>> bill: we have been watching the story from paris and the prosecutor is now saying it might the have been invented by the teacher. >> martha: have a good day, everybody. good luck with your shopping. see you tomorrow. >> jenna: president obama chairing a national security meeting at the pentagon on our strategy to beat isis and big news coming up potentially. i am jenna lee. >> and i am eric in for jon scott this morning. we are here to report what the soldiers are doing at home and broad to fight terrorist. national security is rocketing to the top of the list that concerns americans. rich is live with more from the white house.

>> reporter: it is the first visit for the president to the pentagon since july. this week and over the last few weeks the president has been getting a number of questions, as has the administration, has to if the fight on terrorism is working. this week at the pentagon and national counterterrorism center later this week the president is trying to demonstrate it is. >> in recent weeks we have taken out the isil finance chief, a terrorist leader in somalia and in libya. our message is simple. we will find you and justice will be done. >> reporter: the white house is pointing to increased airstrikes and allowing soldiers to operate in that region. he is getting criticism from

reuters with russia saying the united states hasn't shown it is ready to fully cooperate in the fight against isis. republicans are saying the united states should be using more intervention to fight isis. >> we cannot contain the threat. we have to defeat it. we need a plan and that is why the house passed the bill that requires the president to come up with a real strategy to defeat isis. >> reporter: the administration hasn't wanted to intervene in the region saying it wants a lighter footprint and not a repeat of the war in iraq and afghanistan. and the united states is pushing congress to pass a new authorization for the use of military force. t they back and forth continues

about this subject. eric, back to you. >> thank you, and we will have the president's remarks in about 90 minutes. >> jenna: and we have a new frontrunner in iowa with ted cruz surging in the top with 28%, donald trump at 26%, which is still within the margin of error. a des moines poll puts him 10 points ahead of donald trump. but nationally, trump with still in the lead with the wall street journal poll showing him ahead. we have a reporter from the washington post here. a lot of numbers but ted cruz is ahe ahead. you see in the last election the two that won n iowa were not able to extend past that state. do you think cruz is making a

run for other states? >> he had a good monday and those numbers proved he is doing his homework in iowa. big support among evangelicals, tea party, and the most conservative republicans. the problem is in the 49 other states you don't find republicans or independents in such large numbers. so it will be difficult after ohio for cruz. a lot of this is hyphypothetica. he will enjoy success in new hampshire and when the southern states hold primaries in march in places like alabama, tennessee, texas, georgia, north carolina. that is where he has been spending time and plans to spend time in the several coming weeks. right now, iowa is the first and the biggest prize. it is suggested he is doing

well. >> jenna: march isn't that far away. it is starting to catch up. marco rubio talking about ted cruz saying he is weak on national security and leaning more toward isolationism rather than being aggressive. donald trump criticizing ted cruz as well: >> look at the way he dealt with the senate going in and acting like a maniac. i built a phenomenal business, worth millions and some of the greatest assets in the world. you cannot walk into the senate, scream and lie people liars, and not be able to get along with people. he will never get anything done and that is the problem with ted. >> jenna: summarizing this criticism there.

any of these attacks fit to ted cruz? >> what is fascinating is any democrat could have made it same argument -- and they have -- so it is interesting to see donald trump making that argument that the fact that he went to the senate and it has been a log jam every since. that is an affective argument the democrats made against him. that is a big reason why people like ted cruz. he went to the senate, didn't play by the rules, threw sharp elbows. we will see if trump uses that attack on him on stage. i think it would bring pause to people like that ted cruz. they would say he has been the shining star of the revolution in washington and that is what we want in the white house. >> jenna: as we look at the debate that is happening tomorrow night, i don't want to forget donald trump nationally he is the leader.

marco rubio support politico has this to say about donald trump. and i am curious not just about donald trump but the pacing of the early election season. he said quote he is great at the earned media game but like a shark. if he stops moving he dies. everyone has to keep moving. i think he will ruin christmas for america. >> they make a good point about the earned media. if you start looking at polls in states that are voting later. the ones not getting the in-person attention from candidates trump is far ahead. and why is that? because any time someone turns on fox, the local radio or news station, the first candidate they hear about is donald trump given the nature of his

sharp-like ways. so yeah, that is a very good assessments. and the more a candidate spends time in a state the more they all do. the race tightens up and gets jumbled and we see the lead changes. and that is what will happen in february and march. >> jenna: ted cruz tweeted out the maniac song and maybe donald trump will tweet out the jaws song. chris christie is back. mark rubio is in the mix, one of the top runners as we see, is hanging on aggressively. who are you going to be watching for? and how much do you think this will impact what we see moving into the new year? >> i think nthis is the most important one. you are going into the holidays

and families get together and people start to do their historic in january. i have seen the crowds growing in iowa over the weeks. you look at the trump-cruz dynamic, rubio-cruz dynamic, can they do or say something to draw contrast between themselves and the other mainstream guys? but perhaps the other conservatives: the trump, rubio, carson, and cruz. you see two or three lanes established and the guys in the mainstream lane need to do something quick to boost their numbers. >> jenna: ed, thank you for joining us today. >> breaking new. the case of the first baltimore police officer, william porter, accused of manslaughter and other charges in the freddie

gray case is on trial. the prosecutors claim the officer denied gray care in the police van. right now the jurors are hearing the closing argument in the case. pet peter doocy is live next to the court house. >> reporter: we just learned the deputy state's attorney accused officer porter of lying throughout the trial on the stand. officer porter's side of the defense is going to have a chance to make their closing arguments when she is done and then it goes to the jury and the five men and seven women on the jury will decide his fate. both sides acknowledge gray askee hospital before dying in police custody. but the defense argues porter did more than enough to help by radioing his supervisors and

check on this twice. they pointed out he could not make the van driver go right to the hospital. the key moment is when porter helped the prisoner off the floor of the van and on to a bench. porter said he didn't reach all the way in, fearing gray would grab his gun, and because he didn't go very far it proves gray must have helped himself up to the bench because he is too heavy to handle. and that is an important point because a doctor called saying if freddie gray had the neck injury he died from he would not have been able to lift himself with his legs at all. outside of the courtroom there is a lot of tension in baltimore. starting today until friday leads have been canceled for baltimore officers and they will be working 12 hour shifts. when people in the community saw

what happened to freddie gray on video there was widespread rioting and there is fear depending on the verdict outcome there could be spreading rioter as well. >> porter is one of six officers in baltimore who have been charged in his case. >> jenna: robert durst could be back in court soon. the latest on the charges he is facing in two separate states. and french authorities searching for a terror suspect as we get word the whole story might be a hoax. we want to hear from you about ted cruz surging? is he the frontrunner? should he be the frontrunner nationally? donald trump still holds that spot. spot. hi i'm heather cox on location with the famous, big idaho potato truck. our truck? it's touring across america telling people about idaho potatoes. farmer: let's go boy. again this year the big idaho potato truck is

traveling the country spreading the word about heart healthy idaho potatoes and making donations to local charities. excuse me miss, have you seen our truck? you just missed it. ahhh! aw man are you kiddin' me?

here are stories we are following for you on "happening

now." a university club texas police officer shoots and kills a students he said was threatening him with an ax. it happened in denton, texas where officers responded to a report of someone breaking windows. the officer is not being identified. a former long island captain is stiming the fbi investigation in the serial killer case. he reportedly refused to keep the feds in the loop on the string of murders after learning he was part of the investigation. and robert durst is expected to plead guilty to federal gun charges. he faced murder charges for the killing of his long-time friend

susan berk. >> jenna: it is being reported a terrorist suspect attacked a teacher in paris but now they are saying the attack might have been made up by the teacher. benjamin hall is live. >> reporter: what thus this is doing is highlighting the lone wolf radicalization that exist in france. the teacher said the man arrived at 7:30, came in masked, and attacked the teacher before the students arrived. he came in without weapons apparently which is another hole in the story saying he only used what he found in the classroom which is box cutter and scissors before shouting out this is for dash.

this is the area where the ringleader of the paris attack died. france is still in mourning for the 130 killed in the previous attack. there is a correlation in that they were carried out by a lone wolf. the idea to reach out to disgruntled muslims around the world and radicalize them online. this highlights the danger and how on edge everyone is feeling. the fears continue in europe with the stabbing in london last week, arrest in geneva where traces of bomb making materials were found, and two attackers from the paris attack are still on the run. there has been warning toward the secular education system in the past but it is unclear if this is made up. nevertheless, people in france

are waiting for another attack and the fact is it can happen any time any place. so if this was a hoax it is in bad taste. good news for drivers but bad news for american oil producers. crude oil prices are falling and now hovering near lows we have not seen in years. coming up, why some analyst say prices could keep going down. have you heard about the reports and how officials missed the red flags against tashfeen malik? what was she posting about radical jihad? why didn't our government even see it? see it? the best simple veggie dish ever? heart healthy california walnuts. the best simple dinner ever? heart healthy california walnuts. great tasting, heart healthy california walnuts. so simple.

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>> the price of oil is dropping again falling to levels we have not seen since the 2008

financeal crises and this is amid the concern of a global supply glut. there are fears prices far further as new oil supplies from say iran hit the market after the sanction are lifted next months. it is turning out to be good news for us drives because cheaper oil is expected to keep a lid on gas prices. >> jenna: as investigators learn more about what motivated the san bernardino killers new reports are raising serious concerns about how thoroughly one of them was really vetted. we are speaking about tashfeen malik who came from pakistan. she posted about wanting to commit jihad on social media years before entering the united states. apparently none of them were discovered in the screening process. jeff lance is a retired fbi special agent. it is a basic question but one we have to ask: how can that happen? >> well it is obvious thegration

department didn't have a screening for social media or would have discovered the rants and raves and she would not have been allowed to be in the country. no program existed or if one does they missed these red flags. >> let me ask you from a law enforcement level, we have these different political conversations about shutting down immigration. but if we have these big holes with law enforcement what is making sense given the environment we are in? >> law enforcement officials have said it is impossible to do the scouring that would be necessary to screen all of the tens of millions of people that come into the country every year. but the truth is they don't have to do the scouring. computers can do the scouring. if you do setup a system that

looks for the red flags where do you draw the line? where is the threshold about people's comments that would cause suspension and have people undergo more investigation? if you can come up with a threshold they could use that system but still things will slip through the crack. >> jenna: reflecting on a report on ellis island. you had a lot of immigrants coming through and they used the wire service and letters to fly people in the country and going to pick them up. it was remarkablely effective. i wonder how much we need to rely on old fashion police work? just flag the right people. >> tremendous amount of resources are used up in that regard and it should be done to the extent it can.

and flagging people for further investigation. here we are having this conversation. it is not all public domain. isis is writing a chapter on jihad about don't rant and rave on facebook because you will not be let in the country. >> jenna: they are still trying to figure what the motive it, but it is getting rather clear, but walk us through the priority for the fbi and the focus. >> you can imagine the fbi has developed a timeline in the weeks, days and hours leading up to this event and are trying to fill in the blank spaces looking for information in the lake that may have related to computers discarded.

that type of thing. we talked to people we had contact with to determine if there is anyone else they haven't talked to. this is an ongoing investigation and in the countries visited by him and in pakistan where she came trfrom. and social media is a big part of this and where they got the weaponry. >> jenna: before i let you go, jeff, do you think we are better prepared to ward off another terrorist attack at this moment in light of what happened in san bernardino or has nothing changed? >> i think whenever something like this happens things will change. i am not sure those changes have been made yet but you know immigration is going to look hard at the k-1 visa program to see what changes can be made in terms of letting people in the country to begin with. >> great to see you as always. thank you so much. investigators in california releasing new video showing the

moments leading up to a fatal police shooting. we will examine that. and ted cruz is rising in the polls over the weekend and that surge drawing some fresh scrutiny from the media. what they are saying and is it fair? today people are coming out to the nation's capital to support an important cause that can change the way you live for years to come. how can you help? by giving a little more, to yourself. i am running for my future. people sometimes forget to help themselves. the cause is retirement, and today thousands of people came to race for retirement and pledge to save an additional one percent of their income. if we all do that we can all win. prudential bring your challenges®

then, a brutal act of teterror here at home.. it's time for a tested and proven leader who won't try to contain isis. jeb bush has a plan... to destroy them. and keep america safe. jeb bush: the united states should not delay in leading a global coalition to take out isis with overwhelming force. announcer: tested and proven leadership matters. jeb bush. right to rise usa is responsible for the content of this message.

>> eric: here is look at what is coming up on the "happening now." closing arguments in the trial of a teenager accused of raping

and murdering his teacher. and a massive warehouse goes up in flames. new details on the russian jetliner in egypt and what investigators are saying about terrorism. >> jenna: new surveillance video released from a controversial police shooting. nicolas robertson was shot and killed after the police said he had a weapon in his hand but the family says that is not true. william is live with more. >> reporter: the sheriff's department released the video quickly saying the use of deadly force was justified after six people called 911 reporting a man firing a weapon their neighborhood. >> 911. what is your emergency?

>> there is an african-american walking down palm avenue and oak and he has a gun shooting at the air. >> 911. what is your emergency? >> i saw a guy woeaving a gun. >> there is a black male walking down the street shooting a gun in the air. >> reporter: even after the police arrived the suspect appears oblivious to the demands of dropping the gun. the police fired only after the man turned toward them with the gun in his hand. >> the video shows the man looking at the deputies and having a gun in his left hand looking in that direction. >> reporter: the controversy is activist claim they shot him after he was down. relatives say he is not a violent man. he might have been drinking but not a theft.

he leaves behind three children. >> he was crawling on his knees and they kept shooting him. >> reporter: but here is why: police say they say continued to fire because robertson didn't release his weapon. so was it a justified shooting? two factors: were there citizens at risk? two women and three children were inside the gas station feet away. and did robertson still control the gun? robertson is black and both deputies were not white. >> thank you, william. >> eric: president obama meeting with the national security team at the pentagon on our strategy to defeat isis and we will bring you his statement live in about an hour. some are saying the media is trying to turn the focus from terrorism to gun control in the wake of the san bernardino massacre. and tammy bruce and alan ratner both fox news contributors join

us. it is both. radical islamic terrorism and nut cases with assault rifles. what is the media doing? >> i think this is interesting. after weeks, even after paris, saying our strategy is fine and what is to change? he is going to the pentagon to discuss changing it now. but that will be covered less than arguments about gun control or even earlier today how the climate change deal is going to stop terrorism. what the media doesn't have to do is cover the mistakes, the lies, the absurdity of what the obama administration is promoting. this lallows them to push the democrat narrative about gun control. >> eric: do you think the media is doing that? >> i would outlaw guns, football, and boxing. but that is not just me.

this is not about guns. it is about terrorism. one thing the media is not dealing with is a discussion we need to have in this country. if you post something on social media, should it be something the government can look at. if you put it on a billboard in the old days it would be something the government would look at. >> eric: there are reports they would not look at that. tashfeen malik is out there doing radical stuff and they are not looking at her facebook. >> my column in the washington times looks at the argument brought up by "the new york times" about chronic fallacy is affecting the decisions of the obama administration. who they don't want to offend. every but real facts on the ground. today at the pentagon the president should be listening and not talking.

there are fascinating stories involving this about obama and the pentagon and decisions to be made. we never get them, though. we get narratives about climate change. there has been no debate about the nature of what came out of paris. there is no debate about gun control in the media. and i think that is the problem. >> eric: do you think that will happen with the coverage today? >> i think the media will weigh in particularly around climate change. i think they will not be silent. >> eric: and ted cruz surging in the polls in iowa going ahead in some polls donald trump is leading nationally still. the new york times depicted cruz as socially awkward, not very likable and berating him like a two year old boy. >> i believe the media has a

right to endorse a candidate. but i think they should be silent until they endorse the candidate. i think they should be opinions not in the media. >> eric: the times is going after rubio's financial issues. >> you notice it is only when they are a threat. all of the candidates are interesting people across the board. same thing with carly fiorina. s there was a bunch of stories when she won the first debate. she started sliding again and there was no interest. cruz, and this is good education for the republican, he has been handling the criticism perfectly. this is why i think hillary is particularly weak. because the media doesn't go after democrats. >> eric: is that true?

>> i think they will go after hillary and haven't started yet. >> i agree with they haven't started. >> eric: cruz's princeton roommate has a blog trashing him. thank you both. >> jenna: defense lawyers for a teenager on trial for raping and murdering his teacher claim he suffered a psychotic breakdown. will the insanity defense work in this case? our legal panel takes it up.

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reverse mortgage. it will eliminate your monthly mortgage payments and give you tax-free cash from the equity in your home and here's the best part... you still own your home. take control of your retirement today! >> eric: closing arguments are underway for a massachusetts teen accused of raping and murdering his math teacher. it is horrible case. the prosecution is argue he cannot be held responsible because he was having a psychotic episode at the same. on october 22nd, 2013 a student said richards stayed in the

classroom for more than an hour after the class ended and he murdered her around 3:30 establishing her in the high school bathroom before bringing her body out in the woods. the soccer team said he didn't show up for the 4 p.m. practice. at 4:30 he bought a ticket to see the film blue jasmine. he was considered a missing person after failing to make a soccer dinner. authorities were notified the teacher never got him and not answering calls. they found the man on october 23ered walking six miles from the movie theater and they found the blood in the bathroom at the school prompting the search of the grounds leading to the body in the woods. we have a defense attorney and a trial attorney here. this is horrifying. heather, you are from massachusetts near the area, it

has shaken the town. >> my mom was a teacher and i know a lot of teachers. the prosecutor in this case did a great job. they finished closing this morning and one powerful thing she said was that we all want to believe someone who would do such a thing must be insane. but sometimes people just do bad things. and i think that is what she needs to jury to understand. you don't have to be insane to do horrible things. >> eric: he was 14 years old at the time. and the prosecution said he has been faking the mental illness. do you buy that? the defense says, yes, he killed her but he was going through a psychotic episode. >> in order for the prosecution to be successful in proving he is not insane they have to show he is not suffering from mental defects. in fairness, this is a dead case

unless in massachusetts where if you can prove there was a mental defect and the person was unable to confirm to the law, you can be found legally insane. here is the irony: when you think of an irresistable impulse you think of the heat of the moment. this was planned from the beginning to the end. you take the dead body out into the woods, go to the movies, and never come out of the psychotic episode. >> following her into the bathrook and stabbing her. >> have been the weapons. >> eric: the legalal term is irresistable impulse. >> and you have experts from the defense and the jury knows he did it. the only defense you can bring is insanity.

the proscuse hired a neuro psychologist who does subjective test and that evidence was presented to show i win when you look at the battle of the case. in massachusetts, they have an uphill climb but they may have done it. look at the video. what jumps out otme about the video is there goes the teacher and he is following her with a hoody on. he is inside. why does he have it over his head? because he knows there is a camera. >> and look how calm he is. this tells me this crime was not the result of an irresistable impulse which is a well-thought out crime. you can be mentally ill and guilty as all get out but that doesn't make you mentally insane.

that video goes a long way showing the jury this kid committed a heinous crime. >> eric: do you think he will be guilty? >> i do. >> and the question is what is >> we don't like kids killing people. we don't like 14 year olds committing heinous crimes. but we have a teacher who was brutally raped and murdered. >> eric: and the shocking part of this, if she is found guilty and gets live in prison, he could be eligible for parole in 15 years. is that fair? >> that is why being insane would be better for the community because he would be locked up until he is quote unquote better. i agree with the prosecution he is a bad guy who did a bad thing. >> eric: and about the 30 year old walking the street versus

being locked up forever is scary. the jury has it and we will see what happens. >> jenna: the evidence in the russian aircraft found over the desert and what investigators are saying about trim. and reports of tornados touching down during a powerful thunderstorms. is the twister threat over? your forecast is next. hi i'm heather cox on location with the famous, big idaho potato truck. our truck? it's touring across america telling people about idaho potatoes. farmer: let's go boy. again this year the big idaho potato truck is traveling the country spreading the word about heart healthy idaho potatoes and making donations to local charities.

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tand that's what we're doings to chat xfinity.rself, we are challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of your experience. and this includes our commitment to being on time. every time. that's why if we're ever late for an appointment, we'll credit your account $20. it's our promise to you. we're doing everything we can to give you the best experience possible. because we should fit into your life. not the other way around. >> eric: what is ahead on "outnumbered" at the top of the hour?

>> good to see you, eric. we await the president's speech next hour amid reports that one san bernardino shooter passed three background checks and they all missed her open online jihad talk. >> and ted cruz surges past donald trump in a new iowa poll. and trump responds quickly. >> no santa, no thanksgiving, no pledge of allegiance. a grade school principal has just about banned everything. >> all that plus were #oneluckyguy. you may have heard him laughing in the backyard. >> eric: see you in about eight minutes. >> jenna: brand new developments in the investigation into the deadly crash of the russian airliner over the sinai peninsu peninsula. investigators say so far they

have found no evidence of terrorism. this israeli-palestine confli conflict -- this conflicts with officials who say an unexplained explosion brought down the flight killing all 224 people on board. isis claimed responsibility for planting an explosive device in a soda can on the plane. but the investigative team hasn't found anything that indicates terrorism. it goes without a doubt saying it hurt the travel industry in egypt and this is leading to an assessment of the government there. >> eric: reports of tornados in east texas spawned by powerful thunderstorms. the strong winds blowing dozens of empty rail cars off an overpass. 50 peoples were damaged. our meteorologist is here live in the fox center. what is the rest of the day like

for the folks in the mid section? they had a tough going this weekend. >> they really had tough conditions over the weekend. not only to do with tornados across parts of texas but on the cold side of the storm system they had blizzard conditions across parts of the plane and that snow accumulating and causing dangerous travelling conditions out there especially across the texas panhandle. extreme weather over the weekend and the same storm system moved eastward to bring in areas with heavy snow as far east and north as the state of maine. that could get them 4-8 inches of snow and the other concern is ice. dangerous in northern maine. widespread rain from the great lakes into the gulf coast and the gulf coast has a marginal chance of thunderstorms that could produce isolated severe weather but overall the severe threat is down and we are looking at mostly a rain event. the storm system is a quick

mover from here on out. we will be dealing with just showers. some areas in the mid atlantic will see the heavier rain especially tonight but by tomorrow afternoon the storm system is long gone from the east coast and we will enjoy nicer weather behind that storm system. out west, our next storm system is there. we have been telling you day after day they have been dealing with storms and heavy rain producing flooding and significant snow and nor snow coming down as we speak across the rockies from montana all the way down to arizona. we have winter weather advisories and a foot of snow expected to come down in the higher elevations. heavy snow forecasted out there in the rockies. the other big weather story, eric, is how mild it has been in the eastern united states. take a look at the forecasted highs. we could make it into the 60s in new york city. 70s in carolinas.

and that continues into your tuesday. >> eric: it has been like june. >> pretty unusual. still get a white christmas in some areas. >> jenna: and maria,ion you look at global weather. i am wondering what the weather looks like south of the border in an area where you might be in about a week or so? how is it looking for you? you have a big day coming up. >> thank you. in less than two weeks i will be getting married. i was born in nicaragua and we are heading down there. it is a dry season. we are hoping for dry conditions. i don't know why has a meteorologist we are doing an outdoor wedding, but fingers crossed. >> if anyone can pull it off it is you two together. it is coming up. we are excited.

thank you. >> eric: congratulations. >> jenna: you may want to put your smart phone down. how it might be ruining your posture and we don't mean just a stiff neck. more on that in a moment. more on that in a moment. er? heart healthy california walnuts. the best simple dinner ever? heart healthy california walnuts. great tasting, heart healthy california walnuts. so simple. get the recipes at walnuts.org.

jenna: "outnumbered" starts right now. harris: president obama expected to speak at the pentagon in a few minutes on the threat of the terrorist army. fox news senior judicious analyst judge andrew napolitano. he's out numbered. give us a laugh. your joy is contained. great to have you here. >> no matter what we are talking