happy holidays to all of you. >> my dad had a heart 'em transatlanta a couple weeks ago -- transplant a couple weeks ago, happy thanksgiving. >> see you tomorrow bright and early on fox and friends. gregg: the supercommittee's super failure could have millions of people paying the price. washington may be shut down for the holidays, but a massive tax hike is looming for nearly every american family. good morning, everyone, and happy thanksgiving to you, i'm gregg jarrett here in "america's newsroom." heather: and i'm heather childers in for martha. the supercommittee's crash and burn putting payroll tax hikes at risk. gregg: if they expire at the end of the year without any action, you just may have to pay a whole lot more.

peter doocy live in washington with more. peter, tell us what could happen at the end of the year. >> reporter: gregg, you know, it's the eve of the biggest shopping day of the year, a lot of americans are going out of their way to save money, but they might end occupy losing money if congress can't extend that payroll tax cut. because president obama says if they don't do that by the end of this year, it's going to cost the average american family a thousand bucks. >> end of text month, end of the year, this tax cut ends. and if we allow that to happen, if congress refuses to act, then middle class families are going to get hit with a tax increase at the worst possible timement. >> reporter: congress also has to extend unemployment insurance by the end of the year or else that's going to run out, too, and democrats say this is congress' big chance to show constituents that they can do something. >> this is the way to begin fresh. we let everybody down with the supercommittee, let's begin

fresh by giving everybody something that we know everybody wants. there can't possibly be any controversy on this one. >> reporter: and even though delegate eleanor holmes norton says there she doesn't think there could be any controversy on this one, we should expect a big debate about how these extensions are going to be paid for, gregg. gregg: yeah, that's the big problem. peter, nobody wants to be called a grinch around christmas, so it comes at a pretty tough time politically. what are republicans saying about this? >> reporter: they're saying that the white house better not try to paint the congress as do-nothing if nothing ends up happening here. speaker boehner already out with a paper statement saying, quote, we told the president in september that we stand ready to have an honest and fruitful discussion with him regarding the payroll tax extension, and that invitation stands. and so extending the payroll tax cut and these unemployment benefits, gregg, would cost about $200 billion. that's a lot of money, unfortunately, and congress no black friday discount. gregg: yeah, no kidding.

peter doocy, thanks very much live in washington. >> reporter: yep. heather: we're following a developing story out of arizona for you. six people including three children are now dead following a small plane crash near phoenix. investigators say that the two-engine aircraft slammed into an area of rugged peaks in the superstition mountains. >> this is a six-hour hike to even get to this crash site. the is one gps ranger that was dropped via air. he made his way to as close to the wreckage site as he could get, he has been able to identify a tire from the airplane which suggests that it is possibly a twin-engine airplane, not a commercial airplane which i know is good news for everybody on this holiday. still bad news, obviously, for anybody involved. heather: recovery operations are now underway, the faa and the

national transportation safety board are investigating the cause of the crash. gregg: and, in fact, heather, witnesses are saying they could actually see the smoke and fire from that crash site from several miles away. some each reporting a -- some even reporting a large cloud of flames from behind the mountains. >> i looked backwards, and i saw an orange spark fly up, and i thought it was a firework. and it just exploded, and it came back down, and then a big poof came up. gregg: there it is, you can see it. we're going to have a live report from the scene near phoenix, arizona, coming up in the next hour. heather: well, some rough weather expected for parts of the country today as americans head out to visit their families this thanksgiving. it is, as you probably have heard, one of the busiest travel days of the year. maria molina is live in the fox weather center with details for us. >> reporter: hey, good morning, heather, happy thanksgiving to everyone.

we do want to start off with a little bit of good news. there is a large high pressure system that's basically set up today across the center of the country and the eastern half of the country, two areas that did have to deal with some unsettled weather over the past several days. you're going to get a lot of sunshine, temperatures chilly this morning, but they will be rebounding nicely throughout the afternoon hours. where we have the mess is out west. that's where we're seeing a big trough setting up across the region, there's a frontal system moving through the north west, and across california we're starting to see some of that moisture pushing onshore. most of the heavy stuff east of san francisco, and some of the highest elevations across the mountains picking up a little bit of know. but most of the passes should be clear, should remain mostly as rape. as we head further north, passes should not be too good. some of the clouds pushing onshore, and you're going to see heavy rain across seattle, portland and the mountains

picking up significant snowfall, a foot or even more across the highest elevations. current temperatures out west, very chilly. 38 right now in seattle, but should be warming up just a little bit. coldest area across the u.s., heather, will be in the northwest. heather: thank you very much, maria, and happy thanksiving to dow you. gregg? gregg: the tea party has yet to officially back a gop contender in the 2012 presidential race, it's a fact that comes as, well, somewhat of a surprise to the head of one of the movement's key groups. take a listen. >> honestly, ron, i mean, i don't know. i don't know that, um, who we're going to support. i would have thought that we would have already been supporting somebody -- >> i know it's hard to especially here right now to break news on who the tea party -- >> yeah, well, we're -- >> who do you think would be the best candidate to really go at

barack obama? >> that's the worst thing is i don't know. last night after the debate i posted on my facebook wall that i felt worse after that debate, and i'm going to go start a cupcake shop. [laughter] greg freg well, if she doesn't know, maybe they don't like any of them. david hockings, editor of cq's roll call daily briefing. michele bachmann, rick perry and rick santorum should be tea party favorites, and yet their poll numbers are absolutely abysmal. is the influence of the tea party beginning to diminish? what's going on here? >> well, i think -- i don't think the influence of the tea party is beginning to diminish. i think it's a little early yet. they've still got a little time to get themselves together. one thing that, of course, we need to remember is the tea party is not a monolith, it's not even, i would argue, as monolithic at the socially conservative movement. the tea party is a pretty

diffuse group. they actually stand for a relatively broad range of things, and so the challenge is for them to come together if they want to have the most influence, it'll be tough for them to come together behind one candidate and articulate a clear message as to why because so many tea party people advocate different things. breg greg newt gingrich surprised a lot of people by advocating the legalization of roughly 11 million illegal immigrants and, quickly, he was slammed by his fellow contenders for advocating amnesty. in iowa, particularly western iowa, apparently it is not playing very well. steven king, as you know, very influential in iowa politics among republicans and a leading voice against illegal immigration said this. quote: when you have a campaign that's ascending and you make a statement like that, it's like you're backing off on the throttle and diminishing yourself. and a top aide to the republican governor, terry branstad, said

this: iowa caucusgoers want a solution that does not include amnesty, and if they can paint newt with an amnesty brush, it will be toxic for his campaign. did he shoot himself in the foot among tea party advocates? >> perhaps some tea party advocates unless those advocates are willing to reward him for the sort of candor, willing to rebut the conventional wisdom. presumably, that's part of what speaker gingrich was doing at the debate, was trying to signal to the voters that he's willing to take on some orthodoxy, think outside the box, try and think in a new way. his comments on immigration tough to synthesize because they were not quite amnesty for everyone, and they were not quite lock down the border for everyone. he was trying to find a middle ground. that's tough to do. hopefully, for him he feels like he can sell it as his iowa chairman greg ganske says as a

way to get candid. gregg: i wonder if he's going to get rescued by none other than sarah palin? according to her aides she, i mean, the guy who has the inside track may be newt gingrich for her endorsement, and she might make an endorsement before somebody emerges as the eventual nominee. given sarah palin's standing in the tea party, how powerful would that be for gingrich? >> oh, i think it would definitely propel him into the, into the front ranks as the conservative alternative, the most conservative alternative to mitt romney. it would be a forceful combination of sort of the heart-based conservativism of sarah palin and the head-based conservativism of newt gingrich. gingrich, you know, the man with a thousand ideas, he's said almost everything about everything, and sarah palin who, you know, just continues to really galvanize social conservatives and tea partiers

who sort of see her as this shining light even though she's not running. gregg: well, newt gingrich carries more baggage than a colombian mule, so he's got to get over that, not just among the tea party. good to see you, thanks very much. happy thanksgiving to you, sir. >> to you as well, gregg. gregg: all right. heather: and those are just a few of the many stories that we're following for you this morning in "america's newsroom" on this thanksgiving. coming up, michele bachmann launching new attacks on the campaign trail. who she says is the most liberal candidate in the gop field. gregg: and while you're checking items off your shopping list, you may want to think twice about what you're touching. that's right, a brand new study revealing the germiest places at the shopping malls, and they're going to make you cringe, trust me. gregg: plus, an incredible story of survival, a pilot narrowly escaping death and living to

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heather: well, some diehard black friday shoppers ready for the deal. this is best buy that you're looking at. this happens to be in knoxville, tennessee. the store opens at midnight, but some shoppers have been camping outside for the past three days. take a listen. >> i think we're going to be, we're pretty pumped up to get this deal. so we're missing our thanksgiving dinner with our families. >> we have more people coming up here, so it's not just us three. we have, like, my sister, her boyfriend and my girlfriend's coming up. heather: but not everyone is happy about this year's early start, next hour why employees at one store are trying to fight the new early start time. gregg: some new calls for tougher sanctions against iran as serious concerns remain about

the country's nuclear activities. leaders of several house committees now urging the president to take a much firmer action. take a listen. >> certainly, it was eye-opening, what the international atomic energy agency disclosed. they're making numerous steps towards it. i think there has been some setbacks and arguably with the ability to interrupt their movement by virtue of the cyber activities that have taken place, of the stuxnet among other kinds of things, but they're on a path, and we've got a window. this, again, was the testimony before our committee from the experts, and we need to take advantage of this window. because once they are there, the dynamics are going to change dramatically. gregg: here, now, john bolton, former ambassador to the united nations, fox news contributor. do you buy that, ambassador? are we still within a window, or has the window passed? >> well, i think the most likely outcome right now is that iran will get nuclear weapons because i don't think any sanctions that

anybody has talked about are conceivably going to be strong enough to stop them from doing that. i mean, sanctions to be effective have sob universal -- to be universeally applied whether it's sanctions on leaders going around the various countries in the region. and when you have russia, china, venezuela and others perfectly happy to help iran avoid the sanctions, the odds of anything really affecting their nuclear program are close to zero. gregg: here's what newt gingrich said the other night at the debate. take a listen to this. >> i think it's a good idea, i mean, i think replacing the regime beforthey get a nuclear weapon without a war beats replacing the regime with a war which means allowing them to have a nuclear weapon. gregg: he went on to say if we were serious, we could break the iranian regime within a year by cutting off the oil supply and sabotaging the only refinery

they have. would that do it? >> well, they have more than one refinery, number one. and number two, the chinese have been constructing additional refining capabilities for the iranians. but, you know, you need somebody who's prepared to use military force whether it's against the refinery or against the nuclear program itself. that isn't going to come from the obama administration. gregg: right. >> so the spotlight really is on israel. i think iran is very close to achievement anding its -- achieving its objective of getting nuclear weapons. i'm not sure there's much time left. gregg: you told me february 8th of last year, and i looked at the interview again on our air, i want to quote you. you said there are two outcomes. one is iran gets nuclear weapons, the other is israel or somebody else uses military force to stop it, that's where we are. i take it from your comments you still believe that. how would you handicap military action by israel? >> i think the odds have grown higher for that. honestly, i'm surprised israel

hasn't struck already. in fact, sometime ago. because the risk here is that given our intelligence inside iran is to be polite far from perfect, that iran may actually have duplicate alternative facilities for uranium enrichment, uranium conversion than we know about. so that a successful strike even on the sites we now know may not be enough to cripple the program. and the risk of that grows every day. that military window is closing. gregg: what would be the blowback in the region were israel to engage in a tactical strike against iran's nuclear facilities? >> here's the most critical point. the arab states of the persian gulf region would welcome an israeli attack that destroyed iran's nuclear weapons program. they don't want iran to have nuclear weapons any more than israel does. now iran itself would respond, no doubt about it, i think most likely by unleashing hezbollah and hamas to rocket attack

innocent israeli civilians. so the risk is real, there's no doubt about it. gregg: if there were not a military strike against those nuclear facilities, would that unleash an arms race in the middle east, turkey, saudi arabia, egypt? they would all want to match the nuclear weapon capability of iran. >> absolutely. at least those three. that's why the idea that i'm afraid the obama administration shares that you can contain a nuclear iran is wrong. even if you could, iran's not the end of it. that's why the focus has to be or at least should be on stopping iran from getting a nuclear weapons capability in the first place. gregg: ambassador john bolton, many thanks for being with us, and happy thanksgiving to you and your family. >> happy thanksgiving to you. gregg: thank you. heather: brand new developments on three american college students arrested amid violent protest in egypt. one of their mothers now speaking out.

gregg: plus, giving thanks to our troops while they serve thousands of miles from home. we're going to show you how our brave men and women are celebrating overseas. we're going to go live to afghanistan. ♪ >> hi, my name is staff sergeant donna davis -- >> and i'm staff sergeant larry davis. >> we want to wish my brother, my sister, all my nieces and nephews out in houston, texas, a happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanksgiving. we love you guys, and god bless. ♪ [ adrianna ] when i grill lobster, i make sure it's a melt in your mouth kind of experience. [ john ] the wood fires up the grill a little bit hotter so you really get a good sear and it locks in the juices. surf & turf -- you n't go wrong [ male announcer ] don't miss red lobster's surf & turf event. choose from three grilled combinations all under $20. like our maine lobster with peppercorn sirloin or our new bacon-wrapped shrimp with blue cheese sirloin for $14.99. [ adrianna ] i think the guests are going to take a bite

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>> hi, i'm -- [inaudible] stationed ate hall bad, ask, i'd like to wish a happy

thanksgiving to my sister in oklahoma city, oklahoma. i hope you're having a great thanksgiving and enjoying all the turkey. love you dearly. all right, bye-bye. ♪ heather: a very special message there from our troops stationed in afghanistan. on this thanksgiving day, nearly 100,000 meals are being prepared creating a little taste of home for those serving overseas. our conor powell caught up with some of the troops enjoying the holiday in afghanistan. connor? >> reporter: well, good morning and happiness that giving, heather. we are streaming to you live from a plywood and sandbag bunker here at combat outpost nevada, this is in the remote area of kunar province, one of the most violet and deadly places in all of afghanistan, and it's been a really interesting time to be here with the soldiers here at this combat outpost. just to give you a littleceps of where we're at right now, this combat outpost is so remote that each day a donkey brings up hot

food to this combat outpost so these guys can eat here. today, however, thanks giving turkey, stuffing, potatoeses, everything was flown in on a helicopter, so they actually got a warm, good meal. and i'm happy to be joined here by private first class timothy strong who's here serving in afghanistan to talk a little bit about what thanksgiving is like here at combat outpost nevada. >> it's been an eventful day, a lot of activity, a lot of insurgents, so it's nice to sit downith the family we've got here even though we can't be back home and, you know, just the share good times with the guys that we have got here. >> reporter: and just to put in a sense what he's talking about, the family here, it's a pretty small group. there's only about ten or so people here, and they are living, eating, breathing together. it's a very small space. what is it about home that you miss the most? >> just being with family at this time. you appreciate the laughs you get to have back home. here you get to have that same thing, but just being around

close family and friends back home. >> reporter: now, there is a real sense of family here, but i know that privacy first class strong wants to say hello to his real family, so i'll give him a chance now. >> i'd like to say hi to my family and friends, i love you and miss you, and especially my wife, i love you, and i'll see you soon. >> reporter: back to you. heather: happy thanksgiving to you as well. thank you. gregg: well, a potentially explosive situation in the middle east. why the u.s. military has now stationed an aircraft carrier off the coast of syria. we've got a live report straight ahead. heather: plus, black friday taking over thanks giving. we will show you how hundreds of shoppers this year are actually skipping the turkey, gregg, to fight their way to the registers. gregg: lots of deals, you've got to take advantage. heather: not me. ♪ [ male announcer ] wake up, sleepyheads.

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so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates.

gregg: there are some brand new report that is the uss george h.w. bush is now parked off the syrian coastline, this as the u.s. embassy urges americans to leave the country immediately, the warning coming after monthslong gone straights and a bloody crackdown that have rocked syria, an ally of iran. amy kellogg has the details. what can you tell us about the

aircraft carrier in the region? >> reporter: well, it is, in fact, in the mediterranean, and syria does sit on the mediterranean, so some people are making the connection between the ongoing violence in syria and the arrival of the aircraft carrier there. but we just spoke to someone at the u.s. sixth fleet in italy who said that, in fact, the aircraft carrier is there but that any connection between its presence and events in syria is pure specklation, gregg. he said that it's transiting west, it's on its way home from what he called a routine six month deployment in the gulf. gregg? gregg: you know, amy, france said today that no military option is on the table, but what other measures are people willing to take? >> yes. the french are really outfront on this issue right now, and the foreign minister, gregg, has suggested the creation of a humanitarian corridor to get supplies into syria. he is seeking the backing of the arab league which is meeting

today on the subject of syria for that. it would need to be an armed convoy or an armed corridor. they're not talking about military action, but this gets into a very, a very sort of gray area. the first talk of some foreign intervention in syria as this crisis spirals out of control with 4,000 protesters having been killed. the arab league is also discussing economic sanctions against syria which would be senate. the european union has assistancedder ya, but the arab world does an awful lot of business, and this would be quite significant. trying to get some monitors into the country, but if syria is suspended from the arab league, it would be a psychological boost to the protesters, to the opposition who are continuing on as we speak. back to you. gregg: amy kellogg live in london, thanks very much. >> reporter: you're welcome. gregg: we're going to be talking to a retired u.s. military man,

what exactly will america's role be in syria? heather: well, thanksgiving means that black friday is only hours away. but beating the crowds for the best deals isn't the only challenge. you could also end up fighting some nasty germs. check out this list of the top eight germiest places in shopping malls. at the top of the list, restroom sinks. and then it's food court tables, escalator handrails, toy stores, fitting rooms -- hadn't thought of that one -- gadget shops, of course, and finally makeup samples. fox news medical a-teamer dr. marc siegel joins us now. you have to walk around and touch things, especially when you're shopping. you want to touch and feel and pick up the gadgets and the toys. >> it's common areas, heather. and i want to add one.

right here at this table. i brought my sanitary wipes. i'm starting in right here just to make sure that i don't carry germs. but seriously, you know, there was a study that showed a few years ago that, actually, you pass the common cold this way. if you use hand wipes right after you're in a common area, after you use that escalator handrail, after you sit at that food court table and you watch somebody with a dirty rag wiping your table, if you bring your own wipes, you cut down on transmitting the common cold dramatically. 60% of the bugs that give us our stomach infections we carry on our hands, and we transmit them for 24 hours. heather: does the level of alcohol in the wipes matter? >> absolutely. 6 a 5-95% alcohol is what you need. the only problem with the wipes, by the way, is they actually dry your hands, then more bacteria can get in. i actually recommend hand washing over wipes with soap and warm water for about 30 seconds.

of course, on your way out of the public restroom, that doorknob may be covered with germs for the person on the way in. he health yeah. >> so it's problematic. you've got to be on the lookout for this. gregg: everybody uses the changing room to try on clothes, see if it fits, see if it doesn't. it's one of the germiest places. is that the facility itself or the clothes you're trying on? >> you know, it's absolutely the case, toy stores are even worse because kids are sucking on the toys. a chinese study showed that the atm machine carries 1200 germs on the key pad. i mean, that's unbelievable. so if you're going to get money out, get that money but right away use those sanitizers. heather: you mentioned washing your hands for 30 seconds. i've always heard the old rule of saying your abcs? >> or singing happy birthday. heather: that's it. gregg: i was at a restaurant the other day, and the busboy comes by, and he wipes down the table.

is that a problem? >> well, because he's using that same rag over and over again, and it's definitely dirty. i actually cripg when i see that. and i think that's a reason to bring your own wipes. i mean, maybe the restaurant's going to get upset with you, but use your own wipes on the table after he passes or say to the waiter, i don't want this table wiped down, i'm going to do it myself. now, look, i'm not telling people to be germophobes. i'm reminding people because it's black friday. i don't want people to only be thinking of this, i don't want people walking around with masks and gloves. you can go too far with this, but you've got to be conscious of it. heather: that's what's funny. my dad, actually, sent me a mask to wear this season because i got really sick, as you'll recall, last year. i had a cough that i couldn't get rid of. gregg: mask. that would be an interesting look for you. heather: especially anchoring the news. >> we're jokingings but do you know something in japan? if people have colds, in public places they wear masks, and it's actually the people that are sick that should wear masks.

so if you're on a plane or in a tight public place, if you're sick, you could wear a mask. but then again you may scare people. heather: something else i thought about, what about gloves? when you're wearing gloves? that is actually safer for you? >> i think it is because it keeps your hands moist. the problem with hands getting cold and chafed is they pick up bacteria and viruses. in addition, it's easier the get an infection that way. by the way, that germ we all worry about, mrsa, can be picked up from happened to happened, so you've got to be careful. gregg: and you can get it off of clothes you're trying on in the fitting room. >> that's exactly right. so go get some new suits, but be careful. gregg: okay, all right. shop online. >> yeah. no, the key pad, shopping online. gregg: yes, there you go. wipe down the key pad. thanks, doctor. >> happy thanksgiving. heather: yes. gregg: a holiday tragedy in arizona, a small plane crashes

into the rugged mountains near phoenix killing everybody onboard. we are live at the scene of the accident next. heather: plus, who congresswoman michele bachmann is calling the most liberal candidate in the republican race for the white house? >> until pakistan clearly shows that they have america's best interests in mind, i would not send them one penny. >> with well, with all due respect to the governor, i think that's highly naive because, again, we have to recognize what's happening on the ground. ok, people. show me the best way to design a vacation on a budget with expedia. make it work. booking a flight by itself is an uh-oh. see if we can "stitch" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it. major wow factor!

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freestyle lite test strips. call or click today. gregg: following this developing story out of arizona, this just in. you can see the charred mountainside where an airplane went down, a small plane, six people including three children are now dead. investigators say it was a two-engine aircraft slamming into the rugged peaks in the superstition mountains near phoenix, arizona, and we're

going to have a live report coming up in a few minutes from the scene of that devastating air crash. heather: bell, presidential candidate michele bachmann attacks newt gingrich over his policies on illegal immigration saying that he is the least conservative contender in the republican field. watch. >> he has said that we should make the 11 million illegal workers that are in this country legal. and he's also said that he's a backer of the federal dream act which is taxpayer-subsidized college benefits for children of illegal aliens. those are powerful magnets, and he probably has the most liberal position on illegal immigration of any of the candidates in the race. heather: didi is a former campaign staffer to george w. bush, and we also have the co-founder of define american.com.

and she's also a fox news contributor. thank you both for joining us on this thanksgiving day. >> happy thanksgiving, heather. >> good morning. heather: didi, i will start with you. is newt gingrich a liberal? >> he is not a liberal. however, he did not need this. this is not a good idea for him in iowa. this is where michele bachmann has home court advantage because she's from iowa. i'm from indiana, so i get the mentality. illegal immigration, not good for newt gingrich. this is not another issue he needed. he has a cornucopia of great ideas, but this was not one of them. heather: and, georgia knew, you said it's a question of which newt michele bachmann is talking about. >> well, in this particular case i think she's talking about the sensible and humane newt, something that actually surprises myself and probably surprised a lot of people watching the debate. but what he spoke about is so important to the immigration

conversation, to look at the contributions that immigration's made to society, to look at the one out of ten americans who live in mixed-status families. immigrants, whether you're, you came here legally or you're undocumented, are an inexroll part of our society, the contributions they make, and whoever wins the republican nomination is going to have to deal with that fact. so i do think that congress congresswoman bachmann is living in a world that doesn't exist, and that's why she's not a viable candidate for the general election. but newt gingrich really standing up and saying we have to be sensible about this, we have to be humane, we're not going to break apart 11 million families who are contributing to american society, that is a conversation that is necessary. heather: i want to take a look at this poll, though, when you talk about whether or not michele bachmann is really in touch. maybe specifically with the republican party. take a look, the number of

republicans who consider themselves conservatives, really three to one, conservatives 72%, 24% consider themselves moderate, 4% consider themselves liberal. so when you're really, you know, calling out another candidate like she's ing, perhaps it really is a strategic move on her part. dee dee? >> yeah. you have to remember we've got the primary first, and conservatives are very much against being soft on illegal immigrants and amnesty. steve king said it, he's right, you cannot win iowa and be soft on illegal immigration. i mean, this is america first. i mean, what about americans? it's not fair to american families to let illegal immigrants get away with what they're doing. i mean, i appreciate what you're saying, jehmu, and i appreciate what gingrich is saying, but he's going to lose the primary if he goes down this path. rick perry lost his spot because

he didn't do well in the debates, well, newt gingrich is going to have a real problem in iowa going soft on illegal immigration, and, look, in a primary, it is a deal breaker for many conservatives. heather: jehmu, i do want to take a look at this other poll because, dee dee, this is where it gets a little bit confusing perhaps. and the question was, do you think illegal immigrants who have, um, lived in the u.s. since they were children should be eligible for citizenship? and take a look. it's really tied, 46% say, yes, 46% say, no. 8% don't know. so, jehmu, do you think this supports your stance? >> well, heather, we know that you can't solve a problem without telling the truth about it. and i think that that's what newt gingrich did with his comments on immigration as well as governor perry. and i think the fox news poll reflects the reality that immigrants in this country are so, you know, intertwined with

american society. we talk about the 21st century underground railroad, the american citizens who are every single day benefiting from, working with, best friends with immigrants who are undocumented, and they understand those contributions, and they also understand that, yes, if you came here as a child and that decision wasn't even your decision to make, um, why are you going to be left in limbo when you could be contributing, continuing to pay taxes and all of the various ways that immigrants contribute but respect currently being discussed -- aren't currently being discussed in a sensible, humane way. heather: dee dee, quickly. >> usa first, america first, and that's why it's going to be a problem for newt gingrich. heather: all right. thank you very much. we appreciate you th joining us on this thanksgiving day. hope that you have a great rest of the day. >> happy thanksgiving. gregg: well, a pilot walks away from a chilling chopper crash.

well, the man was seen carried out after the crash, he speaks about his harrowing experience. heather: plus, the supercommittee's crash and burn setting the stage for some bitter spending fights in congress that effect millions of americans. what this means for you and your wallet. many. ♪ muck. >> hi, my name's specialist glenn lopez from the 25th infantry division stationed here at scofield barracks, i'd like to wish my mom and dad fromloo marksville, louisiana, a happy thanksgiving. s are too big, so i'm donating them. how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios... five whole grains, 110 calories. to find you a great deal, even if it's not with us.

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heather: well, he escaped a dramatic helicopter crash, but now a new zealand pilot says that he's ready to get back into

the air. believe it on the, gregg, he was helping to install a christmas tree when this happened. the helicopter's blades apparently got caught in some cables causing the aircraft to snap and then crash. incredibly, the pilot escaped with just a few cuts and bruises. >> because it happened so quick, it was like a dream really. it was just like, bang, and the next thing i had a couple of guys undoing my belt. i don't know it was my head that actually hit that or when -- heather: he said i don't know if that was my head that hit it. he says he's seen the video of the crash, but that still doesn't make him think twice about doing what he loves the most. gregg: that is amazing. well, the wife of a fallen soldier turning her heart ache into hope this thanksgiving. first lieutenant robert welch killed in the line of duty back in april while serving in afghanistan. and now becky welch is trying to keep his memory alive by helping

other military families in need. mike tobin has more from fort knox. >> reporter: as soldiers returned to fort knox from afghanistan, they reunite with loved ones. some see a loved one for the very first time. >> wonderful. it's bliss. >> and soldiers with the third brigade combat team also see a familiar face who welcomed returning soldiers and cries for those who will not. her name is becky welch. she married her sweetheart from junior high. he later served with third brigade in afghanistan. >> if you'd asked me if i thought anything would ever happen to rob, i would have said no. i mean, he had a desk job. ♪ >> reporter: on april 11th of this year, a rocket hit welch's base. lieutenant welch was killed by shrapnel. becky, now all alone with her children, elected to stay at fort knox. >> i know that rob's not coming

home, but this still is our home, and it still feels, you know, that he's here. and all of my pictures. and so i just wanted to keep the kids' schedules, keep them in school and kind of make a slow transition down to our new life. >> reporter: and becky became active on the base. she works with the care teams that help bereaved families. survivors' outreach and family readiness groups. she has developed a relationship with the families of the soldiers who served with rob. >> she is a living witness that life goes on, that, yes, she's hurt, she's wounded, but she is being useful, and she's giving back to the commitment. >> her strength has taught all of us how to endure and, like, helped us in so many ways because you see her, and you think, you know, if that happened to me, i could do it. >> reporter: and becky is aware that she is a living reminder to other army wives that their worst fears can be

realized. >> they're trying to help me through my grief of losing rob. the whole time they're having the worry in the back of their mind, wow, if this happened to him, it could happen to my soldier too. >> reporter: but becky made a promise that she will only transition to her new life after the last member of third brigade comes home. until that time, she is trying to heal herself by helping others. at fort knox, kentucky, mike tobin, fox news. gregg: mike tobin, thanks very much for that report. a courageous young woman. our heartiest and happiest thanksgiving to becky well p and all of the military's family. heather: we are following some late-breaking developments on the three american students arrested in egypt. we'll have a live report coming up on that for you at the so much the hour. gregg: some thanksgiving fun for these folks in new york city. will the weather cause any problems before you head off to grandma's house? we're going to have the complete forecast for you coming up next, stay tuned. [ courier ] the amazing story of whether bovine heart tissue

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heather: a group of american college students could soon be headed home from egypt after being accused of contributing to deadly chaos in cairo. gregory porter, luke gates and derek sweeney of georgetown university, officials in egypt saying they will be released after a ruling from the local court. welcome to a brand-new hour of americ "america's newsroom," i'm heather childress. gregg: and i'm greg burke. steve centanni is live following this story. with the news of an imminent release the families have to be

ecstatic? >> reporter: very happy. i talked with the father of 21-year-old luke gates. he was very emotional and extremely happy. the three were arrested by egyptian officials and accused of throwing molotov cocktails from the roof of a building in tahrir square. the news that the boys have been released, although they have not commented, luke gates is expected to be home tomorrow. this is his father bill. >> we are so happy for the other boys as well and their families. >> continue be a nicer thanksgiving. >> absolutely not. >> and you have a lot to be thankful for. >> yes. very much so. >> reporter: gates says he hasn't talked to his son since yesterday, and at that time luke was scared and upset but he was physically okay and said he was

well treated during his detainment. gregg: steve, what brought about the release, do we know? >> reporter: it's unclear from this point. they were ordered released by a judge in cairo. again, no confirmation from here in washington as yet. there were several days of unrest this in tahrir square as protestors demanded the military government step down. now things have stepped down there. the military leaders have refused to step down but the elections are going forward as planned. the parents of the americans said the boys never threw anything from any rooftop, they were just standing there watching the demonstrations. bill says his son luke is in a cairo police station and arrangements are being made to fly him home as soon as possible. the mother of derek sweeney says her son is also expected home tomorrow. a good thanksgiving gift. gregg: thanks very much, live in washington. heather: these protests sparked by calls for egypt's military to

hand over control of the country. today those generals are rejecting demands to step aside immediately, saying that it would bee trait trust of the peoplbetray tase the trust of the people who were to take ove. members of congress now locked in a battle with twitter? over tweets from the taliban. they want the website to block messages sent by the taliban. executist say they do not violate the terms of service. the taliban is not listed by the state department as a foreign terrorist organization. some legal experts also say that the protaliban messages are protected under u.s. law.

gregg: congress hoping a feast and some football will help them reenergize and recharge for the next battle royal, lawmakers a growing to wait until after thanksgiving to address an extension of long-term unemployment benefits and extension of bay role tax cuts, both set to expire december 31st. it could turn into a war in the wake of the deficit committee failure. steven moore, senior economic writer for the "wall street journal," happy thanksgiving to you, steve. >> same to you. gregg: what is this the fifth extension in unemployment benefits? at what point in time does it become destructive rather than constructive? >> i think we've passed that point, gregg. if you look at what happened with the long term unemployment rate in this country, it's not just that we have near 1 10% unemployment in the country. it's the fact that half of the people that have been unemployed have been unemployed for over

six months. i believe the extepbg of all t extension of the unemployment benefits for the last three years has increased the unemployment rate. you are paying people to stay unemployed. once the unemployment benefits run out that's when people start to really look for a job. gregg: it's hard to do a study on those. people generally are not truthful about it. we have done some stories, i remember one in the northwest we contacted an employer who said look we've telephoned several people for a job opening, they say, hey, call me back when my unemployment benefits expire, but they are not expiring. does it also have in some ways a depressive affect on economic growth? >> no question about it. i mean you're basically making payments from people who are working to people who aren't working. that is not good for the economy. by the way there are some actually very good statistical studies. we do document at what stage of the unemployment cycle people

find a job, and tkpw*eg it' and gregg, about 80% of the people find a job when unemployment runs ou. there is good evidence of this. i think there is going to be a lot of ranker on that one. you have the other issue, which you just mentioned which is the payroll tax cut. as you remember it started back in january of this year. democrats want to extend that for a year, republicans are undecided about it. i believe that one will get done, but it hasn't had the big boost of jobs this here as the president predicted. gregg: explain why. at least in the last year it doesn't seem to be increasing the jobs. >> no it hasn't. i think the explanation for it, gregg, that was just a one-year payroll tax cut. when i talk to employers they say, look when i take on a new worker i'm not hiring that person for six months or a year, i'm looking at hiring someone for three years, or five years or ten years. there is not a big inducement

when you're going to only get a six or nine-month payroll tax cut when you're going to hire someone for 3 or 5 years. gregg: we are not doing a really great job of reducing deficits, but we're pretty darn good at increasing them. some democrats say the way to pay for this, the $200 billion is to raise taxes especially on the wealthy. in the grand scheme of things, is that going to work? i mean, remember republicans on the super committee, senator t toomey said, you know what we will agree to revenue increases that would essentially be a net increase on the wealthy. >> gregg, i can guarantee you the republicans are not going to go for tax rate increases. think about this equation. what the democrats are saying is let's raise taxes on businesses because most of the people in those two highest income tax brackets are business owners and pay people to stay unemployed. that doesn't make a lot of sense

as an economic strategy. if the democrats insist on that, gregg, it is going nowhere. you're right, you raised a great point. we don't pay for anything in washington any more. that's the reason we have a $1.3 trillion deficit. nothing gets paid for in this town. gregg: the debt itself business 15 trillion. >> and headed to 25 trillion. this is thanksgiving. i don't want to be depressing. i think we will get something done. when you're talking about the $15 trillion deficit that is a huge, huge amount. think about paying for your turkey with debt. gregg: that is a lot of turkey. steve moore, thanks very much. heather: great to be with you. take care. heather: a fox news alert for you out of arizona. authorities now saying that there are no signs of any survivors of that small plane crash we've been telling you about. there were six people on board, including three 4 children between the ages of five and nine years old. surveillance video captured the crash as it happened.

you can see the massive fireball as the plane slams into the side of a mountain. witnesses say that they could hear the explosion as well. >> i looked up and i saw this fireball, and it rose up, and then all of a sudden boom, and that's when it spread whatever fuel and everything all over the place. >> the way the fireball was, and the way the impact -- the way that debris was strewn and the fire was burning it didn't look like anybody could survive something like that. heather: word apparently they have not. alexis vance joins us from a patchap atche junction. what is the latest. >> reporter: this is truly a thanksgiving tragedy. we are 40 miles east of downtown phoenix. here behind me are the superstition mountains. a crash happened in the area called the flat iron area.

as we speak right now search and rescue terms up there. they were just flown up there, the sun just came up out here in arizona, and they are trying to recover bodies. we'll take you up live to pictures from our helicopter, showing you the crash, the charred mountain, the mangled plane. six people on board, including, as you said, three children, all feared dead now. investigators tell us a father who was also the pilot of the plane flew from the small town east of here, it's called stafford, he was coming to pick up history children between the ages of five and nine for the thanksgiving holiday. their parents are divorced. the mom lives here in paoepbz, they all boardephoenix, they all boarded the plane at 5:30 arizona time. something went terribly wrong. it crashed into the side of the superstition mountain, spewing the debris everywhere.

the plane was a rockwell ac69. right now as we speak search and rescue crews are flying to the top of this mountain and they are actually having to rappel down to get to the crash and they are on a time crunch. the winds in arizona are expected to pick up this afternoon. they want to get all the bodies recovered before them. the f ark a and the ntsb will be the two agencies leading this investigation. they will are expected here within the next two hours to start the investigation to try to figure out what went wrong, heather. heather: thank you very much. we appreciate it. reporting live from the scene, thank you. gregg: people dying in violent clashes out on the streets of syria at the hands of government forces, and now uncle sam sending a big message with some serious u.s. military hardware. heather: and one little girl asks santa claus to bring her daddy, a pilot in iraq home for the holidays, and boy did santa

come through in a big way. gregg: and federal agents raid a home in amish country, busting seven members of a break away sect led by this man. what they are accused of doing with scissors that caught the f.b.i.'s attention. >> we received hundreds and hundreds of calls, people living in fear, they are buying mace, some sitting with shotguns. getting locks on our doors, because of sam mullett. [ coughs ] what is thishorty? uh, tissues si i'm sick. you don't cough, you d't show defeat. give me your war face! raaah! [ male announcer ] halls. a pep talk in every drop.

gregg: some military families in northern texas have something to be extra thankful for today, their loved ones have come home. six army pilots touched down in fort worth yesterday. they are home months early because of the withdrawal from iraq. one father's daughter just paid a visit to santa claus and asked for her daddy to come home. >> out of nowhere he sits on

santa's lap, and he says, where did her daddy go, and i had tears in my eyes and said her daddy is in iraq. >> it was truly a blessing to come home early. it was wonderful for all of us. gregg: daddy gets to pick her up in his arms. isn't that wonderful. the pilot says they have big plans for the holiday they are going to eat a lot of turkey and stuffing and relax with their families. heather: i love her little pigtails. they are headed home. others headed out the u.s. parking its newest aircraft carrier, the u.s. s. george w. bush off of syria. they are urging any americans to leave the country. joining us now eubgs chuc is chuck nash, a fox news military analyst. thank you for joining us on this thanksgiving.

>> happy thanksgiving, heather. heather: what is the message. is it for americans in syria to get out or is it a clear message to syria. >> there are a lot of messages being set. the ship is on its way back from a five-month combat deployment. probably won't be home for another month or so. come back transiting through the straits and coming up into the mediterranean is a normal path home, but i think the stationing of bush in the mediterranean now especially post libya and during a conflict where syria could be headed toward civil war, where the russians have sent ships off the coast of syria, the turks are extremely upset, and now you've got a break away factions inside syria there are supposedly arming themselves and looking to confront the syrian government. this is all turning into a very volum volatile situation and the u.s. has to react in a

manner that puts serious combat capability off the coast in the event that we have to evacuate u.s. citizens and embassy personnel from damascus. heather: is this a show of support for israel? >> i think, yeah, actually it is. they are our real ally in the neighborhood, the only democracy in the middle east and you've got turmoil all the way around, just sweep around from what is going on in syria, the mess in lebanon, egypt, so much for the arab spring. you just take a look at it, it's an extremely volatile area, and having a serious show of u.s. resolve in that area, i think is very important right now. heather: i want to touch on this before we have to wrap-up with you. the idea of the no-fly zone, it was touched on recently in the republican debate, rick perry says yes, mitt romney says now is not the time, hotly debated in d.c. what are your feelings about that?

>> i don't like the idea right now, but -- because what's it lead to? what is the outcome? as scattered as the libya thing was, it would be much easier if the turks were involved to do that because the basing and everything it's just much more containable and easier to do logistically. it's just what is the outcome? and throwing military assets and doing that without a defined outcome is a very dangerous thing. we got away with it in syria. we really -- we got away with it in libya. we ought to think about it really hard before we try something like that in syria. heather: in the meantime the u.s. ambassador to syria not going back. what does that mean to you? >> what that says is that the united states government has determined that it's far too volatile a situation to put our ambassador back. we may then have to evacuate him back out. the interesting part about it is if it comes down to a noncombatant evacuation operation where we do have to pull people out, will it be a

permissive neo as they call it or will it be nonpermissive? and if it's nonpermissive you have to go in with force annex tract your people. if it's permissive those in charge allow your people toee evacuate witness and get out of the line of fire. we'll see how this goes. it's not trending well. heather: a volatile situation as you said and changing by the hour. thank you very much we appreciate you joining us, captain chuck nash. thank you. >> my pleasure. gregg: forget black friday, it's black thursday for some stores in america, big retailers getting a big jump on the shopping craze by opening tonight. that has some employees calling foul. we're going to have a live report on the controversy. >> hi, i'm senior master sergeant kim gidry currently deployed in southwest asia. i want to say happy thanksgiving to my family in lafayette, louisiana. i'll be back home soon, and i love you and miss you. so, kathryn, post more youtube videos of your baby acting adorable. baby. on it.

matt, ignore me and keep updating your fantasy team. huh? jeff, play a game. turbo-boosting now, sir. dennis, check in everywhere you go on foursquare. that's mayor dennis... of the water cooler. you're the best. liz, rock out to pandora. oh, no i'm an only child. and nick, you shouldn't even be here, you can do everything from the golf course. good? good. [ male announcer ] on at&t, blackberry® torch moves at the speed of 4g. ♪ you noticed! these clothes are too big, so i'm donating them. how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios... five whole grains, 110 calories.

to end a robbery result nothing a horrific accident. take a look at this. two new york city police cars, they were racing toward the same crime scene. they slammed into each other. it happened at a brooklyn intersection. the impact sending the unmarked vehicle onto the sidewalk, as you can see there, and into a laundromat injuring two people inside actually. as for the officers, at least six were taken to the hospital. incredibly they are expected to make a full recovery. gregg: instead of spending time with family and friends tonight some eager shoppers are going to be spending money. a number of big-box retailers are starting their black friday sales tonight, opening as early as 9:00pm. while deal hunters may be happy about it, some store employees

are not. laura ingle is live in our new york city newsroom with more. hi, laura. >> reporter: hi, gregg. black thursday is quickly becoming the new black friday, with just time to digest that big turkey dinner. retailers are stuffing more time into the shopping season. chain stores have been pushing up opening times for a while now. retail analysts say 2011 has reached an all-time tipping point as thanksgiving night shoved friday night off the calendar as the official holiday kickoff. big stores who are getting a head start, kohl's, macy's, best buy and target. all opening at midnight tonight. wall part peeling its doors open at 10:00. and toys r us opening at 9:00pm tonight. the toy store's ceo says it's due to customer demand. >> it gives them an opportunity to go shopping, and then if the

customers choose they can finish all their shopping at toys r us and go home and go to sleep. >> reporter: not everyone is thrilled. thanksgiving days and christmas days are usually the only two days of guaranteed time off. an online petition created by a target employee called on target to push back its opening time to 5:00am on black friday. 190,000 people signed it but target is not bulging. customers said they want to shop following their thanksgiving celebrations and holiday employees will be given holiday pay for thanksgiving duty. according to a survey up to 152 million people plan to shop black friday weekend which is up 10% from last year. more bucks to be spent out there. gregg: the demand is there. thanks very much. how are you doing on your holiday shopping? >> reporter: i am not going to be shopping on black friday, i can tell you that much. gregg: you're behind, aren't

you? >> reporter: you already completed yours. gregg: i'm all done. >> reporter: you asked me that question so you could brag about that, i know that. gregg: yes, i'm ordinary, you are not apparently. >> reporter: i'm not. i won't forget you on my list. gregg: thank you. heather: you're about to see a live report from the battlefield, and it might make you think twice when you sit down for your thanksgiving feast. gregg: and the leader of a break away amish group arrested by the f.b.i. a hairy hate crime in amish country. we'll tell you about it after the break. >> in our tradition, such differences to the extent that they are solved or talked about, or debated by theologians and argued about passionately, but they are not resolved by late-night visits to people's homes with weapons and violent attacks. copd makes it hard to breathe,

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health welcome back and happy thanksgiving to you! now from the extreme weather stph-rbgs wet and windy weather expected for parts of the country today, making it sort of tough to travel. still a busy travel day, though, as people head out to visit their families this thanksgiving. maria molina is standing by live in the fox weather center with the forecast. hi maria. >> reporter: we do have

unsettled weather for parts of the north and parts of california but overall it is generally a very nice day out for most of the country for thanksgiving day. that is good news. we have a lot of sunshine for the northeast, temperatures near normal, right where they should be this time of the year, 53 in new york city, and this allows the snow to melt across new england, some spots, six to 12 inches of snow. otherwise, that system is gone. across the south, pretty good sunshine, temperatures near normal. as we head to parts of the upper midwest and the west, we have sunshine expected so dry weather and temperatures well above average. some of these highs are actually up to 20 degrees above what's normal for this time of the year, so definitely a nice surprise for thanksgiving day. but here is the unsettled weather. we do have a trough digging into parts of the west and we're going to be looking at showers and heavy rain across northern and central california, a lot of snow across the northwest, where the cascades could see up to a foot of snow or even more

along the highest elevations, and you can see some of that rain already coming down across portions of california. southern california, you will remain dry, otherwise that moisture is coming on shore already in seattle and portland and snow again, guy, with the highest elevation -- the the highest elevations. health i was laughing at the bobblehead turkey on the bottom of the screen. regardless, people will make it home. happy thanksgiving. gregg: an fbi raid in amish country after a hair cutting hate crime rocks the reclusive community. seven members of a breakaway amish set led by this man, sam mullett, accused of breaking into another amish couples' home, holding them down, cutting off the man's beard and woman's hair. it is considered highly offensive to the modest and deeply religious group, mullett saying it was meant to send a message that his fellow amish should be

ashamed for isolating his family. >> we received hundreds and hundreds of call, people living in fear. they're buys mace, some sitting with shot guns, putting locks on our doors because of sam mullett. >> ann marie mcevoy, and joey jackson, good to see you both. this is to the amic disfigment, humiliation, they must have been terrorized assuming it's true and they have confessions. >> absolutely. part of their religious beliefs is that a man, after he's married and woman, after she's married, they let their hair grow and do not cut it. another thing they did was they took photographs, and anybody that's visited amish country know they generally do not want to be photographed, yet they took photographs of them with their hair being cut. gregg: so it is classic hate crime under federal law. >> it's against their religious beliefs and in addition to that it was a very frightening experience for these people, they were held down by a couple of men

while somebody had a scissor to their throat, so they also i'm sure were in fear of their physical lives as well. gregg: i would imagine there will be additional charges of assault and battery and so forth. joey, i want you to take a listen to law enforcement because they climb that multiple communities in three different states were terrorized by mullett and his group. take a listen: >> we cannot categorize all the amish as we do sam mullett, because as far as i'm concerned, he's not amish. he dresses as amish. and all these crimes that he's been involved in or have people commit crimes for him, it's not the amish way, and it's not religion. gregg: joey, yet you argue this should be immediate ated, not prosecuted. are you sear stphous. >> here's the point. what makes it a federal offense, there are various states involved, ohio, we know has a very active amish community, but here's the point, gregg. in a practical hate crime you have religious hatred,

cultural hatred as against one faction to another, in this instance you about an inter denominational dispute, a dispute with mullett who take different views from the amish people and it's not a classic hate crime. does it meet the federal statute and definition, absolutely, but you have religious disputes. i think the government needs to focus on terrorist activity. gregg: there are islamic communities in the united states, and some isolated incidents of honor killings. should we take the point of view well, you can deal with it under sharia law, not american law? come on, joey. >> it's a fair point, gregg, but let's understand what happened and place this in context. we're talking about a message being sent as a result of the cutting of hair. were there bats involved, were these people beaten, were there knives, were they shot, no, there ren't any of those things. what he was doing was cutting their hair to convey a message. gregg: one of the victims

said i'd rather be beaten black and blue than have the cutting of my beard happen to me. i want to read the associated press. there is more information. the leader of the breakaway amish group allowed the beatings of those who disobeyed him, made some members sleep in a chicken coop and had sexual relations with married women to, quote unquote, cleanse them. this according to federal authorities. it's going to get worse with more charges, right? >> that's right. one of the problems they have with the amish community is many do not want to come forward to put forward charges against mu mulett because their way is to be pass i vist, so there are likely more people who have been affected by him, and some of these charges are quite serious, and the problem with what happens, you allow somebody like this to do what he's done so far and it gets worse and worse and worse and unfortunately there could be a time where somebody does get much more seriously injured. >> understand that a lot of them don't want to come forward because they believe and view this as something that's in their religion, that they have to resolve in

and amongst themselves and they don't think the federal government interveneing in a religious dispute is appropriate. are people frightened, absolutely, are people concerned about this, of course, that's why they got the phone calls, but ultimately this is something that affects their religion, affects their views and as a result, it's -- >> gregg: but is it true they've been the victims of assault and battery, joey? >> that could be true. gregg: here joey -- >> it's an allegation. >> gregg: if there are confessions, if it's true, isn't this assault and battery, aren't those crimes? >> well, they could be crimes, if it's true, and as to the con tperbgs we don't know yet. we know there's an allegations of a confession. how was it taken, was it voluntary, coerced, was it given, you know, were they given appropriate miranda warnings? we're not sure. >> the impact of this is it will take these people, even for their hair to grow back, years and years and years and it will never be the same and for them this is an important thing so even just for the hair, for the religious purpose for them, it means an awful lot. gregg: joey, it's an uphill battle for you as a criminal

defense attorney to argue the other side, but you're a great one, and thank you for doing that. ann marie, thank you as well. >> happy thanksgiving. gregg: can't we get along? >> yes! >> it always comes up. gregg thank you both, happy thanksgiving. heather. heather: ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪ this is from the 332nd etf at southwest asia, i'd like to waoeurb my friends and family at fort smith, arkansas a very happy thanksgiving and to my lovely daughter, sage, daddy misses you and he'll be home soon, chopstick! >> ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪ heather: thousands of u.s. troops now celebrating thanksgiving for loved ones at home but making the best of the holidays. dominic di-natale is streaming live from baghdad. dominic. >> reporter: hey th*ear,

happy thanksgiving to you guys. to the u.s. servicemen out here in iraq, there are two fine servicemen, what do you think it means going on at the moment, the u.s. troops, finally leaving iraq, what does the final thanksgiving mean in. >> it's obviously mixed emotions. everyone is going to be happy to get home to their families and regular jobs in the states and stuff like that, but we've also accomplished -- we've also done a mission here for over eight years now, and seeing iraq evolve, a lot of folks who have to be thinking about hey, i wonder how this ends, and seeing how this partnership evolves over time, that's got to be -- there's a little bit of a mixed feelings, i think. >> major aguilar, you've done many deployments here and this might not actually be your last thanksgiving here because you're part of the enduring team staying on, which a lot of people think everybody is leaving but the mission will be done

with a smaller number of troops. what can you tell us about that? >> our mission is to provide the iraqis the opportunity to learn and grow as a new civilian, a new -- civilization, they've never had that opportunity to make decision that is empower their own country. >> to the thousands leaving, there's a small number of you guys staying on and mentoring the iraqi for lounge into the future do you think it will be? >> it's a strategic partnership so it will be the foreseeable future that the americans are involved with the iraqis for everyone's benefit. >> thank you very much for your service and we wish you the best thanksgiving and hopefully next year you'll be home in time for thanksgiving, if not christmas. stay safe. there will be 157 u.s. soldiers that will stay hind as part of a security agreement to help train the iraqis and give them continued guidance, as we were just talking about, but so far, less than 20,000 soldiers left in country, that will whittle down in less than two weeks and

hopefully all u.s. troops that are destined to return will be home for christmas. heather:hat would be a great gift. thank you very much, dominic and happy thanksgiving to you as well. gregg: crucial evidence discovered in the case of a missing orlando woman. police have released a new photograph of michelle parker that contains what they think could be the key to solving this case. we're going to be talking to a former homicide detective about that. heather: and a would-be burglar, chased out of a home by a nine-year-old girl. good for her! the fourth grader described her ordeal, coming up. >> i got really scared, because i heard a noise and i didn't know what it was. i felt a guy standing there, i'm like i don't know that guy. welcome idaho,

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she was last seen thursday, just hours after she appeared on a taped episode of the "peoples court" and see the necklace she's wearing? police say that could be a key piece of evidence in the case. rod wheeler is a former homicide detectives with the d.c. police and he joins us now to provide his insight. first of all happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanksgiving to you too heather. health -- heather: the significance of this necklace, let's begin there. >> this necklace could be a key piece of evidence in the investigation. the reason the police are saying that, they're wondering if there's a correlation between the necklace that this woman is wearing and maybe the individuals that maybe attacked or kidnapped her. we don't know. but i think what the police are doing now is trying to figure out what could have been the motivating factor for somebody to have taken her, so that's clearly one of the things they're looking at. heather: it's now been over six days, one of the options discussed was the possible carjacking, but her vehicle was discovered the very next

day. and her brother has something to say about that vehicle. take a listen to what he says: >> i didn't see a picture of her earlier, and it -- it was in immaculate condition, obviously. the stickers are removed but it's almost like they were professionally removed. it didn't look like a quick job at all. heather: what are your thoughts on the hummer, a that it was discovered so quickly and b, what investigators are looking for inside? >> that's an excellent question. number one, from many years of skpaoerbence and investigating carjackings and homicides this does not appear to be the work of a carjacker. carjackers typically do not kidnap a person, nor do they wear gloves. what's going to be really interesting in this case right now as we go forward is looking inside that vehicle, seeing what kind of evidence can you get inside that vehicle, such as fingerprints, dna evidence, and here's what i suspect real quickly, heather. once the police dust this vehicle and do their thing with this vehicle in terms

of looking for evidence, if they do not find anyone else's dna or fingerprint necessary that vehicle other than dale smith's and the woman that is missing, michelle, then i think they're going to probably zero more in on dale smith. heather: and dale smith, of course, being the ex-fiance, and he has had a troubled past. >> that's right. heather: how will that play into the case as it moves forward? >> that is very significant, heather. let me quickly tell you why. because we know, and obviously it's been documented in court, that this guy has been physically abusive to michelle in the past. as a matter of fact, she got a restraining order or tried to get one against him in 2009. that was not issued. but obviously she was being accused -- abused back then. this individual is hostile, violent, and he has brought violence to this woman before. so not to say he's guilty of anything at this point but clearly, i do believe he is a person of interest, heather. heather: we will see what happens, and hopefully they can find her safely. thank you very much, rod wheeler, thank you. >> thank you heather. gregg: let's go down to the

newsroom where jon scott is standing by, has a preview of what's coming up on "happening now". happy thanksgiving, jon. jon: happy thanksgiving to you, gregg. thank you very much. there's new reaction pouring in on newt gingrich's proposal for dealing with illegal immigrants, his rivals are jumping all over it, saying this plan is amnesty. karl rove joins us to weigh in on what it means for gingrich's revived campaign. also, an exclusive look inside the vice vice president's home as joe and jill biden host a private holiday dinner for our wounded war yes, that plus the breaking news on those three american students arrested in egypt. we'll see you, "happening now", at the top of the hour. we're america's natural gas

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>> i want to saepbd shoutout to my wife in eureka, missouri, i want to say happy thanksgiving and happy birthday to my wife! i love you guys. >> ♪ >> ♪ heather: thank you to all of our troops and families on this thanksgiving day. other news we're following for you, more than five dozen homes have been destroyed in an out of control wildfire raging in western australia. at least 64 houses are gone, all together, another 32 are damaged. fire crews thought they had things under control, but the high winds today have apparently whipped up the embers, authorities say hundreds of people have been evacuated. the area has been declared a natural disaster zone. the cause is under investigation, but a controlled burn in a nearby national park may be to blame. gregg: all right. you're not going to believe this story. a nine-year-old girl, home

alone, taking a burglar on and winning. it appears that the thief was watching her home, once he saw one of her parent's leave, he slipped inside but little did he know, hey, the place wasn't empty, christine persickety from our fox affiliate has the story. >> i got really scared, because i heard a noise and didn't know what it was. >> but nine-year-old rachel simon didn't act scared when she came face to face with the burglar. >> i saw the guy standing there, i'm like i don't know that guy. >> rachel was home sick yesterday, it of the middle of the afternoon, her mom left, her dad was on his way. cops say the burglar got in through this unlocked basement entrance, the fourth grader approached him and he ran off. >> he had a black hat on, a backpack. >> she gave a phenomenal description of the guy, which led officers to get him within five minutes. >> even mom wendy admits she wouldn't have handled it so

well. >> what do you think you would have done. >> cried? i don't know. i know i wouldn't have had that accurate a description of him. >> and mom and dat couldn't be more proud of this pint-sized crime fighter. >> she was unbelievable. right? >> christine persickety between our affiliate, wwor. good for her! heather: good description. she should maybe consider a career in journalism. gregg: law enforcement. good for you. heather: she is one jive turkey and you won't find her on any thanksgiving table. we're thinking she's a she! why this bird is the word in one small town! >> ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪ [ male announcer ] wake up, sleepyheads.

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for every year of safe driving, so now your deductible is zero. the other good news ? i held on to your coffee. wow. ♪ nationwide is on your side ( laughing ) it's actually a pretty good day whenou consider. that's great. gregg: all right. one tough turkey taking on and taking over an entire town.

davis, north carolina. thomas the turkey was found wandering around on a busy highway about six months ago, so the general store owner adopted her and put up crossing signs. >> she's a local celebrity here in davis. >> come here, baby girl. >> she doesn't run away from home. gregg: store owners say she has survived a hurricane, dog attacks and being hit by a car. it taught locals that you've got to get back up no matter what. wow. heather: a turkey taught them that? gregg: you know, i live north of manhattan, and i got out of the house and jumped out of the car and walking down the street is a huge turkey like this tall. heather: wow. gregg: just strolling down the sidewalk. heather: what did you do? gregg: i was in a hurry, otherwise i might have saved money on turkey dinner. heather: no, you would not have. what are you doing for