i'm jon scott. lee. jon: i'm jon scott. the u.s. and others say this launch by north korea is a weapon's test in disguise. south korea reporting the rogue regime is digging a new underground tunnel in preparation for its third nuclear test. greg pal cat is trackin palkot is tracking all of this for us live in london. >> reporter: it looks like all sis tomorrow are go for the launch of that missile by north korea, maybe as early as thursday. north korea says it is a civilian, peaceful satellite launch. the u.s. and others are saying it could be a warm up for use of rockets like that and violates resolutions coming from the u.n. security council. north korean officials allowed the media a bit of a glimpse into the launch site where we saw the three-stage rocket. one expert we are speaking to says that the critical third stage of that rocket now looks like an improved iranian desraoeufd liquid fuel because sister. the last time north korea tried this and failed it was the third stage that failed. japan and south korea says if this stuff comes down in their territories they are going to shoot this rocket down, and just over the weekend north korea saying that would be an act of war. what makes the stakes so high in all of this of course as we know is the nuclear program of north korea experts say that north korea has maybe enough nuclear material for maybe six or eight nuclear bombs. they are not making any kind of secret of that. south korean officials this past weekend are saying they have new satellite photography that they are analyzing that indicates that there is preparation for another nuclear test in north korea in the very same area where twice north korea has tested the bombs before. now all this finally, jon, comes right before this weekend's festivities marking the 100th anniversary of the birth date of the north korean founder kim il sung. his grandson now in charge kim jong un. he is the son of the former leader as well kim jong-il. it could be that this young man might want to burnish his credentials. jenna: let's bring in mit security program faculty member jim walsh. nice to have you back with us. >> i need to tell you up front that i raised to the studio from my dentists chair. if i start to drool it's not because it's approaching lunchtime. jenna: fair warning. we pr-rb you rushin appreciate you rushing over. we always like talking to you. let's start broadly. this is the new week where there will be new talks with iran starting. north corey ace making mumurs of this satellite test. what are you making of all this. >> i think they are not related. the satellite test has been in the pipeline for a while. this is 1900th anniversary of the founder of north korea, kim il sung, the north koreans have been telling everyone who will listen this is going to be a year of strength and prosperity. that is the billing show that was scheduled here for a while. the iran stuff on and off, back and forth, we may not even get to those talks this web. there is a chance they might be postponed. i think it's more could h coincidence or anything else. jenna: let's drill a little bit more into north korea now that we have late bit of a global perspective on this all. some are suggesting as greg was reporting that this is a precursor to nuclear tests. you can see the strength there but what about the prosperity part? why would north korea be choosing to do this. >> not a lot of prosperity. you can make up for it by big shows of strength and national events. it's not a guarantee that they will have a nuclear test. we have seen a pattern in the test where we've had missile tests followed by nuclear tests. when the missile test happens then the international community will condemn it, they will push back and north korea will kneel compelled to respond to that and a nuclear test may be not surprising under those circumstances. jenna: then what happens? if there is a push back and forth, then what? >> then what is there ain't going to be any talks, there will be no six-party talks . everything gets pushed off into 2013 or later and i think that is bad news. why do i think it's bad news? it's because when the north koreans are talking and at the negotiating table they tend to be better behaved. and now we have a young leader, a 20-something-year-old who is trying to consolidate his position. it's going to take him time to do that, and thus the chance for miscalculation or accident. i think that means we into 2013 with more possibilities of things going wrong. so i think that is the consequences we don't have real negotiatings for at least a year. jenna: we can't forget that we have tens of thousands of u.s. troops in south korea japan and south korea have both said that this weapon/satellite waeufrt is drifts into their territory they are going to shoot it down. north korea says if they do that that will be an act of war. what is at stake here, jim? >> you put your finger on what i think is the most important thing. i don't see very much of this missile. we will watch it and have a lot more data this week as to whether it's any good or not. it doesn't have a modern guidance system and it's liquid fuel. it's a sitting duck. i'm not impressed by the missile, but i am impressed by the risk here. it could come down veer off into foreign testimony and maybe be shot down. then you have a young, inexperienced leader who is trying to consolidate his position with the military saying we have to respond, how is he going to respond to that? i am concerned about that. so i hope we can get through this next week without incident. jenna: we'll be watching closely. the dental work did not hold you back, jim, by the way. thank you for join us right out of the dentist chair. we always appreciate it. we'll talk to you soon. jon: jim walsh playing with pain. "happening now" a large brush fire threatens about two dozen homes in southern tphaoufrpblgt it hasouthern new jersey. rick leventhal is monitoring this? >> reporter: this could affect millions of people. low humidity, dry winds sparking red flag warrants in numerous north atlantic states including new jersey. it started after midnight, quickly spread across burlington county east of philadelphia. 600 acres have learned and at least a thousand acres of threatened. it is a rural area, only about 28 to 30 homes so far have been evacuated. at least 50 firefighters are on scene with all sorts of equipment, including bulldozers, helicopters and air tankers are above trying to control the flames. the winds expected to be strong all day, 20 to 30 miles per hour with gusts to 45. there was a similar fire 20 miles away in new jersey last week where 400 acres burned. residents being urged not to ignite anything outside, no campfires, no agricultural fires. a single spark could cause another fire. don't burn anything outside right now. it's very likely you could cause a massive fire. jon: this looks like one of those western fires not new jersey. >> reporter: it sure tkoefplts. jenna: a new twist, if you will on this desperate search for a missing california teen. sierra lamar's family trying to bring her back home safely. what surprises might be in store for mitt romney if he confronts president obama in the general election? we'll talk about those surprises and more coming up next. what the world wants to know and share is here. demand media expands on the big board. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. fohalf the calories plus vgie nutrition. could've had a v8. jenna: new information on a few crime stories we are following for you here on "happening now." a manhunt in bam requires underway for a convicted furnished derer. timothy richards is believed to have escaped from custody in greensboro yesterday morning. he's serving a life sentence for murder and he's been behind bars since 2000. we'll keep you updated on that. two men in oklahoma are now charged with murder, accused of terrorizing a tulsa community, killing three people in a shooting rampage there. cops say online pose inks indicate one of them may have been trying to avenge his father's death. the family of a missing california teenager is offering a $10,000 reward for her return. she disappeared in march while on her way to school. investigators believe she may have been kidnapped. jon: a new column out by fix news contributor michael barone, it caught our eye this morning. it says mitt romney will be the republican nominee. the article suggests romney has strengths for the general election that have been overlooked, they include strong ooh sport among affluent and suburban supporters especially those in the northeast. byron skwroerbg is a political correspondent with the washington examiner, also a fox news contributor. perhaps your tongue was slightly in cheek. you say the strongest asset mitt romney has is that he's not barack obama. what do you mean by that. >> any race is about that president's record and whether they want him to continue four more years in office. mitt romney's greatest advantage in the race is that he's not barack obama. the job ever the challenge eris to prove to the voters that he's a safe and better alternative than the president. voters may not like the president, they may have doubts about him, but they know him, they've seen him for four years. a challenger has to convince voters that it's okay to make a change. jon: barack obama the candidate in 2008 was fresh and young and exciting and possible tip. is he still that same candidate today? >> no, he just can't be after four years in office, he's had failures, he's had problems. the economy is still a major job. i think what michael barone was saying and i agree with it is that romney is actually doing better in some of the swing state areas than republicans have done in the last couple of years, and that could be good news for republicans. i should point out i just counted the polls that are included in the "real clear politics" average of polls, match ups between obama and romney, obama has led in 21 of the last 28. there have been two romney lead and two ties. a signature eupblg for obama at the moment. jon: it's party hard to overcome the power of the incumbency. as voters get to know little bit more about romney, as he solidifies the nomination and becomes the guy, does he stand a chance of picking up his numbers? >> that's entirely possible. because right now, even though romney is referred to as the presumptive nominee or the probable nominee, he's not really the nominee. thee election is not two guys. elections are one candidate against another candidate. voters may not like either one but they end up making a choice. i think it's entirely possible as romney becomes the nominee and as republicans who have problems with romney decide that they would rather have him be president than barack obama his numbers will in fact go up. jon: romney's challengers says he can't run against the president on the issue of "bama care because romney care was so much like it. he can argue, can you not that you can do those kinds of experiments on the state level without running afoul of the legislation. >> that's exactly what he's say. he would be helped a lot if the supreme court were to rule that all or part of obamacare is unconstitutional. romney's problem is the president is constantly going to be saying, thanks, mitt, it was a great idea we used your massachusetts healthcare as a model nor obamacare. and romney will be arguing it's a very specific solution for the state of massachusetts. he does not recommend it nationwide. he's going to have to fight that battle every day of the campaign. jon: dick morris has a column out today in which he says that if you look at the polls, among voters, you know, barack obama enjoys the lead right now, but if you look at likely voters mitt romney is actually doing better or at least tied with the president. is that something that viewers, you know, should be paying attention to? >> oh, absolutely. i mean you can do -- there are three different types of people in a poll, you can poll everybody, and you can poll people who are registered voters and you can poll people who have actually voted in the past who are likely to vote again. romney is in fact doing better and that's probably a more accurate picture of the general election to come. jon: but it's going to be a very negative campaign, we can assume, a lot of money about to be spent . byron york, thanks. >> thank you, jon. jenna: a scary start to easter morning for two people injured in a home invasion. the latest on the victims' conditions and the search for a suspect ahead. and the u.s. and afghanistan reaching an agreement on night raid, who is now in control, next. jenna: breaking news out of florida now. an update on an easter morning home invasion. patti ann brown is watching this from our news desk. >> reporter: it was at 5:00am easter morning where a home invasion robbery led to a woman's death. it happened in st. petersburg florida. a couple were both shot according to police. the woman died of multiple gunshot wound, including one to the head. the man was shot multiple times. he was able to flee the house and get help. he's in stable condition. no arrests have been made. detectives believe at least two people were involved. they have not released a description for a motive. they do say there is evidence the killings might be drug related. but a neighbor and friend says she doubts that, because mac because devoted to her two sons. >> it's not fair. they should have not had their mother taken away from them. her life revolved around them. she didn't do drugs, she was not that kind of person. >> reporter: her sons are ages 3 and 6, jenna. jenna: more as we get it. thank you. jon: the afghan government and the u.s. reaching a deal on night raids, an issue that threatened to derail a strategic partnership between the two nations for decades to come. the agreement gives afghanistan authority overnight time operations. world affairs contributor wadi natrou dominique d-natali is streaming live. >> reporter: this is a landmark agreement between the after tkpw-pbs and thafghans and the united states. foreigners were kicking down doors and detaining them and taking them away. afghans as of yesterday will take the lead in every single night raid and they will be the ones arresting afghan citizens. u.s. soldiers will no longer be searching houses, nor will they be detaining people unless they are required or requested to by the afghans. that also means that the u.s. will not also be able to immediately interrogate these people, the high value targets, the key militants killed or captured that have led to finding out things. it prevented like plots like future 9/11's happening as well. one big concern is now that the afghans are in control how much can the afghans be relied onto go after the same targets that the u.s. have here. a u.s. spokesman told me earlier today that the targets of the after gone and the u.s. will continue to be the same. take a listen. >> we don't have two target lists, that is the whole point. the operational group. which is the afghan group assigns each mission. it's not like we are posing targets and they are approving or vetoing. it's between afghan intelligent sources and coalition intelligent sources. >> reporter: it pretty much remains to be seen whether that will actually be true. here in a country like afghanistan where there are tribal alliances it's hard to see that every single target may not be in the afghan's interest and purely only in the u.s. interest. we'll have to see how this plays out. it removes the final hurdle for a long-term strategic relationship between the united states and afghanistan, and that will actually be hammered out before the nato summett summet taking place by the end of may in chicago. they hope to have an agreement with the afghans about what is exactly the u.s. prisonnence in terms of shoulders and capacity. jon: dominique d-natali thank you. jenna: business news coming up for you. one of the best known companies in the world falling on hard times like so many others, laying off tens of thousands of workers. i should say thousands of workers. we're going to add the total number and that story ahead for you about why they are choosing to do this now. hillary clinton lost a bruising primary season to president obama, now she is secretary of state and one of the most popular figures in the democratic party. she will be a no show at the democratic convention. why is that? and what role will the clintons play in the 2012 campaign? jenna: fox news alert breaking news out of minimum soto. a suburb of minneapolis where we are getting word of a shooting in a home where three people have been found shot and killed. this area of minneapolis is called brooklyn park. they say the suspected shooter is still on the loose. it is light on details. a technical college in the areas locked down as a precaution. as we learn more we will bring that to you. jon: fox news weather alert. several powerful thunderstorms targeting the southern plains capable of producing large, damaging hail. maria molina live in the extreme weather center for us. >> reporter: unfortunately wear looking at a round of severe weather possible, not just for today but also over the next several days. we have this storm system that is not moving a whole lot across parts of the southern plains, a stalled frontal boundary. waoepwe will see thunderstorms firing up along the boundary. the possibility that some of those could be producing some severe weather. you mentioned that large-type hail, damaging wind gusts and isolated tornadoes. we all remember that just last week we saw up to 16 confirmed tornadoes over northeastern pourings of texas, the large hail causing damage to airplanes in the dallas airport. this is another possibility as we head into later on today for severe weather across the region. we will see rain and thunderstorms that will be beneficial for parts of texas and also oklahoma. tomorrow we have another round of severe weather possible, once again across the oklahoma and texas pan handles. this time around dallas we are not thinking you will see severe weather from some of the thunderstorms. further off to the east we have a second area we'll be keeping an eye on, southwestern mississippi and louisiana. large hail damaging wind gusts and isolated tornadoes possible. not a whole lot of action going on right now. it does take some time for the showers and thunderstorms to get going. you get the sunshine later on in the afternoon, the temperatures warming up. the humidity will fire up some of those thunderstorms. we'll keep an eye on that area throughout the day and tonight. the pacific northwest and further down through parts of northern california we do have another storm system that right now isn't doing a whole lot, light showers, but we do expect the activity to pick up here in intensity especially across parts of california with heavier rain as we head into tomorrow. the northwest, a storm system producing showers. it is cold enough out here we are tullahoma lee seeing this falling down in the form of snow. the bigger impact out here is the wind. we're talking about wind gusts over 40 miles per hour possible that will be causing to delays, in big airport hubs, like laguardia, jfk. we have the ella skwraeuted fire danger, red flag warnings are in effect through parts of massachusetts all the way down into north carolina, so of course keeping an eye on this as well. jon: as rick leaf convenient tall just told us we have one burning out in new jersey right now. >> reporter: yeah the wind will help to spread those rapidly. hopefully things will be get under control quickly. jon: maria thanks. jenna: big news out of a big company today, sony planning to cut 6% of its global workforce, about 10,000 jobs. sources say these cut