Transcripts For FOXNEWS Happening Now 20110330

it's "happening now". jon: good morning to you! i'm jon scott. jenna: hi everybody, i'm jenna lee. nice to have you back, jon. "happening now", major setbacks in the rebels in libya, proqaddafi forces forcing them to retreat from a key oil town. it's a big story, jon. jon: it's a rapid reversal coming days after the opposition made gains west and trying to take over qaddafi's home town. nato war planes flying over the zones with the heaviest fighting, witnesses reporting hearing explosions indicating a new round of air strikes. jenna: all the chaos is affecting the oil industry. that is the industry in libya. we have word today that only one refinery is still functioning. there are now fears of a fuel shortage in libya. how that fight affect the fight. and also what that means for the rest of the world so dependent on oil now. rick leventhal is traveling to benghazi now, he's going to call us in a little bit. he's on his way. as you can imagine communication is rough right now with so many different parts to this story. rick leventhal coming up with the latest out of libya. jon: to another crisis overseas, radiation levels hitting their highest levels yet outside japan's damaged fukushima nuclear plant. sea water there, found to contain more than 3000 times the legal limit of radioactive iodine. it's a sign more contaminated water is seeping into the ocean from that crippled plant. and the president of the tokeo electric power company which owns the power plant is now in the hospital being treat fod hypertension. for the first time since the massive earthquake struck, japan's emperor visited a shelter to meet face to face with evacuees from the crisis. our dominic di-natale is streaming live from osaka. what's the latest to restrain the contamination there? >> they are proposing to spray the entire site with a water soluble resin which they believe will actually seal the surface of a lot of the areas that are giving off radiation. it will basically be like a huge cape of glue surrounding or encasing the site. it will stop the radiation that is on the debris that's scattered across the entire plant complex, it will stop it from being picked up by the wins and dispersed or washed away by the huge amounts of water they're using and pouring on to keep the fuel rods cool and not from melting down. they're going to actually start doing a test tomorrow, thursday, japan time, on a small area and they're going to do it in a particular part whereby it will actually help create greater access for the workers to go in and actually get in the control room and get the cooling systems online as opposed to just hosing in water, which is what they've been doing. so it's a test, and also the resin is only a temporary solution. they're going to want to look at a longer term solutions that they've got on the side of fukushima, jon. jon: some have argued this plant should be buried permanently. is there a chance of salvaging anything from it? >> well, yesterday, the prime minister was saying that it was his recommendation they should de commission the whole part remember six of the reactors are troublesome, now we're hearing that the four troublesome reactors will indeed be closed down but it's almost certain, i think, that they're going to have to close fukushima indefinitely. at what point they do that, well, it's once they get the situation whereby they know the fuel rods aren't going to go into meltdown and can put them into what's called cold shutdown. we're telling from the chairman of tekco, the utility operator, saying it will be several weeks -- sorry, rather, he was saying it several weeks will be too short to stabilize the reactors so it's going to be many months but ultimately, yes, they're going to have to close fukushima down. jon: streaming live, dominic di-natale. jenna: fox news alert out of syria, big story there today, the associated press reporting witnesses are telling them that syrian troops are opening fire on protestors in a western syrian city of latakia. we're paying close attention to this story, the president of syria addressing the nation today. obviously there's been unrest we're following closely, about what that means for the region, what that means if our relationships there, also with iran. we'll bring you more updates as we get them. jon: and a fox business alert on jobs for you, and some signs of growth in the labor market. payroll giant adp, it's reporting the number of private sector jobs rose this month by 201,000 nationwide. now, that's a smaller number than last month but still positive to see any job growth at all. small businesses account for more than half the hiring, while the adp report shows some job growth and expected jab cuts, they're also lower. challenger, gray christmas reports the number of jobs cuts fell 18 percent. jn jn that's not bad news. this overshadows a jobs report due out friday, we get a new unemployment rate and see how many jobs added in march. are we past the point of a double digit recession or is that a possibility? >> let's talk to tom don knew -- donahue, he has an insight into what companies are doing these days. what do you think about that, are we out of the woods as far as a double-dip recession in the labor market? >> we're very hopeful that we're out of the woods and that the economic growth this year will be somewhere between 3.2 and 3.5% in the u.s., and that will create 2 1/2 million jobs. now, there are a few things going on that everybody is watching, what's going on in the middle east, what's going to be the effect of the price of oil, what are we going to do about these trade agreements, are we going to finally get them done. there are lots of questions that we're all going to be focused on. but my hope and my belief is we're out of the hole and we're moving forward. the big question is how quickly can we create jobs. jen jeand another factor, you point out so many that we're watching, is this new financial regulation that's really going to go into effect. i know you're talking about that today at the chamber. what's the expectation as far as the new regulations, how that may or may not affect the job market next year? or this year, even? >> well, we have the new dodd-frank bill and that's done and now we have, if you can believe this, more than 250 required regulations and a whole lot of others they're suggesting, that could take years to get put in place, and our situation is we have to have a sensible set of regulations that don't conflict with one another, we've got to have transparency in what's going on, and what our objective is is not to oppose the regulations, but to participate in the regulatory process so that what is done and what is finally agreed to is going to provide capital to small and medium-sized and large companies and make us a competitive force around the world while avoiding the very unfortunate happenings of a few years ago. jenna: as you mentioned, it's tough to know exactly the effect of these regulations coming into the market at this time. you know, another thing that so many people seem to be talking about these days when it comes to job growth and the state of our economy is our tax structure. and of course, all of our viewers want our financial system to be safe, we also want a fair chance to grow in the global economy. but there's been a few reports out recently that show that is a lot of american companies are fighting to get lower corporate taxes but really are fighting loophole, not paying their taxes in full, and that leads to the question of why should we believe, if we lower corporate tax, we're going to see, one, job growth, and two, be paid in full, back to the united states government? >> well, three sentences to answer your question. first of all, america is now the highest tax corporate entities anywhere in the world, now that japan has lowered their taxes. we have the highest tax rate. and second, we also have the problem we're only country that is double taxed, so if we can business in china, we pay the taxes there, and then if we bring the money back, we pay it here, so that's number one, and we have to fix that or we're not competitive at all. number two, the reason the -- to give you an example, ge didn't pay taxes are two-fold. number one, they had a financial massive financial organization in ge that lost a lot of money last year and when you lose money, you have a deduction, and second, they did a lot of things on green energy and other projects, job creating projects, that the congress of the united states had put in place inducements, tax credits, to go out and do that. so this year -- >> jenna: i just want to interrupt you for a second because maybe sewers -- viewers don't know about the report last week from showed ge as an example getting around the taxes and you're pointing out there were a few reasons for that. >> right. i mean, massive losses. plus, very important job creating activities. next year will be different. jenna: and to your point, consumers also get a break when they do different things, even in their own home for green energy. we should mention that. tom, if you have one suggestion for fixing the tax structure, what would it be? >> i think we ought to do it, the whole thing, not a little bit at a time. but we've got to lower the corporate tax rate to be competitive around the world, and to create jobs. simply. jenna: tom, great to have you as always, tom donahue, thank you very much for joining us. >> see you soon. jon: the battle for libya, we do not know how this conflict will end, of course, but our next guest has four very interesting possible scenarios. some good, and some not very good at all. you'll want to stick around to hear that. also, an orca performs again at sea world today, one year after killing its trainer. federal safety officials suggested the whale never work with trainers again. so why is sea world putting it back into the water? plus, mexican cartels are recruiting on army of new drug smugglers, american teenagers. a live report from the border on how the cartels lure teens into their violent world of drug trafficking and the deadly consequences, up next. jon: a turnaround in libya as proqaddafi forces ratchet up the firepower. they have been bombarding the rebels with rockets and shells, forcing the opposition to retreat to the east. there's word nato launched a new round of air strikes in the country, the situation there very fluid and no one seems to know how it's going to play out. there are possible scenarios. joining us with a look at those, jerry sieb of the "wall street journal". you laid out that the president -- you said that the president laid out the scenarios, you point out four, two good and two not so good. >> it's hard on a given day to know where in that range we're at, at any given moment. jon: the rebels seemed to be on a role, now maybe not so much. here's your first possible outcome: that the libyan army turns or collapses, the rebels within. in that scenario, gerry, everybody goes home happy from the u.s. point of view, right? >> exactly. exactly. that's the easiest solution, which is the army sees that history is not on their side because it's not on qaddafi's side, they turn on him, essentially join the rebels or directly go after qaddafi and he's taken care of internally. that's a nice outcome. it looks less plausible today. jon: the selgd, outside pressures force cadaf -- second, outside pressures force qaddafi to leave. nato or other countries? >> this is actually the scenario the u.s. officially embraces, that the military effort is not designed to knock out mommar qaddafi but a combination of forces over time will do him in, you have economic sanctions, arms embargo, international isolation and continued support for the rebels so they can't be pushed out and that over time he sees he can't win-win, he's going to be dragged down, negotiate his own departure. how realistic, we'll see. jon: then we get to the -- even that one doesn't sound so good, but the other two scenarios that you laid out, even less good, libya separates into two, and you see a stalemate result. >> right. and that may be what we're looking at today, if you're just projecting forward. nobody wins here, that colonel qaddafi controls essentially the west of the country, the rebels control the east of the occurring it's divided, a civil war situation a. hot civil war or cold war, in that case, the west faces really tough questions, do you arm the rebels to change the status quo which is not what the u.n. authorized, do you commit to a long term air patrol mission over libya to keep them in place, to preserve the stalemate essentially, do you provide humanitarian assistance on a big scale for the rebel-held areas of the country. none of those things have been addressed directly now because none are relevant but they might be before too long. jon: the president has said that qaddafi must go, yet as you point out, the remove of -- the removal of qaddafi is not part of the stated aim of the military action that the president has ordered, so your fourth scenario is that qaddafi waits it out and the rebels get destroyed when the world simply isn't paying attention anymore. >> right. right. and the precedent here is the same as saddam hussein in iraq. he lived more than a decade under a no fly zone imposed by the u.n. resolution, enforced by the u.s. it's similar to this situation. and he simply sat tight for a long, long time. he did not directly go after his opponents, he decided to bide his time. that did not work out in the long run because george w. bush went him. the point is he survived for a decade under similar conditions and didn't have to go anywhere. mommar qaddafi is pretty good at sitting tight, he's 68 years old, he's outlasted seven american presidents already, so he knows how to survive. that's one scenario. if he can't win he hunkers down and dares the world to do something about it. jon: for a while the rebels were in control of virtually every corner of that country, every major city except tripoli, the capitol. our rick leventhal was outside of ras lanuf which had been for a time a rebel strong hold, now they've lost it and seem to be in retreat despite the no fly zone. there are no guarantees to the militaryac the president has ordered. >> no, there are not. and one of the questions here is how aggressive the u.s., the allies, including nato and including some arab league professionals, how aggressive will they northbound enforcing the u.n. resolution who says the mission is to protect civilians, how do you define that, who you -- do you define that as going after every armoured car that moves in the country if it's a loyalist spoating colonel qaddafi, do you go after them by definition, do you have to be more precise about that, are you interpreting the u.n. resolution in a way that allows the rebels to prevail militarily or defining it more generally. those are the questions people would like to avoid because they'd like this to end more neatly and quickly than that but you see pictures like today's and you wonder whether that's the murky area we're headed into here. jon: if our viewers want to know more, they can read your thoughts in the "wall street journal". gerry, thank you. jenna: speaking about that region, syrian president adegreing his nation for the first time since massive protests erupted across his country. check out what happened to the president as he was leaving after making those remarks. who is surrounding his car, what's going on there? we're live with the story. also surprising news about what he did not mention today, but the world expected. a live look at the weather radar, where a big noreaster is now brewing. who will get hit? we're live at the fox desk, just ahead. jenna: it's a growing and disturbing trend in the drug smuggling business, mexican cartelsry cruiting a rising number of american teenagers. listen to this, the cartels are luring them in with fast cash, promising they're going to get off if they get caught but what the sales pitch doesn't mention is what the cartels will do if the teen smugglers botch the job. kris gutierrez is in el paso with this extraordinary story. kris. >> reporter: jen yark the bottom line is american teenagers know they can make a couple hundred bucks by carrying a bagful of dope from war eds on the other side of the river into el paso here. they think it's easy money but authorities say it's extremely dangerous. >> an american teenager was busted while trying to smuggle this load of marijuana into the u.s. from mexico. authorities say the young man driving this truck was recruited by a mexican drug cartel. >> they'll tell them look, you're a juvenile, you're not going to go to jail, nothing is going to happen to you. >> over the past ten years, 476 juveniles have been caught with drugs at a point of entry in el paso county, 302 of them were u.s. citizens. >> they're being presented with this in the high schools nowadays as a viable option for making money. >> school districts along the border are now inviting authorities into their classrooms to warn students about the risks of helping the cartels. students, as young as sixth graders, watch videos like this, which outline in graphic detail how cartel members burn the bodies of people who fail to deliver their drugs. >> we're very blunt. we will tell them the consequences that they can suffer there, which can be anywhere from just getting beat to death. >> reporter: el paso county attorney joanne ber bernau says the court system can be tough, too. >> the legal consequences are things that can face them and affect them the rest of their lives, an they're talking about jobs, obviously, college applications -- applications, scholarships. >> reporter: that scared straight program that's offered in local schools appears to be working because officials say they've seen a sharp decrease in recent months in the number of american teenagers who have been apprehended at the border in el pass ow but they admit the numbers may be skewed because fewer americans are traveling into jaurez there because of the violence they're seeing there right now. jenna, back to you. jenna: a story we'll continue to watch closely. thank you, kris gutierrez with that remarkable report. fox news is looking at the growing national security threat along our southern border, what does it mean for all of us. check out a special section of original fox news stories at your online resource, foxnews.com. jon: breaking doachs right now across the middle east. we start in syria, where the president, bashar assad gave his first address to the nation since violent protests erupted across his country and look what happened afterwards, a woman approaching his car, then a swarm of people follows her, protestors calling for change across the country, hoping assad would announce an end to nearly 50 years of meeting law which gives his regime a hand to arrest citizens without any charges whatsoever. but assad made no mention of that, instead blaming conspirators for trying to destroy syria. to yemen now where hundreds of thousands of protestors packed the streets. the antigovernment demonstrators there calling for the president's ouster and also blaming him for the deadly blast at a munitions factory earlier in the week that left about 100 people dead. to amman, and crackdown on protestors there, security forces rounding up several antigovernment activists, the country's attorney general saying the protestors have taken part in a sit-in. no word on how many were detained. reena ninan is live in jerusalem. reena. >> reporter: hi jon. last night the vice president of syria said that the speech would exceed the expectations -- expectations of the syrian people and bring them great joy but not everyone felt that way. take a look at that video, as assad left giving the speech, these are the supporters, thousands of them gathered in support of the speech, one lady getting a little too close to the crowd there, but for the protestors against assad, this speech brought no concessions, no reforms. he doesn't want to be perceived as giving in to the pressure and he surely didn't dish out anything today. this is more of a national pep rally than anything, jon, in what appears to be a clearly orchestrated display of love and affection during the speech. several parliament members stood up and shouted in support of assad. assad has spent much of the speech blaming the west, in particular the u.s. and israel, he played up the patriotism card. what will be interesting to see is what happens on friday, the protestors against assad are calling it martyrs' friday and asking for people to come out nationwide and protest against the regime. jon. jon: reena ninan, live from jerusalem, thank you. jenna: a fox news alert on another country in that region, egypt, the official news agency reporting that the egyptian military, which is basically running the government at this time, is deciding to hold presidential elections by november at the latest. that's what they're shooting for. the supreme court of the armed forces saying presidential elections will take place one or two months after september's parliamentary contests. egypt's former president hosni mubarek was toppled by massive protests in february, one of the tipping points of unrest in this entire region. right now, tilikum, the 6-ton orca whale that killed a trainer is back performing at sea world in orlando for the very first time since that incident. it's hard to forget that. it happened last february. a 6-ton whale -- the 6-ton whale suddenly pulled senior trainer, you're seeing her on the screen there, dawn bron show -- breen ceo under water, drowning her. the health administration suggested this whale never work with this trainers again, they fiend sea world 75 thod for three violations. sea world issued this statement, though, saying participating in shows is a portion of tilikum's day but we feel it's an important component of his physical, social and mental enrichment. he's been training with other whales for training, exercise and social and mental stimulation. the family isn't commenting on tilikum's return, choosing not to deal with how they died but on ways to honor other memory. jon: from ohio to wisconsin, we watched massive protests unfold in a number of states because of proposed reforms over pay and benefits. coming up, we'll show you one state facing big cutbacks but it has seen no protests. why is that? also, dangerous mudslides in northern california. an entire city threatened. why some people cannot leave their homes. 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. 14 clubs. that's what they tell us a legal golf bag can hold. and while that leaves a little room for balls and tees, it esn't leve ro for much else. there's no room left for deadlines or conference calls. not a single pocket to hold the stress of the day, or the to-do list of tomorrow. only 14 clubs pick up the right one and drive it right down the middle of pure mian. jenna: one of the biggest political stories of the year so far, for weeks we watched a massive protest in wisconsin where the governor there pushed to restrict union rights to try to help balance the budget. in the state of washington the budget deficit is bigger than wisconsin's. and state workers are taking even bigger pay cuts. what about the outrage out west? we'll talk to dan springer. , what are the responses from the union members when they hear about these cuts? >> reporter: well, we thought we'd see the outrage the same way we saw in wisconsin and in ohio but we haven't it seen it out here. it's sur just, the size of the budget bev sit is larger out here and the state workers who are union iced are being asked to give up big sacrifices, a 3% pay cut in furloughs, and to pay more than 3% for their healthcare. the big difference republicans say that we are not seeing any protests in olympia is because of the politics of the situation. there is a democratic governor and democratic legislature out here unlike in wisconsin, so they say that because of that we are not seeing the outrage, and because of that the huge amount of money, the campaign contributions that democrats have given in 2010 alone it was $2.7 million. >> this labor agreement till gives thousand of state employees a 5% step increase in their wages. all these things are varying, it's an inconsistent message to the public. >> reporter: the union had it pretty good in the years after they got collective bargaining rights in the state of washington. their pay went up double digits in some cases and state spending went up 33% in the first four years after they got collective bargaining rights, jenna. jenna: no protests needed. we are a lot more melo out there. we have to go to georgetown, university. the president will be speaking about energy security. this coming just a few days after obviously talking about the situation in libya. he's expected to talk a little bit about libya, as well as what we've seen in japan with the nuclear disaster there and talk about how those situations may or may not affect our own policies here depress particularly. let's go ahead and listen to the president. >> thank you so much. everybody please have a seat, please have a seat. it is wonderful to be back at georgetown. [cheering] >> we've got a number of acknowledgements, first of all i want to thank president dejoia for his outstanding leadership here and also for his hospitality. we also have here secretary steven chu, my energy secretary, where is stef convenient. there he is over there. secretary ken salazar of the interior department. [applause] >> secretary tom vilsack our agriculture secretary. ray lahood our transportation secretary. lisa jackson, our epa administrator. [applause] >> nancy sutley who is our counsel on environmental quality director right here. [applause] >> a couple of great members of congress, congressman j. ensle yes, of washington, where is jay? there he is over there. and rush holtz of new jersey is here. [applause] >> we've got -- he didn't bring the weather with him, but the mayor of los angeles, californ california, mayor, antonio via sreurbgand tone owevillaraygois. and most importantly the students of georgetown university are here. i want to talk with a difficult subject, i know you've had a tough loss coach. coach is here too, i love coach thompson, i love his tk-d and a great tradition that they had. it turned out vp was pretty good. i had georgetown winning that game in my bracket, so we are all hurting here. [laughter] >> that's what next year is for. we meet here at a ta mull tw ats time for the world. in a matter of months we've seen regimes topple, we've seen democracy take root in north africa and in the middle east. we've witnessed a terrible earthquake, a catastrophic tsunami, a nuclear emergency that has battered one of our strongest allies and closes friends in the world's third largest economy. we've led an international effort in libya to prevent a massacre and maintain stability throughout the broader region. [applause] >> as americans we are heartbroken by the lives that have been lost as a result of these events. we are deeply moved by the thirst for freedom in so many nations. and we are moved by the strength and the perseverance of the japanese people. and it's natural, i think, to feel anxious about what all of this means for us. one big area of concern has been the cost and security of our energy. obviously the situation in the middle east implicates our energy security. the situation in japan leads us to ask questions about our energy sources. in an me tha economy that relieo heavily on oil, rising prices at the pump affect everybody, workers, farmers, truck drivers, restaurant owners students who are lucky enough to have a car. [laughter] >> businesses, you see rising prices at the pump hurt their bottom line. families feel the pinch when they fill up their tanks. and for americans that are already struggling to get by, a hike in gas prices really makes their lives that much harder. it hurts. if you're somebody who works in a relatively low-wage job and you've got to commute to work, it takes up a big chunk of your income. you may not be able to buy as many groceries. you may have to cutback on medicines in order to fill up the gas tank, so this is something that everybody is affected by. now, here is the thing. we have been down this road before. remember, it was just three years ago that gas prices topped $4 a gallon. i remember because i was in the middle of a presidential campaign. working folks certainly remember because it hit a lot of people pretty hard. and because we were at the height of political season, you had all kinds of slogans and gimmicks and outraged politicians, they were waiving their three-point plans for 2-dollar a gallon gas. you remember that, drill baby drill, and we were going through all of that. and none of it was really going to do anything to solve the problem. there was a lot of human cry, a lot of full ma naturing and hand ringing, but nothing actually happened. imagine that in washington. [laughter] >> the truth is none of these gimmicks, none of these slogans made a bit of difference. when gas prices finally did fall it was mostly because the global recession had led to less demand for oil. companies were producing less, the tphapbd fo demand for petrot down, prices went down. now that the economy is recovering demand is back up. add the turmoil in the middle east and it's not surprising that oil prices are higher. and every time the price of a barrel of oil on the world market rises by $10 a gallon of gas goes up by about 25-cents. the point is, the ups and downs in gas prices historically have tended to be temporary, but when you look at the long-term trends, there are going to be more ups in gas prices than downs in gas prices, and that's because you've got countries like india, and china that are growing at a rapid clip. and as 2 billion more people start consuming more goods they want cars just like we've got cars. they want to use energy to make their lives a little easier, just like we've got. it is absolutely certain that demand about go up a lot faster than supply. that's just a fact. so here is the bottom line, there are no quick fixes. anybody who tells you otherwise isn't telling you the truth. and we will keep on being a victim to ships in th shifts inl market until we finally get serious about a long-term policy about a secure, affordable energy future. we're going to have to think long term, which is why i came here to talk to young people here at george town, because you have more of a stake in us getting our energy policy right than just about anybody. now, here is a source of concern, though, we've known about the dangers of our oil dependence for decades. richard nixon talked about freeing ourselves from dependence on foreign oil. and every president since that time has talked about freeing ourselves from dependence on foreign oil. politicians of every stripe have promised energy independence, but that promise has so far gone unmet. i talked about reducing america's fendence on oil when n i was running for president. and i'm proud of our progress towards that goal. we'll talk about that in a little bit. i have to be honest we've run into the same political gridlock, the same inertia that has held us back for decades. that has to change. that has to change. we cannot keep going from shock when gas prices go up, to transe when they go back down. we go back doing the same things we were doing until the next time there is a price fight, then we are in shock again. we can't propose to do something about gas prices when they are high and hit the snooze button. we can't keep on doing that. we can't rely on that long term when the resources run out, and it will get more and more expensive to extract from the ground. we can't afford it when the costs to our economy, our country and our planet are so high. not when your generation needs us to get this right. it's time to do what we can to secure our energy future. and today i want to announce a new goal, one that is reasonable, one that is achievable, and one that is necessary. when i what's elected to this office america imported 11 million barrels of oil a day. by a little more than a decade from now we will have cut that by 1/3. that is something that we can achieve. [applause] >> we can cut our oil dependence by 1/3. i set this goal knowing that we're still going to have to import some oil. it will remain an important part of our energy portfolio for quite sometime until we've got even alternative energy strategies fully in force. and when it comes to the oil we import from other nations obviously we've got to look at neighbors like canada and mexico, that are stable and steady and reliable sources. we also have to look at other countries like brazil. part of the reason i went down there is to talk about energy with the brazilians, they recently discovered significant new oil reserves, and we can share american technology and know how with them as they develop these resources. but our best opportunities to enhance our energy security can be found in our own backyard. because we boast one critical, renewable resource that the rest of the world can't match, american ingenuity. american ingenuity. american know-how. to make ourselves more secure, to control our energy future we are going to have to harness all of that ingenuity. it's a task we won't be finished with by the end of my presidency, or even by the end of the next presidency. but if we continue the work that we've already begun over the last two years we won't just spark new jobs, industries and innovations, we will leave your generation, and future generations with a country that is safer, that is healthier, and that's more prosperous. today my administration is releasing a blueprint for a secure energy future that outlines a comprehensive national energy policy, one that we've bee been pursuing since te day i took office, and cutting our oil dependence by a 1/3 is part of that plan. here in george town i'd like to talk in broad strokes about how we can achieve these goals. meeting the goal of cutting our oil dependence depends largely on two things, first finding and producing more oil at home, second, reducing our overall dependence on oil with cleaner alternative fuels and greater efficiency. this begins by continuing to increase america's oil supply, even for those of you who are interested in seeing a reduction in our dependence on fossil fuels, and i know how passionate young people are about issues like climate change. the fact of the matter is is that for quite some time america is going to be still depend event on oil in making its economy work. now last year american oil production reached its highest level since 2003. and for the first time in more than a decade oil we imported accounted for less than half of the liquid fuel we consumed, so that was a good trend. to keep producing that reliance on imports my administration is encouraging off-shore oil exploration and production as long as it's safe and responsible. jenna: the president is talking about his plan as he just mentioned to reduce our reliance on importing oil into our country. he calls it a speech about energy security, the title of the speech is secure energy future. we'll stream the rest of the address on foxnews.com. we want to give you a little bit of context here where gas prices are right now because they are important not only because they affect all of uts and what we are doing on a daily basis, also they become a very important political issue as well. if we can, gas price are at 3.59 just below a touch below 3.60 right now. that is up 80-cents from last year. as we mentioned a point of context, a thing to think about as we move into 2012 how this issue can play out politically as well as economically, one we will pay close attention to. jon: there is new evidence that radioactive water is leaking out of japan's crippled nuclear reactors. leaking into the seawater outside the fukushima plant. this crisis is raising concern about the 104 nuclear reactors operating here in the united states. president obama is expected to continue talking about the potential danger of nuclear power in the united states. take a listen to what he's had to say. all right. we don't have that sound that i thought we were going to be able to bring up for you. how safe are the american nuclear plants in operation right now? maria corsnic is the chief operations officers of constellation nuclear group. the president had been warming to nuclear energy. it was a big part of his overall energy policy. you just heard him talking about oil importation. how much has this fukushima plant crisis set the industry back in this country do you think. >> i don't think it's going to set the industry back in this country. i do think appropriately so we'll take on the learnings of what we're seeing unfold in japan. we are doing that now, both as an industry, the nuke louisiana torrey regulatory commission as well is taking a look at our reactors. they formed a task force with the short and long term focus, but i feel very strongly that we will pass the rigor test and once again go forward with nuclear in the united states. right now we power one out of every five homes and businesses. it's a vital part of our industry and our electricity for the foal kwroe. jon: yet it seems that what happened in japan was brought on by the unthinkable, you know, you've got the earthquake, then the tidal wave then the loss of power to the cooling systems at those reactors which is really what fomented the crisis there. if it's unthinkable, i mean what else might be out there that nobody is considering? i guess that's what bothers a lot of people. >> i agree. and quite frankly our industry needs to be ready for the unthinkable. obviously we have many redundant systems and safety systems in play, but we yet still need to continue to prepare even more. i'd say 9/11 was a great example. post 9/11 we took that on as an industry and said even though we have all of these redundant systems, what else could happen? what if you had a large scale event that would involve a great deal of your sites, say a large fire, are we prepared? maybe it would be better if you had portable equipment that you could move around instead of just the installed equipment, so we invested in that and invested in some diesel stand alone, if you will, pumps and hoses, et cetera. so we will continue to take on the learnings that we are seeing here from japan. but, you know, there is no free lunch, right? we want to produce electricity, we want do it safely. other sortsess pose risks as well. i think very strongly nuclear will withstand the skraout no and come forward as a very safe reliable supply for us. jon: we hope you are right about that. thank you. jenna: john boehner with pointed words to democrats in the spending bill, pass the dam thing, that's what he says. he's also accusing democrats of rooting for a government shut down. are the suicide any closer to hammering out a budget to keep our government running? we are live on capitol hill and also karl rove weighs in just ahead. ♪ i thought it was over here... ♪ [car horn honks] our outbacalways gets us there... ... sotimes it just takes us a little longer to get back. ♪ - 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. you gotta try honey bunches of oats with almonds! it's got real, sliced california almonds with a third less sugar per serving than honey nut cheerios. wow! delicious! try honey bunches of oats with almonds! jenna: right now brand-new stories and breaking developments this hour. new polls out tonight on president obama, how americans view him and his chances for re-election. karl rove joins us ahead. new questions about opposition forces in libya. who are these rebels? and how many potentially have links to al-qaida? the f.b.i. released cryptic letters the only clues to a murder mystery more than a decade old. what it means, how you can help. we think ub. it's all new, it's all live, it's "happening now." here is the headline for the hour, president obama's job approval rating hits an all time low in a new poll we just got today. hi, everybody, we are glad you're with us, i'm jenna lee. stpho: i'm jon scott. as the president looks for support for his energy plan, you might have heard him talking about that a new poll says he's losing lots of support among supporters. according to a quinnipiac poll only 42% approve of the way he is doing his job. 48% say they disapprove. 10% don't know. looking ahead to the 2012 campaign 50% say mr. obama does not deserve to be reelected. 41% say he does. joining us now karl rove, chief adviser and deputy chief ef staff to george w. bush, he is a fox news contributor and someone who knows polling. when you look at the numbers what does it say to you about the president's prospects for re-election? we are a long way from november of 2012. >> reporter: i think that's what they are probably thinking with a sigh of relief in the west wing. these are not particularly good numbers. if you look inside the numbers they are even worse. for example among independent dents who are the critical element in any election, the president's job approval is 39% and his reelect is 37%. if you look at the big issues the president's approval on the issues is clearly driving these numbers downward. on the deficit he only has a 30% approval on the economy a 34% approval, on energy a 35% approval. on foreign affairs generally 41. on afghanistan 42. these are not good numbers. they like him, they wish him well but they are giving him very poor marks today on his conduct and his handling of the big issues? and the president seems to be taking a pounding from just about all quarters, really, on this involvement in libya, and i wonder if that is reflected in some of these poll numbers? >> reporter: i think it is to some extent, but remember most of the time a president -- a president's worst enemy is himself. it's how the president acts, how he handles himself. how the american people perceive him rather than others. there is another poll more troubling for president obama. the gallop poll says that the percentage of people who call him strong and decisive is today 52%. that is down from 60% a year ago and 73% shortly after he came into office. now whether you agree with the president or not, you know, americans want to feel their president is strong and decisive. so even if there are a lot of people why they might not be inclined to be for the president if they see him decisive it at lease mitigates opposition to him. the president's downward number in being seen as throng and decisive is a problem. he's added to the problem with a muddled and confusing and contradictory way he has handled libya. jon: in this quinnipiac poll 48% of democrats indicated support for the president over the libya involvement. 40% of republicans, 38% of independent dents which go to the point you were talking about, about the problem he seems to be having with independent dents at this moment. >> reporter: yeah he also has a problem with democrats on libya. most times if you look at other numbers and the other big issues he's getting approval of his handling of the other issues among democrats in the 70s and 80 percent. for him to get less than 80% among democrat is for libya is problematic. you can't just look at one poll or a couple of polls in the short run but they are troubling trends and i suspect one of the reasons why the administration is announcing an energy initiative, had the bull -- white house conference on bullying in schools. they are trying everything they possibly can to change the issues and find some kind of ground on which they can improve their numbers and get additional support from the american people. jon: at the same time when you look at the potential field of republicans who are likely to challenge the president, one of them is going to be the nominee eventually, he came into new york last night, raised a million and a half dollars for his re-election campaign which is expected to cost, on which he and the other democrats are expected to spend a billion dollars. that is a tall order for any nonoffice holding, nonincumbent republican to overcome. >> reporter: well it's not who raises the most money. democrats had more money in 2010 and lost the congressional races overwhelmingly. the question is sufficiency, and it is yet to be demonstrate etd whether republicans will have efficient funds. a lot of people are aware of the problem and they are working it. the president will have a monetary advantage. i think the billion dollars was a little bit of bluster. i wouldn't be surprised if they ultimately got to it. between june and november of 2008 between the democratic national committee and the obama campaign they raised and spent $850 million. four years later to see them get to a billion dollars worth of campaign fund may not be too much, but i think it was a little bit of chest pounding, let's go out there and try and discourage the republicans by saying we'll have a billion dollars, and it may have come off looking a little bit like dr. evil, one-million-dollars. to discourage people from getting into the race. jon: karl rove interesting take on it there, thanks. jenna: right now back to the middle east. rebels in libya on the retreat today we hear from the key libyan oil port of ras lanuf. government ground forces unleashing heavy bombardment of artillery shells. this is despite new air strikes from nato. joining us from libya, borjaou. is there a shift in control, power momentum. >> reporter: from what i understand the government is moving towards port brega and the rebels are rethreeting. that would be a real set back. it would show that all of the gains that the rebels got in the -- since the coalition air strikes began would be lost. that would be a huge set back for them. as it is now let's be cautious here, because you know this area between ajdabiya and sirte is just a decembe desolat e-waste d it's just as easy to lose territory as it is to gain territory. jenna: its hard to get situated on exactly what we are looking at in the country. one of the big questions asked back here at home is who are the rebels, who are we supporting? what is your take. >> reporter: it's interesting, you know, the libyan government alleges that they are led or in fill traited heavily by al-qaida, islamic militants. whenever i've spoke tone rebels either in the east or in misra misrata, or in a tribal area in the west that is under rebel control and they are getting their public relations act together and speaking to the press, they really harshly deny that. i spoke to one rebel spokesperson who said we are doctors, lawyers, engineers, retired people. there may be a few islamic activists among us but we hate al-qaida and we reject them. jenna: what is your gut check on that do you believe them. >> reporter: yeah, libya is like the rest of the world. you have all sorts of political denominations. there's been a move towards islamic pie a tee in recent years. there might be extremists among them. most ordinary libyans of this stripe reject al-qaida and the whole philosophy of al-qaida is opposed to this kind of popular uprising. jenna: invaluable perspective as always. thank you so much for joining us again. he is from the l.a. times. jon: for the latest reaction here in the u.s. to the situation in libya jennifer griffin is joining us live from washington. the debate, jennifer seems to be going on about whether to arm the rebels. >> reporter: it does continue in fact british preupz david cameron had to answer questions about it in parliament again today. his response was carefully worded leaving the door open to the possibility of arming the rebels under the current u.n. security council resolution. >> alternate the same time it allows all necessary measures to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas. in our view this would not necessarily rule out the assistance of protection for citizens in certain circumstances. we do not rule it out but we have to the taken the decision to do so. >> reporter: this is kp-pl exactly the same wording we heard from both u.s. ambassador to the united nations susan rice and secretary of state hillary clinton yesterday, jon. jon: the president says the state department has some idea of who the opposition is, right? >> reporter: the pentagon has admit heed there are quote, knowledge gaps about who the rebels are but the president pushed back in an interview on cbs last night. >> first of all, i think it's important to note that the people that we've met with have been fully vetted, we have a clear sense of who they are. so far they are saying the right thing, bows of them are professionals, lawyers, doctors, people who appear to be credible. that doesn't mean that all the people who -- among all the people who opposed qaddhafi there might not be elements that are unfriendly to the united states and our interests. >> reporter: then there is the issue of cost estimated so far at nearly $600 million by the pentagon. today admiral staves staretes was on capitol hill. he says our european allies are not spending enough on our defense budget to help cover the cost of joint operations and the bulk of the cost of the war still falls on the united states, jon. jon: thanks jennifer. jenna: meantime demonstrators taking to the streets in syria shouting, freedom, as president bashar al-assad blames outsiders for the growing descent against his rule. more on that coming up. the f.b.i. investigating when someone allegedly shoots an airplane punch a hole in the fuselage of a 737. what is the deal with that? we'll talk all about it. we have more details on our website, log onto foxnews.com. you can see 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[ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! jon: right now tracking violent protests in the middle east, a growing concern for u.s. security. in syria tens of thousands holding rallies to support the government as president al-assad blames everything on a proconspiracy see. protesters are calling for a regime change. in iran the army cracks down on demonstrators wanting reform arresting many protesters who took part in the protest. leland vittert reports live from skwrerlz. >> reporter: right now we are seeing some of these regimes learn from what they view as the mistakes that other arab regimes have made and therefore have lost ground. in syria we are seeing a lot of use of live ammunition from the security services as they are trying to put down these protests and deny the protesters the ability to take over any one town and then be able to raise a rebel army, something we saw happen in libya. that's why you're seeing these really violent crackdowns in syria. they are denying access in syria to independent and foreign journalists to be able to come in and report on what is happening. in jordan, a key u.s. ally there were massive protests on friday, that is last friday, and big protests planned for next friday. why is this important? jordan is a very key u.s. ally, and remember in jordan not only do you have the government but you also have king hussein who is the head of state there, somebody who has been very influential in the peace project. with hosni mubarak gone in egypt it appears jordan is the last real u.s. ally who has any kind of influence in the middle east. now there is big protest asking for more freedom there and possibly some of those protests are being led and organized by the muslim brotherhood. now we move to yemen, a key u.s. ally, there's been a lot of protest. security services have used a lot of live ammunition to try and even kill protesters when they are out on the streets. everyone in yemen has a gun. it is one of the most heavily armed nations in the world. friday is a day off in the arab world, friday and saturday is the weekend that's when everybody goes to the mosque for friday prayers. remember, jon the mosque is a lot of where the protests start. friday afternoon in middle east, friday morning is back in the united states is when all eyes need to be focused on this to see which countries are going to have the massive uprisings that we see have the potential to overthrow regimes, some with the united states as allies, some not. back to you. jon: thanks, leland. jenna: a little bit more on syria. a bit of a surprise in that country today. al-assad taking to the airways condemning protestors. he did not offer any concessions. it was widely expected he would get up there announce reforms, including lifting the emergency rule in that country that has been in effect for nearly 50 years. what is iran's strongest ally up to. what's what we are asking van berman. he is the author of day horan rising. this is a country that is shrouded in mystery to many americans. what should americans really know about syria. >> this is the $64,000 question. there is not a lot to like in the debate about syria. there are a number of key things we need to understand. first syria is the last remaining baathishs regime. syria and iran were both run by baathist. a lot of that explains why syria has taken such an unconstructive role in it's treatment of the coalition in iraq. it sees itself as the last man standing after the u.s.-led overthrow of iraq. syria also has its dalliance with the rad ka lis regime with the ayatollah's in iran. it is the closes ally in the region r it is a key ally. it helps fund the shiite hezbollah. syria has a huge destabilizing influence in the region. in terms of it's ability to project power using hezbollah, using its friendship with iran in a very nonconstructive way around the region. jenna: that's why it is so difficult to deal in this region. the dynamics are intense. maybe that is the only way to put it. i wanted to show you what our officials have said about the president of syria and get your reaction to this. let's go ahead and take a listen. >> there is a different leader in syria now. many of the members of congress of both parties who have gone to syria in recent months have said they believe he's a reformer. jenna: a different leader, president al-assad came out today and blamed the united states and israel for the uprising in his country. who is this guy. >> reporter: quite frankly the secretary's comments are really telling. the obama administration are taking a very deferential stance towards what is happening in syria. the reason they are doing so is quite frankly syria matters a lot and libya doesn't matter quite as much, nearly as much. it's very hard to talk about vital u.s. interests that are implicated in the libya operation, which may be why the white house has been so forward leaning on it. if we talk about syria, and supporting the opposition, if we talk about a real international coalition to thwart the regime in syria you're opening up a can of worms that i think the administration is very reluctant to do. a reformer he's certainly not. but a key player in the regional dynamic that we see unfolding. syrian president bashar al-assad definitely is. jenna: i only have 30 seconds to wrap it up. what should our policy be towards syria? >> reporter: i think the president's speech on libya a couple of days ago was a really good benchmark prism through which to view all this. the president's speech was by all accounts a very forceful defense of what the add minimum straying is doing in libya. but whether or not that example actually becomes translated to a more forceful stance on syria and iran remains to be seen. i suspect the administration is very forceful on libya because in the grand calculus it doesn't matter as much and syria and iran water a great deal. jenna: that's very interesting. we didn't even get to iran, i hope we can get to it in the future. thank you very much for your expertise. we really appreciate it. jon: how would you feel if you knew someone was taking target practice on a airplane you boarded. a bullet hole found in a jet. what the f.b.i. is saying during the investigation about how it got there. you just saw it here president obama calling for a big reduction on america's dependence on foreign oil. reaction from a key republican senator, tennessee's lamar alexander next. >> any claim that my administration is responsible for gas prices because we quote unquote shut down oil production, any claim like that is simply untrue. it might make for a useful sound byte but it doesn't track with reality. jon: president obama there moments ago talking policy and politics as he outlines his plan for america's energy security needs. he wants to move the nation away from importation of overseas oil by developing domestic fuel and clean energy. let's talk about it with tennessee senator lamar alexander, a republican on the environment and public works committee. the president says thinks goal over the next decade is to reduce deportation of oil by about 11 billion barrels a year. would republicans applaud that goal? >> it's very ambitious. it would be a good idea to stop importing oil from people trying to blow us up. to do that we not only have to useless we have to find more. we have to find more off-shore in federal lands and alaska. in brazil they encouraged them to thrill more and sell it to us. jon: the proposal is a $7,500 tax credit like the chevy volt. miami all for american gas companies building great cars but that car has been criticized as a $40,000 very expensive vehicle. should taxpayers be subsidizing people's personal choices if they want to buy a car like that. >> i favor that for a short time. that's already the law. after 200,000 vehicles the government should get out of it. jump start electric vehicles and nuclear powered vehicles is fine but we should step back there has never been a death from a civilian reactor in the united state, never a death from a reactor in any of our navy reactors. no one was even hurt at three mile island. we have to learn lessons. if we want clean electricity in the future we're going to have nuclear power. it's 70% of our clean electricity today. jon: what about raising the debt sealing. we have been arguing this and arguing this for a longtime. there is the possibility of a government shut down. would you be in saver of raising the pwebt sealing. >> i will not even consider raising the debt sealing unless we do something significant about the long term federal debt. we are having a injurdebt. we have to look at next 60 years. that is for example a ten-year plan to reduce the percent of our debt. we have to do it because we're borrowing 40-cents of ever dollar we spend today. jon: let's talk about presidential politician. the president is getting ready to announce his re-election campaign. there are a number of republicans out there who may want to challenge him. we talked to karl rove about the president's poll numbers and the fact that they are not looking have good. is he beatable? i mean in your view is this president going to be a one-term president? >> well it's too early to say, of course he's beatable. any republican running needs to understand it's like going from 8th grade basketball to the final four when you get into a presidential race and we'll have to be strong on defense. we'll have to be for a low cost clean are in policy instead of a high cost overseas policy that drivers us overseas. we need to have a low cost energy policy, a good, strong republican candidate can surely win. jon: senator lamar alexander, republican of tennessee, thank you, sir. >> thank you. jenna: right now a u.s. airways plane with a hole in its fuselage could return to the skies today. the f.b.i. is investigating this case, i'm sure jon scott has a lot of questions. harris what do we know about this. >> reporter: this boeing 747 was on its way into charlotte. they said this pilot has a heck of an eye. in a preflight inspection he was looking around the plane and he saw what he thought was a small bullet hole. they called in the f.b.i., and low and behold they recovered a bullet. the 144-seat plain has not been back in commission since. today they were expecting after a full sweep and repairing the hole they were expecting to put it back in the air. that brings up a whole host of questions, who put the bullet hole there, it looked like it was discharged from a small handgun but they don't know when or how it might have happened. this plane, a u.s. airways group spokesperson saying didn't have any indication of any problems. this was just a preflight inspection, something that they always do, but something that tiny to be picked up by a pilot let's you know he's got to have a great pair of eyes in the sky, just like our own jon scott. jenna: not a bad thing. harris, thanks, unbelievable story, right, jon. jon: it really is weird. hard to believe it's from a handgun. jenna: who? how? all of those questions. jon: let's get the f.b.i. get on that. jenna: that's a good idea. jon: there is a big set back for those libyan rebels triggering calls for the west to actually arm the opposition. but who are these guys? what to take of reports that some are tied to al-qaida. the former chief of the kreurbgs a'the osamabin laden unit joins. jon: a powerful new storm battering the northwest today bringing a dangerous mix of rain and snow that could lead to avalanches. extreme weather also expected in the south. rick reichmuth is tracking it all at the fox weather center. rick? >> you have all the snow back from a really snowy winter and get this late season snow into the mountains and it is very, very wet snow and very, very heavy and it can slide off easily. that's why we have the avalanche concerns mostly along the cascades and higher elevation. some places three or four feet of that really heavy snow. some will spread in across much of the west. that is good news continuing for some of the ski areas across a lot of the area. all that moisture continuing to stream in mostly to washington. last week all a little farther south down towards california. this time the storm track is much farted to the north. you were talking about severe weather across the southeast. look at severe rain moving into alabama and georgia, the panhandle of florida. tornado watch box in effect until 8:00 p.m. tonight. all this moisture continuing to slowly to the east and south and probably a few tornadoes from time to time today. that is the threat for severe weather is issued by storm prediction weather northern half of florida. maybe tomorrow farther toward the south. here are high temperatures. warming up a little bit for folks. it will get colder again this weekend, jon. there is the potential for a nor'easter for friday. certainly we'll probably see snow across areas of the northeast. cities, questionable. mostly rain. maybe a little bit of snow. jon: still a month left in ski season in colorado, rick. up for one last trip? >> i'm going monday and tuesday. glad you asked. jon: i'm jealous. you didn't invite me. >> that's true. sorry, come along, man. jon: rick reichmuth. thanks. i'll be there. >> we have seen flickers in the intelligence of potential al qaeda, hezbollah. we've seen different things but at this point i don't have detail sufficient to say that there's a significant al qaeda presence or any other terrorist presence in and among these folks. jenna: that was nato supreme allied commander in europe speaking about operations in libya. what does that mean about the flickers of al qaeda but no significant presence? who are these libyan rebels? michael scheurer is author of bin laden. michael, what is your interpretation of that, flickers of al qaeda. >> the general was trying to cover as best he can for the president, secretary of state and miss rice. those young libyans gone to fight in islamic insurgencies around the world whether in the balkans or chechnya, iraq or afghanistan, somalia or yemen, those are the people who have the military skill. to hear the president earlier on your program say, well they're doctors and lawyers so they can't be islamists, it is just a ridiculous statement. al qaeda and its allies are drawn overwhelmingly from the best and brightest, the best educated in the muslim world. so in effect if this was afghanistan, we would be, we would be providing air cover to the taliban. jenna: are we following the same patterns that we did in the past, even before occupation of afghanistan? are we following patterns and mistakes we made before? >> no, not really because there is no need to make a mistake this time. to understand the libyan resistance, go on google and search for a group called the libyan islamic fighting group. they have been fighting qaddafi for 20 years. they're based in benghazi and eastern libya. and they have gone all over the world to gain training and fighting. jenna: now let me ask you about that group though. i read in some of the research it suggests that the group definitely wants to fight against qaddafi but also decided that they weren't going to align themselves with al qaeda back in 2007 or some did they actually sever with al qaeda? are they different? >> they issued a statement after being tore turt -- tortured in qaddafi's prisons last fifth teens years. statements from qaddafi or mubarak are not reliable to base u.s. security on. whether they severed, what i was going to say, jenna, whether they severed relationship with al qaeda or not is irrelevant because they're all moving in the same direction. which is to take over countries and establish islamic law which may or may not be of concern for the united states. but for mrs. clinton and president to say these are middle class lawyers or rather, that we don't even know who they are, i think the american people should be appalled at that. jenna: well, it is easy to understand our desire to want to believe that we're helping the good guys, right? that is what would like to believe but that's why we're also asking these questions. as our ambassadors to the u.n., yesterday, michael, said to me and hillary clinton also said yesterday publicly we're still getting to know the people that we're helping. how long -- >> there is no reason for that, jenna. jenna: how long will it take to get to know them and know their intentions or whatever they may be? >> they're not going to have much time because the debate that is going on today, the fact is if the resistance is going to have a chance, they're going to have to kill a lot more libyans on qaddafi's side. they have to have firepower. they have to have training. they will probably have to have boots on the ground assistance of some kind. so getting to know them is it is a little late in the game for that. jenna: what about arming them? what about that? >> sure, you can arm them. train them. but what if they're, what if they're not just simple doctors and lawyers who want to be secular democrats? are you going to try to establish a islamist state in libya? if those are the people who turn out on top? this is just amateur hour, jenna, unfortunately. at the end of the day it only pushes america into another unconstitutional war and into another endless waste of our money. jenna: just a real quick final thought. you're the terror expert. what should we do? what should the path be? >> we should just stay the heck out of other people's business. the president, there's nothing in the constitution that says we have to go to anybody's aid for humanitarian reasons. humanitarian reasons are the responsibility of churches, nongovernmental organizations, the u.n. if they want food and medicine, let them get them. but to waste the resources of the united states and to create a situation where more islamists mujahadeen can be nurtured is certainly not anything that involves a responsibility on the part of the united states. jenna: you give us a lot to think about, michael. we appreciate it. michael scheurer, thanks for joining us again. we look forward to talking to you again. >> thank you, ma'am. jon: here is an interesting quandary. the fbi needs help decoding i should say cryptic letters. why the agency thinks you can help solve this mystery and bring a killer to justice. harris as breaking details. harris. >> as we go into the commercial break a lot of people are online as watching us. i will give them a bit of a homework assignment in the next few minutes. they're trying to turn a cold case hot again. they have hung out a shingle at fbi. coke crackers needed. -- code crackers. go to foxnews.com. click on the story as i did. it will bring up this really weird looking letter. guy went missing. they found him. found one of the letters in his pocket. can you solve it? there is more on the case as they try to turn it from cold to hot as i mentioned. more after this. if it is happening now, you're in the right place @=h hey, pete. yeah, it's me, big brother. put the remote down and listen. 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[ male announcer ] if you cannot afford your medication, call 1-877-niaspan. niaspan is not for everyone, like people with stomach ulcers, liver, or serious bleeding problems. severe liver damage can occur when switching to niaspan from immediate-release niacin. blood tests are needed to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you have muscle pain or weakness; this could be a sign of serious side effects; this risk can increase with statin use. tell your doctor about alcohol use, if you've ever had gout, or are diabetic and experience increases in blood sugar. flushing, a common side effect, is warmth, redness, itching, or tingling of the skin. ask your doctor about niaspan. fight back. fight plaque. niaspan. >> hey, everyone i'm megyn kelly. president obama says sarah palin's drill, baby, drill, call, was never going to get the job done on energy independence. so what is his alternative? our power panel explains. plus they are called maternity tourists. women from china and mexico and elsewhere who come to the united states for the sole purpose of giving birth to their babies here. then they go home, with their american babies and live a full life someplace else. why would they do this? we'll have a full investigation. and a scandal emerging about the movie, the "black swan". now some are questioning whether natalie portman actually deserved her oscar after her body double in the movie claims that gnat at thatly virtually did none of the dancing. kelly's court takes a look. see you at the top of the hour. jenna: right now the feds are seeking the public's help finding a a killer in a murder case that has fon unsolved for 12 years until we have this development right now. harris is live at the breaking news desk with this mystery, harris. >> i want to catch up everybody what happened in june of 1999. 40-year-old ricky mccormack went missing. they found his body dumped in a field. this is in st. louis, missouri. sheriff's deputies hit a dead end with the investigation. they called in the fbi with details. those details had to do what was found on ricky mccormack's body. a couple of notes written in sort of a cryptic code. the fbi was called in to try to figure it out. they said they had their best cryptic analysis and raketeering records unit on it and still couldn't crack it. they say there is always somebody in the public who can help us out. those notes they feel could help reveal the victim's whereabouts before his death and lead to the solution of a homicide. they are breaking this open in kind of a new way. they're telling people, look we need your help. contact us at quantico, virginia. they're hanging out a shingle at the crypt analysis and raketeering records unit. i would argue before today you probably never even heard much about that they think you might be able to help if you can say exactly what is in these notes. apparently this ricky mccormack had a secret way of talking. he had been doing it since he was a kid. if he was in some kind of trouble he may have written the notes down, whatever happened to him, that people or person with him before his death may have thought it was nothing but in fact there may be some good information in there and the fbi saying that if you can help contact us, let's put up that contact screen if you can. the fbi laboratory in quantico, virginia wants to hear from you. back to you guys. jenna: if anyone can do it i think our viewers can. >> no doubt. jenna: harris, thanks. jon: interesting case. a killer whale performing in public for the first time since drowning his trainer at seaworld. new information on the return of tilikum. our must-see moment of the day and it is out of this world. do what? you made it taste like chocolate. it has 35% of your daily value of fiber. tasty fib, that's a good one! ok, umm...read her mind. [ male announcer ] fiber one chewy bars. and vegetables, they help people eat and live deliciously. and by choosing the new york stock exchange to accelerate their business. a living, breathing intelligence that's helping business rethink how to do business. in here, machines tell factories when they're thirsty. so soft drink companie can manage thousands of vending machines in real time. ♪ and customers find what they want...when they want it most. it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities, creating and integrating solutions, helping business, and the world...work. rethink possible. >> i'm harris faulkner at the breaking news desk. there is a manhunt on in terra haute, indiana right now. police describing the guys carrying out a well-planned violent takeover the express minute my mart in one area of terra haute. here is what we know. they know it was well-planned, because each man played a significant role. you see it in the video. this happened overnight. they beat the clerks reportedly with baseball bats. if we just, i'll stop talking. i want you to hear just a clip. it may be very quick but listen to this. you may not be able to hear it. i paused for it. what i was trying to point out there is that they have audio of these guys shouting out instructions and things to each other. so not only do they have some pretty good visuals on these guys, they have some audio and a way to listen to them calling out commands. they say one guy walked in the ex-bless it purpose of keeping -- explicit purpose of keeping the employees at bay with a baseball bat while though cleaned out the registered and took things out after display. there is the tip line. 812-238-stop. if you have any information on the express minimart that was hit in terra haute, indyana. they say these guys are dangerous. back to you guys. jon: harris, thank you. >> sure. jon: some new info about the killer whale that drowned his trainer at orlando's seaworld last year. a short while ago, tilikum, the killer whale, performing for the first time since that tragedy. when he pulled and thrashed veteran trainer, dawn branchau, the picture in the upper right there. pulled her under water as horrified crowd of spectators watched. phil keating is live in miami for us. seaworld is saying it has taken adequate safety precautions, nothing like this is supposed to happen again, right? >> reporter: that is what seaworld orlando claims. tilikum returning to performance in the belief show popular up in orlando. right now in the second performance of three for the day. seaworld says precautions it has taken over the past 13 or 14 months involve no killer whale trainers can possibly be close enough where tilikum, which is 12,300 pounds, it is an enormous orca can even get close to them like it did to drawn branchu when it grabbed her by her ponytail and pulled her under water. any time the tilikum is trands feared he is on the other side of the pull. the pell it gate up. they no longer get close to the whale to brush its teeth. they have a two foot extension. these are measures seaworld said are good and effective. we spoke with the family of dawn brang call, -- branchau had no comment on returning the killer whale to performance. jon: doesn't this completely ignore what federal rowing regulators said should happen? >> depends how you read wording of their citation. osha fined seaworld 75,000. there is administrative hearing about this, seaworld is appealing this. osha found evidence that seaworld basically willing exposed its trainers to danger without adequate protection and they recommended that its trainers never again be exposed to tilikum. so how you read into what exactly exposed means, that will be determined by the administrative hearing judge. but we did speak with the orca network out of washington state. they think this whole isolation of tilikum from people and other whales is only causing even more social problems for this whale. it is 30 years old. like i said, it had killed two other humans prior to killing dawn branchau. jon: let's hope nothing like that happens again that's for sure. phil keating in miami. thanks. >> nasa revealing brand new photos of mercury taken by the first spacecraft to ever circle the planet. it is our must sea moment just ahead your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today. [ troy ] yeah, man. it's fmulated to give you thic diabetes testing? it's all the same. nothing changes. then try this. freestyle lite® blood glucose test strip. sure, but it's not gonna-- [beep] wow. yep, that's the patented freestyle zipwik™ design. did it just-- [both] target the blood? yeah, drew it right in. the test starts fast. you need just a third the blood of one touch.® that is different. so freestyle lite test strips make testing... easy? easy. great. call or click-- we'll send you strips and a meter, free. free is good. freestyle lite test strips. call or click today. jon: our must-see moment of the day comes to you from space. the planet mercury like you have never seen it before. nasa just releasing the first close-up photos taken by the spacecraft. rays spreading out across the top of the planet from that crater. the photo taken yesterday morning as the spacecraft was high above

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