who is excited? bill clinton. we are staying right here for outnumbered over time. fox news.com/click the over time tab and "happening now" starts right now. and the fox news alert. confirmation hearing for attorney general nominee loretta lynch just wrapping up. >> she was grilled on washingtono most controversial issues. >> new numbers on obama care with a countdown to it another enrollment deadline as that program picks up steam. now with a show down looming over capitol hill one republican said it is time to expand his state's medicaid program under obama care. >> a disturbing new study on

alzimers disease. not everyone is world. and dramatic moments caught on a firefighter's helmet cabin. three young children trapped inside of a burning building. a daring rescue in a race against time. it is all "happening now". >> but we begin with the winter storm that slammed parts of the northeast and still out there. welcome to "happening now". i am jon scott. >> i will healther childers in for jenna lee. in new england the storm knocked out power and left behind three feet of snow in areas. boston resident awakening to find car cans buried in knee- high snowfall. things are returning to a little bit of normal will see.

with a travel ban lifted. >> crews are working to restore electricity to it thousands of customers still without power. molly line is in plymouth massachusetts and has the latest for us there. >> hi, guys, we have a beautiful sunny day to dig out in new england and no doubt the forecaster ares hit it. we got slammed and readers were set is out in worcester. 34.5 inches and all- time greatest and boston two feet of snow. and some communities hit 36 inches of snow. today they are working to get the power back on. 36000 people without power. and right now 7500 people are still without power. the damage from the coastal flooding. south of boston got hit. the sea wall from marshville was

breached. among them home of tim manox. he literally got hit hard watching the storm. >> the damage started to happen around 4 o'clock a.m. in the high tide. and 20 past four windows caved in. one window and i went to put a table in front of the next window and pow, hit me in the face and i had to escape. >> yeah causing brutal injuries. and a brutal storm there. still waiting to find out if there will be school in the city of boston. that call will be made later on tonight. and the island of nan tucket complete plea loo loo completely out of power. and a thousand folks on cape cod without power. they are working to get the lights back on to folks that are still waiting. the recoveryll underway

though. >> molly line, in massachusetts thank you. >> talk about boston strong. despite being buried in two feet of now. one manmade their the boston marathon finish line shines bright. the unidentified man shovelling the site of the terrorist attack. and who shovel the finish line, to find the herroric shoveller. he was still not identified. >> i bet they will find him. airlines are slowly returning to normal now that the storm has passed. 8000 flights were cancelled because of the blizzard. but some major airlines are getting back to full schedule. 600 flights were expected to be cancelled today according to flight aware. airlines are urging customers to check the status especially if you are traveling two or from

the northeast. >> economist said the closures cost 200 million with small businesses and hourly worker ares experiencing the biggest impact. new york city officials shut down the transit systems and bridges and tunnels ahead of the storm and transportation reopened after they got eight inches of snow instead of two feet. new york city mayor de blasio said precautions helped the city to get back on track faster. >> in the world of complex threats protecting american people from terrorism must remain the primary mission of today's department of justice. if confirmed i will work with colleagues across the executive branch to continue to disrupt the catastrophic attacks planned against our home land and bring terrorist to justice.

>> that is the president's nominee for attorney general laying out one of her priorities before a senate committee. loretta lynch answering tough questions from the president's executive action on immigration and cyber crime. mike emmanuel joins us live from the hearing room in capitol hill, mike? >> reporter: she has navigated through the difficult issues and pledging she will remain faithful to the constitution. on president obama's executive action she noted she was not involved in the decisions that led to the move. she said advice from the justice department must be thorough and independent. >> who has more right to a job in this country? a lawful immigrant who is here grown card holder or citizen or a person who entered unlawfully.

>> the right and the obligation to work is shared by everyone in this country regardless of how they came here. and if they here regardless of status, i prefer they participate in the work place than not participating in the work place. >> lynch thanked president obama for the truff he placed in her and nominating her as the first african-american women attorney general. lynch reflected his views on enhanced interrogation. >> dow agree that water boarding is torteur and illegal. >> water boarding is torture, senator. >> thus illegal. >> and illegal. >> if confirmed lynch would replace eric holder who had a contentious relationship with law makers. the committee chairman struck a positive tonight. >> i don't expect miss lynch and

i agree on every issue. but i need to persuaded she is independent attorney general and have no reason to believe he won't be. >> no signs was her getting flustered. there may be more tough questions after the lunch breath heather. >> thank you, mike. >> new enrollment figures coming in on obama care. nine and half million people signed up for coverage this year and therefore they are on track to meet the goal set last year. but still big questions hover over how many paid premiums. the house gop is. >> aaron blake is with us. political reporter for the washington post and thank you for being here. daniel to you first, last time we got some of these numbers

tturned out they were fluj u fudged and inflated. do we believe that the government has an accurate count at this time? >> there is no reason to doubt their count and we don't know how their account is comprised right now. and we need more details. and last year 15 percent of the people who signed up for obama care never paid their premiums and while they were considered signed up they weren't actually signed up. a similar case expected to be in this case. the numbers are higher than they will be. and what is more important and interesting, 87 percent of the people that have signed up this year are eligible for a subsidy. and they are getting their insurance paid for in part at least by taxpayers. >> isn't it true, aaron, that some of the people signed up and maybe who were signed up last year are going to get a nasty surprise when they file tax returns this year.

they may have been oversubsidized and have to pay the money back? >> it is a part of the process that is needed to work through. and people who are not signing up are getting stiffer penalties and this is a carrot and stick approach and trying to get people to sign up for it. and most polls show that people signing up for it are happy so far and we'll see whether or not that it continues. >> i want to stick with you for a minute aaron. you wrote a piece. the supreme court could gut obama care and here's why that may not matter. the supreme court will hear one of the major challenges to obama care this spring. you think it is a moot point even if the supreme court would strike it down? >> it is a big case and how republicans are going to get rid of the law if they do get rid of it. repeal votes will not work until

they have a president in the white house in 2016. people think that if the supreme court strikes down the obama care subsidies as republicans hope they will. 64 percent of people want subsidies to be restored and they want the law to continue to have its funding mechanism for having people to enroll. whether or not that is going to be the case, a lot of things have to happen here. once you take a government benefit away from people after it is given it is more difficult to do than than not have done obama care in the first place. >> it was almost groundhog day in the house of representative. they voted time and time again to it repeal obama care. and he's in a republican controlled senate. no one expects that president obama would sign a veto of his signature legislation.

what would getting that legislation to his desk accomplish? >> most of the republicans in the last i don't know obama care passed is on repealing obama care. they promised they would do something and now it is time to do it. and it hasn't while votes in the house and the republican- controlled house passed repeal obama care this a summing the senate rejects obama care and repeals obama care, it will be first time a repeal bill is sent to the president of the united states. it accomplishes a lot and they are not failing to follow-through which is a common accusation that the republicans have felt. and i think that republicans will be more creative in the repeats of obama care and the legislation that might pass such as individual man date and various parts of the law that are unpopular. and sets the stage for 2016

debatine though president obama will not sign anything that touches obama care sent to him by the republican congress. >> speaking of republicans, a lot of people aaron were surprised that a republican governor of indiana decided to expand medicaid coverage as part of the obama care well plan. are you surprised and what happens now? do other republican governors follow suit? >> yeah, it is surprising for a couple of reasons. one that a lot of republican governors are hesitant to do this. 22 states have not gone along with the medicaid. and mike penn is a conservative guy and talked about a presidential candidate and while other candidates haven't touched the issue. he is doing it.

and he secured concession and making people pay part of the medicare and having health requirements and those are significant concessions that he got and the question is other republican governors that held out this long are looking for the same things and get on board with the medicaid expansion. potentially a model. >> and new violence flaring up on israel's border with lebanon and claiming the lives of two u.n. peace keepers. and junk. getting a credit down grade for russia's fragile economy.

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and agreeing to release the female al-qaeda operative. and in exchange for a jordanian pilot. this as isis threatened their lives. it is unclear if the japanese hostage is part of the deal. israeli soldiers said two soldiers are dead after an attack. hesbollah claimed responsibility. israel's military is responding on hesbollah position in lebanon. it is it a dramatic escalation of tensions seen in the area in years. israel's ambassador to the unn. and russia in deep trouble and the economy taking a major hit among ongoing financial problems. there is more on his story hi, amy. nheather when you are a proud

country and a resourced rich country and a nuclear nation and a former super power. you don't expect to fall in the category of junk. they have now classified russia in the junk category and that is above distressed or bankrupted. what it means, going forward it will be difficult for russia to borrow money and much more expensive because the ability to pay back is thrown in question. there is a bail out plan 35 billion to keep the banks and other entities afloat. the financing was deeply affected by the u.s. and european sanctions that was slapped on russia because of the actions in ukraine. fighting in ukraine and russia has intensified. the price of oil and economic

main stay plunging 57 percent. and the ruble feel 50 percent in the the past year. government critics said despite moscow's defiance, they are taking a heavy toil. >> the goal is not yet reached but sanctions work and they do the job and speeding up the economic collapse that would happen in and case if no sanctions at all. it is result of putin's policy. >> reporter: he's referring to the fact that independent analyst said heather, that russia did not take and make structural reforms when the economy was good and didn't make a when the sun was shining and standard and poors less concerned about sanctions and russia being ostracized than the central bank's ability to keep with everything right now.

heather? >> amy kellog, thank you. >> and iran sends a warning to israel and telling israeli leaders they crossed iran's redline and prepared to face the consequences. what does that mean? >> is there a possible new conflict ahead and will the u.s. be drawn into it. >> former texas governor speaking out about his arrest on abuse of power charges after the judge in the case makes a critical decision. and are proven to taste better than tums smoothies assorted fruit. mmm... amazing. yeah, i get that a lot. alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief.

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>> tensions escalating again between iran and israel coming after the killing of an iranian general in an alleged israeli air strike ten days ago. and it killed six hesbollah fighters in the syrian part of

the go lanheights. yesterday a report on iowa rannian state tv quoted them as saying we told the leaders of the american and zionist regime. and the where ionist regime has crossed our redlines. >> we have a fox news military analyst. thank you for joining us. >> hi, heather. >> obviously the redline that iran spoke of is in reference to president obama's redline and referencing syria the redline. that for president obama became a blurry one. what do you make of iowa ran and their redline? >> i think iran stated its case. iran is on the rise. they are spreading their influence throughout the world and their hatred against israel in the last couple of days we have seen is profound.

the nuclear weapon they are developing and the missile to carry it has a range of 1200 miles and israel is a thousand miles from western iran. the redline for iran is to humiliate the west and force them in to accepting the program which is the continuous expansion of the influence and terrorism in the middle east and a strike against israel. i don't think anybody watching this to go on would deny that iran will develop a nuclear weapon and missile to deliver. it >> how should the u.s. respond? >> it is too late now. even if the talks wind up. and the iranians will continue to nuclear weapons and finish the development of the insidious miss and i will eventually

perhaps in this administration we'll have to start to consider the consequences of a nuclear armed iran and that means nuclear armed saudi arabia and egypt and the whole context of the middle east will change and the greatest threat to the the next world war is not isis, but iran. >> could the u.s. be drawn into the conflict militarily? >> if iran strikes israel and i believe they want to do that more than anything. i believe the united states will forced in to doing something militarily against rieshgs ran. >> they are state supporter was hesbollah who killed two israelis and expanding in the shiite area of iraq and so far the united states has done

virtually nothing to stop the expansion. they are squeezing saudi arabia at this level and the saudis are very, very uncomfortable with this. >> all of that being said why did democrats back down yesterday? and soften their stance in what would have been a bipartisan plan to push for additional sanctions? >> i have to tell you i think the sanctions business is a red herring. the only reason the iranians are pushing against this successfully i might add in getting a delay they are trying to roll us and buy time to finish the development of the nuclear weapon and have a minimum economic impact on their economy. and we are rolled on both sides of the aisle and certainly by the administration and if anybody in the beltway really believes that iran is not trying

to build a nuclear weapon they are wrong. >> general bob scales, we should heed your warning. >> a dramatic rescue and hero's actions caught on camera. >> where is she? how old is she, ma'am? >> see more of the incredible video that takes us inside of the burning home where three young children were draped and plus. it is getting tougher to fly drones in places you shouldn't like over the white house.

>> an isis linked terrorist group is claiming responsibility for a deadly attack in a luxury hotel in tripoli that killed people. including david barry who is said to have fought to fight off the terrorist until he was shot to death. the group said it was the revenge of a death of a al-qaeda leader. a l- libbi died this month from long- standing health problems. >> president dropping a controversial plan to tax college saving plans. currently it is tax- fro to pay for certain expenses.

his propose ad garnered opposition from democrats and republicans. they say it is distracking from the larger efforts to help families pay for higher education. how important are tax benefits like the 529 college saving plans to you? our live chat is up and running. go to fox news.com/"happening now". the manufacturer of the drone that crashed monday on the white house lawn is putting a limit on where those drones can fly. the company is updating the drones to disable them over much of washington d.c. the new drone stops the drone from flying when it shows it is over the white house. and airports. the no-fly zones follow the faa guidelines. >> and "happening now" now,

former texas governor speaking out about the felony charges he is facing. the former governor and presidential candidate taking on the podium today after a judge declined to dismiss charges of threatening to with hold millions if she didn't resign following her arrest for drunk driving. rick perry said he would make the same decision. >> i know that my actions are right when facing a public official that ethiccal and embarrassing and inappropriate behavior has tarnished her office and lost the confidence of the taxpayers that she served. >> perry was infamously booked in a texas police station in august. his lawyers are appealing the ruling and if that is overturned, it is likely he could go to trial. >> controversy over the water in the the drought- stricken west.

a new proposal to keep the water in the state where the water begins is causing uneasiness to the states down stream. >> hi, john. economic impact of the colorado river is $1.4 trillion according to a study out of arizona and that is why a simple statement can can come across as fighting words. >> if we twitch on water. >> and the director of the colorado water conservation board said his state plans to keep all of the share of the water in the future rather than let the state use their portion it raised eyebrows especially in california. >> snowfall in the colorado rocky mountains provides water through a series of rivers. the one in a midst of a 15 year

drought is colorado because it flows to seven of the driest and fastest growing states in the nation. how the state divides it up is governed by a colorado impact. >> there is not enough water to meet the demands. >> the southwest in particular is part of the national economy. >> with projections of a dryer future in the west, water policy here will reverberate nationwide. >> if everyone takes the amount of water they are promised in the compact. the the system crashes. >> they understand diplomacy is adeleigate thing when it comes to water. >> i immediately got on the phone and e-mailed all of my colleagues in the other states and let them know that i was not trying to send a signal of

muscle flexing or anything like that. >> and water authorities in colorado, john said they have prepared for colorado to tighten the faucet. and you know the relationships between the states, very delicate. john? and thank you. the incredibly brave actions of a firefighter caught on his helmet camera as he pulled three young children from a burning home. >> look at that. the hero firefighter battling flames and thick black smoke to rescue the children left alone at home. >> this is why minutes matter when you see the speeding fire truck in your rearview mirror. three weeks ago three children died after firefighters took 13

minutes responding to a house fire. they were up against an identical situation and listen as you can hear what happens when they find out? we have to get inside. where is she? and how is she, ma'am? >> neighbors saw smoke and called 911. and the woman showed up and said the kids are in the apartment alone. ages 1, 3, and 4 years old. and the firefighter james perkin enters and finds two of the children covered and soot and hands them to a window and the colleagues outside. when the mother said there is one more left to go. immediately we went in to what we went in rescue mode and start

moving faster and just immediately went in there and make a difference. afterwards, when we think about. i have a young daughter at home. and it tends to hit close to home sometimes. >> doctors are treating the children for smoke inhalation and minor burns and the minor short in the television caused the fire. the state has custody to the kids and may or return them after they learn why they were left home alone. response times are critical to any department. in mississippi 13 minutes and parts of urban la it is ten. and the national standard that they aspire to is six minutes and fres no made it four minutes and the kids are likely alive today because of it. >> the brave firefighters that run into danger when the rest of us run from it. thank you. >> good for them. and a new health alert to tell you about and the disturbing

link between the common med kagdzs used by millions of people and dementia and a rare sight caught on camera and the amazing video showing dozens of gray whales all congregating together.

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of preparing for retirement. that's why when the time came he counted on merrill edge to streamline his investing and help him plan for the road ahead. that's the power of streamlined connections. that's merrill edge and bank of america. >> coming up. the deadline for isis and the swap for japan just passed. everyone will want to hear about the cure for peanut allergies. yes, a cure. and want to know how to stop wasting money this winter? five things to do to put more cash back in your pocket. join us in the top of the hour. >> a super pod of gray whales spotted off catalina island and the incredible video captured

shoes more than 45 gray whales traveling together and a rare sight according to the team. they were joined by a pod of dolphins who got on the party. >> a new warning about common medications used to treat allergies and depression. meds could increase your risk of being diagnosed with dementia later in life. we have a neurology in medicine. thank you for joining us first of all. what medicines are we talking about. >> a grouch medications call the anticolic drugs and they are kine of everywhere. drugs that are often used for allergies or hayfever and they are drugs that can be used as sleep aids and used for individuals with difficulties with the bladder and they are

out there and a lot of people use them. >> what is the connection with dementia? >> they block a chemical. there is a positive to them but one of the negatives cedo coline is the transmitter in the brain when we have alzihemmers disease. that can have negative cognitive affects. but the newer research broader in scope is showing those cognitive affects may not bounce back particularly used in higher doses for a longer period of time. >> if you discontinue using the drugs, it does not reverse the process. >> not necessarily. particularly for older individuals who used them for a longer period of time and

higher doses. this is what doctors need to be aware of. i mainly specialized in sleep. and the drugs are used for patients to help them fall asleep the at night. and these medications now are going to come with much more serious warning on the hills of the drugs and similar warnings about later dementia. >> and the drugs used to treat asthma and incontinence. and people who take the drugs and hearing this report are going to be concerned and what should they do? discontinue to using the drugs or are there other options available to them? >> sure the first thing they need to do is talk to the health care provider. if the dose is small or a limited term of use in the medications, no steps may be necessary. if they are longer term types of conditions and longer term use

of the drug. their practitioner may look at alternatives. >> if you are experiencing dementia they should not take the drugs? >> they should talk to their primary care physician or neurologist that is managing the dementia. my guess there should be a hard look to so if they are useful in the population. generally they should not be on the table for these patients. >> thank you for joining us. >> call it a burger boom. a new survey showed that americans showed down on more burgers than ever. and ordering 9 billion patties. and that is 30 million more than the previous year. and the second most popular item. grilled chicken sandwich. >> i will take the grill would chicken. >> nine men in the center of the

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right now day of remember ambulance. the space shuttle exploded on january 28 1984. nasa's annual day of remembrance

also pays tribute to the three members killed in 1967. >> i can't believe it's been 29 years. meanwhile space x and boeing they're set to send people to the international space station. nasa says that boeing and space x will develop spacecraft that will be launched from the united states using space x and boeing will save nasa millions. >> more than 50 years after they were arrested for trying to order lunch a judge has thrown out the convictions of nine african-american men they are the friendship nine and today we get a glimpse into the rear view mirror at our nation's complicated civil rights history. jonathan reports from our atlanta newsroom. >> they became known as the

friendship nine because they were students friendship college. nine men were arrested after taking seats at the lunch counter in rk hill, south carolina. they were convicted of trespassing. they chose to serve on a chain gang. that choice of jail not bail. >> by being in jail one it changed the strategy and two it brought a lot of attention to the fact that these young people were going to jail for trying to buy a sandwich, so the consciousness of america shifted when this happened. >> 14 years later living members of the friendship 9 were back in a courtroom, the judge tossed out their 1961 convictions. >> as for today, i represent the state, so allow me to take this tunl to extend each of you my

heart felt apologies for what happened to you in 1961. it was wrong. >> and incidentally, the judge who tossed out these 54-year-old convictions happens to be the nephew of the judge who presided over the original case. >> we have come a long way. no doubt about it. jonathan terry, thank you. apple hitting a home run with its new iphone 6, the company announcing huge fourth quarter earnings today thanks to the extra large devices. apple sold nearly 75 million iphones in the last three months of 2014. now that serves drove company revenue up, apple ceo calls the demand for iphones staggering. >> the most common food allergy is from peanuts. but a new medical break through

means scientists might have found the cure.

got 20 hear this story, a cat in tampa, pr there may only have eight lives left. bart was hit by a car and presumed dead. his owner was so distraught about burying the cat, he asked a neighbor to dig a shallow grave. five days later the cat is back. the little guy is going to need some surgery but he should recover in six weeks. >> zombie cat? >> i don't know, bart was determined to get back to his owner. >> how about mind the bear? one nurse stunned to see a giant polar bear roaming the streets wandering along a train blat form. the eight-foot tall creature is actually a puppet cooperated by

two puppeteers who studied the polar bear's movements. >> it's time for the real story with gretchen carlson u it starts now. a deadline passing for a hostage swap between isis in japan. obama's pick for attorney general getting grilled today on capitol hill. and researchers say they have found a possible cure for peanut allergies. "the real story" starts right now. >> fox news alert now as one of our allies appears to be giving in to isis, showing they may be willing to negotiate with terrorists. jordan signaling that it was willing to take the deal that it would not take and swapped