borrow more money. more miles to go because it will the only reason we've come to this is because it's a soon be featured at the visitor' compromise if we get a balanced center here at the kennedy space budget. bill: okay. here is what we have in on our center starting 2013 to see up fox news polling. public opinion is firmly against close and personal what a space raising the debt ceiling. shuttle looks like. only 35% favor raising it, 60% let me tell you, they are quite are against it. large as certainly was evident doug mckelway's got a busy job for the space shuttle crew, three men and one woman. on the hill today with a lot to they all got their medical follow. what can we expect? take it a bit slow, doug, good checks after landing, wheels stopped, and they walked out morning. [laughter] onto the tarmac and did not look >> reporter: i'll try to. all very complex up here. too sluggish there with the one of the first orders of adjustment to earth gravity. business in the house is not specifically related to the debt they are all looking underneath the shuttle and taking it all ceiling crisis, but it's going to send a message to the rest of in. the commander spoke and said the country about whether or not just because the shuttle program the house is ready to put its is retiring forever, it does not money where its mouth is. mean necessarily that our dreams the house will begin debating on of space exploration should be what's called the legislative branch appropriations act of mothballed. >> i want that picture of a 2012. young 6-year-old boy looking up this would cut the house budget by 6%. begin, it's not specifically -- at a space shuttle at the museum again, it's not specifically and say, you know, daddy, i want related to the debt crisis to do something like that when i issue, but it would send a grow e up. hugely important, symbolic our country to do tan be message to the country that congress is willing to cut it own budget. tsaic -- fantastic things like now, on to the debt negotiation. this in the future. >> reporter: so the space it still appears this gang of shuttle atlantis will be here at six plan is the most likely the kennedy space center. scenario to address the crisis, the endeavor will be out in los it would cut $3.7 trillion in angeles, the intrepid in new spending, erase a trillion dollars in the revenue but not york and the discovery at the by cutting income taxes or smithsonian's museum out at corporate taxes. most of that would come through dulles international airport, and those museums will be closing tax loopholes. the trouble is it is a very, opening up in 2012 and 2013. very complex piece of legislation, and there is path president all right, phil considerable doubt up here whether or not this could be keating reporting for us, accomplished by the august 2nd thanks. bill: it was beautiful even deadline. reporters put the question to jay carney yesterday about though it was before dark. whether the president would be here is one of the many willing to accept some kind of pictures. an extension, some kind of a this is so cool. patti ann: it is. bridge to get them through that bill: one of many that was sent august 2nd deadline. here's carney's response. out by nasa. >> obviously, if both sides agree to something significant, it's a weird time, the only time we will support the measures in our adult lives. needed to finalize the details of that, but as you saw jack lew patti ann: exactly. bill: the only way to get a man over the weekend made clear that or woman in space is to rely on because we know what we're talking about here, if there's a the russians. willingness -- and we believe we are in unchartered territory there's a growing willingnd on here. patti ann: yeah. capitol hill -- if there's a when it goes commercial, it's interesting. and a lot of people down there, willingness to do something significant and comprehensive and balanced, we can get that interesting time for them. be bill massa's going to -- done within the time frame. >> reporter: so a little bit nasa's going to hold its first ambiguous right there, but carney later issued a bit of a press conference, so we'll tap into that too. we're at a critical moment clarification. he said the president would be to cut, cap and balance. willing to accept a short-term increase on the borrowing limit does it stand a chance in the if leaders reach agreement on a senate? republican senator jeff sessions significant deficit reduction will react to that. patti ann? plan. so a lot of ball juggling. patti ann: also, a birthday gift bill: yeah, well stated. takes a horrifying turn. doug mcelway on the hill. suspended 80 feet in the air for what kind of trouble are we with three hours. that story coming up. truly in, america? >> really hit me, reality hit me the federal government has spent there was a couple that had more than it has taken in for 69 walked in as soon as we shot out, and they were sitting there of the last 80 fiscal years. watching us go up and down, and we have racked up about $6.2 then i saw this gentleman escort him out. trillion in debt over the past at that point, i knew i was in decade. the u.s. debt is equal to china trouble. and japan's economies combined. this year the government will spend more than $125,000 every second we breathe. stuart varney from the fox business network. i don't know where to start on that thing. i mean, per second 126 grand? >> look, you've laid out the history of our spending and accumulation of debt binge. the point is as of right now it's getting much worse. this accumulation of debt and the spending has gotten much worse just in the last couple of years. for example, on the debt side of the equation we had, we now have a deficit which is ten times lance larger this year than it was in the year 2007. on the spending side, we simply exploded the spending. the stimulus plan, rapid increases in the government spending overall have left us spending $1.6 trillion more than we're actually taking in. the result is that no matter what they cut in these debt talks that are going on now, by the end of this decade we will be $20 trillion in debt. despite any cuts that are promised today in these debt talks. $20 trillion in debt, that puts you in the greek territory, bill. bill: um, that's frightening. >> yes. bill: also, if our debt is equal to the combined economies of japan and china taken together, what does that do for our standing in the world, stu? is. >> well, our standing in the world, in my opinion, is about to take a hit. i think we are going to be downgraded. that is a downgrading of our debt, that's a technical term. what it means is our financial reputation will be taken down a couple of notches. right now we are aaa people, we are the gold standard for the world. we're going to be taken down a notch if, and i believe when we get a downgrade from these ratings agencies. our standing in the world is diminished, period. bill: you're going to pick up more on this, stuart, so we'll check you out over there on our sister network. thank you, stuart. six minutes past the hour. patti ann? patti ann: breaking news on the economy, and it's not good for out-of-work americans. the labor department reporting new claims for jobless benefits are up again, 418,000 new people filed last week. the disappointing number is new ed that layoffs -- evidence that layoffs are on the rise. bill: so we got some new polling just in on the race for the republican nomination. former massachusetts governor mitt romney continues to dominate the field. there is vulnerability there because his support said to be tepid be among tea partiers. the poll highlights how open the contest truly is. sarah palin and rick perry in the top five even though neither of them has entered the race. 18% for palin, 12% for bachmann. patti ann: and michele bachmann is responding to reports of her history of migraine headaches, releasing a report saying they are infrequent and controlled by medication, but that has not stopped this from becoming a campaign issue. carl cameron caught up with bachmann in iowa. >> reporter: i had a chance to talk with mr. pawlenty this morning, and we were talking about the migraines issue. he said, if you're going to be president of the united states, you've got to be able to do the job all of the time suggesting that having missed bouts or having some -- missed votes or having some bouts you weren't up to it. >> well, last night i was in washington, d.c., and i was leading on the issue of the debt ceiling. i voted no on increasing the bill: 9:30 in washington with a debt -- >> good to see you. >> tea-part i debt plan. patti ann: meanwhile, romney says bachmann's health should the. cut, cap and balance bill passed not be an issue in the campaign. several republicans are the house. demanding that allen west apologize to debbie wasserman-schultz. senator sessions, good morning he responded by e-mail saying she's no lady and, quote, you to you. does this live another day or are the most vile, unprofessional and despicable does it die right there on the member of the u.s. house of floor of the senate? representatives. >> we'll have a vote tomorrow peter doocy is live in from what i understand on the washington. hey, peter. cut, cap and balance bill. it what reduce spending now with has congressman west backtracked at all on that e-mail? >> reporter: no, patti ann. cap spending for the future and and, actually, when he said the pass a constitutional amendment congresswoman was not a lady, it appears he meant it because he is not backing down, and he is not apologizing. to do what states do and live >> i have not received an within our means. apology, i haven't received a when i came here 14 years ago we phone call. i know he has my e-mail, i voted within one vote of passing haven't gotten an apology on my a constitutional amendment to e-mail nor on my fax machine in my office. require our budget be balanced. >> reporter: well, she can probably stop because west is this country would have been in waiting for wasserman-schultz to much better shape had that vote say that she's sorry. been passed. bill: imtold you don't have the in fact, we're waiting on an apology from her is what his votes in the senate. spokeswoman says. they are saying you have got a he's still upset that she called him out on the house floor gang of six. saying she couldn't believe a we have a gang of 234 over fellow floridian could ever there. if it dies in the senate, it support the cut, cap and balance appears the gang of 6 idea, it bill. he talked to kevin mccarthy, starts to emerge. and all is fine. patti ann? patti ann: well, meanwhile, >> it's the suggestion of the wasserman schultz's female colleagues are weighing in on day. i am concerned they have been this. what are they saying? >> yeah. a handful of democrats held a meeting all year and have produced a series of talking points that cannot be analyzed press event, and they basically and scored. took turns says it appears it raises taxes wasserman-schultz is a lady and west is wrong. >> sticks and stones will not clearly despite what my good break this congresswoman's friend senator conrad said bones, and neither will earlier, it raises currents tax congressman west's blackberry. rates by $1 trillion. >> he really should apologize. it appears it cuts spending by i think that it's only due, and if he refuses, he should be asked to do so, um, by the house 1.2 trillion. this is an insufficient leadership if he refuses to do response. the problem we have in it on his own. washington is the surge of >> reporter: those women also sent a letter to gop leadership spending that's going on. we increased non-defense asking them to disavow mr. west. discretionary spending 24% in they're also asking for money to the last two years. this is where we have got to gin up support in their base which west is doing as well. focus. we can't ask the american people he's saying that wasserman to send more money to bail out schultz is an attack dog, and he's asking people to send him $25 or more. reckless spending in washington. patti ann: peter doocy, bill: you mentioned senator interesting. thank you, and happy birthday, i conrad, he's part of that gang believe. >> yes, thank you. of six. he was on our program yesterday. [laughter] patti ann: so what will congressman west say next? i want to play a little bit of he's going to be here on what he had to say. "america live" today during the it seems like this is right in 2 eastern time hour. your wheel house. bill: also on fbn coming up >> because the way we are doing it is to broaden the base, shortly. peter doocy's like 50 today, isn't he? patti ann: or 5ment. reduce the exemptions, he can bill: happy birthday, peter. collusions and credits in the code and actually reduce rates. those are just some of the stories so far in the newsroom. democrats are saying republicans are trying to cut the debt on in addition we eliminate the at tern tough minimum tax which is the back of seniors. new details, though, on a plan threatening middle class democrats are pushing that would taxpayers by the tens of send medicare premiums, some millions in this country. argue, through the roof, up by bill: he went on to argue you about 40%. have got to get a compromise patti ann: meanwhile, a new somewhere to get the deal done. bombshell in the casey anthony but broaden the tax base, reduce case. what the prosecution never tax rates. revealed during the trial. the revenue increased by a geraldo rivera has that trillion dollars according to this plan, a staggering amount exclusive, he'll join us live. of money. bill: and some are saying it's but it would come from different the stifling face of america. areas. i know a lot of people have been 32 states under a heat advisory pushing that. warning today, what's been why is that not attractive to called a heat dome. you to broaden the tax base. we'll tell you where that is, it >> simplifying and reducing sits over a big portion of the rates is a good goal it's hard country. stay cool. to say you are reducing rates >> i'm hot and sweaty. when you acknowledge your net >> it's like sitting in a sauna all day long. taxes are going up $1 trillion >> hot and tired. it makes you, you know, lose over what's being paid today. your energy quick. so that's the little [ male annocer ] things seem better with travelocity's best price guarantee. gamesmanship, i think. bill: you don't believe it. it goes back to the left pocket, right pocket in your view. >> we need days, we need 7 days to be able to analyze it after we have got legislative language. we don't have legislative language today so the bill is anything the sponsors say it is. i think it's not ready yet. it has ideas that i think could have bipartisan support. i slowt them for the hard work they have done. but i'm not sold yet and i think all of us should see the fine print to complete legislative language before jumping too high. bill: if you are going to remake the tax code that's a high order, i understand that. bill: where do we settle on in your view? >> i think what we need to do probably right now since we clearly have no real consensus about how to proceed, really the democrats have not produced a budget in 812 days. the president's plan was totally unacceptable. they are not publicly engage on serious plans except this gang of six which isn't the president's real plan. i would say we need perhaps a short-term extension with reduced spending to pay for it, and as we continue to talk about what to do. bill: that's interesting -- >> i don't think we should run the risk of hitting the debt ceiling and having major cuts because that would be disruptive. we -- the responsible congress should be able to come up with a short-term solution and avoid a real problem. bill: thank you for your time. i'm out of time but we'll talk again. that cut, cap and balance proposal breaks count following way. fit calls for $3.6 trillion in spending cuts. it would gradually cap spending over the coming decade. right now it's 24% of the economy. that would bring it to just under 20%. congress would have to approve a constitutional amendment before our girl's an architect. increasing the budget. our boy's a genius. patti ann: sweltering we are awesome parents! biddly-boop. temperatures are blanketing states all the way from the [ male announcer ] if you find a lower rate on a room you've booked, plains to the northeast. we won't just match it. excessive heat watches and we'll give you $50 towards your next trip. warnings are in effect. [ gnome ] it's go time. 22 people are believed to have died. the triple digit temperatures are especially brutal for those who have to work outside. >> reporter: how hot is the asphalt when it comes out of that chute? >> i believe it's 300 degrees. patti ann: minnesota's state government is back in business. >> it takes your breath away. democratic governor mark dayton signing a budget deal ending the it's hot, sweaty, gross. neigh's longest state government shutdown in a decade. patti ann: heather is outside >> it destroyed minnesota's our new york city heated quarters, staying cool out reservist standing for a state of responsible government and a there, heather? balanced government and one that's not going to be hijacked by the tea party intransigence. hi, heather, how's it going out patti ann: republicans have there? >> reporter: 33 states and temperatures topping out at 100 stood their ground on not raising taxes, but minnesota's degrees. the heat is definitely on across budget deal relies on borrowing, the country. so leaders on both sides of the here in new york it's about 84 isle concede -- aisle concede degrees at this point. but the heat is expected to top out in the midwest today. the eastern portion of the coming years. country where the heat is on bill we have a new analysis that today and tomorrow. says seniors would play a lot more for prescription about 1,600 miles affected, heat medication. that conclusion, my next guest argues, would force premiums to jump by 40%. advisories covering from western doug holtz-eakin was the nebraska all the way to southern director of the cbo, he's also maine, the number of americans the president now of the american action forum. affected is estimated to be 140 doug, good morning to you. >> good morning, bill. million. infrastructure also affected. bill: you've crunched the numbers. we had video of a missouri how do you conclude this? >> well, there are no real bridge. this is missouri highway 44 west savings in this proposal, so the money has to come from buckling in the extreme heat. somewhere, and be it shouldn't have to come from america's businesses also affected. a lot of customers are just seniors. bill: now, why is that the case? staying home, staying inside because i thought with generic where it is cool. drugs out there, i mean, over that's the best advice. but we do have other advice for time it would continue to bring the price down which would make you as well. other tips, wear loose clothing, drugs cheaper. >> the medicare part d program light clothing outdoors. use sunscreen when you are is the most successful entitlement we have. the medicaid program is the least successful entitlement we outdoors. limit outdoor activities and have. check on the most vulnerable. this proposal, supported by that being infants and the president obama and the democrats, would bring the worst elderly. a hat is a good idea and some parts of medicaid into the part sunscreen. i have a hat out here. d program. just a hat to keep you shaded. that's just not right. america's seniors shouldn't have but the best advice. to pay for the failure of stay inside, watch fox news and washington to create economic growth. bill: now, was this loophole or get the latest on heat fine print that a lot of folks advisories all over the country. patti ann: looks nice that hat. overlooked? where do you get this? >> this comes from taking we apologize, there were some hundreds of thousands of actual records of america's seniors, earpiece issues there. bill: man oh man. looking at their drug usage, running the numbers and looking wall street has been traiting at the implications of forcing higher premiums into the for 9 minutes. medicare program. we are back above 12,000. and the problem here is that the president, the white house has consistently said we should not we closed down 15 points balance the budget on the back of seniors, we shouldn't do it wednesday. up 42 points. at the expense of innovation. the earnings have been off the the proposal does exactly that, hook for some of these so it looks like they're playing a shell game with america's technology companies. seniors. bill: what the crew would argue patti ann: casey anthony is out is that the whole idea of of jail almost a week and we are passing the law back in 2006, it was not funding properly in the getting new details about her first place. trial. a single piece of information the president talks about that a that the prosecution apparently lot. does he have a point? knew but never revealed during >> this doesn't improve the the trial. funding. in fact, what it does is say we're going to make the whole bill: some new polling numbers program more, not less that might spell trouble for expensive, and we're going to put the burden of that, a president obama already. and a group of voters that is so billion and a half to as much as four billion out of america's seniors, people yours -- critical in winning the white premiums higher as much as 40%, it pushes in the wrong direction house. onto seniors, and it doesn't fix your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today. the problem. bill: your conclusion is that money has to come from somewhere, and that somewhere will be america's seniors? how many? you gotta try honey bunches of oats with almonds! is. >> there are about 18 million seniors exposed in this program, it's got real, sliced california almonds and depending on just how with a third less sugar aggressively it's pushed, we per serving than honey nut cheerios. could see those premiums rise wow! delicious! dramatically. we're looking at $200 out of try honey bunches of oats with almonds! pocket for a senior. bill: why are we just hearing about this now, doug? >> well, the proposal's been out there, but as the debt talks sure, but let get a little information first. have heated up, it's become more likely something like this could be proposed, show up in the for toys, say two. biden talks or in the gang of toys ! the system can't process your response at this time. six who have no real specificity what ? but a lot of opportunity to put please call back between 8 and 5 central standard time. something like this in. it makes sense to run the he's in control. numbers carefully, not just goodbye. adopt something so damaging -- even kids know it's wrong to give someone the run around. bill: so you're playing this at ally bank you never have to deal with plays into the debt ceiling an endless automated system. battle now. you can talk to a real person 24/7. >> we know that the entitlements are at the heart, the debt it's just the right thing to do. explosion, thus, they threaten both the seniors and the the motorola expert from sprint. economy. sensible fixes are in order. its powerful tools help you work faster and smarter this is not one of those. bill: well, what is a sensible so you can get back to playing "angry birds." fix, i should say? it lets you access business forms on the go, >> well, we know that the future fire off e-mails with the qwerty keypad, of medicare has to be one that and work securely around the world encourages coordination, that encourages the responsible use so you can get back to playing "angry birds." it's the android-powered phone of dollars in medicine and in that mixes business with pleasure. so let's get our work done, america, the end coordinates around the so we can all get back to playing "angry birds." beneficiary and puts them at the the motorola expert from sprint. trouble hearing on the phone? visit sprintrelay.com. heart of the care and gets better quality for lower cost. this does none of those things. bill: is this a guarantee or just a proposal? because -- [inaudible conversations] >> no, just a proposal. and since it's unwise and so damaging to the beneficiaries, it's one that we should not take. bill: okay. we'll watch. douglas holtz-eakin, thank you for your time. we're going to figure out how it effects everyday people because there are implications. patti ann: well, she was found bound hang prg a balcony in a so we can all get back to playing "angry birds." mansion. like, keep one of these over your head. days later that ceo's 6-year-old well, i wasn't "supposed" to need flood insurance, son died allegedly from a fall but i have it. down the stairs. fred over here chose not to have it. now new questions about exactly what happened in that house. ♪ me, i've got a plan. bill: congratulations nasa. sort of a melancholy day. fred he uh... fred what is your plan? watching this program become do i look like i have a plan? historic in u.s. space not really. exploration, the shuttle program is no longer, and be atlantis is [ female announcer ] only flood insurance covers floods. back here on earth. ♪ muck for a free brochure, call the number on your screen. you've done racy go dad commercials before. yeah, but this is over-the-top. thank you. wee here to promote godaddy. not a part of some crazy stunt. well, we're contractually obligated. [ both sigh ♪ go daddy girls coming to set! ...aaand everybody's staring. ♪ go daddy [ male announcer ] see more now -- at godaddy.com. bill: there is a controversy in new mexico where the governor's office plans to verify if challenge that with olay regenerist night elixir. its gentle glycolic formula resurfaces at night immigrants with licenses still live in the state. for the smooth skin of a light chemical peel. sleep ght. regenerist, from olay. >> they are leaving new mexico with a government-issued i.d. that gives them access to federal building, they are able to get onto an airplane. >> reporter: immigrants will be picked at random. they do not show, that license will be cancelled. patti ann: casey anthony is a free woman but we are getting new details about her murder trial. specifically the searches for chloroform on the family's home computer. geraldo joins us with this. >> reporter: there is the evidence in the case, and there is the public sentiment about this defendant. she is the most revialed acquitted defendant, even much more so than michael jackson and o.j. simpson. we continue to hate her, despite the jury's verdict feel she is a murderer who escaped the death penalty or lengthy sentence by trickery. one of the reasons we hate her is precisely because of these chloroform searches. we heard over and over again, 84 searches for chloroform. she premeditated the murder of her child. not only was it presents that way and leaked by the prosecution for three years. but it became the subject of countless newspaper articles, columns, chat shows, cable news. they made a career out of the 84 searches for chloroform. it turns out the prosecution's own expert witness contacted after testifying there were 84 searches went back after being being cross-examined. reconfigured his data and it turns out there was only one search for chloroform, not 84. and the weekend of june 25 before the summations to the jury he notified the prosecutor and the orange county sheriff's department expert on that matter. informed them that he was wrong. informed them there were not 84 searches, but only the single search for several minutes probably concerning the use of chloroform as a club drug. bill: 22 minutes past the hour now. the war in libya continues, he told the prosecutors that, rebels gaining ground near they did not divulge it to moammar gadhafi's stronghold in anybody. the south. according to reports, rebel they summed up. if you recall the summation by fighters captured a small the prosecutor, we only hope she village, considered one of used the chloroform to sedate gadhafi's regional power the child before she put the centers. in texas the state education duct tape over little caylee board set to consider marie's nose and mouth. the prosecution knew when they made that closing argument that their own expert had repudiated his testimony and said there was only one search, not 84. patti ann: you feel as a lawyer it would be an automatic appeal. >> clearly that would have been the case. people have to get their arms around the fact that however we feel about her, however we think she is guilty, thinking ain't proving. they didn't come close to proving it. patti ann: if this witness notified the prosecution and supposedly he said i don't want to mislead the jury, and the prosecution doesn't reveal the information during the trial, wouldn't that be prosecutorial misconduct? >> clearly. i am of the mindset that let sleeping dogs lie, the verdict is in, let her go on with her life. you can shun her, you can refuse to buy her books. you can boycott her or anything connected with her. but understand that this prosecution case of this woman was extremely weak. it was flawed. the jury saw right through it. even with the fake chloroform evidence they voted 10-2 for an acquittal. i think that is what people have to move on. let the constitution apply even to unpopular people. no matter how you feel about her, they didn't come close to convicting her. let me just add, i have never spoken to casey anthony, i don't know where she is. she is not on my boat. she is not in my backyard. my wife came home from dropping our 6-year-old to summer cam. she says three of the women aren't coming to the birthday party we are having for our 6-year-old because they think she is here. bill: i want more proof, geral geraldo. extremists always looking for ways to recruit the next generation of jihadists. but cartoons aimed at kids? she was found dead in a mansion and the man's 6-year-old son dies on a fall down the stairs. before you head to the pool or the beach go to foxnews.com/mobile to find out how to connect to us on your mobile twice. patti ann: the suspect in one of the deadliest mass shootings ever in a military installation makes his first court appearance. major nadal hassan arraigned on 15 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder. he could get the death penalty if convicted. a trial date is set for march of next year. bill: there are new developments on the mysterious deaths in a mansion in a ritzy part of california. the son and girlfriend of a pharmaceutical giant. the woman is said to have been found hang from a balcony, the child is said to have fell down the stairs. her family is saying there is no way it's a suicide. you talked to the sheriff. what does he say, suicide. >> reporter: they have been inundated from around the world, people interested in this case. they sat down with us. we have the most recent interview, we had a chance to talk to hem about the case. they are only giving out little bits and pieces of information. they have 15 detectives work on this. they are waiting for toxicology and forensics to come back. they will combine that with the autopsy and come out with some sort of conclusion. at that point they will have a press conference. i did have a chance to $ask them. the woman was found bound by the hand and feet hang from a second story balcony two days after the young boy fell down the stairs and was seriously injured at the time. he eventually died from those injuries. people at home say how could someone kill themselves and hang themselves in such a way. >> the homicide investigate yor we look at things as being suspicious. this case is suspicious. any time you have somebody in the backyard secured the way she was and she was unclothed. that becomes a problem. that's why we were called out to the case. >> reporter: that was sergeant roy frank talking about the situation. he said he won't rule it out until they get the toxicology back in. bill: thank you, adam housley live on our story in southern california. patti ann: the future of our fox dollars and how the government uses them. why republican congressman joe walsh is urging republicans not to give in. bill: she might be the biggest row at star on the planet, but does kim kardashian own the rights to her own look? bill: here we go, "fox news alert" now awaiting -- awaiting updates from a lot of different corners, the leading republican and the democrat from the house, speaker john boehner will talk live and that happens a few hours after meeting with the president at the white house. and the speaker had no comments after the two-hour meeting and rushed off to a pizza party with republican house freshmen. and, nancy pelosi will also speak, this hour. and we'll wait and see what she says that's debate begins in the senate from the house to the senate on a cut, cap and balance plan, screen left, but forward by tea party backed republicans, and that proposal might die in the senate today, despite 234 votes in the houses. latest fox news polling shows american still think it is worse to default on our debt than to raise the limit, borrow more money and, the members are getting close, live in washington when nancy pelosi takes the mic and we'll wait for speaker boehner as well. here's an interesting story, a shot in the arm for the leading republican presidential contender. brand new polling numbers, put mitt romney in a dead heat with president obama if those elections were held today and when it comes to independent voters, romney has a lead. screen right, 46% to 37%. good morning, everybody, hope you are stale couldiying cool, outside. how are you doing, heather. patti ann: i'm patti ann browne in for martha maccallum and the former governor of massachusetts is the front-runner for republicans in 2012 but until now he has not come close to competing with the president. bill: why the shift now, with the polling? the editor of the "national review" and fox news contributor, good morning to you. >> hey, bill. bill: it was done by a democrat, leaning polling agency out of north carolina, and why is mitt romney attractive to independents? >> it is a sign of the president's weakness more than anything else and the economy is an albatros around obama's neck and he'd lose if the election were held today, to any acceptable republican and everyone remarked on all the polls showing a generic republican beating the president soundly and mitt romney looks like a generic republican. bill: is it more on social issues and the this economic front... >> that is reading too much into it. i don't think people particularly focus on mitt romney, at the moment. they will be when he's actually the nominee but i think it is that kind of... it is a referendum on the president at the moment and a sign of his weakness. bill: what about tim pawlenty? he came close to tying president obama. >> again, any... bill: when it came just to independents, rich. >> any republican, any broadly acceptable republican who is not radioactive, at this juncture is going to be tied or beating president obama. again, it's a sign of his weakness and tpawlenty, in a national poll of republican candidates, he's 2, 3 present, down to nothing, and the a advantage he has is a path to break out of the field and that is the iowa caucus and he's focusing all of his efforts, right now in advance of the straw poll in a couple of weeks. bill: one more thing, "washington post" has a pullout and they list the candidates an mitt romney is the front-runner in that poll as well. and followed by sarah palin. and michelle bachmann, 12% and ron paul and rick perry and those are your top five. >> yes. bill: and pawlenty has not cracked the number yet. >> look at the field, bill, and break down the poll and it shows you the potential path to victory for mitt romney, which would be similar to the path to victory for john mccain, you look at the internals of the poll and there is not a lot of enthusiasm or intensity about mitt romney, but, he has pretty solid establishment support, about a third of republican voters and if the rest of the field is broken up and no one clearly emerges, that is the path to victory. bill: a lot of people are starting to write that he is flying beneath the radar. >> he is. bill: and is that a good strategy at the moment? >> what they concluded last time around, you can spend a year-and-a-half solid, campaigning, doing everything parade and every early stage spending a lot of money, clawing and fighting for every bit of press conference and maybe you get the polls up but it disappears at the end. it's a calculated strategy, not to start moving in earnest until after labor day. now, he has the luxury, because he's not introducing himself to the voters for the first time like when he was a first-time candidate in 2008 and so far it is working for them and they are surprised and consider the poll numbers a windfall, i believe and didn't expect to be in the solid of a position, at this juncture. bill: it is interesting to dissect and see where we are now and how it might change. rick, thank you. presidential hopeful rick santorum is packing up his family and heading to the state of iowa, a former pennsylvania senator and, announcing a family trip through, well, 50 different counties in that state, and, the courage to fight for american values tour. he and his wife and seven kids will be traveling in the a caravan and will have stories. at the end of that one! patti ann: well, a new and disturbing report shows that american taxpayer dollars intended to fund projects in afghanistan may be going to extremists, killing u.s. troops. a government audit finds billions of dollars literally disappearing and, now, possibly ending up in the hands of insurgents, molly henneberg is live in washington. hi, molly. what are the problems tracking u.s. money dispersed to afghan. >> reporter: there's a number of them, neither u.s. agencies nor afghan commercial banks record the serial numbers of cash or money transfers, paid to contractors or others in afghanistan. making it tough to track where the dollars go. once they are in afghanistan. also, according to an audit by herbert richardson, the acting special inspector general for afghanistan reconstruction, contractors are not prohibited from using unlicensed middle men to pay subcontractors. richardson wrote in a statement, the u.s. poured billions of aid dollars into a country plagued by corruption, insurgency and the narcotics trade and it is essential that we use all available tools to ensure that u.s. dollars are protected from fraud and diversion to the insurgency. he said at the start u.s. agencies need to tighten up safeguards, how they pay for services, in afghanistan. patti ann: meanwhile the u.s. government is concerned that it is not getting enough cooperation from the afghan government? >> reporter: yes, for example, richardson found that when the u.s. treasury department tracked what it believes is a financial crime in afghanistan, and alerts the afghan attorney general's office, that office, quote, has not cooperated fully in prosecuting individuals. and, the audit cites reports from the u.s. treasury department concerned that afghan president hamid karzai will not allow u.s. government advisors to watch where the money goes, in the afghan central bank. finally, richmond son says the u.s. homeland security department is not getting enough help from the afghans in monitoring big cash flows in and out of kabul international airport and says afghan customs officials are not reporting serial numbers or financial data to government agencies when a passenger comes through with large amounts of cash. patti ann: molly henneberg, live in washington, thank you. bill: "fox news alert" now, on brand new reaction in the war of words between two florida representatives in the house. it all started when the dnc chair, debbie wasserman schultz called out alan west from the floor of the house and he in turn fired off an e-mail, sayings you are the most vile, unprofessional and despicable member of the u.s. house of representatives. end quote and now, west speaking out of the controversy on the fox business network with stuart varney. here's what he said, moments ago. >> interestingly enough when you first interviewed me back when i was a candidate, you referred to me as a military man. and, there are certain ways we speak in the military and i guess i have not learned the d.c. insider talk that maybe some of these people are used to. don't poke me in the chest, that is the bottom line to that exchange. bill: it had been reported that it appeared west offered an apology, but, doesn't appear to be the case after that comment and later today, alan west will be on america live, martha is handling the show and will talk to allen west at 2:00, eastern time, where the debate and story will continue, yet again. stay tuned for that. patti ann: and also a debate on our show on the issue, later on, a "fox news alert." a news conference from nasa on the homecoming of the crew of the space shuttle atlantis, getting underway. let's listen in. >>... stood on the runway and stared at it and looked at the winged vehicle and thought of all the systems and when they were designed in the 1970s and it was a true marvel looking at that machine, sitting on the runway. it really allowed us to do amazing thing and it is going to continue to allow us to do amazing things in the future. and, that is the next step, the next steps are the space stations and we'll continue to use the space station an but it in as best a posture as we can for the next period of time and will see the new commercial cargo providers come on-line this year and beginning of next year and get a chance to see if space can be the research facility we need and can learn new things from space, and, that are considered unique and help us hear and we'll continue on with that in the commercial activities. and then we need to get on with the exploration plans and to go beyond lower earth orbit and keep moving forward and i can not thank the shuttle team enough for what they've done and i recognize the change is very hard and... but huge growth or huge improvement really comes from change and so this team that can accomplish almost anything, that they are asked to go do, you know, i know that they can accomplish great things in the future, both individually and as the team, and, i wish them the best, as they go forward and they should be proud of what they have done, and they have accomplished everything we wanted them to go do, and they will be successful in the future, and they will do great things. thank you, space shuttle team. bob? >> thanks, bill. bill pretty much captured it. first off, it is great to have atlantis safely home after a tremendously successful mission and, home to stay, and that is really important, too. i can't say enough good things about the processing team here and how they've performed these last few flights, when you consider -- it has been our number one goal, the last couple of years, to safely put out the shuttle program and we have accomplished that... bill: folks at nasa, and, we mentioned last hour, the shuttle program has been with us, for 30 years. our entire adult lives and earlier today we saw it land there, as atlantis came back to earth and this was the scene right before the sun came up. >> ferguson, rotating the nose gear, down to the deck. nose gear touched down. bill: nicely done. peering through the darkness there, atlantis and the chute behind it and i hoped for a day time landing but there are great photos, and, congratulations to everybody down in florida, and, the best of luck as we follow the story. not only the coming months, in the coming years, how america's space program is carried out. there are big question now. patti ann: big changes, you can actually hear the choke in the man's voice when he gave his narration, how it was the end of an era. an it is. in any case, right now, the senate is debating the debt crisis solution, put forward by tea party republicans in the house, and, what happens if it doesn't pass? >> president obama, quit lying. you know darned well that as things come and go there is plenty of money to cover our debt and all of our social security obligations. patti ann: joe walsh accusing the white house of using scare tactics and he'll be our guest, coming up, live. bill: this is an adrenaline-pumping ride this sends thrill seekers sky-high but two daredevils got more than they bargained for, you'll see it live. patti ann: and screen left is the real kim kardashian and screen right, a woman who looks a lot like her and old navy is in controversy over the possible lawsuit, coming up. we'll tell you about it. ♪ [ male announcer ] this...is the network -- a network of possibilities. in here, the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broadband experience to 55 million more amecans, many in small towns and rural communities, giving them a new choice. we'll deliver better service, with thousands of new cell sites... f greater access to all the things you want, whenever you want them. it's the at&t network... and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. - 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. patti ann: a birthday gift gone haywire and high wire in the lone star state, a couple trapped about 80 feet in the air for more than three hours, they strapped in for a wild ride on the texas blast off and zero gravity amusement park in northwest dallas and it was a belated birthday present for his girlfriend and the gigantic bungee cord was tangled and the pair suspended in mid-air. >> we had a mixture of emotions up there and we got into a fight, we laughed, she cried, i mean, i was there, with her and you name it. >> i was freak out and frustrated, just being stuck there, and, in the heat, you know, and, it was just very uncomfortable. patti ann: it was an interesting happy ending they used a ladder and a bucket to get them from the ride and they voweded never to ride it again and then decided on the spot to get married! and there you go! bill: that makes you do amazing things! pressure! the house's cut, cap and balance plan debated at the moment on the floor of the senate. does it stand a chance? meanwhile, republicans are blasting president obama for using what they call scare tactics, to get a deal through, here's part of what he has said, lately on social security. >> president barack obama: i cannot guarantee that those checks go out on august 3rd, if we haven't resolved the issue. because, there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it. bill: our latest fox polling shows 63% believe comments like that are only a scare tactic, only 28% think the checks would actually stop. my next guest has been on the point for a while now, like congre. congressman joe walsh. you have argued the points for a while now, haven't you? >> it's not surprising. i mean, this president for the last six months, bill, this is what he has been doing, the first step at it it was -- stab was to scare us about default, come august 2nd the lights in the country are going to be turned off. after a few weeks, we realized and the american people realized that that is not the case, so then it was really sort of outlandish a couple of weeks ago, he turned toward social security checks. and, said on august 3rd he cannot guarantee that he will be able to write those checks. he knows that that is not true. and, the american people... bill: are you willing to roll the dice on august 3rd? keep the debt limit where it is and see what happens? >> bill, my... the debt crisis and making sure we do something so we never get to the point again. august 2nd does not scare me. not doing this in the right way scares me, whether it is august 10th or august 15th, we have got to get to a point where we reform this town, in a right way, so we never bump up against this again. bill: he also did a poll here, that came out late yesterday, and we wanted to know who americans blame, if anyone for anything, and we found 47% blame republicans in congress and only 32% blame the president. what do you think explains that? >> you know, partly that is probably due to the fact that he has the bully pulpit and it is easier for him to directly speak to the american people. but, look, part of this is on us. i don't think the republicans have done it their best job, our best job in messaging how serious this crisis is, and, how bold we need to be. we're also doing heavy lifting here. bill, the republicans, since we were sworn in, in congress, in january, we proposed to do some pretty tough, difficult things, and we have tried to look the american people in the eye, and tell them the truth. that if we don't reform medicare it will be gone. same thing with social security. the president has taken the opposite tack and, you know what? i think eventually, the american people will understand and appreciate the fact that we have tried to propose tough solutions. bill: and you might be running out of time to get the message out. but, at the moment on the floor of the senate they are debating the cut, cap and balance, which is 234 yea votes the other day, kent conrad who was with us yesterday and you are trying to collect signatures, to what might be the fall back option, the plan put forward by mitch mcconnell out of kentucky and you warn the republicans, don't fall for that idea, either? why not? >> we have got 80 to 90 republicans, right now, already who have signed our letter leadership asking them not to take up the mcconnell plan, it is not a plan, bill. it basically says, go ahead, mr. president, and raise your debt ceiling, and, we disapprove. that is not why people sent us to washington. they sent us here to lead, cut, c and balance is the only plan out there now with the majority behind it, and i think it has got a real strong chance of passing out of the senate. bill: wow, okay. we have heard other views that suggest it will not. but, whatever comes of this debate, it will have a direct impact, immediately, on every american here, so, joe walsh, thank you for coming back and we'll see what happens on both sides of congress, very soon, thank you, sir. great to be with you. 20 minutes past the hour. patti ann: more from allen west in the very public feud between two florida lawmakers. what he thinks about being asked to apologize to debbie wasserman schultz. plus, should he? a fair and balanced debate, straight ahead. 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! 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. energy is being produced to power our lives. while energy developement comes with some risk, north america's natural gas producers are committed to safely and responsibly providing decades of cleaner burning energy for our country, drilling thousands of feet below fresh water sources within self contained well systems and using state of the art monitoring technologies, rigorous practices help ensure our operations are safe and clean for our communities and the environment we are america's natural gas. bill: 24 minutes past the hour, a hacker group known as anonymous claimed to have reached secure files, stealing huge numbers of secret documents, 418,000 americans, that's the number applying for jobless benefits, up 10,000 from the week before and a sign of layoffs on the rise and new hiring is still weak. and, fears of a double-dip recession. and, lindsay lohan is backs in court today on a routine probation hearing for her drunk driving and convictions and if the 25-year-old celebrity stays out of trouble, her probation may end, the end of this year but i think she -- juliet: hard to believe he's 25. will we see football come september in the nfl's team owners are gathering for a critical meeting on the future of the league and a deal to end the lockout on the table. can they save the 2012 season? jonathan serrie is live in atlanta. how likely is it an agreement could get signed today? >> reporter: patti ann, that is the question of the day, nfl team owners are certainly hoping that they'll be able to sign a collective bargaining agreement, today, in fact we have video from a few minutes ago, some of the team owners arriving along with roger goodell, the commissioner of the nfl. any approval of a final agreement would require at least 24 of the 32 team owners, casting a "yes" vote but it is also contingents on approval from a majority of the players. yesterday, the nfl players association executive committee and representatives of all 32 teams met in washington, however, they could not reach a decision on a proposed agreement. however, they appear to have resolved some of their major disputes, including at least a tentative agreement to give owners a larger piece of the league's $9 billion annual revenue pie, improvements in player safety and increased benefits for retired players. they are still reportedly trying to resolve exactly how they will settle three lawsuits that some of the players filed against the nfl when the talks began to break down back in march, patti ann. patti ann: if they reach a deal would they be able to avoid cancelling any games? >> reporter: well, the first game of the season, is on september 8th, the opening game, where the green bay packers are hosting the saints, but the pre-season is scheduled to begin august 7 with the bears taking on the rams. and, an agreement would almost have to be signed today, in order to get the training camps reopened, over the course of the next week and the players ready for that schedule, again, nfl officials appear optimistic that that may happen, but, everyone in the building admits the schedule is going to be extremely tight, even if an agreement is signed today. patti ann: yeah, don't just show up on the field opening day. jonathan serrie, live from atlanta, thank you. bill: while you talked, patti ann on the floor of the senate, democratic senator kent conrad blasting the idea about cut, cap and balance that was passed in the house two days ago. senator conrad says the most ill-considered legislation i have ever seen come over from the other body. wow! how do you really feel? the debate continues on the floor of the senate and we'll watch that for you and nasa's shuttle closes at the same time, where you can own the first flying car on the market! meet the inventor who came up with this idea. patti ann: looking forward to that and old navy using this actress in an ad campaign, the one on the right, looks an awful lot like the one on the left. kim kardashian and kim is suing to the tune of 20 mill, look, you decide, does she have a case? that is coming up. ♪ ♪ ♪ with diabetes, it's tough to keep life balanced. i don't always have time to eat like i should. and the more i focus on everything else, the less time i have to take care of me. that's why i like glucerna shakes. they have slowly digestible carbs to help minimize blood sugar spikes, which can help ler a1c. glucerna products help me keep everything balanced. 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[ female announcer ] ...or this huge. new fiber one 80 calories. yes, you can actually love breakfast. bill: well, we expected this to heat up and, indeed, it's doing that on the floor of the senate. kent conrad who's part of that gang of six who have now come out with their own plan to move forward on the debt deal, moments ago he called cut, cap and balance the most ill-considered legislation i've ever seen come over from the other body, meaning the house. you just heard him say cut, cap and kill, so that's some of the terminology used on the floor of the senate. house republican leaders are responding, like eric cantor, saying that the senate has once again failed to live up to its job and not get a budget deal in. in more than 800 days republicans say in the house. in a moment we're going to hear from the house speaker, john boehner, the house minority leader, nancy pelosi. we'll see where we are right now, and the senate will be in session this weekend. so watch all this as we move toward right here on fox. patti ann: kim kardashian has built an empire from reality shows to fray fragrances. her brand is hot and so is she over this old navy ad, take a look. ♪ this is real life, i'm not posing for a magazine. ♪ don't ask me any questions before i get my caffeine. ♪ whatever my locale, when i get a mani/pedi or a root canal. patti ann: well, that was not kim kardashian, it was the actress on the right. you can see kardashian on the left here, and she is suing old navy over that ad. she says the company's using a look alike in an effort to dupe the public into thinking she is the model. so does she have a case? is let's bring in our legal panel, joey jackson and kimberly guilfoyle, former prosecutor and host of "fox news live." thank you both for being here. >> pleasure. patti ann: we're going to ask you what a standard of proof is and does this case meet it. explain the standard. >> basically, i think she has a strong case. it's not going to be that difficult for her to show that this has violated her publicity rights. she sued in los angeles in federal court, and there's precedent here that's going to be on her side. would a jury think, in fact, they're trying to get her on the cheap? they want kim kardashian, they can't afford her. she's suing for $20 billion because her commercial value is that high at this point in time. when yo look at -- you look at the two girls side by side, there is a strong resemblance, although she appears to be able to dance a little better than kim. [laughter] patti ann: joey, you say it comes down to the word parody. >> it does. will the real kim kardashian please stand up? kim kardashian never looked that good. here's the point, what the court will do is they're going to assess is there a likely hood of confusion, and did they intend -- that is old navy -- in doing this into misleading the public and having them identify with kim kardashian. that's a factual question, and we could agree or disagree as a jury would and might over it. but even if they do, you get to two points. one is a parody. we see parodies everywhere whether it's saturday night live, letterman -- >> that's the difference, that's not for monetary and commercial value. think about it, you can go ahead and parody everybody you want, right? sarah palin, kim k., whoever on saturday night live, but in terms of getting a substantial financial benefit, old navy is getting that. they would have to pay so much more money. instead, somebody starting out, an actress or model that look like her, they wouldn't have her doing these commercials if they didn't think she was a dead ringer, so much so that reggie miller -- kim k.'s ex-- >> you're not going to goat into finish get into that, are you? [laughter] >> the it comes down to artistic expression. there's a first amendment in this country, and people whether they're corporations or anyone else have the right to do skits or parodies or commentary predicated upon their right to freely express their ideas. and when i saw this skit, it was cute and everything else, but i didn't immediately identify with kim kardashian. >> oh, come on. look, lindsay lohan got money out of e-trade for the milkoholic commercial. kim k.'s going to get money. patti ann: how is it that they show the name kim kardashian actually came up, that there are documents that show that they were deliberately -- >> that'd be a smoking gun. >> it's important because that goes to what's called good faith. you balance the equities, and if in the background they were really intending to pass her off as kim kardashian, then you know the smoking gun, as kimberly says, that shows, hey, this was not artistic expression, this was you trying to mislead the public, and if they can demonstrate that, then they're in bad shape. >> we're going to come back on this, going to get some cash. but also they did tweeting out of this, so they're trying to benefit from it saying they look alike and trying to further, but it's great publicity for them. >> they've already benefited from it. patti ann: all right, kimberly and joey, thank you very much. bill: once we get that settled -- [laughter] all right? old navy's going to thank you for the pub publicity. brand new reaction on this verbal war from allen west speaking of fox business network, a short time ago about an e-mail he sent to democratic chair debbie wasserman schultz. should congressman west apologize? we'll debate that, and everyone's talking about this, aren't they? induing the bears. woman: saving for our child's college fund was getting expensive. man: yes it was. so to save some money, we taught our 5 year old how to dunk. woman: scholarship! woman: honey go get him. anncr: there's an easier way to save. get online. go to geico.com. get a quote. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. bill: how about a brand new flat screen tv for 99 cents? sound good? patti ann: yeah. bill: it lured dozens to a 99 cent store in las vegas celebrating their grand opening in this economy. the owner saying he wanted to do something for the store's very first customers. >> no question exactly what the value is, but i can promise you we're taking a loss on it. we're giving it to the first nine customers outside. >> you ain't got nothing to do, you ain't got no husband or kids to take care of, go spend the night. bill: yeah, yeah, no excuse. spoke b like a true -- spoken like a true bargain hunter. only in vegas. patti ann: well, the political and personal feud between two florida representatives reaches a new level this morning. republican congressman allen west saying he stands by his comments to congresswoman debbie wasserman-schultz. it all starts when the dnc chair called out allen west, though not by name, on the house floor. he then filed back -- fired back in an e-mail calling her vile and be despicable, and here he is just moments ago weighing in on fox business network. >> this is something that has continued on, and finally, i think i do have the right to stand up and defend my honor and make sure this type of activity does cease. when you first interviewed me back when i was a candidate, you referred to me as a military man. there's certain ways that we speak in the military, and i guess i have not learned the d.c. insider talk that maybe some of these people are used to the. don't poke me in the chest, the bottom line to that exchange. patti ann: all right. well, joining us now, kirsten powers, a new york post columnist, and steven hayes, a senior writer with the weekly standard, and both are fox news contributors. thanks for joining us. so, steve, slate.com and others say debbie wasserman-schultz violated the house rules of debate by referring directly to a fellow house member, so does west have any right to be annoyed? >> yeah. i think he has a right to be annoyed, and be i think the argument he's making here is that democrats have misrepresented what republicans have been trying to do on medicare and entitlement reform broadly, and he's sick of it. he had enough of it. now, i might have phrased the e-mail a little bit differently, i'm not sure i would have said she was not ladylike, but i can certainly identify with the frustration, and the idea that she would go to in a speech on the house floor and make this kind of comment about him misrepresenting what he's doing in and what he's trying to accomplish, i think -- i can understand his frustration. patti ann: kirsten, he says she called him a sexist a while ago, he's had enough. you heard him saying don't poke me in the chest. is there any excuse for calling a colleague vile and despicable? >> no, there isn't. look, he can be frustrated, he can get upset, people get upset all the time in the politics, and there's a lot of back and forth between people, but absolutely unacceptable. i don't think that this is ever an appropriate way to respond to being upset with somebody. if he has, you know, substantive differences with her, fine. she called him sexist, well, he seems kind of sexist to me. what's with the ladylike thing? she's not allowed to to get up on the floor of congress and say things? what's unladylike about that? patti ann: steven, two south florida districts might be changed against redistricting, they might run against each other in 2012, has that campaign already begun? >> yeah, i would certainly say it is. you can see there's no lo lost between these -- love lost between these two. let me just gently take issue with what kirsten is saying. when allen west says he's sick of the way d.c. insiders talk, he has a point, and i think it's the kind of thing that will strike a chord with people across the country. when you've watched people on the senate floor or on the house floor and they say, well, you know, my good gentleman friend, and then they go on and stab each other in the back. the american people don't talk like that. i think they'd rather have a blunt, straightforward exchange, and i don't remember, you know, this group of women democratic congressmen that came to her defense and held a press conference yesterday to denounce his remarks, somehow i don't remember the decorum caucus when alan grayson was making near-daily offensive comments about republicans. patti ann: kirsten, what about that? he's referring to the fact that this group of democratic congresswomen are asking the gop to officially disasoy west's remarks. do you think they should do that? >> sure, they're allowed to do that. and are they playing politics? definitely. i'm not part of that group of people. i'm speaking for myself, and i'm saying what i think he said was sexist, and i think he should not speak that way, and there's nothing not ladylike about what she did. she's a member of congress, and she's allowed to speak out if she wants to. they, obviously, have issues with each other, and if he's upset, fine. i don't think that it's ever okay to be name calling, despicable, vile, and that goes for her as well. it's not, you know, name calling is not acceptable, and i just think it's indefensible. patti ann: steve, apparently be people do violate this rule, they do refer to another house member, and then they immediately retract the comment, but it's on the record, and it's on c-span, and it's out there anyway, sort of like a passive aggressive move. was it ladylike? >> yeah, i mean, i don't know whether it was ladylike. i wouldn't have said that. i think i would have just said it was cowardly. she's making an attack on him not by name, but clearly by reference, and she's saying something representing his policy position in a way that mischaracterizes what he actually believeses and what he's argued. so i would have made the policy argument and gone after her on the policy basis and said enough is enough. patti ann: all right. we're going to have to leave it there. kirsten powers, steven hayes, thank you both for joining us. >> thank you. patti ann: we're going to have more on this developing story. congressman west joins "america live" today at 2 p.m. eastern time right here on fox news. don't miss that. bill: in the meantime, let's check in with jenna lee. good morning. jenna: today we're going to talk to congressman king, senator corker about the debt drama, get a whole bunch of different perspectives on that. plus, after america's last shuttle mission, we're going to tell you what's next in space, it involves mars and pluto. and be are our playgrounds too safe? so safe, in fact, we aren't letting our kids confront their fears, bill? weigh in if at foxnews.com/happeningnow, click on the america's asking tab if you have questions on that. too safe, bill hemmer. bill: see you, jenna. we're waiting to hear from nancy pelosi and john wanier, boehner -- john boehner. after meeting with the president and where are we today on the debt standoff. don't move, we'll have it all for you. and we will have the flying car that's finally cleared for takeoff. chew on that, george jetson, will ya? is ♪ [ wind howling ] [ engine idling [ male announcer ] talking a big game about yourngine is one thing. having the proven history that can back it up is a whole nother story. unsurpassed torque... best in class towing... legendary cummins eines. which engine do you want powering your truck? guts. glory. ram. patti ann: this is a fox news alert, we are awaiting a key update on the debt crisis. right now the senate is debating cut, cap and balance. that is the budget committee chairman kent conrad speaking right now. we're also awaiting comments from the house minority leader, nancy pelosi. that should start anytime, and then in just a couple of minutes house speaker john boehner will speak, and as soon as that happens, we will bring it to you live. bill: a lot of moving parts, huh? here's one more for you, too, it runs on plain old gasoline, you park it in many your garage. but when you're ready to put the pedal to the metal, this baby literally sprouts wings and flies. finally getting a green light for takeoff on the open road, and that is a flying car. carl dietrich's the ceo of terra fusion. good morning to you by way of skype up there in boston. how you doing? >> i'm doing great, bill. thanks for having me back. bill: we first met two years ago, and you brought your plane to our plaza here in midtown manhattan, and you said this is going to work. and finally it did. have you sold any? >> well, we have got orders for almost 100 aircraft at this point, so the backlog has been growing. it's really an exciting time for us. this recent announcement with the national highway traffic safety administration approving our exemption is really the last major federal milestone that we had to get under our belts before we could complete our development program and start delivering. bill: okay. update my memory here now. what is this flying car capable of doing, carl? >> >> have well, the transition is capable of driving down the road at highway speeds, unfolding its wings in about 20 seconds, taking off, flying at over 100 miles per hour point to point through the air using the network of over 5,000 public airports around the country, and, basically, giving pilots a new level of freedom and flexibility that doesn't exist in the market today. bill: yeah. price tag? >> price tag is going tonight about 279,000. bill: 279. all right. i'm going to take two. [laughter] have you sold any? >> well, we've got orders for almost 100, but we're going to start delivering at the end of next year. bill: the end of -- so you're into 2012 then at that point. >> that's correct. bill: now, listen, can i park this thing in manhattan, and can i, like, climb in it on a friday night and go flying out to the countryside and land on any road that i want without a police officer trailing me with the lights blaring and saying, hemmer, you can't do that? [laughter] >> you do want to land at the airports. but there's, on average, one airport within a half hour drive of wherever you are, it's just most people don't know about them because they're not used very heavily, so hopefully the transition will allow people to use those airports on a more regular basis and get better use out of this space that we've got that's away from the big airlines. bill: it's a two-seater, so you can bring a friend. >> absolutely. bill: and where do you park it? >> park in a single-car garage. it's designed to fit inside standard designed single-car garage. gets better gas mileage than most cars on the road, over 35 miles a gallon. bill: well, that's a good deal. good luck to you, and we'll follow it and see how many you sell. $279,000 you've got laying around, go ahead and call this guy. see ya, carl. thanks for coming back. >> thanks, bill. patti ann: a fox news alert, we are awaiting house minority leader nancy pelosi and house speaker john boehner. both will be speaking just minutes from now on the debt crisis. boehner's remarks coming after he met with president obama last night on the debt crisis, and we're going to bring both of these comments to you as soon as they begin. i love that my daughter's part fish. but when she got asthma, all i could do was worry ! specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have cess to great specialists, and our pediatrician gets all the information. everyone works as a team. and i only need to talk to one person about her care. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. patti ann: well, the heat wave blanketing the country also affecting the four-legged critters. zookeepers say losing just one animal to the heat would be a major tragedy. lions and bears are native to hot climes, but tigers from siberia are particularly vulnerable. they say all the extra work is a big financial burden, and they are taking precautions. bill: so help 'em out. what are you going to do when it's this hot out? a black bear in new jersey's cooling his paws in the neighbor's swimming pool. [laughter] listen to the homeowner. look at this. >> oh, my god, i've got to call keith. [laughter] bill: he takes a few minutes before wandering off down the street. police say they have not seen an animal like this in jersey before. likes the dip he had, he's going to be back. keep your cameras going, new jersey. waiting on house speaker boehner and nancy pelosi as all this starts to be batted back and forth throughout the day. patti ann: nfl lockout talks, a lot going on today. bill: we'll see you tomorrow