hasslebeck and me. we start at 11:00 eastern time on new year's eve on the heart of times square. we'll peel mccallum off the beach in the caribbean. ship her back home. martha: that will be awesome. "happening now" starts right now. bye, everybody. jenna: today's top headlines and brand new stories you will see lear first. jon: a twist on the rich kid's "affluenza" diagnosis. now his affluent family might have to pay big. a helicopter caught on camera plucking a crain operator out of harm's way. why the man's life was in serious danger. dozens of cars go bumper-to-bumper in a massive pile up in new york city. how it unfolded. it is all "happening now." jenna: but first, this morning

we start off with a war of word on capitol hill between the republican and democrat investigating the faulty obamacare enrollment website. hi, everybody, hope you're off to a great day so far. i'm jenna lee. jon: they're going at it on the oversight committee. i'm jon scott. the bitter fight is playing out there in the house. the committee's top democrat essentially the accuses of chairman of fear-mongering. congressman elijah cummings says congressman darrell issa is cherry-picking evidence to scare people away from using healthcare.gov. bob cusack is managing editor of "the hill." they wrote about this story. so darrell issa has been relentless about criticizing obamacare. elijah cummings, the number two on the committee, says this is all much ado about nothing. tell us about it. >> right. jon, these guys don't exchange christmas cards. this is the most partisan committee in congress. actually the relationship has at times been good between issa and

cummings but not so much now with obamacare. they have different agendas here. issa is looking into the problems of obamacare. democrats say he is cherry-picking this evidence. cummings is defending the white house and saying, wait a minute, he is going way too far and exaggerating. he and other democrats written to john boehner. so that is an unusual move. i don't think john boehner will be agreeing with elijah cummings on any of this of the this partisanship, jon, will continue into 2014. obamacare implementation going forward, it is going to be a nasty battle, especially on this committee. jon: one of the things darrell issa has been saying as you point out the information people submit is not secure. there was this response and it was quoted in your article from the health and human services spokeswoman. she says, all high, moderate, and low security risk findings that launched on october 1st were either fixed or have strategies and plans in place to fix the findings that meet industry standards. that's not exactly reassuring.

they have either been fixed or they're going to get fixed. there is no time attached to it. it is, i wouldn't put my information on that website? >> there's a lot of fear about this. there have been other hearings other committees had on this on technology issues, the science committee had a hearing where experts raised major concerns about the security here. both sides accusing each other of cherry-picking again. issa cherry-picking what he releases publicly as well as republicans saying that the administration is cherry-picking what they're telling the public and media here. so is the website secure? that is an open question. that is what issa is asking about. jon: we've had guests here on "happening now" who say it is not but that issue aside, issa went to the white house and give us some information. white house says, no, give it to you because it would provide a roadmap for hackers and we are afraid you will leak it and then everything will go out the window, all the security. how does ha make sense?

>> they're definitely concerned about issa leaks. i think probably less from a security standpoint and more from an embarrassing the white house kind of deal. the white house accused issa of looking a number of documents on a range of issues including the irs. so issa clearly, as oversight chairman his job is to go after problems with the administration. he will not go after things that work. he will go after things that have problems. democrats he is way overzealous. they said that for years and 2014 election year they think he will obviously ratchet it up. cummings and issa will be going at it for a while. jon: all right. bob cusack from "the hill." again we'll see whether these security concerns, i mean as more and more people sign up, we'll see whether these security concerns are valid or not. bob cusack, thanks. >> thanks, jon. jenna: disturbing new look this morning at al qaeda's influence around the world. an assessment of the past year showing the terror group's

operations and influence in a dozen countries is being blamed for a spike in murders. chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge is live in washington with more on this brand new report. catherine? >> reporter: thank you, jenna. al qaeda affiliates or groups sympathetic to the al qaeda ideology are now operating as you mentioned in a dozen countries and those who are targeting the u.s. homeland or western interests overseas include the groups in somalia and north africa and yemen. was only a year ago al qaeda in yemen lost significant territory and control if that country. but just 12 months later as you see with this fighting the most lethal al qaeda affiliate gained ground with brazen attacks against drone bases operated by the u.s. in yemen and against that country's defense ministry. despite targeted u.s. drone strikes in yemen the bomb-maker who belongs to al qaeda in yemen. ibrahim al-asiri whose devices include the 2009 underwear bomb that was able to bypass traditional airport security, the chairman rather of the house

intelligence committee says al-asiri remains a threat to this day. >> we're very convinced that he is very active, the bomb-maker is active. the bomb-maker is applying his innovation trying too find that next avenue to cause us harm and damage. >> reporter: well you also see when you examine the affiliates is that the leadership in many cases includes al qaeda operatives who have longstanding ties sometimes going back at least two decades to usama bin laden himself, jenna. jenna: is this assessment consistent with what the american people are being told about al qaeda? >> reporter: well it is certainly accurate that the al qaeda core, that is the term used to describe the leadership in pakistan, has been seriously degraded with the loss of bin laden and u.s. drone campaign in the border region of afghanistan but if you listen closely to congressional testimony from senior counterterrorism officials you will see they are urging caution about al qaeda's leadership and its ideology, that the two are in fact very resilient. >> we've seen that there has

been an interest in al qaeda in parts of afghanistan, particularly northeastern afghanistan. and it is going to be an issue we'll have to monitor very closely after 2014 to see what types of activities al qaeda or other allies of al qaeda, for example, haqqani network undertake in that region. >> reporter: in addition americans including the cleric anwar al a lackey who was first american targeted for death by the cia remain a potent force for al qaeda recruitment through digital legacy of writings. last week a kansas man and follower of a lackey was indicted after the fbi string operation. look at the groups in syria, yemen and north africa. a common connection there is connection between the leadership in pakistan and those groups as well, jenna. jenna: very interesting, catherine. >> reporter: you're welcome. jon: wall street keeping a watch

on outgoing fed chair bern earn about on his final press conference. including a pull back on the fed's massive stimulus program and a possible change in key interest rates. a report suggest that is the housing levels are highest in six years. doug mckelway is in washington. so, doug, what do the housing numbers mean for fed policy here? >> reporter: jon, they mean a couple of things. first they're encouraging sign in the momentum in the housing market. albeit slow continues. housing starts jumped 22% in november. that is more than anytime since january of 1990. that may give the federal reserve another reason to cut back its quantitative easing policy, its bond purchasing, printing of money to stave off the threat of inflation. >> we're headed in the right direction. i think it is too slow for anybody's comfort but again the momentum is moving in the right direction. i think if we start to get the

policy levers right we'll start to build a lot of momentum. we're through some of the worst of the uncertainty of course but that is still a big overhang in terms of investment hiring. >> reporter: today's housing numbers come as the federal reserve is set to meet for a second day to consider revisions to that monetary policy, jon. jon: so as we see this new surge in housing starts, is there sort of a risk for the housing market? >> reporter: you know some people believe there is a risk. the federal reserve has pretty much stirred this mini boom in the housing market we're seeing nowadays, printing money, keeping interest rates very low. >> the risk is that you create another boom. you overextend credit. we have already, i'm quite certain, created a lot of interest rate risk in the entire financial system, including in the balance sheet of the fed itself. the fed has $3 trillion of very long-term assets. if interest rates rise one or

2%, their mark-to-market losses will measure in the hundreds of billions of dollars. >> reporter: pollack says historically home prices have closely followed inflation rates. there was one major deviation from that, when the housing bubble grew to immense proportions and burst in late 2007. pollack says, we're beginning to see another deviation very similar where housing prices are climbing beyond the inflation rate. he fears another housing bubble could burst if interest rates begin to climb, jon. so we'll see. jon: doug mckelway, sound a bit on must there. thank you. >> reporter: you bet. jenna: it went down in history as the crime of the century and now great train robber ronnie biggs, pardon me, has died. a look at the legendary 1963 heist and how it went down. how about this for a christmas wish. we're live in atlanta where one of the winning tickets was sold. ♪

[ male announcer ] introducing red lober's seafood bakes. combinations of your favorite seafood from lobster to crab, shrimp and mussels in a savory broth. try one today, and sea food differently. now, try seven lunch choices at $7.99. sandwiches, sads and more.

now, try seven lunch choices at $7.99. i'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: some crime headlines for you right now. a harvard student due in court today. he is accused of sending out a bomb hoax threat on monday. we covered it here live, to get out of a final exam. notorious train robber, ronnie biggs has died. he escaped from prison while serving time for the 1963 "great train robbery" in britain. he spent years living in brazil. finally returning to the u.k. in 2000 one. he was locked up again and released four years ago on compassionate grounds. police in reno nevada say yesterday's hospital shooting does not appear to have been random but they're still looking for a motive. a gunman opened fire in a medical center killing one

person and wounding two others before killing himself. jenna: right now big excitement as we wait to find out who won last night's $636 million megamillions jackpot. of course the actual take-home will be much less than that thanks to taxes but the two winners are waking up a whole lot richer today than yesterday. one of those winning tickets purchased in san jose, california, the other in atlanta where we find jonathan serrie, still working today, jonathan. so maybe it is not you but where was the ticket purchased? >> reporter: yeah. it is a safe bet. you know the ticket was purchased purchased in the same neighborhood that i bought my ticket, not right time, right numbers or the right store. the store where the ticket was purchased was inside the lobby of this building you see behind me, the alliance center in the buckhead financial district of atlanta. there is a mom-and-pop store called, the gateway newsstand. young sue lee who owned the shop

for nine years is very committed excited she sold the winning ticket. give it a listen. >> first time like had this kind of money. i had no idea, thank you for god. >> reporter: the other winning ticket was sold about 2000 miles away from where i'm standing at jennifer's gift shop in san jose, california. the winners have 110 days to claim their prizes. jenna, because both california and georgia are not among the handful of states that allow winners to remain anonymous, we will eventually find out who these people are. back to you. jenna: we hope we know them, jonathan. how much money are the winners likely to actually see? >> reporter: well, as you hinted in the introduction it is not going to be the full amount of the jackpot advertised because of taxes and also how the money is going to be split among at least two people. if the winners choose the

annuity option, that is where you received payments every year for the next 29 years, the two winners are expected to split a jackpot of at least $636 million. so, figure $318 million each. but this would push those winners into the highest tax bracket. so the government with likely claim more than a third of the winnings. so according to my math, each winner under these circumstances would be looking at a total take-home of approximately $192 million. still not too shabby. i would love to have their tax problems. jenna: you can still buy a lot of shoes with that, that's for sure. you can put that to good work. jonathan, we'll wait to see who they are, a lucky, lucky few folks out there. jonathan, thank you. >> reporter: indeed we will. jon: some breaking details concerning last mon's deadly shooting rampage at los angeles international. the word from the federal grand jury and all of the

breaking details ahead in a live report. plus, serious new questions about the obama administration's handling of the civil war in syria. ambassador john bolton is here with his thoughts coming up. >> hi, ambassador. good to see you.

jon: right now a federal grand jury announcing charges against the gunman accused of last month's deadly rampage at los angeles international airport. arthel neville is live for us at the breaking news desk. >> reporter: hi, jon. 23-year-old paul anthony see ahn seia, is charged with the murder of gerardo hernandez and attempted murder of two other tsa agents and a passenger.

all who were wounded. this is the 39-year-old geraldo hernandez seen in the photo. each of the charges carries the possibility of a death penalty or life in federal prison. federal prosecutors have not decided whether they will seek the death penalty should ciancia be convicted. let me read part of the his 15-page indictment. it alleges that he committed the offense after substantial planning and premeditation to cause the death of a person and commit a act of terrorism. the indictment also reads that ciancia faces three counts that he did knowingly carry, brandish, discharge and use a firearm when he allegedly shot the two other tsa agents and a calabasas teacher who was also wounded. ciancia allegedly targeted tsa workers in the attack and written a single note that he wanted to kill tsa agents and instill fear in their traitorous

minds. he was shot in the head and leg during a gunbattle with airport police. he speck more than two weeks at ronald reagan ucla medical center before being released into the custody of the u.s. marshal's service. witnesses to the shooting said that ciancia asked whether they worked for the tsa before moving on. he is scheduled to be arraigned on these indictments on december 26th. in the meantime he remains in jail. jon. jon: such a strange and sad story. arthel neville. thank you. jenna: switching gears to foreign policy now. new reports are saying that leaders in the west are sending signals to syrian rebels that president assad may have to stay after all. if true it would be an about-face for the president who in the past rejected direct military intervention while making pronouncements like these back in may. >> assad needs to go. he need to transfer power to a transitional body. that is the only way we're going to resolve this crisis. jenna: back in may was the first

time the president said anything publicly. in a statement before that he said assad must leave. ambassador john bolton is with us, former u.s. ambassador to the u.n. and fox news contributor. what do you think has changed? if these reports have change are true what has changed? >> we have reports of iranian revolutionary guards corporation in syria. hezbollah has moved from focusing just on lebanon to actual combat in syria and it shows that iran is able to devote resources despite the sanctions and everything else not just to its nuclear weapons program but to this battle because for iran keeping assad in power was a very high priority and i think they saw weakness on the part of the united states and europe and they exploited it. jenna: speaking of priority what is our priority in syria right now? looks like there is a battle whether or not president assad should stay or go or whether or not the islamic militants operating there are the true priority in the long run. what do you think?

>> i think given the syrian opposition now more and more dominated by radicals, by terrorists like al qaeda affiliates there is no up side to them prevailing in the struggle. it's a pretty sad reflex on american -- reflection on american policy after two years saying we want assad to go we wean age to carry that out. if you want something done and talk about it and don't you can seed that is really worse than not saying anything at all. jenna: in your opinion is it the priority today as it stands? >> i would prefer myself to have assad in power than al qaeda. i think it really reflect as misjudgment of strategic priorities by the administration and by europe. instead of focusing on assad or who is in power in syria we should have focused who is still in power in iran because that is where the problem is. jenna: interesting that you mentioned iran. we got word over last 24 hours through unofficial reports and the like iran is ready to re-engage with more direct

negotiations about the nuclear deal. >> owe, absolutely. sooner the better. >> what do you make of the timing of all that in addition to the news about syria and their intervention there? >> from iran's point of view the success they had in the geneva deal announced a few weeks ago to me would indicate they should pick up the pace. the west is divided. europeans want to engage in economic transactions. the sanctions are very shaky. they have given no significant concessions on the nuclear program. i would push ahead. again they see weakness and indecision in the part of the united states. you can write a so-called final deal on the nuclear issue that gives them everything they want. so ironically this is not a tame for them to delay and hang back and be obstructionist. i think they see the opportunity and from their tactical point of view they're doing the sensible thing. jenna: brings up a larger question what's in store for us in the year ahead? today actually marks the unofficial beginning of the arab spring. it was on this day three years

ago that a fruit cart vendor in tunisia set himself on fire to protest the corrupt government there and some folks point to that as that's what started the protests in the streets all across the middle east and in north africa. where are we today with the arab spring? what do you think has been the end result? when you look back three years ago and what's transpired? >> well, i don't think we're in a much different place except a lot of people are dead, a lot of refugees and a lot of turmoil but not much fundamental change in the middle east itself. the biggest single change in the last three years is the dramatic, breathtaking diminution of american influence. the return of russian influence. we're in the weakest position in the middle east we've been in in decades and at this that is directly attributable to the president's lack of strategic thinking about the region, about iran's nuclear weapons, about the region as a whole. we'll pay for this for a long time. jenna: do you think at this time next year we're still talking about syria and upheaval and a

question about iranian nuclear deal? >> i think it looks that way and i think you will still see the administration focusing on israel building apartments in east jerusalem as if that is the strategic center of the region rather than these threats by terrorists in iran. jenna: the argument has been made from this administration and others if we get this right between what is happening between israel and palestinians, peace will break out in other parts of the middle east. this is fundamental problem that if we can fix and it is going to spread. you don't agree with that? >> it is theology and it is utterly unrelated to the existing conflicts in the region. look, if israel disappeared tomorrow you would still have massive conflict in the middle east for religious reasons, political reasons, geographic reasons. jenna: in this time period again, do you think iran has a nuclear weapon? >> i don't think they have one yet. i don't think they're in a rush. they can build one in a matter of time of their choosing. they don't see a serious

military threat from the united states. they're building a deep extensive nuclear infrastructure. they're proceeding at their own pace and if they wanted to build one quickly they could do it in a matter of months. jenna: questions for the year ahead. ambassador, thank you very much. jon? jon: there are new details on a cyberattack on the federal elections commission. who is behind it and why the timing of it all is so is did tushing. new fallout from the teen "affluenza" case in texas. ethan couch avoided prison time for a deadly drunk driving crash that killed four people. here come the lawsuits. will they hold up in court? our legal panel is here.

wout of landfills each year? plastic waste to cover mt. rainier by using one less trash bag each month, we can. and glad forceflex bags stretch until they're full.* so you can take them out less often. ♪ ♪ i know they say you can't go home again ♪ ♪ ♪ i just had to come back one last time ♪ ♪ ♪ you leave home, you move on [ squeals ]

♪ andou do the best you can ♪ i got lostin this o♪ ♪ and forgot who i am

jenna: a quick look what's ahead this hour on "happening now." lawsuits rolling in from the teen "affluenza" case. families of the victims seeking justice after ethan couch avoided prison for a deadly drunken driving accident. our legal panel weighs in moments from now. quite an interesting case. amazing rescue high above the ground. where this happened and how this man got stuck on a crain in the first place. how about the pilot there too? great skills. more than a dozen homes burned and hundreds more threatened in a california wildfire. crews are setting a timeline to get it under control. the latest on the containment efforts in a live report coming up. jon: a new report reveals some disturbing details about a cyberattack on the federal election commission. the center for public integrity

saying chinese hackers hit the fec's website during the government shutdown in october, months after an independent audit had warned its systems were at high-risk. molly henneberg is live in washington with more on this disturbing story. so what kind of information were the chinese hackers looking for, molly? >> reporter: jon, it is not really clear yet but the hackers took down the fec's website, crashed it completely and what the center for public integrity, a non-partisan investigative journalism agency said is the worst act of sabotage in the fec's 30-eight year history. >> being able to infill straight a agency of the u.s. federal government. this is big issue for foreign entities of all sorts being able to cause trouble. these are not people who like the united states. these are people who want to do damage to the country. they want to do damage to freedom and democracy as we have it in this country and when they're able to take down a government agency website that's a big deal for them.

>> reporter: part of the fec's job is make public how money is spent in elections. candidates, political parties, political action groups raise and spend money. hackers took down the fec's website the same day the government shut town in october and none of the fec's 339 employees were on the job that day. jon? jon: any response from the fec? >> reporter: we called over there this morning and the fec referred us to the department of homeland security or dhs. dhs confirmed that it is investigating the hacking attack and said in a statement, quote, while the investigation is ongoing and no final determination has been made, at this point there are no indication that is any sensitive information or other personal data was compromised. earlier this year an independent audit of the fec found its i.t. systems were vulnerable to a hacking attack but the fec insisted then that its computer systems were, quote, secure,

according to the center for public integrity. jon? jon: secure. all right, molly henneberg. thank you. jenna: this story certainly has gotten a lot of attention and i know has upset quite a few of you out there. a wealthy teen avoids prison for a drunk driving crash that killed four people but now there are lawsuits coming. a judge ruled that ethan couch's affluent family never taught him there are consequences for his action. one of the reasons that he was able to get treatment at an expensive facility instead of heading to prison and doing time. this family though, ethan's family could still have to pay millions to the victim's loved ones. there are some civil suits that have been filed for the last several days. we want to talk a little bit with this faith jenkins and fred tecce, both former prosecutors. fred, this is a big question. "affluenza" worked as a defense in the criminal case. will it work here? >> no, not only will it not work, it is what walked him into the buzzsaw of this civil litigation. his theory was i grew up in this

kind of affluent surrounding and guess what? now there is civil litigation and they will go after this guy and his parents and try to separate them from as much money as humanly possible. the judge made the same mistake the parents did. there was no consequence to his actions. i will tell you the civil lawyers will not make that mistake. jenna: faith, if he was found guilty and sent to prison do you think civil cases would not be brought up? >> no, i still think they would be brought. jenna in the criminal case he pled guilty to four counts of intoxicated manslaughter. the "affluenza" defense came up when it was time for the judge to render verdict on punishment. he pled guilty. that will be used against himselfly. when it comes to ethan he doesn't have a leg to stand on defending the civil cases. the question will be how will they hole his parents liable and issue of negligence for his parents. >> correct. jenna: that is a big question, fred. you have sons. we talked about the civil lawsuit, against ethan, i mean his parents will be the one that is have to pay.

so what sort of punishment will this tennessee at all? >> couple things, you're right, jenna. i do have sons but i would be the one telling the judge to put my sons in jail for 10 years. we wouldn't be here with my sons. but in this case it is interesting, the only way that you can hold the parents responsible if you establish against, a case against the parents they were negligent in the supervision of their son. that they knew he had alcoholic problems. that they let him drive. so the parents, you can't, technically the parents don't have the pay for the since of the son but they do have to pay for their own since. that is what will be the cause of actions against the parents. if they either failed to supervise. they obviously failed to discipline and rein this kid n that is what will get them in trouble. jenna: interesting that you bring that up, fred. faith, this teenager several months before this accident was cited for alcohol possession and his parents came down and paid the fee and he had to do community service. and then several months later

what you're seeing on your screen happened, this horrific crash. >> right. i think the plaintiff's lawyers have a great argument to make here, that ethan's parents knew he had a propensity to drink and that they were in fact negligent. in fact this accident took place not too far from a home where ethan would often stay and live by himself and have parties that were completely unsupervised. so they're going to use those facts to argue that the parents negligently entrusted ethan to drive this truck. he should not have been driving because they knew he had a propensity to drink and drive. jenna: what do you think about that, fred? is the case against the parents good? >> i think the case against the parents is good. they sued the parents company because they own the truck. so the answer is yes. i'm sitting here thinking how many zeros will be on the check that the parents stroke. that is the only question in my mind. that is the only legal issue. jenna: let me ask you about this, fred? we're talking a lot about the people killed in this crash. there were innocent bystanders, a good samaritan trying to help somebody with a car problem.

we don't talk about the teenagers inside the truck with ethan at the time. one teenager can no longer move, can no longer speak. >> no. jenna: and that family is suing ethan for $20 million. the other cases we understand to be a according to these reports. when you have so many cases like this, how is it even organized? does one case have a, you know, something of a better stance than another? how is it even approached? >> you know what, jenna? here is how they are organized in reality. what ends up happening first issue is how much insurance is there. so all the insurance will be kind ever put together. say there is $10 million worth of insurance. then the question is, what kind of assets dot parents have? the cases may be consolidated for purposes of trial. they may not be. each one of these cases technically stands on its own but since it all happened from the same crash, judicial economy dictates they all get tried together but they're also different issues. for instance, as terrible as

this may sound to you, the young man paralyzed ride in the bed of pickup truck, if this case if you're partially responsible for your injuries it is called contributory or comparative negligence. if you are partially responsible for sitting in the bed his damages may being reduced as opposed to someone in the truck with a seatbelt on. all kinds of things come into play. jenna: final question, faith. again when we look justice for ethan, even if he is found guilty in this civil case, what happens to him? what happens to him in the future? he doesn't have to serve prison time. so what is the end result, punishment for ethan? >> there are two cases, intoxication assault cases, judgment has not been rendered on those cases. prosecutors are actually asking for jail time for those two cases. hopefully going forward they will be able to argue he does deserve to be incarcerated for those cases and won't enjoy 10

years of probation and freedom in some posh california facility. jenna: the cases are very much not over. certainly with the national attention on this one wonders how that impacts. we'll talk a lot more about it in the future. fed, faith, thank you both. you're not going anywhere. you're talking to jon next hour. i like the double dose thing. it's a good thing. thanks, guys. >> talk to you in a bit. jon: there is a bit of connection between the case we're talking about next hour and that one too. a man trapped on a crain high above the ground saved in a daring helicopter rescue. more of this incredible video, plus how the guy got stuck up there in the first place. mandatory evacuation orders as a massive wildfire destroys at least a dozen homes with firefighters scrambling to beat back the flames. the latest on their progress in a live report coming up. farmer: hello, i'm an idaho potato farmer.

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? jim, i adore the pool at your hotel.ver had to make. anna, your hotels have wondrous waffle bars. ryan, your hotels' robes are fabulous. i have twelve of them. twelve? shhhh, i'm worth it& what i'm trying to say is, it's so hard to pick just one of you, so i'm choosing all of you with hotels.com.

a loyalty program that requires no loyalty. plus members can win a free night every day only at hotels.com jon: new next hour, new developments in the benghazi terror attack that left four americans did. for the first time members of congress are speaking out about stand down orders. what they're saying today coming up in a live report. a new twist in the murder case against former nfl star aaron hernandez, accused in a friend's shooting death. a look at who is now suing hernandez and what it could mean for prosecutor, what it could mean for prosecutors in the criminal case. plus, toronto's crack-smoking mayor, breaking a sweat. you will find out what had rob ford busting a move in the middle of a city council meeting. that's ahead. jenna: just a little dancing, no big deal. what you look like during commercial break every now and then. >> yeah. jenna: all right, maybe not. well a dramatic helicopter

rescue in canada caught on video. in fact we have to get jon in on this story because you know how difficult it is to fly and do this right, jon? this is no easy task for the helicopter pilot. jon: this is some great work. jenna: a fire at a construction site leaves the crain operator stranded. you can see a rescuer dangling from the chopper. saw him being lifted and lifted to safety. they rushed him to an am plans nearby. that operator treated for minor injuries. police say all the construction workers appear to be accounted for. one home was damaged in the fire but incredible rescue there and lucky he is all right. jon: the updrafts from the fire down below makes it difficult. jenna: that is interesting. i wouldn't have thought about that, wow. jon: a dangerous night on the roads here in new york city. drivers blaming icy conditions for this, a huge multivehicle pileup. more than 30 vehicles were involved. the crash shutting down this key expressway. it snarled traffic for hours. the wreck coming after tuesday's

snowstorm. the fourth in the last nine days. police say at least eight people suffered minor injuries in this smashup. jenna: just a good reminder to go slow out there. homes were destroyed and hundreds of acres scorched in a wildfire in big sure, california. firefighters are make making slow, steady progress to contain the flames they hope to have control by the weekend. arthel neville has more on this. >> reporter: mother nature will be a factor in the weather if firefighters are able to get the blaze under control in a few days come friday evening when they hope to have it fully contained. as for now the fire in big sure, california, has burned 796-acres and more than a dozen homes and coupled with a more than a dozen mandatory evacuations. the wildfire start ad few days ago after midnight sunday, in the range of pfeifer ridge in los padre national forest.

monday afternoon they ordered mandatory evacuations for residents in the area. sycamore canyon, clear ridge and pfeifer ridge. officials also evented captain cooper elementary school. that was as a precaution. unfortunately these pictures are a familiar sight as helicopters and tankers are being used to battle the flames from the air. cal fire is assisting los padre national forest and big sure volunteer fire brigade along with other government agencies. smoke and haze from the fire can be seen all over the monterey peninsula. no injuries were reported. several homes have been already destroyed in the fire. the cause remains under investigation. the california highway patrol has not closed highway 1 but they warn drivers to expect delays. jenna: thank you, arthel. >> you're welcome. jon: a robber holds up an electronics store at gunpoint and gets away, for now. police are asking you to help them catch their man.

also astronauts at the international space station are preparing for a dangerous mission. the latest on the upcoming spacewalk and why nasa says they are critical.

get 3 years interest-free financing on brand name mattress sets. plus, get free delivery and sleep train's 100-day low price guarantee. sleep train's interest-free for 3 event ends sunday! ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪

jenna: right now the search is on for a man who robbed a verizon wireless store at gunpoint in new jersey. in fact we have video of that. the subject comes into the store and leaves with a pillowcase of merchandise. the manager says the clerk demanded all the 20-dollar bills and wanted to see where the iphones were of all things. anyone with information is asked to call the police detectives at the number at your screen there. hopefully you can help them out catch this guy. jon: i hope they give him an iphone and track it. jenna: that is good point.

jon: new information coming on the spacewalk nasa is planning to make repairs to the international space station. two astronauts are expected to make three walks beginning saturday to fix a faulty pump. that problem is delaying a resupply mission to the space station. phil keating has his feet on the ground live in miami to bring us an update. phil? >> reporter: jon, the space station could keep operating a great while longer as it has been are to the past week. the draw back being multiple systems have been shut off and scientific experiments put on hold to keep the space station from overheating. as a spokesman for johnson space center for nasa, told me, you don't want your car operating at 70%. you want it operating 100%, especially when your vehicle is a $150 billion investment. the issue is fault i pump valve on one of the two ammonia cooling systems. during the last spacewalk, it began filling up in the

astronaut's helmet and serious concern as all spacewalks are as an administrator told me last week. >> reason we're doing so much work right now with robotic capabilities like r-2 or external robot that is learning how to undo fixtures and electrical plugs and the like is because as infrequently as you can you want to send crews outside. so any eva puts a crew at risk. >> reporter: and the risk-takers this saturday morning will be nasa astronauts rick mastrionio, and michael hopkins. they will begin the six hour spacewalk 7:00 p.m. jon: having seen the moving average very "gravity" i would not want to do the spacewalk right now. >> reporter: they're all a gamble. jon: wasn't there a similar issue forced them to have a spacewalk before? >> reporter: almost identical with the pump valve back in 2010. that time it required two astronauts do three spacewalks,

each seven 1/2 hours long. that is why this christmas day spacewalk next week looks pretty much guaranteed. mission control will be monitoring it all, especially the ongoing helmet issue which is yet to be 100% resolved. all of this kept them from tomorrow night's planned cargo trip to the space station by orbital sciences. that is big disappointment for it. they will push the launch back in january. showing humor up in space soon to be spacewalker showed a picture with empty spacesuit with the caption, where are my gloves? a little low earth orbit humor. jon: he will need them. what is the temperature in florida right now, miami? >> reporter: temperature is about 75. a little cold. we miss those 80s. jon: tough day. jenna: get him a scarf. jon: i was thinking about you this morning as i was scraping

ice off my windshield. thank you, phil. jenna: wow, some people have all the luck, right? jon: you have to be posted somewhere. might as well be miami. >> coming up next hour new information on the benghazi terror attack people join angie's list for all kinds of reasons. i go to angie's list to gauge whether or not the projects will be done in a timely fashion and within budget. angie's list members can tell you which provider is the best in town. you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare. now that we're expecting, i like the fact i can go onto angie's list and look for pediatricians.

the service providers that i've found on angie's list actually have blown me away. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust. [ camera shutter clicks ] now, that's cardworthy. [ man ] all right. here we go. ♪ cardworthy. [ came shutter clicks ] cardworthy. [ beeping ] [ camera shutter clicks ] ♪ [ female announr ] there's still time for your perfect holiday card. visit shutterfly.com today and save up to 40%. ♪

[ ding ] i sense you've overpacked,

your stomach. try pepto to-go. it's pepto-bismol that fits in your pocket. relief can be yours, but your peanuts... are mine. ♪ jon: developments on our top story and breaking news this hour. awaiting the daily press briefing and a new plan to boost obamacare enrollment. how the first lady is getting involved. and also puppies. most kids love them and a new study says that they actually could be good for children's health. we will explain how. plus, it is our celebrity family feuds and what ashley judd is accusing her sister wynonna judd of doing. this is all "happening now." ♪ ♪ jon: we are one week away from christmas and there is a new meeting about obamacare good

afternoon. jenna: hello and welcome to the second hour of "happening now." i am generally. jon: and i am jon scott. jenna: a new push to boost obamacare. the president and president and first lady meeting in spite of the oval office. exactly one week away from the deadline to pick a plan and get covered by the first of the year. so what is the white house doing today to try to get this signed up? reporter: president obama and the first lady are going to meet with a group of moms in the oval office and moms are critically important in getting adult children, the young invisibles, sign-up for new coverage. that includes getting people under 26 years old enrolled as

well on their parents plan as well. this includes 3 million young people. we also heard this morning from the president's senior adviser, valerie jarrett. she says that an aggressive public relations push will boost that from now until the end of march. >> we are anticipating delays. giving people as much time as possible. reporter: one week from today is the deadline to sign up for new coverage. 103 days remain for the entire open and woman period. they are not old by then, they could get a fine. jenna: what about the president and first lady? are they signing up? >> they do plan to sign up, but

we are not sure when that's going to happen or which exchange they plan to sign up for. but some are saying that once they finally do go online, they won't necessarily like what they see. >> he is going to find higher premiums and higher deductibles and less options and i think that is what millions of americans are experiencing. reporter: we are also hearing from kansas senator jerry moran. including the amount that they have spent with all the technical problems and they have spent a great deal of money building a website. jenna: thank you. jon: a warning for the gop about the problems with obamacare in the efforts to fix them. a frequent guest of the program says that it could be a political trap set by the

democrats to derail gop efforts. the national health care design is so complex and has already embedded itself deeply in the health care system that can never be repealed. the only course now is for many to fix obamacare's problems. joining us now, juan williams, and charlie hurt. columnist at the washington times. so what do you think about this? >> i think it is an excellent point and a real danger for republicans. very much this is the way things have operated for a long time we have members of both parties sort of holding hands to make it a bigger part of our everyday life and that's why we have this civil war going on right now. i would also caution that this

is an extraordinary opportunity for republicans not to do it this time and to believe -- to get control of the government and actually without obamacare and this includes conservative ideas for fixing and reforming the broken health care system. and i think that they will have a lot of problems for the foreseeable future. jon: obamacare -- 85% of the population had health insurance and most people according to the poll, they were pretty happy with what they had and blew the system up, are we ever going to go back to the way things were? >> no, i do not think so. president obama is an officer to 2016 election.

so the first time that the republicans would have the opportunity to do something massive would be 2017. and that is a long ways out, even if republicans maintain control of the senate in the midterm elections next year. and so i think if you have republican politics and it's almost uniform to obamacare. >> they don't like it is part of an entitlement society and beyond. the id you can get republicans to work here is difficult. but the danger, and i think that this is what we are pointing to, democrats are going to fire back and we have a plan that is intended to help americans and the republicans won't help us fix it. >> they are trying to repeal or at least undo parts of obamacare.

the president has belittled those efforts. but according to byron, he says already some republicans and it must be the first step in minimizing the damage done by obamacare. the problems become the less likely some to demand repeal. would he think about that? >> is exactly right. and of course before then, we will have a second midterm election and this includes the polling on it right now. and it's a very popular for them. and they can make life very miserable not only for democrats but president obama. and there are a lot of opportunities for republicans if they stick with this and what i believe the republican voters

want, which is to have a complete repeal of obamacare. so they stick to that, they will be able to have a smaller victory, do a lot of things to undermine obamacare. and then when the time comes, and i would argue that after eight years of democratic control in the white house, it would bode pretty well for a republican to win. but it won't be that difficult to undo. jon: you know that this was passed without republican support of any time. will voters were republicans for that at the polls the next time around if this thing is as popular as it is right now? next november? >> well, i think that one of the fears that they have is that people become accustomed to some aspects of it, even if they say that i don't like obamacare and

when they start thinking about this, you get to take it, there's no cap on what the insurance company can do, they can't throw you off and everyone's heard about this and so they're going to say, okay, there are some things i like here. don't throw everything out. and so at that point, especially by 2017. republicans are going to be in quite the situation. so what do they do that will be better than what obamacare has delivered in this flawed passage jon: as charlie said, they will have to come up with proposals and sell them. speak to a diplomatic standoff going between allies and israel. living and working in new york city. accused of lying on documents and india is serious at the

diplomats arrest and that the treatment as well. james rosen as the latest in washington now. reporter: that's right, calling us deplorable. he was arrested outside of her daughter's school on december 12 by agents of the state state department in the diplomatic security services. they were serving as the deputy consul in new york city and she said she broke down with the indignities with cavity searches where she says she observe common criminals and drug addicts. a q&a document has been released, entitled responses to these questions. the questions are also being asked by the enraged diplomatic core question.

marshal services dodging that one. the arrest he was placed with other female defendants are rating chordates. so why was she placed with the general prisoner population? and the answer is she was placed in the available and appropriate cell after the risk or separation order and prisoners had generally pleased in these populations. in planting down, serving u.s. missions, including duty-free alcohol. in a fresh look to see whether any of them are employed. since the removal of the security and a state department official has asset that has impaired security in india's capital. >> i don't think we go that far. we don't comment on specific security and we take it seriously and we will continue to have conversations to make sure that we are properly

secured. reporter: there she enjoys a higher level of diplomatic unity from prosecution in this country. jenna: thank you so much for reporting on not. jon: more stories coming out. marijuana crossing the border and how teenagers are getting their hands on it. and toronto's mayor rob ford. now you might say that he is dancing to a different team. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

youand you're talking toere rheuyour rheumatologistike me, about trying or adding a biologic. this is humira, adalimumab. this is humira working to help relieve my pain. this is humira helping me through the twists and turns. this is humira helping to protect my joints from further damage. doctors have been prescribing humira for over ten years. humira works by targeting and helping to block

a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. for many adults, humira is proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problem serious allergic reactions and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira , your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, have symptoms such as fever fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your doctor if humira can work for you. this is humira at work.

afghanistan in 2009. on the u.s.s. saratoga in 1982. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. jon: right now, news stories we're watching around the world.

two soldiers saying they were acting as soldiers of islam after they hacked innocent people on the streets. their trial is expected to begin tomorrow. in china, a drunken man climbed up onto the screen and got stuck. firefighters had to use the pulley to get him down before he landed on a safety matters. and rob ford, the mayor of toronto, dancing to bob marley is one love and a christmas song. take a listen to this. ♪ ♪ jenna: do they do that regularly? jon: he was stripped of most of his powers after admitting to

smoking crack during what he called one of his drunken stupor. but we are told that this is perfect sobriety for him. jenna: i have a theory. "dancing with the stars." [laughter] jon: who wants to be his partner? [laughter] jenna: i am sure that that is not the last we have not heard of rob ford. in the meantime, more teenagers are using marijuana, according to a new survey which shows that more are getting taught from people with medical marijuana cards. william in our newsroom has more on this. reporter: there is no shortage of hot. and what kind of message does it send? decriminalizing pop from minors, a procession is at 2700-dollar

fine. out today by the national institute of health a new survey says the 62% of teenagers do not see marijuana is harmful and 40% of high school seniors say that teenagers of all ages now smoke more pot than cigarettes and researchers warned that smoking at an early age damages your brain development. >> it interferes with your capacity to learn and memorize. so that is going to interfere with your scholastic achievement. jon: researchers found 34% of teenagers get their pot not from the neighborhood dealer, but those who buy illegally with it legally with a prescription. the regulation does not reduce teenagers use. that is 19 of the highest

states, they all allow medical marijuana. but there's no shortage of pot. mexican cartels are trying to replace the lost revenue to the threat of the highest quality domestic steps. 10 tons were $12 million, this is coming as the dea says that it is eradicating 77% less than just three years ago and prices are down, down to about $300 an ounce. so there is an increase of civilized and greenhouses here. many believe that more laws will be passed and all bad news, they believe that they will continue to see marijuana increased in use over the next 10 years.

jon: facing new legal trouble right now, and accused of murdering his friend. we will tell you about that and we will weigh in with our legal panel. plus, could your dog help your kids fight off allergy and asthma? an interesting new study on children and pets coming up next. ♪ ♪ and they call it puppy love ♪ ♪ michael, tell us why you used priceline express deal to book this fabulous tel. wellou can see if a hotel is pet-friendly before y book it and i got great deal without bidding.

and where's yoururry friend? i don't ha a cat. save up to 5 during priceline's holidahotel sale. use promo code"holiday" for amazing savings on express deal hotels. now this sale won't last forever so dash on over to priceline.com. express deals. priceline savings without the bidding.

i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. [ sniffles ] i better take something. [ male announcer ] dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat all that. it doesn't? [ male anner ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. oh, what a relief it is!

jon: former football star aaron hernandez is facing murder charges of aaron odin lloyd. and a civil suit has been filed, raising questions about whether that action could cause problems for the criminal case. let's talk about it again with our legal panel. both are former federal prosecutors. this case was really just filed yesterday. the family says that its wrongful death, they have not specify the damages, but they say that it could be over and above the value of the one and a quarter million dollar homes. >> they want him to be hailed as responsible for the death of odin lloyd. and as a prosecutor, you don't like it one that is intertwined with the criminal cases because of discovery issues.

what happens now is that the attorney of aaron hernando's -- if they were to testify in court. jon: is a danger of the criminal prosecution making this up and could the criminal judge prevent us from going forward? >> i must not have been a good prosecutor. i would have called and told them to sit down and tell them to be quiet until i'm finished. if i can get this guy, then your job will go back to the interview and the answer of your questions. if the prosecution and it can

then be used to cross examine him at the criminal cases. jon: it seems to be that part of this filing, the family of odin lloyd asking a judge to order the new england patriots not pay him the $3 million in contractual obligations and is there anything that will occur that if the money won't be there if the money is spent on defense lawyers? >> is a plausible thought. more so they want a settlement in this case. and so sometimes by invoking his

fifth amendment privilege, he doesn't have to incriminate himself. and they cannot be used against him in the criminal case, but it can be used against him and the civil case. i think they wanted to move forward quickly and perhaps to get some leverage there and help with the civil case and the liability and the money that he will eventually have to pay. jon: what do you think about that? in the o.j. simpson case he escaped criminal conviction and then the goldman and brown families when apprehensively in a one multimillion dollar judgments and at least they have that satisfaction. >> that's right, they did get a judgment and they didn't collect much. but this really comes down to money, as you have pointed out. it becomes part of this and ultimately even this is issue,

you can get it with the money into an escrow counsel at the end of the day there will be money there to pay the plaintiff if they ultimately prevail. all of those things can get worked out on the civil side. so i don't understand the rush. jon: you both think that the civil lawyers are jumping the gun? >> there is a statue of limitations and so they have plenty of time to file the lawsuit and there was no need to file at this point with the criminal case being early on. >> the only reason to file. >> i can only assume that they are thinking that somehow fernandez is going to be making phone calls, saying this and that, i doesn't matter and eventually it will be

accessible. >> even if they did that, you can go back and trace back all that money and this includes wire transfers and many know that there is a lawsuit against him. jon: the murder of odin lloyd, the prosecution says that they certainly have a strong case. faith jenkins, fred, thank you guys for coming on the show. jenna: yesterday you might have thought that you had it made. for other people and the rest of us. so how much does money matter for true happiness? our next guest says that we have brand-new information and we are

live with details coming up next of the explosive testimony of the benghazi case farmer: hello, i'm an idaho potato farmer.

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? of their type 2 diabetes with non-insulin victoza®. for a while, i took a pill to lower my blood sugar, but it didn't get me to my goal. so i asked my doctor about victoza®. he said victoza® is different than pills.

victoza® is proven to lower blood sugar and a1c. it's taken once-a-day, any time, and comes in a pen. and the needle is thin. victoza® is not for weight loss, but it may help you lose some weight. victoza® is an injectable prescription medicine that may improve blood sugar in adultth type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. it is not recommended as the first medication to treat diabetes and should not be used in people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. victoza® has not been studied with mealtime insulin. victoza® is not insulin. do not take victoza® if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to victoza® or any of its ingredients. symptoms of a serious allergic reaction may include: swelling of face, lips, tongue, or throat, fainting or dizziness, very rapid heartbeat, problems breathing or swallowing, severe rash or itching. tell your doctor if you get a lump or swelling in your neck.

serious side effects may happen in people who take victoza®, including inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), which may be fatal. stop taking victoza® and call your doctor right away if you have signs of pancreatitis, such as severe pain that will not go away in your abdomen or from your abdomen to your back, with or without vomiting. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you have any medical conditions. taking victoza® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. the most common side effects are nausea, diarrhea, and headache. some side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. if your pill isn't giving you the control you need ask your doctor about non-insulin victoza®. it's covered by most health plans. jon: new information about the benghazi terror attack. for the very first time, members

of congress are going on the record and saying there were standdown members and they were told not to respond right away. senior correspondent adam housley is live with more of this from los angeles. reporter: that's right, some are talking about what is being said and about whether or not they were told not to go and as one member told me, if we were told to stand down, we were told to stan up either. but others will insist that it's part of those and two of them agreed to go on camera between talking to them and people on the ground. the story has not changed in their story also has not been support was called for it in

their were men that were told not to go from multiple locations. so please take a listen. >> the reason why the big deal is because i think that there is a shifting in an american policy that went something like this goes down in this part of the world, blackhawks are not coming over the horizon line to help those holding their ground and from them, we have a problem with that. >> i just know that when it comes to a stand down order, it was given in all three locations and when it comes to air support, there were calls for air support and when it comes to nondisclosure agreement, i don't know at what point we have to do to get to the fact that maybe the only people telling the truth are the cia security chapters that are on the ground. and they are the ones that responded to the mission, other than multiple reports, the one

thing they can't agree on is that these men did say the number of american lives than it could've been much worse that evening. tons of other information has not been turned over. we are hearing the senate report on this. it may be ready in the next week and he was told 95% is basically done. for the most part senators to agree on their benghazi reportedly hope to hear from the senate and the next week or so about what they believe happened that night. >> make you so much. jon: thank you, adam housley reporting. jenna: a half million jackpot and there's no lottery on the horizon, what is the secret to happiness? joining us now president of the

think tank. >> is what's on people's names all the time. why not talk about the happiness? >> it certainly got our attention. you maxed out an interesting percentage point just how much control we truly have over our own happiness and can you tell us about that very? >> this includes brain scientists and one of the things we know is about half of this is genetic. and it's not that they have a secret, it's not that they are doing something right, but i know that the 40%, another 40% comes from the stuff that is going on in your life and this includes good and bad events.

and that's what you have to work on, really just poor things for face family and community and work and those are the four things do you have to be thinking about. particularly as you make your resolutions for 2014. i am absolutely glad. >> i am much happier now and i'm a little bit worried. so you see this, the free enterprise is essential to this and how is it part of true happiness? >> most people are happy with their work. people overwhelmingly like their jobs and they have value with

their jobs and value it there they have much more likely situations are more aggressive about this. >> you say that there's a lot of misconceptions about the way that we inspire this? >> what you think about some of the misconceptions that you hold onto? and has nothing to do with this comment has to do with productivity and making something of your life. free enterprise allows you to treat your life is your enterprise and it's not just about business creation. the other thing is how we treat poor people. something that it means zeroing out the welfare safety net for the poorest people and that's not right either. you can be pro-free enterprise and road safety net.

this includes adequate spending control, this is not compatible with freedom or happiness or free enterprise. jenna: you have an interesting personal experience that you should were you found her own happiness and it took some tough decisions. can you share that with our viewers? >> yes. i didn't have a traditional pass. i run a think tank. many got their phd is an item go to college until my 30s because i was traveling around as a musician and that probably sounds like a light life. and i probably can be. but what i wanted to do was to learn about this and i went to graduate school and i changed careers. people in america forget that you can't do that around the world. and we have to be able to protect us and joyfully earn nice. jenna: it's interesting, you are

writing about how this comes full circle. so many great points. we couldn't get to them all, but we thank you. >> it is inspiring to know that we live in this great country where you can do that kind of thing. >> warfare, thank you so much. >> happy holidays. jon: here are a couple of sisters that are not so happy right now. a new battle and what ashley judd and wynonna judge are fighting about now. and the gift that keeps giving health benefits for your kids. we will explain coming up next. >> our mothers the key to success with obamacare? the white house seems to think so and we will explore that at the top of the hour. also, if you find a dog wandering around your town with

no name tag and you bring him to an adoption shelter for five days and no one claims him, and then you adopt a dog and then the owner comes back, whose dog is a? we will explore the legal ramifications. we will explain not when greg and i see you in about 20 minutes. ♪ ♪

jenna: at the doctor is in. many of kids have a puppy on their wish list. but now tere is evidence that dogs can be good for the health of your child in a new study shows that children who grow up with pets may develop better protection against asthma and other allergies and it's a little counterintuitive probably for most of us. we have a pediatrician from st. louis hospital and it's great to have you back with us, doctor. why would this be?

why would it be that if you have a dog in your home, your child might be less likely to have asthma or allergies? >> what we are learning from research is that the first year of life is so important for your immune system development. it's during that time that your body learns what is good and what should not be a part of it. so if you have a dog or other pets in her home and you are exposed to that, then your immune system learns that that's a normal part of your environment and does not attack it. so actually we have known that having a dog or cat in your home during their first year of life reduces your risk of developing dog or cat allergies later in life.

and this one study was focusing on dogs. but you mention something else there. it's not just dogs, it can be cast as well. >> we have one child that does suffer from asthma. so what advice to give parents now, if your child is a known asthmatic, you have to be very careful my 4-year-old has severe asthma and allergies and their

dogs that can get less allergies for. jenna: is there a safer way to go that with a would be hipper allergenic pet? >> the existence is very existence is so slim. all we know is that all pets have dinner and anyone can have a reaction to the allergen acts. certain people with allergies will have different reactions to different animals. some feel that they are hypoallergenic and interestingly enough, and so hopefully you can

find a dog to work shreve. >> thank you so much for being on the show. >> thank you for having me. jon: coming up next, ashley judd and wynonna judd. a few between sisters. we will have a the story coming up when we are back ♪

♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone deserves the gift of all day pain relief. this season, discover aleve. all day pain relief with just two pills. it's hard to describe, because you have a numbness, but yet you have the pain like thousands of needles sticking in your foot. it was progressively getting worse, and at that point i knew i had to do something. once i started taking the lyrica the pain started subsiding.

[ male announcer ] it's known that diabetes damages nerves. lyrica is fda approved to treat diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is not for everyone. it may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, changes in eyesight including blurry vision, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or skin sores from diabetes. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. ask your doctor about lyrica today. it's specific treatment for diabetic nerve pain.

jon: is our accusations involving celebrity sisters ashley and wynonna judd. our reporter is live.

reporter: that's right, it's all over and ongoing dispute of custody of a c how it breaks do. in a police report from the franklin tennessee leased department. the device was placed there in order to chart their movement and wynonna's attorney had no comment. however, the country's singer sent a tweet and said she had the following quote. you will never know what will happen next. on november 8, there was a large plastic box on the car's passenger side. inside, police found a cellular gps tracking device, it was

registered to a national private investigator. wynonna's attorney started talking and said the date were told to by the device. the gps device gave it to her ex husband who allegedly placed this device on the mini cooper. they had declared it an active and by the way, the deputy was put on suspension and so it's too bad because i love that family or in what talented folks at. jon: absolutely. very complicated. jenna: an incredible story of survival now. one that started 10 years ago with a fire breaking out at this nightclub in long island.

making it one of the deadliest files in american history. and undergoing a hand transplant just a year ago. we have the story. reporter: that's right, to get to this point, it has taken resilience and advancement in medical science. a little bit more than a year ago in october, the first resurgence and today he has undergone more than 120 surgeries since receiving a new hand. a year of physical therapy, gaining independence. >> its freedom. freedom at its best. to be able to come out here in

the morning you know? speaks for itself he turned out to be an organ donor. and he led the team that spent 15 hours and burns left him with no continuous veins and additional veins in his left hand. jenna: what an incredible story and so incredible to see. i thank you very much. one that we will not soon forget. it is all "happening now"

you might know i took a photoof my dog winston. i don't have original thoughts and other people do the same thing. can maggie and picture of stela and henry and winston's best buddy ediowa e in new york out in the yard. >> we got to run. bill and ally are next. thank you so much, guys. we are waiting a full senate vote for the first budget deal in two years. this is a bill to would avoid a government shutdown. the bill is expected to pass and go to the president's desk for his signature. still, many republicans say it does nothing about washington's spending problem. soon as that starts we'll take you to capitol