sees you next sunday. that does it for us on this sunday. i'm eric shawn. >> jamie: i'm jamie colby. keep it on fox because we'll cover all of everything moving out of iraq. take care. wars end, nearly nine years after it began with shock and awe, the iraq war comes to a quiet end as the last time american troops rolled across the border into neighboring kuwait. we'll have a live report. one on one, fresh off a major endorsement. mitt romney sits down with chris wallace. we'll give you a sneak peek. and seeking sarah, she's been called the only person who can possibly excite the gop base and grassroot reservetives are waiting to see who she endorses. a live interview with sarah palin about the presidential campaign and a whole lot more. speaking of, team tim tebow is taking criticism for showing his faith on the football field. is that fair? we'll ask the man who wrote a book on virtues. former education secretary dr. bill zenet.

i'm shannon bream, america's news headquarters live from the capitol states right now. it has been a long time coming. mitt romney made his first sunday show appearance in nearly two years right here on fox with chris wallace. and with just 16 days before the iowa caucuses, several his gop rivals are storming the hawkeye state in search of support. our two hours starts with carl cameron live in des moines, iowa. hello, carl. >> hi, shannon. everybody in des moines is counting down the hours and days to the first caucuses. 16 days to the leadoff contest. mitt romney and newt gingrich have been in a battle really for five weeks. ever since newt gingrich soared to the top of the polls and stayed there, unlike so many other candidates early on in this campaign. the romney campaign has recognized that newt gingrich is a threat that's real here in iowa and across the country and romney today went at newt in the interview with chris wallace. in essence, mr. romney gave an elongated aversion of mr. gingrich is a bad leader, ill equipped and zany.

one of the references was specifically about gingrich's criticism of the paul ryan budget, something that house republicans were eager to pass earlier this year and mr. gingrich now infamously referred to as right wing social engineering. here he is. >> the speaker said this is right wing social engineering. talk about unreliable at a critical time, he cut the legs out from underneath a very important message, the same was woo true with regards to cap and trade. this was being battled on capitol hill and the speaker sat down with nancy pelosi and spoke in favor of legislation dealing with climate change. >> and romney also went on to say that mr. gingrich is zany because of his proposal to put mirrors on the moon to illuminate highways in this country and a variety of other things. gingrich acknowledged that the criticism from romney and others and the attack ads that are filling the air waves have taken a toll. his campaign acknowledged that's the case. he popped up on face the nation this morning and what had not

been a scheduled interview until yesterday and again, tried to accentuate the positive. here is newt gingrich. >> i thought i could fight my way back up to being in the top three or four. but i think positive ideas and positive solutions, the contract we laid out at newt.org attracted people. i think they like the idea of somebody who is determined to be positive. >> indeed they do like the idea of someone who is positive and here in iowa, they like the idea of a candidate who really takes the iowa caucuses seriously and puts in a lot of leg work and ground game. when you heard mr. gingrich refer to the fact that he thought he could maybe make it to third or fourth, the regier engineering or the film side is he didn't make a lot of arrangements to organize here and if newt gingrich has a major achille's heel in the first contest, it's his lack of ground game, his lack of organization. he has acknowledged as much and with 16 days left, there is not a lot of time for him to make it up. so it will be one heck of a sprint in iowa. >> sure will. and covering it all will be our

own campaign, carl. thank you so much. >> thanks. >> back to the nation's capitol for sunday's show wrap-up of newt gingrich and some of the other candidates making news today with steve centanni. >> busy jockeying for position 16 days before the iowa caucus, as you heard. and today the front runner, newt gingrich, said he's not concerned that the des moines register in iowa endorsed mitt romney. >> i'm actually delighted because the manchester union leader which is a reliably conservative newspaper endorsed me. des moines register a liberal newspaper did not endorse me. i think that indicates who the conservative in this race is. >> manchester union leader in new hampshire. gingrich has come under fire for his role as a consultant to freddie mac, and at the last fox news debate, last week, he said that the candidate michelle bachmann didn't have her facts straight about that issue, which prompted this response from bachman. >> what he said sounded very condescending and it sounded

like he was talking down to me as though i was one of his students. i'm not one of his students. as i said, i am a serious candidate for the presidency. if he disagrees with my assertion, then he needs to make that claim and put it on the table. >> bachman also saying she's doing well in iowa and hopes to win there. but the other candidates hopeful as well with the iowa caucus, then the new hampshire primary coming up in rapid succession. jon huntsman was asked why he was never the so-called flavor of the week in this race? >> i'm getting whiplash watching all my friends go up and down. i don't want that to happen to me. i want a steady, consistent substantive rise, which is exactly what we're seeing here in new hampshire. >> he'll be in new hampshire today. while the others are campaigning in iowa. shannon? >> popular place to be. steve, thank you so much. a stunning claim in a new fundraising letter sent by the democratic national committee. asking for support by implying alleged republican efforts to

suppress voters are worse than jim crowe era laws. joining me with a response, republican national committee chairman, recognize preeves. those are bold responses. >> what would a reasonable person around this country think when 85% of the people believe that photo i.d.s before you vote is reasonable, that supreme courts already ruled 6-3 that it doesn't violate the 14th amendment, voting in states that have adopted these laws have actually increased. my view is that the democrats and barak obama know that they benefit from fraud and cheating. that's the only reasonable conclusion that you can draw from their position. that's what i think they're up to. you know, you need an i.d. to board plane, enter a government building. i needed to show an i.d. before i came up to this studio today. this is reasonable. most people agree with it. and only the folks at the d. o.j. seem to disagree because

the supreme court already ruled on it and it's constitutional. >> the dnc is point to go 40 states where there are efforts to make sure people do have proper i.d.s or have to show some kind of i.d. to go to vote. the critics of that say it disproportionately impacts minorities and young voters, the think they think would be most supportive of democrats and this is a coordinated effort by republicans to make sure they don't get to vote. >> you know what? equal protection and one person one vote in the constitution, also protects people who are voting legally and who aren't committing fraud by not having their vote diluted by a bunch of cheaters. that's what this is about. it's amazing to me that the dnc and their chairman would actually come out with some jim crowe rhetoric as they've done in the past when she's the one that spear-headed this call to cease fire on inflammatory rhetoric, only when it suits them. the reality, is most americans can see right through this.

most people know showing a photo i.d. is normal, overday life in negotiation. these laws have been upheld by the court. although they benefit from cheating and fraud, i'm happy to say that most states are seeing the light that photo i.d. should be a requirement and for people who can't afford it, and don't have an i.d., the states provide them for free. so there is no tax on anybody. >> let's look to the 2012 race. there is still plenty of contenders in the field for the gop nomination. do you feel confident that the vetting process that's going on now will be effective in picking a candidate that will be successful for a republican against the president and do you think it's going to be drawn out as long as everyone predicts? many people say using proportion ale delegate social security going to mean this race could go right up to the convention. >> the proportionality rules only extended the primary or elongated the primary for 30 days. that's all we're talking about. so in month of march, states have to award delegates

proportionately starting on april 1, you can have winner take all states. we've had proportional state voting for a long time. now, how long do i think it will last? i don't know. but i do think, to your first point, the vetting is very good for our process. i think primaries work. i think they make us stronger. hillary clinton, barak obama, they tore each other apart 'til the end of june and guess what? barak obama won pretty easily. took a congress and senate with him. i think they work. they've worked in gubernatorial races throughout the entire midwest. they have a history of working and i think that gives us all the horsepower in our side of the aisle to save this country and save the very idea of america from a president that hasn't followed through on his promises and his intent on not doing so. >> we've got several months yet, few weeks to the iowa caucuses. thank you for coming in. >> we can't wait. thank you. the last american combat

troops are now out of iraq. at day break this morning, a convoy of u.s. soldiers rolled out of iraq and into kuwait, bringing the iraq war to an end. it was the final act in a mission that cost nearly 4500 american lives. more than 100,000 iraqi lives and $800 billion. greg has more from kuwait. >> we were there at the border between iraq and kuwait, shannon, at that crucial moment, early sunday morning local time, saturday night u.s. time. here is how we explained it in a special fox news channel bulletin along with my colleague, geraldo rivera, when that last truck came over and changed everything. take a look. >> that is the last truck, the last troop, the last vehicle, the war is over, essentially, for the united states in iraq. there they are. >> along inside that convoy,

something like 500 troops, 110 vehicles, all making that five-hour ride down from camp adard, southern iraq, a very secure ride, right to the very end, militants were claiming that they wanted to kill americans. they did not this past night. then the troops made another one hour ride beyond that here into kuwait to camp virginia, the trucks and vehicles were reprocessed and ready to be sent off to other locations, including afghanistan where another war is being fought. as for the troops, they were being processed for another ride, back home for the holidays. here is a little bit of what they said to us earlier today. >> how does it feel getting out? >> it's great. glad to be done and complete the mission. >> how does it feel being the last troops coming out of iraq? >> it's definitely a sense of pride, sense of accomplishment. and sense to be a part of history. >> we will probably be in the

history books one day. maybe my grandkids will be reading about me one day and i can say i was one of the last guys that left iraq. >> how does it feel getting home for christmas? >> feels great. wife is proud. she said now she don't have to call the commander in chief. >> the wife was going to be calling president obama. apparently she doesn't have to make that call. all these folks luckily, hopefully, getting home for christmas. back to you. >> all right. greg, thank you very much. lawyers for private bradley manning are highlighting what they called his struggle with being a gay soldier. as a key component of his defense. manning, who turned 4 creed, is -- 4-year-old -- 24, is accused of leaking secrets to wikileaks. prosecutors are expected to call more witnesses as they continue to build their case. the hearing will determine whether manning will be court-martialed on 22 counts, including aiding the enemy. egyptian soldiers and proceed it isers are clashing for a third straight day. demonstrators are throwing stones at soldiers in full riot gear who are reportedly throwing them right back.

health ministry official says at least ten protesters have been killed. more than 400 wounded. activists accuse the army of mismanaging the transition from military to civilian rule. the violence is overshadowing the country's staggered parliamentary elections. the second and final part of a prisoner swap deal between israel and the palestinians is set to be completed today. a swap that means a total of more than 1,000 palestinian prisoners would be sent home for the release of one israeli soldier. leeland vitter is live with the story. >> hi. we're talking right now about 550 palestinian prisoners who are make their way back home. either to the west bank or gaza. these are not the worst of the worst o'clock but they are certainly going to receive a hero's welcome once they get there. preparations were underway to receive them back, both in their hometown by their families and also by the political movement that control the west bank and gaza. there is not been a lot of reaction here in israel because the 450 who were reloosed

earlier part of the deal were kind of the worst of the worst. the 550 were chosen by israel, most were towards the end of their sentences or at the very least, had committed rather light offenses against the state of israel and accused of helping the militant organizations here. it is a little bit of the israeli thumbing their nose at hamas and gaza because most of the people they released are from hamas' rival party there in the west bank. this all came about back in october when the kidnapped israeli sergeant came home. that was when the first 450 were released and while it's 1,000 to one trade, in many ways this was a huge political boom for netanyahu, who for a long time had been facing calls to do anything and everything to bring him home. of course, there is a little controversy on this. remember people say, doesn't this just increase the chance of another israeli soldier getting kidnapped? that's exactly what hamas has said they are planning on doing. as for the israeli public, most of them feel this is the

government fulfilling their promise that made every soldier who goes off to the army, as every israeli does, if you go and serve, we'll do whatever we have to do to bring you back home and in this case, that means sending a lot of palestinians back home as well. shannon, back to you. >> all right. thank you. a few hours ago, the very last american troops rolled out of iraq, bringing the war there to a close. what happens next? we will ask fox news military analyst general jack keane, one of the authors of the strategy for a surge in iraq. and she's a huge political player with a lot of key tea party support. will sarah palin endorse any of the republican presidential hopefuls? i'll ask her. our live interview with her coming up. what's this? it's progresso's new loaded potato with bacon.

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>> shannon: toys for tots says its need for presents is higher than in several years. they believe it's because the economy is struggling. you can donate unwrapped gifts up until the very last minute before the holidays. they need your help. to make a donation, visit toy toysfortots.org. >> shannon: with the holidays fast approaching the 2012 gop

contenders are still working the campaign trail. but how do they feel about what's happening here in washington? namely the ongoing fight over extending the payroll tax holiday. joining us to talk about that and much more, ray sullivan, from rick perry's campaign, and joe, from newt gingrich's campaign. gentlemen, welcome. >> thanks for having us. >> shannon: joe, i want to start with you. your candidate is taking a lot of heat about whether he's really a true conservative. john boehner said he's not as conservative as people might think he is. how do you respond? >> i think he's referring to the millions of dollars in negative attack ads that were run during the '90s, the time magazine cover depicting newt as scrooge breaking tiny tim's crutch. newt really does care about solving problems for the poor. he approaches it from a conservative way. he's much more in the jack kemp wing of the conservative

movement that really tries to elevate the poor using pro growth policies. so i think that's what he's referring to. there is a bit of a caricature out there and that's one of the things that during the general election, people will finally be able to see, independent also say, this is a guy who has a lot of good ideas about how to eliminate income equality in america. he's proposing different solutions than what you might hear out of the obama administration and from democrats. >> shannon: ray, for now, that strategy seems to be working. mr. gingrich pulling well ahead of your candidate right now in a key state in iowa. how do you plan to close the gap in the next 16 days? >> to play off your earlier point, speaker gingrich has a 61% approval from the national taxpayers union for his time in congress. not a very high rating. a trillion dollars increase in the debt ceiling, earmarks. so this is like many other of the candidates is a

congressional republican through and through. governor perry aims to really completely overhaul washington, d.c., go into that 20% flat tax, eliminating corporate tax loophole, permanently banning earmarks and trying to get congress to be part-time. we feel like if we cut their pay, send them home to live under the laws they pass, a lot less mischief can be going on in washington, d.c. >> shannon: joe, i want to give you a chance to respond to a claim from the perry campaign that newt gingrich was basically the grand daddy or the big daddy of earmarks back years ago. >> well, if you look at the actual total amount of spending on earmarks, it only went up very little under newt. the real explosion in earmark spending came after he left congress. but we're happy to talk about the budget because it was balanced. he is really the only person in this race that actually balance add federal budget before. he did so during a very, very intense fight with the

democratic president in which he took a very intense personal beating, but he held strong and the achievement was a balanced budget. newt has actually achieved large scale change, conservative reform in washington and he's the only one in this field with the qualifications to do it again. >> shannon: ray, governor perry by many accounts has had a really good debate, especially in the last couple of times out. he stumbled early on with that. is it too little, too late? >> not at all. speaking of fiscal conservatism, which is really what the voters want, we've got a candidate in rick perry who has never been part of the washington establishment, never served in congress, that is really a unique characteristic in this field now. he signed six balanced budgets. he cut taxes, and texas created a million jobs during rick perry's tenure while the rest of the country lost 2 million. that's the kind of fiscal conservatism voters want. he really is the full package. a solid social conservative,

solidly pro-life, pro-family, a tea party conservative, went out and embraced the tea party folks on april 15, 2009, the day of their really launch. and has been the nation's balanced budget job creating governor. we feel like that along with our strong grassroots in iowa, we're in the midst of a 44-city bus tour is really going to build on momentum we've seen in recent weeks and carried on in iowa. >> shannon: we will see you both 16 days from now. thank you both for your time today. >> thank you. >> shannon: last time mitt romney sat down with a fox news anchor, things got a little testy. today he did his first sunday show interview in almost two years. i'll get chris wallace's take on his one on one with the gop hopeful next. and we picked a good twitter question for you. we'll talk about it throughout the show. is there a place for tebowing in

sports? you know what it means. jarrett wright says, yes. if you ask me, the whole nation needs to do more tebowing. keep those tweet responses coming. we'll read more throughout the show. >> i mentioned the other night, the president has had one experience overseeing an enterprise, couple of intersurprises, general motors, and chrysler. what did he do? he closed factories. he laid off people. he didn't do it personally, but his people did [ male announcer ] if you think tylenol is the pain reliever orthopedic doctors recommend most for arthritis pain, think again. and take aleve. it's the one doctors recommend most for arthritis pain... two pills can last all day. ♪

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♪ hah >> shannon: new york city police are questioning a man in custody following a horrific murder. 64-year-old dor lories was doused in flammable and set on fire a. man entered a brooklyn police station early this morning claiming he started the fire. although he's not charged, authorities say he smelled like

gasoline and made claims implicating himself. the battle over the payroll tax cut extension is far from over. tomorrow the house will take up the legislation passed by the senate yesterday and plenty of house republicans are clearly opposed. it's the bottom of the hour, peter doocy is standing by. >> john boehner says he's opposed to the senate approved bill extend ago payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for just two months. in an interview, he says congressional bar againers should write a new measure that would last an entire year. newly enacted legislation will let president obama retain the right to investigate and try suspected terrorists in civilian courts, even as the military gets a bigger role in fighting terrorism. that's raising complicated questions, one major one is how f.b.i. agents are going to do their work when some suspects may still be in military

custody? the last american troops are out of iraq. a small group of iraqi soldiers waved to the departing u.s. soldiers as they rolled across the border into kuwait. the u.s. death toll from nine years is 4487 killed. tom brady and tim tebow face off in mile high stadium today when the new england patriots play the denver broncos. new england can clinch the afc east title with a win or a new york jets loss. those are the top stories right now. back to you. hard to root against tim tebow. >> shannon: that's true. we will have more discussion of mr. tebow coming up later in the show. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> great failing is he does not understand how this economy works. and how his policies have made it harder for this economy to put americans back to work. i do know how the economy works. and my policies are designed to

get people what they desperatelily want. not care for being poor. they want to stop being poor, have a good job and have a bright future. >> shannon: that was former governor mitt romney on fox news sunday this morning talking about the economy and his experience in the private sector, an experience he feels would set him apart in a general election against president obama. i sat down with chris wallace for a sneak peek of his exclusive interview with the gop presidential hopeful. chris, it was almost two years, but you got him to sit down today. mitt romney wrapped up -- excuse me. let's start again. sorry. that is the reality of live television. that was the wrong tape. you can see i messed up there.

not chris. so we're going to rerun it with the real intro to chris. is that ready, guys? all right. we're going to come back to that. you can catch all of chris' interview with former governor mitt romney on fox news sunday. it airs at 2:00 o'clock and 6:00 o'clock eastern, right after our show. we'll bring you that segment with chris in just a little bit. after years of war, u.s. troops are headed home from iraq. so as the war comes to a close, we look back and look forward at what comes negotiation for our troops with fox news military analyst, general jack keane. thanks for coming in. >> good to see you. >> shannon: as we roll out, let's talk about what did we do right in iraq? what went right there? >> well, certainly the way we conducted the invasion, liberated 25 million iraqis from the grip, represssive grip of saddam hussein, ho who had that for 35 years. that was right. and certainly president bush making the decision to change a failed strategy that we had for three years and trying to deal with an insurgency, removing the generals who were prosecuting their strategy, putting the new

team in, new ambassador in and putting a winning hand in our troops and turning that war around, actually in less than a year in 2007 was absolutely extraordinary. those were all good things. >> shannon: you were one of the co-authors of a strategy advocating for the surge in iraq. do you think we got the job done there? should we still be there? what do you think comes next? >> largely the insurgency was defeated by 2009. the level of violence had been brought down 90% from where it had been and well within the capability of the iraqi security force. what happened to us, unfortunately, is the new administration came in, the obama administration came in and almost immediately was hands off the government, hands off iraq. their principle singular focus was talking about ending the war, which was largely over, anyway, and also bringing the troops home, which president bush had agreed to do. but we always had a wink and a nod with the maliki government that after their 2010 election, we would renegotiate so we could

keep a residual force there after 2011. the obama administration didn't want any part of that. maliki began to move away from the united states and iran began to gain more influence. now we see finally the troops coming out of there and our influence in iraq is, unfortunately, going to decline quite significantly. look at iraq is a country of strategic consequences. they elect their government, the only arab muslim country that does. they have huge amount of wealth, second largest oil reserve, they're an educated class of people. what we wanted to too was move this democracy forward and let it grow and develop and preserve it so it will be a force of stability in the region. that is in our national interest. >> shannon: is it ready? is it time for the training wheels to come off? >> the iraqi security forces can handle the security situation. we want to do keep our troops there not for fighting, for the same reason we kept them post-world war ii in germany and italy and in japan and also

post-korean war in korea. it's about influence. the troops are there. we have influence over that government, to preserve and strengthen democracy, number one. number two, to continue and grow the iraqi forces and number three, counter the iranian influence, which is our strategic enemy in the region. >> shannon: what one thing will you be looking for in the next months or years to see whether or not democracy is solidified in iraq? >> already there are bad signs. maliki is consolidating his power. he's starting to remove sunni officials from his military. the sunni members of parliament walked out yesterday, not all of them, but some of them, because of maliki's nefarious activitie that he's doing in rolling back democratic reforms. that's unfortunate. that could lead to sectarianism again and could lead to violence returning inside iraq. >> shannon: the world will be watching. general keane, thank you for your service to our country and

for your time here today. >> thank you. >> shannon: not so fast, the senate passed a payroll tax extension yesterday, but the house not quite endorsing it yet. we're going to talk to democratic maryland representative about the congressional snafu next ♪ the weather outside is frightful ♪ ♪ but the fire is so delightful ♪ nothing melts away the cold like a hot, delicious bowl of chicken noodle soup from campbell's. ♪ let it snow, let it snow somebody didn't book with travelocity, with 24/7 customer support to help move them to theool daddy promised! look at me, i'm swimming! somebody, get her a pony! [ female announcer ] the travelocity guarantee. from the price to the room to the trip you'll never roam alone.

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>> this whole episode shows you to what extent republicans will go to keep from making billionaires pay more tax and help out in this very difficult situation. >> shannon: members on both sides of the aisle say they've got big concerns about the payroll tax cut extension passed by the senate yesterday, including the fact it would extent the cut for two months. so would that mean congress is back at square one in two months, maybe sooner? from what we're hearing today, joining us to talk about it, donna edwards. thank you for coming in. >> thank you. >> shannon: the house worked to get something passed last week.

you didn't vote in favor of it. it went to the senate. the senate modified it and gave a two-month extension in tax cut. now house leadership saying today when they come back tomorrow that they're not okay with that, that they want to either now do yet another amendment and send it back to the senate or go to conference. do you have any problems with what the senate passed? >> i think what the senate passed was not ideal, but i think it gets us to a place where we're really able to sit down and hammer these things out at the beginning of next year for the entirety of the year. so i probably would have supported it if that had been what comes back to the house. so a little surprised at our house leadership because there seems to be a lot of wrangling about doing a one-year deal when we could have come to an agreement about how to pay for this so that we could do it for one year last week. that didn't happen. >> shannon: where is the common ground between the democrats and the gop on how to pay for it? >> i think some of us, especially those of us who represent federal work force,

know that we can't pay for it off the backs of our federal workers who have already enjoyed a pay freeze for two years, not enjoyed it, they suffered through it. but we could easily pay for it by dealing with the tax cuts at the high end of the tax bracket. we certainly could do that. and yet, republicans seem not willing to consider that as an option at all. >> shannon: how do you respond to their argument that you're talking about people who are small business owners and people who create jobs and that the tax burden is on them, the jobs may decrease. >> that's really not true. we're talking about individual earners at 500,000 or a million dollars, even which i think is rather extraordinary. i think you could go over $250,000 and not impact 98% of americans. it's time that we did this. most of the american public actually believes as i do that we can deal with the pay force

at the high end and give a tax break to millions of americans who don't want to see their taxes go up on january 1. >> shannon: what do you think will be the state of play in the house this week, because we understand that the house will be called back into business tomorrow night officially for some votes, but with gop leadership saying that they are not ready to vote on what the senate presented, how do you think this will play out this week leading into the holidays for a lot of folks? >> the house republicans can't have their cake and eat it, too. what that means is that there has to be a compromise and up until now, what the house leadership has said is that yes, we want to extend the tax cuts. i wonder about that. but they don't want to deal for real with the way we have to pay for it without burdening middle class families. so i think we'll come back in tomorrow and now is the time to really negotiate. i actually do agree, i think we shouldn't go out of town for a holiday without dealing with the tax cuts for the middle class. 160 million families that will

see their taxes go up on january 1 if house republicans don't negotiate in good faith to get to us a point where either we get a two-month extension and work this out in january, or we stay and do the people's business and get this done for the american people. >> shannon: all right. congresswoman donna edwards, thank you so much for coming in. good luck this week with all the work you have ahead. >> thank you. >> shannon: as i was telling you, chris wallace scored the first sunday show interview with mitt romney in nearly two years. i sat down with a sneak peek. here is the right tape on that. >> chris, it's been almost two years, you got him to sit down today, former governor mitt romney and it wraps up your conversations with the 2012 gop contenders. >> well, it wraps up the first round, but we're going to keep talking to them 'cause we hope this primary ballot goes on for a while. certainly i kept pressing for an interview. he hadn't done one with us or any sunday show since march of 2010. i think what really flushed it out is the success of gingrich and the fact that romney couldn't play it safe anymore.

he has to fight for the nomination. wide ranging interview. we talked about the issues that he faces in the republican primaries. i think the part that interested me the most, though, was talking about what he would face if he does become the nominee against barak obama and the idea that they're going to go after him as a fat cat. in fact, i even said, maybe his gordon gecco, greed is good. and he said, they're absolutely going to go after me about that and this was the lead of the interview, if i may, the democrats and the president are going to put capitalism in on trial. they're going to question everything about capitalism and the fact that people get laid off and businesses close and all kinds of things happen. but that's part of why the free market eventually works. that he's happy to have that conversation 'cause he's going to say, i know how an economy works. you don't. i'll make it better. you made it worse. >> shannon: i think people will also see a side of him that they probably haven't seen too much, you had a wonderful conversation with him b the personal side of

his life, about his family, about some of the trials that they face. it really was a different way than we've seen him conduct himself. >> i mean, the rap against him is he's two dimensional. he's robotic, he's bullettened you have. -- buttoned you have. one of the things i wanted to do, is after we talk a lot about policy, is to talk personally and we talked about his dad, who was a front runner for the nomination back in 1968 before he made a gaffe and how that affected a then 20 or 21-year-old mitt romney and we talked especially about his wife am, ann, they were literally high school sweethearts. they started dating when romney was a senior in high school. ann was a sophomore, i think, or freshman. and she's had some health problems. she has ms. she's had breast cancer. and i think you see the real guy there. i mean, his vulnerability, his dependsy on this woman and their shared strength.

i actually found it quite moving and i got to tell you, i don't know if it comes across on the air, he got a little teary as he talked about it. >> shannon: it definitely was something new. i don't think we've seen from him before. excellent interview. fantastic panel and folks will not want to miss the update you have on your power player from last week. it's great news. >> i've got to say, you viewers of fox have really stepped up and you've helped our wounded warriors. so we have an update on that. >> shannon: thanks, chris. >> you bet. >> shannon: keeping your finances on track through the holiday season is important in these difficult economic times. after the break, some very quick, practical, easy tips for staying on track and out of debt. at the top of the hour, is there a place for faith on the field? i'm talking about both the football field and in the political field. i will ask sarah palin when she joins us live i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer. if you have painful, swollen joints, i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on top of the world...

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>> shannon: here is some of our top stories. tyson fresh meats says it's not gotten any reports of illness from a 16-day recall of more than 40,000 pounds of its ground beef. there were concerns that meat was tainted with e.coli. an iranian national was arrested suspected of spying for the u.s. the intelligence ministry issued a statement saying the suspect tried to infiltrate the country's secret service and

provide it with false information. and the republican front runner is taking time off from the trail today. newt gingrich and his wife are signing books at mount vernon, virginia. he heads back to iowa tomorrow. the christmas rush is on, but unfortunately, a lot of holiday spending can end up creating piles of debt in 2012. joining us is financial advisor with some tips to keep us on track. rick, thanks for coming in. >> great to be here. >> shannon: you say there is a strategy. how do you start? >> make a list. do exactly what santa says. if you make a list of everyone you have to buy a gift for, then you write down the amount you're going to spend per person. this is where everybody gets it wrong. everybody writes down what they're going to buy aunt agnes. i'm going orgeat her a sweater. now you're obligate to do get her a sweater. if it costs more, then you feel anchored. write down the dollar amount. come up with a total dollar amount of everyone you'll buy for, add it up. is it too much money? start cutting. take people off the list or reduce the amount per person.

once you have a grand total you can live with, here is the key. go to the bank, go to the atm, pull out the cash. leave the credit cards home, take the cash to the mall, means you can't go on-line. take the cash to the mall. when you're out of money, you're done. >> shannon: okay. excellent strategy. how do we find the discipline to do this? 'cause i know everybody gets caught up in holiday shopping. >> that's why you leave the credit cards home because when you're out of cash, you're done. if you spent too much on aunt agnes and not enough money for uncle harry, then he doesn't get anything. you need to be disciplined because you only have x amount of money and it forced to you hang in there and do it right. >> shannon: there are so many things that kind of sneak in that seem to up the bill, whether talking about gift wrapping. >> and the cards. and you have to factor it in. if you say i'm going to spend 50 bucks on uncle harry, that has to include the wrapping and postage and the sales tax. you can't spend 50 bucks. you have to spend like 40, so you have ten bucks left for all the rest. >> shannon: what is the biggest

mistake people make during the holidays? is it taking those credit cards and feeling like it doesn't matter, i'll catch up sometime? >> that's a huge mistake, because what happens is we use them examine we all know we spend more on credit cards than using cash. the bill shows up in january and february. we spend the next eight or nine months paying it off and then bam, it's halloween and the cycle starts again. the biggest mistake is overspending, buying gifts that people don't want for people we don't really like, and that's money we can't afford to spend. we need to tough love it out. >> shannon: speaking of tough love, how do you whittle down your gift list? a loft times there is pressure that you feel like that person is going to give me a gift, i have to get them something. how do you stick to a plan? >> they feel the same way as you. so an e-mail, a text, a phone call that says, tell you what, this year, let's not exchange gifts. they will be just as relieved as you are. >> that's probably true. rick, thank you very much for the advice as always. >> have a happy holiday. >> shannon: you too. for months there was talk of sarah palin running for

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>> shannon: as one much most exciting and sometimes controversial gop figures in recent history, sarah palin has been able to mobilize new demographics of voters and create a new new ones on the way. her endorsement for 2012 candidates could severely tip the scales. joining us is the former governor of alaska, sarah palin. hour number two of america's news headquarters starts right now. >> shannon: there are just 16 days remaining before the iowa caucuses. the republican candidates are busy campaigning this weekend. we have got live fox team coverage of the candidates' stumping. they are out there trying to gain ground. steve centanni live in d.c. and carl cameron live in iowa. we kick it off with carl in des moines. >> the leadoff caucuses going right down to the wire and as

is so often the case nobody here in the hawkeye state knows what to expect. expectations are always the name of the game. you could come out a triumphant victory even if you don't make first place. newt gingrich seems to have negative momentum, slipping in the polls, not withstanding what many thought was a fairly good performance with fox in sioux city the other night. mitt romney holding steady in the low 20s and his organization left over from 2008 really matters. today romney was on "fox news sunday" with chris wallace and just like he has done since newt gingrich began to sustain his surge to the top of the polls he went after the speaker of the house as an unreliable leader and even used the word zany again. here you go. >> the speaker said this is right wing social engineering. talk about unreliable at a critical time. he cut the legs out from underneath a very important message, the same was true with

regards to cap and trade. this was being battled on capitol hill and the speaker sat down with nancy pelosi and spoke in favor of legislation dealing with climate change. >> the reference to newt gingrich famous quote of calling it right wing social engineering was h his ridicule and criticism of paul ryan's house republican budget proposal. something that republicans were fairly appalled by and thought mr. gingrich was completely out of step with what the gop was trying to do against president obama in the budget process. the gingrich team acknowledged that the criticism filling the air wave with attack ads and web and e-mail and mailboxes with nasty news letters has taken a toll on the gingrich campaign. he popped up today on face the nation. he had returned to d.c. there was criticism that leaving the field of competition wouldn't be a smart idea for a guy that lacks a little organization here in iowa. he did a teleconference in which he acknowledged that he

desperately needs organization. he said that he wasn't expecting to be doing this well at this point in time. >> i thought i could fight my bay back up to being in the top three or four but i think positive ideas and positive solutions, the contract we laid out at newt.org attracted people. they like the idea of someone who is determined to be positive. >> gingrich deserves a tremendous amount of credit for resisting the urge to counter attack and go negative against his rivals. most have taken the three -- most candidates would have renounced that ledge and begun to fight back. he has not done so. there has been snarky moments that he acknowledged that he regretted having done that. there is a super pact being formed and he told his staff and aides don't you do it either and one of his top political directors was hired and fired in less than a week because it was discoverd that

he said some derogatory thing about the opposition or mr. romney's supporter hes. tough stuff. it will go right down to the wire here and today mitt romney has gotten two big boosts. the des moines register which is known by republicans to be a fairly liberal magazine endorsed mitt romney over newt gingrich and criticized gingrich for being an unreliable leader who would have a difficult time ending the partisan rift and gridlock in washington, d.c. and bob dole has also endorsed mitt romney and that is significant for a couple of reasons. one, bob dole won the iowa caucuses twice. a veteran here and much beloved. and two, mr. dole worked with newt gingrich in the house of representatives when gingrich of the speaker of the house and he was the senate majority leader in '94 and '96. and when dole ran against bill clinton some of the toughest attacks on bob dole were when

the bill clinton democratic national committee bashed bob dole for his association with newt gingrich. his endorsement of mitt romney today again a reference to gingrich's past which a lot of republicans feel is a big deal of baggage if he were to be the republican nominee. shannon? >> shannon: thank you, karl. while mitt romney was busy with chris wallace on "fox news sunday" newt gingrich and other gop hopefuls were making the round on the sunday talk shows. hi, steve. >> national frontrunner newt gingrich is hammering home his controversial plan and campaign that federal judges need to be held accountable for their decisions. his assault on the judiciary was triggered by a texas federal judge who blocked school prayer. >> is such an antiamerican dictatorship of speech that there is no reason the american people need to tolerate a federal judge who is that out

of synch with our entire culture. what is the recourse? >> one recourse is impeachment. >> but some question the constitutionality of the plan which includes hauling judges before congressional committees to defend their rulings. even some prominent conservatives say it would undermine or destroy judicial independence. jon huntsman sees the issue as a major distraction at a critical time. >> this takes our eye off the ball of the key issues at hand and ultimately allow us to win the election. it takes the energy out of our economic deficit which i think is the issue of the election cycle. >> the focus is clearly on iowa and new hampshire shortly thereafter. the first in the nation voting is in iowa. 16 days from now. congresswoman michele bachmann saying today she is still hoping to make a good showing there. >> i'm intending to win, iowa. we are working very hard here and we are seeing the momentum

shift in my favor and we have endorsements coming out from people all across the state. just in the last few days in the last five days we have identified 1500 new supporters. we are adding more and more people all the time and we think we are going to do very well on january 3. >> bachmann, rick perry and rick stan tore rum are all in iowa today and huntsman is campaigning in new hampshire. >> shannon: steve centanni, thank you very much. the senate worked out a payroll tax deal yesterday but is it a done deal in the house? peter live in washington with the latest on that. hi, st. petersburger. >> it passed 89 h-10 but it has to go to the house before it can be signed into law and speaker boehner drove home the republican point of view this morning that the senate bill he thinks is offensive to the middle class. >> it is pretty clear that i and our members oppose the senate bill. it is only for two months. the president said we shouldn't go on vacation until we get our work done.

and frankly, house republicans agree. >> a source who was listening to a gop congressional quarterback yesterday said republicans in the house are angry about the senate version of the bill and that the general feeling is that they support their leadership if they decide to pursue an alternative bill and all this really throws a wrench in the president's plan to quickly settle the issue for two months which he said he wanted to do yesterday. >> so i'm very pleased to see the work that the senate has done. while this agreement is for two months, it is my expectation, in fact it would be inexcusable for congress not to further extend this middle class tax cut for the rest of the year. >> but the senate bill probably won't go through the house unchanged. gop majority leader eric cantor just put out a statement that said tomorrow the house will either amend the senate bill so that it is responsible and in line with the needs of hard working taxpayers and middle class families or pass a motion

to move to conference with the senate to accomplish the same. it is time for washington to do its job responsibly and achieve the results the american people expect us to. and what that means is that the house might move to formally meet with the senate and work together with them to figure out how to build a bill finally shat can pass both houses together. shannon? >> shannon: mike take the wisdom of king solomon. the white house is blasting a plan to overhaul medty care. the plan's author and republican congressman paul ryan of wisconsin are firing back. widen says critics are misrepresenting the proposal without reading it. ryan says the two lawmakers are trying to tone down the political rhetoric over medicare and start a serious national dialogue about the future of an essential program. a lot of folks were disappointed when she said she he wouldn't run, former alaska governor sarah palin. we will talk to her live about her take on the 2012 gop field

and ask her about what role faith plays not only on the political field but the football field as well. we asked you about tim tebow. we ec explore your thoughts on tebowing. and congressman franks says eric holder has to go. he isn't the lawmaker that thee feels that.os stay with us, we'll be right back. think again. and take aleve. it's the one doctors recommend most for arthritis pain... two pills can last all day. ♪

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>> shannon: the red cross is reporting more than 650 people are dead, another 800, maybe even more are missing as a result of flooding in the philippines. the flash floods were a side effect of a terrorism. search and rescue efforts continue in the central and southern provinces. i can certainly say that over the last few months everything that mr. issa has sent and senator grassley has sent i have read. >> let me say on july 12, 201 the e-mails i just read to you you were attached to the letter. >> i might not have read the attachments. >> shannon: that was congressman trent frank's questioning attorney general eric holder regarding operation fast and furious. we h heard from several lawmakers calling for the

attorney general's resign 86. now, they are working to pass a resolution saying publicly they have no confidence in holder. joining us, republican trent frank of arizona. thank you for joining us today. >> thank you. >> shannon: the attorney general has testified now a number of times on capitol hill about operation fast and furious. have you gotten the answers you are looking for? >> well, shannon, we really haven't. you know, to say this this attorney general has been less than candid is probably the kindest phraseology i could possibly use. a lot of times people simply don't understand what the whole term fast and furious really entails but this was a project on the part of this administration to force gun dealers to coerce them into selling thousands of high powered weapons to gun runners to go to mexico and sell these to the cartel of mexico and the whole notion, of course, may

have been predicated on something fairly ominous which was somehow to see that the resulting crimes gave them a basis to implement stricter gun control legislation in america. the people will forgive a lot of things but when someone does something that puts innocent life at stake and about 150 mexican citizens have died as a result and one of our agents have died as a result, when people are willing to put innocent lives at stake to force some sort of political view upon americans that really goes to the heart of their second amendment rights they are going to be outraged over that when they fully understand the full scope of this whole thing. >> shannon: and congressman, you are one of dozens who have signed on to the resolution that would send the public message that you no longer have any confidence in the attorney general. whatu hope to accomplish by that? it seems unlikely that he would resign or that the president would fire him. >> sometimes all we can do is

advocate what we believe is, correct. i don't know what the president will do or what the attorney general will do but it is so ironic that this president and the attorney general have sued arizona for trying to secure the borders, that is really the federal responsibility and then they turn around and sell guns over our borders to gang members that potentially could be associated with terrorists that have expressed efforts to attack embassies in washington, d.c. the irony there is just beyond my ability to articulate. the notion that american administration would sell weapons that could end up in the hands of terrorists to attack america, the irony is just unbelievable and to suggest that this doesn't rise to the level of being necessary to call the attorney general to resign. if that doesn't rise to the level, what does? >> shannon: congressman trent franks, we will watch as this plays out on capitol hill. thanks always for your time. >> thank you, shannon, very

much. >> shannon: the last american combat troops are now officially out of iraq. at daybreak this morning a convoy of u.s. soldiers rolled out of iraq and into kuwait, bringing an end to the iraq war. the final act in a mission that cost nearly 4500 american lives, more than a thousand iraqi lives. >> shannon, we there were at the border between iraq and kuwait. it was an amazing moment. think about it, at its peak the iraq war demanded 170,000 u.s. troops on the ground, 505 cases. all of that lasted nearly nine years. as one truck, the final truck old by all of that went down to zero. this convoy had about 500 troops in it and it was about 110 vehicles, long. took about five hours for them to go from camp atter inside iraq in southern iraq down to the border into kuwai

it was not a secure mission. there are a lot of dangers. militants had been claiming that they wanted to kill americans on their way out. but that did not happen. the convey was defended against. and then they rolled on another are hour to where we are right now, camp, virginia, for processing. the vehicles were stripped down and also the troops ready to move on. here is a little bit of what we saw. >> might not look like it but these folks are part of h history. this is the last convoy out of iraq. the last u.s. troops in iraq, business basically the war in iraq for america is over as of today. and now these folks can get some well earned rest. >> now, they had to get out of iraq according to a u.s./iraqi agreement by the end of the year. that is definitely happening.

president obama had promised that they get back to their homes for christmas time. that looks like in most cases that will be happening, too. shannon, we talked to a lot of these kids. amazing stories we h heard from them. overall despite differences and problems in iraq they were satisfied with their own individual performances. everybody to use their parlance, was stoked about the idea of being on the last convoy. they said it was awesome. they said words couldn't describe it. one guy told me listen when i'm a grandfather my grand kids can look in the history books and say, hey, i made it out on the last convoy. and as forgetting home for christmas, well, i don't have to tell you what they feel about that. back to you. >> shannon: i'm sure a lot of ex-kitement. greg palkot, thank you very much. >> it is called te bowing. why are they spoking fun at someone that a lot of folks consider a positive christian role model? i will ask two people about that. they have opinions. sarah palin and bill bennett,

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>> shannon: the battle over the payroll tax cut extension far from over. tomorrow the house will take up the legislation passed by the senate yesterday and a lot of house republicans are clearly opposed to it. it is the bottom of the hour, peter standing by with the top storys. >> house speaker john boehner says he is opposed to the senate approved bill approving a payroll tax cut and jobless benefits extension for just two months. in a "meet the press" interview he says congressional bargainers should write a new when sure that will last a full year. president obama will retain the right to investigate and try suspected terrorists in military court even as the military gets a bigger role in investigating terrorism. one major he question is how fbi agent letts do their work when some suspects will be in

military custody. a small group of iraqi soldiers waved to the departing u.s. soldiers as they move inside kuwait. the u.s. death toll from the war is 4,487 killed. and tom brady and tim tebow face off in mile high stadium today when the new england patriots play the denver brankos. new england can clinch the afc east with a win or a new york jets loss. and those are the top stories right now, shannon. back be to you. >> shannon: peter, thank you very much. religion and faith taking center stage lately in everything from politics to sports. lot of talk about what the evangelical vote could mean for the gop presidential contest. faith is in the spot light because of denver broncos quarterback tim tebow getting as much attention for how he prays as to how he plays. joining us is dr. benefit.

you have the new book out, the book of man. i had a chance to look it over. writing stories, letters on the journey to becoming a man in today's society and i heard you say tim tebow is the guy you would include in a book like that. >> a year or two, a little more aging to tim and he is the guy that should be in the book. part of the growing up is growing out. a man and boy at top of a ridge in the mountain and the man is pointing. we are supposed to as adults point the way. point boys to other men who we think are good models and examples. tebow is a good one and captain campbell of the marines who is in there, first chapter. a lot of other people. >> shannon: why do you think he is taking so much heat over this? people say he is a good buy it. what is is the big deal. why does it bother people? >> because in certain parts of elite american society amongst the opinionmakers, among the

people in universities and else is war, and political elites, being a believing christian in public is the last refuge of a scoundrel. about the only acceptable bigotry in american life is to be bigoted in certain intellectuals against believing christians. >> what parents would not want their daugher to meet a man like tim tebow. what a fine young man. what is he imposing on any one? nothing. quietly neals in the picture and says his prayers and acknowledges his faith in jesus christ and goes on and plays enormous games. rick perry was trying to cash in on this in iowa saying i'm the tim tebow of iowa caucuses. >> rick perry on tebowing. >> there are a lot of folks that saided tim tebow wasn't going to be a very good nfl quarterback and people that

stood up and said he doesn't have the right throwing mechanisms or are not playing the game right and he won two national championships and that looked pretty good. we were the national champions in job creation back in texas. am i ready for the next level. let me tell you, i hope i am the tim tebow of the iowa causes. >> he has some amazing fourth quarter comebacks. rick perry will need a lot of fourth quarter comebacks. >> he is doing better. if tim tebow beats the patriots he may enter the iowa caucuses and do well. >> shannon: might be a bit of a miracle today if that happens. >> a terrific example and a fine young man. take a look at the sandusky thing at penn state. people say this is so horrible, how can something like this happen? well, c.s. lewis says we laugh at honor and are surprised to find traitors in our mist.

st. paul said thing on the good things, celebrate those, it makes a difference. >> even as a seminole, i was never more happy than to see him graduate from the university of florida. that was sort of an answer to my prayers. >> going on to other things. >> going on to other things. happy to see him succeed. happy to see somebody succeed. you know, if he loses today, i think he is the kind of guy that will probably still say it was meant to be, i did what i was supposed to and i don't lose faith. >> he willle pick up. think of the parents in the stands today, the fathers taking their kids to that game and saying look at this guy, this is the kind of guy that we would like you to be. you can look up to this guy. you don't have to be of his faith, you don't have to do it that way. but you live well, you are a leader and you do the right thing, people can point to you and say be that kind of man. that is the great thing you are able to do. >> shannon: is that the bottom line lesson that you hope people will learn from the new

book? >> i talk about war and work and play, the tebow complex, i guess. family and prayer and faith and then in politics. there is an awful lot of evidence that our men are not measuring up in ways they should. evidence from psychologyiology. a lot of the evidence is coming from the young women saying you don't know the half of it. too much time video games and not enough time in serious commitments. >> shannon: all the best with the new book. >> thank you, shannon. merry christmas. >> shannon: you, too. >> shannon: the growing need for machinists means the demand for someone to become one is going a lot more popular. join. >> skilled machinists are a dying breed yet they are in high demand. hundreds of schools across the country are racing to train workers to fill scores veilable jobs. america's economy was forged by machinists but today as a

quarter of the nations welders, engineer and steel workers near retirement age, and with fewer young people entering the trade, the result is a shortage of skilled workers to run the machines that run our lives. >> there is a huge demand for machinists both in manufacturing and the industrial maintenance side which is repairing equipment either pumps or valves. refineries. water companies, waste water companies. >> the list goes on and on which is why machinist's schools are booming. >> i'm hoping to obtain a good paying job. >> that is a virtual guarantee because from refineries to manufacturing plants companies are hiring with starting pay as high as $30 an hour. the emerging workforce also faces a tremendous challenge. keeping the nation's manufacturing industry competitive. >> if we fill the gap and keep jobs here we can compete with the rest of the world and a maintain a good level of manufacturing here in the u.s. >> a study done by the national

association of manufacturers concluded that the largest impediment to future growth is a skilled work force. that is why training the next generation of machinists is critical to ensureing that american remains a nation of builders. back to you. >> claudia, thank you very much. >> shannon: stay with us, especially if you are about to sign on the dotted line. new mortgages could have a sizeable fee that could last the lifetime of your loan. brenda buttner explains it all, right after this break. [ male announcer ] cranberry juice? wake up! ♪ that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm [ male announcer ] for half the calories -- plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. align can help. only align has bifantis, a pantented probiotic that naturally helps maintain your digestive balance. ♪ ooh baby, (what) can i do for you today? ♪

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>> shannon: house speaker john boehner said earlier this morning he opposes the senate's plan to extend the payroll tax cuts. boehner believes the senate's two month sew he luke merely kicks the can down the road and says negotiations should continue so a compromise can be reached by the end of the year. and word today from eric

cantor's office that the house will either amend or take it into a conference committee hammer out a compromise. just when you thought it was safe to start house shopping again, the two bill approved yesterday could come at a price and that price could come in the form of mortgage fees. brenda buttner to explain. hello, brenda. >> you may be getting an extension of the payroll tax cut but guess who is paying for it? chances are you. if you are a home buyer or hope to refinance to the record low interest rates the cost of the cuts is hight the wallets of most people who buy homes or are refinance beginning next year and you do so through fannie, are freddie or fha, that is most of you. nine out of ten mortgages go through those agencies. it will add about 17 bucks more a month to a typical person who buys a $200,000 home or refinances that much starting the new year. $180 more a year. $360 a year for a $400,000

mortgage. now, the fee hike would be built into the loan and the money would be sent to the treasury. the fee will not apply to those of you who currently have mortgages unless you refinance. but you may well be asking the question why would lawmakers choose to pay for a payroll cut with a fee on home buyers? supporters say many lawmakers and the white house want to get rid of fannie mae and freddie mac's huge influence in the market. here is the rub. the tax cut lasts two months. it will take ten years for this fee on home buyers and refinancers to add up to about the 36 billion bucks the tax cut will cost. so saying it pays for the extension of the payroll tax cut is definitely a special kind of math that somehow those in capitol hill specialize in

but that doesn't make much sense outside the beltway. and bottom line is the money you get in one pocket may go out the other. critics, say, the housing market too is still far from building up and key to an economic recovery gets another hit right when it least needs it. shannon, back to you. >> it is that special washington math that nope of us could get away with at home. >> no. >> thanks for explaining. >> shannon: around the world this holiday season there are millions in great need for basics, things like clean water and access to some kind of basic medical care world health provides humanitarian aide in dozens of countries and has a special project in guatamela this season. here are dr. vernon brewer and vice president noelle yates. you have been there. it is absolutely heartbreak. how great is the need in these

communities? >> the need is huge. the area we are working in guatamela is the rural and mountainous areas where 80% of the children suffer from malnutrition. 75% of the people and families that live there are living in poverty. they don't have access to clean water and the combination of all of those factors really are what is contributing to all of these children being sick. and when we say they are sick, they are literally on the verge of life and death. >> shannon: and what you all do with world health is go in and work with groups and individuals already active in the communities and they know the communities there. dr. brewer, how does that work? >> we feel like they know the language, they know the culture, they know the people. they just need some help, encouragement and resources and we make a wonderful partnership by doing it that way. >> shannon: and so this current effort is all about rescuing babies most in need. tell us about the project and the timeliness of it. >> operation baby rescue is just that. are it is all about rescuing

babies in the area of guatamela and we have a goal to raise the funds to rescue 100 babies by christmas and there is a documentary that we did. i was there this summer and we have literally are taking people on a journey of a little girl's life her flame is blanca olivia and we take you hours of a drive up this mountain road and then we hike to her house and we find her in this little hammock just swinging, wimpering. no energy to do anything else. on the verge of death, burning up with fever. and take you on the journey of what it is like to rescue a child. not many of us have an opportunity like that to really save a barbecuing bash life but that is exactly how this is. and we show you how easy it toss make a difference. the need is so huge but we are giving the tools to really make a difference. >> shannon: how far are these individuals from some kind of medical care? the little girl you see in the documentary she barely looks like she is registering as alive at the point that you all

find her. >> we are hours away which is why the children get so sick. the families are already poor and have no option to get to the medical center. we bring them down to a baby rescue. the little girl that you see in the documentary her condition was to severe she did have to go to the nearest hospital which is again even further away. on average the children stay about two weeks and we are able to send them back to the families with food and clothing and this is really just the first step. we are all about sustainably transforming lives which means we want to give them the tools so that this doesn't happen again. >> how can people get involved. >> go to world help.net/rescue and help us meet this goal and save lives. what better thing to do at christmas than to save the life of a baby. >> and it is 100 babies that you are trying to get the pledges for.

what is the cost involved with trying to help the children? >> the average cost is $1,200. it includes the rescuing and medical attention and making sure when that baby goes back to its parents in its village that this process doesn't start over again. >> shannon: thank you both for coming in. all the best wishes. world health.net/rescue if folks want to h help. thanks. merry christmas. >> thank you. >> shannon: up next, former alaska governor sarah palin. we will talk everything from 2012 politics to tebowing on the football field. stay with us. we will talk to the former governor in just a moment. i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer. if you have painful, swollen joints, i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on top of the world... the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system,

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>> shannon: here are some of the top stories we are following. the last american combat troops are out of iraq. a small group of iraqi soldiers waved to the departing u.s. soldiers as a final convoy rolled across the border into neighboring kuwait. the final u.s. death toll from nearly nine years of war is 4,487 killed and thousands wounded as well. house speaker john boehner tells met the press that the two month bill amounts to kicking the can down the road. presidential candidate mitt romney appears on "fox news

sunday" right after america's news headquarters. the former governor lays out his economic plans if he is elected president. that is coming up. >> shannon: as one of the most exciting gop figures in recent h history, sarah palin has been able to mobilize new demographics of voters and even create a few new ones along the way. her endorsement for a 2012 candidate could really tip the scales. joining us to discuss the 2012 election and other subjects is former governor of alaska sarah palin. folks with like to see you as well as hear you but right now you have got you on the phone. thanks for joining us. >> thank you. we are 4400 drive miles apart. it is no wonder the atrocious weather in between sometimes it just doesn't work, this hookup. >> shannon: i want to ask you what the take is on the 2012 field. they are all trying to vie t c.

>> knowing the good people of iowa i think the traditional conservatives in the race will do well, there and that will be an indication on the first step of primaries and caucuses how the field will do. bachmann and santorum, of course, they are known by many as the conservatives. and they will do better are i think than some pundits predict. rick perry has the money in his coffers to have a good showing in iowa and ron paul will do well, i guarantee because he has the loyal hard working base of independent patriots who know that he has fought on with his acknowledgement of domestic spending crisis that we face that has got to be addressed or we are going under and, of course, romney and gingrich they no doubt i believe will stay the frontrunners after iowa but it is going to be a competitive good race in the state. >> shannon: at what point will you endorse someone if you do plan to? >> you know, my endorsement is

going to be with sincerity and enthusiasm and i'm just not there yet, shannon, with the field as it stands. and, you know, this is no need to endorse until that enthusiasm really is within me in my gut and i also believe that my endorsement and anybody else is' really sometimes doesn't amount to a hill of beans when you consider the independent thinking and the wisdom of the voters that they make up their own mind and personal endorsement doesn't always, you know, it helps shape the race so i don't put that at kind of creedence or credibility in my endorsement at all. but as soon as i feel that that person who understands the fiscal crisis especially that america faces and know hass to do about it then i will feel that enthusiasm and i will endorse but i'm not ready yet. >> shannon: do you think that person does exist in the field as it now stands?

>> we'll see. honestly, i honestly don't know yet. the debates are good. the vetting of the media and each candidate in their own way through the debate is good for voters. it is good for us to be able to know more of the person's experience and their goals for this nation and what it is that they have to offer. so as the process continues more vetting will take may plae and we will all be able to make a good choice. >> shannon: the tea party was a huge factor in the mid term elections in 2010. do you think that group will have a solid strong voice in 2012? >> i do and remember that the tea party is not necessarily in my mind anyway considered a group. it is a movement. it is a grass roots movement of patriots who understand that we need to pick up the constitution and follow that rulebook as we govern our nation. and the movement is strong. i think it is going to continue to grow and, yeah, i think that

the tea party patriots who are independent and concerned about the fiscal health of our nation will continue to be very influencial. >> shannon: whether you want to name names or are not, do you have any concerns about any of the current gop contenders whether or not they truly hold to the constitutional ideals and conservative principles that a lot of folks hold as their absolute bottom line for a nominee? >> not naming names but considering that some in the field have had opportunity whether on a state level nor congress to engage in the sudden and relentless is reform that we need on a state and a national level in government and have not seized opportunity to engainl in that reform, it gets a bit frustrating to listen to a candidate today talk about what they intend to do for their state and for our nation when they have had opportunity and they haven't done it yet. a little bit of frustration there when you consider the

opportunities that haven't been seized to really turn things around and put government back on the side of the people. but that can really be applied to every single one of the candidates and so, you know, not naming names but that applies to every candidate who has had opportunity and maybe regrets not taking the opportunity to put government back on the side of the people in the forums and venues slow to been participants in. we certainly would hope they are now committed to the reform that is needed. >> shannon: a few seconds left but while we have got you i know you are person of faith. i want to get your take on tim tebow and the controversy over him being public with his faith. >> he knows that jesus is going to rock your world when you give it over to him and he is bold about it and knows that the son of god should be honored and praised and tebow

toes that and i respect it. >> we thank you so much for weighing in. always great to talk to you. thanks so much for your time. >> thank you, goodbye. >> shannon: more news, coming up next. if you have high blood pressure, like me, and get a cold... ...you need a cold medicine with a heart. only coricidin hbp has a heart, right here. it's the only cold and flu brand that won't raise your blood pressure. coricidin hbp. powerful cold medicine with a heart.

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>> shannon: the payroll tax battle is heating up in the house. earlier this morning, speaker boehner shot down the senate's efforts from yesterday and now democratic congressman chris van hollen is calling for boehner to demonstrate some "real leadership."

van hollen says this is "the latest example of the tea party republicans sacrificing the good of the country on the altar of extreme ideology." keep it here as more on the story is sure to develop in the coming days. we have been asking you is there a place for tebowing in sports. we got a flood of responses here. just a few. one viewer was short and to the point and says most definitely not. and a lot of exclamation points and casey allen says glad we finally have a sports hero who can looked up as a sport model. kenneth writes there should be no tebowing because it causes players to recent h him. and katie says some players dance around or bump chests to celebrate. what in the world could be wrong with him kneeling. >> "fox news sunday" up next with chris wallace. an exclusive with mitt romney.