Transcripts For FOXNEWS Happening Now 20101004

from german officials. while they say they have seen their country as a target for terrorism in the last couple of years they do not see any immediate threat right now. apparently the united states thinks completely differently, the state department issuing this alert to americans in europe, but they think it's more immediate. they think there's a potential for terror attacks here, and they think that americans in europe need to take safety measures to protect themselves while they're traveling. now, as we've been reporting, this is all about the idea that al-qaeda is getting ready to stage commando-style attacks on spots frequented by foreigners, by americans in europe, landmarks, hotels, train stations, airports in paris, london, berlin. the u.k. government in the last 24 hours has followed the american lead. there's already a severe terror threat here, they are warning britains against travel in france and germany. and again, how are the americans taking it? well, as you'd expect them to take it. they're careful, but pushing on. here, listen to what the few that we ran into today in london said: >> you can't live in fear. if you live in fear, you wouldn't leave your house. you have to be ever vigilant where you are, keep your eyes open. we're here for 24 hours, so we're taking advantage of being here but it is unsettling. >> reporter: the state department underscores that they are not telling americans not to come to europe, just if you come to europe, be a little bit more careful. jenna. jenna: and one of the things about this story, greg, is that obviously, it's a global story right now, but a little light on details. have we heard anything else about the particular plot? >> yeah, day by day we get more wrinkles, the thing with terror stories, one person tells you one thing, another person tells you another but the individual that we first reported to you last wednesday could be a central figure, appears to be emerging as exactly that, a german afghan, trained with al-qaeda in pakistan, caught in afghanistan by the american forces, and then he was interrogated. new reporting today says that he was told by a high ranking al-qaeda figure in the militant strong hold of north waziristan in early summer that osama bin laden had signed off on this plan and was helping to provide funding for it. he is also told a european target. this isn't the only information strand. there are two other groupings of information and i think that dealt more with the idea that in addition to folks over in pakistan, there are folks already here in europe, terrorist cell necessary london, france, germany, ready to hit these targets. again, it's all talk, it's all rumors, it's all half and half informs, and apparently americans thought it was serious enough to take the unprecedented step it took over the weekend. jenna: greg palkot on one of our top stories, thank you very much. jon: for more on this threat, let's bring in chad sweeney, a former manager of homeland security and a managing -- and a manager with the chertoff group. some say this is talk and ruppors but it caused the united states to take serious steps. how would you assess the threat? >> what we're seeing is something we'd like to see, which is international information sharing along the liaison services in europe and abroad, and i think most american citizens would be pleased the american authorities are airing on the side of caution. the alert we've seen from the state department is the lowest level alert, which does suggest, as you said, that the ability to corroborate specific details or actionable intelligence is somewhat limited, so the informs right now would not allow for the targeting of specific sites, but right now, i think most americans should know that they should continue on their plans abroad, but again, as the individuals said on the previous piece, the alert and vigilance. jon: jon and the alert, terrorism is all about trying to scare us into changing our behavior, right? >> you're exactly right, jon. that's the key. if they can affect our lives just through simply threatening without actually taking action, they've won. so i think what the american authorities and european authorities are attempting to do is strike a balance between ensuring that the traveling public is aware of this situation. you're going to see as we saw in the case of the eiffel tower being evacuated twice, local authorities will need to take specific action at their discretion that may disrupt travel itineraries, and american citizens abroad, to be paint and we need them to be individual len. what does that mean? if you knee an unattended package reported, if you go to a tourism site, look for potential exits if you need them and loo shelter should you need that. jon: is the new normal when it comes to terrorism threats? the feeling you get from the government is we're not likely to see another 9/11-style attack which took all kinds of planning, all kinds of people, al-qaeda and its affiliated groups are going to these more localized, sort of smaller scale potential attacks? >> that's right, jon. this is the new norm and unfortunately we lived in a cocoon for quite a long time but the rest of the world, whether it's britain or the ira or various parts of the middle east or asia have dealt with this for a very long period of time, so americans are coming to grips with the reality that the west of the rorld has had to live with, and the point you made about they're starting to look at potential softer targets or lower level targets does mean we all have to be vigilant and aware. on the positive side, it does indicate that the american authorities and counterterrorism professionals are succeeding in tightening the noose around their attempted attacks and being forced to go to the softer, lower level targets. jon: chad sweet is with homeland security and the cia. thank you very much, we appreciate injure -- we appreciate your expertise. we want to hear from you, go to fox news.com and weigh in. here's the question we're asking, on a scale of 1-10, how alert are you to possible acts of terror when traveling in the u.s. or abroad? click on the you decide link to weigh n. you can see how other are voting as well. jenna: deadly threat in north carolina in the town of windsor, under water, and expected to stay that way for days. that area, hit hard when the remnants of tropical storm nicole flew through last week. look at these unbelievable pictures. the rain is being blamed for at least six deaths due to traffic accidents. janice dean making a special visit to our newsroom today, bringing us the latest on the weather and beyond. more rain on the way, j.d.? >> reporter: for north carolina, we're in good shape but you're going to need your fancy boots across the northeast because it's going to be wet and miserable. let's take a look at some of those rainfall totals we saw across north carolina. incredible. those pictures tell the story. you can see with this estimated precipitation, the city of windsor is in the maroon, purple shade, where you received over a foot of rain, in addition to the over 15 inches of rain you got earlier this week. this is historic rainfall across north carolina -- north carolina, wilmington, incredible amounts of rain in a very short period of time. you can see why we're getting the flooding pictures from north carolina. the good news here, all week long we're going to be dealing with drying up conditions, lots of sunshine, temperatures into the upper 60s, 70s and no rain in the foreseeable future for the mid atlantic region. however, for the northeast, we've got a couple of coastal lows across portions of new york and philly, even down to d.c., it's going to be miserable for much of the work week. there's the satellite radar and the interior sections of the northeast are going to get the worst of the rainfall, anywhere from half an inch to an inch to an inch and a half of rain. for north carolina, you have a dying out period, great news for you, but for the rest of the northeast, cities, and across the mid atlantic region, we still have coastal flood advisories for more rain in the forecast. there's the precipitation accumulation for the northeast. so unfortunately, i wish i had better news, better news for north carolina, of course, but for the northeast, we're still dealing with a wet and soggy forecast, unfortunately. jenna, back to you. jeb jenna: j.d., what kind of fancy rain boots did you pick for jon? >> i thought he had a selection of fancy rain boots and i'm so excited to be in the newsroom because i can actually go over and touch jon scott! jenna: you guys -- >> jon: j.d., i think we -- let's just call the work week off for those in the northeast, okay? >> okay. i want to see those fancy boots. >> reporter: gortex, only gortex. jenna: bye j.d., thank you. jon: paperwork leads three major banks to halt, from and more could do the same whafplt it all means to this struggling housing market and to you. mexican pirates reportedly attacking a couple while jet skiing on a lake that stradels the u.s.-mexico border. the wife says they shot her husband dead. why police are having trouble finding his body. >> ma'am, okay, are you sure that your husband got shot? >> yes, in his head. >> okay. >> okay. >> yeah. >> jon: well, some say that massive $700 million bailout of institutions averted another depression in this country, critics called it a dangerous and unfair risk for american taxpayers. but as of today, guess what? it's over. and the feds can no longer tap the bailout fund formerly known as t.a.r.p., the troubled asset relief program. now that it's ended it turns out uncle sam only she would out about 50 billion in taxpayer money, plus when all is said and done the government actually could make money on your taxpayer investment. the downside, though, is t.a.r.p. sets up the expectation that government will always bail out the banks. some new numbers on the housing market, pending home sales rose for the second month in a row, the national association of realtors saying the number of people who signed contracts to buy homes jumped 4.3%, but that is still more than 20 percent below the pace in the same month, one year ago jenna: we have more news on housing as well. get this, three major banks said they screwed up peoples' foreclosure paperwork for their mortgages, and now they're halting foreclosures across the country because of this. the fox business -- fox business network joins us. what happened here? >> very simply, it's a matter of dotting the is and crossing the ts. there are 52 million outstanding mortgages in this country, roughly 4 1/2% are in foreclosure. two point three million. so j.p. morgan chase, bank of america, gmac have said we're going to stop the process and review those foreclosures that are currently in the legal system, to make sure the paperwork is accurate, because judges in some cases have said no to the bank during the foreclosure because in reality the bank doesn't own the notes anymore, they perhaps sold it and therefore, the person who's living in the home gets to keep living in it until the actual holder of the note brings foreclosure proceedings. jenna: when we're talking about foreclosures being hatted, for how long? is this a temporary stay, if you will? >> that is the key question. first, in some states like florida, it's taking almost two years to foreclose, so you add on to the two-year process, now you're going to have a delay while j.p. morgan chase hypothetically if they're closing on someone say in dade county, has to review the documents and say hr-rlt, now we can proceed. it's taking longer than it did three years ago to foreclose and the reason, if you and i are not in foreclosure, not paying your mortgage, the reason you pay attention to this is the longer it takes the foreclosure to work through the system the longer it takes for the housing market to forever, the longer it takes for you to try and sell your house. jenna: the bank has the bailout money. do we see the government steping in at all to say to the banks you didn't do your job, you didn't actually help the consumer? >> the mortgage modifications are not working, that's why you see foreclosures continuing to rise and the banks are not stepping in with the modifications. some very crafty homeowners are using this to their advantage, saying look, work out a deal with me and avoid going to court, otherwise bring it on, j.p. morgan chase, bring it on, bank of america, let's see what a judge says. jenna: at this point, we're not quite sure where the housing market is. still in recovery, i guess. >> recovery with barely a heart beat. jen adam shapiro, thank you very much for covering that story for us. jon, back to you. jon: jenna, taliban militants in pakistan attacking oil tanker trucks bound for our troop necessary afghanistan, turning them into fiery wreckage. one of four such attacks on trucks, carrying supplies that were intended for u.s. and nato forces in the war zone, just since friday. twenty tanker trucks, stalled on a key supply line that was closed in a diplomatic dispute between the u.s. and pakistan. four people, killed as a result. we know a lot of you are online while watching "happening now". if you'd like to see more pictures of the dramatic attack on the nato in pakistan, log on and check out the slide show. jenna: you'll have big problems if you're trying to get a message out on twitter, the second outage in two weeks. what's going on? harris is at the breaking news desk, trying to figure it out. we'll check in with her in a minute or so. we're live in corn country, where farmers are harvesting record corn crops, what the bumper crop could mean for food prices. we're live there, just ahead. jon: a fox news alert. do you hear that? it's the sound of lie rence for the second name as many weeks. twitter is having major issues. harris faulkner has breaking news for us. >> reporter: the tweet tweet is now numb, and let me tell you there are # five -- 55 million tweets exchanged daily so this is affecting people not just in the united states but around the world. here's the problem, your ability to follow a user, that means the things that pop up on your page, i'm on mine right now and nothing is moving, all the people i follow to see what their tweets are all day long are not able to pop up on my page and telling you how many people you're following, you know, the little tally on the righthand side, if you use twit area lot you'll know what i'm talking about. and then if you kind of want to be private about things and not post your whole business to the world and send a direct message, can't do that right now. you might have to kick up old school and pick up the phone or visit a neighbor, because twit ser in trouble the second time. when this is not thought to be based on my reporting to be anything like what we saw on september 1st where twitter was hacked into, remember that, and if you passed your mouse over certain tweets, hard core pornography would pop up or other types of popup. this is not that situation. that was a security flaw within the system that was being exploited. tkweuter has fixed that. twitter.com has fixed that. this is something different. don't know what's driving this. but that immediate ability for us to tweet each other and follow one another is cut into right now. jon, i'm just going to pick up the phone. jon: imagine actually using a cell phone to make a phone call! >> reporter: old school. jon: thanks. >> sure. jenna: farmers seeing something they haven't seen in three decades in the u.s., very haerl harvest and it comes as russia suffers major crop losses because of the recent drought there, the u.s. is on its largest corn stockpile in nearly four years. what does all this mean for the price of corn and the prices for the rest of us? sandra smith is live from maple grove, illinois. hi sandra. >> reporter: hey jenna. i'm overwhelmed by the noise of the combine coming through now. jenna, we are seeing america at its best, right here, in maple grove, illinois. this is a farm, about 65 miles west of chicago. this particular farm that we're on has about 5000 acres of corn, and the reason that we're out here today, jenna, is we're tracking this harvest, because as you know, i grew up in the midwest, so i watched these corn prices all the time, and steve is joining us from his farm, and i know good corn when i see it. >> it's very good corn this year, our harvest is ahead of schedule this year, crop is excellent quality, things are good on the farm. >> historically, though, this is one of the earliest harv vests on record. why are we harvesting this corn so early this year? >> with the very warm summer the crop matured very fast. in my career, this is the articlest we've harvested it, and when the crop is ready, we go get it. >> for farmers in the united states, you got to be loving this, especially considering corn prices are at historic high price. sue: most farmers in illinois are very excited. we have a good crop, not a record crop but a good crop and prices rup. we're smiling pretty well. >> jenna, music to my ears. it surprised everybody, whether this goes into the corn syrup in sodas, whether into energy in the form of ethanol, what happens out here affects not just everybody in the united states but globally. jenna: what does that mean for food prices overall? good for the corn farmer, right, but for the rest of us does that mean higher prices in the supermarket or lower price? >> and that's great question, jenna. in the near term, could mean lower prices for corn. >> we've seen a pretty good drop in prices the last few days because the government came out with a stocks report that said there was more corn than what they thought. >> that could, jenna, lower food prices, say for cereals, for example, at the store, but in the bigger picture, steve, i was up in the combine chatting, bigger picture, there's rising global demand for this grain and that could certainly longer term drive up price. sue: we're excited about the future in farming. jenna: finally, good news for the farmers in the midwest, after a few tough years, sandra. thank you very much, sandra smith. >> thank you. jenna: with a firsthand look at farming there in the midwest. thank you very much, sandra. >> thank you. jon: the balance of power in come up -- in congress up for grabs, 29 days from now and we may see a change for the president's agenda. we'll go in depth. >> harris is following a story right right -- breaking right now. >> reporter: anna nicole smith, one of the most photographed women in the world, her ex-boyfriend, howard k. stern and others, attorneys say gave her excessive prescription drugs, even though they knew she was an addict. i'm following this closely and you stay with us here on "happening now". jon right now a jury in los angeles is hearing final arguments in the anna nicole smith trial, the case involves drug charges filed against her former boyfriend and two doctors. hair sis on t. she's at the breaking news desk, harris. >> reporter: this is an interesting day as they prepare to put forth their closing argument, the deputy district attorney knows it's an uphill battle because the superior court judge has already said he saw some holes in the prosecution's case but he wants to let it go to the jury and here is why: dr. sandeep kapoor and christine eroshevich are facing, along with anna nicole's ex-boyfriend and lawyer, howard k. stern, charges of giving excessive prescription drugs to a known addict. the prosecution has first had to prove that anna nicole was an addict and prove the said -- sedatives and other things prescribed were in excess close to her death back in 2007. she overdosed. -- overdosed. they are not want that regard, which is simply contribute to go her state of being in her death, so the judge felt it important for her to go to the jury, the final comments from the prosecution will come today, and when all this is said and done, of course, the icon, the bombshell, the reality tv star, anna nicole smith, all of that, they've got all of -- it's gotten all of other pictures back in the media today. she is one of the most photographed people in the world. when it's all said and done, of course, we'll still be that, we'll just maybe know more about what happened in her death. i'll be watching for the final arts and will report highlights coming out of that courtroom. jon: with final arguments could you could get a verdict today? >> reporter: the judge is not indicate whag will happen next. so i can't tell you that. but he has said he saw holes in the case and doesn't think it will take awfully long for a decision to come after that. jon: keep an eye on it for us, harris. thanks. >> i will. jenna: you know what that means, crucial midterm election is 29 days away and before voters even cast a ballot the white house seems to be crafting its post-election strategy. the president reportedly has scaled back his agenda and used a more piecemeal approach. bob cusack from the shil joining us now. the context, the president really got through major parts of his agenda already, health care reform, financial regulation. what's on the top of his list for the next few years? >> it's going to have to be two things: jobs and cutting down the decifit. we're going to see the fiscal commission come out with recommendations on december 1st and that's going to be the flavor, but the president is going to have to play a bit more small ball in the next congress because whether republicans are controlling the house and or senate, regardless, there's going to be a lot more republicans in it. senate republicans want to block anything, they're going to have the numbers to do it. i think you're going to have to see bipartisan compromise, maybe a trade issue, something that has died in this congress, but when you look at the climate bill that passed the house, that's basically dead, that can't pass in the nexting is. there is going to have to be more dif and -- give and take with the white house and the president knows that is correct he's going to change how he governses and if he doesn't, he's not going to get anything done next year and the following year. jenna: some of the hot topic, immigration reform and financial reform. the "wall street journal" put out a piece that said instead of trying to pass let's say comprehensive immigration reform the president would try to pass smaller initiatives to accomplish something but maybe not the grand scale let's say as health care reform. what do you think about that? >> i think he's going to have to give something. i mean, the president has not given republicans a lot of what they wanted in the actual bills that they passed, health care reform, the stimulus, wall street reform. basically, democrats had to vote, and they pushed it through. this time, if the president wants to get an immigration bill a. scaled back bill like the dream act sponsored by senator dick durbin of illinois, he's going to have to give on border security and finishing the fence along the border, something that senator john mccain has pushed for. so basically he's going to have to do a lot more horse trading than the last couple of years. jenna: bob, who are the great compromisers as part of the democratic team and the republicans? we haven't really seen that bipartisanship spirit that the president wanted to bring through with the change into washington, so is it the change with pete rouse, or are there emerging leaders we're going to have to see? >> that's a great point, jenna. than candidates that are going to northbound congress next year, a lot are tea party candidates and they're not in the business of compromising with the president. this is going to be a problem with democratic leaders and republican leaders, especially john boehner, how are they going to handle the revolutionaries on the right and the left, the liberal base, it's not happening now, how are they going to react when the president is compromising with republicans? if you look back at when republicans won control of congress in president clinton's tenure, they did reach a big deal on a balanced budget act, you had a republican congress and a democratic president, they cut down on the decifit. can that happen again? i think it's unlikely, but at least there's some historical precedent for it. jenna: bob, as you said, there's likely going to be colorful personalities on the hill, regardless, for you and i to keep an eye on. just a final thought here, moving way ahead, past 2010 to 2012, if the house does go republican, gop, you do have more tea party candidates, as part of the house and senate. how does that set the president up for reelection, does that make a reelection of president obama more likely? >> well, i think there are some facets where it helps president obama because you have the tea party candidates, and when you see the presidential primary in 2012, the republican primary, basically these candidates, myth rom next sarah palin if she runs, they're going to be courting the base, the republican pwaeurbgs so president obama is going to be able to sit back if he doesn't have his own challenge and court independent voters, which are the key to winning general hr-bgss -- general elections. if many ways it doesn't look good for the second on november 2nd but going forward, unemployment is supposed to go down as he mounts his reelection campaign. jenna: the timing will be interesting. bob, always nice to have you on "happening now", bob cusack of the hill, and also keep an eye on this, fox news is your election headquarters, get breaking political news, 24/7, by logging on to fox news.com, check out the great log, our front row seat to politics, correspondents and producers are always posting the very latest information you need right there on fox news.com. jon: here's a story that will get you thinking. see what you think about this. government, getting a boost from the private sector. georgia's department of transportation, for instance, is generating new revenue through the sale of corporate sponsorships, companies like state farm insurance, now helping to fund popular highway programs. good idea or not? jonathan serrie, live for us in atlanta with more. jonathan. >> reporter: hi jon. keeping atlanta traffic running efficiently is no easy task but during these tough economic times, the georgia department of transportation is having to come up with creative ways to raise money. >> when the recession threatened its popular highway emergency assistance program in metro atlanta, the georgia department of transportation looked beyond conventional sources of revenue. >> necessity is the mother of invention. if we're not broke we're as close as we want to get to it and we've got to find ways to maximize resources. >> georgia's hero units carry state farm logos, which brings the dot $1.7 million a year, essentially covering georgia's share of the federally subsidized program. state farm sponsors similar efforts in pennsylvania and colorado. >> states with budget shortfalls, state governments are looking to the private sector for funding solutions. here in georgia these 511 signs acknowledge commercial sponsors that help pay for the program, and the peach state actually makes money by outsourcing these highway logo signs, a program the dot used to operate on its own at a loss. >> we brought a private sector partner in that quite frankly knows how to do this considerably better than we did and they're making money, we're making money. >> government watchdog groups caution that public-private partnerships require absolute transparency. >> it's a conflict of interest, it's says favoritism, if there is money shovel ud out the door without oversight, the taxpayers are going to get wind of that and that's a major problem in the long run. >> if run properly, what began out of economic necessity could be the new normal. if you break down on a georgia highway, help may be minutes away thanks to the hero units and the work of their sponsors. jon: help with a logo on it. that's for sure. jonathan serrie, thanks. jenna: the supreme court, now back with a new justice for the bench for the first time and controversial cases ahead, antigay protest, banning violent video games from some consumers and the personal lives of nasa contractors. you got a major privacy issue there, all on the docket. how these rulings can affect you. 14 years ago, can you believe it, 14 years, jon be tphefplt tefplt ramsay was murdered. authorities never found her keurl. now after all this time the investigation is entering a brand new phase, what police are now doing and who they want to interview. that's next. jenna: new next hour, a brutal home invasion, a family in connecticut, terrorized and the father, the only survivor. now the jury about to get the case against the man charged in this horrific crime. we are live in connecticut with that story. also, the gop in congress, out with a plan for that unspent stimulus money, what they want to do with all that billions of dollars. and the battle to legalizenarian california, getting a big boost. we're going to tell you who's backing prop 19 now, and what that support means. jon: there's some new hope in the search for peace in the middle east. israel, reportedly, is agreeing to extend its ban on settlement construction in the west bank by about 60 days. the building freeze ran out a week ago, setting off celebrations among israeli settlers and protests by palestinians. leland vitter is live there for us. what's going on there now, le land? >> reporter: jon, i just talked to a high level source in the prime minister's office and he said there is no deal yet but we're still talking. let me provide context for you here. president obama offered the israelis a lot of incentives to extend the ban before it actually expired. obviously, that didn't happen, the p*es said we're not talking anymore. there is a thought now that the israelis are back in the united states, shopping for a better deal, if you were, to extend the freeze. now, the freeze expired on september 26th, the certificatelers began building right away on land the palestinians want for a future state and they said so long as they're building on the west bank, we're not talking peace anymore. the prime minister here in israel said he cannot extend the ban because of right wing parts of her own government. there is a thought here the rite wingers, although they've made a point, says if there's not enough incentive given by the united states they'll allow a 60-day extension of the freeze. the settlers do not like this sideways. overnight police say settlers burned a mosque to try to pressure netanyaho not to give in. they called these price tag operation and during last night there was a lot of graffiti sprayed inside that mosque. this is the modus oprandie of this. you might remember before the peace talks began, four settlers were killed by hamas gunmen, trial to derail the peace talks. the big question is where do we go from here. there's a thought that if the freeze is tended -- extended by 60 days that, in 60 days we're going to be exactly wherry with -- we are now, talking about another freeze. however, right now the peace talks aren't going anywhere. this seems to be the only way to get them restarted. you might remember, 2 1/2 months ago we were talking about all the pressure the united states is putting on the palestinians to come to the negotiating table and now the israelis are getting that pressure. jon: leeland, thank you. jenna: "happening now" the supreme court is back in session with brand new justice, elena kagan making her debut on the bench. a big week ahead. stuart taylor is joining us from the national journal. mr. taylor, what should every american know about this term of the supreme court? >> well, of course, it's the first term for elena kagan as a justice. and eventually, we'll learn a lot about her, but not right away, because she's recused from about half of the cases because of her previous work as solicitor general. i think what you'll see is the justices settling into a new pattern, they always do with a new justice. it's also the first time there has been sort of a democratic-republican split that mirrors the long standing liberal-conservative split. some used to be republican appointee, now the appointees are conservative, all of the democratic appointees are pretty liberal. in terms of case, there's 21st amendment case, free speech cases and one case involving the privacy rights of a government contractor. jenna: let me step in here, because one of the cases has certainly gotten a lot of attention from a lot of our viewers, the first amendment case, the father of a fallen marine soldier, filing suit against this kansas church that was protesting at his son's funeral. that's gone through several levels and several decisions. talk to us about this case and what it means for the first amendment. >> sure. now, the first thing you might wonder about it is why would somebody protest at a military funeral. it's kind of odd in these case. these are homosexual barbers, these protestors and the reason they chose a military funeral is they're angry at the military for being too tolerant of homosexuals and thinking america is going down the tubes for that reason. surprising that there's probably 99.9% of the american public would despise these protests but the reason it's a big issue is we have a tradition of very broad free speech, first amendment protection in this occurrence even for hateful speech, nazis had a first amendment right to march through skoky, as a famous example, just earlier this year, the court struck down a law, an act of congress, that was designed to protect against depictions of animal cruelty. so it will be interesting to see whether what wins out is the free speech tradition or the revulsion, which might have people tend to rule against the particular proters. jenna: how long could a -- protestors. jenna: how long could a decision make? >> it's usually late june. it's a safe bet that most controversial court are heard -- even if they're argued at the beginning, and in two of these cases, one we're talking about will be argued two days from now, there will be dissents, concurring opinions, controversial -- cnny -- controversy inside the court and unless i'm wrong about that, unless it's unanimous that delays it and it usually runs up until they retire for the summer in june. jenna: the fact that elaine kpwra kagan might not be -- ekwhraeupb kagan might be -- might not be part of the case social security there, and the court is divided among party lines, we could see ties in these situations talk us through that. we only have 30 seconds but talk us about that. >> in any case where there's only eight justices sitting you could get a 4-4 tie. the effect of that is, whatever the lower court decided from which the appeal is coming, that stands as the law of the case and it could have an important impact here, for example, there are guantanamo cases where you're getting pretty conservative decisions from the court of appeals. they might stand for a quote which would be pleasing to conservatives, not so pleasing to liberals. jenna: a lot to watch. thank you very much for working us through this, stuart taylor, thank you very much, we appreciate it. as always, we want to hear from you, your thoughts on some of the big news stories we're covering, "happening now" is on that case, do you think the west borough baptist church, the one from kansas, should be allowed to hold the antigay demonstrations at the funerals of fallen troops? it's a big decision for free speech. log on, go to happening now to cast your vote. we'll check out the results a little later on "happening now". jon: police in colorado now launch ago new round of interviews, searching for new clues regarding the death of jonbenet ramsay, she was just six years old when she was killed 14 years ago, her battered and strangled body found inside the family's home. among the potential witnesses investigators have contacted is jonbenet's brother, burke ramsay, he was only nine when his sister was killed. police hope a new investigation might trigger memories that might provide additionaldetails -- about additional details about the crime that led to her death. two men believed to be involved in a deadly robbery in florida. take a look at some surveillance video. the police believe this may show two men fleeing the scene. the latest investigation in a live report, straight ahead. also, mexican pirates reportedly attacked two americans who were just out recreating on a border lake. the man you see here is now missing. reportedly he was shot in the head. the zapati county sheriff will give us the latest on this strange case. >> were you shot at? on the mexican side or -- >> yeah, yeah. >> from the mexican side, okay. did you see anybody? >> there were three boats. jon: a texas woman now saying it's a miracle she's alive after being attacked by mexican pirates. but her husband apparently was not so lucky. david and tiffany hartley, here's their picture, they were sight seeing on a pair of jet skis last thursday, tiffany said all of the sudden three speed boats began to chase them on the mexican side of falcon lake a. lake that straddles the su-mexico border, hartley telling a 911 operator the pirates on board opened fire and her husband was hit. >> are you sure that your husband got shot? >> yes. in his head. >> okay. >> yeah. >> was he -- is he in the water or something? >> he was thrown off the jet ski and i was going to pick him up to get him on mine. >> ma'am, were you shot at on the mexicoan side? tkpwhrao yes. >> did you see anybody? >> there were three boats. >> the lady, is she o. is she injured? >> no, she's not injured. she's just in shock. jon: joining us on the phone, zapato county sheriff. sheriff, give us the basic facts of what you know. >> what we know, mr. and mrs. hartley went over to mexico, about 2 miles, 3 miles into mexico, sight seeing, to visit the ruins of a church in old mexico. on the way back, they -- three commercial fishing boats from mexico started chasing down, towards them, they sped off away from them to get back to the united states and they were shot at, apparently one hit mr. hartley in the back of the head according to her statement and she tried to get him up on her jet ski but was unable to do it. mr. hartley -- bay of mr. hartley's weight, so she kind of pleaded with the shooters not to shoot her, saw an opportunity to get away from them and she let go of her husband's body and sped off into mexico, continued to be chased by the fishing boats into -- way into the united states, where she made it to safety. the independent witness did see the boat chasing her into the united states, way into the united states, way into zapato county. jon: what would have been the motive, what would the fishing boats, the pirates, what were they affair? >> they were after money. we had similar incidents in april and may of this year, where u.s. fishermen went over to mexico, which is sometimes not unusual because u.s. fishermen are always used to fishing the mexicoan waters, in fact they used to buy mexican fishing licenses, doing everything legal. they went over to mexico, there were four incidents and they were accosted by the fishermen in commercial fishing boats, had weapons pointed at them and demanding money, and they let them go. op jon you've seen these crimes before. so you found david's body yet? >> no, sir. his body, if he's dead, we're hopeing to find him -- unfortunately, this happened in mexico. we cannot go into mexico. it's about a mile and a half, 2 miles into mexico. we have coast guard, border control, the texas wildlife department and boats and aircraft but we cannot go into mexico. we have contacted mexican authorities, skwrupbt forty, we have not seen any action on the mexican authorities to reach the scene to try to look for a body or rescue efforts. i understand they're trying, but remember that everything on the border is all by -- is owned by cartels, the u.s. side, also. so the cartels will not let the military go in there and keep in mind the military is in drug battles along the border, yards away from -- away from us. jon: just one more story down there, ziggy gonzalez from zapato county, thank you sir. >> thank you. jenna: and on guard, tourist spots on a terror hit list. jennifer griffin has brand new information. we're going to talk to her, as well as the government official in charge of keeping americans safe while traveling abroad. that's next on "happening now". let me tell you about a very important phone call i made. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... th all you need to enroll. put their trust in aarp medicare supplement insurance. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. the prices are competitive. i can keep my own doctor. and i don't need a referral to see a specialist. call now to get a free information kit. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. and the advantages don't end there. choose from a range of medicare supplement plans... that are all competitively priced. we have a plan for almost everyone, so you can find one that fits your needs and budget. with all medicare supplement plans, there are virtually no claim forms to fill out. plus you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare. and best of all, these plans are... the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp. when they told me these plans were endorsed by aarp... i had only one thing to say... sign me up. call the number on your screen now... and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan. you'll get this free information kit... and guide to understanding medicare, to help you choose the plan that's right for you. as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare, get help paying for what medicare doesn't... and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now. jon: straight up noon here on the east coast. hope you're having a great monday. i'm jon scott. jenna: i'm jenna lee. new details this hour on a they arear threat in europe. japan joining the u.s. and britain and warning its citizens traveling there. take a look at some of these landmarks. fox news learning these landmarks could be among the targets. you have the eiffel tower in paris. the notre dame, central station. the aldon who he sell and the alexanderplatz tv tower. jennifer what doe we know, anything knew? >> reporter: we know they are keeping a close eye on five international airports in europe. they are concerned and warning tourists to be very careful standing in lines in the lobbies of their hotel. they are concerned there could be a style of attack like back in 1985 where small grenades and small arms fire was done. there are tourist sites, hotels mentioned, train stations that are mentioned. the problem is they don't know -- they have pieced together a lot of information of this plot, they've actually interrogated people who are involved in the plot, and they just don't know, but they are seeing a lot of increased chatter on the internet on these web sites that the jihaddists use and they are very concerned that something is brewing and they want to make sure that they've given westerners, tourists traveling in europe as much information as they have. jenna: what do we know about the people involved. >> reporter: a lot of the information that has come out about the targets and this plot come from emet sadiki. he was captured east was trying to board a plane back in july. he has been interrogated for some time now. they learned about eight germans as well as two britains who were involved in planning the plot out of the front tear areas of afghanistan. they found out that osama bin laden and al-qaida number 3 were involved in planning this. it was going to be a multiple mumbai-style attack using people with dual passports who can easily integrate into european going for a low tech-style attack rather than the big explosive 9/11 attacks. they decided by having simultaneous attacks on places using the dual nationals they will have a better chance of carrying this out and there is great concern in the intelligence community that this is going to occur. jenna: and the military as well. we're hearing reports about a curfew for u.s. service members in germany, what do you know about that. >> reporter: essentially there was an exercise that emanated as a result of this terror threat. the commander of the threat decided to carry out an exer eyes from 6:00pm on friday evening to 6:00pm the following saturday. a 6pm curfew where the 20,000 members at the base were not allowed to leave the base and encouraged not to wear their uniforms when going into surrounding towns and cities. this was an exercise, it emanated from the concerns that westerners could be targeted visiting discos, hotels and train stations. that exercise is now over. the military sufficiently concerned that the air base carried out this exercise. jenna: griffin -- jennifer skwreufpb watching this story for us. we'll be speaking to a member of the state department, an official who is charge of making aeu khaour when americans travel abroad they will be safe when they do so. big interview coming up in a few minutes on "happening now." jon: "happening now" in connecticut a hot senate race going down to the wire. republican linda mcmahon is chipping away at the least once held by richard blumenthal. this race a statistical tie. they face off in a very closely watched debate. carl cameron is live in hartford, connecticut. i guess when chris dodd announced he was reretiring everybody thought that pwrupl r-r would have -- richard blumenthal would have a lock on the seat. >> reporter: they thought he would coast to victory and protect the seat for democrats and keep republicans one seat away from the ten needed for the majority. boy what a difference the last seven months has made. since dick blumenthal has got even into the race he's seen his 40-point lead evaporate, in large measure because linda mcmahon the millionaire, the wwe has campaigned with an advanced air campaign. richard blumenthal was caught misrepresenting his resume and suggested he served in vietnam. that is a story that has tkogd him and does today. the mcmahon campaign is going to air another ad that has another exaggeration of his military service. he did not serve in vietnam but left it on several occasions that that was the case. linda mcmahon's time in the wwe has raised a lot of eyebrows in connecticut. that's what this will focus on tonight, not just the policies, the personalities. jon: that's the question. people say they want issues discussed, this is also very much a discussion about their personalities, isn't it? >> reporter: it is. because this u.s. senate race, and the issues before the senate and before official washington are so important, healthcare reform whether it should be repealed or defended as richard blumenthal has promised to do. cap and trade energy legislation which minnesota argues would decimate connecticut's already troubled economy. there is disagreement between the candidates and disagreement among democrats will play out about the policy but the personalities really do matter. while richard blumenthal is popular as an incumbent attorney general the polls have turned against him as an aspiring u.s. senator. and linda mcmahon as a controversial figure has skeptics in the state. the undecideds are few but there is no doubt it will be a sprint on the ground and an air blitz of attack ads. >> i believe that there will be a very different contrast between my record of fighting for people and my opponent who has put profits ahead of people. >> richard blumenthal says he'll stand up for special interest. >> i don't see a lot of people standing up for the people against special interests. >> he said he never took their money. >> i've never taken pac money and rejected all special interest money. >> really? since january he's taken a half a million dollars from pac and special interests. >> reporter: he likes to say that his rival minnesota puts profits before the people. that is a fairly gentle piece of criticism for someone who has nod had political experience. that is considered one of her biggest weaknesses. one of the criticisms of richard blumenthal is that he hasn't been as tough as he should. bret baier will be trying to scratch the itch of those perpbts. these are two very colorful characters. jon: i would like to be in bret baier's chair tonight. we'll talk to you later, thank you. jenna: we'll talk a little bit about what the race means in general, what it really means for the nation as well. connecticut is one of a dozen states where the gop really hopes to pick up a seat in the senate. republicans also targeting seats held by democrats in these states, arizona, california, colorado, indiana, north dakota, nevada, pennsylvania, washington and wisconsin. tonight's face off between richard blumenthal and minnesota could be one of the most decisive campaign debates of the year. it's good to have this guy part of it bret baier. maybe it's the imagery of the world wrestling entertainment, do you think it's going to be moderating or refer aoeg? >> reporter: that is a request go. we will -- that is a good question. we have a great set up, a great format for the debate. we should be able to get pretty deep into the i shal issues ands carl mentioned the personality and attacks that have been going back and forth between the richard blumenthal and the linda mcmahon campaign. there will be two journal lists having some of the questions. we have been going som going ovr some of the possibilities the past couple of weeks and this race is very tight. this race, jenna, could come down to really tonight's debate. a lot of times in these races debates don't really make that big of a difference. this one, however, could, and it should be a good one to watch. we'll be streaming it by the way on foxnews.com. jenna: absolutely we're going to be watch. one of the things we've been following closely here is which candidate has the president specifically backed? have we seen that in this race in connecticut, anything from president obama backing richard blumenthal. >> reporter: yes president obama came here to calm opinion and raise money for richard blumenthal two weeks ago. he pulled in about $400,000, gave a speech in which he attacked linda mcmahon. former president bill clinton was here in connecticut campaigning for richard blumenthal, it's expected the vice president will be back this way again. money is a big part of this campaign as we get to the final days before november 2nd. outside democrats and republicans are spending five times more on this midterm than they did in 2006, that is a staggering statistic. jenna: it brings up again a broader theme that we're seeing. you mentioned the special interest groups, but this midterm election we've seen very successful and prominent selffunded candidates. linda mcmahon being one of them, meg whitman in california. how does that change the dynamic when candidates bring so much of their own money to the race? >> reporter: it does change the dynamic. they are able to go deep into their pockets to run a lot of ads as carl mentioned, increase the ground game in connecticut. linda mcmahon is someone who has done it so far according to the polls and ground game pretty effectively. money doesn't may off for everybody. jeff greene in florida had tons of money into that race. there are well-funded candidates, self-funded who don't do well. this election with meg whitman and here linda mcmahon you're seeing some candidates that are able to pull it off. jenna: any pregame prep we need to go about, any special meals you have lined up, stretches you're going to do, how are you going to prepare for the couple of hours. >> reporter: lots of coffee, i have a 3-year-old who stayed up a little too much last night. i'll be ready to go by the up time debate time comes. jenna: i bet the 3-year-old is pretty insightful. >> reporter: i won't ask any of his questions. they have to do with dora the explorer. jenna: you never know what is going to come up in a debate. he's moderating the debate between richard blumenthal and minnesota at 7pm. it's also streaming live on foxnews.com. you don't want to miss it. jon: the taliban hitting back hard in pakistan turning a convoy of tankers inventory to a flaming pile of wreckage. what it means for our troops who are serving in afghanistan, how much danger for them. plus a husband and father losing his whole family in one of the most gruesome crimes in recent memory. now he awaits the verdict for one defendant charged in a brutal triple murder. we are live at the courthouse in connecticut where that case is underway. knows how to make things that are good for you. new v8 v-fusion + tea. one combined serving of vegetables and fruit with the goodness of green tea and its powerful antioxidants. refreshingly good. 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[ male announcer ] and for one-on-one advice, olayforyou.com gives you personal recommendations with no pressure to buy. now join the millions of women who have made the switch to olay, completely risk-free. if you don't love the results, you'll get your money back, guaranteed. go online now for a $3 coupon. and love the skin you're in. jenna: "happening now" now in connecticut jury deliberations moments away in a deadly home invasion trial. defendant steven haze facing the death penalty, he's one of two men charged in the horrific murders of these women. jennifer petit and her two daughters back in 2007. laura ingle outside the courthouse with the latest. >> reporter: we've got the judge who has just finished instructing the jury on the 17 counts against steven haze. six of those are capital felony counts. he went over what is called charging the jury, instructing them on how to deal with all of those charges, if found guilty on the capital felony ones it could bring him the death penalty in this case. hayes has admitted to killing the mother, jennifer hawk petit after sexually assaulting her but denies lighting the fire in the house that led to the death of her two daughters. steven hayes' younger accomplice is accused of sexually assaulting 11-year-old makayla and leaving her tied up to her bed before gasoline was poured over by the the girls and the fire was set. the other suspect is expected to go on trial next year. dr. william petit told jurors earlier during the trial about the beating that he received at the hands of his attackers. the jurors were told today during the judge's instructions that the first-degree assault charge on mr. petit was reduced to second degree. there is no word on why that happened, there continues to be a gag order in that case. that doesn't make a difference, the death penalty is still on the table and doesn't have anything to do with that charge. jurors are going to be given over 200 pieces of evidence, including the crime scene photos, chet owes of the burned out bed and the charred remains in the petit home. they say the flames were so hot and so high that they couldn't even get into the home to help those women, to help the mother and the daughters before it was too late. again the jury -- as soon as we see the evidence go into the jury deliberation room that's when deliberations will occur. we've got a producer inside to let us know the second they start deliberating. we'll bring that to you when it happens. jenna: so many of our viewers want to know the outcome of this case. lawyer angel he will thank you for keeping us updated. jon: more now on that warning that al-qaida-related groups could be planning terror attacks in several european cities. michelle is director of counselor affairs at the u.s. state department. it is your particular agency's job to keep americans safe when they are traveling overseas, correct. >> that's correct that is our highest responsibility. jon: what are you telling them. >> we are asking americans traveling abroad and in europe to be sreupbl vigilant and takey precautions. they include common-sense precautions. we encourage people to register with us online before they travel so in the end of an emergency we can reach them, then to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings. if you were in the united states and saw an unk-pd pack back or luggage you would report that to the police. there is no reason why you shouldn't do that in europe as well. jon: here is part of what your department sent out. it said u.s. citizens should take every precaution to be aware of their surroundings and adopt appropriate safety measures to protect themselves when traveling. are those the safety measures you just mentioned. >> yes they are. and there's others listed on the website. jon: you say people should register, you want them to basically send their itineraries to the state department if they are heading overseas? >> that's right. that is always a smart thing to do. we have online registration. it's simple, you can do it before you travel. in the event of a crisis or emergency a broad it facilitates our ability to reach out and inform people of what is going on and locate them if we need to. it helps us to locate families at home if they are trying to reach a loved one traveling a broad. very often something might happen a broad there might be a crisis and we receive calls from worried relatives in the united states who may not be able to get in touch with their loved ones. oftentimes because loved ones are not wear that something happened. they should call home and let their relatives that they are safe and town. jon: director of consular affairs for the state department. thank you. jenna: the taliban stepping up attacks on nato supply convoys in pakistan attacking supplies for our troops and setting them on fire. what is behind the attacks. and why the convoys are still vulnerable. that story just ahead. jon: it has happened again gunmen in pakistan hitting a key nato supply route to afghanistan. it's the second such attack today. two trucks burned, one of the drivers killed, this after a predawn assault on a convoy near islamabad. attacks come after pakistans shut down a key transportation route in response to three nato strikes that killed three pakistani soldiers. nato's secretary jenna poll skwraoeusing for those attacks today. >> i expressed my regrets for the incident last week in which pakistan soldiers lost their lives, and i express my condolences to the families. obviously this incident was unattended -- and you intended. obviously we have to make sure we improve coordination between our militaries and our pakistani partners. jon: let's talk about what is going on here with pretrialer brooks a former cia operative, he's now a senior fellow at the hers taj foundation. this seems like such a frustrating case, peter. pakistan supposed to be our ally in fighting the taliban and yet because they are in this snit over what happened to the three soldiers and yes that was tragic, now more people are dying because they are closing the border. >> you're absolutely right, the fact is if you stop the convoys and they become choke points they become easy shooting and targets for the taliban. it is the pakistani taliban that has taken credit for these attacks. you just make the supply lines more value in a rabl, not to mention what effect it on operations in afghanistan which is the intended destination of the supplies. a mad earn army has to have fuel to fight and prosecute the war in afghanistan. it is tripoli -- tripling troubling. jon: two guys on a motorcycle, ride by, throw toefps and blow up the trucks, that's easy to accomplish. >> absolutely. it's a great propaganda victory for them. nothing more exeyesing or provocative than an exploding gas tanker truck. this makes it look like they can operate with impunity in afghanistan. 80% of our nonlethal reply transit pakistan in afghanistan. right now the taliban is able to operate against these convoys just about without impunity. jon: we need the pakistanis to do that and we have paid them billions of dollars to modern nice their armed forces and equip them and this is the thanks we get? >> this is a very complex relationship as you know, jon. they say it's not retribution for what happened on the border. many of us believe it possibly is. it's in nobody's interest to have these things exploding in pakistan and not getting to afghanistan. they need to do the right thing not to wait a couple of days to open up the checkpoints. get it moving in afghanistan so we can deal with the challenges there and to keep people from getting killed in pakistan. it's in both our interests to get these moving again. jon: do you think they are playing both sides of the fence. >> it's been said before. this is very troubling. we need to see them act in a more upon manner and act as a friend and ally of the united states in prosecuting a threat to both of us. jon: it would seem that opening a border crossing won't be all that difficult. >> it isn't. unfortunately there is only a few of those, i believe there may be two or three major crossings from pakistan into afghanistan. we've looked at trying to bring supplies in from central asia but we can't had that success, and that happening. once again pakistan has the great advantage because they have major seaports that would allow large shipments to be moved in. once again they have to be trucked across pakistan. remember, there is the afghan taliban and the pakistan taliban and we are certainly in the crosshairs of both and the government of islamabad is under a great threat if the taliban is able to gain more mow men number in that country. jon: peter, thanks. jenna: the fbi issuing a warning to the public, two criminals on the lose armed and dangerous. a huge reward for their capture. the latest on that search just ahead. [ male announcer ] this is steven, a busy man. his day starts with his arthritis pain. that's breakfast with two pills. the morning is over, it's time for two more pills. the day marches on, back to more pills. and when he's finally home... but hang on; just two aleve can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is steven, who chose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. jenna: happening right now in florida, two suspects in the loose off a drug heist, the fbi announcing one arrest but warning the public to stay on guard, calling the others involved in this robbery armed and very dangerous. phil keating is live in miami watching this story. we hear there's a big reward in this case? tell us about the that. >> reporter: 100 grand awaits anybody who can help lead the fbi to the remaining two suspects in what they say was a 4-person gang robbery of an armoured truck driver. in custody, nathaniel moss, arrested shortly after the burglary, 37-year-oldterrence brown had been wanted all week long for questioning but the fbi says he's a person of interest but they have made contact with him so they feel comfortable they can go pick him up if they need to. the other two, they don't have information on him whatsoever, but the cops say they did make quite a few mistakes as they're trying to make their getaway. >> because of some mistakes made by the the perpetrators of this crime, it gave us an opportunity. >> and some of that evidence, of course, the fbi is not releasing but presumably, because there were two stolen cars that were recovered, it might include fingerprints. jenna: that's the question we all want answered, how much money did the guys get away with? >> the fbi says all money was recovered, however, in the surveillance video that was released and this is from a camera adjacent to the bank of america, you can see one of these suspects throw a bag or something in that bag into the back seat, then he runs around the front of the car to hop into the shotgun passenger seat before that car speeds away. however, the fbi says all of the money is recovered, but something clearly was thrown into that car. jenna: when we talk about bank robberies, it is seems like these crimes kind of come together, it seems like we've been hearing about quite a few of them in florida, specifically, southern florida. is that really the case? are we seeing a spike in some of these crimes? >> yeah, south florida is definitely one of the leading regions of the country, for this type of armed robbery. actually right now the fbi is responding to two regular traditional bank robberies right now in the miami area, but back in 2010, this year, this is the second time this has been attempted, eight the year before, nine the year before and 16 armoured truck heists back in 2007. some of them are inside jobs. the fbi is not indicating they believe this one was. jenna: interesting to watch. phil, thank you very much, phil keating live in florida, thank you. >> all right. jon: a day of firs -- firsts at the u.s. supreme court, the first day of the fall session begins today. also the first day for the newest justice, elena kagan. and for the first time ever, the highest court in the land will include three women, but analysts say kagan could be sidelined because of her previous work with the court. james rosen, live at the u.s. supreme court, he has more for us. why will justice kagan be less of a presence in her first term 1234. >> jon, good afternoon. justice kagan has agreed to withdraw or recruise herself from 25 of the 53 cases that the supreme court has already agreed to hear this term and we expect to see more cases added to the docket. during her confirmation hearings this past summer, kagan told the senate she would not participate inthy case in which she was, quote, substantially involved as u.s. solicitor general. in that position, to which she was nominated by president obama, it was kagan who decided which case the united states government would argue before the supreme court, thus, these recusals are aimed at disspelling any potential conflicts of interest. now, this means that many cases this term will be heard by only eight justices, leaving open the strong possibility that there will be ties in the rulings of 4-4. in such cases the opinion of the lower court is affirmed and no new precedent is set. we spoke with one former staff lawyer of the solicitor general's office to see how the justices themselves approached those situations. >> the court does not want to waste not only the party's time but their own time in doing everything just to have a 4-4 decision, but nothing in the law will have changed. so i do think those eight are going to try to get together and come up with decisions. >> justice kagan had to leave the bench quietly when the second case came before the justices this morning. i had the privilege of being in the courtroom at 10:00 eastern time sharp when the marshal said oyes and the justice kagan seemed very much at home, staring serenely ahead. jon: she can ease her way into the court work load, i guess. one of the cases on the supreme court docket that is getting all kinds of attention, schneider versus phelps. tell us about the that case. >> this is what lawyers call a spree speech -- free speech case, the father of a marine who died in iraq is suing members of a small church in kansas whose members actually protested at the fallen marine's funeral service. the protestors who consider homosexuality a sin carried signs with messages reading things like, quote unquote, god hates fags, even though lance corporal matthew schneider was not gay, the snyder family won an $11 million verdict in a lower court, that was struck down by the fourth circuit court of appeals, that court, moreover, ordered the schneider family to pay the legal fees of the west borough baptist church. the church by the way will be represented by an attorney who argues before the supreme court on wednesday, that attorney is the pastor's daughter in the case, and one final note, 21 news organizations on free speech grounds are siding with the west borough baptist church in that case, among those news organizations, npr and "the new york times". jon: james rosen at the supreme court, thank you james. >> reporter: thank you. jon: what do you stph-pbg earlier in the hour we asked if you think the west borough baptist church should be allowed to protest at soldiers' funerals. about 90 percent of you voted no in our unscientific poll. not everyone agreed. dr. bee said ironically the men at whose funerals the church are protesting are the ones who would die for their right to do it. you can go to foxnews.com/happening now site, get your vote in there. jenna: that's what some people say, it might be an interesting ruling of the court for areas like ground zero and what's happening with the mosque there, of whether freedom of speech is actually protected or different, depending upon whether he had a funeral or at sacred ground, where a terrorist attack happened, so an interesting ruling ahead potentially for the court here. we'll see what happens. as we heard from an earlier guest, it might be until june, until we actually hear. it takes a little time. to send or not to send? that's the question in leftover stimulus funds. we'll tell you what both sides want to do with your money and the push to legalize pot in california, gaining support from some powerful players. we're going to tell you who's backing the proposal now, just ahead. megyn: hey everybody i'm megyn kel yes, california governor candidate meg whitman says the made controversy is a political smear. the 345eud 00 the made's lawyer, gloria allred s. here to respond. >> a campaign ad for global warming shows children getting blown up. too far? we'll show what you we can of the ad. an attorney says his boss wanted him to go to a men's retreat where the guys get naked and guys touch each other, i object, said the lawyer, your pay is docked, allegedly. lawsuits? he filed one, and it's in today's kelly court. see you top of the hour. jenna: a huge pot of stimulus money, some $260 billion, was never spent, and now house republicans are pushing to send that money back to the treasury to help reduce our massive decifit. but the white house is fighting back, saying we need to keep the money flowing in this economy. peter barnes is reporting for the fox business network on this story. peter, work with some of the numbers here, they've always been in dispute when it comes to the stimulus. how much money is really left spent, is it $260 billion? >> that's what republicans claim, jenna, 260 billion of unspent stimulus funds out of the original $800 billion in change. they want to stop that spending, use it for decifit reduction, as you said, but the white house is pushing back hard on that number. now, it acknowledges $232 billion in unspent stimulus, but says it is all obligated, all contracted or committed, except for 18 billion of it. $126 billion of it alone for infrastructure and other project, the rest, for tax cuts, for help for the states, and over the next four weeks, jenna, we are going to hear the president strongly defending his plan, as he did this weekend, in his weekly address to the nation. take a listen: >> the republican leadership is promising to scrap all the incentives for clean energy projects. including those currently underway. even with all the jobs and potential that they hold. this doesn't make sense for our economy. it doesn't make sense for americans who are looking for jobs. >> reporter: and the president goes back on the road this week to talk to voters and expect more of this kind of defense from him, jenna. jenna: the president, point to go that potential, the potential peter. what do the polls have to say about how the americans feel about it? >> >> reporter: republicans are clearly paying to the polls on this issue. a fox news poll just last month showing that just 37 percent of voters think that the stimulus plan worked, 57 percent do not, but the white house says that if you look at other polls, if you drill down and you ask voters more specific questions about support for repairing bridges and roads, for example, that voter support is strong, jenna. jenna: peter barnes reporting from the fox business network, thanks peter. jon: there's new support for efforts to legalize marijuana in california. the state's two largest unions are back thank initiative, as governor schwarzenegger downgrades the penalty for pot possession. an ounce or less in california, going from a misdemeanor to an infraction. anita vogel is live in l.a. for us right now. anita. >> reporter: jon, it looks like proposition 19 is gaining some steam in california with most polls showing most voters support the idea of legalizing marijuana and now some very influential groups are getting behind the proposition. two of the biggest unions here in california, the seiu, service employees international union, and the uswc -- uscw, they tell us in particular they believe legalizing pot will go a long way towards raising important tax revenues and create good union jobs. >> obviously, we're interested in the potential for 60,000 to 70,000 sustainable, singer earner union jobs in california, good jobs, with higher than living wage wages, health benefits, pension. >> and that was dan rush from the uscw. not everybody believes, though, there will be tax dollars collected or jobs created. some heavy hitters are warning people of california that this initiative could be fraught with problems. nine former administrators of the drug enforcement agency are raising the issue with attorney general eric holder. they sent him a letter urging him to be prepared, and looking into having prop 19 overturned if it passes because they unable their view it would be a clear violation of federal law. listen: >> the problem is nobody is going to be paying taxes, because nobody is going to want to be admitting that they're committing a serious federal criminal violation in doing so. and i believe the proponents of prop 19, they either know that or they're smoking something. jenna: now, the -- >> reporter: now, the folks behind prop 19 say there's no requirement for the state of california to uphold federal law and they also believe the federal government doesn't have the resources to send people into california and prosecute folks who are buying and selling marijuana but a very interesting debate and we're watching it. back to you. jon: stay on it for us, anita vogel, live in l.a. jenna: the centerpiece of the health care overhaul plan for folks with preexisting conditions, apparently falling short of expectations. what you need to know now. plus a health warns for anyone with a laptop, why rest thank computer on your lap could cause permanent damage to your body that. story, just ahead. jon: providing insurance to people who have preexisting medical conditions, that is supposed to be a key feature of the health care overhaul but so far doesn't seem to be working out exactly as planned. let's check with the head of our medical a team, dr. manny alvarez, managing editor at foxnews.com. so the federal government stepped in and said the states have to provide this insurance to praoepl with preexisting conditions. in california, for instance, they expected, what, 20,000 people would sign up by now, they have, what, 450? >> if that. that's the same story in multiple states, texas, you name it. if you thought that health care was confusing before, it is far more confusing than ever before today. people with preexisting conditions right now don't realize that they have to pay for it. a lot of folks think that this is sort of a free program. no. the sticker price could be anywhere between 4-rbgs $500 a month. for a lot of folks, that's a lot of money. they also have to prove that they tried to get insurance the regular way for six months. that means you have to give paperwork, you have to have letter, provide that to the state agencies which for a lot of folks is very confusing. also, precipitation, this -- prescription, this plan doesn't come with free prescriptions. a lot of plans have the chronic use of medication, you're talking about sticker shock of $2500. so at then of the day people are not signing up because they're so confused about the program, they don't realize the cost, so really, nothing is happening and look, there's a big disconnect between the government, the insurance companies, in every state, and of course, the health care provider. so at end of the day, folks are not getting the help they need. >> and this is only a temporary program, it's supposed to be scrapped in 2014. >> that's right. and listen, it's going to be a mess. it is already a mess and i think a lot of people are just not going to get into these programs. they don't realize that also they're going to get published -- published at the end of the day. so let's see what happens. it's very confusion and problematic, especially for those with preexisting conditions. that's just terrible. jon: all right. we'll keep an eye on it. dr. manny alvarez, head of fox news health, doctor, thank you. jenna: dr. manny, stand by. i have another story, we got to ask you about this, researchers are warning people of a health risk linked to our laptop computer, medical reports are identifying a condition called toasted skin syndrome, caused by repeatedly resting your laptop on your lap, on your legs, the computer can cause an unusual looking skin opinion on the top of the thighs, it kind of toasts your skin, browns it a little bit. a young boy developed this condition because he was playing vedo games on his laptop for hours on end, day after day for several months. have you heard about that? >> i don't believe t i think that this is an interesting story, but i just don't believe it. it may make lawyers happy, by the way, but it's -- and it's not going -- it's not going to get covered by insurance companies, but the only thing we know for a fact is the heat of these laptops could interfere with reproductive chances, especially in men because of their high temperature. aoeult not going to get into the specifics but nonetheless a lot has to -- has to do with making babies but so far, the skin getting a little tan, toasted, 2346789ah, no. use common sense. you know, if it feels like it's burning you, get rid of the computer! jenna: thank you dr. manny. >> no copay for you p-tsdz. -- no copay for you! jon a cold murder case heats up after 14 years, why investigators are giving the jonbenet ramsay murder mostry a another look. detective, weighs in, just ahead. rushes relief for all-over achy colds. the official cold medicine of the u.s. ski team. alka-seltzer plus. mmmmmm. mmmmmm. wow! you have got to be kidding me. 80 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