>> steve: good job, everybody! >> gretchen: have a great day, everyone! [ cheers and applause ] bill: great way to start a new week. good morning, everybody. fox news alert on bombshell new details in the expected testimony in the benghazi terror attacks. there are witnesses set to tell lawmakers on the night of the attacks, september 11th, then secretary of state, hillary clinton tried to cut the department's own counterterrorism bureau out of the loop. the question there is why if true. good morning, everybody, i'm bill hemmer the as we start here fresh on "america's newsroom." good morning, martha. martha: good morning, everybody. i'm martha maccallum. expected in this week's hearing allegations that senior officials purposely removed references from al qaeda in the administration's talking points. listen to this. >> we know one thing the talking points were right

and the talking points were wrong. cia knew it was a terrorist attack the deputy chief of mission, gregory hicks, knew it was a terrorist attack the ambassador before he died, one of the last words he ever said, we're under attack. martha: really explosive stuff. we also know who these witnesses will be at this testimony this week. security officer eric nordstrom, on the left and gregory hicks, very central character here. he was the number two to ambassador chris stevens. spoke to him as it was unfolding the night of the attack. mark thompson, who we don't have a pick of, he is the from the department's counterterrorism bureau. bill: stephen hayes. a morning to you. piece online on "the weekly standard". >> good morning, bill. >> tell us about the focus of these talking points. before susan rice went on the talk shows on sunday, why is that such a keen part of this investigation? >> well it foes back to the friday before those appearances and what she was

going to say. and what you had happen was a request from dutch ruppersberger, the ranking democrat on the house intelligence committee for talking points from the intelligence community when public officials could use to talk about it publicly. the cia produced the talking points. they were i would say fairly aggressive in their assessments that al qaeda was involved in the attack or al qaeda-linked affiliates. they said, we know al qaeda participated in this attack. that was later scrubbed once it went to political officials at the state department and the white house. bill: so we are going to learn a lot more about this on wednesday when the hearings get underway. but for time being, what would be the motivation to change those talking points in the first place? >> well, i mean, you know, there are a number of different possibilities. certainly we have to be cognizant of the fact that this all happened six weeks out from a presidential election. there is suggestions from

e-mail traffic among back and forth the state department didn't want the republicans to criticize the department for having ignored or not taken seriously enough security warnings. and the cia on the other hand was very eager to have officials and public reminded that the cia hadose wao officials at the state department. bill: so congressman lynch is a democrat from massachusetts. speaking with chris wallace on "fox news sunday." this is what he said specifically about how the changing story about the talking points is now going public. listen. >> there certainly weren't accurate. i don't know what the process was there but absolutely they were false. they were wrong. there was, there were no protests outside of benghazi many can pound there. this was a deliberate and strategic attack on the consulate there. so any statements that this was sort of like the, you know, the other protests that we saw in cairo and

other embassies, this was not at that type of case. bill: explain the significance of a democratic member of congress talking like that today. >> yeah. i think that's a big deal because anybody who actually takes the time to pay attention to what happened here and look at the chronology understands just how this happened. you have to look at the talking points as they were initially provided on the morning of friday the 14th of september and then how they were basically wholesale rewritten after, at or after the deputies committee meeting at the white house the following morning. what you had on the one hand was a very set of aggressive talking points, explaining al qaeda's involvement, or the involvement of al qaeda affiliates in several different bullet points, giving details about the previous warning cia offered to the state department about others and al qaeda and extremist activity in libya. then on the other hand, the next day what comes out of that meeting is basically boilerplate.

it says, look this is an ongoing assessment. we don't really know what happened. there were extremists, just generic extremists that may have participated in attack. it is a very different set of talking points one day to the next. bill: in political sense we heard from many republicans talk that way but not many democrats. you wonder if that wall is softing. steve. bill: thank you. we'll be in touch with you throughout the whole week. >> thanks, bill. bill: we'll talk this morning with congressman darrell issa, chairman of the house oversight government reform committee. he will lead the hearings later this week. apparently there is new information set for today. we'll talk with congressman issa in 30 minutes about all that. martha: this fox news alert this morning. israel taking steps to protect itself from any possible retaliation following a display of military might in the skies over the weekend over syria. a senior israeli official is now confirming that the series of airstrikes, look at this playing out over the course of the weekend. it target ad shipment of

missiles heading for hezbollah in lebanon. syria calls that act, an act of war, excuse me, and leland vittert is live in northern israel, close to the border with syria. leland what is israel doing to prepare for any possible retaliation here? >> reporter: probably the best way to put it, martha, israel is right now ready for a war but they are certainly not looking for a war. we're up five miles from the syrian border. soldiers today spent the day tinkering with their tanks, getting ready for battle. this would be the tip of the israeli spear if they did move those five miles into syria. much more likely is attacks from the air to defend against that, israel has moved in the iron dome missile defense system up to the north deployed it around some significant cities in order to try to provide air cover in the case that either hezbollah in lebanon or syria begins to launch missiles here towards israel now. about 36 hours, 40 hours

since those air attacks happened there in damascus, latest round of attacks. we've not seen any response militarily from either syria or hezbollah. martha? martha: are we expecting to see more of this week, leland? >> reporter: well that is the big question. every time israel goes and bombs something inside of syria it is like playing russian roulette. at what point are they going to respond? will the syrians launch some kind of attack? will the hezbollah launch some kind of attack. we know for israelis there are weapons on the ground. the weapons are unloaded and taken there inside of lebanon and given to hezbollah. that's where the israelies are pinpointing these strikes as you try to destroy the weapons before they get to hezbollah. they say they will not allow that balance of power to change and hezbollah get more significant weapons, even if it means more attacks going forward and the consequences that come with them. martha. martha: higher stakes this week. leland, thank you so much.

bill: president obama adding to this saying it will be unlikely u.s. troops will be on the ground anytime soon in that conflict. the president. >> i can not see a scenario right now which american boots on the ground would make any sense and i can not see a scenario in which actually the syrian people would benefit from american boots on the ground. and that's confirmed by the conversations i've had with allies and people who support the opposition in the region. what we are going to do is continue to provide humanitarian aid, provide nonlethal aid. work to help the opposition coordinate international efforts to end the bloodshed and get assad out of power. bill: meanwhile the administration is still trying to verify reports that syria may have used chemical weapons against its own people earlier this year. martha: republican senator john mccain says that the israeli airstrikes are putting pressure on the u.s. administration to stick by the so-called red line that the issued on syria. here he is on "fox news sunday.".

>> the whole thing is escalating. as you may have noticed the leader of hezbollah committed to helping bashar assad, the, conflict is spilling over into lebanon and jordan. the whole situation is becoming more and more expansive and unfortunately the red line that the president of the united states had written was apparently written in disappearing ink. martha: senator mccain has been a strong proponent of giving u.s. weapons to the syrian rebels. bill: in a volatile part of the world has gotten more of that over the weekend too, martha. here is the region. specifically, syria, lebanon, israel for the focus of this particular segment. advance it one time. this is what we believe based on the reporting we're getting, if the fighter jets took off from israel down here in the south and went north into lebanon the reports suggest that these missiles were launched on behalf of the israeli military, aimed for tar gets here at the airport which is

just east of the capital city of damascus. what were the israelis after? apparently there was a storage area that was east of the capital city. advance it one time. this would have been the rocket, the fatah 110, that is iranian-made and stored in damascus and shifted further west into lebanon. this rocket can travel ground to ground at least 110 miles in the area. possibly much further than that. if a group such as hezbollah would get its hands on it. why is that such a concern? i'll tell you, the israelis going back to 2006 when they knew hezbollah had so many of those rockets. they're very crude, very inaccurate. no gps positioning and launch them and frankly scare a lot of israeli people. the northern third of the country went underground and evacuated that is the big concern from the israeli government. we will see whether or not they dot -- got target at end. martha: we'll see more of

this week. we're just getting started this morning. there is so much on the plate today. new questions as well back to this story about the boston bombing suspects. new information on whether they acted alone. a top lawmaker is now saying there is just no way. bill: also the bad story got worse here. a volunteer referee punched by a teenage player has died. the question is what charges could the boy face now? martha: a terrible story. a deadly limo fire took the lives of five people. this is awful! a bride and some of her wedding party all lost in this tragedy. >> driver was able to get out. some good samaritans stopped and assisted trying to pull people from the fire but unfortunately, it is an unfortunate situation. we have no idea what actually happened. yet everything, like i said is still under investigation. anything's possib, if you have the right tools. ryobi has over 50 products that work off of one 18 volt battery.

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martha: fire crews are getting the upper hand on a massive wildfire burning in

the coastal mountains near los angeles. cool, moist air is now helping the firefighters to build containment lines around that fire over the course of this weekend. they say they do expect they will have full containment sometime today. really good news on this still not great for the 15 homes that were already damaged and the thousands of people who were forced to evacuate. >> we actually were packed and gone yesterday. we shipped out and, came back last night. because, you just don't want to take any chances. when the wind gets blowing, you never know if it hops the road we'd be in a bit of trouble. martha: smart man. the fires appears to be accidental and likely started in roadside grass and debris. >> led to believe that these two could have carried out this level of attack with this level of sophistication and precision, acting by themselves either without training from overseas or having at least facilitators here at home.

no, to me i think there had to be assistance and that's why the fbi i think is going after this so vigorously and effectively. bill: congressman peter king from sunday, a top republican on the house homeland security committee saying two suspects in the boston bombings had help and did not act alone. what about that? tom ridge, former homeland security secretary and former pennsylvania governor. with me this morning. >> food morning bill. bill: welcome back to "america's newsroom." what do you think of peter king lays out there? >> bill, i happen to share his point of view for several reasons. one, peter is on the intelligence committee so i suspect he may have have a little more information than is available to either one of us but there are some other factual circumstances that could lead one to the same conclusion. remember they discovered a cachet of weapons several hundred rounds of ammunition, almost a mini bomb factory there shortly after the bombing. one could also recall that, they referred to the "inspire" magazine as,

giving directions with regard to construction of these bombs but it did not have instructions or use a fairly sophisticated device, remote control. then finally he is in russia and dagestan, for six months the eller brother. doubtful he was sightseeing and spending that much time with his family. so there is a lot of things that point to either assistance here in the united states or indoctrination or training overseas. bill: he went further to say that the fbi failed on a number of fronts including talking to people that were members after mosque perhaps in cambridge, massachusetts, that tamerlan may have attended. this whole issue about student visas. how you're coming into the country, how you're leaving to the country and whether or not we know about it or whether or not it flies under the radar. this is stuff we've been trying to work out for 12 years. >> it goes back to, you're absolutely right, 9/11 and overused euphemism, connect the dots. i think there is legitimate questioning around the nature of the initial

investigation by the fbi, how thorough was it? with whom did you speak? i know they had this individual under surveillance for a month or two. then they dropped it. i can understand that but i still this back of my mind wonder how often that the fss, which is the, which used to be the kg. about, identifies somebody within the united states and actually i understand it, handed a letter over to an fbi agent in moscow. looking at what the fbi did initially, i also wonder what kind of information did. fbi put on alert system and tech system that would have been given to homeland security? i think with that kind of notification you would want to know if this individual left the country and returned. again these are legitimate questions. there is no doubt in my mind that the fbi did everything they thought they should do under the circumstances but did they pick up the phone and call their counterparts in moscow.

did they give the information to homeland security and say, if he leaves the country, let us know. bill: there will be some sort of trail for that, won't there? we should have the information on that and we can figure it out, what was followed up and what was not, correct? >> well i think there should be. there is a lot of missing pieces to this puzzle. i think they are legitimate. it is legitimate inquiry. again not to find fault or responsibility. if there are gaps, there are gaps, we've got to close them. 12 years after 9/11, the fact that there are reports we haven't connected these databases? it is really rather remarkable. the technology exists to do that. bill: what would explain that? why not? >> i don't know. the technology exists. where's the will? where is the congressional oversight? you can't lay this just at the executive branch. there are certain things congress probably should have been doing over the past 10 years to see that these databases were connected. but the other challenge i think we have everybody decided, we have this infrastructure. there's a medium, minimal compliance regimen.

let's check the box and move on. every once in a while people have to use their discretion and use common sense and a little more judgment. what do understand in this incident why there wasn't further inquiry after the russians identified this individual as a potential problem. notwithstanding the russians may have had their own political motivation to do it. that is not enough for me to suggest we do a minimalist investigation. i'm not saying they did but i think these are legitimate questions for the congressional committee. bill: based on your experience how long before we get those answers? >> it would be interesting to see how rigorous the examination and cross-examination is later on this week and down the road but i think these are questions that deserve public answers. time will tell. bill: weeks or months do you think? >> i suspect months. bill: tom ridge. >> take a look at benghazi. look how long it has taken to get straight answers on benghazi. bill: we'll find out with more on that with darrell issa coming up in 25 minutes. tom ridge out of washington.

thank you. martha: are bombshell revelations concerning the terror attack on the consulate in benghazi which raise serious questions what then secretary of state hillary clinton knew that night and how she responded in hours following that deadly assault. congressman darrell issa weighs in on that just ahead. bill: also an absolute tragedy at this wedding party. a limousine catching fire, claiming the life of a new bride and so many of her close friends ..

bill: clicks on this a moment. the senate voting a bill to end tax-free on-line shopping. the proposal would allow states to collect sales tax for anything bought over the internet. under current law state sales tax can only be applied if the story has a physical presence in that state. the bill is expected to pass in the senate but some

serious opposition in the house. martha: terrible story this morning as investigators near san francisco search for clues after this horrific limousine fire that happened over the weaken and claimed the lives of a new bride and four of her friends. look at that scene. four other women and the driver managed to escape. claudia cowan is live on this story in san francisco with the latest this morning. any further word, claudia, on what started this fire? >> reporter: not yet, martha. investigators will hold a press conference later this morning and hopefully release more details on what caused this fiery accident that turn ad girls night out into a horrible nightmare a passing driver with a cell phone took these dramatic pictures of the 1999 lincoln town car limousine after it burst into flames saturday night. happened at 10:00 p.m. on the san mateo bridge, one of eight bridges that cross the san francisco bay as the group was headed west pound for a wedding celebration. the limo driver, orville

brown wasn't hurt and is cooperating with investigators. someone smelled smoke in the back and banged on the partition for brown to stop. according to the "san francisco chronicle" he mistakenly believed ask whether the women could smoke. by the time brown stopped the car to get out to check the back of the limo was a ball of flames. >> driver was able to get out. some good samaritans did stop to assist to try to pull people from the fire but unfortunately it was an unfortunate situation. we have no idea what happened yet. everything as i said is still under investigation. >> reporter: the coroner said all five victims were huddled near the partition that separates the driver from the passenger area. one woman managed to squeeze through the partition to escape. she and other three survivors are now at local hospitals recovering from smoke inhalation and burns. martha? martha: what a nightmare. so sad, in the middle of what should have been a really happy time for all these friends. what do we know about this

bride, claudia? >> reporter: martha, she has not been officially identified friends say she is 31 neriza fojas, a reg nurse from fresno who recently got married. she was planning to head to her native philippines next month to hold a ceremony with her family. they were on the way to meet up with her new husband and they were less than five minutes away. martha: claudia, thank you. what a sad story. bill: tough to hear about, right? not supposed to be that way. 27 minutes past the hour right now. we have a deadly plane crash in a massive fireball. as you watch this tape here and see the bystanders in the near ground at the moment. you wonder how in the world did this go so wrong? that is coming up this morning too. martha: think about this question this morning. what is the obama doctrine when it comes to our roll around the world and particularly when it comes to syria? the president himself suggesting that the white house strategy may

have been a mistake on this. so now what?

bill: hello, mr. 15,000, or maybe not. markets are open for business. on friday if you were here with us the dow briefly punched through the 15,000 mark for the first time we have ever seen. that was friday. the big question, how long will the epic rally last? that was 168 on friday. that was stunning.

martha: all right. let's talk about syria here for a moment. if you think back you will remember last summer what we now know or is reported to be actually an off-script remark that the president made at a briefing, having to do with our approach would be to the froing -- growing carnage laid out in syria. here is what the president said some say has now gotten him in trouble. this is last summer. >> we have been very clear to the out assad regime but also to other players on the ground that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. that would change my calculus. that would change my equation. martha: that is the moment that happened in august. kirsten powers is columnist for "the daily beast" and fox news contributor. rich lowery, editor of "the national review" and a fox news contributor as well. what we're now learning about the comment, it was

response to the a question, that's why it was off script but it was not sort of discussed. that administration officials were taken aback when they heard him say that, they knew what happened it would box him in a bit on the red line issue. rich? >> it is at astonishing. you can't be president of the united states and use the very loaded phrase red line without having a very specific purpose in mind and a very specific response if someone actually crosses the red line. he apparently went out there and said this white house officials are all but saying it was a gaffe. he repeated it and other people in the administration repeated it. the initial statement had tech call qualifier, a whole bunch. but subsequent statements they left the qualifier out. this is really appalling because it exposes the, undermines of the credibility of the united states in the starkest way possible when very dangerous people around the world take notice of this kind of thing including iran. martha: a big picture question for you kirsten.

we were talking about this morning. there was so much talk about the bush doctrine and what it was. so what is the obama doctrine? because you look at the action that was taken in libya and then you look at syria and what the president has said about syria and what we've been promised was the impending fall of assad in syria for such a long time. what's the motive tiff here? where are we going? >> i think in terms of libya versus syria the obama administration would argue that they aren't the same because they felt that in the situation of libya that it was easier to identify who the rebels were versus in syria. i don't necessarily agree with that. i'm actually opposed to libya intervention but i think that would be their fundamental argument. and look, rich is right on, the president can not come out and, you know, any president can not come out and make the kind of comments that obama made. the idea he would make it off-the-cuff is very disturbing because people are looking at him and, the

"new yorker" was reporting that, you know, they think assad is actually testing obama, testing his resolve. so for the president to come out and say this and not to have a plan ready to go if that line is crossed, is sending a very bad message to the world. martha: says there is only one other country, rich, that does not want to see assad and that is iran. they have to be watching our mofls very closely here as well. when you're saying one thing and not following through on it, that has to strengthen their hand as well i would think. >> of course especially because the president has set out what appear to be red lines with iran and made similar sort of declarative statements. obviously the logical conclusion he may mean those just as little as he meant the red line on syria. martha: so, kirsten, where does he go from here, you know? if his argument is weakened in terms of his international credibility? you think of the original statements of candidate obama and president obama,

wanting to improve our relationships around the world, that notion is brought into question when you see how this is being handled? >> yeah. look, there are no easy answers on syria. it is not something that i think is easily solved. but like i said, if the president is going to come out and say there's a red line that can't be crossed i don't really think he can walk that back unfortunately and i think, frankly there should be a red line that can't be crossed. and chemical weapons seems to be certainly a good red line to have. but i think that there has to be some sort of a response otherwise it is just, no one will listen to anything that the president says in the future. martha: you know a lot of this seems to be a miscalculation of assad, rich. because there was a lot of feeling he was about to fall. the president probably thought he would not get to the red line because he would be gone in a matter of weeks or months. >> this miscalculation of assad from the very beginning in the most flagrant ways. the administration thought he was a great reformer and someone they could work

with. then they had the wishful believe that he would fall quickly. i understand the wishfulness. you want the guy to go. number two, the wish that you want to have him go without you actually having to do anything. clearly that is not the case. kirsten is right here, there are no great options. clearly should try to arm the more moderate and reasonable elements. opposition. that would be a easier a year, year-and-a-half ago when the opposition became so radicalized. >> that was better at time the rebels were more clearly defined. now that seems not to bes case as they have more al qaeda influence that makes this tricky. thanks for being with us this morning. >> thank you very much. bill: there was a moving tribute for former congresswoman gabrielle giffords receiving this year's profiles in courage at the john f. kennedy library recognizing her efforts to reduce gun violence. here she is is with her husband, former astronaut mark kelly. >> i believe we all have

courage inside. i wish there was more courage in congress. >> for gabby, her courage is the equivalent of a lunar mission. she has set her sights on a distant horizon, a country that will be dramatically safer from gun violence. [applause] bill: giffords seriously wounded in a mass shooting event in tucson, arizona, back in january of 2011. she looks better every time we see her. martha: she has been remarkable. what a inspiration she is. the two of them together are nice and supportive. i like the way he works with her at all events. congratulations to her. that is very prestigious award, the profile in courage. coming up the boston bombing investigation is picking up speed as the fbi searches the home now of tamerlan tsarnaev. we'll go live to boston at the top of the hour. we'll get you the latest developments there. bill: bombshell revelations in the a benghazi terror

attack and the follow up since then. congressman darrell issa is live on our program in two minutes. >> with all due respect the fact is we have four dead americans. >> i understand. >> was it because of a protest or guys out for a walk one night decided they would kill some americans, what difference at this point does it make?

bill: there are big developments from over the weaken and again this morning in the investigation of what actually occurred in

benghazi,, libya and the days that followed. a witness who will testify this week at a long-anticipated congressional hearing will charge that then secretary of state hillary clinton tried to cut the department's own anti-terrorism unit out of the loop on the night of the attack. this as the three whistle-blowers who have been kept under wraps for months will provide other new details. republican congressman darrell issa, chairman of the oversight and government reform committee will lead the hearing on wednesday. good morning to you and welcome back to "america's newsroom". >> good morning, bill. thanks for covering the really gal i can't testimony of these whistle-blowers. bill: we'll follow that on thursday. i have number of questions and i will see how far i can advance the story. will there be new information from your office in what happened in the house and days after that and how the administration responded? >> absolutely. part of the before, during and after release which comes from actual testimony which will be made public,

some of it today. bill: how could that affect the story or even the headlines that we know of right now? >> well, i think as the story grows everyone becomes more and more familiar that when hillary clinton said what difference does it make, it makes a big difference. it makes a difference in who's responsible for these men's deaths and ultimately whether or not we covered it up for political reasons and or as the president is asserting for classified reasons which is becoming more and more doubtful. bill: mark thompson, who worked at the state department there, works at the state department, according to our james rosen and some reporting he was doing yesterday and again last night, he will testify under oath that secretary of state hillary clinton and a top aide there tried to cut the counterterrorism bureau out of the loop in the days after what happened in benghazi. if that is the case, what would have been her motivation for doing that, do you believe? >> bill, i think that is an important question. this idea that it wasn't terrorism, which has been said, both said and not said,

plays right into this. if as the president said in the rose garden, it was an act of terror, then of course the counterterrorism unit that exists for just that reason at the state department should have been there at every moment. but if you wanted it to seem like it wasn't terrorism, keeping them out of the room allows you to play with this false truth that somehow it was a video and the same as the protests in egypt, which of course from the get-go everyone knew just wasn't true. bill: based on what you know then, how damaging is this too hillary clinton? >> well i think it is damaging because it happened on her watch. i think the important thing is, hillary clinton is no longer secretary of state but there are many people still at the state department who were involved in this at the highest levels, who continue to keep their jobs and keep this symbol of the war is over, terror is behind us. we know in boston, we know in syria, we know every day

for the survivors, if you will from benghazi, that just simply isn't true. bill: you're saying then this was done strictly for political means? >> i think there's no other real plausible question but that politics played a part in falsifying these statements before, before, during and after the attack in benghazi and that's the real question is, can we get the politics out? can we make the men and women of the state department safer and can be we honest about the real threat of extremism around the world and even in our own backyard. bill: we have three witnesses here on the screen. we'll put the graphic back on the screen in a moment here. we do not have a picture yet for mark thompson but we do have for gregory hicks. now gregory hicks was working in tripoli the night of the attacks, is that correct? >> yes. hand-picked deputy of the ambassador. bill: he is the one who said that chris stevens knew exactly what this was at the moment that the attack unfolded and that was an act of terrorism. what will he tell the american people on

wednesday? >> he will, he will be the one who can tell what the last words outside of benghazi were of the many a ambassador, which is, greg, we're under attack. he will be able to explain, when he expressed that, both in realtime and then later to beth jones at the state department, these were unwelcome truths, and ultimately he was cut out of the process of those famous talking points that got changed by the state department and perhaps the white house so that ambassador rice went on television simply saying things that weren't true and insulting our --. bill: but the state department did a review internally and that review is apparently being reviewed again and hillary clinton was not interviewed for that particular review but gregory hicks was. so is he alleging that his account has been suppressed? and how can he make that accusation when he himself answered questions within the state department? >> well the amazing thing

about the arb is that it is simply wrong and one of the reasons whistle-blowers are coming forward right now. gregory hicks, for example, has never been allowed to see the classified arb report which is pretty absurd when you consider he is the most knowledgeable person in-country that can testify as to what was going on and what the ambassador thought and said. so this is one of those challenges where they cut out the person most able to comment and then they say, but we interviewed him. interviews are a one-way process. review of a document before it goes out and understanding the concerns that gregory hicks had when he said that the arb was, if you will, incomplete or just plain wrong, and again, he's been cut out of classified documents. he can't even look at his own e-mails because, the state department has not been willing to allow this. this kind of treatment of course is part of what is business as usual when you become a whistle-blower. bill: i will get to one more point and on the

whistle-blower point and we've been told for a week that people have been threatened with their careers. here is democratic congressman lynch with chris wallace on "fox news sunday" and he says that is simply not the case. i'll get you to react. >> the only retaliation i heard of here is one of these witnesses wants a reassignment and a promotion. he hasn't gotten the promotion he wanted and that is somehow retaliation. hasn't got it yet. actually in the process. that is the, that is the level of threats and intimidation? he hasn't got a promotion yet? bill: is that true, congressman issa, or what can you add to that? >> if congressman lynch wants to be apologist for the administration i expect that on wednesday but his information is simply wrong. this is a career professional. they're all career professionals who asked for help in representing his whistle-blower views and he has been denied an attorney. we've been unable, we have, the committee requested to

clear for attorneys. he has an attorney who has a long history of representing people with top clearances. as of today she still has not been allowed to have full clearance or read information. lynch is either just wrong, covering for the administration or simply behind the times as the facts as they are. bill: darrell issa. thank you. we're looking forward to the testimony on wednesday. we'll see see what the story of benghazi eight months later and where it goes then. thank you for your time today. >> thank you, bill. martha: more coming up with brit hume in a little while. meanwhile an airshow ends in horror. >> [speaking in native tongue] martha: that plane went into a huge dive and it plummeted to the ground in a huge fireball. so what authorities are now saying about that. bill: also try and figure this out. family and friends searching for answers after a beloved volunteer soccer referee dies after being punched by a teenage player. >> we always have to wait

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face serious charges including murder. adam housley joins us now live from los angeles. so, adam, this is just an awful story that has gotten

much worse obviously. >> reporter: yeah, i mean no one expected this of course. it happened back on april 27th in tailorsville, utah. you mentioned the referee, a volunteer, 47-year-old. he had just given a 17-year-old player as a yellow card. as he looked down on notes to keep track of it, that's what you do in the soccer match, you keep track in case a player get as second one, he got punched by the player in the side of the head. he was taken to the hospital after he got punched. he eventually fell into coma. he passed away saturday night, just this last saturday, about a week later. now his three daughters had to say good-bye at a saturday vigil. take a listen. >> he was a father. he was a friend. he was a grandfather. he left a whole family behind. and i just want to say that they should think before they do something stupid, to -- for my whole family. >> reporter: the 17-year-old

was arrested on monday. he remains incarcerated. they have not released his name because he is minor. originally, martha, he would have faced aggravated assault. because the referee passed away, because he decide, those charges are likely going to be much more severe. martha? martha: what an after full move from the start. a heart-breaking one for both of these families. >> reporter: completely. martha: we'll follow it. thanks, adam. bill: there is a brand new report out showing how much immigration reform can end up costing the taxpayers. how much is it? if true, you will not believe this botulinum per . we'll do the rest. ♪

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martha: searching for clues in the boston marathon bombings. agents in white hazmat suits entered and left the home of tamerlan starz r-r as his wido tsarnaev as his widow faces much more scrutiny. welcome to another hour of "happening now." i'm martha maccallum. bill: i'm bill hemmer. the feds pouring over more clues that speculation grows that the tsarnaev brothers could not have done what they did without anyone else knowing. martha: there is a hearing that is set this afternoon for joh one of the younger buddies of dzhokhar tsarnaev. they say this person had nothing to do with these terror bombings and they are trying to get their client released. molly line joins us live in boston. investigators are still looking

into what catherine russell, her part of the story and what she may have known living in that house. >> reporter: er certainly. they are combing through the apartment that catherine russell shared with her husband tamerlan and her three-year-old daughter. we know that authorities believe that is where the bombs were actually made, the bombs they believe were used in the boss toboston marathon bombing. and catherine russell was able to communicate with her husband following the bombings. and there was an email which included a surveillance photo released by the fbi. an al-qaida website with the magazine "inspire" was found on a computer examined by the fbi but it's not clear if the computer belonged to tamerlan or his brother dzhokhar or to catherine russell tsarnaev. martha: let's talk a lit about fil robelle.

phillopos. they said he had nothing to do with it and got caught up in the planning, right? >> reporter: essentially the argument are prosecutors are making in some of the way up work we've seen, this fbi affidavit reveals that he went with his other two friends, to the dorm room of dzhokhar tsarnaev and this was after they believe they saw the photos were released of the tsarnaev brothers by the fbi. and during that visit to the dorm room there was a backpack taken, also a laptop computer. in the days to follow federal investigators allege that phillops changed his store when talking about that. his attorney says that is not the case this is about a frightened, confused 19-year-old who was subjected to intense

questioning and interrogation without the benefit of counsel in the context of one of of the worst attacks against the nation. they say he has a lot of local ties and is not a flight risk and he should be released on bail. martha: we'll see. if he was in the room when the backpack and computer was taken they may have a lot more questions for him. thank you very much. bill: there is no resting place for the accused terrorist, his uncle trying to get tamerlan buried in cambridge but no cemetery will take him. here is the uncle from this weekend. >> he lived in america, he grew up here, and last ten years he resided here in cambridge, so, therefore, any contemplations that his body should have been taken to his home country, they do not really go with reality. bill: the city of cambridge now saying they have received no formal application for burial. martha: let's go over to this now. big action expected today on

immigration reform when the senate judiciary committee takes up the bill on thursday, a slew of amendments are expected before the bill can be taken to the full senate in june. the bill releasinged last month by four democrats and four republicans known as the gang of eight, it calls for boosting border security and offering a path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living in the united states illegally. bill: new concerns about a provision in the bill that requires background checks for people looking to become citizens. critics argue the checks just won't work. william la jeunesse live in l.a. on this. what did you find out? good morning. >> reporter: they want a background check that looks beyond u.s. criminal aldatabases and oppose a provision that allows criminal and gang affiliated people to stay and keeps their information confidential. supporters say there are always exceptions. with millions of illegal immigrants living in the so-called shadows, immigration

supporters say background checks will make america safer. >> we are a better nation when we have these 141 million people coming forward. >> reporter: opposers say it is a rubber stamp with no references, or anything required. >> we are supposed to be weeding out the bad apples. one of the big problems with the bill is that it doesn't require those who are decide the amnesty to leave the country, or the government to find them. >> reporter: that means felons, fugitives, those with three or more misdemeanors who are not supposed to be eligible for legal status can remain where they are. 4. >> i don't mean to be flip about it, but this subheading, this section could have been subheaded no illegal alien left behind. the goal really seems to be to get amnesty for as many people as is physically possible. >> reporter: supporters admit their bill isn't perfect. document fraud will happen and some criminals who support families will be allowed to stay under a hardship clause. but reform they say makes today

broken system better. >> if we could havend mandatory e~verify where an phroeur employer can tell if somebody presenting themselves for work is the person they say they are, if the social security number that they carry is valid that will be a huge advance from where we are right now. >> reporter: expect a tougher version in the house. as for fraud some lawmakers point out the administration's bill has approved 99.5% of those applying for legal status under the president's nondeportation for young adults, a rate unrea ununrealistically high they say and you'll see the same thing here. martha: there is a startling report that outlines how much this immigration reform bill could cost the country if it passes, at least in the opinion of this report and based on its work. we'll be joined by former republican senator jim demint that warns the american taxpayers could be on the hook for trillions of dollars.

listen to this. >> there is no reason we can't begin to fix our many he congratulations system so tha our immigration system. the bill presented is unfair to those who came here legally. it will cost us trillions of dollars and make our unlawful system worse. martha: steven moore is a writer for the "wall street journal." trillions of dollars? is this right. >> her tapbl is a very well respected research organization, i think it leaves the impression, martha that immigrants are a cost to the economy. that is one thing almost all economists disagree with that we are very much benefitted by being a nation of immigrants, and that when we allow in skilled people, and hard-working people it makes our economy grow. what heritage is saying in this report is by moving these 10 million illegal aliens into the legal system, that they will then become eligible for various kind of government benefits and that will cost money, i think one of the things they leave

out, martha is that if you look at the report -- the bill itself, as it's now being -- as it's now drafted, the immigrants would not be eligible for these benefits for five, six or seven years until after they become legal. martha: according to some reports it would be 13 years. >> that's right. martha: they are saying down the road once you kick in medicare and social security, it's if you upped the number of people in the country which is what they'd be doing you'll add in a lot more costs on the entitlement front and it's not outweighed by the tax revenue brought in by making these people citizens, right? >> that's what they are saying, and i think there are a lot of contrary studies. there was just a study a week or two ago from the former head of the congressional budget office which said, look, that this bill will actually be a big economic boom for the country and it could grow our gdp and actually make our deficit problem, you know, better, not worse by

lowering the deficit and increasing tax revenues. you've got to look at both sides of the equation, yes, the immigrants will use benefits, no question about that, but as they become more productive citizens and they come out of the shadows, a lot of economists, myself included think they'll become more productive and pay more taxes. martha: and potentially start businesses and employ other people. >> that's a key point. immigrants are very entrepreneural. they start a lot of businesses in this country. martha: i'm glad i made that key point. thank you. >> great to be with you. bill: a bit later in our program the president of the heritage foundation, former south carolina senator jim demint is here live on why he thinks immigration reform could cost taxpayers much more than expected. we'll look forward to answers about the half hour mark here judge a lot of very strong opinions on this issue, of course. what is your take on what should be done about illegal immigration, and funneling some of these folks into a legal

situation? send us your thoughts on twitter. you can send me a tweet. we'd love to hear what you're thinking about it, and jim demint, a lot of big questions for him based on what we talked about with steve. bill: two c's and two l's. martha: two of everything across the board. bill: the bombshell new details in the benghazi terror attacks. we were just speaking with darrell issa. what can we expect? certainly explosive hearings at midweek when several whistle-blowers testify and our fox news analyst brit hume will take this up. >> the president of the ooh tphao*euflted states said there were clear red lines. the red lines in the view of most have been crossed and he has failed to act. martha: the stakes are so high in syria right now and the stories of the death squads coming out and totaling two towns in recent days, what is going on there and what can we do? we'll have general jack keane. bill: horror at an air show

after a vintage plane crashes and explodes into a fireball. what we are now learning about the investigation as to what happened, next.

bill: some extreme weather in the southeast. the state of georgia widespread flooding, downpours in that state. the rushing waters creating a massive sinkhole in a small road near atlanta. flood warnings remain in effect through tomorrow in some areas there. the local news reporting the high winds and over stat ration of the ground also leading to toppled trees, including one in the front of the governor's mansion there in atlanta. martha: benghazi and hillary clinton, was the former secretary of state involved in a cover up here? here is the reaction to that question from congressman darrell issa moments ago on "america's newsroom." >> i think it's damaging, because it happened on her watch. i think the important thing is

that -- hillary clinton is no longer secretary of state but there are many people sometime at the state department who were involved in this at the highest levels who continue to keep their jobs and keep this symbol of the war is over, terror is behind us. we know in boston, we know in syria, we know every day for the survivors, if you will from benghazi that that just simply isn't true. martha: brit hume fox news senior political analyst, brit good morning, good to have you here. >> reporter: good morning, martha. thank you. martha: where is this going. >> reporter: we have the big hearing that chairman issa will hold on wednesday, and the people from the state department who have basically been silent until just recently, until now, never testified public here to my knowledge are going to tell up and tell their tore story. and from what we know it will be damaging to the administration, that these people knew from the get go that this was a terrorist attack. we know a little bit than we did

before, martha about how the talking points that were so misleading about about what was going on there came to be. were altered. this all looks bad. expet me when you have an upcoming congressional hearing and a lot of hype and excitement about it to believe the testimony is going to be cracked up to what they say it will be when you hear it. the second thing in this case, if the testimony pans out the coverage will make a big difference. we will cover it and some other organizations of the media will cover it but the main elements, the big inch flew who even shall news media who don't see the world in quite the same way may continue to yawn as they have almost from the start on this story. so we'll see. martha: i mean, think about what jay carney said last week, he said, look, bears i can lee get over it. benghazi happened a longtime ago, and you look at all that has come out from the white house really since then. we're going to get to it, we'll do an investigation, we are

looking into it, and the huge turn around, when i look back i think of hillary clinton when she came out when the announcement was made that the ambassador was killed and three others she was be bereft. she was very visibly upset. 24 hours later she made a statement ha was detached, focused on the video, movie, how revolting and disgusting it was. something happened in 24 hours that took her from point a to point b, i don't know what it was. but that needs to be acknowledged. >> i think, frankly, martha, i think that she saw, whether she was emotional about the loss of chris stevens, who was very highly regarded at the state department, and i think by her, or not, she saw the damage this could do to her department, her own reputation, this happened on her watch, this is a very bad thing that happened. you know, u.s. ambassadors don't get murdered every day by terrorists. so there she was, you know, it wasn't she that was -- i think she also knew that the talking

points were fake, in the sense of the story they told, and she didn't want to be out with those and get any of that dog due on her shoes, so lo and behold her u.n. ambassador had to go out and tell this bogus story everywhere, she stayed away, and she has done a good job of staying away ever since. whether in the course of these hearings and other developments we will find that she had a hand in the creation of the cover story, and the rest of it, remains to be seen. but it's certainly a possibility and it would be quite a major political development 4 in this country because of the widespread assumption that she will be democrat's strongest candidate going into the primary season in 2016, and the likely nominee. i'm not sure any of that is true, but that is the assumption. this would be a blow to that. martha: but before i let you go. the democrat steven lynch over the weekend on "fox news sunday" started to speak out about this as well. is that significant politically that some democrats are starting to say, gee, thattess don't pass

the smell test. >> he dumb -pld all over the talking points and said there was no excuse for them and they were bogus and false and did elsewhere try to belittle the situation and. i thought his remarks were clearly incoherent. he was doing the best he can. if that's the best he can do that is not a very strong defense, so we'll see. martha: thank you so much. >> reporter: thank you, martha. bill: we are in verdict watch now in t trial of jodi arias. she was on the stand for 18 days. accused of brutally killing her ex-boyfriend. the jury is back at it again today. we have a live report outside the courthouse on that. martha: and a frightening scene at the talladega speedway last night. we'll show you this chain reaction crash, what a scene this was, right when we come back.

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in the end. some of the drivers inconvenienced include tony stewart. jeff gordon. kirk bush and danica patrick. and by the way david ragan won that race, but boy that was

quite a best out there, and took down a lot of the big headliners at talladega over the weak weakened. bill: avider could colcome any moment now in the trial of jodi arias. the jury resumes deliberations today with the defense and prosecution presenting very different scenarios and motives in the killing of travis alexander. dan springer is at the maricopa county superior court in phoenix, arizona. what do we expect today, dan as we go on watch. >> reporter: good morning, bill. the jury got the case late friday afternoon. they are really beginning their deliberations in earnest in about 90 minutes. there are some people who believe that because of the mountain of evidence against jodi arias, and the number of lies that she was caught in during the course of this investigation and trial that it could become a very quick verdict. you know, during closing arguments defense attorney kirk nurm her, he said, nine out of ten days even i don't like jodi

arias. he went onto say if he's guilty of anything it's manslaughter. even he is hedging his bets that the jury may not be buying her story of self-defense and abuse. prosecutor juan martinez meantime used the victim's own words to wrap-up his closing arguments saying that in a text message travis alexander said, you jodi arias are the worst thing that ever happened to me, and he said, that those were the -- those are the truist words ever said in this case. take a listen. >> there was no soul to her. she spent a week in my house as our guest and we probably exchanged a couple sentences the entire time, we finally decided -- he finally decided to move on and move on with his life. i think jodi had a hard time with that. i think she thought of travis as her ticket to freedom. >> reporter: i apologize that was a friend of travis alexander's who was at a candlelight vigil yesterday.

the prosecutor is pushing hard for a first-degree murder conviction. if he gets that some time today or this week there will be a one day trial on whether or not there are aggravating circumstances which could lead to a death penalty. bill. bill: thank you, maricopa county in arizona. martha: days before a senate committee is expected to take up the immigration bill form hraeufrplted by the gang of eight there are big questions about about how much it would cost and how it could affect the u.s. economy. coming up president of the heritage foundation and former south carolina senator jim demint joins us in "america's newsroom" with his warning for american taxpayers. bill: also a whole new wrinkle in the middle east, new questions about the obama administration's next move after israel reportedly bombed syria twice in three days over the weekend. general jack keane is here live on the best option for the us in this conflict.

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martha martha: fox news alert one of our top stories ta, the growing concern about the cost of immigration reform. latest this week the senate judiciary committee is expected to take up the bi-partisan bill of the gang of eight. a report by the heritage foundation that comes out this morning warns that the price tag to implement some of these provisions could be massive. joined now by jim demint, president of the heritage

foundation and a former republican senator of course from south carolina. senator, good morning. good to have you with us today. >> thank you, it's good to be with you. martha: talk to me a little bit about this. because there is controversy about this report. we talked to steve moore a few minutes ago, and your claim is that according to your study it would cost trillions of dollars if the legislation was enacted as the gang of eight has created it. why? >> well, no one has read the study yet except the folks at heritage and it's gone through a very strep strenuous pe, r review process. i've reeved it over the weekend. it makes it abundantly clear. the number over the 50-year life pan of am niece nor for illegal immigrants is $16 trillion to the american taxpayer. it will increase more debt and taxes that has agreeing effect on our economy. we know that unlawful immigrants, once they have amnesty are going to replace the

jobs of many americans and depress their salaries. there is no way you can look at this and say that it's good for the american taxpayer. and that includes immigrants who are here lawfully. we feel like our study, if congress will just consider the cost, will benefit lawful immigrants more thaunlawful immigrants more than anybody else. martha: some of the push back is that the benefits don't kick in for 13 years. it would be that amount of time before the cost would kick in. what do you say to that? >> i'll believe that when i see it. congress is notorious for not counting the cost and not keeping their promises. even if they follow through, unlawful immigrants are already receiving many benefits, a lot of their children are legal american citizens, whether it's public education, or medicaid. but if you just look at a 13-year window when the life expectancy of unlawful immigrants goes another 50 years, and once they get on

social security and medicare, i mean the average cost of an unlawful immigrant is hundreds of thousands of dollars. that's a net cost. they pay some taxes, but what they takeout of the tax system is much, much greater, and the toel total is $6.3 trillion over the next 50-year period. you can't get around these costs. congress is not considering the costs. it's unfair to those who came here lawfully and the bill itself, we believe, after really a thorough analysis is going to make our immigration system worse. martha: you say that you are in favor of immigration reform. so what kind of reform would you like to see, and how would your version not be as costly as you say this one is? >> well, first of all, you don't need an amnesty in order to implement reforms and get the benefit of reforms. we know our country was built by lawful immigration system, but

it's important to realize today with our welfare state and all the government benefits, unless immigrants have a college education or better they are going to be a net drain on our -- on the taxpayer. they are going to pay less than taxes and they takeout of the system. so a step-by-step approach need to recognize, america already has a lot of unemployed, lower skill, less e that we ned t need to give opportunities to. we don't need to give opportunities to someone who came here unlawfully. we need to attract those who are educated, many of them have been educated in our country. martha: understood. i'm sorry to interrupt you. before i let you go i want you to respond to this. this is something that came up earlier with steve moore and it also comes up in some of what i'm reading from other economists out there. that say we know that increased immigration leads to a bigger economy, which is a plus over the long term for the u.s. economy. they say that the numbers have been backed up over the course

of u.s. history. >> well, it's a point we look forward to debating. in 1960 the average immigrant had about the same education and skill level of an american citizen. today immigrants have four times -- they are four times less likely to even have a high school diploma. now with all of our welfare benefits the arithmetic for immigration is totally different than it was before. so immigration has helped to build our country, but it's been a selective, lawful process. to come in and give amnesty to lower skilled, less educated workers is going to cost our country $6.3 trillion. we already have 17 trillion in debt and we know that is unsustainable. so instead of trying to change the subject, we want congress to look at the real cost of an amnesty provision and immigration reform. martha: it comes in this week, and as does your report.

so there is going to be a lot of debate, and you say you're up for it so we look forward to hearing more from it. senator demint always nice to have you with us. thank you, sir. >> thank you. bill: news breaking on the wires right now, secretary of state john kerry will meet with vladimir putin tomorrow in moscow. one would assume at the top of that meeting would be the ongoing war in syria. that is moving right now. meanwhile now new questions about what role should the u.s. play in syria after israel bombed the outskirts of damascus twice in three days. a massive explosion goes off, we believe this is near the airport, just east of the capital city. a senior israeli lawmaker says the air force is targeting weapons headed for the terrorist group hezbollah in lebanon. they are asking what the obama administration's next move could be there are. >> we need to have a game-changing action, that is no american boots on the ground,

establish a safe zone and to protect it and to supply weapons to the right people in syria who are fighting for obviously the things we believe in. bill: mean time you've got the bang and forth on chemical weapons. were they, were they not used and if so by whom. general jack keane, retired for star general, former vice chief of the army and a fox throughs analyst. welcome back. >> hi, bill. bill: how does this play out? what would be the viable option in your mind? >> i agree where the senator, i mean, at a minimum we have to arm the rebels with antitank and antiaircraft weapons, something they asked from us two years ago, and the only thing that they asked from us, and it's tragic that we have failed to provide that kind of assistance. there is more risk now, as people will point out, because the radicals have grown in influence and in power, but

nonetheless in my judgment the greater risk is to do nothing. even though there obviously is some risk present. also, i think as a result of the use of chemical weapons we should certainly -- we have the capability to take down some of bashar al-assad's air power, his airfields, his airplanes themselves, his struc infrastructure and certainly we can tell him we're going to do that, do it and as a result of that if he continues to use chemical weapons we'll do more of it. certainly that makes sense given the realities that we are facing right now. that would clearly -- bill: there are a range of options too that you could think about that secretary kerry talks about with paoult pursuit vladimir putin. i don't know what russia is willing to help us with on this. >> not much. bill: i know what your san gabriels is if bashar al-assad remains in power iran becomes a greater player in the region with greater influence. >> there is no doubt about that. first of all in reference to vladimir putin this is a close ally of the russians.

they have a military port there that they use on the mediterranean, they want to keep it. the two biggest suppliers of bashar al-assad during this intervention where the insurgents are iran and the russians. you mention the iranian, clearly they are all in on this. they have close to a thousand advisers and trainers on the ground. they have armed sad's military with sophisticated weapons. that's what the israelis are going after here because they are afraid they will be transferred to the hezbollah. they provided a significant amount of resources. huge significant set back to the iranians, the most significant one since they assumed power in 1979 if bashar al-assad goes. and that's why they are all in. bill: at the moment though bashar al-assad is going nowhere. he's held on almost, you know, we are working on our third year on this conflict. pew did a survey among americans, the whole questions

about boots 0 on the ground. they said 45% would favor the u.s. or it's allies taking military action against the syrian government. i don't know where you are specifically on that, but when you talk about setting up these safe zones, you can't do that unless you put people on the ground, can you? >> well, you don't have to put people on the ground to set up a safe zone, as senator mccain was talking about. this is to establish a political free zone and a place for displaced people to go, kind of like what benghazi was like during the libya intervention. and they don't have that right now. so that could be done up in the northwest part of syria. it could be protected with air power and also with the patriot batteries that we have in turkey, and certainly the rebels on the ground would protect it on the ground. that clearly is own option. but i think the option that is the game-changer is taking this air power out of the air.

that is the thing that why we have the stalemate right now, because he pounds the rebels when they get close to seizing something, or when they've got their hands on something and they are trying to sustain that, he pound them unmercifully with his air power and that is the reason for the stalemate, bring that down, and the momentum shifts to the rebels. bill: wow, general, thank you. again john kerry meets with vladimir putin tomorrow. syria will be at the top of that agenda. thank you for your time out of washington. >> good seeing you bill. martha: horror taking place at an air show when a vintage plane crashed and exploded in a fireball. we'll show you the rest of this video. bill: you know, thanksgiving might be a little awkward at the brian house old in year. bryant r-r ikobe bryant is taking his mom to court. what sparked this little battle? ♪ teach the children well.

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bill: horrific scene at an air show near madrid, spain. a vintage plane crash eufrpbg into a hangar and explodes into a fire ball on sunday.

[screaming] >> they knew immediately something was very wrong there. witnesses say the 1950's aircraft crashed after heuftin hit be power lines. the 35-year-old pilot was killed, two others injured including a rees cue worker. the investigation underway into what happened there in madrid, spain. martha: i've got something totally different. it turns out that nba superstar kobe bryant is not having a quiet off season. he's in a feud with his mom over the ownership of more than a hundred items of memorabilia from his laker and high school days, including championship rings, jerseys that he wore. there she is on the left. he is suing to stop a planned auction from taking place. a federal judge takes up the matter on thursday. joined by our legal panel. keith sullivan defense attorney and faith jenkins former prosecutor. so, keith, this dispute, although he and his mom are definitely involved, and no doubt there's been some words between them over this is really with the auction house and kobe

bryant's attorneys, because they are trying to stop this auction from taking place for starters, right? >> correct, what happened was kobe bryant's mother gave the items to the auction house. the auction house issued a press release, kobe became aware of it. he sent a cease and desist letter to the auction cause. it's the auction house that went to federal court asking kobe bryant to come into court and plain why he should be entitled to the items. they are asking the court to decide who is the rightful owner ever the items and it's the appropriate way to go in the case. >> his mom got $450 million up front on this. >> thousand. >> thousand, i knew that was wrong when i said it. thank you very much. 450,000. she wants top buy a house in tphefp. she could get a really nice house with $450 million, anyway. she said, i remember kobe saying to me, here, mom this stuff is for you, he said that according to her. what does that mean, faith? >> it means kobe will come into court. he's going to say actually i didn't say that. this is my stuff, my property

and i don't want it to be auctioned off. in a case like this this isn't a family dinner table martha, this is court. you have to have some kind of proof. so what kind of proof does she ask to say these items were a gift to me when he's saying they aren't? at the end of the day i think the scales will tip in his favor because it's his stuff. martha: i wonder a couple of things here. do you get squatters rights on this stuff? if you left it in the garage for the last 15 years, she said it was 15 years ago. at some point does it become hers? >> you're on. i think faith is absolutely correct with the first argument there. the second argument is constructive abandonment under the law. the facts will show that some of these items are as old as 20 years and kobe never asked for the items back, she's asked him do you want any of this stuff. she even asked his wife. she's incurred $90,000 in expenses that kobe was aware of to store these items in a storage facility. i think they are going to prevail on the constructive abandonment argument. it's know like the o.j. simpson

case where he was out actively searching for and looking for the items. kobe knew where it was, he made no attempt to take it back, he was asked several times to take it. this is a story that plays out even in my own life, every male's life, you leave a bunch of things back at mom's house and she throws it out. martha: she says, can you please take this to your place and finally -- it says here faith that she has 900 more items that are worth $1.5 million. this sounds like an argument that could continue. >> it sound like. i have tell you what kobe is going to say, yes she paid $1,500 a month in storage fees but she could only do that because of the millions of dollars i gave her over the years to allow her to pay such expenses. so at the end of the day pamela needs to give that $450,000 back to the auction house, kobe needs his memorabilia back, he can reimburse the auction house for any reasonable fees they incurred and everye can have a happy mother's day. martha: exactly. it sound like she might have been better off asking him nor a

little loan. thank you, you guys. bill: jon scott is rolling our way in a couple much minutes . "happening now" on a monday what are you cooking up there, jon? jon: we are ten minutes away. there is a disturbing report on al-qaida we need to tell you about. why that terror threat seems to be growing. we are are awaiting verdicts in two big cases, the jodi arias trial and the trial of kermit gosnell the abortion doctor. did you hear from president obama said this weekend at a college commencement address? maybe not. not a lot of coverage. fox news watch takes a look, among other things the president called out the press. why? what does he have to complain about? that is coming up on "happening now." bill: we'll see you. have a good monday. jon: you too? bill: in a moment here we have new reaction from the state department on some of the reporting we have done through james rosen in washington on benghazi. that info two minutes away. it's monday, a brand new start. with centurylink visionary cloud infrastructure, and custom communications solutions,

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bureau then said he was out of the country then but says the charge is entirely untrue. he says he was in frequent contact with the department after the attack and it at no time felt the bureau was being left out of threub ration. that's what we are getting from state department officials. martha: let's go to the movies for a moment. ironman 3 dominated the box office over the weekend bringing in big bucks on its opener. julie banderas is live and downstairs in the newsroom with

us. >> reporter: ironman kicking out off the summer blockbuster season in superhero style as part 3 of the franchise raked in $175 million at the domestic box office making it the second biggest opening weekend ever, second to his fellow avengers. that brought in $207 million. of it should also be noted the man in the iron suit even out did himself as his debut this past weekend was way up on the previous ironman outing. a huge achievement given three quels, which begs the question, will there be a fourth? we asked star robert downey jr. >> i've got some ideas but, you know, i've got to slow my roll and just allow things to naturally take their course. >> reporter: pane and gain came in second followed by jackie robinson opens by open pick 42, tom cruise hruplted to, putting

it on track to make it cruise's lowest running. martha: my kids are a ramped up for ironman. they loved the first one. bill: what happens when a demolition goes terribly wrong. that bizarre video in a moment. great first gig! let's go! awwwww... arigato! we are outta here! party...... finding you the perfect place, every step of the way. hotels.com

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bill: we've got to make this the best 10 seconds of our life, martha. the pressure is on. martha: seven. same idea. "happening now" starts right now. bye-bye, guys. jenna: brand new stories and breaking news to bring you this morning. jon: we're awaiting testimony from three whistle-blowers, all state department officials with knowledge of the deadly terror attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. this as we get new information on how the administration talking points were altered and by whom. also the feds back at the home of the dead boston marathon bombing suspect. what they're looking for and what they still hope to learn from his widow. a live report coming up. and a high school soccer game turns into unthinkable tragedy. a teen player punches a ref because of a penalty. now that ref has died. what charges will the player face? those stories are and breaking news all "happening