exxon pocketed nearly 4.7 "today" million every hour. when the price of oil goes up, prices at the pump go up and so do these companies profits. one analysis showed that every time gas goes up by a penny these companies usually pocket another $200 million in quarterly profits. meanwhile these companies pay a lower tax rate than most other companies on their invests partly because we're giving them billions in tax giveaways every year. now, i want to make clear. we all know that drilling for oil has to be a key part of our overall energy strategy. we want u.s. oil companies to be doing well. we want them to succeed. that's why under my administration we have opened up millions of acres of federal land and waters

to oil and gas production. we have quadruple ed the number of operating oil rigs to a record high. we have added enough oil and gas pipeline to circle the earth and then some. just yesterday we announced the next step for a potential new oil and gas exploration in the atlantic. so the fact is we're producing more oil right now than we have in eight years and we're importing less of it as well. for two years in a row america has bought less oil from other countries than we produce here at home. for the first time in over a decade. so american oil is booming. the oil industry is doing just fine. with record profits and rising production i'm not worried about the big oil companies. with high oil prices around the world, they have got more than enough incentive to produce even more oil.

that's why i think it's time they got by without more help from taxpayers who are already having enough time paying the bills and filling up their gas tank. i think it is curious that some folks in congress who are the first to belittle investments in new sources of energy, are the ones that are fighting the hardest to maintain these giveaways for the oil companies. instead of taxpayer giveaways to an industry that has never been more profitable, we should be using that money to double down on investments in clean energy technologies that have never been more promising. investments in wind power, in solar power and biofuels. investments in fuel-efficient cars and trucks. and energy efficient homes and buildings. that's the future. that's the only way we're going to break this cycle of high gas prices that happen year after year after year as the economy is growing.

the only time you start seeing lower gas prices is when the economy is doing badly. that's not the kind of pattern that we want to be in. we want the economy doing well and people to be able to afford their energy costs. and keep in mind we can't just drill our way out of this problem. as i said, oil production here in the united states is doing very well. and it's been doing well even as gas prices are going up. well the reason is because we use more than 20% of the world's oil but we only have 2% of the world's known oil reserves. that means we could drill every drop of american oil tomorrow, but we would still have to buy oil from other countries to make up the difference. we would still have to depend on other countries to meet our energy needs. and because it's a world market, the fact that we're doing more here in the united states doesn't

necessarily help us because even u.s. oil companies, they're selling that oil on a worldwide market. they're not keeping it just for us. and that means that if there's rising demand around the world, then the prices are going to go up. that's not the future that i want for america. i don't want folks like these back here and the folks in front of me to have to pay more at the pump every time that there is some unrest in the middle east and oil speculators get nervous whether there will be enough supply. i don't want our kids to be held hostage to events on the other side of the world. i want us to control our own destiny. i want us to forge our own future. that's why as long as i'm president, america is going to pursue an all-of-the-above energy strategy, which means we will continue developing our oil and gas resources in a

robust and responsible way but it also means that we're going to keep developing more advanced homegrown biofuels, the kind already powering truck fleets across america. we're going to keep investing in clean energy like the wind power and solar power already lighting thousands of homes and creating thousands of jobs. we're going to keep manufacturing more cars and trucks to get more miles to the gallon so you can fill up once every two weeks instead of every week. we're going to keep building more hopes and businesses that waste less energy so you're in charge of your own energy bills. we're going to do all of this by harnessing our most inexhaustable resource, american ingenuity and american imagination. that's what we need to keep going. that's what's at stake right now. that is the choice that we face and that is the choice that is facing congress today. they can either vote to spend billions of dollars more in oil subsidies that

keep us trapped in the past, or they can vote to end these taxpayer subsidies that aren't needed to boost oil production so that we can invest in the future. it's that simple. as long as i'm president, i'm betting on the future, as the people i talk to around the country, including people behind me here today, they put their faith in the future as well. that's what we do as americans. that's who we are. we innovate, we discover, we seek new solutions to some of our biggest challenges, and ultimately because we stick with it, we succeed. and i believe that we're going to do that again, today, the american people are going to be watching congress to see if they have that same faith. thank you very much, everybody. [applause] >> mr. president? jon: president obama there, calling on congress in a vote later today to strip oil companies of some of the

tax benefits that they currently enjoy. of course the president knows that as gas prices continue to rise, his approval ratings will fall. jenna has some interesting point to make with a couple of guests now on the subsidies that the gas companies currently enjoy. jenna: let's talk a little more about this, jon. steve moore with us from "the wall street journal" and as is eric bolling from the fox business network. let's take a moment to reflect a little bit, gentlemen, what the president had to say. he said quote, i'm not worried about the big oil companies, eric. he went on to express his feelings that the taxpayer is being negatively affected by some of these tax breaks that are given to these companies. >> right. jenna, either the president is grossly misinformed or he is blatantly lying to the american people for votes. here's why, he will, i use his words, congress, thought it was a good idea to send billions more to oil companies. that's not what this is. congress isn't sending oil

companies a penny. what we're talking about is letting oil companies deep more of their own profits. so if you take that away, you're raising taxes on the oil companies, end of the day but mr. obama wants to paint it like we're actually sending taxpayer money to the oil companies. what we are doing though, jenna, is we're taking taxpayer money and sending it to the green energy companies that he outlined to the tune of $100 billion, not the 3 or $4 billion he wants to raise taxes on the oil companies and in that essence on the american drivers but we're giving taxpayer money to the green companies. very, very different and it is all down to the way he frames it. jenna: we have some statistics on that, steve. in fact when we look at some of the tax breaks given to different industries from the department of energy. this is how it breaks down. for the oil and gas companies, they get $2.7 billion in tax breaks. you look at renewables they get three times as much in tax breaks, if you look at all the sectors solar, wind, et cetera. >> right. jenna: to play devil's

advocate to what eric had to say, oil companies make billions of dollars. why should they get any tax breaks? >> well they shouldn't and to the extent they do get tax breaks, in some cases they do get tax breaks that i think should be taken away but to your figure that you just gave, jenna about the fact that the green industry gets three times more in subsidies, you're right. let's also put that in the context that the oil and gas industry produced 50 times more electricity and energy. put it on per kilowatt of electricity basis for every dollar the oil and gas industry get, jenna, the green energies, wind and solar, get 50 to $75. why does the president keep dumping in money to those subsidies? another point i think is important, jenna. the president keeps saying he wants to bring down gasoline prices. look, all americans want to see that happen. americans connect the dots here. if you raise taxes on oil and gas industry that will make gasoline more expensive, not less expensive. i don't understand why the

president thinks higher taxes on gasoline companies is going to lower the price? jenna: this is the news today. unfortunately, gentlemen we have to leave it there. we have a vote in the senate at noon. we'll watch way lawmakers vote. eric and steve, always nice to see you both. >> sure. jon: politics of gas prices, huh? jenna: politics in everything, isn't it? isn't that the truth? jon: a mother's desperate search for her little boy. right now police are combing for one state looking for a missing 2-year-old. rick folbaum has the details behind this mysterious disappearance. jenna: john, a pastor nabbed by the cops for reading the bible out loud in public. was it a violation of his civil liberties or was he in fact breaking the law? jon: the health care law is in the hands of the nine justices of the supreme court after three days of oral arguments. what happens next? our senior judicial analyst, judge andrew napolitano weighs in.

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jon: it is one of the biggest questions in american politics. how will the supreme court rule on, ruling on health care i should say affect the presidential election? right now nine justices are deciding the fate of this sweeping overhaul of america's health care system. they are expected to rule in june. the high court could uphold the law. it could strike it down, or leave some parts of it intact. already republicans and democrats are plotting election strategies based on these possible scenarios but what kind of challenges might republicans face if mitt romney is their nominee? the former massachusetts governor signed a health care law that is similar in many respects to the federal legislation. joe trippi, former howard dean campaign manager and a fox news contributor. joe, are you one of those people who says that if mitt romney is the nominee, republicans lose their

argument against obamacare? >> i think they lose a large part of it. you know, romney is sort of the godfather of the obamacare bill law so it is kind of hard to see he comes at it. if the supreme court throws this thing out it could have all kinds of political effect the and i don't think anybody will know what they will be yet. you could have sort of a less energized right? why? because they opposed it and it has been thrown out so there is no need to fight. other sides support he isers of barack obama who like this like the law realize they have to fight to keep him in. you could get more energy on the left. it is unclear what the ramifications will be but i don't see how romney is e best -- i think one time i agree with rick santorum, romney is probably the worst republican could be put up against obama on the health care issue. jon: then again, maybe mr. obama is the worst

democrat who can be put up against obama on this. let me play you a sound bite from a campaign ad in 2008 and get your reaction. >> sure. >> hillary clinton's attacking but what is she not telling you about her health care plan? it forces everyone to buy insurance, even if you can't afford it. and you pay a penalty if you don't. >> that was from a barack obama campaign ad in 2008. forcing people to buy insurance. what a terrible thing, joe!. >> no, barack obama was, during the campaign was not for a mandate. the mandate --. jon: but he only did that as president? >> no. i think what is interesting when when the debate moved forward it was, again, starts with romney-care. it was a republican idea. newt gingrich was for the mandate back then when romney passed it in massachusetts. they took that idea, compromise solution to move forward on a bill because they weren't going to get any of the other ways that obama wanted to go for it

and we ended up with the bill the way it is, that got passed. and, yes, so you can go back, romney was for it. obama was against it. now, now romney is against it and obama got it passed. jon: but under the federal system isn't it a very different thing to pass something on a state level versus passing it on a federal level? >> well that's certainly what the claim that romney's made since he passed it on the state level. and that is what the supreme court i guess, you know, is part of what they will be deciding. again we don't know what they'll decide. if they throw the whole bell out that will have different ramifications. preexisting conditions are back on the table. young people who can be on their parents insurance until they're 26, that's gone. caps on how much insurance company has to pay for medical stuff, you know, treatments, goes out the window. so, lifetime caps i mean. so there will be a lot of

things that people like in the law that go out the window. jon: maybe. >> if they throw the whole thing out. we don't know. that's exactly right. we don't know right now. too early to tell. jon: it will be a fascinating summer of waiting for everybody at the white house and i guess for all of us. joe trippi, thank you. >> thanks, jon. jenna: a lot is going to happen as you point out, jon as we look ahead towards the november elections. we also have to remind you the balance of power in congress will potentially change entirely. every single house seat is up for grabs. larry sabato joins us next with a look inside his crystal ball on all of that.

jon: fox news alert. a mother take as nap with her two children and when she wakes up she says one of them is missing? rick folbaum in the newsroom with that story. >> reporter: we're following the latest developments here in the newsroom that's what we know. 2-year-old devin davis is gone. his mother said she he disappeared from the home in cleveland, texas. police and others are searching for the toddler who says he was gone after his mother claimed she took a nap. the davis's moved to the area about a week ago. officials have flown a helicopter over the scene. they use ad infrared camera. they did not pick up any sign of the boy. volunteer search group gotten involved. they brought in sonar equipment. the conditions there are apparently very difficult. here is what the local sheriff says. >> there is a lot of mud that mires you down and you have to struggle just to walk. so it is very difficult. difficult for the handler. difficult for the dogs. difficult for horses and

difficult for us to deploy sonar equipment and other types of devices that we're using to clear the waterways. >> reporter: the boy is described as having reddish auburn hair, blue eyes. he is about two feet tall, six inches two feet six inches tall. weighs about 40 pound. was last seen wearing a red and gray jersey t-shirt and jeans and sneakers with spider-man on them. if you have any information call the liberty county sheriff's office. hear is the number up on the screen. if you have any information please call as they're looking desperately for little devin davis in cleveland, texas. jon: what a sad story. rick folbaum, thanks. jenna: oral arguments are over in the supreme court as far as the health care law and the justices are weighing their decisions right now. some critics claim though that the supreme court themselves, the justices themselves, are crossing the line in a power grab. in fact in an editorial in the "washington post" today there is a suggestion that the court is now acting as an alternative, if you will,

to congress. listen to part of this editorial. quote, the conservative justices were obsessed with weird hypotheticals. if the federal government can make you buy health insurance, might it require you to buy broccoli or health club memberships, cell phones, burial services and cars all of which have nothing to do with an uninsured person getting expense sieve treatment that others, often taxpayers have to pay for. joining me now, judge andrew napolitano. fox's very own senior judicial analyst. judge, this law has been criticized as a power grab by the federal government. now there is a different opinion. maybe it is the supreme court doing that. are we running of the risk of this? >> let me start by saying i know the writer of the editorial and he is an intelligent person who is arguing that he was unhappy, essentially with the tenor of the questions yesterday. but if you are familiar with an appellate courtroom, this is the ultimate appellate courtroom. you know the judges often

throw, quote, weird hypotheticals at lawyers to challenge their understanding of the law and to ask where the law might go next. think about it this way. the supreme court is very aware of its place in history. it sometimes thinks like the vatican does, jenna, not in days or weeks or months but in generations even centuries. it wants to know, if we authorize the congress to do this, to force people to buy health insurance, that they might not want, might not need, and might not be able to afford, what will congress force people to buy next? so --. jenna: let me just stop you there. this is something that the writer brought up as well. how do we know that the justices are ruling on the law of the land and not on an ideology? or is there a difference? >> well, most justices on the supreme court are there because they enjoy and possess the same ideology as the president who appointed them. i think that mr. dionne's

editorial was probably a direct attack on justice scalia appointed by president reagan the two of them believed in the federal system of government. that the constitution gives limited, precisely-delegated powers to the federal government and leaves the rest to the states. so it is justice scalia's job and the job of his colleagues to assure congress stays within the confines of the constitution. the process of doing that job sometimes requires asking quote, weird hypotheticals and even funny and sharp questions. jenna: i bet you know nothing about that, weird hypotheticals some people ask you about, present company included in that. quick question about implementation. they're working to figure out what their decision will be on this law. >> right. jenna: whatever their decision is, how quickly is that decision implemented? let's just say, i hate to deal with a hypothetical, that the health care law, individual mandate goes out the door. >> right. jenna: how quickly does that change things for the average person out there? >> well it will stop the implementation of the individual mandate which, as

you know, doesn't kick in until 2014. but it will also undo some things that have already been done. some states, for example, have already spent tax dollars on setting up the state insurance exchanges. basically an expansion of medicaid to people who can't afford health insurance. those will collapse. federal government has already spent billions of dollars, it is not going to get that money back. but the law authorizing the expenditure of that money will end. basically the supreme court, if this is invalidated will say, nothing can happen from here on forward and what has already happened, just dismantle it in a reasonable period of time. jenna: reasonable period of time but not a specific period of time? >> correct. >> we'll have it see again. only hypotheticals at this point. judge, thank you very much. >> i'm glad your hypotheticals were not weird. jenna: they will be some days, most days, judge. thanks. jon: always good to get the judge laughing. do you recognize the people you're about to see on the

screen? take a look. they all have something in common, they're backing mitt romney. will all the high-profile support translate into votes for him during the campaign? and is someone taking liberties with a higher calling? one man put into handcuffs for reading the bible outdoors in public. wait until you hear how the arrest went down.

jon: a fox news alert. the turning now to those raging deadly wildfires in colorado, right now, firefighters are battling the flames for a fourth straight day. while colorado's governor is banning so-called controlled burns in the state after it was revealed the fires were caused by a controlled burn that got out of control. the colorado forest service is now apologizing. >> i just wanted to say on behalf of the colorado state forest service, this is heart-breaking and we're sorry. one of the primary roles of the colorado state forest service is to keep forests healthy and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire through fuel reduction efforts. jon: dan springer is live near conifer, colorado, with the latest on those fires, dan? >> reporter: crews are making a lot of progress in the last couple days. we can see over my shoulder

a lot less smoke down in those canyons helped by lighter wind. officially the fire is at 15% containment. good news for the 900 homeowners forced to evacuate during a chaotic day monday. officials hope to lift some of the evacuation orders later today. this home videos gives you a sense of the conditions that day and we're now hearing that the elderly couple killed in the fire had been in contact with members of their church. >> they were ready to go. they had their truck backed up. it was loaded. i think they were just getting whatever the last-minute items they needed to take. we were in contact with them. they had actually called and let us know what was going on. >> reporter: and one woman is still missing. her home was destroyed. crews are searching the rubble and the ashes for her remains. officials confirm it was started by a 50 acre controlled burn on thursday. a perimeter that day was established. we're told safety precautions were followed. on the fourth day of the

mop-up on monday, winds kicked up. the hot spot lost containment and full review is obviously underway. critical from a legal standpoint, liability standpoint to determine if the state followed its own guidelines. the governor of the state is now touring the area. he is sympathetic with the victims of the fire. he has met with them and will meet with them later today, as you said in the intro, jon, has decided to ban all controlled burns until they can answer the critical question, what went wrong with this controlled burn which started this 4100-acre forest fire. jon? jon: i covered some fires there in colorado as a cub reporter and it is absolutely terrifying when the wind kick up and they change directions. very scary. dan springer, thank you. >> reporter: yep. jenna: one gop presidential campaign is claiming new bragging rights to two major endorsements. former president george h.w. bush will officially endorse

mitt romney later today. last night on "hannity", senator marco rubio of florida says he is backing romney as well. why is all of this happening now? and what does it mean for the road ahead for the gop race for the white house? chief washington correspondent james rosen is live in d.c. with more. >> reporter: jenna, good day. the democratic national committee said senator rubio's endorsement means mitt romney will have the most extreme immigration platform of any presidential nominee in recent history. for his part the florida republican declared that mitt romney will quote, govern as a conservative and be head and shoulders better than the guy who is in the white house right now. >> this is someone who has run the country not very well over the last three years but has no experience beyond that doing that. at the same time as he has no experience with the private sector or the free enterprise system. in mitt romney we have a candidate, an alternative in addition to being successful as a governor running an important state in this country has also been successful in the private sector and offer as very clear alternative to the direction this president is

going to take our country. >> reporter: rick santorum remains unfazed however. yesterday the former pennsylvania senator showed off his bowling chops with college republicans at the university of wisconsin in lacrosse. the super pac supporting rick santorum announced today, it has nearly doubled its tv ad buys in the badger state in the last 24 hours. still, the romney drum beat continues. shortly before 6:00 eastern time the former massachusetts governor will appear in houston, texas with former president george herbert walker bush. the two met privately last year at which at the time mr. bush unofficially endorsed romney. it is establishment favoritism for romney newt gingrich delights pointing out. last night the former house speaker reminded students at george town university why he remains in the race. >> we are in deep trouble as a people. this transcends republicans. it transcends democrats. it transcends obama's personality. it transcends the republican

candidates. your generation inheriting a dysfunctional country which can not communicate with itself and political leadership has no ideas to get us back on track and that is why i decided to run. >> reporter: one last note ron paul is campaigning today in madison, wisconsin. jenna. jenna: don't want to forget that. a big question whether the endorsements translate into votes. maybe we can't answer that today. james, thank you so much as always. >> reporter: thank you. jon: every single house seat is up for grabs in the november elections. democrats will try hard to hang onto a slim majority in the senate. they also say they plan to try to take back the house from the republicans. right now the gop hold as majority of seats, 242-192 in the house. could the democrats pick up enough seats to take control? let's talk to the man who is gazing into his crystal ball. larry sabato director for center of politics at the university of virginia. so in order to make nancy pelosi speaker of the house once again, democrats would need to win 25 seats but you

say it is tougher than that, larry, why? >> well it is much tougher. our house editor down here surveyed all 435 house seats and the new lines that have just been established through redistricting in most of the states, and jon, at most, you're going to have 60 truly competitive races out of 435 at most. and, democrats not only have to gain 25 of those 60, the truth is, when you look at the number of democratic seats that have been dismantled during the redistricting process, it's more like they have to gain 30 to 35 seats. 30 to 35 net seats with 60 truly competitive races, look, there are democratic seats in that 60, not just republican seats. that is a tough thing to do. you're talking about mount everest, not just a foothill or two. jon: i took a look in your crystal ball and i saw some numbers there i want to

share them with our viewers. you say of the house seats, the 435 house seats, that are up for grabs, roughly 185 are safe republican. roughly 149 are safe democrat. but when you look at likely and leaning states, 19, i'm sorry, i think the number should actually be 25 likely gop, right? 25 leaning gop? >> that's correct. jon: and 19 likely democrat and 19 leaning, leaning democrat. it seems that democrats have the taller hill to climb in all aspects of this? >> in every single category, they have it tougher, you're absolutely correct. and it's just really difficult to do. let's say that president obama wins a second term handily. even if you have presidential coattail it is going to be difficult for democrats to gain those extra seats. i don't think they focused quite as much, perhaps as

our people down have done on what the new lines really mean. this is very good news for the republicans in keeping the house. it is certainly, not as good news for democrats who had hoped to take control of the house. jon: you even think there is a chance they could win the senate? >> absolutely. in fact, one of the election models that we include in today's crystal ball shows republicans gaining control of the senate handily. jon: larry sabato, director of center for politics at university of virginia. larry, thank you. >> thank you, jon. jenna: we have new information today about autism. the number of kids affected by this disorder is up. we're going to talk to a doctor about the new findings, what every parent should look out for in very young children as well. plus two top republican lawmakers demanding new testimony in the "fast and furious" investigation. they want to know how much the white house knew about this scandal. one of those lawmakers, senator grassley of iowa, joins us next. [ music playing, indistinct conversations ]

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jenna: some new stories next hour. a big scare at one of our nation's busiest airports after a passenger is nabbed smuggling explosives. details on that. new forecasts on the rising gas prices the we'll tell you what to expect the next time you go to fuel up. now a record half a billion bucks up for grabs. what are your chances you could cash in on megamillion mania? everything you need to know about winning. we don't have the winning numbers but everything you need to know otherwise coming up. jon: there are new developments in the "fast and furious" investigation, that failed federal gun-running operation currently under investigation. two lawmakers are now demanding the white house make a former aide available for testimony. they want to know exactly how much the white house knew about the justice department operation. it came after the death of a border patrol agent, brian

terry, apparently shot to death using guns involved. last year "ice age" end jaime zapata as killed in a ambush in mexico. both happened with guns that got into the hands of mexican drug smugglers. senator grassley joins us now. in particular you're talking about kevin o'reilly. he was a white house aide. tell us what you want to know from him and what you think he knows, senator. >> you gave a lot of very important background in regard to this specific request of the white house. we've known for several months now through some e-mails that we got, that there was can't between people down in arizona connected with "fast and furious", with people in the national security division at the white house. last july, before congressman issa's committee we had testimony from mr. newell, who came from

down in arizona and was communicating by e-mail with people at the white house. we got his side of the story at that time which probably wasn't much beyond what our e-mail already told us. now we have one side of the story. so we need to have about o'reilly's side of the story. at this point the white house hasn't set up the interview even though the attorneys for mr. o'reilly have said that he is willing to give us an interview but he won't give an interview without the white house okay. so congressman issa and i are wrote this letter to the white house saying we want the other side of the story. and particularly it's really unusual to have somebody at the lowest level in arizona communicating with people in the white house even admitting that it was out of character and out of the chain of command. we want to know what was said from mr. o'reilly's side of that conversation and why was, and how much

did the white house thin know about "fast and furious". >> right. william newly, the special agent in charge of the phoenix office apparently wrote an e-mail in 2010 to this owe really, kevin o'reilly, saying provided providing some information and saying you didn't get these from me. what is the significance of that? >> the significance of that he shouldn't have been communicating with somebody at the white house even though they were good friend. the significance of it is that, that he doesn't want anybody to know that communication went on. but that raises a very important question for the congressional oversight that i'm involved in. we need to know what the white house,000 about "fast and furious". there may be some we can get from kevin o'reilly in that matter and is anybody in the white house implicated in the "fast and furious" operation that right now we

only can take to the highest levels of the justice department? jon: fair to say this white house hasn't been very cooperative with you to this point. you're demanding that they make this kevin o'reilly available, what, by april 4th? >> yes. jon: do you expect they're actually going to comply with your request? >> they better or again, you get this stone walling. how much can you stonewall until pretty soon looks like you're guilty? in other words, if you believe in transparency in government as the president said, when he first was sworn into office, wouldn't he want to make this information available? and, if there's no involvement of the white house, this is obviously going to show there wasn't any involvement. so if they don't let the person testify, then it may signal to some people that the white house may have been involved in "fast and furious". jon: senator charles grassley, republican of iowa. senator, thanks for being with us today. >> thank you. jenna: a shocking rise in autism cases to talk to you

about. is this really a new epidemic or hiding awareness fueling some of these numbers? we'll talk to a fox news medical analyst on that. and she disappeared about two weeks ago. a big shift in the search for this missing california teen. rick folbaum has more coming up after the break.

jenna: some new controversy in california after a pastor is busted for reading a bible in public. cops arrested him in fact in front of the local dmv. douglas kennedy is live here in our studio with more on all this.

hey, doug. >> reporter: jenna, you can read the bible and read in public but you can't read the bible in public according to this preacher in hemet, california. >> god has shown existence of creation his visible attributes are clearly seen. >> reporter: in february of last year pastor mark mackey was arrested after reading the bible in front of this dmv office in hemet, california. >> this is what the united states is coming to. you can stand here talk about anything --. >> reporter: his lawyer calls it another example of christian persecution in modern day america. he was cited for impeding an open business but the dmv office was closed. >> well, it's crazy. >> reporter: mackey says he thought his speech was protected he was standing here on public property. he says he wasn't blocking anyone and was standing over 50 feet from the entrance of the dmv. >> he is creating an intimidating situation for people who simply want to

get their driver's licenses renewed. >> reporter: dan conaway is constitutional attorney and he says preaching in public is okay. >> he released --. >> reporter: but not when your audience has no choice but to listen. >> you're under arrest. >> reporter: he does not have the right to intimidate others and force them to listen and impede their ability to do normal daily business activities such as go to the dmv. >> reporter: the police say by preaching in front of the dmv mackey is forces people to listen to him and that is not okay. >> if that, if the doctrine of the captive audience is going to imply broad brush, no one is going to be able to go to a public park where people are having picnics, playing football and read from the bible. >> reporter: he points out mackey in the end was charged with trespassing which he says has nothing to do with the captive audience. that's it from here, jenna. back to you. jenna: in case, doug, there is one place i could use the bible, it would be dmv. >> reporter: what is the world coming to when you

can't tell the people the end of the world is coming. jenna: i might bring you next time, just to see to help the line. doug, thank you very much. interesting story. jon: we'll talk more about that case next hour too. he died serving our country south of the border. now the family of this federal agent wants to know if the u.s. government put a murder weapon in the hand of his killer? his mother is speaking out about operation "fast and furious". and take a look at this. an interknow on the highway but these flames did not keep the heroes away. their race to the rescue and it is caught on tape. 

>> reporter: rick folbaum in the "happening now" control room, and some brand new stories for you over the next 60 minutes, stories you will only see here on "happening now," including this one involving a guy who tried to get on an airplane at philadelphia international today with an an

explosive device. we've got more on that copping copping -- coming up. also, authorities in california are changing their tactics on finding this missing cheerleader, and the national guard called into action today here at home. two members are being hailed as heros from saving a man from this burning vehicle. we'll show you the cell phone video. and we've got breaking medical news, and it has to do with autism. all of that straight ahead as the second hour of "happening now" starts right now. jon: some fascinating stories to cover in the hour ahead. we're glad you're with us, and we hope you'll stick with us for the next hour, i'm jon scott. jenna: hi, everybody, i'm jenna lee. and we start with this. jaime zapata was killed while on duty in mexico last year, and his family is demanding answers from the government. they want to know if guns used to kill him came from an

operation similar to the botched gun-running sting fast and furious. william la jeunesse has more on this. >> reporter: well, the zapata family wants to know why their son who was just in mexico for nine days, why he was sent without embassy backup, without a military escort from mexico or with the proper driver's train anything evade and escape tactics. secondly, if guns used to kill him could have been stopped before crossing the border. >> i dream about him, i see him in my dreams. >> reporter: i.c.e. agent jaime zapata was murdered a year ago by a drug cartel in mexico. the weapons were sold in texas. >> weapons do not have an expiration. it isn't like, okay, they'll be good for a week and after that they're done. they'll be there for generations to keep on killing. >> reporter: mary and her husband say the obama administration has been less than forthcoming about their son's death.

>> no one has told us anything. no one has -- >> what you know about the case what happened to my son is what we know. >> reporter: the zapatas hired former assistant district attorney martinez to find out. >> the families would like closure. >> reporter: one gun found at the crime scene was purchased near houston. the other by a dallas trafficking ring that included otilio osorio. police have made one arrest for hilling zapata and his partner. >> we understand there's a written directive for agents not to get on this road because it's dangerous. >> reporter: the atf in dallas had evidence to bust the ring three months before it purchased the murder weapon but didn't. >> we don't know if this is a gun-walking operation regarding the osori owrks brothers, but there seems to be some circumstantial evidence that would indicate that. >> it's too late for jaime, but

we went to know the truth about what really happened. could it have been prevented? >> reporter: now, atf texas insists it did not walk guns. they say just z because a person buys multiple weapons, it doesn't give them the evidence to arrest them. they didn't even know barba's identity until all the guns had been purchased, but in dallas the atf does anytime they could have acted -- admit they could have acted sooner but didn't because of an ongoing investigation. jenna: we'll continue to follow the story, and what a tragedy to hear from the family. it's important to remember them as we continue to watch what happens next. thank you so much, william la jewish necessary in brownsville, texas, today. jon: now a fox news alert, and the house of representatives just approved a 90-day extension of the transportation bill. chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel is on capitol hill. so, mike, what are republicans saying about the house's plan here? >> reporter: well, jon, the

vote was 266-158 happening literally moments ago, and what this does is gives, essentially, the house 90 days to work on a longer-term deal. the senate has passed a two-year extension of the transportation bill. the house would like to do a five-year extension. bottom line, it was coming up to the end of the month, and there was concerns about this running out and the impact it would have on construction projects around the country, also what it would mean for the gasoline tax. here's speaker boehner a short time ago. >> trying to make sure that we don't have a stoppage of construction is really important. and so extending this highway, current highway bill for 90 days was the most responsible way forward. we do want to get to the conference with the senate as quickly as possible. >> reporter: there has been some frustration as we are coming down to the wire of the current transportation bill expiring, and we heard that from a house democrat a short time ago.

>> he is the first leader in government to turn away from the bipartisanship that surrounds this bill. this is history-making moment. in a bad way. >> reporter: forgive me, that was senator boxer, critical of speaker boehner. she wants her two-year extension to become the new law in terms of the transportation bill. if we have the sound from the house democrat critical of his house republican colleague, let's go to that now. >> because they've got a bunch of bozos in their caucus that don't believe we should have a national transportation system. they're fighting among themselves. give us a vote. >> reporter: bottom line, it has passed the house, this 90-day extension, expected to come over to the senate and will be passed so they can move on from this crisis and come back from the easter recess and work on a longer-term deal. jon? jon: yeah, we keep going to all these sort of short-term stopgap

measures. i mean, what's going on in this congress? are they ever going to be able to come to a long-term deal on anything? >> reporter: you know what's interesting is these transportation bills, they used to put in pet projects to sweeten them to get people to vote on them, you know, the pork barrel spending, earmarks, that sort of thing. now that they're not doing that, they've got a ban on doing that, it's getting more difficult to pass these things, and as we heard from the house democrat there, there are some republicans who don't really want to be in the highway business figuring we can't afford it any longer. and so some of the counting of the votes can get a little complicated at times, jon. jon: mike emanuel from capitol hill, thank you. >> reporter: thank you, jon. jenna: an interesting observation by mike on that. you take out that extra sweet spending, and it's harder to bring people together. we'll see what happens next as we go back to washington d.c. we have this fox business alert, gas prices are up at the pump. the national average for regular gas, just a gallon, $3.92, that's up a penny today from yesterday, and as you know,

every penny matters, doesn't it? more than 30 cents higher than a year ago, our gas prices are, and it could potentially get much worse. gasbuddy.com is revising its forecast saying gas could go way over the $4 mark. you know, the record is $4.11 on a national average basis. peter barnes knows all these numbers well, he joins us there washington with more. peter? >> reporter: hey, jenna. gasbuddy.com now predicts the national average price for a gallon of gas will peak between $3.95 and $4.35, 20 cents a gallon higher than its last estimate in january. all of this has fueled the political battle in washington over high gas prices. the senate just now voting down an effort to repeal $4 billion a year in tax breaks for oil and gas companies as expected yet again with votes from some oil state democrats. this despite a rose garden statement by the president this morning supporting the

legislation as the president and democrats square off against republicans in this election year battle. >> with record profits and rising production, i'm not worried about the big oil companies. with high oil prices around the world, they've got more than enough incentive to produce even more oil. >> reporter: and this morning before the vote in the senate the republican leaders said that with the white house and senate democratic leaders knowing the outcome of this vote beforehand it held it just to try to score political points. >> none of this makes sense to me, but that's how the democrats have chosen to run this place. and if they want to keep trying to distract the american people from the fact that they don't have any solutions to the problems we face, that's their prerogative. >> reporter: the white house said that at least the vote in the senate puts members on the record on this issue. jenna? jenna: all right.

peter barnes live for us from washington, d.c. today. peter, thank you. jon: well, it's been the big topic all week, supreme court deliberations on the fate of the health care law. they are now behind closed doors after three days of oral arguments. the justices will, in their own due time, begin to decide whether the law or important parts of it are going to be struck down or upheld. that landmark ruling is expected in june. in addition to affecting the way virtually every american gets and pays for health care, it also will have enormous political implications. joining us now, a.b. stoddard, the associate editor of "the hill." you wrote an interesting column in which you said no matter what happens to this thing, if supreme court were to uphold the whole thing, strike down parts of it, strike down the whole thing, it is good for president obama? >> you know, i don't know that he deserves it, i just think he's going to get lucky from this. i do think that if he has his number one domestic

accomplishment upheld by the court, he gets to say, look, you know, the mandate's constitutional. we're going to move on. um, and i think if it's struck down that if he's running against mitt romney, i think it's going to be much easier for president obama to move on from the discussion and say, look, you supported an individual mandate, you recommended it be used on a national level. we tried it, it was struck down, let's talk about the economy. there's many ways this can shake down, but i have a feeling that in the end he's going to have some dumb luck no matter which way the decision goes. jon: but right now most americans don't seem to like the way the president -- >> that's right. jon: -- has handled health care and that was pointed out by karl rove who is now a fox news contributor, of course. but karl rove wrote in today's "wall street journal" this, he says: whatever the supreme court

says, how the president handles health policy will deeply effect his chances in november. the president has very little room to maneuver. his approval rating in how he is handling health care policy in the latest gallup poll is only 41%. so i guess maybe you're saying the same thing, that if supreme court throws it out, americans might be happy and give, what, president obama the benefit of the doubt? >> well, if it's thrown out, i think he just moves on from the conversation can. there's no way to move any reforms through this congress this year before 2013 as everybody understands, and so the president will change the topic to the economy and foreign policy, the coming challenges in the middle east, gas prices, etc. i don't think that he would cling to how to salvage what's left of health care after the supreme court strikes it down. he sees those polls, he knows it's unpopular, and that's why i think he'd move on from the topic. jon: this was a president who was elected in part because he

was this, you know, constitutional law professor and, you know, this brilliant thinker. if he gets his signature achievement shot down by the supreme court, that can't be good. >> no, it can't. but i just can't see in that case, um, mitt romney trying to use it as a powerful campaign issue. i can see congressional republicans saying, look, the court had to sop -- stop this incredibly far-reaching inclusion of the government into the private sector, this partisan effort to take over part of the economy. you know, that's going to be a good message for them. a very tough message for mitt romney who supported mandates in massachusetts and then went on to write as late as 2009 that it would be good to be used on a national scale. so he is in an awkward spot. president obama just simply got lucky in the nominee he's likely to get when it comes to this issue. it's why i think if whole bill gets struck down, i think he walks away from it and tries to change the subject.

jon: a.b. today art, thanks -- stoddard, thanks. jenna: how much do higher gasoline prices really impact your shopping habits? one report suggests not as much as we think. steve moore's coming up with his take with us next, and you can tweet us during the break, let us know do you really change what you buy when gas prices go up? i'm curious what you have to say on that. plus, the frantic search for a missing mom. where crews are looking, and the clues so far. we'll catch you up-to-date on that. and rick is checking out the hottest stories on foxnews.com. >> reporter: we've got a poll on the "happening now" home page that we'd like you to weigh in on. fewer people are applying for unemployment benefits, how do you feel about the jobs situation in the country right now? it's your chance to weigh in. log on right now and do that, and we'll have more "happening now" after a quick break. don't go away. 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.

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jon, you know, right now some new -- jon: right now, new info on crime stories, wyoming police and volunteers searching for a missing mother of three. investigators say 49-year-old ruth martinson was last seen living a class at gillette college on monday striving a black toyota pickup truck. her daughters say she would never leave town without telling them. plus, closing arguments in the trial of a nurse accused of killing five patients. prosecutors claim kimberly stein injected people on dialysis with bleach. and lindsay lohan's back in court again. a california judge will decide if lohan has completed her probation for a 2007 drunk driving conviction. jenna: i'm sure you're relieved about that. jon: yeah. i'm hoping she is finally done with court. jenna: well, aaa is reporting today that this is the 20th day

in a row that we've seen gas prices go up. it's up another cent today, and despite the rising gas prices, one report is suggesting that really the price of gasoline isn't affecting all of us and what we spend our money on. joining us now for his take on this, steve moore, senior economics writer for "the wall street journal". so a contrarian point of view from new york times magazine, steve, that details this report from the university of michigan and ihs global saying really when you look at periods of higher gas prices, we really do not pull back spending on things like movies and bowling, casino gambling, camping, we don't really do that. so is our bark worse than our bite when it comes to gas prices going up? [laughter] >> jenna, first of all, i disagree with that study because i've talked to a lot of people in the fast food industry, at wal-marts, at places that are selling goods and services every day from diapers to mcdonald's hamburgers, and they do say, look, we feel the impact at our stores when gas prices rise.

i mean, think about it this way, jenna. if you have to spend 5 or 8 or $10 more to fill up your tank every week, that's less money for middle class families who are living, many of which are living paycheck to paycheck that they can spend on going out to eat or going to walmart and buying things they need for their family. so i disagree with this assessment that these high gas prices don't hurt middle class families, i think they do. jenna: i got a mix of different responses on twitter. one tweet says, listen, it just gives me something else to complain about, it really doesn't change my shopping habits, but another tweet from courtney says, really i'm shopping for brand items that are cheaper, so i'm going to change the brands i'm buying. i may not buy less, i'm just changing the specifics of it. so i guess we'll take that as a mixed review as far as how this effects actual shopping habits. i was doing a little more research, steve, about how these higher gas prices are effecting the global economy, europe in particular, and that's where the real whiplash might come to the

american economy. why would that besome. >> well, look, let's be very clear about this. a higher price of energy, gasoline and oil, is unquestionably bad for the u.s. economy because we are a major importer of oil and gas. hopefully, in the next 10 or 15 years that's going to change, but when the things that we buy, jenna, from other countries become more expensive, that hurts the u.s. economy because it's less money we can buy on other goods and services. now, look, europe is also an importer of oil and gas, so it hurts their economy as well. look, what we want to see is lower prices of electricity and gasoline and energy for all countries because it makes things less expensive to produce, and that means consumers can buy more, and we get richer as a society -- jenna: is there a sweet spot, steve? a lot of people say, hey, we want to see lower prices. what exactly do you think we really mean by that? does it mean $2 a gallon? a dollar a gallon? how low is low? >> you know, i believe, jenna, i really do, because of the new

technologies that are happening and drilling processes through horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracking, it's amazing what's going on, you know, in a lot of these areas and places like oklahoma and texas, they're actually going in, redrilling old oil wells. when the president says we only have 2% of the world's oil reserves, he's off by about a factor of 10 or 15. but i just think we are going to see a future, and i'm, you know, a contrarian here, i think the future is going to be lower prices for oil and natural gas because of the superabundance of it, and it gets back to what we were talking about about an hour ago on the show in response to what the president said. he is not for an all of the above energy policies, his energy policies have been hostile to the oil and gas drilling companies, and when he wants higher prices, that makes it even more expensive to drill. jenna: and there's a broader question of how much can the policies effect -- >> i would say a lot. [laughter] jenna: a conversation for another time. nice to have you back with us,

steve. >> great to be with you. jon: the search for a missing california teenager enters a new phase today. we'll tell you how the search is changing focus today. plus, we're keeping an eye on a story in philadelphia where airport security stopped a man carrying explosives from boarding a plane. a live report on what's going on there. c'mon dad!

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jenna: police in california are shifting their investigation into the disappearance of a 15-year-old that we've been following very closely on "happening now." rick, you have more on what's going on here? >> reporter: jenna, i've been checking with the assignment desk, and we can confirm this investigation has now moved from a missing persons case to a possible kidnapping. sierra lamar is the girl's name, and the local sheriff's office

says while sierra may have voluntarily have left her home on march 16th, she may now be held against her will. her parents do not believe their daughter ran away, the local sheriff believes it too. a forensic search of her phone and computer, neither offered any clues as to where she might have gone. that phone wasn't just left behind though. she had apparently taken it with her, and searchers found it a day after her disappearance. police say the phone looked as if it had been tossed and was found in the opposite direction of her bus stop. she was headed to school, that was the last her parents saw her. they also found a bag of her clothes, neatly folded in that bag. the high school cheerleader is described at 5-2, long brown hair. anyone with information is asked to call the police in santa clara, and here's the number on the screen. 408-299-2311. let's hope they find her. jenna: let's hope they do. rick, thank you.

jon: a fox news alert and a pennsylvania man is in police custody right now. the transportation security administration stopped him this morning after he tried to board a plane at the philadelphia international airport carrying explosives in his carry-on bag. david lee miller watching the developments from our newsroom. david lee? >> reporter: authorities say the incident at about 5:30 this morning at philadelphia international is not believed to be connected to terrorism. 29-year-old joseph picklow of dallas, pennsylvania, faces a federal charge of destruction of a destructive device after he tried to board a flight with fireworks in his carry-on luggage. he told investigators he forgot the items were in his backpack and had been experimenting with them as part of a new wiz venture -- business venture. the suspicious items included a water bottle filled with flash powder and commercial-grade m-80 fireworks. other items not yet identified are now undergoing testing, and in an abundance of caution the

security checkpoint was closed for about 20 minutes while officials established a safe perimeter, but there were no flight disruptions. authorities say it is not uncommon for passengers to forget they have banned items in carry-on luggage, but that's no excuse for breaking the law. >> he is facing serious charges because not all of the charges that are applicable here require intent. the mere action itself is enough to warrant charges. and, you know, obviously, if you're going to travel by air, you have to be responsible, and you have to look to see what's in your bag before you submit it because you're putting other passengers at risk when you attempt to get on an airplane with items like this. >> reporter: authorities say it is likely additional charges will follow. they say thanks to an alert tsa screener, the banned items never made it onboard an aircraft and passengers were never in any danger. jon: pretty hard to forget about a bunch of m-80s and stuff like that in your carry-on, but i guess some people do. david lee, thank you.

jenna: i have some numbers for you now. the odds of getting a hole in one in golf, 1 in 5,000. your odds of finding a pearl in an oyster, 1 in 12,000. what are your odds of winning the half billion dollar megamillions jackpot? it's a bit steeper than that hole in one. adam shapiro is going to let us your chances coming up next. plus, a church is taking on the law in california after police slapped the cuffs on a pastor for reading the bible in public. our legal panel takes a look at this unusual case. >> you can preach on, you can stand here and talk about anything you want, but you can't talk about the bible.

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every afternoon when that 2:30 feeling hits. -every day. -every day. every day is a 5-hour energy day. [ male announcer ] 5-hour energy. every day. jenna: a business alert for you now. a lot of would-be millionaires walking around our studio today and we're giving them all a shoutout. if any of you guys win, we want a piece of it right, jon? that is least anyone can do. megamillion mania sweeping the country right now with a record half a billion bucks at stake. what are the true odds of winning? i imagine that, is that a line, guys for lottery tickets? adam, did you stand in that line? >> reporter: no. there is no line. they sell the lottery tickets at the little kiosk in the lobby of the building so you can get your ticket here. i bought a lottery ticket. i know you did do, jenna. because i know you took a pay cut when you left fox

business to go over to the news side. think about that. how much could you win if you hold a single winning ticket if the jackpot pays out the 500 million or more. look at some of the numbers we crunched for you. 500 million after taxes, remember the lump sum they give you and federal government takes out 25%, would be roughly $269 million in your pocket. there is still more of a tax to be paid. first the best states in which to buy a megamillions ticket where you won't pay any additional tax to the federal tax would be places like california, delaware, new hampshire, south dakota, tennessee, texas. the u.s. virgin islands. you pocket the entire 269 million. now the states where you're going to pay a little more than that, 25% tax, what you might call the worst states to be in a new millionaire? that would be arkansas, maryland, new york, new jersey. just to give you an idea in arkansas, you would only take home, i can't believe i said only take home, 244 million. in new york you would only

take home 237 million n new jersey where you pay additional 10.8% on lottery winnings, i only take home 230 million. jenna, with only 230 million, all the people buying tickets, why bother, right? all the people in new jersey is 230 million worth it? of course it is worth it. your odds, jenna, as i throw it back to you, 1 in 176 million. as you said earlier you have a better chance to score a hole-in-one on the golf course. jenna: you say, there is a chance, adam that someone will win it. what happens if no one does and no one gets numbers? >> reporter: will continue to grow, already largest jackpot of mega millions in u.s. history. it keeps growing larger. like the energizer bunny. it is on steroids. jenna: we should all buy a ticket. teaches you something about taxes when you look what you would win and take home. still a lot of money. >> reporter: it is a ton of mon money. jenna: i will go buy the ticket as soon as i get off

the air. jon: share it with me. jenna: of course. jon: right now in california a legal battle brewing over the good book. members of a share group are suing the california highway patrol after a pastor is arrested for reading the bible out loud in public. douglas kennedy told us about this story last hour. right now we're joined by duane indicates a defense attorney and tad nelson, a former prosecutor. so the setting here, guys is, he is standing, the pastor is standing outside a dmv office. of course there are all kind of folks lined up to get in because the office is not open yet. he is out in the parking lot, 50 feet away from the entrance to the building. and he gets arrested. duane, is that an abuse of police power? >> it certainly is because they had no reason to arrest him. the statute that they claimed that they arrested him under would require that he would be obstructing the entrance, which he clearly wasn't, or that he was

intimidating people. there is not one person that came forward and said that they were intimidated by what he was doing. he was simply reading the bible. he wasn't threatening people with damnation. he was simply reading passages from the bible. and, that is not against the law. jon: tad, why does reading the bible aloud in a public parking lot get you arrested? >> well, for one, you know, we, unfortunate thing here whenever you have these religious sell lots do these kinds of things they're mixing up what the first amendment says. the first amendment talks about exercise of religion which we can't obstruct but abridged use of freedom of speech. unfortunately those two items are back-to-back in the first amendment. the churches want to seem to think anything they say religiously is okay. in this situation it's not. the reason they have the statute here so somebody can go into that dmv, mind their own business, take care of their business without anybody, and intimidation, the way they use the word

intimidation, doesn't mean they're scaring them. more like bothering them. like at an airport. we all walk the other way when we see hari krishnas coming at us. we walk to the other side of the hall. that is what the statute in this case is written for so these people aren't bothered when they are doing their business. the officer came by and asked them to leave. they didn't want to do it. they wanted to make a point. it was staged. they had film rolling and knew what they were to accomplish to get on their show. jon: duane, i don't much like going to the dmv. it is unpleasant experience. if i get there early and a line outside the door and already irritated anyway. i'm guessing the probably last thing i want to hear somebody yelling at me even from 50 feet away. >> that may be true, however, tad's wrong the statute says intimidate. it doesn't say bother, it doesn't say, irritate. it doesn't say not be obnoxious. it says intimidate people. the statute was designed for

protesters that were blocking entrances to places and were disrupting business. there was no business disrupted here. business wasn't even open yet. people were simply standing in line. i wonder what would have happened if he had been reading the constitution of the united states? if he had been reading the bill of rights. if he had been reading "war and peace". he never would have been arrested. this is purely preventing him from making a religious expression and he has a right to do that. >> tad, what if he and the other church members had taken a bag of, you know, little mini bibles and walked up to every single person in line an offered them mini bibles. could he have been arrested for that? >> absolutely. that would have on about the same thing. it would have been associated with speech. jon: really? >> here is why what the church was doing was so disingenuous. if they were really concerned about getting message out why did they even attempt to follow the permitting process? i'll tell you why. they didn't want to get their message out.

they wanted controversy. they wanted film rolling. they wanted to get arrested. they wanted publicity. that is unfortunate. so disingenuous when they do this. all they have to do is apply for a permit. could have told where they could have made the arguments and made them and accomplish their goals. >> this isn't about permitting. >> sure it is. >> this had nothing to do with permitting. they came up with the permitting argument days after the arrest happened and there was ruckus about things. first they came out with the statute. they couldn't even charge them with the statute. then they came up with permitting argument. that came out days after the arrest not at the time of the arrest or hours of after arrest. >> not talking about permitting as far as police argument. talking about permitting as far as a religious argument. why didn't they seek a permit if they really want to get their message out. they were disingenuous. they accomplished their goals. we're on tv and talking about them. jon: they did do that and douglas kennedy is keeping

an eye on this story for us. as i understand it has yet to go to trial. we'll see what happened to the minister that was arrested. thank you both. jenna: we'll talk a lot more about this. staggering new numbers from the government on autism. 1 in 88 children? that is what we're hearing about today. why this rate keeps rising. we'll go in depth with a medical expert next. also this. why this elephant bolted from the zoo and how baby's handlers got him back in next. ohhh my head, ohhh.

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took less than 10 minutes to calm baby down though. we're happy to report nobody was injured. unfortunately baby does still stink because he didn't get his bath. jenna: don't see that every day, do you. jon: no you don't. jenna: this in from the centers for disease control releasing new numbers on autism today and the rates really going up. the cdc is estimating 1 in every 88 children has some form of autism and the disorder is almost five times more common in boys than girls. joining me now. dr. lee winokur adjunct professor university of shreveport. the first question is why? >> that is the million dollar question and we don't really know it. i suspect it used to be 1 in 110 and probably there is increased screening of more kids. in fact they ended up increasing the screening to hispanics and african-american kids. we're screening more kids for it and broading the

definition of the whole speck trump of -- spectrum of autism. jenna: you hear a statistic when 1 in 54 boys at that is important about the spectrum of autism. you could be highly functioning and have autism but. could you tell us more about the different levels? >> there is a whole range. there is aspergers. they have social awkwardness but language skills are fairly well. to severe austism there is language deficit and development tall deficit. there is a huge spectrum and we're identifying that spectrum a lot better. so that is part of it. we're screening more people. as they used to say there was a four times the risk in college-educated white, middle class children of those people and the truth is it's because those were the people using services, screening and getting their

children checked out early. now we're seeing more screening in underserved populations. and that's helpful. jenna: we're seeing some of the largest increases among hispanic and black children as well, to your point is how we're seeing some of the screenings change. >> right. jenna: i was doing a little research on autism. first time we really herd the term was back in the 1940s. seems like last 10 years we talk about something quite frequently. are you concerned as a medical professional about these diagnoses and whether or not maybe we're being too aggressive at times? >> well, you know, i think part of the issue, we don't know what it is. we know that vaccines pretty much have been shown not to be the reason but there's a lot of environmental factors that we're not sure what it is but i certainly think we're much more attuned to it than we used to be. and, you know, kids have different lives than they did back in the '40s.

kids have to sit in school. they have to pay more attention. i'm sure that's why the add diagnoses are going up. they spend more time sitting in front of screens, in front of classrooms. so that's sort of changed it too. but there are set diagnoses for the autism spectrum and kids can fall in that range. i think we're just being more invigilant about checking it out. it is good to detect it earlier because sometimes intervention earlier can help with children. jenna: do you think a report like this from the cdc brings us closer to knowing more about the cause whether through more research money or just heightened awareness? >> well definitely heightened awareness in any kind of medical condition sort of brings us a little closer and it sort of points the research in the direction that it should go but i still think we have a lot of research to do and it's not going to be one factor. it's going to be multiple factors that probably contribute to this condition because it's a huge spectrum with a lot of different

conditions. so it's like saying a cure for cancer. there is not just one type of cancer. i think we'll find that in autism. there will be multifactorial reasons why we're seeing it but we still need a lot more research. jenna: that give us important perspective on a day like this. when you see the numbers it is quite shocking. doctor, nice to have you as always. thanks again. >> thank you. jon: new video of an accident in rush-hour traffic that could have been deadly. a guy crashes his pickup truck. it bursts into flames and he is trapped inside. two real heroes risked their lives to save him. it's a great story. you will want to hear it. a catholic group withdrawing from a university campus after more than 50 years. now more religious organizations might follow. we'll tell you why

jenna: two combat veterans putting themselves in harm's way here at home, pulling a man out of a burning truck on a pennsylvania highway. some incredible footage of all this as we, rick. >> reporter: this is some story, jenna. the staff sergeants crystal brown and angel mendez. they're with the pennsylvania national guard and they were driving down a highway in philly when they saw this. this is all shot from a guy's cell phone camera. you can see a man trapped inside a burning pickup truck. this is the middle of rush hour. the driver apparently unconscious with his foot trapped on the gas pedal. staff sergeant brown who was barefoot at the time, jumped over the traffic barrier running toward the burning truck. sergeant mendez coming after. hear's what the two brave soldiers had to say about the situation. >> we worked together as a

team. >> with our army training it is repetitious. >> we stayed calm and assessed the dangers around oust. >> reporter: they said what they did was pure instinct. the result of hours of combat rescue training that kicked in when they saw what was happening. police are trying to figure out what caused the truck to catch fire. the driver is being treated in a philadelphia hospital. jon: great story. new developments in a battle over religion playing out on the campus of vanderbilt university. one of the largest student faith okayizations is cutting ties with the school after 50 years all because of a new university policy meant to stop discrimination. john roberts live for us in atlanta with that. john? >> reporter: good afternoon. we've been telling you about vanderbilt university newly tightened nondiscrimination policy which prohibit as student organization for applying a faith based criteria for organization. one organization at

vanderbilt had enough. it is pulling out of the campus. the president of vandy catholic. here is what he said. >> that is simply not what our organization. if we didn't have the qualifications. if we said, oh, it doesn't matter, catholic faith and practice doesn't matter for organization and our leaders we would be compromising who we are and our integrity. >> reporter: he says it is absolutely necessary for their leaders to be practicing catholics. vanderbilt university is disappointed by vandy catholic's decision you about sticking by its guns. we do not believe our nondiscrimination policy to be income patable with religious freedom. vanled der built's policies does not mandate whom student organizations elect as leaders. it simply allows for anyone to be eligible for a membership and too seek a leadership position. hear is the chap plain of vandy catholic. here is what he says about the nondiscrimination requirement that they can't

have a faith based criteria. >> i was trying to with hold judgment about it but i do have to say i really felt kind of, kicked in the gut actually. i that's what i felt. i felt, you know, i could sort of see where i was afraid this was going and it's not a decision that anybody would want to take lightly of course. >> reporter: now there's a number of other religious organizations on campus that find themselves in the same boat. they will try one more time to change the university's mind about those restrictions but clearly, jon, vanderbilt catholic thought it had no other choice. >> what a story. john roberts in atlanta. john, thank you. >> many music fans today mourning the loss of a legend, a man called the best banjo player whoever lived. credited with helping create the sound of modern country music. we have a tune for you. you will immediately recognize when we have more on the story after this break. [ donovan ] i hit a wall.

and i thought "i can't do this, it's just too hard."

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jenna: well, a giant in american music is gone.

fans today are mourning the loss of earl scruggs, the legend care ban go player passed away yesterday from natural causes, credited with pioneering the bluegrass sound that's a true american art form. here's just a little of him performing with comedian and fellow banjo player steve martin on the late show. take a look. ♪ jenna: they say banjo playing like that really influenced our country music that we know now these days. his most popular song was "foggy mountain breakdown," recorded in 1949. some describe him, jon, as the babe ruth of the banjo. jon: he also did the theme to "the beverly hillbillies". he'll be missed. thank you for joining us today. jenna: "america live" starts right now.