allow it. >> thank you. >> john: the bottom line is that washington, once a sleepy part-time home for politicians, now resembles versailles. power brokers work in buildings that look like palaces and afterwards they go home to castles. it overlooks the pond, property on five acres. >> beautiful shower, and his and her water closets. >> john: it helps one understand why people spent millions to win jobs here. and-- >> because people come to d.c., they never leave. that's our show, i'm john stossel, thanks for watching.

>> good morning. i am heather childers. >> i am heather nauert. it is monday the 11th. thank you for watching fox and friends first. the top five stories making news for you at this hour. firefighters rush into a burning building not expecting this to happen. a back draft causing a massive explosion. this was in harrison, new jersey sending dust and debris. you can see it every where. five firefighters were injured after they were tossed into the air. >> they were actually thrown out of the building.

the smoke explosion through them out of the building. >> it was very, very scary. flames were thrown from every window. the fire started in a restaurant before it quickly spread to a neighboring apart. building. the u.s. and south korea launching annual military drills as tensions rise with north korea. north korea is threatening to void the agreement that ended the korean war and launch a nuclear attack on america. the drill involves 10,000 south koreans and u.s. troops. they are defensive in nature and they reyekt north korea's claims they are preparing for an attack. >> a plane a teen was flying in crashed into a home. his uncle was the pilot. he was killed in the crash. the plane slammed into the garage just feet from where two men were playing video games.

a 20-year-old says the entire house shook. his parents returned home relieved to find their son okay. >> just knowing my son was so close to the accident he was just above it, it really came home how fleeting life can be. i feel very bad for the family that has had this happen. >> witnesses saw the propeller stop just before the plane crashed. officials say it could be months before they know exactly what went wrong. a new development in the oscar pistorius murder case. his attorneys are saying he is not a flight risk and should be allowed to travel. he is racing to sum off his assets to fight the murder charges. a friend says he is selling

shares in race horses and other properties. he thought she was an intruder when opened fire. a new documentary a friend believes pistorius was on the verge of suicide after being charged. a pennsylvania family forced to evacuate their home after a 40-foot wide sink hole opens up in a front yard. how officials in bethlehem said the problem started last week a broken soour main formed a whole hole across the street and another started up. >> it is upset to go see your driveway fall into a hole. >> we have a geo technical engineer that will analyze the area tomorrow. he will let us know what has to be done. >> no other homes have been affected but neighbors have been told to be prepared to leave at a moment's notice. >> that is your 5@5:00. let's take a live look at vatican city this morning where the cardinals are gathering for

their last meeting before the papal conclave actually begins tomorrow. fred boss well is live for us in rome with the latest details. craig, good morning. >> good morning to you, heather. it is nearing decision time for the 115 cardinals that will make the selection of the new pope. they are gathering for the final preconclave meeting. the general congregation began 30 minutes ago. i am told they are expected to go 3 hours today. basically the final time to talk about the needs of the church the crease cease facing the church. taking on the challenges the church faces during these modern times. a vatican spokesman told me during the previous can claif meetings going on for about a week all of the cardinals have had a chance to speak. some spoken at least two times. they will be basically this is

the final time because once they begin voting there will be a vote tomorrow afternoon once the conclave begins. four votes the next day 2 in the morning 2 in the afternoon. the focus will be more on voting and more on prayer than on the discussion. this is the last time to get these discussions out of the way today. cardinal dolan and the archbishop believes the decision will be made actually sooner than later. >> i really think it does. i hear my brother cardinal say this. a week ago we would have said we have a lot of work to do but now you see the resignation and trust and faith. >> as you go by recent history pope john paul ii in 1988 the conclaves last about two-days. they are expecting this to last a couple days. of course you don't know. this is secret voting shrouded in mystery and secrecy. who will be chosen is anybody's

guess. interesting and intriguing times in rome. >> very detailed how they go about it. >> the budget battle in washington this week they will sit down with lawmakers paul ryan gets set to introduce his own budget proposal. kelly wright is live in washington with more. what is the ryan plan? >> it will be introduced tomorrow. president obama continues to reach out in order to find common ground to reduce the nation's deficit. he hosted dinner with a dozen republicans last week and added much to congressman paul ryan chairman of the budget committee. he found the conversation with the president encouraging but is waiting to see what the president will do in the coming weeks. >> will he resume the campaign? will he resume republicans for the motives will he resume what

is long believed to be a plan to win the 2014 elections or will he sincerely change in trying to find common ground trying to work with republicans to get something done. that's what we hope happens. >> what paul ryan says hoping for is to give american people a balanced bundle et paving the way for a growing economy which will present jobs. he is looking for a new plan to seek the balance the budget in ten years by trimming it $5 trillion. it is time for common ground and compromise as well. some acknowledging the cuts will have to be made in entitlement programs in order to replace the sequester and balance the budget. >> if the question remains we will lose 750,000 jobs evidence that a cuts only approach particularly one that is indiscriminant takes a need ax

approach rather than benefitting the wealthy. use that to reduce the deficit. entitlement i would be willing to accept that if we had a balanced approach. >> president obama advise is capitol hill this week. kelly wright in washington. thank you so much. t it is time for a look at whose talking. hamid karzai made accusations against the united states. >> karzai saying he thinks they are working in coordination with the taliban. he says it is to show how the security could deteriorate after u.s. troops leave the country at the end of next year. chuck hagel in afghanistan for his first trip there as defense secretary he and karzai were to hold a joint news conference which was canceled due to security concerns. hagel responding to accusations

made by karzai. >> i told the president it was not true. that the united states was unilaterally working with the taliban in trying to negotiate anything. the fact is, any prospect for peace or poll lal settlements that has to be led by the afghans. that has to come from the afghan side. obviously the united states will support efforts. if they are led by the afghans to come to some possible resolution if that veventually evolves. i don't know. i have always believed that it is wise for nations to engage,

to reach out. that doesn't mean you are prepared to negotiate. it may never get to that point. but i think it is far preferable than war. >> hagel left afghanistan hours ago. >> time for the first degree weather update. >> maria molina is live with yet another storm. right? >> another cold front. ahead of it we have been enjoying pretty good conditions for the week. we had sunshine high temperatures upper 40z low 50s. today will be similar to that. high temperatures 50 degrees. high temperature today is only going to be in the upper 30s. you are start to go see cooler air dipping downward and that's

what we will be seeing into sections of new york city as we head into wednesday night and thursday. air as we have it. cold front headed eastbound areas of heavy rain across northern alabama. you are waking up to heavy rain this morning. you are going to need the umbrella and extra time on the roadways as we head out to work. it is going to be coming down otherwise kentucky dealing with the rain as well. we have the colder temperatures heather and heather we are looking at accumulations ranging anywhere from 4-9 inches of snow and breezy conditions. >> we just sprung forward. that means spring is coming. >> moving around the corner. enjoy the mild today and coming up the jackets still needed thursday and friday. >> we were building snow men over the weekend. >> the time now is 11 minutes

after the top of the hour. coming up we all know that aspirin can be good for your heart. we are learning about additional health fitness for women. >> plus one of the nation's top universities is accused on spying on its own staff. why they were reportedly going through e-mails. [ male announcer ] in blind taste tests, even ragu users chose prego. prego?! but i've been buying ragu for years. [ thinking ] i wonderhat other questionable choices i've made? [ club scene music ] [ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego.

>> good morning to you. it is quarter past the hour. administrators are under fire for secretly searching the e-mails of more than a dozen at the university. officials were looking for whoever leaked information about a major cheating scandal to the media last fall. the targeted deans were on the board investigating the scandal.

we are told not -- we are not told actually about that search. the daughter of robert f kennedy wants the drunk driving charge against her dropped kennedy claims she accidentally took a sleeping pill instead of her thyroid medication before she swerved into a tractor trailer on a new york highway back in july. she said she would never drive after knowingly taking that drug. heather? >> thank you very much. >> stories you can bank on this morning. could longer workweeks lead to more jobs? some economists say yes. adam shapiro from the fox business network joins us now to explain. >> 236,000 new jobs announced friday but some could be high highered. >> one they look for is the hours you and i are working. the average number of hours we are working is 34.5.

34.7 is what they said in 2008. manufacturing is exceeding the number worked. they ask you to work for more over time you can't stretch any further you have to hire people. the only hint of problems is the sequestration. look if people have more money out there for long you aer hour people buy some. spending cuts keep people from spending money. this is a good time. >> very excited about the next story. couple numbers for you. 17 and what's the number, 8. april 8th is the big championship game and the 17th of march. >> we have all heard of march madness, right? the tk v networks and mtaa have

march money on their minds. did you know a championship game for a 30 second spot they are going to charge something like 1 and a half million dollars. they don't get that for the nba championship. turns out for the last ten years the final four is generated more than -- the whole tournament is generated $5.9 billion>> more than the super bowl. >> in 2012 the championship game sold more than the super bowl major league baseball game nba championship. college sports is the place to be. >> we have to go unc all of the way. that's what i am saying. >> thank you very much. appreciate it. the time now is 18 after the top of the hour. coming up next on "the rundown" did springing forward make it harder for you to sleep last night? a sleep doctor is here with tips to help you catch up on your rest. some parents hoping tough love teaches their teens a lesson. why they turned them into the

police. but first as we go to break a look at the gas prices the new national average $3.70 that's unchanged from yesterday.

>> welcome back. it is 22 after the top of the hour. president obama could name his new pick for labor secretary as soon as today. he's expected to pick thomas perez an assistant attorney general for the justice department. perez would replace solace who resigned in february.

taking an aspirin may protect women from deadly skin dancer. women who use aspirin were 21 percent less likely to develop melanoma. the risk continued to drop the longer women took the drug. researchers say it's because aspirin reduces inflammation which they believe develops the cancer. >> thank you so much. are you still struggling after losing an hour of sleep last night when the clocks went forward last weekend. joining us with tips is dr. michael bruce a sleep expert and clinical psychologist. no one around here got any sleep last night because of that time space. what do you recommend tonight? >> the time change has occurred. it could be quite dangerous out there today people need to be very aware. >> what do you mean dangerous? >> driving? >> there's an 8 percent increase in traffic accidents today and 10 percent increase in heart attacks the day after the time change. people need to be aware of their

bodies as well as their sur p roundings. >> what about tonight? >> tonight one of the first things if you already lost an hours of sleep go to bed a half an hour earlier tonight. if your body is sleep deprived it will help you out. >> my favorite tip if you can't fall asleep at night because yier mind keeps going and going and going. >> a lot of people have stress and thinking about how to pay the bills as they are trying to get to sleep. >> one of the things i tell them to do count backwards from 300 by 3's. >> seriously? >> seriously that. math is hard to do. >> that's the point. we want people to mathematically it is so complicated people can't think of anything else and it's owe dog on boring you are out like a light. >> tell us what you recommend? >> the thing i have people think about is deacon guest for better rest. if you have any type of nasal

congestion allergies things like that it will effect your ability to sleep even more so if you are having trouble sleeping. a nettie pot can help get out of that stuff out of your sinuses to help you breathe better. >> humidfier, too? >> absolutely. >> here's another one bubble bath. >> i am giving you the prescription to take a bubble bath 90 minutes before bed. here's why. bubbles go across the top of the water and keep a liar indiana sul layings to keep the water hotter longer. when you get out temperature decreases that's a signal to your brain to reach melatonin. hot bubble bath before bed helps you sleep. >> alcohol you don't sleep well after alcohol. >> it is the number one sleep said it may help you fall asleep but keeps you from the deep stages of sleep and makes you

dehydrated. >> drink a lot of water if you are going to drink alcohol. hope you sleep well tonight. it is 25 minutes after the hour. coming up we he almost lost his life in a terror attack now he's looking for pay back by going after a bank. we will explain that. are you looking for happiness? there's an app for that. there's an app for everything. we will tell you about the app that is making these promises. fist in history in 1997 paul mccartney was knighted by queen elizabeth making him sir paul mccartney. dentures are very different to real teeth. they're about 10 times softer and may have surface pores where bacteria can multiply. polident kills 99.99% of odor causing bacteria and helps dissolve stains. that's why i recommend polident. [ male announcer ] cleaner, fresher, brighter every day.

mommy's having a french fry.

yes she is, yes she is. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. 100% vegetable juice, with three of your daily vegetable servings in every little bottle. >> i am heather childers. >> i am heather kooiman. it is 5 time for the 5@5:30. t -- i am heather nauert. >> it is tame for the 5@5:30. hamid karzai is accusing americans of working with the taliban. he says this is to show how the security deteriorated after troops leave next year. chuck hagel and karzai was scheduled to hold a press conference that was canceled for security reasons but hagel

quickly responded. >> i told the president it was not true that the united states was unilaterally working with the taliban in trying to negotiate anything. the fact is any prospect for peace or political settlements that has to be led by the afghans. >> securitily hagel left afghanistan just a few hours ago. >> the victims of hamas attacks can now sue a french bank that knew wit was handling money for the terrorist group. they knew money from the palestinian charities count funded at least 15 terrorist attacks. it showed the bank had concerns since 1997. it kept the account open since 19936789 survivors and victims families of attack from 2002 to

2004. a moment of center lines held at a california animal sanctuary yesterday as it reopened to the public for the first time. the moment was honoring 24-year-old volunteer diana hampton killed last week by a lion. she was cleaning out a cage when it broke lose and attacked her. cat haven decided to reopen in order to carry mission. >> it is difficult but today i want to be excited about being open again. die nana would be very adamant we continue on with what we are doing. >> yesterday investigators cleared up a report that diana was on her cell phone at the time of the attack. instead they say she was on a walkie-talkie. they are in big trouble with the law and their parents. two teenagers charged with robbery after their mothers turned them into police.

they weren't too happy when they saw the crime go down on surveillance video posted on youtube. the cameras caught the boys as they eyed a girl's wallet and they then exited the store waiting for her to leave and snatched 13 bucks. >> need a little cheering up this morning? there is now an app for that. it provide fast and effective digital pills that change your mind for the better. the app is free but you have to buy the self hypnosis audio recording. it will brighten up your mood and make you feel better. whatever works. you are looking live at vatican city. cardinals are gathering for the last meeting before the papal conclave begins tomorrow. lauren green is live from rome with the latest. >> good morning, lauren. >> good morning heather.

we are less than 24-hour brothers the conclave begins. we are learning of possible frontrunners all eyes will be on saint peters square where the balcony is being prepared. they are said to be reporting angelo scola the archbishop in milan is the largest sdies with along the venice has produced five posts. conservative theologian known to reaching out to the muslim world. he has the strength to look at the scandal plagued vatican. a brizial of german dissent would be the first lat continue american pope. the american cardinals are also emerging as serious con terneds like new york's timothy dolan and o'malley and cardinal

daniel. they are seen as power brokers. the two factions that developed signal the church's multiple needs. >> the church actually needs two men or two characteristics in one man. the old type decisive competent listens to add vice and takes action. a holy man who can empathize with poor people, can empathize with sinners. >> the cardinals have one last congregation meeting today before the conclave ritual begins early tuesday morning. here's how it will proceed. the cardinals begin the day at 7:30 at the living quarters from vatican grounds. 10:00 a.m. the mass at saint peters basilicbasilica. they will be transferred to the apostolic palace and 4:30 they will make the grand recession into the sistine chapel.

they will take the oath before capturing their first ballot. only one ballot that is the evening for white or black smoke we should see about 7:00 p.m. rome time. black meaning no pope. white meaning there is a new pope. lauren green reporting live for us from rome this morning. thank you. back here in the nation's capital president obama continues the outreach on the hill. the economy may be in for a reality check and then the race for the white house in 2016 may already be taking place. doug luzader is live in washington with more of the headlines. good morning. >> good morning. is it too early to start talking about 2016 in apparently not. jeb bush's name is getting a fair amount of attention. the dow is a tough act to follow. will that continue? the president on what some are describing as a charm offensive visiting capitol hill. he's actually going to make a couple of trips to the capital

to meet with democrats and republicans. on march 27th the government is slated to run out of funding unless there's a budget agreement. the president had dinner last week when select group of republicans and lunch with house gop budget guru paul ryan. i hope that this is sincerement we had a good exchange but the truth will be in the coming weeks as to whether or not it is a seen sere outrea outreach. >> they head into even deeper territory. job numbers last week we are about to learn more about consumer sentiment which is an important driver of the economy. get ready voter fatigue or not washington is talking about 2016 in the race for the white house. conservative political action comment with a number of players including marco rubio, rand paul louisiana governor bobby jindal and former governor jeb bush who

has just written a new book and just made the rounds of the sunday morning talk shows. i have a blessed life. i can continue to do what i am doing now or about he hwork on reform and advocate the policies that i believe in and also private life. that decision will happen as i said later on. >> a lot of decisions will come later on. one possible contender for 2016 was not invited to the conservative conclave was new jersey governor chris christie. >> doug luzader in washington. never too early to start talking. >> i think it's too early for 2016. let's talk about weather now before you leigh the house this morning. let's get the first degree weather update with maria molina. >> yet another storm. >> another storm. this time around it is relatively mild ahead of this system. as it mos into the northeast and parts of the south we are not expecting to see much in the way of snow across portions of the northeast even in the hire

elevations. that's a little bit of gad news. spring is around the corner and we are seeing that snow more coming to an end. there are areas that are dealing with the snowfall still this morning. rain in the south mississippi, the city of new orleans louisiana parts of alabama and tennessee really dealing with areas very heavy rain possible through out the day today. even forms embedded into the rainfall. yars of lighter rain across portions of the eastern great lakes you are going to need that umbrella especially after you head out the door early this morning and back on the other side of the system iowa, wisconsin. southeastern sections of minnesota that's where we do have some winter storm warnings in effect. >> thank you. >> time now for your starting lineup. top sports stories mat kenseth winning the cobalt 400 on his

41st birthday. it is his 259 career victory. the next race the food city 500 at the bristol motor speedway. that is sunday. tiger woods cruises into an easy victory at the cadillac championship. he nirned one under 71 for the 76th pga tour trophy. 17th world golf championship title. tiger has won five times in the last year. and the usa is moving on in the world baseball classic. the team scored 7 times the last two innings to beat canada 9-4. the u.s. faces puerto rico tomorrow night. congrats to them. the time now is 40 after the top of the hour. coming up one lawmaker has no tolerance for school's no tolerance policy. he wants to stop schools from being too far. >> our caring green card carrying a dirty little secret.

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>> welcome back. about 15 minutes before the hour. let's span the cloglobe and see what is going on. volume cane knee is spewing cash. the ash reachlinging miles into the sky. it is the 8th active one. >> nelson mandela is resting comfortably. he has been released from the hospital after successfully under going routine tests. the 94-year-old is doing well. heather? >> thank you so much. electric cars are supposed to be environmentally friendly. all of the apps on tv show zero

emissions. turns out the cars have a dirty little secret. here to tell us is diane macedo. what is the secret? >> according to environmentalists although they don't emit carbon die ox the energy used to charge their batteries does far more than most people realize. in a wall street journal piece it points to a study which shows production of electric cars emit more than double due to lithium for their batteries. when it rolls off the production line it is responsible for 30,000 pounds of carbon die oxy mission compared to a regular car's 14,000 pounds. overwhelmingly reduced with fossil fuels and batteries need to be charged more frequently. if a car is driven 50,000 miles

over the lifetime with the emission brothers the factor there a there is more carbon dioxide or a gas car comes from electricity of coal. even if it is driven for 90,000 miles it will cause 24 percent less carbon dioxide emissions which equates to $44 in climate costs. that is a far cry from zero emissions and millions of dollars we pay for good warts. fox fwhits work. it is 46 minutes after the hour. we all remember the great family trips we went on as a kid. most were great at least. here's what we are asking. where can you take your kids to make the memories last a lifetime? travel expert is here with destinations. coming up next. >> talk about living on the edge.

an amazing moment a kayaker goes over a water fall. check that out. let's check in with steve doocy. >> that was cool. >> take you live to rome coming up on "fox & friends." it's almost time to pick a new pope. we will talk about who is perhaps the frontrunner in the so-called sweet sistine. donald trump will join us. he has made an offer. he will donate $5 million they are making gun ownership mandatory. , a breeze, a dunk of grilled cheese. catches and throws, and spaghettio's. that's what happy kids are made of. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.

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>> we all remember the trips we took with our families and kids. how do you make sure the next trip you take your own children on is unforgettable?

the next guest has three places he says will change your lives. he is editor in chief magazine author of the book 100 places that can change your child's life from your backyard to the end of the earth. now we are all kids at heart. this can go for any of us. >> let your kids tral well you you will see a whole new way of seeing the world. >> the passport is the new diploma. >> first up london. >> this is the starter kit if you want to do cities. it can be very expensive. everybody worries travel is expensive. dry london take them to the tower of london. be sure you try to do this you can get an apartment. you can get a discount booklet. you get a city pass. great way to get off 60 percent off. plan accordingly.

>> that's the great thing about being a kid the little things are a huge deal when you are a little kid. you don't have to spend a lot of money. >> tower of london the beheadings the creepy crawly stuff. >> the islands i would love to come here. >> we took our 7 and 8-year-old here. experience theories of evolution. you can go nose to nose with seals and swim with the dolphins. >> sea turtles. >> do you have an age recommendation? >> they were 6 and 7 when we went there. get kids traveling as soon as possible. they have muscle memory they can feel the rhythm to travel. when you tral early they keep wanting to travel. >> parents who say i take them too young they won't remember it? >> you don't want to take them on an african safari at 3. >> marco island, florida. >> this is a little bit of a

change up for me. i went down there and met up with a bunch of kids. you are going on a boat you are going to see real dolphins. it is great for the kids. they look at where the dolphins are going what their family units are like. if they found a dolphin that hasn't been previously discovered they get to name it. >> all of these are places they can learn and have fun at the same time. >> also bringing in the parents. let the kids be part of the experience. don't just tell them what they are going to do. >> what about your number one tip for parents traveling with children speegsly like long distances. >> take your time. parents really try to pack stuff in they want to take them to museums and everything. the kids get exhausted. my rule never take a child into a museum for more than 45 minutes. that's guaranteed turn off to

museums for the rest of their lives. >> appreciate it. those are good tips for all of us kids at heart, too. >> the time now is about 6 minutes to the top of the hour. coming up next on "the rundown". kids get wild at a soccer game when one player is attacked but it's not by another player. you have to see this. a death defying stunt all caught on camera. a kayaker goes over a 65 foot water fall. the ending you have to see to believe. the patient, presented with a hairline fracture to the mandible and contusions to the metacarpus. what do you see? um, i see a duck. be more specific. i see the aflac duck. i see the aflac duck out of work and not making any money. i see him moving in with his parents and selling bootleg dvds out of the back of a van. :