>> menendez who is the top democrats on the senate foreign relations committee says he will step down from that position but will continue to serve as senator but plans to fight the charges. >> i am angry and ready to fight because today contradicts my public service career and my

entire life. >> this is not the first time senator mendez has faced an ethics complaint. back in 2006 he was investigated for accepting rent from a nonprofit while federal funding. rich dennison, fox news. caught on video a massive explosion on an oil rig leaving four people dead dozens more injured. you can see the flames and the smoke after the blast in the gulf of mexico. it happened in the defy duration and bump area of the flat form owned by pam ex. the cause of the blast under investigation. the final moments from inside the doomed german wings plane could soon be revealed. they are analyzing several phones found in the plane's wreckage. some passengers may have tried to make phone calls and take

video in the final moments before the plane plunged into the alabama of -- alps. >> a teacher cheating scandal. these 11 former educateors now facing 20-years in prison after a five year legal battle. jack see i be ban ezyez has the latest. >> it is the largest education cheating scandal in history.rs are behind bars. >> we the jury find the defendant guilty. >> one by one fulton county superior court judge baxter led off guilty verdicts to each of the defendants. 11 teachers principals and administrators were found guilty of racketeering for falsifying students scores on standardized tests back in 2009. many erased incorrect answers on tests and fed students answers in order to inflate their school's ratings and received

extra bonuses. but superintendent beverly hall the woman thought to be the ringleader netted over 500,000 dollars in bonuses never made it to trial. she successfully argued she was too sick to mount a defense. last month she died of breast cancer. judge baxter making the surprising surprising sentence to send all of them to jail. some could see 20-years in prison. >> from the day i got this case i pleaded with people to evaluate it seriously. now the rubber hadz met the road here. they are convicted of felons, as far as i am concerned. >> a total of 35 people were originally indicted. more than 20 took a plea deal and also testified against the former educators at trial. ainsley, heather, back to you. >> thank you, jackie. >> to extreme weather now. another round of hail storms

slamming the south. in the dallas fort worth area. the pile of hail looking like piles of snow. >> it is not over yet. more fleetsthreats of severe weather. maria molina is tracking it for us. >> the storm systems will continue on the move and produce more severe weather across parts of the plains and eventually into the southeast. this is the area we are focused on today with the storm system as it continues to move eastward. we think there is potential of severe weather through oklahoma and parts of the midwest including portions of ohio, indiana and even in illinois. in the greater risk area, that area shaded in orange right in here. including the city of springfield. you are looking at an enhanced risk for large hail damaging winds and isolated tornadoes and some of the storms. that storm keeps moving eastward from texas to parts of kentucky you do have the risk for severe storms. we also have a frontal system

moving eastward. it this will bring the risk for snow across the northeast as we head into sunday night. temperature wise today hot one in texas. 87 degree don'ts for your high temperature. in dallas 90's across the southwestern part of the state. across the northeast highs into the 60's for cities like cleveland and new york city. heather and ainsley. >> thank you very much. maria. coming up the dramatic new video of a school bus packed with kids crashing head on into aer ka. the incredible ending to that story you don't want to miss. >> she refused to testify about the irs scandal. why isn't lois lerner facing con tem charges. >> brand new risks you face on

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many people clean their dentures with toothpaste or plain water. and even though their dentures look clean, in reality they're not. if a denture were to be put under a microscope we can see all the bacteria that still exists on the denture and that bacteria multiplies very rapidly. that's why dentists recommend cleaning with polident everyday. polident's unique micro clean formula works in just 3 minutes, killing 99.99% of odor causing bacteria. for a cleaner, fresher brighter denture every day.

>> overnight nine british nationals four of them children were nabbed miles from the border. it is believed the youngest of the children, two years old, the oldest 11. british officials are working

with the turkish authorities to investigate. more than 22,000 foreign fighters are believed to have joined isis. >> she refused to testify about the irs targeting conservatives. now she is off the hook for contempt of congress. the ex irs official did nothing wrong when she pleaded the 5th. republicans now blasting that decision saying the white house is covering up the scandal. the white house refusing to criticize harry reid for a blatant lie. reid claimed a capitol investor told him mitt romney had not paid his taxes for nearly a decade. even though it was totally wrong he reed says he has he no regreets and the white house is not apologizing. >> senator reed is going to think for himself.

>> but it is the president's choice and spokesman's choice to call out actions that are unbecoming unbecoming. are you going to take that opportunity now? >> not for something that is 3 years old. >> reed never provided any evidence or source for the claims. >> are you sick of being spied on by your wireless provider? there's good news for verizon customers you have the option to be less monitored. >> what's verizon's latest move? >> if you want to opt out of the cookie tracking you can log on to verizon and follow the instructions to opt out of rma relevant mobile advertising. that's where companies use information verizon has about you to target you with the best ads. you can opt out using my verizon mobile app or call them.

>> on a related note there are security risks when you use a hotel's wi-fi. you have tips on that as well. >> this is concerning so many of us hop on a hotel's wi-fi for a better sometimes cheaper connection. these networks are often more vulnerable to hackers. hundreds of hotels around the world could be susceptible. the router could have a vulnerability. it has been discovered by the security term sky land. it gives them direct access to the hotel system. which means they cannot only identify who you are, information about you but even the room you are staying in. as for how to protect yourself a couple of things to keep in mind. use 4 g instead of wi-fi. also download a vpn or virtual private network which takes the information leaving your computer and protects it from cyber criminals. >> a big trend for high schoolers are the prom posals. it takes a lot of planning and

money. >> what is a prom posal. i hadn't heard about this. this is a marriage proposal for high schoolers where they go to extraordinary ends to ask someone to prom. it will costs an average of $320 per year. the cost of asking someone to prom is like a third of the overall prom budget. i spent time hash tagging prom posals. it is kind of fun if you are bored. >> reminder markets are closed tomorrow for good friday. >> thank you very much lauren. always love having you here. >> don't miss her on the fox business network. to find it log on to foxbusiness.com/channelfinder. it is now 18 minutes after the top of the hour. too close for comfort a potential conflict of interest for hillary clinton during her time as secretary of state. the new development raising some

eyebrows this morning. >> an april fool's joke under attack. why the internet says this seattle sea talk took his jokes too far. >> first let's look at the gas prices new national average 2.40 a gallon. lower gas prices are expected to stick around through the summer. >> that is good news for vacations.

>> some april's fools jokes inare in good taste. some not necessarily. like this one from bruce irving.

the nfl player tweeting before this hits the media i wanted to apologize to my fans and the sea talks organization once again. i made a terrible decision to be driving after i had a few drinks. i will do everything to get your drus back and become a better person after this. after twitter outrage he became clean about the april fool's joke. back in 2013 when he was suspended for violating the league's substance abuse policy. >> screams of terror on board a school bus. it was packed with students when it was hit head on by an suv. >> the bus dash camera catching the moment when the suv collided with the bus. it was at 60 miles an hour. nearly 40 middle school students were on board. several suffered minor injuries.

the suv driver has a history of seizures. they don't know if he had one before this crash. >> the songs have been sung for a thousand years. ♪>> now the sound of music is celebrating it's 50th anniversary. let's step into the spotlight. he sat down with julie andrews. >> and the classics are still in tune all these years later and julie andrews can't believe it has been half a century. ♪ >> 50 years ago julie andrews never expected "the sound of music" would be such a classic.

>> if you were filming this movie did you think it was anything special? >> if anybody said then i would be sitting here 50 years later, how could one believe that? >> as the movie celebrates the milestone she reflects on the experience. grateful gratitude. >> i am the fortunate one that was asked to be in the movie. i've always been very, very grateful for that. >> what made it such a success? >> family movie. the good ones do stick around because there's a new generation every search years or so. ♪ >> surprisingly the song she not the one she sang. >> the one that loved and survived in my head that i do sing in concert a lot is aid el edel weiss. it has a haunting quality about any one's home land.

♪ >> whatever your home land is that song applies. >> these days julie is working on different projects. >> i am writing with my daughter. i am also directing a little bit. >> the best advice she is got for a successful career? >> the amateur work until he gets it right and professional work until he can't go wrong. ♪ >> how great. >> can't help but sing along. >> you were singing along. >> just in case you are wondering the lowly goat herder still there. 500 theaters around april. there's a five disc blu-ray set. for all of my celebrity videos go on fox light.com. >> she seems so polished and classy. >> she is amazing.

a legend. >> all right heather. i was brigita in the touring cast of "sound of music." small little fact there. 26 after the top of the hour. breaking developments after terrorists storm a college campus leaving a dozen injured. who has just taken responsibility. 16 bites custom made veterans stolen. now one world series hero is stepping in to try to give back to our military heros.

>> the debate over religious freedom growing more intense by the minute. now arkansas fighting to fix its law as the backlash forces a popular pizza place to close its doors. >> i have always conducted myself in accordance with the

law. >> instead of writing laws bob menendez is on the other i'dside of the law. the legal battle brewing this morning. >> the fight of her life. a connecticut teen forced by the state to undergo chemotherapy. the ruling that keeps her away from her whole family. "fox & friends first" continues right now. >> good morning. welcome to "fox & friends first". i am ainsley earhardt. >> i am heather childers. the half past the top of the hour we start the fox alert. 50 hurt 50 injured after a masked gunmen storm a college dorm in kenya. (sirens) >> bullets came flying from every direction at university college during a predawn prayer session at the mosque. two guards outside of the school

shot dead. students sleeping in their dorms scrambling for cover some escaping in a field. at least 10 gunman might have been there on the campus. police are trying to secure the area. there are reports el shabab has taken responsibility for the attacks and have taken several hostages. >> marathon talks in switzer p land over a possible nuclear deal with iran. the negotiations underway for the day. iran saying they have made significant progress. they still have not reached a deal. all of this is coming as the white house rebeats the threat that they are ready to walk away at any time. secretary kerry has said that he plans to leave switzerland later today. back home the state of arkansas is in the cross hairs of the religious freedom fight. protestors still saying the freedom bill is a license to discriminate. it took less than a day for

governor hutchinson to order lawmakers to make changes. >> in indiana small businesses forced to shut down in response to the outrage there. doug luzader is live with the latest in washington. >> folks in indiana and arkansas are talking about making changes in their laws or proposed laws to bring them more in line with a federal law signed president clinton back in 1993. it is not clear whether that will be enough. in had indiana a pizza shop may be one of the first casualties that pitted religious freedom against gay and lesbian lights. hypothetically the restaurant would not cater a gay wedding it has been a target of a wave of on-line attacks. >> we are not kissdiscriminating against any one. it is just that is our belief. everybody has their right to believe anything. >> companies like wal-mart based in arkansas voiced opposition to the law. indiana and arkansas are talking

about laws that would offer a legal defense to those whose religious beliefs are at odds with among other things gay weddings. while many states offer similar protections indiana and arkansas were going further to extend that from individuals to companies drawing ire from gay rights activists and the white house. >> passing laws that would use religion to try to justify discriminating against people because of who they love is unthinkable unthinkable. >> in arkansas governor asa hutchinson are seeking changes to the law after coming under intense pressure from activist and at least one family member. >> there is clearly a generational gap on this issue. my son seth signed the petition asking me dad, the governor to veto this bill. >> both states are talking about making changes that could happen as early as today.

typically this would not be a controversial issue but these are not typical times. >> that is a good point. going back to the pizza shop forced to shut down because of public outrage, is that pizza shop going to close for good? >> we will see. they have i wanted indicated this is just temporary. you never know. they have had their reputation hurt during this process. >> doug luzader live for us in dc. thank you, doug. >> that brings us now to "brew on this." do you think the pizza shop should be forced to close for good? you can send us comments on facebook, twitter or foxfriendsfirst@foxnews.com. i don't think any one would really want pizza at their wedding. >> depends what kind. >> the time now is time to take a look at who is talking. wither going to stick with this topic for a moment. analyst brit hume saying the backlash from the religious freedom bill comes from lies and

deceptions. >> the fact is, the people who may wish to discriminate against gays or lesbians are no more or less able to do that today in indiana because of this law than they were before it was passed. so you get an idea of the level of the distortion and deception that has been practiced to bring down this fury on the state of indiana as governor and this pizza guy. >> 11 former atlanta educators behind bars after being convicted of rampant cheating to boost up their schools. >> we the jury find the defendant guilty. >> 11 teachers, principals and administrators each had a role in this massive cheating scandal back in 2009. it included erasing test answers, falsifying scores and even feeding students answers during the test. the schools and those on trial received bonuses for the high

test scores. all 11 convicted were sent to jail immediately and face 20-years in prison for the racketeering charge. >> also in atlanta a teenager who once fought for a second chance at life is killed in an instant in a high speed police chase. anthony stokes died when he crashed a stolen car trying to get away from cops trailing him for an alleged car jacking. twol years earlier stokes made national headlines when his family fought to get him a heart transplant. doctors originally refused due to his criminal past, but he eventually got that life saving surgery. >> fox news alert. senator robert mendez indicted. democrat due in court this morning on federal corruption charges. the 14 count indictment it all stems from his relationship with a florida eye doctor who is a close friend and donor. wtfx reporter steve keele joins

us live with more. good morning, steve. >> the people from south jersey drive by one of his two offices here eerie day knew a lot-- every day knew much of the case. the corruption case has startling head shaking revelations. the his doctor friend from florida doesn't live in new jersey. but mendez and staff frequently went went out of their way to do lots of favors for him. one of the many pay backs the senator got back was staying at a five star luxury paris hotel at a cost of 1500 a night where mendez e-mailed his friends asking him to put it on his american express card. even though it was for a romantic rendezvous with the lady friend, the indictment says mendez asked for a government official rate for his stay. costs for three nights 4,934 dollars, then the senator did not report it or any of the other gifts or trips he's got. he is supposed to do that on

ethics forms. he came out swinging saying he didn't do anything wrong. it is the democratic party justice department his own party he says is wrong here. >> i am angry because prosecutors at the justice department don't know the difference between friendship and corruption and have chosen to twist my duties as a senator and my friendship into something that is improper. >> while some of the voters we talked to say they couldn't get any help. among other favors he did for this doctor going out of his way to quote take active steps for tourist and student visas for the doctor's young girlfriends mostly models and actresses from ukraine and dominican republic. startling stuff when you look at the 68 page indictment. he will go away for a long time if he is convicted. >> thank you for ginningjoining us this morning.

>> extreme weather now. storms slamming into the south. >> it looks more like snow. >> today more threats of severe weather. she is tracking it all for us as ufshl. >> it does look like we could be looking at more hail storms moving through parts of the mid south. you can see right here across eastern parts of oklahoma, also eastern kansas you do have the risk for severe storms. but the greatest risk area is right here shaded in orange. including springfield and missouri you have potential for not only large hail but also damaging winds and tornadoes from some of the storms that fire up later today. you can see by friday the rest of the workweek severe weather continues as the concern across eastern texas and into kentucky. we have that risk as we head into tomorrow. now another concern with the storm system is it will have cold air behind it. it will be producing areas of

snow through new england and new york. the snow could be accumulating at times here. we could be looking at several inches of accumulations. the weekend not good news. get out and enjoy it as much as you can. enjoy the warmth before the storm. temperatures will be in the 60's today. >> approximatesit is the weekend and it is easter. >> 20 minutes before the top of the hour. tax refunds going to pot in the state of colorado. the glitch that has the state on the hook for millions of dollars. agree can to turn himself in. there's a major catch. details straight ahead. >> football fans across the country stunned. tom brady in a full body cast?

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>> a new conflict of interest potentially brewing for hillary clinton. corporate records show that cheryl mills the clinton foundation board member was also serving as hillary clinton's chief of staff while she was secretary of state. the foundation says this overlap was just a mistake, and she really resigned from the board before clinton took office. the clinton foundation is under fire for accepting money from foreign governments while she was in office. >> for the first time in california history mandatory water restrictions are placed on residents. cities and towns required to reduce their water usage by 25 percent due to the crippling drought. that amounts to roughly 1.5 million acre feet of water saved over the next nine months. the sierra nevada snow pack which californians rely on heavily for their water is near

a record low. >> tax refunds going to pot in colorado. >> adam shapiro is here to explain. good morning adam. >> good morning ainsley and heather. high time for colorado's marijuana industry failed to prevent the tax collections as we have been saying from going to pot. they are writing a bill to keep millions of dollars of tax revenue that current law requires them to return to taxpayers. here's the problem. tax revenue from the legal sale of marijuana in colorado fell short of the $70 million accountants thought it would generate. overall tax revenue is running higher than predicted triggering a voter approved tax payer bill of rights which requires colorado to refund some of the money. pat stedman says it is not that the tax came in high it is other revenue came in high. they failed to specify who would get the refund, marijuana

customers, pot growers, the businesses that sell pot or every tax payer in colorado. back to you. >> adam shapiro. thank you so much. don't miss adam on fox business network. to find him you can go to foxbusiness.com/channelfinder. 15 minutes to the top of the hour. a connecticut teen forced by the state to undergo chemotherapy facing the new hurdle. the ruling takes her away frommer had whole family. >> we have the cities with the worst traffic.

let me tell you what's coming in in ten minutes. deadline extended for new talks with iran.

bibi netanyahu meets with john boehner with a warning. congressman mike kelly will react. bill o'reilly will join us talking about "killing jesus." home improvement? bob massi is here. we're live from the autoshow talking about cars we cannot afford yet. that's coming up this morning on "fox and friends" because your mornings are better with friends. >> we believe you. we'll be watching. another bizarre twist in that possible california kidnapping case. denise huskins her alleged kidnapping sending another e-mail to the san francisco chronicle saying that he will turn himself in to police as long as his accomplices get immunity. if not, he will teach english overseas or live off the grid. the kidnapper also said he was sorry for not treating voallejo

police with violence. huskins was allegedly snatched from her home and released adday later. police say the whole thing was ranged by huskins and her boyfriend. the owner of the building that exploded in manhattan's east village could face charges. last week's explosion and collapse killed two people. and hurt 22 others. well a new fight for a teenager forced to get chemotherapy. we have told you about this connecticut girl. we've followed for several months. >> now she is reportedly not allowed to see her family. >> good morning to all of you at home. we've been bringing you updates on her story since the beginning. now a heart breaking twist days before the easter holiday. the 17-year-old known only as

cassandra is free of cancer at a children's hospital. a judge just ruled she cannot go home or visit with her mother. the teenager has been in state custody since december. receiving treatment for highly curable form of cancer. at first she refused the chemotherapy but the state won a battle to force her to complyism that's when they took her away from her mother and placed her on lock down. now cassandra wants to finish up her treatments at home. peter johnson jr., says it may be risky. >> so the first feeling is a 17 or 18-year-old is i've done it i'm in remission and cured. time to go. adios. see you later. my concern is they better continue. they better have a psychiatrist take a look at her and see if she'll continue. >> cassandra's lawyers have been fighting to let her mother visit on easter sunday. now it looks like that will not be happening.

the connecticut department of children and families says they do hope to have cassandra back at home by the end of the months. >> thank you. the time now is about eight minutes till the top of the hour. a pizza shop shuts its doors follow the religious bill fallout. your e-mails pouring in next. >> football fans across the country are stunned. why is tom brady in that full body cast?

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it is three minutes till the top of the hour. before you leave the house, here's what's happening today. governor hutchinson calling for changes to arkansas's own religious freedom bill. it comes after public concern it promotes discrimination. senator menendez due in court today. >> pope francis leading a mass for holy thursday. the pope blessing oils during masses in the coming year. and now it's time for the good, bad and ugly. the good baseball star offering the reward for 16 stolen bikes custom made for wounded veterans. the ride to recovery bikes were taken from a naval medical center storage unit. expecting traffic this morning? it's probably nothing compared to l.a. the city is at the top of a list

of most congested cities. san francisco honolulu, second and third. this is an ugly april fool's joke. tom brady sharing this photo. i think we have it for you. he was in a full body cast. trust me. looky for pats fans it wasn't real. now it's time for your brew on this responses. a pizza shop closing its doors after protests and online threats because the owner said he would refuse to cater a gay wedding. should it be forced to close? >> if someone didn't want my business i wouldn't want to give it to them. >> denise said they have to right to determine their own customer base. >> kimberly writes, it is irrational those calling for tolerance themselves cannot tolerate the believes of others on which our country was founded. >> join us online for that

conversation #keeptalking on the "fox and friends first" facebook page. we hope you have a great day. "fox and friends" starts right now. we'll see you back here tomorrow. good morning. it is thursday april 2nd. i'm elizabeth hasselbeck. a fox news alert now. overnight a terror attack on a college campus. masked gunmen opened fire forcing their way into dorms. 15 people are dead more than 60 injured. the breaking details straight ahead. as they make a deal to alter a religious freedom law, a pizza restaurant is getting death threats. >> we have our bleempt anybody has the right to belief everything. >> they must be crushed according to the press. is the media telling the whole story or are the owners innocent victims of a feeding frenzy.