martha: we'll see. bill: next wednesday, at 9:00 a.m., be here because that's when -- martha: kathleen sebelius will be in frond of the group as well. 1:00, jay carney this afternoon. that might be interesting. "happening now" starts right now. bye everybody. >> we begin with this fox news alert the contractors who built the government troubled health care website are laying much of the blame on the obama administration. as president obama's allies fret with some political fallout with several democrats banking ranks with the white house over the new law one house democrat says the president needs to quote, man up and fire somebody for the website disaster. meanwhile the white house has just extended the ted line for -- deadline to sign up for coverage before they risk a penalty. but first right now some brand new stories and breaking news you will see only here.

>> brand new "fox news polls" on the health carrollout to tell you about, and ouch, 60% of the americans call it a joke. kennedy cousin michael skakel wants to be released on bond now that a judge order ad brand new trial a murder trial. the nephew of ethel kennedy was convicted in 2000 two of murdering his neighbor, martha moxley. a community in mourning over the death of a popular high school math teacher as a 14-year-old student is charged with her killing. it is all "happening now." arthel: new questions about the failure ever the health care website and billions spent on it to get health care off the ground. i'm. i'm in for jenna lee.

jon: responsible for failure to provide oversight and coordination needed to get all of the systems working together, during the hearing today. republicans accused the administration of misleading congress with repeated assurances that the website rollout was on track. democrats acknowledge the website problems but defended the overall law. >> over the past several months leading up to the october 1st launch, top administration officials and lead contractors appeared before this committee, looked us in the eye and assured us repeatedly that everything was on track. except that it wasn't. as we now know too well. so why did they assure us that the website would work? did they not know or did they not disclose? >> democrats want healthcare.gov to work and we want to know what is wrong with the website and how we can help fix it. we want to learn what the contractors can tell us about

the problems and how they can be addressed. jon: meanwhile more voters than not say problems with the website are so bad, someone should be fired. a fox news national poll finding that by a margin of 49-38% voters agree with president obama's former press secretary robert gibbs and others who say the problems are a fireable offense. chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel is live on capitol hill for us now. so what with have we heard about why this website rollout was not delayed, mike? >> reporter: well, jon, the contractor, cgi federal, she said essentially that it wasn't their call. it was up to their client. the centers for medicare & medicaid services, or cms. >> it was not our decision to go live. >> it was not your decision to go live? >> it was not, it was cms's decision. it was not our decision one way or the other. >> did you ever recommend to cms

you were not ready and they might want to delay the date? >> it was not our position to do so. >> reporter: the contractors all suggested their individual components of this website are all working but bottom line they also told lawmakers this morning that the overall system was not tested until a couple of days before the launch. jon? jon: some of that testimony language sounded pretty parsed. let's talk about this. what's the difference been between the democrats and republicans so far on this committee? >> reporter: well, jon, there was an interesting moment short time ago when democrat anna issue who represents silicon valley, too much volume overwhelming the website, there are a lot more websites deal with a lot more volume than the government website. republicans are asking why taxpayers are not getting more bang for their buck. >> we were promise ad website where people could easily compare plans and costs. $500 million later, we find that the american public have been

dumped with the ultimate "cash for clunkers", except they had to pay the cash and still got the clunker. >> i would just ask my republicans, let the goal here to be fix it, not nix it. and, if that were your goal, i would feel very good about this hearing but i don't see that happening. >> reporter: tempers flared a little bit later when congressman pallone, democrat from new jersey said, he would not yield for this monkey court. jon? jon: yeah, you don't often hear that kind of language on capitol hill. mike emanuel, chief congressional correspondent. thanks. arthel: despite the white house's efforts to rally support for the signature health care law some democrats are breaking ranks. senators pryor, beg itch and landrieu, who are up for re-election next year, called for extension of the march 31st deadline for most americans to have health insurance.

new hampshire senator, jeanne shaheen also up for re-election made a similar proposal on tuesday. west virginia senator joe manchin said are that is not enough. they sound like republican on that issue. he wants to delay the individual mandate for an entire year. if there were ever a reason to delay obamacare, just watch today's hearing, it might be found in there. the lead contractors for rolling out obamacare to the public taking all sorts of heat and all sorts of awkward moments already in the early minutes of the hearing underway. let's bring in a.b. stoddard, associate editor and columnist from "the hill." good to have you this morning. so specifically for democrats, what is the headline so far coming out of this hearing as we watch them scurry across the political aisle? >> well, i mean, democrats really have to acknowledge the reality of these problems both political and sort of material to enrolling new customers in the exchanges on time. getting to the magic number of 7 million or somehow close and

really pressure the administration to six whatever problems exist with the path to enrollment, whether it is the website, whether not enough choice once you get into an exchange, whether you're not finding a doctor, your old doctor or one that you want to work with. it is not just the website. so i think it spooked democrats into having to go public and acknowledge these problems and really try to put the heat on the administration for something that clearly with 3 1/2 years could have been well-prepared. now it is one thing at the last minute to say, oh, let's force the person who is coming on to create an account and draw them in before we let them sop for different prices and say that is the reason it overloaded the site but really everybody knows, democrat or republican they had plenty of time to get this ready. >> you talk about an indication that there is heat on the party that generated obamacare. just a few moments ago, this certainly caught my eyes and ears and i asked our team to cue this up. this is from frank pallone,

democrat of new jersey. this is what you ought to do if the website fails. just watch this. >> i would just ask the public, please, you know, try to find means to enroll. there are a lot of things other than the federal website and don't be scared by my gop colleagues into thinking that, you know, somehow you will lose your privacy. there is no health information provided as part of this exercise. >> so, ab, we spent a billion dollars on the website to roll this thing out but you know what, if it is not working go find other means. what the heck would those be? what is behind the scenes at the white house over this? >> well, there's a lot of frustration and a lot of sheepishness actually how to acknowledge the problems but then keep people like congressman pallone keep coming to the system. obviously the sick and those with preexisting conditions can now for the first time get health insurance. so they are staying on the computers for hours and hours at a time and days at time until

they open an account to get coverage. people who are young and hello who will come in and balance risk and keep health care coverage affordable, drive prices down instead of driving them up, they need to be in the system. they are the people turned off by any glitches any delay and any kind of hassle ultimately with the system. it's a question though. that's why these hearings are appropriate whether they, the administration was a good steward of the taxpayer dollar, both in setting up a website and then, now we're having a team of experts come in to fix it but we haven't exactly even been told what those experts are fixing. i think that is fair question about what money has been spent. >> i said what other options there are. compared to the billion dollar one they created. look, you know the white house press secretary, and we heard it from others who said the president didn't know about the site problems ahead of time. why not? is it politically dangerous to tell this particular president bad news? >> well might be and i don't know exactly how high that kind

of information did ultimately go. i think it is a pattern of this white house but a pattern of other presidencies that the president didn't know and people around him protect him from this and that information. so in the end he can say, he can be exonerated. that doesn't help the fact that his program is going to sink under the weight of a death spiral and prices if the healthy young people don't come into the system and enroll and get numbers up to five to seven million in the next six months. when you said what are the options? there are, i know congressman charlie wrangle said it is computer problems are so extensive the poor, who need health insurance and are uncovered now need other places like community centers or libraries to sign up. most of them don't have computers. that is all stuff that should have been established in advance and planned on in advance. if they were going to spend money on non-computer sign up, that could have started years ago and could have been set up

easily but they can't do it now as a result of this very expensive software error. >> a.b. stoddard, this past week we heard former florida governor jeb bush, let the thing play out. that is the advice to the gop. don't get into the mix. american public can see how it wores and what went wrong. we'll see if he is right. hearing some of it today. thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you. jon: right now there's a demand for answers from one of america's strongest allies. germany is looking into allegations that american intelligence might have spied on chancellor angela merkel's cell phone. chancellor merkel, speaking to president obama about it already we're told, he assured her the united states is not monitoring her phone calls but there are still a lot of questions from europe. amy kellogg is live in london, potentially with some answers. amy? >> reporter: jon, well that explanation is apparently not good enough for the germans

because not spying and not planning to spy is not the same as not having spied in the past and the chancellor, angela merkel, did say in that phone call to president obama last night that spying on friends is not acceptable. germany's defense minuter is today said he always assumed someone has been listening to his phone. he just never thought, jon, it would be the americans. but it is chancellor angela merkel we're talking about here. the press has made note of the fact that the chancellor is a bit of a heavy textter. 90% of her phone usage is sms. that is likely what was read by the nsa if in fact her phone was tapped into. european outrage over the algations is quite extreme as it follows on heels of allegations of widespread spying on french telephone calls. the topic is dominateing a e.u. summit in brussels that was supposed to focus on a brewing ref furby crisis in europe with calls for the e.u. to wall its data off from america. >> actually would be a

declaration of independence of europe because that is what allowed europe to credibly face the united states and negotiate at the same level, strong, giving itself a strong united voice on this important matter. >> reporter: now on top of the phone calls german foreign minister called the u.s. ambassador in to express displeasure in no uncertain terms. that meeting believed to be happening right now, jon. this is quite unusual to be called in at such a level. normally that treatment is reserved for countries with more difficult relationships like iran and syria. finally i will point out this incident has particular resonance in a country like germany, particularly where the chancellor angela merkel, grew up in east germany, which know was infiltrated and u.s. long and hard to topple that regime which spied on its citizens. jon: big dossiers from natasi on

almost all east german people. amy kellogg, thank you. >> we're learning a lot new information on two americans kidnapped by pirates. what the fbi and state department are doing about the situation which is unfolding thousands of miles away off the coast of nigeria. students are in mourning today as investigators begin to gather details on the murder of a popular young teacher. stay close.

>> right now, the latest on some international stories which we're following. two americans kidnapped off the coast of nigeria, taken by pirates. fox news has confirmed security sources are saying pirates attacked u.s. flagged revere early yesterday. captain and chief engineer on board that oil supply vessel both taken hostage. hundreds of people celebrating in libya marking two years since the transitional government there declared their country liberated from the rule

of muammar qaddafi. the transition from democracy as you know has not been smooth. nato announced this week it was grant ad request to rebuild the country's border guard and security forces. something very fishy playing out in canada. a truck got into an accident and spilled it cargo of salmon, salmon heads. hundreds of them covering the street and causeing a strength stench with some of husband would have been standing by holding a pan and spatula with a good recipe. jon: or my dog would be there for a good breakfast. a massachusetts community in mourning after a body after beloved teacher was found behind a school which she taught. grief counselors are on hand. meanwhile a student is facing charges in connection with her murder. laura engel is here with more on the very sad story, laura? >> reporter: indeed, jon. students, parents and community members came out to honor

24-year-old colleen liz letter, and those in attendance thatries letter was upbeat and a good student at. she had her students to come to class with positive attitude and come to her with extra help before or after school. >> we're all really said. she was really good. she didn't deserve this. >> reporter: community mourned beloved teach ear es death was recognized throughout the region. boston held a moment of silence for her before game 1 of the series. philip chism, a 14-year-old student is being held without bail after he was arraigned allegedly murdering his teacher. a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf. chism moved into up to and described by classmates as pleasant and quite ♪ at beginning of year he was social. i used to talk to him, just ask him where he is from, what is he

like, just how is it? and then the last couple of weeks he has been quiet. he draw as lot and he just like listens to music and doesn't participate in class that much. >> reporter: chism and risler were reported missing tuesday. police found blood in a bathroom in the hule school. her body was found behind the school. he arrested him after interviewing and reviewing video surveillance according to the criminal complaint shows evidence of the crime. the district attorney is not releaseing a cause of death or motive at the time. jon: what a strange and sad story. laura ending gell, thank you. >> brand new development in a murder trial that captured the entire nation's attention when it happened. kennedy cousin michael skakel is asking to be released from prison after a judge ordered a new trial in the 1975 death of martha moxley. we're following that. a new company says would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon to the edge of outer

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jon: it was a murder trial that captured the entire nation's attention and right now a connecticut judge has ruled that kennedy cousin michael skakel should get a new trial in the murder of martha moxley. skakel was convicted of killing his neighbor when the two were teenagers back in 1975 but a judge has set that aside, ruling for skakel in an appeal that claimed ineffective counsel. harris: let's take a quick look now what has happened in nearly four decades since the grisly murder shook greenwich, connecticut. on halloween in 1975 police

found bottomed different teenager martha moxley. she was killed with a golf club they say belonging to skakel's mom. more than two decades later prosecutors announce ad grand jury would look at the unsolved case. in 2000 skakel was arrested and charged. two years after that he was con i can vicked and sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. in 2004 skakel brought the first of see remembers of appeals and tried to bring it to u.s. supreme court but that was refused. now skakel, could be out on bond in a few days based on a 2010 appeal claiming his high-profile attorney was incompetent. david lee miller is breaking it all down for us today to catch us up. >> reporter: harris i hold in my happened the judge's ruling. harris: wow. >> reporter: this ruling is 136 pages. and much of it focuses on a lot, what the judge describes ineffective counsel of skakel's trial attorney, mickey sherman. he was convicted of murdering martha moxley, michael skakel

repeatedly tried to overyou are turn the coon vix shun on statute of limitations and evidence. this time skakel's attorneys argued that his trial attorney failed to provide the defense that met minimum constitutional requirements. judge's criticism much skakel's defense is wide-ranging. he says mickey sherm failed to pursue alibi witnesses, properly screen perspective jurors and i am prueherly disclosed that he was under financial pressure for not paying his own taxes. he points the finger at michael skakel's older brother, tommy, his positively development in martha moxley's murder should have been raised by the defense at trial. the ruling reads in part, the court finds if defense attorney sherman provide ad third party culpable defense on tommy skakel there is realable probability that the outcome of the trial would be different. the prosecutor's office will appeal the judge's ruling for a new trial around says the evidence against michael cake

schedule was compelling. skakel at this hour remains behind bars, but if his new attorneys have their way, not for long. they're scheduling a hearing as soon as today, that could set him free. he could be free up until a new trial takes place. harris: four decades. david lee, thank you very much. jon: it was quite a story. let's bring in the legal panel. pilar prince is trial attorney. john manuelian is criminal defense attorney. first of all, it is not over yet. the prosecution will appeal this judge's decision. how long will that take pilar? >> they will appeal it. we've seen these go back up to the supreme court is what i would expect. so i will just say this. two things come to mind. when it's a kennedy it is always interesting. if at first you don't succeed, try, try, again. so you know he will continue to try everything. it's a pretty serious claim but i will say that defense attorney michael sherman is really doing the right thing and saying he

just simply wants him to go free. i wouldn't be happy if i were attorney involved and that is what a judge found about me. jon: one of the problems, john, in trying to retry this case, if that is where they ever get to, is that many of the people who testified are now dead. >> that's right. including the chief witness in this case who was a heroin addict that testified at the preliminary hearing. right after the preliminary hearing he dies and they used the transcript during the trial. it will be very, very difficult. also it is very, very long, this is a long time ago and there is no motive in the case. why did mr. skakel kill miss mocksly? that has never been established. there has never been dna evidence, physical evidence. all the evidence is based on nefarious people from the reform school in maine that testified allegedly that mr. skakel made statements that were inculpatory, meaning that he confessed but there is nothing. no connection. i'm florida there is appeal. i do know mickey sherman.

he is highly tell 20 attorney. the strategy should never be questioned. i don't think his standard fell below the objective standard of reasonableness but i am happy that mr. skakel is getting that appeal. jon: pilar, there are statements in the record that mickey sherman said he wanted to be a television attorney. we used him from time to time as an expert on fox. he was going to make a name for himself as a result of this trial. >> jon i certainly make any comments about being a television attorney considering we're sitting here on fox. i don't think one thing has to do with the other. we comment on cases that has nothing to do whether he provided effective representation in the trial or not. jon: there are a lost cases, john, where motive is never exactly established. you have two young teenagers. it could have really been anything. do you think that will be a big part figuring out whether he gets a new trial? >> motive is not a consideration

for the, for the jury, motivation is not an element of the crime it is something the jury can consider. if there is no motive to kill miss moxley, that is something the jury could ask, they could say, why did he do that? you have that combined with statements from all the nefarious people from the reform school and it is just not enough. there is maybe probability he did it but that is not enough. under the law it has to be beyond a reasonable doubt which is the highest level of certainty. if that is not match, mr. skakel has to be acquitted. jon: greenwich, connecticut, where it took place, one of the richest towns in the country. that murder went unsolved for 25 years until he was convicted. and now it appears he is on his way to a new trial. pilar prince, john manuelian, thank you. >> thank you. harris: new concerns about the obamacare website. have you tried to sign on? anybody that uses it has to give the birth date, social security, number, and income. that is lot of personal information. what do they do with that?

how do they protect that? those are excellent questions i've been told. private information is protects once online we're being told. what are americans trying to sign up saying about it? [ male announcer ] campbell's homestyle. mmm! this is delicious katie. it's not bad for canned soup, right? pfft! [ laughs ] you nearly had us there. canned soup. [ male announcer ] they just might think it's homemade. try campbell's homestyle soup.

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harris: "happening now," new concerns about privacy and obamacare. critics questioning whether the information submitted to the health care web site is safe from hackers and fraud.

to use the site, you have to enter your date of birth, social security number and income amount. the web site even states that information will be shared with other government agencies, i'm going to guess e-mails, all sorts of different ways. john roberts is live in atlanta so, john, how do we allay our fears? >> reporter: good morning to you, harris. you know, there are some cybersecurity experts who believe this is another step down the rabbit hole into big data. if you look at the privacy statement, it states quite clearly that your data will be shared with the internal revenue service, the social security administration and the department of homeland security. all of this, of course, is under the premise of income verification and immigration status, but it does put a government database squarely at the center of your health care decisions sp. as we've learned, source code and the web site's terms and conditions states that users have no reasonable expectation of privacy. david kennedy is the president of trusted sec.

>> this is just another validation point that, you know, if the government has that information, they're going to use it for other purposes not just for the actual medical field or for, you know, your health care benefits. >> reporter: now, one other item to pay attention to on the web site, the government has contracted a couple of third parties including expeer onto verify your identity. they recently acknowledged that one of its subsidiaries was duped into selling valid social security numbers to a hacker in vietnam, harris. harris: there's this little hearing going on on capitol hill about obamacare. how about you and i crash it and is them about this issue? i do know they've made some changes to the site. >> reporter: they have made some changes to the web site. this week you got the ability to be able to browse for various health care plans and get rough, very rough cost estimates without putting in any personal information, personally identifiable information, pii as it's called. but when you call the obamacare phone hotline, it's a different

story. when i called in, here's what they told me followed by a comment from the centers for technology and democracy. >> i need your name, your date of birth, your mailing address, your amount on your w2 form, your social security number and a couple phone numbers -- >> to ask an applicant for a social security number and sensitive information until they're absolutely ready to apply for a particular plan should not happen. >> reporter: so the web site doesn't ask you for the private information, but the health care hotline does. recent ap news said university of chicago poll found 58% of americans don't think the government is doing a good job at protecting their right to privacy so, harris, this feeds into all of those anxieties that people have. harris: a little while ago frank vallone of new jersey was saying utilize the web site in other ways to get your health care, but then they're writing them

down on little pieces of paper, who's collecting the pieces of paper? >> reporter: the agents, but they are also putting that data into the very same web site that you would use if you did it on your computer, so it's all going into the same place one way or another. harris: john roberts, thank you very much. jon: so the president's new health care law is getting off to a rocky start. brand new fox polls on what americans think of this rollout. 60% of voters say the way the law is being carried out is a joke, that's up just a touch from the 57% who felt that way back in august. likewise, 31% say things are going fine, and that number is unchanged from this summer. a 55% majority of those who did attempt to log on to the government's health insurance web are -- web site are saying it did not go well including 37% who say not at all well. others had a better experience, 19% say it worked very well, another 25% say it worked somewhat well. let's talk about it with angela

mcglowan, a fox news political analyst. so we have this hearing underway right now in the house. >> yes. jon you say it's not big enough. >> no, it isn'tings, and this is a -- it isn't, and this is a great forum to actually answer the questions the american people have. the bottom line is this, yes, the site is bad, it is a failure to launch, but also, jon, our president said that if we want our current health care program, we can keep it. we can keep our current policy. that's not true. the fact, too, is why is it that a dozen provisions of obamacare have been delayed? why is it that the administration has given out over 2,000 waivers to businesses and organizations, especially unions, to delay implementing obamacare? jon: but you know democrats are saying that republicans are just trying to kill this program, and this program is the law of the land and has even been affirmed by the supreme court. >> the bottom line is this, we have some brave democrats now that are coming out. remember, preservation is the first law of nature where they're up for re-election, so

now they're coming out and saying, okay, let's delay it, let's look at it, let's delay the site, let's delay the individual mandate. so since we're having all of these problems with this law even before it's fully implemented, we need to go back to the drawing board. so instead of utilizing the hearing again for kabooky theater, why not get down to the problems and let's create some answers. and instead of just having secretary sebelius, let's have people from the administration come in and answer questions. also, jon, you've had businesses that have had to augment their current health care policy, certain businesses that would cover employees' spouses, now they can't. why is that? bring in university of virginia, bring in representatives from ups to answer as to why. jon: would've heard many people say, i think even the president himself has said this is the signature achievement of his, well, his first term and maybe, you know, his entire two terms in office. he's not going to let congress just throw this out. >> he shouldn't let congress throw it out, but if this is

truly the president's legacy, it's truly a bad one, and if i were advising the president, i would actually have people who have supported me in congress meet with republicans and actually augment the legislation. because right now that legacy is not so great. and, again, when this law was first lobbied by the administration, people were putting politics and the president's legacy over policy and the american people. jon: well, let's take a look at a couple of other fox news polls that show how people are thinking about the implementation of obamacare. i think we've got them on the screen. what should happen to it, 51% now say get rid of it. 41% say keep it in place. and then sort of a related question after that, what do you think of the health care law, should it be delayed? 57% say, yeah, let's at least delay it, 39% say keep it in place. 41% would like to cut off funding for it altogether, 53%

say no. i mean, it is perhaps one of the most divisive issues of our day, whether this health care law is a good thing or a bad thing, but the majority of americans seem to think getting rid of it would be a good idea. >> well, in the 2012 census it was reported that 48 million americans did not have health insurance maybe because they didn't want it or they weren't old enough to get it, i don't know. but the bottom line is we need true health care reform, and this hearing and the fact that congress is in session, this is the time to actually correct it. because there was fraud in the system, there is fraud in the system, and people who have pre-existing conditions, there was discrimination there. so i think that there's some good aspects of obamacare. jon: sure. >> but there are more bad aspects than good. jon: all right. we will see what coming out of this hearing and what comes out of the overarching review of what's gone on with the web site launch. angela mcglowan, thank you. harris: things are about to get really interesting inside of a courtroom in utah. testimony in the trial of a utah doctor accused of murdering his

wife. on the stand, his daughters who say they believe their dad killed their mom. our legal panel will take up the case. and a big battle for teachers in california, what they're fighting for that could go all the way to our nation's highest court. [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare?

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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. jon: it is the house energy and commerce committee, but this morning they have been talking about health care, specific bically obamacare and the so far pretty disastrous rollout of the web site on which people can register for obamacare. frank pallone, democratic congressman from new jersey, is questioning the motives of republicans, his colleagues on that committee. take a listen to what he had to say. >> i'd like to think that somehow this hearing above board and legitimate, but it's not. you know, the republicans don't have clean hands coming here. their effort, obviously, isn't

to make in the better, but to use the web site and the glitches as an excuse to defund or repeal obamacare. jon: we are continuing to watch the hearing as it progresses. if there is more news coming out of it, we'll bring it to you on "happening now." harris: and new next hour stay put, the state department is facing more tough questions about the deadly attack op our diplomatic outpost in benghazi. why those responsible for the deaths of our four americans are not included in a program to track down terrorists. and just another day in the line of duty. what a state trooper did to save a young life. and a brand new choice for the lead role in the movie version of "50 shades of grey." now, i've heard he's a little short, he doesn't really come across as christian grey on the big screen. we'll check it out. jon: some grand jury documents related to the 1996 killing of 6-year-old jonbenet ramsey

will be released tomorrow. a judge in boulder, colorado, ruled the indictment signed by the foreman of the grand jury considering charges in the girl's death constituted an official action and, therefore, it must be released. the documents could shed light on why prosecutors decided not to go for charges against jonbenet's parents. jonbenet's body, you might recall, was found bludgeoned and strangled in her family's home in boulder back in 1996. a former district attorney said evidence suggests the killer was a stranger, not a family member. harris: plenty of all-stars during game one of the world series, but a brave little boy becomes a star in his own right with a shoutout all the fans could appreciate. and an extreme hot air balloon ride in the works for you. how you could travel to the edge of space in this high-tech contraption.

harris: right now an arizona company is developing a helium balloon ride -- at the break i called it hot air, jon schooled me, but good -- it can carry customers to the edge of space, float to about 100,000 feet aboveground and enjoy the view. and then when time is up, the capsule should just fall safely back to earth, if all works out. joining us now is corey powell, he is the editor at large for "discover" magazine. corey, thanks for coming in. first of all, what is the itinerary on this? >> so, the basic idea is the cap chul holds up to eight passengers. you take off, you spend an hour and a half going up, so it's kind of like a very, very, very high ferris wheel ride where you get up to the point where the

sky is black, you can see the curvature of space. you're actually not technically if outer space, but you would feel very much -- it's a different feeling than being in an airplane. you stay up there for two hours, and then they cut the chord. then you come down. so you're in zero g, you're in free fall, you're weightless there for a little bit, and then the wind starts to catch the little parasail and, again, should. you do sort of a sideways glide back down to earth. harris: not that i want to be a debbie downer, but what are the risks here? now you're depending on wind which could be too good of a story or not enough. >> right. so that's where -- helium balloon, hot air balloon, it doesn't matter, it's not powered flight. so, yes, you're moving with the winds. on the way up you're not really controlling your path. on the way down you are controlling your path with a parasail. so you're, basically, it's a little bit like hang gliding on the way down to control where you land. harris: how do people sign up for this? tell me about the company.

>> the company's called paragon space development, and they've been involved -- they're a nasa contractor. they've done a lot of different things. they're also involved, you may have heard about billionaire dennis tito wants to go to mars, these are the guys who are designing the hardware for him to fly somebody to mars in 2018 if he can pull it off. so they're very active in the space community and in this beginning of a commercial space industry which, you know, rurally has not quite taken off. of. harris: so i tell paragon i want to do this quickly in just five words, how much does it cost? is it expensive? >> $75,000 apiece. harris: all right. >> and i'm sure if you want to put a deposit down now, i'm sure they'd be happy to take your money. harris: jon scott will be piloting mine when i go up, i hope. >> east not going to have a whole hot of piloting to do, but if it makes you feel better, bring him along. harris: thank you. jon? jon: will do. game one of the world series,

plenty of drama including an overturned call, and in the end the boston red sox clobbered the st. louis cardinals 8-1. starting pitcher jon lester allowing just five hits and no runs over seven and two-thirds inningsment back in 2007 lester came back from a season off recovering from cancer and since then has been very active promoting pediatric cancer treatment and research. fox news did a piece on a meeting with lester had with a little boy suffering from cancer during last night's game fox's ken rosenthal gave in this shoutout. >> lester has done some great work in recent years to help kids with cancer. last year he and his fife farrah launched nvrqt, that's short for never quit, and the idea is to raise money and awareness for the pediatric cancer research foundation. lester also did a number of meets and greets with kids who are undergoing treatment x he has remained in contact with a 6-year-old boy he met in los

angeles among others. >> thanks, ken. and here is a tweet from jon lester -- jon: well, right now zane is undergoing a combination of chemotherapy, radiation and bone marrow transplants. his parents say he is in good spirits and even got to watch the beginning of last night's game. the score had to pump him up. if you want to learn more, check out the pediatric cancer research foundation's web site at pcrf-kids.org. harris: that smile is just so beautiful. the disastrous rollout of the health care web site getting its first public airing on capitol hill. it's been spirited inside that hearing. the problem's now an embarrassment if the obama administration. what the contractors responsible for the web site have to say, plus reaction now from the white house. chasing tornadoes now a popular tourist attraction. coming up, why they do it and what the risk is for this. you know what they say.

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jon: breaking news on today's top stories and also new this hour, a family divided in the trial of a prominent doctor accused of killing his wife. today his own daughters will testify against him. how will that a affect the jury? our legal panel weighs in on the martin mac kneel murder trial. plus, an alarming new study shows more young people are getting strokes. the doctor's in to tell you why this is and how you can try to protect yourself. also, the tornado that changed storm chasing forever. we'll take a closer look at the monster twister that took out a well known veteran. it's all "happening now." ♪ ♪ jon: but first, lawmakers looking for answers on the botched obamacareout as the web site's -- rollout as the web site's contractors take the hot

seat on capitol hill. i'm jon scott. harris: i'm harris faulkner in today for jenna lee. the first congressional hearing into what went wrong with the health care web site is now well underway. they've been at it for two and a half, almost three hours now. the contractors say the administration was well aware of all the problems with that web site before it launched october 1st. and we're awaiting the reaction to this testimony from the white house press secretary, jay carney is expected to begin taking questions from reporters at any minute. meanwhile, lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle are grilling the contractors in charge of that bungled site demanding to know how did this mess happen? >> unexpected volumes, ms. campbell, and that really sticks in my craw, i have to tell you that. because as i said, there are thousands of web sites that carry far more traffic. so i think that's really kind of a lame excuse. amazon and ebay don't crash

the week before christmas, and pro flowers doesn't crash on valentine's day. harris: well, that says it all, doesn't it? you don't crash before the day you reveal. ed henry is live for us at the white house. ed, how concerned is the white house about democrats pressuring on them? >> reporter: well, they're certainly concerned that it's not just republicans pouncing now. that was a democrat in anna eshoo who was suggesting how in the world could you have not planned for this? she was going after the contracts, obviously, but by extension the question for jay carney in the briefing in the next few moments of course will be where was the oversight from the white house? the contractors were paid to do a job. this is the president's signature domestic achievement, this is something they clearly wanted to roll out in a much more effective manner. that's why we've seen former top white house officials like robert gibbs say somebody should be fired. it has been quiet on cap -- capitol hill until yesterday when various house democrats

jumped on and said it's time for someone to go. take a listen. >> the president just needs to man up and say this was not just a glitch, this was a very serious mistake, and he should replace the people responsible for it, put in a new team and give us a date certain. >> reporter: and beyond that there are at least six senate democrats now saying they want some sort of changes to this law. five of them, we should note, are up for election in 2014, so it's significant that they're facing the voters next year, have to defend this law, and they're now saying not that they want to overhaul it, that they want to defund the law -- we should be clear -- but that they want to tweak it, they want to change it. that's not something we were hearing from democrats before this big, botched rollout, harris. harris: well, and we're talking about millions of people now who haven't been able to navigate that site successfully, so no doubt they're hearing from their constituents loudly too. how is the white house responding to calls for the

health and human services secretary, kathleen sebelius, to be fired? >> reporter: you've heard jay carney say, look, we're not going to do monday morning quarterbacking, they want to focus on the future and fix this web site, but interesting one of the contractors was asked whether or not he had logged on to the web site he had been working on, he said he did sign up, but he never got a confirmation e-mail, so it didn't really work for him. remarkable that one of the contractors even couldn't get it to work. now, secretary sebelius has been trying to keep a relatively low profile, although we're told she'll if in phoenix today at a call center. she's going to testify, we're told, next week. but last night was at an event in boston and said this: >> is more than a web site. it is an opportunity for millions of americans to obtain mental health and physical health services. no one ever again will be denied coverage based on a pre-existing

condition, mental or physical health. the new law is also working to lower prices and increase competition and expand mental health services. >> reporter: so that's the message from the administration. they want to say this law is more than just a web site, but until they get the web site fixed, they're going to have a hard time getting that message out. harris: ed henry outside the white house, thank you. >> reporter: good to see you. jon: so is today's hearing a sign that republicans are shifting their obamacare strategy? republicans appeared to have moved past their efforts, i should say, to defund the law. they're focusing now on investigating its failures. let's talk about it with ramesh -- [inaudible] the senior editor of the national review. this is the kind of thing that republicans have been predicting all along. they said this was going to be a ponderous, clunky, difficult-to-implement law, and now their predictions seem to be coming true. >> that's right. although nobody predicted that

the web sites would be quite asthmassive a disaster -- as massive as a disaster. the administration's within saying for months -- been saying for months that people were trying to sabotage the law, and it turns out they had employed them all as web designers. jon: you know, if you -- the democratic congresswoman who compared it to pro flowers and things like that, i mean, if american express or any big company rolled out a web site this bad, i mean, they'd be out of business almost instantly. >> right. and she's responding to this excuse that, oh, well, who could have anticipated this volume? well, it's a very easily anticipateable event, and a lot of the problems on the web site actually don't seem to be related to volume. jon: right. because it's not millions of people trying to sign up, apparently. >> yeah. and it's probably dropping a little bit every day as people get frustrated with trying to log on. jon: right. the president did say 20 million

people, you know, took a look at it or 20 million -- there were 20 million attempts to log on, but that's not necessarily saying 20 million, that could be two million people who tried ten times each. >> exactly. that's right. and you have to be, you have to unpack any of those statistics that are cited like that. jon: and it's not just republicans who are asking questions. interestingly, senator max baucus of montana, a democrat who famously said he saw a train wreck coming with obamacare, and interestingly is not running for re-election, he says he wants to convene the finance committee to take a look at all of this. >> well, that's a little bit alarming. [laughter] when you think about the role of the senate finance committee played in creating this in the first place. but i think it shows you that democrats in particular the democrats who are up for re-election the next year are very worried about the impact of obamacare because they know that this is going to be something

that's very hard for them to spin their way out of. jon: well, baucus, senator baucus said it was a train wreck, and the train wreck may have arrived. it's happening on capitol hill right now. we'll continue to keep a watc tn right now. ramesh, thank you. >> you're welcome. harris: now to your tax dollars and finding ways to make them go farther. every year the government accountability office makes recommendations on how to cut wasteful spending. that would save uncle sam tens of billions of dollars but few, if any, are ever acted upon. why is that? doug mckelway has some answers for us. >> reporter: harris, we just learned, in fact, of a new round of waste withful, bizarre government expenditures. senator jeff sessions uncovered them. he wants to know why the national endowment for the humanities ordered a $25,000 grant for the study of, get this, what is the good life and how do i live it? and another study, $23,000 for a

study of why are are bad people bad? and $24,000 for a study of what is a monster? well, there might be an explanation for why bureaucracies do this kind of thing. it is called parkinson's law. stick with me on this, harris. in the 1950s in england, sirh ril parkinson watched as britain's colonial office got bigger and bigger while its colonial empire got smaller and smaller, so he came up with parkinson's law. here's what it is, an official wants to multiply subordinates, not rivals. officials make work for each other. and lastly, work expands to fill the time available for its completion. that might help to explain how the obamacare bill grew to a thousand pages and then swanned 20,000 -- spawned 20,000 pages more of authorizations. to his credit, even president obama undertook a plan to shrink government just last year. >> no business or nonprofit leader would allow this kind of

duplication or unnecessary complexity in their operations. you wouldn't do it when you're thinking about your businesses. so why is it okay for our government? it's not. >> reporter: but republicans balked fearing a power grab, and it went nowhere. congress' own investigative arm, the government accountability office, has undertaken three studies since 2010 that document billions of dollars in the waste, gao has no enforcement power, and congress' interest is tepid. >> members of congress have very little incentive to make programs more efficient because each committee has jurisdiction over its own set of programs, the next committee may have several of the same programs as with the next committee. so it's a stove pipe mentality. >> reporter: so remember, parkinson's law, harris, the first rule of parkinson's law, an official wants to multiply subordinates, not rivals. there you go.

harris: wow. and more than 20k to find out what a monster is. my 6-year-old could have told them for free. he lives under her bedroom. doug mckelway, thank you. jon: maybe a bit of good news about syria as we learn international inspectors are gaining ground. they're likely to meet a deadline for destroying the assad's regime's chemical weapons stockpile. greg talcott is live from london with more information. >> reporter: amid all the fighting in syria, efforts are well under way to deal with at least one aspect of the danger in that country. but first, there is fighting. overnight rebels hit a gas pipeline just outside of the capital, damascus. that knocked out electricity in that city and throughout the country. power is just now being restored, but, yes, the effort to rid the country of chemical weapon withs is moving ahead. i am told inspectors are on track to meet some ambitious deadlines set out in that u.s./russia agreement to deal with the problem also agreed to

by syrian president bashar al assad. officials tell me they have reached 18 out of 23 chemical weapons sites in the country, and they should have -- this is what they say -- should have all the equipment used to manufacture those weapons out of commission by november 1st, although they do admit to me there are security issues surrounding a couple of locations. and that target of disposing of all the chemical storehouses in that country by mid 2014 still in sight. meanwhile, though, there is no letup in the human suffering in that country and the region. u.n.'s refugee agency tells me today now four and a quarter of a million people are displaced inside of syria, and there are now nearly 2.2 million people outside of the country in makeshift shelters or camps. and perhaps one of the most striking developments in recent weeks, refugees taking to the high seas to escape the danger. video just released this week by the navy of malta showing the rescue of hundreds of refugees

coming from syria and elsewhere in the mediterranean after a ship they were using to try to reach europe cab sized. capsized. president assad, jon, has told us and others he'd be happy to welcome these refugees home. funny, most of them aren't returning. back to you. jon: greg talcott in london, thank you. harris: it's been nearly two years since 1-year-old ayla reynolds vanished from her father's home in maine. her family and local investigators are not giving up on finding her. the latest on the search for this beautiful little one. and the state department under fire for not including, not including the benghazi suspects and -- in its rewards for justice program. we'll take a closer look at why terrorists who killed four americans on 9/11 last year are not on that list. ♪ ♪ [ paper rustles, outdoor sounds ]

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harris: right now, new information on se crime stories that we're following today. a woman in bulgaria agrees to a dna test to to determine if she is the mother of this little girl. she was found in a gypsy camp in greece with a couple claiming her as their own. the discovery has sparked an international search to find her biological parents. still no sign of the toddler missing since deaths 2011. ayla reynolds was just 1-year-old when she disappeared from her father's home in maine. local and state police combed the area yesterday in search for this child who is presumed dead. and some interesting moments for a family in california. police launched a new search for this 9-year-old boy after he was reported missing, turns out he was staying at a friend's house and didn't want to tell anybody. his mom told the media she's relieved but he's, quote, grounded til college. jon: some new info now on the

state department's rewards for justice program. the department's coming under fire after fox news asked why the suspect in the benghazi terror attack are not on its list of wanted terrorists. chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge has been looking into the criteria for that list, she joins us now live from washington. so what are you learning, catherine? >> reporter: well, thank you, jon, and good morning. the rewards for justice program is run by the state department, and it's designed to provide financial incentive to gather intelligence leading to the arrest, capture or what a former agent described to fox as the targeted killing of a suspect. the decision is made by the state department after consulting with the fbi, cia, justice department and national security council staff, and the rewards run from $500,000 up to $25 million for the leader of al-qaeda. as one example, tips about american adam -- [inaudible] a propagandist who is a

mouthpiece for the al-qaeda network in pakistan can bring up to $5 million. yet there is no reward for information leading to those who murderedword chris stevens -- ambassador chris stevens, former navy seals ty woods and glenn doherty which is shocking to a former state department official who used to run the program. >> we should be using every tool in our tool kit to go after the perpetrators of the crime, and the rewards for justice program is a program that specifically is set up for this purpose. and the fact that we have not had a reward for better than a year now, to me, just makes little sense. >> reporter: and burton suspects that politics and the administration's desire to put the whole benghazi episode behind them are to blame for this, jon. jon: and what does the state department have to say about all of this? >> reporter: well, the spokeswoman was candid she was not familiar with the program and that she would have to look into it.

>> let me check and see what the standards are for putting people on it. the answer is i just don't know, but i'm happy to look into it. obviously, it's not the only way we identify people that have committed terrorist acts or have done bads things. there's designations, there's other things we can do as well. >> reporter: meantime, a source on the ground in libya confirms that a former guantanamo detainee was in benghazi on the night of the attack as we had previously reported, he is suspected of training fighters in eastern libya, and we believe that he remains in libya to this point, jon. jon: it would seem that putting them on the list would be a pretty simple thing to do. >> reporter: it's incredible they're not on the list. jon: yeah. catherine herridge, thank you. >> reporter: you're welcome. harris: the utah doctor accused of killing his wife watching his own daughter testify against him, in fact, on the stand right now. we'll take you there live. our legal panel also will weigh in on this. dr. martin macneill on trial for murdering his beauty queen

wife. what today's testimony from the children could mean for that case. and new video of a police rescue involving a chicken mcnugget.

♪ ♪ jon: some dramatic new dash cam video to show you of a new jersey state trooper saving the life of a choking kid. the 13-year-old was in his parents' car when he started choking on a chicken mcnugget. his parents flagged down the troopers, one of them performed the heimlich maneuver and, thankfully, saved the boy's life. we're told the boy is prone to seizures. his mother says those troopers acted like angels. harris: on the stand right now, in fact, we can take a look at this, alexis summers, one of the daughters that's supposed to testify against her dad in court

right now. this is live in utah. the murder trial of a doctor accused of killing his wife playing out inside that courtroom right now. one of martin macneill's daughters -- you see her there -- his own children, they say, believe their dad killed their mom. macneill is accused of giving his wife a fatal dose of prescription drugs after he urged her to get a facelift. she was in recovery at the time. he could face life in prison if convicted. joining us now is trial attorney pilar prince and criminal defense attorney john man orwellian. good to have you both here. john, i want to start with you. you gain information, i would assume, by putting the children on the stand, but there's more to it than that. why call the kids? >> well, i think the prosecution's trying to show that this father had a double life, and that was the motive, that he wanted to kill the wife in order to be with his mistress, gypsy. and i think the daughters are very sour about that, and i think by portraying that evidence, it shows motive, and they're going to use that motive to convict him.

but i think the problem in this case is the causation of death. we don't know how she died. it could have been natural causes, by a heart condition that was exacerbated by taking too many pills, and i think, ultimately, that's what the jury's going to hang their hat on, and i don't think there's going to be a conviction in this case because of that. harris: pilar, it's kind to go up the sheer eye-grabbing nature of the kids in court. what will the defense argue in this, do well, they're going toe that, you know, basically, i agree with what john said, they're going to say that the children are emotional that their mother died, they were, i'm sure, angry that their father had a relationship with a woman who he then moved in to be their nanny, but that doesn't show anything more than children who are upset. it doesn't prove cause of death, put their father at the scene of this crime. i'm more concerned, however, about the potential impact of this 12-year-old testifying, because for a child between the ages of 6 and 12 to maintain independent memory of what happens seems almost impossible to me.

harris: as a trial attorney, i'm wondering whether you really push for that. there's a hearing to decide whether little ada, who was 6 at the time -- now 12, as you just mentioned -- will actually testify. how would you utilize her testimony? >> oh, it's so emotional. if they bring in, for the prosecutor, if they bring in a girl who was 6 years old and she testifies how she found mommy in the bathtub not breathing and ran out to get the neighbor, it's going to pull on the jurors' heart strings. but the defense is going to argue she's been living with her older sister. i know simply from the domestic world to say that a child is not prone to hearing people talking, talking on the telephone, reading emotions and being swayed by that, it's impossible. i mean, they'll want to bring her in, but i think the judge really has to weigh heavily where her testimony and her memory, i should say, has been tainted in the last six years. harris: you know, john, for anybody who's been watching this case, and we've been covering it here on fox, you've seen kind of a metamorphosis physically from

this doctor, and you see him there off to the right center of your screen there, just very calm. do you think they're coaching him in any way to kind of have that sort of doctor's demeanor? [laughter] >> i don't like the word "coaching," that has a sinister meaning to it. i think they probably told him to be professional, not to make facial reactions. because as you know, this doctor was very, very animated when he found his wife in the tub. he was yelling, he was screaming, he was making bizarre statements. so i think that's what the defense attorneys are trying to avoid, him making these odd gestures and behaviors. i don't think they coached him, i just think they told him how to behave professionally as a part of this trial. harris: it's very different to sit in court and then your kids testify against you, you're going to have some kind of emotional reaction. we'll have to see how that plays out today. pilar and john, thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you. >> thank you. jon: well, tornado chasing is becoming more and more popular

with ordinary citizens, thrill seekers really. our next guest tells us why it's never been easier to get up close and personal with extreme storms, but is that a good idea? and the coldest temperatures of the season blanketing much of the country. it is brisk outside our studios in new york city, it's in the 40s when i woke up this morning. so how chilly will it get? harris: i know. i put the dog on the bed. ♪ ♪ when you have diabetes like i do,

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jon: right now a quick preview of some other stories still to come this hour. it is the second leading cause of death worldwide. now a new study shows an increasing number of young people are falling victim to strokes. the doctor is in to tell us why. plus the mysterious disappearance of madeleine mccann. the little girl disappeared from a family vacation six years ago. some new leads are causing the investigators to reopen the case. we'll explain. steaming up the silver screen. a new leading man named in the much anticipated movie version of the best-selling 50 shades of gray trilogy. we'll tell you who is about to close a deal to play christian gray. harris: autumn chill descending

on much of the nation. it is middle of october. midwest and east coast are seeing coolest temperatures of the season. the cold-snap as they're calling it hitting every states with frost and freeze advisories. some states even seeing snow. they got a foot in colorado last week? jon: yeah. harris: chief meteorologist, rick reichmuth. >> across the mountains of colorado this time of year. this is the time of year you get the cold boughts starting to come in. you can't avoid it. it will get mere at some point. you see the current temperatures, the most coldest air, abormally cold air is across the ohio river valley. the west you're looking really warm. temps well above averages. we'll continue to see temps 10 to 15 degrees below average. reinforcing air pull in through friday and saturday. lake-effect snow that flies as air moves across the great lakes. we have freeze advisory across

the ohio river valley. even some frost watches into parts of the south, deep south. tonight to take your plants in if you want them to survive. because we'll see end of growing season for some these spots. this is what we look for tonight's lower temperatures. cooler air across interior sections of the northeast. saturday night another batch of cool air moves in toward the northern plains. we'll tart to warm things up, monday, tuesday of next week. we have a good four more days of this. as the cold air moves around the lakes, harris, a little bit lake effect rain and lake-effect snow. some areas with snow accumulating. toward late october. not all that crazy. you start to see this about now. harris: even so, there was blue and popped up purple on that map. it could be bitter. no matter the day is it is still cold. rick, thank you. >> thank you. jon: storm chasing is exploding in popularity as a recreational activity in recent months.

even as the risks have never been more apparent. you might remember the deadly tornado outbreak that tore through the heartland last may. this monster twister killed nearly two dozen people in the area of el reno, oklahoma, including a veteran storm chaser. we have the senior editor and staff writer for outside magazine. he has studied that particular event and this overall phenomenon. grayson, so many people want to get up close to these monsterous tornadoes. there are companies willing to take you, but you say it is not necessarily something that is a good idea? >> well, you know, it is actually easier to get out on these storms now than ever before. they're in the, since about 2,000, there are dozens of these companies that have cropped up, that will take beginners out and get you in front of a tornado. most of that, most of the time you spend chasing is, you know, time spent in a van driving thousands and thousands of miles

across tornado alley. these companies do have expert meteorologists who are great at reading the radars, checking forecast and put you on some of these storms. for the most part when i went into this i was pretty skeptical of it. i thought this was some sort of a thrill ride you can sign up for like whitewater rafting or something like that but that is actually not the reality. the reality is that most of these storm tours companies are extremely conservative, have a very strong safety record and a great deal of respect for the weather. jon: i tried to go out on one of these storm chasing events a couple decades ago as a reporter. the technology wasn't as advanced then, we couldn't find any storms even though the weather forecast looked pretty good. these days they have gotten pretty accurate. i mean they can do it if you really want to do it. >> that's one of the things that has really improved and allowed people to have much higher hit rate and lower bust rate. they call it a blue sky bust, if you go out and don't find any

severe weather. with basically high rez doppler coverage over the entire country, you can pretty well, have a pretty good idea where the super cell thunderstorms will go up in the afternoons across tornado ally, usually in may, and have a pretty good shot getting on them. jon: tim samaras was a well-known tornado chaser who got caught in the storm on may 31st and was killed. >> yeah. it is, sort of difficult paradox that a lot of people in the storm-chasing world struggled to make sense of. everybody would always say he was among the safest and the most conservative chasers out there. you know, he also was trying to put, you know, probes into some of the most dangerous tornadoes, you know, that mother nature can muster. he spent a lot of time, you know, very close to these storms and i think, you know, if you spend that much time close to these storms, you know,

eventually something a very rare episode, incident can happen. in his case he had a 2.6-mile wide tornado that manned basically right on top of him. jon: well i know that as a writer for, writer and editor for "outside" magazine you have seen your share of dangerous places. i guess you kind of understand the lure of what it was that he was doing that eventually caused his death? >> you know, i didn't understand it before i went out and started chasing but after i saw my first tornado and saw the, you know, the sky and the clouds and all the air get organized in such a powerful and beautiful formation, you know i really did come to understand it, understand why people would spend, you know, driving thousands of miles and spending years of their lives trying to see events that last for five to 20 minutes. you know i think that there's an incredible draw to it. since going out and learning

about storm chasing i can't look at the sky the same way anymore. every time i see a cloud in the summer now i'm glued to the radar to try to figure out what's going to happen. i think for most people if they were to have a better appreciation of the sky and weather and what is going on i think that is actually a good thing. i think for people to be aware of the storms that that around them. i think it makes probably makes tornado alley a bit safer. jon: well that storm came just 11 days after the tornado that devastated moore, oklahoma, this spring. it was really a violent spring. grayson schaeffer, "outside" magazine. thanks for sharing your thoughts. harris: i appreciate what he is saying safely do this. i lived in kansas. we went through trainings programs because a lot of news coverage was chasing storms, tornadoes out there, and a lot of types people can't anticipate how strong they will be and how close they are to them. jon: and how terrifying. >> all right. we usually associate having a stroke with older people but a

new study finds more young people are having strokes. when our next guest, a doctor, i will ask him about the warning signs and how young people are getting. the actor seat to play the lead role in the movie version of the steamy best-seller, "50 shades of grey" is not jon scott. they have settled on someone else to play christian grey. we'll tell you who it is.

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her home country, the u.k., has been conducting its own investigation. tragedy in australia to show you about. plane battling wildfires near sydney, crashed into a national park. the impact killed the pilot and sparked another fire. more than 55 fires continue to burn just across the state of new south wales in australia. how about this for a christmas gift. harris, pay attention. harris: okay. jon: the world's most expensive diamond s. going up for auction. harris: is that what you're getting me?

jon: no. harris: oh. jon: talk to your husband. this pink star is expected to sell for, oh, $60 million. harris: i was going to tell you rock if you get me that. jon: no. harris: growing concerns about religious freedom here in the united states and abroad. a new study raising serious questions about the president's track record on this issue and what it means for foreign policy. shannon bream is live with the news now from washington. shannon? >> reporter: harris, there are new concerns both here at home and across the world when it comes to attacks on religious freedom. here in the u.s. a new report by the liberty institute said incidents of religious hostility doubled in the course of one year. the report documents more than 1200 examples. things like city officials telling senior citizens at senior censor they couldn't pray before meals. numerous fights we have documented veterans mem more or less have to be torn down if they have any religious symbols.

internationally, people are persecuted or killed. secretary of state john kerry said earlier this year he is hopeful that will change. >> while serious challenges to religious freedom remain, i also could not be more optimistic about the prospects for freedom around the world because there are great prospects for accountability around the world. >> reporter: but critics say the administration could do a whole lot more to fight to protect religious minorities. it is in our best interests from a foreign policy standpoint. >> democracy alone, just free and fair elections will not give you religious freedom. in fact the reverse is true. if you don't have religious freedom, democracy is not going to work. so the reality is, taking egypt as one example, we have failed to convince the egyptians that this is in their interests. >> reporter: there's also new concern on the hill because of the announcement that the ambassador from the u.s. for international religious freedom is resigning. it took nearly two years to fill that position the last time it

was vacant. harris? harris: wow, shannon bream, thank you. >> all right. calling all dead heads out there. get your checkbooks out and getting moving trucks ready. this house is experiencing a touch of sale. look familiar? ♪

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be yours. it is not on shakedown street but within a ten minute walk to the beach. >> that's a steal, pick it up. >> i wish. >> that's it for us, america nows headquarters starts. the tech guys say it is not their fault. so who's logging on now. i bill hemmer. >> very interesting committee hearing. i am alisyn camerota. developers said the administration decideed to go livine though it was not ready. mike is on capitol hill. >> reporter: good afternoon, ally, federal contractors did not test the over all health care.gov until the last second and they told the client about their