unconstitutional. that's what a federal judge has ruled. does the president agree? the battle over church and state reaches a fever pitch. brian? >> i can't believe this. a massive cloud of ash so large that it blocked out the sun. the volcanic mess that grounded planes across a whole continent. iceland. our slogan this hour comes to us from torre in texas. every day before i go to school, i like to watch "fox & friends" who i think is really cool. >> it's a big day for our show. >> first of all, eric bolling is sitting in for steve again. we have to announce good wishes and good luck to our senior producer here at "fox & friends", jen cunningham who is tying the knot tonight down in a secret caribbean location with a nice looking man. >> this is an arranged marriage and the first time they've actually met so this is very exciting for everybody.

>> wow, look at that photo. >> it's doctored. so that was her idea. jen's idea to have the sound check as we started our show. >> yeah. crazy she's producing from wherever she is right now. >> yes, she is actually doing the show at our island bureau. >> i do believe she's going to have a choir at her ceremony. maybe she needs to do a sound check. >> possibly. >> the two of you can leave right after the show. >> a lot of tea party stuff to go over. we have news about a marine standing up on his facebook account and so much more. i'm a little concerned that we might need a fourth hour and i don't think we can afford to get eric for the fourth hour. >> i'll be here in case we go to the fourth hour. he's ok with it. >> really? >> yeah. he said it's all right. >> ok. we'll touch base with him later on. let's talk about this for right now, though. president obama meets with his national security team later this morning. one of the things they may talk about is information, leaks and thomas drake. he is the former official of the national security agency accused of e-mailing a wide range of

classified information to a reporter believed to be working for the baltimore sun. he's accused of lying about it and could get 20 years if convicted. they are calling it the largest ever illegal immigration bust in the country. more than 800 agents were involved in this operation and yesterday, dozens of them swarmed to arrest nearly 50 shuttle operators and smugglers in arizona. immigration officials say bus companies transported thousands of illegal immigrants all over the u.s. for more than a decade. the raid took place as the immigration debate continues to heat up in arizona. the state is on the verge of approving a law that would make it a crime to be in the country illegally. i know that it sounds weird that you would think that would already be the case but they're working on making that the case. anyway, a new york e mom who pleaded guilty to lying to federal agents in connection with the new york subway bombing plot will not go to prison. he has been sentenced to time served and must leave the u.s. within 90 days. he was accused of lying of

whether he tipped off zazi that the f.b.i. had been asking questions about his activities. new details was made saying zazi's bombs was meant to target times square and grand central station. there will be no flights anywhere over england at least until tomorrow. this is amazing, folks and most of germany's airports remain closed. that means roughly half of all transatlantic flights are canceled leaving thousands of travelers stuck. why? because of this. that volcanic ash coming out of iceland is still spewing dush and ash as high as 55,000 feet and spreading it over much of northern europe. >> they say the ash could actually seize jet engines as well as the visibility issue. what do do you? who do you blame? iceland. >> mother nature. >> the astronauts aboard space shuttle discovery were getting started on their 12th and last day on the international space station. their work today includes installing a cargo carrier filled with more than two tons of trash and equipment and

they're inspecting the shuttle's heat shield for signs of any damage before departmenting tomorrow. president obama revealed his future visions for nasa at the kennedy space center including his goal to reach nations beyond the moon. >> we'll start by sending astronauts to an asteroid for the first time in history. by the mid 2030's, i believe we can send humans to orbit, mars and return them safely to earth. and landing on mars will follow. and i expect to be around to see it. >> mr. obama reassured workers that more than 2,000 jobs would be added in response to criticism that his slashing of the space shuttle program would force layoffs. >> he had to backpeddle. he originally cut, and so many jobs were being cut in florida. let's leave the orien spacecraft together but we won't go to the

moon because buzz aldrin had already been there. >> buzz agreed. buzz was saying we've been there. let's go further. let's see mars and some of the other things going on out there. >> but does it just make it quick, you know, r&d effort, is that all this is now? not america sending the people to the moon or mars. what can we get out of this? >> that's neil armstrong's point. let's talk about all the tea parties that took place yesterday on tax day. >> there were so many of them and they were well attended but at the same time, the president also seemed to acknowledge that these tea parties were going on but he had a different take than what they were actually saying at the tea parties. listen to what the president said. >> so i've been a little amused over the last couple of days where people have been having these rallies. about taxes. you would think they would be saying thank you. that's what you'd think. >> there's no smiles, you

notice after that statement. he does not handle his critics well. >> he's amused. that is just unbelievable. you know, at first tea partiers they were angry. they were, you know, kind of fringe. they've become mainstream. mainstream and main street. they're for smaller taxes many he better take them a little bit more seriously than being mildly amused by the people. >> i mean, there were organizations and demonstrations in philadelphia, san diego, madison, wisconsin and maybe the biggest, i believe, was washington, d.c. where 3,000 to 4,000 showed up and for the most part, they told politicians to stay home. we really don't want you although michelle bachman, steve king and jack kingston of georgia was there. they were seen at the protest but because they want this to be a grassroots situation, not where someone is trying to get votes or make it seem like a partisan rally. >> they released that list of people, politicians they are going to be targeting coming up in the next election. at the same time now, this new group has been formed and we were telling you about

yesterday, this anti-tea party party. and one of the politicians, congressman jack kingston took a shot at their efforts. >> i also want to welcome the tea party crash movement. are any of you here -- any of you tea party crashers here and do you have the guts to say hi? i want to welcome you because you know what? i'm a hopeful guy. i'm hoping that you'll learn something. >> so he was hoping, of course, that they would be there and then suddenly they say to themselves, some of the stuff they're talking about is actually pretty good. in the meantime, they have put together the tea party has their contract from america. going back in time to the 1994 republican revolution contracted for america, this one, though, they say is different. it's a list of 10 things that they kind of a blueprint for who they want in office. they would all have to have these 10 things for them and the most important thing is what you were talking about a second ago, brian, this is not coming town

from politicians. the whole essence of the tea party is to rise up from the grassroots level. >> yeah, so that's what they said. they said this is from bottom up. as you look to them after listening on the radio, some of the principles there, so simplify and lower taxes. that would be great. i don't know anybody who can too their own taxes. create a task force that engages the audit of federal agencies and programs. that's a catch phrasement reject cap and trade which, by the way, is coming back this month. pass an all of above energy policy. also, the stop the 2011 tax hikes which will actually take place as you said. president bush's tax cuts. >> all great ideas. >> well, fox news contributor danine barelli was a guest speaker at the protest in washington. take a listen to what she had to say about government spending. >> tax day is a reminder of government gone wild!

president obama's progressive agenda is driving our economy and our liberties over a cliff! don't you get it, america? obama, reid, pelosi, they know that's best for you, for me and our families! they expect us to keep quiet, sit down and just pay those taxes. are we gonna keep quiet america? >> ok, denee, senior fellow project 21 joins us from washington, d.c. give us a sense. give us a feeling, the energy, the amount of people there. what was it like? >> it was absolutely amazing. good morning, everyone. it's estimated that over 40,000 people actually attended the event. i walked through the crowd.

i was able to meet and greet a lot of people from across the country. and people were just excited. they're energized. they're concerned about the direction our country is going and they are so happy to have this platform to come together and know that there is support and that we're not alone. >> hey, deneen, i don't know if you were listening to the beginning of the show burt essentially the president of the united states without a smile on his face said you think i would be thanked. why would these tea party protesters, i've cut taxes. you say he has not cut taxes. what's the truth? >> well, the truth is you wouldn't have all these people in the streets across the country, you know, criticizing president obama because he cut taxes. he indeed has not cut taxes. we had a health care bill that was rammed through through backdoor deals. i met a doctor yesterday from tennessee, him and his entire family, he and his friends, they're all very upset and concerned and worried. some of them are actually going to drop out of the profession.

but clearly, they are -- president obama and the administration is not in tune with the concerns of the american people are about. i think they need to attend a tea party rally and really hear what's going on because they're above and above -- above and beyond what reality is right now. >> it's kind of gotten to the point where they can't ignore it anymore. i think we saw that yesterday because the president actually has to speak about it. did you see any of these anti-tea party crashers or the crashers in and of themselves who were there? >> there was one clown who tried to disrupt the program but, you know what? the police were right there on the scene. it didn't last long. and overall, the majority of the people were very -- everyone was friendly. they were excited. they were energized. they're concerned about the spending, next up on the agenda is cap and tax which brian mentioned earlier. you know, we're being taxed to death and it's just a shame that our country is going in this direction. that is why people are being vocal. we're taking to the streets. we're doing what we have to do to make our voices heard.

>> we know you're good on television. now we know you're good on stage. i sense a bright future on broadway should you choose that profession. >> oh, i'll get my dancing shoes ready. >> i'm sure you'd be great. all right, deneen, from project 21, thank you for being our guest today. >> thank you. >> 12 minutes past the top of the hour. what's the best way to deal with suspected terrorists? hear what one lawmaker has to say about the obama administration's stance on this straight ahead. >> long standing tradition in the u.s.a. apparently the national day of prayer is in trouble. why a federal judge says it's unconstitutional. that story coming up. [ female announcer ] grass stains, believe it or not,

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>> glad you're up. hope you're not groggy. is the obama administration missing an opportunity to gain information from terrorists?

here's what republican senator lindsay graham of south carolina told our own catherine herridge yesterday. >> i see more and more evidence that we're beginning to kill the people rather than capture them. and that is shortsighted. capturing these people is a treasure trove of information. you can get good intelligence from detainees captured on the battlefield without torturing them. >> so is it better to try to detain and question these suspected terrorists. let's ask fox news strategic analyst and author of the new book "endless war" lieutenant colonel ralph peters, tremendous columnist as well. all right, colonel, what do you think? >> look, it depends on the terrorist. it depends on the circumstances. senator graham for whom i have great respect is just wrong on this. do we really want to criticize president obama for continuing and expanding bush's program of using drone sites to kill terrorists? this is the one thing the obama

administration is getting right in security policy. and what's more, with the terrorists we're killing now across the border in pakistan, it's not a choice of kill or capture. it's usually a choice of kill or do nothing because the pakistanis don't want boots in the ground. it's not a simple snatch and grab. we often -- those terrorists are often identified very quickly. they might be at location x for two or three hours. doing a cross border special ops raid taking coordination, backup fire power, it's high risk. so in most of these cases, it's again kill them or let them go. that said, there are times when a high value terrorist who might really have good information is worth the risk. but overwhelmingly, the last thing we want are several hundred more terrorist prisoners. for god's sakes, we haven't figured out what to do with khali shaikh mohammed. we don't know what to do about gitmo. most of these guys aren't useful for intelligence and you kill them. >> but abu zabida, for example,

this guy gave up after a few months, after getting shot in the crotch and all of a sudden, he starts crying and basically allowed us to get through three or four high value guys. khali shaikh mohammed, a treasure trove of information. now you have the financier who we had for a while, we haven't captured. we have to link up and put together stories and go back to them for questions. i'm going to ask you, colonel peters, as much as you can give credit to the obama administration for going after these guys, if the big picture is stopping the organization as a whole, this is probably not the best way to do it. >> well, absolutely. as i said, there are some terrorists who are worth the special effort and the risks to capture. but the average run of the mill middle manager terrorist or hitman, the bomb maker is not worth the risk and the time -- but again, the bottom line is in this war. >> right. >> it's one thing to snatch a guy that's down the street.

another thing to stage a serious cross border raid into pakistan and the pakistanis don't want our boots in the ground so, again, it's just more complex. >> i know we had a few high level captures through the pakistani forces using our intelligence or our coaching, perhaps, recently over the last month. >> that's right. >> we also understand that some of them have been let go. what have you learned about that? >> well, this is very straight forward. the pakistan -- the taliban is factionalized. to the pakistanis who helped create the taliban, there are good taliban and taliban. >> right. >> the pakistani taliban who have been fighting them they can't control, they're willing to kill them all day and all night. the afghan taliban who are fighting us are in many cases pakistan's clients and pakistan wants to keep them strong so pakistan has a vote in the future of afghanistan. that simple. >> all right. he is colonel ralph peters. the book is "endless war". great column today. pick it up at the "new york

post." thank you so much. a hiker trapped by an avalanche calls 911 by himself under the snow. unbelievable rescue story. why dems are block the resolution meant to honor the organization for 100 years of service, that story next. 

>> welcome back, everyone. 23 minutes after the top of the hour. they are one of the largest youth organizations in america. instead of recognizing the boy scouts of america for their 100th anniversary, a resolution to honor the group died in a bitter partisan battle with democrats citing the scouts' history of not allowing gays into the organization. >> california assemblyman for the 60th district and a former eagle scout and joins us live from l.a. thanks for getting up really early in the morning. so what is the issue?

there must be something that we don't understand. why wouldn't we be allowed to honor the boy scouts for 100 years of amazing service? >> well, you're exactly correct. there should be more to it but unfortunately, what you just stated is what's going on is this became a political issue on a resolution. now for those who don't know, we do a lot of resolutions every week honoring everything from earth day to great organizations like the boy scouts of america and the girl scouts of america but because the boy scouts, they say, are not -- are not tolerant enough and this is one of the biggest youth organizations across the country, 100 years of proud history and with multiple religious backgrounds, i don't understand why they can't celebrate all the good things the boy scouts have done. >> you know what? you bring up an excellent point. there's like a resolution every day from one thing to the next. and the boy scouts you think might be at the top of the list of earning resolutions for all the good works they do. this is your first term in the assembly. you say they have killed this resolution eight times prior.

>> in the last decade, correct. it's been a very, very aggressive, progressive social issue with politics with regard to this issue of trying to get their message across in this organization that we're not going to recognize you unless you change your charter. and i hope to god they don't. this has been a great organization for 100 years producing millions upon millions of great young men in its history. they should be very proud. >> what exactly do they want to change in the charter? what are they looking for? >> i think they're looking for specific language on tolerance of sexual preference to be one and to open up that language. the same day the judiciary committee, a girl scouts resolution honoring their 98th proud year of existence, if you look in there, there was three paragraphs stating basically about their acceptance policy in the girl scouts. >> interesting. very interesting. >> that apparently got them the resolution but not for the -- not for the boy scouts. i understand that you plan to recognize the scouts in your area anyway.

how are you going to do that? >> well, if i need to, i'll go to youth scout troupe in my district. i'm very proud of what we're doing and i want to support them any way i can as well. >> what is it, 35 million hours, 35 million hours of community service. doing great work. it just seems crazy -- they have to be more tolerant? it's crazy time. >> i don't know if there's any other youth organization that's more tolerant than the boy scouts of america and with this long history, those statistics you just read was for last year's service alone and it's been hundreds of millions of people they've touched over the years. some of our greatest presidents, astronauts, you know the history of eagle scouts and it's a wonderful organization. >> seems a little bit of mixing apples and oranges with politics. curt hagman, republican from california, 60th assembly district. thanks for being our guest today. >> great to be with you. thank you. >> with federal spending on the rise, the question is who is going to pay for it? i know, a lot of democrats are eyeing the value added or vat

tax but it's not working in europe. why would it work here? stuart varney breaks it down. >> national day of prayer being called unconstitutional. why a federal judge is throwing the book at a long-standing tradition coming up. >> plus happy birthday to pope benedict the 16th. he is 83 years old today. time a. right now, walmart has rolled back prices on top lawn carerands like poulan pr brute by briggs & stratton, pennington, scotts and spectracide. along with thousands of others all over the store. it's rollback time! save money. live better. walmart. i want a product with the best decongestant. my choice is clear: claritin-d. (announcer) nothing works stronger, faster, or longer to relieve your worst allergy symptoms, including congestion, without drowsiness. get claritin-d at the pharmacy counter. live claritin clear.

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>> hard to believe that we're already another year past.

seems like we were just talking about this a couple of days ago. the national day of prayer upcoming and now there's a judge who has ruled that it's going to be unconstitutional. the president still says that he is going to honor it. but judge barbara crabb appointed by president carter says this in a ruling. i understand that many may disagree with that conclusion and some may find it as a credit schl of prayer or those who pray, that is unfortunate. the determination that the government may not endorse a religious message is not a determination that the message itself is harmful. rather, it is part of the effort to carry out the founder's plan of preserving religious liberty to the fullest extent possible in a pluralistic society. >> a lot of people are upset about this including 31 members of congress who have called judge crabb's ruling flawed and vowed to file an appeal. they did file briefs on this. they did have a conservative -- the american center for law and justice filed a brief on behalf of this for this argument. originally, the defendant was president bush and then now it's president obama.

and then president obama says i'm still going to have it may 6th even though technically it's been ruled unconstitutional from this madison judge. >> and the whole thing is this day is the sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to pray. liberals will mandate health care. they'll mandate taxes. they'll mandate taxes on carbon but god forbid, sorry about using the word. >> too late. >> you go ahead and encourage people to pray. that's a bad idea. >> you know what? that's one of the most excellent points you've made all week. >> really? >> it is! that is such a great point. i mean, hey, let's -- >> get him back. >> seriously, that's a wonderful point. so i'm going to leave it right at that. >> right. the iranian thing on their nukes doesn't make any sense. >> that was horrible. >> this, you hit it out of the park. >> all right. who can forget the enron scandal? i don't. the 2001 financial collapse of the energy firm that ruined many

people's lives and ruineded a lot of people's investments as well is making this debut as a story on broadway. courtney friel checked it out. >> hey, courtney. >> this film is getting so much buzz. there was a version in london and it was actually nominated for six olivia awards, the british equivalent to the tony awards on broadway. last night i went to a preview performance of this show and recently had a chance to talk to the cast. take a look. while the real life characters of the enron scandal dealt with their fate, british writer lucy prebble and director robert gould found a way to bring the story to stage in london. >> what happened at enron, the more i found a relationship between the characters were really interesting, almost like tragedy. >> it's a terrible thing what happened to them and a lot of people lost a lot of money and their livelihoods, we wanted to make a starting point to say what about that world. >> i believe in god. i believe in democracy. and i believe in -- >> their enron play was so well

received on the west end, they've cast a version for broadway. >> i'm playing kenneth blake. >> steve, chief financial officer andy fastou. >> i'm playing jeff skilling and enron. >> they studied hours of enron trial video and watching the documentary "the smartest guys in the room." they know the real guys cooked the books but don't consider them totally evil. >> when i go after them, i have to think of them as doing things for the good of his family, for the good of his company. i think he thinks he's doing amazing things at enron and the fact that he happens to make billions of dollars is just, you know, a little perk on the side. no, i'm being a little facetious. >> and you'll find a lot of jokes in "enron". money is not boring. >> i think people are going to come expecting a play about, you know, finance and economics and really dry stuff, heady stuff and what lucy has actually written is a play, an incredibly entertaining, sometimes wickedly funny, very smart play about the people involved.

the people who like musicals are going to go oh, my god, they got dancing and music and crazy costumes and people who like straight up dramas are going to get that courtroom aspect of a great drama. >> there's always imaginations in networks and businesses, the clawing and the scratching and the lying and the turning their back on things. ignoring of stuff that goes on so money will continue to be made. >> corporations are doing amazing, incredible things and those who have things with a moving moral compass. >> i'm trying to explain how it is that that happens in a company in a really entertaining way. >> plus it's a good deal. >> so bottom line -- you promised not to rip the audience off, right? >> i hope not, no. i think -- i hope they thought it was a dollar well spent. >> ok. i really liked it. it was very educational. i didn't know too much about the enron situation. but this was really quick and fast paced. it was funny. there wasn't too much dancing. i know you said you didn't really like the singing.

>> i associate it when you can sing, you can talk. >> you got to be prepared to get educated and be on the ball. you're not going to go and have an escape when you see it. >> entertaining? it was a financial scandal. it was good. >> it was. i like it a lot and it officially opens on broadway april 27th and get your tickets now. again, the london version had six olivia awards. >> i thought it was a dollar well spent. >> it was such a concept but the fact that you say it's good -- >> it's different. yeah. and i was hoping that it was good because i did not want to come here today and be like well, actually, it wasn't that great. i really liked it. i saw it last night. >> so glad you told the truth. thanks very much. have a good weekend. couple of quick headlines. newly released details detail the struggle at the c.i.a. over whether tapes of detainees being water boarded should be destroyed. the e-mails showed that former c.i.a. director porter goss agreed to the decision by one of his top aides to destroy the tapes though many in the agency oppose such a move.

rodriguez felt the tapes could hurt the credibility of the c.i.a. they did not inform the white house until days later. the white house counsel was reportedly livid when she heard the news. >> hey, defense secretary robert gates signs off on a new policy regulateding how privately owned guns can be carried or stored on u.s. military bases. it's expected to revise minor restrictions already in place that require guns to be registered with military police. now, the policy was developed following the november shootings over at fort hood. suspect major nidal hasan reportedly had little to no access to military weapons in his job as a psychologist but able to buy two handguns and bring them on to the base. he's accused of killing 13 people in that shooting. >> all right, president obama signed a bill reinstating unemployment benefits for 200,000 americans who lost the benefits earlier this month much the $18 billion unemployment extension will provide benefits

through june 2nd. after that, those who need them will have to reapply. the bill also restores full medicare payments to doctors who face a 21% cut. >> one city won't be paying teachers to play scrabble, read and surf the internet anymore. come on! new york city says they will close all reassignment centers or so-called rubber rooms. hundreds of teachers facing disciplinary hearings sit in these detention centers on school days and folks, they get paid in full. >> and they hate it, though. >> a new deal -- >> how can they hate a full paycheck? >> it's boring and makes your life seem so meaningless. >> a new deal has been reached and most of the teachers will be given administrative or nonclassroom work. why are they in the first place? >> it was costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars a year. >> themes of ice streak across the sky. it was a meteor shower? i think it's another planet trying to send our signals.

surveillance cameras were able to catch it on video. there are reports of four to five minutes of rumblings. look at this, stuart varney. tell me this happens in your country. many residents called 911 to report the lights. >> it was so bright in my window. i'm like what the heck is that? and it had orange sparky type tails coming out of it. >> ok. >> so yeah, i -- i was just curious what i thought, meteor or aliens? >> all right. i think it's alien. i think we have a lot of questions here. this video, i watched this over and over again last night because i'm lonely and no one wants to talk to me. so i was able to watch this uninterrupted. i think this is alien life form or renegade rocket that's fallen into our planet. >> and i think it's friday and you're operating on fumes. >> no, where did that come from, gretchen? you don't have any good answers. >> but i do now because stu varney is in the house. president obama's ambitious agenda calls for huge increases in government spending.

how is he going to pay for it? the president has promised to let the bush tax cuts expire. even with all the tax increases, it still won't cover it so liberals have been eyeing a value added tax just like in your homeland, mr. varney. >> yes, the country of my birth, we should say as a matter of fact. >> this is your homeland now. >> yes, correct. look, if we do this, if we go to a value added tax, this is a profound shift in america's tax focus because we will be taxing what we spend our money on, not where we earn our money. taxing spending as opposed to taxing income. it's a profound shift. it's being talked about very, very seriously. >> stuart, do you know the boiling frog theory? throw a frog in boiling water, he'll jump out. throw it in cold water and slowly heat it, he'll stay there and boil. he'll cook. we would probably start at a 2% to 3% vat tax and work its way slowly up to, say, european version of 20%. >> yep, in almost every country

which has this vat, it starts low, moves higher. in britain, it started, i think, at 8% and is now around 15%. you can see up it goes. it's irresistable because it's a gusher of money coming at you. coming at the central government. that's how it works. >> right. >> lts a huge amount of money. every 1% of vat in america would generate $1 trillion to the treasury in a 10-year period. >> you know how this is going to be sold. it's going to -- all you people who are protesting with the tea party so everyone who says they're so concerned about the deficit, i have an opportunity to let you attack the deficit. i pledge to let the vat tax revenue go directly against the deficit and then in 10 years, it will be cut in half or however the formula lays out. don't you see it being sold like that? >> yes, it will be sold like that. here's another way of selling it. everybody pays the vat because everybody spends money so the tax will be built into your

spending, ok? everybody pays. i'm hearing that it's quite possible you'll have a rebate system for low income earners so the money flows into the treasury but then goes back out to some people with an earned income tax credit that's already in place. people already get checks in january for the earned income tax credit. you could rebate a value added tax in precisely the same way and make it egalitarian. >> there would be a revolution i think if that happens. >> it would be a revolution if you get any kind of vat because you're profoundly shifting the nature of your -- >> i mean a revolution amongst the many here who would revolt if the vat goes into place. >> 50% of the country would be getting it. they're not going to say i don't want the money. >> stuart, it doesn't replace income tax. >> no, it doesn't. that's another way that it was involved originally in many kun countries. give us the value added tax and we'll get rid of the income tax. it doesn't work like that.

britain right now has a 15% value added tax and a 50% top income tax rate. i mean, they just go hand in hand. >> stuart varney, varney & company begins at 9:20 eastern time. >> he may use the frog analogy. >> thank you very much. >> you're welcome. >> thanks, stu. a hiker caught by an avalanche buried under snow. remember that 911 call we played you? the quick thinking on his cell phone saved his life. he's here with the incredible story. >> the frog story beats the prayer story. and a group of small business owners says they're fed up with government. they're taking action. why they say putting up billboards is the answer straight ahead. >> now, it's time for the quote of the day. who said it? i don't believe there is someone out there who can handle my baggage. it's too heavy to lift. i'm married to my kids and my career. honestly i don't believe there's anybody out there. [ sneezes ]

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calls it a 2010 top safety pick. we call it peace of mind. the 5-star crash safety rated chevy malibu. >> ian rogers has been hiking and he was then in a cascade mountains -- in the cascade mountains on saturday when suddenly an avalanche struck burying him alive. miraculously, he's under 6 feet of snow and he managed to dial 911. >> i've been caught in an avalanche. i'm buried. i don't know where i am. >> what happened exactly? >> wow, that's ian. he joins us live with his incredible survival story. ian, describe what goes through

your mind when you heard your voice talking to that 911 operator. are you back in the snow when you hear that? >> no, i don't think so, not really. it feels -- i've already kind of heard it a little bit and you know, i don't know. it's so strange going back to i can remember it very, very well. but it almost doesn't feel real. >> you love the outdoors. the avalanche that you started seeing a bit of an avalanche. you thought you outran it and then a second one hit. you're buried under the snow. how deep, what could you move on your body? >> i think after looking back about five or six feet in. the only thing i could really make was above my waist. my legs were pretty much completely jammed in where it angles. i could move my arms a little bit but i pretty much used my left arm or my left hand as a

pillow the whole time to cover my face from being buried in the snow. >> you're buried alive. you use that right hand and pull out your phone and call 911. what do you say that reveals your location? >> well, i mean, after they put me through to the search and rescue team, they were just trying to ask me questions about what trail i was on. at first, i was just -- i was just panicked and was like just send them here. where are they? then i kind of started realizing i had to be a little more accurate than that and i calmed down quite easily and i said, i was on this mountain, on the freeway, i was about this amount of time up the trail. and i just started to recount as much stuff as i could remember of where i was roughly when i got hit. to try to help them.

and unfortunately, they were asking more questions that i couldn't answer like for things that were around me that's recognizable. i tried to give them anything. >> they finally get to you. they dig you out. you're hypothermic. but you're ok. >> thanks very much for sharing your story. will you go outdoors again? will you go in the snow again? >> yes, yes, i think so. yeah. just be a little more cautious next time. >> why don't you do that? ian rogers, thanks so much for sharing your time. glad you're here to talk about it. >> very good. >> straight ahead, a group of small business owners say they've had it with the federal government and they're not going to take it anymore. how they're fighting back next and it's time to answer that quote of the day. who said this? ú;ú;ú;ú;ú;ú;ú;ú;ú;

>> welcome back, everyone. you've seen them before and guess what? they're popping up again. billboards being posted throughout the country expressing anger and frustration with the federal government and out of control spending. these signs in central florida using the constitution as a theme to send the message to members of congress. so who is behind this latest craze? well, small business owners emil and kevin and they join us from tampa. good morning, gentlemen. >> good morning, gretchen. >> good morning. i see the patriotism goes to the tie this morning. i like that. >> yes, ma'am. >> so let's start with you because you have a long storied history of being patriotic. you went to the u.s. naval academy. you're a former vietnam veteran. why this now? why is it so important to put up these billboards heralding the constitution?

>> well, we've all been concerned about what was going on and the young man who was responsible for putting up the one on interstate 75 actually is a fellow member of the united states naval academy and i knew him and he told me he was going to do this and then we decided we were going to do the same thing. >> kevin, you got in on it. interesting back story for you, too, you were born in new zealand and you decided to come to this country. i find it intriguing that the company that wasn't born here is incredibly patriotic about the u.s. constitution. >> i feel very patriotic even though i wasn't born here. i've been elected to office for six years and served my time in that position but i really feel that our private property rights every day are being eroded by governments throughout this country. and that's one of the reasons why i got involved, because it just -- it just irks me and young americans don't understand that their private propertys and

their freedom is being eroded every day. >> uh-huh. so far, you have four billboards up in florida. five and six are on the way? >> yes, ma'am. five and six are on the way and there will be more after that. >> kevin, what has been the reaction from people? >> the comments that i got yesterday at our rotary club were very, very positive. people thought they were very, very good and certainly sending out a great message that's needed to be portrayed across the country. >> well, you're both great americans. thanks for getting up so early and sharing your story with us. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> coming up on the show today for a friday, president obama poking fun at the tea partiers. wait until you hear what he had to say. and a huge plume of volcanic ash grounding flights and creating some major headaches across the globe. we're going to be live at j.f.k. airport in new york in moments. with a live report. look at that ash. you've arrived at the biggest meeting

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>> tgif, everyone. it's friday. i can't even speak anymore. it's friday! >> that will work against you for the next two hours. president obama taking a jab at americans for protesting taxes saying they should actually be grateful? >> you would think they would be saying thank you. that's what you think. >> what else he had to say about the tea partiers coming up. >> all right. tough talk on financial reform. if they have republican ranks divided, why some g.o.p.ers were actually supporting the bill coming up. >> all right. and a massive cloud of ash so large that it blocked out the sun. the volcanic mass that grounded planes across the whole continent and you know what? you're not going to believe who is to blame. george bush. a live report from j.f.k. airport in a matter of moments. our slogan this hour comes to us from new york. i wake up -- i love waking up to "fox & friends" in the morning, especially when the curvy couch includes eric bolling.

>> oh! >> great. >> not very rhymy but i'll tell you -- >> it worked! >> this is tommy lasorda. you are watching "fox & friends." wow, what a show! >> tommy lasorda is one of the most dedicated viewers out in los angeles, still an executive with the dodgers and i got his bobblehead doll. >> really? >> i was up late last night and someone came up and said i saw you on "fox & friends" this morning. is gretchen as cute in person as she is on tv? >> what did you answer? >> gorgeous. gorgeous. look at her today, beautiful dress. you look wonderful. >> ok, anyway, let's talk about this. some anti-tea party counterprotesters are apparently now deciding they're going to crash these tea parties. to me, that says hey, these tea parties are a little bit too big. we got to have some counteroffensive here so here's what they said yesterday at one of the biggest rallies in washington, d.c.

>> don't have to -- >> americans who are not paranoid. we're here today to say that we're proud to live in a country of working americans. >> i'm not sure but i think the feeling i get from that is peaceful. using words. words rather than fists. i think it's important come up and they express their outrage or their support, i mean there were rallies in philadelphia, san diego, madison, wisconsin, washington, d.c. i think d.c. seemed to be the biggest, right? 4,000 people showed up, including some people that weren't thrilled to be there. this is a bottom up story. this is a grassroots story really without major political leadership. don't you agree? i mean, really all started, you could say this all started on another network on cnbc when rick got up and said i'm not

going to take it anymore. >> yeah, it started as kind of an angry fringe movement and now it's co-workers, it's your neighbors, it's main street and 18% or 19% of americans at least agree with the tea party if not signed on them completely so it's a real movement now. >> one person who did not agree at all with the tea party is president obama and yesterday during a speech, he was rallying up the crowd. and he actually said this about the tea party movement. >> so i've been a little amused over the last couple of days where people have been having these rallies. about taxes. you would think they would be saying thank you. that's what you'd think. >> and he's right. i mean, a lot of americans are probably saying thank you because they did -- >> sounded like bill cosby a little bit there. >> he's always -- he has a way of just being befuddled by criticism. one thing he doesn't acknowledge

is he's had 25 tax increases signed into law since he took over and we're on the hook for $670 billion worth of tax increases over the next 10 years. that doesn't include the tax increase that will bring us back on income levels in january 1st to the clinton years away from the bush years who had them -- who implemented two sets of tax cuts during his time. >> wait until cap and tax, cap and trade, whatever you call it, gets pushed through. that is $600 or $700 billion of tax to every family, every year. >> i don't see how they can do it. the house passed it and what eric is referring to is the fact that the cap and trade is coming to a country near you, us, this april. it will be out there introduced in the senate and lindsay graham is working with john kerry about some type of bipartisan cap and trade which gives relatively scary and controversial. >> one of the things that they're going to need g.o.p. help on if they want to pass it is financial regulatory reform and that is the next big task in

front of president obama. so which members of the g.o.p. could break from the bunch and vote with this. vote with the president. let's take a look at the list of eight. first, you have from georgia. scott brown from massachusetts. bob corker from tennessee. john mccain from arizona. take it away, guys. the next four. >> you got olympia snow over there, susan collins and you have kit bonds. they all said they're all on the shelf of saying -- they're saying we might do this. here's the risk that republicans have in that they all four working in some type of wall street reform. and no offense to you, eric but it might not be the most popular thing for any party to say i'm pro wall street. i'm going to side with the banks that got the bailout that don't seem to be going with main street. so republicans got to say after themselves is this an issue where they shouldn't do what they did with health care and say no? >> the issue is yes, there are

reforms that could take place. they can close up some of the derivative loopholes where companies are extending themselves beyond their means and they shouldn't do that. the problem is it goes a little too far. it looks into companies that may be not too big to fail but too important to fail and there may be companies that are too many votes to fail. government going in there and regulating too much in a $50 billion war chest to play with this tough. by the way, none taken. >> what, offense? even if you don't think they should be vilified, a lot of americans do. >> listen there are a lot of things that went wrong. there were a lot of loopholes that could be closed without going to full financial regulation chasing a lot of businesses, a lot of banks, lot of trading companies, a lot of loaning -- loan companies overseas. >> and the reason that we're deferring to eric on this, because he's on the fox business network. and you used to be a trader down on wall street. >> i did. >> for 20 years. >> that was like five years ago.

>> five years ago? >> you were a kid! >> almost back in the 1990's. >> you had a ponytail. i think it's comical that chris dodd is leading the charge on financial regulatory reform. isn't he the friends of the special deals and has this incredible mortgage of this huge house in ireland. >> dodd and frank, two guys at the head of the house financial services and senate banking committees who were at the head there when the big collapse happened. >> all right, guys. let's continue to move forward on the show with a couple of quick headlines. former top national security agency executive thomas drake charged with passing classified information to a reporter. prosecutors say the 52-year-old e-mailed material about n. s. a. operations over the course of a year and a half. a series of articles on the nsa appeared in "the baltimore sun" at the same time. drake could get 20 years, if convicted. this morning, the president's national security advisors gather at the white house to talk about afghanistan and pakistan and the topic of information that leaks may

potentially be added to the agenda. and a nightmare for many travelers and many airlines. for the second day in a row now, flights grounded on both sides of the atlantic as that volcanic ash continues to spread all across europe. wnyw's john huddy live for us now at new york's j.f.k. airport where some are still stranded. who would have ever thunk that ash would be a reason people can't get over to europe? >> yeah, mother nature's fury is certainly being felt not only here in the united states, as you mentioned, across northern europe and we just talked to a couple around the corner in the british airways terminal who are trying to get back to england and they've already been waiting since last night. they're being told that, perhaps, later this evening they may be able to fly into glasgow, scotland. as this ash continues to drift with the jet stream southward. but, of course, that is tentative so they may end up having to wait it out. airline officials say it could take at least another 24 to even 48 hours possibly even the rest

of the weekend before things get back to normal. right now, across northern europe, more than 5,000 of the 28,000 flights have been canceled. we're talking from the u.k. to germany, germany to stockholm, sweden. even finland. a lot of problems and here in the united states, thousands of passengers are stuck having to wait it out. we talked with some exchange students yesterday who had to spend another day in new york. well, i'm sure they're not happy about that. other folks trying to get back into the city are also being stranded in europe. so certainly, this is very much a developing story and a lot of problems because of this volcanic eruption. guys, back to you. >> all right. thanks very much, john huddy reporting for us out at j.f.k. this morning. >> of all the reasons you could give to not be at an event, on a vacation or at a business meeting was it's all because of that volcano in iceland. i mean, that's incredible what it's done. >> no kidding. all right, let's do a couple of other quick headlines much today

marks the third anniversary of the virginia tech shooting. classes are canceled at the school so they can take part of the memorial event. there will be a candlelight vigil and other services. 32 people were killed by the gunman before he killed himself. next month, the last wounded survivor still at virginia tech will graduate. lots of confusion after the head of russia's foreign ministry announces all adoptions by american families are now suspended. it got more confusing after russia's education ministry claimed it had no knowledge of a freeze. the state department at one point announced adoptions were still on until then they recanted saying they were awaiting clarification. >> oh. >> next week, they'll send a high level delegation to moscow to discuss the controversy and a possible agreement. so why did all this happen? because, as you recall, last week, that tennessee mom sent her 7-year-old adopted son back to russia alone on an airplane with a note saying he had allegedly threatened her family and she didn't want him anymore.

those are your headlines. >> you know this from your own -- from your own family, you go through so many years and so much time and so much paperwork, and all of a sudden, everything can be stopped like this. can you imagine all the families? >> my sister adopted a baby from guatemala and laura ingram adopted a baby from guatemala and russia. we'll get her thoughts on that. a federal shopping incentive program kicks off this morning. appliance retailers in illinois get ready for the cash for appliances rebate deal that could save customers up to $400. >> all right. it's all designed to get people back in the stores and save on their energy bills. joining us now live from chicago, mr. peter doocey sitting in for your father. >> that would be for you and my dad. i'm at sears. they're expecting a big crowd here because there's $6 1/2 million of the federal government's money to be spread amongst the people of illinois and today, also in texas and florida and all you've got to do is get a piece it was is bring in an old appliance and buy a

new government labelled energy star appliance. so starting today, people in, like i said, florida and texas and here in illinois, are going to be bringing in their old stuff, their old refrigerators and washing machines and dishwashers and getting new ones at a discount of 15% off with uncle sam picking up the tab for the money off and at places like here at sears, they're offering even more money off to make sure that people come in and they get the extra business and retailers are saying that this is going to mean big bills. >> what kind of forecasting of four times extra amount of business over the weekend through the hype that's going around this program. it could be a couple of million dollars to us just over the weekend, what we're thinking before the state actually runs out of money which that's a harder part to forecast when that's going to happen. >> and that's the main concern of retailers and consumers alike, that the money is not going to last very long. in fact, when they had similar programs to this in states like iowa and arizona, the money ran out in just a few hours. and if you can't tell, this

program is similar to cash for clunkers from just a few months ago. but i think it would be more appropriate if we called this one something like cash for kenmores. what do you guys think? >> that's great news for kenmore, peter. i think you got a sponsorship deal for the next segment. >> it's not just kenmore, though, it's all different brands of appliances and it's going to be helping out a lot of people during this tough time. >> all right. peter, we'll check in with you again. good job. all right. we continue to have different types of programs to get our economy humming. meanwhile, tax day has come and gone. some americans didn't have to pay their fair share. could our own government be to blame for letting them get away with it? we'll debate it. >> and a team of experts, the angels are here to see if business ideas can stand up and make it in the real world. >> you're in charge of that segment? >> i am. >> they should also fight crime. there's new motrin pm. no other medicine, not even advil pm, is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. new motrin pm.

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>> april 15th has come and gone. nearly half of american households who filed federal

income tax returns did not have to pay any taxes and actually ended up making money thanks to all those tax credits so is government working for the people or are the people working for government? joining us right now for a heated debate, perhaps, curtis dubai, a senior fellow at the heritage foundation and a millionaire and a member of the responsible wealth club, i guess, for men. curtis, first off for you, are you surprised by the ratios right now in terms of who pays and who doesn't? >> no, i'm not surprised at all. we've been going this direction for many years. people who fiollow taxes know this is coming for a while. 50% of people are paying no income taxes. dangerous tipping point. after that, hard to control the size of government. >> does it bother you the way the ratio breaks up right now? >> well, i must say that i find it surprising to hear a headline that says heritage foundation report is in favor of higher taxes. what i find interesting is this exclusive focus on the income tax which, of course, is only one of the taxes that people pay

to the federal government. the majority of americans actually pay more in social security and medicare taxes than they pay in income taxes and the poor as well pay these other taxes, too. so it's not, in fact, the case that the poor are paying no taxes whatsoever. >> you can go back to eight years ago and 2/3 of the american people were paying income taxes and now it's 50/50. >> eric is exactly right. but federal income tax is the main funder of the benefits and services we get from the federal government and half the people aren't paying into it. we don't want to raise taxes on them. they want them to pay a little bit so they know that government services are not free. >> do you feel that, eric? do you feel there's an inequity that there that can easily be corrected especially in a government that is running a huge deficit. >> the organization i'm part of is focused on the other part of the spectrum. we're basically focused on trying to rescind the bush tax cuts on the wealthy. >> you're going to get your wish. >> i hope so. >> but you're getting your wish in january because the president

is going to let them expire. >> well, of course, that is the way the current law is set up, that if no -- if congress takes no action whatsoever, it's not simply the tax cuts on the wealthy that will expire but the tax cuts for everybody which the obama administration has clearly stated they're not in favor of having happen. they want to keep the tax cuts for the middle class but they do want to rescind the tax cuts on the wealthy and my organization is fully in favor of that. >> so bring in more revenue in is something the obama administration wants to do. could that hurt in the long run? >> i'm not concerned about wealthy guys like eric paying more taxes. i am concerned that higher taxes on the rich with slow economic growth, reduce the number of jobs. >> he's rich. you should be concerned. >> and i'm also concerned that higher tax on the rich will grow our dependency agenda. when we get past that 50% of people paying no taxes you're in a dangerous position. income tax funds a lot of chancellors of wealth. $114 billion in the income tax this year. >> have a great weekend, and you do the same. thanks so much, guys. we're still talking taxes.

straight ahead, a story we first told you about here on "fox & friends." state wanted to ban keeping things like boys and girls rooms separate. we'll have a debate yet and see where we go with that and they give advice to up and coming entrepreneurs so do two -- so do two young business hopefuls have what it takes to be part of that gang? we'll find out with the entrepreneurs next. ah! silver one. that's not a volkswagen. ♪ [ tires screech ] ♪ [ sighs ] that's two for doubting. [ chuckles ] you hit like my sister. really? i'd like to meet her. [ male announcer ] the volkswagen cc. award-winning design for just $299 a month. it's a whole new volkswagen. and a whole new game. ♪

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>> it's been a tough economy. you start a small business. maybe you have a small business. who wouldn't need some extra help? how about some help from some angel praneurs. amy palmer is in the middle and

the three angelpreneurs. they're very, very successful smart business people. people pitch their businesses to the angelpreneurs and see if we can give them a little bit of extra advice. let's talk about the business. business is city slips and it's julia from city slips. take the mike. tell us about your business. >> good morning. i'm julia and i'm representing city slips for the co-founders. they developed this product out of their dorm room actually these 2009 n.y.u. grads and essentially the product, that every woman has to have. the career working mom, the college students checking into their internships. it's a fold-up ballet flap. when your heels are killing you and you don't know what to do, these ballet flaps are pulled out of the zip-up pouch that you can carry around in whatever purse you have for the day. what are going to do with the pouch afterwards? it folds into a tote bag.

here's the carrying case and you're on your way. >> what do you think? go ahead. start out with some advice. >> i love fashionable and functional products and i love the clean, ease of use of the product. what is going to have to happen in order to really kick start the company and take it to the next level is really focus on branding and getting the story out. the founders of the company getting out as the experts speaking for us, really kicking the brand to the next level and making sure that everyone knows the story because it's easily knocked off and then they can acquire a license and deal potentially down the road. >> i love it! i think every single woman in america is looking at you right now and saying yes, finally. i think that it's really important to create a presence on social networking sites. i think twitter and facebook is huge. you can create a you tube channel and create stories around the brand, you know, you can get a flip camera and just videotape you or your friends wearing these and how they work and then totally network it on facebook and twitter. it's such a powerful tool when launching your brand. >> and vanessa, go ahead.

>> absolutely agree. love the concept. i wonder how comfortable they are. i want a pair because i want to try them out. also, notice, though, on your site, you don't make them past a certain size so i'm wondering when you're going to start developing larger sizes because i got a big foot. also, social media, social media, social media. free marketing. how come i didn't know about you before this segment? i have a lifestyle site, healthy style new york.com, we are people who would feature you and your product. you have access to us on twitter and facebook. >> i have to ask julia, how much are these? >> $27.99 is what city slips retail for. we're trying to saturate that social media market and trying to come out on our one year anniversary. >> thank you. thanks you guys over there. back to you guys in the studio. >> hey, eric. >> yes? >> size 7. >> what about brian? >> i don't know but that is a

brilliant idea! >> they love it. they love the idea. >> i told you what i am in women's sizes. bigger than that. coming up straight ahead -- >> a marine is in hot water now over critical posts he made about president obama. what about his freedom of speech? we report, you decide. >> victoria jackson putting on a show at the big tea party. >> what else she had to sing about? her little ditty next.

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>> president obama released his tax return today. he didn't owe a lot in taxes. he has a lot of dependents. he has his wife, two daughters, a.i.g., goldman-sachs. rig write them all off. >> he made over $5 million. >> the president did. $5.5 million, yes, he did and he paid a lot of tax. >> isn't he a nobel prize winner? he got a million dollars for that, didn't sne>> he donated that. >> when you win a million dollars and you give it away, do you get taxed on it? >> yes. >> no. >> don't you? >> i don't know. the person who gets it has to pay a gift tax, right? >> yes. the tax recipient has to pay a tax. if you give it to a charity, they don't or at least they pay less. >> all right. let's get over to william

lejunesse here from california because the government plans to stop production of a military plane and is canceling further moon missions by nasa. how much of your money would the government save by canceling those plans? william, you've broken down all the numbers for us thankfully. >> yeah. you know, balancing the budget isn't easy and everybody agrees we have to cut spending but like all cuts, they hurt and right now, the defense and space lobbies are squealing like a stuck pig. they're complaining about the president's plan to kill those two programs from his budget. but take nasa's $3.5 million effort to put men back on the moon. we crunched the numbers on the taxpayer calculator, on foxnews.com and here's what it shows. for those earning $15,000 to $30,000, the constellation program cost $1.62. if you make over $200,000 to $250,000 that bill will be closer to $95. now, the other program that the white house considers outdated in effect or wasteful is the c-17 cargo plane. last year, congress refused to

stop production because thousands of workers build this plane in 42 states. but each copy costs $200 million and the pentagon says we don't need anymore. so what can you save if we cut the program? you earn between 15 and 30k, it represents about $1 in taxes if you make $200,000 to $250,000 closing the plant will save you $70. so now it's up to you. you go to this taxpayer calculator and you can tell congress what you think about these things and what you want to do. i will tell you, gretchen, the results will surprise you. not everybody says no on this stuff and we looked at over a dozen programs this week and today, i'll wrap it up, we will be looking at the unemployment insurance extension, cap and trade, and yeah, that's a very controversial thing. so you can go on and find out and tell us, we can tell congress what you think. gretchen? >> all right. i hope you bought extra batteries for your calculator. >> yes, i did. >> all right. thanks for breaking it down with

us. we have a fox news alert. suspected u.s. missiles have killed four alleged militants in pakistan's northwest tribal area. the government official believes the missiles flattened a house. the u.s. has frequently targeted the area in its campaign to kill taliban and al-qaida who happened to close that place down. >> a preliminary report on last week's deadly mine explosion in west virginia suggests that the accident may have been preventable. the report says build-up of methane gas mixing with coal dust may have caused that blast. yesterday, president obama blasted the mine owners but he also blamed government regulators and legal loopholes that allow unsafe conditions to continue. the president is ordering top officials to launch a full scale safety review of all coal mines now and today, west virginia's governor joe manchin have asked all mine workers to stop working for a full day. >> president obama is meeting with his financial advisors today. the subject -- financial reform. despite all the partisan arguments, republicans and democrats could be close to finding common ground.

"the new york times" says no party leader wants anymore bailouts and they do not believe any company is too big to fail. they're working on a plan that would allow the government to quickly take over a teeterring company by closing it or selling it and the shareholders and the private sector would have to shoulder most of the cost, if not all the cost. >> all right. the lead prosecutor in the casy dugard kidnapping case since the evidence against the suspect is overwhelming. no kidding. he also says he has evidence that could prove his wife nancy brainwashed by her husband. he made the comments at a hearing to prevent him from contacting dugard or their children. yes they have children. dugard was freed last year after nearly two decades in captivity. >> we told you about it earlier why on "fox & friends." now we're learning that a plan to ban gender specific bathrooms and locker rooms in schools in the state of maine has been put on hold for now. instead, a public hearing on the issue is set to take place sometime next month. state officials had proposed getting rid of boys and girls

bathrooms to accommodate transgender students. not making it up. eric? >> all right, former "saturday night live" star victoria jackson sang at a tea party rally in washington, d.c. listen to it. >> ♪ kind of scary and creepy i look over my shoulder ♪ >> the s. n.l. alumni had the crowd going. she serenaded the tea partiers about a song of a communist living in the white house. >> the crowd was crazy. music mogul and yankee fan jay-z has clubbed a red sox star with a major lawsuit. >> ♪ should have been friends over business ♪ >> of course, this was shot in the winter. that's why he's wearing the parka. jay-z is suing david ortiz for $5 million for copyright infringement. he says ortiz ripped off his nightclub idea.

he recently opened a nightclub in the dominican republic. jay-z owns a number of nightclubs including the flagship store in new york city. the only thing is david ortiz would probably be more likely to do that than jay-z but i guess -- >> you still can't rip off that. >> never going to steal 40 bases, david ortiz. >> he's too big. not fast enough. >> 40 home runs, perhaps. >> let's bring in somebody that we usually have satellite from d.c. and what an honor to have her on the curvy couch. >> i came here to see if it was an environmentally friendly couch. and the materials, mr. murdoch, we have to work on these. cap and trade is coming. i'm monitoring all this set. >> are you staggered that cap and trade is coming? >> this thing will always come back like freddie krueger. we can't say that anymore. that's on the list of things i can't say. no, of course it's going to come back. it's going to come back because we have to do everything we can

before november to subvert the will of the people and destroy our prosperity and we have to move very fast. >> how do you really feel about that? >> you have to host o'reilly tonight. >> o'reilly is working tonight. but a couple of weeks, i'll be back for a couple of nights, yeah. >> can we talk about -- by the way, welcome. >> great to see you. >> can we talk about this marine over at camp pendleton who decides to write in his facebook things he feels we're not doing right here in this country when it comes to fighting the war. military tells him to take it down. take it off your facebook. he says you know what? i'm going to leave it up. >> he's 24 years old. and he got involved in this tea party patriot armed forces tea party movement. put it up on facebook and here's a bit of a problem is that the code, the military code says that you can't participate in any radio, television or other group discussion to advocate on behalf of a candidate or a cause so when you see "or a cause" it's a problem. we want our military to have first amendment rights, obviously and they're limited.

when you go into the military, they're limited. he says look, i respect the commander in chief. i will follow my orders. i will -- he did take it down. but he says he still wants to be active and involved. so big mistake on his part, though, was deciding he was going to go on msnbc for an interview. apparently, he wants no one to watch that. >> pull him back from msnbc. >> not really an agenda on facebook. >> unfortunately, for him the group discussion. so the military code, do i think he's going to get prosecuted or reprimanded? no, i don't but i think, you know, look this shows you there are some limits to what you can say. >> let's talk about something that's near and dear to your heart which is this russian adoption story. >> yes. >> you have adopted a child from russia. >> yeah. >> as well as guatemala. you have experience in this process. >> yep. >> what was your reaction to hearing that this mom in tennessee sent her 7-year-old adopted boy back to moscow on a plane with a note by himself? >> well, a couple of things. obviously must have been desperate and she felt desperate, number one, i

understand that. there are a lot of situations that are very difficult. but she knew that. when you go through this process, you have to visit russia three times. three times so she was with that child at that orphanage three times. we have to realize he's an american citizen so my question -- weren't his civil rights violated when he was put on a plane back to moscow alone and sent there? so look, desperation, many ways to deal with children who have trouble and problems and a lot of the kids from russia do. she didn't do it the right way. now, thousands of children's lives are hanging in the balance, in jeopardy and i hope there's a bilateral agreement with russia and the united states. >> should she be charged? >> it doesn't look good. it looks like child abandonment. again, there are ways to deal with this. and a lot of parents have dealt with this problem. if indeed what she's saying about this little boy is true and we don't know, it was obviously very difficult for her family. but what she did was not right. >> she was in the process of adopting another child. >> child abandonment. remember, she's gone through criminal background checks, immigration checks. i mean, these -- what you have

to go through to adopt internationally is unbelievable. incredibly complicated and pretty thorough so it's very surprising. >> the other thing you can appreciate is all those families who are in the -- >> they're there now. >> trying to adopt and now they can't. >> there are families who are there now who apparently have been told you're not leaving the country with the child. >> because of her. >> it's not like they're going to disregard all these adoptions. >> they have to come to some agreement so the russian people don't feel their kids are coming to the united states and being abused or being abandoned. i mean, it's a -- it's a matter of russian pride as well so that's what we have to think of. a lot of kids need a lot of help around the world, in our country. in russia, it's acute. we need to pray this works out. >> nobody is quite clear. >> nobody is clear what's happened. our state department, their people. so i'm very worried about it. very worried about it. >> who are your allies in a situation like this? where do you turn? >> our state department but they're saying we're going to go

over -- they're going to russia next week and have a meeting with top russian officials on this. they're going to come -- try to hammer out a monitoring agreement where russians can feel like they have a better handle on who is getting the kids and what's happening to the kids once they're here but it's hard to adopt. i mean, this woman didn't just show up and say i want to adopt a kid one day. she was there three times. >> right. what's it like seeing us in person? >> i don't know. >> i've seen her twice. >> it's not madam tosseau's, it's a real set with real people. it's a control room. they manipulate some of the things. >> only thing i'm hoping for is a picture with laura in the green room. i saw one with biden on her facebook page. i was hoping maybe i could maybe -- >> i've already been teased about that from o'reilly. i can't take the teasing. ok, stop the hate. stop the hate. >> by the way, i commented on your picture. >> did you? >> it was disturbing. >> who looked more like a cardboard cutout, me or biden? >> you looked like uh-oh. >> he's like you're my favorite of all those people. i said do you have blue colored

contacts, are those tinted contacts? i don't think i'm his favorite anymore. >> we have a picture you want to see. >> i want to see the picture of laura with your son. >> that's dmitri. that's at red square. he's a little bigger than that now. he's a big russian boy now. he's almost 2 years old. >> all right. thank you. >> congratulations on both of those beautiful -- >> great to see you guys. >> the couch is fun. >> i have a feeling laura would have a comment like that. coming up on the show, the national day of prayer now unconstitutional. a constitutional ruling has the battle over church and state at a fever pitch. >> he wowed the crowd at the radio and tv correspondents dinner. funnyman is here next with the material that brought down the house. straight ahead. first, the trivia question of the day --

you've got to try it,

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to help build strong muscles and healthy bones. ♪ carnation instant breakfast essentials. good nutrition from the start. >> all right. stirring up some controversy, a federal judge in wisconsin ruled that the national day of prayer which has been celebrated every may since 1952 is, get this, unconstitutional. we're joined by fox news legal analyst peter johnson jr. peter, unconstitutional all of a sudden? >> you know, it's interesting case and there's been a lot of cases in the supreme court and district courts as circuit courts across the country. what this judge is saying is there is no secular purpose. there is no nonreligious purpose in the national day of prayer that was passed by the congress. even though there have been 160 or so proclamations by presidents over the years, even

though james madison was the drafter of the first amendment and the establishment clause of the first amendment with regard to religion said that prayer had a role in our government, prayer had a role in our congress, and so this court has said that the government is impermissibly attempting to establish a judeo christian form of prayer. >> peter, they're not mandating prayer. they're simply suggesting and encouraging prayer. what's unconstitutional about that? >> do you think it's constitutional to encourage prayer in the united states? >> i think it's ok to recognize there's a day for prayer. there's a day for muslims. there's a day for gay rights parade down fifth avenue. what's wrong with it? >> it's a very interesting question. what the court is saying is you're trying to equate patriotism, civic responsibility, civic obligation, americanism with prayer. and they're saying that the two

should not be linked at all. now, let's look and see what the other folks are saying, a bunch of congressmen and i think even the president would probably say this. it is so deeply rooted in our tradition. it is so deeply rooted in our history. the founders, 200 plus years of observance of a day of prayer, of a day of thanksgiving to say that the founding fathers were somehow disturbed by this notion of a national day of prayer or thanksgiving that that's wrong, they're saying this is, in fact, deeply rooted in the constitution and as a matter of common cause and common practice over these two plus centuries of american history, we validated it. it's an interesting constitutional issue. when you hear it, when you see it, you say this is crazy. this will go to the supreme court. >> good job. >> thank you very much. >> be well. >> thank you very much, sir. the same day that boy scouts

can't be recognized in california. it's a crazy time. all right, we have the crowd in stitches -- he had the crowd in stitches. radio and tv correspondents dinner. listen. >> i actually read the autobiography and today, i think it's much better. >> that's not all he had to say. funnyman joe wong is here next. on this date in 1991, london, london beat had the number one hit "i've been thinking about you." ♪ [ male announcer ] designed to function the way you funion. the lexus rx. ♪ at your lexus deal.

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>> the winner was anthony from new jersey. congrats. >> is she acting again?

>> i'm not sure. >> can you get on that, eric? our next guest stole the show at the very powerful and among powerful politicians and media elite with his jokes at the correspondents dinner. even v.p. joe biden was a punch line for funnyman joe wong. >> an honor it was for me to meet vice president joe biden here tonight. i actually read your autobiography. and today i see you. i think the book is much better. >> it looks much better. comedian joe wong joins us this morning. you have such an interesting story. you're from china. you come to the u.s. and you become -- you get a ph.d. in biochemistry. how the heck did you end up as a standup comedian? >> you know, i have my ph.d. in biochemistry but on the other hand, the things people say or do is really funny.

for example, once this guy said to me, never say never. i was like you just said it twice. a lot of those things makes me want to, you know, tell the jokes on stage. >> and when you first started, you didn't -- you would go to comedy clubs and wouldn't get half the jokes, right? >> yes. i remember the first time -- first comedian i've ever seen is emo phillips, you know, i understand half the jokes but the other half went over my head. >> and now emo never got half of them and that's why we don't hear from him anymore. probably. >> no, here you are this funny biochemist. we have a very similar background. i have a biochemistry degree i don't use. >> that's where the similarities end? >> were a standup comedian, weren't you? >> i was a biochemist. >> he was a sit down comedian. what does china think of you? do they embrace this quest of you? >> surprisingly, i remember there was an article in "the wall street journal" saying about my humor, humor is hard to

translate but right now, that they put my performance from rtca on china's web site, i heard it got over two million hits. >> two million hits? >> i constantly get e-mails from students and professors from china. they're very curious. >> they think you're funny or ask you questions like what happened to you? >> yeah. >> what happened to your degree? >> you're still working. >> i'm still working. >> that's the amazing thing. you are developing a television show, sitcom? >> yes. i'm collaborating with david letterman's production company, worldwide pants to develop a sitcom to kind of reflect an immigrant's life and this be an episode here. >> he'll be the crazy butler. >> all right. great to meet you. >> take care. >> thanks so much. >> welcome to our nation. any questions, just ask. >> ok. all right. >> coming up on the show, president obama poking fun at the tea partiers. we'll talk to geraldo about why he said americans should be

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>> gretchen: good morning, everyone. we're still chuckling from joe wong being here. it's friday, april 16, 2010. thanks for sharing your time. president obama taking a jab at americans for protesting taxes, saying they should actually be grateful? >> you would think they would be saying thank you. [ laughter ] that's what you think. >> brian: he's ticked. >> gretchen: what else he had to say about the tea partiers coming up. brian, your line is coming up. >> a massive cloud of ash so large that a grounds planes across a whole continent. travelers dealing with a major headache, the latest straight ahead. >> brian: he's got a top ten song, christian rocker, toby mac performing live in our studio. he sounds great.

our slogan comes from jim in texas, i paid my taxes to the irs with a little check i wrote, now i hear on "fox & friends" i should have included a thank you note. [ laughter ] ♪ >> brian: that is toby mac. fantastic. he's here live and he's here live to really entertain america and the 80 countries or 280 countries that we entertain and to meet geraldo. he's back from afghanistan. i'm excited he's back. life seems good again. >> gretchen: he has the moves, of which -- yep, there he goes. >> brian: i'm not sure what song he's dancing to. >> gretchen: imaginary music. we have eric bowling sitting to the right of me today, as steve is on vacation. >> i brought you some flats. >> gretchen: thank you so much. these will come in handy, where women can wear flats in the

streets of new york. >> i forgive you. >> brian: tell us what's happening in the news and we'll bring over geraldo. >> gretchen: president obama meets with his national security team this morning. one of the things they may talk about is the problem of these information leaks and thomas drake. drake is a former official of the national security agency accused of e-mailing a wide range of classified information to a reporter believed to have been working for the baltimore sun and he's accused of lying about it and could get 20 years if convicted. the government is calling it the largest ever illegal immigration bust in the country. more than 800 federal agents involved and dozens of them swarmed to arrest nearly 50 shuttle operators and smugglers in arizona. immigration officials say bus companies transported thousands of illegal immigrants all over the u.s. for more than a decade. the raid took place as the immigration debate continues to heat up in arizona. the state is on the verge of approving a law that would make it a crime to be in the country illegally. oxymoron. right? >> brian: what did you call me?

>> gretchen: a new york e mom who pleaded guilty to lying to federal agents in connection with a new york subway bombing plot. he's not going to go to prison now. instead, he has been sentenced to time served and must leave the u.s. within 90 days. he's accused of lying about whether or not he tipped off zazi that the f.b.i. was asking questions about his activities. this week, new details emerged indicating zazi's alleged plan to bomb new york city's subways, that he was going to target times square and grand central station. the word in europe today is canceled as in your flight. half of today's transatlantic flights scrubbed. most of the international airports in germany closed and there is no flying of any kind over england until tomorrow at the earliest. blame the volcano in iceland. it's spewing ash over northern europe and that is ash that apparently will choke a jet engine. amazing pictures.

the astronauts aboard discovery taking good pictures. they had a busy morning secure ago cargo carrier, inspecting the heat shield. they're going to leave the international space station tomorrow. they'll land in florida on monday. president obama revealed his future visions for nasa at the kennedy space center yesterday. >> sending astronauts to an asteroid for the first time in history. [ applause ] by the mid 20 30s, i believe we can send humans to orbit, mars and return them safely to earth. and landing on mars will follow and i expect to be around to see it. >> gretchen: the president reassured workers that more than 2,000 jobs will be added in response to criticism that his flashing of the space -- slashing of the shuttle program would force severe layoffs. it's time for geraldo. you're back.

>> hello. >> brian: incredible work in afghanistan. first off, let's talk politics. tax day was a big day. i could not believe how much was going on around the country and how much this meant to so many people when it came to paying your taxes. are you surprised about the number and the volume with the tea party? >> yes and yes and let me say that as a former activist myself, someone who really was a formative part of my life, being on the streets and being part of a manifestation or demonstration, complaining or advocating one thing or another, i'm very happy that people are getting off their couches and going to protest. i think that the specifics of what exactly is comprised of what you pay taxes when you deduct social security, medicare, medicaid and having come back from afghanistan, the huge expenditure of the wars, the two wars that were never budgeted, i think if you support the war, then you should support a war tax.

we have always in the past paid for our wars and now we're not. >> gretchen: then everyone should pay the war tax since we're all being kept safe. that's not the idea of the war tax, i don't think. i think it will only be on the rich. >> well, my war tax would be everybody pays whatever the proportion is. but it is very hypocritical in the sense to advocate certain programs like social security, collect social security, and then complain about government. >> brian: you look at the income tax now and the ratio, a lot of people finding out that 50% of the country is not paying income tax and they're getting money for not qualifying to pay income tax. >> the counter argument would know is that the difference between rich people and poor people in terms of the gap, the earning gap between a ceo and worker in a company has never been broader. what is it, 300 times now? used to be 25 times more than the worker? i think there are arguments to be made on all sides of the equity aspect of internal revenue. >> were you surprised at the amount of people that showed up

at tea parties? >> yes. i totally downgraded it. i totally deny graded it. i thought for sure that massachusetts would go with the democrat. i was totally caught by surprise. i said you get a typical immigration rally, they're ten times bigger, but that's not the point. the point is that there is some real resentment about the size of government and people are really complaining about it and it will have a profound effect come november. i hate to say it, it's rare i totally miss a public movement, but i have totally missed this one. >> gretchen: maybe it's 'cause -- what did you think about the president yesterday when he took a jab at the tea party, much has been made about the president not being able to handle criticism very well. let's let our viewers listen to what he said about the tea partiers. >> i've been a little amused over the last couple of days where people have been having these rallies. about taxes. you would think they would be

saying thank you. [ laughter ] that's what you think. >> the fact of the matter is, we are paying less taxes this year than last year. and many, many middle class and lower middle class or working class people are paying fewer taxes now. so in literal terms, he's correct. but i think that the bigger picture is this, president obama realizes that the vast majority of the people we're showing on these demonstrations right now are republicans and they will vote republican. so he is a partisan just as they are partisan and he's taking a partisan look. >> gretchen: that's not true. we took a look at the break down of the tea party movement. independent and democrat make up of a of the tea party movement. >> brian: independents where where he's got to worry. >> i think that what is being described is a lot like the silent majority. it's a lot like the moral majority in the past. they will vote republican. where else are they going to vote? unless someone like perot or sarah palin run, i think they will be republican voters and i think the republicans will

regain control of the house if things go as they are now. >> if the tea party doesn't split the conservative vote? >> i don't think it will. i think after the experience in the 23rd district in upstate new york, they figured that out. i think they'll win the primaries and the republicans will support whoever wins the primary. >> brian: let's talk about this, a lot of frustration on the part of senator lieberman -- >> i have to talk about afghanistan at some point. it's amazing how hard it is to live with 21-year-old marines in dust, death, and you have to poop in a bag and eat mre's and they really -- i salute them so much. >> brian: let's talk about you in afghanistan. >> gretchen: you got my attention. >> poop not guilty a bag is -- popping in a bag is something i will never forget. >> brian: what was the main difference this time?

let's go to afghanistan. i love your work, you know i do, especially this time. >> i love yours. >> brian: right. thank you. >> you want me to move? >> gretchen: oh, my gosh. this is very close quarters. >> i think the story in afghanistan that's hugely being missed is that it's a drug story now. everybody okay now? >> brian: yeah. >> gretchen: the two of you will have a moment. >> gretchen: you were doing a lot of stuff on the heroin and hash. >> right. and afghanistan has become just like columbia. it is a narco state. whatever the taliban's initial motivation, whether it was ideological or religious, now they're deep dealers. that's what we have to understand. i think that even though karzai and his administration are ripe with corruption, if he just does two things, stop growing the opium poppies and we'll give you the seed and fertilizer and buy your crops and secondly, don't

let al-qaeda set up national bases in your country, if he does just those two things, the fact he sold the election is afghanistan's problem. >> brian: number one is hard. number two is easy. he's not going to give up the opium trade. >> in the year 2000, they won the prize for cracking down on opium production. now the nation is hook hooked. one guy makes $2,000 a month. you got to give them money. >> gretchen: you've been there with the soldiers. what is your take away from how we're doing over there? >> that's an excellent question, gretchen. the only way i can answer it is militarily we're doing sue pushily. -- superly. they left the populated areas. when they leave, we can

establish infrastructure and local government that can help support law and order, among other things. i think we're doing great. but it is hugely expensive. they're using these 30-dollar bombs to encompassate our vehicles. osama bin laden wanted to bankrupt the united states when they did the trade center and the money we're spending there is so gaudy, it's so -- it's like a cascade of taxpayer money, these gigantic bases, we are really creating a nation there and i think that the nation doesn't truly understand because of our patriotism, we don't understand how truly expensive it is. >> brian: forecast with taking down kandahar is in june? >> with my dear friend, major john campbell, they're coming with three full brigade teams, plus aviation brigade, plus a couple other european brigades. if i was in the taliban now, man, i'd be looking for a ticket to pakistan because the hammer is about to fall and i think

that that can drive them to the negotiating table, that's -- alt the generals and president obama, that's their tactic. get the moderates in the taliban, because it is a very conservative, very religious, dare i say backward country in many, many ways. i think that you got to let them be themselves, just don't attack us or others. be friendly to your neighbors. you'll evolve eventually at your own pace, but i think that it is really, you know, a salute to these guys. i didn't have a drink for two weeks or look in a mirror for two weeks. >> brian: that explains the open bottle in the green room. >> gretchen: coming up, harry reid facing tough competition for his senate seat. we'll hear from one of his challengers who got a ringing endorsement from the tea party. she's here next. >> looks like somebody missed the driveway.

how the truck ended up in a pool, next. # .

>> brian: glad you're back. it's been one year since the tea party movement gained notice for its opposition to president obama's stimulus measures. now the tea party focuses on booting lawmakers who are in the fiscally fit. their biggest target, senator majority leader harry reid. >> sharon angle has won the endorsement to go up against him. we should note we invited senator reid but he declined. thank you for joining us. so he's got to be a big target with all this outrage over health care reform, obamacare. where are you going? what are you telling the voters? >> well, thank you, first of all, for having me on this morning. this has been a wonderful opportunity for me to talk about let's make a deal tax and spend

harry reid and how a proven conservative message is going to take him out in november. >> brian: sharon, a lot of people think, okay, the tea party gets behind you, they're passionate, but you could divide the ticket with the other two republicans who are leading the charge and allow harry reid to stay in. does that bother you? >> you know, in a primary, we vote on principle and that's where my proven conservative battle tested record is going to shine through. it's not a division. remember, primaries are to choose the very best candidate that can take harry reid out. what i'm capturing is the imagination of that independent vote which we know is about 20% of the vote in nevada. so it's not just a republican legacy here. it is the independent, plus the republicans. we're all going to have to get together to take harry reid out. that's why this whole race has captured the nation's attention. this has become a national race.

people are really looking at it because of that. >> let's look at the race. when asked who do you support in the upcoming election, 51% said you, sharon angle. harry reid, 40%. it looks good right now. it's got to help the tea party endorsement. the question is, if it gets down to the wire, if you're splitting the vote, would you be willing to withdraw so that your other conservative candidate could take him on? >> we don't have to withdraw from a primary. remember, that's what a primary is all about, to determine who the very best candidate is. now, on the other side of primary, we have all had to sometimes hold our nose and vote for the lesser of two evils. but at this juncture, we have an opportunity to vote for principle, conservative battle tested record that i've never said to my voters, read my lips. i already say, read my record. i've been battle tested.

>> brian: you're a four term assembly woman. >> brian: congratulations on your endorsement from the tea party and your standing poll ratings, thanks so much. >> thank you. >> three navy seals face a court-martial for allegedly punching a suspected terrorist. we'll hear from one of their lawyers about why two of those trials are moving back to iraq. an update in this case next.

>> gretchen: welcome back. the trials of two navy seals accused of helping to cover up an assault on a terrorist detainee begins on monday. they won't be on american soil. they've been moved back to iraq. monica lombardi is the lawyer for one of the defendants in this case. good morning to you, monica. >> good morning. >> gretchen: we've been

following this story of the navy seals. give us a brief rundown of what the allegation is when they captured this terrorist. >> well, when they captured the terrorist, there was no allegation of abuse at that time and everything was completely videotaped. they extracted him and brought him back to the base and it was only about 48 hours later when he was brought into baghdad, the detainee was brought into baghdad and was seen by an american doctor, when he alleged he was abused by the navy seals. >> gretchen: now two or three navy seals, their futures are on the line. now this trial is going to take place back in baghdad. i understand your client is already there? >> well, he's actually on their way. they should be getting on their plane, i believe today or tomorrow. >> gretchen: let's talk about a big hole in the prosecution's case. that is the fact that in the

al-qaeda training manual, they tell their folks if they get detained, to do exactly what this guy did, right, to fake an injury? >> yes. they do. and as a matter of fact, we have asked that the judge take judicial notice of the fact that there is an al-qaeda training manual out there that tells them to do this. >> gretchen: what can happen to your client if, in fact, he's convicted? >> well, if he is convicted of the obstruction of justice or the dereliction of duty or both, then the maximum sentence he could receive is a year in jail or in the brig, a bad conduct discharge, reduction in rank all the way down to e-1 and total forfeiture of his pay. >> gretchen: what has this done to the morale of your client as a navy seal? they're known as the toughest, almost the toughest of all the military. does he just think he was doing his job? >> oh, absolutely. absolutely. >> gretchen: how is his morale?

>> it's fine. it's fine. i think his wife is more nervous at this point than he is. he's holding up well. he's pretty confident that we should be able to work towards an acquittal. >> gretchen: what is your understanding of what the president could do in this case? is it true that if he wanted to, he could make this case go away? >> well, not really. i mean, right now within the general's -- that's his job as a authority for general cleveland to dictate what's going on. if the president actually got involved at this time, then there would be indications of unlawful command influence going on with the president. so i think the president actually has to step back. it's more post-trial, if there is any post-trial or appellate work. that's when the president could maybe get involved. >> gretchen: all right. very interesting.

monica, the lawyer for petty first class officer julio huerta whose life could change quickly in baghdad with this trial. thanks. >> thank you. >> gretchen: coming up on the show, newly released e-mail showed the struggle at the c.i.a. over whether to destroy tapes of detainees being water boarded. we'll talk with chris wallace about that and who was livid by that decision. that's coming up next. talk about a bad parking job, oh, oh wouldn't want to be the driver of that truck, 'cause it almost ended up in the pool! how the truck ended up so close to the drink. toby mac rocking out the show this friday. ♪

>> gretchen: time for your shot of the morning. >> brian: here it is. >> gretchen: oh, my goodness! i opened the nasdaq yesterday. with k-mart, the number one march for baby sponsor. >> k-mart has given more than $80 million to march of dimes? >> more than $80 million over 27

years. what's amazing is that it's a grassroots effort. it's not like we're handing this down as a mandate. i go into the stores and associates are spinning me on it, which is fantastic. that's what makes these programs work. >> gretchen: that was a really fun experience. visit march for babies.organize to join an event near you. >> brian: have you ever done that? >> i have done that. >> it's a great event. the breakfast afterwards. >> gretchen: there was a lot of food there. >> it's a lot of fun. >> gretchen: he had to show me the directions 'cause he's the money guy. >> brian: i had to leave and do the radio. you had to leave and do that and you were left in the show after the show by yourself? >> we went to the best after the show show to the worst. >> gretchen: yes, the one before was very interesting. >> brian: you talk about a guy who had a lot of ups and downs, chris wallace, he's had some fantastic shows that were high and low. you two could really relate to

each other. hi, chris. >> how many weeks did it get to you think that one up, brian? >> brian: 2 1/2, plus that week i was off. i would try to come up with something. >> gretchen: let me save it for you, 'cause i didn't want you to say anything you regret about brian. let's talk about the story that's coming out that these c.i.a. tapes may have been destroyed with regard to waterboarding techniques that were going on. what are you hearing on capitol hill? >> well, all i know is what's being reported in the paper today. we have another for some time that they had been destroyed. the we was, how did it happen? it now appears that porter goss, former congressman from florida, who is now -- who then became the head of the c.i.a. ok'd it, but apparently the white house didn't know and harriette myers, the white house counsel when she found out about it was furious. it will be interesting to find out how it happened, how it went

down and as you know, they said what did they know and when did they know it. >> brian: to expand the story further, there were 92 tapes and when porter goss and everyone knew there were tapes about it and what they said afterward, they said this could look really bad for us. let's destroy them. so they decided to destroy them. but in the long run, i think porter goss was right. you know why? because they have made such a sensational thing about this, even charges have been brought up against c.i.a. agents. they've been made to seem like the bad guys when all they were doing is using everything that they had within their power to keep us safe. >> i can understand that argument and there is no question that if these tapes existed today, that some committee up on capitol hill would be subpoenaing them, henry waxman and trying to get them and put them all over television. on the other hand, i'm not sure that that's the proper role, quite frankly, of porter goss even as the c.i.a. director.

it seems that's a call by the attorney general or the president of the united states and you can't be destroying documents and evidence, you know, by rogue operations. that's in effect what the c.i.a. allegedly seems to have done. the president wants to make that call, i'm in favor of it. but i'm not sure it's porter goss' call. >> we've all seen the tapes or video of what waterboarding is. it doesn't make any sense to destroy tapes. it almost makes them look guiltier. >> brian: chris, tell me what's on your show and tell me if you need help booking anybody. >> no. we're in good shape this week, brian. but thanks so much because i know that you would have some great offers. ridiculous thing that you would suggest we do. no. we've got -- first of all, john mccain, who has moved to the right, i think it's fair to say this year, and has become one of

the leading voices in opposition to president obama. some people are suggesting maybe he's doing this because of the fact that he's got a tough reelection campaign in arizona against hayward. we'll talk about that with him. yesterday he came out on tax day and wanted to pass a resolution prohibiting the administration from imposing a vat, value added tax. we'll talk about his criticisms and why he's doing it and then we're going to talk to the commander of all forces in iraq, obviously we still got almost 100,000 troops there. it's kind of the forgotten war. but there are tens of thousands of american men and women fighting and potentially dying there and we'll talk to him about the military situation there and the political situation where they've had an election. they still aren't even close to forming a government. brian, is that a pretty good show? >> brian: that is an awesome show. the general moving on and you're

going to -- in the breaks, you know what you'll be talk being with him? he's a crazy giant fan. you are a crazy redskin fan. i'm sure there is a belief in chris wallace's house that donovan mcnabb will bring the redskins over the top and that's where the general is going to stand firm. that's my prediction. >> he's bringing us to the promised land, donovan mcnabb. >> brian: wow. >> gretchen: we'll see when they play the vikings. >> what you've just seen between brian and me is the kind of conversation that you won't see on fox news sunday. [ laughter ] >> gretchen: all right. >> brian: check our local listings and see some of the magic on sunday with the wallace kid. thanks, chris. >> and go, cavs. >> brian: right. we're talking hockey. u.s. attorney generic holder defends using criminal and military courts to prosecute terrorism suspects. this as the fight continues over where to try alleged mastermind khalid shaikh mohammed and his accused co-conspirators.

holder spoke at an awards dinner for the constitution project last night. listen. >> we must use both state craft and war craft, both our criminal justice system and our military authorities. both our civilian courts and our military commissions to defeat our enemies. >> brian: sounds like a great speech. supporters of military commissions argue suspected terrorists are enemies and shouldn't be given full u.s. legal rights. >> gretchen: for the first time since her disappearance, the sheriff's office says they believe haley cummins is dead. they have identified persons of interest, but aren't publicly saying whom. investigators are working on a tip that suggested physical evidence found in a nearby river could explain what happened. the five-year-old went missing when she vanished from her father's house and she was supposedly with his girlfriend at the time. >> president obama signed a bill reinstating unemployment benefits for 200,000 americans who lost them earlier this month. the $18 billion unemployment extension will provide benefits

through june 2. after that, those who still need help will have to reapply. the bill also restores full medicare payments to doctors who face add big whopping 21% cut. >> gretchen: it may have been a nice day for a swim, but that's what the driver of this truck had in mind. this happened in houston, texas. the driver says, whoopsie daisy. he lost control. plowed through a backyard, into the water. luckily he wasn't hurt. but somebody will have to pay for all that damage. >> brian: tiger woods announces when he will play golf again. he's going to tee it up at the quail holly championship which starts in two weeks, april 29 over in charlotte. ticket are sold to the general public. since news of the scandal broke, woods finished fourth at the masters last weekend, which was remarkable considering he's been off for five months. that was his big return in golf. brandon marshall's trade to the dolphins has got some of his nfl buddies tweeting that he's going

to be saving big money on taxes. why? because marshall signed a $47 million, four-year, contract extension. let's look how much he's saving working in florida as opposed to denver. he has no state income tax. if marshall was still playing for the broncos, he would get $2.2 million taken out in taxes. if he went to the jets or giants, he would pay $4.2 million to new york or new jersey. and at the got sent to oakland, not only do we get a troubled organization, but slammed by california taxes, which would cost him $5 million. that's why he's happy to be with bill parcells in miami. coming up on brian and the judge, we'll capture the magic with chris wallace. geraldo will be here. >> gretchen: does he like you better on radio? >> brian: sometimes. and then we have bill schultz from red eye. >> last day to send in your

census. the u.s. is giving out gifts to remind people. but some of the items aren't made in the u.s. we'll talk to the u.s. secretary of commerce next. >> gretchen: toby mac and his band, diversity, rocking out here. ♪

>> gretchen: today is the deadline to send in your census form. our government spent $340 million in advertise to go remind you to do that, creating t-shirts and hats and television commercials during the super bowl. remember that? was all that money worth it? gare lock is the secretary of commerce and he joins us now. good morning to you, secretary. >> good morning, gretchen. >> gretchen: so today is the deadline. people need to just fill out these ten questions and send them in.

right? >> that's right. it's ten questions should take less than ten minutes and the questions are almost identical to the questions that the founders of this country and the writers of the constitution wrote back in 1790. ten questions, less than ten minutes. absolutely confidential and so much depends on the 2010 census. >> gretchen: what happens if people didn't actually ever get the form in the mail? i've had a lot of e-mails saying i never got my form, what should they do? >> well, we've actually sent out the census forms in different waves. if people have not received the form, they can just call directory information, ask for their local census office or go to 2010 census.gov and type in your zip code and it will give you the telephone number, location of our questionnaire assistance centers where you can actually get a new one and delivered right away. >> gretchen: as i said in the lead in to you, mr. secretary, so much money has been spent on trying to get people to just simply send in the census. did we really need to spend that much money? now we're talk being some of the

swag, like t-shirts and such to try and entice people to send in the darn form. >> well, a lot of that money was spent in britaining up brochures and packets that were sent to community groups, to religious leaders, nonprofit groups, because we actually have hundreds of thousands of partners from corporations, to media who have been so instrumental in getting the word out. our advertising budget for television, radio, including those super bowl ads was less than $150 million. but research has shown from the private sector to even the 2,000 census that when we advertise, the response rate actually goes up significantly. right now about 68% of the households who have received the census form have mailed it back in, but by advertising and getting people to mail it back, we actually save a lot of money. for every 1% more households that send back the census form, we save $85 million in taxpayer

money. >> gretchen: i get that, because then you don't have to go door to door which is what the next stage will be. i want to go back to the swag because a lot of reports have been coming out now that these hats and t-shirts and the mugs that they weren't even made in the united states. isn't there something sacrilegious about that when we're talking about the u.s. census? >> the t-shirts were part of this last weekend campaign that was put together very hurrily and we contracted with u.s. companies and they were printed here. but these suppliers used their existing inventory, and unfortunately, a lot of those t-shirts that they sold or gave us were made outside the country. >> gretchen: all right. and so that's maybe not the best pr or our u.s. census, huh? >> again, it's so important, so much is riding on the 2010 census and if people want to avoid having someone come knocking on their door starting around the 1st of may, it's important that they send it back today or this weekend at the latest. >> gretchen: all right. today is the deadline, april 16.

secretary gary locke, thanks so much for being our guest. >> thank you. >> gretchen: coming up on the show, he's a christian rocker with a new hit single, toby mac and his band, divertity, here to perform their new song, tonight. let's check in with martha mccal column. >> good morning. coming up on america's news room, we'll talk about eric holder's controversial comments last night with senator sessions to tell us what he thinks about that and the gordon lieu nomination hearing coming up today. also, for the first time, i will speak with one of the attorneys for the six teen-agers who are accused in the death of phoebe prince. it will be coming up at the top of the hour.

>> he's one of christian music's

biggest stars and his fan base keeps growing. >> gretchen: his -- here is toby mac and his band, diverse city. how are you? >> i'm great. >> gretchen: you're sounding fantastic. >> we love it, man. we're rocking. it's early press. >> brian: of course, you're usually out to 3:00 o'clock, then you go to a diner, hop in your limo and go back to your hotel. >> we got a bus this high. six feet long. we're in there like this on our bus. >> a little known fact, they've been warming up since 5:30 this morning. right? i've been watching this guy's moves. what's your name? >> gabriel. you got the moves. i've been trying to imitate gabriel. >> gretchen: wow! you are setting yourself up. >> a lot of us trying to imitate gabriel. >> gretchen: i'd like to have half of his moves. tell me about how you are making christian music cool. >> man, i'm doing whatever i can. i've just been doing the same thing, writing songs about life, writing songs about the things

i'm going through, my friends are going through. i don't always label it christian music. i think, this is music about my life, but my faith is very important to me. >> brian: and you would term yourself sensitive? >> sensitive? what do you mean? you're always coming after me. >> gretchen: you're not the only one. all right. let's take it away and listen to the music. ♪ you turned away when i looked you in the eye and hesitated when i asked if you were all right. ♪ feels like you're fighting for your life but why oh, why. ♪ wide awake in the middle of the nightmare. ♪ . ♪ never too late to get back up again. ♪ get back up again.

♪ get up, get up. ♪ you're going to shine again. ♪ get back up again. ♪ it's the dawning of the day. ♪ you make your little get away. ♪ seems like you've been running all your life. ♪ but oh, why. ♪ turned away from the one who would have been there. ♪ seems like your situation is unfair. ♪ get back up again. ♪ one day you'll get back up again ♪ ♪ love gone, hey, hey

♪ this is love gone, love gone ♪ get back up again ♪ it's never too late ♪ may be knocked down, but not out forever ♪ ♪ get back up again ♪ get up, get up, you will shine again ♪ ♪ never too late to get back up again ♪ ♪ may be knocked down, but not out ♪ ♪ get back up again. ♪ hey, hey. ♪ get back up again ♪ love calling

♪ love calling, hey, hey ♪ . >> gretchen: all right! eric was watching the moves. we'll see if he can do them. more "fox & friends," two minutes away. we'll be right back.

>> gretchen: we had tobymac and they'll join us in the after the show show. i want to give a shout out to my daughter. speaking of music, my daughter had a big piano recital last night at steinway hall in new york city. congratulations. you did fantastic. there she is with her excellent teacher, randy. that was so -- mommy is so proud of you. >> that's awesome. >> brian: meanwhile, happy wedding, happy life to jen and dennis. the outstanding producer here at "fox & friends" is getting married any minute. >> over the weekend. >> gren: