want to be a success make sure you are working on you. how did i do? >> very well. >> the tongue before we g. >> oh, gosh. >> camera, two. and happening now. respiratory oh, yeah. whew. we begin with the crisis on iraq. the religious minorities are on the run from isis. and a statement reads: we are working with officials in baghdad to it coordinate iraqi air drops to people in need. the government has initiated air drops and we are in constant contact with them and provide direct assistance when ever possible. the new york times is report

that this u.s. is considering air strikes. we'll monitor the briefing for any details coming out of the white house. >> closing in on the verdict in a long awaited murder trial of oscar pistorias. i am jenna lee. >> and i am jon scott. closing arguments unway in south africa. the prosecution calling pistorias a liar and claiming that his emotional outburst in court were rehearsed as they maintain that pistorias intentionally killed steenkamp last year. pistorias always claimed he shot her accidentally after mistakenly thinking she was a intruder. paul? >> and jon, it was the day of first and last chance. it was the first day that reeva steenkamp joined his wife in court and first time since the

trial has begun since they showed up to support his son and last chance for the prosecutor to convince the judge that the blade runner is guilty of the steenkamp murder. referring to how the athlete broke boun in the witness stand that pistorias used rehearsed emotional outburst to avoid answering questions. and that his version of events was a snow ball of lies. she locked herself in the toilet and there was no entrudder and the defense dismissed the version that he shouted her name. >> he's shouting her name and she's in the cubicle and she did not answer a word. it gets ridiculous. all of these things, the court

will have to accept before the court accepts his version. >> john, they wrap up the defense closing arguments tomorrow. >> how long is the judge expected to take to reach a verdict here? >> reporter: jon, some say two weeks and some say another. in another high profile court that is going on at the moment, we are so far in one year waiting for a verdict. running to the white house there is a briefing taking place. they are talking about iraq now. let's listen. >> the united states government and the united states military is supporting the ongoing efforts of the iraqi officials and kurdish officials to address the humanitarian crisis. it is a situation that we are deeply concerned about and

closely monitoring. >> and the president the been meeting with people about this recently. can you give us detail about how he's addressing it and you can tell us more about it? >> the president as he often does, met with the members of the national security team this morning. i don't have a specific readout of that meeting. but american officials in iraq and here in the u.s., are closely monitoring the situation. >> what is the events? >> i have no updates on the president's schedule. >> the white house said that president in a departure of what was originally released, he will come back for a day or so. why will he be returning? >> the president wanted to take advantage of a little time not next week or but the week after

wanted to do in person meetings here in the white house. this is not an emerging situation. but he is scheduled several weeks in advance. it is an opportunity for the president to do in person meeting before returning to martha's vineyard. >> you said the u.s. is supporting the ongoing efforts of iraqi and kurdish officials, how is the u.s. supporting them? >> there is a couple of different ways, roberta. there is a long military relationship between united states and iraqi security forces. and so there is training and resources and supplies that are regularly provided from the united states military to iraq security forces. as you also know, there are a couple of joint operation

centers established in iraq where a close military coordination cooperation can occur. that is american military personnel and kurdish military security forces and iraq security forces and all of it is integrated in the two places. the president announced a few weeks ago. that american military personnel on the ground in iraq to provide an assessment of the situation on the ground and assessment of the capability of the iraqi security forces and those individuals are working closely with iraqi security forces and kurdish security forces to evaluate the situation. >> so france today said that it is ready to take action in addressing the military

institution. is the u.s. military considering specific action to support france or support the situation in that way? >> i don't have going to announce from here. the american military personnel in iraq are conducting an assessment in the direction of the president about the capability of the iraqi security forces and the conditions on the ground. that sort of assessment is done in a careful conjunction and cooperation with the iraqi security forces. if there are specific needs to be met in terms of enhancing iraqi security forces capabilities, we'll look to provide. it it is a long-standing military relationship that existed for a long time, and we can operate through those channels to provide assistance to the iraqis as they confront

a difficult and tragic situation in their own country. >> just to get a straight answer. is the u.s. considering air strikes among the options to make sure humanitarian assistance is provided to the repressed northern populations. are air strikes on the table. >> i am not in the position to rule on the table or out of the table on this context. the president articulated a couple of times. there are many problems in iraq. this one now has a particularly, is a particularly acute one and the stakes are very high. we are seeing innocent population persecuted because of the religious or ethnic identity. it is deeply disturbing and we are following closely. that said, it is important to

understand, the president made it clear that there are no american military solutions to the problems in iraq. we can't solve these problems for them. the problems can only be solved with the iraqi political solution. that is the core of our thinking as we confront the situations. the president at the same time demonstrated willingness to take the kind of military action that is required to protect core american interest. those include are protecting american personnel around the globe. he's taken actions like that in other countries. the president has also made clear that american military action in iraq would not include combat boots on the ground. that is a principle that the president laid out in the beginning and continues to be true today. >> it sounds like this is under

consideration? >> i am not in position to shed light about the president's thinking at this point. he's clear about the broader problems and challenges that are facing the people of iraq right now. what is clear, there are no american military solutions to those problems and those solutions will come through the political reforms that only the iraqis are taking. >> to deliver the humanitarian aid something may have to do to soften isis in those areas so supplies can go in, is that a correct read in that situation? >> i am not in a position of providing you tactical insight. i can give you the president's thinking in general. that includes no combat boots on the ground in iraq. the president is clear and that

principle holds. and the military action that would be taken in iraq would be limited in scope and specific to addressing a core american objective. >> that remains the case now? >> that would include like protecting american personnel or confronting counter terrorism threats and the other thing that we are clear about. any sort of american military action would have to be closely tied to iraqi political reforms that are long over due. good news in that. we have seen steps taken by iraqi political leader ares to form a government on a time line that is much faster than they've made in these kinds of decisions in the past. in the last couple of weeks, we have seen the election of a new iraqi president who is a kurd.

and the appointment of a new iraqi speaker who is sunni and one kurd and shia. and the work that remains to be done in those political reforms, is the election of a new iraqi prime minister and cohesive government that is committed to leading that country in a way that reflects the iraq's diverse population and gives confidence to the citizens of iraq and that the government is looking out for the interest and well-being of every citizen in iraq. >> last night there was a full report that said the chairman of the joint chiefs here, meeting with the president in the oval office, did this matter come up in their discussions? >> i don't have a readout. chairman dempsey travelled with the president in the conclusion

of the africa leaders summit back to the white house. the chairman rode with the president. >> did they discuss national security matters? >> i have no readout. >> and can you respond to the criticism from the members of the senate and intelligence committee, democrats and led by senator feinstein about the report, the interrogation tactics after 9/11. what is the administration doing and has the president spoken to the chair woman yet? >> i have no report of conversation or readout to you between the president and chair woman. as the director of national intelligence indicated on friday, the report that was declassified by the dni, left 85 percent of that material included in that report unredakted. that is a large percentage when you consider the subject matter

in the report. >> the bulk of the press reading. white house announcing renewed focus on iraq and mentions the thousands of iraqis that are displaced because of isis. during our first hour of happening now, we mentioned to you a major battle over a water dam near mosul and one of the big issues that could be a game changer in this is if isis takes control of the dam they can flood the major cities including baghdad. the white house mentioning specifically humanitarian aid wanting to be delivered to people in iraq and working with the iraqi government not only in that capacity but air strikes and not taking it off of the table or confirming that can happen. it is a te newous relationship

with the iraqi government because as josh earnest mentioned the need for reform in the government. the white house is walking a fine line. and there is a question of whether it takes us down the different path of iraq. >> and the appoint wants that the government made might get a more unitty government. >> we'll see. we'll bring in chris wallace, anchor of fox news sunday. clearly this white house doesn't have any desire to be seen as dropping bombs in iraq as starting the hostilities a new from the american point of vow. 400,000 refugees are fleeing the isis forces. what do you think they are going to consider? >> well, it was interesting to listen to this and a lot of people thought it might be boring. that is the job of a white house

reporter. i did it six years with ronald reagan. you can listen to what they are saying or not saying and reading the tea leaves. he was not opening up a new avenue or rationa le of action in humanitarian aid. the reason we got in libya was gaddafi's forces was about to enter benghazi and slaughter the rebel and it is u.s. got involved in a humanitarian basis. the president said it wouldn't be our values and watch the slaughter of the people. and it was interesting that josh earnest did not raise that today. he certainly was not eager to raise the possibility of action on a purely humanitarian basis to save hundreds of thousands of refugees. that may still happen. but he was not offering that as

a new rationale and still talking about the need of political reform and need to see a new government in baghdad. and so he was not changing the u.s. rational for action in the government. government. it is protecting the christian and minorities that are under the threat of isis in northern iraq. >> we have tens of thousands of soldiers and u.s. troops that fought in iraq. those troops came home now and have a new va system set up as of today. the president has signed the new va reform bill into law. what are the practical effects here, chris? >> dramatic. 16 billion. and it calls for a highring of

doctors and nurses and a veteran is unable to get care within 30 days or lives more than 40 miles away from a va facility, they can get private care and the government will pay for that. and this is a good news story coming out of washington these days. it was a bipartisan compromise between the republicans in the house and house chair of the veteran's affair's committee and senate democratic chair. they came up with a $16 billion compromise and passed by the house and senate and the president signed it today. it is an effort to deal in a short- term sense with the backlog of the veterans that had to wait for months, sometimes it appears that it may have contributed to greater illness

or death to deal with that so they can get care from doctors or va facilities that are going to be created or sometimes for private doctors and the government picks up the tab. >> the president wants to close tax loop holes. he's urging congress to get involved in the tax inversions where a company takes over another company and relies on the smaller the take over companies and overseas the headquarters to escape u.s. taxes. is that going to fly? why doesn't the president take out his famous pen and do something unlaterally if he is upset about it. >> they are inversions and american companies. and the corporate tax rate is so high. 35 percent. one of these companies went to ireland and the corporate tax is 12 and half percent.

the company stays in america, but they buy a foreign company and as a paper transaction, they become an irish company and our headquarters are in ireland even though the bosses and people are in the united states. they pay 35 percent tax what they make in the united states. but overseas, only 12 and half percent and there are other things to do. it is a way to avoid hundreds of millions in taxes. as you point out, there is talk in congress about passing something. republicans say we'll not deal with it piecemeal. we want a comprehensive tax reform to close the loop holes and lower the rate from 35 percent to 28 percent or 25 percent. treasury secretary jack l. ew said we don't have a right to do this unlaterally and this week the treasury department talked about maybe we can do it

unlaterally. and any of the companies that did the tax inversion would not be available for federal contracts. real questions, the treasury secretary said they didn't have the authority to do that and i guess the pen got mightier in the last few weeks. >> plenty of fodder for fox news sunday. >> yeah, we'll deal with the tax inversion story. we'll have john engleer. and current head of the business roundtable said it is not pretty and you may not like. it but it is legitimate. and the democratic senator chris coones said it is a matter of economic patriotism. it is wrong but legal. we'll look forward to that. check your listings in your area

for the time it runs. >> olympics star oscar pistorias's fate may be in the hands of the judge. we'll have that next. p÷úñ

>> closing arguments underway in the oscar pistorias murder trial. the athlete leaving court with his father after the prosecution pulled no punches saying that pistorias was an appalling witness and he lied repeatedly. and blasting pistorias claim that he shot she reeva steenkam she did not utter a word.

it just gets ridiculous. all of these things the court will have to accept before the court can accept the accused version. he's standing in front of the door. she's not hiding or scared of an intruder or scared of the accused. she's talking to him. it is not as if she thinks that something is wrong. she knows that the person that is a danger is in front of her. >> joining us now phil snyder, a former prosecutor and bill merchant defense attorney. welcome to both of you. he is facing a conviction on a pre-meditated murder charge. does the state have the case to

prove that? >> i think the defense did a good job of rebeauting. the state is locked in on the manslaughter charges. i don't think there is go doubt that pistorias acted recklessly and he intended to shoot someone. manslaughter conviction would be good to go. >> ashley if he intended to shoot someone. five seconds or five minutes? >> the pre-meditation was formed when he walked down the bathroom corridor to get the gun. i don't think pre-meditation has been met in this case. it requires only a few seconds and going to get the gun could be enough for the government to prove pre-meditation. that's the argument. >> we know that she was behind the bathroom door whether he knew it was her or not, isn't that reckless, phil?

>> it is reckless. he may not have known she was behind the door, however he knew someone was behind the door and he was not in moral or grave danger to shoot without knowing who is there. you are correct. his actions were reckless and he intended to kill someone behind the door. for that reason he is guilty of manslaughter charge. >> manslaughter perhaps, but first-degree murder? do they have enough, ashley to get him on something that intense? >> i would argue they don't. and i think there is going to be two main focuses in the defense closing argument. they will argue that the evidence was tampered w. the lead detective resigned over allegations of tampering. and one of the officers involved

in the investigation stole a wristwatch during the investigation. you can't rely on anything that the government puts forward at this point. and that's what the defense will hang their hat o. >> that's true. but oscar said he knew someone was behind the door and he was shooting. those came from his bullet and in to the dor. there is no explaination. >> this judge has been harshed on domestic violence and abusers, practitioners, for a lack of a better term. that doesn't bode well for pistorias here? >> no, not at all. the judge has wide discretion on what to sentence to. she could let him go home or a number of years in prison. if she finds him guilty, she will throw the book at him,

because of her history. ashley and phil, we'll await the verdict. thank you. >> a potential new way to decrease chances of alzhimer. the doctor is in with what you need to know. peanuts! peanuts! crowd cheers!

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an extreme weather alert in hawaii. bracing now for the first direct hit by a hurricane in 22 years

as folks gear up for back-to-back storms actually. the -- >> reporter: two hurricanes hitting hawaii 24 hours apart is unprecedented. the hawaii islands run east to west. the big island will get hit first at 8 o'clock. maoi after that. and then a day later comes hurricane julio slightly north, but bringing heavy rains to the islands. whether they hit as hurricanes or tropical storms will not make much difference. many island communities are only accessible by the coast. they get knocked down with a storm surge as expected or

a foot of rain and flooding, they will be cut off for day and no power. so residents are stocking up on water, rice and gasoline and food. >> so we are maintaining our message and encouraging preparation. and for those in the vulnerable areas to take action. ngovernor neal amberkrombie declared a state of emergency. running shuttles for those built in flood shelters and coast guard, closing harbors on four of six islands and closing parks and hiking trials. utilities prepping, because volcanos on the big island and on ma oi exceed 10,000 feet and many residents live on exposed

ridges. major airlines are waiving the cancellation fees. and the governor is now considering moving the election primary until next week. it is hard to ask them to get out and vote when you tell them to stay home. we'll get word on that to you. >> trouble in paradise. a new study reveals a connection between vitamin deficiency and dementia and alzheimers. the risk of dementia was twice as strong. alzheimers disease affects 5 million people in the united states. with more on this study we'll bring in dr. kevin campbell. what is the connection? why vita min d and have

something to do with the way the brain works? >> no one knows what the connection is. there is no proven relationship. we know that the plaques, that are deposited. and vitamin d may clean up the damage that the alzheimers does to the brain. >> we hear about it a lot. one person is hearing the headline and i will go to the story and take extra vitamin d, does it matter which form. if i get more sun or vitamin d, is that as good as a vitamin. >> obtaining more sun is a healthy way to get better vitamin d levels. see your doctor and have the

levels drawn from your blood in individualized treatment. things that are associated with sunshine and getting exercise and better heart health all associated with lower risk of alzheimers. all kind of goes together. >> let me ask you about aspirin a day helps to drop your rates of certain cancer. i am curious your thoughts. there is long thought a connection aspirin and heart health. is an aspirin a day good to keep the doctor away? >> we know in the area of cardio vascular health aspirin is important for patients with heart disease. and primary prevention and people with risk for heart disease it may make sense. this study is interesting to me

and suggest that the average person may want to consider an aspirin a day and showed a significant decrease in cancer in the study. >> if everyone took a daily aspirin there would be less cancer and far outweigh the side affects. one side affect is internal bleeding. is that a real risk for certain patients? >> it certainly is. if you have a history of peptic ulcer or bleeding from the gi track not a good idea for you. we have to weigh the risk and benefits. aspirin can cause bleeding because it is a blood thinner and cause ulcers in the gi track to cause that as well. aspirin blocks inflammation and promotes better blood flow and may help to prevent blood cancer. vitamin d and aspirin.

we'll see if there is more on these studies. great to see you as always. >> good to see you, jenna, thank you so much. >> don't misbret baier's inside scoop on obama care. >> why would you have stopped using your gynecologist 15 years ago? >> i had other issues that needed to be dealt with. the questioning went on for an hour. >> i think they are down playing how important it is to me and other people. additional travel time and wait time to go see new doctors and new places, these things affect people. and it is not just as easy as go see some other doctor. >> live free or die, obama care in new hampshire will air on fox news channel. >> now business news.

the labor department reported new names to benefits. there is a sign of confidence in the economy as employers keep workers on the payroll. it is one week and a small snapshot but better than the recent weeks. >> russia is putting the world on edge as it masses thousands of troops and prompting many to look to the u.s. for leadership. what if a photo were more than a memory? what if it were more than something to share? what if a photo could build that shelf you've always wanted? or fix a leaky faucet? or even give you your saturday back? tionizes local service. just snap a photo and angie's list coordinates a

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124shgs i am shannon green in for gretchen today. coming up. the u.s. sending aid or air strikes. plus we'll talk to a doctor who contracted the ebola virus. and yeah, it is marijuana in brownies. does the crime fit the punishment. this girl has been stalked for

years and fighting for the right to carry a gun on the college campus. her story and more. >> and all out invasion today. and the troops on the border of ukraine. this shoes the areas where they are congregating. the kremlin banning food imports and threatening to ban international flights through russian air space. here's matt. great to have you back on the program. it is an important topic. one of the things you say. you can see over the next few weeks or months a disastrous blood bath by the ukrainian forces and possible russian intervention on humidity needs. a potential blood bath?

>> the military forces, regular ukrainian troops and volunteer forces that come from the western part of the country that is not at war. they have cut off the russian separatist and pro russian separatist in two basic areas and in the donetsk it would happen. it would be urban warfare. the russians can continue to supply them by breaking through ukrainian lines and through air and intelligence on the ground. and this will be a fight to the death. it will be very dirty and ugly and that will provide the justification that the russians need sometime soon to declare a humanitarian emergency just like we have done in the middle east and they will use air power

and rocket and ukrainians you must not advance here. >> it is scary to hear that played out. >> we have a danger here. this is like the prisoner's dilemma. negotiating with the ukrainians on one hand and they are in a war and we need the russians out and eliminate and negotiate from a position in strength. you in the west need to back us up. the russian made it clear they are prepared to endure more pain. whatever we throw at them, they will take it and keep on ticking and they will not roll over and surrender. in the west, we cannot win a war in russia this is not al-qaeda but the russian federation and inheritar of the soviet union

arsenal. but the ukrainians can't win it by themselves. if we go sanctions, it is dead-end. we can do it for moral reasons, but we have to have an end game negotiation that the russians are part of and negotiation for what the russians will settle for. and we are the only ones to facilitate the process. do we have credibility to do it? >> do we have the credibility now? >> the us versus them and we are their enemy and they are ours. the less we are able to do it. until recently the europeans could have split the difference. and merkel had enough credibility with putin and be the intersedor. and europeans are falling behind the u.s. sanctions and we can't play good cop, bad cop as the world divides in two camps.

we need to act quickly before the sanctions divide us. >> it is a story we are keeping an eye on. and we look forward to having you back. thank you so much. >> thank you. "happening now" is back in just a moment.

humidity crisis in iraq right now. tens of thousands of people in an iraqi minority are trapped on the run from isis and facing foo ed henry pressed josh earnest on the situation. it is an emotional statement. there is anniverse verse of the

genocide in rwanda. and here we are confronting the possibility that are threatened only because of their religious or ethnic identity is something the united states cannot abide. the question is, what and now the united states can intervene to mitigate that situation. and those kinds of decisions are the kinds of decisions that are made on a case by case basis. >> pentagon officials tell fox they've been working directly with officials on the ground to coordinate iraqi air drops to people in need. we just got a report from "the new york times" that the president is considering the use of air strikes. he was not say whether or not that option is on or off the

table during the briefing. john? >> now amazon at odds with hashet publishing, locked into a fierce battle over revenues. authors who depend on amazon for increased sales are paying the price. claudia? >> reporter: this showdown began rather quietly in february, but it's now a very public battle with authors caught in the middle. after surviving mt. everest and expeditions to the north pole, alison lavigne is engaged in the amazon war, accusing them holding her new leadership book hostage. now on the edge is literally on the edge. >> where other books were available for shipment right away, my book was quoted as several weeks until it could be delivered. and other books were brought up as suggestions instead of my book. >> reporter: popular authors

like stephen colbert says amazon is being a bully. but suspense author vincent landry disagrees. >> amazon has created a situation where writers are not only treated well but writers have control. i think it stairs the big publishers. >> reporter: he says because there's no middleman of overhead, he gets 35% of every e-book sale compared to 25%. >> pay your authors more. try to create lower book chrises for the consumer. it's their only choice or else that which fail. >> reporter: for now, lavigne promotes her book wherever she can and finds sympathy with most bookstores. >> we think they want to take over the whole business and we're determined not to let them. >> reporter: stores like this one are heavily promoting hashet

authors and books while everyone waits to see how they work together going forward. >> the world is changing. claudia, thank you. the universe captured in some incredible time lapse videos, showing a display of summer from a very unique vantage point. you know where this is? that's next.

stunning images of nature like you've never seen before. look at these stars, swirling high above tall trees and mountains as we get an amazing view of the milky way. part of this video from cafornia's sequoia and king's national parks. this was shot in june.

>> very coolpictures. wow. thank you for joining us. >> "the real story" with shannon bream starts now. we begin today with ebola and the potential danger to the american homeland. on capitol hill, an emergency hearing getting under way at this hour to address the impact of this deadly disease. hello, everyone, i'm shannon bream in for gretchen carlson. testimony scheduled for members of the global health and human rights communities as we follow this crisis from africa to the u.s. mainland. in atlanta, two american victims are improving. they were flown in from west africa where more than 900 deaths are reported. and molly henneberg is in washington. what can we expect? >> reporter: most lawmakers are out of town, but this is