martha: thank you everybody. bill: what a day. martha: indeed. keep watching a lot more to come on "happening now." see you back here tomorrow. jon: we begin with this fox news alert, new information coming in on that monstrous tornado that cut a path of devastation through moore, oklahoma as we hear stories of heartbreakerring tragedy. right now firefighters, police, national guard members and volunteers are crawling through debris listening for any sound of life in a determined search for survivors and victims. the "associated press" now reporting at least 24 people are dead, that number revised downward within the last couple of hours, but this new lower number is still expected to rise. many children are among the dead. two schools were right in the path of the mile-wide tornado, plaza towers elementary school taking a direct hit. the national weather service

reports the tornado was at least an ef4, the second most powerful class of twister, with winds between 166 and 200 miles an hour. on the ground for some 40 minutes as well. we'll be updating you on the aftermath and the search for survivors throughout the hour and we have a live report from the scene in moore, oklahoma just ahead. first, though right now brand-new stories and breaking news. jenna: the white house offering a new account of what it knew and when about the investigation into the i.r.s.'s targeting of conservative groups. a live report just ahead, a hearing on the hill as well. also state department official raymond maxwell lost his job after the deadly terror aback in benghazi. he is now accusing hillary clinton's team for scapegoating him for the failures that led to the deaths of four americans. he is speaking out, we'll tell you what he's saying. and convicted killer jodi arias set to speak to the jury today, deciding whether she will live or die for her crime. the big question whether she

pleads for mercy or says again that she'd rather be executed than spend her life in prison. her live remarks coming up on "happening now." back to our top story out of oklahoma today. we are glad you are with us, everybody, i'm jenna lee. jon: welcome back, jenna i'm jon scott. a devastating situation this morning for everyone in the path of that killer tornado. entire neighborhoods are gone in moore, oklahoma. an elementary school there reduced to rubble with children inside. the state's medical examiner saying at least 24 people are confirmed dead. just a short time ago, including seven children. the real death toll simply isn't known yet. the scene on the ground described as pure chaos. even veteran first responders say they've never seen anything like this. >> i haven't seen anything quite like this. frankly. i was in tuscaloosa and we've done hurricane work in florida and i've done some other things, but this is a first, this

wide-spread tornado is really unmatched in my experience and even believable to see. jon: our john roberts is live in moore, oklahoma with the latest. john. >> reporter: ro jon, good morning to you. you know, not only was this a very, very large storm but it moved so slowly through the oklahoma city area and that's why the damage that we see is even greater than you would expect from a storm that was as big as this one. take a look behind me, i'll step out of the way here, this is the moore medical center, it's a fairly large regional hospital in the area. the entire third floor of this building has been sheared off, and all throughout the parking lot you see cars piled on top of each other, like a child took them and put them there. earlier today and late last night there were cranes here that were actually plucking cars out from inside the hospital where the tornado had thrown them. there were a small number of people in this facility last night. we understand that all of them got out without any kind of serious injury, but the story

else where is different. we've got, by the way, lightning, another big storm coming in, however, cooler today, so it's not likely that we'll see any tornadic activity. none of these storms have any rotation to them but they to have serious lightning. we may have to get out of the way and take shelter. if we go off here you can see the beginnings of a neighborhood here where the edge of the destruction really is. you see a few houses that are intact, beyond that there is nothing. and i took a drive back into the neighborhood behind here just a little while ago, i should point out to you that police kicked us all out of there earlier this morning because that's where the plaza towers school is and that's where that work is going on, which may be recovering the bodiesome 24 children who got trapped in there yesterday. when you get beyond this facade, if you will, at the beginning of the damage, you get into an area where there is absolutely nothing left, and when i drove by that school this morning just a few minutes ago, a very, very

eery sight going on there and somber work taking place as a group of first responders have a crane as they are slowly peeling back all of the debris from that school. they are working on one specific section of the school, and you can only imagine that that's where that group of children are. a question that's beginning to be asked around here that school structure was build back in 1966. it's cinder block and brick. it does not have a dedicated hardened tornado shelter n. alabama we did stories about this last year, up in rains villain phil campbell where schools were destroyed there and they are showing there was no place for children to take h-p shelter. hop you have to think why in the oklahoma city area which really is tornado central of the united states why weren't there hardened shelters? why weren't childrewhy were children told to take shelter

are in hallways the walls of which would be come tumbling down on top of them. that is the tough questions that will be asked after the recovery efforts are complete. jon: amazing to me that nobody was hurt in the hospital behind you especially with the third floor gone. >> reporter: it really is incredible. there was a lot of warning with this storm. people were warning of severe weather, people were being warned of severe weather all day. we haled the live coverage of that tornado as it came through and i talked to a fellow, jim garner who lives a short piece away from here, his house is damaged, he can live in it for the time, it's problem below going to have to come down. he's there with his daughter and son-in-law. his daughter has two children who go to the plaza towers elementary school. it was about 2:00 in the afternoon. she said, you know the weather is getting really bad here i'm not comfortable having the children in that school, she drove to the school which is a little bit less than a half a mile away, picked the children up and took them out of the storm zone in time to get them away from the tornado before it

flattened that school, jon. jon: john roberts live in moore, thank you. jenna: just one of many amazing stories we are hearing out of moore today. joining us on the phone now is state representative randy graw. his district is outside where the tornado hit. he has family a fact he egd in the citis affected in the city of moore. we understand your brother-in-law lives in moore and you were just able to get this contact with him. how is he doing. >> he seems to be doing well. as you can imagine there is a lot of shock and sadness throughout the state. also a lot of resolve. and a lot of people stepping forward, closing ranks and helping out. so he is on his way into the area, has not been able to confirm whether his house is still standing or not. just based on the reports we expect that it will be completely destroyed, but, again, it's kind of a slow process even getting into this

area, as you can imagine, and that's something that is reserved for, you know, first responders and residents only of the area. jenna: how difficult was it to reach your brother-in-law during this time trying to figure out what happened after this tornado came through? >> as you can imagine, just trying to get selfservice during a time like that, the power being down, things of that nature, there is just so many conflicting reports. it wasn't easy. we were able to get in con tact with him. he was actually able to stay with us last night. we are just north of oklahoma city. moore, oklahoma is just south of oklahoma city. my neighborhood and e and and edm u.n. d h-p received damage on sunday when the storm came through. this has affect eg the even fire metro area, really the entire heartland. jenna: you have a young wife and young son, your family went through a tornado just a few

days ago. how is your family doing and where were you when the storm came through yesterday? >> thank you first of all. we are fine, and everyone in our neighborhood is accounted for, and we have property damage, and of course you can replace property, we can't replace people and that's why our thoughts and prayers are with the people in moore right now. i'm a state representative as you mentioned. we were actually in session here at the state capitol yesterday when the storm started to come through. weee evacuate waited to thwe evacuated to the basement of this building that is nearing 100 years old. we had to watch as the storms moved through and everyone in the state of course wants to help and wants to do what they can. the local representatives, the city officials, county, state, we know that federal officials are coming in, and everybody is going to do what they can to help. jenna: that must have been a helpless feeling. there you are serving your local

community as a state representative and you're hearing the storm and watching it and you can't do anything from that basement, can you? >> it is a helpless feeling. much course, you know, we just prayed that the damage would be minimum, and that if people could get in and get rescued. the good news is we have so many first responders we didn't know what to do with them. they've been working in shifts. as you can imagine it's humid, it's exhausting. there are open gas lines, do you plead power lines, so i can't say enough about how wonderful our first responders, our many volunteers, charitable organizations are. we try to make preparations for this as best we can, but still it's just such a shocking event when it occurs that you do feel helpless. you also come out knowing that there is hope and that we have heard wonderful stories of just hayricks and people being found, and so we just hold onto hope. jenna: a final question. i was so looking forward to talking to you for amiree add of

reasons. one of the reasons is because you've grown up in this area and really been intact with the local community and one of the things you talk a lot about is faith. that helps you as you say as a lawmaker but i'm sure it comes into play when you're watching this may out and your family is also affected. talk to us a little bit about that and how this compares to other times you've seen in your community. >> absolutely. i lived in this area of moore when the may 3rd 1999 tornado came through. and of course we have a 1995 a 19955 federal bombing building in oklahoma city. we understand that perseverance produces character and hope. there is a lot of reaching out to people in need, that is just the natural response of this community, and we've seen it. we call it the oklahoma standard. it's just, you know, people helping out other people who have needs. and so we've seen that with so many just churches, and

individuals doing everything they can to supply waters, sports drinks, diapers, gloves, hats, things that just people need right now to start rebuilding, repairing, going through the process, and, again we are very blessed to be a community of faith and just recontinue to pray for the best. jenna: representative graugh nice speaking with you and we wish the best for you and your family. thank you so much. >> thank you, jenna. jon: those of you on the west coast may just be tuning in to see all of this devastation in america's heartland, terrible tornado. we'll show you a time lapse video of the monster storm that cut through oklahoma spending 40 minutes on the ground, 40 minutes of destruction, and ways you can help coming up. hey, it's me, progressive insurance. you know, from our 4,000 television commercials.

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jenna: right now as we watch the

rescue and recovery efforts in oklahoma here is what the storm looked like yesterday. the twister spending an incredible amount of time on the ground, roughly 40 minutes of unthinkable destruction. this is a time lapse video that shows just how powerful and devastating this storm really was. the national weather service initially classifying this twist eras an ef4. that is the second most powerful type of tornado, that could change as we learn more when the storm. the twister at least one mile wide with winds as high as 200 miles per hour. as it carved a deadly path of about 30 square miles near oklahoma city. two dozen people we know of right now were killed in this storm. many of the victims are young children. you have more than 120 being treatmen treated at local hospitals at this time. the death toll is expected to rise as search and recovery efforts continue today. oklahoma's governor deploying dozens of national guard members to help out. you have emergency crews working throughout the night, continuing

today digging through mound of rubble in hopes of finding any survivors still out there. two schools and one hospital among the structures almost completely destroyed. you can see block after block of devastation in this aerial photo of the storm's path. homes reduced to piles of wood. you've seen those images and here are some more of them. you also have vehicles talked around and crumpled in heaps . roads closed after the tornado have reopened but officials are urging people not to travel to the disaster zone. extra highway patrol officers have been called in to watch the traffic. you don't want any more dangerous situations. we will continue to follow this developing story, bring you the very latest from the ground as we get it. jon: we are also seeing how social media plays a growing role in dealing with this kind of disaster. the city of moore deploying its own twitter feed to give folks very specific alerts about the storm yesterday. patti ann brown has more of that. >> reporter: social media is not just for fun any more.

sites like twitter are being usinged by government agencies at all levels to convey vital information. for example, before the tornado urgent tweets were sent out by the national weather service to its followers in moore, oklahoma. one reading, quote, large, deadly tornado moving into moore near 134th and western. the weather service says its new strategy is to take a very urgent tone in it's warnings. two years 158 people died in tornadoes in joplin, missouri and some people tragically did not take the warning seriously. now they are being specific and graphic, warning of death and destruction, and emphasizing that people should not wait to take shelter. they sent this tweet to residents of moore not long after the first one, it says, tornado approaching area near warren theater in moore, please take shelter. this is as bad as it gets. indeed, here is what that theater looked like just after the tornado blew through. and the national weather service by the way is not the only

agency utilizing social media, as john mentioned in the wake of these tornadoes the city of moore used twitter to keep track of which areas had been searched for survivors. for example, the city sent this tweet, quote, we have checked 1104 northeast 6th street several times, we are aware of the reports of people trapped at this address. it has been checked. in a situation where people have no access to television or radio social media hasee merged as a method of communication that people rely on in emergencies that is if their cellphone tower is still standing, jon. jon: some of the towers went down in that storm we know yesterday so that is a problem too. anything that can get through. thank you. jenna: other big news today, the white house offering a new account of the i.r.s. scandal changing the timeline of who knew what about the analyst targeting of conservatives and when they learned about it. we'll explain coming up. plus continuing coverage of the deadly tornadoes in oklahoma, the sights and sounds of the

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jenna: welcome back. a lot of incredible video coming in from oklahoma, much much it heartbreaking, some of it down right frightening. here is a look. >> this is not what i wanted to see. >> very solemn and everyone is just doing their best to continue the recovery efforts,

you know. a lot of it doesn't sink in until after the fact. >> that is a big, big tornado. >> the debris field was so wide it was almost two miles wide, 20 miles long, and it's just been a massive area of destruction. of course our hearts were broken yesterday. >> oh, my god. >> we were pulling walls off of people. there were people crawling out from everywhere and anywhere, basically just a war zone. there were a couple of individuals with lacerations and contusions on their back and head. >> the first thing i told my cabinet secretaries and all the emergency personnel is find the people. do everything we can to get as many rescue squads out there, bring in search and rescue dogs,

whatever we need, we have to find the people immediately. that's been our biggest goal through the last hours since the storm has struck. jenna: we will continue to watch moore today and the developments there, in the meantime the dangerous weather is not over. in a few 4 moments we'll have a live report from the fox extreme weather center about where the violent weather is headed next. stay tuned for that. jon: we will continue our coverage of the situation in oklahoma, but first, the white house once again shifting its story about the i.r.s. scandal offering yet another version of who knew what and when. at first the white house claimed to know almost nothing about the i.r.s. targeting conservatives until the first news reports came out. now we are learning the chain of note my indication reached all the way to the door of the oval office. president obama's white house lawyer and his chief of staff were among those who knew early on about the report, but the president maintains that he himself knew nothing about it until the report was released. today lawmakers are promising to get to the bottom of things with

another hearing before the senate finance committee. jonah boldburg is editor at large for national review online. he is also a fox news contributor. h-p now we know, jonah that dennis mcd u.n. na, the right hand man, chief of staff, gate keeper to the oval office knew about the i.r.s. scandal, who he did kathryn ruemmler the ponchartrain's white house counsel but we are to believe that the president knew nothing about it, was never told. >> yeah, i want to be very clear that i did not plant that question with you beforehand. this is the first time i'm hearing it. yeah, look, this is by "politico," not exactly a right-wing publication, this eubgs the fifth different version the white house has put forward on this i.r.s. story. and now their basic defense is that barack obama is blameless because his staff keeps him completely in the dark on some really important matters. it's not a great defense. jon: as you point out in one of your columns, this is the

president that bragged he knows more about policy than ace policy advisers. >> this is an odd -- catch-22 is not the right word. the dilemma the obama administration faces is the best defense, the best way for them to get out of all of this is claim incompetent, error, run to the sol list of the fact that the government is just too big to manage and that they are crazy to want to i can ma it even bigger. they can't do that without undermining 0 almost the entire rational for obama's presidency which is this idea that we can do anything with governments if we all just try our hardest. jon: if we throw enough government at any problem it will call be fixed, including obama care. >> right. this is sort of the margin utility of government which has come to an end on a lot of these things. the idea that somehow simply because president obama is outraged, that somehow is not only necessary but a sufficient

answer to all of the problems that are raised by these scandals and controversies, it's sort of ridiculous. the idea that somehow we are going to give the same people control over our healthcare is bizarre. i was listening to the hearings going on in the car ride over here and these guys, they are shifting their stories as well. steve miller just admitted that the acting commissioner of the i.r.s. that it was his idea to plant this question with low i low lois learner in this press conference when on friday h he acted as if he had no idea what was happening at all. these are a bunch of shift she people who deny political by as in anything. only political by as can explain why this thing went on for as long as it did. jon: what he's referring to there is lois learner, the head of the i.r.s. office that grants tax exempt status to some of the organizations, and the one who

came up with the idea of focusing in on tea party groups, she planted a question with a friendly lawyer at an american bar association conference to supposedly get this issue out in the open. that's how the world found out that it was happening . the president, though, we know, jonah is outraged. >> right, he's outraged and the i.r.s. says there was no political ideology involved, sus simply really bad customer service, which is sort of like saying hanna bel hanibel lecter provided poor patient care. of i jon: it's nice to see the humerus side in all of this 4 but wow, there is another shoe to drop i have a feeling. >> i don't think we are at the bottom of this for a long stretch. jon: thank you. jenna: as the i.r.s. hearing is under way on capitol hill right now coming up new details on the obama administration's snooping on several u.s. journalists a

journalists including at least two fox news correspondents, names you know. killer tornadoes tearing through america's heartlands. the the tres i threat is not over yet. which areas are in the danger zone today. we have that next. .. when you have diabetes...

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jenna: fox news alert now on a new outbreak of severe

weather. word now that the deadly storm system that tore through the heartland is making moves around this country, including parts of the great lakes and also texas is an area of concern. meteorologist maria molina is live in our fox news weather center with more. maria? >> hi, jenna, good to see you. we want to update everyone because we had our first tornado watch of today issued. for the next round of severe weather we're starting to see things get going. i want to show you what is going on because in parts of oklahoma including the city of moore and oklahoma city we have rough weather ongoing here. areas of heavy rain and thunderstorms and lightning. storms are farther off towards the east across sections of tennessee and parts of arkansas. across texas right now though it is relatively quiet. this is very bad in terms of severe weather goes. what that means the sun is out, it is heating things up. there aren't really any storms out there. there are no areas of rain. so we're talking about significant heating that will be ongoing out here and that really will provide the

instability needed for some of these thunderstorms to get going and produce severe weather later on today. a brand new tornado watch just issued. it includes the city of dallas, texas. we're starting to see storms popping up across the western periphery of the tornado watch across parts of texas. the watch does go into effect until 7:00 p.m. central time. we have several hours of rough weather expected out here. if we do see any tornado warnings we'll bring them to you. other cities included here are abilene, texas, and the city of waco. we're expecting a wide area of severe weather from texas up to the great lakes. you're talking about damaging winds in excess of 60 miles per hour possible and large hail and tornados also possible. but the greatest area of concern is said shaded right here in the red. parts of texas, including cities like dallas where you are currently under a tornado watch. this means you could see some of those longer track

and more powerful tornados. maybe ef 3, ef-4 strength. some cities, tyler, texas, waco, cleburne, in texas you saw a tornado last week. you're looking possibility of more tornadoes as we head into the afternoon. shreveport and el dorado, you're also in the area out here. flash flooding is also a big concern, the storm is slow-mover it is producing heavy rain and the ground is already saturated. jenna, on monday, yesterday we saw 22 reported tornados, unbeing the ef-4 in moore. that has not been confirmed yet. it could be upgraded to an ef-5. we saw the awful images out of area, devastating, more than 100 reports of large hail and over 200 reports of strong wind. that is more than 60 miles per hour. jenna: another busy day in the weather center. maria, back to you as we get more news. >> thank you.

jon: emergency crews and volunteers in oklahoma literally have been working around the clock since yesterday's killer tornados, searching for any remaining survivors. sergeant jeremy lewis from the moore police department joins us now. originally we thought, sir, that 51 people were dead. we were happy to hear that that number was revised downward earlier today. to 24 but the fear was that the number of dead could increase. do you have any information on that? >> as of this time it has not increased. we still have rescue and search teams in the areas where the tornado went through. haven't had any updates at this time but they're still searching a lot of the area. jon: just based on pictures we are seeing, the incredible devastation. buildings that were flattened and cars that have been crushed, it would seem that there must still be people trapped. the question is, whether you can find them alive or whether they may have expired? >> correct.

we're just, it now, almost going through each area piece by piece. some of the debris is 20, thirty foot tall that has to be gone through. you just don't know if someone is underneath that. you don't want to use heavy equipment and possibly injure someone who has survived and is underneath all the debris. which is still very possible. so that's why it is taking a very long time. i just went into the area right next to the elementary school and firefighters are literally picking piece by piece off of the school brick by brick. jon: i know that you guys must be running on adrenaline at this point. many of you have been up all night. what does your department need? >> well, as of right now we have, i would say, over 100 different law enforcement agencies and fire departments that have come to us to assist us. so right now i mean, we just, we really appreciate all the help. we're kind of going through shifts. everyone is on a 12-hour

shift. we're rotating through that right now. and the guys want to help so much, you know, that pushes you through it. jon: yeah. well i know governor fallin has called out the national guard as well. jeremy lewis from the moore police department, you have a lot of work ahead. thanks for taking time to talk to us today. >> thank you. jenna: some new information on the obama administration's snooping scandal as the justice department secretly pursues a growing list of reporters for gathering the news. our shannon bream is live in washington. shannon, we now know there are leak investigations involving at least three of our colleagues. what is the latest on that? >> reporter: well, jenna as we learned yesterday an fbi agent filed an affidavit asking for a search warrant to get access to our colleague james rosen personal e-mail account, accusing rosen of committing a crime when he allegedly sought information from a state department employee. here is what first amendment attorney floyd abrams who

handled numerous landmark cases in this a reason, told me about the suggestion that a reporter doing his job equates to a crime. >> it is a very dangerous claim. and the notion of pinning the label of criminal on the press because it gathers news from someone who may not have the authority to provide the news is extremely dangerous. >> reporter: we've also learned that a justice department inspector general report into a potential leak involving the gun-walking operation fast and furious quotes from the e-mails of fox reporter william la jeunesse and senior producer mike levine. the justice department tells us in that second case they did not subpoena our colleagues e-mails or other records. jenna? jenna: shannon, how is the administration responding to any of these revelations?. >> reporter: well, with respect to james rosen's case the department tells us leaks of classified information to the press can pose serious risk of harm to national security, adding this, investigators in that case, followed, quote, all applicable laws and regulations and longstanding

department of justice policies intended to safeguard the first amendment interests of the press and in reporting the news and the public in receiving it. press secretary jay carney was asked how the views the issue. >> he is a defender of the right rights contained within the first amendment. he is a defender of the right of the press to pursue investigative journalism. he is also, as i have said, as president and as a citizen insistent upon the need to make sure that classified leaks that can endanger our national security and endanger the lives of american men and women overseas, be taken seriously. >> reporter: a very delicate balance indeed. jenna? jenna: more on this story as we get it. shannon, thank you. jon: and more on the devastation in moore, oklahoma. after that massive tornado barrels through that town. one school completely obliterated. look at that picture on the right comparing it to the previous photo of the school on the left. the latest on the death toll, the damage and what is ahead

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jenna: right now another side of the story out of moore, oklahoma, where medical professionals are dealing with some terrible

injuries today as they scramble to treat more than 120 people hurt in yesterday's deadly tornado. unfortunately, physical injuries may not be all that they have to worry about as the hours go by. dr. marti mccarry, physician and professor of public health at johns hopkins and dr. mccarry, you worked in trauma before. one of your biggest concerns as time goes on is water and sanitation. why is that at the top of your list? >> typically there are sort of two waves of medical catastrophes in things like this. first is acute injuries. most of the injuries seen by the doctors are orthopedic injuries or respiratory injuries. the second wave tends to be related to water and sanitation. it can be a real problem, gas leakage and the fumes. that is what doctors see in days, two, three, four and five after a situation like this. jenna: going back to your first point, why are orthopedic and respiratory injuries, what you often see

after a storm like this? >> well typically, what we call these high velocity injuries, a storm with high wind will pick up a piece of tree or a something from a house and that will become basically like a, like a pull let. it will be a high velocity missile. as we say in the trauma literature. that missile can essentially hit somebody. that is what causes up jury, more so than somebody getting swept off their feet and moving and hitting something. jenna: we heard from some medical teams in the area saying there is such a wide variety from minor lacerations to some impalement injuries you're also mentioning, doctor. we're holding out hope, of course we are, for some of the people that may be survivors are left in the rubble. they haven't been found yet. what is the biggest threat to them? is it just time? is it the clock? >> well the biggest threat is in the people with preexisting medical conditions. those that are frail. if you look at just the statistics, jenna, you

notice that it is the children and oldest people that are the greatest casualties so far that have come in. it is of course, a concern that moore hospital where they have had the whole second floor of the hospital get wiped out. so people are being transported long distances and sometimes when they're frail, that is a serious threat to their health. jenna: we're continuing to watch these scenes. just stunning. doctor, just as a medical professional, when you see these scenes, what goes through your head? >> well, it's tragic but it is amazing time to see the commonality of humanity with all the volunteers. doctors and nurses from around the country are descending upon that area as are all the firefighters that we're seeing. so, it is inspiring to see people come together as tragic as it is. jenna: something to keep in mind today. doctor, always nice to have you. thank you so much. >> thank you. jon: well we do want to update you about one of the final chapters in a legal case we have been following closely. about 40 minutes from now, jodi arias is to address the

jury in her murder trial. there is one big question everyone is wondering. will she plead for mercy, or, repeat what she told a television reporter minutes after her conviction, that she would rather die than serve life in prison? we'll have a live report straight ahead. plus, waiting a for a live news conference from the steps of city hall in moore, oklahoma. keep it here for continuing coverage of that horrible twister. ♪ . the great outdoors...

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jenna: this is a story we've been following here at happening now since the first day of this sensational trial that really gripped this entire country. >> this could be the most

sense sangsal trial of the year, only january 2nd. involves 32-year-old jodi arias charged with murder in 2008 of her on again off again, boyfriend, travis alexander. shot in the face while in the shower. stabbed 27 times. and his throat was slit. his body was not found for five days. they have a pretty good case including a digital camera found that includes pictures before and after the murder of alexander. that trial is getting underway today. we'll keep you posted. jenna: that was january 2nd. now in just moments jodi arias will address the jurors who convicted her of first-degree murder. they will decide whether she gets the death penalty or live in prison. the big question that hangs over her today, will jodi arias ask the jury to spare her life, or, or repeat what she told a reporter moments after her convict shun. she said she would be rather executed than spend the rest of her life behind bars. what will she say? adam housley is live with

dramatic developments. adam, quite a ride, huh? >> reporter: quite a ride. jury selection began in december and quite a legal soap opera and captivated people who like to watch this type of thing. our viewers here obviously have been following the case as well. in about 40 minutes or so, that is when court is expected to start, but as you know if you've been watching the case it never really starts on time. theoretically, it would start 9:30 eastern local time and jodi arias would be the first to speak. we've seen interesting moment, odd moments, some language you can't repeat on television because of this court case. who can forget jodi arias herself being on the stand for 18 days, getting cross-examined and getting questions from the jury. it was the back and forth with prosecutor juan martinez that everybody seems to remember most. take a listen. >> ma'am, were you crying when you were shooting him? >> year. >> were you crying when you were stabbing him? >> i don't remember. >> how about when you cut his throat, were you crying

then? >> i don't know. >> reporter: that dramatic testimony back from february 28th when she was on the stand. of course cross-examination by juan martinez. he will not get that chance today. she will make a statement we're told. jenna. jenna: we're expecting it in about a half an hour. >> reporter: right. jenna: this trial really has been unpredictable, except for one thing, adam. there have been a lot of dramatic moments. we had more dramatic moments even yesterday in the courtroom? >> reporter: yeah. it doesn't seem to ever end, right in fact the jury, we were supposed to hear testimony yesterday. the jury basically walked into the courtroom was told to go home because defense team had dramatic moments. they stood up there and having trouble calling witnesses. asked for a mistrial they insinuated one of the witnesses for jodi arias to basically and plead for her not to get the death penalty had been threatened and so they want ad mistrial. they asked for a stay. the judge said no to both of those. they asked to be removed from the case. the judge said no to that.

they basically said they weren't calling any witnesses whatsoever. there was also a hearing, a meeting in the judge's chambers with jodi arias, basically insuring the fact that she would get the chance, jenna, to speak to everybody. that theoretically will be in 35 minutes or so. jenna: we'll watch for that. adam, thank you. jon: a fox news alert. a very tense standoff situation underway right now in phoenix. this is taking place in that house at 91st and camelback, one of big thoroughfares of phoenix. they sent in the s.w.a.t. team to literally tear off the front of that house. inside a guy named israel selis, believed to be holding two hostages still. we'll update you straight ahead. our landing time got moved back another hour. ( crowd chatters and groans )

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jon: a fox news alert, and the worst possible news from those suffering for those tornadoes that struck yesterday. now new tornado threats in that same zone. as oklahoma mounts a massive search and rescue effort amid new numbers on the death toll. i'm jon scott. jenna: hi, everybody, i'm jenna lee. we'll get to those new tornado warnings in just a moment. in the meantime, dramatic video of the killer tornado as it roared through oklahoma yesterday. winds reaching 200 miles per hour. the second most powerful type of twister so far that could change, of course, stayed on the ground for what seemed like an eternity to so many, an agonizing 40 minutes. the monster tornado a mile wide

in places wiping parts of the town of moore off the map. a look now at the incredible devastation. you have debris everywhere, the tornado tossing cars in the air. the medical examiner now says at least 24 people are dead including many children. the mayor of moore describing what's left. of his city. >> it's pretty bad. most of the electricity is gone out of the city right now. we have a problem with our water system. the electricity is off at the oklahoma city plant as well, so we're short on water. we're having to tank it in from other cities for our fire department. we have a lot of unaccounted people. jenna: the monstrous tornado blew through the oklahoma city suburb leveling two elementary schools and damaging the moore medical center leaving dozens and dozens of people injured, and now the race is on to find survivors. we have team fox coverage of the after math of that tornado and also what's next.

maria molina is live at the fox extreme weather center, but we're going to go to casey steegal who's live in moore. tough to see behind you, you're crouched down. tell us where you are. >> reporter: jenna, this is incredible. you want to know what possibly saved hundreds of lives in moore, oklahoma yesterday? this thing right here. this is a storm shelter, the storm cellars that you're hearing so many people talk about. and these aren't in most parts of the country, but in oklahoma these are common in the homes. they're just a little space, and you have luggage in here, some bottled water, maybe your weather radio, a flash light. and then look at this. this is the garage. you can see that's what's left of the home. the storm shelter like this. it's an underground with structure, and it has one of these sliding metal doors. so you get in there with your family. it usually pins closed, and this is what you ride one of these

tornadoes out in. this is what people rode this tornado out in, and this is what perhaps saved so many lives. the home back here, it's a total loss, as you can see. dana is with me. this is her home. dana, you were not home. you didn't have to use that storm shelter. you would have if you would have been here, but you were in oklahoma city at work, right? >> correct. >> reporter: you make your way back after you see the devastation on tv, and you come up to your house, what's left of it. what do you think? >> absolutely nothing. my first thought was trying to find my dog. but she wasn't there. she was back in that room that nothing was there. >> reporter: before we went on the air, dana, you were telling me that, obviously, these are things, not your dog, but the home itself are things, and when you hear that there's been this

loss of life here, people if your fellow community, neighbors, what -- how do you even wrap your mind around? >> you really can't. um, you know, two years ago whenever the joplin tornado hit, i'm from kansas originally, and some friends and i went over, and we just helped pass out water, and we helped people go through homes and get what they could, and, you know, you always pray and hope that it's never you. i hoped it was, but i hoped it wasn't us. but, unfortunately, unfortunately it was. >> reporter: and, dana, we're seeing neighbor helping neighbor. you mentioned you going to joplin. we're seeing that here in moore. people are driving through and passing out bottled water. this is a time when americans pull together. this is what america's all about. >> exactly. there's some people back there helping us now that they, actually, were helping in the joplin tornado as well.

so, i mean, there's people all over helping, and you never know where they're going to come from. it could be your next door neighbor, it could someone from miles away. >> reporter: well, dana, know that america is praying for you and your neighbors and the folks in this community, and we're just glad that you're okay, and we hope that you find your dog k. we know that pets are just as important as parts of our family. >> she's my baby. >> reporter: you know, this is just one, as i've been kind of saying, sounding like a bit of a broken record, this is one little spot, one little corner of a neighborhood where you've got a story like this where people in the rain, by the way, it's starting to rain. we've seen lightning rolling in, those additional storms that maria's going to talk about threatening this area as we speak. but you have people on top of what used to be their homes, and they're digging through trying to find a picture, anything to salvage. heartbreaking, jenna. jenna: absolutely. what a report for us today,

casey. back to to casey steigel on the ground there in moore in about half an hour. in the meantime, he mentions the weather, jon, and you can see that on our camera, another factor in the rescue recovery. jon: lightning flashing in the skies around moore, and that rain starting to come down. the risk level for tornadoes the same as right before the killer twister blew through. meteorologist maria molina with where the next storms could hit. >> reporter: hi, jon, heartbreaking images out of moore, oklahoma. we've had on and off rain throughout the morning hours, not good news, not what we need for clean-up efforts and, of course, search and recovery or rescue across oklahoma. but we do want to mention between noon and 1 p.m. local time, so that's central time, we're talking about between 1 and 2 p.m. eastern time we could actually be seeing another round of storms rolling through that area. as far as a tornado threat, we're not thinking we really could be seeing tornadoes with

this next line of storms, just moving quickly across parts of western oklahoma, eventually impacting portions of oklahoma city and moore as we look in the next hour or two. we're talking about lightning, heavy rain and even some areas that could see some hail from some of these storms. so just not good news to be seen. more severe weather as we head into parts of oklahoma. we do have a severe thunderstorm watch that's also been issued including the city of moore that does go into effect until this evening. tornado watch to the south and across parts of texas. the possibility of dangerous weather as we head into later on in this afternoon and also into tonight. no tornado warnings right now, but heads up the city of dallas, the city of waco, you could be looking at some long tracks, so a possibility of very violent tornadoes out here again throughout the afternoon and evening hours, also eventually into parts of arkansas and also across parts of northwestern louisiana. so these are some cities that could be looking at damaging tornadoes. otherwise very widespread

threats of severe storms anywhere from texas up into the great lakes and even some isolated tornadoes, flash flooding another concern, jon, because this storm is such a slow mover and it's been producing a roth of heavy rain in -- a lot of heavy rains in area where is the ground's already saturated. jon: maria, thank you. jenna: we are hearing some incredible stories of survival and jo ann coleman has one of those stories. her home collapsed around her when the tornado hit. she lives in moore, oklahoma. she's joining us live on the phone from her son's home oklahoma city. jo ann, i hope we can get the picture up of your home so our viewers can actually see what you survived. how did you make it through this storm? >> well, i was in a hallway which is the only place in my house that was not on the outside wall. and i had pulled several

king-sized pillows over me and just held 'em down tight. so that nothing would fall on me, you know, trying to protect my head and my body. and, you know, i walked away unscathed. jenna: so no injuries. >> no injuries. absolutely no injuries. jenna: not a mark on you, because we're looking at images of your home, and it's almost incredible -- it's almost a miracle looking at -- >> i would definitely say it was a miracle. jenna: what did it sound like when it was coming through? what did it feel like when you were there trying to cover yourself with the pillows? >> i could hear it before it got there. i could hear the roar. then i could begin to feel the walls shaking and just, i mean, you know, just literally shaking around me. i was aware of when the roof went, and i could hear things hitting the house.

i knew stuff was coming in down on top of me, but two doors kind of came together and just kind of formed a tepee-type thing over me that protected me from debris. jenna: how did you not panic? >> i was praying. jenna: what were you saying? >> i just said, you know, god, protect me, you know? protect me. and i honestly believe he did. jenna: from your home to then emerging from the rubble, were you trapped inside? did people have to help you out? how did you finally get out of what was left of your home? >> i was trapped. i was not pinned down. i could not exit my -- i couldn't exit through any of my doors. the debris was just piled in on

everything, and a gentleman and his son -- i could hear one of my neighbors hollering outside, hollering for we. and they were able to climb the pile of debris up to the roof, and i could, and i came out through a bedroom window and the roof area. and then we walked down the pile of rubble, you know, to the street. and then, you know, i'm not even sure who they were, and my son was able to get to me before, you know, any of the fire trucks or policemen. so he was able to get in to get me out. jenna: well, we're so happy you're all right. i know you're with your son in oklahoma city, but what's the next step here? >> well, my husband was on a trip, and he made it in last night, so now we go back over there today and see if there's,

if there's anything salvageable and talk to insurance and know that god's going to take care of us. he always has. jenna: joann, it's such a pleasure to speak to you. you have a busy day aped head, and we'll be thinking about you and your family. >> i have my family, and that's what's important. jenna: we appreciate the time. thank you so much. >> thank you. jon: they have their priorities straight in oklahoma, don't they? we're going to keep tracking the latest developments from there, but we are also following some critical hearings on capitol hill. the acting irs commissioner is back in the hot seat, senators grilling him over what he knew about the irs scandal and when he knew that that agency was targeting conservative groups. we'll take you there live with the latest details. plus, new evidence that the obama administration may be taking a hit over recent scandals like the controversy surrounding the benghazi terror attack. ♪ ♪ must be when you have diabetes...

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jon: brand new poll numbers now showg that recent scandals are, in fact, affecting americans' opinion of the obama administration. according to "the washington post," 56% say they believe the irs deliberately harassed tea party groups. 31% say it was just an administrative mistake. 55% now say they think the obama administration is trying to cover up facts in the benghazi terror attack. but president obama's approval rating has remained steady through all of this, 51% say he's doing a positive job, 44% say negative. joe trippi is a former howard dean campaign manager and a fox news contributor. joe, explain that. why does the president's approval rating stay steady when so many americans disapprove of

the things his administration has been up to? >> i mean, i think part of it is he still, his personal likability, people really like him. he's always had that going for him. but more importantly, jon, i think what's happening, it's been going on for quite a while is it's gotten so partisan out there that when any of these things emerge, people go to their corners and come out fighting. in other words, you -- if you like barack obama and you supported him for president, then you don't listen to the other side, and if you don't like him, you believeve about hu don't listen to anything that his proponents have to to say. and vice versa. if you don't like the republican party, you don't listen to anything they say, and if you believe all the stuff, bad tough about them, then you don't u you don't -- you believe that. and so what's happened is in these scandals people have gone to their corners and come out, and the problem for republicans

is a majority of the american voters voted for the president just last november, and they're still hanging with him on his job approval. jon: there are, what, 56% who say that the irs was deliberately trying to harass tea party members and tea party groups. that's a problem, isn't it, for a president whose motto might sort of be described as in government we trust? >> well, look, i was one of the first democrats out there who just blasted what the irs was doing. i think bipartisan everybody agrees what they were doing was wrong. the issue is, did the president, you know, do something to order it, or was the white house involved? and that, by the way, that's where we'll get to the facts, that's what these hearings are about over time and get to what caused this, how do you fix it and who was responsible. if this gets -- right now i think americans do not believe that the president and the white

house were involved. that, that could change as more facts come out. but right now i think -- and if it turns out they weren't and republicans keep pressing to try to take it there, people could believe the republicans' overreach, we're just going after the president, and that could have ramifications in 2014. jon: but as the president tries to steer the country toward more and more government involvement in their daily lives including obamacare, i mean, critics like -- or pundits like chris stirewalt have pointed out that the overall theme, their defense to many of these scandals is, essentially, we're not malevolent, we're just incompetent. >> well, i mean, again, that's one of those -- it's whenever it could be malicious or just stupid, let's pick stupid. and, look, on all these things there was some level of just stupid. i mean, anybody who thought you could go target the tea party

and harass them or audit them specifically based on that word, that was -- even if this was political calculation, it was stupid malpractice political calculation, jon. so i -- there's a point there, but again, we're going to have to see how the facts come out. jon, one other thing i want to point out though is over the last month you had -- last couple months, actually, you've seen some pretty good economic numbers. and one of the things i've been thinking about is as, you know, unemployment goes down, the deficit was lower than expected, gdp's growing, not great but it's growing, maybe people are feeling a little bit better about the economy, and that's holding the approval numbers up even while these negative scandal situations are drag, you know, should be dragging the administration down. it's actually the economy that may be moving in the right direction finally for him. it's helping hold him up right now. jon: yeah. after a long time of denying

themselves, you know, some luxuries, people are starting to buy a little bit. that is part of it. joe. seems to be anyway. thank you, joe trippi. >> you're welcome, jon. jenna: the sensational murder trial that's seen its share of turns could see one more today when jodi jodi arias addresses the jury one final time. our legal panel on what we should expect her to say. also the hot seat, the former head of the irs giving his first public testimony over the targeting of conservative groups, something that joe and jon were just talking about. the big problem lawmakers are having with his testimony. >> these hearings are not some side show designed to distract from the president's agenda. i hope that the president and his administration are not attempting to distract us from getting to the bottom of this. [ female announcer ] doctors trust calcium plus vitamin d

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jon: we continue to monitor the plaitest developments in oklahoma. people in the area still refer to another massive tornado that hit moore 14 years ago in 1999 simply as may 3rd. 36 people were killed that day. winds reached more than 300 miles an hour, the highest winds ever recorded near the earth's surface. that storm track, noted in this map in green. well, yesterday's powerful tornado hit almost exactly the same spot in moore traveling along the same trajectory for a while. yesterday's path note inside red. it then veered off to the east but, boy, jenna, look at those two stracks, almost one on top another. two tornadoes 14 years apart in moore, oklahoma. jenna: unbelievable. in the meantime, to washington, d.c. now. the former head of the irs

claims he did not foe agents were -- know agents were targeting conservative groups for extra scrutiny when applying for tax-exempt status. his maim is douglas shulman. he's facing tough questions today. the hearing comes as the white house's timeline on the scandal appears to be shifting. with more explanation, chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel joins us live from capitol hill. >> reporter: this is the senate's first crack at trying to get to the bottom of the irs's targeting and harassment of conservative groups. the senate finance hearing features the testimony to have outgoing acting commissioner of the irs, steven miller,ment inner general j. russell george who investigated irs activities as it related to these groups receiving extra scrutiny while seeking tax-exempt status. and for the first time, former irs commissioner douglas shulman is testifying, and he offered this initial reaction. >> i was dismayed, and i was saddened to read the inspector

general's conclusions that actions had been taken creating the appearance that the service was not acting as it should have. that is, as a nonpolitical, nonpartisan agency. >> reporter: let's take a live look at the hearing. a good portion of these congressional hearings involves trying to get at who gave the order to scrutinize these groups. a number of lawmakers saying internship hearing complaints from constituents that the irs was harassing them. lawmakers sent letters to the irs but seemed furious they did not get answers. >> why did you mislead me and my colleagues? my fellow senators? and most importantly, the american people by failing to tell us what you knew about the exact subject we were asking about? why didn't you tell us? >> mr. hatch, i did not lie. >> you what? >> i did not lie, sir. >> you lied by omission. you knew what was going on, and you knew that we had asked.

you should have told us. >> reporter: there have been some expressions of regret, but they're still trying to get at who gave the order. a lot of lawmakers not believing that the cincinnati office of the irs suddenly went rogue, and some are trying to figure out if somebody higher in the administration whether at the treasury department or at the white house had some involvement with this scandal. jenna? jenna: we'll continue to watch for those answers mike. thank you. >> reporter: sure. jon: apple's ceo, tim cook, is also on capitol hill today. he faces tough questions about the taxes his company has paid. did apple cheat the government out of billions of dollars, or is the tech giant just playing by the government's very confusing rules? we have a live report. and new concerns for rescuers in oklahoma. what another round of severe weather could mean for the search effort. that is straight ahead. >> oh, my god, i was praying to god so many times, and i, honestly, i was like i'm not

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jenna: just after 12:30 east coast time. the desperate search for survivors in the monster tornado in oklahoma. crews sifting through the rubble today looking for any signs of life. more than 100 survivors were pulled out of the rubble overnight. now there are new concerns that more severe weather in the area

and in the forecast could really hamper the rescue efforts today. as promised back to casey stegall who is live in moore, casey. >> reporter: i started out the morning talking with martha maccallum about how today is really about hope, and boy isn't that true, because there is still a very real possibility that there are survivors, survivors that could be trapped in their underground tornado bunkers that i was live in just at the top of the show. there is a reality that there are survivors trapped in the rubble back here because it goes for miles. it absolutely goes for miles, and you look all around, 360 degrees, and all you see are splintered homes, trees that are just snapped in half, vehicles that are crumpled like tin cans. the communications is a real issue here. sometimes you'll get a text that will go through, sometimes

you're able to upload something to the internet. for the most part cellphone service and things like that not working here. that is really frightening for people who don't know where their family members are. a lot of people unaccounted for. and two doors down i talked to a woman who was out here this morning looking for a good family friend. listen to what she had to say. >> a good family friend and my aunt lived over there, we haven't heard from them or seen anything on facebook. we want to make sure they are okay. it's sad this happens to people and we really don't know how to pick up after this. >> that is the thing, can you kind of describe the communications here? >> you can't text, you can't call, you can't -- you don't have any connection with anybody here really. this has already happened in oklahoma ten years ago now it's again and it's just ruined, like there is nothing left. most of the stuff over here was brand-new and it's just gone. >> when you talk through the neighborhood and see -- i mean i'm assuming you spent time here

because someone so close to you lives in this neighborhood and you see what is left with it, what goes through your mind? >> it's depressing. i don't know how these people are supposed to pick up and move on and live in new houses. it will be really hard for people. most of their stuff is gone, nowhere. >> reporter: have you cried a lot? >> it hasn't really hit me until now. yeah it's really sad. i don't know what to do, it's almost like shock. >> reporter: shock is something we hear a lot about after tragedies like this. a term called the walking wounded, people who don't have cuts and bruises, broken bones, but people that are in an utter state of shock when they walk around and they see what is left of what they used to call home, jenna. jenna: more of your great reporting throughout the day today, casey. thank you so much. casey stegall live in we'll continue of course with the story, and to more of some of the most moving storylines that we've really heard throughout the last 24 hours, jon. jon: some of these pictures are

just coming out. i mean photographers are just moving through some of these neighborhoods. it is absolutely incredible, heart rendering images emerging from the tragedy. we'll show some of them to you. like this one of a child being carried away from an area where there is nothing left, except piles of rubble. the scale of the disaster just beginning to come into fol focus. let's take look at the events that brought us here. >> we heard everyone needed help, we came in and we pulled up over here, and everyone was already at the 7-eleven trying to pull the doors off. sadly they found a man and then a woman and a small baby.

[sound of sirens ] >> you know everybody says it sounds like a train, i've never heard a train that sounded like that. it was the worst sound i've ever heard. [sound of tornado siren ] >> this is in one word speechless, this is -- i don't even know where to start to describe what i'm seeing. >> with the devastation i've seen, you know, images don't quite do it justice. the silver lining in this awful cloud, this horrific cloud is that over 100 survivors found in the midnight hours. i'm optimistic, have a lot of faith and hope and we are praying that we find more survivors today. jon: this may not be the end of it. forecasters warn that large and

devastating storms could continue today especially in that red area you see on your screen. we will continue to alert you as the situation changes. jenna: turning to some other news that we're watching today as well. one of the most valuable companies in the world avoid paying billions and billions of dollars in u.s. taxes? that is the question members of the senate subcommittee are asking about apple. the company's ceo tim cook is in the hot seat today. elizabeth mcdonnell has the latest on that. >> senator rand paul just made appliea applies terg attack not on apple but the u.s. congress. he's saying it's outrageous congress has hauled i in apple's ceo and cfo to testify. he says congress should apologize to apple that apple is being harassed over the tax laws that the u.s. congress writes. this is an ongoing hearing that we are tracking throughout the day. let's take a listen to what

senator carl levinson said about apple's tech strategy. here is senator levin. >> what's apple's been able to do is create two phantom, or three phantom corporations in ireland that don't exist anywhere for tax purposes, that is tax creativity. >> what they are saying is that apple shifted $74 billion away from the united states using units in ireland, these units do not pay federal federal income taxes to the u.s. or other entities. apple is saying, jenna, that these are not shells, these are not phantom operations, apple is saying the senate report is flat out wrong. of it is saying that the units in ireland, they are the cork international headquarters for apple, that they employ 4,000 workers, they oversee two-thirds of global sales for apple and help sell apple products in europe, the middle east, africa, and asia, and they actually do

do manufacturing and customer service and other things for apple's oversees operations. tim cook is testifying moments ago, jenna, he's saying we have that money that is overseas, $102 billion is overseas to support our global operations overseas. this is now a heated battle, a heated fight down in washington d.c. with senator rand paul not going after apple, he's going after the u.s. congress. he'lwe'll be staying on the developments as they occur. back to you. jenna: sounds good, thank you. jon: more on the aftermath of the killer tornado in oklahoma, now a massive search effort is underway. we are live at the city hall in moore, the community so devastated by this storm a news conference just minutes away. and we could hear from jodi arias very soon today for the last time before jurors decide whether she lives or dies. our legal panel weighs in on what she should say, next.

>> i would much rather die sooner than later. longevity runs in my family and i don't want to spend the rest of my natural life in one mays.

jon: so here is the big question, will she plead for mercy or say that she would actually prefer to get the death penalty? that is what everyone is wondering as would he await jodi arias' final words to the jury right now in an arizona courtroom.

she has just entered the courtroom we understand. she'll be speaking to jurors momentarily. lis wiehl is a fox news legal analyst. doug burns is a criminal defense attorney. we played the sound byte a moment ago, jodi arias in that courthouse interview right after her conviction saying i'd really rather have the death penalty, i'd prefer that to spending the rest of my life in a box. >> don't look for her saying that to the jury. we have to assume the jury didn't hear that interview. i have never heard a defendant who has just been sentenced to an aggravated murder case go out and give a report like that. i'm sure her lawyers were not recommending that. she will not say the same thing in front of this jury. do you agree? >> man has she boxed herself in. the whole trial what's sepbgs halle -- the only defense theory was i lied in the past, this time it's true. okay, fine, assume that is the case. then what she is saying about

wanting death, therefore, flows as that's true. so how in the world can she now go in there and deny that? the only point is if the jury hasn't seen the interview. jenna >> they are not supposed to have seen it, but come on. jon: could her team argue, listen she had just been through an inch kre incredibly stressful condition. her mind stand. >> they can absolutely argue that. >> they can? >> really, yeah. didn't you do that, doug? i think she is going to take the stand and crying the alligator tears saying, please for give me, all the child abuse i had, all the things that have occurred in my life, throw herself on the mercy of the jury. jon: you're giving alligators a bad name. >> sorry i like alligators. jon: we also know that her lawyers asked to be released from the case as of yesterday they were asking that. what is that all about? >> very simple. i think that they feel that she completely disregarded the advice that they would have

given, i'll put it in those terms about giving such a post conviction interview. no lawyer on this planet would want their client to do this. right if. >> i think it's that, but i think it's a very common defense ploy, sorry, doug. >> pile it on me. >> we want to withdraw, that is another issue for an appeal eventually down the road. jon: that's what i wondered. >> exactly. that's what i think. because they wouldn't resign just over that one thing, that one interview. >> they also asked for a mistrial, so liz is right, in other words create that issue as you guys are saying are, we wanted to be relieved, the judge wouldn't let us, didn't give us a mistrial. >> we couldn't really represent her at the sentencing stage because we wanted to withdraw and the judge wouldn't let us withdraw. jon: again, jodi arias expected to address the jury momentarily, we will likely take you to the courtroom if she begins. there is also a case straight out of a hollywood who done it that we've been watching a trial of a woman accused of willing a maxim magazine model in a bizarre murder-for-hire plot.

here is a picture of the victim. the sensational case expected to last three weeks, maybe four could be in the jury's hands as soon as tomorrow. doug you suggest that maybe this prosecution team learned something from the jodi arias trial. >> absolutely. when you look back through the simpson trial, you look at jodi arias, you look at casey anthony the first thing you say is well wait a minute, there may be an argument that you ought to just do it quickly, put your evidence in. after all, remember, the defendant was made $250,000, her family was paid a hundred thousand dollars. >> there is dna. >> from somebody in a business dispute with her father and this trace dna blood and fingerprints there, it's a straightforward case. >> it's a very good case for the prosecution, you get in there, make your case, you don't make it too complicated, you tell a quick story and it's over. jon: the defense doesn't have a whole lot to come back with if this thing is over in four days. >> that's right. it's not the case in that state where they have the right to question a defendant, and she didn't take the stand. so what else are you going to do

if you're the defense? jon: kelly soo park is the name of the accused. this is video of the victim taken for a music video in which she appeared. a beautiful woman, her father had been a business partner of a doctor who ended up sending an awful lot of money to -- >> yeah he sent 250,000 as i said earlier to the defendant. then apparently there was a transfer of $100,000 to a relative. >> so, motive. >> in murder-for-hire cases obviously that is always a huge piece of evidence, the money. and by the way a and i want to be careful here the physician apparently is out of the u.s. i don't want to suggest that he's fled but by the same token a lot of news reports are saying, hey he is out of the u.s. >> will i did murder-for-hire cases where the profit was a $5,000. $350,000 that is a good hit. jon: that is going to stick in the jury's mind. we'll keep an eye on that cas

jenna: explicit new developments in the fast and furious scandal. what a report calls an attempt to discredit a key whistle-blower. remarkable tails of survival in oklahoma, how a hero teacher saved her fourth grade students as the school building collapsed all around them. >> i cannot believe my eyes right now. listen to the roar, guys. huge debris in the air. on angie's list before i do any projects on my own. at angie's list, you'll find reviews written by people just like you. i love my contractor, and i am so thankful to angie's list for bringing us together. angie's list -- reviews you can trust.

developments in the fast and furious scandal today. the justice department's inspector general releasing a report finding that a former

u.s. attorney leaked an inter memo in an attempt to discredit this man, atf agent john dollywood son a top whistle-blower who blew the lid on the botched gun-running operation. you may recognize him because william la jeunesse has interviewed him several times and has been on top of the story since the beginning. william joins us from los angeles. >> reporter: jenna the fast and furious scandal was just unfolding and dollywood son's credibility was critical with the media and in whrarbg ton. in 2011 he appeared before congress claiming the u.s. government knowingly approved and executed a plan to help criminals smuggle thousands of guns to mexican drug cartels. a plan carried out by atf agents but directed by the top federal prosecutor in arizona, dennis berg. burg apparently upset that dodson exposed the operation south retaliation and he leaked internal memos to fox news and "the new york times" in an effort to undermine and damage

dodson's credibility according to a justice department inspector general's report. >> i don't think his conduct is becoming an officer of the court. i don't think it's accept ana acceptable for a united states attorney. i don't think it's professional for one in his profession. but it's not up to me who should be punished for to what extent. my job is to be a finder of the fact. it's someone else to levee punishment. >> after leaking memos to the to reporters, the report saysburg lied to congress and members in washington denying anything to do with it. they launched an investigation questioning 150 staff members. burg ultimately admitted his guilt and resigned. the office of the inspector general saidburg vie hra*euflted numerous federal and professional rules of conduct for an attorney. it has forwarded the report to the office of professional responsibility which can refer

it to washington and the arizona bar associations for disciplinary action. burg who formed a democrat lick lobbying group has refused to comment. jenna. jenna: thank you. jon: we are minutes away now from a news conference out of oklahoma on the latest recovery efforts in the town of moore. we will take you there live. the moment it gets under [ femalannouncer ] from more efficient payments. ♪ to more efficient pick-ups. ♪ wireless is limitless.

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[ female announcer ] from meeting customer needs... to meeting patient needs... ♪ to wireless is mitless.s... >> jon: waiting to hear more from the good people of moore, oklahoma.

that news conference expected to start momentarily. our thoughts and prayers are with you. >> they certainly are. thanks for being with us, everybody. >> jon: "america live" starts right now. >> megyn: fox news alert. we are moments away now from a news conference from authorities in moore, oklahoma. where residents are reigle after yesterday's deadly tornado. they are right now under yet another severe weather warning and that's where we begin this hour of "america live." welcome, everyone. i'm megyn kelly. we're expecting to get new information about recovery efforts underwray at the moment. and the situation on the ground in moore, which by all accounts, resembles a war zone. it sounds like a cliche but it is a fact. that briefing is scheduled to start any moment now. we will take it live when it does to get the very latest information, the number killed, the number hurt, the number they are still looking for. earlier reports today were that as many as 24 children were unaccounted for. we have not been able to confirm that and we are waiting until the authorities come to the microphones to update us on allf