this is a bad -- look at that the dog takes off. >> bret: that is it for this "special report." fair, balanced and unafraid. "special report" online with a new look starts right now. >> shepard: from new york, i'm shepard smith. on any other night, we could begin fox report with news that an nfl player is now charged with an execution-style murder. which today the new england patriots aaron hernandez was. or with the dramatic and confusing testimony of the prosecution's star witness in the most watched murder trial in this nation, which came today in central florida. or with the greatest living civil rights leader in the world, on life support, which tonight nelson mandela is. and we'll get to all of that, but the history books will remember this day for landmark supreme court rulings on civil rights. as the president put it, in america, discrimination is no longer enshrined in law.

>> the federal government can no longer discriminate against the marriages of gay and lesbian americans. [cheers] >> shepard: the decisions triggering eruptions of joy outside the supreme court. but not everybody is celebrating. >> we are disappointed but we're not going anywhere. this debate is going to continue it. >> shepard: tonight, we'll look at the rulings and their impact on a historic day in america. >> shepard: the supreme court wrapping up its term with two victories for marriage equality. the justices have now struck down part of the defense of marriage act or doma, which denied federal benefits to same sex couples. 1,000 or so benefits including tax breaks and pension payments that opposite sex couples enjoy. the high court also refused to reinstate proposition 8. california's ban on same sex marriage. but experts say that battle is not yet over.

[cheers] >> supporters of marriage equality celebrated outside the supreme court after the decisions came down today. the justices did not rule for or against same sex marriage itself. but the doma decision means thousands of gay couples in washington, d.c. and 12 states that recognize same sex marriage will get the same benefits as opposite sex married people. edith windsor, the 83-year-old woman who sued the federal government to make that happen had a one word reaction to the ruling. wow. >> children born today will grow up in a world without doma. and those same children who happen to be gay will be free to love and get married as i did but with the same federal benefits, protections, and dignity as everyone else. >> i cannot disagree more with today's supreme court decision. congress was well within its rights to define marriage as it has been construed for thousands of

years for federal purposes. >> shepard: house republicans defended doma in court after the obama administration refused calling the law unconstitutional. today, speaker john boehner, the majority leader in the people's houses he hopes most states will continue to limit marriage to one man and one woman. shannon bream on fox top story live in washington tonight. shannon, the court was deeply divided in both of these cases. >> shepard, here is a bit of the back and forth, writing the majority opinion, striking down that key provision in the defense of marriage act. justice anthony said. this invalid for no political purpose to disparage and injure those by the state marriage law sought to protect a person hood and dignity. three different descents in that case one by anthony scalia thought the majority was not ruling on the merits of same sex marriage did just that something scalia thought should have been left to play out at the state level, quote: we might have covered

ourselves with honor today by promising all sides of this debate that it was theirs to settle and we would expect their resolution. the court has cheated both sides. the administration says it will quickly figure out how to roll out the federal benefits to legally married same sex couples, shep? >> shepard: how do the two sides in this debate plan to move forward. >> of course as you would imagine there were celebrations at the court today including this reaction from one of the lead plaintiffs in the prop 8 case. >> today is a great day. we enter this building and we always see those words. equal justice under the law. and today we're closer to that equality. >> on the other side, traditional marriage advocates say they are relieved for now that the court didn't make any sweeping pronouncements endorsing same sex marriage and that for now it is still a state level decision. here's their advice to their supporters? >> i think the message is very clear. if do you not proactively act to protect marriage, activist politicians and judges will redefine it out

from under you. >> so, shep, for now the legal cases and the debate aren't quite wrapped up just yet. >> shepard: shannon, the white house says president obama called the defense of marriage plaintiff edith windsor from air force one on his way to africa. he also said, quote: this was enshrined in law. it treated loving, committed gay and lesbian couples as a separate and lesser class of people. the supreme court has righted that wrong and our country is better off for it. well, explosive and at times quite bizarre testimony at the george zimmerman murder trial in central florida today as the prosecution's star witness took the stand for the first time. her name is rachel jentel. her testimony is so important because she is the one that was on the phone with trayvon martin right before george zimmerman shot and killed him. zimmerman is on trial for murder in the second degree. he says he shot 17-year-old trayvon martin in

self-defense. today, jentel testified that trayvon martin saw george zimmerman following him and told her the guy looked creepy. >> did mr. martin say the guy kept looking at him? >> yeah. and that he just told me, he just wanted to try to lose him. >> so mr. martin told you he was going to try lose the man? >> yeah. by walking home. >> of course, trayvon martin never made it home. rachel jenteal said the last thing she heard was her friend struggling saying get off, get off and they want phone went dead. phil keating is in florida tonight. this star witness not a perfect witness but man, she made some very important points. >> she did. but she was not the best witness for the prosecution. for one, the jurors really had to strain to understand her. plus, in the past she has lied. for example, about why she skipped trayvon martin's funeral. however, she is the only witness to testify that zimmerman from the get-go was the aggressor.

>> i mean trayvon, and then he said why are you following me for? and then i heard a hard breath man saying what's you doing around here? >> before jeantel came forward last year. zimmerman had gone three weeks without arrest and one did not look imminent. thee days after she surfaces the governor appoints a special prosecutor. sanford's police chief steps aside and nationwide civil rights activists galvanized organizing marchers and getting louder until 44 days after the shooting george zimmerman is finally arrested and charged with second degree murder. shep? >> shepard: there was another witness today on the matter of who was heard screaming in the middle of this confrontation between the two. and this witness says it wasn't zimmerman. >> yeah. this woman, who is a neighbor of zimmerman's says in her 911 call you could really hear the distress in her voice. even the jurors were sighing. and of course the martin parents again on day three, wiping tears jane heard the

commotion. she heard two yells or screams and heard the gunshot. she believed those screams came from a 17-year-old's voice not a 28-year-old's. >> on my opinion i truly believe, especially the second yell for help that was like, you know, like a yelp it was excruciating. i really felt it was a boy's voice. >> and this morning a big ruling by the judge that five previous 911 calls made by the neighborhood watchman most involving suspicious black people in his neighborhood are relevant and admissible and this afternoon those five tapes were played for the jury to hear, which prosecutors shows the night he saw trayvon martin walking in the ring. >> shepard: more on the case including what appeared to be inconsistencies in the star witness' testimony. the star witness at one point said she heard the wet grass. that's coming up inside fox report.

now, to the new england patriots star aaron hernandez. today, the bombshell. is he now charged with the execution-style murder of a friend. a live report from court and how the patriot's camp reacted. that he was coming up. plus, a stun everywhere for the defending wimbledon champ roger federer. ahead, what happened on the grass at the all england club. from the journalists of fox news on this wednesday fox report. i think she tried to kill us. oh, i can barely move a muscle. i don't have any muscles left.

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♪ and she forgot to pay her credit card bill on time. good thing she's got the citi simplicity card. it doesn't charge late fees or a penalty rate. ever. as in never ever. now about that parking ticket. [ grunting ] [ male announcer ] to apply for the citi simplicity card go to citi.com/simplicity. it's the only card that never has late fees, a penalty rate, or an annual fee, ever. so apply today. >> shepard: the football star aaron hernandez is now charged with murdering one of his friends. orchestrating and execution as the prosecutor put it today. the now former new england patriots tight end appeared in court this afternoon, as the prosecutor laid out the case. and a stunning layout it was. aaron hernandez accused of killing semi pro-football player oden lloyd. blasing him in the chest in the side, and in the back. last week a jogger found lloyd's body about a mile

from hernandez home. the victim's relatives have said the two men were out together the night of the shooting. hernandez faces five weapons charges in connection with the case. before all of, this the tight end was a rising star with the patriots with a five year, 40-million-dollar contract. hours after the cops slapped the cuffs on him this morning and walked him from his mansion, the pats announced hernandez is off our team. molly line with the news outside the courthouse in attleboro, massachusetts for us. molly? >> shep, aaron hernandez pled not guilty to the murder and weapons charges. prosecutors say that he killed his friend oden lloyd 27 years old because lloyd had been talking with some people at a boston nightclub days earlier that hernandez did not want him to talk to. hernandez is the one they say that knew the victim. it is hernandez, prosecutors say, that texted two friends to join him on the drive up to the victim's home. and surveillance video, prosecutors say, puts a rental car rented in hernandez' name entering the industrial park where

the victim's body was found and then roughly five minutes later, leaving the area. prosecutors say people working the overnight shift in that area that night say they heard shots fired at around that time. when hernandez returned the rental car the next day, a company employee found a shell casing under the driver's seat that matched the shell casings found at the scene of the murder, say prosecutors. surveillance video, home surveillance video, shows the former patriot on camera, with a gun, moments after the killing, less than a mile from his home. all of that according to prosecutors. shep? >> shepard: molly line at the courthouse. molly, the defense lawyer said the former football player wasn't a flight risk at all. the judge denied hernandez' bail. after court the same lawyer responded to a question about how the client is doing with the words aaron's fine. perhaps the greatest tennis player in all the world is out at wimbledon. the man who beat roger federer, a ukrainian ranked

116th. it was a stunning upset that happened after a tough three hour match. knocking the defending champ federer out in the second round of the championships. after the loss, federer's face said it all. the guy who beat him in four sets has never before beaten the top 15 player. much less a tennis legend with 17 grand slams. the ukrainian who beat him said afterwards when you play roger federer at wimbledon, it's like you are playing two players. first, you play roger federer and then you play his ego. it's just the latest shock at wimbledon. a russian maria sharapova lost this morning. rafael nadal last out in the first round. two big headlines involving the new york yankees tonight. brian cashman regrets the words he used in an angry response to a tweet to his own third baseman alex rodriguez. a rod was giving update on hip injury. his tweet last night read:

visit from dr. kelly over the weekend who gave me the best news. the green light to play games again. cashman told a sports web site today that the team should have made that announcement. saying rodriguez should shut the [bleep] up. meantime, the yankees' first baseman mark tashera got awful news today. out for the season because of lingering injury to his wrist. his wrist has not healed properly after he hurt it hitting off a t back in march. quite the scene at the texas state capital last night where a sweeping bill to limit abortions failed at the last minute. after screaming protesters helped one lawmaker with her 12-hour plus filibuster. and now the texas governor rick perry says the fight is not yet over. plus, growing turmoil, again, in egypt. new today, the muslim brotherhood president now says the first year in office has been far from perfect. how he is vowing to fix the problems and reaction from

his many opponents. that's ahead as fox reports live tonight. ♪ when you experience something great, you want to share it. with everyone. that's why more customers recommend verizon, america's largest 4g lte network.

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>> shepard: looks like the long fight over abortion rights in texas could soon end round 2 after one senator's marathon filibuster. the republican governor rick perry said today is he asking lawmakers to hold a special second session to consider that sweeping new bill which would ban abortion after the 20th week of pregnancy. opponents claim it would also shut down most of the state's abortion clinics. supporters say it will improve women's healthcare yesterday the democratic state senator wendy davis spoke at the microphone for more than 12 hours to protest the bill. hundreds of supporters cheered her on. earlier this morning the state's lt. governor said he could not sign the bill

into law quote with all the ruckus and noise going on unquote. he added an unruly mob using occupy wall street tactics has tried all day to derail legislation that has been intended to protect the lives and the safety of women and babies. another official with the internal revenue service has pleaded the fifth while appearing before a house panel investigating the agency ted's panel helped a friend secure up to $500 million in agency contracts. after the irs worker refused to discuss the contracts. the panel's chairman, the republican congressman darrell issa, asked a question that seemed easier. >> mr. roseman, are you currently employed by the irs? >>' mr. chairman, on the advice of counsel, i respectfully decline to answer any questions and invoke my fifth amendment privilege to remain silent. >> shepard: as the chairman knew once you invoked you have to continue that way. this comes after lois

lerner, the now suspended head of the irs division for tax exempt organizations refused to answer questions about the agency's targeting of political groups. doug mckelway reports tonight from washington. doug? >> shep, this latest irs scandal involves the largest contract in irs history awarded to a company called strong castle incorporated. for new irs computers. its president raoul casteel won access to government minority contracts by claiming his business was in a disadvantaged area of washington, d.c. but he hired neighborhood students from expensive catholic university as employees. he got access to another minority contracting program by claiming he was a disabled vet. his wound? an ankle twisted during football at the u.s. military academy prep school 27 years ago. it prompted this reaction from iraq war vet and double amputee congresswoman tammy duck worth. >> i'm so glad that you would be willing to play football in prep school again to protect this great

country. shame on you, mr. casteel. shame on you. >> sheparding castillo contract through the close process was greg roseman. as evidence of their closeness, the committee published homophobe bic texting between the two men. roseman is still employed by the irs. >> you can issue a statement by 5:00 today as to how someone who used this lang in their official capacity as a government employee is still employed and drawing a paycheck? >> we are having discussions with our general counsel. >> on friday, the committee will vote whether it believes lois lerner waived her fifth amendment rights by first claiming the fifth and then moments later stating her innocence. she remains under subpoena. shep? >> shepard: doug, thanks. the four star general formerly in charge of military operations in africa, testified on capitol hill today about the u.s. response to last year's terror attack in benghazi, libya. it's the second time the

now retired general, carter ham has briefed lawmakers about that deadly assault. today's hearing was closed to the public but the georgia republican congressman austin scott tells fox news lawmakers learned a little more about efforts to bring the attackers to justice. four americans died in the attack on 9/11 of last year. including our ambassador to libya. chris stevens. president obama arrived in africa today for his second trip. the white house says the president hopes to spotlight trade and economic government. stop where he is scheduled to visit a museum dedicated to africans sent off to slavery in the americas. the first family plans to visit the nations of south africa and tanzania over the next several days. white house aides says there are contingency plans to cut the trip short in case the former south african president nelson mandela and civil rights leader takes a turn for the

worse. united kingdom reports the civil rights icon on life support. his spokesman tells fox news in light of these developments, the president has cancelled his one-day trip for a business conference on thursday. nelson mandela has spent weeks in the hospital with a lung infection. he became south after infantry caps first black president in 1994 after he had spent decades at a political -- as a political prisoner in his crusade to end apartheid. nelson mandela is 94. defense attorneys for george zimmerman say the prosecution could have a problem on its hands. so-called star witness admits she did lye in the past as we knew already. tense moments as defense attorneys question her credibility. some call him a hero, others call him a trader. vladimir putin says the nsa leaker is more like a piglet. [ male announcer ] what do you get when you take

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>> shepard: i'm shepard smith. this is "the fox report." it's the bottom of the hour. time for the top of the news. the prosecution's star witness as they put it in the george zimmerman trial admits she has lied. not once but twice. new the defense is trying to convince the jury that witness cannot be trusted. as we reported earlier in that first alert forecast

rachel jeantel was on the phone moments before george zimmerman shot him dead. george zimmerman says it was self-defense. this testimony could be critical to the prosecution's case that it was actually murder. during cross-examination by one of the defense attorneys, the attorney grilled the witness about inconsistencies in her earlier statements. likely not helping matters, the witness at times got down right hostile with zimmerman's attorney. >> i had told you -- are you listening? >> yes, ma'am. >> i had told you what happened to me in interview -- are you listening? >> one more time. i'm sorry. i was distracted. >> shepard: hear that, he was distracted. she is due back in court tomorrow when defense attorneys are expected to again try to attack her credibility. she didn't like the idea of that either. it was a fascinating afternoon. trace gallagher is on it for us this evening. trace, it was a whole series of things. she made some points that

are going to be very important but, man, the curve balls. >> yeah. and you have got to remember these lawyers build their cases on depositions and interviews and statements that are made before the trial. so when the statements don't match up with the testimony, their there tends to be a credibility problem. as you reported rachel jeantel has been caught lying not once. she said she was 16 years old when she was in fact 18 years old. she lied about during an interview with the martin family attorney why she did not attend trayvon martin's funeral. listen. >> why didn't you go to his wake? >> i was sick. >> had you to spend the night in the hospital? >> yes. >> >> now she admits, of course, she was never in the hospital and maybe some would say that's a little thing. but for the prosecutors it might be an overall much bigger hurdle. >> shepard: it probably could be a much bigger hurdle. then there were all the

inconsistencies which may as well be a problem. >> right. and if you consider this, i mean rachel jeantel for all intents and purposes is the voice of trayvon martin because she was the last person to actually talk to him. so, if it's true, her testimony is very, very powerful for the prosecution. but, she is on the record assaying that she heard trayvon martin ask george zimmerman, quote: why are you following me?" zimmerman spawning, quote: what are you doing? well now the defense claims they have audio to prove that she changed her story. listen now to this exchange before the defense attorney and jeantel. >> trayvon martin said to the man why you following me? and the man's response was: what are you talking about? >> i did not say that did i not say that i don't recall i say that. >> and then you changed it. and then you said.

>> i can't explain crump interview. crump interview i really didn't want to do the interview with with crump. so i -- because i really did not want to be on the phone talking about a situation. >> she also went on to say that she didn't take this case all that seriously and she said at one point in time, shep, when trayvon martin dropped his phone she could hear the wet grass but, still, if the jury believes her testimony, she could be a very powerful prosecution witness. >> shepard: they could believe parts of it and not believe others. trace, thanks. she will be back on the stand tomorrow. the defense is call that witness back at 9:00 a.m. the witness response a very angry, what? either way, fox news will have more of her testimony tomorrow morning both here and at foxnews.com. well, time may be running out for ed snowden, the nsa leaker reportedly hiding out in moscow's airport. the russians say he is in a transit zone and that they have no plans to send him back to the united states or anywhere else. russian officials say

transit visas are usually good for only three days. so if ed snowden even has a visa, it would, in theory, expire today. the russian president vladimir putin says he hopes he will not have to deal with the snowden showdown much longer. because, as putin put it, quote: it's like shearing a piglet, too much squealing. too little wool. catherine herridge live in d.c. tonight. wow. >>' well, shep, if that transit visa expires tonight snowden will need a tourist visa. the russian embassy here in washington says you have to apply for these visas before you get to moscow. you can't pick them up at arrival at that airport. after snowden was a no show on monday flight from cuba. there are current noe current reservations for him. and snowden's contacts with the chinese and russian governments travel limbo could be the difference between the original espionage charges and higher crimes. >> the end result is

probably a life sentence, potential on either charge. but if there is treason charge it, carries a death sentence as well. it's actually a constitutional crime, too. >> the state department today answering questions about whether documents for snowden's arrest were messed up. >> the paperwork we had given to hong kong was in order. certainly we will take a look with our justice colleague. >> something as minute as that, would that have been enough to have impeded the extradition? >> the hong kong authorities knew exactly how we felt about this particular individual. we were very clear. >> tonight, the justice department confirms that mr. were inconsistencies on snowden's middle name and the u.s. did not provide a passport anybody either. justice department spokesman said these technicalities did not prevent hong kong from arresting snowden under that extradition treaty, shep. in transit ed snowden will join a list of politicized activists and refugees who have been stranded in legal limbo between arrival gate and customs. in 2007, an iranian

dissident spent 11 months living in that same moscow airport with her children before finding asylum in canada. another iranian lived in an airport in paris for 18 years. after iran expelled him. in fact, dream works paid him several hundred thousand dollars to use his story for the tom hanks movie the terminal. ed snowden could sit in transit zone limbo for months while ecuador decides whether to grant him asylum. he could. that's from ecuador's foreign minister who noted today had took two months to grant asylum to wikileaks founder julian assange. meantime snowden may want to rethink asylum in ecuador given that new report that its government appears to have been seeking large scale domestic surveillance tools similar to those of the nsa. that's according to buzz feed. it reports that obtained secret documents that show ecuador's government has been targeting president

rafael political enemies on social media. how interesting. "the fox report's" chief correspondent jonathan hunt is with us tonight. jonathan, you have met the president, he has no qualms about upsetting the americans. >> none whatsoever. we traveled to ecuador just after the president was first elected. he invited us to a breakfast and was happy to talk to me there about his thoughts about u.s. foreign policy and about then president bush. listen. >>' we are very thankful to your bush because thanks to these policies, there are a lot of government very successful in the bridge. >> and one of president's first acts as president was to announce that he was closing the air base used by the united states in drug interdiction operation in the pacific. a critical base according

to u.s. officials that was responsible for the seizure of a billion dollars worth of narcotics in 2006. the president closed that down and threw the u.s. out, shep. >> shepard: officials from the government of ecuador are now confirming that they are considering this asylum request, right? >> yes. they are. they say they will consider it but they will take their time in doing so and they will make their decision theirs and according to international laws. now, a statement issued by the ecuador embassy in washington, d.c. said in part, quote: this current situation is not being provoked by ecuador. as the government of ecuador carries out its obligations, the embassy of ecuador strongly rejects recent statements made by united states government officials containing detrimental, untrue and unproductive claims about ecuador. a state department spokesman would not comment on any conversations between the two nations earlier today. listen. >> i'm not going to get into our diplomatic

exchanges with ecuador. we will continue to be in discussion with them. >> and those discussions likely to become a lot more heated if ed snowden does indeed head to ecuador, shep. >> shepard: i'm sure they will. jonathan hunt, thanks so much. we got big news out of egypt today and frankly none of it sounds very good. egypt's president mohammed more is i admitted i have made mistakes on a number of issues. but one year into his presidency, is he vowing radical and quick reforms. whatever that means. he has invited supporters and critic it does work on new amendments to the nation's constitution. this is raising red flags. remember, morsey, the muslim brotherhood candidate took office last year after the uprising that toppled the regime of egypt's long time president hosni mubarak. arguing egypt's problems have not gone away. far from it. severe fuel shortage has forced many egyptians to wait hours in long lines. protests continue. in fact, the opponents say they are planning another mass demonstration for this weekend.

he this are demanding morsi step down as president right now. today's supreme court ruling in the united states may not be the last word on california's gay marriage ban. that's what supporters of proposition 8 are still saying tonight. we'll find out where the legal battle goes from here. plus, how criminals got a huge payday during a robbery that unfolded in a matter of seconds. that's coming up. [ lighter flicking ] [ male announcer ] you've reached the age where giving up isn't who you are. ♪ this is the age of knowing how to make things happen. so, why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help

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>> shepard: could be weeks before gay couples in california can get married again. that's the word from a federal appeals court in dispran. today as we reported earlier the supreme court refused to reinstate california's ban on same sex marriage. officials say supporters of proposition 8 can ask the high court to rehear that case. and for now the ban is still in effect. claudia cowan is live for us live this afternoon in san francisco. hi, claudia. >> good evening, shepard. many same sex couples here in california already making wedding plans. the legal wrong divling is not over yet. supporters of prop 8 say they will fight to limit this ruling to only the two couples who challenged the ban on gay marriage and in a statement today said, quote: we will continue to defend prop 8 and seek its enforcement until such time as there is a binding statewide order that renders prop 8 unenforceable. still today's ruling is historic and especially meaningful to chris perry and sandy steer of berkeley. they were among the first couples to tight knot in san francisco back in 2004.

only to have their marriage nullified by the courts. along with two gay men from l.a., they filed the landmark case that led to today's smowrlt ruling and now to the legal certainty that their remarriage will stick. we're going to be equal. now we will be married and we will be equal to every other family in california. thank you. >> according to a study out of ucla. 24,000 same sex couples want to tie the knot right now. the ninth circuit court of appeals appeal has to lift the stay of the trial court's ruling overturning prop 8 and the appeals court saying it won't do that for at least 25 days. even amid all the cheering and celebrating, it is more waiting tonight for gay couples in california who want to exchange vows. shep? >> shepard: claudia, thanks. a few more points on the supreme court and other matters. just yesterday the court made another historic ruling striking down a key part of the 1956 voting rights act.

that takes away the federal government's power block changes election laws in certain parts of the country. now the feds have to wait until those challenges take effect to challenge them. on monday the justices decided not to decide on a case about affirmative action on campuses telling lower court to take a look at it justices have agreed to hear another case about affirmative action in public universities in the next term. also on the docket a battle over native american gaming and tribal rights. and another on whether president obama had the power to appoint members of the national labor relations board without senate confirmation. the white house says the senate was in recess at the time. but an appeals court ruled the can only side step the senate in between sessions. not during breaks within a session. so there you go, the court. cops say five men took 15 seconds to steal nearly a million dollars worth of jewelry. that tops our news across america. georgia. surveillance video captured

the lightning quick smash and grab. the suspects casually walked into a store at an atlanta mall. they pulled out hammers, broke into the glass cases and made off with $950,000 rolexs. police found the suspect's abandoned get away van not far from the mall and that it had been stolen in detroit. missouri, underground explosion shot flames and thick black smoke into the streets of downtown st. louis. fire crews say it started with a fire in an underground electrical transformer. nearby, officials evacuated hundreds of people from one of the city's largest office buildings. nobody hurt and no word yet on how that transformer caught fire. texas. rescuers saved three college students after their boat started sinking in a lake near dallas. the students say they were tubing when the boat hit something, knocking loose its drain plug. they phoned for help when

the boat started taking on water. as rescuers tried to pull it to their craft, the student's boat flipped over and the girls went right into the drink. crews pulled them aboard to safety and that's a fox watch across america. >> shepard: the billionaire at the center of one ever the biggest tax evasion cases in u.s. history died today. the story of marc rich and bill clinton's presidential pardon which unleashed a political firestorm all those years ago. that's coming up. when you experience something great, you want to share it. with everyone. that's why more customers recommend verizon, america's largest 4g lte network.

>> shepard: celebrity chef paula deen broke down in tears this morning as she spoke out about the racial slur controversy that's been taking a toll on her career. today she admitted to nbc's

mat lauer on "the today show" that she has used the "n" word. she said it happened only once when she was describing how somebody robbed her at gunpoint. and she said she has been getting a bad rap lately. >> i have had to hold friends in my arms while they have sobbed because they know what's being said about me. it's not true. and i am having to comfort them. and tell them it's going to be all right. if god got us to it he will get us through it. >> shepard: paula deen faced accusations she once discussed throwing a southern plantation style cost deal with smithfield foods, caesar's entertainment and wal-mart. billionaire oil trader at the center of one of the biggest tax evasion cases in u.s. history and key

player in the controversy over former president bill clinton's last minute pardons has died. mark rich was 78. he escaped the u.s. from switzerland in the early 1980s to dodge a number of criminal accusations, including working with iran during the arab oil embargo. it landed him a spot on the fbi's most wanted list. but his connections to some powerful people came into question during president clinton's so-called pardon gate scandal. jolene kempf live from our new york city newsroom. joe? >> shep, he he was called the king of commodities. white collar criminal. purchased crude oil from iran and iraq made a fortune selling it to american companies a decade later he bought 20th century fox and sold it later to current news corps ceo rupert murdoch to $250 million. of course news corps is the parent company of fox news news. a few years later he was indicted on federal grand jury or man than 50 counts

of fax fraud and trading with iran during the hostage crisis. he was convicted of skipping out on more than $48 million in income taxes. he went running in a chase that spanned four countries until bill clinton pardoned him in a move that was highly controversial. shep? >> shepard: you can't swing by superman but new art exhibit is letting folks climb straight up a wall. wait until you see how this works. even in stupid loud plac. to prove it, we set up our call center right here... [ chirp ] all good? [ chirp ] getty up. seriously, this is really happening! [ cellphone rings ] hello? it's a giant helicopter ma'am. [ male announcer ] get it done [ chirp ] with the ultraugged ocera torque, only from sprint direct conct. buy one get four free for your business.

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. >> shepard: so is there is a new art exhibit in london, right? it gives people the chance to defy gravity or at least look like it. these appear to be climbing on the outside of this house, right? and look there goes spider man. it's all an allusion. in realty they are crawling on the ground. the artist said he did it with mirrors. one big mirror, actually. he made a flat replica of an old town house and set up a large mirror over it at a 45-degree angle. see there? the reflection makes it look vertical. updating some of our top stories tonight. the supreme court struck down the defense of marriage act. it defined marriage of one man and one woman for purposes of federal benefits. the high court refused to reinstate california's gay marriage ban. the prosecution's star witness in the george zimmerman murder trial had testimony today about her final phone call with trayvon martin before zimmerman shot him dead. she said martin shouted get off, get off. among other things.

and the nfl star aaron hernandez now faces murder and weapons charges. investigators he shot and killed his friend. the new england patriots released hernandez shortly after his arrest today. and on this day in 1956, congress approved the federal highway act, which would become one of the largest public construction projects ever in america. several lawmakers have come up with rival plans for highway program, in january of '56, president dwight eisenhower called for national system of roads in his state of the union address. so one congressman drafted a revised bill, funding some 41,000 miles of interstate. it passed the senate and the house nearly uncontested. eisenhower signed off on it three days later. work began almost immediately. the program created 10s of thousands of jobs and turned america into a nation of drivers. and congress helped pave the way 57 years ago today.

were oh the 405. thank goodness. hope you have a good night. >> laura: the o'reilly factor is on. tonight: thank you to the constitution and thank you to justice that was served today in this court. it was aan amazing day. >> laura: the supreme court hands down two major decisions on gay marriage, striking down parts of the defense of marriage act and clearing the way for same sex couples to tie the knot in california. >> what does this mean for america? we'll have a debate. >> nobody worries or cares about what obama says because it carries no weight. >> laura: barack obama's second term off to a very rocky start as he struggles to contain scandals on several fronts. now his polling is taking a severe hit. we'll have analysis. >> i have never, with any intention, hurt anybody on