>> they take off all over the place. gregg: you hear them in the background. some say they tried to get rid of them, building scarecrows, using laser lights toward them off. not working. martha: it is crazy. it does look like a scene out of "the birds". much scarier movie than "jaws". >> gregg: "jaws" is worse! martha: thank you for being here, bill will be here tomorrow. have a good day, everybody. >> gregg: bye bye. i don't know jon a fox news alert out of iran, iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad making big announcements today, pushing record with the rogue country's nuclear program, saying tehran has cut oil shipments to six nations in response to tough new western sanctions against the islamic republic. it is yet another escalation of international tensions over iran's nuclear ambitions. leland vitter is monitoring the developments, live for us in jerusalem.

>> reporter: jon, this is not exactly exploding a nuclear bomb tu it is certainly a step down the road that the united states, israel and the west hope sanctions would prevent iran from taking. three things happened today: number one, this new fuel rod, and it's important, because it was made by the iranians with iranian nuclear material and a big part of the sanction evident here was to keep iran from getting nuclear material. clearly that no longer is an issue. in fact the iranians used it as such a big deal they presented it to the president there in a gift box with a bow on the top. second thing, new centrifuges installed in one of iran's nuclear plants. that's what actually turns nuclear material into weapons-grade material. you might remember, a couple of months ago, a number of iranian cent centrifuges were destroyed by that computer virus that iran blamed israel and the united states for. the centrifuges are supposed to be at least immune from that computer virus. so clearly iran is saying we are moving down the road

with our nuclear program. the third thing here is they said they are going to cut off oil to six european countries which had opposed its nuclear program. that's a little bit like iran saying okay, if you're not going to play nice with me, i'm going to take my marbles and go home. but it's also a very thinly veiled threat against the world because iran is a huge oil exporter, therefore, they have the ability to control oil prices, at least a little bit, and they also have threatened before to close the straits of hormuz, which would have a big impact on oil prices worldwide. so this is iran saying we are going to continue to be defiant. you can look at this in two ways here. either iran is trying to put more chips on the table so they can negotiate a little bit more with the west, if it ever comes to that, or to continue to gamble an analogy, doubling down, if you will, as they say, saying we are going to continue down this path, we are going to be very public about it, we are going to be very vocal about it, and

that has a sense to it, especially when you view it in the past couple of days here with those two days of explosions, targeting israeli embassies around the world, in three different countries, for which iran is now being blamed. jon, back to you. jon: very tense times in that part of the world. leland vitter, thank you for watching it for us. jon: president obama's contraception compromise coming under fire on capitol hill. good morning to you, i'm jon scott. jenna: hi everybody, i'm jenna lee, we're here in the fox news room and "happening now", jon just mentioned that compromise, other people are calling it an accommodation. either way t. requires health insurance companies to pay for contraceptives, and it's not sitting well with many religious groups, including catholic organizations. they say it violates their religious beliefs. i don't know jon health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius is testifying before the senate finance committee for the first time now since defending that mandate in an

op-ed article. jenna: we have a live look there. chief washington correspond ent james rosen. >> reporter: at issue is this ruling, first announced by the hhs secretary in january, mandating all employers provide free contraception to women. when catholic affiliated charities, hospitals and schools objected saying that would violate the dock rial opposition to birth certificate, the senate comp missed past friday which mandated the contraception you paid for by the insurance companies. the bishops object to female contraception being a mandated part of the health care, regardless of who pays for it and has begun enlisting every longelicals and other religious groups to show opposition to the rule. the bishop's took issue with this statement on monday by white house press secretary jay carney. >> i would simply note with regard to the bishops they never supported health care reform to begin with. >> reporter: long before

the current battle, said bishop stephen blair, stockton chair of the conference committee on justice and human development, the catholic church was persistently and advocating for the overdue national priority. in the recent health care debate, the bishop a dollars they called affordable health care an injureient national priority and moral imperative. also mobilizing for the culture war is a group narow prochoice america, spending $250,000 in radio ads in four battle ground states. >> we scored an important victory when the president stood up for our health care and guaranteed insurance coverage of birth control at no cost. he's making sure women of all faiths, no matter where they work, can get contraceptive coverage. >> reporter: this impasse is likely to continue. just as white house chief of staff jakon lew told fox news sunday host chris wallace this post weekend, the obama administration is not revising this policy further. jon and jenna. jenna: we'll continue to

watch that testimony today. thank you very much, james rosen. jon: we just heard from leland vitter giving us disturbing information on advance necessary iran's nuclear program. as we are now learning, president obama has ordered a reduction of our own arsenal, some say by as much as 80 percent, from 5000 warheads to as few as 300. that number would put us roughly equal with china's nuclear arsenal and leave russia as the world's nuclear powerhouse. steve centanni joins us live from the pentagon. steve, exactly what are we talking about here? >> reporter: well, no decision has been made yet, jon. i need to stress that. but a range of options has been floated. the pentagon was asked to come up with a different permanentiation of how many nuclear weapons we could have under three different options to be presented to the president. now right now, the u.s. has about 5000 nuclear weapons and the president has long aimed to cut that arsenal. this latest proposal includes one option, the most extreme reduction that would cut the nukes to about

300, which is about the same as china, and much, much less than russia, which has about -- has about 6000 nuclear weapons. a u.s. official told fox news the idea of cutting 80 percent of the nuclear arsenal unilaterally is being throatedo floated right now to test the outer limits of what is possible. nothing has been submitted to the president yet. so the idea is out there. no decision is made yet, jon. jon: and again, this is being considered now because the president wants to get folks in washington thinking? orioo what's this about? >> it's long been one of the goals of the president. it does come at a time when there are heightened tensions around the world, and so some say it's not the best time. but certainly, it's been the president's goal all along. he said in prague in 2009 that we need a world without nuclear weapons. those are his words. it appears now he's trying to move in that direction, and he asked the department of defense for a possible rangoo a range of possible options that will be submitted to him but he

hasn't seen yet. all this was classified until just yesterday when it was finally leaked as part of this apparent administration trial balloon, so now it's been reported and now it's out there. today we have the secretary of defense leon panetta on capitol hill answering questions along with the chairman of the joint chiefs and we expect this will come up, jon. jon: interesting timing on that leak. steve centanni, thank you. jenna: were movement in the up and down presidential race. new poll numbers coming in, showing another shift and one that affects the president's reelection campaign. juan williams is here to break down the numbers. jon: also, some disturbing developments in a bizarre double murder. where police say the motive was a facebook defriending, what investigators found in one of the suspect's home. jenna: also, this big story. a warning from the company behind a popular cancer fighting including. it's a matter of life and death that everyone should know about. dr. siegl is here and he's going to tell us about it, coming up. [ male announcer ] this was how my day began.

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jon: brand new poll numbers just in, showing president obama out in front of the entire republican presidential field, according to a new national poll. in a potential general election matchup mr. obama leads mitt romney 48-42 percent, he leads rick santorum 49-41 percent. the president leads ron paul 50-39 percent, and leads newt gingrich, 54-36 percent the results apparently due in large part to now voter optimism about the economy. comparing those numbers with the real clear politics average of national polls, still pretty similar result, mr. obama leads mitt romney 48-43 percent, tops ron paul and newt gingrich by double digit the as -- dujts as well. here to break down the numbers, fox news political analyst juan williams.

juan, is it all about the economy, is that what is leading the president's number to pick upwards? >> absolutely jon. you know, you can look inside the poll and you see that independent voters in particular have shifted. about a month ago in the same poll, cbs-"new york times" poll, you had independent voters favoring romney and romney equal or even with president obama. now, those independent voters have swayed towards the president and that's the basis for the president's surge to a lead, that six-point lead ahead of romney, eight points ahead of santorum. jon: the white house supposedly is loving watching this republican race that has mitt romney, rick santorum and to a less er extent, paul and gingrich torn apart by negative advertising. is that at play here? >> it is. it's a large sense as republicans as indicated in the polls that they're not happy with this deal. you have 60 percent of republicans saying they'd like more choices, they'd like to have morality tiffs in terms of candidates on

the field. but you know, i'll tell you something that really leaped out at me, jon, when we come back to the you raised at the very top, the economy that, in fact, right now, when the republican voters are asked, who do you have more confidence in to deal with economic issues, it's equal between romney and santorum, and in fact, if you ask who is going to do a better job of representing the middle class, and helping the middle class, santorum outpolls romney. so if it's a matter of romney saying i am the guy to run against obama because i can fix the con america's i'll look out for your interests, that argument is getting weaker by the moment. jon: well, and republican voters apparently like rick santorum in general, at least at the moment. again, these things change, as you said, by the day or by the week. but in that poll of likely republican voters, santorum leads 30 percent to mitt romney's 27 percent. you see ron paul and newt gingrich down there, 12 and

10 percent, that's according to a cbs news poll. what explains this sudden rick santorum surge? >> well, i think that obviously he had the big wins in those three races earlier in the month, but i think that, also, newt gingrich has slid off the field, and so now, the whole notion of who is the antiromney or the alternative to mitt romney has coalesced around rick santorum and again, when you ask people who represents your values best, conservative voters, they don't have any doubt about it, they say that person is rick santorum. so at the moment, his family values, the fact that they don't seem as a flipflop or a -- or as inconsistent on conservative issues has made him a champion. the question is whether he is last. as you say, these things change from moment to moment and again, something that jumps out in the polls, more than half the voters say they don't really know rick santorum so mitt romney and his campaign is going to

have a big opportunity to define santorum for people coming to the table and looking at santorum for the first time and define him in negative ways. jon: just a couple of weeks ago, mitt romney was ahead of president obama substantially by something like nine points in the polls, that has turned around, reversed itself, about a 17-point swing. who would the white house prefer to run against, mitt romney or rick santorum? >> oh, i think that they would prefer santorum. you know, it's not by a lot, but i think that's what they've been thinking all along, all their campaign planning has been based on the idea that mitt romney is the inevitable nominee, and even today, if you were to ask them to place a bet, they'd bet on romney. but as we are looking at these numbers, jon, we're watching a republican race that is still in flux. this is not a settled deal. yes, romney has the lead in delegates, yes, romney has the lead in money, but clearly, the republican voters, the people who make the choices, are saying hold on, buddy, we're still looking at this deal.

jon: and obviously, that is brought to light in that cbs poll we just talked about that has rick santorum on top. juan williams, thank you. >> have a good day, jon. jon: you too. jenna: we brought you this story last friday when it broke and now there are new developments in a double murder that may have been sparred -- sparked by a facebook de tells friending. >> reporter: the story gets more biz yafer as we learn about what police found at the home of one of the suspect, marvin potter, jr. had enough weapon toss arm a pretty good-sized police department, about 80 or so handguns recovered from his house, and police say not one of them is thought to be the actual murder weapon. this is a case out of rural tennessee, potter and another guy, jamie lynn kerge, accused of killing a man and woman, shooting them in the head and slitting the throat of the male victim, the eight month old baby was found in the female victim's arms, not hurt. prosecutors say the murders

were pay back after the couple defriended potter's daughter on facebook. that's when you say now longer want to be in touch with someone through the website. as crazy as it sounds other people have committed acts of violence on the same thing, in iowa, one set a garage on fire and in texas, a man is accuse -- accused of hitting his wife. so much for using the website to see what your high school girls friends are up to! jenna: i'm going to have to check into that. there was an eight month old baby? >> the baby is okay, the baby was in the arms of the mother when unfortunately she was one of the murder victims. jenna: what a horrible story. rick, thank you. jon: so what's next for the troubled nation of greece? days of riots, threats to the default that could collapse the country's economy. what comes next and what it could mean for the u.s.' struggling economy?

jon: we call it the acquisitions room here at fox news channel, where we bring in satellite feeds by the hundreds from all over the country, all over the world. let's take a look at remote 266, there is kathleen sebelius, the health and human services secretary, set to testify in front the senate finance committee right now about that birth control compromise that the administration has tried to reach. is it going to satisfy the senators? we'll find out. we'll keep an eye on that one. on remote 261, there's a look the a the capitol dome. we had heard that there was going to be some kind of agreement between democrats and republicans on the payroll tax cuts. but now, there could be a fly in the ointment. you'll want to stay tuned to hear about that. and on remote 293, well,

it looks like it's pretty much all rain in the south right now. but that weather system could get dangerous later today as things heat up, bringing the possibility of hail, high winds, and possibly even tornadoes. keep an ear on your weather radio and keep it tuned to fox news channel for the latest. jenna: good advice, jon. there are new developments concerning iran today. u.s. officials are telling fox news the islamic republic may be involved in this week's attacks on israeli targets in several different countries, including this one, this coordinated bombing attack in bangkok, thailand. catherine herridge has been working this story since it broke. catherine, what do we know? >> >> reporter: thank you jenna and good morning. security forces tell fox news there's an intense debate within the u.s. intelligence community as to whether the rash of attacks this week show iran is feeling the pressure of new sanctions or whether the strikes are tied to the death of hezbollah's military commander.

four-months ago we broke news of the death in syria, he was not only the leader of hezbollah but behind the beirut barracks bomb thank killed 350 people, most american servicemen. hezbollah has vowed revenge for that strike. separately a counterterrorism source says the goal is to provide forensic evidence to prove iranian involvement. the state department says this week's attacks, and this is significant, are not a series of unrepresented events. >> the point is that it is not an accident that we are now drawing connections, that we are concerned, all right? that we are concerned, that there has been a recent aggressive fight, in use of terror as a weapon. >> so you are drawing a connection. >> we are concerned about the recent spikes in incidents. >> the alliance for homeland security and fbi says there is no specific correct from hezbollah inside the united states now and no change to either department's security posture. they are also standing behind an intelligence bulletin from february 8th

that was written before israeli embassy personnel were targeted, and it reads in part, quote, we remain concerned iran would consider attacks in the united states given last year's foiled plot to allegedly assassinate the ambassador to the united states. this morning a former intelligence official told fox it would be standard practice for the israelis to ramp up security at high profile targets such as the embassies but this morning a spokesman for the israeli embassy in washington would not comment on security matters, jenna. jenna: catherine real quick in your reporting, if they do connect the dots, do see that iran or hezbollah, or behind the attacks, have they suggested what we're going to do about it? >> >> reporter: they've not suggested that but if you look at the series of events over the last couple of weeks really the intel comeent haws started to lay that foundation. when we had the global threat hearing, james clapper said specifically there had been a change in the calculus in iran, especially with the religious leader, that they would be more willing to

launch attacks against the united states in retaliation to strike on their nuclear program or pressure because of sanctions, so if you look at the choreography, if you will, over the last few weeks, it seems to be laying the ground work for that conclusion, but again, that is not concrete evidence but it does look that way. jenna: catherine, thank you very much. >> jon: there is new pressure on the international community now to deal with the threat from iran. president mahmoud ahmadinejad making a big announcement about his country's nuclear program today. does it put iran closer to building a bomb? that's the question. it's the scene straight out of an alfred hitchcock movie but this is all too real. we'll bring you to the town where the birds are ruling the roost.

jon: a big battle is heating up on capitol hill, this one over transportation spending. the house and senate are both considering very different bills. jim angle is live in washington with some of the details for us. jim. >> reporter: hello jon. president obama, seeking a 66 percent increase in transportation funding with 50 billion of it up front, an effort to create jobs, with spending on

infrastructure. senate budget committee chairman kent conrad point to oil development in his state of north dakota as a rationale for more spending on highways. listen: >> for every well that is drilled, it takes 2000 truckloads for equipment, for water, and mud. two thousand truckloads for every well. mr. secretary, the major highways in that part of our state are 2-lane roads. we've got chaos. >> reporter: but the president would offset part of the cost of the transportation spending by counting as savings money that will not be spent in the future on wars in iraq and afghanistan, money that wasn't going to be spent anyway. that brought plenty of criticism from both parties. republican senator jeff sessions said infrastructure does indeed create jobs which he supports but noted that the president has already promised more than he delivered:

>> now, the tragedy is that there was a great opportunity, as you alluded to, mr. chairman, to advance our highway system as part of the president's stimulus package. instead, nearly $1 trillion of borrowed money was fritted away on proposals that succeeded in syncing our nation deeper into debt. >> reporter: now even democratic chairman kento on kent conrad expressed doubt about using that war money that was never spent as savings for transportation, but the transportation secretary seemed to say he had no choice: >> the last two years that i've appeared before congress, i have taken a heap of criticism for bringing proposals forward that aren't paid for. that's over. you know, the idea that the president didn't want to pay for these things over the last two years, we were criticized royally for that. >> reporter: but republican senator jeff sessions rejected what the president is doing as a

legitimate way to offset the cost. he also said the president's plan for a nationwide high-speed rail system will not pass because it is simply too costly when the nation is running the highest decifits in history. jon. jon: jim angle, live in washington, keeping an eye on the money for us, thank you jim. >> you bet. jenna: this is one of our top stories today, we're getting brand new information regarding iran, the state-run television reporting that tehran is using advanced centrifuges and producing its own nuclear fuel rods, all this stoking fear as iran is getting closer to building nuclear weapons. managing director of the washington institute for near east policy, michael, it's wednesday, the day after valentine's day, pretty unremarkable for all intents and purposes, so why today, why this announcement today of all day? >> jenna, as we've talked about before, iran is under tremendous pressure right now, their currency has just fallen through the floor, they're having a hard time selling their oil, they're

having a hard time importing food, so they really are feeling the pinch, and i think this is part of iran's response. they're telling us that they're not going to back down in the face of pressure, that they're going to respond to pressure with pressure of their own. and they're making this announcement, frankly, it's probably not true -- i would sort of look at it scepticcle. -- scepcle. -- skeptically. we are, of course, seeing these bombings in thailand and tbaz and new delhi, and i think this is the response to pressure. jenna: what should we do about it, not only that we're getting the announcements u. not only are they proceeding with the program but they could be waging the terrorist attacks in different countries, including maybe our own potentially one day, so what do we do about it. >> we need to remain vigilant against the possibility of terrorist attacks. luckily most have been disrupted as we've seen in recent days and last we're,

with the plot in washington, d.c., but i think we need to send the message to iran that the spresh not going to stop. iranians tend to think that we in the west are weak or spoft and -- soft and if they push back they can get us to stop the pressure or if they engage us in negotiations that we'll suddenly be distracted or that this will be a delaying tactic for them. i think the message they need to get loud and clear is that this is going to continue and that it may even culminate in military force again. gen jen how do we send a message that that military force is coming? because there seems to be reports from both sides, whether it's here at home and overseas, that the iranians kind of shrug when they hear military force and think yep, they're not going to do it? >> i think that's right. it needs to be credible. and part of that is simply being consistent and firm in the statements that you're making. and so if the president says that all options are on the table, he needs to make sure his senior officials are saying the same thing, that

they're not publicly undermining that, as we've seen the secretary of defense do, or that they're not then publicly undermining that with respect to the israeli military option. and then we need to take actions, jenna, which reinforce it in the gulf, so our military posture in the gulf, the types of exercises we're holding, the types of deployments in the gulf are holding and we see that iran watches those carefully. jenna: just a final thought, michael, let's say we end up in talks with iran as are expected over the next couple of weeks and they say okay, we're not going to move forward with the nuclear capability, but what exactly do we expect from them, do we ever expect they're not going to be a state sponsor of terror? what exactly do we want from iran? are we looking for a complete reform there? how does that ever -- how is that ever going to be a reality? >> you get into a very hypothetical area. i think the number one item on the agenda is the nuclear program and international demands are clear, they would need to stop their enrichment, stop plutonium

enriching and you'd need to see intrusive inspections of nuclear facilities. then i think if we're ever going to get to a point of a better relationship with the united states and iran, there are other issues that need to be addressed, including state-sponsored terrorism. jenna: and that's always the timeline, thank you very much, michael, thank you for coming back. jon: there's a frightening warning for patients taking a very popular cancer drug. the medicine they're paying for might be fake. and the search continues for susan powell. what detectives found after the devastating explosion that killed josh powell and their two young sons. [ male announcer ] juice drink too watery? ♪

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ergonomics. [ male announcer ] tempurpedic. the most highly recommended bed in america. it's the perfect time to save up to $200 on your own ergo. find out more at tempurpedic.com. until the end of the quarter to think about your money... ♪ that right now, you want to know where you are, and where you'd like to be. we know you'd like to see the same information your advisor does so you can get a deeper understanding of what's going on with your portfolio. we know all this because we asked you, and what we heard helped us create pnc wealth insight, a smarter way to work with your pnc advisor, so you can make better decisions and live achievement. jenna: new next hour, courtroom drama in the case of a man accused of drowning his bride while scuba diving on their honeymoon. we'll get you up to date on that. >> the polls position that is changed, so many times in the gop primary. scott rasmussen is here with

brand new numbers, he'll break those down for us. >> high gas prices, a big hit in the wallets of so many people. what if we told you the price you pay the at pump is actually political? we'll talk about that more next hour. jon: right now the future of greece is being debated by european finance leaders. on sunday, the greek leaders approved painful budget cuts in order to qualify for a bailout deal. that sparked violent protests in the capitol of athens. ashley webster from the fox business network joins us live from athens. he has the latest. ashley. >> reporter: jon, you know, the future of greece continues to hang in the balance. this was supposed to be the day that eurozone finance ministers in brussels will look at the latest assurances from greece that they indeed were worthy of this next round of $170 billion worth of bailout money. but instead, greece was late with the paperwork, and instead of that meeting, it

is now going ahead as a conference call. and instead, today, we see perhaps an escalating war of words between brussels andathens, the greek finance minister earlier today saying that some countries in the eurozone simply want greece out of the euro. he wouldn't name those countries but said we have finished and clarified all of the points that were needed in order to secure this next round of bailout money. but now, there are reports that the e.u. may be considering delaying that payout, either in full or perhaps in part, and yet, still avoid a default on greece's part. so it's all very confusing. a lot of moving parts. in the meantime, the assurances of greek political leaders that they will stick with these austerity measures are still being doubted in brussels. there is a tre mend outs amount of mistrust from e.u. officials that greece can indeed impose these austerity measures and see them through. they got another round of baleout money in 2010 and

there have been complaints even some of those austerity measures have yet to be put in place. what is at snake certainly the future of greece's entry into the euro itself, but also, what if it does default, is it going to be a messy default, could that spread to other weaker european countries such as portugal, spain, possibly italy. that is the concern. but at this point, there is still no resolution to whether greece, indeed, will sure the money it needs in order to avoid bankruptcy. they have a huge bill due next month and the question remains will they have the money to pay those bills. we'll wait and see, for the very latest, of what comes out of brussels. jon: in the meantime we watch them tearing apart their own country to protest. what a stoamplet ashley webster, thank you. jenna: a new medical warning to tell you about, vials of a counterfeit cancer drug have been found inside our country and you can see the real drug here, and the fake ones side by side. i don't distinguish too much

of a difference, right? the maker of the drug is warning doctors and patients that the fake products does not contain the key greedens used to treat various cancers. joining us live, marc siegl, professor of medicine at nya's langone medical center. how does this even happen? >> this is a scary situation because first of all, the drug avastin is a revolutionary drug. it's expensive. it costs about 90-$100,000 a year. but it literally blocks cancer from increasing their blood supply to the tumor. by blocking the protein that causes this. so it's a very important drug. and this happens because fake suppliers are in there, one called quality specialty products, another, montana health care solutions. they get in the way of the normal distributor that goes right to the drug company and gives me the drug and sells it to the hospital or the practice. practices out there that are actually using unofficial suppliers can get into this

trouble, or if they go to the internet to get the drug. jenna: how many practices are actually doing that? >> well, the fda is right now looking at 19 practices in the united states that do that. but a lot more do that. you know, especially at a time right now where we're getting big shortages of chemotherapy, jen yarks right now we're having big shortages because lot of our chemo drugs are becoming nonprofitable, they're becoming generic, getting more and more regulation, drug companies aren't making a profit so they're pulling back on supply. jenna: on foxnews.com there's a writeup about a girl in minnesota that can't find or they're concerned about her getting the drug that she's been on to try to keep her cancer at bay, so i encourage our viewers to check that out. >> methodotrexate, there's also doxil, key drugs out there. jenna: and they have the short supply, but we've also seen these counterfeit drugs come out, such as for ally or a tamiflu vax een that wasn't re. it's not only that they're ineffective potentially, but

that they could potentially harm you, that there could be something in that that we don't know about that could have horrible side effect. sue: that's a great point, there could be additives that are harm up and -- halveful and you wouldn't know if the drug wasn't working because your cancer wasn't responding. jenna: as a consumer, what are you supposed to do? when i go to the pharmacy and get a drug, i would think that i could take t. that it will be what it says it is. >> jenna, one thing i would change from what you said, i would urge hospitals and doctors to look carefully on the label because in this particular case with avastin, the fake drug says roche, the parent company, instead of genentech, the division that makes it, also the fake drug is written in french and real drug is written in english, also the lot numbers are different, so there are three or four different ways to tell. people that are given chemotherapy to patients better be very, very careful, check the language it's written in, check the company that's on there, check the lot numbers you're expecting. you can catch this. we don't want our patients getting drugs like this. jenna: seems like obvious

things to watch for but still, what a story. dr. siegl, thank you very much. >> good to see you. jenna: jon. jon: well, some parts of the country are on alert today, jen yarks for potentially dangerous weather. we're talking about large hail, high winds, possibly even tornadoes. janice dean has the info, she's in the fox weather center for us. j.d. >> reporter: we're already seeing the potential for severe weather around the houston area, so people are urged to watch their local weather there. just zooming in where we're seeing the potential for severe weather, not only houston, but louisiana, including new orleans, you can see the storms really starting to block them up -- to blossom in the radar as we go further out in time. there we go, east of austin, watching that area, and of course we'll bring you watches and warnings as they come in. but as for the severe threat, in the yellow, especially in the afternoon and overnight hours, we could see some of the thunderstorms pop in that large hail, damaging winds, and i wouldn't be surprised to see to be aido as well.

not a severe weather outbreak but certainly something to keep an eye on. as we head further out in time, wednesday and thursday, affecting parts of the southeast, mid atlantic and eventually we could see a developing low pressure system across the northeast, very similar to what we saw this past weekend. so we're going to keep an eye on that. but certainly, temperatures are conducive for the threat for severe weather, we've got the cooler temperatures just north of the boundary, then warmer temperatures around the gulf coast. so, of course, the clash of those two air mass, very spring-like, could bring the potential for severe weather. we'll keep an eye on it throughout the day today. there are your highs, very warm again across portions of the south, and then above average, as you get towards the mid atlantic and the northeast. sort of the rule we've seen all winter. back to you jon. jon: let's keep the tornadoes away, shall we? >> >> reporter: i will try my best, sir. jon: >> jenna: in the death of whitney houston, what killed the superstar? we have prelim -- preliminary results of the

toxicology results and we'll bring you those. >> and stealing from an unsuspecting passenger, a story that will make you think twice the next time you fly. rick folbaum has that story, next.

jon right now, we are awaiting preliminary toxicology reports on whitney houston. we could get that information any time now. as her family makes final arrangement phos her funeral. it will be a private service on saturday at the new hope baptist church in newark,

new jersey, the church that houston attended as a child. there will not ab public memorial, but police are considering placing monitors outside the church for those not invited inside. jenna: the search for clues in the disappearance of suesson powell didn't end with the explosion set by her husband josh that killed him and their two sons. detectives say recent searches turned up a blood-stained blanket, some of susan's books, and an unmarked map of utah where josh said he took the kids camping on the night susan disappeared. well now a maid at a utah hotel where the powells stayed on that trip is speaking out, robin schneider, and she says she called the police tipline after one of the little boys asked her if she knew where his mother was. jon: well, a warning for anyone who flies. the next time you go through airport security, you might want to guard your possessions very carefully. this woman learned the hard way, not to leave an expensive rolex watch lying

around in one of those tsa trays. rick folbaum has the story. >> reporter: you really do have to keep track of your stuff as you go through security. you empty your pockets, take off your shoe, your belt, your watch sometimes and that's exactly how a thief at fort lauderdale international airport in florida made off with the $6500 rolex. you can watch this for yourself, the woman in front of 24 guy had to put her watch in one of those plastic bins, she didn't want to set off the metal detector but must have forgotten about it for a split second, that's when this guy swoops in, he sees the sparkle, then pause phos a minute after he puts his shoes on, maybe to consider what he's about to do, and then as we continue to watch this surveillance video vape of -- videotape of the thief in action he ends up grabbing his own laptop and his coat right there and then he's just going to dip in one second there and then dip, he's going grab it right now. he takes the watch, puts it with the laptop into his bag, the woman forgot about

the watch and she remembered a little while later, but by then it was too late, the robbery took place back in january on the 18th, authorities think this thief lives in south florida. if you recognize him and that's a pretty good look at him on that surveillance video, call the broward county crime stopper's hotline, there is a reward, $1000, if you have any information that leads to the watch and leads to an arrest. keep your eye on the tape. back to you guys. jon: that is just awful. let's hope they get that guy. >> reporter: let's hope so. jenna: a small pennsylvania town is under seige by thousands of crows, and residents are complaining about it. as you can imagine. nonstop noise, a whole lot of mess and the town says the invasion is keeping people away. which is very bad for business, except, of course, for the local car washes who are doing just fine. residents say attempts to use scarecrows and other means are having little

impact on the bird's remains jon: i don't suppose a shotgun is an option? just asking. folks celebrate valentine's day by candlelight, whether they wanted to or not. southern california edison says a deflated helium balloon, one of those mylar kind, fell into a sub station, causing a power outage that left nearly 16,000 customers in the dark. there's no word on the cause of a separate outage nearby that cut power to 21,000 customers. in both cases the utilities say they did get the power back on, but it took a few hours. jenna: just a balloon, huh? >> jon: that's it. that's all it was, yeah. jenna: well, you're welcome, says the power companies, for a nice romantic valentine's day, whether you liked it or not! iran again is defying the world, showing off advancements to its nuclear program. what the u.s. and europe are considering in response that could cripple iran's economy. we're going to tell you more about that. >> and rick santorum's nationwide surge, the one-time long shot, now on

top of the poll necessary key swing states. we're going to have the latest from the campaign trail, coming up. [ wind sounds ] [ horn honks ] [ dog barks ] [ dog whimpers ] [ wind whistling ] [ dog whimpers ]

>> reporter: in the control room, brand-new stories on the next 60 minutes "happening now." as jon said a minute ago we are waiting for the preliminary toxicology reports, what killed whitney houston. we might be seconds from finding out and we'll let you know as soon as we do. we are continuing to watch this trial in alabama. that is baby watson, accused of murdering his wife on their honeymoon. opening statements yesterday, we'll tell you what is going on today. a popular health scare involving the most popular brands of lipstick, what you need to know. iran causing more problems. we've also got our eye on politics, and breaking news as it happens. the second hour of "happening now" starts right now. jenna: that lipstick story really has jon scott concerned,

right, john? come on. jon: i know what it is in and i don't wear it. jenna: it would be a different show if you did. rick mentioned one of the big stories today is iran and they are raising the nuclear stakes in defines of the international community. we are glad you are with us. i'm jenna lee. jon: lots of concern of what iran is doing. i'm jon scott. the hard line leader of the country thumbs his nose at the west twice. he is getting ready to insert the first fuel rod made in iran into a reactor in teheran. and advanced centrifuges at an enrichment site, in response to western sanctions. jenna: they are increasing their technology there, they are not stopping. the u.s. and europe considering new financial pressure to punish iran. the unprecedented action would cut off iran's access to an

entire international banking system and prevent them from collecting oil profits. their economy is built simply on oil. this move could result in higher oil prices around the world, that is another person. jon: let's check out another hot spot in the middle east right now, syria, there is new amateur video of a huge fire, an explosion damaging an oil pipeline that runs through the central city of homs. jenna: homs is one of the city's hardest hit as a brute physical crackdown as syrian forces target the forces of bashar al-assad. it's also the site where his father wiped out the entire city a few decades ago. bashar al-assad is ordering a new referendum on a new constitution, the vote that the opposition is rejecting. streaming live is damascus.

>> reporter: president bashar al-assad is coming through on one of his promises back in january, that there will be a new constitution. he wants the vote to come on february 26th. he says it will be a way to transition to a democratic power. we'll see if that is held. it will be hard for them to organize such a vote on something like that, when there is so much violence going on in the country. will in fact international observers be brought in to help that happen. there needs to be a cease fire. there is a huge plume of black smoke as government troops continue to shell, not just homs but other areas around the country. another 30 people have died. the united nations getting closer to intervention. the russians looking at this which could bring about some

sort of intervention. not entirely sure what that would be at the time. that resolution will condemn the violence in syria and call for a peaceful transition to power. on top of that they will a point a special envoy to syria. he will go to damascus and try to create some sort of cease fire and allow the vote on the new constitution to take place. in the meantime continued violence going on. hammer, jen a that was the city that bashar al-assad's father destroyed in 1982, 10,000 people killed in that particular attack. that could foster an awful lot more recentment against the regime. back to you, jenna. jenna: dominic thank you. gregg: a new information on negotiations to extend the

payroll tax cut and let you keep more of your paycheck. chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel live for us on capitol hill. the republicans are apparently going to go forward with this plan that would extend the payroll tax holiday without paying for it. what do they say as their justification for that. >> reporter: that is an aspect that is making a number of rank-and-file unhappy. john boehner wanted to remove a political republican that was against them. the fact that apparently they were okay with taxes going up on 160 million americans. >> we are not going to let them raise taxes on working americans. we mid a decisio made a decision to bring them to the table so the games would stop and we could get this worked out. >> reporter: moving forward with a growing to a payroll tax extension without paying for it

really seemed to loosen up the negotiations on a more comprehensive package, which is being finalized today, jon. jon: what about the democrats? do they like this deal that we think is going to pass? >> reporter: we got a very important comment literally moments ago from the top democratic negotiator, senator max bacaus. he said, i think we'll get an agreement today because it is so important to the country. he went onto say, i assign a very high of probability of us getting this done. from experience when senator bacaus says that you can problem below take it to the bank. earlier a house democrat took more of a witness and see approach. >> i think we have to see the details. any number of things are being discussed, and any number of things are being drafted to try to put into writing what might be a final deal. ultimately we still have to get a vote out of the conference and get the president to sign it

after congress would possible it. we are still aeu are a lon a long ways from getting there. >> reporter: we exspec the language is being finalized and the conference committee he i will lewded the alluded to will get together and pass this deal if all goes well this afternoon. jon: the president won't be able to then blame congress for not passing this thing. >> reporter: this would be a sign of them doing something, yes. jon: mike emanuel, capitol hill. thanks, mike. martha jenna: rick santorum rurpblging in ohio with weeks to go until the march 6th primary. the polls are putting santorum out in front with 36%. you see romney, gingrich and paul falling behind him. the "real clear politics" ohio poll average showing santorum in the lead by just 2 points.

is santorum just the latest nonromney? that is the question we're asking today or does he have lasting power here that everyone needs to pay attention to. charlie hurt is a columnist for the washington times a, and i guess you get to answer that question. what do you think about santorum, does he have lasting power, or is he the flavor of the week as the nonromney. >> reporter: i think the fact that santorum is still around after all the predictions that he won't be around this long is evidence that he's doing very well. he's not made any major mistakes, and very few kind of small mistakes, you know, kind of talking off script and things like that. he's run a very disciplined campaign and he's worked very hard and done it very much with not that much money, you know, compared to mitt romney. mitt romney should have completely cleaned up by now, but the problem is that there really does remain this deep,

deep mistrust and discomfort among conservatives and republican voters for mitt romney. the fact that santorum -- that poll you just showed in ohio i think that really has to have mitt romney's people very, very tphofs. tha nervous. that's one of the states where rick santorum has done a very good job in making the argument that he can play in places like that far better than mitt romney. those are the places where republicans have to be able too play in november if they want to beat press. jenna: let's take a broader view on this. look at ohio but expand out a little bit. most elections are driven by character and issues, the combination of both. when you look at the polls, what is this telling you, charlie, is character more important than some of the issues or do you still issues still being the driver of the election in 2012? >> reporter: i don't think anybody would try to attack mitt romney on his character, per se. he's a very good family man, he fits very neatly with republican voters. the problem is he sort of lacks

that sort of political soul that makes people very comfortable. this campaign that rick santorum has been running about being a conscience conservative, meaning he was willing to march off a cliff, and he did oftentimes when he was in the senate march off the cliff in his believes, and the bodes very well. he never played foot see with obama care or romney care or anything like that. while people can point to pork spending and things like that that come with being a longtime insider in washington as rick santorum definitely is, he can point to very strong conservative convictions. and the other thing, jenna, that i think is crucial, and rick santorum has done a great job making this argument, and that is that he's won elections in pennsylvania, that is not where republicans normally win. that is a crucial state for democrats if they want to win. he is the only person who has

actually put up victories in that state, statewide elections run for senate twice. and ultimately got beaten. but got beaten really by somebody who was almost more conservative in a lot of ways. jenna: we'll see if he can pick up the pace or keep the pace until super tuesday. that is the big question, charlie. thanks you so much. charlie hurt from the washington time. jon: continuing political talk now, new polls out on the race for president. we're going to talk with scott rasmussen about the republican candidates and who is now in front. also a guy accused of killing his wife on their moneyee moon in australia, he's defending himself in court. his lawyer said it was all an accident. >> we are looking forward to our system of justice, okay, the system of justice we have in the united states of america to work the way it's supposed to, and to find gabe innocent of any wrongdoing. [ male announcer ] juice drink too watery? ♪

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jon: international stories we are watching. a romanian man using a motorized parachute to save his country man. he is dropping food to towns that have been in weeks of heavy no and stranded 200 communities. severe weather is blamed for the defendants at least 86 romanians. a tragic fire at a prison in honduras killing at least 300 inmates. they say they could not rescue many prisoners because they didn't have keys to the cells. a mexican judge ordering an american man to stand trial there for the murder of his wife. former reality tv producer, bruce beresford-redman, accused of willing his wife in cancun back in 2010. meantime, in politics, a brand-new national poll shows

rick santorum beating mitt romney by double digits. it shows santorum with 39% of the vote, romney trailing with 27%. in the "real clear politics" average the race teams much tighter, santorum leads by less than 2 points. scott rasmussen is president of rasmussen reports.com. can you explain that difference there, scott? "real clear politics" averagess lots of national polls, they have a very tight race. yours not so much, why? >> i suspect it has to do with timing. "real clear politics" takes the polls and combines them over a week or so. anything we know that the republican race this year, it is volatile and changing on a regular basis. if you compare the numbers to what we have do to over a week ago you see a huge surge for rick santorum. i think the more significant factor, though, is that compared to just before santorum had the victories in missouri, colorado,

and minnesota, mitt romney has now lost seven points, this is support is especially week now among somewhat conservative voters. the very conservative voters have always had doubts about romney. among somewhat conservative, it's rick santorum 37, romney 34. jon: newt gingrich seems to have faded a little bit. you asked if you had a choice between mitt romney and newt gingrich in the republican par party, 47% pick romney. 38% pick newt gingrich. >> he had a tough day in the cpac results and in the main caucus. he got 6% of the vote there. he didn't do well when rick santorum did. rick santorum is being seen as the conservative alternative to mitt romney. jon: when you take it down to a

two-person race santorum really drubs romney if you ask folks if it were down to those two competitors who would you pick? santorum wins 55-34. >> this is huge. we have asked this question of all competitors, national and state polls, never before has mitt romney trailed in a national poll to any other republican in a head-to-head match up. the reason again those conservative voters who were maybe supporting somebody other than santorum or romney, when it's a two-person choice they are overwhelmingly moving to rick santorum. santorum picks up 16 points, romney only 7. jon: the santorum fans may not be all that optimistic, because you asked, record less of who you want to win, who do you think is going to win, and there mitt romney comes out on top 64% to 18% for santorum, and much

smaller numbers for the other. >> that's right. romney has been recorded as the frontrunner from the beginning. 51% of santorum supporters say they think romney will probably win in the end. the sense of inevitability that the romney campaign was trying to build has helped the campaign an awful lot so far. it will be interesting to see if it can survive too much longer if the polls and results go against him. jon: a lot of the negative advertising that has been done on the republican side has focused on either newt gingrich or mitt romney. rick santorum hasn't really been the target of a lot of that stuff, that would seem to show in the favorability poll that you took. viewers have overall the somewhat unfavorable and a very unfavorable ratings for mitt romney add up to something like a 30 percent unfavorable rating. for rick santorum it's only 22%. >> that's right. there is something else about.

if you take a look at the positive side and look at the intensity, when we asked people, look, how many people have a very favorable opinion of the candidates, that strong, positive feelings. 40% of voters say that about rick santorum. only 18% about mitt romney. those two candidates have mirror image problems. mitt romney has the perception that he is the strongest candidate, that he is the likely winner, he has the most money and the best organization. he needs to convince voters there is some other reason to vote for him. for rick santorum, they are kind of excited about him right now, republicans have been looking for an alternative to mitt romney for a longtime, but he needs to convince republican voters that he can actually beat barack obama, because for republican primary voters that is still the single most important issue. jon: right. i guess he also has to convince them that he's more than the anti-mitt, right? >> that's exactly right. you know, a few months ago

hardly anybody in america knew who rick santorum was. now he's the frontrunner. he will he face some challenges that he hasn't faced before. it's going to be awfully interesting to see what happens between now and the 28th when there are primaries in michigan and car is. jon: it's going to be fascinating as you said. scott rasmussen from rasmussen reports. thank you. jenna: forget the lincoln bedroom at the white house, when china's vice president first came to the u.s. 27 years ago he stayed at a split level ranch house in iowa in a kids bedroom decked out in star wars decor. we'll speak to the man who hosted that visit. plus ladies, listen up, your lipstick may actually have poison in it. huh? i mean come on when you can't trust lipstick at the drugstore -- jon: have you read the label lately? jenna: i haven't, we'll talk

about that straight ahead. [ male announcer ] if you think tylenol is the pain reliever orthopedic doctors recommend most for arthritis pain, think again. and take aleve. it's the one doctors recommend most for arthritis pain. two pills can last all day. ♪

jon: right now, new details in the trial of a man accused of murdering his wife on their honeymoon in the most unthinkable way. defense attorneys are now arguing that tina watson died after a, quote, perfect storm of events. rick has that live from the newsroom. >> reporter: the jurors heard opening statements yesterday, two different versions of what happened to 26-year-old newlywed tina watson. in the prosecution's version her new husband gabe takes her scuba diving off the coast of australia. it's their honey money, but watson wants to kill tina to collect insurance money. he turns off her air supply during the dive long enough for her to lose consciousness. he then turns it back on and returns to the service and says it's all a terrible accident. that is the prosecutors side.

there is the picture, it shows tina in the background. she has lost consciousness at this point. it was taken by a fellow driver. it does not show gabe watson. and the defense said this whole thing was an accident and her equipment malfunctioned, causing her to panic, eventually knocking off her husband's air supply and mask and forcing him to swim to the surface. they say she drowned on her own. tina watson died in 2003. gabe watson has already served a year and a half in prison in australia. that was after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter. this is a different charge, he's been charged this time with capital murder. his second wife sitting with his family in the courtroom yesterday. that trial resumes today with the same australian police detective back on the stand, back over to you. jon: what a story, what a case, rick, thanks. jenna: the man who will most likely be china's next president and therefore a pretty important person in the world is heading

to the heartland right now. he has been meeting with the president, president obama and today he's going to head back to iowa where he spent time in 1985. on the agenda he will reunite with a couple who hosted him in their home 27 years ago. on the phone with us is thomas, he was head of the household that hosted the vice president. and thomas, i mean 27 years ago you had this chinese official come and check out the farming region, now he might be president of china. what do you think about that? >> i'm overwhelmed. jenna: what are you going to say to him when you see him? >> first of all we're going to -- we're going to greet him and congratulate on his a s-rb scendnew role in china it's

unbelievable that this man who stayed with us 27 years o ago, and we provided him with a place to sleep and fed him breakfast that, he's going to be president of china. my sons were offer to college, and they still had all their star wars stuff, star trek and stuff, so that's where he said. jenna: how did you get picked to host him? >> i think it was a random deal. i worked for a company that did a lot of international business. and the vice president's visit, he came from a province and he had four others with him. and he wanted to tour the farmland, and get ideas.

and phurbgs skateene was the sister city of the province over there. the people from sister city asked us if we would put up these people from china and we agreed to do it. jenna: how was he as a house guest. >> he was a great house guest. he came home tired from a day of traveling around and learning, and he's a serious guy, so he was quiet. he didn't speak much english, we got by with gestures, et cetera, as you do when you don't know the language. jenna: apparently he's improved a little bit on english. >> yes. jenna: it will be interesting for you to have a chance to talk to him 27 years later. what a great story, thomas, thank you so much for sharing it and we wish you luck in your meeting a little later on today. >> thank you very much, we are looking forward to it. jenna: we are as well.

part of the story when the vice president left the house apparently he left some chinese spirits. in the "wall street journal" thomas' wife said, woerbgs, it was tough. the spirits that were left behind. what a story, right? you never know, those house guests that maybe you don't want could some day turn out to be a president of another country. you better be nice. jon: all questions as he becomes the president of china. is your make up, maybe even your lipstick dangerous? an alarming new report about what is in some very popular brands. plus, filling up at the pump getting more painful at the day. that could become a big concern for president obama as he tries to win re-election. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert

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jenna: the left-leaning media watchdog group, mead dwra matters for america, finding itself under a media microscope. shannon bream live in washington with more. >> reporter: jenna, forms they filed it the irs to obtain tax-exempt status. they identified its purpose charitable and educationalal. since then the organization made it clear to attack various media outlets including fox news. >> this is basically taking a government subsidy in order to attack a for-profit company like fox news and

news corp. you have a company free of federal taxes. people can donate to and have a tax writeoff and classified as educational charity by any conventional standard doesn't meet any of those metrics. >> reporter: internal memos obtained by "the daily caller" media matters considered direct attacks on fox news including the possibility of hiring private investigators to delve into the personal lives of hosts commentators and executives. they say those kinds of activities stretch the boundaries of what a tax-exempt organization should be doing. >> you may advocate a particular point of view and you may do so strongly but you can't have it just be unsub stand i ated opinion and you have to be reasonably objective about the way you present your views. so excessive use of inflammatory language would be one factor that the internal revenue service could look at. >> reporter: a number of complaints against media matters have been filed with the irs.

several congressional republicans say they're interested in vetting the tax-exempt status of the group. experts warn this area of the law is very complex with plenty of wiggle room. jenna. jenna: we have more thank you. jon: let's check in with our news watch panel. andrea tanteros columnist for the "new york daily news" and co-host of "the five" on the fox news channel. kirsten powers, columnist for "daily beast" and fox news contributor and contributing to the "usa today.". jumping -- jim pinkerton. a also a fox news contributor. i want to boil down some of this battle to a media matters memo actually circulated insternnally. according to "the daily caller" and they got some extraordinary access to some of the stuffs these folks have written. here is what it boils down to. simply puts writes carl frishe, the progressive movement is need after enemy. george w. bush is gone. we don't have i don't know

mccain to kick around anymore. filling the lack of leadership on the right fox news emerged as the central enemy and antagonist of the obama administration. our congressional majorities and progressive movement as a whole we must take fox news head on in a well-orchestrated, well-funded presidential-style campaign to discredit and embarass the network, making it illegitimate in the eyes of news consumers. jim, does that sound like the work of a tax-free organization? >> it doesn't. and i have to tell you, jon, last year, david brock, the president of media matters was quoted as saying i, him talking now, i want to engage in a quote, guerrilla war and sabotage, unquote, campaign against fox. that is kind of a little bit heavy for a charity as shannon said, a educational charitable, charity. i assumed it was just him talking out of turn. talking a little bit of a position of instability. now i realize thanks to this memo, 90-page memo, all our

viewers can find on "the daily caller" website and probably elsewhere as well this was the corporate culture of the whole organization. kind of astonishing to me a rogue outfit could exist here in washington. jon: kirsten, you are unabashed liberal. an advocate of liberal causes, so is media matters. how do you feel about this purported war that they have launched? >> well, i think it is disappointing because i actually think they do a lot of good stuff even though i'm often on the receiving end of their criticism but overall i think, you know they serve a purpose. they monitor the media and they find where they think there is bias or mistakes. there is nothing wrong with that. where there's a problem what is in these memos talking about going after, not just about going after the network but actually going after individual people, executive producers, people who work at fox news and trying to somehow basically destroy their lives as far as i can tell to try to find, maybe track them and find

something out about them that can be used against them. this is very, very troubling to me. jon: and the, andrea, the coordination i guess you would say between some of the issues that they were putting out there that were later then picked up or parroted by white house spokespeople is kind of interesting. >> it's more than interesting. it's down right troubling. i mean the fact that they actually could be coordinating with the white house and then they're getting tax breaks. think about it, jon, this organization claims to be a charity that doesn't essentially pay any taxes. and its existence is based on one thing, that to take out a for-profit company and that is news corp, the parent company of this network. jon: because they don't like our reporting? >> that's right. now look, you can say, we have free speech in this country. you can say what you want about different news organizations but you can't get a subsidy for that. this is why republicans, i aplaud them looking into

what media matters is doing looking to revoke their tax-exempt status. there are two separate economies right now. we have one where for-profit companies trying to make a business and the left is demonizing them. then you have these nonprofit fake charities aren't doing any real discernable charity work like media matters not paying taxes which gives them an advantage. it is ironic, it begs the tax-exempt status be revoked and i think it should. jon: if viewers don't like the kind of reporting they see on fox news channel, don't they have other alternatives? >> right. all the alternatives to fox are protected by the first amendment. it is important to understand that fox is private corporation and private property and has its own rights to exist and not be harassed and demaimed but -- defamed but in addition as part of the media we have right to say this as cnn, msnbc and anybody else, for media matters we'll deprive fox

implication viewers and supporters of their first amendment rights to free speech and hear free speech that is pretty astonishing. as andrea said they're getting tax deduction to do this. all the other taxpayers are paying for media matters to attack fox. jon: not only that, kirsten, people who donate to their site take a tax deduction for the donation. >> shannon said in her piece before we came on this is a very difficult area and i think there are a lot of tax, a lot of institutions that have tax deductible status who do sort of engage in political activity and so it's a bigger problem and i'm not sure that you can take away their status for doing this i would also say they're not infringing on anybody's first amendment rights because only the government can infringe on first amendment rights. all that to be said, what they're doing, i have a major problem with. i guess there is nothing wrong with monitoring the media. there is nothing wrong pointing out when mistakes

were made. there is nothing i don't know with that, but there is a problem waging an all-out war at individuals who work at a news organization to try to disrupt their lives, to try to destroy their lives. i don't think people who are giving money to this organization really think that is what they're doing. jon: we'll have to wrap it up there. kirsten powers, andrea tanteros, jim pinkerton. thank you. each weekend the news watch panel takes on the media hot topics. tune in saturday, 2:30 p.m. eastern time. jenna: talk about sticker shock, gas prices inching up towards $4 a gallon. in some towns it is already there. we'll see how this trend affects the race for the president. the politics of all this coming up. d houses. ♪ [ woman ] when i grow up, i want to take him on his first flight. i want to run a marathon.

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jenna: big question today. is your lipstick safe? this is something i asked rick every single day, don't

i, rick? >> yes you do. >> apparently the fda says we should be concerned some toxic chemicals in the old makeup bag? >> reporter: that's right, jenna. let me explain. these are brands some of you in the audience might be wearing right now. l'oreal, maybelline, cover girl. they all landed on the top 10 list of most contaminated lipsticks compiled by the food and drug administration. the contaminant is lead. they found 400 popular shades have trace amounts of it. consumer advocates saying for years lipstick needs to be regulated because it contains lead. the agency resisted because lipstick is not food and the amount of lead thought to be so small. agency released a statement saying it does not find the led levels to be of concern. the cosmetics industry which doesn't purposely add lead to the products agrees. dr. marc siegel agrease with

the safety advocates and that regulators need to look into it more. dr. siegel, says maybe it is not dangerous and maybe it is and maybe it is maybelline. jenna: very good. you and jon are partial towards cover girl, right? jon: as long as it is glossy. as long as it is glossy. >> reporter: right. jenna: thank you very much, rick. if you want to learn more about whether there is lead in your lipstick if you should be concerned, log on to our blog at foxnews.co foxnews.com/happeningnow. dr. siegel posted out his thoughts. this comes out every few years or so. you might want to read up see if you're using a brand that has lead in it. might as well know. jon: well the price of gas hitting 4 bucks a gallon again in some parts of the country. check out the national average, $3.51. how does this affect president obama's chances for re-election? doug mckelway is in chevy chase, maryland. doug? >> reporter: that's right,

jon at this liberty gas station in chevy chase, maryland. gas prices for premium grade are already spiking over $4. 4.05. i don't know if you can see. the car pulled in front of the sign. timing is always perfect. little higher than it tends to be in localized area. this is closed suburb and pay high rent and state of the maryland where the democratic controlled legislature and democratic governor have been trying to raise the gasoline tax and tends to be higher than surrounding jurisdiction. make no mistake about it, this number gives any sitting president absolute fits as well as his campaign staff. look at this chart we've got here for you. it was compiled by professor larry sabato, political scientist at university of virginia. shows uncanny correlation between a president's unpopularity and high gas prices dating all the way back to the carter administration. >> so as the price at the pump begins to cut the average person, it naturally

brings a president's popularity down. as i say, it's a strong correlation. it is not a perfect correlation but it is also a lagging indcat tore. it takes awhile for high prices to cause a president to bleed popularity points. it doesn't happen right away. and also it obviously depends on how high the gas prices go and how long they stay there. >> reporter: sabato says that three presidents suffered greatly from high gasoline prices. nixon, who resigned from office for other reasons as we all know. but also president ford and president carter lost their re-election battles in the midst of high gasoline prices. the liability for a president though is reflected in the fact that unpopularity is correlated with high gasoline prices but low gasoline prices do not necessarily correlate with popularity. it is very tough game. look for republicans to make a lot of hay should gasoline prices spike over $4 as many

analysts expect. jon? jon: that doesn't sound good, that kind of price. doug mckelway. thanks. jenna: destructive act of nature with a silver lining. how a family-owned company was saved by this winter calamity. we have that story coming up. discover plum amazins, the amazing alternative to raisins and cranberries with more fiber, less sugar, and a way better glycemic index. he's clearly enjoying one of the planet's most amazing superfruits. hey, keep it down mate, you'll wake the kids. plum amazins. new, from sunsweet.

jenna: turning now to the road to recovery and a major turnaround story out of connecticut now. a year ago, new england electric was on the verge of collapse but then mother nature helped save the day in an unexpected way. julie banderas is live in connecticut with more on this. >> reporter: that's right, jenna. the lights literally almost went dark here by then mother nature struck turning

tragedy into try yum. during recession many companies ended up making cutbacks and had to lay off a lot of employees and of course this company was no exception to that. the owner of this place is second generation family-run business. your father started this in 1958. >> that's true. >> reporter: 2007, 2009 rolls around you had to lay off so many people. you thought you guys were doomed? >> it was terrible. back in 2007 we thought it was another slowdown like we have in our industry. and little did we know it was going to be the biggest recession since the great depression. >> reporter: you thought you would have to close your business stores of the you had to make layoffs and cutbacks. hurricane irene comes in summer of 2011. and had unseasonable and dangerous snowstorms that wiped out thousands of customers without power. what used to be a luxury came in necessity and you're back in business in a big way. >> we're back in business in a big way. the economy definitely going in right direction.

generator business at new england electric is booming. >> reporter: you were able to hire back all those people or most of them that you laid off. >> we did. >> reporter: you don't hear that every day in this economy. >> things are starting to look up here in connecticut and i think throughout the country finally. we're back on the right, back on the right track. >> reporter: it's pretty amazing and a great story to hear because you don't typically hear the light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to recession stories. >> i mean back in the beginning of 2010 and 11 i was starting to think this was going to be it. this is the way business was going to be. >> reporter: good for you. >> things are turning around. >> reporter: eddie, thank you very much. congrats to all you and your employees. freight story. i love positive stories. jenna: we'll take it. glad he was able to hire back almost everybody. thanks very much for that story. >> reporter: sure. jon: that is a good one. iran issues another new threat against the west. what iran's president is saying now about his country's nuclear program and why oil prices could soon jump even higher.

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[ male announcer ] one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn. jon right now an update in the murder trial of former university of virginia lacrosse player george huguely. rick folbaum has it. >> reporter: the prosecution has taken just one week, called almost 40 witnesses trying to make the case for a first degree murder charge and conviction against former uva lacrosse player george huguely, prosecutors bringing in doctors, forensic experts to show that the fight that huguely had with his ex-girlfriend and lacrosse star yeardley love was so violent it caused brain trauma which killed her, the morning after the death huguely initially said the bruises on his hands were from lacrosse, prosecutors say they found the mark on the body. defense is set to take the stand soon. the defense argues the death was caused by love's consumption of prescription drugs mixed with alcohol. the defense is pushing for a lesser charge of