and how about another cup? the more coffee you drink less likely you are to develop a certain disease. it is all "happening now". >> and we begin with breaking development in the middle east. a pair of crisis involving allies and the foreign policy and those crucial countries. welcome to it "happening now". i am jenna leely. sdmshgs i am jon scott. king abdullah buried in an unmarked grave today after passing away. he was a stanch ally in fighting al-qaeda and isis. and on the right shiite rebels tossing out the pro- american president and his cabinet in yemen. it is home to the dangerous branch of al-qaeda most recently responsible for the terrorist attacks in paris. leland is live in the white house. how concerned are they about iran filling a power vacum with so much unrest. >> reporter: there is a lot of the unrest and josh earnest faced tough questions about yemen but the larger picture of the middle east that iran seeps to be trying to redraw. he did not ring alarmbles. take a look at the map and showing where iran's influence spreads. from iran and iraq and they are close to the shiite backed government there and in syria where they are keeping president assad in power and alive and down south to it iran hesbollah in lebanon, where iran has major influence there and now in the southern part of the middle east, a foot hold in yemen and give them access to the gulf of aiden, yemen is a very different story. >> based on what we know right now, it is not clear that iran is experting command and control over the rebels. >> reporter: obviously one of the other big issues inside of yemen in terms of going forward for the united states, is the fact that the former president of yemen who was a close ally allowed the cia to operate and drone strikes against the al-qaeda tarsets inside of yemen. will that change in yemen's cooperation. it is unclear but the u.s. policy toward al-qaeda inside of yemen will not change. >> a lot of those who follow foreign policy say we have reached a tipping point in the middle east. what does the white house say. >> reporter: they say the saudi arabia relationship is not. the united states used the saudis as a heavy counter weight to iran and the president has not spoken to at this time new king there but they have a good relationship and they hope that good relationship continues despite the death of king abdullah. it is no secret that the saudis were not happy about how they approached iran and the nuclear program and critics are using two situations. yemen and saudi arabia are so close together to hit the administration on how it is handling the middle east as a whole. >> what they never talk about is that it iran is not pursuing a nuclear program with the missiles, but creating chaos and extending the influence in all sorts of places around that region. >> reporter: that's one of the things that the saudis are involved in trying to stop iran. king abdullah put saudi resources in going after president ah sawed inside of syria. and a big question of whether that continues and what the saudis will do about yemen? the saudis would be boxed in by the iraqis to the north and yemen, iran- backed militia to the south and will they try to stabilize yemen as well, jon. >> leland viter in the white house. >> we'll pick up and talk more about saudi arabia. for what we can expect going forward. david wineburg joins uand he is an expert on saudi arabia succession. some are describing it as a 55 the on theal time for the saudi monarchy. and what is the impact on us? >> well, the impact on us depends on what the direction the appointed king decides to take his country and part of the challenge is like a supreme court prospect. samonhas seen the path to power clearly and basically keep the views relatively close to his chest. it is hard to know direction he will go. his son was one of the air pilots who participated in the raids against the islamic state, just several months ago and received death threats. it is reasonable to expect that king salman would stand behind his son. >> is that the key issue that you are watching as an observer of the country, is the war on terror, and the direction that the saudis go the key issue for you? >> i think it is absolutely essential, right. the saudis control the largest proven reserves of conventional petroleum anywhere in the world. they are central for opec's policy and the pivotal factor that decided to crash oil prices and showing that we are addicted to oil as an economy and transportation system and that the saudis still basically have us right where they want us. >> and the saudis are saying on the record we'll see what shell companies survive in the united states. let me ask you about king abdullah. he was called a reformer and in his death there is outcry and comments coming from around the world. but there is a great deal of story on the human rights abuses in saudi arabia. how do you square the two if they can be squared, david about the king and the legacy as he leaves. >> it is a really important question. the king and the crowd around him cultivated a image of a reformer and celebrity cult. but describing king abdullah as a reformer is saying a decripit turtle as a race car driver. it is saudi arabia continuing in that direction moving forward. and the appointment of the interior minister as one of the next individuals in line for the throne is a discouraging sign. he's held a hard line against terrorist groups like al-qaeda he's the individual whose ministry is responsible for the attacks on nonviolent human rights groups like bloggers. >> that is a question we can have common goals with isis, but do we have common value asks can we look at next saudi leaders and say they are pro- american and pro westerner. what do you think? >> it is a broader challenge with many of the american a liiance in the persian gulf and turkey. and quatar as well are friend- enemies. and we cooperate with them on things but in other regard they are enemies and backing known terrorist groups and encouraging dehumanizing radical ideals that ultimately feed terrorism in the long-term. >> we have seen support of the saudis against isis and questions raised about saudi arabia funding and isis as well. david, great to have you on the program. thank you so much. >> right now, intelligence officials are reviewing a tweet that appeared on line claiming that two japanese hostages were executed. that is not been confirmed. terrorist were demanding a a $200 million ransome from the the japanese government. they posted a clock counting down to 0. they are following the latest developments for us from washington. >> fox news obtained the tweet from isis reporting they were dead. it was posted by the same account that put the countdown clock on line. the intelligence community is aware of the tweet and waiting for the video that is promised and any kind of confirmation will require a forensic review of the execution tape. it is another point in the data stream. the video of the two japanese hostages and drawing scrutiny from analyst who believe it was filmed in a studio and there appeared to be multiple lightning sources. shadows are cast in different directions. and isis has a media production arm and control half dozen tv stations and. a johncantry was caught in the studio and the movement of the eyes and length of the lecture suggested he was using a teleprompter. radical islam must be crushed and did not rule out negotiations with isis and a new video is odd and also an effort to intimidate tokyo. >> and whether or not the video was authentic and shadows are off i can't tell you, at a minimum, it is part of the islamic group effort trying to intimidate countries from joining in the coalition. >> within the last hour josh earnest was asked if they have confirmation that the japanese hostages were dead. >> i have not been updated but the administration supports tokyo in this matter. >> the japanese government tried to get in touch with the hostage holders and couldn't do it. >> it doesn't a pore to be the case. >> thank you. >> you're welcome. >> a new report in the human rights agency said the deaths in ukraine topped 5000. nato issued a warning that a major offensive is coming because of heavy weapons moving in from russia. they will fight for more territory and no more peace talks with ukraine's government. >> we are about to see the largest gather aring of 20 upon 16 presidential candidates in a battleground state. find out who is the latest to make waves and a late night attempt in the senate to get the key stone pipeline approved and exposing tensions among the law makers. ♪ ♪ ♪ you're only young once. unless you have a subaru. 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[ bottle ] ensure®. nutrition in charge™. >> the tsa said there is not a record number of fire arms and carry on bags last year. tsa found 2000 guns and a jump from 2013. and 80 percent of those weapons were leeded and found 1400 dangerous objects including stun guns and items on the travellers themselves and in bags. >> protestors take to the streets in yemen. most seem to shiite rebel and forced the resignation of the president and his cabinet and believed to have ties to iran. is this a way for al-qaeda to build a power base and threaten the u.s. yemen has not. most of us couldn't find it on the map but what are the stakes here? >> very high stakes and what is happening now is the next iraq. you have a pro iranian militia and mostly shia that is expanding 4 or 5 years and question mark about the u.s. administration not noticing this. and it is only recently that they seized the capitol and presidential palace and radio station and they are in charge. capitol. that is not the only problem. south of them you have a growing al-qaeda which we have bombed for years and killing many leaders and look what happened in iraq and iran was empowered in iraq and isis rose. and now iran is empowered in yemen any who will rise al-qaeda? they may be as strong as isis in iraq in the next month and years. >> are they getting support from the iranians? >> i was surprised when i heard the white house spokesman said we are not sure about the command and control of iran and our security agencies have an assessment and the white house can ask them and the iranians say these are our allies and thi are close to us as iranias and hesbollah. and they are backed by the iranian regime. >> you predicted in the book the lost spring that it there would be catastrophes for the u.s. policy in syria and yemen. is this what you were predicting? >> this is catastrophe plus one. this one we could have stopped it and it was predictable. and what we have in yemen is not that al-qaeda will grow stronger and bigger and policy of drones, you can have a mini iran sitting on the south of saudi arabia. and i don't know if my words impact and in terms of how serious it is going to be in the next month and years. >> is al-qaeda and araban peninsula threatening the saudi arabias? >> yes. it has been threatening the saudis before. but the difference is that al-qaeda will tell the sunni in yemen. and where would the sunni soldier and tribes going to it go? al-qaeda. and al-qaeda becomes stronger and will activate their cells within saudi arabia and the saudis are very nervous about. >> and the saudis just lost their king. how critical is it that king abdullah passed away in this moment of time. >> the succession process is not an issue. it is very fast and it is a country without constitution. the problem is going to be the new king and his entourage, what will they do with regard to al-qaeda and yemen. are they going to counter the iranians or not. it will be tense and problematic for the new regime in saudi arabia. >> thank you walid phares. thank you. >> and a new she down looming in capitol hill. and the democrats crying foul over a late- night development in the senate and fallout over the so- called deflate-gate the nfl investigating whether the new england patriots tampered with the balls. you have questions and we have answers from a former nfl quarterback and he's known as my father. what did the players think about the whole affair and we'll get his take next. >> i have no knowledge of anything or any wrongdoing. yeah, i am comfortable saying that. and i am comfortable saying. i don't know everything. hello... i'm an idaho potato farmer and our big idaho potato truck is still missing. so my buddy here is going to help me find it. here we go. woo who, woah, woah, woah. it's out there somewhere spreading the word about america's favorite potatoes: heart healthy idaho potatoes and the american heart association's go red for women campaign. if you see it i hope you'll let us know. always look for the grown in idaho seal. >> a final vote scheduled in the senate next week on the controversial keystone pipeline. democrats accuse the gop leadership of stifling. and mike emmanuel is live on capitol hill. the shoe is on the other foot in the united states senate, mike? >> there are clear advantages to being in the minority and the senate is working its way in a list of amendments and including 98- 1 and saying climate change is real and not a hoax. the senate majority leader is keeping a promise. >> we opened it up for amendments from both sides. our colleagues both republicans and democrats are able to vote on more rollcall votes on amendments in all of last year combined and yet our democratic friends don't want to vote on the amendments that they have pending. >> they are to a bill authorizing completion of the nfl. and that is 800 carrels of oil for a day. and that is on refineries on the gulf coast. and republicans note the democrats say it is bad for the climate and pledge to back a presidential veto. supporters believe 63 senators willing to vote in favor of key stone excel. and the complaint at this point is not giving them time to it talk. it is a spirit debate and you wouldn't give the author 60 seconds to describe what was in the amendment. >> we expect more debate time next week and obviously a vote on final passage, jon. >> it is it an interesting time to have your job. mike, thank you. >> and the national football league is investigating the new england patriots for underinflating of footballs. claiming that both coach belichick and quarterback tom brady has no knowledge of. my next guest are here on the fox news channel. too big of a deal howard? >> hi, jenna. i am against cheating in professional sports but the whole deflate-gate drama is forgive me overblown by the media. it is being treated like watergate with breaking news and pundit debates and banners awaiting a new's conference with tom brady. it is a fun story but not that big of a deal. >> why is there such an obsession about this as we look at the infamous meeting. >> the football have to be inflated to a certain degree. and exquarterbacks say they can't tell the difference. it is the new england patriots. and it is a serious spy incident and picking up the signals in 2007 and the press does not like the guy and he treats the reporters with arrogance. and he gave one sentence answers and tom brady is a big quarterback in the national football league and everyone has a good time with the double balls are perfect. media loved the story. >> and the media is interested because we don't have to debate the president's tax plan or community college program. >> it is simple. and everyone has an opinion on it. and the dominated cable news you lost fact of the fact there is a coup in yemen and king of saudi arabia died and dow believe tom brady? i think a cheater. >> what is the outcome. it could be serious in >> the nfl which is not got a stellar record will not resolve it until after the super bowl. when you compain to lance armstrong doping scandal or ray rice decking his fiance in the elevator. this didn't influence the out come of the game. but another week of the super bowl and this is taking place of the hype. i have a special guest. and howard, we'll see you on sunday. and if you were to ask me what my dad thinks of deflate-gate. he was a nfl quarterback who played on three super bowl teams and i thought it was a good idea. we should ask my dad and joining us on the phone is my father. bob lee who played for the falcons and rams. and >> hi, honey. >> greg wants to know if a quarterback can feel the difference if the ball is slightly deflated? >> you can notice a difference in a variety of footballs and they are pumped up differently and during the course of the game you will notice a difference. same thing as a baseball pitcher not liking the ball and throwing it out and he thinks the laces are too high or the ball doesn't feel right. yes, i think somebody who played football for a long time can tell a difference, maybe not the microscopic difference. but there are differences in the balls. >> robin has a follow-up question about, refugees. they touch the football. do you think they would notice the difference and say something in the game? >> not unless there is a huge difference. the balls are inspected and this is overblown in some ways. and they are inspected two hours before the game. but then once the game begins, there is so much going on and the officials have so much to concentrate on unless there was a huge problem with a football i don't think they would notice. >> for a game like on sunday. it is just keeping the ball dry. >> very much so. any quarterback would say they want a dry football. it is easier to play. and it was raining hard and cold nonew england and if you ask andrew and tom, they would say keep the ball dry and everything else is fine. >> and so austin has a serious question if this happen. we don't know what the nfl will find here. would it be something that the entire team or coach know about or tom brady. >> the quarterback might know about it. and i first saw brady play in high school. i was a fan of his because of a way he reacted in a bad situation. the quarterbacks are allowed to rubdown the balls in the game. they come out and they are very very slick. and we use tape remover with the league's permission to take the slickness off of the football. and controversy with a kicker and punter treating the ball differently. i am surprised they haven't touched more on this. the kicker's ball is brought in under look and key and only one person handles the kicking ball. but the kickers complained and the punters, they are allowed to treat them before the game and they will go back in a special bag and brough out by an individual who is in charge of that for both teams. >> what is the solution here? >> it is a easier solution. but it is big brother looking over everybody's shoulder and the competition committee this spring will come up with a rule similar to the kicker cable rules. one person will be in charge and two people in charge of all of the game balls during the course of the game and will be allowed to rub them down. and they will be weighed and i am sure they will be weighed and checking the air pressure in half-time. >> should everybody just have the same footballs then? >> that would be the way to go. i talked to younger brother zack about this and he felt a deflated ball would be to advantage of the receivers and running backs and i think everybody will use the same football and it will be governed by 1 or 2 individuals on the field. >> quick final question then what do you think of the impact of the super bowl. >> two good teams and first of all, seahawks talking about it all in the beginning of the game and everybody else. you got the right balls, tom and all that it. and if the patriots can run the football like they did against indianapolis and keep the pass rusher off brady to complete short passes and get the offense going. and the packers show the blue prints of how to win the game for most of that ball game. >> you are our go to analysis for "happening now". dad, i hope you give us the exclusive. you can't go anywhere else. >> and hi to jon too. have a great weekend. >> thanks, dad. >> fox news alert. the white house is reversing the stance on a controversial issue that was revealed earlyener the week. it is going to stop health care.goff of releasing personal data of consumers enrolled in obama care. the government said there is no evidence that the information was misused. telling private companies and things if a person was pregnant or smoked and zip codes and the like. and specialized in advertising and analyzing that data had your data if you signed up for health care.gov. the obama administration is saying that experience has been ended. we'll see and we'll stay on top of it as well. >> a major winter are storm gaining steam as it moves up the east coast and we'll show you areas that could get ten inches of snow. and also a new benefit from drinking coffee. how your daily cups of joe can protect your skin. ♪ ♪ extra cups to fill. ♪ they've got an awful lot of coffee in brazil. ♪ you can't get cherry soda. ♪ got to fill that quota. before earning 1% cash back everywhere, every time. and 2% back at the grocery store. even before she got 3% back on gas all with no hoops to jump through. katie used her bankamericard cash rewards credit card to stay warm and toasty during the heat of competition. that's the comfort of rewarding connections. apply online or at a bank of america near you. crest gave one friend crest 3d white whitestrips. and the other, a whitening toothpaste. here's what they thought. i can't tell if the paste whitened. well the whitestrips worked. yeah. the paste didn't do that. crest whitestrips work below the enamel surface to whiten 25x better than a leading whitening toothpaste. crest whitestrips. the way to whiten. if you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis like me and you're talking to your rheumatologist about a biologic... this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain and protect my joints from further damage. this is humira giving me new perspective. doctors have been prescribing humira for ten years. humira works for many adults. it targets and helps to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers including lymphoma have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. talk to your doctor and visit humira.com this is humira at work you total your brand new car. nobody's hurt,but there will still be pain. it comes when your insurance company says they'll only pay three-quarters of what it takes to replace it. what are you supposed to do, drive three-quarters of a car? now if you had a liberty mutual new car replacement, you'd get your whole car back. i guess they don't want you driving around on three wheels. smart. new car replacement is just one of the features that come standard with a base liberty mutual policy. and for drivers with accident forgivness,rates won't go up due to your first accident. learn more by calling switch to liberty mutual and you can save up to $423. for a free quote today,call liberty mutual insurance at see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. >> hi, everyone. happy friday. and i am gretchen carlsson. we have a guest that has scientific proof that no way patriots football could have lost two pounds of pressure. she will be here with the balls and the owner of this truck told he can't park it in his own drive way and sued by a homeowner's association and join us live to explain. >> you will hear something about me that you never have seen before. a big reveal all top in of the hour. >> and winter weather alert in effect for the northeast. the storm system that dumped snow in the plain states is heading east. philadelphia will be first to get hit with few inches of snow in the morning and new york city expecting snow as well. 's lost big airport are affected by the storm. >> the doctor in on a new study suggesting that coffee drinkers less likely to get skin cancer than those who don't drink coffee. four or more cups a day cut cancer risk 50 percent. here is the a fascinating study and wonders who comes up with the stuff? >> i have no idea. 450,000 nonhispanic white people were studied and looked at sun exposure from which the people came using nasa data which is interesting. and over that number. 3000 people developed mella noma. >> that's the most serious kind. >> it is a big cause of death and usually by ultraviolet light or exposure to the sun laying on the beach. >> how would coffee they found no correlation if you drink deca f. >> it is caffeinate it. what causes it to prevent skin cancer. >> anti- oxidants in coffee. moleculs in your system and scoop up free radicals which are moleculs that cause cancer. and so there are antioxidants in vita mines and all sorts of things and coffee especially freshly brewed coffee have a lot of antioxidants and this may be the thing that plays the role and not caffeine. >> it doesn't give you license to lay out on a beach without sun block? >> not at all. or getting tans on tanning beds. this is not a call for you to have a cup of joe when you go to the tanning salon. there is an association. 20 percent decrease of people drinking coffee. >> i love coffee in the mornings and you also said benefits of coffee. >> diabetes type two and it may be the mag nezium and conium in the coffee and dementia and parkinson disease has been shown to be aren't thing that's i think of as being in my coffee nor do they sound like they're particularly good for you. >> well they're in very, very small amounts but they probably are good for you to some degree. >> wow. so drink up i guess is the rule. >> drink up. >> dr. bob thanks. what happens when the world's largest drill breaks down more than 100 feet underground? you try to fix it, right? but now the ground may be shifting under one city's feet as it tries to complete one big dig. dig. well, did you know that playing cards with kenny rogers gets old pretty fast? ♪ you got to know when to hold'em. ♪ ♪ know when to fold 'em. ♪ ♪ know when to walk away. ♪ ♪ know when to run. ♪ ♪ you never count your money, ♪ ♪ when you're sitting at the ta...♪ what? you get it? i get the gist yeah. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. major: ok fitness class! here's our new trainer ensure active heart health. crowd: yayyyy! heart: i'm going to focus on the heart. i minimize my sodium and fat... gotta keep it lean and mean. pear: uh-oh. heart: i maximize good stuff like my potassium... and phytosterols, which may help lower cholesterol. major: i'm feeling energized already. new delicious ensure active heart health supports your heart and body, so you stay active and strong. ensure. take life in. an update now to a story we have covered extensively on "happening now." a salon owner in california accused in a murder for hire act found not guilty. delouise has maintained her innocence and said the entire thing was a misunderstanding. big controversy over a big dig. more than a year ago, the city of seattle starting to bore a tunnel to replace an elevated highway using the world's largest drill. but the giant machine broke down and is stuck underground still. there's now big worries about the ground crumbling around the project. we are live in seattle to explain all of this. >> reporter: that sinking feeling here is quite literal. about a month ago, crews discovered that the ground around the tunnel was actually settling and they notices cracks in nearby buildings. but that's not all. the elevated highway that runs along the waterfront had sunk more than an inch. the via duct being replaced by the tunnel still carries more than 100,000 vehicles per day. the trouble began over a year ago when the tunnel boring machine broke and got stuck underground. to repair the drill they're digging a pit to fix it and then lower it back down. >> the ground models showed there would be settlement as a result of that work, but the settlement that occurred out there far exceeded what contractors' predictions were. >> reporter: state officials say the settlement has stopped, but they still can't say when or if the drill will get back to work the project is already a year behind schedule and nobody can say how much over the original $4.2 billion budget they are. already the contractors ss won a judgment for $20 million in cost overruns. one of the main contractors recently won an $80 million cost overrun judgment for work it did on this country's most notorious transportation boondoggle, the big dig in boston. critics fear a repeat. >> we wanted it to be the world's largest boring machine so they had to go just a couple feet bigger to get that title. they opened a museum down in pioneer square to celebrate everything bertha. >> reporter: some are calling for this whole project to be scrapped. they're saying just bury bertha now. others are saying it's too far down the road. by the way, when the big dig is all paid for in boston $20 billion overbudget. i don't think no matter how bad this project gets it could get that bad. but people in seattle are afraid it's going to get close. >> you can understand why. dan, thank you. >> what a mess. we are continuing to monitor reports that isis plans to carry out the murder of two more hostages. the plea from the mother of one of those men as the terror group's deadline for ransom money expires. >>. >> plus, a dramatic rescue as the ocean closes in. the coast guard plucks a group of fishermen from their boat just in the nick of time. try alka seltzer reliefchews. they work just as fast and are proven to taste better than tums smoothies assorted fruit. mmm... amazing. yeah, i get that a lot. alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief. take a look. the uk coast guard rescuing a crew on a fishing boat right before it sunk. three men hospitalized for hypothermia, but they're alive. thanks for joining us. >> have a great weekend. "the real story" with gretchen starts now. big friday, the patriots blowing off deflate-gate doubling down on the denials. nfl just releasing a statement. homeowner told he can't park his truck in his own driveway. and professional women's tennis women asked to twirl for reporters? i'm gretchen carlson. "the real story" starts right now. we start today with a fox news alert. gruesome countdown reaches zero. as the world watches and waits to see if isis will act. the terrorist posting a ticking clock online warning of the murder of two japanese hostages unless their demands are