friends. that was an incredible chunk of ice. it was elaborate, well done and now it's over. martha: i can think of a lot of things i can say about chilling and cool. pretty soon we'll have real ice like that out there, we look forward to that. bill: we'll pine for the days of august. have a great weekend it's been a long week. martha: it has. have a great weekend. jenna: thanks bill and martha. hello, everybody, i'm jenna lee, happy friday and thanks for joining us. jon: happy friday indeed, i'm jon scott. we are here in the fox newsroom. "happening now" democrats are trying to make the most of their time left with majorities in both the house and senate. jenna: they are aggressively moving forward on key legislation like "don't ask don't tell," the d.r.e.a.m. act, extending the bush tax cuts, but

leaving people more than $250,000 per year off of it. what is driving this really big agenda? james rosen is live on capitol hill with the story. we may see more than one vote on the bush-era taxes. how will they get all that done before the lame-duck session is over. >> reporter: it won't be easy. it looks like the democrats are not going to get their way which is to extend the bush tax cuts only for families making $250,000 or less are opting for a bit of theater. the tax cuts president bush signed into law in 2001 and 2003 are set to expire at year's end. republicans say tharepublican ap easterners making $250,000 a year include many of the nation's job creators. >> legislation to extend them all costing $4 trillion, if he

wants a vote on that i'll be happy to help a range that. he should also help arrange a vote on 250, period. >> reporter: the thinking there is republicans were seen to be voting against tax relief that was only for the middle class it would damage the gop's political fortune. for the democrats this might have been a better idea had they held that vote before election day. jenna: as you were just mentioning the bush-era tax cuts, one of the top agenda items extending unemployment didn't actually make it through. how does that set up the rest of the debates to come. >> reporter: they may try to tie the two things together. the house democrats failed to push through a $12 billion program that would extend unemployment benefits another three months to the jong-term jobless. these are people who have been receiving assistance up to 99 weeks and for whom that aid is set to expire on

november 30th. republicans objected to the price tag, democrats fell about 20 votes shy of the number they needed. the next house speaker the republican leader in the house, john boehner, suggested just analyzing this as a professional politician that part of the democrat's problem is that they waited too long. >> i do believe that the u.s. congress has got even into a very bad habit of having these lame-duck congresses. i've got to believe this might be the fifth consecutive congress where we've had a lame-duck session. and while there is business that needs to be done, i would hope that the leaders that are still in large would heed the advice of the american people that occurred on election day. >> reporter: still another ticking clock is attached to uncle sam's funding stream. it is set to go dark on december 4th, so another thing that lawmakers will have to tackle when they convene for the second part of their lame-duck

session about ten days from now is to some type of stop gap measure to make sure the lights don't go dark. jenna: otherwise you'll have to bring your own or a flashlight. >> reporter: or bring a crew maybe. jenna: james rosen thank you very much. jon: brand-new developments to tell you about regarding the fort hood shooting trial. fox news has learned the federal government is blocking critical evidence from the defense team, the feds refusing to hand over the white house intelligence report into that shooting. the document examines american cleric anwar al-awlaki's emails to accused gunman nidal malik hasan. they say it's not in keeping with obama's pledge of transparency. catherine herridge is live in washington. why are they holding back the intelligence report, catherine? >> reporter: according to this letter obtained by fox as part of its on going investigation of american cleric anwar al-awlaki

the report is being withheld from the defense because of the intelligence information it contains. it reads in part it contains highly classified compartmented and sensitive information, accordingly we cannot produce the document if ever until after a detailed and time consuming interagency review. the letter is also being blocked because officials argued the release may compromise sources and methods that were used to gather that classified information. jon: i'm sure john galligan, his lawyer is steamed about this -frpbts he is. one of the major lawyers representing nidal malik hasan tells fox he has been asking for this report for a year and now is informed it won't be provided for him. he said it came on the last day of the article 32 hearing ten minutes before it started. he argues the report could be helpful to the defense and should be provided in some form because he anticipates the military will seek the death

penalty in nidal malik hasan's anticipated court-martial. we asked the officer of the director of intelligence for a response and they said they would not comment on pending litigation. here is the central thing, in our experience over the last year our investigative team looking at anwar al-awlaki with few exceptions when you see documents that relate to the cleric what you find is that there are almost always blocks to get thag information. in the fort hood prosecution that has also been the case, jon. jon: catherine herridge in washington for us, thanks. jenna: brand-new developments in the case of an american teenager missing in aruba. dutch authorities are reviewing the dental records of natalee holloway, because of the discovery of a jawbone this week. phil keating is live in miami on this story. what kind of timeline are we looking at here as far as matching the bone to a specific person. >> reporter: aruba and dutch

authorities tell me any way we could know whether or not the jawbone is that of natalee holloway. experts say when you have full dental records has the dutch officials in the haig, in the neater land has in this case the fbi confirmed they sent x-rays, dental records of natalee holloway, including her teeth impressions over there, so the netherlands forensic institute has all of this and has had it for four-full days. right now it's 6pm there at the haig. this really is a decision that should be made sooner or later. however the dutch officials tell me once they know they will then tell the arubans and let them give the information to the public. jenna: if it turns out to be natalee holloway's jawbone and we don't know yet as you mentioned, where does the investigation go? >> reporter: at that point they would actually have confirmation finally after five and a half years that natalee holloway is in fact dead. of course the investigators, her family, everybody, basically assumes that she has been

killed, that she is definitely not just missing or wandered off five and a half years ago. in 2005 she was staying at the holiday inn on palm beach on the northwest section of the arubay island. this jawbone was found a mile south of that on the same strip outside the phoenix hotel. it's a full mile away from where she was presumed to have been last seen at the holiday inn and further south from the swampy area that was heavily drained and the focus of the search five and a half years ago. what would explain why a jawbone would be on a beach that is well traveled by tourists every day for five and a half years and no other bones have been found, a wide variety of possible explanations, can be an animal found a bone somewhere and brought it over. maybe other bones belonging to this person -- we don't know officially whether this is a human bone at this point. neither aruba or the dutch have

said this is a human bone. they have discounted it is an animal bone so we have to presume they do believe it is human. jenna: so many questions remain but hopefully some answers soon. good to see you today. jon: there is a terrible discovery in that search for a missing family in ohio. the bodies of tina hermann, her 11-year-old son and stephanie sprang have been found. they found the mother's 13-year-old mother bound and gagged but eye live in a basement. rick: the question on everybody's mind is why. even as police have a suspect in custody there are still no answers in morning. hundreds of people gathering at a local lake near mount vernon ohio to hold a candlelight vigil. they remembered three of their names, two mothers and a young son murdered and then hidden away in a hollow tree. the man not yet charged with

their killings, 30-year-old matthew hoffman. there he is. he's an out of work tree trimmer with a criminal record and a strange personality according to locals. he did six years for arson while living in colorado a decade ago and he's been charged with kidnapping a 13-year-old girl, a daughter of one of the murder victims. she was found sunday bound and gagged as you said in hoffman's basement. we are told that she is going to be okay and we're not showing you her identity because of her age. but the search for her mother, tina hermann, her brother kody and her mom's friend stephanie sprang ended when hoffman instructed his lawyer to tell the authorities where the bodies were. he gave the information to try and avoid the death penalty. he sits in a jail sell on suicide watch. the young girl who survived is now staying with her dad and neighbors have brought over pizza and chicken dinners. a sign on the house, though has asked for privacy. it says we are not ready to talk at this time, which is certainly

understandable considering the nightmare that these families and this entire community in ohio are going through right now. back to you. jon: just an awful story. rick folbaum, thanks. jenna: a couple of pieces of video crossing our international desk. the first one has to deal with tensions in the middle east. militants firing a powerful rocket into southern israel. security officials say the rocket was of military grade. a barn was damaged in the attack, also some animals were hit by srap tphal. no people hurt. militants firing mortars. they hit three targets in gaza in response to those attacks. jon: also angry protesters taking to the streets in paris to save the blue fin tuna. green peace activists demonstrating across from where 50 fishing nations are meeting to decide the fate of those fish. protestors scaling walls,

rolling out a bans that says blue fin tuna eight days to live. the nation will decide whether to cut blue fin tuna quotas amid concerns of the dwindling population. jenna: who knew? a big spec tack alin north korea. do you remember this the rogue regime destroying a cooling tower at one of its nuclear sites as part of a deal. was it all show in new photos may show what north korea is really up to today. ambassador john bolton's take ahead. jon: a special friday hot seat segment coming up in our next hour. lou dobbs is going to be joining us to take your questions. get on our live chat, tell us what you want to ask lou, anything from tax cuts, to immigration to the tsa pat-downs. jenna: log onto foxnews.com, click on the link to our home page and you can get us through our show page foxnews.com/"happening now."

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jenna: we have breaking news out of north korea to share with you. these are new satellite images that appear to show the north koreans building a new nuclear reactor. it could be evidence of the world pressure and bringing it one step closer to a nuclear bomb. ambassador john bolton joins us now. some say it's just to produce electricity, others say it's to produce a weapon of mass destruction. what is your take on this story? >> reporter: i think it's clear this is another indication north korea has absolutely no intention of giving up its nuclear weapons program. within the past year they've confirmed again that they've got a uranium enrichment program, one route to nuclear weapons. they will get the second route,

the plutonium route. they want to complete this by 2012. it's one of many to come. north korea continues to power along in its nuclear weapons program. jenna: nuclear capabilities have been a hot topic in d.c. with all the conversation about the start treaty. that treaty would reduce some nuclear arms between russia and the united states. some republicans do not want to sign this treaty or approve it in congress before the start of the new year. what is your take on that treaty and how it might or might not affect our national security. >> reporter: this is a very bad treaty. it was negotiated poorly, it con trains the united states in ways that i think are unacceptable to our national security and that of our friends and allies around the world who depend on our nuclear umbrella. senator jon kyl earlier this week quite correc correctly saik

there are concerns about missile defense and the u.s. arsenal. there is no reason to room and jam this treaty through in a few weeks left in the lame-duck. i think it should be put over, that's what senator kyl suggested. if it comes to a vote next month i think it should be voted down. jenna: we have talked a lot about the issues with iran and that's something that the president has brought up for a reason to pass this treaty through to develop our relationship with russia, move our relays ships forward at a time when we cannot afford another world conflict or keep attention to russia's relationship with iran. do you think not signing this treaty would set us backwards at a time when we can't afford that. >> reporter: i'm sure the russians will be unhappy if the senate rejects the treaty since it's tilted so far in russia's directionment making russia unhappy because of what might

happen with iran is badly misguided. if they are threatening to increase cooperation with iran, that is the kind of blackmail i think we should find unacceptable. i think the administration has failed very badly in dealing with the iranian nuclear weapons program, but that is not going to be corrected by the senate ratifying a bad treaty. jenna: ambassador bolton always nice to see you and hear your incincites. jon: president obama is in portugal right now meeting with european and nato leaders. got a bit of the wrong video up but you get the point. he's putting his war strategy on the table for our allies, the goal to set a date for the afghans to control their own security. it could be a major breakthrough, possibly a crucial piece of evidence uncovered in aruba. could it bring us one step closer to discovering what happened to natalee holloway and who might have made her disappear? geraldo rivera weighs in.

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jenna: fox news alert. we want to bring you up to date on an incident in central england. we are getting word of this incident at birmingham airport. apparently a light aircraft crashed on approach to the airport. there were two people on board. because of this incident there are planes that are being diverted at this time. right now according to some of the reporting we are doing on this it does not appear to be terror related. as we hear more about the incident we'll bring you up to date. jon: "happening now," authorities in aruba are examining natalee holloway's dental records hoping the discovery of a human jawbone on a beach in aruba might be the

key that unlocks a mystery as to what happened to that american teenager. joining us geraldo rivera, anchor of geraldo at large. you've spoken to her father. >> reporter: my brother greg did. he's hunting this weekend. the fact he didn't call off the hunting trip in some ways to me mitigates the urgency of it, but clearly dave believes that this is more legitimate than, remember the scuba couple, the scuba diving couple some months ago that thought what -- saw what they thought was a skull and bones underwater. he dismissed that. this he believes might be human remains. whether the leap from that to it's natalee holloway these five years later, that's not known. jon: this family has been jerked around so many times up and down, and the underwater photo was a good example of that.

>> reporter: it was kind of like the loc lochness monster. dave believes that the aruban experts believe that this is a young woman's jawbone. now it's been sent to the netherlands for higher tech -- they are highly evolved in terms of their forensic technology. they are now examining the remains. they have requested additional material from the natalee holloway family and from the alabama authorities. they've got even more physical evidence to track and see whether or not the miracle and true and it is natalee holloway. jon: let's say the jawbone turns out to be hers. all right that tells you she's dead. most people kind of assume that now any way. what does it do for the investigation? does it actually move us anywhere? >> reporter: i don't think you can leap past that first part of what you said, jon. clearly it does establish

whether or not she briefs or has gone to her maker, that is a big deal for the hollow ways. look at beth, the mother that's what caused her to go all the way to lima, peru to confront joran van der sloot with a hidden camera and all the rest of it. this family desperately needs closure. to the substantive point of what you should said it is a tremendous leap to find a human jawbone and then to first of all find out who put that bone there, who is responsible. how do you link the bone, the physical evidence of her mortality with the suspect in prison in lima. i submit to you that the fact that he is now accused and has made admissions in this other murder case, the stephanie ramirez murder, killed five years to the date of natalee's disappearance, that will be joran van der sloot's destiny, he'll rot in a peruvian prison

for the rest of his natural life but at least the family will know that natalee is not a sex slave or other preposterous story. jon: at large start and sunday. >> reporter: i'll be there. jon: a lot of people tune in. jenna: for a little bit more on this, guys we will go to dr. michael baden. he's a forensic pathologist and a fox news contributor. and with us on the phone is mark fuhrman also a fox news contributor talking with dr. baden what we can find out through this jawbone. how much information can you discover through the one piece. >> reporter: the jawbone and dental x-rays are fingerprints. they are unique for each of us. we don't need new tech, old tech like an old kpaeu that could have been taken in aruba and compared to the previous x-rays that were submitted by the family can immediately tell them

and they may already know whether it matches or not matches, and whether it's natalee or not. if it's a human jawbone. a jawbone is easy to see as human. no other animal except a zebra has something similar to it. if it's not natalee it's someone else and that has to be pursued, and that's where the dna becomes critical. that will tell us who it is and who has to be searched for. jenna: we don't know exactly who the jawbone belongs to, still there could be an investigation regardless of that, mark. with some evidence like this where would you bring this investigation after we discover who this jawbone belongs to? >> reporter: well, what is interesting about this is first you have to exclude the most obvious or include, and that is natalee holloway. then you november onto just exactly how was the jawbone separated from the rest of the skeletal -- the skull or the rest of the skeletal remains of that body. when did the teeth come out?

how long had that been in the water. and were the teeth removed manually by the suspect, or by natural occurrences, or animals. so you've got to move into bracketing the age of the jawbone. and i suspect they already know that, like dr. baden said, they've already looked at x-rays. i find it comical that now they've requested dental records five and a half years after she is missing, they just request dental records. that's kind of silly. that's the first line of identifying remains. jenna: dr. baden from what mark just said about the different things that could have happened to this person, whoever this jawbone belongs to, how much information could you find out? again just about what mark had to say, how long the bone was in the water, what exactly the person was maybe eating or drinking ahead of this incident. can you actually get all that information from that one piece? >> reporter: yes, we don't know if the body has been in the water or in the ground, but if bodies are buried in soil the

root canal pulp is wonderful for being able to also do toxicology. if she had had a date rape drug, for example, they might still be able to find toxicologic evidence of it in the root canal which is a very protected part of the body. that is one area. i think that they -- hopefully they have that whole area walled off and they are doing a search because if the jawbone is there, where is the rest of the body? and we don't know yet, i haven't seen any evidence whether it was washed up from shore, whether it was buried or how this was obtained, but they know a lot now. they know whether it's natalee or not just by the old dental x-rays. jenna: over the next couple of days obviously we've been mentioning that it seems like there's been so many near hits with this very. what is the one thing our viewer

should -- viewers should watch as the story develops over the next few hours, really. >> reporter: this jawbone you might have a problem that yes you could say that that person, whether it's natalee or not is in fact deceased. then you have to prove did they die at the hands of another, which is a homicide. is it somebody that drowned from some other circumstances and the ocean took the body, or whatever circumstance. but now you've got to make that leap to prove a homicide and that might be difficult. jenna: mark fuhrman and dr. baden thank you so much to both of you for joining us today. >> reporter: thank you. jon: you know the results of the november elections, democrats losing control of the house of representatives, but they are making the most of the time they have left. senator reid r-r on the senate side is still working with still speaker pelosi trying to check off items on a very busy to do 0 list. a lame-duck session with an ambitious agenda. what is driving the democrats these days? getting too close for comfort.

tighter security measures sparking a flood of complaints. passengers saying aggressive security agents are crossing the lines from pat-downs to groping. more on the controversy next. fy÷@>m9

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jon: the tsa says path downs are not random but only used when someone sets off an alarm or refuses to go through a full body scan. jon: is the tsa taking it seriously? >> reporter: they go to great lengths to point out that the airport screening is required at every airport. they can opt out of having government agents do it. they still have to have somebody do it. if the private screeners are hired the tsa still oversees

that operation. the tsa saying in the statement all commercial airports are regulated by tsa, whether the actual screening is performed by tsa officers or private companies. tsa they are security scanners that must be followed and that includes the use of enhanced pat-downs and imaging technologies. 16 airports nationwide have the private screeners, including san francisco and kansas city, jon. jon: thanks. jenna: politics now in d.c. time is running out for harry reid and pelosi to push the agenda with the democrat's two current majorities on capitol hill. they are moving fast in the lame-duck session on controversial legislation, on tax hikes for those making over $250,000 a year while extending tax cuts for those making less. extending unemployment benefits, trying to pass the d.r.e.a.m. act and repealing "don't ask don't tell." some say this is an attempt to score points before republicans

take control of of the house. others say it might be a message to the white house to take a stand on some of the issues once and for all. adam goldberg is a former white house associate, special assistant to president clinton. what do you think it is about. >> reporter: i think they are trying to get done with their agenda before the republicans take the majority. before it gets harder to do what they want to do they are trying to get it done. jenna: do you think that is politically smart considering what happened to the political landscape after the midterms? >> reporter: sure, i don't know if it's one way or the other. i don't think it will rebound against them. i think the republicans are at serious risk of things rebounding gaze them. you were talking about the start treaty. this is a treaty that a lot of prominent republicans are in favor of and that thing will damage our national security. republicans are standing in the way of it in our senate. if they go forward with that kind of politics that's going to

hurt them. jenna: republicans have been painted by some democrats as the party of low. as we went through the list there are a lot of things the republicans said no to in the past. it seems like the vote erbs are equally disallusioned with either party and ready to see compromise even though this is a lame-duck session. >> this is going to be really interesting to see, the mitch mcconnell statement is his job is to get the president unelected in two years going to win out? they are trying to get good policy measures done. there are parts of their caucus leading them astray. the question is are they going to continue to blow off the president when he invites them over to the white house or meet with them and sit down. jenna: some democrats want more direction from the white house

on some of these issues like the tax cuts. weave eve heard some srar inch reports about what the white house really wants done here in the final weeks. do you think that might be an attempt by the democrats to get the white house to come out and say exactly what they want on some of these issues? >> i'm sure the more left part of this party is trying to pressure him just as republicans are trying to pressure him. and the republicans on the right side of the caucus are trying to presents their leadership. the president is going to try to get done as much as he can but he can only get down what the votes are. i think sroebgs are criticizing the president for not nothing what to do right now. i think he knows what he -pbts wants to do, until he sits down with the republicans he won't know what he can do. jenna: thank you very much. another big topic this week is the story about ahmed khalfan ghailani acquitted on all but one charge on the bombing in

africa. what does this mean in trying khalid sheikh mohammed in a federal court. we are hearing more on the royal engagement. could we hear today when and where prince william and kate middleton will get married? we have that story just ahead. and the goodness of dairy gives you a little slice of happy. and happiness comes in 25 delicious flavors. yoplait. it is so good.

jon: president obama is on another overseas trip arriving in lisbon, portugal to attend the annual nato summit. global leaders have a bunch of issues to chew on. dominating the spotlight afghanistan, half a world away. conor powell is streaming live from kabul for us. connor. >> reporter: well, jon afghanistan is supposed to be just one of many issues discussed at this nato summit but it is far and away the biggest issue facing nato today with some 150,000 u.s. and nato troops here in afghanistan. over the weekend general david petition petition is expected to

layout a rough transition plan of handing over security responsibilities from u.s. and nato forces to afghan security forces by the end of 2014. top u.s. and nato officials admit that this hand over transition plan is a sort of a goal, it's not a guarantee that the conditions on the ground will dictate the hand over and the transition process not a calendar timeline. but this transition is just one of many issues after afghan president hamid karzai criticized the current u.s. strategy in afghanistan over the past few days. they backed down from the criticism but there is a lot of tensions bubbling underneath the scene between u.s. and in it tow officials and president karzai. it is one of many issues they will be discussing this weekend. president karzai has pledged, to remove to kick out all private security firms from afghanistan by the end of this year. nature tee uses private security forms to protect bases and

embassies here in afghanistan. nato officials support this drawdown and this removal of private security firms ultimately but they are saying that they want to slow down the process. it is just one of many disagreements between afghan president hamid karzai and afghan leaders with nato and u.s. officials, jon. jon: and the clock is ticking. conor powell stream live, thanks, connor. jenna: lots of great stories this w weekend and lots of great questions this week. coming in for a hot seat segment we will be giving the questions to lou dobbs. there is still time for you to get your questions in. hop on our live chat. click on the link at foxnews.com. you can email us if you prefer that at "happening now".com. we look forward to hearing from you and so does lou. why rogue democrats are ruffling feathers at that place, the white house. plus they are breaking a world record by tying the knot. we're going to tell you how.

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jon: fresh debate this hour, the federal trial and near acquittal of the first gandhi taeupbee ahmed khalfan ghailani is raising new concerns. it's reigniting the argument over where to hold the 9/11 trials and should the cases be heard by military tribunals or by a jury somewhere in america. michael sullivan is a former federal prosecutor. he prosecuted the case of richard reid, who tried to blow

up an airplane with explosive hidden in his shoes. he was sentenced to life in prison. phaoeurbg he will, you've heard the arguments. a lot of people say the near acquittal of ahmed khalfan ghailani the guy convicted of one charge out of hundreds lodged against them suggests we ought to keep military try pwupbls and keep gitmo prison open to hold the people. >> you hope the administration is hearing and listening to the same persons that are being raised by people that are closes to the concerns related to national security and national interest. moving people from the custody -- the military surrender custody of enemy combatants, illegal enemy combatants to the civil justice system is wrong and poses serious risk to our country. jon: richard reid was an al-qaida sympathizer, right? he's not in some respects

different from some of the people who are hidden away at guantanamo bay right now. you had a successful prosecution of him in a civilian court. >> i think that's a good point. there are some obvious similarities between richard reid and ahmed khalfan ghailani. they are both al-qaida operatives. they've both sworn their a allegiance to osama bin laden. there are differences as well. richard reid was apprehended by civil authorities weeks after 9/11 before the infrastructure with regards to holding these illegal enemy combatants was actually set up. ahmed khalfan ghailani was captured on a battle field and was turned over to the military authorities, and the military authorities were required to surrender him to the civil authorities for some purpose of showing the world that we can actually try terrorists in our civil court system.

these are not the traditional, ordinary criminals that our civil system is designed and equipped to handle. jon: the obama administration and attorney general eric holder have essentially said we can prove the rightness, the fairness of our judicial system by holding these trial in civilian court. do you see and up side at ale to holding and putting gandhi taeupbees on trial in civil courts. >> no up side whatsoever. our enemies or allies are not going to be persuaded in how we hold enemy combatants in the perception of our country. the fact of the matter i think a lot of people will suggest it's a weakness in terms of our national security where an administration feels that they have to send some type of public relations message to the world on how we are going to treat terrorists. the fact of the matter is they

are illegal enemy combatants and it's the system that is designed to best protect our national security and national interest and that's to keep them in the custody of the military. they can be in the custody of the military for the duration of this war. if for some of the crimes that they are accused of committing, there is no statute of limitations. at the end of the war if an administration felt that there was some value to further protect our national security and national interests, try them at that point in time. jon: you put the shoe bomber richard reid in jail for life, right. >> we did. and again i'm confident that if richard reid's flight was diverted to logan international airport in 2004 versus several weeks after 9/11 there would have been a much different discussion about who richard reid should be turned over to in terms of national security and interests. jon: michael sullivan, the pros prosecutor in that case.

thank you. jenna: a fun story for friday. how tall are you. jon: six feet. jenna: they broke a world record when they said i do, this couple. meet the world's tallest married couple. wayne and his wife lori are given the official title of the guinness world record museum in hollywood. wayne stands 6'11" inches. lori is 6'5". a combined height of 15 feet and four inches if we have our math right. never a strong suit for me. they met at a singles event at their church. jon: good for them. there is someone for everyone. jenna: instant blessings and everything. jon: my dad was 6'4". my mom was 5 feet. jenna: you got lucky, then you could have been five feet. jon: i broke the height record of my brothers that is for sure. it is day two of intense courtroom drama in the elizabeth smart kidnapping trial. wait until you hear the shocking

allegations the estranged wife of the suspect is making. jenna: every automaker is announcing plans to build an electric car. will drivers see sticker shock or be charged up to buy one. we are going to kick a few tires, check under hoods at the l.a. autoshow. jonyou'd look good in that, jon. jon: that will be coming up at the top of the hour. hey, did you ever finish last month's invoices? sadly, no. oh. but i did pick up your dry cleaning and had your shoes shined. well, i made you a reservation at the sushi plce around the corner. well, in that case, i better get bk to these invoices...

whh i'll do right after making your favorite pancakes. you know what? i'm going to tidy up your side of the office. i can't hear you because i'm also making you a smoothie. [ male announcer ] marriott hotels & resorts knows it's better for xerox to automate their global invoice process so they can focus on serving their customers. with xerox, you're ready for real business.

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and guide to understanding medicare, i can keep my own doctor and choose my own hospital. and i don't need a referral to see a specialist. as with all medicare supplement plans, and help pay for what medicare doesn't. call this toll-free number now... jon: hello and happy friday, welcome to the second hour of "happening now," i'm jon scott. jenna: hi, everybody, i'm jenna lee. the debate rages over one of the hottest issues on capitol hill, and it has to do with the use of your tax dollars. we're talking about earmarks. that's like saying pork, pet spending products, whatever you want to call them, there's a push to ban them outright. jon: but there are plenty on capitol hill who say earmarks do matter, they indicate whether or not the lawmakers who work for you are really listening.

william la jeunesse with more on that. >> reporter: you're right. supporters say that earmarks or cutting earmarks is irrelevant because, number one, they don't represent big money and, secondly, they're mere by symbolic of government waste. well, here are five reasons that earmarks, or slashing them, does matter. >> this is like the change in the couch. >> reporter: true, earmarks are only is % of the federal -- 1% of the federal budget, but $16 billion equals the medial federal income tax of six million americans, so you'd have to fill the rose bowl 75 times with a capacity crowd just to pay for what congress calls pocket change. >> and the second thing they do is they protect the members. if you've got an earmark and you're safe back home, that's different than this other guy cutting spending. it corrupts the process in a fundamental way. everybody should face the same playing field. >> reporter: third, earmarks ebb courage overspending.

>> once you have an earmark in a bill, you're usually obligated to vote for that bill no matter how bloated it becomes. >> reporter: four, a moratorium may actually restore voters' confidence in congress. >> taxpayers are so offended when they find out their tax dollars are going for tattoo removal clinics, for grateful dead archives that they're just not going to trust congress to make the difficult choices on social security, medicare, medicaid, anti-poverty programs. >> reporter: lastly, corruption. critics say lawmakers funnel millions in taxes to companies in many exchange for campaign donations. congressmen deny they sell earmarks, but watchdogs say the evidence is obvious. >> earmarks are often bought and sold by lobbyists. you're not distributing government grants by merit, but often you're distributing them to the highest campaign contributor. >> reporter: so, jon, there are about $9 billion in earmarks in this year's spending bills or rather for fiscal year 2011, so

if you go to foxnews.com, click on the taxpayer calculator and find out how much this year's bridges to nowhere will cost you and whether or not you want congress to strip those earmarks out of this omnibus spending bill we do expect sometime between now and january. jon: and all of a sudden there are a lot of members of congress who are swearing off earmarks, right? >> reporter: that's right. all but about two republicans and democrats still have not got ten on that bandwagon. jon: yeah, lots of fighting in that setting. lot of lame ducks. thanks. jenna: pretty amazing, $9 billion. i never found that in my couch, right? here's another big story grabbing headlines of late, courtroom drama in the trial of elizabeth smart's suspected kidnapper. wanda barzee is the estranged wife of brian david mitchell, and she's on the witness stand today again testifying as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. barzee is serving a 15-year

sentence for helping her husband kidnap elizabeth smart when she was just 14 years old. alicia acuna is live in denver. what has barzee said so far? >> reporter: well, jenna, so far wanda barzee has said that she dud, in fact, believe that her estranged husband, brian david mitchell, is, in fact, mentally ill. this isn't something she's had to say in front of him because as soon as proceedings get underway every day, mitchell fins to sing in open -- begins to sing in open court and the judge kicks him out. she told jurors that the first year of the two and a half decades she was married to mitchell was, quote, hellish. she said her husband was very controlling, even when it came to television. barzee said, quote, he wouldn't allow me ever to watch a show that i wanted to. if i started to watch a show, he would punish me if he didn't want to watch it. he would get angry and not

having anything to do with me until i gave him what he wanted. barzee said her life became easier once she became more sub missive, even helping mitchell build this hand wagon that they walked from california to utah. one witness described their marriage as mitchell being the hammer and barzee being the anvil. and reporters in court today are saying she's having a pretty tough time and is very emotional. jenna: it's a little about their marriage, their personal life. is she expected to discuss any part specifically about the kidnapping today? >> reporter: absolutely, that is the expectation. so far the only thing she's touched upon is the therapy that she is currently under right now to discuss the nine months that elizabeth smat was in captivity. so the way it's been going is the attorney has been taking her through the years and events leading up to that night in june of 2002 when elizabeth smart was taken. now, the defense -- which called barzee -- is attempting to show progression of mental illness in the chief suspect, brian david

mitchell. elizabeth smart said herself she doesn't believe mitchell is mentally ill, more that he uses religion to manipulate. jenna: thank you, alicia. jon: more deadly violence along america's southern border. competing drug cartels carving out their own territory and turning that region into a war zone. national security correspondent jennifer griffin is reporting live in mission, texas. jennifer? >> reporter: hi, jon. well, to understand the threat facing the u.s. just across the border here in mexico, we have mapped out the who's who of the mexican drug cartels. take a look. it's a $40 billion business divided among seven cartels, the felix organization or tijuana cartel based south of san diego. the juarez cartel south of el

paso whose war with a rival cartel left 2300 people dead in juarez this year. la familia near mexico city, and the save thats, once the armed wing of the gulf cartel in eastern mexico. they broke away and created their own cartel earlier this year. an e eclectic bunch uses tigerso scare his rivals. a kingpin's life span can be short. captured in august, an american around cel leader nicknamed for his blond hair now faces a mexican lockup. one leader was assassinated earlier this month by the mexican military. former mexican special forces gone rogue, about 200 trained by u.s. special forces at fort benning, georgia. >> they went back to mexico and then left the mexican military, became the enforcers for the

gulf cartel, and then in february of this year they started their own cartel. >> reporter: texas governor rick perry has asking for 1,000 national guard to be deployed along the texas border here, but now he's receiving word from the obama administration that they plan to pull out the national guard from california, new mexico and texas in february even though they just arrived in september. if you have any doubt about how an increased presence along the border makes a difference here, we are standing at one of the prime spots where people come across both illegal aliens as well as drug cartel traffickers. this is one of their favorite corridors. we've been here for the last 48 hours, we haven't seen anyone come across, so essentially a fox news crew has stopped one of the corridors just by being present here. jon? jon: jennifer given live on the border there, thank you. jenna: well, have you started your christmas shopping yet? jon, have you started? this. jon: just a little bit.

not yours yet. you're tough to buy for. jenna: well, that's true. retailers are stopping at nothing to get people like jon into their stores, and that includes free food and foot massages, right? jon: yeah! jenna: where do we sign up? one of the newest members of our fox family reporting this story for us. hi, heather. >> reporter: hi, jenna, doesn't that sound great? for retailers, it's actually about that and not just enticing customers with great prices. it's about a great experience. hollywood-like multimedia displays, an ma tronics, miniature robotic displays bringing hollywood tales to life and beautiful models. tist the season of the wow factor. even with a fragile economy and high unemployment, according to the national retail federation, americans plan to spend 2.3% more this holiday season than last year. >> that's going to be the industry average, and if we exceed that, that's going to be

$447 billion in sales you'll see this holiday season. >> reporter: black friday is already here for many retailers, but it's not just about the deals, it's about the experience. >> you'll have some fresh-baked cookies when you come in, shoppers will be eligible for a complementary treat. you can relax in the rejuvenation station. >> we want to make your shopping experience great so you want to spend more time there and, hopefully, spend more money. >> reporter: if that's not enough, how's this for wow? >> every hour we're going to select a shopper and give them a gift. >> reporter: so no matter how they do it, retailers just want to get you in their stores whether it's with caroler's, cops or cocoa. jenna: did you do a little extra, you know, shopping? >> reporter: you know what? we're going to have to go back and investigate the foot massage, i think. jenna: well put. [laughter] heather, great to see you and

look forward to seeing you again. >> great to be here. jenna: by the way, jon, new york city, the first official gridlock day because of the holiday shopping season. so there it is. as you can see, live shot of times square, the holidays are to come. jon: and you can do all that damage on foot. you don't even need a car. jenna: that's true, butç online as well from the comfort of your living room. there's so many ways to shop, jon. jon: well, they are the questions you always wanted to ask answered by the people you know best. today our newest family member at fox business network joins us, lou dobbs is going to be in the hot seat. also, it's where the rubber meets the road on green car technology. we are getting a firsthand look, and you will too. you're in the driver's seat at the los angeles auto show. wait until you hear what special features some of these new vehicles have. [ sneezes ] client's here. whoa! that achy cold needs alka-seltzer plus! it rushes multiple cold fighters,

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jenna: well m today's power play capitol hill democrats are going broke many this the lame duck session, aggressively pushing bills that were stuck in neutral, but now they're back with us. chris stirewalt is our fox news digital politics editor. often times we talk about these debates as a staring contest between republicans and democrats, but you're saying it might be between democrats and the white house. >> reporter: well, look, jenna, there's a real challenge here, and the president's in a bit of a pickle because the question is when will democrats act on the expiring current tax rates? because as you know and you guys talk about all the time, the tax rates for all americans are set to expire at the end of the year. so the congress has to act, otherwise everybody gets substantial tax increase at the end of the year, and the point of friction is will that tax increase be for everybody, just the middle class, just wealthy

people? who's this going to be for? what's going on is you have liberals in congress who are adamant that the president stick with his original demand that there be a tax increase for upper incomes, and they're pitted against moderates who say we've got to get this done right now, and we can't worry about who gets a tax increase. we need to make sure that the middle class doesn't. jenna: who do you think wins this? >> reporter: well, the challenge, and this is why it's so hard and so important. the challenge is that the president doesn't have the votes in the senate. he doesn't have enough democrats because there are already several people like ben nelson from nebraska who have come out and said they're not voting for any sort of tax increase. no tax increases, so that's where they are. that means that the democrats have the votes and sort of the leftovers in the house, the previous constitution of the house, they've got plenty of votes in the house to get this through, but the senate it's going to be very hard. so the question is at what

moment can the president come forth and compromise, come out and say, okay, we're going to do a deal with republicans? liberals don't want to see him say it at all. jenna: sounds like it could potentially bring both sides together. >> reporter: that was the play the white house made coming out of the election was to say, this is coming, we're going to go for a compromise with the republicans, but the backlash against it from the left has been very, very strong, and it leaves the president in a difficult position because as we know and we've talked about before, he has a relatively narrow base. he doesn't have much support in the middle, he's mostly relying on democrats and liberal democrats at that for his political support. jenna: and in the meantime, the people are being pulled from all different sides because we're the ones affected. chris, thank you very much. chris' new power play, by the way, is on our iphone app, just go to foxnews.com/aeaq, and it's live starting at noon

today, so go ahead and check out our power play. jon: the day could come when fill her up means plug it in. automakers are showing off the latest models along with plans for the future at l.a.'s annual auto show. adam houseley reporting live from los angeles. i know it's one of the big shows, what's the big headline this year, adam? >> reporter: to plug things in. you know, a couple of years ago we went down there because they had some of the concepts out, but now this year you can go to the auto show, and some of those concepts are already in your local showroom, so you can get a look at it, decide if you're going to go down to chevy or nissan, for example, buy the leaf, buy the volt. it's a big deal. a few years ago it was all about subcompacts, the smaller cars. this year even the luxury builders have their own versions of hybrid. for example, porsche, we had a chance to talk with them about putting a hybrid in an suv. here's what they had to say.

>> everyone's embracing, you know, more efficient technologies, smaller displacement, and that's what we're doing as well so we stay in tune, and our customers want to be part of a brand that's smart, that's intelligent, and that's important finish us. >> reporter: l.a. has become one of the top auto shows in the world, jon. there are six unveilings alone. jon: i know there are a lot of auto shows out there, so what makes l.a. so special? >> reporter: well, california's the car culture. try to drive anywhere in l.a., you'll see that cars are, obviously, an important part of our makeup out here, but secondly, it's the number one hybrid market in the country here in los angeles. if you can get it in with hollywood, a lot of movie studios were down there, i saw badges for media day a couple days ago, badges from several studios looking at the cars on display, what are they going to put in their shows? if you get it in here, maybe it'll follow the rest of the country, and maybe one day

you'll replace your bentley with a high pretty. jenna tells me me she drives a i cause, and i want to know why i haven't gotten a ride yet. jon: no bentley, but i drive a fine pickup truck. jenna: a bentley pickup truck. >> reporter: i'll take you up on that. jenna: we do have some breaking news right after the break on the hikers in iran that are being held in a prison there. breaking news in just moments. eggland's best eggs.

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jenna: he's the fox -- here's the fox news alert on those hikers being held in iran. a senior iranian official telling the new york times this morning that he expects -- let me get the exact quote for you. he says according to this

reporter for "the new york times" that they should be freed soon. you're looking at the pictures of shane bauer and josh fattal, the two young men being held. sarah shourd was released several weeks ago. she's out on bail technically. the big question here is always with a senior iranian official is what does soon really mean? does it mean in the next couple days? couple months? even longer than that? this is the most up-to-date news we have off this report. again, senior eye iranian official saying these hikers will be released soon talking to "the new york times." jon: breaking news this natalee holloway case. the family of the missing alabama teenager sending her dental records to authorities in aruba. they want to see if missing jawbone found on a beach this week does, indeed, wrong to holloway. -- belong to holloway. josi joins us on the phone.

can you tell us about it? who found it and how did it come about? this. >> it was a couple of tourists, american tourists from massachusetts staying at the phoenix hotel. one day before one of them had to come back to the u.s., they were walking on the beach, and they stumbled across this jawbone, a jawbone with one tooth in it. they took it to the front desk. the front desk called the police, the police came. they examined it, they went with these people to show the police where they found it. they searched around for a while, then they went back to the police station with the jawbone. they decided immediately to send a couple of agents with the bone to holland to the forensic institute and to do the dna testing because they already have on file dna from both biological parents. jon: right. >> and right now we are waiting for the results. jon: now the indications are, at least we've heard that an

examiner, medical examiner there in aruba said that it is the jawbone of a young female. can you -- >> that is correct. it is human and does belong to a young woman. jon: so it raises the question, how many young women have gone missing on aruba? in are there others besides natalee holloway? >> none that i know of, no. jon: that certainly narrows the field. we had mark furman, an investigatorrer of some note in this country, on the program a little earlier who said he can't believe that they are just now providing dental records. one would think that the aruin ban authorities would have had those from a long time ago. >> well, they don't have to deal with the aruban authorities. they were sent to the forensic institute in holland: i think they sent them twice. jon: we know that charges have been lodged against john van der

sloot against natalee's disappearance. if there is, in fact, a body, could they open at least an investigation against him or someone else? >> of course they could. but of what use? i mean, the guy's in prison in peru for another murder case, and the president of the country said very plainly that he will have to stay every day in peru and cannot leave the country before that is done. jon: jossy, good of you to join us, thanks. >> you're welcome. jenna: a suspicious taken off a flight -- suitcase taken off a flight with what appeared to be a bomb inside. the bomb was not real, but it was made to look like it was. the question now is who exactly put it there? also, he's here, and he's in the hot seat. fox business network's lou dobbs, what do you want to ask him about the hot stories of the week? now's your chance, log on to

foxnews.com and click on the home page or go to foxnews.com/happening now and join our chat. send your questions, and you just might hear them next on the air. [ male announcer ] you'd never leave your car unlocked.

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rick? >> reporter: well, jon, germany has been on high alert ever since the interior minister there raised that country's terror level threat, o maybe that heightened awareness helped security officials spot a suspicious bag near a flight that was bound for munich. now, this bag, as you mentioned, was harmless, but officials say the bomb was a dummy or a real test case, basically, something made to look suspicious in order to test the security measures at the airport. this was in africa, in namibia. the test bag was made by an american company and investigators are looking into who may have mixed it into the luggage bound for munich. no comment from u.s. officials on whether our government may have played a role in this apparent test run, but federal code does give federal officials the authority to go in and test the security at foreign airports anywhere they want. this can be done without the cooperation, even the knowledge of the government.

officials in this country where those airports are. so if this was a test case made by a u.s. company, did the u.s. plant it there, nobody is telling us. we've got a lot of calls out, but there's been a lot of concern ever since two mail bombs were discovered last month while being sent from yemen to the u.s. germany's terror threat level was raised, officials got a memo about an unspecified attack. on a danger scale between 1-10, that country is now currently at 9. jon? jon: rick folbaum at the breaking news desk. rick, thank you. jenna: i'm laughing because i don't know if everyone can see the title on our prompter here, but it says hot seat/hot guy, and that's the way we're introducing our next guest. some of the biggest names answering questions from you, the viewer. in the hot seat today is lou dobbs, one of the newest members of the fox business network.

hot guy, hot seat. >> i love that. [laughter] jenna: great to have you. a lot of our viewers have so many questions about the stories that have made news this week, and i'm going to start broad, and then we'll get more specific. kathleen asks, mr. dobbs, do you think obama will be a one-term president? many what are your thoughts on that? >> i think that he has the opportunity to succeed as a two-term president if he demonstrates an affinity for all of the american people rather than group and identity politics, if he follows what is a clear signal from the electorate on november 2nd, that it is time to move away from a hard left agenda. the efforts of this administration take the country in a hard left turn and start listening, start representing the interests of the nation and all of the people, not just some of them. jenna: do you see any evidence of that in the lame duck session? this. >> not in the lame duck session. the president has yet to assert himself on tough issues

including the tsa screening disaster, an affront to citizens' rights. he has yet to be very specific about what he's going to do with extending the bush tax cuts or whether he will make them the obama tax increases. so, no. but he has the opportunity here yet to make his voice heard. jenna: that tsa story really has gotten our viewers riled up quite a bit, obviously, a lot of different pictures and someover our viewers with testimonials themselves. jerry elliot sends us this on e-mail, he asks, are elected officials exempted from being subjected to tsa screening? do you think that's something we should have to do to see be they like it? this. >> jenna, i believe that everyone should understand and, obviously; millions of americans probably at this point don't yet know what awaits them when they get to that gate. but this is unconscionable conduct on the part of a government agency. it's an absolute violation of our rights, it is a travesty, an

assault on our dignity, and i don't think anybody should be exempt because i think everyone should be exempted. this is absurd. it has nothing to do with security. it has everything to do with theater. and pretense. jenna: have you been through it? have you traveled recently? >> i have not been through it, and i will tell you, frankly, i would not go through it. it's going to be interesting to see what happens as you point out, the thanksgiving holiday. people who go ahead with this, i know lots of people have to travel, and i understand that. jenna: do you think this is an issue the president should step in on this? >> i think the president, the senate, the congress should step in, i think the airline management should demand that this end right now, and janet napolitano and the administrator, they should be reprimanded by this administration for arrogant conduct. jenna: just to take it into a

different topic, one of our viewers wrote about this. we've been doing these segments called the third war on what's happening at the border, and he wanted to know what's your take on that description, the third war? >> the third war, you know, i think it's as good as any. if it is a war, it's one certainly that we are losing and have been losing for some time. i wish that war would conote as well the kind of effort that means, that is being applied to stop illegal immigration. drug trafficking across that border and potentially, of course, terrorists. but it is not. it is, right now, a one-sided war, one that the drug cartels are winning, one that human smugglers are winning, and the american people in the sovereign nation is suffering. jenna: wanda from dallas, texas, has a follow up to that. she says, please ask lou dobbs how he feels about completing the border fence to create shovel-ready jobs. [laughter] >> i think it would be a worthy project for lots of folks and

eager folkings amongst the -- folks amongst the millions who are still seeking full-time employment or have lost their jobs. the border fence that so many, you know, railed against, it turns out, is the only option that we have. the so-called virtual fence turned out to be a boondoggle that was stopped with only a billion dollars having been wasted. so, yes, i think it would be worth while to have that border secured. jenna: final question, you're joining fox business at the start of the year with the show launch. any sort of hint about that show -- >> i wish i could give you a hint right now. jenna: i mean, you're here in the hot seat, what better opportunity than right now? >> i couldn't agree with you more. i'd love to blige. unfortunately, we just started our meetings yesterday, and we have a ways to go before we know what we're doing. jenna: okay. we'll let you off the hook. thanks for answering the other questions, appreciate you being here. maybe he'll join us again in the

hot seat, jon. it wasn't too bad, right? this. jon: no, you were very gentle. [laughter] thanks, jenna. the world is anxiously awaiting to know where prince william and the future princess kate will say their i dos. will me find out today? in what do we know, amy? >> reporter: well, jon, we thought we would know today, and we don't have any official announcement, but this was the picture that got everyone, basically, convinced that the wedding is going to take place at westminster abbey. this is kate middleton having a private visit on wednesday evening. the palace just said today only that the couple has decided upon the venue and the date they would like. they've also given guidance on cost which implies, though we don't know for sure, that they have us us austerity on their ms well, but relevant parties need to be consulted and take their time. people had originally thought, jon, that prince william would want to stay away from

westminster abbey, but he seems to be at a certain level of peace with her memory because, of course, the engagement ring he gave kate middleton on tuesday -- actually last month, that we saw tuesday was his mother's engagement ring, and he said that was his way of having her be a part of the special moment. now, westminster abbey is significant in that it's a place of core nations -- coronations, it's called a royal peculiar which means that it belongs directly to the monarch, and it's really a thing for weddings. previously they'd taken place at windsor or the chapel royal at st. james' palace. it still could be st. paul's cathedral, but increasingly the buzz here is that it's going to be westminster abbey, and apparently the couple themselves know where it's going to be and most likely when. we are still waiting for that information. jon: it is going to be a show, whenever it happens.

>> reporter: >> reporter: oh, yes, it is. jenna: well, they try to bring feelings of home. for decades an army of uso volunteers has done everything possible to make our overseas troops stay connected to those they have left behind, and their service is especially appreciated during the holidays, as you can imagine. courtney friel has more on this story, hey, court. >> reporter: good morning -- well, good afternoon, everybody, happy friday. the first mission was back in 1941 during world war ii, and today the uso hosts up to 85 tours each year putting on events both overseas and stateside taking entertainers whether our troops go. the u is is so is there. uso is there. >> reporter: from musicians to nfl superstars and even cartoonists, the uso has one mission: lift the spirits of

america's troops. >> there is nothing better than to take an entertainer overseas and have them say thank you for the freedoms we're enjoying. >> reporter: the latest star, trace adkins, who recently returned from his third uso tour hitting locations lacking five-star aecom cases. >> the uso takes good care of us. you don't get pampered, you don't get particular colors of m and ms in the green room. >> reporter: tonight he's hosting a free concert for military families in fort benning, georgia, and it's very appreciated. >> i think it's the most wonderful thing. >> it's a good distraction, gets our mind off of the norm. >> i think it's great because they're standing behind our soldiers. >> reporter: and trace feels their love. >> it's the most appreciative crowd you'll ever play for. >> reporter: between now and the end of the year, the uso is planning 14 holiday tours with

robin williams, sugarland and katy perry. it would love to see more young female movie stars go overseas such as scarlett johansson who did a trip back in 2008. if you'd like to support the cause, head to uso.org, and i'll toss it back to grow guys. jenna: thank you very much. jon: of course, so many of those soldiers are posted overseas right now because of what happened on 9/11, and now the mother of a man who died on that terrible day, bradley, is is speaking out on the security debate gripping the country. she'll tell us what she thinks about those intrusive airport inspections and whether or not they might prevent another national tragedy. also, the government says this man almost pulled off a devastating terror attack in new york's times square. now one of the people arrested in connection with the man you see on your screen, phi sal shahzad, has a date with justice in another nation. getting enough vegetables? yeah, maybe not.

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>> coming up on "america live," as violence explodes along the u.s./mexican border, one prominent lawmaker says it may be time to send the american military into mexico. and what does former attorney general michael mukasey think about how the administration has handled this trial? plus, a couple of high-profile democrats criticizing the president again. it's all coming up at the top of the hour. >> it's ridiculous, and it's not safer. they're just doing it to have us be fearful, and there's no reason for it. >> this i'd much rather go through a little uncomfortableness and know that i'm going to be safe or at least know that everything was done to protect me. >> stranger groping you, basically. jon: well, those are some of the opinions you can hear just about at any airport in the country these days, emotions and opinions running the gamut an those new patdown procedures, but to many of the families of

the victims of 9/11, these new procedures keep americans safe. jenna: mary's son brad died in the twin tower attacks and, mary, we appreciate you joining us today because you offer such a unique perspective of what's really at stake here. the first question is, do you think some of these new procedures would have saved your son's life? >> well, thank you for inviting me on today. i do think airline security is very important, and as you mentioned, my husband frank and i lost our 24-year-old son brad who worked in the twin towers. we were, worked with other family members to really support the creation of the 9/11 commission and the reforms that they recommended. and i do think if there was appropriate, up-to-date screening on september 11th, you know, brad would be alive as would other, nearly 3,000 others

today. jon: so much of what is being done now, though, is in response to, say, the christmas day bomber who had those explosives, liquid explosives sewn into his underwear. that's what authorities are trying to catch. but he boarded a plane overseas. if he had gone through security overseas, he wouldn't have been caught by these what some are calling intrusive inspections in this country. >> well, i think you bring up a good point. we do have to work with our counterparts internationally, but i do think here in the u.s. that airline security is a priority for most americans and with the christmas and the holidays coming up, of course, there's increased travel. so i really am in favor of using the newest technology that tsa and our government agencies have to make sure that those flying are not terrorists carrying

explosives in their garments. jenna: you know, mary, sometimes the loudest voices get the most attention. that's sometimes our fault in the media because you hear them the most. and because of that we've heard a lot about the outrage over the last week or so. what would you say to some of those people that are outraged by these new procedures? >> well, as a family member who lost my son and in the attacks on september 11th, obviously, you know, i appreciate, you know, their opinion, but i think it's counterproductive. the government failed to protect my son and others on september 11th, and as we saw in the 9/11 commission, you know, it's really important to have, you know, a system in place that's going to protect its citizens. so it's my view that it would be a more productive use of our energy to support the tsa and other government agencies and

use whatever technology they have in place to make sure that those boarding planes are not terrorists equipped with explosives and other things that may, you know, lead to another event like september 11th. jenna: mary, i was reading a little bit about your son, great athlete, i should say hockey player, 24 years old, and we remember him today. we appreciate your perspective. thank you very much, and we'll be right back on "happening now." >> thank you.

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jenna: you may think golf is a game for the idle rich. do you play golf, jon? jon: badly. jenna: miniature golf for me. some folks earn a living retrieving, get this, lost golf balls. orlando salinas reporting live in miami with this story.

>> reporter: this has to be one of the more interesting ways to make money. we spent a few hours with a man who puts on scuba gear and goes diving, as you said, for those little white golf balls. he says there are two kinds here in florida, those who have had bad experiences and those who are about to. here's just a little bit of that busting balls.com story. take a listen. all golfers, hackers and duffers, the low handicappers, even the pros, at some point they all end up in the water. and that makes 6-8 glenn berger happy. dressed like onal ninja, berger is one of about 100 professional golf ball divers in be florida. he dives for little white balls while avoiding snakes and gators. >> they'll come right over, they'll dive straight down and bump my tank with their nose, and then they'll surface, and i get out and leave that lake until the next time.

>> reporter: the golf balls are washed and cleans, then sorted by hand based on brand, quality and color. >> this one's worth a nickel, this one's worth $2. on this day berger is diving into a string of lakes at the pelican preserve golf club in fort myers. after a pretty good haul, they drive on to the next water hazard snagging more balls and scaring golfers along the way. >> oh, yes. we actually have people crawl up and think there's a monster or a creator in the -- critter in the water because they see a head pop up. >> reporter: glenn tells me out of the two million golf balls he retrieved last year, only about 5-10 president turned out -- % turned out to be not usable at all, but that means close to 90% are still good, and he sells them, and be he makes about $15,000 a month on his own. jenna: oh, my -- $15,000? that's a great story. >> reporter: at least. jenna: orly, great story.

thank you very much. jon: i'm going diving. new calls to send our troops into another foreign country, why the texas governor wants the u.s. to consider sending troops into mexico. [ man ] ♪ trouble ♪ trouble, trouble trouble, trouble ♪ ♪ trouble been doggin' my soul ♪ since the day i was born ♪ worry ♪ oh, worry, worry worry,orry ♪

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