>> it was a very different time when afflictions from the president were protected from the president. and the media respected the that and the office. >> america live starts right now. >> thanks, guys, a new threat from one of the most powerful men in washington. as senator harry reid considers a massive change in the way washington works and the republicans are calling it a political pay back to organized labor. i am martha in for megyn kelliy. senate majority leader is moting with fellow democrats and discussing the rowel change that would give the president enormous power since it would allow the senate to approve white house nominees with

a simple majority vote. mitch mcconnell said it is all about filling the labor spots and a political pay off for the unions. this is a part of the remarks, watch this. >> i know washington democrats are getting pressure from big labor bosses to do this. those folks have told democrats it is time to pay up and they don't have time for the democratic process or the rowel of law. they raised a ton of money for the democrats and they want special interest that is owed to them. >> strong words. joined by host of power play. stewart varny anchor of varny and company. two fantastic people to explain

what this means. we'll go to chris first, in terms of what the nuclear option means for the president. >> you could hear the minority leader like daring harry reid. you bring it down here, if you do it once, this was discussed when senate democrats were blockading the nominees to federal courts. we can change the senate rowels to confirm a nominee. one majority vote to say that every vote has to be a nominee and you do it and you lose the next round of elections which the democrats may next year, you will find that the minority is less powerful and starts to be irrelevant on the next issues. harry reid has to weigh a choice of the union groups, that very,

very important to his one time looked improblemable reelection in 2010 and what liberals want with the national labor relations board and the consequence of the senate going forward. >> mitch mcconnell said that sharon angle posed a threat to harry reid and the unions pushed him through and now it is political pay back because the national labor relations board is powerful group. it could swing the important votes in the union's direction. stewart, i want to bring you in on that side of the story and the implications of what it would mean if they sway more liberal than it already does. >> national relations labor board adjudicates dispute

between unions and management. for example, if you want to make it union membership on your factory floor is there a secret ballot or sign a card? the national labor relations board decides that. if you are a union member and wants to crit sideways your associate on facebook can you do it? they are the co component in the labor relationship in the united states. who is on the board makes a difference in the work police. >> that's the thing. the unions have sewn their power diminish greatly chris and stewart, one thing they have a strong arm in is politics. and that's where their influence lies much more so than in the work place, right, chris?

>> the unions are powerfuls it relates to government unions and that growth sector for them. and public employee unions are a big deal for them and that's the majority of the membership now. private sector unions are on the way to extension and they need the national labor relations board to put through rowels that make it easier for them to push companies or push membership in companies. and if they don't get it, it will be dire for them in the private sector. that will be on the top of their list. and stewart, how do you so this faring? >> this is a huge issue. if senator reid adopts the nuclear option, fine, he will get what he wants on the national labor relations board.

chris was saying what happens with the next congress and if the democrats are in the minority in the senate republicans can push together whatever they want. it would be good for the democrats and republicans in the future. that is enormous political significance as well. >> reminiscent of the line item veto, they want it but not the other side. nmcconnell has reed over the barrel and reid nos a deal to put it together to get labor off of his back. he doesn't want to go nuclear. so what will be squeezed out in exchange. >> fascinating to watch and huge implications as you described for us. chris noted harry reid decides to envoke the nuclear option, there would be enormous constitutional implications and giving tremendous power to the

excutive branch. we'll debate the fallout. >> we'll cope an eye out tropical storm chantal. they are threatening to hammer with mudslides and flash flooding and could roach the mainland of the united states bow friday. chantal may be down graded by then and pose a source risk on the coast and soaking areas that are dealing with flooding already. we'll look at chantaly path and what will be down line as well. now safety standards from the federal aviation administration to make it harder to be a co-pilot or first officer by requiring more flight time,

stemming from the buffalo crash where a air flight went down and killed 50 people. the fa a, now requiring first officers or co-pilots 1500 hours up from 250 required under the old rowels. and brand now information on the deadly san francisco rare crash. why the boeing 777 came in far to low and slow. we are learning about how the pilot's handled the final approach. the president of asiana airlines finally make its to the united states throw full days after it happen. look at the crush of people. he met with survivors but can't talk to the crew until the investigation is completed.

here's the latest on the investigation. claudia? >> martha after interviewing the flight crew, the pilots are more concerned with the low approach than the low air spode and the poilts were not relying on the carouse control to maintain spode. did it malfunction or not set properly? there were throw poilts in the cockpit and the lead poilt was serving as a flight instructor as he was overseeing the pilot. none of them realized the problem with the air spode until two-day. the wreckang is getting cleared away and now two investigation as a result of the crash. ntsb working to determine what caused it and the san franciscos looking into the tone who died

was killed poi i fire engine. the body was found nor the imagine sloyd and injuries consistent with having been run over. it will be a now weeks before the autopsy results are released. drug tests on the emergency responders came back negative, still a tough development for the san francisco fire department which acknowledged this could have happen. back to you. >> claudia, thank you. >> it is getting closer to a verdict in the george zimmerman murder trial. we expect the defense to wrap up today. there is a growing focus on who the final witnesses they bring may be. phil coating is live outside of sanford, florida, phil, what are we thinking on that front? >> it could be george zimmerman's father who has yet

to testify and he could close out by one more time identifying the person screaming on the tape as of his son and not trayvon martin. and despite the lack of sleep for the attorneys, the attorneys are animated and boating up a mannequin as the jurorors stood up to get a better look. the defense will not be able to do a couple of things. they can't enter as evidence depicting the fatal struggle or pot plants and handgun and text about fighting all found in trayvon martin's cell phone. today is the day when george zimmerman's defense rests his case. and the judge alerting the defendant about the enormous decision he has to make. >> the rote to testify and that is a decision you alone have to

make. i need i final decision and i want you to make sure you are having conversation with your attorneys about who you are going to testify. >> the defense's first witness of the day, a law enforcement trainer who testified about deadly force. and prosecutors call that a mannequin and as a zimmerman's stand in and claim that martin was straddling him and boating him. and not to be outdone, zimmerman's attorney straddled that same mannequin and barbed it in to the fiction will concrete that that is what happened when zimmerman acted in self defense. >> thank you very much. the experts suggest that there are seven possible verdicts that they could reach and all carry drastic consequences in this case. straight a head, stick around

for that. and a big lesson on the social otherwised medicine. a woman who loned on the taxpayers for implants would like them down side sized.

three

>> believe it or not it is four years since major nadal hassan walked in a processing center in ft. hood and opened fire. he killed 13 people on the fateful day and injured two dozen other people. and finally, we are at the point of jury selection. he will act as his own attorney and plans to tell the high- ranking army officers that uniform of the united states army represents an enemy of islam in his opinion. it could take weeks for the jorto be impanelled and both sides will question a pool of

120 officers until they can agree on military peers of 13- 16 people. on the lines of the military and infuriating new report on how the pentagon who are failing your veterans and families. investigation revealed how some soldiers risking their lives abroad return home to a fight they didn't expect. they are fighting a massive faceless bureaucracy just to get the paycheck they richly deserve having served their counsel row. the veteran of wars on iraq and afghanistan and ceo of concerned veterans of america. you made it your passion and mission in life to make sure the kind of situations that we read about in the reuteres report are not happening and what happen to

shawn ak an. it is unbelievably side. >> the u.s. medic is not a unique situation. routers has exposed the macro function of pentagon bureaucracy and impacts the soldier at ground level if they are at home, wages will be garnished and leaving paychecks down to pennies or hundred dollars. and this particular medic had to go to the food shelter to pay for what he needed. you have the bureaucracy that can't mote the needs of pay. every unit deals with paid dysfunctions. and i have had pay garnished from me. i gave up. pentagon was so complex and it is indicative of a bureaucracy that is calcifying. >> the same thing happen to you and you get your paycheck and little by little it is not there and diminishing over time. and then what happens to get

someone on the phone. >> you work with a local pay officer and ultimately local commanders are tasked with hitting this. they don't have time to do the work. and still hits generals, too. >> we are talking about active duty military and national guard as well. >> while they are on doubt. some cases they are getting a check. >> and smaller and they come home and it is reconsoiled and it is smaller and smaller. and there is so many exemptions and complicated. it is a report that you get every two woks and not like reading the w2s. it is more complex and very difficult to understand and indicative of the department and never massed an odd yit. they man dated them to have bocks and the pentagon does not.

we can't find the waste so we can save the muscle and cut the fat and spare an army medec like this a paycheck he deserves. >> it is spent on a headquarters afghanistan to run the war. and so you are telling me you can build a 34 million headquarters afghanistan that sits empty and idell. and we can't pay people? >> it is a tip of the spear at this point. the way we procower weapon's systems. 74 billion in waste in 2012 alone. think about that. a $550 budget that is a role number. if you save that, you avoid sequestration. who takes it and where does it roll downhill in >> who is fighting this battle? >> senator mccain called the military industrial congressional complex.

it is not only special interest in the military complex, but congressional attitudes to not in my back grouped and don't cut the deputies system and this aspect. until we reform and skwoez out the waste. you will get stupid sequestration cuts that we have. >> and it is outrageous and people need to be aware of it. and thank you for the work you are doing, pete. >> we are getting the 911 calls about a reality star. wait until you hear this story. and we haven't heard much about the recent events in egypt. how america can get on the right side of history here in this changing situation. we'll be right back on america

live.

interesting, right in the commercial break we got a pentagon statement on the investigation that we spoke with pete regarding soldier's pay. the spokes person said on average, dod accurately pays 99 percent of the 2 million active and reserve military members on time and correctly. and they are clearly have the attention that is brought by the story and that is their response. we'll keep on top of it for you on america live. . now details in the case of a former baseball star that claims that his estranged

reality star wife threatened his life. we are hearing the former 911 calls by chris benson, the moment the exshowed up at his house armed. >> and before i play the 911 call. i want to remind everybody what anna benson was carrying. and she was dressed like a ninja and carrying a handgun and ammunition and ammunition belt with more ammunition and tazer and bag of syrifrjs and ammo vest and a hatch sxet bulletproof vest and knife. and thumped it with a baton and her son to be ex-husband dprabed the gun and said she wanted 30,000 and he ran to the

basement and called 911. >> what is going on. >> my son to be ex-wife and in my house and brandishing a gun. >> she has a gun. >> you think he was cool and collected. that is calm. he ran outside in the woods and watched his wife walk around. the police a ratified and she said i was here it find out why he didn't pick up the kids. i wear the vest long enough it molds to my body. she is a former house wives reality star and reportedly stripper in atlanta and told

howard stern if her husband cheated on hershey would slope with all of the mets. including t batboy. >> yeah, actually getting past the 911 conversation. yes, she has a gun and threatening me. what is your address and why are we not sending someone over. bullet prove vest and you are wondering apparently they got there and he made it out of the back dor. >> we cut from she's got a gun to what she was wearing. oc, make sure you are safe. i love to hear that. thank you for that. >> thank you and they did get help to him ultimately and that's the main thing. what a situation he is in. soon to be exwife, trouble. and speaking of trouble. tropical storm chantal wearing

a bulletproof vest as it heads in the caribbean and dumping massive amounts of rain and hoif update moments away after that. and court is about to resoum. we are getting close on this, folks on the george zimmerman murder trial. the defense is preparing to rest. what are the choices in terms of punishment perhaps for george zimmerman and how they will go and what are his options and tell you what is on the plate. and a surprising silence really from president obama on what is going on, on this picture. we haven't heard much on the president on this. what is the strategy here? for a president who compared the a rab spring of 2011 to moments

in the civil rights movement. how does america get on the right side of history in this situation? when we come back.

>> a big tropical storm could soon hit the u.s. many land. it was northerly upgridded to a hurricane strength in the course today. and as tropical storm chantal

barrels toward haiti at this hour. what is going on with this, rick? >> we'll get rain in haiti and do mineccan reprobable. but there is a lot of the land for it to go through. the u.s. i think will be spared from the storm. it is weakening and there is a lot of the upper level winds that will rip the storm apart. and that will be in the way of its pass over the u.s. and it has to work over cuba. and there is parts in haiti and parts of jamacia and the bahammas. it is dealing with all of this land and the official forecast has it with a 30 mile per hour sustained wind and by the time we get to friday morning in south florida. we'll so 1 or 2 inches of rain in florida over the woke week

and that is nothing what you typically get in florida. and we have tropical moisture that brought it up to 20 inches in the pandhandle and certainly not a big story for them. and winds will not be a story for them. it is a rehearsal marta of what we so. and an active season and folksous it as a wake- up call and make sure you are ready. rick, thank you very much. and we will bring you's nows alert on egypt. the pentagon is sending four f- 16 fighters to egypt's military in the nor future. part of the military aid that is allocated for this fiscal year for the united states to egypt. most of that has been delivered to the count row's military and the nows comes as jay carney was challenged about the

administration's egypt policy a short while ago. watch this exchange. >> it is part of the crack down on the muslim brotherhod. and growing with the supreme leader and other officials, do you feel that the u.s.'s call for a refrain from arbitrary arrest and move to reconciliation is ignored? >> there is a crisis in egypt and the way to move beyond the crisis and future, is for the authorities to embrace a process that is inclusive and leads to a transition back to a civilian democratically elected government and responds to the hopes and aspirations of all of the egyptian people. >> how is that working out? (laughter) >> how is that working out in >> and we have fox nows

contractors, good to have you here. let's talk about this. you take a look at it monica, you claim that the administration is unhappy that the muslim brotherhood lost power? >> yes, first thing that president obama does internationally as president go to cairo and deliver a speech that was roundly appearing as an apology. and the next thing egyptian people pour in the streets and he supports the overthrow of hosany mubarak who had forced peace with israel. and he backs the muslim brotherhood. president obama invited the

brotherhod to the spoech and own though mubarak outlawed it. president obama had no problems of having members sitting there. and they come into power and in the president so and controlling the parliment and now that the egyptian people are fed up with the total incompetence of running the egyptian economy that is a complete basket case and the dishonesty of the muslim brotherhod. and so every turn the president enacted the wrong course and we are left with little leverage except for the military aid that goes to the military. >> you wrote a interesting piece saying that the egyptians are saying don't call it a coup. this is a revolution. we are very unhappy, the egyptian people are saying with the leadership. we wanted democracy and that's

not what we got. >> i think, yes, there is more than to vote, that is not democracy. he acted in an anti- democratic way. and ejepgzs were court reportered their there would not be another election. he was consolidating the power and filling the government with his conys. i want to address what monica said. i was critical of the administration's policy on egypt. i wont say they support the muslim brotherhood. i think they are any on on na ive about the muslim brotherhood. they were na ive. and they bought the spin that they were a secullar group. >> assume for the moment that

that was the case and they were the hapless recipient. but they were largely silent of what is going on in the ground on egypt and taking away the freedom of the press and pers kougz of christians. >> they are silent over the things that mu barak did. the united states a appeases who is in power. egyptians know that. >> and the ambassador to egypt, monica, many people on the streets have been upset about our ambassador to egypt. >> i think we may disagree. i don't think there was naivete.

i think when the revolt happen they anyhow what was going to unfold. they anyhow the muslim brotherhood was well funded and the organization would attack over. >> you think they were naive in terms of thinking that the muslim brotherhood wanted a version of democracy and maybe they wanted it to be like turkey in the better days? >> i don't think so. i think that the track record of the muslim brotherhood is so well established. we have top level leaders of the muslim brotherhood and meet with the top leaders. our ambassador to egypt is closely aligned with the muslim brotherhood. >> i guess my question to what end.

are you suggesting they support islamist radical governments? i think they believe they were who they said they were. i don't think they should have believed that. and the fantasy that obama could have stopped the muslim brotherhood in office, i don't understand it. >> we'll have to love it there. the question that hangs out there now, do they believe in democracy? does this administration really want to foster and cultivate what they are seeing on the streets of egypt? there was a moment in oh, ran we did not. this is one of the things that faces president obama. he is known to make great speeches, but does he come forward and say let's embrace and nurture it. it is extremely fragile. we'll love it there. a lot going on. >> and they have called him, the face of evil.

and today boston bombing suspect tsarnaev am come face-to-face with the families. stay with us for that. >> and picnic baskets and establish a national park on the moon? . it is one small step for man. and one giant leap for mankind. # [ female announcer ] nature valley protein bars,

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with all the good years ahead, look for the experience and commitment to go the distance with you. call now to request your free decision guide. this easy-to-understand guide will answer some of your questions, and help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that's right for you. >> all right. we have a fox news a all right. any moment now george zimmerman returning to the court from a launch break as we near the final day of the defense's case here. experts are suggesting that at lost seven possible outcomes here.

remember, the jury is sequestered. they very get of manslaughter and fell no battery and aggravated battery and fell no battery and hung jury. you want to get in the minds of the jurors. is it likely they will settle on something down the list. >> i think the case is going well for the defense. the mayo witness pathologist was phenomenal. >> he stated that trayvon was leaning forward over george zim wrim and the forepzices with the bullet she he was 2 or 4 inches. and the shirt fell off of the chest.

>> and gives the state of mind for george zimmerman act with the pounding on the period and being responsible for someone to think. >> to assume. >> he would be in source bodily injure or death. and whether it is thorough. it was tough for the witness. and so this is the case being tried. and cases like this with racial issues that are prominent, really cause me to be concerned that a jury will compromise. and i can so it being a case where they come up with manslaughter. >> the fact remains george zimmerman had a gun and trayvon martin had no gun. and the state will come back i believe what they started with, which was the two statements that george zimmerman made on

the phone. these blank always get away. that's how they began and i can so them back in closing and pointing to zimmerman's intent to stop an act of violence and we later found out was not. >> the most powerful for the prosecutions, i would hang on to that 911 call. and he's saying i will pursow him and the dispatcher said don't do that. he's disobeying the law and told not to do something. and that goes to the state of mind. and that is the toughest piece for the defense. >> he had a choice. he could have gone back to the car or waited until the police showed up and said there is the guy. he obeyed there would be no trial. but florida law is such, each if

george zimmerman was the aggressor and trayvon martin overcame him and pounded the head in defense. if the go around and if zimmerman believed he was likely to die or suffer seriously injury, according to law he is able to defend himself. which seems crazy but being able to pick a fight and a kid who over cocomes you and take out an and kill him, that that could be a justifiable defense but according to florida law, it is. >> a sad case for everybody involved and we're about to see how it goes. thank you very much. >> we are seeing what some are calling a big lesson in the perils of socialized medicine. as a woman who leaned on tax players for her implants. surprisingly they're implants,

she now requests of the taxpayers who helped her out, she'd like them downsized, if you don't mind. we'll be right back. anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yes! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. live the regular life. phillips'.

we have breaking news crossing the wires moments ago out of the university of texas at the arlington campus, students have been ordered to take cover immediately after an armed robbery suspect was reportedly spotted on the campus carrying a handgun. he was armed. the school is advising students to remain in place. the criminal threat was reported at 600 doug russell road and the eastside of the campus, if you are familiar with it or if you're there. we have a news chopper on the way. we have live pictures and details as they come in the next

several minutes. there is a threat at the university of texas at arlington. we'll keep on top of that for you. all right. we go back to this story. one woman's plastic surgery plans grabbing worldwide attention at this point. josie cunningham is her name. she had her breasts enlarged at the tax payers' expense. did you know you could do that? now, she say, you know what, taxpayers, i'd like them reduced. trace has more in the newsroom. >> 23-year-old cunningham dreamed of being a model all her life and said she was born with a genetic defect without breast tissue and had trouble getting modeling jobs and she applied to the government health services in the uk for implants and they said, okay, fine. at first she liked them and said they're so big i find them

embarrassing and i don't feel i can do any modeling because they attracted so much negative attention. and she would appreciate if the government which made them too big would now make them smaller. here's the kicker, mhs, hemorrhaging money looking for a 20% budget cut has now -- and approved those $5,000 breast implants, denied a 2-year-old boy who lives a few miles away from josie, who suffers cerebral palsy an operation that could have allowed him to walk and also a backlog of other kids, she said quoting this, i hear awful about people in need who refuse treatment but i don't decide who the nhs helps. i don't want to spend my life known as the massive nhs boobs and having smaller implants is the only option. that's all the time we have. >> we'll see. enough said. thank you very much. coming up, this story for you. he has been called the face of evil in the boston bombing massacre. the suspect will come face to

face with some of the victims of those families today, making his first appearance in open court. we will talk to a family member who will be there in the room next. ♪ chances are, you're not made of money, so don't overpay for boat insurance. geico, see how much you could save.

fox news alert, boston marathon bombing suspect dzhokhar tsarnaev is set to make his first appearance shortly since the attack that left three people dead and injured more than 200 others. brand new other starts with "america live," i'm in for megyn kelly. about 19 minutes from now, the 19-year-old will come face to face for the first time with some of his alleged victims. he is in court, being arraigned on 30 different charges of using weapons of mass destruction and fatally shooting an mit police offic officer. he is facing the death penalty in these charges, this as a small group of demonstrators

gathered outside the court, yelling free dzhokhar in a show of support for the suspected terrorist. joining us live from the courthouse in boston with more. >> reporter: it could certainly prove to be an emotional day at the u.s. district court in boston. you mention the supporters here to support dzhokhar tsarnaev as well as the victims of the bombing expected to be in the courtroom and he is the surviving suspect and make his first appearance in open court. cameras are not allowed in a federal courtroom but we will have court sketches to show you what occurs, about 3:30 this afternoon. and there has been a lot of security, the perimeter a little wider than usually is. boats patrolling the boston harbor. earlier, it's believed dzhokhar tsarnaev arrived in a white van, under heavy guard and when we saw his supporters outside the

courtroom cheering for him as well this afternoon. he's facing a slew of very serious federal charges. among them conspiracy believing he conspired with his older brother, tamerlan tsarnaev. he used weapons to kill three people and after the bombing killing an mitt police officer, and three people and then days later, the mitt police office officer,'s life taken during the day through this. an emotional day as victims expected to be here and possibly areas of police officers and law enforcement officers as well just to be here and show their support. marsha. >> thank you very much. we'll be back there shortly as we wait for that hearing. we will speak with a relative of two bombing victims. paul and j. pchp. both lost a ln

that attack, there were so many lost limbs as a result of the way that bomb was placed on that sidewalk and so much suffering in it's wake. their uncle is going to be there today. very important to be in that courtroom and see that man's face and experience that moment. he will join us here live in less than 10 minutes. also coming up, house homeland security member, peter king, will tell us why he believes the fbi now does have a lot of explaining to do on how they handled that case. i will speak with peter king, coming up shortly as well. stay tuned for that. new reaction now to reports that frustrations with a major u.s. ally are pushing president obama closer to taking american forces out of afghanistan earlier than was planned. and to weigh the so-called zero option, a move that would not keep any american troops in afghanistan past 2014.

the white house says it has yet to make a decision on troop levels beyond that time frame. but it is not denying that a major drawdown could be coming very soon. joined now by general jack keene, four farm general formerly and fox news analyst and director. welcome. good to have you both here today. jack, let me start with you on this. obviously, a very complicated relationship with karzai and the most recent sort of rough discussion came when we put outh the taliban and karzai felt like he had been left out and huffed his way out of the room. that has left us in a difficult positio position. >> absolutely. karzai is a mercurial leader for sure who probably doesn't have the emotional intelligence and temperament to deal with a fledgling democracy which afghanistan truly is and has a raging in psychologistcy going

on, fighting for it's very survival. this relationship has been bombastic every single year since we've been there. i sort of side with karzai here because i sense and agree with his frustration about yuny lateral discussions with the taliban thinking we can negotiate some kind of agreement with them and the bungling way we opened up the office, they opened up the office in qatar, which looked more like a government in exile. we know how mer ck mercurial ka and this drove him to the brink and the tension comes from that occurrence. >> i guess you have to dance with the one who brung you in some of this circumstance. we need the best possible outcome for the lives that have already been lost. so much treasure, more than 2,000 lost. all of those wounded in the the fight there. it's going to leave some people

asking if we decide to pull out and let it all go, to a great extent, what it was for. >> exactly. i think it's quite troubling that we're basically sending a message our military strategy is now being dictated because karzai and obama are having a very public spat. instead of focusing on the numbers game, i think what would be more intelligent of this administration to do is to focus on the strategic partnership agreement that we have with karzai. it's not about how many troops we have on the go around, 3,000, 5,000, it's about the efficacy of those troops, how well they're advising the afghan security forces and what's going to happen if we indeed leave a vacuum? have we learned nothing from when we abandoned the afghani people in the late '80s and '90s. we created a situation where the taliban came to power and where osama bin laden had basically free reign to be there and plan 9/11. >> we know, both of you

obviously know, these people have a lot of patience. you look at the network over the border, when they hear this kind of talk, they probably say, great, we knew this would happen eventually. jack? >> absolutely. certainly one of their strategies, the taliban, is to wait this thing out. the facts are that we've turned the situation around in the east. we have not been able to do -- excuse me, turned it around in the south. not been able to do that as well in the east. we are going to present the afghan security forces with a bit of a challenge when we do leave. i will disagree with brooks a little bit here. numbers do matter because they give us the wherewithal to accomplish a number of missions. cou counter terrorism mission is very important. providing the neighbors for afghan security forces is important and certainly giving them advise on the training situation. all those things are paramount, if we are growing to validate and continue to succeed in this mission an not put it at great

risk, which removing all our forces certainly would do. >> jack, i will stay with you for a moment. what would you advise the president, if he were to ask you, about how many troops we need there and for how long and what kind of goal you would set right now? >> i think you need the troops there probably for about a five-year period, as we transition the afghan security forces, and also to continue the counter terrorism mission. at a minimum, those numbers are around 20,000. the administration is not going to entertain that, i believe. the generals recommend a little less than that. i suspect given the fact this administration has never accepted a force level recommendation from it's generals, that they will put in play some forces that will be the minimum forces, something probably under 10,000, which will be far less than what the generals believe is necessary. >> thanks to you both. tough situation. i will watch it. thank you very much. general jack keeane, thanks to

you as well. >> we have brand new information from the federal reserve now, the fed releasing the minutes from the june meeting. this was a really important meeting considering plans to eventually cut back on their $85 billion a month bond buying program. the big question is when that might happen. boy, are the markets hinging in a great way on that question. fed chairman ben bernanke about to appear before economists. live in cambridge, massachusetts, peter for the fox news network, peter, everybody wants to know what is said and to read the tea leaves into what it might mean. >> that's right, martha. investors are hanging on every word out of the fed spoken and printed. we did get those minutes from the policy meeting back in june. and in those minutes, we see more indications, more comments

from fed members that they want to start dialing back these bond purchases, this stimulus, which was designed to try to help keep interest rates low for auto loans and mortgages and for business loans. it's been in place this last round since september. we have a key line. we did hear from the fed in june -- at that june meeting that if the economy kept growing and job creation kept up the fed might start considering tapering these bond purchases later this year and quote several members judge a reduction in asset purchases would likely soon be warranted in light of the cum u cumulative decline in unemployment and ongoing increases in private payrolls, which had increased their confidence in the outcome for sustained improvement in labor market conditions. in fact, the minutes show that they did a poll in the room and about half of the participants

said that it would be likely appropriate to start to taper, to start pulling back, dialing this back later this year. we'll hear from bernanke, taking questions from these economists to see if the latest jobs report, 200,000 a month or so, is enough to start tapering later this year. >> they have to taper eventually, guess everybody would agree. they have encouraged everybody to believe they can do it in a very modest way that will gauge the markets along with it as they do it. peter, we'll see. thank you so much. the defense in the george zimmerman murder trial could rest it's case by the end of today. we're at a pivotal moment in this. after a bumpy beginning, we'll debate whether the defense was able to turn things around and how their case is likely to go over with the most important people in this trial, which is, of course, the jury. plus, did someone tamper with the tracks? police have now opened a criminal investigation into a

deadly and fiery train derailment, as the number of missing in this tragic case soars. as boston bombing suspect dzhokhar tsarnaev comes face to face with the families of his alleged victims, we will speak with one of those families right here next. >> i just don't understand how he can live in our country and just feel that way. i mean, you know, we take people in all the time and just -- i just don't -- i don't understand it. it doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever. he hurt innocent people. hey! did you know that honey nut cheerios

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he head of a railway company in canada is now blaming an employee for failing to set a train brake in a train accident that turned a small canadian town into a disaster zone. the ceo says he thinks the engineer quote did something

wrong. that train broke loose over the weekend and sped down hill and jumped the tracks. this, as a number of people reported missing, has jumped to 45 people in this wreck and this fire. at least 15 are dead. the rest are still missing. there are dozens of builds. the early account said basically this little town was destroyed by this fire and this disaster on this train. meanwhile, the canadian authorities say they have discovered elements that they think leads to opening a criminal investigation here. they've given no details but they are not ruling out the possibility of terrorism in that case. one to watch. >> i think the fbi has a lot to explain and not trying to be a monday morning quarterback. the fact they're not here and stone walled us completely since the boston bombing, i think it's unacceptable. we talk about information

sharing and insisting with information sharing with all levels of government and agencies, the fact the fbi is not sharing information which has jurisdiction over the homela homeland security is totally unacceptable. >> unacceptable. we go back to our top story today. that was the congressman at a hearing that happened earlier. it focused on really important things. the lessons of the boston terror attack. they also got into the ft. hood attack as well. it comes on the same day the boston marathon bombing suspect, dzhokhar, the surviving brother is being arraigned. he will be arraigned on 30 different charges in the marathon bombing. it happens a little more than an hour from now. he will come face to face with the families of those victims. a large section of that courtroom has been reserved for family members who want to be there. they want to witness this moment. they want to see his face. they want to see his reaction, if there is any, when he is

arraigned on these charges. he by his own account thought he would never survive to see this day but it has come and a lot of people want justice in boston. you can't blame them as we look at those horrific scenes on that horrible day. now, i'm joined by congressman peter king from the homeland security committee. >> thank you very much, martha. >> we have that side of this. we are part of that hearing and we saw the frustration you expressed. tell me what you are angry about in terms of the fbi and learning how boston happened. with all the surveillance and everything we have, how are we not on to these guys? there were lots of signs. >> chairman mike mccaul and i and other members of the committee are very concerned and angry the fbi refuses to cooperate. they have a lot of questions to answer here. for instance, when the russians first notified the fbi the older brother could be involved in

cze chechyan terrorism and radicalism. they did a per fu -- investigat and never talked to any with the mosque and they had tnever told any about what the russians brought to their attention and many sources on the go around were totally blocked out of this and the fbi closed the investigation very quickly, closed the file, closed the case. yet, even after the older brother went to chechnya and came back and the fbi didn't reopen the case and thrown out of the mosque for radical activities earlier this year, the fbi didn't open the case again. >> it's astonishing. you and i go through this. you and i have talked about this before, congressman. it is very frustrating and needs to have the light of day shown

on it because we have to learn because of what happened in boston where the communication was so lax. we were told early on and maybe you can tell us if this is indeed true, the period they hat tamerlan dzhokhar tsarnaev under watch expired while he was out of the country and they just dropped it. this guy they were told to keep an eye on leaves boston and goes to dag estan, wouldn't you bein able to get a continuance? >> this is the guidelines overly strict and overly politically correct. the advantage is the boston police don't have this information. if they had given it to the police, they could have -- >> why would they not alert the boston police there were two guys living in their midst who had reason to be checked out? >> basically the fbi is stonewalling, refused to give

the acadecommittee the letter f the russians and like they didn't tell the police and nypd when the younger brother questioned said they were on their way to attack time square and didn't tell the nypd. they found out from an independent source. four days went by when new york city could have been attacked. the fbi has a lot to answer for. i don't want to be a monday morning quarterback but it's obvious the fbi did not share information and stonewalling now and i know the chairman will pursue this and none of us will back down. >> wouldn't the attorney general be very concerned what you're talking about and if so, what are they doing about it? >> they should be and my understanding is they're doing nothing about it. the attorney general seems more concerned about being politically correct, making sure we don't offend any than they are about trying to find out what happened here. again, what it comes down to initially, if they had gone to the mosque, they would have found out a lot, very likely. they didn't. they told the boston police, there could have been a follow-up and they didn't and

totally stonewalling. >> tell that to the people in the courtroom in boston today. thank you. >> as always, thank you. we have a tropical storm we're watching. it could hit the u.s. mainland, nearly upgraded to a hurricane earlier. what's it doing now?

we have new fallout in the case of a gun rights activist arrested in his home. police taking the former marine into custody after a video was posted on youtube showing what appeared to be him loading a shotgun in freedom plaza in washington d.c. trace is live. >> martha, because the u.s. park services, the one that's in charge of patrolling freedom plaza, they're the one that made the arrest. i want to show you the video he

posted on july fourth on youtube. >> we will not be silenced. we will not obey. we will not allow our government to destroy our humanity. we are the final american revoluti revolution. see you next independence day. >> he says after he posted the video, he knew police would come looking for him. what he did not expect was the size of the police force. he claims there were helicopters, 20 armored vehicles, s.w.a.t. teams, detectives. he claims the arrest was aggressive and forceful. authorities will only confirm he was in fact arrested for possession of a weapon as well as ha luce nogenic mushrooms. he is now in his jail cell and supposed to be arraigned and refuses to leave his jail cell.

he also hosts a show call. he said if he gets out, he will go on. he originally planned to host a protest all protesters armed. and they said i wouldn't do that because we will arrest anybody who is armed in d.c. martha. >> trace. thank you. we've been telling you, the hurricane season is getting under way a little bit earlier this season, barely a month old. we've already seen a big storm on the move. our chief meteorologist, rick reichmuth says there's another storm on the radar that could be another big problem. next. plus the state's top democrat could soon launch a massive and history making plan that could change how washington works in a move that senate republicans say is designed to hand an enormous gift to organized labor. stick around for that. very interesting story.

and pack up the lunar picnic basket family. we're going on a big trip to america's next national park. that's right. it will be up there. hey linda!

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extreme weather alert. we are just getting this video from the dominican republic that shows tropical storm chantal

crossing the island there. officials on the island are warning people about the flooding threat as this storm that now barrelled towards cuba could hit florida, we're now told, could get there by friday. let's get an update on the path of chantal. chief meteorologist, rick ri reichmuth, where is this headed? >> i don't think it's a tropical storm, a little bit of rain with what will be left of this storm right now. it has a lot of land to cross over and very unfavorable upper level winds that will break the storm apart. good news eventually for florida. in the short term, haiti, very susceptible to any kind of flooding because most of that land is deluded we will see rain in the dominican republic the next 24 hours or so. we'll see a bullseye with higher elevation seeing 5-6 inches of rain. then cuba. and by the time we get to miami and south florida, we're talking rain over the weekend not

atypical what you generally see in the summer anyway. here's the more important point. we're at july 10th. this shows the height of activity of hurricane season. we're here at july 10th, you see at the beginning, already our third named storm. see what happens as we move forward. we see this spike and get a lot more activity. i think the fact we had three storms already this year, certainly says we've been expecting a busy season. i think that will continue to be the case. this storm, as we get towards friday morning talking about maybe a 30 miles an hour windstorm with a little bit of rain across the coast of florida, and then it will pull off towards the northeast. scattered showers as the front moves in, bringing rain as well. in general, i think florida will be spared any significant storm with chantal. because we're talking about this very active season, a good wake-up call for us. >> let's hope they're spared and hope we can get through this season without another sandy or other friends that visited us

last year, so to speak. rick, thank you very much. let's go back to one of our top stories today. a new reaction to the senate's top democrat, preparing, perhaps, a plan that will dramatically change the way that washington works. senate majority leader, harry reid, of nevada, reportedly flirting with the idea of triggering the so-called nuclear option. that would be a rules change that would give the president greater power because it would allow the senate to approve white house nominees with a simple 51 majority vote. going through with that, of course, carries some very serious political risks down the road if the parties in power flip around. joined now by republican strategist, director of communications for crossroads and emily is a democratic strategist. is this what you think harry reid has in mind, the nuclear

option? >> i think it's more likely. honestly, it's been very difficult to get any business done. i think the american people are sick of seeing stall after stall after stall. there was some reform early in january at the beginning of this term and this option has always been on the table. what they're actually talking about doing is going to a 51 vote just for executive branch nominees. we'll still have the 60 vote threshold for both judicial and legislation, which is new laws. >> all right. but jonathan, the reason that's in place is to keep a check on executive power. you might like it when your party is in power but you might not like it so much when it's not. >> here, there's also important context we need to get into here. the senate has passed more than 1,500 of the president's appointments, including all of his cabinet appointments. this is not a crisis. this is a case of the president and the democrats trying to ram through three of the president's most radical appointees to very very powerful labor posts and

changing the rules to do it. this is short-sighted. it's a bad precedent. president barack obama, when he was a senator said going into the nuclear option was a bad idea as did harry reid. this is a bad precedent. if democrats do this, they have to remember the republicans will have those exact same rules if and when they win the senate in 2014 and beyond. >> touching on something with the national labor relations board and suggestion this is a big thank you to the unions for being so instrumental in channeling money into democratic coffers when it comes election time and harry reid in particular was benefit of that and this may be his time to pay them back. emily, what do you think? >> look, two of the nominees the president has nominated are actually management side labor lawyers. all they're trying to do is keep the national labor board functioning. if you're an american worker, a lot of what the national labor board has been talking about recently is free speech rights. if you're an american worker,

we've all thought about this, going to our facebook and twitter and complaining a little bit about management. if you can be fired on that, which is what's happening right now, when the national labor board stops functioning, there will be no resolution on it and still be in limbo. we want to have final resolution. the only way we can get that is if we have total fine nalt with senate confirmations on the national labor relations board. >> it's just about twitter freedom of speech, jonathan. relax! >> there's speech we have to get into. president obama has been at odds with the labor union on a lot of issues from keystone pipeline to his war on coal and trade agreeme agreements he signed. there are five people on this board, two are radicals and some have to be republicans. it requires changing the rules and incredibly bad precedent and short-sighted. a way the president to ram through this giving the labor unions a christmas present they

did not get, a belated christmas present from the 2012 re-elections because they were a get out the vote machine for the obama elections in 2012. >> they have been good at block blocking what moves through and now looks like they're trying to disable the executive branch from functioning. the national labor relations board are not the only nominees they're holding up. >> we're almost forgetting there are a balance of powers and the senate is trying to use the rules in front of them to do what's right. if the president can get his through -- can't get his nominees through, it's a problem if he can't do it without breaking the rules. >> how might it be with republicans dune the road if they -- republicans, down the

road, if they can do it. >> there may be a change in the balance of power. there's also been a change in the way the filibuster has been used. the filibuster was not traditionally used for every nomination, every executive branch, every piece of legislation that comes up. as it's been used more and more, perhaps it is time to take a look how we look at votes, maybe a nomination is good enough to bring a nomination to the floor. >> harry reid in the past said doing away with the filibuster was wrong with the country. he was right then and wrong now. this is a terrible idea. >> thanks so much. the defense in the george zimmerman murder trial said they could wrap up by the end of the day. here's a look at the trial going on right now. next, we look whether the defense was able to turn things around after they got off from that bumpy opening day. how likely was the case to win the day? a lot of drama going on.

>> have you made a decision, sir, whether or not you want to testify in this case? >> your honor, i object to that question. >> overruled. have you made a decision whether or not you want to testify in the case? >> i object to that question. i think that's -- >> overruled. the court is entitled to inquire of mr. zimmerman's determination whether or not he wants to testify. mr. zimmerman, have you made a decision as to whether or not you want to testify in this case?

getting ready to wrap, the defense team says they're prepared to wrap up as early as today and the jury will begin to deliberate the fate a man claims he shot an unarm ed teen, that t was self-defense. there is still one big question, will zimmerman testify in his own defense. that issue sparked a heated exchange a few minutes ago. watch this in the courtroom.

>> have you made a decision, sir, whorcht yether or not you testify? >> your honor, i object to that question. >> okay. overruled. have you made a decision whether or not you want to testify in this case. >> i object to that question. >> overruled. the court is entitled to inquire of mr. zimmerman's determination whether or not he wants to testify. mr. zimmerman, have you made a decision as to whether or not you want to testify in this case? >> no. not at this time. >> okay. and when is it that -- how long do you think you need before you make that decision? >> your honor, may we have an opportunity to speak? the case isn't concluded yet. >> i understand that. and i've asked mr. zimmerman if he needed more time to talk to his attorneys and if he does, i will afford it to him. mr. zimmerman, how much more time do you think you need to discuss this with your attorneys? >> it would depend on how long the recesses are, your honor. the end of the day? >> well, if your attorneys are

finished with two witnesses before the end of the day, do you think you would then know whether or not you want to testify? >> on mr. zimmerman's behalf -- >> i am asking your client questions, please, mr. west. >> i object to the court inquiring of mr. zimmerman as to his decision about who or not to testify. >> your objection is overruled. mr. zimmerman, i will give you more time, sir, to discuss this with your attorneys. thank you very much. >> wow. auth arthur is here, former prosecutor and defense attorney. what do you think? >> he -- she's completely out of order. the case isn't finished, still doing examination of the witness. you notice mark o'mara is staying out of this frey. clearly there is a tension between this judge.

>> and they came back and said, do you want to testify and left the opening i'll let you know later. that was not satisfactory. >> wasn't satisfactory for me, i'm jumping out of my skin. not the way we do things. even in florida. i don't practice in florida but it's just not professional. any criminal defendant in any case is cloaked with the right to remain silent. throughout the whole proceeding, a judge is supposed to instruct that to a jury, you never have to hear him say a word. it's common courtesy. the way martha in your field common courtesy between you and the producers and common courtesy between her and the attorneys, call him up first and say, i'm about to ask your client and take a minute. >> why do you think she got to his boiling point. >> feeling her oats. >> lights went out and -- >> she's pounding the chest. >> the night ended at 9:56.

and not 10:00. >> she said 9:56, not 10:00. she's putting him in check. he's right. you bring the attorneys up and say i will ask your client this question. >> she seemed to be getting a reaction from george zimmerman that the jury would be witnessing as to whether or not he wants to say something. she was almost saying to him, no, no, do you want to say something here before we're done? sn>> i'm confident the jury wast in this room when that was going on, right? >> they were not. >> that would be outrageous! >> the question remains she wanted to know, do you want to testify, george zimmerman, do you want to say something on your own behalf? >> usually, the way it works typically, that's all prepared, all scripted, he stands up and says, no, your honor. have you discussed it with your attorney? the decision is no, yes. thank you. it should be a routine thing. we shouldn't be discussing this right now.

>> george zimmerman himself seemed caught off guard from the interrogation. >> he did. you do have protection of your attorneys when sitting at that table and ability to turn to them at any point and say, we need a moment here, all that. let's move on to how the defense has done here. we are about to get to the point where the jury takes this all in. we don't know what they're thinking, obviously, those six female jurors have watched all this play out. how do you think the defense has done? >> here's how i'd like to preface my remarks. i sat right here with you when the casey anthony verdict came in. both our eyes filled with tears because it was unbelievable. i've given up making predictions. as objective as i can be, the defense has done the best job they could do under the circumstances. as of this second, there's only the big count is murder in the second degree. i do not believe the people have met their burden. i believe what the people need to do in the next couple of hours is ask the judge to add

lesser included charges, that the burden is less and his actions, zimmerman's actions would not have been premeditated type of murder, itmy have been in the -- it may have been in the course of the struggle. >> manslaughter, perhaps? >> that's what the prosecution has the only shot of getting some lesser included charge if anything at all. >> i will knock here. i sat right here when that case say anthony trial came back and predicted weeks before it would be acquittal. >> you're so much smarter. >> you have all the hair. >> not so much. we're all in agreement. acquittal on second degree. they're going to ask the judge to include the manslaughter. they didn't indict on that in the florida law and allowed to ask that before summations. she's most definitely going to allow it. i'm a little concerned they could come back with manslaughter. >> what do you think is the state's strongest point before they close? what is the one thing they want that jury to know. >> 30 seconds, ladies and gentlemen, if it wasn't for

george zimmerman's actions and his defiance of the 911 operator, we don't need you to follow him. if he stayed in the truck, because he was suspicious of a young boy walking with an arizona iced tea and skittles, not a young boy looking at car windows or house windows, just a person walking he was suspicious. if he stayed in his truck, he wouldn't be here and you wouldn't be here and trayvon martin would be alive right now. >> if you want a conviction of george zimmerman, get him on a plane and to florida. that is the sole argument the prosecution can make. anything more, anything less.th. all right. there is a plan under way perhaps, two democratic senators would like it to be so, congressman, to put a national park there. don't you think that should be protected? don't you think you ought to be

able to go there with the kids and camp out? we'll see. would you be able to go to the moon and enjoy that national park? 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.

one small step for man. one giant leap for >> and some lawmakers wanted to protect that small step for mankind by turning the lunar landing site into a national park. trace gallagher joins us live from the west coast newsroom. what is that all about? >> i was watching the interview earlier and i had no idea there was human waste on the moon. you have to protect that stuff. the two democratic lawmakers are pushing the law. they waul call it apollo

lunar landing and it would protect the landing sites and 11 and 13 never made eight the way and it would be a national park. we're talking about the lunar landers, the flag even the golf balls that were hit up there. the surface of the moon is not included in the park because, of course, nobody owns the moon. the reason lawmakers are pushing this is because they anticipate an increase in commercial landings in the future. they don't really want richard branson to turn the moon into a big amusement park. it would also create an administrative offices and those offices would be within reasonable proximity to the moon. where do you put them? do you put them on the space station? where do you put those things?

>> it's reasonable. so i think if you send l.a. it's reasonable, right? >> i have no idea what that phrase. highest point on the planet and put them in the office and information will come out and we'll take care of it. >> that sounds romp. we'll be right back. (announcer) at scottrade, our clients trade and invest

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ziry. just more than an hour ago the judge directly asked zimmerman whether he intends to testify. >> if you made a decision whether or not you wanted to testify in this case? >> no, not at this time. >> has your attorneys finished two witnesses before the end of the day, do you think you would then know whether you wanted to testify. >> on more zimmerman's behalf. >> please. >> i object to inquiring him to his decision whether to testify. >> your objection is overruled. mr. zimmerman i will give you more time to discuss this with your attorneys. thank you very much. >> shep: getting a little testy. it remains to be seen whether he will be take the stand but the judge would like to know by the end of the day. the judge made a series of very important rulings about what both sides can and cannot use