bill: we saved a little bit for you at the end of the week. martha: thank you. bill: i mean, we had quite a bit today. martha: yeah with. i was on assignment this week but, yeah, this is very interesting stuff. bill: great to have you back. martha: have a great weekend, everybody. "happening now" starts right now. we'll see you monday. jon: brand new stories now and breaking news. jenna: questions are surfacing about a recent visitor to the white house who has ties to the a man who's banned from traveling to this country. who this visitor is and why it matters. also, just one day after the president said the u.s. would not do anything extraordinary to get edward snowden in the united states, the state department issues a warning to any country offering sanctions to him or permission to travel there. and a top general under investigation for allegedly leaking details of a secret cyber attack on iran that's not so secret anymore. it's all "happening now."

♪ ♪ jenna: a former pentagon general now the target of a major leak investigation. leaks have been the theme as of late. great to have you with us on this friday, i'm jenna lee. jon: here we go again. i'm jon scott. fox news confirms the former second highest ranking officer in our nation's military is being investigated over the leaking of the stuxnet cyber attack on iran's nuclear facilities. the probe focuses on retired marine general james hoss cartwright. "the new york times" reported last year that cartwright, a four-star general, conceived of and ran a cyber attack called olympic games in 2010. that attack temporarily disabled at least a thousand centrifuges that the iranians were using to enrich uranium. the article and a book written by the statement author included sensitive details about the

operation. the leak, considered by many in washington, to be very damaging. national security correspondent jennifer griffin is live from the pentagon. jennifer, what's going on there? >> reporter: well, jon, a senior u.s. official does confirm to fox news that the department of justice has been investigating general james cartwright for more than a year. they are investigating his role in leaking, they allege, to "the new york times," to the david sanger of the new "the new york" who first published details about the stuxnet program about -- in his book "confront and conceal: obama's secret wars and surprising use of american power." "the new york times" published an excerpt from the book on june 1st of last year under the title "exclusive: obama orders sped-up wave of cyber attacks against iran." the report was published five months before the u.s. presidential election. it revealed details about the administration's role in the secret attack on iran's nuclear program using the stuxnet virus

which sources told the times' reporter, david sanger, was crafted by the nsa along with israeli computer scientists and inserted using thumb drives into systems that then spread the virus to iran's centrifuges at its uranium enrichment facility. knocking many of those centrifuges offline. general cartwright was described in the article as an architect of the program and frequently briefed the white house on it, according to the sanger article. fox news has confirmed the justice department inquiry began about a year ago. the obama administration has prosecuted more national security leak investigations than all of his predecessors combined. >> i don't welcome leaks, because there's a reason why these programs are classified. >> reporter: what's surprising is that the investigation would end up targeting the general who was known to be the president's favorite. he had, quote, most favored general status. he has retained legal counsel.

neither has responded to requests for comment on the new revelations, jon. jon: is anybody talking about motive for leaking here? >> reporter: well, again, these are allegations. they have not been proved. he's not -- we haven't seen any sort of indictment as of yet. so, no, the motive is not being discussed. but these, this just broke last night that the justice department was investigating general cartwright as being a source for leaks on the stuxnet virus. jon: and i know it has rocked that building that you're in now. jennifer griffin at the pentagon, thank you. jenna: now to another big story, some new developments in the controversy swirling around nsa leaker edward snowden and our government's efforts to capture him. the state department now warning of serious consequences for any foreign country that helps him avoid extradition. chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge is live in washington with this side of the story. >> reporter: well, thank you, jenna, and good morning.

more evidence today that china is one of the greatest beneficiaries of the snowden leaks with the defense ministry in beijing at a news conference this morning publicly labeling the u.s. government a bunch of hypocrites. with the defense ministry spokesman telling reporters that the nsa's prison program which collects foreign internet communications is being used against china in the same way china is blamed for stealing u.s. research and development. with edward snowden apparently stuck in the transit zone of the moscow airport still, the state department is publicly chastising chinese-controlled hong kong nearly a week after they let him go. >> the hong kong authorities knew who mr. snowden was, they knew he was a wanted fugitive, and they intentionally let him go. so, again, while i can't comment on this individual's passport, the government of hong kong made a calculated decision to let snowden go. >> reporter: fox news in this morning is reaching out to snowden's father, lonnie, to confirm reports that he's offering to write a letter to the justice department with

terms his son may be able to accept in order to come back to the u.s. and face a federal trial. in a recent interview with eric bolling, lonnie snowden confirmed the u.s. government interviewed him about his son's flight to chinese-controlled hong kong. >> any thoughts on why he picked hong kong and/or china to go to? >> you know, i asked that question -- i was asked that question by the government, and i can't answer that. but i just believe it's a place that he was comfortable with, and i don't believe he chose it by accident. >> reporter: while the head of the senate intelligence committee, dianne feinstein, believes snowden may have as many as 200 more documents to release, the president's deputy national security adviser told reporters last night it's still not clear how much classified information snowden has, and this lack of clarity raises a significant question with snowden using more than one computer login when he stole

these documents, because an audit would show which documents he viewed and downloaded, jenna. jenna: interesting. 200 more documents, maybe we don't even have the number right now. >> reporter: the key is the login. it looks like he was using t he may havens which means they taken under other people's login s. jenna: this story continues to grow. catherine, thank you. >> reporter: you're welcome. jon: while the state department warns other countries of what it calls grave consequences if they help the accused nsa leaker, president obama seems to be sending a different message saying the u.s. won't go to any extraordinary measures to bring snowden back home. let's bring in monica crowley, a fox news contributor. let's talk about this disconnect. the president calls him a 29-year-old hacker and suggests that, you know, dealing with him is sort of beneath the dignity of the presidency of the united states. and yet the state department and others are saying that this guy

is the worst thing since, i don't know, james. >> yeah. there does seem to be mixed signals here, and you really can't have the commander in chief saying one thing and his secretary of state saying something else. john kerry has been on the record at least toward the beginning of this week, jon, calling this a grave threat to our national security. he started dialing that back on tuesday, i guess he got word from the white house saying, look, we're going to try to dismiss snowden as some mere irritant to our national security and to our foreign relations right now, especially with china and russia and some others. we don't want to elevate him either to a grant enemy of the state or to some sort of hero speaking truth to power, so let's try to minimize him. the problem is that there east already been enough time and distance between what snowden has said publicly, and we don't know how many other secrets he is set to reveal that it's tough now to try to dial this back and down play it. it already is a story of

enormous magnitude. jon: there's kind of been a bit of back and forth between the president of this country and the president of ecuador, a tiny and mostly impoverished south american nation. let's play for you what president obama had to say. >> i'm not going to have one case of a suspect who we're trying to extradite suddenly being elevated to the point where i've got to start doing wheeling and dealing and trading on a whole host of other issues. simply to get a guy extradited so that he can face the justice system here in the united states. jon: well, the president suggests that, you know, i don't know, rewarding ecuador or penalizing ecuador would not be appropriate. rewarding them if they were to give him up, for instance. >> it's interesting because the president there is saying, look, i'm not going to get personally involved in this, but then he

just spent all of this time commenting on the case and saying i'm not going to scramble for a 29-year-old hacker which was a very flippant comment. i mean, the whole context is pretty outrageous. but, look, there's an argument to be made that it shouldn't rise to the presidential level. however, when you have the president of russia and the president of china commenting on this case and really sticking their noses up at the united states and the thumb in the eye of the commander in the chief and the united states by not turning this guy over even when they have total access over him when he was in their land, that goes right to the credibility of the u.s. commander in chief, and it goes right to the credibility of the united states of america. that's where we are right now. whether the president personally wants to get involved or not, jon, it's doing enormous damage to us. jon: we're going to have to wrap it up, but snowden says that he has a list of every cia operative working in the world. now, if he were to release that,

that would do tremendous damage. >> yes. i mean, who knows what he has -- jon: yeah. whether it's accurate or not -- >> but the problem is we do know he has had access to a lot of this information and, in fact, it does rise to a presidential level. jon: monica crowley, always good to get your perspective. thanks. jenna: growing controversy on another topic after the white house opens its doors to a man with ties to a muslim radical. what that visit was about and why it's causing so much concern now. also aaron hernandez denied bail. the former new england patriots' tight end charged with murder in the shooting death of another semipro football player. new details as police continue their investigate and try to put the pieces together. we'll have the latest coming up right after this commercial.

jenna: welcome back, everyone. the obama administration is facing some new criticism over a

recent visitor to the white house. after weeks of coming under fire for not allowing american families to tour the people's house because of sequester, the doors were opened to this man. he's the vice president of a group founded by an egyptian cleric who is or considered so radical the united states banned him from entering the country. the white house defending the meeting saying the man on your screen has spoken out against al-qaeda in the past, among other things. jonathan chancellor is now the vice president of research at the foundation for defense of democracy. so, jonathan, who is this guy? >> well, he's a mauer tape yang cleric, the vice president of international union of muslim scholars, and this is an organization that is controlled by car draw by who was actually barred from egypt for his radical views. he was in support of suicide bombings by hamas in israel,

this is a man who supported violence in iraq, and so here you have his deputy coming to the white house which, obviously, has a number of people thinking that this is rather controversial. jenna: the white house speaking to our ed henry, and it's an unnamed senior administration official, says among other things that the man, pardon me, has spoken out against al-qaeda, has worked with the bill and melinda gates foundation, suggests that that's the focus of the white house meeting. what do you think about that and the part specifically about speaking out against al-qaeda in is this something that this man has done? >> well, it is. and i've seen the reports about this. he's actually gone against a fatwa in support of al-qaeda's jihad. and, yes, he has worked with the gates foundation in the past. but the question is if he represents the views of car draw by -- car da by, if he supports this idea of jihaddism against

israel or the united states in iraq. there's a mixed, there's some mixed messages going on here. so the question is whether we should be legitimizing somebody like that. when we talk about muslim outreach, we really should be picking the very best, the cream of the crop, the people who absolutely renounce violence on every level. these are the people we should be engaging with. and by the way, we've also heard that there's been some discussion or possible discussion about engaging on syria. this is one of his top issues right now. and so when we talk about trying to vet the opposition or trying to vet the kind of people that we want to work with in syria, i'm not sure this is the guy we should be talking to. jenna: the question about engaging the other side has been a question not only for this administration, but for the bush administration as well. and the story reminded me, and if it's not a fair comparison, please, point it out, jonathan. it brought it up in my mind when we found out that the pentagon hosted anwar al-awlaki at a lunch a couple months after 9/11. of course, we now know he has

inspired a multitude of different terrorist attacks, one including on our soil at fort hood. is this the same sort of thing? is this, does this fit into the same category about not really engaging, not really knowing who to engage, or is this about, you know, keep your friends close and your potential enemies closer? >> well, let's just be very clear about this. al-awlaki was an al-qaeda cleric. bin buy ya is not that, but he has associations that raise eyebrows and raise questions. and so, you know, i wouldn't put him on the same level as awlaki, but we need to vet people more carefully, especially if we're going to let people into the white house. if you're going to invite them into the center of american power, these people should be vetted properly, and if his associations include kardawi, i think that's a problem. jenna: the investigative progress on terrorism is the first group who flagged this,

that he had this visit and talked about syria. go back to the point though, jonathan, that you made that there are people out there we should hear more from, and yet we continue to have stories like this or more negative ones in general that give the public kind of a lack of hope that there are people that we should engage, there are people within the muslim community especially that we should be engaging and could be helpful to us, and we could be helpful to them. >> sure. well, i mean, we always hear about this idea that this is a war on terror, a war against radical islam. but at the end of the day, this is not something that we can win alone. we always have to talk about this idea that if radical islam is the problem, then moderate islam is the solution. therefore, we need to go out and find the people who can articulate that moderate version of islam, who renounce terrorism entirely. so in other words, we need to find the people who absolutely are the peace-seeking muslims who are unabashed about this, and it's unclear whether this is the right guy. jenna: jonathan, great to have you on the program.

always look forward to our conversations. thank you. >> pleasure. jon: we are back to the george zimmerman murder trial, the first full week in the courtroom, wrapping up with testimony from a neighbor who says he saw the fight between the self-proclaimed neighborhood watchman and teenager trayvon martin. what he's saying about what happened that night. also, a big controversy involving the u.s. park police. a new report says thousands of weapons are missing, and the park police just lost 'em. we'll explain what might have happened.

jon: right now former new england patriot aaron hernandez is spending a second full day behind bars after a judge denied his request for bail. the former nfl star charged with

first-degree murder in the shooting death of another man. molly line joins us now live from boston. >> reporter: jon, authorities are seeking this third man in connection with the death of oden lloyd, and they warn that he is armed and dangerous. his name is ernest wallace. he's 44 years old and also goes by the names bo and fish. he has a very heavy build and is wanted for accessory after the fact of the murder of oden lloyd. police had also initially asked for help locating a silver-gray 2012 chrysler 300. they have found that vehicle. that vehicle had been last seen driven by wallace, but that alert still remains for wallace himself. they're still looking for him, and they're asking that special attention be paid to the states of connecticut, georgia, florida and massachusetts. now, there's also word if our boston fox affiliate that aaron hernandez is being looked at in connection with an unsolved double homicide that happened in july of last summer. according to the boston police,

three people had been shot, two fatally as they sat in a car at a traffic light. the fox 25 source said these two men had just left a bar in the area and were sitting in the front seat of a vehicle when witnesses said the occupants of a gray or silver suv with fire on it. and another update, another man in custody linked to the murder of lloyd, 27-year-old carlos ortiz of bristol, connecticut, , and heally interviewed by testified in the town of north attleboro on the morning that the victim was killed. not a lot of information in this paperwork, but prosecutors say that hernandez texted two men from connecticut to come up to massachusetts hours before the murder. ortiz was in a connecticut courtroom just within the last couple of minutes, he's expected to be transferred if he hasn't already been transferred to massachusetts authorities this morning.

jon? jon: so hernandez already in trouble in this lloyd case, and it could be that the trouble is getting deeper. >> reporter: this is an expanding case. every day there are new developments. it seems like they're reaching further and further out. we know that there's been a home searched down there in bristol, connecticut, there's been a condo searched in franklin, massachusetts, so investigators are very busy on this case. jon: what a story the. molly line keeping tabs on it from boston, thanks. jenna: well, an exclosive first week of testimony in the george zimmerman murder trial as defense attorneys try to poke holes in the prosecution's witnesses. coming up, the latest from the courtroom, and our legal panel breaks down what we've seen so far. >> let's be clear about this, very clear. this family does not want race as a part of this process and does not believe it should be a part of this process.

>> the u.s. park police under fire after stunning revelations they lost track of thousands of handguns, rifles and even machine guns. elizabeth. >> hi, john. the first time in recent years the department of interior took unannounced inventory of weapons within the u.s. parks police department and upon doing so realize a huge supply of rifles, shotguns and handguns were completely unaccounted for. some weapons being taken home by

officers. the deputy inspector general says this is nothing new and report she states in part this report further underscores decades long theme of inaction and indifference by u.s. pt leadership and management at all levels. commanders up to and including the police of some economic chief of police have a lack of firearms management. the report lists instances there as many as 14 handguns, rifles and shotguns supposed to be destroyed and are instead unassigned. 198 handguns are sitting stockpiled in operations facility, additional reports include idled rifles and submachine guns with no plans for disposals. the national park service spokesman has since responded saying in part where troubled and disappointed to read the results of the inspector general's report. inventory and management practices. the u.s. park police identifies

significant systematic problems that will be corrected started today. the department of interior list 10 recommendations to improve firearms accountability adding the park police department does not have clear policies in place for investigating these missing weapons. john, back to you. john: just a few guns. >> we do not want the guns to get into the wrong hands. john: that is for sure. thank you. >> writes now day five of testimony unde underway in the e zimmerman murder trial. testifying that he witnessed the deadly confrontation. take a listen. >> at some point when you observed the second time talking about you so the person on the bottom was faceup? >> correct. >> the person on the top you said was straddling? >> correct. >> could you tell what was going on at that time?

>> at that time i thought it was serious. >> what made you think that? >> because it looks like there were punches being thrown. but as i clarified due to the lighting it could also have been holding down. but there was our movement going downward. >> live outside the courthouse in sanford, florida, with the latest today. >> john good was the witness who heard the yelling outside and saw the end of the fight as it was right outside his back patio door. the gravity of the situation heard in the 911 call. >> i'm pretty sure the guy is fatal here. speak with several people calling in. anything else you heard? >> no. they guy yelling "help." there's a guy with a flashlight in the backyard now. phil: he described the guy on top described as biting mma

style, short for mixed martial arts the it the lead investigator called into question the alibi of george zimmerman who claims martin was pounding his head into a sidewalk when he pulled out his gun and shot. >> did you ever see the person on top hit the person from the bottom and slammed his head into the concrete? >> no. >> do you see the person on top slaslammed a person on the bottm had on the concrete over and over and over? >> no. >> did you see the present top grab the person the bottoms had and slam it to the concrete? >> no. >> in cross-examination the attorney got on the floor to demonstrate to the jury how the witness describes seeing him on the ground. and also got good identified who was on top and who was on the bottom. >> the person we now know to be

trayvon martin was on top, correct? >> correct. >> and he was raining blows down on the person on the bottom, george zimmerman, right? >> that is what it looks like. >> both attorneys and scoring points with this witness. the prosecutor got him to say he never once saw a fist actually strike a body. however, o'mara got him to identify and say in his opinion the person yelling was george zimmerman. >> interesting twist and turns to this case. our legal panel takes it up next. so thank you. john: after two days of exchanges between the defense attorney and key prosecution witness. a friend of trayvon martin's on the phone with him as he was shot right before he was shot. joining us with more on that, former federal prosecutor.

former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney and fox news legal analyst. first of all, this witness, mr. good, he is a prosecution witness. but he seems to help trayvon's defense team with some of his testimony. he seems to be helping some of zimmerman's defense team. >> i knew what you meant, john. >> thank you. >> the fact of the matter is he did help the defense by confirming the statements of george zimmerman that trayvon martin was on top of him. for the prosecutor to try to get this guy to testify he never saw anybody banging somebody's head into the pavement, the jury will see the pictures of the back of george zimmerman's head, they were clearly banged up. i think that is trying to cut the baloney just a little too thin. >john: i gracefully disagree wih

the great fred. what is key is zimmerman's whole thing is i needed to use deadly, physical force because deadly physical force was being used against me, not with a knife, not with a gun, not even a bottle. the deadly, physical force could be his fist. so the deadly physical force with his head was being banged into the cement. so yes, the defense scored that trayvon was on top may be throwing punches, but where they hurt zimmerman was he does not cooperate zimmerman story his head was being banged against the ground. >> now my turn to respectfully disagree. what'll cap next next is george zimmerman will testify his shirt rose as confrontation, he saw his gun and i will kill you with it. the prosecution has not been

able to print george zimmerman as a pathological liar. >> he can paint them a little bit at a pathological liar when he testifies and the challenging with what he said at the bail hearing in front of the judge how he was caught in repeated lies. that different judge in that courthouse. >> repeated lies is the standard, prosecution witness history did not do to welcome us get caught lying about her age, why she didn't go to the funeral. i hear you. but the prosecution bears the burden of proof. beyond a reasonable doubt. >> that is true. and i think that may be how zimmerman does not get the highest account here. beyond a reasonable doubt. because i do think there is doubt here, john. john: let's talk about good testimony again this morning. one that he was asked was did

you see his head, zimmerman's head being pounded against the pavement? this wasn't a ticketed event, there wasn't necessarily somebody sitting there watching from the very first moment. that could have happened before he was looking out the window, right? >> it could have. it is beyond a reasonable doubt and the state has a tough case in this case. they can't afford to make mistakes and quite frankly the head to do the best with what they had. they did the best they can with this guy's testimony. i am not so sure it is going to be enough. i thought the presque isle yesterday to hit that woman on understand about her statement she used, i would have stayed away from that. i would let it go. >> i agree. you have experience on both sides of the courtroom, would

you brought her out as a witness for the prosecution so early? >> that is a great question, and i will tell you as disappointed as i was in the defense's opening statement, i was as disappointed with the prosecution putting her on in a way she just did not seem prepared enough, john. i dealt with witnesses like this, one incarcerated, i spent days in a horrible, smelly little cell with someone teaching them how to speak out loud, how to project their testimony and not to have a negative attitude with the defense attorney. >> nail on the head. her demeanor on cross-examination was completely changed. whenever you have a witness, you tell them you have to have the same demeanor on direct as you do cross-examination. i listened to her for quite a while in the car, she was downright hostile toward the

guy, that does not help. john: for the record, arthur spent days in rutgers island working as an attorney. >> just visiting. john: one of the jails here in new york city, not a pleasant place to spend the time. thank you both. >> a new chapter in the gun-control debate. several states are considering new sales taxes on guns and ammo. critics saying about the plan coming up in a live report. the senate passed an immigration reform bill by a big margin, but the future that legislation is very uncertain in the house. wwe're live in washington with a look ahead next.

jon: happening right now, a slew of crime stories making headlines. the nephew of michael jackson says he believes his uncle was murdered, coming from his testimony in a wrongful death trial. the jangson family -- jackson family is suing a music promoter saying it employed the doctor convicted of killing him. in rome, an accountant for the vatican is under arrest for trying to smuggle almost $27 million into italy from switzerland. he had already been suspended because of an investigation into a separate money laundering plot. and in washington the feds taking aim at jon corzine,

former senator and governor, for the 2011 collapse of his brokerage firm, mf global. regulators suing corzine, saying his misuse of $1 billion in customer funds ultimately led the company to bankruptcy. jenna: right now, an uncertain future for immigration reform in washington even after the senate passed comprehensive legislation calling for path to zship for millions of illegals. the fate of the bill is anything but guaranteed in the house. carl cameron joins me from washington with the latest installment of how the immigration reform turns, right? carl, every day we're wondering what is the next step. let's talk about the house, what happens? >> reporter: well, the senate bill that passed last flight probably isn't going to fly very well in the house. it's essentially grounded. house republican leaders have said they're not going to consider the senate bill. realistically, the senate passage last night marked about

one-third of the way through this process. anything that does pass through the house is going to be far more conservative, and house speaker john boehner has said the house can get something done this year, but it's pretty clear from what he said yesterday they're not going to rush. watch. >> we're going to do our own bill through regular order, and it'll be legislation that reflects the will of our majority and the will of the american people. and for any legislation, including the conference report, to pass the house it's going to have to be a bill that has the support of a majority of our members. >> reporter: that sound bite, that quote there is filled with jargon, but it is a very important thing he said yesterday. the house committees are going to write their own bill. then, if a majority of the gop majority which is 238 republicans, so 118 of them, if they like it, they'll allow the bill to come to the floor for all the house members, democrats and republicans alike, to vote on it. but house republicans are split a lot on immigration details, so

that's going to be a problem. and if the house does get something passed with democratic support, they've got to hammer out the differences with the senate, that's going to take all summer probably into this fall, it's going to be months before this is finished and an awful lot of ifs along the way. jenna: and this is the way our government's supposed to work, right, carl? right? >> reporter: this is the system working. this is the system working. the senate's done its job. there's a lot of objections to it from republicans in the house. they'll try to come up with their own version of it. they'll try to solve the differences. if they can do that and meet all these hurdles by the end of the year, immigration reform will pass be for the first time since the '80s, and both sides will say they didn't get what they want. jenna: maybe at the end of it, it all works. carl, thank you. jon: the debate over gun violence and how to reduce it continues across the country. coming up, what several states are considering and what critics say it could mean for you. some say it's unconstitutional. and a new ruling in the colorado movie massacre case. murder suspect james holmes will not be handcuffed while he's in

court. how the judge says he has to be restrained, though, during his upcoming trial.

jenna: and new next hour, irs employee lerner once again under the microscope, why she could actually be forced to answer questions even though she's taken the fifth amendment. we'll get you up-to-date on that. also, the pentagon taking some heat for a multimillion dollar deal to buy russian-made helicopters for the afghan army. trouble is, they don't have anybody to fly the helicopters because the afghan army's not trained in this. a report suggests this is wasteful spending. we'll bring you up-to-date. and alec baldwin's twitter account shut down after another multidown.

why the angry star went off this time and who was the target coming up in our fox 411. jon: right now new questions over proposed taxes on guns and am a in addition. and ammunition. several states are considering measures that would call for new sales tax on the weapons. supporters hope it will discourage gun violence and help pay for the damage caused by shootings. critics say the tax plans are coordinated, a coordinated effort by gun control groups. molly henneberg is taking a look at that controversy live from washington. molly? >> reporter: jon, these new sales taxes are starting to creep up in more and more states. at this point seven states and one local government have or are considering adding more taxes to guns and/or ammunition. for example, cook county, illinois, has added a $25 tax op gun purchases. connecticut is considering a 50% tax on ammunition. maryland is looking at a $25 tax on handgun licenses and then a 50% tax on ammunition.

there's also an effort in congress to add a federal 10% tax on handgun purchases and then use that money to fund gun safety and violence prevention programs. >> it is a known fact that guns are responsible for homicides and death and hot of violence in our society, and there's a price that our society pays for that. so i don't think it's unfair to link those things with prevention programs. >> reporter: but critics say guns and ammunition already are taxed and that this is an assault on the second amendment. some republicans have proposed federal legislation that would prevent states or local governments from imposing these new taxes which they say also infringe on interstate commerce. >> people are held captive because if you purchase a firearm in the united states, you have to do it in your state. which means you can't go to another state and purchase it unless it comes through a dealer in your state. so there's no way to get around it. if a state imposes a tax on you,

there's no way you're going to be able to get around it. >> reporter: congressman graves says the new taxes are especially onerous for people who don't have a lot of money but still want to, quote, protect their family, their property or themselves. jon? jon: lots of thorny issues in this one. molly henneberg, thank you. jenna: well, we're all in this next story together, america. temperatures are high coast to coast, and in one part of the country, well, you could see temperatures reaching 130 degrees. it's being called one of the worst heat waves in years. we'll bring you the latest on the weather coming up next hour. and economist ben stein will be here as well as mortgage rates jump, you know, we're seeing a rise in mortgage rates. they're still at historic lows, jon, we can't get ahead of ourselves here, right? jon: but it could cool that market, right? jenna: it could. that's what we're going to ask ben stein about as well as student loan rates. those are set to double on monday. so a lot to look forward to with

our conversation with ben stein that's coming up next hour. we'll be right brach with more -- right back with more. so... [ gasps ] these are sandra's "homemade" yummy, scrumptious bars. hmm? i just wanted you to eat more fiber. chewy, oatie, gooeyness... and fraudulence. i'm in deep, babe. you certainly are. [ male announcer ] fiber one.

jon: right now brand new stories and breaking news.

details are coming out now on the boston bombing investigation. remember that boat they found joe car tsarnaev hiding in? what did he write in there? we have the answers. plus, why in the world is the pentagon spending three-quarters of a billion dollars on russian helicopters for the afghan military which lacks the capacity and personnel to maintain them? james rosen investigates. and mortgage rates are on the rise. what that means for your home and the next one you might want to buy. ben stein joins us with some answers. ♪ ♪ jon: well, breaking news and a brand new development in the irs targeting scandal. as lawmakers put new pressure on a key figure at the center of that scandal. welcome to an all new hour of "happening now," i'm jon scott. jenna: hi, everybody. glad to see you this friday, i'm jenna lee, and lawmakers just passed a resolution aimed at lois lerner. the irs official who took the

fifth amendment, refusing to testify before congress. but she did give that statement, that opening statement proclaiming her innocence, provoking some anger and raising all kinds of questions. today's resolution states that lerner forfeited her right to remain silent by making that opening statement. a big question about what happens next. our chief congressional correspondent, mike emanuel, is live an capitol hill. mike, what has been the case for bringing lois lerner pack, and should we expect her to come back to the hill? >> reporter: that's a great question. the vote was 22-17, but the house oversight committee has found that lois lerner waifed her -- waived her right by making that opening statement. a former federal prosecutor found she made nine separate assertions in her opening statement. here's a sample. >> i have done nothing wrong. i have broken no laws. i have provided no false information to congress. i have violated no irs rules. i have violated irs

regulations. and then, mr. chairman, she authenticated a document. all of this, mr. chairman, after she invoked her right to remain silent. >> reporter: so she remains under congressional subpoena. she could be recalled at any time, and, of course, folks at home know that lois lerner remains on the federal payroll. jenna ma? jenna: and she wasn't there today, obviously, mike, so they're having this whole conversation. we saw a little bit from trey gowdy, but any other fireworks? >> reporter: essentially, he was sent here by his constituents not to take away the constitutional rights of any folks, and then there was some definite tension between some of the democrats and chairman darrell issa, in this case with massachusetts democrat john tierney. >> i'll reclaim my time. if you're not going to answer what i yielded -- >> i am trying to answer your question. the fact is you're saying you were offended. this was an opinion given to the majority on my request.

this was the chairman's request -- >> members over here that you did not want to see that report. >> the gentleman's time has expired. >> well, the gentleman's excuse is lame too. >> reporter: and in a vote when they were deciding on whether or not she had waived her fifth amendment right, a democrat said that he was voting no to these mccarthy tactics. the end of the hearing, but certainly not the end of oirks rdirs hearings on capitol hill. jenna: it's certainly nice to see everyone getting along. [laughter] >> reporter: before the recess too. happy independence day. jenna: mike, thank you so much. well, the irs is under a growing cloud of controversy, as you most likely know, for scandals including the political targeting of conservatives. the tax agency making aggressive efforts to identify groups like the tea party movement or groups there attached to that movement, subjecting them to lengthy, intrusive examinations, sometimes questionable questions, as they say. and just this week we learned some irs employees were using

government credit cards to buy things like wine, diet pills and online pornography. we say credit cards, but, you know, that's our taxpayer money that is footing the bill there. and there was also that $50 million spent on lavish conferences including expensive hotel suites and souvenirs like plastic squirting fish because who can really leave a trip without a plastic squirting fish just to remember your good times there? and finally, who could forget as well all those kooky videos with the "star trek" parody and the line dancing and everything else. so to say the irs is under a bit of fire, is probably a -- jon, you know, it's only taxpayer money. they can collect more, right? jenna: no big deal. jon: a new report on government waste and internal watchdog finding the pentagon is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on aircraft for afghan military units that are hardly prepared to fly them, and they are being purchased, once again, by you, the tax payiers.

chief washington correspondent james rosen has that live from d.c. for us. james? >> reporter: jon and jenna, good afternoon. this is sort of like building a brand new stadium for a baseball team that can't even put nine men on the field. this latest boondoggle grows out of american efforts to help the afghan army assume complete responsibility for the security of afghanistan before all u.s. troops leave the country for good by the end of 2014. as the two nations have already agreed. in particular, president hamid karzai, whom you see on the left, has pressed the united states for assistance for his own special forces teams in their execution of counterterrorism and counternarcotics missions. the afghan's special mission wing was created for that purpose one year ago. its fleet consisted of 30 aging aircraft, so the pentagon in october awarded a $218 million contract to the sierra nevada corporation for 18 new pc-12 fixed wing aircraft. and on june 16 of this year, just 12 days ago, the pentagon awarded a $554 million contract

to a russian firm for 30 mi-17 helicopters. to circumvent a new law barring the u.s. from dealing with that russian firm, the pentagon used fiscal year 2012 funds. now a new report by the special -- excuse me, by the special inspector general for afghanistan reconstruction, also known as sigar, finds as of january 23, 2013, the afghan special mission wing or smw had just 180 personnel, less than one-quarter of the personnel needed to reach full strength. as of january 16, 2013, the report found only seven of the 47 pilots assigned to the smw were fully mission qualified to fly with night vision goggles, a necessary skill for executing most counterterrorism missions. despite these problems, dod has moved forward to purchase 48 new aircraft for the smw. sigar maintains moving forward with the acquisition of these aircraft is highly imprudent, unquote. chuck hagel told the auditors

through his aides that suspending the contracts would, quote: delay efforts to develop the smw into a capable force. jon? jon: james rosen in washington, thank you. jenna: brand new details in the boston bombing investigation as multiple charges have been filed againstsore hard tsarnaev. david lee miller's here with the latest on this story. >> reporter: jenna, a 74-page federal indictment filed yesterday spells out in detail what the tsarnaev brothers allegedly did before, during and after the bombing of the boston marathon. the indictment reveals what the accused bomber allegedly wrote on the wall on the beams of a dry-docked boat where authorities found him hiding. he scrawled, and i quote: >> r eporter: he also wrote: stop killing our innocent people, and we will stop. the indictment also revealed more specifics about the bomb

plot itself. although there is no mention of accomplices or direct help from terrorist groups. it says that joe car tsarnaev downloaded terrorist material from the internet including an english-language magazine published by al-qaeda containing instructions on how to construct a bomb using pressure cookers. the indictment also dose into detail of -- goes into detail of how he tried to evade authorities, how he tried to drive a stolen suv at police who were trying to drag his brother, tamerlan, to safety and how instead he ran them over, seriously injuring tamerlan and contributing to his brother's own death. as for dzhokhar, he is scheduled to be arraigned next month, july 10th. seven teach of the thirty counts he faces could result in the death penalty. so far no decision has been made on whether execution is going to be sought. the u.s. attorney general, eric holder, is going to have to make that call, but authorities say

victims' families are being asked to provide input. this entire process is going to take place behind closed doors. jenna? jenna: david lee miller, thank you. jon: a dangerous heat wave is gripping large parts of the country right now. the latest from the fox extreme weather center. and the irs targeting scandal heats up as the inspector general discredits a key assertion by democrats. so how are the media handling all of this? our news watch panel weighs in. plus, the last space shuttle to soar into the heavens reaching a new milestone this weekend as a centerpiece of a new multimillion dollar exhibit. we'll take you live to the kennedy space center for a sneak peek, next. ♪ ♪ okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle -- 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health.

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jon: some breaking details now on nsa leaker edward snowden.

we've just gotten our hands on a letter that his father sent to the justice department. it says the 29-year-old might return to the united states voluntarily, but only if certain conditions are met. eric bolling is co-host of "the five" and knows something about what those conditions are. >> are yeah, jon, i just received this letter from a source who introduced me originally to lon snowden who's ed snowden's father. in the letter the father, lon, wrote to attorney general eric holder with three requests, the first request being that ed would not be detained or imprisoned prior to trial -- there they are on the full screen -- that ed would not be subject to a gag order and that ed would be able to choose the venue that he's be tried in -- he'd be tried in. now, i don't know the significance of that third one, but i will tell you that this letter did go to eric holder yesterday. i called the doj for a response, and they didn't get back to me yet. i hope to speak to the doj, department of justice, and i hope to speak to lon snowden

again this afternoon, and if i have anything more, we'll bring it up on "the five" tonight. jon: well, i suppose that the department of justice might be amenable to some kind of negotiation to try to bring this guy back from the transit lounge at scherr met yea slow airport right now, but at the same time there aren't many accused criminals who get to dictate the terms under which they are held. >> well, if you remember a day or two ago president obama said he's not going to scramble some jets to pick up a 29-year-old, so it doesn't seem like it's on top of his list of importance. however, bringing ed snowden back, as this letter points out, on a voluntary basis, it might save a lot of people a lot of heart ache and a lot of money than if we keep continuing to try and track the guy down around the world wherever he is. it'll be interesting to see what the doj says in response to the letter. jon: obviously, one of the questions is, you know, what else does he have in those four laptops full of information, and, you know, none of this would seem to prevent him from

releasing that stuff. >> well, again, this is ed snowden's father, lon, who is very -- he's a concerned father. he's worried about his son. he wants to get his son back, and he feels, he wants him to come back to face trial. it's not like he wants him to come back, without, you know, with immunity. he literally says come back and face your accusers and let the courts decide, let the justice system decide, you know, what your fate is. jon: all right. we'll see what happens. >> we'll keep you updated. again, i'm going to make calls to both the doj and lon snowden again. jon: and you're going to have more on "the five," weekends conveniently at 5 p.m. at least here in the eastern time zone. eric, thank you. jenna: hopefully the other four are hard at work, eric, as well. >> yeah. jon: eric's here with us. [laughter] jenna: well, "happening now," fox news getting a sneak peek at a monument before it opens to the public. the space shuttle atlantis,

every american will get to see it up close. steve heir began gets to see it up close, good to see you. >> reporter: a lot of visitors have been coming through already getting a sneak peek, and it's really not an ordinary museum. the response we have seen has been emotional, people cheering, some even crying. they go through two short films with surround sound to get people hyped up before they reveal the atlantis with a lot of drama. >> to know where you're going, you have to know where you came from. it's almost a theme here, you know? when it started out, they showed the primitive it technologies tt led up to this, and who knows where this leads us to. >> i'd like to see myself in the cockpit of a shuttle going to mars. >> reporter: no tax money is being used for this exhibit, just tickets and concessions. and be there's 40 astronauts on hand for this grand opening. some of those astronauts have said they hope this exhibit will be a spark, especially for young people. >> i'd like to climb right

onboard. i'd like to go true that side hatch right now, i'd like to be in the vertical position and take her back up into space again, because she was built to be there, and once you got her in that environment, she performed thawlessly. >> reporter: a bittersweet feeling some astronauts say for seeing this shuttle inside this exhibit instead of being out on the launch pad ready to fly. jenna: really cool to hear from the astronauts and the people visiting as well, steve. thank you. jon: and, you know, the chinese just brought back their astronauts from space. they've got a manned space program underway right now, up to their own little version -- jenna: they have their shuttle program still working, huh? jon: i guess. we don't have any manned space program right now. kind of interesting. maybe unfortunate. president obama is taking steps to arm the rebels in syria. but how he's doing it raises new questions about u.s. foreign policy in the middle east and elsewhere. we'll take a look at the president's diplomatic strategy and the impact on america's influence in the world.

also brand new in the racketeering trial of an aging boston gangster who spent years on the run. >> a lot of these people looked up to bulger like he was some hero, you know what i mean? to find out that he was an informant and ratting people out and killing people and getting away with it, it makes him look like the scum that he is. ♪ ♪

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jon: we're expecting major fireworks today in the trial of james whitey bulger. as a disgraced former fbi agent faces tough questions during his second day on the stand. harris faller in life -- faulkner live at the breaking news desk. >> reporter: for years people had wondered how james whitey

bulger kept eluding the law, that fbi agent is giving information about accepting bribes in bulger. and that was just the tip of the iceberg. the ex-agent, john morris -- you see here -- said the fbi played a role in three murders involving bulger, and then the defense team went to work on that witness with tough questions exposing his own dirty past. whitey bulger's gang terrorized people in the '70s and '80s. he's on trial in connection with 19 murders in total. so far 12 days in court, and we have seen everybody from gambling bookmakers to assassins take the stand, and bulger's been labeled a thief and a killer, and he's been pretty stoic throughout all of it until something happened yesterday that had that ex-mob man, who's 83 years old now, raging mad. when that former fbi agent, john morris, called bulger a rat on the stand, he screamed out in

court, erupting in anger. he said four words i'm not allowed to say on tv. today should be interesting, jon. court back in session already. bulger's attorneys are expected to continue cross-examining that former federal agent. back to you. jon: yeah. we've never had to use the beep tone on you, harris, and we don't want to start now. >> reporter: thank you. my mother's watching. jon: okay. good girl, mom. thanks, harris. [laughter] jenna: well, right now the president is on air force be one heading to south africa as part of his trip to africa over the next week or so, continuing his first really significant visit to the continent since taking office in 2009. the president hopes to make up for what some view as years of neglect, some view it that way, saying earlier today that america has a moral imperative to help the world's poorest continent. in the meantime, critics are questioning his overall approach to foreign policy. take syria, for example, once again in the news. mr. obama made a series of threats and promises like saying president assad must go now, but

critic say his warnings to syria now look like empty bluffs for all the world to see. as questions continue to swirl about the president's foreign policy plan especially with him traveling overseas, our next guest writes saying, quote: the pace of history is accelerating in the middle east the way a river begins to gain speed as it approaches a waterfall. it is still possible to steer ourselves to shore, but it's getting harder to do. walter russell mead wrote those words, he's a professor of foreign policy, and he writes for the american interests on his blog which i read religiously, walter. it's nice to have you on set again. >> well, thanks. jenna: let's talk about the middle east in general. we talk about syria a hot these days. and it seems the premise of our conversations, and you've written about this, is that the worst possible outcome for us is that we're somehow pulled into war. and you say that premise is actually wrong. that's not the worst case scenario. what is it? >> well, in the middle east

there are a lot of worst case scenarios; a nuclear iran, you've got this shia/sunni war that spreads in ways, suppose egypt now begins to really melt down. we have got huge demonstrations scheduled for the summer, actually for next week. and, you know, there's -- they don't have enough food to feed the people in egypt. jenna: and you think egypt could be more of a threat -- >> i think if egypt goes, sort of falls into chaos or there's another syria-type situation, a revolution going on there, yeah, because think about the gulf arabs. they'll be surrounded. iran, who was threatening them, the war from syria which is spreading into iraq and could easily spread into jordan, chaos in egypt, it's very hard actually to imagine that the gulf arab states could maintain their own peace and quiet and security in that world. jenna: so you're saying that chaos across multiple countries, even without our involvement in a war, is the worst case scenario.

>> in a sense, yeah. and in part because that could then make it necessary, say, for us to come in and protect the oil in saudi arabia or something of that kind in the worst possible circumstances. jenna: so it makes the scenario and also the perception of our involvement into an area where we have less control over it, one could argue we had more control over it a couple years ago when we first started commenting on what was happening in syria. before we get to what we can do on it, i just want to talk to you a little bit about what you say are other actors gaining credibility in the region, and you say that russia in the way that they've acted, especially regarding syria, has gained credibility where we've lost it. >> i think that's right. you know, very early on in the crisis, again, you know, unfortunately the administration made some statements it wasn't really prepared to back up, assad must go, red lines, that kind of thing. and as, you know, as these things -- red lines are crossed or as assad stays in and the u.s. is forced sort of back,

back, back, russia looks terrific right now. in the middle east, it looks like if america is against you and russia backs you, you can survive. jenna: interesting. let's bring two stories together then. we've seen the way that russia has reacted to having edward snowden on their soil even though they'll argue the transit area really -- he's in russia, okay? do you think russia would waive this way if we -- behave this way if we had taken a stronger sans in a place like syria? >> you know, i think when a gift from heaven comes like a major american figure on your soil, you probably don't return it no matter what. but i do think that, again, you saw the pattern when snowden first pops up in china and pops up in russia, you get all these threats out of the white house, and it's very tough, stern language. then it looks as if they kind of looked and said, wait a minute, what can we actually do? and so they start backing down. jenna: is it because we don't

have options or we just don't like the options? >> i don't think we've got a lot of options to make russia send one guy. there might be some things we could do, but on the whole i think, i think probably the reality is he's there. jenna: so let's take this, again, your analogy, i love that analogy of the river rushing towards the waterfall. we've all seen that before, and there's these places you can get out of the way before you go over the falls. even expanding beyond syria, what is key for us to stop that feeling that we're moving towards the horizon, an eventual horizon that we can't change and to get some more control and power back as to where our foreign policy is headed? >> i think the first step in the middle east is to secure egypt if possible, and it may not be possible. but as long as egypt is stable, if not pretty, then the middle east can only get so bad. but if egypt actually begins to fray in a serious way, we're just in, we're in brand newer the tore. so we need to -- territory.

so we need to stop that. the other thing is i think the president should only, should say what he means and means what he says. you shouldn't, you know, if you don't have a policy, you shouldn't make a tough-sounding speech so everyone will think you have a policy. have a policy. you can have a hawkish policy, you can have a doveish policy, but your rhetoric should align with your deeds. and when that happens, people can have -- there's a better chance that people will understand where your real red lines are, that you -- that maybe they can get away with this, but they can't get away with that. and i'm afraid right now we're confusing people, and that's the worst thing you can do in a situation like this. jenna: always enjoy our conversations, walter. it's great to have you with us. encourage everybody to read your blog, again, on the american interest. check it out. thank you so much. >> thank you. jenna: jon? jon: have you opinion outside lately -- been outside lately? a brutal heat wave is bringing

record temperatures in the southwest, and it's heading north. plus, how the mainstream media are reporting the irs targeting scandal. are they covering it or trying to cover it up? >> we're going to get to the bottom of it. you know, we're not going to accept these answers. it's not good enough. that's why our investigators are interviewing irs employees up and down the food chain, and we're getting e-mail, and we're gheiting data, and we're going to go through this very thoroughly.

jenna: a fox extreme weather alert on dangerous temperatures outin the west. death valley in california could reach 129 degree. you have to stay cool. rick is with us. >> reporter: you know what the highest record on earth is? 134 degree and it happened in death valley. we'll be pushing 130 degree in that area this weekend. hot down october parts of the southern plains. take a look at 119 in phoenix. their highest temperature ever was 122 back in 1990. i think 120 this weekend isn't out of the question. heat advisories and heat warnings in nevada, southern california and into the higher

elevations of arizona we'll be pushing 100 degree around flagstaff. it's around 7,000 feet elevation. this is the colorado river valley. it's extremely hot, 125. death valley 126. phoenix 115. death valley getting to 118. vegas 117. then move forward toward death valley sunday. still warm across this area. got to check in on your neighbors and the elderly. it's a dangerous weekend ahead. >> a good heads up for us, rick, thank you. the irs in trouble. one outlet saying it was all an illusion. let many get into that with

judith miller, a pulitzer freeze winning report and author. kirsten powers is a reporter for the daily beast. judy, what do you make of this? the irs initially there was this report that they were going after conservatives, then npr says they were targeting liberal groups as well. where does that stand now? >> i think peggy noonan had a col number "wall street journal" that said everything i needed to know which was just look at what the irs itself has said and no progressive group was actually targeted. some of them may have been drawn into the dragnet but they were not targeted. that's what this investigation is all about, jon. 100 percent of groups that had tea party, patriot in their

names were subjects to secondary questioning and harassment. that did not happen to any of the progressive groups. let's just drop the progressive thing. what they haven't been able to do, the critics of the irs is connect this to the white house. did anyone at the obama white house give the order to target progressive groups? and on that we have no under case that they did. jon: npr is saying that the inspector general is changing his tune on who it is that the irs investigated. that didn't really happen, did it? >> i don't think they were as transparent as they should have been from the get-go because they made it seem that no progressive groups were targeted and that's not true. but the number that's important is 100% of the tea party groups were subjected to this secondary

screening and 30% of progressive groups were. there is something going on that's not equal. there is the secondary questioning and the harassment asking people to say what the content of their prayers are and asking them to promise they are not going to picket planned parenthood. clearly the government has no say over how you express your free speech. forget, the leaked information from the irs, the national organization for marriage, somebody should be prosecuted for that. nobody has. to compare the two is dishonest and it's misleading the way it's being covered. jon: somebody was letting out personal details on tax files of some fairly influential people. >> absolutely. and it was leaks that were designed to be used politically.

and even though i know people get upset about plastic squirting fish and conferences and thing like that. let's keep our eye on what really matters which is the use of the irs for political purposes. the idea that danny werfel the new acting head of it couldn't answer any of the questions about who was involved in this and how it happened and what about the exceptions chief who said she was going to take the fifth. we need answers anothe and we nm now. jon: the new york times headline that shows liberals in drag that? is that overstated? >> i think it's misleading and leaves out a lost important things including the type of harass many that was going on beyond just being pulled into this. the types of questioning. the fact that their tax exempt

status was held up for years during election years. it's very misleading to suggest that the two different groups were treated in an equal way. jon: the department of justice or justice is blind, maybe not the irs, so it would seem. we'll continue to watch. you can catch more with this great panel. judy miller, kirsten powers. jenna: an oyster farm is fighting to stay open. it has operated on federal land for decades but now environmentals say the family-run farm is harming the ecosystem. >> reporter: any day now a federal appeals court will decide whether this popular oyster farm located within a national park has to close for

it can stay open during its ongoing legal battle against the federal government. for 40 years drake bay has been harvesting millions of pound of oysters and collapses with a special use permit with the iron year department. but environmentals say it's time for this lagoon to return to wilderness and for the farm to go. >> they signed a contract 7 years ago knowing the lease ended november 30, 2012. they are trying to get the interior department to renege on that contract and we are not standing for it. >> reporter: the company claims last year's decision not renew the farm's lease was based on misinformation provided by the park service and ecoactivists who in his view will stop at nothing to shut him

down. >> this is beyond environmental extremism. this embarrass more environmentalists. this is about wilderness activism. >> reporter: he filed a lawsuit and is getting support from republican lawmakers seeking to expand end prize in national parks. >> reporter: other ranches in the area continue to operate and he says so should his. onrrp mortgage rates. jon: , mortgage rates jumped to a two-year high. ben stein joins us with answers to your questions. alec baldwin. his brin bring it -- his twitter

account meltdown. why he got fired up again.

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plus, you could save hundreds when you switch, up to $423. call... today. liberty mutual insurance -- res. what's your policy? [ 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. jenna: some interesting news on the housing market. mortgage rates jumping to the highest level in two years.

average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage going to 4.46%. it's the biggest one week increase since 1987. still it's historically low. but we had to ask questions about this. ben stein, an author and economist. the author of how to ruin your life and portfolio. what do you make of this move in mortgages. is it something to be concerned about? a good sign? >> i see it as a very good sign. we have had mortgage rates as at astonishing low rates. it's been a fixed price system. it's been held down so long the mortgage market has become a joke of being too low. now the rates are normal amounts. they will go higher no question. we can have a very, very much higher interest rate for this

and if people feel they want to live in houses they will still buy houses. jenna: when do you see that rate -- we talked about what normal is. what do you think with these kind of return to a normal mortgage rate and how fast to you see that coming? >> i would think it would come within a year and a half or so. i don't see why it should be much lower than 6%. the 5.5% or 6 per. but even at that rate the houses will be extremely affordable compared to what they have been and the ability of americans to buy a house will be incredibly greater than it was before the housing collapse because the housing prices while up in some prime areas are nationwide lower than what they were during the peak of the housing boom. jenna: the message is don't freak out. >> do get a mortgage now if you can.

as a person who owns a lot of property and is constantly trying to refinance it to get the best garbage and rate. it's a nightmare to go to brokerages and try to refinance. jenna: we hear that from our viewers, too. some folks are in the middle of refinances. then you see the rates make the move. it's a small move historically and you wonder if you are going to get your financing through. >> they do so much paperwork and burden you. i have a very good relationship with an he can really large bank and broker. i have never had a late payment on nip of my mortgages and they treat me as if i was a criminal. i don't know what happens to other people in different circumstances. jenna: i can't imagine anyone treating you as a criminal. it makes me upset. i want their name and number. >> you are very kind. jenna: does that make you

nervous about how banks are treating the consumer post financial crisis? we talk to small businesses every week and they say it's hard for them to get money to grow their businesses. it's holding them back in some cases. >> we made it incredibly easy to get car loans and the car business is booming insanely. we made it difficult to get small business loans and small business is still struggling. there seems to be a lesson there for banks and the federal reserve should be cracking a whip and banks and tell them to stop making small businesses jump through hoops to get loans. banks are way too tough on borrowers. they were too easy but there has got to be a middle ground somewhere. jenna: it's nice to share that personal story. it brings us closer to you. it's great to see you always. interest's interesting. the auto sector was bailed out

by the government. one can only speculate and i have got to go to commercial. ben, thank you very much for the time. we look forward to having you back and we'll be right back with more "happening now." ... ... ...

jon: hotheaded actor alec baldwin losing it again going on a twitter rampage to defend his wife. she was accused of tweeting during james gandolfini's funeral in new york. >> that's bad funeral etiquette. alec baldwin and his wife paid their respects at james gandolfini's funeral. many reporters were covering the

event including george stark who accused alec baldwin's wife about twittering during the funeral. but it's not her tweets that matter but the angry wrath brought byh her husband to his 1 million followers on for. he tweeted in her defense my wife and i attended a funeral to pay our respects. we reached out to alec baldwin and he says it's outrageous that the reporter didn't contact them. mrs. baldwin later apologized. she explained the reporter misinterpreted the time stamps on the tweets and they were retweets of earlier tweets.

she tid attempt to do damage control and she tweeted this. my husband fights for me fiercely. it hurts to be misunderstood and it hurts to see your loved one in pain even more so when she is pregnant. the account has been suspended. not the first time he has lashed out. he needs to [bleep] the [bleep] up. jenna: chill out. jon: thanks, be right back. ideas, goals, appetite for risk. you can't say it doesn't. that's crazy. we're all totally different. ishares core. etf building blocks for your personalized portfolio. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus, which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses.

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>> so no ranting on the twitter feed over the weekend, okay, >> that wouldn't happen. >> alec baldwin story. stay cool this weekend. >> thanks for joining us, everybody. >> fox news alert out of the florida. court is getting underway at this moment. you can see the shot on the left. it was a bombshell testimony approximate the night george zimmerman shot trayvon martin. so we'll get you up to speed on the trial that attracted more and more attention each and every day. we had opening statements and the prosecution argued that zimmerman profiled and murdered trayvon martin. and zimmerman's lawyer claims it