Transcripts For FOXNEWS Americas Newsroom 20121112

from washington. good morning, doug. >> reporter: good morning, guys. at a very basic level this is the store of an affair between general david petraeus and his biographer paula broad well. it gets complicated. there may be national security implication including into the broad investigation into the consulate in benghazi on september 11th. there is no question she would have had prime access to one. key players. she made a couple of public appearances to talk about that. that was at the university of denver, her alma mater last month where she spoke about the benghazi attack. this was came as ci a-team were asking for help but were denied. here is what she said. >> i don't know if a lot of you heard this but the cia annex had taken a couple of libyan militia members prisoner and they think the attack on the consulate was an effort to get the prisoners back. that is still being vetted. >> reporter: that would seemingly contradict what we heard over and over again initially midaway, that the at lack in libya was result of anger over anti-muslim film made in the united states. what information was broadwell privy too? that is something that isn't quite clear. we're learning how all of this came to light. it involves not just these two people, but this woman as well. this is jill kelly. she is not romantically linked to general petraeus but described as a petraeus family friend. apparently she ban receiving harassing e-mails anonymously. she contacted the fbi the fb itraced e-mails back to broadwell. those e-mails, and other e-mails were traced to general petraeus. while a number of lawmakers here on capitol hill complained about being left in the dark in all of this, one of them, house majority leader eric cantor was told about this. he was tipped off by an fbi employee a couple weeks ago. he followed up with the fbi to make sure the investigation was ongoing. we're going to hear a lot more about this during the course of the week. remember initially general david petraeus himself was supposed to testify about the benghazi attack in front of a couple of committees in congress, closed-door meetings. now he will not be there, this guy will. this is the michael more rel, acting director of the see ia. back to you guys. martha: that raises so many questions. we'll talk about them this morning. why would general petraeus not testify to an event he was privy to and on his watch? we'll ask michael hayden, the former cia director coming up. we'll talk to kt mcfarland about all this. doug, thank you lawmakers are wonder why they were never informed. senator diian feinstein is asking about the questions that came up. >> i informed my vice chairman and i talked to the director device. this is very hard stuff. >> and are you going to investigate why the fbi didn't notify you before? >> yes. absolutely. i mean this is something that could have had an effect on national security. i think we should have been told. there is a way to do it. gregg: hard to believe but senator feinstein says she found out through the mode yaw. on a personal note she says she was heartbroken to hear of the affair. >> general petraeus as we said was scheduled to testify before congressional hearings on benghazi this week. now we're being told at least for now that will not happen but some lawmakers are saying that the general's testimony is still very essential to this investigation. here's senator lindsey graham. >> i don't see how in the world you can find out what happened in benghazi before, during and after the attack if general petraeus doesn't testify. martha: senator graham went on to say he is focusing on the four americans killed in benghazi and quote, we have a national security failure in the makings. lots of questions here. we'll examine them throughout the next two hours. gregg: that's right. we're also getting some new videotape of a home of the women at the center of this scandal. cameras catching shots of the charlotte, north carolina, house where paula broadwell lives with her husband. she spent a year with david petraeus writing the biography, all in. she is a 40-year-old graduate of u.s. military academy. an army reserve officer. she is married with two young sons. martha: petraeus's resignation raises a flood of questions about the intel community, the timing of this announcement and the investigation into benghazi. just a couple minutes we'll be joined live by former cia director michael hayden and get his take on this situation. the general joins us coming up. gregg: growing frustrations among victims of hurricane sandy. 150,000 folks still without any power in new york and new jersey and emotions to say the least beginning to boil over. in long island, people who suffered without any power for almost two weeks now told by the local utility company, get this, fill out your forms online. kind of hard to do without any power. molly line is live on staten island, one of the hardest hit areas from the storm. molly, what is the latest with staten island residents getting help? >> reporter: you're using these words frustration, exhaustion, that is exactly what residents are talking about. this is one. hardest hit roads in staten island a lot of debris still here two weeks later. residents say they see big trucks moving debris out all week long. that is one positive note. there is lot of competition too. they need to find electricians. they need to find new boilers. 14,000 people across staten island applied for aid from fema. many are still waiting to hear about that, gregg. gregg: molly, you must be hearing pretty incredible life stories out there and how folks are trying to cope and probably first and foremost among that, is to, try to prepare themselves for the elements that have been pretty severe, especially at night? >> reporter: it is cold here. these are people that want to stay with their homes. they don't want to leave their homes alone for a lot of reasons. for safety reasons. and also because they don't have any idea when they will be able to get back in for certain. this home is owned by lou gasparino. he lived here for years. many people did not evacuate from the storm. they didn't expect it to get this bad. this is the first floor. the water came up to the first floor several feet. this is the living room. some of the damage. the drywall is pulled out. electrical. still a lot of work left to be done. boilers, all the electrical systems have to be replaced. even as the neighborhood is slowly getting power back, this house won't have it for a while until things can be rebuilt. this is lou. lou has talked to fema. he talked to his insurance company but a lot of frustration, right? >> yes. we don't know what the we're going to get or when we're going to get it and what to do in the meantime while we're waiting. >> reporter: as you mentioned a lot of your neighbors are in the same boat and hearing the same sort of thing. >> different stories. things have to be replaced. they corroded. gas lines have to be replaced. flue systems. we're not exactly sure what to do. >> reporter: do you have any timeline when things could possibly be back to normal? >> no idea. >> reporter: what does that feel like? >> it is frustrating it is frustrating. we have no place to live. we're lying on family and friends. i've been staying in the house and it is my house and i don't want to leave it. >> reporter: your neighbors are in same sort of position and miles and miles in all directions people are looking for same services you're looking for? >> yes. there is no electric. there is no heat. we have water but we can't drink it. that's it. >> reporter: where do you go from here? >> i don't know. we'll going to build, we're going to come back but we need help. and we need it soon. >> reporter: thank you very much, lou. he is speaking sentments much of the neighborhood has talked about. this is the sort of damage. this is just the beginning. one small kitchen. the entire first floor like this. this situation mirrored in all directions for blocks and blocks, gregg. gregg: you can feel and hear the pain and suffering that lou and i suppose everybody is out there enduring right now. molly line, thanks very much for that report. >> that is for sure. frustration is boiling over on long island as well. residents there protesting in front of their power company over the weekend. [shouting] >> turn on the power. martha: protests outside the offices of the long island power authority. residents say the response is somely unacceptable. >> i am very unhappy because we pay the highest rates in the country out of 50 states and line pa just doing terrible -- lipa. like we don't exist. >> people need power. it is sad. how long will it take to get the electricity back? there are elderly people that live here. there are sick people that live here. god forbid but what does it take for somebody to die in their house and it is so cold? we need our power back. towns more devastated than this get their power back. we want our power back. that's all we want. martha: the long island power authority said it should have 99% of the power restored by the end of tomorrow. we'll see if they're able to carry that out. we'll report it here. gregg: the clock is ticking away for lawmakers to steer the country away from the so-called fiscal cliff when it comes to tax hikes and across the board spending cuts set to kick in at the end of the year. house minority leader nancy pelosi is digging in her heels. >> i don't think it would be a good idea for the republicans to hold middle income tax cuts hostage to tax cuts to the wealthy. we have a deficit that we have to deal with. we have to do it with growth and creation of jobs. we have to do it with cuts, we all know that but we also have to do it with revenue on the table. gregg: in just a few minutes we're going to be talking with one of the republicans that leader pelosi will need to work with in the house of representatives, ways and means committee member peter roskam will be joining us live. martha: we're just getting started here on this monday morning and we're glad to have you with us. we have a brand new report today about the effort to preserve a sacred memorial for veterans deep in the california dessert after vandalism and years of court fights. gregg: plus breaking developments in the middle east. israel firing on syria this morning. we'll have a live report from the israeli-syrian border just ahead. martha: also a massive explosion in a quiet suburb kills two people and destroys at least 30 homes. so what caused this? we're live with the latest in that mystery. >> it woke me up and i pulled up and it is just kept shaking. then i, it is crumbling. the house is going to crumble on us. having you ship my gifts couldn't be easier. well, having a ton of locations doesn't hurt. and my daughter loves the santa. oh, ah sir. that is a customer. let's not tell mom. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. fedex office. [ male announcer ] there's the sign to the bullpen. here he comes. you wouldn't want your doctor doing your job, the pitch! so why are you doing his? whoa! only your doctor can determine if your persistent heartburn is actually something more serious like acid reflux disease. over time, stomach ac can damage the lining of your esophagus. for many, prescription nexium not only provides 24-hour heartburn relief, but can also help heal acid-related erosions in the lining of your esophagus. talk to your doctor about the risk for osteoporosis-related bone fractures and low magnesium levels with long-term use of nexium. possible side effects include headache, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. other serious stomach conditions may still exist. let your doctor do his job. and you do yours. ask if nexium is right for you. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. martha: well six days after the election we can finally report to you this morning that president obama has indeed won the state of florida. they finished their count on saturday. the final tally, president obama 50% of the vote. governor romney 49.1% of the vote, a slim 74,000 votes divided the two candidates. the win gave the president eight of the nine critical swing states. he only lost to mitt romney north carolina. gregg: well, new signs that democrats and republicans could be moving toward a compromise deal, well at least they're talking about it, to avert the so-called fiscal cliff. major tax hikes across the board spending cuts, set to automatically go into effect at the end of the year. on "face the nation", senior obama advisor david axelrod discussing how both sides seem to be moving closer to a key sticking point. >> speaker boehner seemed to suggest that he was open to closing loopholes, to real tax reform. can you get there by just closing loopholes, or will it take more than that? >> well, look, i don't want to prejudge the discussions. i think that the speaker's comments have been encouraging and there is obviously money to be gained by closing some of these, closing some of these loopholes and applying them to deficit reduction. there are a lot of ways to skin this cat. gregg: illinois congressman peter roskam joins us. he is on the house ways and means committee. he joins us from chicago. good to see you. house speaker boehner says he will oppose any increase in tax rates. and the white house said on friday, and i will read this directly, the president will veto any bill that includes an extension of the current tax rates for those earning more than $250,000 a year. so congressman, where is the come promize? >> i think the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. we've heard this language coming from the white house before. we heard declared statements coming from president obama before and yet he extended the current rates back in 2010. so i think that the pathway forward is for the president to recognize, look, john boehner is put on the table this notion of revenues and we think you can get that through growth. we think that you can get that through reforming the tax code. gregg: right. >> but we --. gregg: so you're telling me and the president and white house are just bluffing say, no deal on rates? >> well we've heard this. we heard he will get out of guantanamo. he would cut the deficit in half. all these sorts of things are declarations. but when it comes down to it i think the president does sign an extension because it is the smart move. look, the pathway to move forward is to reform the tax code. where there is such a high level of dissatisfaction, the opportunity is for the president to bring people together around the dissatisfaction and come up with a new, more competitive tax code. gregg: come january, here's what is going to happen. i want to put this up on the screen for our viewers. 158 million americans will be affected. after an average tax hike of $3500. that means that 88% of the households are going to be seeing their taxes go up. as you know, the cbo says that will drive us into another recession. economic output will drop to .5%. and unemployment will rise to 9.1%. look, if your party, the republican party, takes a very hard-line on all of this, and is labeled obstructionist, don't they get the blame for what could be another recession? >> look, there is nobody really that should be arguing let's go over the fiscal cliff. now there are some leading democrats, leading up to the legislation have said let's go over the fiscal cliff, but to your point it will lead to a double-dip recession. what republicans have done is offered a pathway that says put new revenues on the table, let us work how to get them but we've also got to address the spending side. so you don't get a sense of obstructionism from the point of the g.o.p. what you get is, look we recognize results of an election that elected president obamaly also elected house republican majority unambiguously. the pathway to move forward as the speaker said, mr. president, lead us now but let's not get into this notion the only way that we can do this is by raising taxes on producers and it's not helpful. it doesn't close the budget gap and rather than spending a lot of time and drama on it let's go to where the action is. gregg: there is roughly 20-point differential between what some people pay on capital gains and others on ordinary income which allows private equity and hedge fund operators to pay a whole lot less than a great many other americans. and those guys are making a lot of m money. how can that be justified, congressman? >> look, this whole notion of capital gains and dividend taxes is really inextricably linked to pension funds and the ability of just moms and pops that are out there to have income-producing, small capital investments. gregg: right. >> so this whole notion, this is just for the big guys, forget the big guys. this is about little folks and seniors that --. gregg: see that is what rankles a great many americans. you know, guys who are making millions in private equity and hedge funds, they're paying lower rate. >> well, look, when it comes down to it, this whole notion of raising taxes on the rich, who is the rich? well, there are some democrats that say it's a million dollars. gregg: right. >> some say it is a half a million dollars. some say it is 250. all of this said, there's a great deal of ambiguity about it. what we're saying is, you're going to raise rates. if you do, you will raise rates on job producers, on job create, on the s-corporations, pass through entities that i represent in suburban chicago. gregg: sure. >> you raise those rates at the time moving into this i have a pullback in terms of economic activity. so it is time for the bumper stickers to set aside. gregg: even if you raise rates on the rich only talking about 7% debt in the deficit of $1.1 trillion and debt of 16 trillion. so marginally doesn't make a difference. peter roskam, thanks very much. >> thanks. martha: well, it is a video everyone is talking about. we see fights all the time of course in hockey, soccer, basketball, baseball, but nascar? an all-out brawl between two nascar pit crews. wait until i tell you what they went after there and what started it. gregg: mysterious explosion ripping through a indianapolis neighborhood. we'll tell you about it to cover. today, the beaches and gulf are open, and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. d bp's also committed to america. we support nearly 250,000 jobs and invest more here than anywhere else. we're working to fuel america for generations to come. our commitment has never been stronger. gregg: lance armstrong cutting ties with the cancer charity he founded. he officially resigned as a board member of live strong to avoid further damage brought on by the doping charges. last month you may recall he stepped down as the group's chairman. the u.s. anti-doping agency stripped armstrong of his seven tour de france titles and banned him from the sport for life. livestrong says armstrong is the charity's biggest donor so far giving $7 million over the years. >> looked like a war zone. >> the whole house shook. things falling off the walls. martha: boy, what happened, a massive explosion rocks an indianapolis neighborhood over the weekend. at least two people were killed when this home, in this middle class neighborhood burst into flames and then ignited a huge fire. look at these pictures! by morning, more than 80 homes, 80, were either damaged or destroyed. neighbors say the blast could be felt for miles away. >> sitting watching tv. next thing you know, this loud explosion. the whole house shook, things falling off the because. we got up, ran around and looked around, insulation is falling like snow. next thing we know we saw smoke. my son, nephew and i ran over. the house was gone. it was in the middle of the neighborhood, house was gone, flames with the gas line. house next to it, whole side was caved. in we heard people yelling. pull out two daughters. the husband was trapped under a lot of debris. got him out. wife was trapped in a recliner. got her out. flames started taking that house over. martha: that man is a hero. he saved all those people's lives with the folks helping him. mike tobin is live on the story in chicago. so, mike, what happened is the big question? >> reporter: that is what is so perplexing about this, martha. so far no cause for this explosion. a spokesman for citizens energy, the power company out there, no one reported smelling gas ahead of the explosion. a local congressman says a meth lab or a bomb have been ruled out as in terms of causes of the explosion. investigators aren't saying anything but all we know that people were doing their business, in their homes at a 11:00 on saturday night and all at once the neighborhood just erupted in flames and broken glass. the bomb blast, shouldn't say bomb blast, but the blast was so powerful, people three miles away reported their homes were shaken badly. at the center of the blast you see is splintered earth and charred wood. you mentioned 80 homes damaged. 31 homes were damaged they will have to be taken down to the ground. 200 people were forced to stay in shelters overnight. martha: thanks so the people like the man we heard from he was able to save some of those lives but there were two lives lost in this. what do we know about them? >> reporter: well the investigators aren't saying anything. the local elementary school held a candlelight vigil for jennifer longworth, a elementary school teacher. the other person killed reported in that explosion was her husband. they were in the home right next to the blast. people at the elementary school say jennifer longworth was a wonderful person. martha: what a tragedy, awful story. mike we'll learn more in the coming hours and days. thank you so much. mike tobin. >> reporter: you got it. gregg: there are new questions today about the scandal surrounding general david petraeus announced days after the election but known by the fbi way before that. they were working on this thing during the summertime. some in washington saying that the timing here is fishy. former cia director will join us with his take on a scandal that has the intelligence community reeling. >> we reno advance notice. it was like a lightning bolt. [ malannouncer ] it'that time of year again. time for cii price rewind. because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. and you really don't want to pay more than you have to. only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. and it finds one, you get refunded the difference. just use your citi card and register your purchase online. have a super sparkly day! ok. [ male announcer ] now all you need is a magic carriage. citi price rewind. buy now. save later. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, it helps pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands in out-of-pocket costs. to me, relationships matter. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him. [ male announcer ] with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and you never need a referral to see a specialist. so don't wait. call now and request this free decision guide to help you better understand medicare... and which aarp medicare supplement plan might be best for you. there's a wide range to choose from. we love to travel -- and there's so much more to see. so we found a plan that can travel with us. anywhere in the country. [ male announcer ] join the millions of people who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands a year in out-of-pocket costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. martha: obviously the biggest story of the day, top lawmakers are now reacting to the resignation of cia chief david petraeus, after the shocking news broke on friday. that he was being blackmailed by his mistress and biographer seen here. here is senate intelligence committee chairwoman, dianne feinstein. >> no, i have not been told there was an affair. what i've been told is there was somebody else that he was, he knew and was close to and that mrs. broadwell sent these threatening e-mails to her and she was frightened and she went to the fbi. martha: boy, so many questions here this morning, right? so the timing of all of this is getting a lot of attention this morning. some say it is very fishy. we're very glad to be joined this morning by general michael hayden, former cia director. obviously in a great position to understand what would have been known and not known here. he is a principle of the chertoff group. very good to have you this with us. what was your reaction to all this. >> it was very shocking. i talked to folks still in the agency and they were shocked as well. this was totally unexpected. martha: unexpected indeed. the details are still pouring out. but one of the things being raised this morning, he was supposed to testify at the hearings this week with regard to what happened in benghazi and a lot of questions about the timeline here. did the president know about this before the election? so what do you make of the timing of all of this and whether or not he will testify to what knows about what happened in benghazi? >> well, let me start with the testifying. i think it is important that the director testify. i don't think it is critical that he testify this week. i think he deserves some personal space here. mike morrell, the acting director, probably as we speak, martha, is meeting with his team getting all the facts right so he can contribute to discussions in front of both intel committees this week but general petraeus will have personal insight into this because he did visit libya of at tack and over time, i think he owes it to the committees to share those insights with them. with regard to the timing, right, it is mysterious. i really don't have insight into it. it appears the bureau was balancing the law enforcement process, the privacy of individuals involved but hanging out there, is that requirement in law to keep the intelligence committees fully and currently informed about significant intelligence activities and so it is not surprising that senator feinstein and chairman rogers have shown a bit of pique at not being let in on this a bit earlier. martha: i have so many questions about this. you know, when you look at who knew and who was told you were the former cia director. you know, if, what would be the chain of command in terms of revealing this information? dianne feinstein says she was not told. members of congress found out about it through the press and yet the fbi, who was investigating it would have definitely had to kept the department of justice in the loop, would they not? >> no. i would think so, given how the investigation played out. i think you wouldn't be able to do this without keeping some senior officials in justice and in the fbi informed as you went forward, but you're asking my view and martha, this is an unprecedented sort of thing. there is no rule book or history as to how you handle these kinds of events. these folks may have been making it up as they went along, doing the best they could, balancing all these important interests, and you know from some perspectives they may have gotten it right and other per speck testifies they got it wrong. martha: one of my initial reactions before i learned more of the details here, why is it anyone's best? it's a sad thing. married 37 years obviously on a personal level but what puts it over the line and makes it anybody's business? >> well, yeah, that's a very good question because some have speculated that the director may have been able to stay on. now the press accounts have dni, director of national intelligence clapper calling general petraeus and in essence letting him know that he knew and recommending that dave resign and jim, dave and myself all come from the same culture. that's a perfectly expected natural answer from any of us but more importantly, martha, an awful lot of the authority that the director of cia gets isn't the kind where we experience in the armed forces. it's more or less moral authority with regard to folks who are out there really playing on the edge every day and perhaps director petraeus felt that the appearance of this event would erode his moral authority within the cia. may not have but he judged that might and so he did i think the honorable thing by taking himself out of that equation. martha: you know, the timing issue raises a lot of questions. there's been speculation and reporting on the relationship between the administration and general petraeus. whether or not it was a good relationship. so now you have this issue where he comes out after this benghazi situation and really shocked a lot of the people who were inside that briefing when he said that he believed it was because of the movie, that is what prompted it. they thought that was uncharacteristic of him to have presented it that way. now you've got this timing where this hearing is coming up in a few days where he would have to sit in front of that panel and tell the truth. he was going to be questioned why he would have said that? why would he have said about the movie when it seemed so clear from what we know now it was not? does any of this, you know, raise red flags for you? >> no. perhaps not red flags but certainly legitimate questions. you know, knowing what we now know, i'm sure chairman rogers, senior member are upers berger chambliss want to have the personal dialogue with general petraeus. in these circumstances i would think he would want to have the dialogue as well to kind of set the record straight. martha: what about eric holder? in your experience would he have had to have been aware of this situation before the election and as it was unfolding? >> yeah, i don't want to pretend to speak authority tatively on this because i've never worked inside the department of justice but all my ink stings suggest that this is the kind of thing that would have to go up to that level for this to proceed as it did. martha: would it be odd to you not to share that with the president? >> i don't know. you have a privacy question. a law enforcement question. if he tells the president he opens up criticism to political influence on the investigation. these are tough questions but we do deserve some transparency about them and we do deserve answers about them. martha: obviously paula broadwell said things about libyan militants. she said it at a speech at the university of denver. that they were being held at the cia annex and that could be the reason that that annex was overtaken. i had never heard that before. had you ever heard anything like that before and where would she get that information you think if not from petraeus is one of the questions? >> i don't think she got it from general petraeus. i think the information is wrong. martha, doesn't that kind of suggest why this kind of long-term relationship actually does present some problems? if she were just a, you know, ph.d candidate, kings college in london, that wouldn't have gotten any attention and no one would have given it any authenticity. because of this relationship, we suddenly do. i think she was just wrong. i don't know where she got it. martha: because those questions are raised, that you know, may be what prompts the resignation because you don't want those questions to be raised. >> exactly. martha: general hayden, before i let you go, obviously it is veterans day. i know your veterans are in your thoughts and all of ours on that this day. something on that before you go. >> i would. i had the honor saturday morning to give a presentation in front of 700 veterans in my hometown of pittsburgh. let me tell you i was just blown away by the depth of service that was represented in that room all the way back to world war ii. they made announcement that veterans of the war on terror, please stand up. it suddenly occurred to me for the first time, i'm a veteran. and i proudly stood up with those other individuals. it was a very moving experience. martha: we thank you for your service as we do all of the people in that room and all across the country. i hope everyone remembers the significance of what today is. it is veterans day. and michael hayden, we thank you so much, general for being with us today. >> thank you, martha. thank you. gregg: as martha mentioned president obama remembering veterans of past conflicts at arlington national cemetery and speaking about the men and women in harm's way right now. they are in our hearts today. >> present arms] i'm breathing better. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com. martha: unique war memorial to fallen servicemembers rising once again on this veterans day. since 1934 there has been a seven-foot cross that stood on federal land in california's mohave desert until it was ordered removed on claims it was unconstitutional. the supreme court said it could stay two years ago in a major decision. vandals then stole that sacred symbol. now a replacement cross has risen in its place. >> this country has a place, a special place in their heart for veterans, for their sacrifice. and, this cross is something special and it's sacred ground. martha: the site has been turned over to the private hands of the veterans of foreign wars. gregg: millions of people's homes and businesses have been he destroyed or badly damaged by hurricane sandy and that has a great many doctors about the kind of impact it might be having on thousands of people's health, especially those already facing deer just -- serious disabilities. >> my two daughters had to carry me up into our attic. and i lay there, on a mattress for six hours. until the water went down enough so that i could get out of the house. gregg: dr. manny alvarez, senior managing editor for foxnews.com/health, and a member of the fox news medical a-team. he was out surveying the scene this weekend. you went to various locations. you met mr. muir tau. talk to us about that. >> it has been several weeks since the hurricane and many folks in staten island and new jersey seems like it happened just yesterday. many folks still have no power, to heat and and what worries me is the health conditions a lot of these communities are facing. frank is a perfect example. there is a lot of americans with disabilities who really have no access to the services that they once had. they can't get around. they can't maintain their, sort of life-styles if you will because they require special needs. and you know, still this community of many thousands of people are completely displaced. they have no running water, no heat. you see a lot of things happening. a lot of them are coughing. a lot of them have rashes. a lot of them have, they're tired. they have almost post-tramatic stressers right. >> so i think right now i give an f for, for really prioritizing a lot of the health issues that are going on here in the northeast. gregg: yeah. you were in linden hours. you met with a fellow named robert who had a growing rash. talk to us about that. >> lindh denthurst, and all the canals in the great south bay of long island, it is a toxic waste land. you have thousands of gallons of petroleum have seeped into the soil, into homes. you could smell it. you could see it. i walked around. everything was just full of oil. this is a perfect example of small children and people, you know, a lot of people are doing their own cleaning because there is really not a lot of professional crews that are coming around. as a matter of fact, a lot of the cleaning that i saw there in the great bay had come from missionaries from tennessee, from baptist missionaries came down and said listen, we're here to help. they threw a lot of garbage. a lot of folks are coming into contact with not only oil, a lot of the sewer water is full of bacteria. so they're breaking down into rashes. cuts are getting infected. this is really, this is a, this is a health crisis, and let me tell you. i was there yesterday all day. i didn't see, and i know that a lot of emergency workers have done a great job and i give them kudos for that, but my god, there is a lot of work to be done and i think things are getting a little bit worse before they're getting better. gregg: one of the criticisms fema is not doing enough. they are not spread out enough. they're not prepared enough. they're not bringing in enough shelters. one of the problems, the moisture from all the flooding. it is not cleaned up quickly it turns to mold which grows and can be toxic. so that is health concern, too isn't it? >> it is. i went inside a lot of homes. basically, a lot of these homes have to be gutted from the inside out completely or they have to be demolished. gregg: right. >> perfect example, we ripped some of the sheetrock there and you can see how the mold and the wetness has gotten into those areas. the only way to eradicate that, once you have mold inside the wall you're basically going to get a lot of things growing inside. those spores basically croningly live there. if you have any asthma, any allergies, this could develop into a cronic debilitating issue. gregg: sure. >> people have to be aware. gregg: dr. manny, great work. thank you so much for sharing it. >> thank you. gregg: for more how to help people impacted by sandy, go to foxnews.com/health. martha. martha: allegations of voting irregularities in one of the tightest house races in the country. with have the latest from dr. allen west and his challenger, patrick murphy oh wow, you didn't win? i wanna show you something... it's my shocked face. [ gasps ] [ male announcer ] get a retirement plan that works... at e-trade. campbell's has 24 new soups that will make it drop over, and over again. ♪ from jammin' jerk chicken, to creamy gouda bisque. see what's new from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. ♪ [ camera clicks ] ♪ it's hard to resist the craveable nature of a nature valley sweet & salty nut bar. gregg: went to a fight and a race broke out. fists were flying at the nascar race in particular in phoenix yesterday. an all-out brawl sparked by this incident, jeff gordon of the 24 car bumped clint boyer and ran him into the law second to last lap. gordon pulled his vehicle into the pit. guess what? gordon's crew waiting for him. both drivers got into it including drivers themselves. nascar has not decided if anybody would be punished. yikes!. martha: serious accusations out there of voting irregularities in a case that could coast florida congressman allen west his seat. less than 1% separates had i am from his democratic challenger patrick murphy. he spokes exclusive which eric sean who joins us live from the newsroom. what did you have to say about this. >> reporter: his campaign is blunt. there seems to be willful attempt to steal the election. they cite voting irregularities that seem to be ignored. west a tea party favorite. they tell us fox news there could be voter fraud in the race and calling for a recount. the st. lucie board of elections would do just that with the early votes this weekend but then changed their mind and counted less than half. west also wants the board to open the poll books completely to make sure, he told us for example, that votes were not counted twice. right now he trails murphy by a irha. look at this. 1907 votes, or by .58% of the total. that is barely above the number of .5% that would trigger an automatic recount. >> i don't want to see america become no different from zimbabwe or any other third world country where the people don't trust their electoral process and system. so this is where we're going to have to make a stand. we'll have to get the truth. i would just simply implore miss gertrude walker, supervisor of elections of st. louis can i county, to do the right thing. have a complete recount of all those votes in the public eye of the people. >> reporter: he also told us what is especially troubling a turnout of 141%. votes he said that don't match number of people who showed up. he charges something he thinks is being hidden. martha: troubling. what does the opponent have to say? >> reporter: murphy says he is the winner and blasts the moves by west campaign's as a stunt saying there is no legal basis for a recount. >> it is clear, a resounding victory for patrick murphy and it is time for us to move forward and do the people's business and time for mr. west to take the honorable course, recognize the inevitable. >> reporter: west says he is not giving up. martha? martha: eric, thank you very much. gregg: serious questions over the timing of the resignation of the cia director just days after the presidential election. we'll talk about it coming up. [ male announcer ] you've reached the age where you don't back down from a challenge. this is the age of knowing how to make things happen. sowhy let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to your doctor. martha: outrage and questions about suspicious timing as we are learning the new details of the scandal involve former cia director david petraeus. brand-new hour of "america's newsroom" on this monday. good morning, everybody, i'm martha maccallum. >> i'm gregg jarrett in for bill hemmer. gregg: revealed on a friday afternoon days after the presidential election and days before the general was set to testify in front of congress on the benghazi investigation. congressman peter king, chairman of the house homeland security committee says he wants to know the full story of the investigation. >> i think the f.b.i. has to come forward and tell exactly when they began the investigation, why it reached that level wh-rbgs the level, whether they realized general petraeus was involved and when they realized he was involved did they go to the white house and the security council. this was a matter involving a potential compromise of security and the president should have been told about it at the earliest date. martha: kt mcfarland joins me now. welcome, good morning. i know you've known general petraeus for some time. what was your reaction to all of this and what about what peter king brings up. >> he's got a good point. there is sewing reall is something really weird about this. when i was with petraeus just before he got the cia announcement when he went from the army to the cia he would have had to under tkpwhoe undergo another security investigation. they would have had a polygraph test, standard procedure for anybody going into the via and the first question they ask you is there anything we don't know about in your past that could be a cause of embarrassment? that would have come out. that was 18 months ago. so somebody in the personnel department of the white house, or the fbi, or at the cia at a very high level would have known about this alleged affair. so why sit on it for so long? why all of a sudden have it come out? if the fbi is investigating the head of the cia you've got to believe that somebody at a high level in the white house and at the fbi was made aware of this. you don't investigate one cabinet officer investigating the other without the president nothing. martha without president knowing. martha: what do you think of the friction between these two agencies. >> there may be historical friction but they are far too professional, both of those agencies, to have that kind of an issue. i want too know why at the highest levels this was not dealt with earlier on and why, all of a sudden, a few days before petraeus is set to testify about what he knew about benghazi and what the cia did, it just doesn't make tense. i keep going back to two weeks ago there was that statement released by the cia, apparently at petraeus' suggestion saying the cia at no time at any level denied security and reinforcements and didn't try to save its own. if that was the case, petraeus has an awful lot to tell and i think it's important right now to come out publicly and talk about it. martha: that raises a question. did he know this was going to come out and he wanted it to come out now? does he want to go in there and sit at that table and explain exactly what he knows about the situation? we spoke to members of congress who came out of the hearing with him and they were perplexed, kt, they didn't understand why petraeus, who every saw as man of such great integrity would have been promoting this idea in a it hinged on the movie. >> that's why it's important that he testifies, whether he's in office or not. i'm not going to speculate on what scenario of events did the white house know and try to get him to change his testimony, did he come out and talk about the affair so that he would be able to resign, who knows. that's why it's so important to have open hearing in congress so the american public knows, to set the entire record straight. there are too many unanswered questions. i keep going back to watergate i. was in the water during watergate. it its horrible to what happens to a government and administration when there is that drip, drip, drip of more information. there is paralysis. we do not need that in washington any more than we already have. martha: i was curious of any of the members who testified in watergate had already resigned and indeed ha, lderman an erlicmamn both resigned before they went in and testified about what they knew. there is no reason for petraeus not to be a part of these hearings. >> absolutely. he needs to set the record straight for his own good. >> thank you. >> thanks, martha. gregg: we are learning more about one of the women involved in the petraeus affair, jill kelly is her name. it was her complaints that led the f.b.i. to investigate sara sar paula brodwell. hear are kelly's neighbors reacting. >> it's crazy, i read about the for rehear in the last few days. i didn't realize people involved were right down the street here. it's interesting. but it's sad, it's too bad. >> jill kelly is a reaeu son t a liaison to military bases in tampa, florida. martha: the general commanded multinational forces in iraq, leading u.s. and coalition troops during the surge from 2007 to 2008. he oversaw the iraq and afghanistan r-r what ares from 2008 to 210. he commanded the courses in afghanistan from july the 4th 2010 until july the 18th 2011. i was swo*erpb in as director sworn in as direct err of the cia on december 6th, 2011. gregg: homeland security secretary janet nepal lee an janet in a janet napolitano visiting the disaster scene. she says while housing is a top priority there are other issues to address. >> whatever there is a tragedy like this we always go backwards and say what could have done differently or better. local authorities gave reaction waeugreee wack sraeugs evacuation orders. we asked people to abide by them. if they can't or won't abide by that, that is a question we have to address. gregg: she says about 16,000 federal employees are on the job in new york and new jersey. the agency has approved about $30 million in aid for staten island alone. martha: the head of the red cross is pushing back at critics of their response to super storm sandy, she says i think we are near flawless so far in this operation. i know there are people who have absolutely lost everything, that are cold, that are frightened, that are saying where is the american immediate cross and i'm totally supportive of that, i understand their cry for help but we are out there. according to gail mcgovern. could the agency be doing more to aid those in need. we'll talk to sandbar devictim from the staten island area next. gregg: israeli army firing into syria for the second time in as many days after a syrian mortar shell lands at an israeli base in the golan heights, raising fears the syrian civil what are could be spreading into a bigger conflict. leland vittert is there for us. describe the last couple of hours there. >> we certainly had one mortar land this afternoon and that's when the israelis responded with what they call a direct hit against syrian artillery. sunset right now, things have calmed down a little bit. that certainly was not the case earlier. just about a while and a half behind me is one of the syrian villages where that civil war rages on. we heard heavy machine gun fire and also heavy artillery fire in there, these where you had one of those mortar bombs land inside israel. it's the second time in as many days as it happened. the first day the israelis responded with a warning shot, a missile fired into syria and today we had a direct hit on those syrian artill reese. the israeli military has moved into high alert status. what they are most worried about, at least right now as things continue to escalate is either a refugee crisis, people coming across the border from syria or some of the islamist extremists and jihaddist inside syria bring weapons into israel and try to mount an attack across the border. gregg: this cross border shelling happened in turkey, now this into israel and the exchange -- how deep a concern is there that this evolve into a wider conflict? >> you're never that far away from a war in the middle east and this is exactly how wars start with this kind of cross border shelling. the israelis so far if anything have shown a lot of restraint in the past 28, 48 hours. they say do not mistake that for their sense of resolve h. they do not want to be brought into the syrian civil war. that is happening on the other side, they say there is a lot of mine fields, but they say they will protect every inch of this border. gregg: thanks very much. martha: palestinian terrorists firing rockets into southern israel for the third great day, one rocket making a direct hit on a home. in a town that has been no stranger to attacks. no injuries were reported in the incidents. they say more than 80 rockets have landed in israel and thousands of kids have been kept home from school. in response israel launching air strikes on targets in the gaza strip, killing six and wounding almost 40 people. gregg: a new debate over one of the controversial plea postals to try to avoid a financial disaster. what this means for a potential tax hike for 158 million americans. martha: iran holding massive war games daysafter we learned that they fired on an unarmed u.s. drone. the latest from the middle east. gregg: more on the frustration mounting as 150,000 people remain this hour without any power more than two weeks after sandy hit the mostly densed populous area in the country. coming up we'll talk with a devastated homeowner we heard from last week who says the lack of help or any answers about the status is relief is only part of the problem. >> we have no idea where anybody is. we can't contact any building defendantses, any insurance companies. we're not getting any help. it's just -- it's unfair. one. two. three. my credit card rewards are easy to remember. with the bankamericard cash wards credit card, i earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time. [ both ] 2% back on groceries. [ all ] 3% on gas! no hoops to jump through. i earn more cash back on the things i buy most. [ woman in pet store ] it's as easy as... [ all ] one! -two. -[ all ] three! [ male announcer ] the bankamericard cash rewards credit card. apply online or at a bank of america near you. martha: iran launching new, large scale military drills. state media reporting that it includes fighter jets, drones and missile systems, as well as about 8,000 troops. now this comes after the reports last week of iranian warplanes opening fire on an unarmed u.s. drone over international waters and increasing tensions over teheran's suspected nuclear weapons program. iran of course denies those allegations. gregg: concerns over america's approach towards the so-called fiscal cliff is sparking a debate on how to avoid it. a prominent conservative says a tax hike on america's millionaires and billionaires may be the best bet. >> people need to float new ideas, have a serious debate. it won't kill the country if we raise taxes on billionaires. gregg: here now steven moore, and office president of the american action forum, douglas holtz, eagan. is christian write? >> there are two different thingsment do we want too raise taxes on the rich now during this lame-duck session. we've already done that. in the president's affordable care act there is a new surtax. that has happened. you have to ask the question how much do you want to do and perhaps drive the economy into a recession. the second is what deal can you strike about the debt. in the end if they do raise more revenue they shouldn't do it by raising the tax rates, but by broadening the base. and remember none of it is going to solve our problems. they have to do entitlement reform. gregg: here is what john boehner had to say. >> the problem with raising tax rates on the yetist americans is that more than half of them are small business owners. we know from ernst and young 700,000 jobs would be destroyed. we also know that it would slow down our economy. raising tax rates will slow down our ability to create the jobs that everyone says they want. gregg: so, steve is john boehner right or crystal right. >> john boehner gets an a in economics. he's precisely right. a large percentage of the income that barack obama wants to tax at the higher rate is small business income. the other part of it that the speaker didn't mention is the other big component of that income is investment income the money that the people put into the small businesses to create them in the first place. doug knows this very well that one of the big problems we have in the economy right now is businesses aren't inch investigating, they are not expand -lg your operations. can you think of a worst time to raise the tax rate on investment when investment went negative in the last quarter? if businesses are not investing they can't hire more workers and i agree with doug it could cause a ou double-dip recession. gregg: if you force higher income americans to pay more in taxes not through increasing their tax rates but rather closing the loopholes, deductions, credits and so on and so forth, that is still a net increase on that important sector. so how is that any more or less damaging to the economy? >> it's always bad to raise taxes. the economy common-sense is to keep them as low as possible. if you raise them by broadening the base what you do is you take tax considerations out of decisions and returning them to be made on business principles which is what we want that will actually produce the best economic growth. and this is a crucial time to get this right, because we're going to need every bit of growth that we can get. >> can i add one thing that i think is important. i think people are confuse bed this whole discussion are fiscal cliff. there are two issues. it's the issue we've been talking about about the big tax increase the president wants but what nobody is talking about is how about cuts in government spending? we've seen the biggest increase in the size of the federal government in the last four years since any time since the end of world war 2. i think the american people are saying, isn't it about time we make cuts in spending in the idea of cutting government spending next year is going to hurt the economy is exactly wrong. what the economy needs actually right now is to shrink the public sector to grow the private sector. gregg: doug, to steve's point on that public, even if you increase taxes on those households earning more than $250,000 you probably saw the report by the joint committee on taxation, i mean they said that is only going to decrease the $1.1 trillion deficit by 7%. i mean that is really not much. >> that is absolutely right. again, raising taxes is at this point in time a triumph of politics over economic common-sense and if you care about the federal budget and everyone should because we have an explosive debt problem on our hands, the only way to kaoeurt is on thcure it is on the spending time. it's the big economic spending and they've got to be the focus. gregg: thank you. martha: there is a new post for a hot post-election issue, while immigration is front and center on both sides. gregg: plus, posting calories at restaurants, then taking away big-fountain sodas, why juicy burgers could be the next target in a big city. say it ain't so. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] help brazil reduce its overall reliance on foreign imports with the launch of the country's largest petrochemical operation. ♪ when emerson takes up the challenge, "it's never been done before" simply bemes consider it solved. emerson. ♪ martha: fox news alert. a new piece of information in the petraeus story today. our justice department produce irhas now confirmed that jill kelly did indeed receive several emails from multiple dummy accounts which have now be traced back to paula broadwell. boy, this is going to continue this thicken this plot, folks. we'll keep you posted as we get more developments. gregg: at 23 minutes past the hour here are some of the top stories we are following. bye-bye test dummies. toyota is working on crash-proof cars. new safety systems would actually allow cars to phupb with eac communicate with etch each other on the roads and the company says it would mine myself risk of accidents overall. big trouble in the home of the twinkie. thousands of workers picketing bakeries across the west. they are fighting pay and benefit cuts. a resolution is passed by the big apple for meatless mondays to fight obesity. it is not making eating meat illegal, councilmembers hope it's going to encourage healthier eating and sustainable farming. i want my in-n-out-burger, i don't care. martha: there are some new developments in the handling of a child sex-abuse scandal at the british broadcasting operation known of course as the bbc. greg palkot is live on the story for us in london. greg, who quit over the weekend and why? >> well, martha, it is being called the significancess scandal ever to hit the bbc, a british institution, right up there with the queen. in addition to today stepping down the news director and the deputy news director at the bbc, over the weekend their boss, the director general ever the bbc corporation george entwhistle actually quit after two months on the job. that was after it was rereeled that one of the main programs called news night wrongly implied that a retired british politician was involved in a child abuse ring. this follows a bigger scandal about jimmy f athal. owe died last year. he was involved in multiple child abuse cases over three decades. it's now revealed that in addition to the same news night program investigating the scandal was canceled by bbc last year, that the allegation is a cover up, martha. martha: we are led to understand that there is also a u.s. connection to all of this. >> there absolutely is. the director general of the bbc corporation for the last eight years, up until september, a man by the name of mark thompson, just happens to be starting today at the president and the ceo of "the new york times" company. here is a bit of what he had to say on his way to work today. >> it's a very important institution, and i believe that it's full of people with raoeupbl teg ra tee and talent and no doubt it's going to get back on its feet really son. >> he said he didn't know about last year's canceled news night program. he never met the accused child abuser, this as a full-scale probe is being conducted right this very minute at the bbc looking into lack of clarity in the lines of command and control of the network, that probe is the reason given today for those two executives to at least step down temporarily. mart that, all ever this as you might imagine is wall to wall news here in the uk. one big reason for that, every single tv set owner in this country has to pony up $230 a year in tv license fees. they are all stake holders in this scandal. back to you. martha: greg, thank you very much. greg palkot. gregg: well, we spoke with him last week after sandy hit staten island very hard and now four days we find out if things are any better in his neighborhood. >> we have to ask people to -- we have no idea where the help is, where the free food is. we have no idea where anybody is. new trident layers juicy berry + tangy tangerine is a thrilling, dual-flavored ride to mouth fun-town. but it's not like everyone is going to break into a karaoke jam session. ♪ this will literally probably never happen. then you may be looking for help in choosing the right plan for your needs. so don't wait. call now. whatever your health coverage needs, unitedhealthcare can help you find the right plan. open enrollment to choose your medicare coverage begins october 15th and ends december 7th. so now is the best time to review your options and enroll in a plan. medicare has two main parts, parts a and b, to help cover a lot of your expenses, like hospital care... and doctor visits. but they still won't cover all of your costs. now's the time to learn about unitedhealthcare plans that may be right for you. are you looking for something nice and easy? like a single plan that combines medicare parts a & b with prescription drug coverage? a medicare advantage plan can give you doctor, hospital and prescription drug coverage all in one plan... for nothing more than what you already pay for part b. you'll also have the flexibility to change doctors from a network of providers dedicated to helping you stay healthy. plus with the pharmacy saver program, you can get prescriptions for as low as $2 at thousands of pharmacies in retail locations like these, all across the country. call now to learn more. unitedhealthcare has the information you need so you'll be better prepared when making medicare decisions. maybe you'd just like help paying for your prescriptions. consider a part d prescription drug plan. it may help reduce the cost of your prescription drugs. with over 30 years of medicare experience, unitedhealthcare has been helping people live healthier lives. remember, open enrollment ends friday, december 7th. we can help. call unitedhealthcare to learn about medicare plans that may be right for you. call now. ♪ martha: almost two weeks later, or really two weeks later tonight is when the storm hit. now 150,000 people still do not have power when that storm hit the northeast. look at these folks, just throwing out the interiors of their houses. staten island clearly one of the hardest hit areas in the story. many people there are very angry and frustrated. they say they can't get back into their homes to start work on them. and the complaints about the government's response to all of this are clearly on the rise. one person describing his experience on our show last week. >> my father and people on my block are retired police officers, correctional. on this block mostly retired fireman, active duty fireman. we don't know who the president is. we can't find out. we have to ask people. we have no idea where the help is, where the froe food is, we have no idea where anybody is. we can't contact any building departments, any insurance companies. we are to the getting any help. it's unfair. martha: that caught our attention in a big way last week. we asked him to come back and join us in our studio where it's warm and dry. welcome. thank you for coming in today we appreciate it. >> thank you for having me. martha: tell me about the fema response. that's my first question. has it changed at all in the last four days? what have you got even from them. >> i told you fema stopped by my house two days ago last time i talked to you, and we haven't heard from them since. i've got even my restricted use letter, just put on my door. there was actually no investigation of my house whatsoever, noee value ways. nobody came in to look at my house to see if my foundation was okay. to see the damage in my house. they just came, walked up to my house, stuck a sticker on the door and wubgd away. martha walked away. martha: what does the sticker say. >> it's restricted use. it's a yellow. there is time in the day to fix my house but they don't want me to live in it. martha: what does that mean, restricted use? what are you allowed to do, and not allowed to do. >> they want me to fix my house as of right now. there are temporary living funds coming in and places for people to go but not right now, i have this on my house right now. there are 6,000 homes in my neighborhood that have this on their doors and they have nowhere to go. martha: they are telling you you can't live there but they want you to get it fixed as soon as possible and he they are not offering you any help. >> exactly. no questions, no explanations, they didn't even have the decency to knock on my door. and my neighbor was standing outside while they were doing this. he requested them to come in his house and give him a full evaluation of the house. they said no, we're just going to give you a yellow sir. martha: a lot of people are complaining about the fact that there wasn't fema prepositioned for this storm, that they weren't ready with trucks and supplies and food and water and all of those things to come ph. >> nobod n. what was your experience? >> nobody was ready. i was unprepared. i didn't believe the water was going to come above my house. i sit 17 feet above say level. we were expecting 8 to 1 feet of surge. i didn't think the water was going to come. i was a little prepared my car was packed. it came so fast my cars washed away. i had nowhere to run or go. martha: your car was packed but it washed away? >> it didn't physically wash away but it was consumed by all the water. martha: what about the red cross, what have they done for you? >> the red cross comes by. i have heard stories of people getting batteries that don't work, flashlights that don't work. one neighbor received a whole box of granola bars that were molded. these are called packed meals, this is what they give you. i've worked in pizza restaurants. i had problems cooking this food. it has charcoal and it heats up the food and it gets so hot i burnt myself. what about the elderly people that can't hold their hands still? are they supposed to in the dark cook these meals and burn themselves, or maybe -- martha: can they go to shelters? >> yes, there's shelters there, but the shelters, i mean, my house itself, i could still physically shower, i can live in my house, i have a six-level house. my basement got weight, but for some reason i can't live in my house. i mean, i don't want to oep a bed in a shelter for somebody that lost their hours, i don't think it's fair. to be honest with you there is enough room in some of these houses if they want people to leave for everybody to live in. but the concern for the city is to just get out of your house, and no explanation. they didn't even knock on the door. martha: what are the ramifications -- are you sleeping in your house right now? >> as of right now yes. martha: and you're not supposed to be. >> technically if you go on nyc.gov and you go under buildings none of the cfo's have been taken away temporarily. it's called due pros sefplts it gives them time to set the paperwork after they set the signs. martha: we wish you well and we wish you were getting more help. and maybe the fact that you come and talk to us gets the story out there a little bit more. that is our hope at least, so people at least know what is going on in your neighborhood. >> it's not about just me, myself it's about my whole neighborhood. i don't want to live in a neighborhood by myself. i want some answers, some leadership and some direction. without leadership and direction people are going to do very crazy things to survive. martha: you're right. that is a big fear out there. and i know a lot of people are just staying at their houses because they are so afraid they will lose what little they have if they leave the house. chris we have to leave it there. keep in touch with us to let us now how you are doing. thank you, chris. >> bye-bye. >> general petraeus will have personal insight into this because he did visit libya after the attack, and over time i think he owes it to the committee to share those insights with them. gregg: that was former cia director michael hey dan a short while ago right here on "america's newsroom" after news of david pet's extramarital affair spread like wildfire through washington, seriously sparking a new investigation into what the white house and congress was informed. chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge live in washington. this isn't just a question of courtesy, right, there are legalities involved here, obligations under the law to notify. >> that's right, gregg. under u, s code 50 subsection 413 and 1413a deal with notification and it reads in part, quote, to keep a congressional intelligence committees fully and currently informed of all intelligence activities which are the responsibility of, are engaged in by or are carried out for or on behalf of any department, agency or entity of the united states government, including any significant anticipated intelligence activity, and any significant intelligence failures. in layman's terms this fbi investigation on its face would have come under 413, and 413a which would have required congressional notification to at least the chair and ranking members of the house and senate intelligence committee. late friday when the story broke a hill source said to me that this was extremely important, given the gravity of the investigation and that it could not be mine miced as simply a potential criminal or personal matter, gregg. gregg: it's strange when the head of the senate intelligence committee finds out from the media of all people. but, look, petraeus is under fire for a lot of things, not the least of which is not -- his agency not coming to the aid of those under fire in benghazi. but look, also he appears to be wedded to this anti-islam video as the catalyst for what happened in benghazi, at least early on. which dovetails with president obama's story. talk to us about that. >> reporter: well, based on our reporting, on september 13th, two days after the attack in benghazi the fbi and the nctc, a national terrorism center, the nation's central hub for threat analysis, they were briefing people on capitol hill that they had telephone intercepts that indicated it was an al-qaida affiliated attack and they made no passengers of a demonstration or the anti-islam video having a role. on the 14th director petraeus briefed members of congress and described it as like a flash mob, and very much wedded to this idea that the video had a role. and it was this conflict that really upset lawmakers, it was described to me as that there was grave disappointment, anger and frustration, and this is rare to hear about the director at that time, though now a month later -- six weeks later, rather he has resigned. gregg: often the paper trail belies the stories that are peddled. catherine herridge, thanks very much. >> reporter: you're welcome. martha: dealing with the latino vote after a drubbing on election day, senator lindsey graham says something has to change. >> this is an odd formula for a party to adopt, the fastest growing demographic in the country and we are losing votes every election. martha: how lawmakers on both sides of the aisle plan to tackle that important issue. gregg: plus a small business owner honoring our troops this veteran's day with an inspiring story making dreams come true. >> everybody here is very emotional. they start crying, we start crying. it's a very emotional and happy day for all of us. ♪ [ male announcer ] it's that time of year again. medicare open enrollment. time to compare plans and costs. you don't have to make changes. but it never hurts to see if you can find better coverage, save money, or both. and check out the preventive benefits you get after the health care law. ♪ open enrollment ends dember 7th. so now's the time. visit care.gov or call 1-800-medicare. martha: here is a nice story, a bridal shop owner giving back in a major way this veteran's day. military bride's to be braving the cold over the weekend for a chance to get a free wedding gown. the denver-shop owner lost her husband in vietnam and she says she knows what these women are going through. she says this is her way of giving back to those who have served our country. gregg: well there is a new push from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to tackle a hot post-election issue, immigration reform. south carolina senator lindsey graham say the republicans need to address this issue before the next election. >> it's one thing to shoot yourself in the foot, just don't reload the gun. so i intend not to reload this gun when it comes to hispanics. i intend to tear this wall down and pass an immigration reform bill that is an american solution to an american problem. >> that's right the metaphor. christian bowers joins us daily beast columnist and fox news contributor tony sieag is president of talk radio news. good to see you both. republicans lost the hispanic vote by a whopping 44%. look, i understand that they don't vote based solely on immigration, but nevertheless, does your party need to reconsider its rather strident position on immigration and embrace something more conciliatory? >> i would say yes, although i wouldn't say this would be something very new. you have to remember, something, gregg, george w. bush had a centrist immigration policy. john mccain shared that same belief, our last candidate. gregg: it went nowhere. >> it went somewhere for george bush that got 44% of the hispanic vote in 2004, a percentage higher than barack obama got this year. there is a vibrant part of the republican party that understands that there has to be a practical solution to the fact that there are 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country. at the same time we could smartly deal with border security to prevent the flood of more. but for those 11 million year we just can't say selfdeportation as a solution. gregg: speaker john boehner came out and said and i'll quote, a comprehensive approach is long overdue. politically is now a good time to try and do it? >> well i don't think the republicans really have a choice at this point. i think the writing is on the wall that they are going to need to work with the president on it. and hopefully we will be able to actually see both sides come together and do some sort of comprehensive immigration reform. it's true that george bush -- george bush essentially had the same position as ted kennedy on immigration reform, and karl rove was another person who had really urged the party to embrace some short of comprehensive immigration reform. it went nowhere and it became a flash point. let's not try to pretend that this has just been something that was ignored. this was a real flash point, it was something that the conservative base gets very riled up about, and it is something that played a big part in the primary, and really alienated. gregg: like the spanking at the polls on tuesday. whenever you get the spanking you kind of straighten up and reconsider your behavior. tony, americans are very compassionate and have a great sense of fairness. they understand that more than a million americans came here as children of illegals through no fault of their own. isn't it time for your party to engage in a full-throated endorsement of the d.r.e.a.m. act or something similar being crafted by rubio? >> exactly i think senator rube kwroeu is the kind of leader who is taking a very reasonable step, extending legal status to children who were brought to this country, through no fault of their own, through their parents coming here illegal leave. those who perhaps served in the military who might be undocumented should also be extended, i think, similar rights and benefits. i think the real opportunity highe here is to strike while the iron is lot. president obama claimed to deport more people than george w. bush. he failed to do more for border security than george w. bush. >> give me a break. gregg: kirsten you're getting the last word. i want to give kirsten the last word. >> it's dishonest to pretend that barack obama didn't want to do comprehensive immigration reform. the reason he didn't do it is it was never going to get through. >> he owned congress for two years. >> it is absurd to suggest that he didn't want comprehensive immigration. >> i didn't say he didn't want it, he didn't do it. gregg: thank you both for being with us. martha: let's go down to jenna lee and find out what is going on on "happening now" at the top of the hour. jenna: new developments in the scandal inch very well opening the man who was once the nation's top spy. what the resignation of po*et r-r means to the war on terror. wally ferris will join us on new information on what our enemies are saying about when and where they will strike next. today some big econ stories for you. a closer look at a possible rebound in the real estate market. and how close are we really to being energy independent? we'll talk about all of that in a few minutes. martha: sounds great. see you then. in the meantime a miss tore i can city of canals is more underwater now than ever. look at that. new video of a near record flooding in venice. >> and some getting new independence. gregg: historic flooding in venice, italy the scene of many canals, seas flooding about 70% of the central part of the city. venice installing temporary bridges to help folks get around. hundreds had to be evacuated to tuesday ka knee where they are drinking a lot of wine right now. martha: doesn't sound too terrible. right. gregg: no. martha: a new program to help those who are the most disabled among veterans. steve centanni joins me live from fred ris virginia. steve, talk to me a little bit about what they are doing there. >> reporter: the house you see behind me is being donated to a quadruple amputee who served in iraq and afghanistan, sergeant john peck. he first went to iraq and had a brain injure from an ied that went offer. he came back and went back to afghanistan, another ied went off and he lost all four of his limbs. they are donating houses to people so severely impacted by the wars across the country and hope to build dozen of them. this is about the 12th or 13th they've done. later on today they will have a ceremony here, that is why the big american flag flying. john peck will get the keys to his new house here on the sans lore civil war battlefield and he and his mother will live there. a very good story for veteran's day as we some of these people who have difficulty dealing with ordinary houses having a specially fitted smart house that he can use, that has special features, that will make it more livable for him. martha: what a wonderful thing to do for him. these organizers are planning to do lots of these homes, right? >> reporter: well, that's right. they've already built three of them. two more are being dedicated today. one here in virginia, one in missouri. they have nine more in the works. and ultimately they are hoping that everybody who is a triple or quadruple amputee from the iraq or afghanistan wars who wants one will get one of these houses. it is a joint effort after a foundation named after a first responder in new york on 9/11 and the gary seinese, an actor who has helped veterans' causes for many years. he donated a communicating of money for a 2500 square foot house. a counter that is lower than usual. shower controls that are outside the shower. anything to make the house more usable, more liveable for somebody who has a serious disability. martha: the steven stiller foundation and gary seniese foundation have done great work. gregg: good for them. all right. we have to tell you more about this devastating mystery unfolding, a massive explosion destroying dozens of homes. the latest on what may have caused that blast. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today. >> we're happy to tell you outpouring of support for victims of sandy stretching across america. in beautiful san diego, a local school hosting a massive garage sale. tents and boxes filled with books and clothes lining the parking lot. the school surp

Related Keywords

Vietnam ,Republic Of ,Brazil ,Turkey ,California ,United States ,San Diego ,Zimbabwe ,Syria ,Washington ,District Of Columbia ,South Carolina ,Nepal ,Libya ,Chicago ,Illinois ,New York ,Tampa ,Florida ,North Carolina ,Iran ,Afghanistan ,Missouri ,Virginia ,Gaza Strip ,London ,City Of ,United Kingdom ,Denver ,Colorado ,Golan Heights ,Syria General ,Staten Island ,Iraq ,Tennessee ,New Jersey ,Israel ,Phoenix ,Arizona ,Teheran ,Iran General ,Capitol Hill ,France ,Italy ,Americans ,America ,Iranian ,Israelis ,British ,Libyan ,Syrian ,Israeli ,Palestinian ,American ,Peter Roskam ,Paula Broadwell ,Gertrude Walker ,Nancy Pelosi ,Sarah Sar Paula ,Dianne Feinstein ,Jenna Lee ,George Bush ,Berger Chambliss ,Michael Hayden ,Martha Maccallum ,Clay Walker ,Christian Bowers ,Steven Stiller ,David Petraeus ,David Axelrod ,Douglas Holtz ,Clint Boyer ,John Boehner ,Tony Mendez ,Steven Moore ,Jim Dave ,John Mccain ,John Peck ,Gail Mcgovern ,Mike Morrell ,Wally Ferris ,Eric Cantor ,Jennifer Longworth ,Peter King ,Manny Alvarez ,Janet Napolitano ,Patrick Murphy ,Jill Kelly ,Gregg Jarrett ,Barack Obama ,Lindsey Graham ,Eric Sean ,George W Bush ,Jeff Gordon ,Mike Tobin ,Lance Armstrong ,Ted Kennedy ,