that started the civil war, made official. and everybody that was on sagamore hill. we came on friday, and if your buddy came out over the weekend. thank you so much. >> just great. >> you're amazing. yes, you are you are. >> wow, thank you. >> sandra: fox news alert, an outpouring of grief this morning. federal authorities investigating the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of kobe bryant paid a 13-year-old daughter and seven others also killed. the tragedy sending shock waves around the world. good morning, i'm sandra smith. >> ed: i'm ed henry, what a tragedy. the mayor of los angeles breezing kobe who inspired, amazed, and thrilled on the court. off the court, a father for who pass along his love of the game of his daughter, who perish with them, gianna. other victims include baseball coach john altobelli, his wife

and daughter. fans coming to grips with this devastating loss. >> i don't think anybody can believe it. how could somebody who is so invincible, happened to him? >> it's really sad to see them go out like this. and his daughter. it definitely affects the entire city of l.a. >> i'm a diehard laker fan. it's a sad thing that happened, and you can see the support he's getting from around l.a. we love kobe. he was a living legend. >> i've been a diehard kobe fan all my life. it's devastating, it's shocking. it's just gut wrenching. my heart goes out to his family and his other children, as well. >> ed: our chief correspondent jonathan hunt is live in calabasas, california with the latest. good morning, jonathan. >> good morning, ed and sandra. in about an hour the sun will come up here in calabasas, and the national transportation safety board investigators will

get their first look at the crash site, on a rocky hill right behind me here. not easy to access. that is why this investigation is likely to take some time. what they will be looking at, among other things, very closely is the weather conditions when the helicopter crashed at around 9:47 a.m. sunday morning. we were told when we were up here yesterday by residents who have lived here for a very long time that they were blanketed by sick fog, but the kind of which few of them had ever in fact seen before in this area. they were so bad that the l.a. sheriff revealed that at that time all police helicopters were actually grounded. listen here to the sheriff. >> we do know there was an issue of visibility and a low ceiling. the actual conditions at the time of impact, that is still yet to be determined.

we hadn't been operating in the area at the time. >> reporter: [indistinct] >> because of the weather. >> fans of kobe bryant, of course, such a legend here in l.a. and across the world. but because of the crash is less important than celebrating the life of a man who meant so much to them. the tragedy compounded, of course, in the fact that his 13-year-old daughter, gianna, who he considered the person who would carry forward his basketball legacy, also died along with him. hundreds of fans showed up here at the crash site yesterday, hundreds more at siebel's center where, of course, the lakers play. all of them absolutely devastated, trying to come to terms with the loss of such a legend. listened here to some of those fans. >> everybody is in grief, everybody is in morning. everybody has respect for this

man and his family and his daughter. it's painful, we really lost somebody legendary. >> i still can't believe it. it's like a bad dream that you feel like you won't wake up from. something like that. i can't believe it, i won't believe it, but i guess it's real. >> whether you were old, whether you were young, it didn't matter where you are from. if you loved basketball and respected hard work and someone that have drive, you loved kobe. >> everybody loved kobe. the legendary sports columnist writing in his column, "kobe bryant is gone, and those are the hardest words i have ever had to write for this newspaper." michael jordan, the legend himself, also issuing a statement praising kobe not just as a player but also as a fath father. a tribute from the legendary number 23, to the legendary 24. gone that 41 years of age.

ed, sandra? >> ed: far, far too soon. we will get back to you. thank you, jonathan. >> sandra: while fans mourned outside the staples center, an emotional scene played inside where the grammys opened with a heart tilt should be to the nba great >> we are standing here heartbroken. in the house that kobe bryant builds. [applause] ♪ it's so hard ♪ >> sandra: emotional moment there. some of the biggest names in music honoring kobe bryant as his jersey and photo appeared several times throughout the broadcast. >> ed: lebron james was emotional as he returned to los angeles from philadelphia,

where the lakers had played the 76ers saturday. during that game, james passed kobe bryant's record as the third highest scorer in nba history. bryant's very last tweet congratulated james, saying "continuing to move the game forward, much respect, my brother." before yesterday's tragedy, james talked about what the milestone meant to him. >> i am happy just to be in any conversation with kobe bryant, one of the all-time greatest basco players to ever play. one of the all-time greatest lakers. the men as two jerseys hanging up in the staples center. it's crazy. >> ed: sportscaster and longtime friend of kobe bryant, jim gray, spoke to the legend about his love for the game following his final game back in 2016. it was his very last interview in a lakers uniform. take a listen. >> what are you going to miss the most? >> the process. the training of it. appearing for games.

preparing for the top players in the league. coming together with my teammates and figuring out with the strategies are. seeing them maximize their potential. those things are the things i'm going to miss the most. >> ed: jim gray will join us later this hour and talk about kobe's legacy on and off the coat dome at court. they talk about how we work to works two numbers, eight and 24. their last game, scored 50 points. the number we were never more than anything is 41, 41 years old gone, far too soon. to be known for being a wonderful father, and his daughter, 13 years old with him. two lives gone too soon. prayers and thoughts with their families, as well, to the others on board. the senate impeachment trial set to begin just hours from now, and culture witnesses are growing this morning, as john bolton's upcoming book could prove could prove pivotal in the president's trial. according to the times, both in rights, "mr. pompeo and defense

secretary mark esper had collectively pressed the president about releasing the aide. the president rebuffed him, airing his lungs into grievances ukraine. which next legitimate efforts to back hillary clinton, with unsupported accusations and outright conspiracy theories about the country. a key american ally, let's bring in sol wisenberg, former deputy independent counsel and a fox news contributor. great to have you on this morning. it's been a while since we last spoke. >> great to be here. >> sandra: how does this leaked transcript change things? >> it will increase pressure to call witnesses, including bolton, front and center. that pressure will come from the democrats, it's yet to be seen how much that will sway public opinion or sway the 51 senators who have to make that decision. but there is no question that if you think facts are relevant,

his testimony is relevant. >> sandra: to the president, for his part, to did this out in response to bolton. "i never --" and this was part of a 3-series tweet -- "i never told john bolton the eighth ukraine was tied to investigations into democrats, including the bidens. in fact, he never complained about this at the time of his very public termination. if john bolton said this, it was only to sell a book." it went on to two other tweets after that. to get to the meat of it, what does this look like? it is coming down to witnesses or no witnesses? >> goes a little bit beyond that. if 51 senators vote to call additional witnesses, certainly bolton would be one of them. you have to expect that the next step will be that the president's attorneys will say that they are invoking executive privilege. bolton has already said, "i will testify if somebody issues me a

subpoena." then the question is, how is that resolved? justice roberts could either throw that executive privilege question to the senators or he could make an initial determination subject to being overruled by 51 senators. let's just assume that justice roberts rules that executive privilege does not apply. let's assume that decision is sustained by the senate. then, the next step, potentially, is for the president's attorneys to take it to the court system. where i believe any court looking at this -- and i think it would get to the supreme court very quickly -- with throw it out. i'd would say the question is political and it's up to the senate. >> sandra: there is a growing chorus of some of those moderate republicans calling for witnesses. they said heading into all of this that they were open to it. mitt romney sang on saturday, "i think it's very likely i will be in favor of witnesses, but i

haven't made the decision final yet and i won't until the testimony is completed." the battles over these witnesses being relevant or not. democrats make the case that john bolton is not only relevant, but a key fact witness and all of that. do you think they will effectively make this case to further the call from republicans to do that? they need four of them. >> well, they haven't exactly made it so far. they certainly have the facts on their side. if you think the factual dispute here is relevant -- i mean, we are stuck as attorneys with the clients we have. the president has insisted from the beginning that the call was perfect. it obviously was not, and if you believe the case presented by the house managers, the factual case and not the legal case, it's obviously relevant whether or not there was a tie-in between investigating the bidens and the withholding of aid. on the other hand, i think the

arguments, the legal arguments i believe you will hear today, i really not dependent on this issue. through the legal argument is, "look, based on the set of circumstances in these articles of impeachment, this does not justify removing the president from office." you've got kind of a mixed issue. certainly if you are concerned about the facts, his testimony, bolton's, would be important. you really can't conduct a trial, and impeachment trial, through twitter. you actually have to, if you care about the facts and think they are important, have witnesses. >> sandra: of course the president has made the case we can't let john bolton be witness, he says, because of the threat it poses to our national security. we will ask republicans about that. doug collins joining us in a moment. sol wisenberg, we appreciate your time. >> happy to be here. >> sandra: as you mentioned, in the moment we will speak with republican congressman doug collins. a member of the president's defense team. democratic senator tom carper

will be joining us next. he is our headliner this morning. in the 11:00 eastern time hour, we will hear from senator lindsey graham himself. there is a lot to react to. a lot of new information coming in on this impeachment trial. we will have them all here to respond. >> ed: we will be on top of that as well is this. health officials now sounding the alarm as two more americans contract the coronavirus that has killed more than 80 people in china. what we are learning about this deadly illness, as the financial markets take a big hit this morning. >> sandra: plus, democratic presidential hopefuls making their pitch to voters over the weekend as we headed to the final week before the iowa caucuses. the lay of the land in a live report from the heartland, coming up. >> i'm making the bes best casei can, talking to people all across iowa when i can be here. and i love this. this is how democracy should work.

>> sandra: brand-new reaction this morning from a bombshell new "new york times" report on but don't act on bolton's upcoming book. the newspaper reporting the president told his former national security advisor but military aid to ukraine was tied to an investigation of the bidens. let's bring in doug collins, a trumpet impeachment team member. good morning to you, thank you for being here. >> good morning. >> sandra: i will ask you the same question i just used at sol wisenberg at the top of the

hour. how does this change things? >> it doesn't change anything. the issue here is, how do we go about this process? taking affect the democrats presented in the senate. do they make their case or did they not make? it's amazing to me, again, we are having selective leaks at this point in time. it should be interesting to anyone how this happen. remember, right before the articles were voted in the house, we had the democratic colleagues in the house actually talk about the lev parnas issue. it's always coming up at a moment in which the case of the week is pretty as the bottom line, nothing in what we've seen so far, and it simply leaked parts of the transcript, has change the base and facts of what we're talking about. there was no conditionality, they got the aid. the discussions internally on how that went about doesn't change anything except it goes back to show that if he is such a relevant witness now, why was he not such a relevant witness for the house, and why did adam schiff have to plead to the senate to call people now? because he's scared of them

going to court? this is why this process -- >> melissa: they claim there has been additional information revealed since that time i will ask you now based on the growing calls for members of your own party in the senate to hear from additional witnesses and john bolton. mitt romney, it's very likely i will be in favor witnesses. doug jones, "the senate needs to hear from john bolton." we know lisa murkowski, susan collins, and others have said they are open to witnesses. so do you see some of those more moderate members of your party leaning toward witnesses? >> i think you see mitt romney leaning toward it, and doug jones' democrat. so he wouldn't surprise me. it'll be interesting to see how doug jones votes on removing this president, and telling that to the voters of alabama. looking at this going forward, the question becomes this. as a new information? not really. adam schiff could have subpoenaed john bolton, went through this process in the house. he chose not to. let's remember that this is because the calendar and clock

were against them. the calendar and clock wanted to do this before the end of the year. they had no desire and adam schiff admitted on the floor of the senate, "we could've done that but we would've had to go to court." that's amazing coming from a lawyer not wanted to follow the processes already having been set. there's a lot of headlines today but at the end of the day it doesn't change the factual pattern and i'm not sure how much it actually changes with this growing concern. i've heard one person, mitt romney. the others have always said, "we will see how the case goes forward." >> sandra: in the case of susan collins, lisa murkowski, and others, they have said they will listen throughout the trial and they are open to witnesses for republicans would be needed, of course, to join democrats in the witnesses for republicans skull for would be needed, of course, to witnesses. join democrats in the "the new york times" this morning says john roberts can call witnesses. willie? if this were to eventually happen, and we did go down the path of witnesses, john roberts who come into play of the president needed executive privilege. at what you see potential

happening there, congressman? >> what we discussed about your previous guests, once this goes for there has to be areas in the white house, especially the ones closest to the president, doing whatever our president has done. that's the fight for the integrity. for republicans they have an inherent right to keep those conversations within themselves. remember, john dean was a witness in our judiciary committee several months ago when we were discussing mueller and the role of those coming forward and testifying about conversations of the president. john dean had an interesting comment. he said, "we need to be careful how you go down this road. you may want this now, but are you actually taking away from the president, the very tool he needs to do the job? it will simply not shorten it. i think you will see it over very quickly. speech congressman doug collins, thank you for your time.

>> ed: also watching global markets, selling off right now is the spread of the deadly coronavirus accelerates. your life with the opening bell, and this monday this means maria bartiromo will be here to break it all down. she's next.

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sharp sell-off this morning amid growing concerns about the coronavirus. maria bartiromo is here now. good morning. >> good morning, ed. >> ed: it's interesting, obviously. less travel, airline stocks will take a hit, but this is an economy that has faced one headwind after another and prevailed. >> it sure has, but it is still seeing slower growth. and the worry here is that if we were to see the chinese growth come to a halt, because you've got things like disney shutting down its disneyland in hong kong, shutting down its property in shanghai, traveled to macao, real destination spot, down 67% year-over-year for the lunar holiday. if you have the growth of the economy in china slowed down, that could impact the broader economy. that's what analysts and economists today are trying to make estimates on. how much will the chinese economy slow? what does that cut into global growth? right now there is one from that i looked at, cornerstone mike rowe, nancy lazar says it could cut global growth by

four-tenths of a percent. a lot of people expect a very good year in the united states. david solomon, ceo of goldman sachs, he said expect three to 3.5% and economic growth for the u.s. this year. this change that scenario. >> ed: to add to that mixing earnings reported for a lot of big companies like boeing with all their planes, amazon, all of their shipping. how does that fit in? >> obviously it's a major economic indicators. if you got slower growth you will see a hit shipping. you will see a hit to the fedexes of the world. this is all economic activity that will play into earnings, and its earnings that ultimately impact the stock market. i wouldn't be overly worried about this. however, you could see a cut, and that will cause managers, ceos, to lower their expectations for global growth. >> ed: the markets have largely shrugged off the impeachment drama in washington. john ratcliffe was one of your many important guests on yesterday, here's what he said. >> it starts with the transcript.

if the transcript of the call between president trump and protestanpresident zelensky shod anything long, much less criminal or impeachable, why not read that into the record? and said what they did was try to make up their own transcript. >> ed: he's referring to a weekend that seemed pretty strong for the president's defense team as they started their opening arguments, but now after the interview you have john bolton and what he may say in his book. >> we will see how this impacts things. a lot of people feel this is john bolton trying to sell books, but we don't know. if, in fact, we were to see those four republican senators vote for witnesses, that opens up another can of worms. witnesses and documents and what that means. the market would not be where it is, and that is in record territory despite today's sell-off because of the coronavirus, if people thought the president's policies would be overturned. if people thought president trump would be removed from office. i think for most people, they are expecting this is going to be noise and that people are not

focused on this in terms of a real significant impact on the president's policies. if you had an impact on tax legislation, deregulation, the trade deals the president has put into effect, you have a much more serious sell-off then we are looking at right now. >> ed: you have the white house talking about executive privilege, that case may be complicated in terms of trying to shield this money from bolton. some of this information will be coming out in the book in march. >> you look at when it's coming out, it's obviously just in the next couple of months. it was leaked. who leaked it? a lot of people are on the republican side are saying this is one last ditch effort to take down the president did anyway they can. the republicans have been trying to indict adam schiff's character, and that was the main strategy, because you know that adam schiff are the last three years has been telling us there was collusion between donald trump and the russians, in plain sight. and here's the same person leading this ukraine impeachment. >> ed: we will be watching it and keeping an eye on the

markets, as well. maria bartiromo, we appreciate you being here. sandra? >> sandra: with the iowa caucuses a week away, elizabeth warren scoring a key endorsement. where the rest of the 2020 field stands, coming up. >> ed: and remember no legend. the sports world mourns the shocking death of kobe bryant. jim gray, his longtime friend, joins us next. >> he goes, "dad, you always tell us to go after our dreams." "oh, man up." she is 11. so i had to man up and go for it. hey i need a ride!

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>> sandra: fox news alert, we are watching the dow this morning. u.s. stocks tumbling this morning out of the gate as we kick off monday morning, a brand-new week. all 458 points, this was expected. stocks selling off overhead as there is now nearly 3,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. 81 deaths in china. this is causing concern over global growth. obviously, with a huge economy like china, this is effecting u.s. stocks. the dow off 436 points as we kick off monday morning. >> how do you want to be remembered? >> i set a long time ago, when i was 15 years old, i made a promise to myself that at the end of th my career i want peope to think of me as a talented overachiever. i was blessed with talent, that i worked as if i had none.

if i could be remembered that way, that would be pretty good. >> congratulations. >> ed: sportscaster jim gray spoke to kobe bryant after his 60-point performance in his final game as a player back in 2016. now the world is mourning the loss of this nba legend. bryant, his daughter, and seven others died in that helicopter crash in southern california. jim gray covered kobe bryant, was a close friend, and drains me now. good morning. when i see that part of there, where he talks about talent, he said "work as if you have none." >> he did. he had one of the greatest work ethics of any athlete ever. he was determined, he was dedicated, and he was going to outwork whoever his opponent was. he was going to outwork himself. if he took a day off, he felt shame. it worked out well for him.

he got after his teammates and he got after them less then he got after himself. but he put them all on notice. if you're not going to work like i'm going to work, you're not going to work here. >> ed: coach k coached kobe at team usa and spoke of how he was nervous at the beginning of getting all these big egos from the nba to come and work as a unified group. but he said kobe was one of the first people to approach him and he had one request. "coach k, i want you to let me guard the best player on every team we face. i promise i will destroy him." that mentality. "i'm going to destroy him." >> he also told coach k, "let me do the dirty work. get out of the way and i will handle these guys." and coach k, with his wisdom and all of his brilliance, said, "you know what? he can rein them in and they will listen to him that heck of a lot better than they will listen to me." he was a college coach. he had been with the dream team

with chuck daly, the original one, and he rose up and became a great national coach and won all those national championships at duke. but he was well enough along in his career to understand that the pro game is different. so let's kobe did this, and kobe did it. it worked out well for everyone. >> ed: he talked about his daughter as well in this interview, and i want to hear that, as well. >> to be honest with you, i don't miss playing in the nba. i don't miss the career. 20 great years, i was very fortunate to play that long. but now i watch it through my daughter. my daughter plays every day, so i enjoy watching her develop. >> ed: we want to remember all four daughters and is liked on my wife that he leaves behind, of course, but his daughter that was with him, he had big dreams for her. >> she had big dreams. people would unabashedly say, "keep trying, have a boy." they had a fourth child just the

summer and it turned out to be another girl. but gigi would say, "watch me, i'm going to be a star." that was the joy of his life. i remember on several occasions when i would see kobe, he would pull out his telephone and show us the videos of her playing and am working with her. he had a lot of pride and joy in not only gigi but all of his kids and his wife. it's going to be a very difficult road, it's a heartbreaking circumstance. >> ed: we've been friends for several years and i've been hearing your voice, the pain and the emotion, particularly as we all got the text messages on the report yesterday. the shock. for you who knew him su so well, and a chance to sleep on a little bit, howdy process that this morning? somebody taken so young? >> it's been a lot of tears. 41 is an old man for sports. 48 with his legs, with all he accomplished. he had it.

41, look at all he had in front of him. look at 80 had to compass. look at what he did for the world. he had an academy award, storytelling, helping all these young girls. he was a big proponent of women's basketball. he had thousands of acts of kindness, helping people and wanting absolute no credit, no recognition for it. he was a worldwide superstar. he touched millions upon millions of lives with his talent. and the attitude and the work ethic is legendary. thank god for youtube, thank god for the digital age, because what he left behind will be good for future generations and at least they will be able to see that from this distance. and not hearing his voice, at least you'll be able to look up to his philosophies. >> ed: i heard a report that he and his daughter were on a major sports magazine last year, and he refused to be on the cover, with just her. he said, "i want the whole team, all the girls and coaching to be

on that cover." >> he would go out of his way. a dear friend of mine went to see kobe, and he was trained with him in one of his basketball camps. he intentionally messed up the drill. he intentionally messed up the drill because he wanted that special attention from kobe. kobe give it to him. years later he walked up to him and then in your view and he told kobe what he had done intentionally, and kobe had remembered the incident and talk to him. it's little things like that. he tapped so many kids on the head come put an arm around so many of these little girls, would sign the autographs, took the pictures. he is certainly not a saint, he certainly had quirks and flaws and so forth, and he was rough on his teammates, but this was a guy of marvelous character. of tremendous, tremendous integrity. he gave a lot. we are crying now because we are going to miss him.

hopefully one day we will smile that we had ten. >> ed: we are grieving with you. thank you for your insight. >> thank you, ed. >> sandra: thank you for that. fox news alert in the meantime, voters crediting president trump for the booming economy, giving it the best reading in nearly two decades in the latest fox news bowling. we will take a deep dive through the numbers with charles payne. he will join us next. plus, new confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the u.s. fears of that deadly virus spreading. dr. marc siegel will join us on that. >> all cdc has to do is declare the coronavirus and emergency, and that will spring up to $85 million that is immediately available. it's already been appropriated. . they get that no two people are alike and customize your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. what do you think?

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suv yesterday. check out this video, it's insane. she was apparently run over while crossing a street here in manhattan. cell phone video captures the good samaritans as they rock and tipped the vehicle over onto two wheels and pull that woman to safely. she was taken to the hospital, but at this hour no word yet on her injuries. >> sandra: the cdc meanwhile confirming a fifth case of the coronavirus in the united states amid growing concern about the spread of that deadly virus. in china, at least 13 other countries in addition to china are effective. let's bring a doctor marc siegel. dr. siegel, the cdc will provide an update on the coronavirus. we are hearing 11:30 a.m. eastern time. what do we need to know this morning about the spread of this deadly virus? >> sandra, we first need to understand that we are afraid of this virus because it's new, because it's unknown to us, because it's microscopic and we can't see it, and because it's occurring at another part of the world. we also need to know that with

only five cases here in the united states the chances of you suddenly developing flu-like symptoms, of you having this coronavirus, compared to the fluid has infected about 20 million people so far in this country this year, is as close to zero as it gets. we really need to be doing is focusing on china. i think it's of historical proportions here that a country like china, about 1.5 billion people, has gone from ignoring a problem, sweeping it under the rug, suddenly cordoning off entire cities affecting up to 60 billion people. and quarantines, sandra, have not necessarily been shown to work because people get more frighten. you know what they do when they are afraid? they try to get away from the quarantine and spread more respiratory virus. we don't know how contagious this is yet. that is scaring us. we don't know how deadly this is yet. that is scaring us. and we don't necessarily believe that 3,000 cases is all that's out there. there are probably a lot more that weren't identified. speed and of course the incubation period is about two

weeks, right? somebody could be carrying the virus and not actually be showing or having or experiencing any symptoms of the virus. when it comes to the risk that we have this virus here at home, now multiple confirmed cases across the country, what is the concern from health officials about it spreading here at home? >> sandra, you just made an excellent point. we are looking very closely into the issue of how easy it is to get it when you don't have it. i will tell you an associated risk, if you traveled here from wuhan or from china you might not know you have it, so you could spread it here unwittingly, which is what seems to have happen to some of those five cases. so i think we have really got to pay a lot of attention to two things. i think our cdc will. one, travel here from china. that's huge. that is still the biggest way it's going to spread right now. two, and this is with the centers for disease control learned from measles and from ebola, we need to contact-trace the cases that are here, isolate them, watching they are in

contact with, keep them away from people, and then figure out what the risk of spread is. right now i don't know that this virus is more contagious than the flu, but the flu an itself spreads pretty rapidly. you have to figure out how contagious. a couple years from now we will get a vaccine, but that's a long way off. we'll start developing immunity to this virus. but that takes time. in the meantime, here in the united states we must isolate people that have the coronavirus. >> sandra: a lot we are learning but a lot we still don't know about the coronavirus. dr. siegel, thank you. >> thinks, sandra. >> ed: meanwhile, alexandria ocasio-cortez sparking outrage over some remarks at a bernie sanders rally. >> organizing is about tipping people off if you start to see that ice and cdp are in communities. to try and keep people safe. >> ed: the congress one doubling down on her calls to

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>> i'm not pretending we are going to agree on everything. i'm not trying to trick anybody. but my message is that we can at least agree on this. that if you are having trouble looking your kids in the eye and explaining this presidency to them, you have a choice. >> ed: that's a former south bend, indiana, mayor pete buttigieg of course making his case to voters at last night's fox news town hall in iowa, just one week before the pivotal caucuses. oour correspondent peter doocy s in des moines with the latest. good morning, peter. >> good morning, ed. this is the weak candidates have spent months finalizing plans for, and those plans are not going to work for the ones who can't be here because they have to be back at the senate impeachment trial, like bernie sanders. >> the schedule we had planned for iowa is now in the garbage can. [laughter] and we have to rewrite it very

quickly. speaking to you today, sunday afternoon, i have zero idea what's going to be happening this week or perhaps future weeks. nobody really does know. >> sanders and biden have carved out clear spots at the top of the field and the new fox poll of democrats nationally. biden first despite dropping four points in a month, sanders and second after gaining three points in a month, followed by war and, the winner of "the des moines register"'s endorsement. bloomberg, who has doubled since december, then boot a judge in a primary where electability is a key selling point for all the contenders. this finds the leading democrats all leading president trump in hypothetical general election had dead matchups. >> it feels good. these polls are open down, and i think it will be a close race in iowa and a close race in new hampshire. >> biden just announces most

ambitious itinerary for the week of the entire cycle. 20 cities, 17 counties, by caucus day. that is something sanders and warren and klobuchar can't do because they can't be here. ed? >> ed: barnstorming through iowa with her man, peter doocy. peter, thank you. >> sandra: know who else as i looked on mike heading to iowa? ed! "america's newsroom" hitting the road, our bags are packed. ed kicking off our coverage from des moines on friday morning. that's not the only person going. i will be heading to miami for the super bowl. it's not that warm! >> ed: i was buying sweaters all week. if you care, i don't know. [laughs] speech if that makes you feel better. yes, you will need your sweaters in iowa, but we will have a split show friday. >> ed: i feel so bad for you. >> sandra: poor me come on the beach in the rain. we will deal. >> ed: it'll be fun. split show, join us.

>> sandra: meanwhile, a rocket attack in baghdad, injuring one staff member at the embassy as tensions grow in the middle east. he will speak with general jack keane in the next island. the cards using revelations from john bolton's book to bolster its case for witnesses and the impeachment trial. we will have live reaction from atlanta this morning i'm a democrat senator tom carper will join us. >> the question really becomes this. is it new information? not really. adam schiff could have subpoenaed john bolton, went through this process in the house. he chose not to. or anything i want to buy is going to be on rakuten. rakuten is easy to use, free to sign up and it's in over 3,000 stores. i buy a lot of makeup. shampoo, conditioner. books, food. travel. shoes. stuff for my backyard. anything from clothes to electronics. workout gear. i even recently got cash back on domain hosting. you can buy tires. to me, rakuten is a great way to get cash back on anything you buy. rack it up with rakuten, sign up today to get cash back on everything you buy.

>> ed: back to a fox news alert in the sports world. in disbelief this morning following the tragic death of one of the greatest nba players of all time, kobe bryant. welcome to a brand-new hour of "america's newsroom." i'm ed henry. >> sandra: i'm sandra smith, good morning. so hard to believe, kobe bryant and his 1 13 euro daughter were among the victims that died in the helicopter crash in southern california yesterday. around 10:00 a.m. on the west coast. thousands of shocked fans across the world holding visuals, many remembering bryant for his inspiration both on and off the court. >> kobe is part of my childhood. he is the one who brought a connection between my father and i. we loved basketball. kobe will forever live in my life and will forever be l.a. >> i'm 17 right now. i started watching kobe when i was probably seven years old, o. he taught me to pick up a

basketball. >> sandra: william la jeunesse's live outside the staples center in los angeles. william? >> well, andra and sed, fans say they really lost the king of l.a. the staples center was his court. he joined the lakers when he was 17. it's very unusual for one player to spend his entire career in one city. he embraced the city and they loved him for it. >> if you loved basketball and respect hard work and someone who had drive, you loved kobe. >> he was our icon. >> is like a bad dream, you feel like you won't wake up from it. >> it's painful, we lost somebody legendary. >> kobe was one of my favorite players. to see that he's dead makes me sad. >> thousands gathered at staples after his death to pay tribute. jerseys and caps, candles and

shoes come to on one of the greatest players of all-time. five championships, two olympic gold, spending 18 out of 20 years as an all-star. >> i want people to think of me as a talented overachiever, that i was blessed with talent but i worked as if i had none. if i could be remembered that way, that would be pretty good. >> the father of four daughters, kobe retired four years ago. he and his 13-year-old daughter, gianna, were going to a basket will tournament on sunday when their helicopter crashed in heavy fog. even though the sikorsky 76 is rated for no visibility, the faa and the ntsb also investigated or will investigate for mechanical, pilot error, a bird, or a drone strike because it was flying so low. twice the faa warned the tower that he was flying low, and

police pilots refused to fly because of the fog. after leaving basketball, bryant wrote and narrated a story called "life in basketball," for which he won an oscar in 2018. >> i will always love you for it. the heart can take the power, a mind can handle the grind, but my body knows it's time to say goodbye. and that's okay. i'm ready to let you go. >> all the nine victims have now been identified, one included a baseball coach from orange coast college, spending 24 years there, winning several championships. his daughter and wife, as well as several others. ed and sandra, the faa and ntsb will continue their investigation. we hope to know in just a few days. back to you. >> sandra: tragic story.

william la jeunesse, thank you. >> ed: meanwhile, president trump's legal team laying out details of their case when the impeachment trial gets underway in a few hours. resuming arguments 1:00 p.m. eastern after a short session revealing the broad outlines of their defense on saturday. this comes as experts from a manuscript by former national security advisor john bolton appear to contradict the president on ukraine. our correspondent mike emanuel is live on capitol hill. good morning. >> they will continue laying out their defense. >> in fact, we believe that when you hear the facts, and that's what we intend to cover today, the facts, you will find that the president did absolutely nothing wrong. >> the wild card at the moment his former national security advisor john bolton, who did not make any comment when leaving his home this morning. bolton has written in a draft of his book at that the president

failed aid until the buttons were litigated. the impeachment manager reacted by saying bolton must testify in the impeachment trial. >> the senators ought to hear this witness firsthand. they are to evaluate his credibility. the president and his allies are obviously out there attacking him, saying this is not true. the question is, do we believe that the president and his knots-under-oath tweets? or john bolton when he's under oath? >> republican senator lindsey graham tweeted a short time ago, "if there is a decision to call democratic witnesses, at a minimum the senate should allow the president to call all relevant witnesses he has requested." another key g.o.p. senator does not sound too alarmed by the former national security advisor's manuscript. >> it's a bunch of hearsay. clearly it's an attempt to try and influence the course of the trial. i would go back to saying that if we call witnesses, if my colleagues and others decide we

have to have witnesses, let's call everybody who is going to be relevant. this isn't just about john bolton, this should be about the whistle-blower, adam schiff, hunter biden. let's hear from them all. >> republican senator sounded quite confident after the president's team began laying out its case on saturday. it's not entirely clear if this new book revelation as change things. >> ed: mike emanuel live on the hill, appreciate that. let's bring in the 18. david avella, mary anne marsh, and bill mcgurn. "wall street journal" columnist, former chief speechwriter for president bush, and a fox news contributor. good morning, all. david, things seem to be sailing along for the president and now for john bolton. >> not surprising, "the new york times" has been part of the circuits from day one and they want to be part of the grand finale, clearly. if they have the transcript, they should release the whole thing. >> the transcript of -- >> i'm sorry, the manuscript. they are to release the whole

thing. it's all speculation, we don't know what the manuscript says. let's have it out there. also, the president's team now has two days to respond to this. here's the reality, and bill made the point last week, there is still not 20 votes to convict the president. >> sandra: the president is responding to it, at least come on twitter. he wrote this. "i never told john bolton the aid to ukraine was a tide to investigations into the democrats, including the bidens. never complained about this at the time of his very public termination. if he said this, it was only to sell a book." mary anne? >> this is the smoking gun in john bolton's holding it. this is what we need witnesses. they need to go to john roberts and ask for witnesses. asked john roberts to subpoena john bolton. he said he would appear if you were subpoenaed. here's what sol wisenberg got wrong earlier in the first hour of this. it's not 51 votes to stop it,

it's 67. it would take two-thirds of the senate to stop the chief justice from calling the witness. you can't get 14 democrats to join 53 -- >> ed: but he says, "i'm not going to decide, i will kick it back to the senators," that it's a straight up or down vote. >> i'm talking about the fact that if john roberts is asked to subpoena witnesses and he says yes, the only way you can stop them is with a two-thirds vote of the senate, and that's what we are today and where we should be. >> sandra: bill? >> i agree with mary anne that this is about witnesses. he reminds me of the brett kavanaugh thing, proceeding along, and at the last minute we get some thing to change. i think this is designed to make it harder for the marginal republicans in tight races to vote against witnesses. i don't think it's going to change the outcome. i'm not sure -- a vote for witnesses is also a vote for really lengthening this trial, and i'm not sure everyone is on board with that. >> when you look at the polls,

71% of the country what witnesses, want testimony, want evidence. that's not just democrats and independents, it's the majority of republicans, as well. now you have in the fox poll release yesterday, 50% of americans want donald trump remove from office. so we are at a critical juncture here where people want a fair trial, they want the information, and the americans are entitled -- >> to be clear, the president will always fall back on "read the transcript." because he didn't release the transcript from center. he didn't. it's a summary. >> sandraspeech jim jordan weign that, whether or not this is a game changer. he said this. >> you got someone telling "the new york times" what is supposedly john bolton's manuscript, what it said. that's going to change everything to make i don't buy that, it doesn't alter in any way the fundamental facts. the facts that have been clear from the get-go, the idea that we have the transcript. there was no quid pro quo in the transcript. >> sandra: so? democratic senator hirono said it yesterday, which is that

it is about the 2016 election. it's about the 2020 election. mary anne and bill said the most insightful thing so far, which is that this isn't about whether they will convict the president or not. it's about putting pressure on moderate democrats in tough elections. because there's not 20 votes to convict the president. there's not 20 republicans to convict the president. this is all about the 2020 election for the democrats, and a democratic senator said it yesterday on the talk shows. >> ed: mary anne, when you say smoking gun, as david said at the top, we don't have the full manuscript of the book. that may make the case to hear from him. but for you to declare it's a smoking gun, how do you back that up? >> well, we've got john bolton, pompeo, mark esper, and by the way, senator ron johnson all having dozens of conversations with donald trump about the aid to ukraine and whether -- >> ed: but i was at a smoking gun? he has a conversation, he handles foreign policy. >> we have not had first-hand

witnesses and any of this. the transcript has never been released. the mueller report hasn't even been released. this is a summary of the call, there is no transcript. the transcript is parked i in te national security server. we've never seen it. to release the transcript, release the manuscript trade bring witnesses, but it all out there. >> these are all arguments you could have made back during the house impeachment. if it had gone through the courts would probably be getting a decision right now. they didn't make those arguments then. i think the president would have been stronger not arguing the facts, but that even if he did what he is accused of doing, it's not an impeachable offense. maybe a reason to vote against him, maybe a reason to resign, for john bolton, and so forth. i think he would have been on stronger ground. i'm not sure it's going to materially -- we are always promised something over the rainbow that is going to -- whether it's mueller or this, the gao finding, and it just never seems to produce. >> sandra: to go back to your first point, this all seems to be about the witnesses and

whether or not democrats are going to win over any republican support to call as witnesses. we are just getting worried that mitt romney spoke a short time ago and said this. >> i've set for some time that i hope to be able to hear from john bolton. i think the story that came out yesterday, it's increasingly apparent it would be important to hear from john bolton. eye of course will make a final decision on witnesses after we've heard from not only the prosecution but also the defense. but i think at this stage it's pretty fair to say john bolton has a relevant testimony to provide to those of us sitting in impartial justice. >> reporter: do you have questions about whether or not some of the pensive team might have seen some of the stuff in the book? >> i assume if john bolton is given the opportunity to testify that there will be a lot of discussion about who knew what and where and so forth. it would be contractually --

>> to david, that would be a critical republican vote in federal witnesses. >> it's one, but we have to create a misspeak by marion. senator ron johnson has made it clear the president told him there was not a quid pro quo. any work connecting the two. she said ron johnson suggested there was a quid pro quo. >> ed: what about romney? >> name another jury in america that gets to pick the process. senators are going to get to pick whether they witnesses or not. let's just say this. if they do, president obama, andrew mccabe, the whistle-blower, schiff, all but he clearly schedules. >> ed: mary anne, what about hunter biden, whose name keeps coming up? lindsey graham tweeted a short time ago, "okay, if pulled pulled this a to testify --" he didn'tell mike that he will comp with that the president deserves as witnesses, as well. >> i'm not going to defend them, but this was about investigating him and his father because his father at the time of the call

was the front runner in the race against donald trump. that is a fact. the only reason donald trump was during this was for personal political reasons. it's a federal crime punishable by prison. nobody in the united states of america can ask, accept, or receive anything of any value from any foreign government. that is a fact. >> i don't think that's true. >> it is! >> it's just nonsense. they are always saying it, somewhere over the rainbow, something we don't have, something outside has to be the smoking gun. it almost never is. we had that with the mueller report. remember, adam schiff had "more than circumstantial evidence." we are being fed the same thing now. it may make it hard for witnesses, but hunter biden's one argument is, yes, he wanted to go after a rival. the art of their argument as he did like the corruption. and hunter biden, you don't get an exemption from corruption because your dad's vice president.

>> sandra: one other quick update, we were expecting a press conference from saturday lindsey graham, and other g.o.p. senators come around the 11:30 a.m. eastern hour. we are getting word that has been canceled. your thoughts on that? >> again, where in america does the jury get to pick the trial process? this is not unlike -- this is unlike any other case you are going to see. >> is not a criminal trial. >> it's the political process. the process may be in question, the outcome is not in doubt. there are not 20 republicans will vote to convict the president. >> ed: we've got here from bolton? if we need to hear from him so badly, why didn't adam schiff and others take this to court weeks and months ago and forced his testimony? >> because we'd still be in court. people that have subpoenaed -- >> sandra: that the reason? >> two reasons. it's been a year. on-again was subpoenaed over a year ago, he still hasn't appeared. number two, this is about the 2020 election.

even in the modified summary of donald trump's call with ukraine, he admitted he was asking for something in exchange. you cannot do that. that is the law, you cannot ask a foreign government to interfere in our election. >> sandra: but some are public and senators are saying, why did the homework is done in the house? >> democratic senators are saying that come too. >> sandra: let's finish up with aoc taking on i.c.e. at a rally over the beacon. final topic with our 18. >> organizing is about tipping people off if you start to see that i.c.e. and cbp are in communities. to try and keep people safe. i'm not here to reform some of the systems when we talk about immigration. i'm here because senator sanders has actually committed to breaking up i.c.e. and cbp. >> sandra: tom homan joined fox & friends yesterday morning and immediately responded. let's hear his response and we will hear from all of you. >> i'm disgusted. she says you want to tip off the community to keep it safe? that's what i.c.e. is doing.

these men and women for their lives on the line every day to arrest criminals off the streets. it's a dangerous statement. it's idiotic. >> sandra: bill? >> yeah, i think it's another in-kind contribution to the republican party in 2020. it will run this ad if bernie is the nominee, with the first question of the first debate. "who is for free health insurance for illegal aliens?" so, you know, let her do it. >> it's a popular position with progressives. you can see that is who bernie sanders is going after, especially in the iowa caucuses. latinos are an important floating block and i with i can make a difference. >> ed: has he got the ad ready? >> it's ready. ladies and gentlemen, we will look at the possible vice president's nominee for the democratic party. >> ed: she's not old enough. >> she will make sarah palin look like einstein. >> sandra: shall we leave it there? [laughter] our monday morning 18, i appreciate it. >> ed: thanks for coming in. >> sandra: a rocket attack on

our embassy in iraq in mid violent crashes though my classes there between protesters and security forces. is it time leave the region? >> ed: the president once again touting the economy as new poles showing high marks for his policies. moneyman charles payne joins us to break down the numbers. >> we are doing it for americans, for every race, color, religion, and creed. creating not only the most prosperous but also the most inclusive economy anywhere in the world. mortgage rates just dropped to near 50-year lows. one call to newday usa can save you $2,000 every year. and once you refinance, the savings are automatic. thanks to your va streamline refi benefit, at newday there's no income verification, no appraisal, and no out of pocket costs. activate your va streamline benefit now.

>> sandra: fox news alert from iraq when three rockets at the embassy compound in baghdad's green zone area the state of arm disk or not officials though to protect diplomatic facilities.

retired four-star general jack keane is chairman of the institute for the study of war, also fox news senior strategic analyst. general, good morning to you. first, your reaction to those developments? >> well, what's happening here is the iraqi proxies from iran are conducting this operation. they are using it as harassment more than anything else. i'm not even convinced the iranians are controlling them, because some of these guys are absolute hotheads, and it's one of the reasons why when the iranians conducted the attacks, sandra, in response to the united states killing soleimani, he recalled they did that using all of their own assets. i'dumb i can if they did that to control the outcome , and they didn't trust their proxies to conduct them a mission like th. i think you will see a pattern. if this continues, the united states will probably conduct some air strikes against

these proxies backed by irania iranians. it looks to me that the iranians, based on their response to the soleimani attack, i think they will move away from the military operations because none of it has worked. taking out tankers, disrupting the oil flow, attacking production sites, oil production sites, that is. multiple rocket attacks, what do they get from all that? they have increased sanctions by the united states. their purpose of doing all that was to get the sanctions removed or at least reduced. that has not happened. the objectives more political now, and it's focused on iraq. >> ed: general, amid these rockets being fired, as you know, the president sat down with the iraqi president last week. you've got over 6,000 u.s. troops on the ground there in iraq. was the status of u.s. forces being there amid the iraqis in recent days saying they may push

us out? that we may pull out if they are not playing ball with us? what is the status of our forces on the ground? because we've got 5,000 plus forces there. most of them are involved in training and assisting the iraqi security forces to be able to counter isis. of course that has been done very successfully, there is still more work to be done. we have a very small counterterrorism force there that at times does take direct action. but our forces are not directly involved in combat. they are at bases spread out, through four bases around iraq. it's also vulnerability to be in the combat zone, but also they are well protected. secondly, i think with the iranians are trying to do is trying to drive the united states out of iraq. if they are able to do that, that'll be a huge political victory for them. to be able to do that, they've got to wait until the next prime minister comes into office. there is an election also, the

council representatives, the so-called "parliament" that will take place. hopefully that's more reflective of the people's attitude, which is very anti-current government and very anti-iranian that is backing that government. so it'll be interesting to see how the internal politics play out. iran right now, ed, is using intimidation, coercion, bribery of government officials to do everything they can politically to force the united states out of iraq. >> sandra: we always appreciate your insight and analysis. general jack keane, thank you. >> good talking to both of you. >> ed: meanwhile, this deadly: a virus from china affecting more people here in america. five cases now confirmed in the u.s. health officials are handling this growing threat. >> sandra: and fallout from that leaked john bolton manuscript. is it more likely now the former national security advisor will have to testify? senator tom carper is our headliner today. he will join us live next.

>> i am sure that this is timed. you can't tell me they just now got their hands on the manuscript. so it sounds to me like an attempt to come obviously come influence the senate here on the witness vote

>> sandra: fox news alert, a fifth case of the coronavirus has been confirmed in the u.s. all of the patients traveled through the chinese city at the center of the outbreak.

at least 80 people, all from china, have died from the disease and more than 2700 others are affected worldwide. steve harrigan is following this for us as it develops. steve? >> sandra and ed, a dramatic change in the numbers in just the past 24 hours. chinese government saying 80 people have died from this virus, 2800 confirmed cases, as many as 5,000 more suspected cases. it has already spread to 13 different countries including the u.s. where there are five confirmed cases. all five in hospitals and isolated, the u.s. is planning an evacuation flight on tuesday from wuhan to san francisco to take members of the u.s. consulate and u.s. citizens out of china. there is going to be limited capacity on that flight. as far as china goes, they are scrambling to try and get the medical assistance needed to the area. they are building three public

hospitals able to handle about 1,000 patients. they have also dramatically quarantined 56 million people in 16 different cities. at the epicenter inside the city of wuhan, it is eerily quiet. even private cars now prohibited from moving around that city. the spread is dangerous because it begins with just flu-like symptoms but then can develop into pneumonia. many of those who have died are elderly, and u.s. medical officials warn that vaccines can only be tested about three months from now. sandra and ed, back to you. >> sandra: a developing situation there, thank you very much. >> i think it's increasingly likely that other republicans will join those of us who think we should hear from john bolton. i think john bolton's relevance to our decision has become increasingly --

>> reporter: who of your colleagues have indicated that? >> i won't speak for any other republican senators. i have spoken with others who have opined upon this, as well. >> ed: that his republican senator mitt romney short time ago, potential witnesses in the petro trial. democrats are demanding they want witnesses after the latest bolton book revelations. >> sandra: senate minority leader chuck schumer tweeting this, "john bolton has the evidence. it's up to four senate republicans to ensure that john bolton, mick mulvaney, and others with direct knowledge of the president's actions testify in the trial." done it delaware senator tom carper during this now. >> it's not every day i get to be had linda, thank you. >> sandra: you are this morning! we welcome you here. what do you think about whether witnesses should be called? >> i am aware that mitt romney -- i rode in on a train this morning.

several people, they identified themselves as republicans, they said, "this is a trial, why not go ahead and call the witnesses? why don't you go ahead and have the documents subpoenaed?" and i said, well, they have been called." john bolton said he's ready to come and testify if subpoenaed. this could be basically wrapped up -- i don't know if it'll be wrapped up in a couple of days, but certainly a couple of weeks. if we just had access -- let me say one more thing. delaware is the first date ratified by the constitution. one of the first thing said at the convention following the ratification of the constitution jewelin delaware, we just know e truth. jesus said it even better, "the truth shall set you free." i think it'll keep us free. the people that know what went down, when it went down, that

would be great. that would enable us all to go forward. >> ed: a lot to unpack there. i want to clarify one quick point. your conversation on the amtrak, when he saw the documents for the white house have been subpoenaed, they have not been paid because there was a vote in the senate at the beginning, chuck schumer was pushing for them to be subpoenaed but they were not, correct? >> over at the house of representatives, if not mistaken, they subpoena not just witnesses but a lot of documents and for the most part, as i understand it, it's been stonewalled. >> ed: but they have not subpoenaed john bolton. was that a mistake, when you raised to the house, for adam schiff and other democrats? if now you really want to hear from john bolton, why did they not push earlier in this process to hear from bolton, mulvaney, and others? >> initially he said he would not testify. unless subpoenaed. but i he also indicated somethig about fighting to get it to. don begins case is still going in the courts, might be there for months or years. by that point in time this will be over.

i think that's why they didn't subpoena him. >> sandra: we spoke to doug collins top of the 9:00 our east coast time this morning. we asked him about this leaked transcript, asked him if he changes anything. it says this >> nothing we've seen so far, it simply leaked parts of the transcript, has change what we are talking about. they did nothing to the eight and they got to eat. this really doesn't change anything. >> sandra: and so does this leaked transcript change anything for you, senator? >> i think bolton has a lot of credibility. not just among the republicans but on their side come as well. he's notorious no kicker. whatever transcript you are talking about here, the document he has been working on writing, i think his words, his notes, and his voice would be enormously helpful. whether we get the book that he's worked on, that might not

be as important. >> sandra: but what do you think of your republican colleagues who said this should have been taken care of in the house? >> of the administration has turned over access, if people were subpoenaed, put together this incredible effort to keep documents from coming forward. it was like a government wide effort to shut it down. we shouldn't be afraid of the truth. as i said earlier, jefferson's words, jesus' words, "the truth shall set you free." jefferson's words -- going back to jesus, i think the truth will keep us free. that's what we all want. to protect our democracy. i am fearful that our system of checks and balances, the underpinning of our democracy, is being undermined. we can stop that. >> ed: quoting everyone from jefferson to jesus pilots with the president of the united states. "i never told john bolton the

aid to ukraine was tied to investigations into the democrats, including the bidens. in fact, he never complained about this at the time of his very public termination. if john bolton said this it was only to sell a book." that is the president. you can react to that. number two, lindsey graham, one of his key allies, is also saying, "okay, you will get john bolton as a witness? the bidens will have to testify, as well." >> i would say to my friend lindsey that last time i checked, the bidens aren't being charged with obstructing the transfer of $391 million to an ally in a war with russia. >> ed: but as a former vice president, overseeing the cover up while -- >> the bidens aren't being charged with obstructing the investigation of the congress. they are not being charged with this. donald trump is. if donald trump has information that would lend credence to it, either written in his notes,

documents, his manuscript, or his words, we need to hear that. >> sandra: in the words of senator james lankford, what i was quoting some republicans questioning why this wasn't taken care of the house, he says, "it's a very different process because the house didn't do their homework time. they didn't seem interested in it then." we'll see what happens now as this continues. final thoughts, senator? >> i think the world of james, but in the book of james there is a verse that says... something, people... something about your words. people remember what you say but they remember what you do bring something to that effect. we need the truth. >> sandra: we know where you stand. we appreciate your time this morning, thank you. >> ed: routing numbers for the coming prewhy they say the credit belongs to the president.

the moneyman, charles payne, breaks it down for us. >> sandra: there is! >> what's up? ♪ do you have concerns about mild memory loss related to aging? prevagen is the number one pharmacist-recommended memory support brand. you can find it in the vitamin aisle in stores everywhere. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. when i needed to create a better visitor experience. improve our workflow. attract new customers. that's when fastsigns recommended fleet graphics yeah, and now business is rolling in. get started at fastsigns.com

>> sandra: fox news alert, busy news morning. we are just now getting word that the 11:35 a.m. g.o.p. senators news conference on impeachment is back on. however, we do not see senator graham listed as speaking anymore. he was originally slated to, then we were told the news conference was off, now it's back on but we don't see his name there. so that is the update. of course that's happening less than one hour from now. you have that that for you. in the meantime, brand-new fox poll, as voters give it the best readings and nearly two decades and given credit for president trump a live spring charles payne composed of "making money" on fox business. there's a lot of people say it's good for present going into

reelection prebut doesn't suggest, our poll, that support is still going to the president. he is still struggling in some hypothetical matchups with democrats. >> i think the most important thing, when the economy is bad, like if we weren't -- if we didn't see record numbers of unemployment, wages weren't soaring, it would by far be the number one thing. we are taking it for granted, i think, which is luxury to have. when people step into the voting booth, historically, that is what rises to the top of their minds. they may have a have a lot of things they are thinking about right now, a lot of boxes to check, but i think when it's time to reelect or elect a president, "where my right now? where is my economic standing? what can i do for my family?" "are you better off than you were four years ago? closed we know that one. we had a gallup poll saying satisfactions at the highest level since 2005.

"washington post" had to put out a headline, they reiterated this morning about their poll at abc. president trump's numbers are sky-high when it comes to the economy. the caveat as always, "there is impeachment, these other things." it's tough, because historically nothing moves the voter like their own personal health, economic health. >> sandra: there are big questions, meanwhile, as we head closer and closer to election day. the iowa caucuses one week away now. what would happen if a democrat does indeed win back control of the house? "the wall street journal" editorial board is taking that on in a new piece with tax increases to come. joe biden would raise the rate to over 50%. what is the talk about what happens if a democrat did eventually win the white house and what would happen with our taxes? >> our taxes would go through the roof, if they have the white house on the congress, and they could push through -- again, that's the best point

being made. we talk about elizabeth warren and the trillions of dollars. bernie sanders, who doesn't even know how much his plan will cost. some say hundreds of trillions. those plans sound crazy. it makes everyone sound moderate. but we really can use the term "moderate" anymore with democrats when it comes to the economy. all of these plans being offered up are going to cost a lot of money and it's got to come from somewhere. it could hurt the economy big time. that something people have got to grapple with. i will tell you what wall street will grapple with also, bernie is a locomotive in the polls right now. every single poll. either he is leading or he comes up big. if he wins iowa and am sure it'll put a lot of pressure on the stock market. >> ed: something we will be watching. got 30 seconds, the stock market down sharply because of fears with coronavirus. >> five cases in the united states, 81 deaths in china. it's the fear of the unknown. go back to the economic impact, from sars, is it as bad as that?

56 million people on lock down. i think it's the unknown factors more than anything else. how long will this go on? how deep will it go on? will the economic ramifications be? there will be ramifications, so you've got some folks on wall street -- we might get a change as the week goes on because we are in the midst of earnings, also, which is sort of a report card on where our corporations are. >> sandra: we will see you at 2:00 on fb n. >> it's going to be busy, busy week. >> sandra: it begins. former new york city mayor michael bloomberg campaigning in new england, but not where you may expect two weeks before the new hampshire primary. we are live on the campaign trail, next. rtgage rates just do near 50-year lows. one call to newday usa can save you $2,000 every year. and once you refinance, the savings are automatic. thanks to your va streamline refi benefit, at newday there's no income i've been through two tours of duty, and luckily, i came home with my health. but what almost ended up taking me down... was a stroke.

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>> sandra: it's the first contest of the nomination fight,

coming up at the next couple of weeks. former new york city mayor mike bloomberg escaping both iowa and new hampshire, making super tuesday the main focus of his campaign. molly line's live in burlington, vermont, with more of all that. good morning. >> good morning, sandra, and ed, as well. we are here at the coffee shop in burlington, vermont. this is where 2020 hopeful, the democratic contender michael bloomberg, expected to arrive within the next hour or so. as you mentioned, this is new england and he is skipping some o of those all-important contests here in this area. yesterday he spent a little time and much warmer weather, and florida. he did talk about that swing state's importance in this contest come in both the primary and general election, when he made that stop. since entering the field, the billionaire has limited the role of those early voting states of iowa and the next her neighbor here in vermont, new hampshire, criticizing the populations in those states as "homogenous" in an op-ed early this month. today he is hitting vermont and maine come both of them are

super tuesday states. also notable, bloomberg is stopping right through bernie sanders' home turf. this coffee stop and an organizing event before skipping off the granite state to make that meet and greet in portland, maine, and to open a campaign office in scarborough. new fox polling that just came out shows that bernie sanders has pulled within three percentage points of joe biden, who appears to have lost some support to bloomberg. sanders, 23%, elizabeth warren at 14%, and bloomberg -- this is a big number -- 10%. looking at the outcome of that is double his support since we last saw in december. beyond that focus of super tuesday we also know that bloomberg has been spending a considerable amount more than $2 million on advertising come up we are expecting to see some of the tradition of retail politicking here today in burlington as well as in maine when he heads in that direction. back to you. >> sandra: thanks for keeping track of it all. molly line, thank you. >> ed: a new push for peace in the middle east, from president trump a meeting with israel's prime minister just

minutes from now in the white house as they get ready to reveal details of her brand-new plan. we are live at the white house next. i felt gross. people were afraid i was contagious. i was covered from head to toe. i was afraid to show my skin. it was kind of a shock after... i started cosentyx. i wasn't covered anymore. four years clear. five years now. i just look and feel better. see me. cosentyx works fast to give you clear skin that can last. real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, if your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen, or if you've had a vaccine... ...or plan to. serious allergic reactions may occur. i look and feel better with cosentyx. five years is just crazy. see me.

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>> ed: shock and disbelief in los angeles this morning, all around the world, as well, as fans mourn the death of kobe bryant. the nba superstar and his 13-year-old daughter, gianna, were among nine people killed when their helicopter crashed in calabasas, california, yesterday. officials say poor weather likely played a role in that crash. now of course under investigation. sportscaster and longtime friend of kobe, jim gray, reflecting on his legacy. >> he had one of the greatest work ethics of any athlete ever. he was determined, he was dedicated, and he was going to outwork whoever his opponent was. he was going to outwork himself. if you took a day off, he felt shame. it worked out well for him. he got after his teammates, he got after them less then he got

after himself, but he put them all on notice. "if you're not going to work like i'm going to work, you're not going to work here." >> ed: gone far too soon. 41 years of age. tributes to the basketball legend pouring in from all around the globe. former nba player al arrington joins us later this hour with his reflections. and a fox news alert now from the white house, where the president is about to meet with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu as his defense team prepares for day two of opening arguments in his impeachment trial. welcome back to newsroom, i'm ed henry. >> sandra: good morning to you and everyone, i'm sandra smith. left to the white house now as the president welcomes this really permits your benjamin netanyahu and opposition leader benny gantz side of their meeting about a new mideast peace plan. here's were asked grisham. >> he will meet with both of them today. this is probably quite literally one of the biggest problems to take on the entire world. we got a president not afraid to

do it and is already, i think, farther than any other administration to make this happen. i think the fact they are both going to be here and he will meet with both of their's huge news. suiza vanessa's resumes, bumps on the report on john bolton's book comes out. heating up the debate over witnesses. >> sandra: congressional correspondent chad pergram a song it all on capitol hill. good morning, a lot of changing. good morning. >> that's right, the question but witnesses could change everything pay this is where the white house was thinking they were on a glide path to try and conclude this trial in the next couple days, maybe the latest. the defense will resume their arguments this afternoon at 1: 1:00. before that the senators are going to go into their weekly luncheon and that will be the a-1 discussion today. we got a statement from susan collins, the republican senator from maine, she said the following. "the report about john bolton's book strength in the case for witnesses and have prompted a

conversation among my colleagues." other republican senators think this might be too cute by half. the release of the manuscript, some of the innuendo about what might be john bolton's testimony. here is josh hawley, a republican senator from missouri. >> exactly. if we are going to be witnesses, my view is we have to call hunter biden, joe biden, and adam schiff. we know we talked it was a blur. what did he say? we need to learn that stuff. >> and the democrats think this overall question about witnesses being bolstered by the bolton manuscript. here is democratic hawaii senator mazie hirono. >> we are confronted with this direct testimony, that's what they've been saying. why are they calling for both of them? know that they are confronted with this, i'm not sure what arguments they have. >> just before we came on the air we got a statement from mark meadows, the republican congressman from north carolina. he is working behind the scenes

with the defense team here. he said the following. "we are talking about an unpublished manuscript that anonymous sources have seen and leaked at the 11th hour. just as democrats are losing the momentum. using this playbook before." i want to talk about momentum, because republicans, when they came out of the trial on saturday afternoon, they really thought they had momentum. i talked with one source close to the president who indicated he thought they should try and wrap this up expeditiously. with this issue of witnesses, i've said it before and i will say it again, it comes out to the votes. it is really on a razors edge. it depends on what it was there are. 59, 41, whatever. it does come down to the mouth and that's why it's so close and so hard to calculate. until you get with the formal proposer is, with the senators are thinking after they've heard the arguments from the white house defense team, and maybe what questions have been answered. once the white house wraps up either today or tomorrow, the senators had a 16-hour period

where they can post questions, written questions, through the chief justice and then maybe prompt other questions as they get deeper into the week. back to you, center. speeds that susan collins statement moving toward witnesses is new new >> ed: resuming the opening arguments with the taurus from now, with a look at what to expect today. we are doing their ari fleischer from former white house press secretary for president george w. bush. and a fox news contributor. ari, good morning. >> good morning. >> ed: also the last moment or so we got breaking news from the justice department, are produced there, jake gibson, saying the attorney general william barr and his staff are denying what is in this leaked manuscript from john bolton and what bolton claims that he quickly informed the attorney general after he heard the phone call. the idea that bolton immediately informed the attorney general, that there could be a problem, that there was some tied to the

biden investigation. the attorney general's office is now saying that's not true. they disagree with the sequence of events. i was all of this playing out, ari? >> well, it is a sticky wicket, isn't it? these lesser prices come you never know how far to trust, how far they go. my big question is, what else is in that book? is there information in there that puts it in a different context? is there information with the president said to john bolton, "i want to hold it because of burden sharing, i don't want to proceed until her allies kick in more something is done about corruption." this is obviously put out by somebody opposed to the president's position here and it was timed as such. it is still comp don't like problematic. one way or another we will hear from john bolton, i suspect it won't be until his book comes out. >> ed: how do you weigh that? on one hold, what john bolton is reported to have said, it's anonymous sources telling us what they've seen from a draft

manuscript, as mark meadows, republican lawmaker, said. that suggests the outlines of a quid pro quo pushed by president trump. president trump is on twitter saying that's not true, that's not how it played out. the attorney general is challenging the accuracy of what john bolton says. that may help the president's cause. on the other hand, ari, doesn't that always raise more eyebrows on the hill? senators may say, "wait a second, there's a dispute on the facts, so we do need to hear testimony from john bolton." >> that's why i said this is a sticky wicket in every direction. it also shows the house didn't do its job. they were in such a rush to impeach so they did not subpoena john bolton. if this is about justice, about pursuing justice wherever it leads, however long it takes, they should have subpoenaed john bolton and let it go through the courts. instead they said, "we can't subpoena him because he will fight it in the courts and we don't have enough time. so we will impeach him anyway."

now they are saying to the senate, "you will do what we refuse to do." that's problematic, it's problematic for the president because, based on the leak, it is direct contradiction. it's problematic for the president's lawyers who said there were only presumptions the aide was tied to politics. now you have a leak saying it was the president tying into politics. it is sticky in every direction, but still, will john bolton get called to subpoena in the senate? i don't know how that vote is going to go. i would say to you, ed, if he's not called in the senate, i suspect the house will be open this. they already have a permanent -- they will try to subpoena john bolton later this year after the book comes out. >> ed: pardon me once i can. as you can see now, at the microphones in the u.s. capitol is the democratic leader chuck schumer. let's hear from him. >> and new information from mr mr. parnas reveal a plot to remove u.s. ambassador.

and now, according to "the new york times," ambassador bolton wrote in his book that he was ordered by the president to continue freezing assistance until ukraine announced the political investigations the president was seeking, including the investigation into the bidens. this is stunning. it goes right to the heart of the charges against the president. ambassador bolton essentially confirms the president committed the offenses charged in the first article of impeachment. it boils down to one thing -- we have a witness with first-hand evidence of the president's actions for which he is on trial. he is ready and willing to testify. how can senate republicans not vote to call that witness and request his documents?

anyone who says the house case lacks eyewitnesses and then votes to prevent eyewitnesses from testifying is talking out of both sides of their mouth. also, according to the report, several sections of mr. bolton's book further implicate mr. mr. mulvaney. previously, mr. mulvaney denied ever being on the phone when the president spoke to rudy giulia rudy giuliani. mr. bolton writes that mr. mulvaney was on the phone with rudy and the president was discussing the removal of ambassador yovanovitch. mr. bolton's book is further evidence that a large number of people were "in the loop" on this scheme, as ambassador sondland said. and now they are all covering up. so it seems like not only is there more evidence that the

president held the aide off to get a political gain and investigation, but there seems to be a giant cover-up among so many of the leading people in the white house who do about it and said nothing about it, let alone try to stop it. if there was ever even a shred of logic left to not hear witnesses and review the documents, mr. bolton's book just erased it. ambassador bolton's manuscript was sent to the white house over a month ago. the president ordered everyone with first-hand knowledge of his actions not to testify in the impeachment inquiry. we are all staring a white house cover-up in the face. it is so clear what is going on here. i don't need to spell it out for you. if senate republicans are not going to vote to call mr. bolton and mr. mulvaney and the other witnesses now, if they are not going to ask for notes and

emails, they are going to be part of the cover-up, too. because we have this out in the open. it is up to four senate republicans, just four senate republicans, to ensure that john bolton, mick mulvaney, mr. blair, and mr. duffy testify in the senate trial. it's up to four republicans to get the documents that surrounded their actions in those days. one final point --dash of course, the president denied ambassador bolton's account in a series of late-night tweets. already, republicans -- already some republicans are saying, "this is just a he said, he said the fair. just a matter of conflicting accounts." i would remind everyone, between president trump and ambassador

bolton, only one of them is willing to testify in the senate under oath. only mr. bolton is willing to swear that he is telling the truth. senator cardin? >> let me think senator schumer for outlining the absolute necessity for this impeachment trial to be able to hear directly from the witnesses that have the direct knowledge. i want to just go back to saturday, with the president's council telling us the importance -- >> ed: you have been listening to senate democrats. obviously the leader, chuck schumer, and now ben cardin, a top democrat on the foreign relations committee. in a few moments we will hear about the republican news conference amid these developing spindles get back to ari fleischer, former white house press secretary. obviously democrats trying to pounce on this news, this leak about john bolton, ari. they already seem to have mitt romney and susan collins, at least, leaning toward witnesses.

they haven't said they will vote yes but they are now out with brand-new statements leaning yes. the democrats still need to cope more republicans. say, lamar alexander, lisa murkowski. where do we stand at this hour? >> i don't know how that vote will go, but i do know there is one other action we have not talked about. i think john bolton has a moral obligation to step forward and explained what he knows. it might hurt his book sales, but if this has been interjected into the impeachment trial in the senate, and is considered by some such important evidence, and he might not be able to be subpoenaed because of executive privilege, it's a legitimate reason not to be subpoenaed. he has a moral obligation to go to the press until the press what he knows. he cannot let this half-leak standing. if there's context to it, he should explain it. if there is no context, he should seat some. you don't let this linger. >> ed: no doubt about it paid something we will watch closely, we appreciate your insights this morning. >> thank you, ed. >> sandra: more on that coming

up. meanwhile, fox news alert on a deadly disease spreading fast, with new cases of the coronavirus supported here in the united states. the centers for disease control is about to provide an update any moment now. >> ed: plus, democrats ramping up for call for witnesses. president trump's impeachment trial, after that expose the report on john bolton's new book. >> they've just learned there's a key witness going to the heart of the allegations. the question they have to answer is, do they want to hear the truth? do they want to cross-examine john bolton? at visionworks we guarantee you will see great and look great. "guaranteed" we say that too! you've gotta use these because we don't mean it. buy any pair at regular price, get one free. really! visionworks. see the difference. here hold this. follow that spud. [ tires screech ] the big idaho potato truck is touring america telling folks about idaho potatoes.

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>> ed: a fifth case of coronavirus no confirmed in america as china scrambles to contain the spread of the deadly illness. the u.s. now ordering all american personnel to leave wuhan, the epicenter of the

outbreak. so far 2800 people have been infected. the death toll rising to 81. all of them in china. >> sandra: growing concern about whether enough is being done to contain the virus. >> ed: here in the u.s. converses, cases of been confirmed in arizona, california, illinois, and washington state. >> i think it's increasingly likely that other republicans will join those of us who think we should hear from john bolton. i have spoken with others who have opined upon this, as well. i think it's important to be able to hear from john bolton, for us to be able to make an impartial judgment. >> sandra: that was senator mitt romney a short time ago, leaving the door open, clearly, to witnesses after a report on john bolton's new booking dominic seems to undercut a key part of the president's defense. "the new york times" reporting

that a hold on military aid to you at the station of the bidens. president trump is denying that this morning as his legal team gears up to resume opening arguments a bit later today. joining us now, jason chaffetz, former congressman and fox news contributor. good morning to you, jason. welcome to "america's newsroom." >> good morning. thank you. >> sandra: a lot of developments this morning. jump in. how do you see things playing out as this resumes this afternoon? >> remember, the house democrats chose to pursue john bolton. any senator says, "i'm going to vote no on witnesses," is taking the exact same position that the house democrats took. probably most important is that the facts are there. the aid did flow. it did go before the deadline. there was a planned meeting, as was pointed out saturday by the president's legal team, to have a meeting with the president. the president of ukraine didn't

think there was a problem. when the aid does flow, it does go without the investigation of joe biden. then you have more than ample evidence that what actually happened is enough of a defense. >> sandra: jason, what do you see as the likelihood today, as far as the changes we've seen over the last 24-48 hours, what do you think is the likelihood today that we will see witnesses called? >> i think it is more in question. remember, donald trump's team, the republicans, also good to call witnesses. this isn't going to be like it was in the house of representatives where it was entirely adam schiff and the democrats that control the entire show without allowing the president's team to mount a defense, even be in the room during one of the 78 days. if you're going to play ball, you have to call the so-called whistle-blower, adam schiff, under biden, joe biden. those people will have to come testify. if that's what the senate wants

to do and they want to drag this out for four or five months, there are consequences to that. look at the end line facts. the fact is the aid did flow. >> sandra: it's not just democrats, and i we are hearing from some of those moderate republicans. you heard mitt romney there, now susan collins put a statement in the last 2 minutes. "the decision on whether or not to call witnesses should be made after both thousand managers and the president's attorneys have had the opportunity to present their cases." she writes, "i've always said that i would call witnesses like it did in the clinton trail. the report about bolton's book strengthens the cases and have prompted a number of collect on my conversations among my colleagues." is that an indication that others may follow her lead? >> they might follow her lead. let's remember, the president's team gets to continue to address

and mount their defense. 16 hours of questions by the senator, we may well get to the end of those 16 hours. "i've hadn't of questions at this point." let's see where that goes. i also don't tend to believe "the new york times." i don't know how many times we've read something but maybe find out it wasn't true. i actually concur with ari fleischer. john bolton can come on "america's newsroom" or with bret baier on "special report" and make some sort of statement and get some sort of clarification here and i think that would be helpful. >> sandra: we of course welcome any of them to appear here on "america's newsroom." we want to finally ask you about the doj putting out the statement a short ago on bolton not informing ag barr about the trump-zelensky call. they say it's a misrepresentation of the chronological order of events. the times reporting that bolton warned ag barr that president trump had mentioned him on the call. they are saying that's not the case. the department of justice

denying that sequence of events, important to put that out here before how things were discovered to come a lot of people are taking that "new york times" report for what it is. one source. ari fleischer made the case this could be taken out of context. after all, it is a leak. your final thoughts? >> that's a problem with "the new york times." we have seen this time and time and time again. i don't know how many times we will go and believe and have the congress act based on an anonymous source. i think ari fleischer is entirely right, and it's damning to what john bolton the saying when you have the attorney general's office coming out and saying what was reported in "the new york times" is not accurate. i tend to believe the department of justice. i think attorney general barr is owed that courtesy and i think he has earned the respect -- he wouldn't have done so if it wasn't blatantly wrong. >> sandra: regardless, it could be changing the game. based on that report, that leaked transcript, susan collins that she is more likely to cover

witnesses in the senate. we will see what happens. great to have you to respond this morning, thank you. >> thanks, sandra. >> ed: just moment from senate republicans responded. we will go to your life when it starts. in the meantime, jury selection in the nike assertion case against michael avenatti begins today here in new york. judge andrew napolitano weighs in on the trial coming up. investigators looking at whether a factor in the crash that killed kobe bryant, one of his daughters, and seven other people. the trials they are facing as they try to give evidence. a live report from california is next. >> roughly a football field of debris. roughly 100 yards across in each direction. i wish i had gone into aspen dental much sooner.

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>> ed: jury selection underway in the michael avenatti trial in new york. his accused of trying to extort my give millions of dollars into fronting a client. avenatti pleading not guilty to the tardis. judge andrew napolitano, fox news senior judicial analyst and a host of "the liberty file" on fox nation. good morning, sir. avenatti. who was harmed here? who was his client? >> his client as a basketball coach. his client told him his students, the best ballplayers, received free material from nike in return for advertising nike. for that he claims they have been armed to the tune of -- the coach was harmed to the tune of

$25 million. >> ed: seems like a stretch. >> when the lawyer makes a demand to settle the case of the client, what measurement do thee feds decide to use to say it's extortion? when the demand is so totally out of proportion to the damages, the fed say it's probably extortion. unfortunately for mr. avenatti, all these demands are on tape. the shouting and screaming, the hyperbolic threats, they are all on tape. how he can justify and explain that to a jury is beyond me. so he was indicted for extortion, and that is the trial that began today. trying to get $25 million from nike, much of it for himself personally, in the case that was not worth a fraction of that. >> ed: he insists he's not guilty but you say he's on tape. number two, i looked at the government filing, there were google searches they found on his computers for it nike stock price, and he was looking at nike filings and whatnot. and he had a lot of debt, which might be a motive for him. the prosecutor saying the government expects the evidence

of the trial will show that at the time of his charge to conduct the defendant was in significant debt. specifically the government presently estimates the defendant's death at that time were conservatively in excess of $15 million. >> all of that under the federal rules. only the tip of him yelling and screaming, but the google searches as well as the debt. they have the obligation to share with his motivation was. >> ed: what about jeff bezos? he owns "the washington post," the tablet stories come out about his girlfriend. in the last week or so we see a leak about allegedly the saudis hacked into his phone, that's how the story leaked, the saudis deny that. then our sister republication "the wall street journal" house this exclusive over the weekend that says, "hang on a second, the girlfriend gave the texts to her own brother and he sold them to the "national enquirer"." >> if the girlfriend, jeff's girlfriend, gave the texts of jeff and the girlfriend in

embarrassing positions that may have been known publicly to her brother, and the brother sold it to the "national enquirer," there is no crime there. they maybe harm to jeff but there is no crime. if on the other hand jeff's cell phone was hacked by agents for the crown prince, that's a very serious federal crime. two different stories. one from the fbi, that the brother did it, the other from the united nations that the crown prince did it. question, what did jeff know when he reported this to the fbi? did he know that it was and honestly believe it was the crown prince? or did you know his likely future brother-in-law was out to get him? >> ed: months ago he posted a blog item point get a finger apparently of the saudis. >> correct. the brother-in-law this morning says to "the wall street journal" that it's wrong. but the feds will come out with an expiration like this. midstream, they're not even finish with this investigation unless they have some hard-core evidence to back it up.

>> ed: big cases on the docket. that's what we bring i in the judge. >> good to see you. >> sandra: fox news alert, fans around the world remember and kobe bryant today. federal authorities are investigating the helicopter crash that killed him, his 13-year-old daughter, gianna, and seven other people yesterday. the helicopter went down just north of los angeles in the foggy weather. jonathan hunt is live from calabasas, california, with the latest from there. what are we learning this morning, jonathan? >> well, sandra and ed, this is clearly going to be a very difficult investigation, purely from a physical standpoint because of the location in which the helicopter went down. take a look behind me now. up on that hillside, you can see the spot where it slammed into that hillside. investigators up there right now. they have been up there since first light, working to find out what could have been the exact

cause of this tragic crash. what we do know from residents who were here at the time is that the calabasas area was blanketed in a thick fog, the like of which some of them say they have rarely seen in this area of l.a. so clearly ntsb investigators who are now on the scene will be looking at that fog as a possible factor in this crash. certainly what we do know is the weather conditions were deemed too bad even for los angeles police department helicopters to take off on sunday morning. listen here. >> we do know there was an issue of visibility and a low ceiling. the actual conditions at the time of impact, that is still yet to be determined. >> reporter: [indistinct] >> we had none operating in the area at the time.

>> reporter: [indistinct] >> because of the weather. >> of course the cause of the crash, less important to kobe bryant's legions of fans than the mere fact that he is gone at the tender age of 41. many of them showed up here at the calabasas crash site, and to the staples center. the leakers' home, of course, to express their profound sense of loss. listen here. >> a big fan of kobe. grew up watching him. he was -- 's because he's basically bigger than basketball. he reached a god level. more than a man. it seems like he was superhuman or something. >> i started watching kobe when i was probably seven years old, or 6. he inspired me to pick up a basketball and play the game.

>> a true legend of the game. a devastating loss for the city of los angeles, and indeed, ed and sandra, for the entire world of sports. >> sandra: 's jonathan hunt, thank you. you've got this fox news alert, as well. we will hear from the president at the white house shortly, meeting with benjamin netanyahu. first the g.o.p. senators holding a news conference on the hill right now on impeachment. let's dip i in and listen. >> as i said last friday right here, i think there'll be something new coming out every day. very similar to what we saw in the kavanaugh trial. new information, old information told in a different way, to inflame emotions and influence the outcome. take a breath, let's listen to the president's lawyers today in the case that they present. we are going to get to the specific question of witnesses on friday. we have two more days of hearing from the president's team. we have 16 hours of questioning by the senators, and voting

begins in iowa -- >> sandra: all right, the news conference continues on the hill. meanwhile come to the white house. >> ed: let's get to the president. they talk mideast peace but also john bolton. >> president trump: it's an honor to have prime minister netanyahu. the average menace relationship, i've known you for many years before that, but this was three years of prime time movie dunlop for israel. and the relationship, i think, has never been better. we are going to be discussing mideast peace. we will announce the plan at 12:00. that's a plan that bibi and his opponent, i must say, have to like very much. in terms of bibi, he does. in terms of his opponent, he does come too. i will be meeting with him for r in a little while. this is a plan very important to peace in the middle east. no matter where he went, they said israel and the palestinians, you have to make peace before you can have peace in the middle east.

people have been working on this for many, many years. i think we are relatively close, but we have to get other people to agree with it all. i will say many of the arab nations have agreed to it. they like it. they think it's a big start. i think it's a big start, too. it's a fantastic thing if we can pull it off. they say it's probably the most difficult deal anywhere and of any kind to make. in the business world, when i was back in the business world, when a deal with stuff people would jokingly refer to it as, "this is tougher than israel and the palestinians getting together." that's what i've heard all my life. so we will see what happens. we have something that makes a lot of sense for everybody, and we appreciate you being here. mr. prime minister? great to have you. >> thank you. mr. president, i want to say two things. first, that the deal of the century is the opportunity of the century. and we are not going to pass it by. we will pass

talk about that tomorrow. today, i repeat, i want to thank you for everything you've done for the state of israel. you have been the greatest friend that israel has had in the white house. i think tomorrow we can continue making history. thank you, mr. president. >> president trump: i look forward to it, thank you very much. >> reporter: mr. president, did you speak to the palestinians about your plan? >> president trump: we will be reporting on that tomorrow. it is something they should want. they probably won't want to initially, but i think in the end they will. in the end they will want it. it's very good for them. in fact, it's overly good to them. we'll see what happens. without them we don't do the deal, and that's okay. they are not living well. as you know, we cut off aid to the palestinians, something i don't like to do, but we did that. we think there is a very good chance they will want this. i will say they are great negotiators, their initial response -- and i have no idea what they're going to say -- would be, "we don't want

anything." but in the meantime they will be negotiating. tomorrow at 12:00 will be announcing a plan, and it's a very big plan. it'll be a suggestion between israel and the palestinians. it is the closest it has ever come, and we will see what happens. we have the support of the prime minister, we have the support of the other parties, and we think we will ultimately have the support of the palestinians. but we will see. if we do, it'll be a tremendous tribute to everybody. if we don't, life goes on. thank you very much, everybody. [reporters shouting questions] >> ed: you heard very briefly at the end there the president asked about the latest allegations. he quickly said, "false."

he also did a walk with the prime minister. he will turn that tape in a moment. you will see it, he was specifically asked about john bolton's book. we are told the president said he has not seen a manuscript from john bolton. all of this obviously will be playing out all day long and in the days to come. he will turn that tape in a moment. in the meantime, we also -- can save you $2000 a year. with the newday va streamline refi there's no income verification, no appraisal and no out of pocket costs. and my team can close your loan in as little as 30 days. one call can save you $2000 every year. that's ensure max protein, with high protein and 1 gram sugar. it's a sit-up, banana! bend at the waist! i'm tryin'! keep it up. you'll get there. whoa-hoa-hoa! 30 grams of protein, and one gram of sugar. ensure max protein.

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>> sandra: fox news alert, the pentagon is investigating a u.s. military aircraft crash in a taliban-controlled territory in eastern afghanistan. u.s. officials say there are no indications the plane was shot down. there were less than five people on board, but no confirmation yet of any casualties. we will bring you updates on that as we get them. >> ed: even mentioning him he just saw the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, in the oval office with the president e united states. president trump. they didn' did a walk on the coe outside the oval office. we will hear tape from them and just a moment. interesting, it's almost like

speefifteen last week, talking but the economy and trade deals while the impeachment drama was pulling out of washington. here he is in washington at the white house talking mideast peace as the impeachment drama still unfolds. speed you are the leader speaking the oval office, they walked down the colonnade, they made additional remarks there. netanhayu sang the deal the centuries in opportunity of a century, thinking the president does everything he's done for israel. tomorrow, he said, we can continue making history. to which the president said, "there is a good palestine will want this deal." and they have support of other parties. continued talk about the relationship there, that it's never been better between the two world leaders. we watch and listen together. report back was to present, what is your response to the bolton manuscript, and as this increase the chances he'll be called to testify? >> president trump: i haven't seen the manuscript, but i can tell you nothing was ever said

to john bolton. but i have not seen him. i guess he's writing a book, i haven't seen it. >> reporter: mr. president, -- >> president trump: i think he's here for a reason. hopefully it'll be yes. peace in the middle east has been long sought for many years and decades and centuries, and this is an opportunity. we will see what happens. whatever it is, it is. he's here for a reason. >> reporter: what do you think of the annexation of the jordan -- >> president trump: tomorrow at 12:00 we will show a plan that has been worked on by anybody, and we will see. if it does, it's great. if it doesn't, i think it might have a chance. >> reporter: do you expect benny gantz? >> president trump: he is coming here today. he will be here also. as you know, they are two good competitors, fighting it out. i've been waiting, this is my

third election. we keep waiting and waiting. let's go. what kind of a system is that? it's a very strange system you have over there. we have been, we've been talking about this for many months. we keep waiting for the election. so that system has to be looked at. >> reporter: what about the allegations -- >> president trump: one of the reasons he is here, he's coming, too. i will speak to him right after this. >> reporter>> may i say somethi? first of all, i'm very honored to be here with you today, mr. president. i look forward with making history with you tomorrow. we will talk about the plan, the vision of peace, which is historic. that the president has put forward. today i just want to say two words. thank you. thank you for everything you've done for israel. for recognizing it as the jewish

capital, for moving the embassy to jerusalem, for recognizing our sovereignty in the golan heights, the heartland of our biblical homeland, the unprecedented security and intelligence cooperation between our two countries. the list of your support for israel, the things you've done for israel since you've become president, is very long. the bottom line is short. you have made our lives stronger than ever. i look forward in the coming years to make it even stronger, with the historic defense that will anchor for generations. one last thing, this is -- on this day i'm proud to stand here is the prime minister of the one and only jewish state and thank you for converting most anti-semitic regime on the planet. when you came into office, iran was on the march.

because of your leadership, iran is now on the run. the dangerous nuclear deal, you slapped on tremendous sanctions. two weeks ago, you have taken out the most dangerous terrorist on the planet. all those who seek peace, all those who want to fight terrorism, should thank you, mr. president, for your bold decisions on bold actions. on behalf of the state of israel, want to thank you. everything you've done for israel, for confronting iran, and for your extra ordinary decisions, your friendship come under leadership. that's the end of my -- >> reporter: are you going to say tomorrow -- >> president trump: we will release the plan tomorrow. you can see for yourself. okay, we will see you inside. >> sandra: president donald trump and obviously benjamin netanyahu they're saying that they will announce a middle east peace plan tomorrow

at noon. at the very top of their walk, you are the president asked about the impeachment trial resuming on capitol hill this morning. he said, "i have not seen the manuscript," referencing the reporting from "the new york times" about that leaked transcript. "i have not seen it from john bolton, nothing was ever said." the president said right at the top of their walk there. we'll have a lot more on this breaking news as we get it. "america's newsroom" will return in just a moment. >> man: what's my safelite story?

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kobe bryant on the court? >> he is one of the guys that inspired all of us. he wanted to beat us and embarrass us, i think he made us level of our game. we knew it we wouldn't play, he would dominate. he was an unbelievable competitor. >> ed: he talked about it as the mamba mentality, what was that like on the court, what would you see in his eyes? >> it was very fierce, certain games, you could tell what kind of focus he had. one game that always sticks out in my mind, he scored 61 at the garden and it was one of those games where you walked out and most guys would fist bump and stuff but he had his hands to his side, he had a very determined look on his face and he came out there and did something very magical in the garden that night. definitely one of his mo mamba .

>> ed: you are somebody who is transitioning from the nba to private life, it breaks your heart to see his family torn apart. >> definitely and it's just so sudden, my condolences go out to the bryant family, lives were lost in this crash and he was definitely doing an unbelievable job transitioning into an entrepreneur, i was really looking forward to seeing how creative he was going to be able to be after the game. >> ed: he said he wanted to be a storyteller for the rest of his life. we certainly appreciate your reflections including that big day at madison square garden. thanks for coming in. we've been hearing this all morning, the life and legacy at the age of 41, gone so early. >> sandra: devastating news. i think all of us are member yesterday, the time you've heard

the news, it was so hard to believe and take in. our thoughts with his family and all those who were lost yesterday. >> ed: will be back covering this tomorrow morning as well as the impeachment trial. in the meantime, "outnumbered" starts right now. >> melissa: a fox news alert, president trump's legal team set to resume opening statements in the next hour. the president is now hitting back at a "new york times" report that he told former national security advisor john bolton he wanted to withhold ukrainian aid until an investigation was launched into the bidens and other democrats. the "times" citing the manuscript of bolton's upcoming book but the president denying he ever told bolton that. our short time ago at the white house also saying this. >> i haven't seen a manuscript but i can tell you nothing was ever said to john bolton but i have not seen a manuscript. i guess he is writing a book. >> melissa: