out of the rubble. hundreds more, injured, though. reports of people buried under debris from buildings, 5.8 magnitude quake, hitting while many folks, including students, were home for a customary mid-day rest, in southwest china. martha: churches, of course, are supposed to be exempt from taxes, right? but some places of worship in one kansas town are suing over what they are calling a driveway tax, a fee based on the number of trips that parishioners take coming in and out, if you can believe this. douglas kennedy joins us live with more on this story. good morning, douglas. reporter: yeah, the churches say the town charges them based on the number of people in their pews and they say that is clearly unconstitutional. eric stanley says the government can tax your life and it can tax your life, but it s not supposed to tax your church. but that s exactly what you say is happening right here in mission, kansas.
reporter: we ll see what happens in court. it getting underway at 2:00 p.m. jenna, back to you. historic case for sure, steve centanni, thank you very much. reporter: you bet. jon: a tax battle that could pit government versus religion as towns look for new ways to balance their budgets. by law churches are exempt from property taxes. so one community came up with a way to try to get around that, by charging a new fee. church leaders are calling it a tax on attendance. douglas kennedy is back from mission kansas with a look at that controversy. reporter: jon, when is a tax not a tax? the town calls it a fee for use of town roads. the churches say it is a property tax which they say is clearly illegal. eric stanley says the government can tax your life and it can tax your death but it s not supposed to tax your church.
but that is exactly what you say is happening right here in mission, kansas? absolutely the city of mission is taxing churches that. is clearly constitutionalal. reporter: like other states kansas law that churches are exempt from taxes. the small town north of kansas city passed so-called driveway tax, a controversial charge for everyone based on number of times their driveways are used. homeowners pay $72 annually. but this baptist church has to pay 900. and the more popular catholic church, pays $1700 a year. stanley is now helping the churches sue the town. the city of mission taxes churches based on the number of trips in and out of their driveway. the number of people that come to church that is a tax on church attendance. reporter: mission ace mayor laura conigliaro well would not come on camera to explain the controversy but i did speak with her over the phone. she said the driveway tax is
not a tax at all but a fee, which she says mission has every right to impose. mission s mayor says this is a fee-for-services like road repair. she says that s legal. what do you say? that s not going to work. this is not a fee-for-services rendered. this is a tax. reporter: stanley believes the kansas courts will agree with him. he expects a trial to begin by this summer. that s it from here, jon. back to you. jon: sound like a tax to me. douglas kennedy. thanks. jenna: a new move on capitol hill to give the military complete control over its terrorist detainees. what this could mean for the future of gitmo and civilian trials as well as justice is on the way. our live chat is up and running. harris is chatting with you. what is going on today? harris, what if any charges will be put against protesters who have been difficult for police to remove? that is the hot topic right now they re talking about. it is foxnews.com. click on what s happening