full-day suspension. how about a rap on the hands, what you got in catholic school, right. bill: we got a little more than that. have a good weekend. martha: have a great weekend being everybody. "happening now" starts right now. jon: and good morning to you on this friday. i'm jon scott. >> just as a warning you might see jon scott tebowing in the middle of the show today. jon: i've always been a denver fan, you know that. jenna: even more so this year. tebowing to come on "happening now". jon: great to watch. jenna: we're glad you're with us everybody. i'm jenna lee on this friday. we're of course in the fox newsroom and "happening now." we start with the major headlines in 2012. listen to this. a new associated press/gfk poll, finding very first time, more than half of americans surveyed should feel the president should be voted out of office. jon: that same poll find the

president's overall job approval rating at a new low. that might not surprise you given the other question. 44% approve. 54% disapprove. now these polls come as the first real contention for the -- contest for the republicans who want president obama's job is quickly approaching. we're talking about the iowa caucuses 18 days away now. the candidates making their cases in the last debate before iowans make their choices. a debate you saw on fox. and some candidates treating gop from the time runner newt gingrich like a bit of a pinata. >> the speaker had a conservative revolution against him when he was speaker of the house. i had conservatives knocking down my door because i was effective advocate for the principles they believed in. >> it is the fact we know he cashed paychecks from freddie mac. that is the best evidence that you can have. over $1.6 million. and frankly i am shocked listening to the former speaker of the house because he defending the continuing

practice of freddie mac and fannie mae. >> he has a different definition of the private sector than i have because it is a gse, government sponsored enterprise. it is completely different. it is a government agency. they get the money and sponsorship, they get mixed up. it is worst kind of economy. jenna: that was again all the attacks again on the former speaker. chief political correspondent, popping up now into the shot, carl cameron live from sioux city, iowa. that is good timing, carl. >> reporter: multiof course at thatting, martha. i have my blackberry. jon: my iphone, buzzing away big day after the debate. lots of reaction, lots of forward-looking planning by campaigns. caucus-goers looking to what to expect that. sorry about that. mitt romney just wrapped up his event in sioux city. it is a plant essentially where he continued what he was doing last night at this manufacturing facility, avoiding his rivals back to focusing almost entirely on barack obama. it is clear that he is

recasting himself as presumptive nominee, trying to stay positive and focus on the job at handball lansing incumbent and trying to rise above his republican rivals. he will continue direct mail criticisms of newt gingrich and advertising bashing newt gingrich for his positions but on the stop he is very positive. he used humor in attempts to make himself more accessible to voters and make him more like normal person rather than the elitist his rivals cast him had. he had a little bit of a joke with politics. >> if you're voting foreme the date is january 3rd. the other folk are taking votes in on january 4th. [laughter] just kidding. just kidding. >> reporter: electioneering, oh, boy. mitt romney obviously joking about the date there, suggesting vote somebody else go somewhere else on the wrong day. it's on, martha. last night with the debate over, now comes really nasty attacks from third party

outside anonymous groups. when we got out of the debate facility last night there were flyers on the windshields bashing candidates with language and issues questionable in terms their facts as well as their taste. jenna: wow, we'll continue to look for those flyers on anyone's windshields. next place we should look for them, maybe not, i'm curious what you have to say about this, carl, south carolina. mitt romney is not jumping to new hampshire he will head to south carolina a little bit later today. why is he going to do and what is the latest out of south carolina we should know about? >> reporter: there is a very big piece of news that came out of south carolina this morning. the reason he is going to south carolina and looking down the road the possibility he won't win iowa and will win new hampshire his firewall state which sets up a huge battle in south carolina. no republican has ever become president without first winning in the palmetto state. it is also rock-ribbed conservative and known for having very nasty political

fights. today, mitt romney got a huge boost. the governor of south carolina, nikki haley, first-term governor, historic first woman ever elected to the executive office of palmetto state, endorsed romney on fox and friends. she did so spoking to romney about health care positions and other things he is criticized. she is confident, she says that he is on the right path of conservativism. the reason she would not endorse newt gingrich and others she couldn't accept anybody that had to do with the chaos in washington. newt gingrich the speaker of the house in the '90s. part of presuming to that the chaos washington now. he is eliminated as washington insider by the governor of south carolina. not exactly newt was hoping for and just the kind of thing mitt wanted. jenna: we'll continue to talk about this, carl thank you very much. jon: we saw mitt romney getting one final chance to make his case to voters in iowa before the caucuses. former massachusetts governor taking heat on the charge that he is a flip-flopper on gay marriage and abortion.

romney responding that he has nothing to apologize for. >> i've learned over time, like ronald reagan, and george herbert walker bush and others, my experience in life over 17, 18, 19 years told me sometimes i was wrong. where i was wrong i tried to correct myself. jon: so where does the romney campaign two from here? joining us live, the communications director for governor mitt romney. gail, i want to play you one of the questions, one of the exchanges. good morning to you. i want to play one of the exchanges from last night. i will save the reaction and question for the other side. here is what chris wallace had to say. >> speaker gingrich says that you should give back the millions of dollars you made, in his words, bankrupting companies and laying off employees. >> i think it is a great opportunity for us because i think the president is going to level the same attack. he is going to go after me and say, in businesses that you've invested in, they didn't all succeed. some failed. some laid people off. he will be absolutely right.

but if you look at all the businesses we invested in, over 100 different businesses they added ten of thousands of jobs. jon: so, gail, chris opened the door for mitt romney to go after newt gingrich and instead mitt went after the president. is that a conscious decision on the part of your campaign to keep the focus on mr. obama? >> well, it is always important to keep the focus on president obama especially when the candidates now have the opportunity to make their closing arguments going into iowa. last night governor romney spoke in very big terms about what he would do as president and how he would reverse those policies that president obama failed on, especially when it comes to the economy and even in foreign policy. one of the strongest moments last night came when governor romney was able to talk about his experience in the private sector and distinguish himself from not only his competitors on the stage with him but also from president obama. so, sure, last night he spoke in very big terms about what he would do and he distinguished himself very well from president obama. jon: he, there were no zany

remarks. he famously got a lot of press for calling newt gingrich zany earlier in the week. newt even responded to that comment on stage last night but it seemed to be sort of a gloves off approach for the governor. was it? >> well, like i said the focus was on president obama but governor romney has spent some time talking about the differences between the experience and background of him and his opponents including speaker beginning rich. governor romney of course has made the case that in the last 25 years he has been in the private sector and in the last 30 years, speaker gingrich has spent inside washington as a washington insider. so that distinguishes, so that case has been made to distinguish their backgrounds and we'll continue to make those cases how they differ, not only in their background but also on the issues. jon: he talked about the argument he will use against the president if the president, should he become the nominee and the president gets into a debate with him, we heard him say i

will ask the president about his time running general motors. why give that argument away right now in the a republican debate? why not save it for the moment when you're actually up there against mr. obama if in fact that's what happens? >> that's a good question. of course it's important for voters to understand how the candidates would go up against president obama because they do, president obama and his team have signaled they're going to spend upwards of a billion dollars attacking their republican opponent. the dnc has made mo secret they are most afraid of running against mitt romney. so in order to preview some arguments against president obama, think he did that last night. president obama failed to create a single new net job in this country. governor's romney experience in the private sector puts him head and shoulders above what president obama has been able to do. not only that but governor romney offer ad vision for his jobs plan. he offered a vision for the future and where he would

take, take this country by offering his very specific and cop hens sieve jobs plan. that is something that president obama waited more than 1,000 days to communicate to voters. so when it comes to the general election, voters want to see that they're going to have a representative, a nominee who can take on this president and governor romney showed steadiness and leadership and he looked very presidential last night. jon: in a word, will he win iowa? >> look, we want to win anywhere our name is on the ballot and of course last time we, in 2007, when governor romney ran there he built on, he built a lot of support out of that state and we'll continue to build on that support. of course we want to win wherever our name is on the ballot. if not, we are very prepared for this to be a long process. jon: it will be interesting, it will be an interesting one to watch and we'll be watching it every step of the way, gail gitcho, the communications direct it for

mitt romney's campaign. >> jon, thanks for having me. jenna: we have some new reaction over the one of the big issues in the republican debate in iowa, how to handle iran and the their nuclear program. the gloves came off last night if you were watching when michele bachmann and ron paul sparred over one of the country's biggest foreign policy challenges. james rosen with more on this. hi, james. >> reporter: good morning, heated clash between two members of congress threat of iran and the threat the regime is the made electric moments already eventful debate. what viewers saw play out here was nothing less than the classics foreign policy schism in the republican party applied specifically to iran which historically divided gop into two camps isolationists and interventionists. the exchange came amid particularly volatile with the west's dealings with iran including recent u.n. report by the nuclear watchdog that iran has been working on nuclear weapons capability and the regime's

recent announcement that it captured a u.s. spy drone. congressman ron paul of texas represented isolationist point of view warning perils of his fellow republicans beating the war drum against iran while michele bachmann of minnesota represented interventionist point of viewpointing out the threat of iran islamic theocracy. >> to declare war on 1.2 billion muslims and say all muslims are the same, this is dangerous talk. >> with all due respect to ron paul i think i have never heard a more dangerous answer for american security than the one that we just heard from ron paul. the problem would be, the greatest underreaction in world history if we have an avowed madman who uses that nuclear weapon to wipe nations off the face of the earth. >> reporter: in general terms it is the bachmann point of view that has prevailed in conservative and republican thought over the past few decade favoring a more muscular foreign

policy. another point of contention during this debate just how close iran is actually achieving a nuclear weapons capability. congressman paul disputed timeline one here saying experts here are deeply divided. jenna. jenna: a big issue. one we'll talk a lot more about, james. thanks so much. >> reporter: thank you. jon: and a scary one at times, yes. there has been bombshell testimony in the penn state child sex abuse scandal just this morning. what an assistant football coach under oath a short time ago says he saw happening in the team's showers between jerry sandusky and a young boy. also, iraq then and now. our troops coming home and our own geraldo rivera share as bittersweet moment live from camp virginia in kuwait. and what one holiday hero did for some kmart shoppers. something right out of a movie. it is a feel-good moment you do not want to miss. ♪ [ male announcer ] cranberry juice? wake up!

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jon: right now a hearing is underway in the penn state child sex abuse scandal. university officials tim curly and gary schultz accused of lying to a grand jury what they knew about accusations against former football coach jerry sandusky. he is accused sexually abusing 10 boys over a 15 year span. david lee miller outside the courthouse in harrisburg, pennsylvania. >> reporter: the key witness has been on the stand since 9:00 this morning. mike mcqueary. we expect him to leave the courthouse behind me. if he does we'll have live pictures. mcqueary testified to a grand jury that he saw jerry sandusky in the midst after sexual act against a young

by 2002. former athletic director tim curly and former head of finance business at the school gary schultz, both of them are charged with failing to report sexual abuse to authorities and with lying to a grand jury in what appears to be some type of alleged cover-up. now we have some of the testimony from mike mcqueary during questioning by the prosecutor he said, and i quote, there's no question in my mind that i conveyed to them, meaning curly as well as gary schultz, that i saw jerry sandusky with a boy in the showers and it was a severe sexual act going on and it was wrong and over the line. again, both schultz and curly maintain that mack career question-- mcqueary never described any type of sexual act. he described what they termed as horseplay. there was never any indication a crime took place. also testified to today that mcqueary spoke with joe paterno in his conversations with paterno he attempted to sort of downplay what he saw, not using any specific

language out of respect for the coach. mcqueary as i said has now left the witness stand. we are told from those in the courtroom that he seemed to gain confidence the more he testified. and now new witnesses on the stand, the former head of the university police department. we expect that this preliminary hearing is going to be over some time by noon today but again, jon, the significant development today, we have heard for the first time since the scandal erupted directly from mike mcqueary, and he repeated his claims that he told the grand jury that he witnessed a sex act between jerry sandusky and a young boy in the locker room at penn state in the year 2002. very damaging testimony, not only to the school administrators that are on trial for perjury but also potentially damaging testimony for jerry sandusky as well. jon? jon: very tough testimony to hear, or even hear described. david lee miller, thank you. jenna: well, he's accused of

handing over a half million government secrets to wikileaks. his name, army private bradley manning. he is heading to military court. in fact i believe he is there now as i see some headlines crossing. we'll break down the case and tell you the latest on the charges. it was a year ago this month police started finding bodies on a lonely stretch of long island a short drive from new york city. they're looking for the woman on the screen that suddenly disappeared but instead they found the remains of at least 10 people. nix happ'ing -- the ♪

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jon: a fox news alert and the army private accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of government secrets is making his first appearance in court right now. a military judge will decide

whether private first class bradley manning should be court-martialed. manning accused of releasing the largest amount of classified military reports and diplomatic cables in u.s. history. catherine herridge, our chief intelligence correspondent, is live with more in washington. >> reporter: jon, good morning. this morning's article 32 hearing is military equivalent after probable cause hearing. as you mentioned it will decide whether there is sufficient evidence to send private manning to a court marble. he is 23 years old. accused downloading classified documents on to cds including one marked, lady gaga. manning was described as calm and soft-spoken. the charges include aiding the enemy allegedly leaking classified materials to wikileaks could bring the death penalty to manning. a short time ago manning's lawyer ask the the investigating officer to recuse himself. the judge who acts as judge at today's hearing has conflict of hearing with

julian assange foimed irof wikileaks. he says al man is a is prosecutor for the justice department and the justice department is considering prosecuting assange for releasing classified documents and videos. including this video from iraq, shot by the military in 2007. said to show an air crew flying apache helicopter shooting at iraqi civilians including two from the reuters news agency. pentagon originally claimed only insurgents were involved. national security lawyers say that the defense department security system will also be on trial. >> why did he do it? is he some kind of a hacker, whistle-blower who wanted to expose the weaknesses in the government's computers? i don't see any of that. so that is embarrassing to the government. >> reporter: the defense argues that the damage done by wikileaks was minimal and one internal defense department report reached the same conclusions. this article 32 hearing could last well through the weekend, john.

jon: harnl herridge in washington. thanks, catherine. >> reporter: you're welcome, jon. jenna: right now we're waiting some very important autopsy results as part of an ongoing murder mystery we've been telling you about over the last year. investigators are trying to determine if remains found on new york's long island are indeed those of woman missing since last year. her name is. shannon: nan gilbert. she is on your screen right now. they found ted bodies along the same stretch of land the work of a possible serial killer they say. there is a twist in the case. in the first part of the investigation i traveled to the scene and with retired nypd detective pat brosnan. what may have happened to shannan. she is leaving one of these homes. calling 911, and screaming. where are they from where they found the body from where we are right now and how do you connect the dots? >> put this in perspective. this is the oak beach area. this is gated community in oak beach. the street where she went to

perform her trick as a prostitute is it right over here, slightly east of here. she fled for what we know as a factual matter. she was running and talking on the phone for minimum of 2 minutes that is live 911 tape. somewhere a couple of blocks from here she started running east. somewhere during the time that she ran and the time she was calling on the phone and other day when they found her remains she died. jenna: tell us a little bit about who lives here. >> at least one individual that lives here is procurer of prostitution via craigslist. that individual, that is a fact. they haven't recanted that they did hire miss shannan gilbert. jenna: police say though that they cleared the guy that made the call. now a couple miles from here, about five miles from here we'll go to the air where other bodies were dumped. other bodies that supposedly were prostitutes from craig's list.

i mean as a detective would you be looking at this guy who made these calls and thinking maybe, maybe he's the bad guy? >> absolutely. but the two top primary suspects on my investigative checklist would be the individual who retained her for the prostitution call via craigslist. i want to know all about him bag to his kindergarten teacher. everybody he called. every interaction on trade accounts via craigslist. i also want to looks extremely closely at the boy friend/pimp. >> the driver. >> the driver who deposited her on hauser avenue on that fateful morning and somehow put such fear into her and called her mom and said i'm terrified to leave the house. her fleeing the house in my view seems more connected to her fear of the driver than the individual who retained her. who are these guys and what have they been doing? jenna: yeah, who are they. that is a big question. that is one of many

questions still unanswered. there are so many challenges making it difficult for authorities to find those answers. one of them, one of the major challenges is the terrain out there where some of those bodies were found. here's a closer look. where we are right now is a very important part of this story. you can see we're just about 10 steps from the roadway. there is very little traffic here and you have very thick brush on your right-hand side. it is very thick. i mean you can barely walk in it. if you walk a little bit up here, here is one marker of one victim, just 22 years old. i will take you down this way because we have to show you something else. very, very tough to get through the brush. only way to get through it there is a path here already. some of the brush is taller than me. if we get down here, you can see, another marker for another set of remains. i can't even see the road from here but i can see into the marsh. you see just how thick it is. there is no way you would be able it walk through it. next hour i'm going to show

you where more of those bodies were found, where they were discovered and we'll talk with pat brosnan. he was that detective i was speaking with and dr. michael baden. an expert in forensics, well-known. he will join us to tell us what he thinks about the mysteries. whether he indeed thinks more than one person is responsible for some of these murders. jon: i guess they haven't officially identified shannan gilbert's remains yet? jenna: they could at any moment. we expect the results anytime during our show in fact. as soon as we get those that could confirm whether or not do we have an additional victim here or is this shannan. we' been looking for shannan 18 months and no one found her but in the process found these bodies. jon: there is theory she may have died of natural causes stumbling into the marsh. jenna: no way you could walk through it f you were running away from someone, trying to run through that area you could have to be an incredible athlete to walk through it. you can't walk through parts of it because there is so much brush and bramble and

trees and things like that. when you hear that, you initially think no way. of course you can get away from somebody. it would be close to possible if you doesn't know where you were going and went deeper into that marsh. maybe she got caught. that is something we'll talk about. jon: we'll look at it next hour. in iowa the debates are done. the last one you saw on fox so did newt gingrich hold onto his status at frontrunner? did anyone else break through. >> we'll see what you think. with "wall street journal's" paul gig go. >> our vehicle has been it had. are you okay? are you okay. where are you hit? >> we're okay. >> you get the gun. i'll drive. >> i'm going to drive this vehicle. jon: the iraq war is over. our own geraldo rivera joins us live from camp virginia in kuwait with a look back at the last nine years.

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jenna: the war in iraq began in march 2003 which is what was called shock and awe. the u.s. military launching a massive air campaign against targets in baghdad, the center of power of saddam hussin. you can see the huge explosions rocking the capitol. a huge display of firepower. nearly nine years later our troops are coming home. it has been a very big week for us today. the final convoy is leaving the country. geraldo rivera covered the iraq war when it began. he reported from the front

lines and in middle of combat we're showing you now. only fitting geraldo is in the region for the war's final chapter as well. we'll find him with very important guests standing by his side. geraldo rivera streaming live from camp virginia in kuwait, the closest u.s. base to the iraqi border. you see members of the minnesota national guard making us proud over there. hi, geraldo. >> reporter: hi, jenna, hard to believe after eight years, nine months, after 4447 killed in action, tens of thousands of wounded. over one million gis served in iraq over the course of this war that seemed endless. now it is almost over. the convoys have been coming night and day bringing the remaining troops from iraq over the line here to kuwait and sometime over the next several days, i don't want to say exactly when for security reasons, it will be over. we will have no combat troops in iraq. and iraq will be left to its own devices.

the fragile democracy our blood and treasure bought is in the iraqi hands to preserve and protect but the important job of getting those gis out largely has fallen to these guys. this is lieutenant colonel, first name brian melton and command sergeant major john lipowsky of the 1st battalion, 194th minnesota national guard. how many convoys, colonel, have your men and women run? >> we have the 650 soldiers here approximately and we've done 790 convoys throughout iraq. we hit 11 provinces out of 18 and traveled 1.3 million miles. we put a lot of miles and time on the roads up there in iraq. >> amazing. sergeant major, how many men and women have you lost? >> none. we hope to bring everybody home. so far everybody is safe and sound. >> everybody is safe and sound. that is remarkable. you still have convoys on the other side of the line, don't you colonel? >> we do. we still have operations

ongoing. we continue to do the job we're assigned here to do and we'll keep going until the time when the last convoy comes in and we're all done. >> jenna, we think in terms of the gis who have performed so nobley for us but remember aside from all the tens of thousands of troops that are being taken out of iraq and are going home there are also tens of thousands of vehicles. they are everywhere. craig, get a shot. they are everywhere. there are vehicles galore, tanks and armored vehicles and humvees and they all have to be shipped home. not all of them though are going to go home. 40% approximately are going to afghanistan. another 20 to 30% are just being scrapped. so easy to see where a trillion dollars in tax money went. but i want to show you the, they prepare ad special surprise for me. this is specialist brittany hagen of the national guard. nice mustache. >> thank you. i grew it for you.

>> appreciate that. jenna, we're having a little fun, going to breathe a huge sigh of relief pretty quickly when all of our men and women are safely evacuated, safely withdrawn from the bloody nation of iraq. back to you in new york. jenna: incredible day. no easy mission this final part, geraldo. please tell them we are so proud today and we appreciate your reporting as always. geraldo rivera throughout the day there in kuwait. geraldo. thank you so much. jon: well, happening now in iowa it is the final stretch before january 3rd's caucuses. 18 days from today. there will be no more gop debates before eye iowans make their choice. did any republican contender help or maybe hurt their chances in last night's debate on fox? let's ask paul gig goat, the editorial -- gigot the editorial editor of

"wall street journal" are you picking a winner? >> mitt romney helped himself the most particularly with his defense of his time at bain capital which is potentially understood to be a main vulnerability. it goes against his argument he knows how to create jobs. >> because he did close some companies. >> that's right. jon: or lay off staff members during his time. >> he took the argument on directly. look, sometimes private business has to lay off people to succeed and shape up companies that are failing. taking that on directly i think he helped himself. jon: capitalism can be a messy business can be the point? >> no question. profit and loss system. jon: i visited the soviet union in the bad ol' days and saw how a controlled economy doesn't work. >> they never lose money, right? jon: yes. that was a weird time. but anyway, what about newt gingrich? he seemed to be sort of everybody's punching bag. >> he was and that's because strategically the other candidates in the second-tier, michele bachmann, rick perry, to some extent ron paul, they

need newt gingrich to fall in order to break through because they're depending on breaking through in iowa. and so michele bachmann particularly really went after gingrich and tried to take him apart on abortion and on his consulting fees from freddie mac. she scored some points. less effective on think on the abortion issue. the question will be, what impression did that make on the voters in iowa? he soared in the polls. now he has come down a little bit under the assault, media assault by ron paul in iowa who is all over the airwaves there, attacking gingrich for hypocrisy for his freddie mac experience and his government experience. so the question is, how will the voters of iowa respond? because if gingrich and romney finish one-two in iowa, that will go on to new hampshire and that will probably what we see as the race going forward. jon: i believe it was ron paul last night said any one of us on this stage could beat president obama. do you agree? >> no, i don't agree with

that. all these candidates have some weakness but some are weaker than others and i think, particularly some of the second-tier candidates haven't proved they can generate enough enthusiasm and support that would carry over into a general election. jon: despite the weakness in the president's own polling numbers that we've just seen today? >> i think that's right. i mean i think that's one of the things that republican voters have to judge is electability. jon: that will be interesting to watch. paul gigot, "wall street journal". >> thanks, jon. jon: you can see paul tomorrow hosting the "journal editorial report". that runs 2:00 p.m. eastern time. that is immediately followed by "fox news watch." hosted by yours truly. we cover all the big stories of the week tomorrow. jenna: dynamic duo if there ever was one of the we'll be watching, jon, for sure. this is one of the most sensitive facilities on american soil. why sensitive? it is the only place in the united states where nuclear weapons are taken apart and put back together. we'll get you inside look

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jenna: we are taking you behind the scenes today. we're taking a look at the only facility in our country that handles putting together and taking apart nuclear weapons. it is in texas. it is a big job making sure those weapons stay safe as you can imagine. kris gutierrez is live in dallas with the incredible look for us. hi, kris. >> reporter: jenna, it is exclusive look. 500 security officers that make up the security team that protect the plant, the pantex plant up ins texas panhandle. they train in the 360 degree simulator. technology they use is state-of-the-art. computers put officers through wide range of scenarios including potential attacks on the

facility. some have mail terry or law enforcement background. others do not. they wear bulletproof vests and they train for heavy contact. >> we're testing their ability to operate the weapons and communicate and resolve those problems. the weapons themselves function exactly like the real ones. >> reporter: here is why it is important. since the 1970s this is the only facility in the u.s. to build and dsassemble nuclear weapons. it sits on 18,000 acrers just outside of amarillo. all the cold war weapons will eventually end up here. they test active weapons. take them apart, put them back together and deliver them back to the military. remember when a nuclear weapon is retired it must be completely disassembledded and here is how they do it. >> a lot of it is we're literally sledding parts and segregating them so they can't be put back together. it addresses if there is classification associated with the part it makes it so it is unrecognizeable from a classification standpoint as well. >> reporter: needless to say

they don't want that top secret information falling into the wrong hands. jenna, back to you. >> certainly not. did you get to ride in the simulator, kris? >> reporter: i did. i did very well according to the instructor. jenna: maybe a second career. you have a good one right now so you don't want to go there just yet. >> reporter: amen. jon: i want to see the video. i want some proof. fox news alert now. a day of reckoning for baseball's homerun king. barry bonds to learn his fate in a california courtroom. the slugger now very much disgraced, scheduled to be sentenced for an obstruction of justice conviction today. he could get probation or he could get prison. claudia cowan live in san francisco with a look at that claudia? >> reporter: jon, in just a few hours barry bonds will return to the same federal courthouse in san francisco where he first gave his testimony in the balco case eight years ago. this past april the slugger was convicted of obstruction of justice for giving evasive answers to that grand jury about his alleged steroid use. that is not the same thing

as lying. in fact, several perjury charges were dismissed. nevertheless, federal prosecutors want the judge to send bonds to prison for 15 months. lawyers for baseball's homerun king want a sentence of probation while they appeal his conviction. most legal experts don't expect bonds to do any prison time. after all he was no criminal record outside of this case and he has earned praise for his community work and charitable giving. that was even cited in the probation department's presentencing report which also recommends that bonds get probation. his fate is in the hands of federal judge susan ilston. she recently sentenced three other sports figures in the balco case and none of them got any jail time. take a listen. >> if the judge is consistent with what she's done before he will probably be given one year of house confinement and probation and community service probably. >> reporter: aside from the inevitable appeals, that will mark the end of the federal government's nearly

decade-long balco investigation. jon, it is a case that certainly had its critics but prosecutors contend it brought a lot of attention to doping in professional sports and resulted in major league baseball toughening its drug testing policies and becoming a much cleaner game. back to you. jon: we hope so at any rate. claudia cowan, thanks. jenna: next is a heartwarming story, a great one we can't wait to share with you. secret santas coming to the rescue. inspiring stories of strangers bringing tears of joy to holiday shoppers. a must-see story. you won't want to miss this. this is coming up. glory days of pan am seen on television but maybe not for long. how viewers are fighting back as the show's future heads to the unfriendly skies call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

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jon: this clip comes from the tv series, "pan am" on abc. it depicts the airline during hits heyday in the 1960s. but with ratings not exactly taking off the show's future is hitting some turbulence. fans are lobbying abc to keep "pan am" from being grounded. courtney friel live in los angeles with more. >> reporter: hello from the west coast. so hard to get invested in a show these days because the chances of it getting canceled is so high. for example the shows presented during last tv season, only 23% of them saw a second season. right now the tv networks are tweaking their mid-season lineups and there are rumors of cancellations all over the place. why would you want to start watching a show if you heard it could be ending. can fans do anything to help? >> relax, enjoy your jet service to new york. >> reporter: creating and producing a large enough audience to sustain a

network tv show can be almost an i am impossible task. new shows get a few months to attract viewersefore getting the act unless their loyal fans step in to save it. >> you spend a lot of time out of the cockpit. >> i think networks are really paying attention to loyalty. >> which one is responsible bringing a stowaway on a pan am aircraft. >> reporter: one new drama that, "pan am" is gross back to the 1960s. the shows's producer says his audience made be able to make a difference. >> ratings will always speak the loudest i think but the fan base that we have has been so vocal and, i think enamored with the show. we definitely want to play to them as well. so we're trying to balance both. >> what happened? what did you say to him. >> i told him he could take the paperwork and shove it up the cargo hold. >> reporter: social media makes it easy for fans to support the show. >> it is another supplement. it is another thing that fans can do to help a show.

>> here you are, girls. power in numbers. >> reporter: right now there's a petition online. it only has about 3,000 signatures so if you want to save the show, "pan am", head-on line to do that. the show is actually doing better internationally. i also want to point out it is not just social media that helps save shows. sometimes food actually persuades tv execs to keep a show. the nbc show, chuck, when it was in danger not being renewed for second season, they teamed up with the main sponsor, subway and had everybody buy $5 foot longs on the finale night. nbc used proceedings to renew it for third season and cover the production costs. jon: interesting. courtney friel. thank you. >> we have a lot of big stories coming up and one of them has to be what is happening in iowa caucuses or fallout if you will from the iowa debate. jon: final debate. jenna: michele bachmann got a lot of kudos last night for coming out swinging. you will talk to her at the

top of the hour, jon, asking her how she thought she did during the debate. >> she joins us live. 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.

jenna: a big guest moments away. we are glad you're with us this friday on "happening now." i'm jenna lee? i'm jon scott. the gloves coming off in iowa, the republican candidates faced off thursday night, the final debate before the caucuses january 3rd. newt gingrich is leading in the polls and that made him a top target for his opponents. they all tried to make the case why they are the best bet to beat president obama. michelle bachmann joins us live on the phone. you had one of the most memorable exchanges with ron paul talking about u.s. attitudes towards iraq.

do you think you won that argument? >> i think without a shadow of a doubt, yes. ron paul, i have a great respect for him, but i think he is absolutely, 180 degrees wrong when it comes to foreign policy. his views are so dangerous because we know that iran has one mission and one mission only, to obtain a nuclear weapon, and to use that weapon actively to wipe israel off of the map and against the united states of america. to take ron paul's position would be to bury our head in the sand until we see nuclear devastation in our country. i would never let that happen. jon: you referred to it right, i referred to it wrong, i said iraq, i met iran. >> you were on the freddie mac payroll to the tune of $1.6 million, how do you answer critics that you're being

hypocritical. >> pretty straightforward. barney frank was in office with direct power over freddie back, such as chris dodd got special bargains from countrywide, a firm that went broke. they were using power. i was a private citizen engaged in a business like any other business. jon: that was not the bite i had intended to play. you had quite a come back on that in addressing newt gingrich's remark there that he was a private citizen when he was dealing with fanny mae and freddie mac. as a private citizens did he not have the right to do that, congresswoman? >> the whole point is, what is high school position when i his position when it comes to freddie mac and fannie mae? he had 1.6 million reasons, he received $1.6 million essentially from the ne federal government, which for all intents and purposes is freddie mac for the purpose of

influencing senior republicans so they would keep the freddie mac scam going. freddie mac is the epicenter of this entire economic meltdown that we are continuing to live through. to think that our nominee would be a person who hawai has been on the receiving end of $1.6 million, to effectively continue to persuade senior republicans to keep the scam going is unconscionable. i worked actively at the same time newt was pocketing money from freddie mac, i was actively working to try and shut down freddie mac and fan le fanny mae because i want to get the country back on a strong financial footing. i want to get us back in a tpropbg housin strong housing market. newt gingrich took 1.6 million to advance their cause. jon: there are many observers who say there were simply too many debates this time around. there was some talk of having

the party organization limit the number of debates. do you think that there were too many debates? has it hurt your campaigning? >> oh, goodness, no, not at all. i'm grateful for them. someone told me that we've had something like 14 debates. the debates really are clarifying, because many people think that the candidates are the same, we aren't. we are wildly different. if you look at newt romney for instance. newt gingrich and mitt romney. jon: the two frontrunners. >> yes essentially there is not a dime's worth of difference between them. they are both frugal socialists. when you review their record they are hardly conservative or tea partiers, and they've been on all sides of different issues. it's important for voters to know who our candidate will be, and just like in 1980, people said ronald reagan was too conservative to get elected

versus jimmy carter. it was actually just the opposite. we needed the most conservative candidate that we could get who could articulate our conservative positions and win. and i am the best candidate to step into the shoes of a ronald reagan or a margaret thatcher and make that case for our conservative cause. i anal the onli am the only one who has gone toe-to-toe with barack obama. i've held eup him accountable, and i am the one that will toe-to-toe and hold him accountable during the debates for flattening this economy, destroying our national security and i will emerge victorious. jon: we have video of you up on screen during the exchange with ron paul. he also said that any of the republicans on stage last night could beat president obama. do you agree?

>> well i think that barack obama is highly vulnerable but i don't know that a moderate would be able to win against barack obama, because if you look at newt, romney, both of them together agree with barack obama on the individual healthcare mandate. they agree with him on cap and trade. they agree with him on illegal immigration. they have problems on the abortion issue, problems on the marriage issue. i don't know what they would talk about in a 90-minute debate because they agree with barack obama. our nominee can't be holding the same positions as barack obama. i don't. i have been completely the opposite, and i've fought barack obama, and i believe that of all the candidates on that stage i'll be the best one to win in the debate. jon: in his blog on "the washington post" website chris salizza had high praise and your performance last night. she, michelle bachmann was

forceful and effective when she lashed out at gingrich for acting dismissive lee towards her. nice night for bachmann. >> it was entirely inappropriate for him to say i did not have my facts changed when in tpaebgt was the one who was memory-challenged last night. it was very eupl important for him to continue to insult me like that. i'm not a school girl. i'm not someone to be talked down to. i'm a serious candidate for the presidency of the united states. he can talk to me about the argument, but it's insulting to suggest that i don't have my facts straight. jon: you are well into your term of office in congress, your service in congress. what do you think about rick perry suggestion that congress should become a part-time body and that you as a member of congress should hold another job outside of your congressional position? >> well, i think that the united

states congress has become too much about washington d.c., and too little about the folks at home. i think that the time that people spend in washington d.c. should be far less than what it was. i see what the members of congress are doing, they actually are fairly hard-working, awful the members that are there, but i do believe that they are in washington too much. i think they should be home talking to the constituents in their district more so they can know how real people think, and what real people do. it's a grandstanding comment to say -- to talk about their pay and other matters. the real issue is we've got to limit the size of government. what is the best way to do that? i have the best plan of all of the members -- of all of the people who are up there i have the best plan, because of all the people who are running for the presidency no one has fought washington more than i have. i've actually gone and done

exactly what i said i was going to do. that's what we need in the white house, not a crony capitalist. rick perry has problems with crony capitalism, newt gingrich has problems with cone recap ta liscrony capitalism. things are done for political donors. i don't have that in my background. we need to get that out of washington. i've been fighting it, and i will continue fighting it. jon: you have a lot of driving ahead of you. >> i do we just kicked off our 99 tour in souix city. we'll be in lemars, rock rapids, cherokee and storm lake, that is just today. jon: lots of appearances coming

up. congresswoman michelle bachmann, thank you for being our guest. jenna: you brought up reviews saying that michelle bachmann came out strong and was one of the quote unquote winners. who is the winner, that is a question we always ask. steve brown is take being the pulse of what everybody thinks out there. >> reporter: there are probably as many different ideas as to who one today as people answering the poll question. folks that seemed to do themselves some good that would include the national and iowa frontrunner newt gingrich. he started out with merry christmas and selfdeprecating moments. but put his dukes up when he had to. this is what he had to say when told that two attorneys general thought the idea was dangerous. >> the courts have become

grotesquely dig t dictitorial and arrogant in their misreading of people. >> reporter: mitt romney seemed to not want to engage if you will with the other candidates, trying to keep himself out of the fray and scored well at least with the audience in souix city, with his assessment of the president and where the nation might be head. >> this economy has every potential to continue to lead the world. our president thinks america is in decline. it is if he's president, it's not if i'm president, this is going to be an american century. >> reporter: it was interesting the different apparent tactics in the debate. romney and newt gingrich tried to stay above the fray and look presidential if you will, try to give their closing argument to the folks in iowa. there were some candidates,

michelle bachmann, rick perry, ron paul who seemed to be more ready and able to engage. those three campaigns have the best iowa organizations, ground games in place already out here. they may have been trying to work those tpoeupbgs into a little bit of a lather. they are going to be need to be warm it's cold knocking doors these days. jenna: we had congresswoman bachmann on and she continued that calling newt gingrich memory challenged. thank you very much. jon: awful the republican candidates want to take president obama's job. there are brand-new poll numbers sewing the president's approval rating hitting a new low, most of half the country disapproves of the job he's doing right now. what does this mean for his re-election campaign? also, the search for a suspected serial killer on long island. jenna lee went to the scene of a grizzly-victim dumping ground. she spoke with experienced

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jenna: we have brand-new poll numbers today showing for the very first time the in a skwroert of adultmajority of adults in this country believe the president should be voted out of office. it's an associated press poll. it shows 44% of americans approve of the job the president is doing. a greater amount, 54% disapprove. we'll talk about this with bob cusack, the managing editor for the hill. this tackles why this is happening now. this is the first time the poll has ever shown this. that more americans want the president out of office. why do you think that is happening now? >> i think there is just on going frustration with the economy. unemployment dropped from 9 to 8.6%. a lot of people certainly outside the washington beltway are not satisfied and it shows

in this poll. it shows that the president and his campaign team cannot rest easy. a lot of them have expressed confidence in recent weeks amid this contentious battle for the republican nomination, but these numbers are very troubling for the president. jenna: it's interesting that the public's outlook on the economy according to this poll is improving. so when we're asked about how we feel about the economy overall according to this poll we're more positive. when we're asked about the president himself dealing with the economy you can see the number on your screen, it's 62%. there's a big separation that we can feel better about the economy but worse about how the president is behaving with the economy. >> that's a problem for the president. he has to make the case that he is the reason it's improving. barack obama blamed president bush for the economy, that didn't work as republicans made massive gains in both the house and senate. i don't think he'll try that

strategy in 2012. the economy has to continue to improve, it's so volatile, we've seen the market go up and down. eight months down the road he can say listen it's at least headed in the right direction. remember the unemployment rate was 8.7% when obama got in office. he has to get it closer to that number and have it resonate. jenna: why do you think he's not getting credit for the competent. >> there is so frustration. under employment people who have given uptaking jobs, if you look across the country and talk to members and their district there are a lot of foreclosures out there. as some people have done better over the last year or so as the competent shows some signs of improving, president obama admitted people aren't better office than when he took office in 2009. that is a challenge for the president. he has to make the case that his vision for the future is better than the republican nominee.

he's not going to talk about healthcare reform earth stimulus that much because those are so controversial. he's got to make this a referendum on the nominee, a negative campaign and also say that his vision for the future is a lot better than the nominee, whoever that is. jenna: it's interesting that you brought up healthcare. also in this poll they asked democrats how they felt about healthcare and support from democrats for the healthcare law has fallen. we've had three years in this administration, but you have ten months where anything can happen. i'm curious on your thoughts as to the timing. we had no idea that the arab spring was coming, there is so much you can't anticipate. can the next ten months trump everything over the last three years with people feeling a lot differently with the president's connection with regard to the good things happening in this country. >> i don't think on healthcare. democrats are not waging that battle any more.

the republicans continue to pummel democrats. the supreme court will weigh in on this in june of 2012. the republicans have won the message war on healthcare. the white house is talking about taxes, millionaires, billion heirs, the payroll tax extension. the white house claims the upper hand in that battle the last few weeks. they are talking about taxes, that's where they think they can win, not on healthcare reform. obviously the supreme court is a huge wildcard in all of this. jenna: the poll shows that among independents the president still has a brighter picture there. there is a lot of different dynamics at play. bob, always good to have you. that is one side of independents, according to this poll it's actually improving for the president among independents. thank you for joining us. always nice to have you. jon: the president said in the 60 minute interview that his administration compares favorably to fdr and lbj and i believe lincoln.

jenna: when we have newt gingrich on as well we will have a history lesson for the next campaign. i can't keep track of all these historical comparisons. jon: it will be interesting to see whether the american people agree next year. coming up more of jenna lee's reporting of a possible serial killer on the loose in the new york area. she will tell you to where a series of bodies were found and talk to michael bad even and pat broden, a detective, on their thoughts on this so far. have os and interactive learning, plus, in-branch seminars at over 500 locations, where our dedicated support teams help you know more so your money can do more. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start.

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jon: happening right now it is home for the holidays for u.s. troops coming back from iraq. all part ever america's drawdown in the region. with the weary warriors heading home to anxious loved ones it

appears this holiday break will be tough to beat. greg palkot streaming live from camp virginia in kuwait. he has more for us. >> reporter: absolutely, jon. the countdown continues for those who fought in the war in iraq, for those of us who followed that fighting in iraq. the numbers we're hearing from military officials is u.s. troops inside of iraq are going under 4,000. that is from a pe ak of about 170,000 in iraq. many of those service members, much of that hard work funneling right through here in kuwait. and we are talking hardware. take a look at what we saw in one corner of the base here. one big parking lot in camp virginia in kuwait. armored vehicles, transport vehicles, you name it all have been driven down by troops from iraq to meet the deadline for troops to be out of iraq by the end of this year. here, they are cleaned up, stripped down and will be

shipped out to various places, including afghanistan for fighting another war. there might be many questions about iraq, there might be questions about the future of iraq, this coming from critics, this coming from analysts, we had the pleasure of talking to a few of the service members heading home in one of the waiting areas here and they are satisfied with what they've done, and they are very happy to be heading home. take a listen. >> i think we mid a difference made a difference, we made a point. it's good that we're going home now. they can handle it in my personal opinion, they can handle it. >> reporter: time to go? >> yes. a lot of us are excited to go home and be with our family again. >> reporter: by christmas. >> hopefully >> we made a huge impact. it was a great experience to know you with there and did something worthwhile. >> reporter: is it time to move on. >> yes, sir. >> reporter: president obama has promised that most of these men and women will be home for christmas after nine-long years

of fighting for these folks and for others, a very, very welcome break and we've had the pleasure of watching these young men and women in action over these years too, very brave and courageous folks. jon: a lot of deployments and a job well done. yes, we welcome them back here. thank you. about this time time last year police made a gruesome discovery alongside an ocean-side highway a short drive from new york city. they were looking for this woman, but they found the remains muc of at least ten people. here is a look at what jenna has ahead. jenna: i told but a group of gruesome discoveries. ten bodies found along a road in new york city. this is that road. we'll show you where the bodies were found and tell you why police can't seem to solve this mystery.

jenna: last hour we told but the mysterious death of one woman on long island but a big question or several big questions reabout her death and the possibility a serial killer is still on the loose. i traveled to the crime scene and talked with former nypd detective pat brosnan about what investigators found. the mysterious disappearance of 25-year-old shannan gilbert, a young woman from a small town in pennsylvania, sent shockwaves through a sleepy stretch of

long island but what intensified the intrigue was a gruesome discover roy what investigators uncovered in that search. since you come into the scene and you know there's a woman missing. she has been reported missing. we know she was yelling in the neighborhood for her life. >> yes. jenna: saying someone was after her and she disappears. and that starts an investigation. >> correct. jenna: into one woman that blooms into something bigger. >> a year after the search began, suffolk county police found skeletal remains believed to be that of shannan gilbert. >> her disappearance and the ensuing search led police to find other sets of human remains. they found 10 in all along ocean parkway including remains of women that worked in the sex trade. suffolk county police commissioner said recently he believes a sink gel serial killer could be behind those 10 deaths. >> remains of 10 people have been found and police believe it is the work of one serial killer. it is also believed that all

of the victims except for one, a young child, were prostitutes. >> searching for her the police find and uncover the grisly remains of no less than 10 more victims. now when i say more victims it, not suggest she was one of the 10 or the 11th. which don't know that yet. jenna: you're not convinced these murders are related? >> i am not convinced these murders are related and i'll tell you why. the 10, the 10 bodies that were found here were by all accounts deposited here. this is exactly the type of area that bodies are deposited. murder victims are deposited by murderers, for the simple reason it is dessew late, easily accessible and convenient. jenna: convenient, desolate and a dumping ground for cold-blooded killers. we took a lack at the barren lay of the land.

this road we have one car coming towards us. i can't imagine what this looks like at night. >> this is 2:00 in the afternoon. once the sun goes down here, this redefines desolation. you can see 12 miles down here easily. not a headlight. you can see 10 miles west, not a headlight. this is a barren wasteland. jenna: investigators talked a lot about what the brush actually looks like and how difficult it was to find the remains. as we go down this path right here there's, you can see how thick the brush is. it is a little area that has been cleared out. and, got to watch where you step in here. there is another cross. this must be the location of another body. >> yes. jenna: but we can't go any farther. we would need, we would need some sort of tools. >> right. jenna: to get farther out and that's where we think, we think potentially these bodies were discovered. they weren't just discovered right on the road. they were in a little ways. >> right. the understanding with the suffolk pd, with the cadaver

dogs when they discovered the bodies when they were looking for shannan gilbert, these bodies were in a little bit. jenna: if someone was dumping these bodies, which is the theory right now, how did that person get in and get out? you don't even know where the marsh begins? it could be dangerous for everyone involved. >> true. we don't know how much deeper they were. for instance, there is probably good reason the marker is here. i think the presumption is actually where the body was found because it's so desolate here, there is no pedestrian traffic. no one has any reason to pull off over on the side of the road here. there is nothing to the west. there is nothing to the east. there's nothing here. jenna: despite chilling similarities between snan nan gill bert's case and those -- shannan gilbert's case and those other young women pat as theory about a major difference between the cases. you don't think the person that dumped body here for example -- >> right. jenna: and maybe the person that caused the murder of

shannan gilbert are not necessarily related? you don't think it is a serial killer along the same stretch of road. >> no. i think it is two entirely two separate incidents. on one hand you have a serial murderer who has killed anywhere from six to ten of those individuals, those victims who were found. four from craigslist. jenna: let's stop there. there were not just four from craigslist, they were found in the same burlap sack. >> exactly. there was commonalty how they were transported and hidden with the burlap sack. in the one box, if in the one case you have those 10 victims planted here, deposited here, secreted here in a static way. over here, off of houser avenue, you have something entirely different. jenna: a coincidence? >> yes, abs absolutely. jenna: if a serial murderer dump four body we know in this area he or she, he, we think in case will come back to the same area now it has gotten attention, media

attention, otherwise? >> my sense of it is, no different than a criminal returning to the scene of the crime. that it elevates the excitement that is connected with the event. so i don't think it would be impossible to surmise they might very welcome back here or even may have deposited additional bodies. i think it will get worse before it gets better. >> get worse before it gets better. pat is on set with us to continue the conversation. we also brought in dr. baden as forensic expert and also a fox news contributor who has a different theory on this. here is where we are in the case right now, dr. baden. there's a question whether or not we're talking about one serial killer. >> right. jenna: two, maybe more? maybe a scenario where people commit crimes. what do you think? >> well i think there are lots of places to dump bodies and i've been involved in investigating a number of serial murderers and i have never seen the same, two different serial hurters dumping bodies tate

maybe like serial murderers in long island when ripken was there or operating in the same area, they don't dump bodies in the same area. jenna: you think it is coincidence like pat said? you think there is something there that speaks to you this is one person but these bodies go back, we just recently found the remains over the last year. >> right. jenna: when they dated the remains some go back to 2003. >> right. jenna: even earlier than that. if it is one person it has been one person operating for a long time. >> yes, i think there were two bodies, 2000, 2003. the heads and hands were cut off and dumped in the bramble area here but there was about five years after that where no bodies were dumped there. jenna: at least that we know. >> they were missing, most of them were missing after 2007. so one of the things i would think about there is some guy up in mannerville who went to prison or went away for five years, maybe for a sex crime. then owe came back saw the bodies dumped in 2000, the

body parts were still not found and went back and dumped other bodies. jenna: i will ask you about the remains in a moment, dr. baden. pat, what do you think about what dr. baden had to say. >> very odd because generally myself and dr. baden fall on the same side of the ledger. in this instance i have to part company. my strong feeling from historical fact and perspective there is not one single killer but there is range of different killers involved in depositing bodies in a dumping ground. in other words, the toddler and the unidentified cross-dresser, one set, something occurred there that is involved with one killer. the four, i will say that the, there's one killer involved probably in the burlap sack. those four females from craigslist because there is commonalty and methodology, comenalty in transport. the fact is, burial grounds like pelham bay park up in the bronx, 2,000 acres, there were 65 bodies found there in nine years in the '90s.

this is where they bring the bodies. jenna: for those of us who don't know or are not familiar with the new york area, basically wherever we are in the country there will be areas that people are committing crimes are using them for some of these purposes? i have to bring dr. baden into this. >> absolutely. jenna: one of the things startling being in this area, dr. baden, pat, we talked a lotbout this, you're told the brush is thick and you can't get through it but until you're there you have no idea. this is so tightly woven, this brambles, there is no way that you would be able to walk through it. and makes me wonder what else there is to find in this area. if you were starting into this investigation coming into it now, dr. baden, what would you do, how would you go about seeing if there is more remains? and what about just the environment in general and the effect on the remains that could be there? >> well, i think the last body, the shannan gilbert that has just been found --. jenna: we don't know yet. there is still the autopsy we're not sure. >> what i would say they made an dental identification within an hour finding those remains.

they're waiting for the dna to come forth and they found her purse and belongs nearby. so i think that it is going to be announced that it's shannan gilbert. i think the mom may have been given some of that information too. she was also craigslist. i think that she was the last person to drive her there, to see her was the person who drove her to the place. jenna: to the client. >> and then she ran away. when she ran away. he was last seen driving after her as she was running away. somebody drove those other four people over to that area also. so i think that this driver is under a very big cloud of fish shun -- suspicion. >> i concur. jenna: we'll talk more about that as we get more information on the case. i have an issue with the categorization of all of them as prostitutes. we do know they were on craigslist. when you see the gravesites, the remains, i should say in the area that they were found, a lot of them were very young girls. i wonder how quick i we are

to determine they were prostitutes versus a young girl that was led in the wrong direction. i'm wondering how that really affects the case. if this is 10 women in a different city and different class of women how much attention, more attention this would get? >> well, this is, this is a question that you hear a lot of times. would it be the same as a librarian found in central park as opposed to someone who decided on their own to become a prostitute on craigslist? and i would, i would posit that the suffolk county pd are extraordinary professional, very capable. they're extending identical resources energy and effort irrespective of their alleged, you know, employment. jenna: we'll see what happens next. we'll have you back when we get the autopsy results as well, dr. baden. >> good to see you, jenna. jenna: we'll taking closer look at big story over the last year, jon. nice to take a moment and take a closer look at it. jon: jenna, thanks. the republican candidates debating one last time

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>> hi, everyone, i'm alisyn camerota on "america live". we haveew new polls to show you how key voters who supported president obama in 2008 feel about him today. also we'll talk to a victim of the khobar towers attack why he feels so betrayed on what may have happened at the white house this week. and we have an exclusive interview with controversial arizona sheriff, joe arpaio. the feds accused him of committing vast civil rights violations against latinos. we'll get his response and i will see you in 14 minutes. >> well, the republican presidential candidate using last night's debate and all those previous debates to try to get their message out to the people but they are also looking across the country to win over voters some which candidates are doing the best job of using the media to try to boost their poll numbers and are

we seeing the media using the candidates as well? let's bring in our "news watch" panel. judith miller, pulitzer prize-winning author and kirsten powers. deily beast columnist. you may have heard earlier in the hour i asked michele bachmann if she felt there were too many debates. you read that in the media, people like karl rove says there may have been too many republican debates this time around. she said no, it helped her get her message out. is that what i guess the second-tier candidates commonly feel? >> absolutely because the debates really have been the most influential thing that has happened this entire race. without them people like michele bachmann, people like herman cain, even people like newt gingrich would not have experienced the opportunity to get their messages out, and, you've noticed that, take rick perry for example, his rise and fall basically happened with the debates and so it's

been sort of a way to winnow out people and i just totally disagree with people who think they have had too many debates. i think it is a great thing to have them having to get up and discuss their ideas and give people a chance to make a decision. jon: judy, it's a new era with the internet and you know, webb sites and so forth, twitter and that kind of thing. barack obama helped master that and it propelled him into the white house. does that dilute influence of major media outlets, organizations even to include fox news? >> well the major news outlets, yes probably does diminish their impact but overall the media attention on candidates and the races and debates, that if anything is just soaring because of the social media and informal networks through which people are communicating and i think it's really given people an opportunity to exchange views about the candidates and to watch the candidates

up close and personal the way that we haven't had before. it's been, i agree with kirsten, it's been an may amazing experience. i thought there would be too many. i was wrong. people seem to love them. the ratings are strong and we learn a lot about the character of these people. jon: kirsten, i wanted to to ask you, there has been sort of a major media theme, in fact, mitt romney was on the cover of "newsweek" a week or so ago with a big banner headline said, why don't they like me? the major media theme is that republicans are desperate to nominate anybody but mitt romney. is that spported by the polling or by the facts or is that just what media outlets have decided is their theme? >> i think it is supported by the polls and it is also supported by what wave all watched happen which is one person after another sort of rise up and then fall off. and the reason, it demonstrates that there is a space for another person and it is, they have all been

sort of interchangeable. it has been one person after another, the question now can newt gingrich be the person who holds onto that space. with a candidate that people have really rallied around, you wouldn't have that, especially somebody who ran last time. you would have a higher percentage of people, you know, rallying around him and not leaving, you know, such an opening for another candidate. jon: judy, your thoughts on that. >> i agree but i do think that now that we have the full media attention on newt gingrich, it was amazing last night how well he held up. i mean, boy, talk about people who suddenly have turned on the, who was the man who surged 35 points in the polls. i mean they were coming at him from all directions especially michele bachmann. very strong, very aggressive. and yet he held his own. so people will once again factor that in as we're so close to iowa. jon: all right. kirsten, judy, stick around. coming up i want to get your thoughts on a very interesting column by karl rove.

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jon: all right, the so he debates are popular with voters. each attracted 4 1/2 million viewers so far. but do they help illuminate us as voters who wants to lead us? let's bring in our panel, judith miller and kirsten powers. this question is raised in part by a "wall street journal" op-ed piece that karl rove wrote yesterday. he writes, debates transfer power to the media, draining it from the campaigns. the media also decide what aspect are most worthy after post-debate coverage. judy, he is saying in his view there are just too many debates. >> i think karl rove is such an influential person in republican party politics that he probably doesn't

like any competition from social media. i really disagree with that. i think that, yes, the media emphasized certain themes but i think people respond to other things. they respond to, you know, what michele bachmann is wearing or her aggressiveness in her attack on newt. the media can find -- fine tune a theme, an idea, like the looney label they're trying to stick on newt gingrich. but it is ultimately people who decide. jon: zany i think. >> looney or zany. for lunar, colonies on planets to develop ore. all this sounds weird. they're trying to do that. the media can emphasize those themes but ultimately it is the viewer who makes up his mind whether or not the person is serious or not. jon: kirsten, it does help, run these candidates through something of a cruiseable. >> yeah, look.

judy and i overrule karl rove. so he is wrong. i declare. his argument, sure the media is going to do that but at the same time the debates are run on television and people are free to watch them from beginning to end. they can go on and watch clips of them. they can watch them, you know, archived versions of them. so it's not as though this is something that people don't have access to. so i think that yes, you're right, jon, it puts them through a process. i think if we look last time around with obama and hillary, it was a very good process as well when we watched them, you know, obama, particularly, sort of come into his own through those debates. so yeah, he's wrong. jon: i myself am nominate neil cavuto for president. thanks, kirsten powers, judy miller. see you again. join me and judy for "fox news watch" tomorrow 2:00 p.m. eastern. we'll cover the coverage of

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