children. nearly 100 -- yes, 100 twisters have been reported across oklahoma, kansas, nebraska and iowa. a hospital, an air force base and hundreds of homes are damaged or destroyed this morning. people barely making it out of their homes safely seeking shelter just before the twisters tore through. >> after 30 minutes, we all went back out and everything is just completely gone. it's just a big empty space, like it was never there. >> the wind just picked up and the rain got real heavy and the hail, so we ran to the shelter and the next thing you knew, the house was moving and you could feel the roof coming off and it was shaking and things were hitting and you could hear all of this stuff hitting the floor. when we went outside, there was trees down and cars moved. >> houses blown up. >> totally -- gone. >> eric: absolutely astounding and heart breaking. the damaged air force base is in

wichita, where we begin our live team coverage this morning with mike tobin. look at damage, mike. >> absolutely astounding. >> reporter: it is something you can see all over the heartland. it's an old free and it took up a bunch of concrete with it. that's why you see that car, partially tipped over. let me get to a gentleman who rode this storm out last night. shane, tell me what you went through, what was it like? >> it's pretty hard. it's kind of, you know, scary at first. once it passed over, it was pretty loud. >> reporter: pretty loud? they all say it sounded like a freight train. >> it did sound like a freight train. >> reporter: glad you are alive. a few hits here. the pin air trailer park. there were no injuries, people got out and went to shelters. boeing company in wichita took a direct hit.

spiro. they all got to shelters. no major injuries in this state. not the same south of here. in oklahoma, cherokee, oklahoma, a stringer got an amazing video of an amazing vortex tornadeo. woodland, oklahoma, about 3 hours southwest of here, that little town of 12,000 took a direct hit from a tornado. sadly, that is where we have learned that there are some fatalities. five people are reported dead from the direct hit from that particular tornado. and what we are hearing from the emergency crews are those at least -- some of those victims are people who elected to ride out the storm in their trailer, the trailer took a direct hit. i can tell you, from our perspective, from our crew, we had to get in the basement of a particular building last night. by the time we came up, we never noticed that much wind, but by the time we came up, there was a lot of water. the streets were knee deep with

water. >> eric: it's so dangerous, especially if you try to ride those thigs out. we are glad -- those things out. we are glad you are safe? >> jamie: the monster storm unleashing dozens of tornadoes and emergency teams are searching for survivors trapped beneath the rub nel oklahoma. the situation is grave in a small town of thurman, iowa. folks waking up this sunday to a scene of utter destruction. that's where we have our chief meteorologist, live on the ground. rick, i know you have seen these before. but this seems to be one of the worst, this entire town virtually wiped out. >> reporter: yeah. so much damage. it's a small town, around 238 people in this town. but 75% of the buildings drivewayed. so that's almost your entire town, if that's what you are living in. most people here lived their entire lives, including the gentleman you see down the street here, cleaning up. that's what is happening now. the damage hahas been sustained,

you can hear the sound of the chain saws going, people doing this work, starting to begin to clean up. but thurman, here, nothing as far as fatalities. not even significant injuries. and that's because they also had the warning. i tell you, so many warnings went out yesterday, in fact, the national weather service issued 124 tornado warnings and there were 121 reported tornadoes. so they did a very good job on warning the right storms out there and people heeded those warnings. take a look at the video that is out of norfork, nebraska, this is eastern nebraska. mike was talk about this flooding that he saw in wichita. well, a significant hail across areas of north eastern nebraska, norfork got hail that looked like winter and snow on the ground. the hail was preceded by very heavy rain and flooding and flooding like a layer of hail down the street, washing cars away, in some cases.

a widespread event. jamie, this has been a multi-day weather event. yesterday, the peak of it. but today, we are under the threat of severe weather. take a look at the map. you can see, we have a moderate risk for severe weather. a very elevated risk in north eastern iowa, including waterloo. over towards lacrosse and eau claire, wisconsin, and back to minneapolis. a lot of populated areas today again under the threat of severe weather. we had it yesterday and there is likely going to be more today before we are done with this storm? >> jamie: we are glad everyone heeded the and all got out of the way. thanks so much. thanks. >> eric: we will continue to follow the powerful storm system and all the heart-breaking damage. we will update you throughout the newscast. and for the latest storm coverage, go to foxnews.com to check it out. >> jamie: another fox news alert for you. a series of coordinated attacks

against our forces in afghanistan. at least seven targetsurn attack in kabul, including the u.s. embassy and nato headquarters. more than 10 separate explosions rocked the capitol. the taliban claiming responsibility, warning it's just the beginning, they say, of an aggressive spring offensive. we are treming live from kabul. very sensitive sites. >> reporter: the attacks still underway in parts of the capitol. we are hearing that the afghan national forces are engaging with a number of militants in one quarter of the city where they have holed up in a hotel and adjacent building and are unleashing fire on the security forces here. but nato saying that seven locations across the country -- not just here, but in three provinces as well. we understand that 16 militants and suicide bombers have been killed today in their attacks. four at an operating base. we are not hearing of any

casualties here in kabul. but we are hearing that 23 civilians and some police officers were killed elsewhere in the country. the u.s. embassy did come under attack and the british and the germans. our colleague, geraldo rivera was in the u.s. embassy at the time of the attack and they said that the attack felt very familiar. take a lich. >> pretty similar, at this stage to the one in september. high-profile... questionable effectiveness. i think this is done more for the splash than a serious attempt to -- carry out a military operation. but again, we will have to see. >> reporter: and you can see more on "geraldo at large" tonight. but back to events on the ground here. we understand that a lot of the attackers dressed themselves as

women in blue burqas. so it's tricky to be detected. however, with the fight on the ground being we are not entirely sure, the stakes of the situation. we know that the u.s. embassy remains in lockdown. so the events are still unfolding here very much? >> jamie: streaming live from kabul. thank you. eric? >> eric: to the campaign trail and bumps in the road for president obama. the president's current trip to columbia -- well, it's not exactly going as planned. the headlines have been hijacked by the developing story of members of the secret service caught up in that scandal involving prostitutes. add to that, the growing list of recent issues, the controversy over the president's remarks on the supreme court. of course, the expected health care decision, which will come down in june. and the off-mike comments to the

russian president. joining us, jimu greene and dee dee banky. welcome. dee dee, let me start with you, how does this growing list impact the race? >> yeah. it is not a good week for the obama administration, what's going on in columbia and the clowns. and then the soothesayers, fortune tellers. it goes on and on. and the war on women and hillary roseuent grenade that blew that up for the democrats. it's a rough week. the biggest issue is the american people not happy with the washington, d.c. waste and all the money going down the drain for these issues. and people don't like it. d.c. is toxic and people are not going to want to vote for the person in charge. obama is at the helm and washington, d.c. is a mess. we need to make a turn in the economy, that's the biggest

issue on people's minds. >> eric: do you agree? >> no. not exactly. i do think that the american people have lost this week because the media is focusing so much on manufactured crisises. but i think it's really important to not try to lay blame on president obama and this administration for the actions of the secret service and the military members who went out and, you know, found prostitutes. this has nothing to do with the obama administration. anyone who tries to lay blame is playing the washington, d.c. type of games that the american people reject and are pretty much fed up with. >> eric: you mentioned, what, manufactured crisises? you mean about the stay-at-home mom comments? hillary rosen said them and it sparked a firestorm. >> it did start a firestorm. i think that points more to where the media is and wanting

to fuel the flareups. but again, i have said this many times in this conversation. if governor romney wants to step into this debate about mommies and work women, then let's see where does he stand? prove it. paid maternity leave, show us a vision for how you are going to deal with women in the workplace. when you are asked about equal pay, don't say, "let me get back to you." he has nothing on the table except for this manufactured mommy war when at the end of the day, his policies would dramatically affect millions of american women, working women and leave poor women out to dry. >> eric: you heard jehmu say it's a manufactured war and that shows where the media is. how about the campaigns? >> you are giving a yoman's effort of trying to shift the topic off the economy and the

very dire straits that our country is in, due to this administration. this president is very talented in a lot of ways. but the economy is not his forte because we are in the tank, 8.2% unemployment and the gdp is terrible. we are just at a place in our country where we are about to go over the edge. we want capitalism and success. we don't want a collective. seven months from the election, the american people -- we have to take a look at who can get our country back on track. the economy is the number-1 issue. and this president has had an opportunity to try to do a good job. but when it comes to the economy, he has failed miserably. that's where we have to make a change. >> eric: last word? >> i am not sure what cliff dee dee is referring. to the only thing i would say to her and the republican party and their candidate, where's the beef on the economy? basically, he wants to recycle every single policy that got us here -- >> he created jobs -- >> 25 months of straight job

growth. private-sector job growth, 25 months -- [overlapping dialogue] >> a non-d.c. guy is what we need. >> when romney ran massachusetts, they were ranked 47th in the nation. >> we need a business guy who will change d.c. let's give him a chance. >> eric: jehmu is the democrat and dee dee's the republican. speaking of the economy and jobs, you know, it's tax day, but we have two more days to file, april 17. coming up in 20 minutes, herman cain will be here, talking about taxes and politics and what he hopes to achieve with the big tax rally, tomorrow on capitol hill. stay tuned for herman cain. congressional hearings begin tomorrow in the investigation of the government services administration. that agency is under fire for reportedly using taxpayer dollars to fund extravagant

employee events. they are hoping for more details in the wasteful spending scandal. steve centanni is live in washington. it got a lot pricier than what we were looking at. >> reporter: tomorrow begins three days of intense hearings on this gsa scandal, including four panels on the house and senate sides of the capitol. the latest confrontation involves the head of gsa's western region, jeffrey neely, who organized the lavish conference in las vegas that cost $800,000. and they owned a facility that was suitable for a large conference and didn't use it. neely's attorney says he doesn't need to come to d.c., since he will plead the fifth. but congressman darrell issa says he should appear. neely said having him a-- appear on capitol hill serves no legitimate purpose. the agency was embarrassed by these videos, a number of them,

showing gsa employees, flouting the agency's spending habits in a talent contest in the lavish training conference in a lavish hotel for 300 people, which the agency itself admitted was over the top. commemorative coins were given in velvet boxes and the contracting for services also coming under questioning. needless to say, criminal charges because the services were not competitively bid t. adds up to a lot of taxpayer money going down the drain. the hearings begin tomorrow morning, before congress -- tomorrow afternoon, before congressman darrell issa's house oversight and government reform committee. tuesday, another households hearings and two senate panels take their turn on wednesday? >> jamie: it will be a busy week in washington. great preview. a preview to this, you have a couple more dice pay your taxes, what if you owe and you don't have the cash?

don't panic because in today's take-charge consumer protection segment, we will tell tuwhere to find that cash in places you might not have thought of. you definitely want to pay on time of. >> eric: there are new reports that nearly 100 tornadoes ripping across america's heartland yesterday. five people have been killed in this weather. the search right now is ongoing for more possible victims. sadly, that bad weather may not be over. we will have the very latest on the tornadoes and the twisters in the midwest. and what the forecasters say could be coming later on today. [ leanne ] appliance park has been here since the early 50s. my dad and grandfather spent their whole careers here. [ charlie ] we're the heartbeat of this place, the people on the line. we take pride in what we do. when that refrigerator ships out the door, it's us that work out here. [ michael ] we're on the forefront of revitalizing manufacturing. we're proving that it can be done here, and it can be done well.

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>> eric: we have a fox news extreme weather alert for you. it is not over. we are keeping an eye on the violent storm system that barreled through the midwest and plains, causing at least 100 separate twisters, they say. tornados in oklahoma have left at least five people dead, including two small children. dozens of people have been injured. twisters also touched down in kansas, nebraska and iowa, leaving widespread damage, as you can see, throughout the region. hundreds of thousands of people are without electricity at this hour. strong winds toppled trees and snapped powerlines.

sadly, forecasters are warning of potential flooding and large mail and even more extreme weather today. so keep it right here on the fox newschannel for the very latest. it. >> we are learning that mother nature can be unforgiving. it is april 15, but you don't have to panic. it is not tax day, you get two extra days. but what happens if you can't pay your taxes? in our take charge consumer protection segment, i wanted to talk about the ways you can find the cash you need to pay that bill because they will find you. we have an economic adviser who knows a lot about this topic. this is great that you are here today, a lot of people are finding out that they owe and they are underwater in their homes, they may be unemployed. have you good news. let's start with those who are in the military service or unemployed. what breaks do they get?

>> we got a nice gift called fresh start. if you -- and many of these people in this country have been unemployed, spend 30 days in 15 months unemployed, if you are active military service and you are self-employed and your income went down or we see it with the gnarl disasters, if have you suffered through one of these natural disasters, form 1127. this allows to you aroid paying publics for six months. have you to pay the taxes and you have to pay interest, but you avoid the publics. >> this is federal. states have different -- >> you have to look at the state you are in? >> jamie: you want folks to not forget to file. >> one of the most important things, people look at the number and they panic. they go, e, my god, what am i going to do? the percent of penalty for not filing is 5% a month. even if have you to file an

extension, send them in, i promised -- let's deliver. where do you find the cash? home equity lines have somewhat dried up. but a lot of people owe more on their homes than they can can borrow. should you borrow from a retirement account? >> the home equity loan, if it's available, great. 401(k) plans, a lot of them have loan privileges with very low interest rates, up to a five-year payback period. you can pay the liability and pay it back over five years. credit cards, the irs takes credit cards, isn't it great? they will charge you a transaction fee, it could be 2%. but be careful, the interest rate that you are paying on the credit card. >>o? >> jamie: try to get a low interest rate. >> everyone has a fear of the interest rate. but the interest rate on the liability, only 3% a year? >> jamie: so what about other

sources? where else can we find cash to pay the irs? >> not one of my favorites, but if you need it and you know you are going to pay this back, the irs gives you a 60-day window to take money from an ira, if you put it back within 60 days, you can borrow it, take it, pay the liability and put the money back. no taxes, no penalty for early withdrawal? >> jamie: interesting. >> another source. a lot of people have done this. but scrapping old gold, you have the stuff laying around. gold is a very high price rights now -- scrapit, pay the liability, if you want, you say, call the irs, pay $10 a month, if you get on a payment plan, you don't get charged the penalty. >> great point. this is form 9465. it's an installment plan. you go to the irs and say, i would like to pay my tax, difile the return and i filed a valid extension. i want to pay my taxes. you can cut the penalties way down. get yourself on a payment. the interest rate is only 3%.

the not payment penalty is cut down to a quarter of 1% a month. it's a gift. pay your taxes. no stress. don't panic? >> jamie: we like the stress-free tax payment. thank you. good ideas. it will be on our web site. great to see you. >> have a great day? >> jamie: go to the americas news h.q. paimg and see the link t. will be posted later on foxnews.com. good luck. pay. >> file and pay? >> jamie: thanks. >> eric: great advice. there are new questions in over whether george zimmerman, charged in the killing of trayvon martin, if he will see his day in court. zimmerman, facing second-degree murder charges, but some say it will be difficult to get a conviction, at least, that's some predictions. our legal panel will weigh in on the debate on what is next for him. former presidential candidate, herman cain is holding a rally on capitol hill, a message to congress about our taxes. mr. cain will join us live in 3

minutes to explain what he wants to achieve.

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>> eric: it's april 15, you know what that means. but this dwreer, we have two more days to file taxes. next year, taxes are set to go up. tomorrow, there will be a rally on capitol hill, calling for a change to the tax code to get the economy moving again. the sponsor is cain connections, a political group run by former presidential candidate, herman cain, who joins us. welcome to fox newschannel this sunday morning. >> happy to be mere. >> eric: great to see you, as always. what will you be calling for tomorrow when you go on capitol hill? >> it's real simple -- replace the tax code. the tax code is 99 years old

this year and next year, it will be 100 years old. and so for the 100th year birthday of the tax code, i want to say -- and the american people want to say -- bye-bye to the tax code. we have known for decades that our tax code is one of the worst in the world. so we wanted to drive home the point that don't start with reform because that's just reranging the chairs on the deck of the titanic, we need to replace it. obviously, you know that i want to replace it with the 9-9-9 plan. >> eric: it is not going away. >> this is why i started cain's solutions revolution. i found that the american people -- my solutions were resonating with them. washington loves to talk about problems and move things around. but they really lack the ability to fix things. but with the pressure from the american people, which is this huge grassroots movement that we

are building, we already have over 400,000 people who signed up on my web site, herman cain.com, where they can get information about the rally on monday, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., at the capitol. you won't be able to miss it. but go to my web site for more information. people want things to be fixed. that's what cain's connections is all about. >> eric: you will be out there yelling and chanting with signs and the senators and the irs bureaucracy, they will be in their offices like this -- not listening, not hearing. nothing's going to change. so how do you effectively actually achieve some success in trying to streamline, reform or change the tax code, realistically? >> two ways. first, we have a program called the 9-9-9 adoption program. we have nearly 35 people running for congress who have already adopted the plan. it's been well researched.

we have scored it statically and dynamically. we get people to commit to it before they go to washington, want try to convince them after they get there. secondly, the difference this time around, versus the flat tax from the 90s, the fair tax -- both of those are great solution, but they never went anywhere. here's why: they didn't have the people to put the heat on. it's a former senator who said, when they feel the heat, they will see the light. our objective is to create the heat so congress and ultimately, the president will see the light that we must start with replacing the tax code. that's what is going to be different this time around. >> that's fascinating that you have candidate, people running on your platform i. yes. >> eric: but in general, let's take a look at the numbers. i covered you a year ago in new hampshire on tax day. back then, the unemployment rate was 9.0%. it's better. 8.2% dow jones average is up, by

507 points. that looks better t. popped at 13,000 and it's down now. there is the national debt clock, one year ago, when you were in new hampshire, $14.2 trillion debt. now it is $15-plus. it's $1.5 trillion more. what do we do about that? >> let's first talk about the unemployment rate. the reason that the number looks better is because the administration has chosen to exclude those people who have given up. if you add the people back in, the real unemployment rate is closer to 11%. you talk about the dow jones average. here's why it's up. companies are making more money in the foreign ownership entities than they are at home. they're not making more money at home in the united states. that's why the dow is responding to that. and relative to the debt, this is the most out-of-control, insane aspect about this

administration, what's going on. before president obama got elected, he made a statement and i quote -- he expects that the national debt will go down by 50% by the end of his first term. well, it's almost the end of his first term. guess what? it has gone up 50%. it's out of control and the united states senate under harry reid's leadership and this president and this administration, they have absolutely no intention of stopping this runaway debt. we have to change the administration and change the white house and take back control of the senate. that's what cain's solutions revolution is all about. >> eric: there's the main from herman cain, the one they will be hearing tomorrow on capitol hill. mr. cain, thank you for coming in. >> thank you, eric. >> eric: good to see you? >> jamie: great preview, eric. neighborhood watchman george zimmerman charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of unarmed teen trayvon martin. but a florida law may result in the jury never hearing the case.

stay with us. we'll talk about that. >> eric: a search for survivors ongoing. the violent storms that ripped through the midwest in the plain states, more than 100 tornadoes they say. we will have a closer look at the recovery efforts and what they expect for later on today, straight ahead. people with a machine.

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>> jamie: it's already a high-profile and s.w.a.t. somewhat controversial case, trayvon martin shooting suspect, wrim zim is jailed without bail, held on second-degree murder charges, just filed. legal experts predict it's going to be a difficult case to prove. our legal panel today, a florida defense attorney and former prosecutor and judge alex ferrer, a former florida circuit court judge. guy, welcome. thank for coming in. >> thanks for having us? >> jamie: i am going to throw

myself in there as a former law professor. i think this is a very interesting case. judge alex, i am starting with you because i think that folks will find it fascinating that under the florida stand your ground law, this case may never make it to the jury because they are the triers of fact and the judge is the trier of issues of law. and this one has a peculiar one. this judge could hear in pretrial, the charges and send george zimmerman home. you can explain that? >> you know, that's absolutely true, jamie. the law has a provision that allows the judge to make a determination on whether it applies, initially. the defendant gets two bites at the apple. the defendant can present the argument under the stand your ground law to the judge. if the judge grants the motion, it's over. if he denies it, the defendant can raise it before the jury. in cases like this, where the victim is dead and there are no witness who is saw the

altercation, it becomes very easy for defendants to basically create a defense of self-defense, under the stand your ground law because they have no duty to retreat before using deadly force, which they used to have under florida law, before that. it sounded good in principle. it sounded good that innocent people should not have to back down from criminals t. sounds laudable. but in practicalicallity. they kill innocent victims with no reon course? >> jamie: it's a favorite of gang members. you can say, i didn't retreat because i was under attack. but you get to argue it to the judge. how successful do you think that will be? >> i think there is only wothings i am certain of as i sit here today. number 1; it is not going to work because of the political climate, because the facts are murky. and number 2, jamie, you look

spectacular. but back to point number 1. listen, trayvon could say -- zimmerman can say that he turned toward his truck and as he was leaving, after he was the aggressor, he could allege that trayvon was the one who attacked him? >> jamie: that's the amazing thing. that's the amazing thing. under 776.013, the stand your ground law, if anyone wants to look it up, you can be the aggressor and you can still say that i didn't have to retreat. >> that's correct. now, the only difference is that you have to use every reasonable means to escape the harm. but in his version, he's going to argue that trayvon attacked him, punched him in the face and took him to the ground, and as he's banging his head to the ground, zimmerman cannot retreat from the harm and thus, he fears imminent death or great bodily harm and shoots him? >> jamie: you only have to have a reasonable belief. >> that's correct. i don't think the judge will grant it. but at the appellate level, the prosecutors may have issues? >> jamie: they do have the right

to appeal. you bring up the political climate. this is a really tough one for a judge. a judge has already said she may have a comment. she may not stay on the case. no judge, a year into their term wants to be faced with this. that's what america went by the political imp. ications. but why can't trayvon's attorney, the prosecutor, argue under stand your ground where he's concerned? >> the stand your ground law, the argument of self-defense, it's a modified self-defense argument, applies to the person accused of a crime and is seeking to claim self defense. i had to shoot him, stab him, do this, to defend myself? >> jamie: maybe trayvon was defending himself. is that fair? >> true. but trayvon is not charged with a crime. he could have been defending himself. this could have been a huge misconception. both of them could have been under the wrong impression. zimmerman, under the impression that he was a criminal.

trayvon under the misconception that he was a killer chasing him. >> you are making a great point. what is so spectacular and interesting, i believe that both of them could have been standing their ground under the right set of fact it is. vavon would have been justified in reacting to the aggression and zimmerman could argue he was stabbing his ground when hoo started to retreat and trayvon became the aggressor. that's unprecedented? >> jamie: what dodge the judge will do, mark? >> again, i just don't think that this judge, 16 months in -- or any judge wants to take this away from the hands of the jury because of the political climate, the death threats out there, i think the judge will let it go to the jury and then maybe a deal will be worked out or it will go to trial? >> jamie: april 20 is the date for the hearing. it's a case we will hear a lot about and the stand your ground law, we will have to see whether or not it continues. i haven't been able to find a judge who has made that call.

it's a toughy. thanks so much. always a privilege to have both of you. great panel today. >> thank you. thanks for having us. >> eric: the overnight devastation in the midwest is certainly heartbreaking. we have new video coming in to fox news this morning, showing how severe the damage is and the incredible extent of it. we have live team coverage from the heartland throughout the hour. stay with us. emily's just starting out... and on a budget. like a ramen noodle- every-night budget. she thought allstate car insurance was out of her reach. until she heard about the value plan. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate.

>> in the presidential campaign trail now. you know, this is the first weekend since republican rick santorum dropped out of the race. now attention is focused on the potential matchup between president obama and mitt romney. peter doocy, live in washington with what they are talking about it morning in the nation's capitol. >> reporter: hi, eric. the first sunday of the general election season has been taxes. earlier, it was revealed that president obama's effective tax rate this year is 20.5%, 10% lower than it would be if you were subject to the buffett rule to tax the rich at 30%. but his chief strategist, david axel rod says that the president has no reason to write the

treasury a check for the difference to help out with the dent. >> i take it he won't contribute mon tote treasury to cut the deficit. >> that's know the way we operate our tax system. we don't run bake sales. it is not about volunteerism. we kick in according to the system. >> reporter: the obama has asked for two decades of tax returns from mitt romney. but that won't happen because in elections past, democratic and republican candidates have been held to a much lower standard. >> from 2008, john mccain released two years of tax returns. in 2004, john kerry released 2 years of tax returns. and in 2012 governor romney will release 2 yeerz of tax returns. he has complied with the disclosure laws and has gone over and above for financial disclosure. >> reporter: governor romney is slightly ahead of president obama in the latest fox news poll.

but the election is more than half a year away. and david axel rod was dismissive of the two-point spread saying that he thinks the president can count on independents to push him over the top in november. >> eric: this is the unofficial beginning of the official beginning. thanks so much. jamie? >> jamie: right, eric. north korea's botched missile launch, not stopping the nag's new leader from rolling out hathey are claiming is a brand-new weapon. we will talk to a retired four-star general, jack keen about how to stop north korea from doing it again. if you have copd like i do,

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>> eric: the titanic sank today, 100 years ago. the media is commemorating this somber anniversary of the disaster that continues to fascinate in a variety of ways. liz trotta joins us, as she does every sunday at this time with her commentary. good morning, liz. >> good morning, eric. >> eric: it is titanic weekend. >> they are picking the bones clean. you know, it's the great story that keeps on giving. and you know, in 1985 when bob ballard, an american discovered the titanic, off the coast of the wreck off the coast of new finland, there was great interest. and then it waned. but those who saw the 100th anniversary coming, which is today, were gearing up for auctions, poem, broadway shows,

movies, the memorial services, there is a cruise going out to pray over the crash site, or i should say the sinking site. but, you know, to some good writing and very bad writing. one of the best examples of good writing was from the new zealand herald and greg dixon writes the following... like some ghost ship, she's dpoomed to spend eternity repeating, but never completing her maiden voyage from southampton to new york, a phantom liner on an endless voyage through popular culture, alerted popular history, national geographic documentaries and cheap and nasty cash-ins, until the tend tend -- until the end of time. take note, james cameron, who made the blockbuster, "titanic." one of the great stories of journalism competition in those

days happened because of the titanic. there was a great managing editor of the new york times in those days. he had a long-standing rivalry with charles chafen, the editor of the new york evening world. once the ship sank and the times came out with the first -- the first to come out with the news that it did sink, the ship which rescued 750 survivors was on its way to new york with a blackout, a news blackout, so the papers were going crazy. the new york times set up telephone lines between the hotel strand and the new york times office in times square. the new york evening world, under the city editor, was a very colorful figure, a st. louis dispatch reporter on the ship, and what he arranged to do was to go out in a tug and the

st. louis post dispatchman throws him his notes, from the great cruise, from interviews with the survivors. meanwhile, the editor of the times has called in the inventer of the wireless, which is how we got all the news, how they got all the news from the event. and they got his man on board, the times man on the ship and they were able to produce one of the telegraphers and had a first person exclusive, have been, an eyewitness account of what went on. these were great days in newspapering, no cell phones, you know? no charteredirplanes going over the crash site, just wireless and good, old-fashioned journalism. >> eric: maybe we should say a remember remembrance to those poor soul who is perished. >> thank you? >> jamie: have a great day.