Transcripts For FOXNEWSW Happening Now 20130301 : comparemel

so don't overpay for motorcycle insurance. geico, see how much you could save. bill: a press conference in france yesterday, secretary of state john kerry spoke briefly in french. pretty impressive. although i listened to the translation it seemed a little off. take a listen. [speaking french] >> where is the library? the library is that way. my wife is ketchup master. is there food in this hotel? the bathroom is in the library. >> the ketchup master. martha: oh, my god, i'm crying every time i listen to that. it's hilarious. bill: have a great weekend, everybody. however you say that in french, right? martha: yes,. [speaking french] jenna: right now brand-new stories and breaking. jon: just hours from now billions of dollars in federal spending cuts set to take effect. the latest from washington as lawmakers try to reach a last-minute deal with the president. also the woman who claims she killed her boyfriend in self-defense breaks down on the stand. what happened during cross-examination that brought jodi arias to tears? plus, have you heard about this dance craze called the harlem shake? it has caused troubles in schools around the nation, now it's at the center of an faa investigation. it's all "happening now." well, after weeks of dire warnings and little action $85 billion in cuts to federal spending about to kick in, plunging the country into uncharted waters. good morning, i'm jon scott. jenna: we are all in it together. jon: yes we are. jenna: at this point. i'm jenna leave. as you might already know the president is meeting with top congressional leadership this morning at the white house in a final, final effort to stave off what's been coming for more than a year, the sequester cuts which congress passed and the president signed into law in 2011 because they were supposed to be so painful that they would never happen. well, now the cuts begin to kick in by midnight tonight unless some type of 11th hour deal westbound reached. chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel is live in washington preparing for a long day ahead. mike, what sort of expectation should we have with this meeting? will they come up with a last-minute magical compromise. >> reporter: republicans have told me they think it's a photo op. mitch mcconnell said quote i'm happy to discuss other ideas to keep our commitment to reducing washington spending at today's minute. there will be no last-minute back room deal and absolutely no agreement to increase taxes. they suggest president obama oversold the impact of the spending reductions and they are hopeful it won't be as bad as advertised. >> both of the opinions are that the president shouldn't be stkaeurg th scaring the american people especially where it's unnecessary and we can find ways to cut in areas where ordinary people won't get hurt the way the president is threatening to hurt them. >> reporter: they are planning to massa bill to fund the government from the end of march through september. they are planning to include a bipartisan plan to handle the defense cuts more strategic. jenna: they think this might be a photo op with the president, they have plans for the weeks ahead and the budget proposal that needs to go into effect at the end of march. what do the democrats have to spwaeu all of this. >> reporter: they hope the meeting will be in information in terms of the president setting a new tone and new direction. >> what i hope the t-t will d president will do today is look the congressional leadership in the eye sane congress has got to stop the gimmicks, sequester, continuing resolution. it seems like congress is trying everything in the world to avoid making decisions and compromising. i hope the president gives that strong charge today. >> the meeting with the president, vice president biden and the top four congressional leaders started at 10:18. we'll see how long it goes. jenna: normally we talk to you on capitol hill. we are hearing that most lawmakers are gone. even if there was some sort of compromise is anything from congress around for the weekend? >> reporter: nope. they essentially left late kwrefpld the senate voted on two alternative plans, they didn't pass and with that we were told that was the end of votes for the week, so they are out of here. jenna: why don't we get to start our weekend on thursday night, right? jon: it would be night. jenna: mike, we'll stay in touch. for sure. jon: we plan on being here. jenna: we do, that is true. thanks for bringing me back to earth, right, jon? jon: they are all working so hard in capitol hill, that is our elected leaders. today the president, members of congress and federal agency heads have been warning us has finally arrived. when will we start noticing the belt-tightening going on in washington? joining us now susan frecchio correspondent for the washington examiner. i woke up this morning, the sun was still shining, i could still make it into work, the commute was absolutely fine. i thought it was doomsday if you listen to some of the talk coming out of washington. >> to understand what the sequester means have you to look at the numbers on the whole. we are talking about 44 billion in spending cuts this year, you know, between now and the end of the fiscal year about seven months. that amounts to about 1% total across the board spending for military and nonentitlement domestic spending, that is really just a tiny amount, for the domestic budget it's bringing things back to 2009 levels. think back to 20 at, were you waiting at the airport for three hours? were there few air trough controllers? we were rolling along pretty well fine back in 2009. for a defense that is a budget cut that brings us back a little further to 2007 levels, still the country remained secure, we were defending ourselves overseas, everything was going along just fine. if you look at the numbers that way it does make you wonder why the white house is saying that -- predicting doom and gloom at least they were this past week. it also makes you wonder why if the situation were that dire why is congress out of session right now? why is this the first day the president and congress leaders have actually gotten together to even discuss the matter? so, i mean overall it's about an 8% budget cut for domestic spending. they have until the end of the year to realize those cuts. it doesn't mean that as of today or as of tomorrow suddenly they are going to have to furlough people. it takes at least 30 to 60 days to furlough a federal employee. so we know we have some time. on the other hand, you know, federal workers are getting notices, the warn notices about losing jobs or part of their pay. that is not something to just brush off or take light leave. i think overall you have to look at this as a gradual thing at the very worst and very potentially something that was exaggerated, at least initially by the white house. jon: i don't want to make light of it for the federal workersess special lean the civilian side who do face the potential of furloughs or job cuts as a result of all this but it's not going to happen immediately. the way the president and some of his cabinet workers, cabinet leaders sold this. you would have thought that, you know, again, the end of the world was here as of today. >> well, this is a strategy that has worked in the past for the white house. they have successfully been able to get their way on some of these big budget battles by taking thing out on the campaign trail, getting the public to rally behind them n. this case first of all the republicans are really holding their ground on not wanting a tax increase to offset this sequester. so the more stubborn in their mind that they believe the republicans are getting i think the more dramatic the white house has gotten in trying to get folks to really believe that this is going to be a doomsday armageddon kind of thing. in that sense they felt they could use the leverage to get the republicans to sort of cave in at the last minute and agree to this new revenue which of course would be another tax increase. so far that is not working, and that's where things get interesting. this could backfire on the president. if there are long lines at the tsa how does he know the public is not going to think that the federal government and the white house is doing this on purpose? there is always that risk especially with a lot of the reporting, even the mainstream media is beginning to question whether the white house has exaggerated this or whether they have more flexibility than they say they do on how the cuts are enacted. now you have with this showdown at the white house right now or a photo op if you will, but it's the beginning of what will be a showdown over this thing and of course it's going to dragon i think throughout entire month of march. jon: *p. jon: we will be talking about it for a while. susan, thank you. >> thank you. jenna: new information about on the latest hybrid cars to hit the market. it turns out they may not be as fuel-efficient as we all think. the epa is launching an investigation into the vehicle's gas mileage estimates after outside research suggests that they could be wildly inaccurate. doug mcelway is live from our washington pwraour oh covers a lot of transportation issues for us. doug, what did they find. >> reporter: they tested two ford hybrid vehicles, the new ford krerbgs mex hybrid wagon and the ford fusion hybrid and used real world conditions, very different than what the epa does that. >> like every car we test after driving 2,000 break in miles we install a precision fuel meter. we test highway fuel economy driving at a steady 65 miles an hour as well as a rigorous city economy course. tim i can lee our overall field economy numbers come close to that of epa combined. usually within 2 miles per hour. the highway numbers easily beat that of the epa. >> reporter: that was not the case with these through cars. epa and ford claims that it delivers 47 miles per gallon. "consumer reports" found it to be 37 miles per gallon, a difference of 10 miles per gallon. the fusion delivered 57 miles per hour, and "consumer reports" found it to be 27 miles per hour. a difference of ten. early cmax eye pwreud prais research praises the vehicle. driving skiles and driving conditions and other factors can cause mileage to sra vary. consumer results have prompted retesting. they told "usa today" this is a very different type of hybrid and we need to understand it. jenna. jenna: we know with gas prices what they are every gallon matters. when we see the epa mileage stickers on the car of car windows when we're shopping for a car you just sort of automatically assume that they are correct. who is responsible for putting those together? is it the epa or the car manufacturer that said, this is what you're going to get per gallon? >> reporter: it's the manufacturess, they do their own testing in large mart butt epa spot checks about 15% of them on a machine that is not similar to real world conditions. this is important to remember, jenna, both the hybrid fusion and the cmax made by ford still do get extraordinarily good mileage, they beat out all of their competition, so they are doing better than the competition even though it's not what the epa and ford claim it to be. jenna: interesting "consumer reports." we'll continue to watch he it, thank you. jon: new concerns a charles manson follower convicted in two coldblooded murders could now be set free. we'll tell you why. plus, we are following a developing story in florida at this hour. a man swallowed while he was sleeping in his bed when a massive sinkhole opens up underneath the house. we are getting some new information from the scene coming up. >> it swallowed his whole bed, his dresser, everything in his room is gone. there ain't nothing in his room at all any more. [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. 100% vegetable juice, with three of your daily vegetable servings in every little bottle. jon: fox news alert we told you the democratic and republican leadership with the house and senate have been meeting with the president. here is the john boehner. >> would i hope that the senate would act. but let's make it clear that the president got his tax hikes on january 1st. this discussion about revenue, in my view, is over. it's about taking on the spending problem here in washington. i did layout t that the house is going to move a resolution next week to funneled the government until march 27th. i'm hopeful that we won't have to deal with the threat of a government shut down while we are dealing with the sequester at the same time. the house will act next week and i hope the senate will follow suit. thanks. jon: not a lot of information there. john boehner and mitch mcconnell have been meeting in the white house with the president, as well as their democratic counterparts from the house and senate. the first time this bunch has got even together in several months. of course they've been talking about the sequester and you just heard the speaker of the house says he does intend to bring forward legislation next week that will keep the government-funded throughout end of the month. but that doesn't necessarily mean that it will be approved by the senate and signed into law by the president. still all kind of wrangling ahead on capitol hill and at the white house over this nation's budget situation. now to crime stories we are keeping an eye on. the police arrest the prime suspect in a deadly shooting on the las vegas strip last week. ammar harris surrendered to police and fbi agents in los angeles. he is accused of a vehicle to vehicle shooting that ended in a fiery crash on the vegas strip and le left three people dead. california's governor is expected to decide whether former manson follower bruce davis will be released on parole after 40 years in prison. he was convicted with manson in the murder of a musician and stuntman. he was not involved in the tate la bianca murders. >> colton harris-moore, charged with break into an airport, stealing an airplane there and filing it to an island in 2010, "the barefoot bandit," the charges were not included in the original 2011 plea deal. jenna: breaking now near tampa, florida, a 36-year-old man is feared dead after a sinkhole suddenly opened up right under his bedroom swallowing him and part of his home. steve harrigan is live in florida with more on this. steve. >> reporter: there's still been no word or sign of jim bush, a 35-year-old man in brandon, florida, in the tampa area. it happened last night. his house still looks pretty normal from the house, from aerials as well but a 30-foot sinkhole opened up right in his bedroom, directly under his bed. his furniture, his bed and he disappeared. family members inside the house said it sounded like a car crash. now his brother ran to the hole, jumped in tried to save him almost perished in the process, he failed from trying to save his brother. here is what he had to say. >> we heard a loud crash, i ran in there, i heard somebody screaming and it was my brother screaming, and i ran in there and all i could see was this big hole, all i could see was the tops of his bed. i didn't see nothing else. so i jumped in the hole and tried digging him out and i couldn't get him. i thought i could hear him screaming for me and hollering for me to help him and i couldn't do nothing. >> reporter: police and rescue workers raced to the scene they put in listening devices and cameras, but no sign of any life. the ground there is so unstable they actually had to pull back, and neighbors in nearby houses had to be evacuated as well. sinkholes fairly common in central florida, they occur when limestone erodes underneath the ground but certainly an occasion like this when someone is suddenly swallowed up hole from his bedroom simply watching tv at night, very rare indeed. jenna: what a horrible story. we'll stay up on that, steve, thank you. jon: former nba star dennis rodman sitting court side at a basketball game in north korea with that country's leader un, saying he has a friend for life. what is that all about? a bridge too difficult to take apart piece by piece so they blew part of it up today. the big blast, next. >> five, four, three, two, one, i think we are close -- there it goes. dad, i'd put that down. ah. 4g, huh? verizon 4g lte. 700 megahertz spectrum, end-to-end, pure lte build. the most consistent speeds indoors or out. and, obviously, astonishing throughput. obviously... you know how fast our home wifi is? yeah. this is basically just asast. oh. and verizon's got more fast lte coverage than all other networks combined. it's better. yes. oh, why didn't you just say that? huh-- what is he doing? jon: this just in the work weekend w-g a bang in charleston, west virginia. now you see it, now you don't. >> there it goes. [sound of explosion] jon: crews blasted the saint albins bridge. the 79-year-old bridge was supposed to be dismantled piece by piece, that didn't workout. they decided to blow up what was left instead. good thing they did, it brings for cool video to bring you. much more fun than a cutting tore much. jenna: for the first time the united states its publicly committing itself to sending nonlethal aid to the syrian opposition fighting president bashar al-assad. what is nonlethal aid? it's coming in the form of food, medical supplies and $60 million. falling short of the weapons and equipment syrian rebels had requested to fight bashar al-assad who is of course blamed for firing missiles on his own people killing upwards of 07,000, maybe more. secretary of state john kerry says the aid will make an impression on president bashar al-assad that it's time for him to go. >> what we are doing today is part of a whole, and i am very confident that that whole is going to have the ability for president bashar al-assad to realize he better start measuring more effectively what his future is, what his choices are, and what kind of weapons he uses. jenna: ambassador john bolton is a form u.n. ambassador and a fox news contributor. secretary kerry says this is a significant stepping up assistance by the united states. what do you think about this change? >> well, it is an increase in assistance to the opposition, there is no doubt about it, but it's not guided by any strategy. i think the administration is responding to criticism that it's not doing enough, so it's taking effectively a half step. the fact is that as secretary kerry himself just said, they hope this is going to influence president bashar al-assad to step down. that's been their operating premise for two years. it was foolish two years ago, it's foolish today. bashar al-assad's only incentive toys fight to the end. i think this represents certainly an expansion of the aid but no real change in policy. jenna: we've been told that we haven't given aid in the past because we don't know who we are giving it to. who are we giving it to now? >> i still think that this is a fundamental failing for all those who want to aid the opposition. i just want to hear the names of the people, the leaders of the opposition that we can trust if we give them this aid or, particularly lethal aid, that if they prevail over bashar al-assad that they will not turn this assistance against the christians and the drews and t the allowites. and they will commit to turning over syria's chemical weapons for destruction. we've had two years in identify such people and i don't think with cold front den the administration can name such pe. jenna: it concerns that you there aren't publicly announced strings attached to the money and to the aid to whoever we are giving it to. >> well it's that, and also what happens to the aid once it gets into syria? can we be sure the people we are giving it to can control it, that it won't fall into the hands of terrorists? this has been mishandled so badly because of the view that russia shares the same interest we do in seeing bashar al-assad moved out of power. again, that was an assumption, wrong two years ago, it's wrong today. we have never taken account of the importance iran attaches to keeping the bashar al-assad regime in power because the obama administration wants to negotiate with iran over its nuclear weapons program, which we were just doing this week in fact, and they are worried about jeopardizing that negotiation because of sear kwrafpl the whole thing is connected and it's been very badly handled this entire time. jenna: one argument for not getting mired down in syria or another middle eastern country has been that we have other areas of the world that we have to pay attention to. one argument generally speaking, ambassador. i can't believe i'm actually going to talk to you about dennis rodman right now on a foreign policy issue. >> that makes two of us. that makes two of us. jenna: never thought the day would come. here it is. dennis rodman has been in north korea. he's visiting with the president there, he's shooting a basketball documentary and he's saying ou great kim jong un is. this is the same week where north korea is coming out again and talking about how hostile and horrible we are as a country. it's not just dennis rodman. eric schmidt the head of google was recently in north korea. what is going on here? >> the north corina villaraigosa reanswer are expert at using people like rodman, like the harlem globetrotters, like schmidt, the philharmonic to give the regime legitimacy. this has no effect on the starving people of north korea, it only benefits theee hraoerbgts it's an embarrassment a tragedy that people allow themselves to be played for tphaols by the regime. srad today mere lennon had a name for the people in the west that the communists would use to their srarpbgs lennon called them useful idis, and i think the name is accurate. jenna: ambassador we had an historic moment. this is the first maybe of many, i don't think so about dennis rodman's foreign policy. interesting all the same because the pieces do matter. >> i'd be happy to talk to him and try to convince him this was a big mistake on that part. jenna: let us know if you get that conversation. we'd like to be there, maybe we could get it televised. thank you as always. jon: we have just got even word that the president intend to step up to the microphone and make some kind of a statement there in the brady briefing room at the white house, scheduled for seven minutes from now. he has just been meeting with john boehner and some of the other members of the congressional delegation all about the sequester and this nation's fiscal problems. no indication he'll actually take questions from the white house press corp, he general dedoesn't like to do that but he will make a statement, we'll have it for you live. also jodi arias breaks down on the stand as she testifies for a 13th day in her own murder trial. but will her tears sway the jurors? a forensic psychiatrist weighs in. >> and you're the one that did this. right? >> yes. >> and you're the same individual that lied about all this. right? >> yes. >> so then take a look at it. jenna: welcome back, everyone. we've been closely following the murder trial of jody arias, the woman claiming she stabbed and shot to death her boyfriend it self-defense. we've seen an interesting evolution if you will of her demeanor during this week, durings cross-examination. here she is on the stand on monday the first day prosecutors started questioning her. >> tell us the truth, was it that you were there to help i am, was it? >> no, that was not the truth. >> and in fact you were there for a different purpose. you were there so he wouldn't get the truth, right? >> no. i was there against my will. >> you were there against your will. you didn't have to talk to him, did you? >> in hindsight -- yes or no did you have to talk so him. i'm not asking about hindsight. isn't it true you could have chose own to not to talk to him, right? >> i could have i think. >> you keep saying i think. >> at the time -- >> ma'am, you keep saying i think. jenna: yesterday after another day of grueling cross-examination by the lead prosecutor juan martinez, jody arias broke down. >> were you crying when you were shooting him? >> i don't remember. >> were you crying when you were stabbing him? >> i don't remember. >> how about when you cut his throat, were you crying then? >> i don't know. >> so take a look then. and you're the one that did this, right? >> yes. >> and you're the same individual that lied about all this, right? >> yes. >> so then take a look at it. jenna: he is asking her to take a look at the picture, the picture of the dead body of her boyfriend. dr. daniel bober is a forensic psychiatrist and he joins you now. what is your take? after seeing a couple snippets, you've been following this case, what is your professional opinion what is happening on the stand? >> jenna, from the beginning there has an about so many lies and so many inconsistencies in her story, at this point she is just trying to present her version of the events in the most positive light. i think when confronted with the facts the reason she doesn't look at the prosecutor because she is guilty and she knows she basically has been caught. jenna: how do you know someone is a pathological liar? >> well it is difficult to tell. you know there are certain signs. for example the amount of time someone takes to answer the question. the amount, there is even things like the amount of times that they blink, if they look away from you, when they're answering the question. these are all subtle behavioral cues that could be used to determine if someone is lying. obviously not infallably but they are signs. jenna: we're all watching this from outside the courtroom. we'll keep that in our mind. we're viewers of this court case and it is a very real case what will happen to jody arias, whether or not she will be put to death or not. you've been called in before as an expert on the case. you can be called in on the side of the defense or the prosecution. if you were called in on the side of the defense arguing to save her from the death penalty. what would you point out as a professional here? >> there are some very interesting subtle things going on here. we've seen things like this in the casey anthony trial. we've seen things like this with lindsey lohan. the fact she has been on the stand some days causes the jury to form a bond even if it is not on a conscious level. you notice she wears eyeglasses. in the pictures, she also has blond hair. the defense is trying to portray as girl next door look, opposed to blond haired vix enthat murdered her boy friend. things are being done so that it would make it difficult for the jury to pun anybody her. >> one person feels a connection to her because she has been on the stand so long, that is part of the defense's strategy to keep her from the death penalty. >> ultimately. to spare her life. jenna: talk about the prosecution. we've seen the prosecutor. very aggressive in his line of questioning. we've seen jodi arias break down. if you were advising the prosecution pointing out something to that side, what would you highlight for them? >> i think overall the prosecutor, martinez, i believe has been very confrontational and sort of in your face. i don't know that is really the best approach again i think he risks alienating the jury. i think he is better off taking a softer tone in some of this questioning. jenna: what role do you think a professional psychiatrist can have in this case? we wonder what's going it be happening next when she leaves the stand. what do you think is left to be presented to the jury to get a complete picture of the story here? >> well certainly a psychiatrist can play many roles. he can talk about what her state of mind was at the time. crime. he can aid in tips to sway the jury one way are the other in a consulting role but most often psychiatrists in these types of cases are looking at what the state of mind was of the person was when they allegedly committed the crime. jenna: she says she is in that fog, doctor. she actually doesn't talk a lot about her state of mind because she says she doesn't really remember. she doesn't even know if she was crying. how do you offer any input when someone says something like that which is, i don't remember and i was in a fog? >> well certainly people can have lapses in their memory during these types of events but it seems her lapses in memory are advantageous to her. she doesn't remember the key facts especially when she says she tried to kill her victim but she seems to remember things like, you know, leaving a message on his voice mail, dumping the gun in the desert. trying to dispose of her clothes. so i find a number of attempts on her part to try it conceal the crime and it seems like she only doesn't remember when it would make her look like she is responsible. jenna: that is interesting of we had a defense attorney inside the courtroom offering his expertise on this case. he said, well made sense to him. he had a whiteout before. that is what he called it. i don't know if that is the right term. stand by for a second, doc. we have the president of the united states. he just came out of a meeting with congressional leaders. >> in the way forward in light of the severe budget cuts that start to take effect today. i told them these cuts will hurt our economy. they will cost us jobs and to set it right both sides need to be willing to compromise. the good news is the american people are strong in their resilient. they fought hard it recover from the worst economic crisis since the great depression and we will get through this as well. even when these cuts in place folks all across this country will work hard to make sure that we keep the recovery going but washington sure isn't making it easy. at a time when our businesses have finally begun to get some traction, hiring new workers, bringing jobs back to america, we shouldn't be making a series of dumb, arbitrary cuts to things that businesses depend on and workers depend on like education, and research and infrastructure and defense. it's unnecessary and at a time when too many americans are still looking for work it is enexcusable. now, what's important to understand is that not everyone will feel the pain of these cuts right away. the pain though will be real, beginning this week, many middle class families will have their lives disrupted in significant ways. businesses that work with the military, like the virginia ship builder that i visited on tuesday, may have to lay folks off. communities near military bases will take a serious blow. hundreds of thousands of americans who served their country, border patrol agents, fbi agents, civilians who work at the pentagon, all will suffer significant pay cuts and furloughs. all of this will cause a ripple effect throughout our economy. layoffs and pay cuts means that people have less money in their pockets and that ends moose they have less money to spend at local businesses. that means lower profits, that means fewer hires. the longer these cuts remain in place the greater the damage to our economy. a slow grind that will intensify with each passing day. economists are estimating as a consequence of this sequester that we could see growth cut by over one half of one percent. it will cost about 750,000 jobs at a time when we should be growing jobs more quickly. so every time that we get a piece of economic news over the next month, next two months, next six months, as long as the sequester is in place we'll know that economic news could have been better if congress had not failed to act. and let's be clear. none of this is necessary. it's happening because a choice that republicans in congress have made. they have allowed these cuts to happen because they refused to budge on closing a single wasteful loophole to help reduce the deficit. as recently as yesterday they decided to protect special interest tax breaks for the well-off and the well-connected, and they think that is apparently more important than protecting our military or middle class families from the pain of these cuts. i do believe that we can and must replace these cuts with a more balanced approach that asks something from everybody. smart spending cuts, entitlement reform, tax reform that makes the tax code more fair for families and businesses without raising tax rates. also that we can responsibly lower the deficit without laying off workers or forcing parents to scramble for child care or slashing financial aid for college students. i don't think that is too much to ask. i don't think that is partisan. it is the kind of approach i proposed for two years. it is what i ran on last year. the majority of the american people agree with me and this approach. including by the way a majority of republicans. we just need republicans in congress to catch up with their own party and their country on this. and if they did so we could make a lot of progress. i do know that there are republicans in congress who privately at least say that they would rather close tax loopholes than let these cuts go through. i know there are democrats who would rather do smart entitlement reform than let these cuts go through. so there is a caucus of common sense up on capitol hill. it just, it is a silent group right now and we want to make sure that their voices start getting heard. in the coming days and coming weeks i will keep on reaching out to them, both individually and as groups of senators or members about of the house and say to them, let's fix this. not just for a month or two, but for years to come. because the greatest nation on earth does not conduct its business in month to month increements or by careening from crisis to crisis. america has got a lot more work to do. in the meantime, we can't let political gridlock around the budget stand in the way of other areas where we can make progress. i was pleased to see that the house passed the violence against women act yesterday. that is a big win for not just women but for families and for the american people. it's a law that will save lives and help more americans live free from fear. it is something that we've been pushing on for a long time. i was glad to see that done. it is an example of how we can still get some important bipartisan legislation through this congress, even though there is it i will fiscal arguments taking place, there are other areas making progress with the sequester unresolved. i will keep pushing for initiatives. i will keep pushing for high quality preschool for every family that wants it. i will push it to make sure that we raise the minimum wage so it is one that families can live on. i will keep pushing for immigration reform and reform our voting system and improvements on our transportation sector and i'm going to keep pushing for sensible gun reforms because i still think they deserve a vote. this is the agenda that the american people voted for. these are america's priorities. they're too important to about unaddressed and i'm going to keep pushing to make sure that we see them through. so with that i will take some questions. i will start with julie. >> mr. president, how much responsibility do you feel like you bear for these cuts taking effect? and is only way to offset them at this point for republicans to bend on revenue or do you see any alternative? >> look, we've already cut $2.5 trillion in our deficit. everybody says we need to cut $4 trillion. which means we have to come up with another trillion 1/2. the vast majority of economists agree that the problem, comes to deficits, discretionary spending. not that we're spending too much money on education. not that we're spending on job training or that we're spending too much money rebuilding our roads and our bridges. we're not. the problem that we have is a long-term problem in terms of our health care costs. and, programs like medicare. and what i've said, very specifically, very detailed, is that i'm prepared to take on the problem where it exists, on entitlements, and do many so things that my open party really doesn't like. if it is part of a broader package of part of sensible deficit reduction. so the deal that i have put forward over the last two years, the deal that i put forward as recently as december is still on the table. i am prepared to did hard things and to push my democrat, democratic friend to do hard things, but what i can't do is ask middle class families, ask seniors, ask students, to bear the entire burden of deficit reduction when we know we've got a bunch of tax loopholes are benefiting the well off and well-connected, aren't contributing to growth, aren't contributing to our economy. it is not fair. not right. the american people don't think it is fair and don't think it is right. so, you know, i recognize that speaker boehner has got challenges in his caucus. i recognize that it's very hard for republican leaders to be perceived as making concessions to me. you know, sometimes i reflect, is there something else i could do to make these guys, i'm not talking about the leaders now, but maybe some of the house republican caucus members not, not paint horns on my head. and i, and i genuinely believe there's anp student for us to cooperate, but, what doesn't make sense and the only thing we've seen from republicans so far in terms of proposals is, to replace this set of ash temporary cuts with even worse arbitrary cuts. that's not going to help the economy. that is not going to help growth. that is not going to create jobs. and as, a number of economists have noted, ironically it doesn't even reduce our deficit in the smartest way possible for -- or the fastest way possible. in terms of going forward, my hope is that that after some reflex, as members of congress start hearing from constituents who are being negatively impacted, as we start seeing the impact that the sequester is having, that they step back and say, all right, is there a way for us to move forward on a package of entitlement reforms, tax reform, not raising tax rates, identifying programs that don't work, coming up with a plan that's comprehensive and that makes sense? and it may take a couple weeks. it may take a couple of months but i'm going to keep on pushing on it and my view is, is that ultimately common sense prevails but what is true right now is that, you know, the republicans have made a choice that, maintaining ironclad we will not accept an extra dime's worth of revenue makes it very difficult for us to get any larger comprehensive deal. that's a choice they're making. they're saying that it's more important to preserve these tax leap holes than it is to prevent these arbitrary cuts and, what's interesting is speaker boehner just, a couple months ago, identified these tax loopholes and tax breaks and said, we should close them and raise revenue. so it is not as if it is not possible to do. they themselves have suggested that it's possible to do, and if they believe that in fact these tax look holes and these tax breaks for the well-off and the well-connected are not contributing to growth, aren't good for our economy, aren't particularly fair and can raise revenue, why don't we get started? why don't we do that? it may be that because of the politics within the republican party they can't do it right now. i understand that. my hope is that they can do later and, i just want to repeat, julie, i think it is very important to understand, it is not as if democrats aren't being asked to do anything either to compromise. i mean there members of my party who violently disagree with the notion that we should do anything on medicare. and i'm willing to say to them, i disagree with you, because i want to preserve medicare for the long haul, and we're going to have some tough politics within my party to get this done. this is not a situation where i'm only asking for con eggs is from republicans and asking nothing from democrats. i'm saying that everybody is going to have to do something and the one key to this whole thing is trying to make sure we keep in mind who we're here for. we are not here for ourselves. we're not here for our parties. we're not here to advance our electoral prospects. we're here for american families who have been getting battered pretty good over the last four years. are just starting to see the economy improve, businesses are just starting to see some confidence coming back. and you know, this is not a win for anybody. this is a loss for the american people. and, again, if we step back and just remind ourselves what it is we're supposed to be doing here, hopefully common sense will allow in the end. >> sounding like it is a republican problem and not one you bear a responsibility for? >> julie, give my example what i might do. >> [inaudible]. >> i'm trying to clarify the question. what i'm suggesting is i put forward a plan that calls for serious spending cuts, serious entitlement reforms, goes right at the problem that is at the heart of our long-term deficit problem. i've offered negotiations around that kind of balanced approach, and so far we've gotten rebuffed because what speaker boehner and the republicans have said is, we can not do any revenue. we can't do a dime's worth of revenue. so, what more do you think i should do? okay. i just want to clarify. because if people have suggestion i'm happy to, this is room full of smart, this is a room full of smart folks. zack? >> mr. president, the next focal point seems to be the continuing resolution that is coming up at the end month, expires at the end of the month. would you expire the cr continues the sequester and continues to fund the government? a related point, how do you truly reach the limits of your persuasive power? is there any leverage to convince republicans that this isn't the way to go? >> i would like to think i've still got some persuasive power left. let me check. no, look, the issue is not my persuasive power. the american people agree with my approach. they agree we should have a balanced approach to deficit reduction. but, the question is, can the american people help persuade their members of congress to do the right thing. and you know, i have a lot of confidence that over time, if the american people express their displeasure about how something is working that eventually congress responds. sometimes there's a little gap between what the american people think and what congress thinks, but eventually congress catches up. with respect to the budget and keeping the government open, try, for our viewing audience to make sure that they, we're not talking in washington gobbledygook, what is called the continuing resolution which is essentially just an extension of last year's budget into this year's budget, to make sure that basic government functions continue, i think it's the right thing to do to make sure we don't have a government shutdown and that is preventable. we have a budget control act, right? we agreed to a certain amount of money that was going to be spent each year, and certain funding levels for our military, our education system and so forth. if we stick to that deal, then i will be supportive of us sticking to that deal. that is a deal i made. the sequester, are additional cuts on top of that and by law, until congress takes the sequester away, we would have to abide by those additional cuts but there is no reason why we should have another crisis by shutting the government down in addition to these arbitrary spending cuts. >> just make it clear. you would sign a budget that continues to fund the government even at lower levels of sequester even if you don't prefer to do that? >> i never want to make myself 100% clear with you guys, i think it is fair to say that i made a deal for a certain budget, certain numbers. there's no reason why that deal needs to be reopened. it was a deal that speaker boehner made as well, and all the leadership made. if the, the bill that arrives on my desk is reflective of the commitments we previously made, then obviously i would sign it because i want to make sure we keep on doing what we need to do for the american people. jessica. >> mr. president, to your question, what could you do, first of all, couldn't you just have them down here and refuse to let them leave the room until you have a deal? >> you know the, i mean, jessica, i, i am not a dictator. i'm the president. is so ultimately if mitch mcconnell or john boehner say, we need to go to catch a plane, i can't have secret service block the doorway right? >> i'm sorry -- >> i understand. and i, and i know that this has been some of the conventional wisdom that has been floating around washington that somehow even though most people agree that i'm being reasonable, that most people agree i'm presenting a fair deal, the fact that they don't take it means that i should some how, you know, do a jedi mind meld with these folks and convince them to do what's right. well, they're elected. we have a constitution that system of government. the speaker of the house and the leader of the senate and all those folks have responsibilitis. what i can do is i can make the best possible case for why we need to do the right thing. i can speak to the american people about the consequences of, the decisions this congress is making or the lack of decisions-making by congress. but, ultimately, it's a choice they make, and the, this idea that somehow there's a secret formula or secret sauce to get speaker boehner or mitch mcconnell to say, you know what, mr. president? you're right, we should close some tax loopholes for the well off and well-connected in exchange for some serious entitlement reform and spending cuts in programs we don't need. you know, i think if there was a secret way to do that, i would have tried it. i would have done it. what i can do is i can make the best possible argument and i can offer concessions, and i can offer compromise. i can negotiate. i can make sure that my party is willing to compromise and is not being idealogical or thinking about these just in terms of political terms. and you think i have done that and i will continue to do that but what i can't do is force congress to do the right thing. the american people may have the capacity to do that, and, in the absence of a decision on the part of the speaker of the house and others, to put middle class families ahead of whatever political impairtives he might have right now, we're going to have these cuts in place. but again, i'm hopeful about human nature. i think that over time people do the right thing. and i will keep on reaching out and seeing if that there are other formulas or ways to jigger this thing in place so we get a better result. >> what do you think of the people, like mayor bloomberg, who is no critic of yours in general, who endorsed you, who argue there is posturing in these claims there will be big layoffs and a lot of people out of work and think the effects of spending cuts are being overstated by the administration? >> well, jessica, look, i'll just give you an example. the department of defense right now has to figure out how the children of military families are going to continue with their schooling over the next several months because teachers at these army bases are typically civilians. they are therefore subject to furlough. which means they may not be able to teach one day a week. now, i expect that we'll be able to manage around it but, if i'm a, if i'm a man or woman in uniform in afghanistan right now, the notion that my spouse back home is having to worry about whether or not our kids are getting the best education possible, the notion that my school for my children on an army base might be disrupted because congress didn't act, that is an impact. mayor bloomberg and others may not feel that impact. i suspect they won't but that family will. you know, the, border patrol agents who are out there in the hot sun doing what congress said they're supposed to be doing, finding out suddenly they're getting a 10% pay cut, and having to go home and explain that to their families, i don't think they feel like this is an exaggerated impact. so, yeah, i guess it depends where you sit. now what is absolutely true is not everybody is going to feel it. not everybody is going to feel it all at once. what is true is is that the accumulation of those stories all athis country, folks who suddenly, you know, might have been working all their lives to get an education, just so they can get that job and get out of welfare and they have got their kid in head start and now suddenly that head start slot is gone and they're trying to figure out how am i going to keep my job because i can't afford child care for my kid, you know, the, some of the suppliers for those ship builders down in virginia where you've got some suppliers who are small businesses. this is all they do. they may shut down the companies and their employees are going to be laid off. the accumulation of all those stories of impact is going to make our economy weaker. it is going to mean less growth. it is going to mean hundreds of thousands of jobs lost. that is real. that's not, we're not making that up. that is not a scare tactic. that's a fact. starting tomorrow, everybody here, all the folks who are cleaning the floors, at the capitol, now that congress has left, somebody will be vacuuming and cleaning those floors and throwing out the garbage, they will have less pay. the janitors, the security guards. they just got a pay cut. and they have got to figure out how to manage that. that's real. so, so, i want to be very clear here. it is absolutely true that this is not going to precipitate the kind of crisis we talked about with america defaulting and some of the problems around the debt ceiling. i don't anticipate a huge financial crisis but people are going to be hurt. the economy will not grow as quickly as it would have. unemployment will not go down as quickly as it would have. and there are lives behind that. and that's real and it's not necessary. that's the problem. >> sir, mr. president, mr. president. >> christie parsons. >> thank you. hey, christie. >> mr. president your administration weighed in yesterday on the proposition 8 case a few months ago. look like you might be averse to doing that. talk a little bit about the deliberations and thinking on that. were there conversations important to you. were there things that you read that influenced your thinking? >> as everybody here knows, last year upon a long period of reflection i concluded that we can not discriminate against same-sex couples when it comes to marriage. that the basic principle that america is founded on, the idea that we're all created equal, applies to everybody. regardless of sexual orientation as well as race or gender, or religion or ethnicity. and, you know, i think that the same evolution that i've gone through is an evolution that the country as a whole has gone through. i think it is a profoundly positive thing. so that when this supreme court essentially called the question by taking this case about california's law, i didn't feel like that was something that this administration could avoid. i felt it was important for us to articulate what i believe, and what this administration stands for. however i do think that we're seeing on a state by state basis progress being made. more and more states recognizing same-sex couples and giving them the opportunity to marry and maintain all the benefits of marriage that head throw sexual couples do. when the supreme court asks, do you think that the california law which doesn't provide any rationale for discriminating against same-sex couples other than just the notion, well, they're same-sex couples, if the supreme court asks me or my attorney general or a solicitor general, do we think that meets constitutional muster, i felt it was important for us to answer that question honestly. and the answer is no. >> and given the fact that you do hold that position about gay marriage, i wondered if you thought about just, once you made to decision to weigh in, why not just argue that marriage is a right that should be available to all people of this country? >> well, that's an argument i made personally. the solicitor general in his institutional role going before the supreme court is obliged to answer the specific question before them and the specific question presented before the court right now is whether prop 8 and the california law is unconstitutional. what we've done we put forward a basic principle which is, which ap to all equal protection cases. whenever a particular group is being discriminated against the court asks the question, what's the rationale for this and it better be a good reason? if you don't have a good reason we'll strike it down. what we've said is is that same-sex couples are a group, a class, that deserves heightened scrutiny, that the supreme court needs to ask the state why it is doing it. if the state doesn't have a good reason it should be struck down. that is the core principle as applied to this case. now what the, you know, the court may decide that if it didn't apply in this case it probably can't apply in any case. there is no good reason for it. if i were on the court, that would probably be the view that i would put forward but, i'm not a judge. i'm the president. so the basic principle though is, let's treat everybody fairly. let's treat everybody equally and i think that the brief that's been presented accurately reflects our views. >> mr. president? >> harry shapiro. >> thank you, mr. president. you said a few minutes ago and said repeatedly the country has to stop careening from crisis to crisis. with a few more crises behind us and a few more crises ahead of us as particular debate of the sequester, how do you as leader of country plan to stop the country from careening to crisis to crisis? >> well, a couple of things. number one is to make sure we keep making progress wherever we can on things that are important to middle class americans and those are fighting to get into the middle class. so, if you set aside budget fights for a second, we've been able to get now the violence against women's act done. the conversations that are taking place on a bipartisan basis around immigration reform, are moving forward. we've seen great interests in a bipartisan fashion around how we can continue to improve our education system, including around early childhood education. there have been constructive discussions around how do we reduce gun violence, and, you know, what i'm going to keep on trying to do is to make sure that we push on those things that are important to families and, you know, we won't get everything done all at once but we can get a lot done. so that is point number one. with respect to the budget, what i've done is to make a case to the american people that we have to make sure that we have a balanced approach to deficit reduction, but, that deficit reduction alone is not an economic policy. and part of the challenge that we've had here is that, not only congress but i think washington generally spends all its time talking about deficits and doesn't spend a lot of time talking about how to we create jobs. so i want to make sure that we're talking about both. i think that, for example, we could put a lot of people back to work right now rebuilding our roads and bridges. this is defered maintenance. we know we'll have to do it. i went to a bridge that connects mitch mcconnell's state to john boehner's state and it was a rotten bridge and everybody knows it. and i bet they really want to see that improved. well, how do we do it? let's have a conversation about it. that will create jobs. it will be good for businesses. reduce commuter times. improve commuter safety. that has to be part of this conversation, not just this constant argument about cutting and spending. so so i guess my point is, that, what i want to try to do is make sure that we're constantly focused, that our true north is on how are we helping american families succeed. deficit reduction is part of that agenda and an important part but it is not the only part and i don't want to be paralyzed on everything because we disagree on this one thing. and as i already said to jessica what i'm also hoping is that over time perhaps after republicans step back and, maybe they can say, you know what? we stuck tough on the sequester. this makes us feel good and republican caucus is in a better mood when they come back. maybe then we can have a more serious discussion about what the real problems on deficit and deficit reduction are and. you know the good thing about america is that, sometimes we get to these bottlenecks and we get stuck and, you have those these sharp partisan fights but the american people are pretty common sense and practical and eventually that common sense, practical approach wins out. and i think that's what will happen here as well. and in the meantime, just, to make the final point about the sequester, we will get through this. this is not going to be a, apocalypse i think as some people have said. it is just dumb and it is going to hurt. going to hurt individual people and going to hurt the economy overall. but, if congress comes to its senses, a week from now, a month from now, three months from now, then there's a lot of open running room there for us to grow our economy much more quickly and, advance the agenda of the american people dramatically. and so, you know, this is a, this is a temporary stop on what i believe is the long-term, outstanding prospect for american growth and and greatness. all right? thank you very much. >> mr. president? [all talking at once] jon: president obama in a last minute appearance in the brady briefing room in front of the white house press corps. he doesn't particularly like to speak to the white house press corps but he does so when he has a bigger point he wants to get across. and he did so today, talking a little bit about the meeting he had with mitch mcconnell, john boehner and republican, i'm sorry and democratic leaders of congress as well in the white house talking about the sequester that kicks in later today. paul gigot, editorial page editor of "the wall street journal." you and i were sitting here watching this together. i saw you shaking your head sometimes at some presidential prevarication. >> what this points down to the president is trying to use the damage he says will take place under the sequester, automatic cuts, essentially to extract a tax increase from republicans. they don't want to give him more revenue, two months ago we passed the biggest tax increase in 20 years. so they don't want to do that. that's why the president who i think has flexibility under this law, to actually ease the harm that is done under the cuts, doesn't want to do that. he wants to lay out a parade of horribles and put pressure on the republicans. jon: he said that the republicans have offered to replace this set of arbitrary cuts with a set of worse arbitrary cuts. >> well, they want to ease some of the cuts on defense in particular, the republicans do. they have offered to give him more flexibility and, if he would take that and take the revenue off the table and negotiate just over alternative spending, i think they could get a deal relatively rapidly. it is the revenue portion of this, the tax increase, that is the big stumbling block. jon: i wonder if he was reading peggy noonan's column in your paper today, said his effort or strategy seems to scare people as much as possible, let the media take care of the rest. >> i think hard to disagree with that strategy after this point after this last week. you have seen it in terms of they brought out every single cabinet member to say this is the horrible thing i have it impose. this is the damaging thing that is going to happen. the president today was a little more modulated saying well, maybe it is not armageddon. it is just accumulation of bad things. but still a parade of disaster that he is preaching that is going to, he hopes ratchet up the political pressure on republicans. jon: all right. with some leadership, he could change this, he could fix it? >> i think he already has the flexibility to ease it, number one. then if he would just take the tax increase off the table and say look, let's work this out on spending. i think he can get a deal quickly. jon: all right. paul gigot. i'm sure you will be talking about it tomorrow on the "journal editorial report". that is tomorrow 2:00 p.m. eastern time right here on fox news channel. paul, thank you. >> thank you. jenna: major developments in another debate. this time the gun debate. why critics are blasting the president's new calls to restart government research on gun violence. we have a live report on that ahead. also, lots of hand-wringing over this e-mail sent to veteran journalist bob woodward by the president's top economic advisor, raising some serious questions, new questions about the way the administration treats the press. our "news watch" panel weighs in just ahead. i'm here at my house on thanksgiving day, and i have a massive heart attack right in my driveway. the doctor put me on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. go talk to your doctor. you're not indestructible anymore. just begin with america's favorite soups. bring out chicken broccoli alfredo. or best-ever meatloaf. go to campbellskitchen.com for recipes, plus a valuable coupon. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. jon: right now, the standoff between the white house and a legendary "washington journal"ist. bob woodward denies reports that a white house -- reporting. veteran reporter accused the president of quote, moving the goalposts by proposing new revenues as part of a deal to head off the sequester. in an e-mail exchange described as a heated phone conversation, white house economic advisor gene sperling told woodward he would regret making that claim. here is wood word on "hannity". >> people said this was a threat or i was saying it was a threat. i haven't used that language. but it's not the way to operate in the a white house. the problem is, they're all kinds of reporters who are much less experienced, who are younger. if they will get roughed up in this way and, you, i, flooded with e-mails from people in the press saying this is exactly the way the white house works. they're trying to control and they don't want to be challenged or crossed. jon: talk about it with our "news watch" panel today. judith miller is a pulitzer prize-winning reporter. kirsten powers is a "daily beast" columnist and both are fox news contributors. what about it, judy, he didn't say he was not feeling personally threatened but it is inappropriate for the white house to behave that way to the press. >> this is striking a parental tone. bob woodward, word warrior as jon stewart called him, very source the white house. this one, bob woodward is one of the most experienced, tough-minded journalists around. when he chooses to take offense because someone yelledded after him for half an hour over the phone and apologized in an e-mail, believe it or not said, my bad, you can understand why he decided to take umbrage. on the other hand, he is a great marketer, and he has got a book out on the obama administration. he knows what he is doing. i think the reason this dropped, jon, is other people have company explained. ron fuornier, "national journal" sectiontive editor, you said, i finally cut off ties to one white house staffer because of his vulgarity. because the use of threats. because i'm tired of being treated this way. i think woodward has captured that feeling among the press corps. jon: is this something that is likely to continue, kirsten? >> look, i have been very critical of the obama white house and their dealings with the media and i think there are really some serious problems in terms of cutting off access to people. around i'm sure they are rude to people though i never actually dealt with a white house that doesn't behave in somewhat the same way. i think bob woodward, he did imply this first came up he was being threatened. and he clearly wasn't. if you look at the actual e-mail exchange between bob woodward and gene sperling, it was very, i mean, i thought that gene sperling couldn't have been acting more cordial and more poll getic than he was. and think most reporters would kill to get treated like bob woodward has been treated by this white house. maybe bob woodward is not used to being treated that way. maybe he is used to being sucked up to. what happened to him compared to what most reporters deal with day-to-day, with any white house. not just this white house. jon: part of the point of their argument, judy, woodward says the white house in fact did move the goalpost on the sequester by demanding new taxes as part of, you know, this whole, you know, budget fix that they want. >> well that is his assertion and that is now what is being debated by the press. jon: that is what the white house is still unhappy about. >> yes. and that is what precipitated sperling's response. in other words it wasn't so much as a threat, as don't go there because you're going to be proven wrong on this. and i think that's what offended bob woodward. but that's a genuine issue. was this, or was this not part of the original sequester negotiations? and that is being played out and debated in the press. jon: we just heard, kirsten, the president in his quick address to the media there in the briefing room say, i mean, he clearly was aware that he was talking to the cameras. he said let me explain this for our viewing audience. he wants to go over the heads of the white house press corps and make his case directly to the american people and that is what he just spent half an hour doing. >> yeah. because this is actually a rare occurrence where the white house press corps is questioning his storylines. though you think because the white house press corps is rolling their eyes, okay the president says the world will end if the sequester goes through and it really isn't going to end he feels the need to go talk directly to the american people. jon: and tell us the world is going to end? >> yeah and tell us the world is going to end. yeah, that's why i think he had to do it. >> we'll see tomorrow. jon: i i guess we will. i'll have more with our "news watch" panel this weekend on "fox news watch." we cover the coverage of the week's top stories right here on fox news channel saturday at 2:30 eastern. judy miller, kirsten powers. thank you both. jenna: high drama at the jody arias murder trial. the defendant breaking down on the stand when asked to read an e-mail she sent to her boyfriend after she killed him. our legal panel takes up the case. >> check things off the list, and all kinds of fun things, right? >> yes. >> you say oregon is beautiful this time of year. yea, be happy, correct? hi. i'm henry winkler. and i'm here to tell homeowners that are 62 and older about a great way to live a better retirement. it's called a reverse mortgage. [ male announcer ] call right now to receive your free dvd and booklet with no obligation. it answers questions like how a reverse mortgage works, how much you qualify for, the ways to receive your money, and more. plus, when you call now, you'll get this magnifier with l.e.d. light absolutely free. when you call the experts at one reverse mortgage today, you'll learn the benefits of a government-insured reverse mortgage. it will eliminate your monthly mortgage payments and give you tax-free cash from the equity in your home. and here's the best part -- you still own your home. take control of your retirement today. ♪ ♪ o thyou eat less...ing weiyou lose weight.et. it's a great plan... until you get hungry. that's the time to take slimful. one tasty 90-calorie slimful and a glass of water satisfies hunger for hours making it easier to eat smaller meals, and resist snacking. your friends might think you found the secret to losing weight. but it's no secret... it's slimful. eating less is a beautiful thing. we're going to see the sights. >> you also write -- check things off the list and all kinds of fun things, right? >> yes. >> you say oregon is beautiful this time of year. yea, be happy, correct? jenna: our legal panel with us now, arthur aidala and tom kenniff. gentlemen, they say the cover up is worse than the crime. arthur, in this case is it? >> oh, yeah. i mean, she's a mess. but there's no doubt that she dud it, and in my opinion there's no doubt that she did not put on nearly adequate self-defense claim. but what the prosecutor -- i do, i go out of my way not to criticize attorneys in the courtroom because i know what it's like, and you don't know what's going on behind the scenes. but the prosecutor here, he's giving her the opportunity to get sympathy from two jurors -- jenna: because she's crying? >> because she's crying. and yesterday he was much more aggressive when she started crying while she's crying. all she wants to do is get in the hearts of two jurors who say she's guilt, give her life without parole, don't kill her. jenna: so if you were the defense attorney watching her sob, you would say it might not be bad? >> we're allowed to criticize prosecutors. [laughter] can't criticize other defense attorneys. but, look, this is a great example of why it's so dangerous as a criminal defense attorney to put your client on the witness stand because what we're seeing right now is the wheels are coming off. everything's coming unhinged. martinez, the prosecutor, has done a good job in eviscerating her credibility, showing premeditation, the gas cans, the letter, showing conduct consistent with the consciousness of guilt, and everything's falling apart. i think the one thing that i disagree with the way the prosecution is approaching her as a witness is stylistically. >> right. >> he's going too hard on her. >> we're agreed. basically -- >> he's jumping up and down. >> three days ago he accomplished what tom just said, he took the wheels off the wagon. three days ago it was obvious that lie after lie after lie that she told. i don't even know why he's still standing up, because these are human beings. she's not being judged by a computer. and it's not a computer that's going to determine the death penalty -- jenna: so how would you have approached her? >> look, the way any good interrogator or detective approaches a suspect. they don't shine the white line on them and start berating them. they come as their friend. he should be establishing a dialogue with her. jenna: why do you think he's not doing that? >> that's when i start talking about cameras in the courtroom and people knowing this is their future career. tom, have you ever had a case where there's been one witness on the stand -- forget even about a defendant -- as long as two weeks? >> no, i haven't. >> never. never had a case where there's been one witness on the stand so long. jenna: so what he really wants to prove is that she's a cold-hearted murderer -- >> and he could have done it in the first day. jenna: here's what he does get her to admit to. let's take a listen to this. >> would you agree that you're the person who actually slit mr. alexander's throat from ear the ear? >> yes. >> would you also agree that you're the individual that stabbed him in the upper torso? >> yes. >> and you're doing all of this, according to your version of events, you're doing this after you have already shot him, right? >> yes. >> correct? >> i believe so. jenna: so while this is happening, though, he also has these images of the graphic nature of this crime. the question is, though, arthur, beyond a reasonable doubt has he proven that with how horrific the crime is that she, indeed, is a cold-blooded killer? murderer? >> i think she proved it before he even stood up to cross cross-examine her. i think that the case, there were so many holes in her story. the way she stood up there and was so honest with the jury, she's done that before, she's been honest with tv cameras, with other journalists. so i just don't know why the prosecutor is still standing there. that whole segment we just saw, it's unnecessary. except for her to be crying and pulling on the heart strings of two jurors who say life without parole, not the death penalty. jenna: so what do you do next, tom, in this case? >> as someone once said, never miss a good opportunity to sit down and shut up. i think he has accomplished what he had to accomplish. he's eviscerated her credibility, he's shown premeditation, he's shown conduct consistent with the consciousness of guilt, and i think one of the most brilliant things he did was getting those media interviews before the jury. it telegraphed to the jury that this is a woman who is incredibly comfortable lying through her teeth in public settings, like at her own jury trial. jenna: but she's not in front of you, to arthur's point, the way she's in front of the jury. when you see the televised interview, it's on tv. the jury's right there, right close to her, arthur, watching her weep and look remorseful. >> yes. and that's why i think he's kind of -- and yesterday, again, while she was crying. today he was kind of nice about it while she was crying yesterday, he's screaming at her, and you stabbed him 27 time, and you shot him. we all have to remember the average juror's attention span is 12 minutes. they've been going on for days and days. they get bored. believe me, i love speaking to juries after trial. mixed feelings on that, i learn so much from them. they're like, mr. aidala, you didn't need to go on and on. we got it already. [laughter] they've gotten jodi. they know which way they're going. the verdict is in their mind. everyone can just sit down, the judge could charge the jury right now. jenna: just a sit down and shut up applies to live anchors as well? >> never on life tv. you just keep going and going. [laughter] jenna: thank you for your expertise, gentlemen. an interesting case to watch, and with so many days on the stand, there's a lot to talk about. >> have a great weekend. jenna: jon? jon: could i have the floor now? jenna: it's yours, jon. jon: all right, thank you. for the first time since the presidential election, governor mitt romney and his wife ann giving an exclusive interview to fox news sunday anchor chris wallace. here's a sneak peek. >> how do you think the president has handled the sequester, the $85 billion in automatic spending cuts? >> well, no one can think that's been a success for the president. he didn't think the sequester would happen. it is happening, but to date what we've seen is the president campaigning to the american people, doing rallies around the country, flying around the country and berating republicans and blaming and pointing. now, what does that do? that causes the republicans to retrench and to put up a wall and to fight back. it's a very natural human emotion. the president has the opportunity to lead the nation and to bring republicans and democrats together. of it's a job he's got to do, and it's a job only the president can do. >> the obama administration is right now releasing hundreds of illegal immigrants who have been slated for deportation because they say they can't afford to hold them. what do you think of that? >> um, i think the president has to act in the interest of the country. and can that means if we -- and that means if we need an aircraft carrier in the gulf, and i believe we do, i thought we needed one more, then he should do it. i think if there are people who are incarcerated, he should make sure that we're able to keep them in jail. look, it's, again, it's politics. it's, okay, how do we do something that will get a headline that will make it look like those terrible republicans aren't willing to come together. jon: chris has that exclusive interview. you can watch it in its entirety on fox news sunday. check your local listings for times in your area. jenna: new developments in the meantime of the mysterious death of an american in singapore. allegations of spying and murder surfacing. also, the first hatety, michelle obama, teaming up with walmart to promote healthy eating on a budget, but is the nation's largest retailer saving you money at the checkout line? closer look. art shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. >> announcer: you never know when, but thieves can steal your identity and turn your life upside down. >> hi. >> hi. you know, i can save you 15% today if you open up a charge card account with us. >> you just read my mind. >> announcer: just one little piece of information and they can open bogus accounts, stealing your credit, your money and ruining your reputation. that's why you need lifelock to relentlessly protect what matters most... [beeping...] helping stop crooks before your identity is attacked. and now you can have the most comprehensive identity theft protection available today... lifelock ultimate. so for protection you just can't get anywhere else, get lifelock ultimate. >> i didn't know how serious identity theft was until i lost my credit and eventually i lost my home. >> announcer: credit monitoring is not enough, because it tells you after the fact, sometimes as much as 30 days later. with lifelock, as soon as our network spots a threat to your identity, you'll get a proactive risk alert, protecting you before you become a victim. >> identity theft was a huge, huge problem for me and it's gone away because of lifelock. >> announcer: while no one can stop all identity theft, if criminals do steal your information, lifelock will help fix it, with our $1 million service guarantee. don't wait until you become the next victim. you have so much to protect and nothing to lose when you call lifelock now to get two full months of identity theft protection risk free. that's right, 60 days risk-free. use promo code: gethelp. if you're not completely satisfied, notify lifelock and you won't pay a cent. order now and also get this shredder to keep your documents out of the wrong hands-- a $29 dollar value, free. get protected now. call the number on your screen or go to lifelock.com to try lifelock protection risk free for a full 60 days. use promo code: gethelp. plus get this document shredder free-- but only if you act right now. call the number on your screen now! jon: walmart says it is saving shop ors billions of dollars selling lower-priced fruits and vegetables. fist lady michelle obama applauding the nation's largest retailer for helping to fight obesity. here's fox business' liz macdonald. so how much money did walmart shoppers save here, liz? >> they're saying $2.3 billion over the last two years, and this is also helping the first lady's push to fight obesity in this country. the first lady reportedly visiting a walmart or store in springfield, missouri, yesterday. walmart is the nation's biggest grocer, 55% of its sales now come from groceries. $1 out of every $10 spent on retail sales is spent at wal-mart, so walmart is, again, the nation's biggest grocer. of it has sales that are, basically, bigger than the three other supermarkets combined, jon. jon: so it's saying that it's now selling healthier food? >> yeah. it's saying it's selling food with less trans fats, less sugar, less salt, and also the first lady is applauding walmart's efforts to open 86 new stores in neighborhoods and communities where they don't have cheap produce, cheap groceries or where they're just not affordable or in driving or walking distance. so, you know, walmart is saying it's doing its thing the anti-obesity fault. whether or not that helps its bottom line remains to be seen. it's thinking it can cross-sell pharmaceuticals or other products to chemowho come in for -- people who come in for groceries, but same-store sales and foot traffic has been slowing down. gas price hike ands the delay in tax refunds are, basically, hurting the shoppers around the country, jon. back to you. jon: elizabeth macdonald, thanks. >> sure. jenna: secretary of state john kerry announcing a new aid package for the syrian rebels. why opposition leaders are saying thanks but no thanks. our next guest got an up-close look at the war raging in syria. we're going to talk about his recent flip there and his take on these recent developments next. ching band playing ] [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it... in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. great taste. mmm... [ male announcer ] sounds good. it's amazing what soup can do. i'm up next, but now i'm sging the heartburn blues. hold on, prilosec isn't for fast relief. cue up alka-seltzer. it stops heartburn fast. ♪ oh what a relief it is! the battle of bataan, 1942. [ all ] fort benning, georgia, in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto-insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. jon: incredible new video just in of a bus driver in poland. he suddenly passes out behind the wheel, falling to the floor. passengers rush to the rescue to grab the wheel as the bus careens off the road, zigzags across the lanes of the road it was on. the passengers finally do manage to get the bus to stop. there's no word yet on what caused that driver to pass out. jenna: what a scary situation. secretary of state john kerry visiting turkey today wrapping up a news conference just a few moments ago. this afterannouncing in rome yesterday some u.s. aid to the syrian opposition. >> on behalf of president obama who has been very clear about the stakes in syria, i'm proud to announce that the united states of america will be providing an additional $60 million immediately in nonlethal assistance to support the coalition in its operational needs day-to-day as it continues to organize and work for the political transition that we all want to see. and i look forward to working with the united states congress on this. jenna: so he's talking about nonlethal aid, again, food and medical supplies and some money. meantime, the chiefs of syrian rebel forces weighing in saying its fighters are, quote: desperate in needs of weapons and ammunition, not food and wanteddages. a columnist with the jerusalem post recently returned from a trip to syria. jonathan, we're going to show some of your photos you took, and if you could just describe to us a little bit about what struck you about your trip there. >> well, this time around, this is the third trip i've taken to syria, by the way, in the course of the last year. this time around i was with the kurds in north northeastern syria where they've carved out a zone of control of their own and where they are very much in control of where the regime is absent except for a couple of points where they remain and where the rebels are also ab sent. i was first of all struck by the relative efficiency of their rule, and i would say the peacefulness, the notable peacefulness of of that part of northeast syria with the exception of some edges to that area where they've actually been in con nick in recent weeks and months with the syrian rebels, with elements of the syrian rebels, particularly extreme jihadi elements. so i was struck by how underreported and how i think quite significant what's happening in northeast syria actually is. jenna: interesting. we're seeing, again, some of the scenes of fighting, some of the rubble from it looks like an area that has recently been attacked. you mentioned some of the ethnic divisions that are happening inside syria. >> yeah. jenna: talk to us a little bit about, though, the other elements. you said the rebels, you said some jihadists that are also there. >> uh-huh. jenna: and talk to us in the context of the fact that we are now announcing that we are going to be aiding in a more significant way these rebels. >> yeah. well, the rubble which you see is in a town that is a place where on two occasions in the last month, in november and then again in mid january, the kurdish force have clashed with jihadi elements with the al-qaeda-linked rebel group and a couple other rebel units who were trying to force their way into that area because they are opposed to kurdish autonomy. the kurds claim, by the way, those jihadi rebels were able to do that because of help afforded them by the turks because the town is just on the tush irk border. -- turkish border. jenna: are the kurds able to tell who are, for lack of a better term, who are the good rebels that want to overthrow assad and who are the jihadis that are potentially terrorist element? you mentioned al-qaeda? how do you tell the difference? >> uh-huh. jenna: is there a difference? >> it's very, very hard to tell the difference. i mean, whether the kurds can do so orbit is in a certain sense less important. the question is whether western countries that wish to aid the rebellion are able to make those differentiations. i think it is possible to do so. you need good intelligence, you need a lot of good work on the ground. i think that has been going on in recent months. there are many jihadis and many islamists among the rebels, but there are also those rebels who are more moderate, more willing to take help from the west. um, there are clear differences. the free syrian army remains to some degree just a heading beneath which there are many and varied forces battling the assad dictatorship. i think the intelligence information is available. i think it's possible to get it. i think the u.s. and the west largely have it now. the question now is how they actually want the help and the extent to which they wish to help. jenna: jonathan, it's great to have you on the program. thank you for sharing your story or with us today. we appreciate it. >> thanks very much, jenna. jenna: we'll talk to jonathan more as we continue to see what's next in syria, two years now into the conflict. he says we should have the right intelligence. also to another global hot spot just quickly, we're going to talk about afghanistan just for a moment. i was in d.c. yesterday to host our show because i was moderating a debate on the war in afghanistan there. it's part of a series of debates by the nonpartisan mccain institute, and it tackled the question should we stay or should we go in afghanistan. we had a distinguished group of panelists, and as senator mccain said, it is a debate we should be having all over the country. i just simply mention it today because we're tackling a lot of different topics, but this is an excuse to remind all of us that 66,000 troops are currently down range x that's still happening. so thank you to the mccain institute for having me, and we look forward to continuing that debate as well on "happening now." jon: it is one of the most famous cars on the planet, the austin martin driven by british superspy james bond. well, there is new hope for young bond fans out there, really young, in fact. looking for the feel of this pricey ride at only a fraction of price? we'll explain. ♪ ♪ oh! progress-oh! [ female announcer ] with 40 delicious progresso soups at 100 calories or less, there are plenty of reasons people are saying "progress-oh!" share your progress-oh! story on facebook. peopwhy let constipation stry miralax.?" mirlax worksdifferently than other laxatives. it dws water into your colon to unblock your system naturally. don't wait to fe great. miralax. [ male announcer ] start with an all new award winning car. good. now find the most hard core driver in america. that guy, put him in it. what's this? [ male announcer ] tell him he's about to find out. you're about to find out. [ male announcer ] test it. highlight the european chassis, 6 speed manual, dual exhaust, wide stance, clean lines, have him floor it, spin it, punch it, drift it, put it through its paces, is he happy? oh ya, he's happy! [ male announcer ] and that's how you test your car for fun. easy.

Related Keywords

Jerusalem , Israel General , Israel , Tampa , Florida , United States , Missouri , Afghanistan , Iran , Turkey , California , Virginia , Georgia , Syria , Oregon , Fort Benning , Russia , Washington , District Of Columbia , Djibouti , United Kingdom , West Virginia , Rome , Lazio , Italy , Las Vegas , Nevada , North Korea , Capitol Hill , Poland , France , Singapore , Springfield , Americans , America , Turkish , Turks , French , British , Syrian , American , Jodi Arias , Steve Harrigan , Austin Martin , Henry Winkler , Bruce Davis , Jim Bush , Elizabeth Macdonald , Jon Scott , Dennis Rodman , Judy Miller Kirsten , Peggy Noonan , Daniel Bober , John Kerry , Chris Wallace , John Bolton , Judy Woodward , John Boehner , Jon Stewart , Mike Emanuel , Casey Anthony , Jody Arias , Los Angeles , Harry Shapiro , Charles Manson , Bashar Al Assad , Bob Woodward , Lindsey Lohan , Liz Macdonald , Judith Miller , Colton Harris Moore , Michelle Obama , Corina Villaraigosa , Eric Schmidt , Juan Martinez , Mitch Mcconnell , Christie Parsons ,