now. jenna: thank you, bill and allison. rick santorum celebrating big wins in two deep red states. he says it time for voters to rally around a conservative candidate. what it all means for the year ahead. jon: a wild trip. we have dramatic video from the incident. jenna: take a look at that. a team out of luck on hbo series of the same name. outcry after death of three horses and production is halted. all "happening now.". jenna: start off with a little alliteration here. a southern sweep for rick santorum. just flows off the tongue, right? jon: sure does. jenna: we're glad you're with us today. i'm jenna lee. jon: i'm jon scott. "happening now", rick santorum wins alabama an mississippi. newt gingrich comes in

second in both contests but is staying in the race. mitt romney is third in both primaries raising questions about his strength with the republican base. let's look at numbers. santorum takes 3% of the vote of the in alabama, santorum on top with 35%. we have it story from hawaii where romney won the caucuses with 45% of the vote. still out in front. romney, with 455. santorum in third and with 252. gingrich with 131 and ron paul with 48. illinois where newt gingrich and ron paul are crisscrossing the state. mitt romney taking a break from the trail with no scheduled events. here now, "washington examiner" senior political analyst and fox news contributor michael ba ronl. michael, a day of the results are in from alabama, mississippi and hawaii, how

has this race been changed? >> well this race, the french have an expression which means as i understand it, things are going on. it continues and i think what we're seeing here is a continuation of the race. rick santorum won those victoris. you could say that they're sweeping. they were also like mitt romney's victories in michigan and ohio, by pretty narrow margins, jon. newt gingrich says he will continue in this race and they will go on to these other territories. i think it is significant in the race since super tuesday, rick santorum has won three out of four states, kansas, alabama and mississippi. lost to mitt romney in hawaii. but romney is ahead in delegates because of the contests and territoris. according to "real clear politics" count, delegate count since super tuesday, romney has won 73 delegates

to santorum's 68. jon: although last night in alabama and mississippi, all came in essentially, three front-runners or three top tiers i guess you call it, they all essentially split the delegates. each way away with essentially the same number of delegates. >> that's right. the republicans in this cycle for the first time in memory adopted rules to states allocate delegates by proportional representation which is mode traditionally used by democrats and not by republicans. it lengthened the democratic race in 2008 and it is lengthening receipt public can race. rick santorum get as very minimal advantage out of his wins in alabama and mississippi in delegates where as mitt romney by his victories in the territories, guam, virgin islands and american samoa so far with puerto rico the biggest one still to come, gets a much bigger net delegate

advantage out of those contests. jon: the questions this morning seem mostly to be revolving around newt gingrich and where he goes from here. he says the inevitability of mitt romney as the nominee just collapsed. is that accurate? is that right? >> i would disagree with that statement. i think mitt romney still has a good solid chance to win the 1144 delegates necessary for the nomination. let's remember in addition to the delegates chosen in primaries and caucuses you have three superdelegates to use the term we used in the democratic contest four years ago. three superdelegates from each state, republican state chairman and republican national committeeman and committee woman. those votes, people are not committed. i think if mitt romney gets close to the 1144 will get

get the votes of those people. just like barack obama when he was ahead in delegates in the democratic race got the lion's share of superdelegate votes. jon: i suppose one could argue newt gingrich is expected to do better and comes from a southern state, neighboring two states didn't put him in first place but shows no signs of getting out. where does he go from here? >> well i think newt gingrich goes to illinois. that is what is on his schedule. he has events in the collar counties around chicago and down state illinois. the question is whether people will pay attention to newt gingrich. his victories in south carolina and georgia gave him a talking point going into adjacent alabama and mississippi. i'm the kind of guy your neighbors in this region voted for. it wasn't quite enough to give him first place finishes. rick santorum hopes voters quit paying attention to newt gingrich and he becomes a minor candidate as he was in ohio and michigan. if not end his candidacy all

together. so i think it is a question whether voters will pay attention to gingrich. he attracted some attention by calling for 2.50 a gallon gas and making a plausible argument how policies could move us in that direction. i'm not sure whether he will be able to attract as much attention or as many votes in the contest ahead. jon: michael barone, our fox news contributor. michael, thank you. >> thank you. jenna: there is some new remarks from the secretary of defense who is in afghanistan today. leon panetta is the highest ranking u.s. official to visit the war zone after an american soldier allegedly went on a shooting campaign there killing 16 afghan villagers, most of them children. now today a bomb exploded outside the intelligence headquarters in kandahar. inside there was a delegation discussing the investigation of the shooting. this is ongoing right now. national security correspondent jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon. jennifer, secretary panetta made the first remarks,

first comments since the shooting. what did you have to say? >> reporter: this trip been planned for some time, jenna, but we couldn't report on it until secretary panetta was in country in afghanistan what. he told the marines in the town hall he talked about the shooting at that took place over the weekend representing some of the challenges of war. what raised eyebrows during that meeting with marines in helmand province when the marine officers asked those marines to leave their weapons outside the town hall. afterwards the officer in charge said he decided to do so because the afghans who were present had been asked to disarm and they wanted to keep them both on an equal footing. jenna? jenna: jennifer, as far as the shooter goes, what more are we learning today if anything about this alleged shooter? >> well we certainly learned late yesterday that alcohol is being involved as a -- investigated as a possible factor in the shooting

spree. there are several hours of surveillance video that captured the alleged shooter. the army staff sergeant crawling back to the base and standing up and looking like he was surrending. this video has been shown to afghan investigators to prove there was only one shooter. afghan investigators, some of the footage you saw, have come under fire. yesterday a delegation came under fire, one afghan was killed as they were trying to deliver reparation money to some of the victim family members. today there was a suicide bombing, a motorcycle bombing at an afghan intelligence headquarters in kandahar and one afghan intelligence officer was kiltz. jenna: a quick-moving story. jennifer give inch at the pentagon. jon:. concerns are growing nuclear armed iran could trigger a arms race in the mideast.

senior white house foreign affairs correspondent wendell goler is taking a look at that live from the state department. wendell? >> reporter: jon, president obama is determined not to allow iran to develop a nuclear weapon, not just because of repeated threats to destroy israel but it could trigger an arms race in the middle east to open possibility of a nuclear war to solve divisions between sunni and shia muslims. one of america's arab allies he says would quickly go nuclear. >> the guiding assumption people have is that saudi arabia could get a bomb relatively quickly if they felt under threat and one of the things that would make them feel under threat is the iranian acquisition of their own bomb. the assumption is that if iran were to suddenly get a bomb, that it would kick off a series of actions, the first of which is probably the saudis working out some deal with the pakistanis to

get control of a weapon. >> reporter: at their oval office meeting earlier this month, mr. obama assured israeli prime minister netanyahu his policy is not to try to contained a nuclear armed iran and the military option remains open to prevent iran from developing a bomb but it is unclear if the two reached an agreement would trigger use of force and what red lines iran would not be allowed to cross. netanyahu made clear he feels there is less time than the u.s. for sanctions and international pressure to con rinse iran not to develop a nuclear weapon and he suggests that israel would not give the u.s. any advance warning before it launches its own attack on iran's nuclear facilities. iran near the top of the agenda for the president's talks with british prime minister david cameron here at the white house. he is due here for lunch at the white house very shortly. jon: the tension continues. wendell goler at the state department. thank you. jenna: we'll get a press conference with the prime minister and president around noon eastern time. we'll have those comments

live. it has been a few days after the anniversary of last year's earthquake and tsunami in japan. a new frighting warning. details on the way on that justp happening this morning. jon: a story we told you about last week but there is dramatic new video from on board an american airlines flight. >> somebody call 911 security system. i've got to kill passengers before we take off. get out of my way!. >> hey, guys. jon: yeah a flight attendant had to be subdued by fellow flight attendants and passengers. new information on this story and more new video ahead. jenna: enencyclopedia britannica hard bound volumes have been around for 200 years but now big changes. we'll have those next. there he is, gordon jones, poised at this moment

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jon: some new information on that multimillion-dollar oops we brought you yesterday. investigators are trying to learn exactly what caused this delta 737 to role off a taxi way at hartsfield-jackson airport in atlanta. mechanics were at the controls at the time testing the plane's engines when something went wrong with the brakes like they didn't have any. mechanics were onboard but were not hurt. they had to use multiple cranes to lift the out of the ditch. jenna: jon, if you were piloting the plane i know that would never happen. jon: i like to think so. jenna: we know that for sure. we have a knew news on the business sars 911 calls on a flight attendant rant. here is the scenario. american airlines flight is taxiing on the ground in dallas and the flight attendant is screaming over the. a system that the plane is going to crash among other things. david lee miller has details on all of this. david? >> reporter: jenna we're

getting a better idea what actually happened aboard the flight from dallas-ft. worth to chicago when the flight attendant apparently snapped and suffered a mental breakdown. in addition to 911 calls, there is new video, a passenger on a first class recordinged dint on his cell phone as crewmembers tried to restrain the 43-year-old flight attendant as these she made threats to those on board. >> get out of my way!. >> guys? >> somebody call 911 security system. i have to kill passengers before we take off. >> reporter: passenger recorded that video put down the cell phone to help crewmembers to restrain the flight attendant but the audio was still recording. listen. >> with navy seals? you seal team six? back off. >> haven't been to church in 10 years. i'm going to hell. >> why would you be going to hell, ma'am.

>> i didn't pray before i shut the doors. >> reporter: they have an emergency dispatcher trying to calm the passenger fierce. >> airport 911. what is your emergency? >> someone is talking about crashing your plane. >> who is talking about crashing our plane. >> the attendant over the pa. >> okay. you're onboard a flight? >> yes. >> okay, what flight, american airlines? >> yes, 233. please help us. >> the person up front. >> don't be alarmed. he may be a sky marshal. >> reporter: according to initial reports the disturbed flight attendant was being treated for bipolar disorder and had not taken her medication. authorities say she will not face criminal charges. jenna? jenna: what a crazy story. it was crazy already but to see video and hear 911 calls well --. >> reporter: passengers remained so cool. a handful of them helped

restrain her something you have to be really brave to do considering what might else would be happening. >> that seems to be a good headline coming from the story. the passengers just didn't sit there and got up and helped here. there are no criminal charges and we'll see where it goes from here. >> reporter: i will say what is real interesting when police boarded plane, jenna, the flight attendant had already been restrained by passengers, one of the passengers, the fellow recorded that video who actually put on the handcuffs. jenna: they should get a spree flight, don't you think? at least a free flight. >> reporter: or a million frequent flyer miles. >> david, good points there. jon? jon: it is called the no budget, no pay act. it might break up that gridlock on capitol hill. why should lawmakers get a paycheck if they don't do their jobs? the congressman behind this new proposal tells about his bill. plus newt gingrich and mitt romney both feeling the pressure after rick santorum wins alabama and mississippi.

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jon: world's oldest english language encyclopedia is stopping the presses after nearly 250 years. encyclopedia britannica going digital now. online subscription will cost 70 bucks a year. that is bargain compared to the print edition available for every two years for $1400. if you want the good ol' bound version to put on the bookshelf there are told

4,000 sets left for sale. jenna: just in case. who wouldn't want it? you don't get paid if you don't do your job so why should members of the congress get a paycheck if they don't do theirs? that is the thinking behind no budget-no pay act. it keeps lawmakers from getting paid if they don't pass a budget and spending bills go alongwith that budget in a timely fashion. democratic congressman jim cooper introduced the bipartisan legislation in the house. he testified before a senate committee on the push and good enough to talk to us after that. nice to have you today. >> good to be with you? jenna: why do you think this is going to work? >> the idea is very simple and very fair. congress should live by the same rules. if we don't pass our budget and appropriation bills we shouldn't get paid and those are clear enforceable deadlines. jenna: congressman, if i don't do my job i get fired. you see the big hook by the door. jon and i do something wrong

we're gone, outside the studios. why do you think new legislation is key here? why shouldn't it be just if you don't do your job in congress you get fired and we vote somebody in who can do the job? >> well, why wait two years? as fragile as our economy is we should be able to discipline members of congress more promptly than that unfortunately our constitution says only voters can fire congressman. that is only every two years. we need promptering a shun then that. jenna: would this change the constitution in any way? >> it would not. we could not cut member pay this year but we can right after the november election. so i think that what we really want is prompt budget action. we do not want the nation to default. we do not want the nation to be a slow payer. if you see this reform you will see congress be very prompt indeed because it would align the interests of all members of congress. today some members of congress who benefit from these delays. jenna: interesting. i was looking at what your salary is and representatives and senators get paid $174,000, as of

january 1st, 2009. but half of the members of congress, just about half, are actually millionaires. and i'm curious, if you keep part of the pay away from a millionaire how much of a motivation this is really going to be? >> well, everybody wants to earn a paycheck but we should only get the paycheck if we do the work of the nation. i think what you will see here with aligned interests, with every congressman behaving the same we'll get the job done on time. we don't get smarter after october. the fiscal year starts october 1st. we should have completed our work by october 1st. we can do this. jenna: real quick here, congressman, what's next? where does it bill go from here? does the congress have to approve it to make actually happen? >> we had an excellent hearing today under senator lieberman and senator collins. we need a house hearing on the bill. we need a groundswell support. the know labels movement is helping to promote the form as well as 11 other key

congressional reforms. this is nonpartisan. not democrat or the republican. this is for the good of the country. we hope the people stand behind it. jenna: we'll see if it works. we appreciate you coming on to talk to us more about it. >> my pleasure, thanks. jon: be interesting to know what his fellow members of congress think about that. jenna: yeah. jon: new campaign spending reports reveal a surprising fact. republicans talk about managing the budget. well this republican race for the white house could be the cheapest gop contest in years. so what is helping these campaigns save money? also, a deadly bus crash involving dozens of students. the impact tears off the entire front of the vehicle. the investigation underway. how did it happen? that is coming up next. [ engine revs ]

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jon: some new fallout from rick santorum's big wins in the deep south. a santorum spokeswoman suggesting it's time for newt gingrich to get out of the race. here's the former pennsylvania senator after his victories in alabama and mississippi, calling on conservatives to rally around his campaign. >> where the time is now, for conservatives to pull together. the time is now to make sure,

to make sure, that we have the best chance to win this election and the best chance to win this election is to nominate a conservative go up against barack obama, who can take him on every issue. [cheers and applause] jon: let's talk about it with mary katharine ham, a contributor to the daily caller and a fox news contributor. peter mirajanian. former advisor to the clinton-for and gore-lieberman campaigns? would you like to see newt gingrich out of the race? >> first thing any analyst needs to ask themselves when they're asked should newt get out of the race, is he standing right behind me? then deal with it. so here's the thing. for conservatives i think many conservatives believe they want a more conservative candidate than romney. at this point, newt is banking on the fact that many of them think he is that guy. but the polling and actual wins and delegate count don't really show that. i think santorum certainly

has the better rationale for continuing and if it is gingrich and santorum splitting the conservative vote as it has been to some extent until now, that behooves romney. i'm not sure that works for conservatives. gingrich is banking on nobody wants anybody to be pushed out of the race and that is argument he is making and a lot of conservatives are looking at it and not giving his strategy. jon: that is a bit of a echo what newt himself said, peter. he said him staying in the race is not bad for the republican party but it would be bad for mitt romney if he says in the race. is he right? >> well, i think clearly newt is the rodney dangerfield of the republican field right now and he is, you know, the fact of the matter is mary katherine is right. he is splitting the conservative vote. that will behoove to romney's benefit. i say this, jon, as a democrat. i hope newt stays in until the very end but i think

there will be a movement, especially after these next rounds of primaries among the santorum folks trying to reach out to the gingrich folks saying look, what can we do to help you out? can we retire some of your campaign debt? what can we do? how can we get together on this. so i was not, i never thought we would have a brokered convention but there is good chance now that you will because i don't think romney can get there with the math as it is now if these three are in the racers as a good and loyal democrat, peter, you think it is good for the democratic party and president obama's re-election ambitions to continue this three or four-way fight? >> absolutely. i think the romney people realize that. that's why again their strategy is to talk about the inevitability. that is fraught with peril. hillary clinton tried that in 2008 and talking about being the inevitable candidate and that never really works. so the romney people really need to get back onto a message that is appealing to their, to the republican voters. i'm not sure they can do it,

because the romney brand is not the brand that conservatives believe in. and that is where santorum has really catapulted and, stayed as active in the race as he has been. jon: well, so much of the anti-romney vote, mary katherine, has been based on timing. people peaked at certain times and, you know, people would peak at good times and newt gingrich seemed to peak right around the time of the iowa caucuses. maybe he could argue that staying in the race, he might get yet see another surge in his popularity and rick santorum tore rum's might fall? >> he can argue that, the place you would have likely seen that would have been mississippi, alabama, tennessee. tennessee where he came in third. i was not terribly he was going to take mississippi and alabama by storm. he has louisiana ahead. he will probably argue we need to do more debates. of course that is where he

shines and gets a lot of his boost from but at this point santorum looking ahead, the inevitability argument is not a strong one i agree. but romney is piling up more delegates. and he did last night even though he didn't get the sort of spiritual top line headline win that he needs he got a technical win in that he got more delegates. as you move down the line, santorum doesn't have a whole lot of winner take all chances to build that especially if gingrich stays in the race. gingrich has a developed following among some folks but conservatives are looking at santorum as the guy who peaked and never fell off dramatically and they trust him that way. jon: peter, what about alliance yesterday, gingrich, santorum ticket, does that cause democrats to quake. >> no. it certainly doesn't cause us to quake but certainly would have cause romney to quake. this is somebody ahead in

delegates. well-positioned and run a very aggressive campaign and won some big states and is out in front and now they're still talk among the republican establishment that there is a, as you say, santorum-gingrich alliance that is deeply troubling if you're the romney people. we have never seen an election like this in our lifetimes where it is so contested with three candidates this late in the game. it will be really interesting, jon, going forward. look the other story --. jon: peter, i'm sorry, we'll have to save your other story for another day. i'm sorry about that. it is interesting to watch. peter and mary katherine, thank you both. >> thank you. jenna: we have to talk about strategy and talk about money as well. you have super pacs and billionaire donors but the 2012 presidential race is turning out to be the cheapest one in years, the cheapest one, how about that? shannon bream is tracking this story live for us in washington. so, shannon, how does it compare to 2008? >> reporter: let's look at

numbers. in 2008 entire gop primary field raised $310 million at end. january contest directly to the candidates. this time that number is less than half, roughly $147 million over the same time period. analysts say it isn't necessarily that donors are excited about politics but may not be excited about the gop presidential contenders. here is david keating president of the center for competitive politics. >> there is no evidence that donors aren't excited about elections. if you look at congressional elections compared to four years ago, donations are actually up about 30% and they're up about 50% for senate races. >> reporter: so seems for right now more money and excitement about the congressional races versus the presidential race at least for now. jenna. jenna: for now. that is good disclaimer at least for now. what about impact of super pacs? we didn't have those in 2008. is there impact on average person that wants to donate to a campaign? >> those who are not fans of

super pacs and cluster of small dollar donors they discourage average citizens saying that my $50 donation won't matter that could be causing them to keep their wallet a closed. >> it sends message to ordinary voters makes you feel like politics is only a playing field millionaires and billionaires are allowed on. ordinary people can't be important in the presidential race. >> reporter: there is plenty disagreement about that. every analyst i talked to, agreed on one thing. once the gop actually settles on nominee they believe donors of every size are finally going to open the floodgates and it will turn out to be the most expensive presidential election in history. jenna: if our discussion before your report was any indication we might be a while away from that. >> reporter: yeah. jenna: we continue to batch the story. shannon, thank you very much. >> reporter: sure. jon: here is another money story. financial promises made with

taxpayer dollars but the obligations are putting a strain on many american towns and cities n one state in particular a public pension crisis is forcing voters and the courts to make some very tough choices. william la jeunesse live in san diego for us. what choices do voters have there,. >> reporter: jon, beautiful city, ugly problem. $2 billion in unfunded pension liabilities because elected officials in the past made promises taxpayers couldn't afford and unions game the system so it is no longer sustainable. voters in san diego and in san jose in june will have ballot propositions where they can radically change how they play employees. let's look at the san diego proposal first. number one, new employees won't get pension. they will get a 401(k) like people in the private sector. secondly people can retire with 65% of final year's salary, not 90% or more as is the case now. thirdly, politicians will get no pension at all. finally the taxpayer contribution will be defined, about 6% into

social security of a person's salary and three to 4% match in the 401(k). a union rep however says that isn't good enough. >> 401(k)s do not provide retirement security. it is a gambling game. so, what, san diego anns, whether they're union workers, regular working folks, they deserve better than that. >> reporter: so in san jose look at that right now. they have a new library and police station they can't afford to open. and stockton they're laying off current firefighters and cops to pay their pension. in san diego they have 10 retirees making combined $2.4 million a year. librarian who retired with a $234,000 a year pension, for life. >> labor unions used a lot of scare tactics and misinformation in the arguments to spike pensions over the past 15 years. they said if you didn't give

employees lavish pensions we wouldn't be able to recruit and retain quality employees. those arguments were false. they led us down the wrong path. and now we are paying the price. >> reporter: so, jon, as you know unions will fight this tooth and nail, first in television, direct mail and finally in the courts if it survives however, you can bet that other cities are going to give this a hard look because they too are facing very big pension problems. back to you. jon: eye-opening report there, william. thank you. jenna: we have some new information from overseas, take a listen. [gunfire].. jenna: reports that government troops have taken a key northern city from rebel control. this following three days of intense fighting. we don't have any word on casualties right now. the u.n. estimates 8,000

civilians died in syria since the uprising began more than a year ago. update on a terrible accident, one of the worst highway accidents in swiss history after a tour bus slammed into a tunnel wall. 28 people died. we're told 22 of the victims are schoolchildren. another 24 students are hospitalized at this time. the group was returning to belgium after a ski vacation in the swiss alps. the cause of the crash remains under investigation but a look at images. wow, a serious, serious accident today. jon: a hollywood courtroom drama with plenty of real star power. nick let sheridan, suing abc after she was fired from the hit show "desperate housewives." that trial is winding down. we're get you an update how nicolette is doing. controversy on another show, hbo's quote luck" involving horse raising or involving

horses. stopping shooting after several animals died on the set. more on what is going on with "luck" coming up. 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 your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

jon: right now some brand new stories we're working to bring you next hour. big developments in a fight against new voter i.d. laws in south carolina and texas. liberal activities taking issue to the united nations council on human rights. does the u.n. have authority over american states? plus california police investigating a string of bizarre robberies. thieves targeting stores selling native-american jewelry. another strange crime. this one caught on tape. a suspect attempting a drive-through robbery. we'll show you what happened when the cashier fought back. jenna: wow! closing arguments underway in the "desperate housewives" trial. jon, that is your favorite show, right, "desperate housewives"? jon: love it. jenna: i knew it. >> is it still on the air? jenna: it is its final

season in fact. a an attorney for actress nicolette sheridan will make one last attempt to convince jurors that the actries was fired by the shows because she complained by the series creator. they say her claims are overblown. her character was on the chopping block months before the dispute. the hit show is in its 8th season, jon, its final season but still a lot of money at stake especially in this case. jon: nicolette, not looking so good. >> she got hit. jon: we'll see. popular hbo racing drama "luck" suspends all filming using horses after a third horse was euthanized after injuries suffered during production. rick folbaum has the story. >> reporter: this takes viewers into the world of horse racing. the other main attract is unis horses big strong animals given full on hollywood treatment.

veteran nick nolte one of the stars. you can see him in the hat there. take a look at this. >> now listen, you just keep them settled. coming up to the gate. now he is going to do the rest all on his own. >> thank you, mr. smith. ♪ . >> reporter: that horse and all the other horses that are a part of the show now being kept off the set while an investigation is going on to find out why another horse has died. the third to die since "luck" went into production since 2010. apparently one of the horses was being led back to the stall and suddenly reared and flipped over backwards hitting her head on the ground. an animal autopsy will be conducted and state officials say that these types of events are more common than people realize. still hbo getting some unwanted publicity for all

of this. the network sending us their statement saying that all safety precautions were in place at the time of the accident. and that quote, hbo and everyone involved with the production are deeply saddened and working in full cooperation with the humane association and the california horse racing board to complete their inquiry. again the network says production of the show will go on, just minus the horses until that investigation is completed. back to you. jon: kind of hard to do a horse racing show without horses but i guess they will get back to it at some point. rick, thank you. jenna: two powerful earthquakes hit areas in japan still recovering from last year's disaster. we have the very latest on this breaking story next. a moment of truth and a final word before heading to prison from former illinois governor rod blagojevich. the breaking details coming up.

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jon: fox news alert. and 22 people reportedly arrested in the western asian country of azerbaijan. saying that the suspects were hired by iran to carry out terror attacks against american and israeli targets. leland vittert on the developing story. he is live in our jersey bureau with more. of leland? >> reporter: jon, the most shocking fact of the story the 22 people received traininging from revolutionary guard force is inside iran. and that led to the thought they were a larger net of operatives set out involved in the attacks against israeli embassy in the country of georgia and israeli diplomats in the country of india and foiled plots inside thailand where i had explosions on thai

streets. in television in azerbaijan we saw guns and ammunition and explosives people allegedly were use to blow up u.s. and israeli assets inside of azerbaijan. that would certainly say it was part of a larger plot. remember, magnet bombs used in india. this comes at a time when israel's relations with azerbaijan are getting better. with iran they are getting worse and could be part of another chapter in the cold war between iran and israel heating up as of late. jon, back to you. jon: so much intrigued kicked up all over the world by iran. leland vittert in jerusalem, thank you. >> things are switched around these days. cold weather in the west and warm in the east. oregon slammed with a late season snowstorm turning the south coast with a winter wonderland with eight inches of snow this morning. looks pretty good there with the water, right? the plains and eastern half of the country feeling much

more like summer. temperatures 15 to 30 degrees above average. the big question is spring here to stay? is it really here, jenna? >> someone asked me if we could retire the snow blower and i said, i think so. jenna: okay. >> foreseeable future, jenna, looks like temperatures will be way above average across much of the east coast for the next several weeks and we're getting into springtime territory. only one area we're watching more, lower than average temperatures across the northwest where we saw that snow. but the rest of the country, at least two third dealing with 10 to 20, even 30 degrees above what they should be for this time of year. so sumr and spring time, yes. in some cases it is happening. look at kansas city yesterday. 82. 80 in memphis. in new york, beautiful 73. some of the records are incredible. five to almost 10 degrees above the record which really almost unheard of.

garden, city, 84 degrees. little rock, 79. concord, new hampshire, 71 degrees. just incredible. there is the story. jet stream way up in canada. we have all the warmth coming in from the south. it will remain this way for the next several weeks it looks like, long-range forecast. back to you. >> we'll take it. back to you absolutely. jd, thank you very much for that. jon: jd and i have a date for picnic in the park, central park. >> i'm there. i'm there. jon: we have two weeks of good weather coming. >> a little picnic and little table cloth. jon: nice. >> i'm all set. jon: that sound great. we'll work it out. jenna: no wine for you two by the way. only water or soda. these two together a lot of trouble. jon: she went on the run with one of america's most notorious crime figures and the inspiration for the movie, "the departed." whitey bolger's girlfriend has her day in court.

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jenna: high noon on the east coast, waiting a very special event at the white house. a joint news conference and the british prime minister, david cameron and the president, president obama. it will start in five minutes as we understand it right now. the two have been meeting for the last two hours. they started at 10:00 this meeting. before they head to lunch they will have this presentser. a whole host of topics discussed, the economy, iran among other things. we'll bring you their comments >> reporter: lawmakers in colorado shooting down a controversial bill that would have made it harder for banks to for close on someone's home. who win? we'll break it down for you. a whopper of a robbery at burger king in florida. we'll show you what went down. we'll say goodbye to blago, the former governor of illinois getting set to start his 14-year

prison sentence, but not before one last news conference. we'll have a preview for you. that and breaking news as the second hour of "happening now" starts right now. jenna: southerners shakeup the republican presidential race and in a contest that is far from over, nobody as of right now is bowing out. we are glad you are with us, everybody, i'm jenna lee. jon: they are in it to win it, i'm jon scott. rick santorum gets a big boost with narrow victories in alabama and mississippi, pointing to the results as proof that he is the favorite candidate of conservatives. a lot of big primaries and caucuses lie ahead with missouri, puerto rico and illinois coming up in the next week. despite santorum's southern sweep mitt romney gained more ground in the delegate race extending his lead, and newt gingrich who came in a few points behind rick santorum in the south says it's not even halftime yet, maintaining he is the candidate best prepared to

defeat president obama come november. charlie hurt is a columnist for the washington times. break down these arguments for us, charlie. who has got the strongest one, as far as his viability in the race? >> well i mean if you look at the delegate count right now as you just pointed out, jon, mitt romney is in the strongest position. you know, i think that newt gingrich in what he said in his speech is most unusual speech last night, what he said is somewhat right. i don't think that this long, drawn out process is necessarily bad for a party. it can do a lot to energize the base, it can do a lot to get people involved and things like that. but the problem is, republicans don't handle sort of messy fights like this very well. they don't really like them. they are not -- the republicans tend to sort of be a little bit more business like about their people are really tupbg out rightuning out right now.

a lot of conservatives are turned off by the whole mess. i don't know if that hurts them in the long term. so we get to the convention and mitt romney has more delegates than rick santorum and newt gingrich, you can say that mitt romney is having a hard time unifying the republican party behind him, well, he's doing a better job than either rick santorum or newt gingrich. newt can't within his neighboring state. rick santorum can't win in a conservative, christian state like south carolina. i don't know what their argument is at the very end of the day when ther they are still going to be behind mitt romney in the delegate count in tampa. jon: the old line is that democrats fall in love and republicans fall in line. if there are three leading lines in the republican party it's kind of hard for republican voters to pick one. >> yes. i think if we get to the convention, and you have mitt

romney with the highest number of delegates, and then you have newt gingrich and rick santorum, who may as a plurality have more together than mitt romney, mitt romney still has the most. and let's also remember this. jon, that you know mitt romney does very well in these convention-type set insurance. look at cpac or some of the straw polls. he spends money, he organization very, very well in situations like that, and so i think that it's very likely that if we do come to the convention, and it's a brokered short of situation i think what you end up with is a guy like mitt romney who is ahead in the delegate count, and is very good at organizing a crowd. he winds up getting the nod any way, and then we will have just lost a lot of time where mitt romney would have been going head-to-head against obama. i don't know that that makes a big difference. i think come fall the argument will be a very concise and easy

to make argument against obama if the economy continues to sort of sputter along here. >> there is a lot of con of talk in republican circles that a brokered convention with a nominee coming out of it in august would be really bad for the party. you don't think so? >> that is debatable. obviously it won't be ideal for republicans, your great line about republicans like to tend to fall in line, they don't like that sort of situation, but the truth of the matter is, you know, are any of these people who are now supporting rick santorum or newt gingrich really going to vote for obama in the general election or really going to stay at home? jon: i would say the answer to that is no. >> yeah, they are really unhappy with president obama right now and they are going to fall in line just fine, whether it's in august. again it's not ideal, but i don't in that it's quite the doomsday that a lot of people are saying it is, as much as mitt romney would like to just

sort of wrap this thing up now. he would have liked to have wrapped it up two months ago. jon: and if gas is 4 or 5 bucks a gallon come august that could hurt the president's prospects too. jenna too. >> they'll spend the money to go to the polls. jenna: syrian forces intensifying attacks on rebels today as hopes for a resolution to the crisis are now in the hands of a u.n. assessment, and that is expected on friday. but new intelligence out of syria is suggesting that progovernment forces have the power, and the backing to keep up their fight. catherine herridge is reporting from washington with more on this. >> reporter: thank you, jenna and good mourn. there are three key markers according to u.s. officials that indicate a regime is collapsing from within. the same markers were used to predict the collapse of regimes in libya and egypt. based on multiple intelligence reports u.s. officials say there are no clear signs that the syrian president is losing support among his inner circle,

oozing support among the elite and it's unlikely the military will turn against him. >> reporter: the slaughter of civilians by the military is escalating, including the shelling of mosques, schools, playgrounds and a hospital in homs. they are no match for the syrian military and the defense network. al-qaida in iraq has infiltrated the opposition, the white house is clearly reluctant to get involved. >> it is certainly our position that providing arms, which is one topic that i get asked about, and others have discussed, is not a move that we are considering right now. because we believe it could heighten and prolong the violence in syria. >> reporter: that violence has been the catalyst for new syrian defections including one by the deputy oil minister last week

and the reported departure of two army generals, though tphofpb these people according to u.s. officials or any ever the previous defectors are regarded by the intelligence community as part of bashar al-assad's inner circle. though the evidence suggests a month-long conflict is ahead public hraoet administration's statements seem more apartment mystic. >> with respect to syria, what is happening in syria is heartbreaking, and out ladies and gentlemen us, and what you've seen is the international community mobilize against the bashar al-assad regime. it's not a question of when bashar al-assad leaves, or if bashar al-assad leaves, it's a question of when. >> reporter: this is an important development, jenna, the state department is now warning syria's neighbors about the possibility that it's extensive wmd program, primary chemical and biological could get across the borders into jordan and lebanon as the situation deteriorates, and they say they are tracking the

wdmassetts closely. jenna: this fox news alert. president obama welcoming british prime minister david cameron and his wife with a lavish ceremony at the white house today. we are waiting for them to hold a joint news conference there. the prime minister and the president made some opening, welcoming statements earlier on the white house south lawn. take a listen to this exchange. >> it's now been 200 years since the british came here to the white house under somewhat different circumstances. [laughter] >> they may quite an impression. [laughter] >> they really lit up the place. [laughter] >> but we moved on. [laughter] >> with all these union flags, and with so many friends at home, you are really making me feel very at home here in washington. so i am a little embarrassed, as i stand here to think that 200

years ago my ancestors tried to burn this place down. [laughter] jo a nice little moment there between the president and the prime minister. a serious topic of course when you look at our history. we're going to have that news conference for you as soon as it starts. jon, this might interest you. as a gift to the prime minister the president and mrs. obama gave a one of a kind grill. do you know the name of this. jon: it's an american-made grill i know. i read about that from englebrecht grills from paxton, illinois. jenna: just the fact they grilled together when they were together in england. grilling is a guy's thing. jon: it is a guy's thing. the justice department blocked south carolina and texas from enforcing new voter identification laws, but activists say that doesn't go far enough. they are taking the case to a whole new leaf. we will get into that. plus, from the state house to the big house, former illinois

governor blagojevich headed to prison for 14 years. what he'll do about before the door is slammed shut. >> reporter: some conservatives are grilling newt gingrich saying it's time for him to back out of the race and make this a two-man contest between rick santorum and mitt romney. if you go to the "happening now" home page foxnews.com during the commercial break you can let us know what you think, should newt drop out? right now the results are pretty evenly split. you can weigh in and we'll have more of "happening now" after a quick break. don't go away. the best part of angreat meal? delicious gourmet gravy. and she agrees. with fancy feast gravy lovers, your cat can enjoy the delicious, satisfying taste gourmet gravy every day. fancy fst. the best ingredient is love.

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jenna: welcome back, everyone, we are waiting for a joint news conference to begin any moment now with the president, president obama, and british prime minister david cameron. of course we'll bring you to the white house obviously where it's

happening in just a moment. we find our chief white house correspondented hen le henry live at scene. we talked a little bit about the gift, jokes between the two gentlemen but big topics to be discussed as well. >> reporter: people wondering perhaps why in the world would they get the british prime minister a new grill. that is a reference back to may of 2011 when the obamas were visiting the come rans in the u.k. and they had a joint cook out with u.s. and british soldiers who had served side-by-side in iraq and afghanistan. obviously after the war in iraq has wound down and afghanistan shinmoedake still raging and the incident of the quran burning and the u.s. soldier allegedly killing these 16 civilians, this alliance is being tested like never before. we are expecting them to address not only their alliance, the alliance between the two nations

but what is the future in afghanistan right now on pace for all troops to come out by the end of 2014. u.s. defense secretary leon panetta is on the ground in afghanistan. a lot of speculation the u.s. the british may try to speed up that timetable and pull out quicker. and in fact overnight there was a new poll from reuters suggesting that 61% of americans want all u.s. troops out immediately, not just within a few months, not by the end of the year, but immediately, in part a reaction to the incident overt weekend. you can expect the two leaders to try to kaupl to calm the situation. a lot of political pressure on both of them to get out more quickly. the initial sense we've got even from white house officials. the president did local tv interviews and said he does not see this as a rush to the exits, that the mission still goes forward despite all of the challenges. jenna: important things we'll be waiting for and watching from the president. we'll go back to you when the press conference begins and bring it live as it happens.

thank you. jon: a battle overstate voters id laws playing out on the world stage just days after the justice department here blocked laws in south carolina and texas. some activists are taking the issue to the united nations as a human rights violation. eric shawn is live outside the u.n. building in new york with more on that. eric. >> reporter: hi, jon. the controversy over voter photo id's has reached the united nations. the human rights council who some members have not allowed women to vote only in the last ten years, one nation that still does not allow woman to vote at all, they are considering american photo voter id laws at a meeting on minority rights in geneva. that's where a delegation from the naacp is right now. they claim the laws are discriminatory and will lead to voter suppression, supporters say it will stop voter fraud.

the naacp says they will have two american citizens there. one convicted of a drug related offense in virginia who is afraid that she won't be able to vote. a student from texas christian university who is afraid he won't be able to vote, he only has a student id not a texas drivers license. we sat down with the executive price president of the naacp. he says this is an important issue to bring to the world stage although they don't have authority oeufrt. >> do you think the u.n. should be involved in domestic american laws. >> no. they should be involved in the best practice for the world, including the united states. clearly we've come a long way, and i would argue we are the greatest country on the face of the earth. but we can be better still. >> reporter: while others say the human rights council considering this is meaningless and hypocritical, and that the

united nation should stay out of american elections. >> i think the u.n. is allowing this to take place under their roof and that makes them unfortunately complicit in what is really a publicity stunt by the naacp. and i think it wa*euz wastes their time when they really should be going off real and sustained human rights abuses like the things going on in horrible places like north korea. >> reporter: by the way the human rights councilmembers include communist china cuba, two countries that only allowed women to vote within the last ten years. kuwait in 2005, cue tar in 2003, and sawed yeah arabia the king said woman will finally be allowed to vote in saudi arabia but that won't happen until 2015. jon: i don't think women can drive in saudi arabia. what a country, what an organization the u.n., thank

you. jenna: rick santorum won two crucial victoria tees last night in the south but he didn't narrow the field and didn't gain any grounds when it comes to delegates on mitt romney. what is the plan here? what is the strategy? a live report state aeu here on that. $30,000 worth of jewelry gone in a few short moments. cops say the bold cook just struck again. we'll show you more of this incredible video coming up. [ kyle ] my b. [ roger ] tell me you have go insurance. yup, i've got... [ dennis ] ...allstate. really? i was afraid you'd have some cut-rate policy. [ kyle ] nope, i've got... [ dennis ] ...the allstate value plan. it's their most affordable car insurance -- and you still get an allstate agent. i too have... [ dennis ] ...allstate. [ roger ] same agent and everything. [ kyle ] it's like we're connected. no we're not. yeah, we are. no...we're not. ♪ the allstate value plan.

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california are looking for a suspect in a string of thefts targeting jewelry stores, but not just any jewelry store. rick folbaum as the story. >> reporter: this is the latest in a streupb ever robberies in laguna beach, california.

they say the thief is targeting native-american jewelry stores hitting a bun of of them since september. this one taking place this past saturday. you can see the guy throwing a rock through that window to get himself inside. he then grabs necklaces right there off of the counter top. he gets caught in a sr-rbg ene tia n pwhraoeupbldz east makes his escape. take a listen to the store owner. >> he even has glasses on. when he turns you see the reflection there. the blinds we found all the way up the stairs he continue get them off. this is the first time in 15 years we've been broken into or stolen from. >> reporter: that robber making off with $4,000 worth of jewelry this time and police say he's stolen more than $30,000 worth over the last few months. if you have any information on who this guy might be call police in laguna beach, back to you. jon: rick, thank you. jenna: fox news alert out of afghanistan now, we are just getting word of a truck bomb

reportedly exploding at kabul afghanistan airport. i want to be a little bit hesitant on exactly where it is. apparently this vehicle exploding at the british airfield where secretary panetta just landed. he's safe by the way. there are no issues there. apparently it was the same airport where he landed earlier today. remember he's on an unannounced visit to afghanistan. he's the first high ranking official to visit afghanistan since a few key events happened, the quran burning, and you had the killing of 16 civilians, most of them women and children over the weekend there. this will be an important topic for the president and the prime minister david cameron. i see them walking out to the microphones right now. let's take you live to the white house and the president and david cameron. >> good afternoon, everyone. please have a seat. again it is a great honor to well tomorrow my friend and

partner, prime minister david cameron back to the white house for this official visit. i know there's been a lot of focus on last night's game. some asked how it came about. during my visit to london last year david aeu ranged for us to play some local students, table tennis. as they would say in britain, we got thrashed. as to this sport i thought it would be better if we just watched. i'm trying to get david to fill out his bracket. we just finished up a very good discussion, that's why i admire david's leadership and partnership so much. he appreciates the alliance between our countries is a foundation not only for the security and prosperity of our two nations but for international peace and security as well. david shares my belief that in a time of rapid change the leadership of the united states, and the united kingdom is more important than ever. and we share the view that the

future we seek is only possible if the rights and responsibilities of nations and people are upheld. and that is a cause that we advance today. at a time when too many of our people are still out of work we agree we have to stay focused on creating the growth and jobs that put our people back to work even as both of our countries make difficult choices to put our fiscal house necessary order. between us we have the largest investment relationship in the world and we've instructed our teams to continue to explore ways to increase transatlantic trade and investment. i very much appreciate david's perspective on the fiscal situation in the euro zone where both our companies, our economies, our businesses our banks are deeply connected. we moved onto discuss afghanistan, where we are the two largest contributors of forces to the international mission, and where our forces continue to make extraordinary sacrifices. the strapblg the tragic events

of recent days are a reminder that this continues to be a very difficult mission and obviously we both have lost a number of extraordinary young men and women in theater. what's undeniable though, and what we can never forget is that our forces are making very real progress, dismantling al-qaida, breaking the taliban's momentum and training afghan forces so that they can take the lead and our troops can come home. that transition is already underway, and about half of all afghans currently live in areas where afghan security forces are taking responsibility. today the prime minister and i reaffirmed the transition plan that we agreed to with our coalition partners in lisbon, specifically at the upcoming nato summit in my hometown of chicago we'll determine the next phase of transition. this includes shift to a support role next year in 2013, in advance of afghans taking full responsibility for security in

2014. we're going to complete this mission and we're going to do it responsibly, and nato will maintain an enduring commitment so that afghanistan never again becomes a haven for al-qaida to attack our countries. we also discussed the continuing threat posed by iran's failure to meet its international obligations. on this we are fully united. we are determined to prevent iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. we believe there is still time and space to pursue a diplomatic solution and we're going to keep coordinating closely with our p5 plus 1 partners. after the the same time we're going to keep up the pressure with the strongest u.s. sanctions to date and the european union preparing to impose and embargo on iranian oil. teheran must understand that it cannot escape or abade the choice before it. meet their obligations or face the consequences. we aeu affirmed our commitment

to support the democratic transitions underway. they played a critical role in the mission to protect the libyan people. i wanwe also discussed the horrific violence that the bashar al-assad regime continues to inflict on the people of syria. right now we are focused on getting humanitarian aid to those in need, and we agreed to keep increasing the pressure on the regime, mobilizing the international community, tightening sanctions, cutting the regime's revenues, isolating it politically, diplomatically and economically. just as the regime and security forces continue to suffer defections the off situation is growing stronger. i'll say it again, bashar al-assad will leave power, it's not a question of if, but when. to prepare for that day we'll continue to support plans for a

transition to support the legitimate aspirations of the syrian people. more bradley we committed ourselves and our leadership to the goal of global development, along with our international partners we've saved countless lives from the famon in the horn of africa. david you've done an outstanding job to bring support to somalia including lifesaving aid. we are renewing our commitment to improve maternal health and preventible deaths of children and supporting the global funds for aids, tb and malaria so that we can realize our goal and that is the beginning of the end of aids. let me say that it's a tribute to david's leadership that the u.k. will be playing a leading role in the global partnership to strengthen the open government upon which human rights and development depend. finally i'm pleased that we are bringing our two militaries, the backbone of our alliance even closer.

as i told david i can announce that next month we intend to start implementing our long awaited defense trade treaty with the u.k. this will put advanced technologies in the hands of our troops and it will mean nor jobs for workers in both our countries, and we're moving ahead with our joint initiative to care for our men and women in uniform. for decades our troops have stood together on the battlefield, now we're working together for them when they come home. with new partnerships to help our wounded warriors recover, help in the transition back to tpeufl yan life and help our remarkable military families. thank you, david for being such own outstanding ally, path tpher and friend. because of our efforts our appliance is as strong as it has ever been. michelle and i are very much looking forward to hosting you and samantha at tonight's state dinner. i look forward as well to welcoming you to camp david, in

my hometown of chicago in may to carry on the work upon which both our nations and a the world depends. david, welcome and thank you. you. >> thank you very much for that, barack and thank you for last night's sporting event. i thought there was a link between that and the table tennis. i remember it well because i know america doesn't like being on the losing side i'm trying to make up to you with the gift of a table tennis table which i hope will be there in the white house -- >> we should practice this afternoon. >> well i certainly need the practice. one of these days i will get my own back by getting you into a cricket match and playing the rules and some terminology to get straight as i tried last night. thank you. we had excellent discussions today. it is great our teams had time to join those talks as well. barack, thank you, because some countries whose alliance is a matter of

convenience but our is a matter of conviction. two states, as i said this morning, united for freedom and enterprise, working together day in, day out to defend those values and advance our shared interests. that has been the fundamental business of this visit and we've just made important progress on four vital areas, afghanistan, syria, iran and economic growth and i want to take eve in turn. first, afghanistan. recent days have reminded just how difficult our mission is and how high the cost of this war has been for britain, for america, and for afghans themselves. britain has fought alongside america every day since the start. we have 9500 men and will still serving there. more than 400 have given their lives, and today, again, we commemorate each and everyone of them. but we will not give up on this mission because afghanistan must never again be a safe haven for al qaeda to launch attacks against

us. we won't build a perfect afghanistan. let's be clear we are making some tangible progress with more markets open, more health send subpoena terse working, more -- centers working and children going to school and people achieving a more basic standard of living a and security. we can help assure afghanistan is capable of give delivering its own security without need of large numbers of foreign troops. we are no the final stages much our military mission. that means completing training of the afghan forces so they can take over the tasks of maintaining security themselves. that transition to afghan control as agreed in lisbon is well underway and next year the president said in 2013, this includes shifting to a support role as afghans take the lead. this is and in advance of after fwan forces taking full responsibility for security in 201. as we always said we won't be in a combat role after

2014. at the same time we'll also back president are karzai working toward a afghan-led political settlement. second, year on the united nations security council for libya we agreed we must maintain our support for people of arab world as they seek a better future n response to what you said, mr. president, barack, about libya, i'm very proud of the action and writ taken and france and others took. let's be absolutely clear. none of that would be possible without the overwhelming support and overwhelming force that the united states provided in the early stages of that campaign, exactly what you promised you would do, that actually made that intervention possible and given that country a chance of prosperity and stability and some measure of democracy. most urgently now in syria we're working to get humanitarian aid to those who need it. and britain today is pledging additional 2 million pound in food and medical care. at the same time we must properly document the evidence so that those guilty of crimes can be held

to account, no matter how long it takes. above all we must do everything we can to achieve a political transition that will stop the killing. so we must maintain the strongest pressure on all those who are resisting change at all costs. we'll give our support to kofi annan as he makes the case for that transition and we're ready to work with russia and china for the same goal including through a new united nations security council resolution but we should be clear. what we want is the quickest way to stop the killing. that is through transition rather than revolution or civil war. but if assad continues, then civil war or revolution is the inevitable consequence. so we will work with anyone who is ready to build a stable, inclusive and democratic syria for all syrians. third, we have discussed iran's nuclear program. the president's tough, reasonable approach has united the world behind unprecedented sanctions pressure on iran. and britain has played a leading role in helping to deliver an e.u.-wide oil

embargo. alongside the financial sanctions being led by america, this embargo is dramatically increasing the pressure on the regime. we are serious about the talks that are set to resume but the regime has to meet its international obligations. if it refuses to do so, britain and america and alongwith our international partners will increase the political and economic pressure to achieve a peaceful outcome to this crisis. the president and i have said nothing is off the table. that is essential for the safety of the region and the wider world. fourth, growth. both britain and america are dealing with massive debts and deficits. of course the measures we take in our domestic economies reflect different national circumstances but we share the same goals. delivering significant deficit reduction over the medium term and stimulating growth. one of the keys to growth is trade. the e.u. and the u.s. together account for more than half of all global trade.

foreign direct investment between britain and america is the largest in the world. it creates and sustains around a million jobs each side of the atlantic. and it provides a strong foundation for bilate al trade worth nearly $200 billion a year. deepening trade an investment between us is crucial and can really help us stimulate growth. barack and i agreed to set the work for ahead of g8 to liberalize trade and investment flows. we had very important discussions this morning and i'm looking forward to continuing our talks as the g8 and nato summits and visiting, you barack at camp david and home town of chicago. who knows what sport we will be able to go and see there. as barack has said the relationship between britain and america is the strongest than it has ever been because i believe we're working together as closely as at any point in our history. together i'm confident that we can help secure the future of our nations and the world for generations to come. thank you. the. >> thank you, david. so we've got questions from

each respective press corps. we'll start with ari shapiro of npr. >> thank you, mr. president. given the extraordinarily difficult circumstances in afghanistan from the last few weeks i wonder what makes you confident that two years from now when the last troops leave it will be better than it is today? and i wonder if you could also talk about the pace of withdrawl, whether you see something more gradual or speedier? and mr. prime minister, you and the president take very different approaches to economic growth where you emphasize more austerity measures. the president focuses more on stimulative measures and i wonder whether you could explain your approach is likely to create more jobs than president obama's approach. thank you. >> well, first of all on afghanistan, i think both david and i understand how difficult this mission is because we've met with families whose, whose sons

or daughters or husbands or wives made the ultimate sacrifice. we visit our wounded warriors and we understand the sacrifices that they have made there. but, as i indicated, we have made progress. we're seeing an afghan security force getting stronger and more robust and more capable of operating on its own and our goal set in lisbon is to make sure that over the next two years that afghan security force continues to improve, enhances capabilities and so we'll be prepared to provide for that country's security when we leave. we also think it's important that there is a political aspect to this, that all the various factions and ethnic groups inside of afghanistan recognize that it is time to end 30 years of war and president karzai has committed to a political

reconciliation process. we are doing what we can to help facilitate that. ultimately it will be up to the afghans to work together, to try to arrive at a path to peace and we can't be naive about the difficulties that are going to be involved in getting there but, if we maintain a steady, responsible transition process, which is what we've designed, then i am confident that we can put afghans in a position where they can deal with their own security and we're also underscoring through what we anticipate to be a strategic partnership that has been signed before we get to chicago that the united states alongwith many other countries will sustain a relationship with afghanistan. we will not have combat troops there but we will be working with them both to insure their security but also to insure their economy

continues to improve. there are going to be multiple challenges along the way. in terms of pace i don't anticipate at this stage that we're going to be making any sudden, additional, changes to the plan that we currently have. we have already taken out 10,000 of our troops. we're slated to draw down an additional 23,000 by this summer. there will be a robust coalition presence inside of afghanistan during this fighting season to make sure that the taliban understand that they're not going to be able to regain momentum. after the fighting season in conjunction with all our allies we will continue to look at how do we effectuate this transition in a way that doesn't result in a steep cliff at the end of 2014 but rather is a gradual pace that come mow dates the

developing capacities of the afghan national security forces. although you asked it to david i want to make sure that i just comment quickly on the economic issues because this is a question that that david and i have been getting for the last two years. we always give the same answer but i figure it is worth repeating. the united states and great britain are two different economies in two different positions. their banking sector was much larger than ours. their capacity to sustain debt was different than ours. the, and so as a consequence each of us are going to be taking different strategies and employing different timing but our objectives are common, which is, we want to make sure that we have a, we have governments that are lean, that are

effective, that are efficient and providing opportunity to our people. that are properly paid for so that we're not leaving it to the next generation. we want to make sure that ultimately our citizens in both our countries are able to pursue their dreams and opportunities by getting a good education and being able to start a small business, being able to find a job that supports their families and allows them to retire with dignity and respect. and so this notion that somehow two different countries are going to have identical economic programs doesn't take into account profound differences in position. but the objectives, the goals, the values i think are the same and i'm confident that because the resilience of our people and our businesses and our workers, our systems of higher education, that we are both countries that are

incredibly well-positioned to succeed in this knowledge-based economy of the 21st century. >> very much agree with that. there are differences because we're not a reserve currency. so we have a to take a different path but i think you would be wrong to think that britain is just taking measures to reduce its deficit. we're also taking a series of measures to help promote growth. just before coming here we took a series of steps to try to unblock and get moving our housing market where we have cut corporation tax in our country to show it is a great destination for investment. we're investing in apprenticeships. so a series of steps are being taken but there are differences as barack has said the states of the two economies and the circumstances we face but we're both trying to head in the same direction of growth and low deficits and actually if you look at the u.s. plans for reducing the deficit over coming years, in many ways they're actually steeper than what we're going to be doing in

the u.k. so different starting points. different measures on occasions but the same desanything and a -- destination and very good shared understanding as we try to get there. >> i've got joey jones from sky news. >> mr. president, can i ask you both whether you have information about apparent car bombing this afternoon? and on the general afghan question, why do you think it is that people feel you talk a good game but they don't buy it? why do you think it is that the british and american people look at a situation that they think is frankly a mess. they see terrible sacrifice. they see two men who are unable to impose their wills and they just are not persuaded by your arguments? >> well, first of all on the what has happened in camp bastion. very early details coming through. obviously we will want to examine and investigate what has happened before making clear anything about it but

security of our people, of our troops, security of both our nations forces is absolutely the priority and if there are things that need to be done in the coming hours and days to keep them safer, be no doubt we will do them. on the broader issue of afghanistan, i would make this point, if you compare where we are today with where we've been two, three years ago the situation is considerably improved. i think the u.s. surge and the additional u.k. troops we put in, particularly into helmand province had a transformative effect. the level of insurgent attacks are right down. the level of security is right up. the capital of helmand province is now fully transitioned over to afghan lead control. the markets are open. you're able to do and take part in economic activity in that town which simply wasn't possible when i first visited it several years ago. so, look, it's still a very

difficult situation. there are many challenges we have to overcome but what is happening in afghanistan today is quite different to the situation we had three, four, five, years ago. do i think we can get to a situation by the end of 2014 where we have a larger afghan national army, a larger afghan police force, both of which are pretty much on track and with the afghan government they're capable of taking care of their own security in a way that doesn't require large numbers of foreign troops and that country isn't a threat in the way it was in the past in terms of a base for terrorism, yes, i think we can achieve that. now it's been very hard work. the sacrifices have been very great. we have to keep reminding ourselves and everybody why we are there, what we are doing. you have to go back and remember, that the vast majority of terrorist plots that were affecting people in the u.k., people in the u.s., came out of that country and that region. that's why we went in there. that's why we're there today. it is not some selfish

long-term strategic interest. we simply want afghanistan to look after its own security with its own security force so we are safe at home. that's the key. that is the message we need to keep explaining to people. but i think what we're trying to do by end. 2014 is achievable and doable. >> i concur with everything david said, the only thing i would add, you ask why poll numbers indicate people are interested in ending the war in afghanistan? it is because we've been there for 10 years and people get weary and they know friends and neighbors who have lost loved ones as a consequence of war. no one wants war. anybody who answers a poll question about war saying enthusiastically, we want war, probably hasn't been involved in a war.

but as david said, i think the vast majority of the american people and british understand why we went there. there is a reason why al qaeda is on its heels and has been decimated. there is a reason why osama bin laden and his lieutenants are not in a position to be able to execute plots against the united states or great britain. there's a reason why it is increasingly difficult for those who are interested in carrying out transnational operations directed against our interests, our friends, our allies, to be able to do that, it is because the space has shrunk in their capacity to operate is greatly diminished. now, as david indicated, this is a hard slog. this is a hard work. when i came into office there had been drift in the afghan strategy, in part because we had spent a lot of time focusing on iraq instead. over the last three years we

have refocused attention on getting afghanistan right. would my preference had been we started some of that earlier? absolutely. but that is not the cards that we're dealt. we're now in a position where given our starting point we're making progress and i believe we're going to be able to achieve our objectives in 2014. alistair bull. >> thank you, mr. president, mr. prime minister. mr. president, switching to iran -- >> can i just point out that somehow alistair gets to ask a question on behalf of the u.s. press corps but he sounds like -- >> special relationship. >> were you upset about that, chuck? what is going on with that, jay. come on, man. it's a special relationship. >> sir, on iran do you believe the six round talks represent last chance for the country and concerns that the nuclear program to avert military reaction?

mr. prime minister, on syria, how are you pretty muching the russians to get them on board for a fresh security council re resolution? and do you believe president bashir al-asad ought to be charged as a war crime, war criminal? thank you. >> as david said, we have applied the toughest sanctions ever on iran and we mobilized the international community with greater unity than we have ever seen. those sanctions are going to begin to bite even harder this summer and we're seeing significant effects on the iranian economy. so they understand the cirrusness which we take this issue. they understand that there are consequences to them continuing to flout the international community. and i have sent a message very directly to them

publicly that they need to seize this opportunity of negotiations with the p5 plus one to avert even worse consequences for iran in the future. do i have a guaranty that iran will walk through this door that we're offering them? no. in the past there's been a tendency for iran in these negotiations of the p5 plus one to delay, to stall, to do a lot of talking but not actually move the ball forward. i think they should understand that because the international community has applied so many sanctions, because we have employed so many of the options that are available to us to persuade iran to take a difficult course, that the window for

solving this issue diplomaticly is shrinking. and, as i said in a speech just a couple of weeks ago, i am determined not simply to contain iran that is in possession of a nuclear weapon. i am determined to prevent iran from getting a nuclear weapon in part for the reasons that david mentioned. it would trigger a nuclear arms race in the most dangerous part of the world. it would raise nonproliferation issues that carry significant risks to our national security interests. it would embolden terrorists in the region who might believe that they could act with more impunity if they were operating under the protection of iran. so this is not an issue that is simply in one country's interests or two country's

interests. this is an issue that is important to the entire international community. we will do everything we can to resolve this diplomaticly but ultimately we have to have somebody on the other side of the table who is taking this seriously and i hope the iranian regime understands that. that this is their best bet for resolving this in a way that allows iran to rejoin the community of nations and to prosper and feel secure themselves. >> thank you. on syria, i mean when you see what it is happening in homs and elsewhere i think we need to appeal to people's humanity to stop this slaughter, to get aid and assistance to those who have been affected and to ratchet up the pressure on this dreadful regime but in the case of russia i think we should also appeal to their own interests. it is not in their interest to this bloody, broken, brutal regime butchering people nightly on the television screens. the irony people in syria

felt the russians were their friends and many in the west they were more suspicious of. they can see people in the west wanting to help them, raising their issues, calling for the world to act on their problems and we need to make sure russia joins with that. so it is going to take a lot of hard work. it will take a lot of patient diplomacy and i think actually in russia's interest we deal with this problem. we achieve transition and we get peace and stability in syria. that is the appeal we should make. on the issue of holding people responsible, i do. they're not a signatory to the icc but what is being done in homs, and i've spoken personally to one of the photographers who is stuck in homs when he got out to the u.k., what he witnessed, what he saw, is simply appalling and shouldn't be allowed to stand in our world and that's why britain and others have sent monitors to the turkish border and elsewhere to make sure we document these crimes. we write down what has been done so that no matter how long it takes, people should

always remember that international law has got a long reach and a long memory. people are leading syria at the moment committing these crimes need to know that. tom bradbury from itn. >> mr. president, great you have agreed to learn about cricket. i noticed the prime minister neglected to tell you a test match takes five days. so it will be a long trip. on serious subject of syria you say you want assad to go. you canted qaddafi to go and he didn't for a long, long time. specifically have you discussed possibility of a no-fly zone? have you discussed how you would implement? have you discussed how you would degrade the syrian defenses?. have you discussed those time issues? >> what i want to say, tom, our teams are working together closely on this issue. our focus is on trying to achieve transition, not

trying to implement revolution. the fastest way we to end the killing we want to see is see assad go. we should help bring that about, bring diplomatic pressure, political pressure and kofi annan can bring to bear. that is where our focus is. our teams all the time as i put it, kick the tires, push the system, ask the difficult questions, what are the other options, what are the other things that we can do and it is right that we do that but they're not without their difficulties and complications as everybody knows. the focus is transition and all the things we can do to bring that pressure to bear and that has been the focus of our discussions. jon: i echo everything that -- >> i echo everything that david said. i our military plans for everything. that is part of what they do. i was very clear during the libya situation, that this was unique. we had a clear international mandate. there was unity. around