the reaction, and the reality. and if you are trying to convince people about the need for financial overhaul, there may be no tougher crowd than the one president obama faced today. the president spoke here in new york just about a mile from the financial district before an audience that included some wall street heavy hitters. he didn't bash them, not at all. and stocks went up after the talk. on hand, the heads of banks, businessmen. people who represent untold billions of dollars of wealth. the president told the crowd it's time to change the rules of their game after the very regulations alter those re regulations that perhaps made some of them rich while plunging our economy into chaos. >> i'm here today specifically when i speak to the titans of industry here because i want to urge to you join us instead of fighting us in this effort. i am here because i believe that these reforms are in the end not only in the best interest of our country but in the best interest of the financial sector. >> shepard: the president spoke even as lawmakers debated the plans to overhaul the financial system and he outlined some key points that he would like included. first, a way to liquidate failing large financial firms so they don't drag down the whole economy and also place limits on the size of banks and the risks that they can take. the president says we also need more oversight for certain complicated financial transactions and more protection for consumers with an agency, the president says will look out for ordinary people. lastly, the president says shareholders should get more of a say when it comes to the deciding how much to pay executives. republicans argue all this goes too far. >> this is not what the american people want. they want sensible reforms that will fix the problem. they don't want a government takeover of the entire private sector. >> government takeover and some republicans also say this bill would actually encourage future bank bailouts instead of discouraging them. the president said that argument may make for a good sound bite but it's not true major garrett is sorting it all out from the white house tonight. this is a shootout in the senate it would appear. >> that's right. two parts to the story. showdown part first. current legislative strategy of senate democrats. they have called for a vote on monday to test whether or not republicans, all 41 of them will line up and defend their current filibuster against proceeding to a bill on regulatory reform of the financial seq. for. if democrats can't get the 60 votes they need. they have to refrench and come up with a new plan. senator leader harry reid explaining why now is the time for confrontation. >> my friends on the other side of the aisle are betting on failure again as they have done with health care and everything this year. health care was not obama's waterloo. maybe they want this to be his waterloo but it's not going to be. >> democrats belief they are going to prevail and as i said, shepard, we will get to in just a minute there is a compromise part of this story as well. republicans say it's a compromise that can and probably will produce bipartisan results if democrats will deal with republicans. >> shepard: you know, major, the president spoke at the exact same place a couple of years ago as a candidate and some of this speech sounded a lot like i told you so. >> absolutely, shepard. you know, during the financial crisis which hit during the middle of the 2008 campaign, whenever you talked about it to the obama campaign say candidate obama or senate obama said consumer union. cooper union. in march of that year before the crisis took hold candidate obama, senator obama said wall street is out of control, it needs to change its ways, and there needs to be legislative remedies, well, today he rounded back to that same message. >> as i said on this stage two years ago, i believe in the power of the free market. but a free market was never meant to be a free license to take whatever can you get however you can get it. >> the white house believes now that two years ago speech at cooper union gave the president credibility during the campaign, even more of it now. >> shepard: you know, as it goes to this legislation, the house has already passed it what's the reality about where things really stand in the u.s. senate. >> i promised a compromise part of this story, shepard. now we get to it even though there is this confrontation looming on monday, privately in the corridors of the united states senate, there are tense negotiations going on between republicans and democrats. i'm told here at the white house and from our sources on capitol hill, they are very friendly collegial conversations. the betting is a deal will be struck. maybe not by monday but soon thereafter. we spoke to one of the key negotiators richard shelby of alabama about that today. >> i believe we will get a bipartisan agreement. it's going to take -- it's a lot of work. what he wrought out of the committee was over 1300 pages. so, as i said, we are dealing in words and phrases because they have meaning. >> they have meaning on wall street. they have meaning on main street, shepard. and one of the things you pointed out on the bullet points about how would the government wind down firms? bankruptcy courts already do that republicans wonder should that really be the government's role? that's one of the sticking points right now. >> shepard: major garrett live out on the yard and on the subject of money, our question of the day, has the financial crisis caused you to switch from a big national bank to a smaller community bank? we would like to know. log on to foxnews.com/shep. the results later in this newscast. a week after president obama's nuclear summit there is word that the main ingredient for atomic weapon was headed for the black market. we're told it's raising serious concern at the highest levels of the united states government the president of georgia says his country intercepted a shipment of highly enriched uranium just last month. he toll tells the associated press that uranium is now in a safe place. but he is not giving many more details. and he is blaming his next door neighbor, russia. the two countries, of course, fought a war two years ago over a pair of provinces that declared independence from georgia. so the georgian government doesn't control them anymore. and the president claiming as lack of russian security has turned the area into a haven for smugglers. get to the nitty gritty of all of, this mike emanuel at the pentagon. what's the reaction there in d.c.? >> well, shep, praise for the georgian government for stepping up and taking action and stopping this dangerous material. being put on the black market. here is state department spokesman p.j. crowley. >> we are very grateful for the efforts that georgia has made, not just recently but over an extended period of time. interdicting the flow of dangerous materials, you know, out of the region. >> so thank you to georgia and also proving their capability in terms of stopping this material from getting out on to the black market, shep. >> shepard: of course, there is a lot of bluster out of that region. do people there think this is the real deal? >> absolutely. they really do. since it did get confiscated last month, they have had a chance to analyze material. they do think it was highly enriched uranium. a small amount but a small amount in the hands of terrorists could create a lot of problems. a very dangerous situation. and so essentially u.s. officials are saying they are considering going over and making sure that the georgians have all the equipment they need to keep an eye on their borders and make sure if any more of this dangerous material comes across, they are aware of it and able to track it down, shep. >> shepard: this has been cited as one of the reasons that president obama hosted that nuclear summit in d.c. just last week. >> well, no question about that obviously with the falling apart of the soviet union, there is great question about what happened to all of that nuclear material. a lot of concern about the so-called loose nukes it was the main theme of his nuclear summit. this reiterates why there was so much concern to have that type of summit with 40 plus world leaders, shep. >> shepard: mike emanuel at the pentagon tonight. thank you. a man who says a priest molested him as a child is now suing the pope and the vatican. the victim claims the catholic church knew about the abuse and did nothing to protect children. the lawsuit claims for years the vatican covered up the allegations against this man, reverend lawrence murphy. he was a priest in wisconsin, accused of molesting at least 200 deaf children for more than two decades beginning in the 1950s. he died in 1998. the development comes one day after the pope himself issued a rare public statement on this case promisinged that the church will take action against abusive priests. pope benedict facing questions now about whether he did enough to stop abuse before he became pope. the vatican says he had no role in the abuse and calls the lawsuit a publicity stunt. rescue crews say it is not looking good for 11 workers missing after their oil rig exploded in the gulf of mexico. it's been two days since then and the rig has now sunk. tonight, why the survivors say they do not think this one will end well. plus, a plane headed to new york is over the atlantic ocean when the pilot finds out one of the passengers is on the no-fly list. so what do you do? from the journalists of fox news, this is the fox report. welcome to progressive.com. you must be looking for motorcycle insurance. you're good. thanks. so is our bike insurance. all the coverage you need at a great price. hold on, cowboy. cool. i'm not done -- for less than a dollar a month, you also get 24/7 roadside assistance. right on. 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[ male annocer ] discor e accu-chek aviva system and save with a prescription discount card. start your discovery today. >> shepard: two days after a massive explosion on an oil rig off the coast of louisiana, the entire structure is now completely under water. 11 crew members are still missing. rescue teams have been searching night and day for them, covering a stretch of water about the size of the state of delaware. but today, the officials say they now believe the missing workers were right where the explosion happened. obviously making it impossible for them to get to the life boats. the blast described today as a apocalyptic. the deep water horizon as it's known, an oil platform out in the gulf of mexico, about 40 miles out. more than 100 workers made it off the rig safely. we're told 17 others were injured with burns, broken legs, and smoke inhalation and now a lawsuit. steve harrigan is live in our florida newsroom. do we know what caused this explosion? >> shep, an investigation is still underway. industry experts are saying what they call a blow-out likely happened. that's when pressurized gas from underneath the core of the earth or oil comes booming up through that well and ignites when it hits near the platform. that's what they are say something likely has happened. there is supposed to be a valve on these machines to stop that from happening. that valve obviously didn't work. what we have now is a 600-million-dollar oil rig that failed and may have cost 11 lives. >> shepard: there is a chance this thing could become a pretty serious environmental issue, right? >> it certainly sounded ominous on a conference call today with government officials as well as industry officials. they are basically saying we don't know what's going on down there. and, of course, "down there" is a mile and a half down where this well was drilled. it's also under 5,000 feet of water. so what they have are robots trying to take pictures and perhaps seal up what happened down there. if the robots aren't able to do it, they might have to drill a relief well and that could take weeks. right now the oil slick is one mile by five miles and getting worse by the hour. >> shepard: i mentioned a lawsuit, steve. a relative of one of the missing workers filed it today. what's in it? >> at least one of those 11 is suing and we may see in the short time to come more of those families. right now what has been a rescue operation, the next few hours, will turn into a recovery operation as we're expecting to see more of those lawsuits. it's determined that the 11 missing people were right near the very nator of that explosion. one life boat was recovered today but unfortunately that life boat was empty. >> shepard: steve harrigan in our south florida newsroom tonight. steve, thank you. a man on the federal no fly list managed to board a new york bound plane from africa. and we're told the pilot didn't learn about it until the jet was over the atlantic ocean. in fact, sources are now telling fox news the passenger was added to the list while the plane was in the air. the delta flight took off from nigeria, made a stop in senegal before refueling in puerto rico. the pilot described the situation as a serious security risk. we're told the guy is still in custody and that officials have not found any evidence that he posed a threat. but the investigation continues. remember, the context here. pentagon reportedly considering increasing its military support of parts of africa to fight the growing presence of al qaeda in that region. the department of homeland security has also increased its focus on africa after the failed underwear bombing on christmas day. the suspect has family in nigeria. his father reportedly warned u.s. officials that the sun might become radical or that he had become radical. still the u.s. government did not identify the threat in time. the man accused of trying to sell president obama's old senate seat wants president obama to testify at his trial. rod blagojevich's effort to try to subpoena the commander and chief is running into trouble with the judge tonight. we have new developments and they are coming up. plus, they call it 10 seconds. that he was all it takes to send one teenage participant to the hospital. fox reports on what is apparently a quite dangerous new game and it's next. 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[ male announcer ] so don't blame it on aging. go to isitlowt.com to find out more. >> shepard: some brand new developments from planet blagojevich. the disgraced former governor of illinois now wants president obama to testify at his corruption trial. attorneys from rod blagojevich asking a federal judge to issue a subpoena to force the president himself to take the stand. blago's defense team says it believes that president obama has direct knowledge of allegations against the former governor. you'll recall illinois lawmakers forced blago from office after the prosecutors there charged him with trying to sell barack obama's vacant senate seat to the highest bidder. and just, in in the last hour or so, the judge has ordered an emergency meeting tonight. the reason for that? information that was supposed to remain under seal accidently went public in the legal filings for that presidential subpoena. and the news is, well, fascinating. steve brown is in our chicago newsroom tonight. what do we know? what happens is blacked out document, right? but when you transferred it over to a computer file it is not blacked out anymore. so what did we learn? >> well, what we learned is is that a couple of news outlets had the unredacted portions of the motion, which lists various witnesses and what they are going to testify or have said so far in this particular case. all of which which is still under seal. they haven't sorted out what's in and out of this particular trial. so this was out for a time this afternoon. some media outlets like the "chicago sun times" and others apparently were reporting on this. we know that at this particular moment, there is a hearing going on, closed press involving the prosecution and blagojevich's attorneys to talk about this particular situation. if you go to the pacer system where these documents are available to the public, this document is no longer available to the public in the portions that we have we don't see anything that's really spectacular in this. there are a couple of sections where some things are discussed but a lot of it was already, quite frankly, fairly well known by the public by other reporting over the last year and a half. >> shepard: most interestingly, i thought was this suggestion within these documents that the president is the then senator obama, i guess, or president obama, i'm not sure which, had offered a preference on who should be senator. and, i don't know, there was a suggestion that he said blago would be good. >> there is a suggestion in the blagojevich camp that obama had a specific name that he wanted put forward and that he sent folks to his office to discuss which of these that he would like the governor to select. that was all part and parcel apparently, according to the federal government, of this bargaining process by which well the president wants something, this is what the president alleges, the i want something blagojevich was saying. this is what he was saying to other folk as the government alleges to other folks seeking the governor's appointment to that particular post. >> shepard: it's all a little convoluted right now and difficult for us all to explain, especially me. the hearings are underway and we'll get more. it will be highly unusual at very least for a president to testify at this sort of thing. what's the white house saying? >> it doesn't happen very often but it does happen. the white house right now said that he had no comment on the matter. the white house says no comment on it. but it has happened in recent memory. bill clinton in 1998 was called to testify, be did deposed over videotape for vand jury investigation led by special investigator -- special council kenneth star. other presidents include reagan, carter, and ford. they were all deposed in court cases, all videotaped testimony, all used at trial. >> shepard: all right. we will get more from this hearing continues and the interspace lines open from planet blago. iran has launched war games and it's happening in one of the most important areas in all of the persian gulf. ahead, why the timing here is quite something. plus, one week left for the first time home buyers to profit from the government's cashback program. and brand new numbers that could be very good if you are in the market for a house. why that also matters to the rest of us as fox reports live tonight. low in fat and cholesterol, heart healthy levels of sodium, and taste you'll love. girl: this is good for my heart? chef: you noticed. 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"the fox report's" chief correspondent jonathan hunt on the top story at the bottom of the hour from new york. this all comes as iran is really ramping up the rhetoric against the united states. >> yeah. and significantly. the rhetoric this time coming not from president mahmoud ahmadinejad but from iran's supreme leader who accused the u.s. today of making nuclear threats against iran and then added, and i'm quoting here, the iranian people do not surrender to these threats and will force those who make such threats to come to their knees. we will not allow america to renew its hellish dominance over iran. this, of course, shep, all part of the ongoing confrontation between the west and iran over its nuclear ambitions. >> shepard: but the u.s. seems more optimistic now about getting a u.n. action against iran. >> had a very interesting conversation just tonight with a state department official who tells me, yes, progress is being made on getting a u.n. resolution together. in fact, official said we are confident we will get a resolution with the backing of the international community. that is diplomatic code for saying yes, we will get china's support. and most experts say if they can do that, it will be a significant step forward. listen. >> if they can get a broad, a comprehensive resolution that all of the key players sign on to, in other words, that nobody abstains, then i think they feel that they are going to be in very solid ground to toughen up these measures even further after they get the security counsel resolution they desire. >> of course, shep, there are those who say however strong the sanctions resolution they get against iran it, will make very little difference to that leadership's actions. >> shepard: have you got to vote on the sanctions first. any idea when there will be a vote on the resolution. >> this interesting. that same state department official told me they are pushing to get an agreement among the permanent five members of the security council by the end of next week. they probably want to, at the very least, get a vote scheduled by the end of the next week. why the rush? because on may 1st, the security council presidency which rotates among its member nations goes to lebanon. lebanon, obviously controlled by syria as we all know. they could make it very difficult procedurally to get that vote scheduled so they want it scheduled even if not voted on by the end of next week, shep. >> shepard: jonathan hunt live in new york tonight. jonathan, thank you. the verdict is in for the first of three navy seals charged with abusing an iraqi prisoner. that prisoner is suspected of master mining an attack that killed four security contractors in fallujah in 2004. as you may remember, people burning the victims' bodies, dragged them through the streets, and hanged two of them from a bridge. but this isn't about that. it's about alleged abuse of him. and steve centanni our national correspondent in d.c. tonight. today's verdict not guilty. >> well, that's right, shep. blue island illinois found not guilty on two counts. failing to protect that prisoner and trying to influence testimony in the case. the jury deliberating for about two hours. seen here in the lower right of a sketch from an earlier court appearance. after being acquitted today, he told fox news it's a big weight off my shoulders compared to all the physical activity we go through, this has been mentally more challenging. he also said he plans to continue his service in the navy seals. shep? >> shepard: there were three of these. this is the first case that's gone through the process. what does this say about the other two, if anything? >> well, the attorney for one of those other navy seals, the navy seal is matthew mccain, the attorney told me the jury obviously didn't believe the testimony and the evidence in this trial, so he is optimistic for his client. he says the prisoner could have have inflicted his own injuries. >> i believe it's a huge overreaction. and i believe it's a direct result of abu ghraib because no commander wants to be thought of allowing any kind of detainee abruise on his watch. >> mccain facing a charge of assault. he is accused of punching the prisoner on the stomach. he goes on trial next month in norfolk, virginia. shep? >> shepard: steve, the jury apparently had questions about the alleged victim's story. >> that's right. they told the defense attorney the prisoner ahmed abed simply wasn't credible when he testified in court yesterday. abed is still being held for those grizzly 2004 murders in fallujah. he told the court he was beaten, punched, and kicked but photos displayed in court showed he suffered no serious injuries. just a cut lip. a second trial begins tomorrow. by the way, for a navy seal jonathan keefe that's in baghdad, shep. >> shepard: steve centanni in washington tonight. steve, thanks. on the road to recovery. it appears that fewer americans have lost their jobs in recent days. the u.s. labor department reports the number of people filing their first claims for unemployment benefits fell last week down 24,000 from the week before. this comes after sharp increases in the previous couple of weeks. and some good news as well from the housing mark. the national association of realtors reports that sales of existing -- easy for you to say. sales of existing homes surged last month up 6.% to the highest level since december. analysts attributing much of that increase to government tax incentives which have buyers rushing to sign contracts before the deadline, which is, by the way, a week from tomorrow. fox news spoke with one young couple planning to close on their first home next week. they tell us the entire process took just days. >> put grass here. the whole thing will be a backyard. >> shannon woods and thomas are getting married this year. but the wedding rings will not be their biggest purchase. >> it's just the perfect starter house for us. >> yeah. >> right price. >> thomas is 24. shannon 23. they describe themselves as a spontaneous couple who decided to buy a home after lenders preapproved them for a mortgage. >> we were like wow. >> let's just do it. so we looked around and it was about a month from start to finish. >> yeah. >> shepard: they found it's a buyer's market. home prices have come down to a range they can afford. the government is offering them insinnives -- incentives like $8,000. >> it's a lot of money. no one gives you $8,000. >> we felt like we were putting money down but we will get a portion back. >> a portion they say they will fix up their new house. >> a lot of the landscaping and grass and rip up the walkway. >> the $8,000 credit did give a spurt of a little bit of growth. did it attribute to a lot of the activity we are seeing. >> not as much. >> shepard: she run as real estate agency that helped them find their home. buyers are mow for more focused on the long-term it. >> it was just a bonus. the surge that we are seeing now is because of the interest rates. because housing prices are at good prices. people can get in. >> shepard: analysts say the interest rates are big concern going forward. they recently hit their highest level in eight months. and the mortgage banker's association predicts rates will continue to rise. possibly up to 6% on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage by the end of this year. making this an ideal situation for folks like shannon and thomas. >> it just seems like the perfect time. i can't think of a better time to buy a house. >> shepard: can't think of a better time. back to our question of the day now at foxnews.com/shep. has this financial crisis caused to you switch from a big national bank to a smaller community bank? log on and let us know whether you have moved your money. we'll have the results a little bit later in this newscast. the drug war is heating up again. and the cartels are taking hostage south of the border. >> the gunmen burst into this holiday inn and started rounding up gusts. the search for the missing and the motive. plus, new signs of cooperation between u.s. agents and mexican police. >> we need to communicate with each other without talking. >> we'll show you how these crime fighters are joining forces to take on cartels at the border. that's coming up. thanks to the new venture card from capital one, we get double miles with every purchase. so we earned a tropical vacation in half the time. we earn double miles every time we use our card. 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[ male announcer ] disver the accu-cheaviva system and save with a prescription discount card. start your discovery today. ♪ this is your paintbrush. the john deere select series with dozens of attachments and the only four-year limited bumper-to-bumper warranty in its class. ♪ the question is, what will you create? go to johndeere.com/create and get up to $350 off select series tractors. >> there is some new evidence tonight that the drug gangs operating along our southern border are growing bolder this their attacks. it comes after investigators in mexico reported dozens of gown men stormed a holiday inn and another hotel in the industrial city of monterrey. we are told the attackers went room to room apparently searching for specific targets and they kidnapped at least six people. team fox coverage in this war on drugs, adam housley with a look historic step that u.s. and mexican security forces are taking. first, get to trace gallagher in west coast studios. how did this thing go down? >> went down, shep, in the middle of the night. as many as auto hooded gunmen stormed that holiday inn. witnesses say they actually went in there and pistol whipped security guards and started beating some of the guests. they knew exactly who they were looking for. they went to the rooms, grabbed them, kidnapped them, and left. unfortunately, in mexico, kidnapping often translates to murder. this whole thing took about 20 minutes and the police could get nowhere near that holiday inn because apparently the gunmen before this raid they stole a bunch of cars and used those cars as a barricade along the streets of that holiday inn. the cops say this has all the hallmarks of a drug gang crime, shep. >> shepard: wow. there is word tonight security forces have captured what's described to us as a major figure in this mexican drug world. what do we know? >> yeah. it happened after a gun battle in a very wealthy neighborhood just outside of mexico city between the mexican military as well as a very prominent drug gang. when the shooting stopped, they captured this man, jose alvarez vasquez. ishe is accused of being a major drug dealer. is he also thought to be responsible for that huge rise in violence in and around mexico city in recent months. now the united states drug enforcement agents say this shows the mexican military is riggle to engage with the drug cartels. but if they are going to do it, they have still got a great deal of work to do. the violence down in mexico, shepard, still at an all-time high. >> shepard: trace, it's obviously a threat to people on both sides. both sides of the border. now, american and mexican agents are doing something they have never done before. they are training to take on their enemy together. team fox coverage continues. adam housley who is on assignment in tucson tonight. you went along for this training mission, right? >> that's right, shepard, it's been going on for three or fewer weeks down here. the idea is to train 3 or 400 mexican if things go as planned. why hasn't this happened in the past? there are a number of reasons for that what we do know it is happening now. >> whether racing across the desert on atv's or practicing close combat fighting techniques, just north of the u.s.-mexico border, agents from both countries are joining forces for an unprecedented training operation aimed at the heart of an ongoing and violent battle. >> we need to communicate with each other without talking. >> cooperation but maybe tense cooperation, if you will. but we're getting to know each other as people. >> it's a politically sensitive alliance intended to save lives and possibly lead to the creation of a mexican counter part to the u.s. border patrol. >> about 35 mexican police officers have so far gone through this training, important training that they would use in the war on drugs. right using weapons like this one right here. exactly the same as they will use in the field. paint pellet type thing use for training only. >> show ways to detect contraband in hidden departments and first responder medical aid in the desert. >> we are helping fellow cops stay alive. that's for sure. >> there has been concern about protection on the border. they are see sending the best and brightest to the north. they bet each and every person before they come here. the idea is simple to help them save themselves and hopefully help encourage others to join on the side of the guide guys. shepard? >> shepard: adam housley. thank you, both. concerns that one nation's debt crisis is getting worse and it could threaten the entire world economy. very bad news out of greece today. comes as thousand of civil servants walk off the jobs to protest the cost-cutting measures. top story as we go around the world in 80 seconds. greece, a 24-hour strike shutting down schools and major tourist attractions in athens. greek leaders have ordered a series of major cutbacks to deal with massive deficits. a new report indicates the nation's deficit has risen to 13.6%. the government may have no choice but to accept a regional support package. something it's rejected thus far. philippines, a cargo plane crashing in a rice field. electrical force the pilots to try emergency landing in that field. the jetblue -- jet blew up on impact. the shipping company u.p.s. reportedly chart ared the plane. united kingdom three candidates for prime minister squaring off in the country's second televised debate. this one focusing on foreign affairs. it's the first election in which candidates are debating on live television. the polls indicate the race is extremely close. the country's general election set for may the 6th. australia, locus swarming across south whales victoria. bugs threatening wheat crops. the locusts have already destroyed fields of barley and carrots said to be worth millions of dollars. and that's a wrap on this fox trip around the world in 80 seconds. a bit less than six months now until voters decides who stays and who goes in congress. tonight, a major endorsement in what's become one of the most heated races in the whole nation. and a mystery of sorts tonight at the kennedy space center in florida where the military is about to launch a rocket into space but what happens after that? huh? what we know and more importantly what we don't know. we will watch the rocket take off, if it does. that's coming up. tom, check this out. good gravy, bill. our insurance company doesn't have anything like it. magnificent, isn't it? with progressive,@ it's easy to cover all of your favorite rides. progressive has truck insurance? number one in truck and motorcycle. is that a golf cart? yep. we also cover rvs, boats, snowmobiles. don't tell me, you insure pink ponies? no, um... i just like to ride that sometimes. [ chuckles ] save on all your rides. now, that's progressive. call or click today. >> shepard: hey, a little bit of breaking news for you. looky there, any moment now, less than a minute, air force atlas 5 rocket carrying orbital test vehicle. we don't know much of anything about it. they won't tell us. it's a look of cape canaveral on the coast of florida. details are shrouded in secrecy. the mission itself classified. the military will not explain exactly what the vehicle will do once it's up in space. the air force says only it will conduct experiments but they won't tell us what kind of experiments. did not get specific. let's listen to it now as we are reaching the final seconds. >> go atlas. >> 15. >> this is atlas mission control at t minus 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, atlas engine ignition, zero, and liftoff of the united launch alliance atlas 5 rocket carrying otv 1 for the united states air force. >> vehicle has cleared. >> listen to marty providing launch vehicle assistance throughout this flight. >> look good. tank pressures are stable. continues to operate well. >> shepard: there you go. looking kind of successful from our vantage point. they seem chill about it there. the air force is launching this thing, again. 80% chance of good weather proved to be 100% chance and the way it went. this particular thing that we have going on here as i mentioned shrouded in secrecy. they won't -- in just a few minutes, they are going to stop providing any information about what's going on out there. the air force says it will stop anything on this. and it will stop giving information about the vehicle's activities completely. here is what we do know. the rocket's pay load is kind of like a minispace shuttle. one day it may be carrying people. but, according to the air force this mission is unmanned. jonathan hunt is watching with us. is he down in the newsroom. jonathan. >> shep, best way to think of this vehicle is rather like one of those unmanned arterial -- aerial vehicles or drones that the military has used on earth if you like. this one is going to be controlled, the same as those are remotely up in space. this will be able to return, the military hopes and land just as the space shuttle lands. of course, not with a pilot controlling it but with people on the ground controlling it it's led to some speculation that this is all about the militarization of space. the military says that's not the case at all. this could be used for all manner of purposes conducting sorts of experiments in space and perhaps going up to carry out maintenance on space stations up there as well. so, as you say, a lot of secrecy but it could apparently have a lot of different uses. >> shepard: jonathan hunt live in the newsroom, thanks. big changes are in store for march madness starting next season. the annual college hoops bananza becomes a whole new ballgame. details next. [ female announcer ] last year, the u.s. used enough plastic water bottles to stretch around the earth over 190 times. each brita filter can take up to 300 of those bottles out of the equation. since you opened your design firm... ... your presentation didn't. so here's your moment of truth. which 3g network do you trust to email the file, get it printed, and have it waiting upstairs ? when you want your 3g network to work, you want verizon. visit verizon to see how our smartphones can help put your business on the map, and buy one blackberry curve for $29.99 and get one free. [ female announcer ]rry curve for $29.99 it's red lobster's festival of shrimp... a chance to get everyone together for a night where everyone gets just what they want. combine two or three favorites, from new creations like crab-stuffed shrimp and pecan-crusted shrimp to classics like decadent shrimp scampi. it's everything you want in a night out. starting at just $11.99, during the festival of shrimp. right now at red lobster. >> shepard: just in to fox news, the governor of arizona speaking out about legislation that would effect the security of the borders. governor jan brewer has until saturday to sign or veto a bill that would make it a state crime to be there illegally. it also requires local police officers to check on someone's immigration status if they feel like that person may be here illegally. according to a spokesperson, the governor is not planning to reveal her decision this evening but she is calling out lawmakers in washington on their slow effort to tackle the issue. >> we have been more than understanding. we have waited for those who are 3,000 miles away to hear us. and to help us. we can't afford to wait any longer. >> shepard: say they can't afford to make something put into law that would end up being racist and increase racial profiling. well, college basketball is on the verge of expanding march madness, the ncaa advancing proposal to add three more teams to the men's college basketball tournament 68 instead of 65. also today starting next year you will be able to see every tournament game live, cbs and turner network reached a deal with the ncaa worth more than $10 billion. and on this day in the year 2000, armed federal agents raided the home in mims little havana and seized a 6-year-old cuban boy named he he will i dot know gonzalez. the story began when fishermen found the boy floating in an intertube off the coast. his mother had died on that trip. so his relatives took him n florida. his father in cuba demanded he come home. a bitter five month international custody battle followed. the attorney general janet reno eventually ordered the boy sent back to cuba. it became a dramatic conclusion when the immigration officials stormed that home in havana. two months later he returned to cuba with his father. because tug of war reached a breaking point 10 years ago today.

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