, there is nothing radical or un-american holding these hearings. indeed, congressional investigation of muslim-american radicalization is the logical response to the repeated and urgent warnings which the obama administration has been making in recent months. just this past sunday the department national securitied a advisor to president obama made a major speech on radicalization stating quote al qaeda and its adherents have turned to another troubling tactic. attempting to recruit and radicalize people to terrorism here in the united states. for a long time many in the u.s. thought we were immune to this threat. that was false hope and false comfort. this threat is real, and it is serious. he went on to say al qaeda does this with the express purpose of trying to convince muslim americans to reject their country and attack their fellow americans, end of quote. i should also add my own personal conversations with him prior to the speech, he told me to go forward with the hearing and the administration welcomes congressional involvement. similarly in late december attorney general holder said the growing number of young americans being radicalized keeps him awake at night. two weeks before that. the attorney general defended the fire's sting operation against a tear jr. attack during a christmas tree lighting in portland. the attorney general said he made no apologies for this operation. quote, said the attorney general, those who characterize the fbi's activities as entrapment simply don't have their facts straight. secretary napolitano said the threat level today is as high as it has been since september 11 because of increased radicalization in our country. i would ask the committee to notice this shot over here. in the last two years alone. these are terror plots that have been blocked by our government. virtually every part of the youth is affected by this. those to the northeast have more threats, but the fact is, no one is immune from these threats and attacks. this committee cannot live in denial which is what some of us would do if they suggest this hearing dilutes focus. the department of homeland security and this committee were formed in response to the al qaeda attacks of september 11. there is no equivalency of threat between al qaeda neo-nazis, environmental extremists, only al qaeda and islamist affiliates in this country are part of a threat to our nation. not one terror related case in the last two years involved neonazis, environmental extremists or anti-war groups. the overwhelming majority of muslim-americans are outstanding citizens. but there are some thing we cannot ignore. 15% of american muslim men between 18-29 according to a poll said they could support. the senate homeland security committee concluded in its report which was entitled guy lent islamist extremism and the home grown terrorist threat concluded muslim community leaders and religious leaders must play a more visible role. this means responsible muslim-american leaders must reject discredited groups such as cair, the committee on islamic american relations. c air, r was named as an unindicted coconspirator on the financing case involving the holyland foundation. the mainstream media accepted cair's accusations as if it were a legitimate organization. the fbi has ordered because of this type of poster that is posted by san francisco cair. i would hope all law enforcement officials would follow the lead of the fbi director. al qaeda realizes the measures we put in place the past 9 1/2 years make it difficult to launch a large-scale attack against our homeland from outside the country. which is why they altered their strategy and are using people living legally in the united states. these include new york city subway bomber, the forthood terrorist hasan. the times square bomber. the little rock recruiting center. and dozens of individuals in minneapolis associated with the somali terrorist organization al-shabaz. and also the mumbai mother david hedley. let me thank all of the witnesses for giving of their valuable time to be with us today. i want to express thanks to melvin bledsoe. the courage and spirit will put a human face on the horror which islamist radicalization has inflicted and will continue to inflict on good families, especially those in the muslim community unless we put aside our political correctness and find who our enemy is. we cannot allow the memory of september 11 to fade away. we must remember the days following the attack we were all united in our dedication tofight back against al qaeda and it ideology. today we must be fully aware that home grown cad ral -- homen radicalization is part of al qaeda's strategy to target the use the. today's hearings will address the dangerous trend. it's my privilege to recognize the distinguished ranking member of the committee, the gentleman from mississippi, mr. thompson. martha: we'll be watching this closely. we want to take you back to the beginning of this when peter king started his discussion in talking about the hearings on the radicalization of young muslims in the united states. here is what he said. >> i remain convinced that these hearings must go forward and they will. to back down would be a craven surrender to political correct northeast and abdication of what i believe is the main responsibility of this committee, to protect america from a terrorist attack. despite what passes for conventional wisdom in certain circles, there is nothing radical or un-american in holding these hearings. martha: let's bring walid phares. i want to get a quick thought from you on cair. we had them on earlier this week. peter king called them out. it bothers him that they are accepted as a mainstream voice for american islamic interests in this country. your thoughts. >> representative king has responded to many charges by cair against him. this is directed against the entire community. his argument is clear. he said the overwhelming limaly- the overwhelming majority. he feels that cair is not helping in this regard. martha: we'll have this streaming online on foxnews.com. you can watch the rest of it. we'll have one eye on it in our control room. we'll get you back there if it gets heated or there is news made. walid, thank you so much. >> i don't think either side recognizes the enormity of the problem. >> i think there are way too many people in denial. >> let me add, paying lip service to the threat caused by the deficit is not a substitute for leadership. bill: buckle up for an epic battle. the democrats and republicans squaring off over the budget. senators debating dueling bills. in 8 days the government runs out of money. what to do. republic congressman ron -- republican congressman ron paul ... >> i think they will not close down the government. they will come together. they will fight and squirm. but i don't think anybody is anxious to close down the government. but they won't have a resolution to the problem. the country is bankrupt and they won't admit it. we still are expected to police the world. we are getting ready to invade another country or put a no-fly zone on. the welfare state continues and nobody is going to cut. we'll have a bankruptciy before congress gets the message they need to do something. everybody in the country basically, let's balance the budget, nobody wants their program cut. here is the problem. to continue to do what we are doing now is going to lead to a financial monetary disaster because people will eventually reject the dollar. bill: you agree with clare mckass kel when she said people are in denial. >> i think so. bill: why has it not sunken in? >> eventually you can't spend more money and print more money. things are different today than they have been in our history. it's a worldwide event because we had the privilege of printing money and everybody else holds dollar so the world is on a dollar standard. to turn it off is an overwhelming task and you have to reverse the notion of what government should be doing. bill: but you would agree this is the beginning of that process. from the perspective up here in new york, it takes a while to turn off that large, large spigot. you can see that, can't you? >> i think there is a larger number of american people recognize it. more people are recognizing congress has -- we have some new members. but momentum is so great that turning the spigot off is like an addict. there are too many symptoms and it's easier to take another drink or another shot. that's the way we are in washington and have been. but right now we are in danger of killing the patient. the patient is our freedoms and our economy and our prosperity. the soundness of our money. it's a much bigger task than arguing over a token effort by the democrats and a slightly greater effort by the republicans that is so far removed from reality. bill: you wonder how there is 87 house freshmen representatives are shaping this debate. all of us agree what olympia snow said, the senator from maine, that this is just the beginning. how long it takes us to get there is the open question. how would ron paul get there? what would you cut? >> i know a bit about history. and it's never solved by cutting back on spending. the bankruptcy will be declared. the debt will be repudiated in order for us to get back to basics and growth again. it will be repudiated by printing so much money that all the debt is wiped off the books. what i would do if they would listen. i would cut everybody's budget a certain percent. bill: 5%, 10%? 20%? >> as much as you can gets. if it was your home or business you would have some do it. i would say go through the aappropriations process. do the 13 appropriations bills. if you are so many percentages about of. cut it. f set standard. we'll cut this much, this much, and this much, it would be helpful and we could work and pay down the debt. bill: taxes at the same time or leave them where they are. >> the less taxes the better. i would always cut taxes. people will work harder if they have less taxes. instead of bailing out the big banks when the crisis hit i would have repealed or us spend the income tax. bill: your prediction is the government not going to shut down in eight days. we'll get a continuing resolution and cut a few more billion every week until you get an ultimate resolution. we'll see where that comes. ron paul, thank you for your time today. good to see you again. martha: the obama administration taking heat for these healthcare comments. >> what's the $500 million cut for? preserving medicare or funding healthcare. which one? >> both. >> so you are double counting. martha: that has a lot of people talk. sebelius says republican plans could hurt millions of seniors. but is that true? bill: the flood watches and warnings in effect in several states. we are live in new jersey. looking at how they are make out. >> it's probably going to come up friday night. what are you going to do from there, wait and get out.  5/ what can you do with plain white rice? when you pour chunky sirloin burger soup over it, you can do dinner. 4 minutes, around 4 bucks. campbell's chunky. it's amazing what soup can do.™ forty years ago, he wasn't worried about retirement. he'd yet to he of mutual funds, iras, or annuities. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement solutions for our military, veterans and their families. from investments... to life insurce... to health care options. learn more with our free usaa retirement guide. call 877-242-usaa. sadly, no. oh. but i did pick up your dry cleaning and had your shoes shined. well, i made you a reservation at the sushi plce around the corner. well, in that case, i 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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. - because it's completely invisible. - because it's designed to help me hear better. male announcer: introducing amp, a new kind of hearing aid, so tiny, it's invisible. female announcer: amp is comfortable to wear and easily removable. amp, the hearing aid for people who aren't ready for a hearing aid. male announcer: call: to find an amp hearing professional near you. only $1,500 a pair. martha: a fox news alert, fierce opposition heating up after a shocking end to that senate standoff in wisconsin. done deal. >> [chanting] >> martha: boy, that is just some of the unbelievable pictures and video we got in last night after protestors literally stormed into the building, they went through the windows at one point, after the state senate passed a bill that would slash union collective bargaining powers. senate republicans pulled a fast one on democratic colleagues who fled the state, they've been gone into the third week now in an effort to stop that vote. but they outmaneuvered them with a political maneuver that ended up getting around that vote and we'll explain that in a moment. that's how we start a brand new hour of "america's newsroom" on a busy, busy day. i'll martha mcoccasionum -- maccallum, good to have you with us. bill: senate taking the measures oust bill, so they no longer need missing democrats to hold a vote. here: >> we heard privately some of these democratic senators wish they were in wisconsin, but the government unions have just been holding them basically hostage in illinois. and so they're probably going to be very upset, but they had to know this day was coming. martha: how about that? joining me live by phone, state senator bob gouk, from the state of wisconsin. >> thank you for giving me the opportunity. martha: absolutely. i want to get your response first of all to that. is the union leadership forcing you guys to stay put in hiding? >> well, that's nonsense. they were listening to the workers and the citizens of wisconsin who have strongly supported our efforts over the past three weeks, hundreds of thousands of citizens, hard working citizens, across the state have petitioned their government to protect workers' rights. they really expected their voices would be heard, but it was a dark moment in wisconsin history. their swift and possibly illegal action to end collective bargaining was political at its worst mark. martha: some said i got to tell you, i have people sending me tweets about this whole issue today and a lot of them are saying they think that's ridiculous, that they think you guys leaving the state is an attack on democracy. what do you say? >> actually our leaving the state, although unprecedented and i would never recommend it again, was necessary to give the public an opportunity to better understand the bill and then give hundreds of thousands of citizens a chance to express their voice. the fact is that dramatic parliamentary maneuver to strip collective bargaining from the bill shows the debate was never about fiscal responsibility, but was always about eliminating bargaining rights for workers. martha: you know, some say that they called your bluff basically last night, that the governor, scott walker, went a long way towards giving you guys a lot of concessions on the things you were arguing over in terms of collective bargaining and the raising of the cost of living and those accounts that were within the negotiating elements, and that, you know, push came to shove and they said you know what, if you guys aren't willing to talk on this, forget it, we're going to strip it out and have a vote. >> you're talking to one of the two people who was at the bargaining table and i have a quite different perspective. i was working to achieve a compromise on collective bargaining. martha: why didn't it happen? >> it's shameful conduct by the republicans and the governor, who simply were only interested in defining workers rights and it's clear in the manner in they passed the bill last night, giving seven minutes, giving no opportunity for the democratic leader to speak and ask questions about the bill. so the public, they may have won the vote, but they have lost in the eyes of public opinion who strongly disagree with this effort to end collective bargaining. martha: i've got to ask you one question: are you heading back and what's your next move? quickly if i can. >> quickly, we're going to go back and join the hundreds of thousands of wisconsin citizens, millions of citizens who disagree with this bill and they will work to restore those rights starting today. martha: sir, thank you very much for joining us, good to have you with us today. bill: a quick breakdown of what this law will do, wisconsin state workers will increase contributions to their pensions, up to 5.8 of their salaries and double the contribution to the health insurance premiums to 12.6%, collective bargaining, limited to the issue of wages, increases will be capped at the rate of inflation, it prohibits employers from collecting union dues, contracts will be limited to one year, and unions must take annual votes to maintain certification. certain employees, including local law enforcement and fire employees, would be exempt from the collective bargaining changes. set to affect about 175,000 workers in the state of wisconsin. now to this extreme weather, and if you live somewhere east of the mississippi, chances are you've been affected. new jersey, on a high alert today, getting ready for another round of heavy rain and flooding, the cnn chris christie declaring a state of emergency, a new system now barreling toward the area that might bring 5 inches of rain. on top of already-soaked towns, expected to get much more precipitation today. forecasters predicting record water levels, like here. >> sure i'm worried. it's going to come up, it's probably going to come up friday night. and what are you going to do from there, wait? and get out. >> i'm tired of being stuck here for four days. >> that's what happened last year? >> four days, we were stuck here before we could get out. bill: good luck today. heather chilledders is live in the middle of that mess, wayne new jersey. how are folks feeling, heather? good morning. >> hi bill, how you doing? this is what people are dealing with. how they're doing? they're dealing with this passaic river behind these homes, specifically, we were gauging it's normally 30-50 feet out, you can see it's overflowed its banks and continues to overflow its banks, up to the stair kisses on these homes, flowing into the basements as well and look at the roadway into this neighborhood, covered in water, inches and inches of water. at this point, that is expected to continue to rise as we go throughout the day, and here in this yard behind me, where there would normally be cars, you can see three boats. this is why people in this neighborhood specifically, and many others along the banks of new jersey, people are moving out and moving up to higher ground. one of the neighbors that we spoke with specifically, he says he moved here a couple months ago, he was told this area is prone to flooding. he wasn't told this much. >> the power went out this morning, and it's supposed to rain tonight, and if the water -- the water is just about at the steps. at the highest point it was at the steps. if it goes into the house, everybody is in trouble. >> reporter: and that is why all these people are moving out. no power. the threat of more rain. he mentioned the possibility of 5 inches. they're getting out of here. bill: can't blame them, heather. stay dry, as best you can. health her chilledders in wayne, new jersey, more coming today. martha: let's turn your attention to overseas in libya where we're getting new video from the battlefield and new word unfortunately of more bloodshed there, pro gadhafi forces with fer oak us towns in ras lanuf, the rebels have been plead fog outside help and a no fly zone to protect them. >> where is everybody? we need help here. i think that's very, very, very sad. martha: there you have it. leland vitter joins us streaming live from brega. >> reporter: martha, we are here in the town of brega, martha, where right now, they have moved the reb el field hospital, because as we were in the town of ras lanuf, heavy mortar fire came in, we had to move our position and those mortar shells hit the hospital that the rebels are using. this is the triage center for the rebels that have now lost their first battle in the libyan civil war and gadhafi forces were pounding them both from the air and on the ground. it was a mersless fight, and it appears right now that gadhafi's forces have the town of ras lanuf, which could lead to the key oil refinery there, and here's how it all went down: >> another plane coming in here after -- >> [gunfire] >> you hear the antiaircraft fire going off. the problem right now is trying to -- >> [inaudible. >> [gunfire] >> and actually getting eyes on it here in order to be able to shoot one of these things down. this is why they -- >> [inaudible. >> [gunfire] >> do not have the ability to shoot one of these planes down. yesterday when these planes came over, that is when the oil terminal went up in smoke. >> [gunfire] >> pretty clear these guys are simply wasting rounds. that was an rpg that just went off. it does nothing against an airplane. right now, they're just firing for the cameras or anything else. using up valuable ammunition they need on the front lines >> [gunfire] >> right now gadhafi's forces are within 5 kilometers of ras lanuf possibly retaking the first rebel town on the front lines. you can see the massive artillery barrage that came in for nearly 45 minutes that softened this town up and now the troops are marching forward. now, right now, you can see probably the very steady hands of mal james, our photographer who was under fire with us as we've been driving back, about an hour to the town of brega, the rebels' front lines, the rebels have been flashing this, which means victory or death here in the middle east. at least right now, martha, it appears gadhafi's forces have the first victory. martha: incredible. thank you very much, leland vitter, for that reporting from brega in libya. bill: in a moment here, as we get back to what's happening on the hill, she is the woman in charge of instituting the president's call for health care -- overhaul of health care but kathleen s*eb beamous is saying that the republicans are the bad guys. joe trippe on what could be a medicare meltdown. martha: national camera, cbs says the tea party may have been duped by the very same guy. bill: who is this american? and why is he in jail? >> my name is dave pots. bill: that american missionary, not charged in five months, we will talk to his wife in florida, who is now nine months pregnant. bill: a bit of drama and a lot of emotion moments a. fox news alert, the hearings on the radicalization of muslim americans on the way and democrat out of minnesota, a muslim, moments ago he shared his reflections on 9/11 and there was quite a reaction for that. >> some people said false rumors and speculated that he was in line with the attackers because he was a muslim. but it was only when his remains were identified that these lies were exposed. muhammad andali was an american who gave his life for other americans. his name should not be identified as a member of a muslim but as an american who did everything for his fellow american. i yield back. >> mr. chairman -- stkwhrao. >> i thank the gentleman for his testimony. >> mr. chairman -- >> gentlelady from texas. >> powerful moment with keith ellison moments ago and these hearings continue, peter king of new york heading up these hearings, under a lot of heat, insisting this is not a witch hunt but something that americans need to get to the bottom of. we watched his opening statement 40 minutes ago, he was listing the number of terrorist hits that have been thanked stopped or thwarted and that's the reason king says we need to wake up to it. martha: you have to give keith ellison credit because he wanted to participate in these hearings. a lot of people rejected them but he basically said he wanted to be there because he wanted to speak the words he just spoke, basically sticking up for those who feel it is symbolic of an inclusion of all muslims, peter king said that is not at all what this is about, but moving testimony moments ago from keith ellison. bill: we also hear from a doctor out of phoenix, he's also founded the american islamic forum for democracy, he's been on our program and he will testify towards favorable testimony for paoerter king's testimony, you'll also get melvin bledsoe, the father of a man charged with murder in june 2009, so you're going to get a cross section throughout this hearing and you can watch all of this, streaming live, foxnews.com. she can take aplea deal and go to jail or fight the charges. if she fights she may wind up behind bars, anyway. and an even longer sentence. can lindsey lohan be the -- beat a grand theft rap? we will find out today. she's back before the judge in minutes. martha: there's a speeding subway train, there it comes , and a total stranger fell on to the tracks. what would you do in this situation? unbelievable surveillance tape, coming up. you do not want to miss this, folks. ays that will hurt millions of seniors. so let's talk about this a little bit. first in a letter i want to show you that she sent out on this matter to democratic senator max baucus, she writes this would seem to mean that payments to medicare advantage, organizations would have to be suspended, listing -- risk o'clock a significant disruption to services with beneficiaries involved in medicare advantage. what does this mean? let's bring in joe trippe, howard dean campaign manager and fox news contributor and tucker karlson, the detail caller, fox news contributor also, gentlemen, welcome, good morning to you. >> good morning. martha: basically she's saying that if you de fund it, the way of paying into the medicare advantage plan had already been kind of eliminated when this bill was signed. so if you de turned the bill you're not going to be left with any way to pay these folks. is that right, tucker? >> this is an open debate. republicans argue that hhs would still be allowed legally to fund medicare advantage and there would be no -- doesn't need to be any stker ruption in payments to that which is obviously a popular program with seniors. what's interesting to me, however, is that this debate is solely about will health care be delivered by the federal government to the elder will in this country. that is the debate that democrats in my view are always going to win. if the question is which party do you trust to spend more, who wins that? i mean, the democrats do. so it strikes me that republicans need to get the debate back on to their terrain if they hope to win and that is a very simple debate: does omabacare cost or save the federal government more money. and clearly, they win that, because it doesn't save money. it doesn't reduce costs. it's more expensive. martha: let's look at a poll, then i want to get joe's thoughts on this, of course. this is a poll that shows how senior citizens, how they feel about this health care bill: 63 percent favor, 31 percent oppose. according to these numbers that we're looking at here. joe, this really does come down to a political battle over which party is going to do better by seniors, right? because they come out and vote. it's an extremely important group. >> that's right. and this sort of points at the problem that the republicans have as they start to work to de fund the health care bill, because you can't make the case that you're de funding something and it won't have any consequences. you know, if medicare can't provide these services, then either seniors aren't going to get the care they want or they're going to have to pay for it themselves. there are consequences to this, and i think tucker is right, right now, the republicans are on the wrong side of this with seniors, they're going to pay a price for it if they continue down this road without changing their rhetoric or the way they approach this. this is -- this way is not going to work. martha: it seems arguing about the de funding isn't getting anywhere, tucker. this de funding bill is basically doa right now, right? >> well, no one is being honest. the real debate is very simple: can the federal government continue to pay unlimited health care costs for people starting in their 60s, can it or can it not and there's evidence that it can't and nobody wants to say that out loud because it's political death but you're going to have to because we're going to be facing fiscal reality. numbers don't move. that's reality. it doesn't change. we're going to be bumping up against that reality very soon. martha: if that's true, joe, and they allow the health care reform bill to go through as is, then democrats are going to be the ones perhaps on the wrong side of this, if that's true. >> well, again, if -- i agree with tucker, no one is being honest about this. look, you can't do this stuff without there being pain, and that's where the republicans are just not being straight with what they're talking about, you can't de fund it and there isn't going to be pain to go around. the part is that issue, can we afford to do this or not, and instead of making that the case, no, we're going to de fund it and there won't be any consequence, don't worry you seniors will be fine, 63 percent of seniors out there aren't going to buy that and that's going to be a problem at the pos in november 2012 for them. martha: that lack of honesty is a big problem for senio perhaps because they're going to look at these issues and these ads are going to be flying at them from left to right and it's going to be very confusing for a lot of them as they head to this election cycle. thank you, gentlemen, nice to talk to you both. thanks guys. bill wondering whether or not there are more problems in store for npr after this videotape turned up calling the tea party members racist. >> they are -- i mean basically they are, they are, they believe in sort of white middle america gun toting -- i mean, it's scary. bill: could those remarks end federal funding for npr? we'll find out. martha: here's something i know that's been keeping you up late at night, right? who is going to play sarah palin in the big movie, on the big screen. we'll reveal which academy award nominee will take on her role. >> ♪ >> ♪ sarah, smile. >> ♪ >> ♪ bill: breaking news now from the white house, the president and first lady now addressing those gathered in the east room of the white house to talk about a conference regarding bullying of students and parents and teachers, all taking part in this and what their communities are doing to stop it,le obama remarks streaming live at foxnews.com. martha: another fox news alert, moments ago more than a dozen suspected somali pirates arriving at a federal courthouse in virginia, they are accused of hijacking and killing four american citizens as they sailed off the coast of africa last month. terrible, tragic story that we covered on "america's newsroom". let's go to steve centanni, live at the u.s. district court in norfolk, virginia. steve, how did this all get to this point legislatively? >> reporter: well, as you saw, the defendants just arrived here in norfolk to make their first appearance in federal court here, they have the charges read against them, and then the judge will probably decide how they're going to get representation, lawyers to defend them. how it all came down was back on february 22nd, as you remember, a horrendous day, a very deadly pirate attack on an american yacht, the quest, that was out in the gulf of aden sea off the coast of amman when pirates seized it and held it, an american ship went to the rescue, there were negotiations going on and two boarded an american naval vessel and there were negotiations when suddenly on the 22nd of february, the pirates fired an rpg at the american vessel, and then there were shots fired on board the yacht, when the navy seals got on board the yacht, they found the four americans had been fatally wounded, those americans are jeanne and scott adam who owned the sailboat, the quest, and their friends, philis mckay and bob riddles, all of them died. this happened off the coast of a-- amman, not off the coast of somalia but farther to the east. the charges with kidnapping and piracy, but not murder, at least not yet. there are 13 somalis and one yemeni. there was one more apprehended and he could face murder charges later on. we'll hear from the u.s. attorney and find out about that later on today. back to you. martha: what an awful, awful story that is. steve, thank you very much, steve centanni. bill: turns out, martha, tbs may have been duped by the same conservative journalist who out dollars npr, stereotyping the tea party. james o'keefe is his name, filmmaker who revealed the acorn scandal, he was meeting with npr executives posing as a muslim political action group when this was said on camera: >> the current republican party, the tea party, is dramatically involved in peoples' personal lives. the current republican party is not really the republican party. it's been hijacked by the group that is -- ted: radical, racist, islama phobic tea party people. >> i mean, they basically are middle america, gun toting -- i mean, it's scary. bill: pbs said saying they did meet with that group, did not give money. june john fund of the "wall street journal," good morning to you. pbs had a luncheon i guess or something like that and they went and checked the background of this group and said stay away from this, npr apparently was not as smart, so that then takes us to the discussion regarding federal money. stand a chance right now of loseing it? >> i think they're going to take a very deep hair cut. maybe well above the ears. but i don't see full de funding. there are enough moderate republicans, there are enough democratic senators, that i think npr will escape complete de funding, but i think smart liberals, including tom edsell of the huffington post recognize there's peril with npr being on the federal goal because of the controversy that surrounds them and about 15 years ago, we had an example of a group that actually decided to get off of the federal bill in order to achieve more independence and it worked. >> that was northern trust. >> that was the national trust for -- >> bill: what -- for preservation? >> they help restore old buildings, james madison's estate in virginia has been restored to its grandeur by this group. bill: so they went off the doll and theyo. >> prospered. they had a three-year winddown of de funding so they could make it up with private donations but they've done extremely well. richard mull, a former aide, a democrat, was that was the best say to get aid. >> is that the best way for npr? jay carney said we support it. >> i think it becomes a political culture war. bill: would npr be better off if they were independent of taxpayer money? >> ron schilling said as much on the tape. why would he say that? he's the top fund-raiser for npr. the reason is there are foundations that don't give to npr because it has federal funding. there are listeners who don't give during the pledge drives because they know they have federal funding. by the way,is only 10 percent. bill: i've got a number lower than that, 2 percent. >> 2 percent directly, but if you count in all the grants to the local affiliates, because npr's accounting is very strange, if you count all the local affiliates, it's about 10 percent. bill: i'm reading for 2008, which is the last year available, $634,000 in government grants? >> again, you have to look at the local affiliates. bill: that's a good chunk of money. >> yeah. bill: -- >> again, i don't think npr needs this, and in fact, there's precedent for lots of media organizations that are funded from private sector. we have an enormous amount of media diversity in this country. npr has to clean up its act. bill: the first point you make is the most surprising to me, that you think there's a lifeline there, not only among democrats but republicans, too, that will keep the money going. >> npr is in every community in america. there's a support base for it. and you have concentrated fans for the federal program. look at amtrak, most of the amtrak trains don't have any passengers, amtrak lives on. bill: thank you, john fund from the "wall street journal". >> thank you. martha: well, lights, camera, action for the 2008 presidential campaign, playing the role in that story, looking back at that year of the former gop vice presidential nominee, playing sarah palin is julianne moore, the new election drama airing on hbo based on the best selling book "game change" detailing the alleged scenes behind the scenes -- behind the skaoepbgs action i should say of both senator john mccain and senator barack obama's campaign for the white house. interesting stuff. bill: what do you think? as long as she's got a pair of glasses. martha: she'll definitely be fitted for a pair of glasses bet most people wouldn't mind if julianne moore was playing them. i don't know if she'll like how she's being portrayed. bill: and across the country, looking for any possible way to trim spending, the state with the most red ink made the most significant or rather insignificant cut you could possibly make. what was that, huh? >> martha: d. is, drug possession and now grand theft. that is lindsey lohan's rap sheet. unbelievable. she may be headed back to jail, for the latest in that, and our legal experts debate this after the break. >> i'm not taking this as a joke. it's my life, my career. it's it's what i worked for my entire life, and you know, i've learned from my experiences, i take responsibility for my actions, and i've tried to do the best i can. jen hey everybody i'm jenna lee, the latest dram in in wisconsin -- drama in wisconsin on "happening now", what's next and what does this mean for other states like yours? >> diamonds are a girl's best friend, but did you know they might help your cancer? we'll tell you how. >> have you looked at the price of a plane ticket lately? you may not want to. we'll break down the latest hike. sue: and the american idol who isn't, he gives up a spot on the show. why? it will inspire you and warm your heart today. he joins us live. we'll see you at the top of the hour. bill: getting word now that secretary of state hillary clinton will travel to cairo next week and part of that trip will involve not just meeting with the egyptians but also the opposition leaders in libya and tunisia. that will be an interesting meeting. it's just breaking right now during some testimony on the hill. while that's happening, you know the economy is, well, was bumping against the bottom, aren't we, martha? stocks now down below 200 points, now coming back a little bit. the trade decifit was enormous for this past month and that's weighing on the markets and the jobs number, not great. so it's off 193 for the dow 30 right now. >> i'll be working in the long run. after all, i've been -- i'll be dealing with this kind of thing for the rest of my life. i guess it's -- that's really all i have to say. it's just been -- i don't want you to think that i don't respect you and your terms. martha: remember that moment? that was actress lindsey lohan back in july. then she was apologizing to a judge for violating the terms of her probation in her dui case, she got jail time and rehab that time around. moments from now she goes back in front of the judge again. this time, she's on for grand theft charges, and she's expected to not accept a plea deal in this case. arthur idalis is a prosecutor, joe jackson is a defense attorney. she's 24 years old and facing her fourth trip to jail! this is a young, promising actress, not so long ago. it has really spiraled out of control here. give us the lowdown, arthur, on what you expect today. >> you look at somebody like her, martha, and you think she should be doing so much better than this, right? she has all the advantages of life. martha: absolutely. >> the world in which joe and i live in, a lot of the young people we represent don't have any of those advantages and they're actually stealing things sometimes so that they can eat or unfortunately, they have a bad drug habit or they are satisfying a drug habit. here, this is just -- it behooves me. martha, you've gone shop ago lot in your life. how many times have you been to -- how many times have you been accused of stealing something worth $2500? not -- never, it's never happened, because you've never done it. >> well, there was that one -- that was a snickers bar, you were hungry! so the bottom line, there's a prosecutor whose eyes are on you, you have to take a tough stance and say look, you steal something worth 2500 bucks, after you violate the law on dui, after you violate the probation. you're going to do jail time. martha: if they decide to go for a trial and does that looks like it's going that way, she wants a trial, not a plea deal, it looks like the judge might send her to jail while she awaits trial. >> it looks like that but let's leave well enough alone. this is not the case of the century. are there not things of significance going on in l.a. than someone who is a lund le -- lindsey lohan that happened to leave a necklace on in a store? it's heading in the direction of a trial, but that also could be avoided. i have issues with the case being brought to begin with. why? no harm, no foul. when it was determined that the necklace was in her possession, she returned it immediately. >> joe, how many times do you go shopping for a tie or shirt or shoes and you just happen to leave the store with the shirt on? with the shoes -- i mean, it doesn't happen. martha: and even if that were to happen the moment you realized you had it on, you'd say oh my gosh, i have to bring this back and you'd take it back right away and that's not what happened. >> that's a legitimate point. in this instance, when you see the video, it -- sickens me they're profiting off of the video, they're selling it -- >> martha: that's right. >> the fact is that the essence of a larceny charge is do you have the intent and is it done -- >> she did have the intent. martha: you know what, i want to go back to the parent trap days of lindsey lohan, back when things were so nice with her, maybe she'll get back her. >> her career should be going up, not down. martha: you're right. good to see you as always. bill: i think that's the one movie i didn't see! getting out of a mountain of debt with a spoon, california california's jerry brown cutting into the massive debt by eliminating free giveaways like the bumper stickers and free t-shirts. claudia cowen in san francisco, what kind of cuts is he making? >> reporter: bill, good morning. they've been small but highly symbolic. he has ordered thousands of government workers, for instance, to turn in their taxpayer-funded cell phones, that move expected to save $20 million a year. bill, he's also turned in his own cell phone and told reporters he's banned all agencies of the key chains and coffee cups and the promotional things that were given away by almost every state agency that costs taxpayers more than $7 million. so no more of these battery-powered fans that were just handed out by the california dmv for so many years, and one of my personal favorites. if you add it all up, all of the cuts are a drop in the bucket but analysts say the governor is trying to send a message that in these tough times, everyone really needs to share the pain to reduce government spending, as they tackle california's $26 billion budget decifit. bill: so republicans, are they satisfied with these cuts or what are they saying claudia? >> well, they appreciate the small cuts, but really not so much. republicans i've spoken to say they are really waiting for the governor to tackle the big pressing issues here in california, in particular, pension reform. they also want to see the governor take on the special interests to really downsize government and make california more business friendly. take a listen: >> highlight the onerous regulations, governor, come out and announce that you are going to review all the regulations that have a negative impact on jobs and the economy. >> that was jim neilson, one of the many opposing the governor calling an election in june so voters can decide whether to extend three expiring tax increases. he says without that revenue he may have to cut $25 billion to balance the budget. republicans say go ahead because they've all taken a pledge opposing these taxes. bill: it all comes to sacramento, at some point soon. claudia cowen, thank you, in san francisco. martha: donald trump is in the news lately, now raising $2 million for charity in just one night. but wait until you hear what the real estate tycoon will have to endure on national television to earn that check. when we come back. bill: we have found an american pastor who has run an orphanage helping countless children in haiti, behind bars in that country for five months and according to his wife, dan kwr-l pye is being held with no charges, no for reason, with no court date. in a inter -- in an interview he tried to get his message out this way. >> what are you being held for? >> i'm not sure. there have been no formal charges brought at all. >> have you had a trial? >> [inaudible] >> bill: there he sits. and daniel's wife is nine months pregnant, leanne pye, my guest from sarasota, good morning to you. >> good morning. bill: you've run an orphanage in haiti for years. how can this american be held without a charge? i'm not really sure. it seems to be the number one question. we were coming in front of a judge in october, for a civil reason, and for some reason, the judge arrested my husband and he was walked down to the prison and it's been there five months now. bill: there are reports the judge was upset because he had to give up his housing to another charity organization that came in to try to help the victims of the haitian earthquake, there's a report that suggests there are assets between two different charities that met in the exchange and apparently they were. whatever the truth, still, there is not a charge against your husband. he's reported to have been sexually abused, there are reports that he contracted malaria, fought off cholera, all while in prison. how are these conditions? >> haiti prisoners, it's atrocious, it's a ten by 12-foot room with 25 other men, he doesn't sleep alone in his own bed. i have to fight to get doctors in, sometimes i have to fight to get food in. it's just a big battle, and he's still there, and i have no hope of getting him out any time soon. bill: you have no hope. wow. you went to haiti on christmas eve. he was released. and moments after he was released, he was rearrested. how much of a heart break was that? >> unimaginable. i went there christmas eve, i had another judge able to sign his release papers, i did all the right stops, and we were walking out of the prison together, and we were approached by a police officer, and was handed an arrest warrant and an arrest warrant that neither of us could read and he was handcuffed again and turned around and walked back into the prison. we never made it to our car. bill: i'm sorry for that. we'll be in contact with you, leanne, okay? we'll be in contact with the haitian government and try and get this resolved. global effect.org is the website. i appreciate your time today. i know it's tough. it's a cruel irony for you and your husband based on all the work you've done for that country and children there. leanne, good luck, okay? thank you. martha: boy. >> thank you very much march ma it's impossible to imagine what that feels like, she has no answers, no reasons, no charges, and no help, apparently, from our government, at least up until now. bill: what she will say is that haiti moves slow and that's a fact. but i mean, that's small consolation for her back home. martha: amazing, sad story there. we'rewe're going to keep on top of that. in the meantime, there has an ton of flooding going on. we knew this would happen, when we had all of that snow over the course of the last couple of months. but there is a look at the radar right now for the expected precipitation, accumulation, and it is deep. we will be right back. wanto ft that you're at greater risk of a heart attack or stroke. plavix helps protect people with acs against heart attack or stroke: people like you. it's one of the most researched prescription medicines. goes beyond what they do alone by helping to keep blood plelets from sticking and forming dangerous clots. plavix. protection against heart attack or stroke in people with acs. 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