s on line though. the tv version of us is wrapping up. go to fox news.com. we are back with the tv version of us at noon and right now, "happening now". >> fox news alert. one hour from now, the senate will vote on the nomination of ash carter to be secretary of defense. and then the real challenges begin. >> he will take over as the president asked congress to authorize military force against isis. we cover all of the news "happening now". world leaders reach a high- stakes deal to stop the blood shed in eastern ukraine. will another ceasefire fall apart? >> and heart breaking testimony of the widow of chris kyle cite seated just feet away from the man who murdered him.

and the doomsday scenario. and the scientist show us an alarming wake- up call. up close look at the nuclear explosion and the devastating impact it is all "happening now". we begin with big economic news at home. a new poll show americans feel left behind in the economic recovery. i hope you are having a great day. i am jenna lee. >> and i am jon scott. new claims show unemployment rates are higher. and the improving job market with unemployment rate of 5.7 percent. and from jobs to your money. consumer spending barely rose with retail sales up slightly

despite gas prices down. here's how wall street are reacting. stocks up 65 points right now. and investors remain optimistic about the improving economy many americans are not seeing much impact in their lives. 65 percent of the americans say we are still in a recession, and most saying they are just getting by in this economy. and as far as president obama's handling of the economy. 64 percent approve and 50 percent disapprove. and job performance. 72 percent disapprove. we'll bring in chris wallace. economic numbers can not be joyful for the folks in the white house but they manage to spin the best out of them. what are they saying, chris? >> in terms of the actual economic numbers they are good.

the rise in jobless benefit claims is not a good sign but over the last few months, you have seen the unemployment rate go down substantially and seen a quarter of a million jobs created every month. labor force participation not good and that is low by historic standards. and you have a fact, both sides of the aisle democrats and republicans understand that and they don't feel the the recovery that is underway. you have 65 percent of the country saying they think we are under a recession and technically we have been in a recession for years, that is an indication. and the president talks about building from the middle-class out and helping the working class and republicans talking about income inequality and so the macelincome numbers are pretty good and on the individual sense not so good and

people are not failing it. >> perception is a reality. and asked how people are feeling about their personal financial situation 49 percent of the americans say they are just able to pay their bills. and 31 percent said they are getting ahead. and 18 percent are falling behind. 17 percent saying they are falling behind in 2009. that number picked up slightly. and unbelievable. this far in a "recovery". >> look at the big number. 49 percent who saying they are working paycheck to paycheck. for any of us and i have been in that situation, it's no fun. it is a lottery that we all go through. i can pay these but not that one and maybe the due date for that is not another week or so. and again, as i say, the dow jones 17900 and historic high

close to 18000 and for people in terms of their daily life and paycheck and the bills they have to pay a lot of them are feeling it and that is one of the key issues in the 2015 and 16 presidential election. both sides are identifying it as a problem, but which side will have a plausible program to deal with that to help the middle class and working class and persuade them that they have a answer. obviously democrats are talking about more government programs and spending and tax credits and republicans to a large degree say we have to get government out of the way and let the free market system and capitalistic system get jobs. that is the best welfare program from the world a job. >> i know you will be talking about that over the weekend. i want to get your thoughts on the passing of bob simon the

cbs correspondent. >> that is so sad. my father worked with him for years on 60 minutes and i thought of my father a lot today. he would be devastated. he loved bob simon. he thought he was one of the best and fearless reporters and graceful writers in the business. and the bitter irony that this dpie who went to every hot spot and taken prisoner by the iraqi army in the beginning of the first gulf war and held prisoner for 40 days that he is end up dying not in a trouble spot but in the back of the car in new york on wednesday evening is just tragic. >> chris wall a ce. he will have a interview with house speaker joan boehner.

you will hear what the speaker has to say about the battles in congress. and will talk to judge moore addressing the same- sex marriage split that is rolling pam bam right now. you can watch it on the local fox station. check those listings. >> and congress clashing over the inability to approve funding for the department of homeland security. money runs out and the reaction to the president's request to wage war on isis. mike emmanuel is watching all of the comings and going. any signs of progress on the fight for are homeland security funding>> reporter: no, they are talking past each other. speaker boehner is pressing the senate democrats to have the bill. >> the house did its job and stops the president's unlateral action with regard to

immigration. it is up to the senate democrats to do their job. >> with no signs that the democrats are changing their position on the bill that funds homeland security and go after the president's executive action on immigration i asked nancy pelosi if a short term fix might work. >> it is a continuation of the uncertainty and they ought to just face the fact that this president has the right to do what he has done by executive action. >> reporter: frustration is building on capitol hill. >> another big issue that congress is confronting is this authorization for the use of military force that the president is requesting on fighting isis. now that law makers had 24 hours to digest the news, what are they saying about what the

president is requesting? >> reporter: a whole range of opinions. house foreign affairs held a hearing on the growing threat from isis. and here is a key democrat on the problem. >> if we are going to focus on destroying isis we shouldn't just focus on that. we need to ask what comes next? who fills the physical space and idea logical space and cyberspace? >> my view in order to assist the organizations or coalition forces that we bring on the ground we have to put u.s. forces with them. that ise perfect mission that we have united states army special forces. >> reporter: still many questions and opinions here on capitol hill about the timing and scope and geogravy of this situation, jenna. >> thank you very much.

>> yemen in recent years was a major alley in the war of terror is in the process of unravelling. al-qaeda fighters taking over the army brigade as they assert their authority. and the washington post reports that the cia has been forced to scale back operations in yemen because of the rebel take over for the capitol. and a setback for the white house as it scrambles to deal with all of the unrest. the administration still contending leland that yemen is a success story? >> reporter: exactly jon. it was a couple of months ago that president obama held yemen out as a success story and a model in the foreign policy portfolio. and yesterday after all of the events in yemen and u.s. embassy evacuated it was josh ernest trying to explain how success

can mean many things. >> because of our diplomatic work and counter terrorism partnership and the president's own determination and willing to order u.s. military operations in that region we have applied significant pressure to the a qa leadership that is operating in yemen. >> reporter: bottom line, trying to keep up the pressure on the al-qaeda leadership in yemen will be difficult. the closure of the embassy leaves precious few resources that the united states will have on the ground to a country that is cha on the and i can totally lawless. >> we saw the emergency shut down of the u.s. embassy in yemen. where does it stand today? >> reporter: the staff and the embassy and guards guarding it split town and there is a number of iranian backed rebels got

ahold of the armored cars. who these men are is impossible to verify. the u.s. marines destroyed heavy weaponry that protected the u.s. embassy and convoyed to the airport and once they got to at this time airport, the marines destroyed sidearms and rifles by removing the firing pins and slashing them with sledgehammers and calling it an approved weapon plan. and the situation made a lot of folks remember last year when the u.s. evacuated diplomats from tripoli, lybiowa a. it showed up of the rebels jumping out of a second story window and doing belly flops in the poll. only time will tell what

happened to the u.s. embassy. >> what pictures there. thank you, leland. >> new details about the terror raid in australia that probing up the imminent attack. prime minister abbot said one of the suspects arrested appears in a video seized from a home and he holds a knife and matchette and vows to stab blonde people in the the neck and kidneys. >> i don't think it would be possible to witness more fanaticism than this. this is extremism, and i regret to say it is present in our country. >> australian leaders have ordered a review of immigration protocols after it was revealed that one of the men entered the country with a fake passport. >> resident told to stay inside and keep windows closed because

of the giant orange cloud. where this is, and what caused it. >> plus, you think it is cold now. guess what winter's icy blast is moving east. and you can't escape it by heading to florida. >> we want to hear from you. unemployment and gas prices are low. and why don't americans feel better about the economy? we'll talk about that with chris wallace earlier in the program. click on america's asking and tell us how you are feeling about things. fiber one. fiber one streusel. this is the equivalent of the sugar in one regular soda. and this is one soda a day over an average adult lifetime. but there's a better choice. drink more brita water. clean, refreshing, brita.

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the windows closed. and frigid temperatures from maine all the way to south florida. the extreme weather center. and don't put that away for a while. it is only midfebruary. and it is cold and snow still right now and bringing more snow and this is light compared to what we are dealing with. this is the future cast and more snow in toward and more snow in much of new england and around the new york and philly area as well and this develops in a very strong coastal storm for eastern

parts of new england and that means boston and portland and bangor. and this is the place that is seeing cent inches of snow in the last few weeks. take a look at this. this model that we look at. in boston over a to the of snow. and boston is the bull's eye of it. and take a look at what happened tonight behind the first clipper. and tomorrow morning, these are the wind chilling. minus 10 or 13 in boston and minus 27 in burlington. and this is in the dope south. these are the highs on saturday. minus three on fargo. 39 in atlanta and we are in the 30s and 40s in the pandhandle of florida and only in the teens in the north as well. and warming up to a couple of degrees and they are the

overnight temperatures. and possibly around 0 degrees in new york city and below 0 in boston for sunday morning. cold and more snow. you know what i am saying. >> i heard a lot of tomatoes thrown in the television sets in boston. >> one thing you have to say. you got to get it up right now and another to the of snow coming in there and temperatures are cold. we have had a lot of roofs collapse. >> that is scary stuff and good advice there. thank you. >> and despite that map. i couldn't help but 0 in on miami. >> that looks okay. >> i used to it live there. >> it is doable. >> and our delivery of the new iphone is affected as it slows down in the west coast port. that is starting to add up and a big story you want to watch. russia and ukraine arguing on

a road map to peace. a ceasefire may be hanging on by the thread. and the truce is looking shaky, next. right! now you're gonna ask for my credit card - - so you can charge me on the down low two weeks later look, credit karma - are you talking to websites again? this website says 'free credit scores'. oh. credit karma! yeah, it's really free. look, you don't even have to put in your credit card information. what?! credit karma. really free credit scores. really. free. i could talk to you all day.

doug, we have the results, but first, we have a very special guest. come on out, flo! [house band playing] you have anything to say to flo? nah, i'll just let the results do the talking.

[crowd booing] well, he can do that. we show our progressive direct rate and the rates of our competitors even if progressive isn't the lowest. it looks like progressive is not the lowest! ohhhh! when we return we'll find out whether doug is the father. wait, what? >> many. products you use every day, computers or phones come to you through a port on the west coast. but nearly 30 sea ports are awfully quiet because of a labor dispute between the shipping companies and the men and women who unload the ships. they have been negotiating a new contract and talks are staug stalled and ships are lining up waiting to come in the dock. those ports handle a quarter of all u.s. trade. >> and 30 minutes or now, a hearing underway on whether

judges can be forced to allow same- sex marriage. a federal judge ordered marriage license issued. and some judges are closing the offices and refusing to allow same- sex couples to marriage, jon? >> in just a few minutes, the u.s. direct judge will convene a hearing in which she will instruct the mobile county probate judge to issue same- sex license. there was a deularation the same- sex ban unconstitutional. but the chief judge of the alabama court roy moore sent word to say that they don't have the jurisdiction and redefine marriage and they should not

follow her order. >> in this case. we are asked to accept a definition of the word marriage and marriage is not contained in the united states constitution nor is the word family. if they redefine marriage they can redefine family. that has serious consequences in our country. >> as a result only 26 of the counties are issuing license to same- sex. 18 are issuing only to straight couples and 26 no licenses to anyone. 23 are issuing the marriage license. it is expected that don davis probate judge will issue them if the judge orders him to do so. same- sex marriage supporters are hoping that the probate judges in alabama who are still holding out will follow suit. that is not guaranteed. there is little support for same- sex marriage in alabama.

in the 2006 amendment that banned it passed with 81 percent approval. and judge moore said the only one who has authority is the united states supreme court and until they rule before the end of june, it will be a circus. jenna? >> john. thank you. >> a wave of immigrants expected to apply for benefits under the white house's immigration program. so who's paying for it? well, we all are. we'll tell you about that and the so- called castle doctrine did not work for the montana homeowner. we'll hear how long he will be behind bars and the trial of the suspect that killed the american sniper. the suspect is described as nuts. the legal panel will debate all

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>> millions of imglants protected from deportation under the president's deportation order. but processing that it is a tall order. critics are questioning the coast of it all. doug? >> reporter: jenna, the administration wants to avoid a repeat of the obama care roll out when the administration protects 5 million illegals

takes affect this coming may. the administration is leasing out a new office complex in virginia to process 1.3 million people who may apply in the first six months alone. it is putting together a new staff of federal worker ares and contractors to handle the work load. the administration said it will be born by the the fees that they pay. and critics don't believe that. >> they are unable now to do the job and made chlor that it is placing america at risk. the officer's association repeatedly written to congress and the president and pointing out the problems that exist, and why they can't do their job and talking about a another 5 million that the president wants reviewed for legal status? >> reporter: senator sessions said that amnesty for 5 million

illegals will take scars jobs from the americans. supporters say those fears are exaggerated. >> who is going to pick the onions in 110 degrees in south texas? 70 percent of the agricultural workers are undocumented. and we know that. so let's not kid ourselves. the folks are already here working. >> reporter: senator sessions wrote asking for a full account be for the parents of americans will ultimately cost the taxpayers, jenna back to you. >> doug, thank you. >> day two in the american sniper murder trial now underway. emotions over flowing in testimony yesterday. chris kyle's widow breaking down and telling the jury about the

final moments with her husband hours before he was killed. chris kyle texted his friend over the way over to the range saying the suspect riding with them at that time was straight up nuts. ing in heather hanson. and ashley merchant is with us. a criminal defense attorney. apparently the three men are riding to the gun range in the truck and chris kyle texts his friend sitting next to him and trying to have a silent conversation over text message and said this dude is straight up nuts. does that help the defense or prosecution. >> i think that helps the defense. the defense can use that as evidence that this man's mental state at the time he committed the crime was impaired and he was suffering from a mental illness and cause him not to

know the difference of right or wrong. what is important is to show how the person felt leading up to the event and after. you have to create a picture. the defenses are hard to prove and the defense has to prove this and it is it a powerful piece of evidence from the last person with ralph before the horrible crime happen. it is powerful. >> maybe he was straight up nuts or smoking marijuana laced with formaldide. >> there was all kinds of questions on him using the drugs. the prosecution vocused on the voluntary intoxication. there is a lot of evidence in this case to support the defense's claim of insanity. there is past diagnosis. and hospitalizations and the prosecution goes to how he made those decisions before the war and that day when he was using

different substances to support anything other than than an unsanity defense. >> he made bad decisions in the months leading up to the shooting and held his girlfriend and the roommates at knife and sword point in their apartment and got in a fight with his own father. how much will be held in the court record. >> the defense would want it in and the defense had it as a tendency and he was receiving treatment for and bolster their claim he had a mental illness and here is a guy that does this and he is have known right from wrong. and they will want to bring it in as well. and both sides are arguing what it shoes and what the jury believes it shoes.

if he had a mental illness and that overcame his will to distinguish right from wrong and the prosecution says it meant to distinguish right from wrong. ntwo women closest to the victims testified off of the bat. the widow of chris kyle and the mother of his buddy. what about the timing of putting then up first? >> one of those witnesses you would put normally last. but the judge said all witnesses had to be sequestered. they would not be able to hear the entire trial. and i continue was important to both of them that they hear the whole trial. here the prosecution did them the favor of allowing them to testify first. now the prosecution will need to find the final nail to put in the coffin in the case. and a witness at the end to

close it up. that would usually be a family member and here we'll have to see what they do. >> we'll pause our discussion here. we are going to a fox news alert on a legal manner. a judge in montana handed down the sentence for the homeowner convicted of killing an unarmed german teenager. 70 years in prison. the jury finds marcus karma guilty in testimony of killing that 17-year-old exchange student. karma's defense was based on the montana castle doctrine law that allows homeowners to use deadly force if they believe they are in danger. the jury was not convinced. marcus karma will get 70 years. >> i think he paid a trial tax.

he not gone to trial he would have gotten like ten years. in america, if you go to trial, the judges will give you the maximum they k. i think the judge sent a message that the judge doesn't want him out to do this again. and the judge felt he was dangerous. >> he could have gotten it worse. he could have gotten 100 years, as i understand it. is that appropriate in a crime like this? >> i agree that it is a high sentence. he is eligible for parole in 20 years, it is a lot more than what the defense asked for. and the presentencing investigation led the judge to more information that hurt him. he is not likely to be rehabbed and he had similar circumstances where he acted in violence in the past despite the fact his mother and girlfriend testified, the judge felt the ability to be rehabbed was outweighed.

>> his hair dresser testified a day or two ahead of the shooting he was waiting to shoot kids that were ripping him off. clearly it was planned. >> oh the hair dresser nailed his coffin in the initial trial and negated the castle doctrine and the judge did not believe any residual doubt. sometimes when you sentence you think there is doubt. but the judge didn't find any doubt when sentencing him to 70 years. >> and here what the convicted himself who just spoke in court here it is. >> i took another man's life and i am sorry i did that. i did what i thought was necessary to protect my family and myself. and i hope that no one finds themselves in the position that i was put in. >> that was live and i wanted to

explain that bug in the corner. they came in the newsroom on tape. >> your thoughts about his statement there. >> he doesn't look terribly remorseful and like it was a rehearsed statement and that on top of his actions on top of the testimony that the judge heard, led the judge to a high sentence. he didn't show a real empathy. >> heather and ashley thank you both. >> thank you jon. >> and three students were killed in an altercation that police say originally started in a parking space in the parking lot where they lived. they were of a muslim faith and we are seeing the prayer vigil that is held in chapel hill for the students. and there is a question raised by the family whether or not the shooting of the newly wed couple

and the wife's sister was motivated by their faith and whether or not it was a hate crime. it is a big question and law enforcement hasn't gone there yet. there is an investigation under way. and this is the photoof beautiful kids that were slain a short time ago. funeral procession is taking place and we'll keep you posted as we get more on the developing story.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ great rates for great rides. geico motorcycle see how much you could save. >> hi, everyone hope you are having a great day. i am gretchen carlsson. legally what can the president do with or without congress? we'll explore that and a special message from the widow of chris kyle as the murder trial continues. we'll bring you that. it and valentine's day just around the corner. an unbelievable love story 72 years in the making. don't miss it in the top of the hour. >> well, a few travellers

thinking they were lucky getting disappointing news. united airlines will not honor thousands of first-class tickets after selling them dirt cheap. she had her bags packed and now she stays home? >> if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. travellers booking united airlines flight from london to new york found on line fares for 74 bucks for first-class tickets that usually cost 6000. united will not honor the tickets. the deftnitions in the united states were solid on united danish website yesterday. united supered the fares but there was a wrong exchange rate. it lasted several hours and tickets were solid. most purchasers lived outside of

denmark. they tried to manually change location to denmark and they were directed back to the country of origin. united gave a statement saying it suspended sales from denmark website. and they are not honoring the tickets. >> what do you bet there will be lawsuits. people say the airline ought to pay up. nunited had a glitch and they honored the tickets, but egs enough is enough. >> that is a different time back when flying was easy. patty ann brown thank you. nflying easy? i want to go back there. >> and a new website illustrating the dangerous of weapons. pick a target and crunch the numbers on what could happen and in the event of the attack. it is more from the new york city newsroom. >> reporter: nuclear bombs are

dangerous today as when they were created in the mid20th century. a reality some say we lost sight of. in the '50s americans were obsessed with nuclear holcast. nand in the '80s and '90s, millions marched for nuclear disarmament. have we fallen a sleep in the 21st century about the dangers of nuclear. >> i think they are invisible to people today. >> alex walerstein is a professor in ho boeken new jersey. >> if you give them raw data, the human mind can't compreend the devastation of one nuclear bomb on a city like new york or across the river and in ho

boeken. the nuke map gives a visual graphic of how a nuclear bomb affects anywhere in the world. >> i wanted to let anybody so what the weapons would dow to any town they might be concerned about. >> largest chinese nuke can take out most of la santa monica to pasadena and russia could blow up boston. and there is casulties from a terrorist made bomb in alburquerque. nuclear activist said this should wake people up. >> it is important to remind the american people and the world of how dangerous these weapons are and they still do indeed exist. >> reporter: you say your site is not pro nuclear or antinuclear. >> people take away different

conclusions. i just want people to be on the same page of what they are. >> reporter: they are powerful weapons that are used as deterrent or way to woip out large very power line very powerful weapons. >> people take different conclusions from that website because i look at it as just scary, doug. >> it's amazing and when you can actually see it, it's a different experience. >> and you can do it in your office all the time. >> i'm not getting too gypupset, maybe we should be. >> great to see you doug, thank you. facebook finds a way to let you live forever, sort of. the new feature available today that allows your page to live on even after you're gone. plus the captain at the helm of the costa concordia who abandoned that ship as it was going down now learning his sentence.

we'll facebook is offering an option to let your page live on even after you die. a new legacy contact allows you to choose someone to manage your account after you pass away. your facebook estate executor may not be able to login as you or read any private messages but they will be able to accept friend requests and archive your posted pictures. a sign of the times. >> good for them. the fate of the captain who abandoned his ship as it was sinking has been decided. costa concordia captain francesco schettino sentenced to 16 years in an italian prison. that cruise ship hit the rocks

just off an italian island three years ago. >> francesco schettino wasn't required to be in court for the reading of the verdict and he chose not to be. he had been there to plead with the judges shortly before they retired to decide his fate. he told them then he was being made a scapegoat and said part of him died the day the costa concordia wrecked, the day 32 people actually died. the judge sentenced schettino to 16 years in prison ten for causing the death five for the wreck and one for abandoning ship. you may remember schettino abandoned the ship and made it to shore aboard a lifeboat. he says that when the ship flipped, he shipped and fell into the lifeboat. a lawyer for those victims said it's simply isn't enough.

>> they could make a lot more they decided to balance the judgment between, you know schettino responsibilities and the compensation for past injure rye s injuries, they could probably do a lot more and they will because we're going to appeal for sure. >> so the legal process is floor from over with victims appealing the settlement and the captain appealing his sentence. and until this is decided, francesco schettino remains a free man. well on a much lighter note three people, a whole lot richer today after winning a power ball jackpot worth $564 million. this is one soda a day

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well three tickets hit the jackpot in last night's $564 million power ball drawing. those numbers cropping up in carolina, texas and for the first time puerto rico. >> i have family in texas. do you think maybe? >> you better call. >> thank you for joining us, everybody. did you hear the president say yesterday it's not necessary for us to defeat isil? what the heck did that mean? and do you need a college degree to be president? one potential candidate dropped out so does it really matter? and we have an exclusive message from american sniper chris kyle's widow. i'm gretchen carlson, the real story starts right now. president obama asking congress as you know for three years to fight isis but