france. the club was closed and servicemen had meals paid by patrons. walter cronkite appeared with the news. so sad. martha: continuing coverage throughout the day. noon is the big hour for these memories in dealey plaza. "happening now" starts right now. we'll see you back here tomorrow, everybody. jon: it is 11:00 a.m. on the east coast and we begin with this fox news alert. remembering a very dark day in american history. 50 years ago today president john f. kennedy was shot and killed as his motorcade drove through the streets of dallas, texas. you're looking live at dealey plaza there in dallas where a solemn ceremony is to begin over an hour from now. the eternal flame burning on the gravesite of president john f. kennedy at arlington national cemetery. in the white house the flag flies at half-staff in honor of

the youngest man elected to president of of the united states. in arlington, eternal flame, marking the legacy and final resting place of our 30 fifth president. we have live coverage throughout the day on events honoring president kennedy. here on fox news channel. jon: very good morning to you as we celebrate what is in many respects sort of a somber friday. >> i'm patti ann browne in for jenna lee. new fallout meanwhile after senate democrats go nuclear voting to strip republicans of the power to block many presidential nominees. the new rule requires a simple majority, 51 votes instead of 60, to end a filibuster and bring most nominations to a full floor vote. republicans are calling this a raw power grab. chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel is live in washington with more on this hi, mike.

>> reporter: patti ann, congress was already struggling to get things done. republicans call it a power grab to force things through. many are expecting short-term complications and senate may be changed forever. >> what is so damning, and what will last for a long time, unless we change it. , that could permanently change the unique aspects of this institution, united states senate, is if a majority can change the rules, then only a majority can change the rules, then, there are no rules. >> reporter: senate majority leader harry reid had been opposed to changing the rules for a long time but some of these younger senators, who have never served with democrats in the minority pushed this effort. one is senator jeff merkley from oregon. >> well i think this is a terrific vote for the u.s. senate. we have had a form of paralysis that has afflicted this institution and it has done

great disservice to the american people. >> reporter: three democrats voted with republicans yesterday, carl levin of michigan, joe manchin of west virginia and mark pryor of arkansas. levin expressed concern this could lead to more changes in the senate. >> when the precedent is set, that a majority of this body can change the rules at will, which is what majority did today, if it can be changed on judges, or on other nominees, this precedent is going to be used, i fear, to change the rules on consideration of legislation. >> reporter: for now the obama administration will get federal judges approved more quickly. if there is need for cabinet shuffle, it will be easier to appoint new people to the posts. at some points when democrats are out of power, republican leaders are warning they will regret this move. patti ann? jenna: mike emanuel, live in

washington, thanks. jon: while the filibuster rule change in the senate might be a political win for president obama, at least in the short term, not much else seems to be going his way. two new polls now show his approval rating sinking to a new low. according to a cnn-orc poll, just 41% of americans approve of the job mr. obama is doing in the white house. 56% disapprove of his job performance the same story in a "fox news poll." 40% of those surveyed approve of the job the president is doing. 55% disapprove. let's talk about it with karl rove, former senior advisor and deputy chief of staff to president george w. bush. he is also a fox news contributor and a man who knows better than most of us a thing or two about polling. so, what are people feeling here, karl? >> well, first of all this is clearly tied to the affordable care act, to obamacare. if you take a look at the polls, it also indicates the president's job approval on handling of health care is at an

all-time low. the popularity of obamacare is at an all-time loy. new poll out today by the kaiser family foundation which is a group that supports the affordable care act but they said approval of the measure is down now to about 33%. lowest in, in their ratings on this. so, the president faces a problem driven largely by the affordable care act but two other things are at play here which complicate his life. one is he is losing the sense that he is being straightforward and honest with the american people. we now have a majority of people who believe that he deliberately misled them about, if you like your plan you can keep it. and in addition, they're starting not to like him as much. he has been always buoyed liking him more than they like his policies. now he is starting to get some very high unfavorable personal ratings compared to what he has historically had. once you start dropping on trust worthiness and likability, it is hard to reverse. jon: once people feel you're not

honest with them it is very tough to regain that trust. >> yeah. look, how many of us know somebody who has had their insurance plan canceled? and numbers will simply grow. we have 4.2 million policies that have been canceled. two things. those are only in 29 states. the rest of the states have not yet to report their numbers like my home state of texas. those are policies. not people. most policies cover multiple people. we're only seeing front edge of cancellations. they continue through 2014. as they do, more and more people will say, you know what? he misled. he told me i could keep the plan if i liked it. i liked what i had and i'm losing it. jon: the website is a mess obviously but some day they will get that fixed. this is about more than the website? >> absolutely. think about this people will be losing their coverage and going on the exchanges and getting sticker shock. we don't have quantitative data

but we've got a lot of anecdotal data that people are suffering sticker shock going in there we had the example of an email from the chief of staff of a democratic congressman saying people are, older staffers are paying three or four times the premiums that they were paying before. so that is going to be rippling through next year. then people will be trying to negotiate their new networks and finding out their favorite doc is not covered by the network. provider that was nearby they trusted is not in their network. they will have to be finding new networks. this will not be a happy time for people. as a result, it will not be a happy time for the president as the affordable care act, as obamacare as we popularly used to call it, rolls out through 2014. jon: yeah. democrats seem to be, and president himself don't seem to be using that phrase quite as much these days. >> no, they don't. jon: talk about what happened in the u.s. senate about 23 hours ago when democrats voted in the majority that changed rules that stood for hundreds of years and end the ability of the minority party to filibuster judicial

nominees and other presidential nominees. what do you make of what democrats have done here? >> well, first of all gross hypocrisy. i was in the white house 2005 when senator bill frist suggested using "nuclear option." my sense it was more of a negotiating tactic because there was not enthusiasm on the republican side to change the rules. i remember the speeches by senator obama, and senator reid, another biden and another leahy the senate had to respect the minority and not change the rules. not only changed it but changed it in the middle of ledge i've session. this is big deal. the rules of the? were written by thomas jefferson. his friend james madison talked to him about the senate needed to be anchor, quote necessary fence to cool the fickleness and passions of both the people and the rest of the government. it was washington who told jefferson that the senate was

the saucer that would cool the passions of country. that is to say, make it tougher to put things through the senate. make the senate move more slowly and more deliberately. now what we've got, we have a situation where president can send somebody up for judiciary and cabinet and appointment and do it with 51 votes. what we see republicans democrats alike, not sitting how do we get agreement between both parties about potential nominees. instead we'll ram through people who represent the idealogical base of each political party on 51 votes. that is not going to be good for the country. if this extend further, the legislation, we will have lost one of the great constitutional both the, senate was designed to be, to be protected a little bit from the passions of people. that is why we gave them a six-year term. that is why the rules of senate as written by thomas jefferson slowed things up, made it more difficult to pass things. the country will rue the day that harry reid in dictatorial

fashion changed the rules in the middle of game in hypocritical gesture he condemned when it was proposed in 2005. jon: we have senator ted cruz standing by. we'll talk about him, talking to him about many so of those hinges in couple minutes. i want to get a quick thought from you, you are in texas where jfk was assassinated 50 years ago. give us your thoughts, give us your memories of that day. >> well, i was in the sixth grade in junior high school in sparks, nevada. i remember the principal came on the loud speaker and announced president kennedy had been shot and died in dallas. i remember my teacher beginning to cry. she asked us to put our heads down on the table and read a prayer, gave a prayer. i remember how shaken i was that, both the president was gone and then it was, that it would frighten somebody, that obviously when you're, you know, junior high, you look up to your teachers. and i, i remember that. i also remember the funeral. my father watched the funeral with us. and i remember the solemn

procession to, to, to the gravesite of where the president's casket was carried on, you know, drawn by horses to arlington cemetery. it was a fearful moment for our country. jon: karl rove, fox news contributor, joining us with his memories from texas. karl, thank you. >> you bet. jon: we are awaiting the start of the memorial ceremony at dealey plaza in dallas. we'll bring it to you live in its entirety. we also want to know where you were on that day 50 years ago. so many of us will never forget exactly what we were doing when we heard the news. tweet us your story at jon scott@fnc and tweet pattive ann brown,@patti ann browne. we'll share your tweets throughout the hour. >> come news of another obamacare delay. it could have a big impact on a

lot of americans about a year from now. we'll talk live with texas republican senator ted cruz next. okay, listen up! i'm re-workin' the menu. mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. [ bottle ] ensure®. nutrition inharge™. to share with family. [ woman 2 ] to carry on traditions. [ woman 3 ] to come together even when we're apart. [ male announcer ] in stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and more, swanson makes holiday dishes delicious.

patti ann: turning to another delay involving obamacare. fox news confirming the administration will delay the 2015 insurance he will rolement period by one month. it will begin in mid-november after the 2014 elections. the department of health and human services says the move is purely aimed at insurers to adjust working with exchanges. joining us republican senator from texas, ted cruz. thanks for being with us. >> patti ann, thanks for being with us. patti ann: first of all your reaction to the latest development? >> not surprising they want to

move as much as they can to after the next election. they're doing what they can to run away from obamacare. the wheels are falling off. this thing isn't working. patti ann: you've been a vocal critic of obamacare. fought against it on constitutional grounds. trying to defund it. people are asking what the republican alternative? >> the republican alternative to make patients your own medical choices free of government interference. i think the best option is two steps. number one, repealing obamacare. it is not working. millions of americans lost their health insurance because of obamacare, lot of their jobs because it is not working. the most important thing to replace it with to allow interstate purchase of health insurance which would create a nationwide marketplace gives consumers more choices and lower prices. if you want to expand access, you want to lower prices expand choices. what obamacare does, restricts choices and raises prices and it is not working. >> which want to move on now to

another historic move yesterday in the senate. majority leader harry reid invoking the so-called "nuclear option", changing the rules of the senate to make it harder for the minority to block certain presidential appointments of the one of the most immediate concerns people have about this is the d.c. circuit court. right now tied 4-4, with three vacancies if those are filled by democrats, 7-4 in favor of whatever regulations this court controls, federal regulations. >> what we saw yesterday was replay actually what happened with obamacare t was a brazen, partisan abuse of power and it was designed to do couple things. number one to change the topic. democrats want to talk about anything other than millions of people hurting because of obamacare. but number two, it replayed, you know, just as the president said, if you liked your plan, you can keep it. harry reid, said repealy this

year under no circumstances use "the nuclear option" to change senate rules. just like president obama did, he broke his promise. he broke his word. but you put your finger on the immediate end goal here. which is they want to pack the court. in particular pack the d.c. circuit, to cover up, the president and this is one of the most troubling aspects of this administration, has been lawless and picking and choosing which part of the statutes he will follow. which parts he won't. this administration does not want to be held to account for disregarding the law by impartial judiciary. they're trying to pack the courts with judges they hope will just rubberstamp the president's refusal to follow the law. patti ann: we'll see what happens there. one last topic, now, we want to touch on benghazi investigation. earlier this week you sent out a letter to fellow senators asking them to back an independent investigation into the terror attack on our consulate in libya. it included, you already have 24

senators supporting it, but you want others to support the forming of this commission. you included a statement from the family of sean smith, one of the four killed. why is this so important? >> it has been over a year now. four americans were murdered in benghazi. the first time a u.s. ambassador has been killed in the line of duty since 1979. we remember the debate between barack obama where president obama said, nobody cares more about getting to the bottom of what happened than i do. well over a year has passed, it seems the word benghazi has never again left the president's lips. we need to find out what happened. we need to find out number one, why we didn't respond to the serious security problems there on the ground, the escalating threats of al qaeda terrorism. number two, we need to find out why we didn't send in military assets to save those americans. why all of our assets, apparently stayed where they were. and number three, we need to find out, why it is that the administration deliberately

repeatedly, he had ited talking points, changed message and con octobered this story about -- concoct octobered this story about silly internet video. that this was al qaeda terrorism, targeting the united states. over a year later we still have not apprehended and brought to justice the murderers that took the lives of those four brave americans. patti ann: we have wrap it briefly where does the resolution stand now? >> the democrats are blocking it. patti ann: okay. >> what the resolution calls for is a bipartisan joint select committee to get to the bottom, get to the truth to determine what happened and what we can do differently to prevent that. patti ann: got to leave it there. senator cruz, thank you for joining us,. >> thank you for having me. patti ann: jon? jon: there is new fallout for obamacare on the political side. is it forcing some people into medicaid? a look back at the day 50 years

ago that changed america forever.

patti ann: right now, growing concerns that obamacare may be forcing some people out of their current insurance and into medicaid. in some cases, leaving insurance shoppers with no alternative but the taxpayer-funded program. doug mckelway is live in washington. hi, doug. medicaid was designed as a safety net for uninsured poor. >> reporter: it was originally but under obamacare we're seeing evidence that medicaid is undergoing massive transformation and perhaps expansion. nicole hopkins wrote an op-ed in yesterday's "wall street journal" about her mother's plight. her mother prides herself on

self-sufficiency, independence, never taking a government handout. >> my mom always worked hard. she is really a survivor. she has a great story. it is, you know, a really unique story and, i have never known anybody like her. and she has just a really indomitable spirit. >> reporter: but like millions of other americans she lost her insurance policy under the new obama care regulations. so she went on to the exchange, found out she could not afford new premiums, she was put on medicaid, against her will. >> my pride is, it's about being able to take care of myself and live a good life and, my, i was, my parents never financed anything. they paid cash for everything. they saved when they wanted it. >> reporter: take another case, case of a virginia family who contacted us yesterday but asked not to be identified. the husband own as five million dollars house which he has entirely paid for.

the kids all go to expensive private schools. the husband lost his insurance, so went on to healthcare.gov website to be involuntarily placed on medicaid. in the website chat room he protested that. quoting, let "60 minutes" tell me in my five million dollar paid for house that this guy is on medicaid and american taxpayers are paying for it. i do understand your frustration but i have no other options to offer. that is pretty much where we stand right now. patti ann: doug, how good is the health care coverage provided by medicaid? >> reporter: we spoke to a health care advocate who writes for the man hat inis statute. medicaid patients twice as likely to die as private insurance. hospital stays were 42% longer and cost 26% more. he goes on to say obamacare is designed to extend health insurance coverage to tens of millions of uninsured americans.

rarely is it mentioned that medicaid will provide half of that new coverage. medicaid providing half of that new coverage. patti ann? patti ann: doug mckelway, live in washington, thank you. >> reporter: you bet. jon: it was 50 years ago today, president john f. kennedy was assassinated by a gunman in dallas. that terrible day being remembered throughout the nation and really around the world. a young jack kennedy lived in london when his father was ambassador to the court in st. james. kennedy worked closely with our british allies. greg palkot from the jfk memorial outside of london. >> reporter: it's a simple memorial to president kennedy but it is a powerful one. we're thousands of miles away from dallas but the feelings here in run any mead in london, strong and deep. the guest of honor at the ceremonies here, in fact an american, the granddaughter of jfk, the daughter of caroline. she is studying here.

wreaths laid at monument which is line from the inaugural address of jfk engraved in stone. this is not far from the windsor castle and the magna carta was signed. it was given by the u.s. by the u.k. as sign of ties. even 50 years after the assassination. kennedy's father was ambassador to the u.k. during time of world war ii. he spent time in london and europe. during his presidency, cold war tensions brought the u.k. strong and close. here is what jfk's granddaughter had to say as well as the current u.s. ambassador to the u.k. take a listen. >> 50 years after his death as my grandfather's story begins to belong more and more to history i can think of no bitter place to honor him, tell and remember his story and too look again as he would have wanted us to toward the future. >> hearing from the brits and americans i'm meeting around

here is a real look to the future and being inspired by his call to service and his call to ask for help and answer that call with yes. because we need more help. >> reporter: we did, jon, in fact speak to many british people as well. there are many visitors to this memorial. someone hundred thousand come here every year. most of them were young at the time. in fact they remembered the youth and the vigor of this man. of course he wasn't their president but in some ways they represented their ideals and their feelings and also, they remember what it felt like 50 years ago, deep hurt, hurt felt around the world. back to you, jon. jon: greg palkot in london. greg, thank you. >> a stunning announcement about obamacare. why the administration decided to delay open enrollment. not this year, but a year down the road. also the relationship between the white house and the press, taking a hit after dozens of journalists file a formal complaint.

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jon: less than an hour from now, thousands will gather in dallas to remember president john f. kennedy, 50 years after he was assassinated while riding in a motorcade through the city streets. three days later, millions of people around the world watched the live television coverage, as

the president's flag-draped coffin made its way down connecticut avenue in washington, d.c. members of the kennedy family along with u.s. and world leaders, walking behind in a solemn procession. take a live look now at dealey plaza where thousands of people will honor our 30 fifth president. peter johnson, jr., is a fox news legal analyst and he is there now. peter, what's the mood? >> good morning, jon. you know, it's a somber mood. it is cold, windy day and people are now flooding in to remember john f. kennedy on this 50th anniversary of his assassination. the people here in dealey plaza want to put this aside in some ways. used to be white, painted xs on elm street, in this area in which john f. kennedy was assassinated to mark the point where he was murdered. the city of dallas in the last week took that out, as if to exercise the shame and stain of

the past, dallas felt although it was not deserved. so this is a day of reflection in terms of what president kennedy meant to this country and i think that was a sense of inspiration, a sense of hope, a sense of ambition, the sense of unbridled optimism, new frontiers, whether civil rights or the space age. equipped for even the unhappiness moments and frankly, crushing the russian threat in cuba. so people are somber. they're thoughtful. they're watching video of the president's speeches and his movements that day in fort worth and dallas 50 years ago but it is an entirely unique and somewhat happy american moment which we're able to take stock of a president, foibles and all, say, yeah, he gave his life for our country. jon: you know one of the things i was thinking about today is that famous line in his speech

in which he said, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. and one wonders, you know, whether that same attitude is still prevalent today? >> well, i think it is prevalent today. it is prevalent in your family. you understand the call of service and it's, it's a moment of american exceptionalism. the things that he praised, the terms that he coined, the ethos that he imbued in the american spirit are essentially what we understand to be of the american exceptionalism and essentially what we understand to be conservative principles. ask not what you can do, taking on challenges, change the world, volunteer. be part of this american fabric. great concepts whether you're a democrat, republican, independent. whatever stripe you are, he left us with the notion that whether

he was part of pt-109, having his back broken as a hero and saving other americans, or whether he was fighting communism, that he was doing it for us and he was doing it in a way that was unique and that will be forever remembered. whether you loved kennedy or whether you didn't love kennedy i think you have to understand his contribution was enormous to our society and to our culture, and that's what we're celebrating here on this cold and earlier rainy day in dallas, texas. it was a sad, sad time. the world stopped and our hearts were broken but today, we take stock and we move ahead as he always suggested, that we move ahead in this country with the spirit of optimism and a spirit that we can do it all. jon: day to reflect on all of that. peter johnson, jr., our fox news legal analyst there in dallas. peter, thank you. >> good to see you, jon. patti ann: switching gears now

to obamacare and a stunning decision to delay open enrollment, not this year but in 2015. health officials say they will begin sign-ups on november 15th, rather than october 15th, in order to give issuers more time to evaluate their experiences from 2014. well chief white house correspondent ed henry is live at the white house with more on this. ed, what are you hearing about this new delay? >> reporter: good to see you, patti ann. bottom line as you suggest, it sounds like bad news to have yet another delay to the health care plan in terms of enrollment. as you say, not affecting 2014 but 2015. the administration is pushing back by saying it is good news for consumers because what this will do is push back open enrollment next year for the 2015 calendar year from, october to mid-november it would start. now bottom line, hhs, the department involved here says, quote, it will give issuers the benefit of more time to evaluate

their experiences during the 2014 plan year and allow them to take into account those who may enroll late including young adults before setting 2015 rates for health care but there are republicans today say this is one in a long string of delays that suggest this plan is just not ready for prime time. take a listen. we apparently don't have that sound t was senator john barrasso who was basically saying after sticker shock and website problems that now there's another delay here. what is also interesting is that this, when you have open enrollment, instead of october 2014 moving into mid-november of 2014, that means it would be after the midterm elections of 2014. maybe there is some democrats in the administration worried if there are more problems next winter, that would be kicked past the election, instead of before the election, patti ann. patti ann: that is exactly what some republicans are saying. there seems to be some possible

political motivation behind all of this. ed henry at the white house. >> reporter: good to see you. jon: it was 50 years ago that an assassin's bullets changed the course of american history. no one alive that day will ever forget it. today we're remembering president john f. kennedy.

jon: tensions are on the rise between the obama administration and the white house press corps over what some call a lack of access to the president and the use of government photographers instead of independent journalists to record white house events. now the white house denies those claims saying it is actually given the public more access to the president because of social media. listen. >> each presidential team that has come in here basically used, you know, for some denial of access used the previous president as an, presidential team as an excuse for why they have denied that access. you guys are setting precedent here, that the next president is

going to use, are you aware of that, maybe role back -- >> i don't agree. i don't agree with that. i can't think of, the only precedent that i can think of in terms of previous administration where we have taken steps to be more transparent. jon: talk about it with judith miller, a pulitzer-prize-winning investigator author and fox news contributor. kirsten powers, "daily beast" columnist and fox news contributor as well. kirsten, this is supposed to be the most transparent administration in american history. that is what we were promised. what is going on? >> they're very careful about managing president obama's image and has not been transparent this is a complaint going on for quite some time actually. that they basically used white house photographers for, example as, propaganda. they just take pictures and release them. they don't let photographers in to meetings they would normally have access to. in the past you would be able to come in and at least ask a

question or two. now they will only release the most flattering picture. there is no access to questions. they have, these interviews with something called white house tv, that they just release out, like a wire service or something. they're denying access to journalists. jon: well, judy, some people sitting at home, might say, okay, so what. if it is taken by the official white house photographer, pete souza, rather than by the associated press or "new york times" or "washington post", what's the big deal? >> well of course there is a big deal, jon. a white house photographer, the official photographer, is not about to present to the american people an unflattering image of the president. that's what this is all about. these tensions started, really to escalate back in the summer when president obama went to south africa and white house correspondents, that is the press corps, were permitted to take a single photo each, but pete souza, the official white house photographer, took a

picture of him hugging his daughter sasha. that went all over. that is the image that everyone saw of when you have state photographers taking pictures and state news services with carefully, prearranged questions, you don't have a free and independent media. so that is what is going on here and reporters should be angry. jon: there was another exchange with chuck todd of nbc news at the white house. i think we can play that now. i want to give our viewers a sample of some of the tensions. >> at this podium people have been critical of other countries and how they handle press freedoms by this white house doing it by releasing their own version of things, without a press filter doesn't that call into question about basic small d, democratic values? >> if there were another country using a government employee as a substitute for an independent professional journalist and that

is not something that -- >> that happened with you. >> that is not. >> that has happened when you took the second oath. >> what we have done -- we have tried to provide, use new technology and the president's personal photographer, as a way to provide additional insight into what is happening at the white house. jon: so josh ernest is saying all of that with a straight face, kirsten but that is exactly what they have done, isn't it? this white house tv thing. >> yes. jon: that you discussed that is their own sort of video camera crew recording events that the free press is shut out from. >> yeah. absolutely. if you take it, i can see some people say, oh, what's the big deal about a picture. what people need to understand is, there is a picture that the white house photographer took of his meeting with hillary clinton. well, so, they're not going to release a picture that would show any tension, right? we don't know there was tension. if there was tension you will never see that of the what you will see, happy, smiling picture. that just goes for every single

meeting, whether he is meeting with anybody, or any situation and i think that what josh ernest said isn't happening is exactly what's happening is that in the past every other president, every other white house would let photographers in, would let even, you know, tv cameras in, called them a spray. you come in and walk in. they often are able to ask questions. jon: right. >> obviously the white house photographer is not asking questions. jon: there are some very serious consequences here, judy. i'm thinking back to the ford administration. gerry ford was probably our most athletic president, save teddy roosevelt, yet he gets filmed stumbling undo the steps air force one a few times, maybe twice, it becomes this skit on "saturday night live" and all of sudden he is a bumbling president who barely lost his re-election. if his white house could have controlled those images somehow, you might have had a very different chain of events. >> absolutely. you might have had had a very

different president. you no know, jon, we're talking about john f. kennedy. there was a president who provided unbelievable amounts of access to the media, much more than this administration pretended to produce and yet, you know, he managed to seduce the press by giving access. this administration while talking about transparency does the opposite. jon: judy, i just want to turn especially your attention to this the 50th anniversary of the jfk assassination and your memories of the day he was shot. >> well, i was in english class, studying the scarlet letter. and, it was a terrible red day for me too. jon: yeah. just, something that you will always remember. i -- >> where were you, jon? jon: i was coming out, leaving kindergarten and, and i heard from my teacher that the president had been shot. i went home and told my mother. i think it was the first news report that i ever passed along.

>> wow. starting early. jon: all right. that's going to do it for our media analysis segment for today. kirsten powers, judy miller. thank you both. >> thank you, jon. jon: we continue to mark this terrible day in american history. 50 years ago the assassination of a president. how the nation is today, remembering john fitzgerald kennedy.

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jon: so we asked for your stories about jfk and where you were, what you remember about the day you were shot. jay is a former alaska state trooper, says 50 years ago today i was in trinidad, colorado, going to gunsmith school at

junior college when he was shot. many dozens of us were in the common buildings glued to the tv. patti ann: we heard from gary who said he was actually at the parade and remembers the sound of the gunshot. was complete chaos. security watts nothing like today, interesting. a sad day for sure. jon: it is amazing when you look at those images of the president riding in a convertible, you know. wouldn't happen today. patti ann: yeah. jon: really hasn't happened ever since that day. val oliver writes, i was in the fifth grade cutting a pilgrim costume. my dad, an fbi agent, went immediately to dallas. i was living history. patti ann: cathy says 50 years ago, grade three recess. i heard news over the radio. the heard the told the teacher. the teacher tried to keep me after school for lying. my mother intervened. jon: tom writes i was in training at an air force base in illinois and packed our bags and

prepared for war. we were sad and frightened. it was middle of the cold war. very tense times with the soviet union back then. a lot of people thought they were behind the assassination. some still do. patti ann: i want alive yet but the way my parents and grandparent talk about, and as you say, the whole cold war environment really change the way the whole story was shaded. we heard from linda, also. a lot of people were in school, of course. linda safes i was in the school classroom. some kids started crying. others looked stunned. it was my 13th birthday. jon: linda writes i was three years old living in anchorage, alaska where my dad was stationed in the air force. i just remember sadness. patti ann: we have jl. i was in 7th grade. everything stopped. we had monday off and watched funeral and news on only three channels back then. just three channels. jon: i remember that as well as a kid. mary writes, at age four i tugged on my mom's apron, and

asked why are you crying? she said, our beloved president is dead. it is the first memory i have of mom crying. >> just one more for you, nadine king says, i was in 10th great biology class when the announcement came in. shock and sadness invaded our school. we'll never forget. interesting that teachers and principals announced it to their schools. i'm not sure that would even happen today, the school environment a little different. jon: yay, that is where i remember hear about it. i was leaving my kindergarten class, the school, principal, my teacher, i can't remember which, made announcement. you're right these days, a lot of people might shoe kid out of the building and let them find out their own way. whether that is right or not, i don't know. if you have memories to share with us, send us your tweets at happening now. thousands of people will be gathering at dealey plaza. they will be there to remember president john f. kennedy, 50 years after he was assassinated

while riding through the streets of dallas. patti ann: we'll take you there live as soon as that begins. stay with us. [ male announc ] th december, experience the gift of unsurpassed craftsmanship at the lexus december to remember sales event. some of the best offers of the year. this is the pursuit of perfection.

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find your co-pay cost at myflexpen.com. ask your health care provider about novolog® flexpen today. jon: remembering the day that changed everything in america, i'm jon scott. welcome to this brand new hour of "happening now." patti ann: i'm patti ann brown. fifty years ago today, november 22, 1963, president kennedy was assassinated in dallas. jon: dallas is holding its first official memorial ceremony set to take place a short time from now on dealey plaza where the president was shot and killed as he rode through the streets in an open convertible. at the white house and around the country, the american flag lowered to half staff as we remember the president who died too young. casey teeing el is live for us -- steigel a is live for us

now. >> reporter: take a look at this, this is the front page of the "dallas morning news" from saturday, november 23, 1963, the day after jfk was assassinated here. kennedy slain in dallas street. you know, the last several decades, frankly, a lot of hate has been directed toward the city of dallas and the state of texas, for that matter. a dark cloud has really hung over this city for the last 50 years after what happened here. some of the newspaper headlines on that day read texas killed kennedy. so the purpose be of today's memorial is clearly twofold, not only to remember the fallen president and pay tribute to him, but to also help the city of that's and the people of texas continue -- of dallas and the people of texas continue to mourn and move forward. you know, in his short time in office jfk helped found the peace corps, he expanded the space program to get ahead of the russians, he likely prevented a nuclear war with the cuban missile crisis, he gave

americans hope. and that is what is till -- still talked about today with his legacy. but as with any leader, the 35th president of the united states had some failures, too, in office. who could forget the bay of pigs disaster, that unsuccessful military invasion of cuba and and attempt to overthrow castro. he got this nation further involved, in mistorians say -- many historians say, in the vietnam war. but the service that starts this just about 30 minutes' time is about paying tribute for generations young and old. city leaders will be speaking, historians and then a moment of silence at 12:30 central time, 1:30 eastern, the exact moment the shots were fired. the press riser here is accommodating press from all over the world. of i've seen networks from australia, asia, europe, you name it. we're all packed in here on this cold, blustery day in the big d. the press risers set up on the

grassy knoll itself, and just over my right shoulder is elm street, the road that the presidential motorcade was coming down when the bullet withs were fired and -- bullets were fired. and the building in the very back there, that is the infamous texas book depository building. and in the far right corner window one down from the top is where oswald sat with his sniper's per be. 50 -- sniper's perch 50 years ago today, jon. jon: ceremonies just about 27 minutes from now. casey, thank you. patti ann: and 50 years after the kennedy assassination, government agencies have released millions of documents from that tragic day. but the cia still keeps thousands of pages out of public view, and that has sparked curiosity and criticism from conspiracy theorists, journalists and scholars alike. chief washington correspondent james rosen is live in our d.c. bureau with that story. hi, james.

>> reporter: patti ann, good afternoon. from the very moment the shots were fired in dallas, almost exactly 50 years ago at this hour, senior cia officials began behaving in ways that fueled suspicion of a conspiracy be: the agency withheld much from the warren commission including, for example, its own program to subvert and assassinate fidel castro, code named operation mongoose and presided over by the kennedy brothers. and while a mountain of evidence implicates lee harvey oswald as the sole assassin, cia withheld from the commission all it knew about os to wald and his -- oswald in the months leading up to the assassination. fifteen years later when the house select committee reopened the kennedy case, cia sought to mislead the panel can and direct its probe away from the agency. langley, in fact, appointed this retired undercover officer as liaison to the committee. when he should have been a witness before it as he worked in miami and new orleans in the early '60s, and the cia admits

he may even have had contact with oswald. larry sabato does not rule out the possibility of a conspiracy in jfk's assassination. >> the fact that they appointed george to be the liaison between the cia and the be house select committee on assassinations tells me that they consciously were determined to withhold information from this second major investigation of the kennedy assassination. it's hard to reach any other conclusion. >> reporter: peter -- to have of "the interloper," a deeply-researched study of the killer takes a different view. >> he was on their so-called radar screen, but i, i don't think that, you know, means anything more than exactly that. the idea that somehow he was a puppet or a patsy or being controlled by larger forces

mysteriously, clandestinely, it makes for nice theater, but there's no truth behind it. >> reporter: a spokesman for cia told me this week the national archives has all 100,000 of the agency's assassination-related documents but only about 1100 or so remain classified, but those include the files of george. patti ann? patti ann: so, james, when, if ever, are we going to see tease files? >> reporter: the law mandates that all jfk assassination-related files shall be made public by 2017. however, there's another author out there, jefferson morley, he has been suing cia since 2003. the case is more than a decade old, to get those files. we'll hear from him tonight on "special report" with bret baier at 6 eastern. patti ann: looking forward to that. james rosen, thank you. >> reporter: thank you. jon: new info now on the implementation of obamacare. fox news learning that the white house is pushing back the enrollment period for 2015 by one month.

now, it happens that the new enrollment period begins after the midterm elections. stephen hayes is a senior writer for the weekly standard and a fox news contributor. stephen, do you think this new date is a coincidence? >> yeah. just a coincidence, jon, nothing to do with the elections whatsoever. i think it was just a data they happened to pick. no, look, of course it has something to do with the elections. i think virtually everybody in washington -- including some democrats and people associated with democrats aye spoken with -- have acknowledged this has to do with the elections and that the white house is making a calculated decision to take a political hit now for whatever negative publicity they get from moving the date back to avoid a similar kind of hit for the kinds of, you know, details that would be coming out in the days before the election next year. jon: hhs, department of health and human services, that made this ruling say they are just doing it so that the insurers have more time to gather information about the folks who were signing up. does that hold water?

>> well, i mean, look, that's not a crazy notion. i mean, it is true that the insurers will want more time and have asked for more time in other contexts to be able to appropriately rice their plans based on what they've -- price their plans based on what they've seen from this past year. however, if you look at the kind of chaos that we're seeing inside this superstructure of obamacare right now, the idea that this one-month delay is actually going to provide the fix with the time that insurance companies need, i think, strains credulity a little bit. jon: well, they also say it would benefit consumers who will gain from a longer education period prior to end rolling. enrolling. perhaps they're thinking that most people are procrastinators like i am. we're not going to sign up until the very last minute, and by the time we sign up ask learn what the prices of some of these plans are -- b. >> right. jon: -- we will have already cast our votes. >> well, and, i mean, what they want to do -- the argument is

that, you know, if you have people signing up late, young and healthy people signing up in the last month or so of eligibility for this year, you know, looking in the march time frame b insurance companies need more time later to be able to appropriately price the 2015 plans. it's not that that is, that case is without merit or that there's nothing to it, it's just that when you weigh that against all of the other factors that we're seeing, it just doesn't seem like something that would require this kind of a step at this time right now from the administration. and the political case is pretty clear. it allows them to avoid a big, potentially very negative hit in the days leading up to the 2014 midterm elections when everybody understands that obamacare is going to be at the very center of those debates. jon: after all of the firestorm surrounding the canceled policies, the president stepped out into the white house press room last week, and he said, okay, okay, we're going to let insurers reinstate the policies that they have canceled, and

almost in the fine print was if the insurers agree and if their state commissioners allow it. now we find out that the state of california, the most populace of all, is not going to met them do that. it's not going to let insurers do what the president says is allowed. that's a pretty significant road block to people. >> indeed, it is. only 12 states thus far have suggested that they will follow the president's suggestion and allow this kind of enrollment because what they've done, in effect, is taken the planning that the insurance industry had done and insurance commissioners had done for some three years to prepare for the law and said in effect you don't have to worry about that right now. we're going to throw this back open. i think virtually everybody recognizes that what the president announced was yet again another political solution that not only didn't help on the substantive problems that obamacare is experiencing right now, but probably made them worse, exacerbated those problems. jon: yeah. and sometimes it seems like this

law that has been in the works, as you point out, for three years, that the white house is just making up revisions to it on the fly. >> yeah, i think that's exactly what's happening here. and what's disturbing, there was a terrific piece in the national review last week, and we said what was particularly troubling about this latest fix is that it signals that the white house really doesn't know what to do here. before you could see that they were making political calculations with the hope that a once obamacare was implemented, it would go smoothly, and they were taking sort of strategic risks, but there was at least for them some prospect of success. what you're having here now is a series of political decisions that are nakedly political and, again, not only have the possibility of -- not only probably won't improve the law, but in all likelihood will make it worse and extend and exacerbate the problems that consumers are having right now. jon: yeah. they seem to be adding to the turmoil out there in the

insurance marketplace and really in the minds of people who are looking for insurance. stephen hayes, we're going to keep covering it, thank you. >> thanks, jonth. patti ann: and if you thought washington, d.c. was radioactive before, the united states senate along with the media just went nuclear, and can we're looking back 50 years. all eyes on dealey plaza today in dallas where america is remembering president john f. kennedy with a moment of silence. when you have diabetes like i do, you want a way to help minimize blood sugar spikes. support heart health. and your immune system. now there's new glucerna advance with three benefits in one. [ male announcer ] new glucerna advance. from the brand doctors recommend most.

♪ ♪ patti ann: democratic senators invoking the nuclear option, overturning the requirement for a 60-vote majority to send most presidential nominees to the floor for a vote. it is not only causing a frenzy between republicans and democrats, but also mania in the media, and to put all that in perspective, we've howard kurtz, our fox news media analyst. >> hi, patti ann.

patti ann: your article today on foxnews.com says, quote: when they're in the minority as the democrats were during the bush administration, they stall, block and filibuster the other party's nominees and try to wrap it in some kind of principle. when they're in the majority, they wail and moan about obstructionist behavior by a ruthless opposition determined to cripple the president. so hypocrisy all around? >> this story is drenched on both sides. i don't think the media have made quite enough of that. we've seen some clips of barack obama as a senator defending the filibuster during the bush years and news organizations too, the editorial pages, the magazines, those who aren't conservative thought the filibuster was a fine idea during the bush years, they have flipped. liberals like "the new york times" editorial page have now think what the democrats did which mitch mcconnell is calling a power grab is just fine. so it doesn't seem to me that most people when in the media or in politics have been consistent on this.

patti ann: national review, you say, is pointing out the hypocrisy squared of the new york times' editorial page which supported the filibuster when democrats were using it in 2005. >> absolutely. and i don't think that the issue has changed very much. it is should a minority be with able to use the power of the filibuster to force the other side to get 60 votes in order to pass something, and national review itself, the editor, rich lowry, had been more sympathetic to the use of a filibuster as a weapon during the bush administration than he is now. but i also have to laugh a little bit at the use of the term "nuclear," the media love that. i don't think this is a radioactive issue in pittsburgh or peoria, but it is very important because it shows how badly partisanship has broken down in the senate and it is going to make in the short term easier for the white house to push through democratic measures in the senate at least until the 2014 elections when the republicans, if they take control, might benefit from this rule change. patti ann: you know, you mention that in your article as well,

that you don't think middle america cares about, but there are certainly nationwide implications here. we were talking before about this d.c. circuit court which really has a chance to let the executive branch know if they're going too far if the obama administration puts in certain regulations that they don't really have the authority to do. it's that court who you appeal to, and it looks like it's going to be stacked 7-4 now in favor of obama appointees. >> well, that circuit court here in d.c. is the second most important court in the land after the supreme court, and you say stacked, yes, if the president is able to push through these nominees -- which he will now be able to do easily with just 51 votes in the senate, that are favor his agenda. but there are vacancies that usually a president gets to fill be, that's the white house argument, why are republicans stalling against nominees they don't have a beef with, but they are upset about the balance of the court. so, yes, the people of peoria may not be clued into the larger effects, i just think when you talk about senate rules changes,

a lot of eyes glaze over. patti ann: moving on to the jfk anniversary, what do you remember about the day president kennedy was shot? >> it was so inconceivable to me when another student told me that i didn't simply belief it until i got home and watched it on television. the other sering memory for me is spending three days with my parents watching everything unfold on television at a time when there were three networks, at a time when americans all did gather around the television set as their source of news. you couldn't go on the internet or any kind of blog. and the shared sense of grief and shock that the country went through as we watched these proceedings, as we watched, you know, young. john: -- john john and carolyn, and watching lee harvey oswald assassinated on live tv by jack ruby. it was sering and, obviously, holds a great grip on our collective imagination today. even people who weren't alive then, in part because jack

kennedy was so young when he was cut down and in part because of the still unresolved questions and conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination. patti ann: for sure. howard kurtz, thank you so much. >> thanks, patti ann. jon: the ceremony in dealey plaza starts in just a few minutes marking 50 years since that day in dallas. remembering the remarkable life and legacy of president john f. kennedy, more coverage just ahead. i'm overhe hill. my body doesn't work the way it used to. past my prime? i'm a victim of a slowin? i don't think so. great grains protein blend. protein from natural ingredients like seeds and nuts. it helps support a healthy metabolism. great grains protein blend.

jon: at 2 minutes it's the hour, we are just moments away from the start of the memorial in dallas marking 50 years since the assassination of president john f. kennedy there. ask as we take a live look at dealey plaza, people from across the country and around the world are remembering the life and legacy of our 35th president.

barbara perry is author of jacqueline kennedy: first lady of the new frontier and also the book rose kennedy: the life and times of a political matriarch. let me take you back 50 years ago today. what do you remember of that day? >> well, 50 years ago afternoon i was sitting just a few miles from the studio in my hometown of louisville, kentucky, in a second grade classroom, and just as it is this year, thanksgiving was to be the next thursday. and we were contentedly copying pictures of pilgrims when our teacher came to the front of the room and said the president has been shot. and the entire school is marching to church down the hall to pray for him. in those days children were not spared difficult news or difficult details, and off we went to church to pray the rosary with our pastor. and we came back to the classroom and were getting ready to leave for the day -- we always said a prayer at the closing of the day -- and our teacher said we're going to

offer this last prayer of the day for president kennedy who has died. jon: yeah. it was, well, just a shocking moment. i vaguely remember it having been in kindergarten, i mentioned that earlier. >> yes. jon: the fact that this was a president who, you know, we had the threat of a nuclear war with the soviet union. i mean, the cuban missile crisis, russian missiles 90 miles away from the u.s. in cuba. a remarkable accomplishment, i think, for a man so young and something that he managed to prevent. >> well, he did. and this is part of his legacy. i think saving the world from nuclear annihilation is a legacy to be remembered, and even in those tender years of 5, 6, 7 years old, i can remember that my father wanted to build a bomb

shelter at our home in louisville and mother said i don't think we need a bomb shelter, but she did let him stacked goods and put bottled water in the basement in case the bomb hit. and we were doing duck and cover exercises at our school. we were told they were tornado drills, i should add. at least we were spared the possibility of nuclear annihilation, but, yes, i think this is one of the reasons we want to remember president kennedy fondly on this day. jon: i just want to read a quick tweet kathy warren sent me. she was 9 years old, had staken his hand -- shaken his hand in san antonio. at noon the next day in fourth grade class the loudspeaker announced he was dead. very, very scary. barbara, if you would -- >> this is personal, jon. jon: yeah. it was for so many americans. stay with us if if you would, barbara. patti ann: well, the nation and much of the world pausing to remember our 35th president from dealey plaza in dallas to arlington national cemetery. tributes and memorials marking 50 years since the assassination

of president john f. kennedy. we'll talk with someone who was a young reporter in dallas that day and an eyewitness to history, plus more with barbara perry after the break. there are seniors who have left hundreds of dollars of savings on the table by not choosing the right medicare d plan. have left this much money here. whoo-hoo-hoo! yet many seniors whoompare medicare d plans realize they can save hundreds of dollars. cvs/pharmacy wants to help you save on medicare expenses. talk to your cvs pacist, call, or go to cvs.com/compare to get your free, personalized plan comparison today. call, go online, or visit your local store today.

♪ ♪ patti ann: a memorial tribute

just getting underway in dallas, texas, marking 50 years since the assassination of president john f. kennedy as the nation and the world remembers our 35th president. joining us again, author barbara perry and bill lord, a former reporter and abc news executive who witnessed the aftermath of the jfk assassination. thank you both for being with us, and we will be joining the celebration -- the ceremonies going on in dealey plaza as those unfold. barbara, you had a chance to see president kennedy up close in 1960 as a child. >> i did. my mother packed me and my brothers into the '56 chef i have that we had -- chevy and drove us downtown to see her new political hero. and she had us arrive very early ahead of the big campaign rally one month before the election, and we were there at the podium virtually standing right beside the stage when the future president spoke. and i always wondered why did my

mother do this, take a 4-year-old to a campaign rally and arrive early, and i decided over the years that he was her age, she was taken by his charisma and good looks, and we're catholic, and he was catholic. and that really was my mother's new political hero. and she wanted us to be up close and see him. my brother shook his hand, got a campaign poster which he just passed along to me, and this started me down the road to being a presidential scholar. alt path bill lord, meanwhile, you were there that day in dealey plaza back when this happened. >> i was, indeed. i had been assigned to dallas to help support our white house coverage of the president's trip to texas. and i happened to be in our affiliate that morning looking at the tape from earlier in the day when over the police radio came a bulletin that, in fact, shots had been fired at the presidential motorcade. not knowing where dealey plaza was, i asked one of the

technicians where is it, and they said, oh, it's just two blocks up. so we grabbed a camera, a cameraman, and we went out to dealey plaza. and at that point they were just then pointing to the textbook depository building saying there had been someone up there with a rifle. several people were doing that. people were crying, weeping, sobbing. people were angry, people were stunned. the police were gathering around the textbook depository building at that time. patti ann: very dramatic for a young reporter, something that stayed with you all these years. >> without question. and the reason i was there which was, again, to support our white house coverage, bob clark was our white house correspondent, and he was in the pool press car which was, i believe, two cars behind the presidential limousine. and when they heard the shots, he and merriman smith who was the upi reporter in the car sort of had a wrestling match to try to get to the one portable phone in the car.

upi won out. and when they got to parkland hospital, the press got out, the pool press got out and went to the limousine, and even at that moment mrs. kennedy was cradling the president and his head, his wounded head in her lap. he saw them being taken into the emergency room and looking in the car he told me privately but didn't say it on the air at that point that there was no way the president could, in fact, survive because the carnage that he saw was impressive. patti ann: yeah. yeah, that is something that people remember always is hearing about the details of jackie kennedy, you know, trying to save him and how heartbreaking and desperate it was and the despair at realizing that there was no chance. and we just saw a live look there at dealey plaza where you can see the eternal flame and where there is a memorial ceremony getting underway, and

is we'll be taking you back to that -- and we'll be with taking you back to that once it gets fully underway. barbara, back to you. a lot of talk now about the legacy of president kennedy. what do you say it is? >> well, of course, we mentioned saving the world during the cuban missile crisis. i think helping to lead the way up to president reagan to ending the cold war, defeating the soviets eventually and ending their system, their system of communism as we knew it as part of that bipolar cold war conflict. on the domestic front, civil rights -- although president kennedy was rather slow to that movement, but finally in the last summer of his life claiming that it was a moral issue rather than just a political one and then putting up to congress what became the '64 civil rights act. and then let's not forget things like the peace corp.s and the nuclear test ban treaty. so all of these we should remember on this day. jon: more that era, for that generation, bill, it was in some

respects the same kind of earth-shaking event like 9/11 was in this country, you know, a little over ten years ago. i mean, no longer do you have presidents riding around in unarmorred convertibles, no longer do you have police walking suspects, you know, in high profile cases through rooms of people who haven't been screened. that's what happened a couple of days later. of you were there, essentially, when lee harvey oswald was himself assassinated. >> well, i was at the police station, and we saw lee harvey oswald four times being brought down from the jail upstairs to the interrogation rooms. and and as the video will show, it was a very narrow corridor, and we were interspersed with the policemen, we were jockeying with each other as we are wont to do for the best possible haven'tage point, and we brushed

up against lee harvey oswald four times. they brought him downstairs for a press conference. they brought the rifle out and held it up for all of us to see. it was a bizarre experience for all of us. jon: and so many, you know, conspiracy theories and other things have sprung up because of just the strange events that unfolded over those couple of days. what do you think about all of that that has come up since the assassination? >> believe it or not, i have not followed the conspiracy theories deliberately, and it's been just the last few weeks when i got my mind around what happened in dallas again. but i did read a very fine opinion piece by larry sabato, the political scientist from university of virginia. and he goes ahead and lists all of the unanswered questions that the warren commission failed to examine or chose not to examine. and then he finally says, well, let's look at the facts, was we

should base our conclusions on facts. and the facts were that, number one, people saw a rifle up there. number two, the floor below where lee harvey oswald was, they heard the shots, and then they heard the bolt action rifle, and they heard the expended shells hit the floor. as the day went along, lee harvey oswald's actions were certainly not one who was innocent, because he took a bus and then a taxi and went out to suburban dallas where he encountered officer tipett who he shot four times when he was trying to ask him questions. then, of course, he was inside the movie theater where he was finally apprehended. and there he came the closest yet to admitting his guilt in which he said now it's all over. jon: bill lord, who was there

that day 50 years ago in be dallas, a young reporter for abc, barbara perry, a well known author who has written books about the kennedys, we are going to take you now to dealey plaza. our casey steigel is there. casey? >> reporter: yeah, jon. we're waiting for this memorial service to get under way. it was supposed to start, oh, in the last ten minutes or so, and it has not yet begun. the rain has really started to fall within the last 20 minutes or so here in dallas. it is a very, very cold afternoon here. the sky is covered with clouds, the rain coming down, wind chills in the upper 20s if you can believe that. it was 74 in dallas yesterday, so they've begun handing out rain ponchos to the hundreds of people that you see gathered here in dealey plaza behind me. you're looking live at the sea of those clear plastic ponchos that people are donning, but you can tell that the weather and the inclement weather has not

prevented these people from coming out. really young and old. as you scan this crowd and you see the faces, you see people that may have been in kindergarten or in first or second grade when kennedy was assassinated. you also see elderly people who are here that were, you know, may have been possibly, you know, in their 20s, in their 30 bes when the news that jfk was killed had come out. and you also have a number of people from a younger generation that are here to pay tribute, people that were not even alive in 1961 when president kennedy was inaugurated and the 35th president of the united states. and not alive even in 1963 when he died by an assassin's bullet here. the area that we're in is the grassy knoll, the infamous grassy knoll where 50 years ago right around this time hundreds of people brought their children out. it was a much warmer afternoon on that day in 1963, a crisp

fall afternoon in dallas. and there was a sense of excitement here. when you go back and you talk to people who were here, when you talk to people and you see the footage, the old black and white footage, it was a very exciting time for the president of the united states. a president that gave so much hope to americans. the youngest president, as we've been saying, ever elected. he was a handsome guy. jackie ken key was beautiful. -- kennedy was beautiful. she was elegant, and there was just this fascination with them. the white house was alive with the two young kids running around, and, you know, really americans simply were gripped. whether you even agreed with his politics or not, democrat or republican, people were just absolutely enthralled with j, the k and his family. -- jfk and his family. so it was a real sense of excitement here 50 years ago when people were flocking to this very spot just to catch a glimpse of president kennedy and

jackie in her pink chanel suit with that pillbox hat that we've seen all of the pictures of them come off of the plane -- coming off of the plane at dallas love field airport which is not far from this location. he had been in fort worth, he had started the day speaking at a chamber of commerce event in fort worth. remember, president kennedy came to texas in general to raise money for a second run at office. he was looking at a second term as president, and so he wanted to come to a very conservative texas to try to win conservatives over here, and it was a sense of pride for people to come out here and see the motorcade as it rounded the corner from houston street and down elm here. but again, the ceremony expected to get under way really just at any time now. perhaps the most solemn moment of this ceremony, jon, is going to be at 12:30 central time, 1:30 there in the east, and that is when a moment of silence will

be observed, 12:30 central time, the moment those shots were fired and we lost president kennedy. jon: that's just over 45 minutes there now. casey steegal there at dealey plaza remembering all of this. casey, thank you. patti ann: and we will go back momentarily to dealey plaza where, again, we are waiting for that memorialer ceremony to get underway. it was scheduled to start about 15 minutes ago. you can see the eternal flame there. folks are gathered, the weather is cold. we will be right back to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of president kennedy. keeping up with these two is more than a full time job and i don't have time for unreliable companies. angie's list definitely saves me time and money. for over 18 years we've helped people take care of the things that matter most. join today.

and our giant idaho potato truck is still missing. so my dog and i we're going to go find it. it's out there somewhere spreading the good word about idaho potatoes and raising money for meals on wheels. but we'd really like our truck back,

so if you see it, let us know, would you? thanks. what?

jon: a fox news alert, only one sibling of president john f. kennedy survives, jean kennedy smith, his 85-year-old sister now. she has laid a wreath there at her brother's grave at arlington national cemetery.

you can see the small crowd gathered there just across the river from washington, d.c. where the eternal flame, lit by his widow jackie kennedy, where that flame still burns today 350 years later. patti ann: and joining us again, author barbara perry and. bill: lord, a former reporter and abc news executive who witnessed the aftermath of the jfk assassination. barbara, there's sort of a generation gap when it comes to this where were you question. folks 50, 55 and older, perhaps, that question obviously refers to the death of jfk. to a younger generation, they often hi in terms -- think in terms of 9/11. is it the kind of thing that's going to fade? >> i don't think so, and i think if we ponder the lincoln assassination, people are still intrigued by that. think of the movie "lincoln" and how popular that was just a year or two ago.

and so i think this is a captivating story that not only seared the conscious of the american people, but the very soul and heart of the american nation. and so i think as long as there is an america and as long as there are americans, i think this story of this man and his family will captivate them. patti ann: yeah. bill lord, here we are talking about it today, the story still as compelling and dramatic as ever even to folks who were not around back when it happened. do you feel that this story is always going to be compelling to folks of all ages? >> this was, is our generation's abraham lincoln assassination, without question. it was covered to a certain degree on television. television was in its infancy in terms of remote coverage. it was -- much of the material, for example, the sa pruder film

was not seen by the public for some time. in fact,. [applause] zapru, the a was two blocks away from our affiliate, and he was brought there quickly where he brought the film, and it was processed. so there are documents that still probably will come out. we don't have a clear view of all of the evidence, but we have enough to reach the conclusion that the president was killed by lee harvey oswald. patti ann: yeah. so it was one of those things that is so different in terms of how the word spreads now, as we've mentioned, with social media, with the twitter and with just the internet even, the way news spreads so much faster. it was slow for this news to get out. fast relatively speaking for that time, but pretty slow, right, bill? >> it was slow and, actually, that may have been a blessing because no one was about to go

out on a limb and say something that was incorrect that would put them down in history as the person who said the wrong thing. so there was an opportunity to gather our thoughts, there was an opportunity to examine the film, and, of course, we had to wait for the president's announcement in terms of his death from the white house itself. patti ann: all right. we're going to have to leave it there. bill lord and barbara perry, thank you both so much for joining us and sharing your unique perspectives on this historic event. jon: those old films show that it was a crisp fall day, as chris si steigel just described it, when the president was killed in the dallas 50 years ago today. it is not that way today. a very chilly, dreary, rainy day in dallas as they prepare to get the ceremonies underway marking 50 years since the assassination of this nation's 35th president, john fitzgerald kennedy, cut down by a gunman's bullet in dealey plaza, dallas, texas.

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♪ ♪ jon: we've been inviting your tweets, your memories of the day that john f. kennedy was assassinated 50 years ago. louis matthews writes i was in art class, and the school pa had a live radio feed. it said the president was shot, i thought it was about lincoln. and that's what so many people experienced, sort of a flashback on that day in 1963. you're looking live at arlington national cemetery where a small group has gathered. you can see the wreath there that was laid by the late president's sister, jean kennedy smith, the only surviving member of his large group of siblings.

jean kennedy smith laid a wreath there at the eternal flame earlier today. let's take you live to dealey plaza. thousands of people are gathering there to honor the 35th president and his memory. peter johnson jr. is a fox news legal analyst, and like many of these large public ceremonies, peter, this one is late in getting under way. >> it is late in getting under way, but it's going to be marked by a invocations by bishop farrell, bishop of dallas as well as performances by the navy men's glee club including the naval hymn which is so often sung at funerals based upon a psalm. thousands are gathering here at time. they're watching video of president kennedy speak at various times in various appearances through his life, and these people came here as a result of the lottery in a program set up by mayor rolings, the mayor of dallas, and 25 local leaders.

it's interesting to note, jon, that the kennedy family most often likes to celebrate the president's life not on the day of his death, but on his birthday. but thousands of citizens of dallas including school groups, church groups, people who were here on this day have gathered to pay tribute to president kennedy, and we'll be taking it live with you and the whole fox news crew including casey steegal live here at dealey plaza in dallas. jon: it was a day that everything changed in this country. peter johnson jr., our fox news legal analyst who is among our team there to cover the events of this somber day. the official ceremony yet to begin. there is to be a moment of silence about 30 minutes from now, 5 minutes there -- 35 minutes from now marking the precise moment when the shots rang out from the texas school book toes story. we will continue our coverage of this 50th anniversary of the

assassination of jfk this just a moment. ooh, homemade soup! yeah... [ male announcer ] campbell's homestyle soup with farm grown veggies. just like yours. huh. [ male announcer ] and roasted white meat chicken. just like yours. [ male announcer ] you'll think it's homemade. i love this show. [ male announcer ] try campbell's homestyle soup. his day of coaching begins with knee pain, when... [ man ] hey, brad, want to trade the all-day relief of two aleve for six tylenol? what's the catch? there's no catch. you want me to give up my two aleve for six tylenol? no. for my knee pain, nothing beats my aleve.

thanks for joining us everyone. america's news headquarters picks up the coverage of the 50th anniversary of the jfk assassination now. >> you are looking live at a tribute there. that is on to the national cemetery, the national flame. 50 years ago today shots rang out killing the america's president. i am alisyn camerota. >> and i am bill hemmer, good day. we'll watch together and listen to the ceremony with you and several reporters live on the growned in dallas and firsthand account of an eyewitness who looks back 50 years ago today. you are looking live as alisyn mentioned in the eterm flame in