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mariachi can you see the chimney

from here? bill: it's small from this distance. martha: we will be on the radio coming up 20 minutes from now. "happening now" starts right now. bye. jon: we begin with brand-new stories and breaking news. jenna: a new round of voting expected this hour as cardinals once again gather at the sistine chapel to elect a new pope. we are watch the vatican. the very latest as it happens. plus back here at home new numbers on retail sales. how much spending americans did last month and how wall street is reacting. we are at the new york stock exchange in a moment. and a new discovery about life on mars. it's all "happening now." it's all "happening now." jenna: well the whole world waiting for the election of a new pope. hi, everybody, i'm jenna

lee. jon: i'm jon scott. all eyes are on the vatican where a new round of voting is expected this hour. earlier this morning, black smoke came billowing from the chimney of the sistine chapel meaning no new pope just yet. the cardinals began voting yesterday to choose a successor benedict xvi. he became the first pope to resign in 600 years. we'll know if they made a decision when the white smoke actually comes out of that chimney. lauren green is joining us live from rome with the latest. lauren? >> reporter: hey, jon. thank you very much. you know the as soon as we can see any kind of smoke would be about an hour and a half. it would have to be white. it would mean that the cardinals have not needed to vote a fourth time because they have chosen the successor to pope benedict xvi. that would be the first time. there are 115 cardinal electors in the sistine chapel working on that next vote but there are many more cardinals who are over the age of eighty also here in

rome and taking part in the general congregation meets last week and they are part of the discussion. thinking about what they would need in a new pope. i talked with american archbishop theodore mcarikc. what they're looking for in a new pope. >> they're looking for a man who doesn't exist and he existed 2,000 years ago, his name was jesus. they are looking for a miracle worker. we all are. if we have confidence in jesus who we serve he will help the man to get elected. >> reporter: but the longer the conclave goes on, the more that is expected it could be someone, a complete unknown. >> oh, just could be anybody. this could be a conclave of surprises. remember back when john paul ii was elected, nobody

expected him to be elected. there were two leading italian candidates. >> reporter: of course we're talking about that white and black smoke. what makes it white, what makes it black, they add chemicals. give you a rundown on chemicals. to make black smoke. they add potassium and sulfur. to make white smoke. potassium color rate and lactose and rosen. they used to add tar or hay. how things have changed. you need a chemical engineering degree these days. jon, back to you. jon: wheel look for the white smoke. let us know if you see it. lauren green, thank you. jenna: we'll return to rome momentarily. now to washington, d.c. there is new information to avoid a government shutdown. the senate is considering a broader version of the house bill just passed to keep the government up and running the next several months. there are questions whether the house will pass what is being described as a new hybrid measure. doug mckelway is live on

capitol hill. doug, so we're clear on the timeline, this isn't about the budget battle for next year? this is about funding the government for the next few months, right? >> reporter: that's right, jenna. this is the continuing resolution the house passed last week that continues to fund the government through september. it is in the senate's hands right now and it appears to enjoy broad bipartisan support on the appropriations committee thanks to a large art part the chairman of that committee, barbara mikulski is working with the ranking member, senator richard shelby of alabama. it ran into a big stumbling block when senators coburn and mccain threatened to put a hold on the bill because of all the pork in it. that drew swift condemnation this morning from senate majority leader harry reid. listen up. >> now i, just alert everyone, we have, easter recess coming a week from friday and we're not going to be able to do that. a budget has a locked in amount of time, 50 hours. plus the votathon. so everyone should be

prepared to change their plans first few days. we hope it is the first few days of easter recess. we're not even on this bill. and that is such a sad thing. >> reporter: here's look at some of the pork coburn and mccain found in the bill. it provides $65 million for pacific coast salmon restoration for states including nevada. nevada salmon. it directs the department of defense to overpay on contracts by an additional 5% to contractors who are native hawaiian owned companies. it provides $154 million for military alternative energy research initiatives. the most notorious example which was paying $26 per gallon for 450,000 gallons of alternative fuel. despite all the wasteful spending senators coburn and mccain took to the senate floor this morning to assure majority leader reid they would not filibuster the bill. here is senator coburn. >> there is a lot we ought to discuss about this bill. there is no attempt to filibuster the bill.

>> reporter: so it appears that the senate will take up the continuing resolution in some way, shape or form. there is a lot of time pressure involved here. the easter recess is coming up. if they don't reconcile the bill with the house version of it by march 27th, the government technically runs out of money. neither side wants to take credit for a government shutdown, jenna. jenna: no 13-hour filibuster, a la rand paul to look forward to. we'll take that, we'll take that for what it is and see what happens over the next couple days. what about the house republicans though, doug? what do they think about what is going on in the senate and the bill that could come from the house? >> a lot of pressure from the house fight as well. they used in their continuing resolution as a baseline the sequester cuts that imposed as a result of the sequester. that is not in the senate bill. listen up to speaker boehner from yesterday. >> if senate democrats try to load up this bill with extraneous provision, partisan riders, budget gimmicks, we, we will be prepared to move a clean

continuing resolution through the end of the fiscal year. >> reporter: another potential obstacle. tea party conservatives senators cruz and mike lee of utah held a press conference within the past hour. they're going to propose an amendment to the bill in the senate which would defund obamacare but with only 45 republican votes in the senate, it is largely a symbolic measure. jenna? jenna: doug mckelway live on capitol hill. doug, thank you. jon: president obama seems to be taking a detour from his charm offensive with congressional republicans making his first in-person appearance at an event hosted by organizing for action, ofa. that advocacy group comprised of former campaign staff and grassroots supporters. it used to be obama for america, the president's campaign committee. also a group that has been criticized for engaging in political tactics used by big money groups aligned with the republican party. so what's behind the presidential strategy here?

charlie hirt is a columnist with "the washington times." charlie, we've also understood that the organizers of the new organization, organizing for action, they're pushing members to send in their, sort of horror stories of the sequester. tell us how bad it is hurting you so that we can put pressure on members of congress. >> you know, and it is interesting, jon, how seamlessly that message picks up from right where president obama and the white house left off with their scare tactics about sequestration and these draconian cuts which of course amount to less than 3% across the board of the fed, entire federal budget which, for i think for most people doesn't seem to be that draconian. jon: the federal budget that will spend more money this year than it spent last year even with the cuts? >> that's right. i actually calculated this yesterday. in the ten years that i've been covering congress, federal spending has gone up

65%. which, means that i think a lot of those of us in our business have not been doing a very good job of policing the budget anyway. but, so, you know, the organizing for action committee group has done a very good job. they sort of picked up with the scare tactics right where president obama left off. quite frankly the reason president obama is easing up personally on this we saw just, today, or yesterday, in an interview where he denied that he made the, the white house played the decision to cancel the tours because of sequestration even though his own white house acknowledged they were the ones that made that decision. quite frankly the president obama realizes that maybe, you know, that they have pushed a little too hard on this. that they're starting to look a little ridiculous about it. so they stopped but this committee has picked up right where he left off and they're continuing with this, with the scare tactics and

you know, we'll see if they work any better than they did when president obama was trying. jon: they seem to feel the heat from the criticism they have been taking. they have announced, organizing for action, announced they're not going to take money now from, from large corporations or from lobbyists. is that a start? >> well, i think, but i mean the idea that, they would even have to be dealing with these questions, or that they would even have an organization like this set up, you know, it is exactly the kind of thing that they have so harshly attacked republicans for. they attacked president bush for this. this has been sort of their battle cry about campaign finance reform, is sort of shadowy groups like this that get sort of, that get a lot of money from, moneyed interests that are often shadow wii. this has been the heart of their complaint all along

about their campaign finance reform. so frankly, sort of astonish inning to sit there and see that they're even dealing anywhere this realm of politics right now. jon: bob edgar, the former democratic congressman from pennsylvania who now heads common cause says he compares it to, like selling the lincoln bedroom without the sheets. >> that's a very colorful description but i do think that it is an apt one and it does harken back to the old clinton years under president clinton where, you know, they were clearly selling access to the white house, to the very lincoln bedroom, to some of their highest donors. jon: but, jay carney says, oh, there is no price for, you know, meeting with the president, no minimum donation required. >> although it did come up that i guess, somebody figured out that the people that get those meetings, usually pay a hefty, hefty

amount to either, to the campaigns or to the, the interest groups such as organizing for action. and it does buy you access, there is no question about it. jon: charlie hirt from "the washington times." we'll keep an eye on that one, charlie. thank you. >> thank you, jon. jenna: as we're watching what's happening in washington, d.c. there is more anti-american rhetoric from afghan's president. why hamid karzai is vilifying the united states and what it could mean for his country and also our troops. a teacher of the year vanishes without a trace and now police and hundreds of volunteers are desperately searching for her. the full story ahead. nexium, the purple pill,

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jon: a fox news alert and a scary situation underway right now in upstate new york. in herkimer county, a couple people shot at a carwash and four others shot at a barber

shop. this taking place in the village of herkimer, new york. generally in the vicinity of syracuse. there are also were reports of an explosion and fire, all at the same time. again these are very small towns. police forces certainly not prepared to deal with this kind of violence exploding on a wednesday morning. suspect in a red jeep with a blacktop was seen escaping one of these shooting scenes. he is thought to have a long gun, either a rifle or a shotgun. we're told that the vehicle has been found but no sign of the suspect. schools are on lockdown there in heck herkimer county. as we get more information we'll bring it to you on "happening now". jenna: more information on a few crime stories we're keeping an eye on now. a man accused of killing his grandparents is in serious condition. he was in a standoff with police in oregon when

officers moved in. he was found on the floor with a self-inflicted wound. we'll keep an eye on that. a search for a newly named teacher of the year last seen two weeks ago in new orleans celebrating the award with friends. police in virginia on the hunt for an arsonist. the eastern shore is dealing with 60 suspicious fires since november. the latest coming last night. these unbelievable photos show an abandoned motel up in flames. there is $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. jon: all right. so what's going on here? afghan president hamid karzai persists with his criticism of the united states. in a new speech karzai repeated comments he made over the weekend vilifying america. his remarks suggesting that the taliban and the united states are working together to show the country is unstable and that violence will only get worse. let's talk about it with ambassador john bolton, the former u.s. ambassador to

the u.n. and a fox news contributor. this is the guy that the united states basically hand-picked to put into that post to run that country and, you know, try to put things back together. >> right, picked him over ten years ago and when there wasn't a lot of competition frankly to take on a very difficult job but i think it's some indication of how things have gone and not to our interests that he is still in power ten plus years later. the institutions of government really have not adapted yet we're so wed to him because of the programs we pursued, when he turns on us it is a very difficult situation. jon: but the remarks on sunday that the taliban are killing civilians basically in service of the united states? >> it is ridiculous. really we should say so. what the point he seeps to try to make in afghan politics the americans are trying to find a way to stay in the country and he is trying to present himself as the defender of afghan sovereignty.

we're talking to the taliban, it's true. i think it is a bad idea but in part we're doing it as hamid karzai's suggestion some time back. he is playing an intricate political game. i don't think it will work out well for him. it will not work out for us either. jon: is he plotting for his own survival after the american pullout? >> that is what i think it comes down to. i have a very pessimistic view what happens if we withdrew or maintain a small residual force. i think everybody sees the direction this is going in. i think taliban and al qaeda come back in when we leave. he will need to make a swiss exit to switzerland or will face what happened to his predecessors the last few decades and face execution by the taliban. jon: it does not bode a long life. >> no job security, no doubt about it. jon: some said portraying himself as an anti-american tough guy he may inculcate some friends among the taliban or those who would replace him?

>> that's why i say his game has been to change back and forth. he was the one who thought we could split the taliban, we could bring over to our side some of the warlords who were more interested in drug selling and that sort thing than in islamist religious beliefs. but the fact is, in trying to make thinks way through the complicated taliban politics, he simply endangered himself and our strategic interests in the country. jon: but for all of the blood that we have shed there on behalf of trying to prop up his government, trying to make a governable country out of afghanistan, i mean, what should the families of our soldiers be thinking right now? >> look these comments are inexcusable but our interests in afghanistan should not be seen as propping up his government or making a nice switzerland-style democracy there which isn't going to happen. we had key political military objective. stop the tall lan and al qaeda from attacking the united states and making sure next door pakistan

doesn't fall into the hands of extremists and that supply of nuclear weapons fall into their hands. so we've got real interests that the benefit the united states. i'm afraid we're about to throw them away. jon: i was going to ask how much have we achieved? >> i think we achieved a substantial amount but if the people in afghanistan or pakistan think we're short-timers which the obama administration made sure we are, they will look at the taliban who aren't going anywhere and us departing an conclude their best safety comes from siding with taliban. that's why talibans return to power seems to me almost impossible to prevent if we pull out. jon: ambassador john bolton. thanks. >> thank you. jon: jenna. jenna: electric cars may not be quite as green as you think. why our guest says they have a dirty little secret. we'll go in depth on that. also all eyes on the chimney at the sistine chapel. we're waiting the election of a new pope. could it happen today? we understand votes will start to take place shortly. the latest news from rome as it happens ahead here on fox news i had enough of feeling embarrassed about my skin.

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jenna: tax time. hate to remind you about that, but millions of americans are preparing to pay uncle sam. they're looking for a tax break as well, like the government tax credit. as much as $7500 for environmentally friendly electric cars. while ads say these cars produce zero emissions, our next guest says that may not actually be the case. in fact he says green cars have a dirty little secret and tax breaks for them may not be in the best interests for taxpayers. he is the author of, cool it, skeptical environmentalist. he wrote an article in the "wall street journal" just the other day, the dirty secrets about electric car. what is a dirty little secret about what is supposed to be a clean car? >> they don't emit co2 when driving on the road but they

take up a lot of co2, fossil fuels when they're being produced. they take up as much as it would take to drive 80,000 miles when it gets produced because battery are incredibly energy costly to produce. then at the same time, of course you actually recharge them with electricity. that is also mostly produced with fossil fuels. jenna: so is your problem with electric cars, you mentioned that you're not against electric cars once they become more efficient perhaps but is the waste really in the building and manufacturing of the cars, or is it how we drive them? >> no, no. it is mostly in the production and it is the fact that we don't recognize, we're actually emitting lots of and lots of co2 even with electric cars. if you drive testimony for a very long way they are probably slightly less co2 emitting than a regular gasoline-driven car but only 24% less. it is not zero. it is not 100% less. you have to realize you still emit a lot of co2. if you don't drive them a

lot, which there is good evidence that we don't, you could end up emitting for co2 with the electric car. jenna: you have your critics, you know that one critic of your article in the "wall street journal" said this there is no region in the united states driving the electric car is not cleaner than driving average gasoline vehicle. almost half of americans live in states where electric cars are by far the best option available today, the best option? >> he looked at epa when you look how much electricity do you use and how much is producing co2 versus the gasoline that is absolutely true. if you don't drive it just with coal-fired power plants you actually emit less co2. the problem you already emitted a lot more co2 when you produce the car. that is what you're missing in the calculation. that's what the articles i referred to as pier published scientific article tells us unless you drive your car a lot --. jenna: you would have to drive it 100,000 miles or more to do better by the environment? >> 90,000 miles, yes.

jenna: what kind of car do you drive, i'm curious. >> i don't have a car. i ride a bicycle. jenna: most environmentally friendly. here is the argument for investing generally speaking in green technology. sure it is not necessarily the cleanest that it could be but we're on the way there and that's why tax breaks and subsidies are important for this industry because right now it is the best available and it will only get better? >> of course we should be investing making better electric cars. i would love to see a future where we have lots and lots of electric cars but we should focus on research development side. make better electric cars and then sell them. right now we're selling them to make people feel good about themselves but the honest answer is, the net benefit, even if you drive your electric car a very long while, the net benefit is about $44 to the environment. jenna: wait a minute, $44 over the entire -- >> entire --. jenna: time driving that car? >> if it actually reduces emissions which is fairly optimistic assumption but let's assume that $44.

yet we pay more than $7500 because we subsidize a lot of companies producing this. that doesn't make sense. so what we should be doing is, make sure we invest in research and development, get better, greener cars. then eventually everyone will be driving one, also in china. jenna: don't necessarily give the tax break right now? not the best use of our money. >> no. jenna: great to have you as always. thanks for coming back and visiting us. nice to have you. jon? jon: there is more sabre-rattling from north korea to tell you about. the latest bizarre move following the north's nuclear test last month. the underreported issue that might pose a greater risk to the u.s. and our allies.

jenna: some curious new developments concerning north korea today. the government there making its first direct personal attack against south korea's first female president, blaming rising tensions on the korean peninsula on her quote, venomous swish of skirts. the bizarre comment, just the latest in a series of aggressive moves by pongyang including successful test of its third nuclear weapon last month that led to a round of sanctions by the u.n. the another underreported issue is nuclear proliferation with the north dealing with fellow states like iran and syria. what can the united states do to contain the dangerous alliance and where is it right now? david asher is a former national security council official and also a senior

fellow at the center for a new american security and focused on issues with north korea a few years ago with the state department. david, nice to have you on the program. oh, i hope he can hear me. david, can you hear me? probably indication he can't. hopefully we can get him back. one of the things that we're looking to talk to david about is back in september, there was an agreement between iran and north korea, and no one really covered it, it didn't get a lot of media coverage but some suggest it is the same agreement, a very similar one, that north korea made with several states back in the early 2,000s, before they develop ad nuclear weapon. so this is getting more attention now as we see north korea being more aggressive, having nuclear tests, and we want to talk about that connection because that could be the most important thing to our national security. if we get david back, which we hope to, we'll go to him in a moment. he is an expert on the issues. we look forward to talking

to him. jon? jon: a fox news alert. at least five people have been shot, possibly six and at least four are dead we are told after a horrible shooting rampage in new york state near syracuse. rick folbaum is on it from the breaking news desk. risk? >> reporter: this is central new york between sirp cues and albany. we've been in touch with the local fire department. a source there telling us he can confirm a couple of these key days we've been hearing about. a gunman is still on the loose. this is the village of herkimer, new york. six people were shot we're told in three separate shootings. four of those people are confirmed dead. the first shooting happened in a house in a nearby village of mohawk, new york. that house was apparently set on fire. the local fire department responded to that. the shooter got in a truck and drove to herkimer and opened fire on a barbershop

and a oil lube place. we hear local schools are in lockdown. schools for young kids have been canceled today. police are apparently still searching for this suspect. local reports are there are a lot of police activity zeroing in on a building on main street in this town again. herkimer, new york, a breaking story unfolding now as we speak. as we learn more, jon, we'll pass it back to you. jon: what an awful story, rick folbaum thanks. jenna: more on that as we get it. we'll return back, not to business quite yet. david asher is back with us we believe from washington d.c. david, are you able to hear us? >> yes i am. thank you very much. jenna: hopefully we'll get you back on screen in a second. always better when we can see you and hear you on television. thank you for your patience with us. >> thank you. jenna: before we were able to hear each other, i was talking to our viewers a little bit about this agreement between iran and north korea that got very little coverage back in september and your expertise is really in the area of north korea. tell us about this agreement

and why it is getting more attention now? why should we pay attention? >> yeah, what's important is that the iranians on september 1st announced an agreement with north korea's president, kim jong nam, the number two ranking official in the north korean government on scientific cooperation. scientific cooperation doesn't sound like much except when you look at the history of scientific cooperation agreements between north korea and other governments most notably between north korea and syria in july of 2002 which was the starting point of north korea's nuclear program cooperation with the government of syria. fears are here in washington that the same sort of cooperation is emerging with tehran. jenna: do you believe it is? >> i think it is highly likely given the historical track record and the fact that the north korean delegation met with the minister of defense in iran and the head of iran's atomic energy program. jenna: how good is north korea's program? how much of a win would it be for iran to have a serious agreement with the state of north korea?

>> well, north korea and iran share a similar lineage of programs going to the pakistani program under a guy named a.q. khan, the rogue proliferator of the 1990s. whereas the iranian program has been significantly and seriously attacked by foreign governments through a variety of means the north korean program is unfortunately more or less been able to proceed intact on enriched-uranium, largely there was some doubt whether the north koreans were actually pursuing a program until last year when they openly displayed a pristine, highly, apparently operational enriched-uranium plant at the nuclear complex which convinced experts that north korea is indeed producing weapons-grade uranium en masse. jenna: why we keep paying attention to north korea and what they have to say is because we're constantly looking at what is a national security threat to americans and american families. it was interesting in our introduction to you, i'm not sure if you heard it or not,

we asked the question what can the united states do to contain this alliance? contain is a loaded word and i wanted to ask you about that. should we be containing this alliance or can we destroy this al islands? >> we need to do a combined effort of both containment and disruption. whether we can disrupt the alliance, we can certainly try to disrupt the significant potential cooperation between iran and north korea nuclear weapons programs and missile programs by using the proliferation security initiative which the bush administration started to interdict shipments. by using a counter network operations model that was used against the pakistani nuclear network to take these guys out anywhere they're traveling, wherever their bank accounts are and what they're in cooperation with. jenna: take them out what do you mean by take them out? >> we took them off the international playing field through blacklisting their travel, arresting them, freezing their bank accounts

and i think in the context of weapons of mass destruction proliferation all options should be on the table. these people are more dangerous than terrorists. jenna: interesting. let me ask you about that more because between the years of 2001 and 2005 you were working in the state department and this was before we knew that north korea was going to get this nuclear weapon. so there were sanctions being used. there were all of these options on the table to make sure they don't get a nuclear weapon. so we want to prevent history from repeating itself with iran and prevent north korea from getting more arms, more dangerous, more aggressive. so to keep history from repeating itself what do we do different this time around? >> well, in my case i was appointed as a special coordinator to lead the entire government effort against north korea's efforts internationally and as well to attack the financial foundations of the kim jong-il regime. i believe something similar needs to be adopted. you can't just approach north korea through a stovepipe process of people doing nuclear proliferation work and going after regime finances or working at the

u.n. there needs to be a special coordinator appointed and he needs to have the power and influence to go global against north korea's networks wherever they may reside. and to be able to put coercive force against those who are providing support and conciliatory assistance to north korea. jenna: you sound like you think this is a really serious time? >> i think it is a very serious time. north korea according to the leading nuclear research institute in washington, isis, is cooking up as much as 26 to 37 nuclear weapons worth of enriched-uranium presently, material that i believe they need to sell in order to maintain their regime's resilience. at a time when they're essentially approaching bankruptcy. we got to do everything we can to stop this train wreck from occurring. >> david, nice to have you on the program. >> thank you very much. jenna: we look forward to have you back and your expertise. >> thank you. appreciate your time. jon: now this "fox business alert" regarding wall street. we are learning that americans spent at the fastest pace in five months

in february. the commerce department reporting retail spending up 1.1% compared with the previous month. so what is that doing to the markets? nicole petallides with the fox business network live on the floor of the new york stock exchange. nicole? >> jon, i want to look first at some of the retail story as you noted. we're seeing retail spending on the rise. americans are spending on what they need most, gasoline, groceries and auto sales. they're seeing weakness in department stores, restaurant and furniture. obviously you have higher payroll taxes and investors and spenders who are still very worried. so you got to take it with a grain of salt. jon: all right. so, how, after all of the record-setting, you know, of the last week or two, how is the dow doing today? >> reporter: right now we have got a mixed market. we have six days in a row of gains, six record-setting closes for the dow jones industrials. we're up 400 points in eight day. you certainly have names on

the move. netflix works, to get your netflix features on your facebook. we're seeing boeing getting a chance to test the 787 with the new battery. another story we're following is pfizer a day after we found out that the fda is worning about issues with the zpak, the pfizer drug which can cause irregular heartbeat that can be prove to be fatal. pfizer sold off yesterday but higher today. after six record-setting closes, it will be iffy right to the closing bell but obviously we had a great, great first quarter. back to you. jon: nicole petallides. thank you. jenna: any minute now we could see smoke coming from the most-watched chimney in the world as the cardinals meet again in the vatican's sistine chapel to elect a new pope. no smoke yet, jon. jon: nope. jenna: not yet. we expect a vote to begin any minute now? jon: a minute ago a bird was sitting on the chimney cap. he would have had a rude awakening if they burned ballots. jenna: maybe a messenger

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no, no you can't come! [ male announcer ] e-trade. less for us. more for you. jon: we are still awaiting a decision on a new pope. the cardinals are inside the sis ten chapel in rome right now. a new round of voting expected at this hour. earlier we saw black smoke billowing out of the chimney. that means no one got the required 77 votes to become the next pope. if we see white smoke that means there's a new pope and it could happen any minute now. steven white a fellow with the catholic studies program at the ethics in public policy center joins us now. steven, i'm curious how the process works and, you know, obviously they're balloting in secret but some people have to change their votes in order for the black smoke to turn white. i mean if everybody stayed the same, vote after vote after vote, this process

would go on forever. so what is the thinking? i mean what is the motivation that would cause a cardinal to change his vote? >> well, the cardinals don't just want to see their man elected. they also know they're they're to choose a pope and at some point someone will have to get a 2/3 majority. often you see in the first ballot or two is the electors sort of feeling out the field. there may be an early frontrunner or two, to sort of winnow down the field to candidates that seem viable. if there's not someone who comes out of the clear frontrunner or someone who appears to be able to reach that 77-vote threshold then it's possible that they will sort of start over again and try to find someone new. now we have only had three ballots so far, which is not at all unusual that they haven't selected someone by now. we'll see this afternoon and tomorrow whether there's been one candidate who has

sort of come out as the strong frontrunner and he and his supporters have been able to build consensus around him and push him over that 2/3 threshold. jon: stephen, we have a couple other questions for you. we'll take a quick commercial break. we'll keep an eye on the chimney as always an be back with more for you in just a couple minutes.

jon: right now, nothing coming from the chimney of the sistine chapel. that means they are not burning ballots and voting for a new pope still underway. we are expecting to get another vote in the next hour or so. stephen white, once again a fellow with the catholic studies program at the ethics and public policy center. they are all sworn to secrecy, we know that but do we know, do they read the results of each ballot

before they burn them? do the bishops, i'm sorry the cardinals gathered there, do they know who the sort of leading contenders and lead vote-getters are? >> they do. that is part of how they know who is sort of coming out as a frontrunner and who they might decide to rally around. every vote the cardinals are asked to write the name of their choice on a piece of paper. that's their ballot. they're asked to actually disguise their handwriting so no one can tell who is voting for whom. the votes are then counted through an elaborate, sort of counted more than once. they're counted, they're displayed and they're recounted. at the end of that tally the leaders are read out. so this cardinal received this many votes. this cardinal received this many votes. and all the cardinals themselves will keep a tally of how did my candidate do on this ballot? how did do compared to the last ballot. all of those notes along with the ballots themselves are burned in the event,

once the voting is done. so they do keep a running track who voted for whom. then the results of the conclave, not who voted for whom but who got how many votes, all of that is recorded and then sealed and stashed away in the papal archives that a pope can then choose to open it or not open it at a later date at his discretion. jon: some of the cardinals have expressed some frustration with the way the vatican is being run these days i'm told? >> yeah. well the roman curia, the vatican bureaucracy, is an institution that serves, that exists to serve the bishop of rome, the pope. and in the last several years especially it has become increasingly dysfunctional in a variety of ways and it's, lately it has been in the news a lot, not for helping the pope get his message out but for

distractions and all kinds of scandals and is really not been helping the pope do his job. so the idea is that the curia needs to be reformed so that the mission of the pope can go forward and the mission of the church can be helped rather than hindered by the vatican bureaucracy. jon: well we have, as i understand it according to the schedule, about 3 1/2 hours left. not all of that time will be spent today voting. they will retire to the chapel for prayer in the last half hour or so of the day. so in the next 3 1/2 hours or maybe a little less than that, if we don't see the signal of the white smoke, it means we're going to start the process again tomorrow, right? >> yes, absolutely. we should have results from a vote soon. if there is no pope after this vote, we should have one more this afternoon. and then we'll be back tomorrow to repeat the process. there is only 115 men in

there voting. so you would think the vote would go rather quickly but the procedures are rather precise and it can take quite some time. every vote is presented by hand by the cardinal who is voting and they're all counted or recounted. if anyone is sick, a special group has to go where the cardinal is residing, laid up in bed, bring his vote. bring it back. there are procedures for all of that. it does take quite a lot of time. it gives the cardinals themselves for prayer and reflection and reading. jon: quite a process and very much steeped in history. stephen white from the catholic studies program from the ethics in public policy center. thank you. >> thank you. jon: we'll continue to watch the chimney from the sistine chapel waiting for puffs of smoke. it takes a few seconds before one can determine if it is white or is it black. black smoke means no new pope. we'll continue to watch on it on "happening now"

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jon: we begin the second hour of "happening now" with a fox news alert. a gunman on the loose in herkermer, new york 60 miles east of syracuse after a rampage that left four people dead. david lee miller is live in the newsroom with the latest. >> four people are dead, this fox news has confirmed with the state police. there were a series of shootings. there was a shooting spree that took mays, a total of three separate shooting incidents, all of them taking place in herkermer county new york. the first shootings took place in mohawk new york and the shoot irmoved on not far away, there he continued shooting at a location at john's barbershop and also at gaffy's fast lube. that was the location you just saw on the screen n. total police confirm now that four people have been shot dead, two others have been wounded.

a suspect is being sought. as for that suspect authorities say they believe the home the suspect had been living in in mohawk, new york was set fire this morning. they also believe that he was driving a maroon vehicle. they now have in their possession that vehicle. they are searching for a suspect described as 50 to 60 years old, a white male, 5'11" wearing a flannel shirt. the session continues. jon: the last i heard they were looking for or thought he was armed with a long gun, a shotgun or rifle. >> reporter: that's right they think he has a rifle and they say a number of long guns or rifles were confiscated this morning at the location that was set ablaze which could have been the suspect's home. we are trying to nail down the details. it is believed that the suspect is on the run, possibly armed. jon: let's get back to the phones. david lee miller, thank you. >> reporter: we are in the control room a brand-new hour coming your way including all eyes on the most watched chimney in the world. look at that little birdie flying by as well.

we could get some word this hour on whether or not they have named a new pope. we have team coverage. also the president doing a lot of talking today to house republicans earlier, then tonight to big-money donors to a group who used to be a part of his re-election campaign. the white house says no one is selling access to the president, some not so sure. as college seniors hit the home stretch a couple of months from graduation, how are all those diplomas, are they created equally even within the same school? the college majors that may off and those that don't. all of that and breaking news as the second hour of "happening now" starts right now. jon: and that bird rick was showing us on the roof of the sistine chapel more white than black. i wonder if that is a harbinger of things to come. jenna: i like it the bird indicator. we should name the bird, don't you think? it's kind of like name a pope, name a bird we'll ask our viewers over twitter what they

think we should name it. jon: house republicans are getting ready for a visit from president obama to talk about the budget. welcome to a brand-new hour of "happening now" i'm jon scott. jenna: we'll turn to washington d.c. i'm jenna lee. the president says he wants to break the political gridlock and reach a grand bargain. he'll be taking a short trip this afternoon from the white house to capitol hill e. doesn't think a deal is likely if republicans continue their demand for spending kwuts. right now at least right now there is little sign of compromise with neither side backing down from the same position that has killed deals in the past. in the meantime the president will be meeting tonight with wealthy donors who give large sums of money to a group p*urbing the president's agenda. we'll start there withed henry live at the white house. about this meeting tonight, this dinner, how much did it cost to get into this event? >> reporter: well, jenna as you know "the new york times" first reported on this dinner coming up tonight they said that the asking price was basically $500,000 for big donors from

president obama's campaign to give money and be sort of founders of this new version of organizing for america which is now organizing for action. they are pushing to get lawmakers in both parties to act on some of the president's agenda, whether it be immigration or a grand bargain as you mentioned, gun control and the like. jay carney said from his podium recently when asked about it that there is no fixed price which got a lot of criticism, suggesting maybe there was not a fixed price but there was some sort of a prison on access to the president. crossroads gps the group run by karl rove has an ad out about all of this. jay carney has been pushing back on the criticism. take a listen. >> with a perfectly appropriate donation of a half million dollars president obama will come to you, yes, with organizing for access getting special treatment has never been more -- >> appropriate. it is a separate organization. it is voluntarily ac volume even tear voluntary, ace understand it reading news reports disclosing its donors in

an effort to be transparent. as the president does have numerous organizations that support his policy agenda, or the political agenda of the democratic party, which is not the goal of this specific organization he will meet periodically with ofa. >> reporter: jay carney will be briefing report tphers a few moments. behind me one question he's likely to get is something that came up on monday, when a lot of this was being talked about, was the question of the president this week outreach to republicans on the hill wants to work with them on issues of a grand bargain. meanwhile this group he's speaking with tonight organizing for action has been hitting republicans for inch tax on some of these budget issues. jenna: interesting juxtaposition. what about the meeting that is happening in a couple of hours, the one on capitol hill. >> reporter: the president was meeting with senate democrats yesterday, tomorrow he'll be with house democrats and senate republicans. this is a chance to sit down with house republicans a group that doesn't see eye to eye with him on a lot. they want to show inside the white house that they are serious about this so-called

charm offensive. interesting that kathy mcmorris rogers one of the republican leaders warned her fellow republicans don't ask for autographs or pictures with the president. it might look silly when they are grappling with these issues. they are hearing criticism from the president is not sincere about this outreach. they say he's darned if he does, he's darned if he doesn't. if he goes up to capitol hill he'll g get the criticism that he's not doing enough. jenna: thank you. jon: americans seem to be cooling a bit on the president's handling of the economy inch spite of this surge that has sent wall street to record numbers and an improving employment picture. a new washington post abc news poll finds 44% approve of the way the president is handling the economy. that is down from 50% in december. right now 52% disagree. and when it comes to public trust on dealing with the

economy the president has only a slight edge over congressional republicans, 44 to 40%. joining us now, juan williams, he is a fox news political analyst as you well know. so what is your thinking about the reason behind the president's slide in the polls on the economy, juan? >> independent voters, jon, who were previously convinced that president obama really had a better handle on the economy than the republicans, and now if you look inside the poll numbers that you just cited, what you see is that independents have gone over the edge and now favor republicans slightly to the president. so i think that this in fact is an evidence of the success of a republican strategy. the republican strategy in the midst of the sequester is to say the sequester is going to happen but if the president is a real leader he'll accept some latitude from us and make the sequester less painful for all americans. the president as you know turned that down. i'm not sure it was a sincere offer by the way.

but the president turned it down. and i think lots of people thought this guy is really not interested in a deal, he's trying to make it more painful to make his point. and they agree with republicans, that is a lack of leadership when it comes to the president. jon: well you say that, but there is an interesting poll number that i want to put up on screen, the same voters were asked, will budget cuts hurt the economy? and 64% said yeah, we think they are going to. 32% said no. so if they thought that the sequester or the budget cuts were going to hurt the economy, why are they casting the blame on the president? >> well, again, what they want is a deal overall. they think the president should be making an effort. that's why you referenced the charm offensive, and we see that happening today in washington. the president has to make it clear that even if democrats feel that republicans have been just obstructing the president's agenda, refuse to make a deal,

it's not in speaker boehner's interest because he can't get the tea party folks in his caucus to go along or minority leader mcconnell's interest in the senate because he fears a challenge in his home state of kentucky, the president, nonetheless, has to convince independents that he's trying to make a deal. he can't simply say, i'm sick of these republicans, and condemn republicans. as you know, jon we talk about 50% of the -- as president's job approval rating. that is okay but it's down a little bit from where it was as you pointed out. if you look at the congressional approval rating it's like 16%, jon. he can beat up on the congress but at some point people say, no, you're the president, let's make it happen, show some leadership. i think that's what we're seeing. the sequester they blame on the republicans more than the president. but again they say, make a deal, mr. president, be the president. jon: here is an idea, let's lock them all in a room, swear them to secrecy and then wait for the smoke to tell us whether they've come up with a budget or not.

>> or we could look for the bird. jon: there you go. [laughter] jon: juan williams, good to see you. jenna: i like that idea, jon it works for the vatican. jon: it's been working for them for hundreds of years. jenna: we are certainly waiting for the white smoke. it's a little after 5:00pm in vat r-frplt at any moment we could see smoke coming out of that chimney at the sistine chapel after cardinals go over their secret balloting to elect a new pope. he earlier this morning we saw black smoke meaning there is no new pope elected yet. that's an earlier shot. what we hope to see, what the world hopes to see is the white smoke, peening that there is a successor. big question about when that is going to happen. ashley maguire senior fellow with the catholic association as she joins us live from rome. we last spoke in washington d.c. you were talking about your trip to rome you were going to be there for this. what is it like to be in rome when all this is happening? >> you know, it's an absolutely

amazing time to be here and the city is just full of anticipation. if you were to walk around, i think it was james joyce who said about the catholic church, here comes everybody. that's what it feels like. you're seeing people from every country holding and waving their flags. you're seeing priests of all different orders wearing different forms of attire than anand the same thing goes for n u.n. s. it gives you the feeling of how diverse this church is. it was amazing to be there last night north first spoke. i wouldn't believe how many people were there for a smoke that was almost certain to be black in the rain. jenna: good timing, ashley, we are showing live footage that we have of the square right now. it looks just as packed as it did last night, people standing outside in the rain with their umbrellas, just waiting and it could be several hours before we see the smoke. we might see it in the next hour or so. it could be a little bit of a longer wait. we have heard that the longer it

takes to select a new pope the more likelihood it could be a surprise. and a surprise meaning it could, maybe, be an american pope. why is it that the longer we wait there is some more thought that maybe that could happen? >> well, you know, i think if you look at the election of pope john paul paul ii that really was a surprise to the world and his was one of the longer conclave. there is no way to predict anything. even the smartest vatican-watchers have no way to predict what will happen. there is not really what people are referring to as a front runner, where as at the last conclave i think many thought that cardinal ratzinger was chosen. he what's elected about this time with the last conclave. again we could see smoke any minute and that would mean that the fourth vote was actually

conclusive. but i think people are starting to think that as the clock ticks they are probably going to be moving to a fifth vote which would mean that we probably won't see any smoke until some time around 7:00 rome time. jenna: interesting, that is a good reminder to our viewers they sake two votes in the morning and two votes in the evening, so we are going to be watching to see if and when -- there it is, that smoke comes out of the chimney. i know you'll be hanging out with us for the next hour, we appreciate your time and expertise and your view from the ground there. ashley, thank you so much. >> thank you. jon: let's go back to washington for this. president obama has a tax problem you might say. some folks who work for him owe the irs a whole loft mone lot of money in back taxes. why aren't they paying their fair share? also, after a five day break jodi arias back on the stand trying to stay off death row for the brutal murder of her boyfriend. coming up a live report, plus analysis by our expert legal

panel, especially when it comes to questions the jury has been asking. [ male announcer ] marie callender's puts all the things we love about sunday meals into each of her pot pies. like tender white meat chicken and vegetables in a golden flaky crust that's made from scratch. marie callender's pot pies. it's time to savor.

jon: if president obama wants to raise more tax revenue he might start looking pretty close to moment. turns out dozens of white house workers owe hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes. that is just from 2011. dig deeper you will find federal workers owe the irs billions. chief political correspondent carl cameron is live in washington. this has always been a problem, carl, is it getting worse? >> reporter: it is, 12% worse this year in 2011 than it was in 2010. numbers for you, 8% of the general public is deliquent on its 2011 taxes that is bad enough. 3% of federal workers are late but they are actually paid by tax dollars and since the government is deeply in debt to the tune of nearly $17 trillion it is a real problem and lawmakers want to fix it, watch.

>> you would think federal workers to be the first ones that feel a duty and obligation to pay their taxes, but we have over a hundred thousand current federal employees who are paid by the taxpayers that don't pay their federal taxes. and my bill says, if you don't pay your taxes then you should be fired. >> reporter: here are the numbers. we can show you a graphic of it now. 312,000 federal workers in uncle sam's government owe $3.5 billion. in the executive office of the president, that means the white house, there are 40 obama staffers who owe $333,000. now go to capitol hill, congressional staffers about 680-plus of them they owe 11 million. when it comes to the judicial branch, court staffers owe a combined total of nearly $13 million in back taxes. utah's republican governor jason chaffetz is behind that.

there is another number in terms of dollars. that is private companies that bid on government work and get paid. they are deliquent, some of them anyway to the tunes of billions, and they continue to get more contracts. watch. >> introduce a bill that basically says no more. we are not going to have $5 billion of unpaid federal income taxes by contractors to the federal government continue to get money from taxpayers when they don't even pay their fair share. >> reporter: jackie spier and jason chaffetz, bi-partisan efforts underway for a year. the irs says one in ten staffers at the department of treasury, the place that prints the money, they are deliquent on their taxes to the tune of $9 million, and for the record, irs is part of the treasury. jon. jon: oh, my goodness. what a -- what a country. carl cameron in washington, thank you.

jenna: speaking of a little money, what is a college degree really worth these days? maybe way lens you're paying for it. new data that tolls us which degrees will pay the bills, and which may not. plus, what a send off, a daughter's farewell for her dad that is getting a whole loft attention. we'll tell you why, next. ♪ you know my heart burns for you... ♪

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what you major in really matters when it comes to your paycheck. fox business network's peter barnes is live from washington. all right, peter, i've got a couple of kids in college. what is the best return on my investment? >> reporter: well, jon, this new study in colorado suggests that the best investment for your kids and other college kids may not be a traditional four-year degree burks a two-year degree

in a technical or specialized field. this report out today called higher education pays found that in colorado an associate's degree in applied sciences paid more in the first year than most other types of degrees, that is because the report says it equips students with skills that are in demand. in colorado a high school graduate earn about $18,000 in the first year, a more general two-year degree gets you about 31,000. a four-year bachelor's degree earn about 39,000, but a two-year associates of applied science degree earns nearly $46,000 in year one. good to know especially when you have to bar borrow a lot to pay for school. >> for most college students the information that they have about college is largely in a black box. they have very little information about the schools they are going to and i think what this report shows is that

there are real, real benefits to getting not just a bachelor's degree but associate of applied sciences. >> reporter: earlier studies in three other states have shown similar results but we also want to note that this study looks just at earnings in year one out of college. other degrees may earn you more. a four year business degree earned some colorado grads up to $60,000 in their first year and the report only covered grads who stayed in colorado to work, jon. jon: okay. so what degrees earn you the most, let's talk specifics. >> reporter: here is the punch list, a graduate with a two-year degree in criminal justice takes home $44,000 in his first year. in healthcare, sheep skins and diagnostics or treatment gets $45,000. nurses earn 51,500 be, and a two-year diploma in fire protection gets you $62,000 in

year one in colorado. lots of fires in colorado, jon. jon: unfortunately that is true. but good to know. peter barnes, fox business network thank you. jenna: it's rare to find and obituary that leaves you smiling in reflection rather than somber. that's why a daughter's tribute to her one of a kind dad is getting a whole lot of attention today. rick folbaum is live with this touching story. >> reporter: do you ever read an owe about i obituary and think, gee i wish i'd known that person when they were alive. read about old harry to died last friday and i guarantee you'll be bumped you never got to hangout with him. his obituary written by one of his daughters and in the paper in gulfport, mississippi has gone viral. harry is described as lady's man, food de, natty dresser and accomplished traveler. as a point of pride he remembered every meal he had eat even in his 80 years of life.

he married his main squeeze a home ec teacher 50 years ago with whom they had two daughters. he taught them to fish, select a quality hammer, love nature and be thankful. harry traveled extensively, he only stayed in the finest quality aaa rated campgrounds the obit says, the favorite being indian cheek outside cherokee, north carolina. he also spent the extra money to upgrade to a creek view for his tent. many years later he purchased a used pop up camper for his family to travel in style which spoiled his daugh this ace family with priorities in the right place. there is much more you can read for yourself including but harry being a member of the bake ofpbt month club. we'll post the whole thing on our website and thank his daughter amanda for sharing the photos. one last thing he absolutely hated daylight savings time as he referred to as the devil's time.

the family says that the fact that he died just before he would have had to change his clocks springing word can only be viewed as his final protest. harry, rest in peace. jenna: well said. maybe we should all join the bacon of the month club just to honor harry. now what i mean? >> reporter: i'm with you. jenna: i think that sound like a good idea. there is a lot of good stuff in that piece by the daughter. i encourage our viewers to check it out. rick, thank you. jon: i am all over that. jenna: bake on of the month. jon: bake on of the month. harry loved bacon, a very close second was cheese there. is a good chance he is looking down on green bay, wisconsin right now where the u.s. cheese championship is underway. judges awarding prizes to the best among more than 1700 cheesess submitted. this is the largest field ever, jenna. the event at lambeau field, how appropriate, known as the super bowl of cheese. seven categories for cheddar alone along with boo veined

cheese and surface mold ripe end goat cheese. jenna: that doesn't sound like something you've had before. jon: i doubt it. i don't remember every meal i've eat even in my life. the cheeseheads at lambeau field. jenna: literally at lambeau field. well we'll switch gears leer for a more serious topic ahead. we know al-qaida is out there plotting to kill americans, but there is a threat the intelligence community says is even more dangerous and harder to defeat. we are going to have a live report on that next. after a break in her hurd trial 0 jodi arias returns to the stand for day 18 of her testimony, day 18. she admitted to killing her boyfriend, but is she convincing the jurors it was self-defense? more on that ahead. [ kate ] many women may not be absorbing the calcium they take

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jenna: welcome back. for the first time america's intelligence community is ranking cyber attacks and cyber espionage as a greater threat to national security than al qaeda. that's according to an annual review that points to recent activity by hackers on america's online infrastructure. director of national intelligence james clapper lays out the danger. >> we can add cyber and financial to the list of weapons being used against us. such at attacks can be deniable and nonattributable. it is hard to oh emphasize

its significance. increasingly state and non-state actors are gaining and using cyber expertise. they apply cyber techniques and capabilities to achieve strategic objectives by fathering sensitive information from public and private sector entities, controlling the content and and flow of information and challenging perceived adversaries in cyberspace. jenna: chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge is live in washington with more on this report, catherine? >> reporter: thank you, jenna. good morning. a day after that assessment the president has gone on the record calling china for sponsoring cyber attacks against the united states. >> we have made it very clear to china and some other state actors that we expect them to follow international norms and abide by international rules and we'll have a some pretty tough talk with them. we already have. >> reporter: tuesday senior u.s. intelligence officials told congress as you mentioned cyber is more of a threat than terrorism to

u.s. national security. head of the cyber command for the first time publicly confirming that the u.s. is developing an offensive capability to respond to a major cyberattack. alexander also predicts the targeting of u.s. financial institutions is on the rise. >> i do see this as a growing problem and i believe this is one of the problems that the anti-virus community and others have brought forward to say, here's what you're going to see in 2013. what we're seeing with the banks today i am concerned will grow significantly throughout the year. we have to address it. >> reporter: in a recent interview with fox news the leading democrat on the house intelligence committee who is regularly briefed on the cyber threat says there appears to be a shift from disruptive attacks from slow down web sites or block access to destructive attacks that damage computer networks and software. >> there are certainly been disruptive attacks designed to hit us hire in the homeland. there have been attempts to do that here at home, not

just around the world. so this is an ongoing phenomenon. the biggest cyber challenge we face right now is the cyber theft we're experiencing from china and other nations. >> reporter: one analyst telling fox this morning they felt the president's decision to publicly call out china is a really a reflect shrunk of the fact that few weeks ago there was a private report we told you about here at fox that specifically identified a building in china under the control of the people's liberation army, the communist party. it was from that center that much of the attacks, or many of the attacks are being directed against the united states. with that information public, this analyst felt the president really had no choice but to increase the public pressure on china as well. jenna: a developing story we'll continue to watch. catherine, thank you. >> reporter: you're welcome. jon: well, right now, jodi arias is set to take the stand for an 18th day in a murder trial capturing the whole nation's attention. the court resumes today after a break. the 32-year-old arias as you

probably know could get the death penalty if she is found guilty in the grizzly slaying of her boyfriend travis alexander. the last time she was on the stand she faced skeptical questions from the jury. here is the accused on the stand being asked by her own defense team to explain the lies she told. >> all these lies you were asked an important question. why should anyone believe you now? remember being asked that? >> yes. >> so, jodi, that is the ultimate question. why should anybody believe you now? >> like i said before, all of my, i lied a lot in the beginning and each of those lies tied back directly to two things.

travis and protecting his ego, i mean his reputation, and my own partially and to related to any involvement in his death. so i understand that there will always be questions. jon: let's bring in our legal panel now. faith jenkins, a former prosecutor, care rehackett a criminal defense attorney. these jurors offered up 220 questions of this woman, carrie. if you were her defense attorney you can't feel too good about the fact this far into a trial they still want to know a lot of information from her? >> i agree. i would say she's in trouble at this point. i think what they're asking, they want to know when she's telling the truth and when she's lying. i think they also want to know a little more about her background and her memory lapses. i think here it would be very helpful for the defense team if they had some

witnesses to corroborate some of the things jodi arias is saying. for example, if they had a doctor or mental health professional to talk about why she is having memory lapses as a result of the impact of this brutal event, that would be helpful. jon: she has slimed her late lover, travis alexander, faith. she has told these jurors that he was abusive. that he enjoyed and basically forced her into raunchy sex. he had a thing for young boys even. that he was a child predator. >> right. jon: despite all the stories she was told and continued to sleep with him and was there that day to have sex with him. >> exactly, jon. now she admitted she enjoyed some of the encounters and initiated some of them. the big thing here, day 18 of her testimony there is zero corroboration that travis was that abusive, maniacal person. we have now tape recordings,

photos. she recorded the two of them in intimate conversations. videos. there is nothing, even her diary entries there is absolutely nothing to support these horrible allegations she made against the victim in this case. jon: well, carrie, even that she has said as we heard in the sound snippet earlier, she said to the jury in answer to their questions, i lied because i wanted to protect travis's reputation. then she gets up on the stand and says, you know, he was a child predator. it doesn't seem to compute. what do you think, carrie? >> i agree and i think that at this point her defense team needs to tell her to stop. she needs to answer these questions consistently. she needs to get off of the stand. she is hurting herself further by answering these questions in ways that are contradictory to earlier statements that she made. jon: but faith, that's the risk, when you put your client on the stand. you open them up, you give them the chance to let the jury hear their side of the

story but you also give the prosecution a chance. >> juan martinez is going for it. listen, he wants to expose every single lie she has told not only in the past but on the witness stand. she doesn't get to say now i'm done, i've finished my testimony and i want to get off the stand. he gets to ask her every question she wants. she has an obligation now, in front of this jury it will look horrible if all of sudden she says, i don't want to testify anymore. jon: the fact that 220 questions later, the jury question seems to boil down how do we know if you're lying? that's got to be a problem, carrie? >> yee, i think it is the problem here. i think that basically the defense team is hoping that there is just one juror here that believes her story, or, believes some aspects of her story to spare her life. jon: we will continue to watch it. she will be back on the stand this afternoon as we said. carrie hackett, faith jenkins, thank you both. >> thanks, jon. jenna: plus any minute now

we could see smoke coming from the chimney of sistine chapel. there is already someone there watching over things. we're playing a little bit of name that bird, jon. our viewers have a lot of great ideas. one says smokey. one says fuma, italian for smoke. one says cavuto is the obvious choice. jon: of course. jenna: he is italian. one of our viewers said we should name it larry bird. either way this bird is in one of the most watched spots from the entire world. we'll see if smoke rises from the chimney to see if we have a new pope or not. we'll be back to rome, more breaking news, birds and otherwise here on "happening now." ♪ [ female announcer ] from meeting customer needs... to meeting patient needs... ♪ wireless is limitless.

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kay jones is the name. jenna is --. jenna: i'm sorry --. jon: jenna, all right. jenna: shaking my head on something else. jon:. she will replace ambassador chris stevens. ambassador stevens as you know was killed in that brutal attack on our consulate in tripoli on september 11th last year. new nominee to be confirmed by the. >>, by the senate, that is choice of president obama who has named her the new ambassador to libya. jenna: i'm sorry, jon. with this shaking of my head. we were trying to decide how many votes have actually happened over the last several hours. here's why there can be some confusion. last night we had the first vote. and this morning there were two rounds of voting that take place. so you have two rounds of votes in the morning and usually two rounds in the evening some this morning there were two rounds of votes but only chimney shot that showed the smoke released. because if they're able to

find a pope in the first round of vote we would see white smoke come out. since they could not find a pope in the two rounds, we see black. so what we're seeing here is, we believe that they started voting about an hour ago and maybe toward the end of that first round of voting f we see smoke sooner rather than later, there is the likelihood in that first round of voting a pope is found and you will see white smoke. as the longer it takes means they have gone into a second round of voting. then you would see white or black smoke. so each time in the morning and in the evening there are two rounds. they basically get two opportunities to try to select the new pope and as you know, they know the results obviously of the votes. so inside with the 115 cardinals there they will announce so-and-so has this many votes, so-and-so has this many votes. we still don't have a pope. let's try it again. then they go into round two. the bird there basically has the best vantage point out of anyone, jon.

jon: the bird will be some kind of surprised if the smoke starts eminating from the chimney. kind of a cloudy day, a rainy day. we saw a lot of umbrellas in st. peter's square earlier. that probably makes it more difficult to tell what color smoke is emanating from the chimney. you see the gray clouds beyond the roof tiles. whether it is black or whether it is white it will be harder to intelligence the backdrop of the sky. with us once again, ashley mcguire, a senior fellow with the catholic association who has been good enough to stick by with us. she is in rome herself for the historic vote. we know they're the verying now. how long does the process take? >> well, you know, i think it can depend how long that it takes but typically if the first vote, you know, you've been saying they vote in up considerps. they take four votes a day. so if the first vote isn't conclusive. usually within 90 minutes they take another vote.

which is why people think if a third vote today was inconclusive, which it looks like it probably was, because potentially would be voting right now and we could hear the results sometime around 7, 7:30 tonight. it could be anyone. people were expecting the results of the first vote or technically the second vote but that, they were expecting that around noon but it ended upcoming around 11:0. some people were still making their way down to the square and missed the smoke. jon: speaking of the smoke, the vatican obviously steeped in tradition. we knew that chemicals were added to make either the black or the white smoke but this year they gave us the recipes. we understand, you know, what it is that goes into the making of the black and white smoke. so who says things don't change in the vatican. ashley, again we are continuing to watch it. the voting underway right now. we'll be back with more "happening now" in just a moment. zap technology.

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jon: the department of homeland security planning to slash patrols along the border to help plug a big hole in its budget. sequester spending cuts will force agents we're told to spend less time on the front lines. so the border patrol could use some smart solutions to fill in the gaps. these days there is awful lot of high-tech gear which to choose. william la jeunesse at the border security expo in phoenixes, arizona. william? >> reporter: jon, many people have an image of the border of a long steel fensz and a road alongside it. the fact is much of the border has no road and no fence because it is so rugged. you have the terrains and the you have the mountains. what we're seeing a lot of these elevated mobile camera platforms. and they will have a radar

that can detect long range. you will have a long range cam that can see five to ten miles out giving you round-the-clock surveillance. >> this is a vertical take off and landing unmanned aerial vehicle. it is for border patrol, police, law enforcement, fire. it takes off, flies in a defined area for a short period of time. this cube use as color camera and then it also has, can come with an optional infrared camera. >> this is the micro observer, ground sensor system. it senses people walking or vehicles traveling around the area. this is an infrared camera. it is not powered on until there is detection in the sensor field. basically someone is walking through the sensor field. one of the sensors detects that person and communicates back to the gateway. says, please turn the camera on. the camera takes three near

simultaneous images and sends it back to the operator. >> we're demonstrating the latest i.d. scanner. you take the card, put either side of the card, scan the card. it can be used anywhere you want to read the card and be able to tell if this is a real i.d. or a fake. if you use it on tsa, basically it will speed up the process. it increases security. not only that, it detects all the extract and hard to find features you can not see with the naked eye. >> reporter: these are ground sensors. you can put them a football field apart. in case the camera can't see you can launch a drone and get into the gullies and ravines to look down. there is lot of school tough. the problem is the department of homeland security doesn't have the money to buy it. back to you. jon: william la jeunesse in phoenix. william, thanks. jenna: ever wonder what the morning is like for jon scott? i ask myself that question

every day. he was busy this morning, riding like the wind. just on a stationary bike. you don't look happy. jon: i think this is --. jenna: having a hard time here? jon: this is a long way in. jenna: wait a minute. we'll have to readjust and recut video. jon is riding for a very good cause. we'll tell you about it straight ahead. ♪ .