it has a huge ferris wheel inside. reporter: the rising rent in new york is no joke. eric: lea, good to see you. i'm eric shawn. "happening now" starts now. reporter: we begin with a fox news alert on deadly flooding in the midwest. hundreds of homes in the danger zone. gregg: flood warning in effect for parts of missouri and illinois and the damage already staggering. it could get a lot worse as feds keep a close eye on a dozen vulnerable levees. swollen rivers and streams reach unheard of heights. the rare winter flooding the

result of tore region downpours that ravaged the area, causing widespread evacuations. >> we don't have flood insurance. we'll need new electric, new flooring, new walls. a total cleanup. redo, start fresh. >> we have been working for three days trying to get everything out. we did what we could. >> i'm hoping what we are doing is helping. reporter: chief, good morning. we saw those images. from your perspective how bad is it and what is the biggest safety threat? >> the heaviest flooding is affecting the areas you spoke about in illinois and eastern illinois. in branson, missouri we have had

flooding. we have approximately 55 garden homes or duplexes evacuated along the river, and about another 120 residential homes that have been evacuated due to high waters. thankfully we have had no injuries or loss of life in these floods in the branson area, and most our commercial districts continue to operate as normal. we are a tourism base of operation. it does affect what is known as a branson landing. it's built in a flood plain. as of today the commercial district continues to operate as normal. but some of the infrastructure

is damaged. this affects our neighbors in hollister and rockaway * beach. reporter: you mentioned the evacuations that have taken place. are all the resident at high ground? reporter: in branson we only had to help six freedom one home by boat. most of the people heed our warnings early to evacuate. the dam is currently flowing. it's just over 72,000 cubic feet per second. and we are hoping those levels will reduce today and open up roadways that are closed and reduce water from the residential homes. reporter: that's good to hear. that was going to be my next question. of course, people will be anxious to get back into their homes to start to dry out as quickly as possible to pick up

the pieces and assess the damage how the waters ravaged their lives. how quickly do you think the residents will be able to get back into their homes. >> we ared from the core of engineers when the spill gates will be reduced. that will come quickly. the water will recede within a couple hours. the governor of missouri has declared a state of disaster declaration to help get assistance from state and federal emergency management. reporter: you have got relatives watching all these pictures concerned. what do you say to the people watching who may have relatives there going through this. in case there is no cell phone coverage. what do you say to the folks watching concerned. >> just continue to stay in

touch with them. most of the service is work. we have a shelter that's minimally used. less than a dozen people each night. most people have gone to friends and family and we are a tourism destination that people have chosen to use as well. branson is open for business as this waterway is narrow and effects that residential area. but the tourism industry, the attractions and theaters are open for normal schedule. reporter: chief martin, i thank you for your time. gregg: from flooding to another natural disaster. southern california bracing for more aftershocks from a moderate earthquake. it was felt in east los angeles

50 miles from the epicenter. the quake came here the intersection of three of the largest faults in southern california. but the tremor was too small to tell which fault was responsible. reporter: another new year's terror not may have been stopped with the arrest of two suspects in turkey. the 2000 pair allegedly planning attacks on the capital of ankara in a bar on new year's eve. the two turkish nationals were monitored going in and out of syria for months. the capital city was hit by twin homicide bombings in october that killed 100 people. gregg: a provocative act by iran as we learn missiles went flying

within 1,500 yards of an american ship last week. the iranian revolutionary guard gave only a few minutes warning before launching -- rockets in a very busy area patrolled by the u.s.s. truman. reporter: what makes this incident all the more concerning. it's the fourth time in the last 12 months the iranians have taken this provocative action. the u.s.s. harry truman and two other ships just exit the strait of hormuz when two ships came up and said they would be conducting live exercises and all other ships should move out of the waters.

they fired missiles with fishing boats near by and the u.s. ships less than,500 yards away. the central command spokesman said it's unsafe, unprofessional and i consistent with international maritime law. this latest incident marks the third time in the past 14 months the iranian ships have done this. in october of last year, a u.s. aircraft carrier observed small boats launching rockets. a group of revolutionary guard boats launched 11 rocket five nautical miles away. this latest launch just 1,500

yards away. it comes on the heels of iran's missile test that violated u.n. resolutions. iran is weeks away from receiving $100 billion necessity sanctions relief as part of the nuclear deal reached this past summer. reporter: new questions about the state of the gop. u.s. news and world report publishing an article entitled a republican establishment divide. the writer claims after months of denial, republican elites are coming to the conclusion 2016 may be the year the intergen the insurgent party topples the mainstream contingent in if the gop.

sphch joining me is the politics writer for u.s. news and world report. is this presidential race a wake-up call for the gop? and if it is what does the party do to make a correction and how long will it take? >> they are not doing much if you are talking about party elites. they are seeing this race spiraling out of their control. the last two decades you always had a conservative challenger to the mainstream contender in the nominating fight and the stab sphment usually wins out that -- and the establishment usually wins out that battle if you look at bob dole and mitt romney. but the establishment is divided. you have four or five candidates all vying for that 20-25% they usually bank on to start out

with and go on to beat the conservative. now if you look at polls, you have donald trump and ted cruz in that unyo -- in that insurge. if you add up all the stabment numbers and -- all the establishment numbers, they don't come to half of what trump and cruz have got. reporter: if the base is tired of the establishment, what are they expecting from this new crop of republicans? are they expecting this new crop to sprout results quickly or will they give them time? >> they don't give politicians much time these days. if you look at what cruz and trump are doing, they are most live outsiders running against all things the establishment really running against their own party as much as they are

running against obama and hillary clinton. if you go to a trump rally and ted cruz rally, you hear calls against mitch mcconnell and jeb bush as much as you hear reef buicks of democrats. that's fueling this new type of insush general i. reporter: let me ask you, if americans are looking for a new political frontier, how would that bode for hillary clinton who will as it turns out is looking now will probably be the democratic nominee? >> i think hillary clinton is beatable but it will depend on how this primary unfolds. does it go all the way to the convention? are republicans at odds with each other for five, six, seven months all the way to july or do they resolve this in mid spring? what hatches to trump? dose win? does the party come to him?

if he loses does he try to play spoiler? trump is unpredictable. if you talk to establishment republicans they would say marco rubio is the best shot to defeat hillary clinton. if it's trump or cruz, that's a little moral of a long-shot for republicans to take back the white house against hillary. reporter: lots of unknowns. it's definitely interesting. good to see you, david. gregg: a fox news alert. bill cosby expected to be arraigned today on criminal sexual sexual charges in pennsylvania, felony charge. we are covering all the developments in this breaking story and we'll talk about what comes next with our legal panel. a new complication in the extradition of the so-called affluenza teen as we learn what happened as they were caught on that mexican beach resort.

a man charged with impersonating a police officer after authorities say he tried to pull a fast one on the wrong person. >> he ended up activating his emergency lights. i believe there was a state police vehicle at the time. i began to move over to the center lane and the right lane and the shoulder believing i was being stopped by the state police.

arthel: authorities investigating a new jersey man who pulled over a real cop. he says when he drove off without saying anything he wrote down this threat numbers leading to his arrest. detectives seized a handgun from his car along with false documents it just goes to show

drivers should always beware. >> if you think you are being stopped inlegitimately, slow down, put your hazards on, call 911, find a well-lit area and pull in there. and if you know where your local police station is, pull in there. gregg: we are learning about the extradition of the so-called affluenza teen and his mom. ethan couch's attorneys used the affluenza defense. he was tried as a juvenile. but now prosecutors in texas want to transfer his case to adult court. will car is live in dallas with more. reporter: i spoke to an attorney

who says ethan couch and his mom are the clients from hell. they are using a technical legal maneuver to keep he and his mom in mexico for the ned future. so instead of coming back to face culpability for violating probation. they could stay in mexico for two months. there is video of him playing beer pong. they even had a going away party before they drove across the bored, disguise themselves. authorities tracked their cell phones after they made a call to dominoes from their hotel. victim's family members reacted to the arrest. >> it makes me feel safer as i'm

sure it does the families and the other victims that there is one less underaged drunk driver that will be on the streets at least for a while. reporter: even after this manhunt couch could only be in a detention center up until his 19th birthday in april. if it moves to an adult court he may only face 180 days in jail. but his mom could face between 2-10 yearsn behind bars for hindering apprehension. gregg: we are going to be talking to our legal panel about what is next on this. why one of them says ethan couch will still be treated leniently after this latest incident. what about the mom. should they throw the book at her? >> an american hero laid to

rest. we'll tell you about the life and loss of joseph lemm. the taliban making a resurgence in afghanistan. but they may not be the only terror group trying to make a comeback. right now,

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can't find you anywhere! don't settle for u-verse. x1 from xfinity will change the way you experience tv. arthel: thousands of mourners lining the streets of new york city for the funeral of sergeant joseph lemm. police officer is and military alike paying their respects to the nypd veteran at st. patrick's cathedral.

our hearts and prayers go out to his family. glenn: while the u.s. is focusing its fight on the taliban and iraq, another terror group is making a comeback in afghanistan, al qaeda. setting up extensive training camps, force our anti-terror operations to be spread thin. lieutenant colonel mitchell utterback is a retired special forces and national guardsman. how is it possible in 14 years since the u.s.-led invasion of afghanistan that drove out al qaeda and destroyed the taliban, not to mention spending

$65 billion in american taxpayer money, that al qaeda has reemerged with extensive training camps? >> there are way fewer americans and coalition forces in afghanistan than at any other time. we are down to the lowest numbers we were since 2002. the camps in the southern part of the kandahar province are the middle of the middle of nowhere. and we don't have the surveillance capability to pay attention to that whole country. gregg: i think we are down to 9,800 troops. president obama withdrew a large number of troops and then two months ago he put a halt to it. was his withdrawal a mistake and miscalculation? >> he actually listened to general campbell and the leaders in afghanistan. we are down to the bare minimum. we are only advising at core

level. that's some of the highest levels of the afghan military. and we are conducting count center terrorism and our special forces guys are going outside the wire every night. i think the president listened to the guys there, and he reconsidered and made a better decision. gregg: one of these terror camps was huge. 30 square miles. some were operating for up to a year and a half, undetected by american spies or surveillance. we need to improve our capabilities? >> we were paying attention to the hotter spots, the northeast part of the country, the bored with pack man the mountains. the northern helmand province. but those locations that we just talked about, that's the desert in the middle of nowhere.

hardly an afghan government presence and no u.s. presence. but we need to increase our surveillance of the whole country. gregg require's been reported afghan security forces have been allowed to deteriorate. are they just not up to the job? are they not capable? >> there is 350,000 of them now. our foreign partners do the best when there is an american standing shoulder to shoulder with them. the difficulty to that country for thousands of years have been supply lines like keeping your troops fed and getting them their ammo. therthere are on a few roads -- and there are only a few roads to get around on. gregg: do they need to beef it

up to make sure the al qaeda camps don't grow and expand even more. >> we had a special-ops presence since 2001. maintain counter-terrorism programs in afghanistan. i think we'll have to leave special-ops troops there to keep the boot on the throat of al qaeda, the taliban and other groups in the country so it doesn't become another safe haven. gregg: happy holidays. arthel: deadly flooding threatening lives and property in the midwest. we'll have an update as the water levels rise in missouri. the tsa planning to roll out new security measures, but they are not directed as passengers. we live in a pick and choose world.

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is closing. why is the flagship store shutting down? arthel: parts of missouri are under water. nearly 7,000 people were forced from their homes as the water rise and rivers spill over their banks. in the east highways are closed in the southwestern part of the state volunteers are searching for people who are strands. at least 20 deaths were blamed on the flooding in missouri and illinois. gregg: pope francis is praying for flooding victims in the united states. in south america and great britain. northern england is facing a second round of floating. pope francis is callin calling r prayers for those hit hardest on three continents. families are forced from their homes or returned to finds nothing left at all. arthel: as we finish up the

holiday travel season, the tsa getting ready to increase travel checks for airport employees. jonathan hunt is live from los angeles with the details. reporter: this doesn't mean every tsa agent will have to suffer through the same security lines the rest of us go through. but random checks of agents and airline employees, badge handlers, et cetera, will be increased in 2016. normally they bypass security thanks to a badge they are issued. what percentage will be checked and with what frequency isn't being disclosed by officials. but in the wake of the paris attacks in paris and the downing of an airliner in jit, jay john -- in egypt, jeh johnson said it's time to double down. >> i think it's a good thing.

i don't think they should be able to walk through. why they trust them more than anyone else. >> i feel safer. they will be check you have on people making sure no one is bringing anything they are not supposed to. reporter: another new security measure may finds some driver's licenses rejected as valid i.d. there is a 10-year-old law on the books that sets federal standards for the checked entailed and the tech used in licenses. illinois, washington and new mexico don't meet those standards. january 10 you could be asked for a second form of government i.d. if you have a license from a non-come snrient state. it might well be worth check before you have head to the airport whether your driver's license is valid or it could be a nuisance when you get to the

tsa security check. gregg: new information on a story we have been following closely. the looming debt for puerto rico. january 1, the commonwealth will be on the hook for $1 billion in payments. congress staying out of it for now at least. even though there is growing concern about the repayment process. adam shapiro live now with that story. >> the u.s. treasury secretary jack lu appeared on the fox business network saying port are you cove will default on its interest payments this friday. the detall on the debt payments will impact millions of americans who are invested in those mutual funds. >> they have been taking money

out of pension funds to pay current bills. they have been shifting money dedicated to one creditor to pay another creditor. that is effectively detall. reporter: puerto rico is lobbying congress to allow it to restructure its debt and bankruptcy. the way detroit did. but congress denied that request in the next hour and a half there will be a press conference from the island of puerto rico. the governor there is going to actually address what will happen friday. they don't have the money to make these payments so a lot of people are anticipating what the treasury secretary said. they will make it official. more default. arthel: we are after he waiting the arraignment of bill cosby on sexual assault charges stemming from an incident 10 years ago.

the punishment the affluenza teen and his mom could face when they return to the united states. ethan couches scaped jail time for a deadly drunk driving crash the last time he was in a texas courtroom. it could be a different story this time around. >> we have them back in custody. we'll breathe easier when they are back in this country. that's the ultimate goal.

>> in cosby is charged with aggravated indecent assault. this is a fell any of the first degree. in cosby's attorney has been note need of the charges and he's expected to be arraigned later this afternoon. these charges stem from a sexual

assault that took place in mr. cosby's home. gregg: the charges were announced just days before the statute of limitations runs out. it tarnished his image as america's tv dad. it sets the stage for one of the biggest celebrity trials of all times. joining me ashley martin, and generally when sexual assault takes place there are no eye witnesses and it becomes a he said-she said. and off what happened is the result we saw in the william kennedy strip trial which was an acquittal. >> one of the things that makes this harder is the fact this

lady was drugged so she doesn't have a clear memory of what happened. so she wouldn't be able to say i remember exactly what happened and i said no. and cosby said previously this was consensual. but they obtained documents where he testified under oath that he drugged her. the other thing that strengthens their case and probably caused these charges to go forward is so many people have come forward. that's given him a modus operandi, a motive. gregg: first they have to get evidence. it temperatures called pattern of conduct evidence. generally the testimony of people who have the same thing done to them is inadmissible. it's prejudicial because you should be tried for the crimes for which you are charged only. the exception is pattern of

conducted evidence where you can bring others in to establish what ashley is saying. this is what he does, this is his m.o. what are the charge -- chances the judge will allow it. 52 women have accused him of rape, and unwanted sexual touching. six were under age at the time. what are the chances it's admissible. >> the chances are likely it's admissible. imagine the parade of 52 other victims coming in and testifying before this jury. he's already probably been convicted and tried and convicted in every single jury pool in pennsylvania, so he will have to take the stand and deny. the judge is most likely going to allow this propensity evidence even though the prejudicial effect defense

attorneys will argue may outweigh any probative value. that's the balancing test for this judge. are the defense attorneys able to prove this would be so prejudicial it would outweigh the probative value of these 52 woman coming to testify. gregg: the civil case this woman filed in 2006, it was settled out of court. one would manage cosby paid her a sum of money. what's the admissibility of that. and since in the deposition of that case, cosby admitted "k" that he fondled her under her clothes and "b" he took her consent to be consensual conduct. what's the admissibility of that? >> the settlement would not be admissible in court. it would not come into a

criminal trial. i agree these other 52 women who made these allegations, any one that is similar to this allegation will come forward into evidence. gregg: we'll continue to follow this. i want to turn to something else we have been following. a fox news alert. there is a delay in the extradition of the so-called affluenza teen and his mom to the united states. the associated press is reporting ethan couch won a temporary day of his deportation. prosecutors in texas eager to get couch back after he avoided jail time in a deadly drunk driving crash. and it won't be the only one facing charges this time around. >> we expect the mother to be

charged, then we expect proceed wisconsin ethan couch. there is hearings set on january 19 to transfer his juvenile probation. if we proceed in the juvenile sentence, the maximum he will receive is four months of confinement. that in my opinion is not a sufficient punishment for the taking of four lives. gregg: we thought he was going to be extra dated. suddenly a judicial stay in this. what are the chances american authorities will be able to get him back here. >> the relations between mexican authority and the united states authorities with regard to extradition are historically pretty good unless it's a case involving capital punishment and this is not one of those case. i expect this is a minor but' in the road and ethan couch will be

back in court shortly. gregg: this kid killed four people, injured nine, and one of the kids is paralyzed for life. he violates probation and flees the country, and now all he can get is 120 days in jail. is in something profoundly wrong with the criminal justice system that allows that? >> the judge gave this kid a break and he abused the break. he abused this chance he had. after the judge cut him this break he should have been on his best behavior. it's unfortunate he abused that chance. the difference is he can only get 120 days in jail now. but he can get to 10 years probation on each of these deaths. so that's up to 40 years probation. gregg: our brain room did a lot of research on this. because he violated his

probation while his case was in juvenile court. when he comes back to texas, even if it gets kicked up to adult court, the adult court judge can only give him 120 days in jail and that's it. the up to 10 years punishment would be any future probation violation. so assuming he keeps his nose clean the next 10 years, then he gets away with it. that doesn't seem right, troy, does it? >> being on probation is no easy feat. walking around with this sort of -- with the sword of damocles hanging over your life waiting to drop for 10 years when you are an 18-year-old male, and it appears he likes to go to parties where they play beer pong, and the possibility of going to big boy jail for up to

10 years on each one of the deaths is no easy feat. gregg: big boy jail is right. wish we had more time to talk about it. but usually and troy, thank you very much. arthel: times square losing one of its signature attractions. ♪ the lexus december to remember sales event is here.

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arthel: times square getting ready for a big celebration for new years is losing toys r us. it's shutting down today. why does it have to go, jo? reporter: the rents are going

up. it's just too darn high. plus you have online shopping. here is the story right now. there was a line outside the door for toys r us' final day in times square. people went inside with employees cheering commemorating this last day. it's been 15 years toys are us has been here w toys r us has been here. it costs a lot of money rent here. the next tenant will be paying $2,500 per square foot. gap and old navy are planning to open stores here in 2017. if the reason toys r us is leaving is also because of the retail environment. toy sales are a $125 billion

industry. toys r us has seen its revenue fall three years in a row. gregg: at least minions will be outside. arthel: you mean the costumes? i don't like the people in the costumes. i know they need to make money but i think they are germy. gregg germy.gregg. gregg: new on "happening now" next. iran flexing its muscle in a volatile part of the world after firing a missile from an aircraft carrier. a hover board was in its box and erupted in flames, forcing shoppers to evacuate the mall.

a new report says a popular toy also explode in a home.

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>> back here in an hour.

>> "outnumbered." >> "outnumbered." melissa: fox news alert on charges against bill cosby. he is accused of sexually assaulting a woman at his home 12 years ago. this is the first time criminal charges are being brought against the 78-year-old following a string of allegations that destroyed his good guy image. this is "outnumbered." i'm melissa francis. here we have kennedy, host of "kennedy" on fox business network. from fbn, dagen mcdowell. we have veteran of both george w. bush and obama administration, fox news contributor, jillian turner. our #oneluckyguy is concerns veterans for america, pete hegseth. he is outnumbered. the accuser's attorneys say their client is ready to face him in