a nap. >> they saw him around dinnertime and this morning not in the cage. >> and everyone looking for snowden. if you see him call the national zoo. >> america live starts right now. >> thanks for joining us. >> fox news alert on the explosive first day of the george zimmerman murder trial. welcome to america live, everyone. i am megyn kelly. february 26th, '28-year-old george zimmerman self- described white hispanic man shot trayvon martin in a gated community in florida. the shooting exploded on a national debate on whether mr. zimmerman was defending himself or manage more nefarious. there was a fiery opening statement from the prosecution. and here are the highlights. >> good morning. punks.

(bleep) they always get away. those were the words in the grown man's mouth as he followed in the dark a 17-year-old boywhom he didn't know and excuse my language but those were his words and not mine. (bleep)punks. (bleep) they always get away. those were the words in that man's chest when he got out of his car armed with a fully loaded semi-automatic pistol and two flashlights on follow on foot trayvon martin, punks, (bleep), they always get away. those were the words in the defendant's head moments before he pressed that pistol in

trayvon martin's chest and pulled the trigger and then as the smoke and the smell of that fatal gun shot rose into a rainy sunday sanford night, trayvon martin 21 days removed from his 16th year was faced down in wet grass, laboring through his final breathes on this earth. and that defendant at that same time, was upright walking around, preparing, preparing to tell law enforcement why it was he had just profiled, followed and murdered an unarmed teenager. he picked up the phone and he called the sanford police department because when he saw trayvon martin, he didn't see a young man walking home.

as he told the dispatcher sean, he saw someone who was real suspicious, somebody that looked like they were up to no good, again his words and you will hear that tape. it was recorded forever. and you will hear how he described trayvon martin and how he follows him. >> he tells sean that there is a bunch of recent burglaries in my neighborhood and you will hear the door chime in his car when he gets out with his gun and not one, but two flashlights to follow trayvon martin.

and then, almost under his breath, that defendant will reveal to you his feelings about trayvon martin. (no audio) came home. and right in the end of the phone call, this defendant makes the decision that brings all of us here today. sean asked the defendant, i have the officer on the way meet you in the mail boxes, because the defendant and he had discussed a kiosk of mail box that are in the neighborhood. at first the defendant said yes, and then he changes his mind. told the officer to just call me

and i will tell them where i am. because george zimmerman was not going back to the mail boxes, and he was not going back to his car. he was going after trayvon martin. less than four minutes after that defendant hung up, with sean, rachel, the girl in miami, heard trayvon martin say what are you following me for? and then trayvon martin's went dead. the first two officers to trayvon martin's body found it exactly like that defendant left. it face down, his hands clutching his chest. he was dressed in white tennis

shoes and long khak i pants and a dark hooded gray sweatshirt and had a plastic dark gray watch on his left wrist, the little ear buds that he was talking to rachel on the phone were right next to his head and his phone was right next to his body. >> those are the highlights of prosecutor's opening statement to the jury. six women, four of them white and one of them hispanic and the defense co-counsel, taking a decidedly different approach less dramatic and subdued and using attempted humor trying to lighten the mood of the jury which is always risky. >> this is a sad case, of course. as one of you fellow jurorors

commented in the selection process a young man lost his life and another is fighting for his. there are no winners here. how profound and insightful. sabrina and tracey martin are grieving parents and they have the right to grieve. they have the right to feel the way they feel. george zimmerman's parents also are grieving. you see trayvon martin's parents here in the couple. they are seated right over here and likely to be witnesses in the case, you don't see mr. zimmerman's parents here though. they would be seated over here, the way the couple has been constructed and there is a reason for. that the reason is that they are on the witness list.

i think the evidence will she that this is a sad case. that there are no monsters here. sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying. so let me at considerable risk let me say, i would like to tell you a little joke. i know that may sound weird in the context of this circumstances. you are the perfect audience for. it. as long as don't like it or think it is funny or inappropriate don't hold it against mr. zimmerman, but hold against me but not mr. zimmerman. i have your assurance you won't. here's how it goes. knock, knock, who's there? george zimmerman. george zimmerman, who?

all right, good. you are on the jury. nothing? that's funny. after what you folks have been through the last 2 or 3 weeks. let's get on to however the serious business of why we are here. in the neighborhood of 7 o'clock, in fact just a few minutes after 7 o'clock, george zimmerman leaves his house in his truck and goes out here to get to the exit. he sees a person that later becomes known as trayvon martin coming in to the community, not through the gate but cutting through the houses. standing in a place where people

that live there wouldn't typically come into the community. little did george zimmerman know at the time, that in less than ten minutes within him first seeing trayvon martin, that he, george zimmerman would be sucker punched in the face, have his head pounded on the concrete and wind up shooting and tragically killing trayvon martin. there is been a lot of publicity, some of you may have even heard it that george zimmerman was in his car and was told not to follow trayvon martin and he did anyway. that is absolutely untrue. absolutely untrue. and you will hear that on the call we are going to play. you will hear the conversation

and hear as mr. guy pointed out the chime. you can hear mr. zimmerman opening the door. and you can hear the door shut if i am not mistaken and you will know on our time line exactly when that happen in reference to everything else. you will know when george zimmerman got out of the car and you'll know what he was doing when the car ended. mr. zimmerman is not on at this point. this is a person who lives right here who calls 911 after hearing the commotion that starts right here. and best guess 20 or 30 seconds, after the commotion started,

that drew their attention and by the time they got the phone figured out and working and got connected with 911, 30 seconds roughly had passed and then that is the call that you will hear the rest of. you will hear the screams and the shot. george zimmerman is not guilty of murder. he shot trayvon martin in self defense after being viciously attacked. >> the defense will resume the opening statement shortly and just a head former homicide detective mark furman will join us live and why he knowledges that each side faces a unique challenge of making their case. actor jim carry carried opponents of gun control heartless after he was finishing

his violent movie and now he doesn't want you to think he is a hypocrite and wait until you how he is trying to convince you. and a horrifying crash in a air she. we'll have the latest. >> on the top of the world. oh, no. take theseags to room 12 please. [ garth ] bjors small busiss earns double miles on every purchase every day. produce delivery. [ bjorn ] just put it on my spark card. [ garth why settle for less? ahh, oh! [ garth ] great businesses deserve limited reward here's your wake up call. [ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one and earn unlimited rewards. choose double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase every day. what's in your wallet? [ crows ] now where's the snooze button? chantix... it's a non-nicotine pill. i didn't want nicotine to give up nicotine. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. [ mike ] when i was taking the chantix, it reduced the urge to smoke.

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>> during the tar disciplines stripes. >> actor jim carey refusing to promote the movie. he said the film is too violent. the film's star was starring in the too violent film and has been front and center on the anti- gun violence push. and tweeted out his latest explanation. i did in the name of the movie before sandy hook. and now in all good conscience i can't support the level of violence.

my apologies and i am not ashamed of it and recent events caed a change in my heart. he came out and charlie heston, saying you will get my gun when you rip it from my cold dead hand and took a lot of flack at the time. he starred in many violent movies and at the time he didn't think he was a hypocrite and he was making the movie and now time to promote it, that is a bridge to far? >> you got to hand it to the hollywooders. the makers of the film and colleagues in the movie will be disgusted with him joining everyone else who is watching his hyper hypocritical anti- gun meltdown happen on twitter.

we have monitored it on the twitter site. when he came out with the tweet yesterday afternoon. it was the puzzler the way he worded it. he said he is not ashamed of the movie but apparently he will not do publicity for. it but will he now return his salary or donate it to a charity? >> a lot of people are wondering that out loud on twitter. and then, of course, there is a fundmental point here, he is trying to cover his you know what, barring the name from the movie there, because as you say, it was back in march he came in march with he came back with the unhinged video paring charlton heston and he was going on nonstop twitter rant and denying he was a hypocrite and it was

not until a young conservative activist came out with a devastating compilation of all of the clips that he had been involved in and cashed in on and not been ashamed of, right. >> and he wants us to believe it was sandy hook that changed it for him. the question has to be as awful as sandy hook was and affected all of america, the 32 dead victims at virginia tech did not affect you at all. and how about gabby gifords who got shot in the columbien and none of the incident he puts on the blame of guns and bad people. and those did not affect him and did not stop him from making the movies. >> right. great point and really underscores how expedient the anti- gun pose and posture and

theater had been over the last several months. you know what, there is a part of me that wants to accept the change of heart and i welcome any holly weirdo acknowledging that there might be consequences and personal responsibility on the actors and producer who indulged in the movies that used excessive violence. they are the same people on the left who blame sara h palin for every last violence in the country and deny all of the filth and blood bath might have possibility something to do with the level of violence in our culture. >> this is where he draws the line. and already, michelle, the back lash started.

i am baffled by the a noupsment nothing was in the screen play. and the body count is high. but this movie is what it said and i will not repeat it. and we all know what it is. will there be back lash to jim kerry or will it help publicize the film? >> i think it is going to unify left and right and what a complete phony jim carey is and reopen a discussion that is rather muted in the wake of many of the tragic acts of violence and of course, every weekend is a blood bath in chicago. and we hear about what possible consequences might be of hollywood, we should have that conversation. >> great to see you, michelle. >> so much for resetting global

relationships. the major embarrassment in president obama and china and russia over the nsa leaker eric snowden. we'll have reaction. did you hear the white house today? let's play: [ all ] who's new in the fridge! i help support bones... [ ding! ] ...the immune system... [ ding! ] ...heart health... [ ding! ] ...and muscles. [ ding! ] that can only be ensure complete! [ female announcer ] the four-in-one nutrition of ensure complete. a simple choice to help u eat right. [ major nutrition ] nutrition in charge. [ male announcer ] introducing red lobster's

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>> living on top of the world. oh, no. horrifying scene in an air she. a stunt plane carrying a wing walker goes down and killing the pilot and the wing walker in front of stunned spectators. trace? >> another call to wing waller jane wicker was kind of sitting on the underside and when the

plane flips over she is sitting up. listen to the announcer and watch the shot. jane wicker and then we'll get it before the crash. >> you have to fight the wind and get yourself back up right. you think that jane is going to disappear and still on that far side. keep an eye on jane, wicker. sets on top of the world. oh, no. >> jane on top of the world. we'll she you it appears that the plane is flying too low and not going fast enough and it fell on the ground. 64-year-old pilot did not have enough altitude to correct. he did an amazing job of

avoiding the crowd and may have saved a number of lives. here is a man who saw it all, megyn, listen. >> it is surreal. you can't believe it happen in front of you and it is in a state of shock and you don't know what to think and i just started praying. and the ntsb will focus on the weather and environment. and they will see if there is mechanical issues. jane wicker said the 23 years and as a wing walker she never had a close call minutes before it happen. she simply was not nervous at all pause she trusted the pilot. >> they do this normally when the plane is higher. >> the plane is higher and so if something goes wrong you will have corrective room. you have altitude to play with.

it was going too slow and low. it was close to the ground and he is have been higher so he could have pulled out of that with room to spare. terrible. >> and explosive moments in the start of the george zimmerman murder trial and why both sides are facing challenges. did you catch the judge's ruling over the weekend? it may make or break the prosecution. >> and president visiting three small countries. up next, what are we getting in return? >> we question the need of expensive trips when many are forced to cut back. the trip of this magnitude is not unusual but these are hard time. i urge the president and everyone in the federal level to

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>> president obama under new fire over the upcoming trip to africa estimated to cost 60 to $100 million. now the democrats are lambasting the decision. >> president obama's upcoming trip will cost taxpayers 100 speaker dollars.

madame speaker no one questions the security for the commander in chief. but we question the chief. a trip of this magnitude is not unusual. 100 million could be better spent to keep people on the job. i urge the president and leaders to lead by example and not rub it in the faces of hard- working americans. >> wow. in this district there is furloughs and he's not happy. joining me is john and julie. panel, welcome. when you hear the left talk about this, brad with the exception of mr. barrel, first thing they point is george bush and bill clinton will be in afri kachlt >> it is wrong. we live in different times when

mr. clinton and bush went there. and this is not close to the visits clinton or bush made. and economic times were different. the test is, is it a need or want? it is not a need when americans are suffering, tens of millions of americans are out of work and white house tours are closed because the president can't find enough financing to keep people on their vacations. it is not something that the president needs to do and it is wrong to do it. i agree with democrats and congressman that there is better ways to spend money. >> regular families can't take their children on a tour to the white house because the president said we can't afford. it he is lead by example as opposed to when other folks are forced to cut back on this very

expensive trip. >> on the face i would agree. i did research on what this trip is. he's taking is upon you businesspeople with him for investment opportunities in afri kachlt one of the stops is tanza nia. it is important to this country as an investment and the chinese, for example. made 40 trips to africa. and tanzania. >> and the reason i am saying this, the chinese are out investing us in africa. we should be investing in it and it is good for the president to generate a stimulus attempt and it is the right thing to do. >> this sounds like when i want to go on an expensive vacation in high school and i didn't realize we at any time have money. my friends are going to st. barts. and my parents are you know how

much their parents make? they are a doctor and lawyer. they had more money than we do. >> they are looking at it as an investment. this is a continental that we should invest in. we haven't done that well. and we should look at that. he's taking a businessmen. >> it is great that 500 business leaders are willing to go. but there is a better way for the president to spend time here showing compassion for the american people before he looks at business opportunities that may or may not appear. send the secretary of commence but not the foot print of the president to the tune of 100 million when you can't figure out how to keep the white house tours open. >> this is one of the most expensive trips of his entire te neur. this is not like parfor the

coursine for presidential. 56 support and three limousines and bulletproof glass and navy ship with a medical trauma center. the president had to cancel the safari because the washington post called up and said how much is that? and the washington post you cancelled that how much it was going to cost? we don't have limitless and we prioritize to robben island. and the washington post reports internal documents she that the obama family was scheduled to go to both safari and robin island. and they were going to do both and now only one. the question is, is it a boon doingle, julie. >> if they had gone on safari i would critize it. it is not a family vacation. if they limit it to invest opportunity which hopefully what

they are doing. that is symbolic and where nelson mandela was held. he's not in great shape and that i understand must see visit by the united states president, but the rest of this should be an investment trip. you know this, brad. president of the united states showing up with business leaders has more that are secretary of commence. and hopefully they will look at us as opposed to chin a. you talk about oil and gas and access to those, i rather it happen for us than have it go to chin a. >> how about it, brad? the president came out with the national security advisor, that the u.s. would be ceding its leadership if the president did not invest in africa? >> what it said to me. they put together a vacation in

the guise of a trade and investment mission. what family goes on a business trip with 500 business leaders and the majority of the schedule is on vacationing and going to islands and going on safari? and then they had to double back. we were caught and we will not spend the money this way. they would have been caught after the fact when the american people looked at the pictures of the obama's on safari. and we'll see it all take place this week. brad and julie, thank you both. >> coming up, the cookie may be crumbling for the cookie chest. new trouble for paula deen over the remarks made years ago. nand the prosecution and defense in the george zimmerman. there is warnings for both sides. >> not a contact with the skin. so then you would say, i would

think.

>> fox news alert and back to the breaking news of george zimmerman murder trial. day one of opening statements get started with explosive antics in the court room and allegations of what motivated the men on the night in question. including, is this the sound bite where zimmerman allegedly

lied. i will get to that in a minute. this is the both men speaking on the night in question on the bigger picture. >> the truth of the murder of trayvon martin will come from his mouth. from that's hate- filled words that he used to describe a perfect stranger and from the lies that he told to the police to try to justify his actions. >> i will use my words. trayvon martin decided to confront george zimmerman. that instead of going home, he had plenty of time. this is 60 or 70 yards. he could have gone back and forth 4 or 5 types. choosing not to do that, he either left and went back or just hid in the darkness to see

about this guy who he thought was following him. >> mark furman is a former homicide detective and fox news contributor, the attempt to convince the jury. he could have made it home and chose to linger to have a confrontation with mr. zimmerman. the prosecution suggesting that nothing of the sort took place. your thoughts, mark? >> megyn, i think the prosecution and defense both get a little piece of the pie. i think that trayvon martin, definitely could have left the scene, he was younger and smaller and quicker and he had a head start and he could have left the scene, but the evidence suggested he paused or waited or turned to meet george zimmerman who was following him or lost track of him and that's when the altercation took place. i think either side is barking up the wrong tree as far as the

altercation location or who exactly initiated it, the fact is, no crime was committed by pausing, talking or confronting. >> the whole question is what is in george zimmerman's head. was he out to get the kid whom he was profiling as the prosecutions wanted us to believe or he was trying to protect the neighborhood and things went a wry. we told the viewers we played a long piece in which the defense lawyer took you know, it was a risky move and he described it as something considerable rick. let me try something, he attempted a knock, knock joke in the murder trial. knock, knock, who is there? george zimmerman. george zimmerman soon. and the jury didn't laugh and then he schooleded the jury.

and this is what we heard after the recess. >> no more bad jokes, i promise. that i am convinced it was the delivery. i thought it was funny. i am 0 i offended xn. >> what is he doing, mark? >> well, a murder trial is no place for a joke. if the joke comes in an inadvertant and unintentional way from the defense or prosecution, in the course of the trial it is one thing. this was a rehearsed joke, i didn't like it and i cringed when i heard it start and delivered and the jury's response was obvious. >> you never want the jury to feel. you are trying to bond with them organically and not a rehearsed and ineffective in this lawyer's opinion. that is my way. and the prosecution outlined the

lies what they say are from george zimmerman. the defendant claims that trayvon martin said to him you are going to die tonight. ladies and gentlemen, you are going to hear from people who were out there, no one, no body heard that. for example, he said that after he shot trayvon martin, he got on top of trayvon martin on his back and he took his weres and he spread them out. that didn't happen. you are going to see the pictures of trayvon martin, by a civilian who went out there and snapped off a photoon his phone. trayvon martin's hands are underneath his chest.

>> this is all information that the prosecution worked with the police officers to amass in the many statements that george zimmerman gave, mark, to attack his credibility piece by piece. >> megyn, i am not being a supporter of the defense or prosecution on this, b when you look at this, what george zimmerman did, and what the actual time of death and the movements of trayvon martin on his own power, when that ceased to exist, an exchange of conversation between two fighting dults on the ground in close proximityimitty to each other could not be stated or occurred. and we have one witness who it said did and because an onlooker didn't hear or see it didn't mean it didn't occur. i think the prosecution really

has straws they are groping for. and they are hoping that the jury expects that every bit of a conversation is overheard by someone standing feet or yards or greater distance away. >> yeah, on the subject of whether there will be expert testimony on the shouts of the 911 call, the judge ruled help. the judge ruled, no expert testimony on that. you just can't make it out. they can argue on the jury, put fact witnesses, but no experts. and your decision, how critical was that to either side? >> well, i think it was huge for the defense. the prosecution is going to try to use that to traim, the victim in this was the one calling out for help. and certainly that can't be determined either way. so it is either both experts testify or neither testify. obviously the judge ruled in favor of something that would be

considered the right, the right ruling. >> yeah. helpful to the defense. we'll see. >> mark, thank you. coming up, new fall-out for paula deen. wow and we do mean fall-out.

her future on tv could be cooked. but paula deen's fans rushing to her defense. after the food network canned her show over revelations of racist comments that she admits to making in the past. >> paula deen built in empire, tens of millions of dollars worth. not just the three shows on food network but books and restaurant and product on qvc and wal-mart. now they are waiting and

watching this whole thing very closely to find out what next shoe will drop. remember, paula deen was being sued by a former employee of hers, racial and sexual discrimination. it was during the deposition where she said that 30 plus years ago that she did use the n word but would no longer tolerate that any more. that was the deposition she gave. that is where the fury came. paula deen later issued this apology. listen. >> i am here to say i am so sorry. i was wrong. yes, i worked hard and i've made mistakes. but that is no excuse. >> yeah, one hour after that apology hit the internet the food network came out and issued a statement saying they were not renewing her contract. the network got inundated for thousands of e-mails. some calling for a boycott of

the network. some saying racism could not go unpunished. other areas, support seems to be high. >> she made a mistake. the network fired her over that. we pay the price for things we do. >> we all say something we say we are sorry for in our lifetime. i don't think she should lose her show for that. >> while all of this is going on, report of more racial accusations against paula deen. we haven't confirmed them but there is clearly more trouble ahead for her. >> all right, thank you. the supreme court issues its ruling today on the future of affirmative action. the woman at the heart of the case is about to make a statement. we will have that for you in a moment. plus, police say it was an accident that took the life of a well known reporter. now we will tell you why some are questioning that. ♪

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is your cholesterol at goal? ask your doctor about crestor. [ female announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. fox news alert. for months now, we have been waiting for the supreme court to issue a ruling whether colleges may still use affirmative action in admissions. today we got a ruling, but it was not what we expected. the woman who brought that case is about to speak publicly for the first time in some time. that's where we begin this new hour of "america live." good afternoon, everyone. i'm megyn kelly. the court says the court of appeals used the wrong standards. plaintiff abigail fisher will

speak out any moment. she was rejected from ut austin because she is white. not because of her grades. that was her contention. and she maintains that that is a form of discrimination. the college says it is affirmative action then went to battle over whether that is legal. a question we still do not know the answer to today. shannon live outside of the supreme court with more. shannon? >> reporter: this is argued back in october. we have been waiting months to find out what the justices would say about the use of affirmative action in college admissions. what we found out, is they are kicking this back down to lower courts knowing this very case could end up right back here on the u.s. supreme court steps within a matter of time. essentially this is what the justices had to say about the case. the lower court did not apply the highest standard of reviews. strict scrutiny. meaning that any school using admissions policy using race must show there is a compelling government interest and if there is no other neutral way to do

that. justice cann justice kennedy said this, strict scrutikrucrutiny imposes university the ultimate burd yn of demonstrating before turning to racial classifications available workable race neutral alternatives don sue suffice. for now, the current rules stay in place. >> affirmative action is still the law of the land. that's what is important for people to understand. the university is using affirmative action, continue to use it. there is no reason for people to panic, to run. >> this while the justices are getting to hear another case that touches on a lot of the same issues. comes out of michigan where you know the two most recent actions dealing with public universities came from michigan. after that, voters there passed a referendum and amended their constitution so that public university in the state of michigan are not allowed to use

race, sex or ethnicity. >> let me ask you a question, that woman who you played in the soundbite is saying that all people need to know is that affirmative action stands for now. >> that's not all they need to know at all. what the high court just said is we need to reevaluate the case and old the affirmative action to the most difficult standard there is in law. which is the most affirmative action law to pass, correct? >> that's true. supporters of affirmative action like barbara that you heard from there, saying they feel good because now the policies remain untouched until the whole case is revetted. it is highly unlikely that based on the court's decision they won't find the university of texas at austin's admin policies are okay under that heightened

scrutiny. that case probably end up right back here. schools are sort of in a holding pattern. they get to keep the policy for now but i would say there is strong language that makes it sound like ultimately the policies will have a tough time surviving. >> no one defending a policy, law, what have you, nobody wants to be told that strict scrutiny will apply. most courts say, you didn't make it. >> not going to make it. >> that is about what is about to happen. affirmative action under the strict scrutiny example. that will happen in lower circuit. thank so you much. >> abigail fisher within you saw pictures of her moment ago. she is about to speak. she sued the university of texas at aust yn saying you rejected any college application based on my race. based on the color of my skin and not based on my grids. and she said, that is not lawful. we will hear what she has to say

about the decision in moments. we are also tracking capitol hill. i want to get the language right. this is the most significant vote on immigration reform in the senate in years. the most significant one. about to happen. the senate is now considering a series of important immigration votes, including an amendment thatity supporters say would dramatically increase he is security, mothers say it wouldn't do much. backers are hoping amendment will build support for the 1200 page bill which some senators now admit they haven't read. our fox news editor on the host of power play, oh, what a shock, you mean they are voting on something really important they haven't read? color me so surprised. >> you make it sound like a bag thing. >> that has never happened in the history of the nation. except in march of 2010. >> yeah. and the other time. and the other thing. and whatever -- now remember how it used to happen though.

this was the norm for decades here in washington. was this these bills were put together, giant bills. and they've gotten more giant over time. usually their staffs working with lobbyist. i know that's a dirty word in washington now but working with lobbyists to put together these big bills and senator clag horn would trade something to senator blowhard and they get back and forth and they do the deal then roll it out. and people at home wouldn't hear much about it leading up to it. then you live with the consequences thereafter. >> right. >> but things are different now. >> people are following. people are following. there is a great amount of interest in whether we are really passing immigration reform. and there is a ton of interest. according to the polls, in a, providing some, some path for the 11 million illegal immigrants in the country now. but also securing the border. those who support the bill feel they've gotten there. particularly conservatives, tea

party activists say, you know we're close. tell us, without getting too bogged down into the weeds, there is a vote at 5:po tonight. is this the most significant vote on immigration reform in years? and why? it is not the real vote. >> there hasn't been too many immigration votes in recent years. so yeah, this is the most significant. this is the test. this is the threshold vote that basically this would be the purist form for conservatives. this is sort of as good as it gets. this is the amendment that has the border surge where you double the boarder guard. add more fence. do these things right away. this is an amendment that was crafted by two moderate republicans senators. tennessee and north dakota. they are looking for a way to get over the 60-vote threshold. what we are looking sat opponents, the gang of 8 can get a high, high number. get up to 70. then they have give-backs and

push-in when you get to the final vote -- or not the final vote, but the vote to go to the foi final vote. sorry, it is the weeds. >> you're there. we need to look at how many yay votes there are. beexpect there to be enough yay votes which would be 60. but to they get more? do they get 70? because they are trying to send a message to people in the house. this is how many people are behind this. you can't go against us in the u.s. senate. the will of the people is behind us. and yes, and yet there are all these people in the house i saying, i don't have to do anything. i might not like your bill. we will see how it feels when it gets over here. >> that's where the cruz is. rand paul's, mike lee's, the more lib tar grab side of the republican party in the senate. they may lose this ride and a concerned about what happens. but they are pretty content that whatever the house produces, is

going to be pretty daggone strict with border security. there is concern about what happens when the two bills are hammered together. but right now, the energy and attention is about to very much shift to the house of representatives and the conservatives there in. and what they get and demand out of john baner, the speaker of the house. >> before i let you go, who has the most to lose or gain in the fight? >> this has been the marco rubio show pretty much all along. if he can find a way to not only get through this but get something the republican house can pass and that barack obama will fine, it will be a major, like a huge victory for him. but if at any point along wait, he gets a flat tire, things will dim for the senator. >> and already he is getting so much push back from conservatives it is a question about whether, if he has aspirations, the conservative base of the republican prty would have a continuing interest

in him. we will see about that. >> quite so. >> chris, thank you. >> you bet. >> we are investigating a new twist in the death of a journalist named michael hastings. up next, why some are how questioning whether the 33-year-old man's car crash was really an accident after his final e-mail about a government investigation of him surfaces. and weeks after mr. obama met with both the president of china and president of russia, both countries treat the united states to what is being described as a slap in the face. just ahead, the white house trying to hit back. you see the press with karny today? they are not happy with china. we will talk about how the president found himself in this position. and career daredevil. complete the death-defying tight rope walk 1500 people in the air. wait until you hear what he wants to do next.

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an italian court sentencing former prime minister to seven years in prison. after convicting him of paying for sex with a minor. a teenage dancer, known as ruby the heart stealer. then using his influence, they said, to try to cover the whole thing up. beth deny ever having an interlude he will not go to jail for years. it could be years before a final verdict is rendered. >> there. an article that led to resigning of stanley crystal, the author was killed in a car crash earlier this week. moments before the crash

hastings sent a panicked e-mail to colleagues. well, you decide whether it is panicked. saying the fbi is investigating him. saying quote, the feds are intervowing my close friends and associates. perhaps it the authorities arrive at headquarters, may be wise to immediately request legal counsel before any conversation or interviews about our news gathering practices or related journalism issues. also, i'm on to a big story. and need to go off the radar for a bit. end quote. a reporter for the "daily beast" and friend of hastings, joins us on the phone. thank you for being here app after michael died, at age 33, in a car crash, saying driving reckle recklessly, conspiracy theorists say this is the government. this is someone out to get him. this is someone who is the target of a story. because it didn't sound like michael.

and they thought it was a little too convenient. that is before this e-mail surfaced where he said he was on to a big story. needed to go off the radar for a bit. and was warning his friends that the fbi, he believed, was investigating him. as his friends, what do you make of it? >> i really don't know what to make of it. i never spoke to michael about these things. i'm taking it all with a grain of salt so far. and i'm not really inclined to comment one way or the other about it. i just don't know. we hadn't spoken for about a week and a half before michael's passing. he never mentioned to me that the fbi might have been investigating him or not. i don't know what would have prompted him to think that. yeah, i really have no idea. >> did you know him to be a reckless guy at all? they say he was going so fast that engine of his car was found more than a hundred feet away from the crash. and apparently there was a

random photographer who was on the scene soon after. and that photographer caught footage that shows michael allegedly speeding through a red light, even though no one was pursuing him. does that sound consistent with the man you knew? >> i mean, i don't think that he was a reckless person. he certainly took care and he was a reporter and he knew how to take care of himself. that doesn't mean he might not have been driving excessively fast. i don't think that is something that would be such a wild situation for him to be in. >> right. that's interesting. passing a red light late at night is not extraordinarily unusual behavior. >> this was 4:30 a.m. on tuesday involving his mercedes slamming into a tree then burst into flames. this is the aftermath we are seeing now. in this e-mail he sent to friend, he claims the fbi, feds

a are interviewing his friends and family. is there a report in the l.a. times suggesting, at the time he died, was researching a story about a privacy lawsuit brought by jill kelly against the department of defense and fbi. she was involved in the whole general alan and we was she e-mailing with inappropriately with general alan and petraeus having an affair with his book publisher at the time. >> this may have been something he was tipped off in the intervene week and a half. >> without canning you to

disclose any subject matter, was there any group excessive conster nation? >> no. i don't think so. >> okay. so normal investigating journalist type stories. where no one generally loves to be investigate bid a journalist, but nothing that raised an abrow for you in the wake of hearing he died unexpectedly. >> no. no. quite the opposite. it doesn't raise any eyebrows at all. it was michael in the normal course of the work that he does, which is sort of deep reporting on people and events and i don't think that anything would have, you know, i think that when in due time when we find out from publicatio publications, what the stories are about, it is going to put to rest some of the conspiracy theories that are -- well, put to rest insofar as conspiracy theories can be put to rest because they good on forever. >> just because they are born on the internet and get

perpetuated, doesn't mean there is none there. wikileaks also came out and said that hastings had contacted wikileaks lawyers hours before he died saying that the fbi was investigating him. so we've add few different, you know, groups pile on and say, michael was worried and -- >> as i said, i don't know what to make of this. >> i got it. thank you for that, for your perspective on that. thanks for being here. >> it is my pleasure. if i could add quickly, that i know michael was involved with charities that if people want it give in his memory. there is the andy foundation. his late fiance passed way in 2007 and that wis what his firs book was about. i know his friend barbara ran the health corps, a group putting nonhealth work rs in touch with health workers, mostly in developing world to

find solutions to some of the world's health problems. if people want to give in michael's name, those are good places to start. >> thank you. appreciate it. coming up, beautiful 2-year-old toddler ripped from the only family she has ever known. bu because her biological father is claiming special rights as a native american and so far he is winning. kelly's court on the custody case that made it to the supreme court and could be decided as early as tomorrow. plus, a gorge in arizona without a net, this death-defying walk may be nothing compared to what he want to do next.

take your time, man. >> i am. famed tight rope walker nick wallenda. rick lef enthat will live with the details. rick? >> reporter: amazing. he says it took every bit of himself to stay focused. it was incredibly stressful but a dream come true. he said the view was breathtaking and millions could see it live with him. 217 countries around the world thanks to cameras that nick wallenda wore on his body.

it took 27 minutes to go from one side to the other, over a gorge on the navajo nation. he used the same wire last year to go across niagara falls. but this time there was no harness, no net, nothing to catch him if he teetered off the perch. he had to crouch a few times as the wind kicked up, sending dirt into his eyes. >> take your time. >> i am. >> as you see in a moment, his family and friends were gathered on the other side there, including well known preacher and author joel ostein. he paid tribute to his great grandfather, who was 73 when he lost his life in a plunge on a wire between two towers in san

juan, puerto rico, in 1978 will. he says his next act may be 4,000 feet, spanning nine city blocks between the empire state building and chrysler building. but i'm not sure how mayor bloomberg would feel about that. >> or those of us who live in new york. we have enough to worry about. weird stuff out of the subways, we don't need it coming out of the sky. >> logistics are mind boggling. >> i object. i would make a citizen's objection. >> pretty impressive. >> overruled, is that what you are telling me? >> it's not up to me. >> you've got people. >> so do you. we all know that. >> call thm after the show. please don't let that hp. happen. all right, coming up. we asked china and russia not to release him and apparently they didn't care what we wanted. we are talking about nsa leaker, edward snoweden. what does that say about the world power right now? righters calling it a major

embarrass many of the president and snub for him when each of the leaders held talks with mr. obama. plus a toddler ripped from the only family she's ever known because her biological father claims special rights as a native american. special kelly's court on the powerful and disturbing family fight that is about to be decided by the u.s. supreme court. perhaps by tomorrow. >> we were told she was not an indian child. so we didn't think it would make a difference. this is in her best interest. >> we are her family. this is her home. ♪ ♪ chances are, you're not made of money, so don't overpay for boat insurance. geico, see how much you could save.

question about the chinese government, we are just not buying this is a technical decision by a hong kong immigration official. this is a deliberate choice by the government to release a fugitive despite a valid arrest warrant and that decision unquestionably has a negative impact on u.s./china relationship. >> what are the repercussions in the u.s.-chinese relations -- >> i'm not going to speculate but the chinese have talked about mutual trust, as you know, we think they have dealt that effort a serious setback. if we cannot count on them to honor their legal extradition, then that a is point we are making them to directly. >> jay carney with straight talk earlier today. lashing out at the chinese government for refusing to return edward sfonowden to the

u.s. before letting him flee hong kong and head to moscow. now russia also appears to be ignoring the administration's request to send snowden back. we say we believe he is russia now and yet they are not turning him over. this just weeks after president obama met with the leaders of both nations. and moments ago we heard from president obama on this. i will get to that in a minute. john bolton, former u.s. ambassad ambassador. and fox knew strategic analyst. i was never a u.s. ambassador were ambassador boldon, but my diplomatic antenna tell me this is the equivalent of the double middle digit. >> yeah. that's about right. we are still in the middle of it so we don't know exactly what administration has done. can you convey this in several

ways. did president obama called president of china or president putin of russia, and say, this is important to us and did senator kerry call his counter parts. do they think we are just going through the motions or was it clear? and finally, what penalties are we ready to impose? we might impose moscow if we impose penalties on beijing to show we are serious. >> here is what president obama was specifically asked whether he spoke with mr. putin. jay carney refused to say whether there had been direct communications between the two. the president was asked that. he didn't exactly answer it. this is the way he answered it moments ago. >> you know, what we know is that we are following all of the appropriate yit legal channels and working with various other countries to make sure that rule of law is observed. and beyond that, i will refer to the justice department that has been actively involved in the case. all right?

>> thank you. >> thank you. >> ralph, i want to pick up with this righter's report. they say this paint the picture after world less willing than ever to bend to u.s. prescriptions of right an wrong. your thoughts? >> i think whether it is president xi of china or president putin or for that matter, dictators in ecuador, venezuela, cuba, they respect obama and certainly don't fear him. he huffs and puffs but never blows the house down. with snowden on the ground in moscow, we should be pulling out all of the stops to get him out of there before he goes to ecuador or anywhere else. putin is the bully and obama is the skinny little kid with glasses and putin is just beating the day lights out of him and obama wants to be

friends still. it is amazing to me. foreign policy has been a comprehensive disaster. >> we just met with leaders and president obama just met with the leaders of these countries and chinese president was just here. we just had this discussion. and we were going to have a fresh start. apparently we did call and say, could you not let snowden loaea. they reportedly gave us the razzataz, that your request doesn't have enough information to detain him. . oh, woops there he goes. he is gone to moscow. what does that tell you? >> well, one of the problems that obama has is he thinks everything is a subject of litigation. how do you handle international terrorism? unleash the fbi. prosecute them in court. how do you handle this snowden thing? file papers.

this is nothing to do with technicality. this is raw power and politics. it is unclear at this pint that administration has understood that. that's why i think you have to come back to the question of consequences. what i would do right now, would be to pull our ambassador back from beijing and put a freeze on daily diplomatic activity, number one. number two, i would hit china where it would hurt them to make it clear how unhappy they were. i would lift all travel restrictions on officials of the government of the republic of china on taiwan. the separate government that fled there when the communists took power in 1949. i think we should do that anyway and i think it would send beijing up the wall. p. that's the signal they need to see, or something like it. and if russia sees we are prepared to do that with respect to china, maybe they will yet come to their senses. >> that was, with all due

respect, unquestion al talk -- >> they have tried with language, and that failed. now they need to take action. >> we still believe he in russia. all these reporters boarded a plane from russia to cuba because he booked a plane ticket under the name of edward snowden. that may have been a tell that it wasn't likely to be him given circumstances he is in. but the reporters jump on a plane, ralph and then took photos of the empty seat to show how they had been duped. now they believe he is still in russia. the question is, what sort of, you know, toe to toe, nose to nose face off is our president now in with mr. putin over this nsa leaker guy? >> three points. first of all, i do hope those journalist took their swim suites with them. second, we do have -- there is a real long shot that we could trade convicted renegade russian

arms trader victor boots that we could trade him for snowden. after a descent kind of thing. but that is frankly the only card we have with russia. obama has always given away the farm. he wants to give more nukes unilaterally. he hasn't set boo about the putin regime, killing journalist. we have very little leverage with russia. again as the ambassador said, this administration is an administration of words, castles and palaces. it does not understand hard power. >> if they let him go and he winds up in ecuador. general consensus seems to be, it's over. that's where they are hiding out at some embassy. and the question is, would ecuador, even though there is extradition treaty, it is 80 years old or something like that. it seems to be russia is the stop point and it is not resolved.

gentlemen, thank you. >> thank you. >> coming up, a beautiful little girl at the center of controversial custody battle. ripped from the only family she has ever known. her adoptive parent raised her until 27. months. she never met her biological father. but then he claimed special rights as native american and courts agreed with him. even though they didn't think it was in her best interest to go live with him. a law that gives gave tfavoritim if you are a a native american parent. this is the adoptive parents' last chance to get tbaby back. kelly's court picks it up next.

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now to a heart wrenching custody battle playing out before the u.s. supreme court. a baby girl ripped from the only family she had ever known. little veronica, now three years old, given up for adoption by her mother. but her biological father who had no contact with her or interest in her from the first few months of life, who is now challenging that order based solely on his native american heritage and so far he is winning. trace gallagher is live with the story. >> reporter: important to know both biological parent gave up rights to veronica. at four months old, that's when the father changed his mind. he was not married to the mother. he stood almost no shot at all

of getting this child back but then claimed he was a member of the cherokee nation and under the indian welfare child act he has the right to reclaim his daughter and so far courts have agreed. indian child welfare act was passed in 1978 as a way to prevent native american children from being gathered up, as they were, and sent off to boarding schools, missions an away from their tribes. the almost adoptive parents of veronica are matt and melanie bianco. their adoption never went through because of this appeal. they had veronica for 27 months. they contend veronica is a multiethnic child and a small amount of indian blood should not determine her future. listen. >> we understand the purpose of the indian child welfare act. >> we feel that the law is being abused. we don't feel that this is what it was meant for. >> so a big part of this argument now is how much cherokee blood makes you cherokee as chief justice john

roberts said, does one drop of cherokee blood mean you have protections under the law. and does it also mean you qualify for benefits? so not only is the supreme court deciding this case, megyn, they may also be deciding who's native american and who's not. >> all right, trace, thank you. kelly's court is back in session. joining me now, david wool and ashley merchant. ashley, let me start with you on this. i understand you don't have a personal connection to the case but you have a personal history that may be relevant here. your thoughts on the fact that so far this native american father has been winning at every turn. >> well, it is very unfortunate to me. i was adopted at birth and my biological father fought my parents for custody when i was two years old. i know my parent went through a lengthy court battle to try and maintain custody of me. luckily they were ultimately successful. but i think it is unfortunate in this situation that this

biological father gave up his rights to this bibby when she was born, through what i understand, through pleadings of text message. essentially had no part in her life. then bam, all of a sudden changed his mind. i don't think that should be what determined -- who is the parent in this case. i think that parents who adopted this child should be allowed to have the adoption go through and that this child should be able to stay with her parent. >> david, this little girl only knew her adoptive parents for the first 27 months of her life. only knew them. and then, a court ruling came down and the biological father'. and he took her. and they never saw or spoke to her again. what does that tell you about this man's concerns about the best interest of this child? >> megyn, and what trace said is exactly right. 1978, the law was enacted because indian children were taken out of indian homes in the interest of the child and put in

white homes. for that specific reason, that phrase, best interest of the child, is left out of the law. so the actual standard is, would it be emotionally detrimental to leave the child with the father. now the father did reling wish permanent right but four months later instigated this legal battle. meg megyn, this law does not give at all. it is absolutely concrete. one drop of blood makes you an indian. >> because that's about what he's got. he is 3/256 cherokee. that means he basically had three cherokee ancestors at the time of george washington's father. >> and he didn't take care of the child. didn't provide for the child. and that is -- that is important and that is -- that is important >> -- this law was put in place to prevent children from being removed from unanimous families north put them back in a family that abandoned them. this was specifically an action

to prevent them from being moved. in this case the dad abandoned the child. a family as raising the child and the family was loving and supportive. >> megyn: no question. but the question is, now they're alleging that if this -- if the u.s. supreme court -- going to come down tomorrow or the day of -- if the supreme court sides with the native american biological father, the end result will be, you can never adopt a child who has even the most -- one drop of native american blood in that child because the native american parent will always be able to come back and snatch the child from you. what parents would agree to that? they'd be david of investing their -- terrified of investing their love for this little person. >> as opposed to most paternity

laws now, where -- the love for the child thor bonding. megyn, race is everything in this law. that is what it boils down to. the question, is it detrimental to leave the child with the father? a reverse argument. >> how can be a modern day law -- >> race, 100 -- 3/256th 3/256th cherokee that's all that matters. >> you're essentially elevating -- -- make someone of indian heritage have more rights than parents parents and it's ao circumventing the bent of -- best interests of the child. >> us a point out this child has to be under that law in the custody of the native american parent, and she was not. >> as --

>> i'm very concerned what this is going to do to adoption in this country. it's going to make these children -- going to make so it hard for parents to adopt them because they'll be day. with foo. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption.

>> we were there for the delivery, in the delivery room, and matt cut the umbilical cord and we were reeling from having to hand her over in our minds constantly. >> megyn: in defense of the father, david, took him a while, apparently didn't have any interest in the child when she was in utero, or the first four months of life, but the ron the handover took place after 27

months was because he went from month four, to 27, trying to get her back and the adoptive parents did not cooperate. >> one of the ropes it's so difficult for the supreme court, that's no leeway in the statute. we all agree this child is bonded to her adoptive parents no question. but she has no voice to say, i want to be with them. it's in my best interests to stay with this family because best interests isn't part of the law. >> let me ask you this. now she was bonded to her original adoptive parent. now she'll turn four in september, and the question is, is she still bonded to them? and now she has been almost two years with the biological father, ashley. >> right. and it's hard. that's why these laws should always consider the best interests of the child. essentially what this biological dad has done is used federal law to try to twist and turn and

gain custody of a daughter he didn't have any rights or interest in at the beginning, and now she probably doesn't know which parents are which. she has been taken back and forth. my heart breaks for her. >> megyn: neither parent paved the way for her by allowing visitation with the challenge -- >> that's it. >> megyn: i understand the reluctance to do that. >> there's one solution. an open adoption. whichever party has custody has got to allow the open visitation schedule with the other -- >> megyn: have to get a court psychologist involved. see what the u.s. supreme court ruling is, should happen tomorrow. we'll be right back. okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle --

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>> thanks for watching. here shepard. >> the news begins anew. curse words and a knock-knock joke in the george zimmerman trial in florida. we'll show you inside the courtroom that got off to an unusual start. >> a new twist in the nsa leaker's run from u.s. authorities. his night to cuba took off without him. how this could complicate the tense relationship with russia. >> another big hit on paula deen's empire. multimillion dollar. another company just dropped the celebrity chef after she aid mitted she has used the n-word