counties across 26 states. the bone dry conditions are destroying farm crops and one analyst estimates that 75% of the corn crop in the drought region is now wiped out. that could drive up food and fuel prices across the entire country and brings us to rob marciano live in bu. >> we have corn that should be taller than it is right now because of the drought and because of the heat. this stalk should be well up and over my head. there's a couple of examples of ears of corn. this was tough to find, a decent one, what you would typically see in a healthy environment but this is what we've been seeing, ears of corn not even close to developing and not even pollinated. not only here in indiana but across the corn belt as far north as the canadian board enand across the southern plains. this part of this particular field is pretty healthy, we're right at the edge, the corner, it gets more circulation and runoff from the road. i want to bring in bob smok, another local farmer. you have irrigate well water and nonirrigated fields and the nonirrigated look a lot worse, don't they sh. >> some of our stalks did not get any tasles at all and already died. so that little ear, we don't even have that because there wasn't enough water to get to this stage. we have a lot of corn that can be green or starting to yellow up and you see the yellow on the bottom, that means she's starting to die and some of the really drought stressed areas have completely died already. >> the concern i've been gathering, we've reached the point past pollination, is it too late? >> i would say 90% of the area has been passed upon, as far as being able to develop the crop, it's already past the stage, so rain is not going to help. >> bob smok, thanks very much. one of the farmers struggling with reality here. they've had a few good years in the past and hopefully many of these conservative folks have saved to get through it. but the fact remains that 1,000 counties across the agricultural belt of america have been declared disaster areas and in this particular area, one of the undersecretaries of agriculture will come through and tour the worst hit area which is right here. and discuss what kind of aid he's going to give farmers who might not be so lucky financially. >> it looks like such a mess, rob marciano, thank you. how are states coping with the drought's harsh effects? we'll chat with sheila simon, she'll join us live. we'll get you the rest of the morning's top stories, christine romans has that for us. authorities in iowa draining a lake this morning in the search for two missing girls, 8-year-old elizabeth collins and her 10-year-old cousin lyric cook disappeared last friday. their bikes found at the edge of meyers lake in the town of evansdale, it could take three days to drain the lake sufficiently. police trying to track down who shot this video of a smash mob of teenagers hurling merchandise through the aisles of walmart in florida. wjxt visited the home of the 17-year-old student who posted this video. then removed it from his page. there was no response at the door. police citing a possible link to a nearby house party where gunshots were heard that night. we're hearing from the president of penn state, the new president of penn state for first time since the release of the damning freeh report, rodney jackson says the university must take responsibility at all levels for concealing information about jerry sandusky's sexual abuse of children. >> i think the most troubling part was a reading that the judge's conclusion that there was a consistent lack of empathy of concern for the victims. >> erickson says they are still deciding what to do about the joe paterno statue. er weiner breaking his silence about the scandal that forced him to resign. weiner says he has regrets about what he put his wife through. weiner was caught sexting and sending lewd pictures of himself to women. the couple has a 6-month-old son and he says 2011 was the best year of his life. he shoots down rumors of a run for new york city mayor next year. new york knicks fan lincredulous this morning, he's heading to the lone star state, the knicks declining to match the offer of $25 million over the next three years. they had until midnight last night to keep lin. he played 26 games in new york and sent out a few weeks, saying extremely excited and honored to be a houston rocket again and much thanks and love to the knicks and new york for your support this year, easily the best year of my life. >> it went by fast, that great month and gone and now moved to houston. back to our top story, four hours from now president obama will meet with tom vil sack and they'll discuss the efforts to respond to the drought. 55% of the u.s. is in moderate to extreme drought. that's the sixth highest percentage in the drought ever recorded. one contributing factor, june rank the as the third driest month nationally in 118 years and more important by the last 12 months have been the warmest in the country since the record keeping began. illinois seeing some of the harshest effects, let's get right to sheila simon, lieutenant governor. we appreciate you talking with us. you have 26 counties in your state who are eligible for emergency support from the usda, the governor is interested in adding a half dozen or so more. all have seen crop losses of 30% or more. do you feel like the response you're getting from the administration is good? how has the help been? >> i think we're pleased with the response from the federal administration and as a state we're trying to do everything we can. i think the disappointing thing is that what we really needed was rain and some time ago and in this help can provide some support to farmers. of the impact on the market though will be a little bit longer lasting and will be severe. >> what do you think the impact is going to be on the market. we have figures, your state produces 16% of the nation's corn. iowa, 19%. only 31, a third has been rated good or excellent. last week it was 40% rated good or excellent. last year this time it was 66% that was rated good or excellent. now really you're in crisis. what will the implications be for those terrible numbers? >> well, i think the implication will be significant for our state. agriculture is a very big deal in the state of illinois, we export a lot of grain. but the impact in addition beyond those of us here in illinois will be that the price of corn goes up and that will be felt unfortunately because we deal with global markets, that will have a global impact causing food to be more expensive in many cases. >> outside of rain and lots of rain as you said and maybe a little while ago would have been more helpful, what else do you need? >> well, the federal aid is significant. it will allow farmers to keep going to get the crops in next year, to make the payments on their machinery and stay steady and stay in business. so that this will not have a long-term impact of removing farmers from the field. the state aid will help in places where the federal aid can't get the job done. so that long-term view we have -- we hope is a better one. the short-term view though, i live in one of the counties that's most severely affected. the corn is not even close to green and the leaves are all curled up. it's affecting trees in our area that look like they've been in a roaster. so it's -- to use the word disaster is not inappropriate. it came on slowly but the impact is just as severe. >> we wish you the very best in trying to deal with this crisis, which i think is fair to call it at this point and we hope you're going to get lots of rain in the forecast ahead. sheila simon is the lieutenant governor of illinois. thanks for being with us, we appreciate it. >> still ahead this morning on "starting point," america on the edge of a fiscal cliff as democrats rally to try to end tax cuts for all unless republicans say they will compromise. is that the right solution? is it just a political threat? we're going to talk to connecticut senator richard blumen thal straight ahead. sheriff arpaio is at it again, with birther claims. we're going to talk about that, goes to the sheriff and his claims. "starting point" is back in just a moment. [ groans ] [ marge ] psst. constipated? phillips' caplets use magnesium, an ingredient that works more naturally with your colon than stimulant laxatives, for effective relief of constipation without cramps. thanks. good morning, students. today we're gonna continue... i think we should see other people. in fact, i'm already seeing your best friend, justin. ♪ i would've appreciated a proactive update on the status of our relationship. who do you think i am, tim? quicken loans? at quicken loans, we provide you with proactive updates on the status of your home loan. and our innovative online tools ensure that you're always in the loop. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. welcome back. minding your business, federal regulators launching an investigation after receiving almost 100 complaints about sticking accelerator in ford and mazda suvs. . investigation involves 730,000 vehicles. the focus is on two models, the 2001-2004 ford escape and the mazda tribute suv with a v-6 engine. the next iphone could come with a thinner touch screen. the new screen will combine the lcd layer and touch layer to make the phones slimmers. it also could bring down costs. 40 to 49-year-olds are the worst at paying student loan bills on time. that's according to the federal reserve bank of new york. that group has the highest proportion of student loans that are 90 days past due. 40 to 49-year-olds. >> christine, thank you very much. america's top banker says if congress doesn't act now we could severely hurt our nation's economy. ben bernanke testifying at a senate hearing warning about the consequences of not taking action to avoid dropping off the fiscal cliff. >> fiscal decision should take into account the fragility of the recovery. that recovery could be in dangered by the con influence of tax increases and spending reductions that will take effect early next year if no legislative action is taken. >> the most effective way the congress could help to support the economy would be to work to address the fiscal challenges in a way that takes into account both the need for long run sustainability and the fragility of the recovery. >> this as democrats continue to insist, including on our program, that they will let all bush era tax cuts expire unless republicans compromise, brings up to richard blumenthal. thanks for being with us. >> thank you. >> with you heard ben bernanke here and his basic message if i can para phrase, do something but didn't exactly say what congress should be doing. what should congress be doing right now? >> congress should be passing an extension of the tax cuts for middle class, anybody in those families earning $250,000 o or less, that would provide some certainty and stability which is exactly what ben bernanke says should happen so that we can have some long term sustainability, as well as aiding our fragile recovery. passing the measure that would extend those tax cuts for households earning less than $250,000 is what we need to do now. >> dick durbin, senator durbin, when i was speaking to him yesterday, we should do what not patty murray suggests, less the tax cuts expire because then afterward you could go ahead and reinstate tax cuts, cut the taxes for people in that category, $250,000 or less. here's what he told me yesterday. >> we have to have this day of reckoning in order to finally break through and have deficit reduction that still creates a growing economy, let's face it. >> does that mean if we have to have a day of reckoning, you would let them expire which would then raise the taxes for the middle class people you don't want to raise taxes on? >> that's a real possibility unless there's an agreement. people should avoid that. i want to work to avoid it. >> what do you think of that strategy? it seems like it could be fraut with risk? >> i think all of our first choice is to have the extension of tax cuts passed now because the markets as well as those middle class families really deserve and need the certainty of extending the tax cuts for them, the middle class families and that's the first choice. if for some reason political strategy a delay is necessary, of course we would consider it. but really, what we need not only is to pass those tax cuts but also to close the loopholes that will produce additional revenue. loopholes like the ones that reward companies for shipping jobs overseas, we'll vote on a measure, bring the jobs home. it provides 20% tax credit incentives for companies to invest in jobs here in the offshoring and discourage shipping jobs overseas by closing tax loopholes that cost our taxpayers. there are loopholes and tax breaks we can end that will produce additional revenue, even as we extend the tax cuts for households earninging less than $250,000. my preference is to do those measures now for all of the reasons that ben bernanke has said to well. >> what if you're stuck in a position, can you either extend the bush era tax cuts for all or you could let them expire for all, what would you do? >> my preference and my belief that the american public would be best served by the option that we extend the tax cuts for households earning less than $250,000 now. i would considerate some later point perhaps additional measures that would provide relief for families that earn more than $250,000. >> but that wasn't my question. that wasn't exactly my question. i said if you're between a rock and hard place and have two options, one to let the tax cuts expire or extend them for everybody, which would you choose? it sounded like yesterday talking to senator durbin and others, that that really could come down to being the choice. >> my preference is to extend tax cuts because i think that fiscal cliff is so ominous and so potentially destructive that we need to avoid it. but we also need to address the needs for cuts in spending and i think a balanced approach is the optimal way to go. and ultimately one that i think should attract a bipartisan coalition. >> do you think the bipartisan coalition cannot possibly happen until after the election? >> preferably before election but certainly before the end of the year. if it has to be done after the election but before january 1st, that would be the best way to go. >> senator richard blumenthal, thanks for your time, appreciate it. >> our next hour we'll get the republican side of this conversation, senator mike lee of utah will be talking with me. also ahead, arizona's controversial sheriff joe arpaio says he is certain the president's birth certificate is fake. hasn't he said this before? to him we say, get real sheriff. our "starting point" team is heading in, margaret hoover, will cain, richard sockraites. >> [ female announcer ] great taste is always in style with lean cuisine steam bags. get our crispiest carrots and our snappiest peas all freshly steamed in just minutes. steam bags from lean cuisine. be culinary chic. welcome back. a major high seas drug bust in jacksonville, florida. in a joint operation, netting almost four tons of cocaine and marijuana. authorities say they are worth about $93 million wholesale. the street value, quarter of a billion dollars. the fda approving a new controversial diet drug under a new name. q sim ya, formerly called qnexa. increased heart rate and birth defects are side effects. >> welcome to our team this morning. richard, nice to see you. >> how are you? >> writer for new yorker.com. >> do i owe you money? >> somebody owes me some money. >> we'll talk about that later. >> you've forgotten about that. >> kind of the biggest supreme court decision. >> i thought you antied up? >> richard nailed it. got to give him credit. i was mocked that day for betting as i did. you laughed at me. >> i did. i won't deny it and i laughed at the quid itch people and i apologize. i owe you adollar let's move on. margaret hoover, nice to have you, i can't speak today. will cain for theblaze.com. welcome. our get real this morning is something we've covered like 100,000 times. investigators who are wrapping up their investigation for sheriff joe arpaio in arizona have now finished their probe into the president's birth certificate. and they say it's definitely fraudulent. people, people. >> as we suspect, it is a fraudulent document. my original intent was to clear the president of the united states. but the investigation initiated by our cold case posse found far too many problems on the birth certificate. >> so i'm going to point out a couple of things. i don't believe his origin tent was to clear the president of the united states. >> not very credible. >> not necessarily very credible in that. number two, all of his opponents, especially democrats are saying he's wasting taxpayer money and causing a distraction and even governor jan brewer said the birther issue is just leading our country down a path of destruction, it's not serving any good. recommitted to those -- >> he's not a big fan of the president. >> and seems to be less of a fan, smaller fan, less big fan of the birther issue. and the folks in hawaii on tuesday evening responded to the allegations saying the allegations are untrue, misinformed and miscon true hawaii an law and cnn did its own investigation, as well as a bunch of other news organization. >> you were telling us you have a strong opinion on this. >> i do. >> don't tell me you're a birther. i can't take it. >> we thought we would do what we thought this story deserved. we're totally done with this story. >> put a nail in it? >> i mean, like the sheriff himself even spoke to the secretary of state of hawaii within a month ago, six weeks ago. >> put a fork in it, it's done. >> you're missing a news worthy item. the sheriff of arizona has a cold case posse which is just short of awesome. >> or -- some people could say he has an opponent seeking the nomination against him in november, which some people might be looking to oust him. >> what i like, is will cain came to the set with a hair cut today. >> tried. >> looking cleaned up. >> shave my face and cut my hair. >> everybody comes to it in their own time, it just happens. you're growing up. >> maybe you could be investigated by the cold case posse or something. >> i want one. >> we're moving on. but we do give him our get real thumbs down of the day. i started that today. it may not come back but today it's here. still ahead on "starting point," ten days to the start of the olympics, how the brits are turning to the u.s. after fear that security could be in chaos. american flight schools are they still unknowingly training terrorists. a disturbing new study that shows potential gaping holes in the government's security net. we're back in a moment. according to ford, the works fuel saver package could terally pay for itself. jim twitchel is this true? yes it's true. how is this possible? proper tire inflation, by using proper grades of oil, your car runs more efficiently, saves gas. you could be doing this right now? yes i could, mike. i'm slowing you down? yes you are. my bad. the works fuel saver package. just $29.95 or less after rebate. only at your ford dealer. so, to sum up, you take care of that, you take care of these, you save a bunch of this. that works. welcome back to "starting point," let's get right to christine romans. good morning. >> good morning, soledad. authorities in iowa are now draining a lake in the search for two missing young girls. 8-year-old elizabeth collins and 10-year-old lyric cook disappeared last friday. the two are cousins and their bikes were found at the edge of meyers lake in evansdale, fbi scent tracking dogs were brought into the