martha: no shortage of stuff going on out there. they're busy on capitol hill and trying to move some very serious legislation. we'll see what happens this afternoon. "happening now" starts right now. gregg, see you tomorrow. >> bye-bye. jenna: weather alert northwest of dallas right now in the state of texas. if you're driving along 161 both sides of this highway are closes because of what some are describing as an enormous accident from the ground. you're seeing live pictures from the area. the bus in the middle of the screen was involved in some sort of rollover accident. we don't have information what exactly caused this. we do have information about those potentially injured. right now the count is 16 people injured. potentially 40 people on the bus. still some concern about whether there are people trapped inside that bus as well. but al huge accident, irving,

texas, northwest of dallas, involving a charter bus. an ongoing developing story. we'll bring you back there as we hear more. but first right now, brand new stories and breaking news. some concerns that a missile launch from north korea is imminent as we get reports that a missile is raised to a firing position. also a breaks through in treating pain. what scientists say they can tell by simply looking at our brain scans. how it could change the future of medicine. the latest twist in the jodi arias murder trial involving now jodi's alleged twitter account and what she has to say about the white while it is happening. all that "happening now.". jenna: lots of news to get to today. we're so glad you're with us, everybody. rick: i'm rick folbaum in today for jon scott. senators are voting on a attempt by con systemtives to block debate on the gun

control i will bill before it even starts t would call for expanded background checks, expanded crackdown on gun trafficking and more money for school security. two lawmakers unveiled a compromise to require extended background checks to gun shows and online purchases. joining us a.b. stoddard, associate editor and columnist for "the hill." good to see you. it looks like there will be enough support to get this thing to the next level, right? >> earth that. the excitement of the last 24 hours on capitol hill was two republican and democratic senator, both backed by the nra come to this sort of compromise deal expanding background checks. that is not what the vote will be on today. the vote is to end debate and move forward with edge are shun that could take one or two votes. basically a vote to proceed, to an underlying bill. we will see different amendments, many will fail and, senators manchin and

toomey who crafted this bipartisan deal on background checks are hoping theirs will pass and they have enough time in this just weeks since they got started to convince a few members who are holding out that this could be the deal that brings everyone together and creates a bipartisan gun control bill. rick: only a week ago it seemed like there were enough senators who were against this to be able to mount a filibuster, to prevent this from even being debated on the floor of the u.s. senate. that seems to have trickled away. even you, you were a guest on "happening now" just a couple weeks ago, you had this to say about the prospects for this bill actually moving forward. listen. >> they're not hearing from gun owners who support universal background checks. they're hearing from gun owners who don't want further controls. that is a result of the organization and power of the nra doesn't mean these groups won't win the battle some day with 91% approval rating for background checks.

doesn't look now if you see what is going on in washington that they will win that battle this year. rick: we're not trying to play gotcha. you're a friend of the show and we love having you on and wonder what is changed?. >> what i really think has changed, first of all remember, that the president and the democrats and coalition behind a push on gun control, they're hoping for much, much more and they're not going to get that. they want universal background checks. what manchin and toomey came to a compromise on expanded background checks. there will be private sales, the kind i told you that today, gun rights groups are so concerned about when an uncle passes a gift on at christmastime or over the breakfast table to a nephew or something with a firearm, that is not something they want subjected to background checks. so that is not in the compromise. i think what happened here that we didn't expect, like i said, a very conservative nra-backed senator in pat toomey from pennsylvania was, was willing to come and work

with a democrat, also a pro-gun democrat, west virgina senator joe manchin, to work on a deal. he is giving cover, i think not so much to republicans but to red state democrats who are pro-gun and don't want to vote for any new gun control. senator toomey is saying that background checks or expanded background checks are not gun controls. rick: yeah. >> this still has a long way to go. getting something out of the senate will be very difficult. getting something out of the house to the president's desk, very difficult. this is a long run ahead but this is a smalls, significant breakthrough. rick: that is my question to you. what does speaker boehner do on the house side? peter king will introduce a expanded background check bill in the house of representatives. is that the one boehner puts forward? do they come up with something different? do they vote on whatever comes out of the senate? >> i have a feeling many members of the house republican conference will want to put their own bill out different than peter king's, one that models.

manchin-toomey bill. he asked the senate to act on guns, immigration and the budget. they're going to act. he will be under pressure if there is big strong bipartisan vote on the senate, that is still in question, on the house side. if it ekes out of the senate with much controversy or i don't know that will be much pressure it put something up. this is waiting game. this is not a week a way, not a month away. this is months down the road. >> i promise we won't run the tape a couple months from now and you're on, if you had to guess ab, is there a gun bill that goes to the president's desk? >> i really, 50/50, at this point. i really don't feel as hopeful as senator manchin and toomey that will go through both chambers to the white house. i still stand what i said, i think gun control coalition has a long way to go in organizing and amassing resources in this fight engaging the grassroots to

match the nra in the future. rick: a.b. stoddard from "the hill." thank you very much. >> thank you. jenna: more action on capitol hill on another hot button issue. that is immigration reform. doug mckelway is on that story for us today. doug, what is the current state of immigration reform in either house? >> reporter: they're moving ahead steadily in both houses especially own on the senate side, the bipartisan group so-called, "gang of 8" have put it together for weeks and will continue to, so-called comprehensive immigration plan. we're told by highly placed sources close to the negotiations this bill is already hundreds of pages long. it would, after a number of years and a number of thresholds are met would result in as many as 10 million illegal aliens in the united states being granted green cards and ultimately full u.s. citizenship. the concern among many republicans before they vote for comprehensive immigration reform they want better border security. the bill the "gang of 8" is crafting provides that. using combination of better fencing along the border

along with drone technology adapted from the war in afghanistan. one potential problem though, is enforcement. you can watch people with drones but how do you arrest them crossing the border illegally? janet napolitano said border enforcement has been stronger than it ever has been. republicans dispute that they say that is simply not so. dhs came under grilling for a variety of problems this morning and house appropriation subcommittee hearing, among the problems, repoed failure to meet budgetary requirements. chairman john carter of texas using extraordinarily harsh language. listen up. >> what i've seen in the last few months, what i believe it apparent with this budget request is a complete lack of candor, and that is something that chairman i can not and will not tolerate. >> reporter: also on the house side a group calling it the new democrat coalition is releasing an outline for its own form of comprehensive sufficient immigration reform, one designed to keep families together and integrate them into american communities as

tax paying citizens. jenna. jenna: there is a lot happening behind the scenes, doug, but there was also a big immigration rally yesterday on capitol hill. tell us a little bit what was that. >> reporter: big crowd on very warm day with cherry blossoms out, thousands of people on the west front of the capitol and visited offices and visited the offices of jeff sessions opponent ever immigration reform as it is being crafted right now. they dropped off hundreds of red footballs. as the daughter of a nfl quarterback you might appreciate that. don't drop the ball. pass immigration reform right now. jenna? back to you. jenna: i wish i could catch that. a pretty good throw. not a bad arm from our doug mckelway. big football fan he is is. doug, thank you very much. >> reporter: you bet. rick: new jobs numbers giving a grim outlook for

young people in this country. the current unemployment rate for people 16 to 24 is a whopping 16.2% that is more than double people 25 years of age and over. that is just the tip of the iceberg. peter doocy is live in washington. peter, why is it so much harder for young people it find jobs than anybody else? >> reporter: we asked some recent college graduates who are still without work. one 23-year-old named evan mccann who graduated from iowa state with a degree in finance four months ago, said he only received replys from a handful of 135 or so applications he submitted on linkedin. but employers who do write back are telling him that his resume' is just too short. >> but a lot of them just say they're looking for people with more experience. these are entry level positions. you think, recent college graduate, you know, this would be kind of right up my alley. >> reporter: right now only 54 1/2% of young people in this country are working,

which is down from the start of recession in 2007 when almost 60% were working and, when young people have no jobs, and no money it impacts everyone. >> you're saying to this generation, you're going to be years behind where you should be. and that forces young people to delay getting married, delay buying a house, delay buying a car. as we know those are some big drivers of the economy. >> reporter: over a lifetime experts say young people have to wait to start working make less money overall. rick? rick: so crazy how do you get the experience if you can't get that first job? is there any sign, peter, of employers warming up to young people anytime soon? >> reporter: economists, rick, say it will happen but first older workers who stayed in their jobs for a few years longer than they planned because their 401(k)s took a big hit during the recession need to retire. >> baby boomers are going to retire. at some point you have a

major chunk of the workforce retiring and that should open up a lot of jobs for youth. if that is being delayed, that will create a problem. at some point baby boomers will retire. the real issue of course what happens in the meantime, how far behind will people get in their careers? >> reporter: 236,000 young workers left the labor force last month by "the wall street journal"'s count and if you're not looking, you are not counted as unemployed. things are slightly worse than they look on paper. rick? rick: peter doocy live for us in d.c.. peter, thanks so much. jenna: back to the breaking news out of texas today. we're going to show you some live pictures. this is just east of the dallas-ft. worth airport on highway 161. what you're seeing is a wide shot of a horrific accident, a bus accident involving a charter bus this morning. we have no details as to what actually caused this accident. here is a little bit of better look of video we got earlier. but our team at kdsw, our great team from our

affiliate has fresh reporting for us. earlier we thought potentially there were people still trapped on the bus that had reportedly 40 people on it. right now we're learning there are no longer people trapped on the bus. but we're learning of two reported fatalities in the area and 16 other people injured in critical condition. so as we learn more about what caused this about, and also about the passengers as well, certainly a lot of emergency responders on the scene. we'll bring you that breaking news as we get it out of irving, texas today. a potential medical breakthrough showing the pain you may be feeling is really all in your head in one way or another and doctors can see it. an amazing new study for you ahead. new details about a gunman that held a group of firefighters hostage in georgia. his possible motive and the daring s.w.a.t. team raid that took him out ♪

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the medical field. a team of u.s. scientists at the university of colorado say they are able to see pain on brain scans of patients and for the very first time they can measure its intensity. they can tell whether med inwas relieving it or not. they use ad brain scanner called functional magnetic resonance imaging. they use it to take pictures of people's responses to pain. here is one of the scientists explaining how all of this works. >> presentation in color of the pain signature map. this is a map of the areas in which increases here in yellow and decreases in blue are predictive how much pain a person is feeling. rick: a lot of people suffer from chronic pain. this work is in the early stages but it has huge potential. some day it could help doctors determine when pain is hurting a baby, people with dementia, or someone who is paralyzed and unable to talk. >> really, honestly, i kept

looking out the window, you know, obviously see what was going on and, and you know, what was going to happen and then you heard it, and that was a sense of relief and why? because it was done. it was over. jenna: that is new reaction from neighbors who watched the hostage situation involving four firefighters unfold in georgia yesterday. in a daring rescue, a s.w.a.t. team raided that house and killed the man who was holding the firefighters at gunpoint. today we're learning new details about this gunman and his possible motive and how that raid went down. jonathan serrie is live at the scene with more. so, jonathan, everyone was kept very far away when this was happening, the standoff was happening but now reporters are getting a little bit of a closer look at the crime scene. what are you seeing today? >> reporter: that's right. in fact this is the house right behind me. crime scene investigators on location right now collecting evidence.

as you zoom into the suspect's house you can see visible damage on the side of the building. that damage also sustained to the next door neighbor's house. this from a series of explosions that a s.w.a.t. team set off just before entering the house. those explosions to distract this well-armed suspect as they gained entry. there were four firefighters inside the house at the time that were being held hostage. they suffered some minor injuries, minor scrapes and bruises as a result of that explosion but are otherwise okay. a gunfight ensued as the s.w.a.t. team entered this home. one swat officer sustained a minor gunshot injury. otherwise he's okay. and the suspect of course lost his life during that gunfight. jenna, back to you. jenna: on our screen we have, i mentioned, jonathan about the hostage-taker being upset about something to do with utilities? what was the apparent motive in all of this? >> reporter: that's right. this house had been in

foreclosure. apparently it was bank-owned since mid-november and police tell us that the suspect was upset his utilities were being turned off. during these hostage negotiations, apparently among his demands he wanted his power restored and his cable tv restored. witnesses in the the neighborhood saw a comcast cable truck racing to the scene. at some point the authorities say the negotiations deteriorated. that's when they gave the s.w.a.t. team the go ahead to go inside this house, jenna. jenna: glad those firefighters are doing okay, as you mentioned, jonathan. thank you very much, jonathan serrie live for us in georgia. rick: coming up he was convicted of murder nearly two decades ago and now he is suing the family of his victim, a bizarre lawsuit. we'll tell you about it straight ahead. president obama taking a lot of heat over his budget plan he put out yesterday. could it be part of a strategy that he is taking from president clinton's former playbook? a member of mr. clinton's

inner circle joins us next with his insight. that is coming up next

jenna: right now some new information on a few crime stories we're keeping an eye for you here on "happening now" including this one. a lone star college campus suspect makes his first court appearance today. dylan quick reportedly use ad utility knife to attack more than a dozen victims. he is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. nearly two decades after he was convicted of murder a washington man is suing his victim's family claiming they violated his privacy and inflicted emotional distress on him because they refused to alou him to serve his time in canada where he was born. police arrest a man in maine who has been living as a hermit for the last 27 years claiming he committed

1,000 burglaries to sustain his solitary commit continues in the wilderness. rick: new insight into what could be president obama's strategy when it comes to his budget. his proposal taking heat from liberals because it calls for cuts to entitlements like social security but these fierce objections from members of his own party may be exactly what the president wanted because of a strategy called triangulation, a tactic that president clinton used very successfully back in the '90s. lanny davis was his former white house special counsel and fox news contributor. and he joins us now. lanny, president clinton embraced things like welfare reform. he said the era of big government was over. he was trying to win a second term. president obama has already won a second term, so what's going on do you think? >> well, let's start to the fact he was speaking to principles he long articulated and welfare as we know it, was a program and an effort, way before you ran for the presidency to end and he also was in favor of a governor of arkansas about balancing the

budget. so bill clinton acted on principle. that is what barack obama has done by talking about making a more accurate consumer price index. that is all we're talking about. and on that basis, the republican chairman of the republican campaign committee, greg walton, gets the hypocrite of the year award from this perspective at least and speaker boehner and congressman ryan and other conservatives must be embarrassed and should be asking him to resign because he is criticizing president obama for doing what speaker boehner, ryan and other conservatives have asked him to do for several years which is start the road towards entitlement reform. he is saying that is an attack on seniors. what hypocrisy. rick: well, let's give people a little bit more information on what congressman walden said because he is upset with the president's budget. he said it is an attack on senior citizens and he says it is basically, well we have a statement from congressman walden and from his supporters who say, the

chairman walden supports the budget passed by house republicans that preserves and protects medicare and social security while also balancing the budget in 10 years. he disagrees with president obama's political plan that hurts current seniors just so he can pay for more wasteful spending. what is so hypocritical about that, lanny? >> the fact first of all, all he is talking about, let's have your viewers and i challenge walden to a debate. all he is talking about is changing the definition of the consumer price index to make it more accurate which every economist agrees with. i challenge him to deny that. that is all he is talking about. secondly, paul ryan, who is a leader of his own budget committee, said today that in fact, president obama hasn't gone far enough to make social security solvent as has speaker bain are during the negotiations last summer. so he ought to take on member ofs his own party and resign as head of the campaign committee because

he is total hypocrite and also not stating the fact that all president obama has done is make the consumer price index and a way to measure inflation more accurate, period. rick: we'll reach out to the congressman's office and see if he likes to come on and talk with you. >> good luck. rick: let me get back to the point there are so many democrats upset with this president. >> yes. rick: the political advantage president obama may have been going for in agreeing to these entitlement reforms even at risk of upsetting the left flank of his party? >> i disagree with those democrats and elizabeth warren, who i respect in almost other issues and senator sanders, i disagree with them but at least they're consistent. they would rather cut anything than have an accurate cpi that measures inflation accurately which is all president obama has done and they don't have the answer to my question. as a fellow democrat, what are you going to do to save social security from becoming insolvent which everybody agrees by 2024,

there will be no more trust fund. it goes into the red and social security recipients, according to simpson and bowles will lose 22% of social security payments. so they don't have an answer. they're just opposed to that redefinition of cpi. at least they're consistent. mr. walden is a hypocrite. rick: well don't hold back, lanny. tell us how you really feel. >> you don't to know what i really think. rick: we'll reach out to the congressman's office. lanny, thanks for coming on. >> thank you, rick, thank you. jenna: a news conference is underway in florida. what the two young boys allegedly kidnapped by their own parents taken to cuba. a news conference as the grandparents are speaking out. the boys are back home with those grandparents as the parents themselves face a judge for the very first time today. we'll tell you about those charges. plus north korea is warning today it has, quote, powerful striking means as we learn new evidence of a north korean missile launch could be imminent. our panel takes it on straight ahead

jenna: breaking news out of texas. we've been following this bus accident, that happened just outside of dallas. dallas where we find our own casey stiegel who is reporting live on the story. casey. >> reporter: a really horrific accident when you look at the pictures coming from kdfw, the local affiliate in dallas-ft. worth area. you see the bus is on its side. it is a large charter bus, once the aerial camera goes over just a little bit but

right now you're looking at fire and rescue crews on the scene who set up a triage area. we know this happened 9:00 local time, 10:00 eastern. just about an hour and a half ago. the charter bus, somehow flipped over. some of the witnesses that we've already heard from on the bus reported hearing some type of a pop. so, that leads us to believe that perhaps a tire blew out because no other vehicles are involved here but the charter bus rolled several times. 40 people were onboard. they were headed to a casino up in the oklahoma area. they had just picked up a group of folks at a supermarket in texas. we know that two people are dead. 16 are critical. and some of the witnesses report passengers trapped under the bus itself. they have not moved it yet. again a very fluid situation that we'll keep our eye on and bring you information as we get it, jenna. jenna: sound good, casey. thank you. >> reporter: yeah. rick: just in a news conference is underway with the grandparents and the two

boys allegedly kidnapped by their own parents and taken to cuba. meantime the parents, joshua and sharyn hakken made their first court appearance and are charged with kidnapping among other things. steve harrigan is in miami. how are the boys doing, steve. >> reporter: they seem in good shape by all appearances. what we saw moments ago was highly unusual press conference, with dozens of cameras on the lawn of the grandparents house in tampa. the media was warned by the police, the sheriff's office not to mention there was a crime committed, that there was a kidnapping committed because the victims were babies, two boys, ages 4 and 2, coal and chase. they thought they were on vacation with their parents who actually kidnapped them from their grand parent house. the grand parents lost custody. they're back with the grandparents, in the grandparents house in tampa. the grandmother spoked media. thanked the police and thanked the media and repeated warning not mention anything about the crime that had just been committed.

here is the ground mother. >> they have been told everyone heard about their sailboat trip to cuba, another country as they called it. and their airplane right back to america. that everyone wants to take their picture. we ask that there be no mention of any events of the past week. >> reporter: the boys are back safe and sound. that grandmother went through quite an ordeal herself this past week. she was zip tieded by her son-in-law when the two children were kidnap adweek ago. rick? rick: unbelievable. must be so confusing for the two little boys. what about the public maisch meant for the parents. what are they looking at? >> reporter: it looks grim for the parents. they appeared a bail hearing. they were denied bail and appeared in red jumpsuits marking very serious prisoners. their case is complicated by a couple of factors. first their parental rights have been severed. this is no longer a question of parents kidnapping their own children. this is simply criminals and

victims. victims who were kidnapped. second at least two weapons were found aboard the sailboat they took the children to cuba. the parents could be face life in prison what used to be for kidnapping their own two sons. rick: steve harrigan. thank you very much. jenna: new reports that north korea raised at least one missile into its up right firing position increasing some concerns that a launch could come at any moment. today north korea is delivering a fresh round of rhetoric, claiming it has quote, powerful strikes means on standby for a launch. this comes one day before u.s. secretary of state john kerry is set to arrive in seoul, south korea. he will be there on friday. what will that mean to all of this? jim walsh, international security expert from mit. hi, there, jim. kt macfarland, national security analyst is with us as well. great to have you both. kt, we want to look at the big picture out of all this you say big picture north korea wins no matter

what. why do you believe that? >> i think what they have now shown the world, they have held the world hostage for the last week. they're blackmailing the whole world to pay attention to them. the real winner and, in the whole bigger scheme is that north korea has heard from three successive sieve u.s. presidents, clinton, bush, obama, republicans democrats, north korea you will not be allowed to have nuclear weapons. guess what, at the end of this crisis north korea as nuclear weapons. the biggest winner of all is probably iran which is looking at this and saying if the united states and the rest of the world couldn't stop that pipsqueak of north korea from getting nuclear weapons there is no way they are going to stop us, regardless what speeches the president makes. we might as well go ahead with our nuclear program. nothing is going to stop us. jenna: jim do you agree it is a win-win for north korea? >> no. who wants to be north korea? i don't think there is any country in the world that wants to be north korea. have they gotten a lot of attention because of these provocations? yes. at the end of the day

they're still isolated. they're people are malnourished. no one wants to be them. what they have done is grabbed the tiger's tale and started to shake it and by that i mean china. china may be begin to rethink its relationship and may be bad for north. korea. i don't know what that translate to what they get for that if that's a wi on iran, they're completely separate. having been to iran and been to north korea and studied both over a decade i think these are completely different situations. iranians don't take many cues from the north koreans. they're so different. one of the things involved here in the middle east there is an israel and israel threatened to attack iran's nuclear facilities. that is not a similar situation in northeast asia where there is no equivalence. i think they're difference and i don't think iran takes its cues for north korea. jenna: we'll leave the iran conversation for a moment, jim to pick up on what you have to say further. you do believe north korea is going to test some sort of a missile over the next few days.

>> yeah i do. jenna: how do you stop the pattern though, of them doing this every couple weeks, every couple months, every couple years of the rhetoric every day and missile test and the pattern just repeats itself? >> i think it is a great question. jenna: go ahead, jim. >> pardon me? jenna: go ahead, jim. >> how do we stop it in the short term and -- what's the endgame look like? when does this all stop? now my, as far as the short-term i think the monday's the big day. monday is the birthday for kim il sung. and they're trying to connect the image of the founder with his grandson, kim jong-un. that might mark an end to what we've seen over these last couple weeks. jenna: you think they would be quiet after that, jim. if they did the missile test no one reacts and there is no big deal? >> part of this, jenna if this is being done for domestic reasons, not foreign reasons, no one has any leverage over this. he remember, is a young leader. there are rumors, true or not he is having trouble

consolidating his position. there might be opposition within the military. those are domestic reasons. they have nothing to do with the outside world, with south korea or the united states. if these provization -- provocations are part of a domestic political process where he is looking inward to consolidate his own position that will follow its own logic we and no one else has any control. jenna: certainly a closed country. john kerry are, kt will be in the area in south korea tomorrow. again same question to you as we finish up here. what stops this pattern? >> nothing much stops this pattern unless china is willing to intervene. you can set your calendar to auto renew every year. there is daylight savings time. there is cherry blossoms and a north korean military crisis. they do this every year as a management technique because they're running out of the food at this point. they want transportation and fuel because they think they will get it from the world because the world will want to stop the crisis. the difference this time, i disagree with jim, this time north korea has nuclear

weapons. that a game-changer. south e, japan may feel they need nuclear weapons of their own. chinese are not in a good position either. if there is mill at that aization of entire region china is in bad shape they have powerful nuclear countries on their border or collapsed north korea. mao used to tell my old boss henry kissinger, without the lips the teeth grow cold. chinese foreign policy is about having lips to protect china. if those lips, north korea is collapsed or if those lips become like a nuclearized japan and south korea, those teeth grow very cold indeed. jenna: give us a new launching point for another discussion when we have you both back. thanks so much for your time. always a big story. we appreciate your thoughts. >> thank you. >> thank you. rick: the jodi arias murder trial resumes today but what's happening outside the courtroom is also making headlines. find out what arias is telling her supporters about the prosecutor. also, a massive explosion, more than 100

feet underground. more incredible video plus why crews are down there blowing up all that rock.

rick: incredible video of an underground explosion in new york city. watch. >> fire in the hole. >> fire in the hole. rick: there were construction crews behind all of this they're blasting through tons of bedrock. they're creating caverns that will soon connect long island railroad trains to grand central terminal for the very first time. the metropolitan transportation authority, the mta, says this is the last of about 2,000 explosions. all the work is being done roughly 14 stories below street level. the nearly $9 billion project is expected to be

done until 2017. >> did you hear a common theme about police arias crying when she is upset? >> yes. >> tell me about that. >> her previous boyfriends and i believe there were interviews when, about her as a child and i'm not remembering exactly but her previous boyfriends said that she was a crier. that she cried even, even mr. alexander said she would just cry a lot. so she is, she was a crier when she got upset. jenna: this is what is going on inside the courtroom in the jodi arias murder trial. more of the same is expected today as testimony continues but we're learning of interesting developments behind the scenes that tell a little bit more of the story. for example, arias's own father is on record saying she has been a liar since she was very, very young. listen to his part of the an interview with investigators. >> she hid everything from us and always had. never, never been honest.

she was only 14 then. she has never been honest with us ever since then. jenna: now jodi arias is even turning to twitter to weigh in on her own trial, at times taking aim at prosecutor. for example, one tweet reading, quote, hmmm, anger management problems anyone? bring in our legal panel. esther panitche criminal defense attorney and tom can any of. former prosecutor. laughing at this type of thing. according to reports she has a friend she calls at night and that friend puts her tweets on her twitter account, not verified twitter account by twitter.com i look for. esther, this allowed, so one on trial can, should do? >> well, it is two different questions. whether she can do it, yes. she can do it. she is not with her cell phone. someone doing it at her behalf or allegedly doing it

at her behest. unless the jail wants to cut off all communications and phone calls there is nothing she is doing is illegal. whether she should do it is whole another story. jenna: what do you think?. >> no, i don't think she should. juan martinez could subpoena the person writing these tweets and ask them if these are in fact comments she has made? and can impeach her even though she is not on the stand anymore. present this to the jury, she is mocking the system. that is what a lot of these tweets seem to be. jenna: tom, one. tweets we grabbed, she is talking about someone. this is the quote. he who tries to establish his point by yelling shows his reasoning is weak. there is lot of different things like this. she also takes aim at television hosts. we're not included on that we should mention. but jurors here are not see questionstered. -- sequestered. they're not supposed to read some of this media. what risk could this impose for the trial and what is the impact? >> i agree with esther.

she shouldn't do it. she has a right to do it. she has the fifth amendment right to remain silent which stays throughout the trial although she agreed to waive it by taking the witness stand. she has a right to free speech. is this a good idea? probably not. she probably perceives the jury or some of the jurors are getting, are privy to some of the media in this case and she is probably realistic in believing that and it is realistic to think some of these tweets will get before the jury since they're not sequestered. whether they will create sympathy for her or influence the jury one way or the other, is a big risk. it may seem, it may make her seem that she is, you know, not at all cowed by the fact she is sitting through her own murder trial and maybe enjoying the publicity and that could have bad impact to the jury. jenna: supposedly she is

trying to sell some much her the artwork on ebay. we'll get that to. we look forward to have you back. tom, you will be back next hour to talk about a different case. thanks so much for all of this today. >> thank you, jenna. jenna: we'll be back with more "happening now.".

rick: fox news alert. news out of d.c. the united states senate rejected effort to block debate on new gun control legislation. the senate voting 68-31 to allow debate to go on. 16 republican senators voted in favor of the debate. two democrats voted against the debate. this does not mean all of sudden there are new gun laws on the books. it simply means the senate will debate new gun legislation for the first time in 20 years. the deal worked out, bipartisan deal on expanded background checks will most likely be a part of what they will be debating.

there will be other amendments as well. still a long way to go before any new gun legislation gets to the president's desk. but the first hurdle at least has been overcome. jenna: more on that as we get it. meantime the dairy industry is looking for a sweet deal, pun intended hoping to add sweetener to make. fda considering this proposal but the plan is coming under fire from some farmers and as well as some consumer groups as well. doug kennedy is live at our new york city newsroom. not to confuse my dougs in my life. there are a lot of dougs in my life. >> reporter: if you put anything in milk, jenna, except milk you have to warn consumers with a big label. this proposal would change that rule and some natural farmers are naturally upset. rick is a dairy farmer in new york's hudson valley. he says he needs to know what's in his food before he eats it. that's why you're an all-natural farmer.

you want your food as natural as possible? >> we want, i want my food personally as all natural as possible. we pride ourselves trying to make the food labels legible. >> reporter: that is exactly driving his outrage over a new proposal from the dairy industry. nonorganic milk makers are asking the food and drug administration to disregard labeling requirements when they add aspartame to milk. currently if a dairy wants to add an art official sweetener they have to warn consumers? >> not only artificial sweetener any ingredient has to be prominently displayed. aspartame is a known carcinogen. leave milk alone. >> reporter: that is a sentiment expressed by consumer groups across the country who have unindated fda with complaints about the proposal including this petition which already has over 100,000 signatures. the dairy industry says --. he says milk is nature's

most natural beverage and nobody needs to be hoodwinked to drink it. that is it from here, jenna. back to you. jenna: doug, thank you so much. we'll be right back with more "happening now.". if you think running a restaurant is hard, try running four. fortunately we've got ink. it gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores. rewards we put right back into our business. this is the only thing we've ever wanted to do and ink helps us do it. make your mark with ink from chase.

rick: brand new stories and breaking news as if march is supposed to go out like a lamb, but the lion sure has come back in april. tornadoes leaving a trail of destruction from the midwest to the south. it's not over yet. who needs to brace for more dangerous weather. plus, what's the biggest threat to america right now? a hearing on the most dangerous terror organizations underway, and one group pledging allegiance to al-qaeda may be getting aid from the u.s. and they say don't bring a baseball bat to a gunfight, but this shop owner sure did, and he fought off two armed robbers in spectacular style. the whole story and more video of the wild scene. it's all "happening now." jenna: well, severe storms

sweeping across the midwest. heavy rain, up to a foot of snow, dangerous winds and possible tornadoes all causing a lot of damage. a brand new hour of "happening now." we're glad you're with us, i'm jenna lee. rick: and i'm rick folbaum. a viability weather system leaving its mark on a huge part of the country, thousands in oklahoma losing electricity after trees covered in ice fell on power lines. a similar scene in minnesota where freezing rain and wet, heavy snow left thousands of folks without power, even snapping a 500-foot radio tower. and missouri's governor declaring an emergency there after several reports of tornadoes near st. louis. >> i got up and walked over to the door and looked out my front door, and i could just see, you could just see the wind and feel it coming. so i shut the door and started walking this way, and i got right about where he is now, and everything just went, and it flew me in there to the kitchen against that wall. rick: scary scene in hazelwood.

chief meteorologist rick reichmuth is in the fox extreme weather center, but first to mike tobin who's live in chicago. >> reporter: you mentioned missouri, and that's where it really seems to be the worst. witnesses, even weather spotters say they put their eyes on at least two funnel clouds that came down. the national weather service now has investigators on the ground to confirm that the damage is consistent with tornadic activity. a little town called hazelwood just outside of st. louis, that's where you have cars and tractor-trailers tipped over, roofs torn off homes. you have trees down and subsequently power that was taken out. some 30,000 homes without power, the crews have been working, they're down to 10,000 homes that are without power. unaware, investigators say, of any injuries on the ground there, and happy to say that. what's peculiar about this particular storm is the someoneses say the -- the witnesses saw say the worst of the weather was preceded by what they call a wall of bright

light. also arkansas hit by severe weather, an 18-wheeler was tipped over, homes suffering severe damage. four people were injured in arkansas according to authorities. again, investigators have been dispatched from the national weather service to confirm if these were tornadoes, because witnesses say they put eyes on four different funnel clouds there. and minnesota the ice was the culprit. this icy rain builds up on the tree branches, weighing them down. they snap off and take the power lines with them. one administrator of a little minnesota town said it looked like it was raining tree branches. so much ice built up that they shut down the rail lines for a while, that almost never happens. minnesota governor mark dayton has mobilized the national guard. and in minnesota and places like the dakotas they're now bracing for a second round of severe weather that could bring as much as 3-5 inches of snow here in april. rick? rick: mike tobin live for us in the midwest.

thanks very much. jenna: and now where the severe storm is heading next. chief meteorologist rick reichmuth has more. >> reporter: hey, jenna. yeah, about another day and a half to get through this storm before it's completely gone. a pretty slow-proving storm -- slow-moving storm, you can see these reds and yellows, that's very heavy rains, and a lot of flooding across parts of this lower mississippi river valley, and we have another tornado watch in effect down across areas of the south parts of louisiana and southern mississippi. these are the reports from yesterday, a lot of hail and wind reports, six reports of tornadod just north of little rock and around the st. louis area. today that threat pushes farther off towards the east. this right now is our current threat, this is the watch box that we have in effect until 3:00, so some of these cells here as this line of storms approaches could turn to have t. and it's very unstable out ahead of this, so any of this area where you see the yellows we have the threat for severe weather. i think this southern portion is

where we have of the biggest threat for tornadoes, and some of these potentially going into the overnight hours tonight. that, obviously, so dangerous because you don't have any kind of a visual warning of that. so it's a night to have your noaa weather radio through much of the carolinas. tomorrow morning the threat is to the mid atlantic, tomorrow evening we'll finally be done with this storm. we've warmed back up to 42 in denver, yesterday we were in the 20s the entire day, but you can see this big contrast right there where that front is. it's been so warm and sticky across much of the area of the east which has been kind of a nice break from the cold, but that's what's driving this. cold air will be through here, and everybody will cool back down. it's going to be feeling like late winter again by the time we get to tomorrow evening. jenna? jenna: rick, thank you so much. >> reporter: you bet. rick: right now a hearing on capitol hill on the biggest emerging threats to the u.s. and one key issue involves the syrian rebels who are trying to

oust syrian president bashar al assad. formerly bin laden's number two, this alarming development raising questions for the obama administration, of course, as it expands american aid and support to the rebels. chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge live from washington with more. catherine? >> reporter: only twice a year the top intelligence officials laying out publicly the current and emerging threats facing the united states so that congress can set the budget priorities for the 16 intelligence agencies and the fbi. the director of national intelligence, the nation's top intelligence officer, confirming that this leading opposition group in syria which is one and the same as al-qaeda in iraq is now in virtually every corner of the country. >> they have a presence in 13 of the 14 provinces in syria. they are organizing themselves where they can to perform municipal services to include

the, in some cases, the imposition of sharia law. >> reporter: willing to discuss the number of fighters in the open or unclassified session, the director of national intelligence, james clapper, saying the 234ur78s do not reflect effectiveness. the group is considered to include the most seasoned fighters. if the syrian president, assad, does go, they are predicting a year to 18 months during which the country will further destabilize, and this leaves another window for the al-qaeda group to expand its foothold. >> i'm concerned about this fracturing of the country that is allowing certain groups such asal us in rah to gain strength because they have agendas inside of syria and potentially outside. >> reporter: a congressional source telling fox news as early as last september, a week before the benghazi terrorist attacks, then cia director david petraeus went to turkey to emphasize that the u.s. needed more visibility on who was getting the weapons

traveling into syria and the extent to which the weapons were falling into the hands of extremists like thal misrah front. the chairman of that me, republican congressman mike rogers warning the key difference here is that syria is awash with conventional weapons and also chemical weapons as well, rick. rick: catherine herridge live in washington. catherine, thanks very much. >> reporter: you're welcome. jenna: also today world powers denouncing north korea as we get more reports that the country's missiles are on the move. according to reuters, several medium-range missiles are now positioned along north korea's east coast, and as the world is waiting on the north's next move, secretary of state kerry is headed to seoul, south korea, from london. in london he met with other g8 members. they called on north korea to refrain from new, provocative action. but back in d.c. speaking to the house intelligence committee today, director of national intelligence james clapper discussed kim jong un's unlikely

motivation. >> first and foremost, it's to show that he is firmly in control in north korea. i don't think really he has much of an end game other than to somehow elicit recognition from the world and, specifically, most importantly, the united states. jenna: david piper streaming live south of the dmz in seoul, south korea, with more. david? >> reporter: hi, jenna, yes. north korea could be about to launch a missile. there is a report now out of japan where an official was quoted there as saying one of these missiles has been put into a launch position. no other confirmation though at in this time. also intelligence sources here in the south say two of these intermediate missiles are on their launch pads now on the east coast, and they say that they are, they could be ready, could be launched at any time now. some reports suggest north korea could a missile or missiles on the 15th of april though.

it's known as the day of the sun there as it's the birthday of the country's founder, grandfather of the current leader, kim jong un. south korean forces have beefed up their military patrols around key installations as a precaution and also u.s. forces are on a higher state of alert here at this time. now, large parts of the country are also protected by patriot missiles. japan has also put in place missiles to protect tokyo and warships of the u.s. and its allies are at sea to monitor any missile launch and perhaps even shoot it down if it crosses their territories. missile defense system is also being sent to the island of guam to protect it from any possible attack because north korea has warned they are looking at that possibility. now, elsewhere foreign ministers of the g8 countries meeting in london have issued a communique urging pyongyang to refrain from any more prohavingtive acts. william hague who chaired the

talks said if north korea makes tests, they will take significant measures. north korea, again on the evening news has warned the country is ready for war. the news reader warned, quote: once we've pushed the button, ourenmies will be turned to a sea of flames. secretary of state john kerry was at that g8 meeting, he's now on his way to here in seoul where he will be going straight into meetings with south korean leaders. also during his asian tour he will be going to beijing and tokyo. back to you, jenna. jenna: david piper live in seoul. david, thank you. rick: coming up, new evidence that usama bin laden obtained some of america's top secrets thanks to bradley manning. now a member of the team that killed bin laden could testify about the terror chief's pursuit of those secrets. also jodi arias finding a way to send messages to her

followers on twit wither, also selling her artwork. we'll talk about it. ♪ you know my heart burns for you... ♪ i'm up next, but now i'm sging the heartburn blues. hold on, prilosec isn't for fast relief. cue up alka-seltzer. it stops heartburn fast. ♪ oh what a relief it is!

jenna: well, a member of the team that took out usama bin laden could appear on the witness stand and testify in the government's case against private bradley manning. private manning is accused of giving hundreds of thousands of classified documents to wikileaks. he faces 22 charges including espionage and aiding the enemy. prosecutors say the witness, presumably a navy seal, collected digital evidence showing bin laden had some of that information, the same information leaked by manning. tom is a former prosecutor and a jag officer in the army national guard. so, tom, perfect person to talk tos. why, why does the judge allow this to go through? why is this person so important to this case? >> well, here's the thing, jenna. the top charge which private manning is facing is ucmj

article 104, the aiding the enemy. the reason why that charge so significant, it's punish bl by death. that's what his attorneys are really worried about. there was a hearing last year, we call it an article 39 hearing, where the defense actually moved to dismiss that charge saying that their client, private manning, may have posted the classified documents to that cloud to get it on wikileaks but never actually gave it over to al-qaeda. so the judge wasn't going to dismiss the case, but put the onus on the prosecution to prove actual knowledge on the part of the defendant that this was going to get into enemy hands. jenna: there are some reports that this person that could be called in that was part of the bin laden raid would appear in a closed court maybe under a little bit of a disguise. but the question i have for you is would bradley manning -- a man that we know that has leaked classified information that has nothing to lose -- also be in court listening to more

classified information provided by this said individual? >> yeah, i mean, look, he is a defendant in a criminal proceeding, and, you know, he's not a terrorist. he's a u.s. citizen, he's in uniform. he's entitle l -- entitled to be present at every stage of the proceedings, so you can't bar him. remember, it's not the -- the defense is the one moving for, to exclude the navy seal. and i think the reason they're doing that is they're worried it might prejudice the jury. in other words, you have this american hero come in, and it gives the prosecution a chance to cart him out in front of the jury and then engender all this anger towards their client who's giving this information that's possibly putting his life at risk. jenna: but the judge has ruled this person can testify at the time. >> yeah, absolutely. remember, the defendant has a sixth amendment right to confront the witnesses against him. how are they going to prove the actual knowledge unless they show the documents actually wound up in the hands of the enemy? jenna: it's a really interesting case for several reasons, not

only the leak of hundreds of thousands of classified documents, but the potential impact of those documents in aiding our enemy may be years away, the evidence of that, meaning someone could sit on the information because no one can read all that information quickly and somehow use it against us in the future. so how does that come into play with the case that's going on right now and the potential punishment of bradley manning? >> i think that's one of the reasons why the government is prosecuting this case so aggressively. because the idea is you have to set a precedent particularly in the age of technology where classified documents can wind up all over the world in a matter of seconds. one of the interesting points, one of the charges that he's facing is under the espionage act. the espionage act was famous for, that's what we used to prosecute the al ger hiss case. remember, those documents were found in a pumpkin. [laughter] fast forward 50, 60 years later,

it's around in world in a matter of seconds. given the technology, it's so easy to get in the hands of the enemy, the government has to go after this hard. jenna: so you think it's to send a message. is death still on the table, by the way? >> under article 104, death is a potential penalty. i mean, the army hasn't executed anyone, i believe, since 1963. so the chance it would ever come to that is another issue. jenna: and we're still in the pretrial hearing phase. tom, great to have your expertise on this. >> thanks for having me. rick: a senate committee hears from the president's pick to head the environmental protection agency, the ep ark. there are some major projects the new leader will have to act on including the controversial keystone pipeline project. our next guest has serious concerns about the effect on the economy as well as the environment. we'll talk to senator john barrasso coming up. also a major recall, why some of the most popular cars on the road need to get checked out.

rick: today on capitol hill a senate committee hears from the president's pick to head up the environmental protection agency. for the past fife years, gina mccarthy has been the epa's top air regulation official, and lawmakers are asking how this might effect fossil fuels. senator john barrasso writing in "the wall street journal" today says, quote:

rick: useing the agency's own estimat, researchers at the heritage foundation report that the epa's 20 major rules alone will cost $45 million annually. senator john barrasso, a republican from wyoming, joins us now. thanks so much for making the time. i understand that the confirmation hearing is going an an -- on as we speak, and you're about to ask your first questions of the nominee. give us some highlights. what's question number one? >> well, thanks, rick. you know, the epa, in my opinion, is failing america. all you need to do is take a look at this last week's abysmal jobs record, and what we know is that if the president really wanted to get people back to work, he would really rein in the epa. the regulations that continue to come out are burdensome, they're expensive and time consuming, and that's what i'm going to be boring in on during the hearing. rick: i'm just wondering about a balance. you're a medical doctor, you know the importance of clean air and clean water. how do we strike a balance, and

how confident are you that this administration is dedicated to finding a balance between putting in place policies that make sure that our water and air are clean and at the same time are not so overly burdensome on farmers, for example, on businesses, for example? >> well, that's exactly right. we have -- the epa has done remarkable things in the past, but they now are proceeding trying to improve things that are very, very expensive to make maybe minimal improvements with the costs surreal. and now the benefits really are unknown. and you're right, we need to get a balance of and keep it correct, the balance between energy security, economic growth and environmental stewardship. but this epa in their efforts has gone so far overboard from an environmental standpoint that it is hurting our economy, and it is also hurting our energy security. they're making energy more expensive, and they're making it harder to produce american energy. rick: do you see gina mccarthy

getting confirmed? >> well, that's the concern, is that she has been a part of this over the last four years. she's had a major role in what has been, to me, a failure of the epa. so it is not yet at all clear whether she will be confirmed. what i need to hear from her is how she is going to be different over the next four years of the president's term than what we've seen over the last four years and the last administrator. rick: we'll be watching and listening to the confirmation hearings very closely as they play out, and we appreciate the preview of your question and answer with her. i want to move on to some of the other legislative items that are affecting and that involve the u.s. senate because there's a lot going on, of course, this morning, within the last couple of hours. there was the vote to move the debate forward on gun legislation. it passed. sixteen of your republican colleagues sort of broke ranks with the party and voted in favor of the debate. you were not one of them, but i'm wondering if we're going to see congress come up with something, gun legislation for

the first time in the 20 years that the president's going the sign? >> well, there's going to be a very robust discussion about our second amendment rights probably over the next several weeks. being from wyoming, we know what our second amendment rights mean to us as individuals to own and bear arms, and i'm going to continue to defend those second amendment rights for all americans. but that is what the debate is going to be. we don't even know what the next amendment looks like as senator reid said, well, we haven't gotten it all together yet, so we haven't even been able to read that. but, to me, the bill of rights, the whole ten first amendments to the constitution has to do with our rights as individuals and those were put together to protect the citizens from the government, not to protect the government from the people. rick: senator, the president putting forward the blueprint for a budget yesterday late, but he's catching a lot of flak from members of his own party for offering to reform entitlements. do you see a budget deal in our future?

>> not yet. he met with a number of republicans last night. i think that his budget is a nonstarter. he's two months late beyond the deadline. the house has passed a budget. the senate has passed a budget already. the president's budget never balances, not this year, not fife years from now -- five years from now, not ten years from now, never. it includes additional spending and additional taxes, so i don't see it passing. rick: senator john barrasso, republican of wyoming. good to talk to you, sir. thank you very much for your time today. >> thanks for having me, rick. jenna: jodi arias is returning to court today. prosecutors are now trying to make the case that her boyfriend was afraid of her long before the killing. a live report straight ahead on that. also president obama reaching across the aisle and inviting a group of republican senators to the white house for dinner. senator barrasso just mentioned that. this comes as he releases his budget plan. utah senator orrin hatch is going to be joining us. we're going to ask him about the

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jenna: a show of bipartisanship in washington. the president inviting a group of 12 republican senators to the white house for dinner. last night's meal coming hours after the president released his $3.8 trillion budget plan. they dined on a meal including steak salad and

sauted vegetables. orrin hatch was there at the dinner and joins us live from capitol hill. the pressing question, senator. how was the food? >> white house food is usually pretty excellent. we had a wonderful time. we ate in the family dining room. that is interesting thing. first time i ever done that in all the years i've been here. jenna: that is interesting. if you could take us lined the scenes how the dinner at the whites house goes down. did you guys hang out? have some small talk before you sit down to dinner? or more of a business meeting atmosphere? what is it really like? >> that is a lot of small talk to begin with, you know, and comradery. the president's a very, you know, very interesting and, really i think good man. he is very friendly and very, very winning personality. but then we sat down and he launched into what he wanted to say to begin with. and then he started with me and then around the table.

jenna: he started with you? what did you have to say >> well, i was sitting right next to him. apparently being the most senior senator there i guess he felt he had to call on me first. i didn't care who he called on. jenna: what tough to say to the president? >> i raised a number about issues i think are important. almost every issue came up is on my senate judiciary committee i'm ranking member on. that is where all the money is. that is where the taxes are. that is where the enlightment programs are. you know and judiciary committee i have to say, the issue of immigration came up. we had a general discussion on that as well. it was a very, very interesting evening. he, he continually expressed how difficult it was for him with his side to bring them along on some of these things. but he did express openness in working with us. i kind of, i kind of liked that for a change, i'll tell you. jenna: sound like it was a nice evening. you said he sort of started off with the group as he sat down for dinner.

what did he start off with? what kind of tone did he want to set? what was his top priority on the list of things you can talk about? there are so many big issues. what did he introduce the main theme for the dinner? >> he knew most of us. the main theme how difficult it is at this time and how difficult the national debt is, and the costs of running the government are and the difficulty between the two, two basic respective points of view, that his side is very much concerned about some of the things the president is doing and he have upset about some things but also, people that he has to, you know, satisfy. and our side. jenna: sure. >> very tough on the economics. we're tired of a $17 trillion debt headed to $25 trillion. probably even before this president leaves office. the debt now is, it is $61,000 for every man, woman and child in america. jenna: wow. >> that is gone expose fengsly.

-- exponentially. $6 trillion this growth. jenna: when they hear that number everyone is tired of hearing about that and wondering how we can fix it. the press secretary was on with me a couple weeks ago, senator and this was after the first round of dinner meetings the president had with republicans. i asked the press secretary, what is the change coming out of the meetings? what is the change the american people need to know? what is being accomplished with these meetings? he said it was ongoing constructive conversation. i ask from your perspective what the is change or end result of having some dinners like you had last night? >> it was a constructive conversation and the president was very gracious and i have to say friendly to each one of us, called us all by our first names. we had a wide-ranging, very respectful change of views by a wide-ranging group of people. and frankly, he was gracious throughout the whole process. now, you know, the constant theme of this white house

they have to have more taxes so they can spend more. they act like they're going to pay down the national debt. they will never do that. i have only been here 37 years now. i have to say every time they ask for taxes to pay down the debt, they got the taxes and just spend them and that's been the case every time as far as i'm concerned. jenna: well it is interesting as you noticed, noted all the time that you spent in washington and it was your first meal in the family dining room in the white house. that is interesting to note, senator. we really appreciate the time you spend with us always and love talking to you. thank you so much. >> i have had plenty of other meals. that was one i never had before. jenna: we want it know about those too next time we come on. >> i will be happy to tell you about them. but on the qt. jenna: that is fine with us too, right, rick? rick: sure. jenna: got it, senator hatch, look forward to having you back. thank you, sir. >> thank you. rick: switching gears now. testimony is set to resume in the jodi arias murder

trial a day of the prosecutor tried to establish the victim was afraid of arias before his death. arias admits to killing her ex-boyfriend travis alexander but claims she was the victim of domestic abuse. it was all in self-defense. the prosecutor, juan martinez claims alexander was afraid of arias asking the psychotherapyist if arias was the real abuser. >> it does appear the person who was the perpetrator, the abuser, in this relationship, was the defendant, right? >> not at all. rick: meantime, arias is speaking out from behind bars on twitter. here she takes aim at the prosecutor saying he who tries to establish his point by much yelling shows that his reasoning is weak. another time she thank as friend for his testimony and in her defense tweeting, that grateful that he had to ability to separate himself from the masses and stay true to his own convictions. she takes shots at the prosecutor's combative

courtroom behavior. hmmm, anger management problems, anyone? how can she do this from jail? apfarntly she talks on the phone with a friend of hers, donovan bearing. he posts the messages for her online. adam housley is live in los angeles with the very latest. adam? >> reporter: rick, we've done this story before a couple years ago actually now how inmates were able to go on some social network sites really through other parties. it is not too much of a surprise that joed jed is doing this. what is shows once been more odd things coming out of this courtroom and in case. every day it is something new. every day it you something like her on top of her head, standing on her head in the interrogation room in 2008, to know this. one. tweets, said after all i've been through amazing i'm not gay. another tweet she basically insinuates that the prosecutor has little man syndrome. she is definitely in her way fighting back. donovan bearing, it mentioned the friend.

right now followers they have. they follow only a few people, they follow believe it or not geraldo rivera, one of our own of course. gabrielle giffords and donald trump. just a few of the people that jodi arias is following. she has 260074 followers. this all goes on of course each day her mother is in court. her friend as you saw right there, sitting next to her mother some of the days. that is the person that helps with the tweets. when they asked donovan about the treats, here is what was said. take a listen. >> she will call i have a quote or we'll talk about it and she will say let's dweet it. sometimes she says let's tweet and we'll take it, she will say no, let's not do it. >> reporter: that was donovan outside the courthouse yesterday. jodi arias is also selling artwork. she has a website and her most recent painting called hourglass. that is different one there. there are a number of paintings she is selling for $2500. so you can see she is a very busy woman in jail. meantime, in court, alice la

violet, the final defense expert got turn down over 3 1/2 days of cross-examination. yesterday the defense team did what they could to try to rebuild her story how jodi arias was mentally and physically abused by travis alexander. trying to build a case why jodi arias killed him not in a fit of rage as the prosecution alleges but in self-defense. take a listen. >> is that because you're biased and you will say whatever on behalf of miss arias? >> i don't say whatever on behalf of anybody. i turn down cases and i have turned down numerous cases during the last three months. this is not the way i earn my living. i'm a therapist and a trainer and i don't take cases that i don't feel have merit. >> reporter: again, the defense team trying to rebuild her case because the prosecutor, juan martinez had made pretty good inroads insinuating during her testimony on cross-examination she would

basically say anything. no matter what jodi arias did, no matter how many lies she told she would come to the same conclusion that jodi arias acted in self-defense. rick, court starts any minute. you can bet there will be something that happens today. we'll keep you updated for sure throughout the day. back to you. rick: thank you very much, adam housley in l.a.. jenna: well, today is day 45 of testimony in the jodi arias murder trial. just how long could it go on? that a question some of you might have. we certainly have that. here are some of the longest high-profile murder trials in history. this one, hall of fame running back o.j. simpson charged with murdering his ex-wife, nicole brown simpson and her friend ron goldman. that lasted in 252 days ending in a verdict not guilty. phil spencer was tried for the murder of actress lana clark son. specter was found guilty of second degree murder. that trial lasted 172 days. this is a name that you know as well.

lyle and eric menendez were convicted of killing their parents, shooting them in their beverly hills home. following a mistrial, their second trial lasted 210 days. scott petersen went on trial for murdering his pregnant wife lacy and their unborn son. her body was found in san francisco bay. that trial lasted 175 days. of course most recently, another high-profile case, casey anthony was acquitted of first-degree murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter kaley anthony. that trial lasted 169 days. long story short, we might be in for a few more days in this one as well. rick: a real trip down memory lane. jenna: greatest histories. rick: all-stars. a shop owner fights back big-time. two armed thugs trying to rob him got away with more than they bargained for. the wild story and more video coming up. he runs a massive media empire and lives in a $39 million house but ryan seacrest is not immune from the latest hoax targeting

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[ major nutrition ] ensure! nutrition in charge! rick: a wild robbery caught on tape. two crooks bursting in a chicago gifts and sports store. one of them pulling a gun while his partner jumps behind the counter. that is when the store owner pulls out a bat to defend himself. watch this videotape. the gunman then starts shooting. the owner's brother-in-law will get involved too here. throw as chair and chases thieves off with a fire extinguisher. he got off 10 round and hit the owner once in the leg. the guy has a pretty good swing. police are questioning one of the suspects. the other remains on the loose. >> well the material girl getting a smackdown overseas in the country of africa. julie banderas has more for us now. jewelly? >> reporter: that's right. madonna, or diva? a goodwill ambassador? who knows. while visiting malawi last

week to build schools in the nation malawi's government says the material girl demanded vip treatment and apparently asked to meet the president who he thought quote, should abandoned everything and rolled out red carpet and a 21 gun salute in her honor that is from a spokesman from are malawi government. they said she overstated her contributions as well. the controversy continues there. jay-z rocking the boat with bo as in barack obama. after releasing a rap referencing his recent trip to cuba. in it, the rapper implies president obama had concerns he could be in political hot water after jay-z and beyonce's trip to cuba since the two are friendly reportedly. in the song, titled, open letter, jay attacks politicians. take a listen. >> politicians never did [bleep] to me. lie to me and distort history. obama you [bleep] anyway.

chill with me on the beach. i'm in cuba. i love cuba. communists talk is so confusing. >> reporter: no word on the white house from friendship. spokesperson said they had nothing to do with the recent trip they took. did you vote for "american idol" last night? someone called 911 but not to vote. instead they pull ad prank on the show's host ryan seacrest making him the latest celebrity swatting victim. they call in false report of crimes being committed. they called and claimed mobster-looking guys were firing off shots in his beverly hills home. when cops arrived there was nothing going on fortunately. he purchased the mansion from ellen deyen -- degeneres for $39 million. who says a we're in a bad economy. rick: how many bathrooms do you get for 39 million? jenna: you should get quite

a few. rick: i hope so. coming up a major second amendment controversy as a gun control bill clear as key vote in the u.s. senate. what new york state is doing on its own and what it could mean for other states. the details straight ahead. plus tough times for a lover of seafood favorite stone crabs. what is being blamed for the worst stone crab season in 50 years! stick around. [ male announcer ] how do yomeasure happiness?

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jenna: crisis for florida's seafood industry that is having a ripple effect across the country. stone crab fishermen are having their worst season in half a send o century. demand for the delicacy is sending prices sky-high for everybody. phil keating in is marathon, florida, with more. >> reporter: the absence of

stone crabs remain as mystery lushing in the water. frustrated fisherman are pulling traps out and stacking them up and giving up early. florida's stone crab claw. the creme de la creme of florida seafood. this year's catch, the worst on record. for fishermen like steve, it is just a losing proposition. so he is pulling crab traps out for good before the season is even over. >> pulled 600 traps. 200 pounds. we're bringing them home for 100 pounds though. because it died right off. at 100 pound you can't even pay the expenses. >> reporter: this year's catch, down 50 to 80%. >> had to cut back on our bait expense and you know, everything we're doing trying to cut corners to make it work and losing money every day we go fishing. been absolutely horrible. >> crabs up. >> reporter: for tourists with a crab claw craving, if

you can find them, the prices are stone cold crazy. >> just in this area alone, if you found two restaurants that have crabs on the menu, it would be a miracle. it is all supply and demand and there is very little supply. >> reporter: if you find them they are delicious. state biologists have been examining this puzzling absence much stone crabs for months. they say could be stocks inches in the red tide effect. could be an an abundance of octopi eating stone crabs stuck in the trap. there is no evidence pointing to the 2010 bp oil spill. jenna. jenna: a little bit of a mystery. phil, thank you. >> reporter: yeah. rick: so a banana and lobster walk into a bar. jenna: is a crab there? i'm confused with the last story. rick: maybe it wasn't a bar but the cops think that the fruit and the crush terrible shun make off with pretty nice artwork anyway. we have a crazy one for you when we come right back. don't go away.

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>> not every day do you see an a banana and a lobster has bandits. across the university of north carolina at chapel hill. they're looking for them. they think that the two and cohorts wearing regular clothing snatched a sculpture from the student union. >> i hope they come forward. >> we're not ruling out the possibility of criminal charges, and would be working with the student union to determine that. >> and the graphics that the they put together. >> you can run, but you can't hide even in you're in a