eric: and we begin with a fox news alert this afternoon. syrian war planes carrying out attacks on opposition forces in the wake of the u.s. missile launch on one of its most strategic air bases. video now showing the destruction to that air base we attacked that, of course, was authorized by president trump on thursday night. well, the syrian government is now launching attacks of its own against the rebels from that same air base, almost as an answer to the american missile strikes. welcome to a brand new hour of "america's news headquarters," i'm eric shawn. arthel: and i'm arthel neville. bashar al assad's air force still has more than a dozen other bases. they used one of those bases today to hammer rebel-held areas across the country, even targeting the town where a

chemical attack killed dozens of people earlier this week. a human rights advocacy group is reportinged the's attack by the syrian government has killed at least one person. eric: and for more on the military operations and what's going on, let's go to lucas tomlinson who's live at the pentagon with the very latest. hi, lucas. >> reporter: hey, eric. fox news has just learned new details about a ramped-up effort by the u.s. military to protect its nearly 1,000-strong force on the ground inside syria following the tomahawk cruise missile strike against that air base in syria. american officials tell me the u.s.-led coalition has cut back on some of his airstrikes in syria partially because they're flying more combat air patrols using jets like this u.s. air force f-22 stealth fighter jet from the air base in turkey not far from the syrian border. in case the syrian or russian militaries try to attack u.s. forces in syria. for the moment, u.s. officials say the assad regime has not made any threatening moves.

the russians say they will step up efforts to protect assad's air defenses, russian jets and missile batteries have been operating in syria since 2015. fox news has also received new details struck at the air base from those two u.s. navy destroyers. 23 syrian jets were destroyed, 3 rocket launchers, two sa-6 surface to air missile sites, 16 aircraft hangars and buildings. officials say the chemical weapons attack tuesday was launched from the air base targeted days ago by u.s. military missiles. a senior defense official tells me less than a dozen syrian jets were left untouched in the strike, making it likely some of those jets could be used again in the future because the runway was largely left untouched, eric. that's because tomahawk missiles are not designed to crater runways. if you need to do that, i'm told you need manned aircraft to drop 500-pound laser-guided bombs. and up to a hundred russian military personnel at the base were also left unscathed.

the strike, using 59 tomahawk cruise missiles from those two destroyers was meant to send a message to the assad regime and other potential add very -- adversaries. and right now the pentagon has not been tasked for any more airstrikes, but that option remains open. eric: and the president tweeted out that a runway could be easily fixed which is another reason why, apparently, in the war planning those runways were not bombed. >> reporter: that's true. eric: lucas tomlinson live at the pentagon, thank you. arthel: and it's an emotional day in sweden as the royal family pays tribute to the victims of yesterday's deadly truck attack in stockholm. the crown prince laying flowers by the scene while sweden's prime minister is ordering a national day of mourning. bryan llenas following this story from our new york city newsroom with the latest. >> reporter: swedish police believe a 39-year-old uzbekistan man was the driver of the stolen beer truck that plowed through a crowd in central stockholm

killing 4 and wounding 15 others on friday. this is cell phone video of the suspect being arrested 25 miles north of stockholm. the suspect had been on intelligence services' radar some time ago but was dismissed as a marginal character. he is now facing terror and murder charges. we do not yet know the suspect's name or whether he's a legal resident of sweden. the man has not yet spoken to police. police conducted overnight raids around stockholm questioning people in connection with the case. >> we do not know whether there are further persons involved in this act or not. but we are not excluding that. we are still working on a very comprehensive approach to see whether there is any possibility that further individuals are involved. >> reporter: hundreds of people saturday gathered at a memorial at the crash site outside the popular department store in central stockholm. mourners, including the swedish

crown princess, visited the site laying flowers and offering prayers. flags are flying at half staff. the prime minister saying citizens will get through this and that their open society will not change. blitz say after stealing -- police say after stealing the beer truck earlier on friday, the suspect drove it some 500 yards through a main pedestrian street hitting people before plowing into a busy department store with shoppers preparing for the weekend. the police chief said they found a homemade device inside that truck that could be a bomb or an incendiary device. sweden's public broadcaster, svt, reports that the truck had a bag of explosives inside. svt says the attacker suffered burps from these explosives after they failed to detonate properly. around them? arthel: bryan llenas, thanks so much. eric? eric: back to the syrian missile strikes and predictions of a possible new coalition in the middle east of sunni-arab states and israel aligned against bashar al assad and iran. one indication of that

possibility is the praise from the king of saudi arabia for president trump's decision to strike that syrian air base. we're now learning the two leaders have spoken today by phone, the saudi king applauding the move, we are told, calling it a courageous decision. we just saw the president on the lawn at mar-a-lago with the chinese president. kristin fisher live at mar-a-lago in south florida with the very latest on this. hi, kristin. >> reporter: hey, eric. well, the saudi king is a longtime opponent of syrian president bashar al assad, and so it should really come as no surprise that he supports the strike. he called the action a courageous one and said it was a necessary response to the horrible chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians. this is really the latest example of the strong support for this strike across the sunni-arab world. there's also been strong support on capitol hill from both

republicans and democrats. but the big criticism from most democrats and some republicans as well like senator rand paul has been that president trump did not seek congressional approval before taking this strike. so today we've just learned that president trump actually sent a letter to congress which really laid out his justification for the attack, and it reads in part, quote: i acted in the vital national security and foreign policy interests of the united states pursuant to my constitutional authorities to conduct foreign relations and as companieder in chief and chief -- commander in chief and chief executive. the united states will take additional action as necessary and appropriate to further its important national interests. so it's important to note that nowhere in that letter does president trump say that he will seek congressional approval if he decides to take further military action against syria. now, this strike has also really blown apart the already-deep rift between two senior advisers

to president trump, steve bannon and his son-in-law, jared kushner. bannon, of course, is a non-interventionist. he believes that the u.s. should not intervene in syria, and there are reports that he was arguing against the strike. well, president trump ordered both sides to come together and sit down last night. they had a late night meeting at mar-a-lago to, quote-unquote, bury the hatchet. chief of staff reince priebus was also at that meeting. there are reports that he too may be on the way out, but the white house coming out very strong against this. they say all reports of a staff shake-up are completely false, and it is a sentiment that was echoed by former campaign manager corey lewandowski this morning on "fox & friends." anyone who wants the pretend to speak on behalf of the president may find themselves backtracking very quickly. and what we know is that the president is the one who makes the decisions in the white house about who's going to stay and who's going to leave. >> reporter: and let's not forget what president trump originally came here for.

all these rumblings of a staff shake-up, the strike in syria, the confirmation of judge gorsuch to the supreme court, all of that has overshadowed the fact that this was originally intended to be the big weekend that president trump met with the chinese president, xi jinping. we were told that it was a productive meeting though no major deals were announced. but president xi jinping did invite president trump the visit china. the white house says that he has accepted, but the exact date still to be determined. eric? eric: all right, kristin, thanks so much. arthel? arthel: well, meanwhile, the gop effort to repeal and replace obamacare has stalled as lawmakers head home for a two week easter break. when they return from recess, republicans will have to move quickly to fulfill the promises they made to voters last fall. peter doocy live from washington now with more. hey, peter. >> reporter: hi, arthel. there are two big things that could be roadblocks for republicans trying to deliver on their 200-day plan. the first thing, the government runs out of money at the end of this month, and since congress

did just leave for a two week recess, both parties are only going to have a few days when they get back to figure out how to keep the lights on or else there is going to be a government shutdown. the white house had been asking for a few things in that budget, namely $1.5 billion for a border wall, and democrats say once the white house stops asking for things like that, then they're going to be ready to play ball with the gop. a spokesman for senate minority leader chuck schumer hinted that things are trending positively toward a budget deal and that, quote, the only thing that could derail that progress is the white house insisting on their ec train yous demands which would meet -- extraneous demands which would meet bipartisan opposition. the second thing that could chew up valuable time in the calendar is debate about further action in syria. most lawmakers on the left and the right support president trump's airstrike order, but those same lawmakers on the left and the right also want to be consulted if the president wants

to turn up the heat on syria's assad even more. >> i think congress can help guide a strategy, and that's what we intend to do. ultimately, it'll be the president's job to sign off on one. and then i think congress will be asked to pay for it. >> reporter: speaker of the house paul ryan says their plan to repeal obamacare is still on track now that there is some more middle ground between leadership and the conservative freedom caucus, but this afternoon another republican congressman, charlie dent, said he doesn't think a deal on health care as close are as some people say. arthel. arthel: and we will be watching. peter doocy, thanks so much. eric. eric: well, a suspect triggering a lengthy police chase in a stolen minivan. coming up, we'll show you how officers caught that guy. arthel: plus, the fbi is investigating itself on how terror tips are handled. eric: and we'll again look at why some lawmakers in washington are saying they are not happy with the president's military strikes in syria. what will congressional involvement mean? ♪ ♪

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♪ ♪ arthel: time now for a quick check of the headlines. police arresting a man after chasing him for nearly an hour in southern california. officers used highway spikes to

stop the minivan which police say was stolen. no one was hurt. firefighters battling a large wildfire in south florida. the fire has burned more than 5500 acres since wednesday, and it's about 60% contained. and the fbi reviewing the handling of terrorism-related tips the make sure they are being properly investigated. this follows attacks by people who were once in the fbi's radar including the gunman in the orlando nightclub massacre. the internal audit began this year and is being conducted in fbi field offices across the country. eric: president trump is receiving praise from both sides of the aisle after he responded to that deadly and horrendous chemical attack in syria. with that barrage of missiles we saw on thursday night hitting that syrian air base. but not everyone on capitol hill is pleased with that action. some conservatives and trump backers now wondering if the president has abandoned his america first policy as there

are more calls for congressional oversight and consultations for whatever military action could come next. aaron zitter in joins us now. aaron, good to see you. for a candidate who tweeted it would be a mistake to bomb syria, the president sure surprised a lot of people. >> that's right. it was only a few days before the chemical attack that the trump administration was giving assad some space, saying it's not our policy to remove him from power, that that's up to the syrian people. and this is quite a reversal. it has a chance to be a real unflexion point in what kind of -- inflection point in what kind of leader president trump is when it comes to foreign policy. eric: to you and to what you've seen, does it really implement a real, full shift in policy for the trump administration? especially some of his supporters, you know, they're scratching their heads over this. >> well, let's see what happens. we're at the beginning of laying out what will be the trump foreign policy, yes. and right now it's quite different than what he laid out as a candidate.

as a candidate he said america first, he was skeptical of foreign engagements except when it came to isis. we were going to knock isis back and take them out. the chemical attack in syria is a horrific thing, but it wasn't perpetrated by isis, and the missile strike was aimed at ther january regime, so it falls outside of what he laid out. the people who voted for him and supported him for an america first policy are angry at this, but the mainstream washington republican establishment are now looking at president trump as a conventional republican. he's saying the kinds of things you would hear george w. bush say, and he's getting applause from the mainstream center of the party, people like john mccain, lindsey graham and many, many other republicans. eric: and a chemical attack, the use of chemical weapons is such an affront and offense to human decency in any way after what we saw in world war i, outlawed by the geneva convention in, you know, 1925.

and we understand some of those photographs of the children, as he said in his statement, the faces of the babies is something that deeply moved him. and some would say that is the moral thing for a president to do. >> well, a lot of people are focusing on how president trump came to make in this decision and the fact that the pictures of the horribly attacked children and the dead children were very moving to him. and they're saying, some people are saying this was the right response, the moral response, and others are saying, well, wait a minute, let's make sure this isn't a gut decision. the president needs to come forward, they say, and explain himself. what's the long-term strategy. what happens if syria does it again? what happens if the russians come and escalate matters? what's the plan here for the long term? and you're going to hear congress, many in congress asking for him to lay out a fuller plan. eric: let me read you a statement from the white house. today, you know, what, 48 hours after the attacks were launched, this is the statement to congress from the president. quote: i directed this action in order to degrade the syrian

military's ability to conduct further chemical weapons attacks and to dissuade the syrian regime from using or proliferating chemical weapons, promoting -- thereby promoting the stability of the region. i acted in the vital national security and foreign policy interests of the united states pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations and as commander in chief and chief executive. but, aaron, is that enough? you know, for congress? especially those naysayers, you know, in congress who say he violated the war powers act, and they need to be consulted. >> well, you ask, is that enough. for some people it will be because while congress lee likes to assert its prerogative, under the constitution the congress declares war, and the president, as the executive, carries it out and is the commander in chief, but it's congress that declares war. and there are many in congress who say, wait a minute, this action is against a southern

nation, he should have come -- a sovereign nation, he should have asked for authorization first. but those people are a minority in the republican party. it's rand paul and mike lee, the kind of anti-interventionist wing. the bulk of the party seems content to say this was an exigent circumstance. you heard marco rubio say because assad had nerve gas and showed that he was willing to do it, we had an immediate threat, an immediate threat to american assets and personnel in the region. but if he goes further, then he needs to ask for authority. and what you're going to see is whether congress is willing to get into this gray area of when the president needs to ask for authority, and then you'll see if congress actually follows through and wants to take a vote on granting him authority in 2013 when president obama was in this situation, there was a chemical attack in syria, and obama said to congress, give me authority. they didn't want to vote. they didn't want to go on record. and so if the president -- and so the president operated in a gray area.

eric: yeah, and that was the famous red line which many say has led to worse atrocities and the carnage that we've seen. you mentioned rand paul. here's what he had to say. >> no one's pretending that we were under imminent attack by syria. the justification is atrocity, and they should come and ask the senate and the house to approve it. not after the fact, not patting us on the back and saying here's some information after we do what we want. eric: he called this an atrocity. finally, you know, what does the white house do about that? can you placate rand paul? >> well, that's -- [laughter] rand -- what's interesting, i was going through some old material in 2013 yesterday, and rand paul really is an outlier right now in the republican party. you look at someone like paul ryan, the speaker of the house, he's saying it would be appropriate for the president to consult with us, not demanding that he consult or demanding that he seek approval, but it would be appropriate. mitch mcconnell got up yesterday and said the president was in his authority.

and if he thinks he needs more authority, we'll look at what he sends over in terms of a request for authorization. eric, if you compare that to 2013, republican leaders were saying something quite different. john boehner in 2013 wrote a letter to president obama when obama was contemplating a strike on syria and laid out 14 questions that he said had to be answered before congress would authorize any kind of he insisted that the president present the legal justification for striking syria. and these 14 questions were detailed. what are your contingency plans? if assad does it again, will you escalate? have you thought through the downsides here? you're seeing nothing of the sort from republican leadership today. eric: well, there's certainly someone new in the white house, and those are good questions that still stand today. aaron, thank you for joining us this afternoon. >> nice to be to with you, eric. eric, of course. arthel? arthel: meanwhile, president

trump losing a key ally on capitol hill this week as congress continues to investigate russia's involvement in the 2016 presidential election. the latest blow? the head of the house investigation, republican congressman devin nine necessary, stepping aside amid lots of controversy. rich edson has more on the fallout and where the investigation is heading next. >> reporter: u.s. relations with russia continue to worsen. secretary of state rex tillerson is preparing to travel to moscow next week, and congressional investigators are examining russia's role in the presidential election. now those congressional investigations have become controversial. house intelligence committee chairman devin nuñes is recusing himself into his committee's investigation into russian interference in the presidential election because of an investigation into whether he made unauthorized disclosures of classified information. nuñes calls that investigation politically motivated. >> why did you step aside?

>> i already gave a statement on it, and it's temporary, and i expect this to get done very quickly. >> okay. but you stand by your idea you've done nothing wrong. >> that's absolutely right, yep. >> that would strike some as odd, if you feel as though you've done nothing wrong, why step aside? >> look, i thought it was the right thing to do. >> reporter: a senior member of the committee will now lead its investigation. congressional investigators are also examining president trump's unsubstantiated claim that president obama wiretapped him, and now calls among republicans for president obama's national security adviser, susan rice, to testify. at issue, her request the name trump associates caught in surveillance with foreign officials. that surveillance is routine, and when americans are caught speaking with foreign nationals, their names are masked to protect their identities. rice claims she asked for the names to better understand the intelligence and maintains she never revealed those names publicly. arthel? arthel: rich edson in washington, thanks.

eric: secretary of state rex tillerson is going to moscow next week. what should he tell vladimir putin and sergey lavrov as moscow has doubled down on its support of bashar al assad? general jack keane will be here next to tell us about what we can expect. ♪

arthel: fox news alert, the syrian government pummeling rebel-held parts of the country today with airstrikes. there are reports of one death in the same syrian town that was the site of a deadly chemical attack earlier this week. that attack triggering the u.s. missile strike on a syrian air base two days later. now, syria denies any responsibility for the gas attacking, and russia is also refusing to blame the assad regime. all of this coming as secretary of state rex tillerson prepares to visit moscow next week. joining me now is retired four-star general jack keane,

former vice chief of staff for the army and current chairman of the institute for the study of war, also a fox news military analyst. general keane, always good to have you. >> good to be here, arthel. arthel: first of all, if i could get your analysis of the strike as well as the world view, and also what did it accomplish, and do you consider it effective. >> yeah, it was quite effective. i mean, the intelligent was to, certainly -- the intent was the, certainly, retribution for the chemical weapons strike that took place a couple days prior. it was a remarkable performance, i think, by the united states military that we could do something like that almost within 48 hours of the unprovoked attack. secondly, i think largely the world has supported this attack. so the united states right now is sitting on some moral high ground and some goodwill. i think that we can take advantage of it, quite frankly. arthel: how so, sir? >> well, you know, for our

audience to understand, the major war crime that's being committed in syria is not the use of chemical weapons. that is, has been done very limitedly. but the major war crime is the systematic and purposeful targeting and killing of civilians using barrel bombs. no military targets in the area, just killing civilians in neighborhoods, towns and villagings. secondly, targeting -- villages. secondly, targeting and destroying hospitals. war crime. and the third thing is the starvation of whole commitments by attacking d communities by attacking food manufacturing and blocking any amount of food to get into that. those are all war crimes that i just indicated. we should help educate the world that this is the major war crime. there is a human catastrophe going on in syria. and the united states is on that moral high ground. we should call for a ceasefire of these hostilities based on the fact that russia shah and syria keep talking about it --

russia and syria keep talking about about it, that they want a ceasefire of these hostilities. the ones in the past were a joke, they didn't work. and let's offer assistance that we would help organizing it and get independent monitors in to overlook it. arthel: well, i mean, that all sounds wonderful, of course, general, and it's a very complicated situation there, very difficult to sort out. i mean, already you have secretary of state rex tillerson on the way to moscow to meet with sergey lavrov, their british counterpart has already canceled a planned trip. so when secretary tillerson is face to face with sergey lavrov, how much should -- how many parts deliberation, be deliberate with him and firm on the stance of the u.s. and u.s. allies in the region as well as diplomacy? >> well, they've got a lot on the menu, and it's more than syria, certainly. we're going to deal with ukraine, we're going to talk about north korea, we're going to talk about the baltics, russia's intimidation, etc.

they're going to talk to us about sanctions and the desire to remove them. but focusing on the syrian situation, i mean, clearly we've got to look the russians in the eye and tell them, look, we know you're committing war crimes right along with the syrians. we know you're enabling the syrians. what we want you to do now is take control of those chemical weapons -- arthel: they were supposed to do that in 2013. >> they haven't. now's the time to do it. take control of those weapons right now. and also offer them an incentive. the other thing is, is -- arthel: i'm sorry, general, what's the incentive? >> well, there's a couple things. one is we would help them with the ceasefire, and i mean genuinely help with independent monitors. the other thing is we have got to come to grips with the fact that there's not going to be a regime change in syria. and the reason is because the russians and the iranians have so bolstered the assad regime

which is annal a white regime, that they're not -- annal white regime, there's no amount of u.s. and international coercion that would ever force that. now, i do believe the russians would give up assad. one, he is a bit of a liability, as we've just seen this week. two, we could work against the al-qaeda affiliate which is the most formidable syrian opposition force in syria. and the reason we need to work against this and we have been doing some limited bombing against this affiliate, and the reason is because they purport to eventually conduct attacks against the united states. the russians, i think, would welcome us working together to do that. the trade would be get rid of assad and bring in a more moderatal to white to run the country. arthel: so if you say perhaps there may not be a regime change, that assad would remain in power, but then on the other hand putin would give up assad. so let's say that happens. putin and president trump, they

get together, and their teams get together and say, okay, we agree assad must go. assad's saying i don't want to go. so how does this all play out, and what is president trump's next most immediate move and his strategy, and how crucial is that strategy in terms of an end game? >> well, let's clarify a couple things. regime change is the al to white regime. assad is a leader. we can make, get putin to make a leadership change. i think they believe that this guy is a liability, and we could give them something for that. i just it would you what that would be. we could work together againstal shark where we're going to see attacks in europe and likely against the united states. we're going to have to deal with

this thing eventually anyway. so given the circumstance there is an opportunity here, it seems to me, that we could try to work something with russia toward that end. at the same time, offer them -- we've got to stop the human catastrophe that's going on in syria. let's bring the bombing to a halt, let's work with the opposition guys to stand down. arthel: yeah, but russia doesn't even want to -- they're refusing to acknowledge that assad used chemical weapons on his people. i'm just being told, general keane -- i wish i could talk to you in the entire hour, but we do have to leave it there. i really appreciate your analysis, sir. thank you so much. >> good talking to you, arthel. arthel: always. thank you. eric: arthel, back here at home when authorities arrest illegal immigrants, they try -- according to federal guidelines -- to avoid so-called sensitive locations like churches, schools and hospitals. but courthouses, well, they're apparently not on the list, and that has sparked a controversy out west where i.c.e. agents have been nabbing defendants in court. that's not sitting well with

some judges, lawyers and immigration ad slow candidates. dan -- advocates. dan springer explains. >> reporter: immigrations and customs enforcement agents arrest an illegal immigrant in el paso, texas. it's part of a growing battle between the department of homeland security and local court officers. >> immigrants are throughout all of our communities, and they're terrified right now. >> reporter: lawyers and judges say they're seeing more i.c.e. arrests at court buildings since president trump took office, and they, they contend, is leading to fewer undocumented immigrants showing up for court dates. it's prompted two state supreme court chief justices to write letters to homeland security asking i.c.e. to stay away from courthouses. california's top judging accused i.c.e. of stalk people. washington state's chief justice wants courts to be located as sensitive locations just like schools, churches and hospitals. >> i have a duty and a responsibility to speak up when the administration of justice in washington state is impacted by policies and activities. >> reporter: but that's exactly what a retired state

supreme court justice says his former colleague is doing, lobbying on one side of a heated issue and hurting the court's credibility with the public. >> it's not up to the judiciary to tell i.c.e. where and how and when they should be detaining people. >> reporter: i.c.e. defends the policy in a statement saying: many of the arrest targets i.c.e. has sought out near courthouses are foreign nationals who have prior criminal convictions in the u.s. like died yea pacheco, a convicted drunk driver who was allegedly allowed by a judging in portland, oregon, to use an employee exit to evade i.c.e. agents in the employee hallway. >> i think we're coming to a showdown between the federal government and local jurisdictions that for political reasons want to interfere with immigration enforcement. >> reporter: homeland security officials responded to the chief justice in california, ripping her for saying i.c.e. agents are involved in illegal stalking. they also urged her to contact

politicians who support sang chew ware city policies saying it's the lack of cooperation in jails driving them to go after illegal aliens at the court. arthel: well, the fbi desperately searching for this man right here. officials say he stole more than a dozen weapons -- wait until you hear from where -- and sent a lengthy manifesto to president trump. a live report on the manhunt that's coming up next. eric: and it's been nearly four years since the horrific bombing attack at the boston marathon. one brave survivor sharing her incredible story in a new book. she joins us with her inspiring tale coming up next live here on the fox news channel. my insurance rates are probably gonna double. but dad, you've got... ...allstate. with accident forgiveness they guarantee your rates won't go up just because of an accident. smart kid. indeed. it's good to be in, good hands. ostriches don't really stick vitheir heads in the sand.ve horns on their helmets.

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eric: it's hard to believe it's been four years since the boston marathon bombing shocked and sickened us and completely changed the lives of the victims.

one of them, rebecca gregory -- who lost one of her legs in that attack -- is telling her story in an inspiring new book, "taking my life back: my story of faith, determination and surviving the boston marathon bombing." rebecca gregory joins us now from houston, texas. first of all, congratulations on the book, and thank you so much for having the courage and desire to bring your story to us, such a personal one. first of all, why did you want to write the book? >> there's so many reasons why i wanted to write the book. i feel like ever since i was little i've always written things down, and i've had so many different obstacles and journeys throughout my life that i feel have kind of prepared me or led me up to the marathon womaning. and -- bombing. and, you know, everyone has life blow up in their face multiple times, and i wanted to show people my real, whole story instead of just what they know from a survivor aspect. eric: bring us back to that day. or watching your boyfriend at

the time. you have your son, noah. tell me about that. you're watching him, and what happened? >> we were actually watching his mom run. she had qualified, and so we had a group of about nine of us with us. and we started the day at the 7-mile marker -- 17-mile marker, and someone in our group said, hey, let's make our way closer to the finish line. and so we did. and in the meantime, noah started getting really bored, my 5-year-old son. and when we made it right there in the middle of the action at the finish line, i told him, hey, buddy, why don't you sit down on my feet until we're done, and that's exactly where noah was when the first bomb went off behind us 3 feet. eric: so, basically, you saved his life, potentially, with him on your feet. >> yes. that's what they said saved his life, because i was a shield, essentially, between him and the bomb. eric: and then what happened when you went to the hospital? your type of injuries and how

long did it take to try and finally recover? >> it was a process of limb salvage. my right leg was damaged and my left hand was damaged and various other minor injuries, but my left leg was the most severe. and after about 18 months of continuous surgeries and procedures and being on bedrest or in a wheelchair, i made the decision to amputate in november of 2014. eric: and that must have been some decision. i mean, how have you gotten used to it? >> it was, but i always said my leg wasn't my life, and i felt so grateful to just be alive and to have my son. and so, you know, i decided that that was not going to hold me back and wasn't going to define me. it was what i had chose to do afterwards. and so i'm still very thankful, and i consider myself very blessed. and i have a daily reminder of how short life really is. eric: that is just absolutely wonderful. while you're at the hospital, i mean, it's astounding.

was it jo -- dzhokhar tsarnaev was in the hospital? >> he was. and that was the first time my mom said she was truly angry, because my mom had to pass by the doors where the guards were standing. eric: do you have bitterness and anger toward them? what are your thoughts? especially when it comes to this? >> yeah. i try not to hold resentment and anger in my heart because it doesn't help me in moving forward. it's very hard to look back on what they did and not hold something towards them, and, you know, for me it's a process of forgiveness. i don't think i'm quite there yet, but i really hope that i am someday, and it's something that i pray every night for. but as far as moving on with my life, you know, i'm not going to be angry. i'm just going to feel blessed that i'm still here to be able the tell my story and inspire other people. eric: you've been through such adversity. what keeps you going?

i mean, is it deep faith? is it optimism? is it hope? be what would you tell other people who are facing adversity now of any sort? >> i think my faith is number one what keeps me going. i'm also blessed to have an incredible support system. but at the end of the day, i was three feet from the bomb that went off, and i'm still here. so what that means for me is that god's got a bigger plan for not only my life, but my son's life. and it was so important for me to express that in this book and just show people that, yes, while you're going through something now, it's just a chapter. and it could be leading you to the best chapter of all. and i'm in a great one in my life right now. eric: rebecca gregory, thank you so much for sharing this with us. god bless you. >> thank you. eric: your book is called "taking my life backing." an inspiration for all of us, no matter where we're going through. >> thank you so much. eric: there's the book. rebecca gregory here on the fox news channel today. thank you so much.

arthel: rebecca is remarkable, indeed. what a great story. thank you so much. well, heavy rains triggering a large mudslide in northern california. survivors describe the terrifying moments, that's up next. and an intense manhunt underway for this man accused of stealing more than a dozen weapons. why authorities say he is a national threat. a live report on that as well. termites, feasting on homes 24/7.

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♪ ♪ eric: well, a dangerous mudslide hit homes in oakland, california. at least three houses have been heavily damaged and about a dozen homes had to be evacuated. homeowners described a sea of water and mud that just rushed down the mountainside. >> it burst through and started coming down our yard really fast. he came in, and he says, okay, you have to evacuate immediately. just get some stuff and really quickly have to be out. eric: well, a nearby road was also heavily damaged, you can see. that area has been hit with heavy rains recently. no injuries though, thankfully, have been reported. arthel: and the hunt is on in wisconsin for a man police are calling a national threat. he's accused of stealing guns and sending an angry manifesto to president trump.

will carr has more, so is what's up with this guy, will? >> reporter: well, arthel, we're not just talking about a couple of stolen guns. authorities say joseph jakubowski stole 16 including two assault rifles and a number of handguns. we've also learned he most likely has a bulletproof vest and a military-style helmet. a short time after he burglarized a gun store in janesville, wisconsin, jakubowski torched his car and then disappeared. then on thursday a so-called associate told authorities jakubowski made a vague threat of violence at a school, that caused a number of wisconsin schools to close on friday and at least one church in the area has closed for its sunday service. the same associate told authorities about a 161-page manifesto jakubowski allegedly sent to president trump. i'm told it includes disrespect for public officials and law enforcement calling them enslavers. take a look at the cell phone video when he mailed the manifesto.

>> game time. [bleep] >> here we go. >> april 4th, 2017, it is 5:43. my name, put in the address -- [inaudible] game time. >> reporter: the fbi is now offering a $10,000 reward that will lead to an arrest, arthel. arthel: all right. will carr, thank you very much. eric: well, in the wake of the syrian airstrikes, there's a lot more to report, and we'll have more in the next hour here on the fox news channel, so just stay with us. you're here to buy a car.

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arthel: we begin with a "fox news" alert. they're more airstrikes in syria but this time the missiles are coming from the syrian government. this has begin a closer look at the damage left behind by u.s. missile attack of one of the country's biggest airbases. welcome to "america's news headquarters." i'm. arthel: to. eric. eric: hello i'm eric shawn. despite the u.s. cruise missiles causing heavy damage to the syrian airbase the assad regime is taking attack some of its war-making capabilities. as the syrian air force is taking to the sky yet again from the airbase attack to apparently relaunch airstrikes and those rebel held areas across the country. amid the growing tensions and concerns the u.s. taking more

steps to protect our soldiers who are deployed in syria. arthel: our pentagon producer joins us with the latest. >> hey arthel. in part because the assad regime continues to carry out airstrikes against opposition forces in syria including some backed by the united states senator john mccain is in slovenia encouraging the trump administration not to let up. >> i think that we need to have further error operations to stop this kind of slaughter. i would argue for a no-fly zone and arming and training the free syrian army. senior military officials say a russian drone was seen over the hospital where the chemical attack happen. five hours later russian or syrian jets bombed it in an effort to kill more people and destroy the evidence of the chemical attack. "fox news" has learned new details about random efforts prevent nearly 1000 troops in

the ground in syria following the tomahawk missile strike in syria days ago. u.s. officials said the coalition is cut back on some of the airstrikes against isis in syria the coast just like this u.s. air force f-22 stealth fighter flying in a turkey not far from the syrian border are conducting increased increase combat air controls unless the syrian or russian tries to attack the u.s.. the assad regime has not made threatening this. u.s. ambassador to united nations would not rule out more strikes in the future. >> united states took a very measured step last night. we are prepared to do more but we hope that will not be necessary. eric: arthel on that note one of the destroys that launched missiles into syria is in a undisclosed location in the mediterranean. arthel: lucas, 10 thank you so

much for that report. eric: a day of mourning in sweden as the royal family and the nation give tribute to the victims of the deadly truck attack that occurred in stockholm. the crowd laying flowers at the scene of the horrendous carnage. flags fly at half-staff around the country honoring the victims. ryan yanis is live in our new york city newsroom with the latest. >> swedish police say they believe a 39-year-old uzbekistan man was the driver of the stolen beer truck that plowed through a crowd in central stockholm killing four and wounding 15 others on friday. this is cell phone video the suspect and arrested 25 miles north of stockholm. the suspect has been on intelligence services radar sometime ago but was deemed a marginal character. he is now facing terror and murder charges. we do not yet know the suspect's name or whether he is a legal resident of sweden. police conducted overnight raids around stockholm questioning

people in connection with the case and they have not ruled out more arrests. meantime a nation mourns. people including the crown prince placed flowers at the high-end and apartments -- department store where the truck where the trucks led to the people in the middle of sweden capital. the prime minister is all indications are that this was a terrorist attack while declaring monday a national day of mourning. >> we grieve with the families that have lost their loved ones but we are also determined to continue to be an open society, democratic society and that is something i am totally confident that we will do. police after stealing the beer truck earlier friday the suspect drove 500 yards to the main pedestrian street before plowing into a busy department store. police found a homemade device in the truck which could be a bomb or a series device. sweden's public broadcaster svt

calls a day bag of explosives. spt said the attackers suffered burns from the explosives after they failed to detonate properly. no terror group has taken responsibility for this attack though news of yesterday's attack spread quickly on social media counts. eric: thank you so much. arthel: we go back to syria and global reaction is still pouring in. we are now burning president trump and the king of saudi arabia spoke today by phone. the saudi king applauding the president calling the move a quote courageous decision. kristin fisher's life at the presence mar-a-lago estate with more. reporter: saudi arabia is one of our most crucial allies in the region which is why president trump called the saudi king directly one day after the attack. during that call the white house said the king reaffirmed strong

support for the united states military strike against the airfield in syria and he think the president for his courageous actions. it was a necessary response to the horrible chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians. president trump enjoying strong support from our allies in the region and enjoying strong bipartisan support on capitol hill as well. the only criticism has been his decision to not seek congressional approval before taking out strike today in a letter to congress president trump defended his actions. he said he was acting in the vital national security interest of the united states and he believes he has the constitutional authority to act without congress's consent and he also said the u.s. is willing to take additional action if necessary. all of this is happening amid reports of serious conflicts between two present jobs top advisers. last night chief of staff reince priebus convened a meeting between reince preibus and steve bannon saying bury the hatchet.

we are told they were able to do so at least for now despite the deep ideological divisions that remain between them them. there reports that they have and maybe on the way out in priebus too but an official is dismissing all of it and calling a it completely false stories written by people who want to distract the steps taking place in this administration. the only thing we are shaking up is the way washington operates and we will push the president's agenda aggressively forward so the white house adamantly denying all of these reports of a shakeout. arthel: we will be talking about this topic later in this hour. kristin fisher thank you so much. eric: meanwhile congress heads home amid angry constituents. the party has seemed to come to a standstill for now. easter break comes as is the observers note that house republicans have shown little progress in keeping major campaign promises that propelled them into control of congress

and the first place and i was repealing in replacing obamacare. they say -- peter doocy has been following this from the washington bureau. >> this afternoon moderate republican corpsmen warned his party against rushing to reform the health care system which may dampen the speaker of the house's effort to restart the process that repealing and replacing obamacare. as soon as recess is over since a the speaker announced an amendment that both leadership and parts of the conservative freedom caucus agree on. >> i voted against obamacare back in 2010. i thought it was a mistake. i think we will be making a similar mistake if we as republicans try to acela bill through on a partisan basis the same way the democrats did in 2010. >> with that republican party has some control they announced an agenda with the following priority. number one repeal and replace. number two tax reform and number three pass a huge infrastructure

package but a cousin on it that has happened yet democrats are calling out their counterparts in the majority. >> i will begin posting 10 questions that republicans will face on their constituents. what have republicans done in their control of the house, the senate and the white house to produce jobs? where are the jobs? show us the jobs. >> lawmakers want a new job. many in both parties are asking president trump to consult them if he wants a dial-up anymore airstrikes against the assad regime in syria but the first order of business after recess won't address that. funding the government which runs out of money lesson a week after they go back to work and the government will shut down if there is not a quick budget deal eric: we shall see thanks so much. arthel: president trump's losing some washington allies and congress continues to

investigate russia's involvement in the 2016 presidential election. republican congressman devin nunes was the head of that investigation until he stepped aside this week. rich edson has more on the investigation and where it's going. >> u.s. relations with russia continue continued to worsen. secretary of state rex tillerson is preparing to travel to moscow next week. congressional investigators are examining russia's role in the presidential election. now this congressional investigations have become controversial. house intelligence committee chairman devin nunes is recusing himself into his committee's investigation to russian interference of the presidential election because of an investigation into whether he made unauthorized disclosures of classified information. nunes called that investigation politically motivated. >> ira gave a statement on it and i expect this to get done quickly. >> you said you have done

nothing wrong. >> that's absolutely right. >> it would strike some if you've done nothing wrong then why step aside? >> i did it because it was the right thing to do. mike conaway senior member of the committee will now be in charge of the investigation. now he called republicans for national security adviser susan rice to testify. that issue are requested name trump associates caught in surveillance by officials. that surveillance when americans are caught speaking to foreign nationals the names are mapped to protect identities. rice claimed she asked for the names to better understand intelligence and maintain she never revealed those names publicly. arthel: rich edson, thanks rich. eric: have you heard about the scandal this around alabama governor robert bentley? he is in the hot seat facing possible impeachment. the supreme court is ruling in

this battle to stay in office. arthel: rumor swirling at the white house amid reports that the staff turmoil, how serious is the alleged infighting? we take a closer look ahead. i've found a permanent escape from monotony. together, we are perfectly balanced, our senses awake, our hearts racing as one. i know this is sudden, but they say: if you love something... set it free. see you around, giulia ♪ we're out ink,nk! not ink. buying ink doesn't have to be painful. now, during "hp savings month" at staples, buy one hp ink and get the second 40% off.

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eric: it's time for a quick check of the headlines. delta airlines canceling 300 more flights after severe thunderstorms cause major disruptions at the delta hub in atlanta. that happens beyond top of the roughly 3000 cancellations that delta had to announce earlier this week. a man shot and injured two of his former co-workers before killing himself. narrod upscale shopping center in north florida. the gunman was a disgruntled former gem employee. alabama governor robert bentley will face impeachment hearings that begin on monday after all. this comes after the state supreme court ruled today that the hearings can proceed against republican governor. he faces fallout after an affair apparently with a top aide. arthel: the white house downplaying reports of infighting is to top advisers met at the florida state to apparently work out their differences despite downplaying any turmoil.

steve bannon was moved from the national security council just before u.s. strikes on syria. at the same time ben and was with president trump during a briefing on the military action in syria. let's bring and that's a woodruff political reporter for the daily "daily beast." hello betsy. before we get to the political jockeying, is this a coincidence that the syrian airstrike took place the week steve bannon was taken off the national security council? >> it's a good question and it's tough to know. what we do know of course is the van and doesn't seem to have a significant amount of clout when it comes to the way the white house next foreign-policy decisions. bennett's nationalist philosophy does not include the u.s. intervening in foreign countries particularly in these sorts of strikes. when o'bannon and the fright -- folks at right guard were very much opposed to the strike could

abandon had more clout than he if he were the one running the show it's unlikely the strikes would have happened so it certainly safe to assume that those strikes are a strong indicator that he's not in foreign-policy the white house. arthel: with abandon and a lesser role might the ideology of the trump administration change as we know the jared kushner is not so much a national advocate has been and is. >> without a doubt certainly. a month or two ago the first big loss for the nationalists in the white house. ben and ann kushner were closely allied. at the time they seem to have a pretty functional relationship. before he got kicked out then and lawson asked a person who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him on a number of these issues in now been and is probably one of the last true nationalist populist style operatives who work at the white house. kushner's very -- colin and steve mnuchin take a very different view of what the

government's role should be and what america's place in the world should be how immigration should work out trade should work. bannon used himself as a person is supposed to be holding accountable to the campaign promises in this space. then in except losing power is less likely we'll see the popular style trump the way you might have seen them on the campaign trail. >> we will talk about that in 2018 the let's talk about now. the staff shakeup. who is in and who is out and how intense is the internal infighting? >> there's no doubt that the conflict in the white house a is significant. just the fact that there are so many operatives is a sign of people working closely with the president think one of their top priorities should be undermining their co-workers and it's also important to bear in mind that even though their overtures at the present has worked hard to help kushner and ban a break bread it wouldn't be the first

time a trump has projected himself. remember during the campaign cory lewandowski and manafort came on a trump team push this message that trump himself is helping those two men come together and break read again but that obviously didn't work. right now we are getting stories pushed out saying that banana and kushner have perhaps made up it remains to be seen if that's going to happen. arthel: remains to be seen. we will be following that bouncing ball if you will. meantime let's talk about this. if it does materialize what does it say about how president trump not only runs the white house but also how he's intending to run the country? >> my sense is that the bannon loses clout and he ends up losing the white house what that will indicate is that trump's presidency is going to be different from the way he campaigned. many of the folks in his inner

circle including kushner and gary cohen are wall street alums. kushner has given $100,000 to democrats over the years including two chuck schumer and hillary clinton and other top democratic members of congress. he is viewed by the "breitbart" folks from the nationalist right is someone who sort of a democrat in rome public and clothing as is somebody who is not ideologically on the same page or on board with ideological that trump pushed during the campaign. as kushner gains clout and if bannon becomes more sideline the way he is being sidelined my sense is that it's less likely trump will make a hard-line attack on immigration less likely that he will take it you can night view of trade and more likely he will embrace puckish foreign-policy mainstream republicans push for and those on the campaign trail deeply criticized. we will be able to tell if dan is losing influences those things happen. arthel: etsy finally what's the impression of jared kushner

against d.c. insiders? >> he has seen is somebody is a fellow elite and someone who doesn't say things that are controversial doesn't make statements that folks in the beltway find to be offensive. he's obviously very where he -- well-heeled and area to cater from his elite circles. he hasn't spent years going after d.c. insiders. then and meanwhile is anathema to the lobbying circles to the operative circles. he's been dying after house republican leadership for years. he is not bend over backwards to make friends with beltway powerbrokers so i think it's a safe guess that when it comes to use the term that bannon would use the washington political class are the elite establishment would rather see jared kushner have clout than benin. arthel: we leave it there, betsy thank you so much. eric: u.s. allies striking syria

as russians here condemned the attack. what role russia may have played in the use of chemical weapons and syrian civilians. the trump administration is threatening even more punishing measures. katie logan has the details from london. >> there are's international support for the u.s. missiles to strike in syria notable exceptions including russia iran and north korea. they voiced support for u.s. action in syria calling the missile strike of the syrian airfield quote a courageous decision but reflecting the regional divide over syria the reigning president hassan haakon he had an ally of assad has been critical of u.s. decision. it was the images of the horrific chemical striking in syria which brought global

outrage and led to u.s. response. u.s. officials contemplating whether russia may have supported the government carrying out that attack that all eyes are now on the russian reaction to the role in syria while standing viasat. russia has been the most critical of u.s. strike saying it was a violation of international law. it also says the strikes are a setback for relations with the u.s. and warned of serious consequences for the region. russia continues to keep up a strong military presence around syria after assisting the conflict yesterday russian warships pass through turkey waters heading for the syrian coast. secretary of state rex tillerson is supposed to visit russia next week. the u.s. will keep up pressure on the syrian regime and that could mean more sanctions and that something that -- arthel: a manhunt is on in wisconsin after a man with a

history of threats against public officials and even the school robbed a gun store. eric: another trip to russian for secretary of state rex tillerson is on. takes an entirely new dimension as tensions in syria crowd their intense agenda. what will mr. mr. tillerson sadeh foreign minister lavrov and what will he say to his boss vladimir putin? ...only allstate sends you a bonus check for every six months you're accident free. silence. it's good to be in, good hands. all umm...ed. you wouldn't want your painter to quit part way, i think you missed a spot. so when it comes to pain relievers, why put up with just part of a day? aleve, live whole not part. you want this color over the whole house? (vo) when you wake up with miracle-ear... ...your mornings can come to life with sound. our exclusive speech isolation technology transforms

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eric: at the bottom of the hour time for new stories. protest began south america over the u.s. missile strike in syria demonstrators gathered outside of the u.s. embassy in libya and the syrian embassy. that happened in. julie: julie: calling for the u.s. saying we are the aggressors and demanding the american military stay out of syria. violent clashes in a rally for right-wing presence of candid

marie pence. police and security disperse the chinese president xi jinping made a stop in alaska. on his way home from his day at mar-a-lago with president trump. he met with the governor the state phil walker and held talks on economic ties between alaska and china. arthel: police are searching for man accused of sending an angry manifesto to president trump. law enforcement officials are calling a wisconsin man and national threat after he allegedly stole handguns and rifles. will carr is live in los angeles with all the details. >> arthel this is a nationwide manhunt with the fbi offering a 10,000-dollar reward. it all started on tuesday when authorities say joseph jakubowski broke into a gun store in janesville wisconsin. he allegedly stole 16 high-end

firearms including two assault rifles. authorities believe he also had a ullah proof vests and military style helmet. a short time after the berkeley authorities said jakubowski torched his current visit. pat. fast-forward to thursday were so-called associate told police said jakubowski made a vague threat about a school in that cause a number of wisconsin schools to close on friday. at least one church decided to not hold services this weekend. the same associates told authorities a 161 page manifesto by jakubowski allegedly sent to president trump including anger towards public officials on law enforcement calling both quote agents of the 1% to enslave and keep the population down. cell phone video capture the moments right before the manifesto was put into the mail. >> there it is. revolution. it's time for change.

>> authorities say jakubowski is in wisconsin i'm told the honest truth is he could be anywhere at this point. arthel: will carr thanks, will. eric: secretary of state rex tillerson -- rex tillerson's visit to moscow is still on. tillerson's visit will proceed as planned. uk's foreign minister boris johnson canceled his trip to moscow. all of this of course comes as new attacks on the rebel held areas of the country. today they apparently are being launched by syrian warplanes in the same airbase that we hit with those cruise missiles on thursday. syria continues to deny any involvement in the deadly chemical weapon attack a denial that echoed in moscow.

this continues to support bashar al-assad in his regime. can the secretary of state is a change that? joining us is an international security expert with m.i.t. security studies program. you know jim, russia kallinger strikes a significant blow to u.s.-russian relations but you know the russian military were given a heads up so that we would not kill any russians who may have been at the base but how does this impact our relations with moscow going forward? >> i don't think it's going to matter very much at all frankly. this was not a massive attack. he was quite limited in scope and there were no russians killed and there weren't even any syrians killed so i think this is a lot of talk to the russians and the syrians. the last thing they want is more u.s. involvement i think so i don't see it escalating. eric: some syrians were killed but more important is in terms of the russian aspect of this they have the sophisticated as

300's. they are supposed to be the high-end of anti-aircraft are antimissile technology. they use the base is the russians used primarily. >> i don't think when the russians and the u.s. are entangled in the same area usually there is a certain amount of caution. that sort of the good impulse that countries learn to the cold war. we are too nuclear weapon states alicia dansk carefully when we are in the same neighborhood. i did not see the russians using their s-300 surface-to-air missiles against u.s. planes and i don't see u.s. planes anytime in the future to liberally attacking a russian site. this was about chemical weapons that assad used against the civilian population. as long as a russian stay clear that i don't think there was a problem and my guess is when tillerson is in moscow his message will be keep away from

the chemical and we will stay out of your business. if that's the case both sides can stay apart. the wildcard here is it was odd that assad did this in the first place. they are winning the war. they are winning with russian and iranian help in the same stupid to play the chemical card which only shifted things. eric: maybe tillerson's comment about the syrian people may be assad could have taken that as a green light. when he sits down with sergei lavrov the foreign minister and apparently will sit down with vladimir putin do think they will come to some type of agreement? what can the russians do with assad? they are doubling down, they are backing him and they continue to back him and not only that they continue with the denials that assad's regime used chemical weapons. >> eric the fact that russia play such a central role in assad's war means the russians should have leverage here so in

very her russian should be able to turn to their weaker partner and say listen not get off. this is only going to cause you problems and is going to cause us problems. we are all ready winning. don't stir the pot. i think the russians have enough leverage that they should be able to deliver that message. will will assad listen? he may say look that was a tiny attack, big deal. i'm not intimidated and tried it called trump's bluff. i hope that's not the case but i'm guessing we will tell the russians to talk to the syrians and the russians will talk to the syrians. a-rod at the same time assad could say they have got my back. i can do this. let me play with sound bite from yesterday security meeting from ambassador nikki haley who was really going after the russians. look at the way she stares at the russian ambassador when she says this. >> every time assad has crossed the line of human decency russia

has stood beside them. we had hoped the security council would move forward but russia made it known and it was done seven times before that it would use its veto once again covering up for the assad regime. russia supposed to have removed all the chemical weapons from syria but obviously that is not happen. a-rod she is slamming him. sometimes they veto the resolution sent another one on friday. they constantly have this back. what would it take for moscow and for putin to say i've had enough? we are not going to support them. how do they get them out of there? >> those are all great questions but i think it's going to take a lot to the russians have a strong edges and syria. they have a small military base there. it has a starkly been an alliance relationship going back to assad's father.

you put your finger on something very important eric that people don't often realize. there's a real dilemma in alliances and relationships. if you are the big guy in a relationship you want to reassure your allies. don't worry, and don't fret sort of like what we are doing in north korea. don't worry we have got your back but as you point out that can flip and go in the other direction. when the allied the weaker partner feels like i've got this big power behind my back and i can do whatever i want because they will come to my aid. i hope assad doesn't make that error but what would force the russians out? it would take quite bit because they see this as an interest for them and they're not going to walk away. eric: finally i interviewed nikki haley the other day and she called assad a war criminal. he is being shackled and bound up and dispersed to the hague. does he live the rest of his

life like the life of riley? how do you see this playing out? >> i hope he spent the rest of his life in jail after having been convicted of war crimes which in my view he is committed only the most recent thing in this chemical weapons attack. if you asked me which is more likely because of the nature of trying to settle an internal conflict in the civil war often that needs a political settlement and the only way these folks can settle is if his future is assured in rush hour someplace else. that is unfortunately the reality, the political reality we deal with. in order to get a change you have to accommodate someone who in some cases is quite evil and that's what i think the case is here. eric: it's astounding and sickening. 500,000 dead and 1 million plus refugees. hopefully it will and and he will get his just desserts. jim lawson of m.i.t. thank you. >> thank you. arthel: judge neil gorsuch

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arthel: judge neil gorsuch set to be sworn on monday. the final tally was 54-45 in favor of confirmation after senate majority leader mitch mcconnell deployed a so-called nuclear option to overcome a filibuster of judge gorsuch's confirmation restores the conservative majority on the high court. barbour is a former law occurred occurred -- a law clerk for samuel alito and worked in the white house counsel office for george w. bush. it's good to have you here. first back becky get reaction to simple majority rule change. >> i think it's a great thing

and frankly i think it's a bridge that the senate crossed years ago and senator harry reid decided to invoke the nuclear option for federal appellate judges. the federal courts of appeals are just as important supreme court in dearborn to hold percentages to that standard that would be the standard for the supreme court. arthel: you know if you look at his record as an appeals court judge it suggests that justice gorsuch will sign with in most cases and on the docket there are several cases that raise critical questions about the separation of church and state. you have a 2nd amendment case on the right to carry guns outside of their homes and whether or not to consider a republican facts law in north carolina that tightens voting rules there and of course you have the executive order for the president, executive order on immigration and refugees. as you know if the appeals courts don't restore the order back to supreme court of united states.

now justice gorsuch a big appointment for president trump. >> i think that's certainly right although i have to confess us to conserve and so lawyer the thing that i'm most excited about is not that he will come out a particular way on questions of religious liberty or the 2nd amendment are right to privacy but rather he hasn't approach to the law as a textual as an originalist. he will take the loss to come to him without favoring a particular party or get band of the day that's a good thing for the institution and independence of the court. arthel: you know in the wake of the nuclear option how do you think the air of acrimony would cloud the future of lawmaking decisions in congress as well as the impact on future seats to be filled? >> sure while i think the senate will continue to be a partisan and a political place as it's designed to be. i can't tell you because i'm not a senate expert whether it's more or less acrimonious now than it was for example in some unlike judge bork was nominated

or justice thomas was nominated. those were contentious nomination process for those two nominees who i think the political branches will continue to be political ends my hope that the supreme court will continue to be worn depended injudicious or reserved and from my perspective a little less powerful. arthel: in terms of this nuclear option as you well know there are three seats that could possibly come up in the near future. how do you think that's going to play when that approach is? and that becomes a reality? >> i think the trump administration did a wonderful job of putting out a list of potential nominees vetting them carefully in deciding to choose judge gorsuch. think he's an incredible choice to fill justice scalia's seat and if other seats become vacant in the coming years i hope the trump team is willing and ready to go the next justice or sins to fill those. arthel: we are looking at a simple majority and of course you have the other side of that

coin, the democrats, the liberal side could employ that same option. >> sharon as long as republicans continue to hold a majority in the senate i think it will be good thing for nominees like judge gorsuch and if democrats take over control of the senate after the term elections are some part point in the future then obviously the pendulum will swing the other way and they will get to put their nominees up and confirm them with a majority vote. issue will be on the other foot at some point in the future and that will be the senate democrats prodded proud of at that point. arthel: in the meantime it's not on that other foot or it's on the foot of republicans that many times voters don't always pay attention to the midterms. they are looking at the big ticket, the president, a presidential race. that's when these issues and voting become very important when you look at putting a majority in congress so do you think the fact that you have three seats that will be up at some point sooner than later in the near future considering how

long the justices are allowed lifelong appointments, do you think people will pay attention when the time comes? >> i certainly think voters are paying attention last november when justice scalia seat was up and whoever won the presidential election would be the person filling that's even frankly think the reason is so hard for some red state senate democrats to decide how they were going to vote on the filibuster people like senator mccaskill missouri or senator of west virginia or montana is their voters are paying attention to the federal courts and paying attention to how senators are voting on particular nominations. i think that's precisely what made this both hard and i think it will continue to make votes equally hard and that's a good thing for the integrity of a court. arthel: barbara smith thank you so much but we have to leave it there. thank you so much. police and auslin norway have arrested a man who had a bomb like device on a main street in oslo produced police spokesman

saying the device appears to have limited potential for causing damage. they have deemed the situation not harmful and have it under control. the country is put on high alert after sweden suffered the truck attack the capital thursday that sadly killed four people and injured 15. president trump and former president george w. bush may be members of the same political party that there may be some different stance when it comes to foreign aid. coming up we'll take a look at president bush's travel to africa where he spread awareness about the widespread illness.

eric: the trump administration has proposed slashing foreign aid by as much as one there but one former president of fellow republican is urging caution that former president george w. bush saying programs that work should not face the ax. he and the former first lady laura bush just toured to african nations botswana and nubia highlighting the charitable work of the bush institute and a program that arrested ending aids and hiv. the president emergency plan known as pepfar which mr. bush started in 2004. now it's the largest provider of aids drugs in africa. mr. bush has long been praised for his dedication to the.

the former first couple strip focused on what is known as the pink ribbon red ribbon effort. the first lady's initiatives to spotlight women's cancer such as cervical cancer. the bush institute says nearly 12 main people have received hiv/aids help and in today's "washington post" the president writes quote some argue we have enough problems at home and shouldn't spend money overseas. i argue that we shouldn't spend money on programs that don't work whether at home or abroad. they should fully fund programs that are proven to be efficient and effective and results oriented. saving 12 million lives proves that pepfar works. this is mr. bush's seventh trip to africa and he's continuing his mission there through the work of the bush institute which is based at his library in dallas. he can be president and leave the office and still do more. arthel: thanks for sharing that.

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getting work done. eric: it's a three-year project to refurbish the tower. it will cost about $42 million will take half a year just to put up the scaffolding. the clock will be stopped for three months to do the maintenance. arthel: julia's up next. julie: president trump reportedly trying to smooth things over a month the high-level people in his office in the turmoil. as the president and his advisers -- i'm julie banderas and this is "the fox report". american tomahawk missiles nearly leveling a syrian airbase hanger. >> demolished and runways damage the syrian forces are lashing out at rebel targets. what is the next step for the trump administration is the global reaction pours in? the man who killed osama bin laden says diplomacy must be a