great to see both of you. >> eric: thank you as always. we begin with a brand-new hour of america's news headquarters with the fox news alert. she volunteered to go to afghanistan to help school children, joining the american foreign service to make the world a better place. she has been killed in the libe of duty, she was only 25 years old. >> jamie: so tough to report these stories. this is a brand-new hour. the state department is confirming that anne smedingoff was killed when a her convoy was targeted. she was delivering textbooks to school children. she joined the foreign service, 3 years ago out of johns hopkins yrt. secretary of state kerry is traveling in the region and will arrive shortly in israel. and woe have the latest from our

mideast bureau in jerusalem. >> reporter: secretary of state john kerry arrived to jump-start the middle-east peace process. he spent much of the day in turkey, meeting the prime minister about the israeli/palestinian conflict. >> but overshad owing the trip was the news that a 25-year-old diplomat was killed on saturday. 3 u.s. troop, including another unnamed civilian died in the attack. she arrived there from venezuela last summer, where she was previously stationed. >> we lost a very bright and brave young woman, a young difficulty we los tr her to an horrific attack in afghanistan. today, our hearts are broken. >> reporter: anne was a public affairs officer in kabul, working with journalists, as

myself. she worked with afghans, putting an american-friendly face to the war-torn country. knowing her the little i did, she did represent america the way most americans would. >> jamie: oh, my. thank you for the report. our heart guess out to the family. this is the second time in less than a year that america has lost a diplomat in the line of doughty and serve as a secretary of state, kerry's control officer in his visit to afghanistan two weeks ago. christopher stevens the ambassador to libbia, he die in the horrific terror attack in benghazi, libbia. their death, the first in more than 30 year n. 1979, adolph dubs was cooperatured in kabul and killed during a rescue attempt. >> eric: a news alert about the possible missile test. north korea could conduct one within 72 hours.

the united states is keeping an eye on the continuing, volatile situation. bracing for the test which could come on wednesday. this is brand-new view. state tv showing the soldiers training military dogs and conducting a firing trail. and there is another video that they say showcases both koreans military hardware. they say the north korean leader -- there he is with the binoculars, waffing his armed forces, supposedly, successfully shoot down an unmanned combat plane in this training exercise this. comes as tensions continue. steve centanni has the latest from washington. >> reporter: yeah, north korea telling other nations, its diplomatic safety may not be guaranteed in pyongyang, beginning wednesday, but they didn't say what they would be doing. the u.s. has scheduled a test of the minute man miss and i'll decided to postpone that to avoid any chance of ratcheting

up the tension even further. the u.s. deciding not to send its top military commandener south korea back home to washington this week for hearings. the pentagon deciding it's best he stay in the region because of heightened tensioned. lindsay graham says there has been plenty of bellicose talk from north kea in the past, but... >> the big difference to me is the politics in south korea are changing by the day, regarding north korea. so if there is a provocation twon't be business as usual lie south korea. see a major war happening because the republic of south korea and the united states and the whole region is fed up with this guy. >> and the new leader, kim jung un has made provocative moves in the last month. the u.s. says that north korea is further isolating temperatures. >> we have a situation where north korea is engaging in a

pattern of behavior we have seen for many, many years -- provocative actions and bellicose rhetoric. the onus joys north korea to step back and meet their international obligations and undertake their number-1 goal of economic development. >> the chinese president seemed to offer criticism to north korea, saying no country should be allowed to plunge the region into chaos. eric. >> eric: steve, thanks very much. we will be watching this very closely, of course. the last year and-a-half, since kim jung un was declared the loord of north korea after his father died, he has continued to bluster threats and claims, he successfully fired a long-range rocket. the regime claimed to cut a weather satellite, but the u.s. believes it was cover for testing its nuclear technology.

this year, they delivered their third and most powerful nuclear test. last month, they claimed to cancel the armistice that ended the korean war. and pyongyang declared a state of war with south korea. on april 4, north korean missile s are launched. the world watches to see what they do in just 72 hours. >> we have intelligence that he can back whop he says he has? >> reporter: i would leave that to the intelligence officers. i would say we have to constantly assess and understand what he is saying, why he is say tsmg that's an -- a constant assessment. >> jamie: we have raptors, bombers, there are ships. what do you expect?

>> i think part of this -- >> jamie: i am sorry. i want to set up the interview. we have been telling but what is going on on the border of south korea as they watch and wait. tens and thousands of our troops are there, preparing for this. now they are at the ready. i had the chance to go to the pentagon and sit down with the chief of staff of the army, general odierno. he is a hero of mine and of many of you out there. you can sense that the pentagon is concerned about kim jung un. do you have intelligence that he can back whop he says he has? >> i mean, i would leave that to the intelligence officers. i would say we have to constantly assess and understand what he is saying, why he is saying it. that's a constant assessment process. >> jamie: you are sending assets in. there are raptors, there are bombers, there are ships. what do you expect? >> part of this is part of an exerscizz. we do annual exercise in korea,

full eagle and that's going on now. so i think what's good about that we are able to make is that your people understand how commit weed are to the south koreans. since woe had the exercise going on, it is highlighted our commitment. i think that's important that people understand that this is a relationship that we have had obviously for a very long time. we are very serious about it. we take what people say seriously when it has potentially backed on our own security. my experience in the army, almost 37 years now tells me that many people miscalculate the will and the capability of the united states. i believe that we doll this in a way that we sustain the capability and capacity. i would suggest that i would be very careful about miscalculating and misjudging what our capability is. >> jamie: what's the strategy? >> whenever have you anybody threatening and providing

comments that potentially impact the security of this country, we take it very seriously. kim jung un being a new leader, there is an unknown there about why he's doing this. what does it really mean? it's incumbent on us to watch it very carefully and to see what mitigating actions we can take. >> jamie: have you to balance readiness for future wars, get out of this one in afghanistan and also maintain the integgrit i of what we're -- integgritty of what we are capable of doing. >> we are at a crossroads, we are very much engaged around the world. and we must continue to be. that's our number-1 priority to make sure those soldiers that are forward have what they need -- >> jamie: but they are not going to. they are not going to. the money won't be there -- >> we will. we will provide those who are forward in afghanistan am they

will have the equipment, the training and the capability to do the mission they have to do, which right now is moving to providing assistance to the afghan forces as they take responsibility in afghanistan. we will absolutely fund that. the trade-off is that in order to did that we have to sacrifice some of our readiness back here. so what i have to monitor very carefully is that we sustain a level of reedness here that enables us to sppd to unknown contingencies that could occur in other places around the world. >> jamie: one potential, not so unknown is syria. is there evidence that chemical weapons were used? what are we prepared to do if they were? and even if they are not -- why wait? tens of thens of people have been killed? >> i would say there has been no distinct evidence that chemmal and biological issues based on the intelligence. but wehave to be aware that the

potential is there. as we do, we will conduct several contingencies. our job is to provide the president options. >> the biggest cuts under sequestration health care workers and teachers. that doesn't sound lick a very healthy scenario for vets in need. >> it's very interesting. we have had very fee few reductions in our family programs upon we have prioritized those. but because of the sequestration and potential fur loarks there will be civilians and some military who lose their job. that will have an impact on our capability and ability to support our soldiers and families. we have to make sure to get the right balance. >> it seems like you are painting a very rosy picture of where weand are where we have to go. we don't know where we have to go if we have another war. how much pressure is there -- you don't control the budget --

are you being hurt? >> one thing i need is predictability. right now with the law of the land is siquesteration. signed 1 march, in there is no other agreement made, we'll take an additional $500 billion cut over the next 10 years. what that means to the army, we will have to significantly reduce the army structure, we will have to reduce the modernization programs and we will have to reduce compensation benefits for our soldiers. >> jamie: you would like more mony? >> i think -- here's what i think. if we go to full sequestration, there will be things we cbts do. we have to come to the realization that we understand the risk associated without doing those things. the army will not be able to do some of the things we do now. people have to be comfortable with that risk. it's my job to identify the risk associated with that. >> jamie: can you name one? >> for example, would we have

the capacity to do a long-term commitment somewhere? would we be able to respond to two major contingencies at the same time? i think that will be very difficult under sequestration. maybe we could do one moderate one. tho so those are the kind of things we have to help identify. >> jamie: army strong. i hope you get all the support you need. thanks for your service. >> thank you. >> jamie: moderate circumstances is hard to imagine that north korea could be that. but the army chief is doing everything it can to take care of our troops and be prepared for whatever comes our way. and defense secretary hagel called north korea the threat from them a real and clear danger, agreeing with the general that we have so far had measured and serious responses and we have no intention to change that. i want to thank lieutenant colonel kathleen turner and

bowman for the generous invitation to sit down for this interview. i certainly learned a lot. >> eric: absolutely fascinating. you know, they say it's a new sign of tough economic times as more and more job candidates are settling for lower pay. how you can ask for more money and still get the job. >> we talked about the push for gun control restriction, facing an uphill battle. president obama saying, i am talking about the future of controversial legislation. >> police in nevada make arrests in the murder of a state official. >> this one's pretty shocking when you have... something like this where you have a believed endangered or something seriously violently happened to a resident here in town and you end up with four people in custody, that's pretty unusual.

>> eric: time for a quick check of the headlines. rick warren says his son mathew has taken his own life will according to a statement released by the church, the 27-year-old struggled with mental illness and deep depression. the gruesome death of the nevada

chief insurance examiner appears to be personal and not work related. the body was found in the river yesterday, rap wrapped in a blanket and bound with duct tape. police have taken four suspects into custody. there is a major health care in a high-end new york city restaurant after one of the food handlers was diagnosed with hepatitis "a." health officials urge anyone who ate dessert at the restaurant to get vaccinated just in caisms. >> jamie: a new report is suggesting that fewer job candidates are negotiating their pay. often, it's because they fear it could cost them the job. in today's take-charge consumer protection segment, i wanted to look at the best way to handle the situation at the interview and get as much as you can. laura lebovich is here. great to have you here. you are the co-author of -- i love the title -- 100

conservations for career success. this may be the toughest one. don't you think? >> i do. i do. absolutely. no question about it. part of the challenge with this in the survey, even supported this, is that, one of the most important hallmarks of success for a negotiator is that you have to be able to walk away from the table. but if you have been unemployed for a long time, like 40% of american who is have been out of work more than 27 weeks, it's hard to walk away from the table. but honestly, it's hard to negotiate, unemployed or want. and the success statistics support t. we don't buy a car or a house -- >> jamie: we are more comfortable negotiating for a car than we are asking for our boss for a raise, even if you have added value to the company, the question is, how do you ask for more mony? should you only be thinking about cash? maybe benefits can help? >> absolutely. have you to nail great benefits.

salary isn't everything. in a down economy, it is often not possible to negotiate at this time salary because it's a fixed cost. but they may be able to have more flexibility on the total compensation. they may consider a performance-based bonus structuror agreeing to an early performance review to get you the raise that you want, sooner. it's important to think about the contract as a fluid document and putting more things on the table allows the employer to create a mutually beneficial agreement. >> jamie: is it important to establish that you have the self worth to put a price on your skills that will bring you more mony? >> absolutely. absolutely. i think that even the survey said that women negotiate less than men. it's really important that do you negotiate, wops have you confirmed that you are getting that position. even in a down economy,

employers don't want to lose a rye-fit candidate. if you do not negotiate, you may come off appears like you want the job so badly that you are desperate. negotiating does contribute to your opinion of your worth. >> jamie: hopefully, even if people have been out of work, they don't give off the vibe that they are desperate. how important is it to negotiate for a title? >> negotiating for a title is very important that. would be one of the things that i would include in the total negotiation package. especially if people have been given an offer that may be lower than what you were airporting, title is a great wito make this up. that's one of the things that people can put on the table. >> jamie: i want to ask you about -- i guess if an employer, i would try to get great talent at the best price that i could. what's the percentage of how much lower employers will go

than what they are really willing to pay. >> there is no percentage of there is ink to speak to that data. however, i would just address the fact that -- not necessarily to your question -- but the point that is really important to know your value in the interview, just like if you were negotiating for a car. you need to understand how much you are worth, going to salary.com -- >> jamie: tell us about the place where is we can figure out what we are worth. >> salary.com. payscale.com, there are lots of other sites out there. but those are my two favorites. they give you compensation calculations, based on your title and geographic region. this is really great, jamie, because a person can be a newby in a function and can negotiate close tort minimum of the range. if they are a 10-year veteran, they am negotiate toward the

maximum. >> jamie: great advice and consider a different part of the country where the salary range might be more generous. you will get that information from the places you suggested online. i really appreciate t. it's a time where every dollar counts and folks should be ready to ask for what they think they are worth. >> absolutely. >> jamie: for more on how to take charge on a number of issue, i want to help you out, at foxnews.com, if you click on the america's news headquarters page on our main page,ul find a link to the last 21 of the program's take-charge consumer protection segment, a segment you will see only on fox. >> eric: a lot of good information there. >> are you going to ask for a raise now? yeah. >> jamie: i'll write you a letter of recommendation. >> eric: should i do it now? better not. social security -- could benefits be cut to close the budget deficit? it's a controversial political issue that will make the headthriens week. what president obama plans and

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the right way. times change. our principles don't. you don't just have our word on it. you've got our name on it. that's how we run. nothing runs like a deere. discover the full line of riding lawn equipment at johndeere.com/howwerun or your local dealer. i welcome back. it's the bottom of the hour. it's time for the top of the news. a young, foreign service officer has been killed in an attack on her convoy in afghanistan. the state department saying 25-year-old anne smedingoff was on a mission to donate school books to students. south korea warning that pyongyang could launch a missile attack as early as this week. the u.s. and south korea say they are taking precautionary measures, just in case.

thousands are taking to the streets of the ejirptian capitol this weekend, renewing their call for president muhammad morsi of stepping down, accusing him of trying to monopolize power. >> eric: president obomba coming under fire from members of his own party for wanting to cut the growth of social security spending. the president plans call for more tax, a reporting $six 80 billion over 10 years and limiting some tax breaks and cutting the right of social security growth by $130 billion. all by tinkering with the cost of living adjustmses. republicans say it's not enough to cut the looming deficit. while some obama supporters say it's too much. is it? let's bring in the former outreach director for john mccain for president and gemuh

greene. both of you, welcome. ford, liberal groups are attacking the president for this, warning the democrats want to support t. bottom line, does it cut social security benefits? >> not really. look, the rate of spending is going up. these are reductions in the rate of growth. that said, though, i do have to tip my hat to president obam afor challenging the long-held democratic notion that entitlements are satrosanct. with 10,000 people turning 65 every day and with more americans out of work -- guess what? this is going on continue. it is going to balloon out of control. president obama is on the right path. but heville to go further f. he wants $600 billion in new tax, we will have to go further in modernizing entitlements. >> eric: going further -- look, he's already attacked in his own party for doing what he is doing now. >> he is.

the number of emails vigot fren labor griewrps and advocacy groups that represent senior citizens thrar up in arms is overwhelming. thanks to ford, though, for tipping his hat hatopresident obama, we are not seeing that from speaker boehner. the change in cci and the social security benefits that the president has put on the table will be part of his budget, as his compromise offer, this is a republican idea. what we have happening right now is similar to obamacare, which was originally a republican idea, have you speaker barron looking at president obama's olive branch and taking the fluid out and has a match ready to burn it to matches. [chuckles] >> eric: republicans say it's not enough. >> it is not enough. okay? at the end of the day, it is key for republicans to really get president obama to compromise twrop modernizing the

entitlements is entertain explaining how balanced deficit reduction will lead to greater private-sector job growth and stronger economy with the strengthening of the dl. we can see the political posturing back and forth and evidenced by gemuh and i, i am concerned that the republicans will be rolled by the pressure of president obama playing back and forth with his bipolar nature. we have to reform entitlements because it's crowding out spending and we are going to become an assisted living home. at the end of the day, this is an american problem, not a republican problem, not a democratic problem. we are all in this together ?ool before we got the increasing budget deficit, we have to do something about it. but no one says,il accept cutting my benefits or medicare or this sort of thing. how can we achieve that? >> that's exactly what the president has said. he has said he is willing to buck the leaders in his party,

key supporters. there are other really great things in his budget that are going to come out. i think earlier in the hour, jame dean incredible segment on the need to quit smoking. parliament of the president's budget is going to be raising taxes on tobacco so that we can take the rev new and expand access to pre-k and expand early learning. that's something we should be able to come together around. but it seems to be bubbling up that all of these ideas that we should be able to agree on that are not democratic or republican, they are american ideas, the republicans seem to still be holding that position of being the party of no and -- >> that's jtd true. we are not holding the party -- >> the cpi, this was a republican idea, the president is willing to turn his back on his supporters -- >> [overlapping dialogue] >> we have to reduties deficit. it's killing the dl. this

uncertainty under raising tax, moving moving from crisis to crisis is hurting private-sector job growth. the two things that americans want more than to see the government reduce its spending is to strengthen the economy and jobs. in a balanced plan, going forward on this, it comes down it really controlling spending. but the properly controlled spending and to get what the president want, heville to go further. because throwing up $600 billion in new taxes is know a non-start wer my guy it's. >> that's not what he is saying. he has increases in revenue and cuts to social security benefits. he has a balanced plan. but it is going to take further investing in the middle class i. i fully agree with you. but the best way to invest in the middle class is to get them back to work. >> theyville to bend. >> eric: the budget released in 3 days. we will see what it brings. thank you so much as always.

>> thank you, eric. >> eric: all right. >> jamie: from o.j. to jodi arias, another big murder fliel fliel -- big murder trial in the news. >> apart from the lion, the trial of jodi arias has all the appeal of a fight tot to the death in a roman arena -- blood -- lots of it -- prolonged violence. an adoring crowd, transfixed by a spectacle of gore. and the ultimate judgment of live or die. thumbs up, thumbs down. miss arias, after two years of lying, admitted that in 2008, she shot her lover through the head, stabbed him 27 times and cut his throat ear to ear. no one is sure which one was the faights one as several days passed before friended found his naked body in a blood-shattered shower stall.

the thrall has set fire to the ratings of the headline news network, the virtual nonstop coverage has it all. when the anchors stopped interrupt, it makes for gripping television. the nature of the details has kept the network's bleep buttons busy, although unbleeped, the critical descrpgzs of their sexual frolics. the unfortunate lover was travis alexander, a motivational speaker and mormon. through his influence, miss arias converted to the faith. but their personal conduct didn't live up to the ingredients of a spiritual commitment or a rosy romance. miss arias and mr. alexander had was a sex-fueled elongated one-night stand that reflects the pornographic madness of modern love, it is a cautionary tale, but familiar. man chases girl. man has his fun and loses interest.

girl stalks and murders man. she still professes love. the california psychotherapist testifying for the defense has infused the proceedings with a bible of psychobabble. we hear of disassociative amnesia, secondary emotions and the reliable self-esteem. the murderess was an abused, battered woman, ootion a victim. somehow this murder trial got hijacked by feminists feministse trumps murder. isn't there a way to try murder in this country without submitting to the fashionable psychobabble of the moment? there is no way jurors can escape the reach of publicity in this case. poring through steamy diary entry, 82,000 emails and endless lurid texting, the prosecution

has been able to present miss arias as a soulless psychopath, who professes memory lapse when the questions get under her skin. but arias doesn't flinch even with salacious pictures. and juan martinez, the shermanesque prosecutor in the image of f. lee bailey. only under fierce cross-examination did the smirky defendant play the victim, as her only card. after testifying for 18 days, miss arias sits quietly in court, her eyes blank, her long face, a portrait in serenity. she appears to cry at some moments, but no tears are visible -- even in high dev. will this trial establish that murder is a woman's acceptable recourse when a man does her

wrong? a trend friend of travis said -- quote, i can't think of anything scarier than her being let out. tomorrow, mr. martinez continues his cross-examination of the psychotherapist who when the q&a became combative asked if the prosecutor was angry. this conjures up the image of snow white and the seven dwarves, was snow white a battered woman? jodi arias -- a murderous tain town tramp or just another battered woman? stay tuned. >> eric: new jobs report numbers are in, not encouraging. coming up, brenda buttner will take a look at what we have to do to get more people back to work. >> jamie: also, the battle over gun control is heating up in

washington. it's not the only one, but it's a bigsupporters and opponents of tougher firearms laws are speaking out. lawmakers returning from their spring break next week. we will have the latest, straight ahead. she's still the one for you -

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such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial. >> eric: a jobs report came out last week and it's pretty dismal. employers adding 88,000 last month, it is fewest in nine months. they need to add 25,000 a month to keep up with the population growth. unemployment did fall, but expert spacing only because more people stopped looking for work. brenda buttner, anchor of bulls & bears is with us. it's just like -- people have decided not to look for jobs. >> that's yucan't just look at

unemployment. even though it fell, there are two survey, the more important surray is how many jobs were created. you said 125,000 to keep up with the population growth. but in order to keepget the recovery back on track, you need 200,000 to 400,000 a month. we are nowhere near that. >> eric: we need to get four times more the jobs than are being created? >> yeah, yeah. small businesses are the nfnlg growth for jobs. that i are worried. they are worried about obamacare. they are going to be paying more for that. they are worried about taxes and a recent survey by the federation of independent business says they are cutting back again. that's a real problem. >> eric: how do we light a fire under them to get it going? >> part of the problem is they for worried about taxes. so they will be watching the president's budget to see if more tax increases are part of

that. if they feel that, they are going to have their workers do more, the current workers they have and not add any more jobs. taxes, that's a real big issue. the other thing that was very interesting about the unemployment report was that the retail sector lost 24,000 jobs. that's critical. consumer spending is so important. what we have seen is that we have this payroll tax hike at the beginning of the year that is really starting to work its way through to the economy. people don't have as much money in their pockets. they are not spending as much, so retailers have to cut back on jobs. >> eric: democrattings are blaming the sequester and saying that it cased it. republicans say no, -- >> everybody's -- airlines are now blaming their bad performance on the sequester. my daughter blames her report card on the sequester. it is not worked its way through the system yet to really see that kind of an issue. more importantly, the engine of

small business growth, of hirings growth, they are worried about tax, abouthealth care. >> eric: wall sthreet -- look the dow jones is shooting through the roof there. yet, at the same time, a lot of people out of work, under employed, not worked enough, not paid enough. it's a struggle. so why that dichotomy. >> eric: a lot of times, wall street is an indicator of the economy. i am not sure that that is true. but we have two good things going for us. wall street and the housing market. the housing market is improving. people start to feel a little bit more wealthy when those two things are true. we hope that that wealth effect will cause them to spend more, which is what will cause businesses to hire more. >> eric: sounds like a vicious cycle. >> yes t. can be. all right. thank you. >> eric: of course, you can catch brenda on bulls and bears every saturday morning at 10:00

a.m., right here on the fox newschannel. >> jamie: great to see you, brenda. congress is now pripairing to -- preparing to take on the heated issue of gun control. we are hearing both sides of the aisle if anyone is ready to budge, are the lines drawn in the sand? that's the question.

>> the shop that celled a gun to adam lanza lost his firearms license. he bought the gun years ago. reports say it's unclear whether the weapon was used in the shooting. but authorities raided the store right after the tragedy, they said for undisclosed reason and it is owner has had its license revoke and the atf has not explained. lanza killed 6 adults and 22 children. >> jamie: the white house and capitol hill is bracing for a long, potentially, messy battle on gun control. >> reporter: the national rifle association enlisted asa hutchinson to lay out measures

to make schools safer. he said when it comes to the school safety plan, president obama has taken the debate over gun control totally in the wrong direction. >> let me emphasize, it is not about arming teachers. teachers should teach and others should protect. it is really about providing armed officers first and then secondly, if that's not available, to have an armed school staff that's trained and selected. >> reporter: he said that government can't regulate the hearts and minds of criminals in a violent society so making gun control tighter won't solve anything. the word from the white house, popular opinion favors stricter gun control, but the political pressure is preventing action. >> when the president gave the state of the union, with a newtown family in the audience, all the republicans applauded when the president called for an up-or-down vote. now that the cameras are off, and the families are not there, they are maybing it harder.

the president said, politics is the only reason this won't get done. >> reporter: gabrielle giffords supports the administration saying, i served in congress, i know my colleagues know better, passing background checks legislation will show the american people that we hear them, we for serious about keeping them and their families safer and we are focused on solutions to the overwhen willingr whelming problem of gun violation. the white house wants to beat them up and republican john mccain said a short time ago this morning, his support for background checks will depend on how the checks at gun show, for example, would be carried out. >> jamie: very interesting. peter va great day. >> eric: jamele, it's a spring tradition, underway at the nation's capitol. the famous cherry trees are beginning to blossom. you know what started this tradition? a century ago? we'll fill you in, next.

>> jamie: it is a cherished springtime tradition, drawing huge crowds to our nation's capitol, thousands of folks hoping to see the famous cherry blossoms in bloom. you don't have to go -- here it is. the national cherry blossom festival underway. march was so chilly, they haven't reached their peek. but it is truly stunning. the blossoms should pop in other day.