jenna: "america live" starts right now. alisyn: we start with the fox news alert. congress playing chick between the paychecks of more than 160 million americans. and now president obama and senate majority leader harry reid are urging all house republicans who have already left for the holiday to return to washington to vote on the payroll tax extension bill. welcome to "america live." i'm alisyn camerota in for megyn kelly today. it's one of the uglyist fights seen this year. earlier today both house democrats and republicans pointed fingers over who is to blame for the failure to pass the senate's short-term solution

to prevent a tax hike come january 1st. let's listen. >> we are here, we are ready to do our work and we are hoping that the senate democrats will appoint negotiators, come to the table and resolve these differences. >> unfortunately, as has had so often, the acting speaker, republican presiding officer, walked out. he walked out, would not render recognition, and would not allow mr. van hollan and i would make the unanimous consent request and move forward. alisyn: chris stirewalt joins us. wha us. what is happening at this hour. >> reporter: the president may be getting inc involved.

he has called speaker boehner and called majority leader reid and is trying to put back together what looked like what was terminally failed a few hours ago. alisyn: not sure if he's doing last-minute christmas shopping, the president was seen shopping. but he has made phone calls to try to move this impasse along? >> reporter: trying to do it. as it turns out the idea that the house was going to acquiesce to the senate, that is not going to happen. you saw what the speaker did. the senate did it last week. the house tried to jam the senate on its version of the legislation. the senate amended the bill to be a two month instead of a one year extension of the current tax rate, then the senate skipped town. the house refused yesterday, then they left. the president sees with very little time remaining in the year, just a little bit more than a week, that this is not

heading in a good direction. alisyn: this is the confusing part, the president has said that he wants a one-year extension of this payroll tax cut. democrats say they want a one year extension. republicans say they want a one-year extension. what am i missing? >> reporter: you're missing that it is christmas, and there is no season like christmas to really stick it to your opponent in washington. it's the best time of year. it's not just the best time to go shopping as the president is. it's a good time to point out that you think our political foe is so heartless and doesn't want people to have their stockings full and is mean. they enjoyed doing that this week, but it's starting to sink in in washington that this amounts to very little, and people may look at washington, both parties and say, i can't believe that this is all the better that we can do. alisyn: such a heart warming sentiment, stick it to your opponent during christmas. what it sounds like you're saying is the house demands that

the senate come back to negotiate. the senate tphapbd that the house first pass the house bill before they negotiate. that is a classic catch-22. how are they going to break this loggerhead. >> reporter: they are not going to right now most likely. as we get closer to the end of the week it seems very plain what we are going to do is go home for christmas, and everybody will have much nashing of teeth and saying bad things about our opponent and next week we begin anew at a time when they were supposed to be on holiday, and the president was supposed to be in hawaii with his family, and they will be grinding out a compromise. what you have said all we're rile talking about is how to pay nor a full-year extension of the tax credits and the republicans in the house and democrats in the senate have different ideas. alisyn: great to have you. for those of you looking for the

bottom line on this tax deal, here it is. in 2011 the employee's share of social security payroll taxes was cut to 4.2%. that is down from 6.2%. the center on budget and policy priorities says the tax cut is worth about $934 to the average family. so, this standoff as we said earlier could leave about 160 million workers with larger social security payroll tax deductions, the new taxes next month, and the worry is that may hurt, of course, the fragile economic recovery. we have an extreme weather alert now to tell you about. word that a new storm is forming over the southwest, and it's expected to make its way over to the east coast by this weekend, threatening of course holiday travel plans for millions of americans. coming up, meteorologist janice dean will tell us exactly how much snow we can expect and where, and directly after that a travel expert will join us live with what you need to know

before heading off for the holidays, in case your plane is canceled. speaking of planes, the federal aviation administration is unveiling new rules today meant to prevent fatigued pilots from flying. this comes from the 2009 crash of that regional light just miles from its destination in buffalo. 50 people died. the faa investigators heard the two pilots yawning on cockpit recordings. they found evidence that neither had slept in a bed the night before. tapes from the control tower captured the frightening moments when air controllers noticed the plane disappear from the radar. >> 347 approaching. we're off your right side about five miles, should be 2300. do you see anything there? >> negative delta 19-98. >> 34-07 buffalo.

>> colga34-07. alisyn: fox as molly henneberg is live for us in washington. that is haunting audio and it has caused actions now. >> reporter: those tapes are haunting, you're right. the new rules will help airlines and commercial pilots work together to prevent tkaeupb

dangerously fatigued pilots from flying. they must have a ten-hour rest period. during the ten hours they must have the opportunity to get eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. a pilot may have 30 consecutive hours off of work a week. and the pilot has to sign off on each flight plan and declare himself or herself fit for duty and rested. what prompted the change was that 2009colgan air crash in buffalo. ray lahood praised the families of those that were killed and they led the charge to make flying safer. >> these families showed unbelievable advocacy and leadership, and these families won imaginable heartbreak turned that into a powerful commitment to save the lives of others. they pushed us to make progress, the progress we're making

today. >> reporter: airlines will have two years to put these new rules into place. congressman john mica put out a statement today saying the rules do improve aviation security but he goes onto say, quote, pilots must take personal responsibility for coming to work rested and fit for duty. the government cannot put a chocolate on every one of their pillows and tuck them in at night. cargo planes are exempt from the new rules. the faa said it would be too expensive for cargo companies to adopt them. alisyn: thank you very much for that update. we have new information out of maine after a toddler is apparently snatched from her crib. police say they've received a hundred tips since 20-month-old ayla reynolds was reported missing yesterday. she was last seen with her father but he says he has nothing do with her disappearance. as the investigation continues he also is not saying what he thinks happened to her or who he thinks might be responsibility. senior correspondent rick lea

rick levantha hr-rbg is live with more. >> reporter: the father released a statement saying he had no idea what happened to his daughter. investigators say they don't know either. we hear a pond is being drained about a block from the father's home. the father did have visitors at his home the day she vanished and they seized a couple of vehicles from his driveway, part of an extensive investigation involving dozens of local, state and federal investigators with ongoing searches of wooded areas, ball fields, dumpsters, garages, pretty much everywhere and everything near the girl's home. a section of stream was drained. the girl's mother says she is worried sick. >> is she okay? is she laying somewhere dead? is she safe? is she cold? is she being fed? is someone watching her. >> is she somewhere like -- i just want her home.

i want her home safe. >> reporter: in a statement her father says he shared every piece of information possible with police and that quote, i have no idea what happened to ayla or who is responsible. i will not make accusations or in sineor in sinor insinuations. the court gave the father the little girl when the mother went into rehab for substance abuse. the mother filed papers the day before for full custody. the police are trying to determine what they've got and their focus is to find ayla period. we are expecting a news conference about an hour from now. alisyn: if you have any information call your local police. they will put you in touch with the state police in maine. big news from the epa as the agency announces new rules that will or could cut down more than 50 power plants nationwide. in three minutes the chairman of

the house energy committee tells us why he thinks this is a big concern. and president obama says his accomplishments in the white house match or top all but three former presidents. is that a fair assessment? we debate the comments and the fallout. and an investigation underway into the horrible plane crash in new jersey. coming up, new details on the weather warning the pilot never knew about before taking off. >> it seemed to be a routine conversation in the effect that it was not a distress call or anything like that. there was some conversation about icing and the plane dropped off radar. okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle --

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alisyn: president obama is now pulling most of the national guard forces serving along the mexico border. there are about 1200 guardsmen working there now. the number will drop to 300 next year. the move comes after the pentagon slashed the budget for the mission. forces left on the border will shift their focus from grand patrols to areas surveillance using military helicopters and planes. troop reductions begin next month and a smaller force will likely remain through the end of 2012. new federal rules limiting mercury emissions from coal plants with you not liked. the environmental agency says it

will combat toxic air commissions. we have the chairman of the committee on energy and power. he joins us now. hi, congressman. >> hello, good afternoon to you. alisyn: the epa is announcing new regulations to limit mercury basically from spewing into the environment. that sounds like a good thing. why are you opposed to it? >> well, first of all, that is not actually the case. there are already strict regulations relating to mercury emissions. all of the hearings we held on this utility regulation indicated that overwhelmingly the benefits would come from reduced par particula par particulate matter, not mercury at all. the epa is being misleading on that issue. alisyn: they say this new rule would create 9,000 long-term jobs, and of course it didn't calculate, and here is where the rub is, the jobs that would be

lost from closing some of these utility companies. do you buy the 9,000 new jobs claim? >> no, i do not. we've had extensive hearings on this. those are pure speculative numbers. it's so interesting, this epa indicates that when they issue new regulations they are always going to create new jobs. that has not been the case. we do know that there will be a significant loss of jobs, because many coal-fired plants are going to be closed as a result of this regulation, and epa never considers the costs in the communities where the jobs are lost. alisyn: see, here is the balancing act. obviously jobs versus health or versus the environment. as i'm sure you know for the past years doctors have been advising pregnant women not to eat any fish when they are pregnant because the mercury levels are so high in fish. so what to do about this?

obviously whatever controls the epa has in place are not working if our fish are tainted. >> well, let me just say this to you, the scientists that testified before our committee were unanimous in the view that there is not going to be any benefit from this new regulation in reducing mercury levels. all of the benefits were calculated from the reduction of par particulate matter, which is already covered under ambien air quality standard regulations. this is about closing coal plants, and that's precisely what it is about. alisyn: what about closing those coal plants. if they come off line and are closed what happens to the power grid and to the electricity in states where the coal pants are now? >> reporter: we hav >> we have a number of concerns, as you know our economy is sputtering. electricity is a tremendous component in economic growth, and the price of electricity.

one of the other concerns we have with this is what you're talking about, and that is reliability, because many plants are going to have to be closed, many other plants are going to have to be retrofitted with new equipment. and by the way the cost on this looks like it's going to be in excess of $10 billion through the year 2030. so reliability is a tremendous issue, and epa does not have any interest in that whatsoever. alisyn: well congressmanned whitfield thank you for coming in and explaining this all to us. we appreciate it. >> thank you. alisyn: a christmas tradition around since the birth of christ may be at risk for going away forever. if you're traveling in the next few days listen up. the storm that slammed the midwest may be over but we'll tell you why travel plans for millions of americans are not in the clear yet. [ male announcer ] how do you trade?

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christmas comes word that the world may be running out of frankensense. it is one of the three gifts given to baby jesus, along from gold and mir. they say the tree that produces thi this is disappearing. the harsh climate means that 90% of the trees could be gone in 50 years. scientists say research is underway to try to save the species. new information shows some of america's biggest shipping ports are drowning in a sea of government regulation. plans to expand south carolina's port of charleston now seeing

major delays as they prepare for the arrival of much larger ships. the bigger ships are expected to come through the panama canal by the year 2014. a new report shows they may not be ready for more than a decade. fox as john roberts is live in atlanta with more. tell us more. >> reporter: this is all about the ability to compete in the 21 century world of shipping. new ships will start coming through the canal and can carry twice as much cargo as the once at present. if carl stopb can'if charleston can't accept them until a decade later it will due damage to the economy. it is enormous in the state of south carolina, direct or or in directly supporting one in five jobs. the port of charleston is at risk of falling behind. >> if the port loses the competitive edge and loses its

ability to accept shipping as shipping is going to change then our whole economy comes to a standstill. >> reporter: it is racing to deep even its harbor to prepare for the container ships. the army core of information told them if it even gots the green light the project won't be finished until 2024. >> we said we need to do it faster. >> reporter: before one bucket of mud is dredged the army core has to study all the implications, and that process could take eight years. >> we need to move as quickly as we can and be as thorough as we can because we want to get it first the right time. >> reporter: charleston just went through the whole process a few years ago to add five feet to the harbor's depth. >> we think it can be done faster and we need to move along as we can or the region will

suffer. >> reporter: the pan mai panamanian government says it will create jobs and will be a boon for their economy. our government doesn't have a national strategy to update our ports to take advantage ever the new ships. officials in south carolina say if panama have a strategy to compete in the world of shipping, why don't we. alisyn: eight years just to study it. >> reporter: just to study it. alisyn: who would you pick as america's best presidents? you may be surprised about what president obama says about where he ranks. you'll hear the president in his own words and we'll have a fair & balanced debate on that. with just days to go before christmas there is a new storm brewing. it could mean snow for the east coast. where is it heading? how much snow is coming? we'll go live to the fox news extreme weather center for you.

note note. [singing]

♪ fare thee well ♪ farewell ♪ mr. gloom be on your way ♪ ♪ though you haven't any money you can still be bright and sunny ♪ ♪ sing polly wolly doodle all the day ♪

♪ hah

>> fox news alert for you now, there are new developments on a tax cut negotiation on capitol hill. speaker john boehner spoke to president obama this afternoon, regarding the house's efforts to prevent a tax increase next year on 160 million working americans. the speaker reminded the president that the house is the only body that had done what he asked for by providing a full year of payroll tax relief and extending unemployment benefits. he urged the president to call on senator reid to appoint negotiators so that they can produce a full year bill by the end of the year that provides a tax cut of $1000, roughly, rather than only $166. more on this as it breaks for you.

there are new developments in a voting fraud scandal in troy, new york. three democratic operatives including a city councilman, pleading guilty to felony charges yesterday. we've been on top of this story since it broke two years ago and fox's eric shawn is live with the latest. >> reporter: well, now therera total of four democratic public officials and political operatives who have pled guilty to fraud-related charges, all in a scheme to steal a new york election, the latest guilty pleas to felony charges exposed the ease in which political insiders apparently tried to throw an election their way by faking signatures of unsuspecting voters. fox news first broke this story nationally about the allegations, that absentee ballots were forged in the 2009 primary in troy of the working families' party, that party associated with the defunct community group acorn, voters in troy said

they never signed ballot applications and ballots -- absentee applications and ballots were wrote in their name. >> you did not write that. >> no. >> did you fill out ab absentee application? >> no, i didn't see any of this. >> so your vote was a fraud. >> it was. >> reporter: the fraud allegations and investigation focused on some of the democratic members of the troy city council and political operatives in troy, that city is just north of new york. that special prosecutor even took dna samples from a some elected officials to compare dna with what was found on the absentee ballots. the one public official who pled not guilty was troy city council president clem campana. he told us last year he didn't do anything wrong. >> no one tried to steal the election. >> even though the voters told us they didn't hand these absentee ballots in, they didn't vote, they said this was fraud. >> i did nothing wrong, i

don't know if anyone did and if they did, they should be held accountable for it. >> another of the accused i. michael aporto goes on trial next month, along with the democratic county elections commissioner. aporto also told us he didn't do it. >> you do anything wrong? >> no. >> did you try to steal an election? >> no. >> did you forge any ballots? >> no. one of the democratic political operatives, anthony defiglio who did plead guilty told investigators about how fraud works, telling them, quote, this is an ongoing scheme and it occurs on both sides of the aisle. the people who are targeted live in low income housing and there is a sense there are a lot less likely to ask any questions. but it appears a huge conspiracy to nonpolitical persons is really a normal political tactic. the case goes to civil investigation that is now ongoing in indiana, that's where prosecutors some st.

joseph county are investigating allegations that voters put obama and clinton on the democratic primary ballot in 2008 in indiana were also forged and some voters in indiana told us they never signed the petition, either. if you suspect voter fraud or election fraud where you live, we want to know about it. our address is voter fraud at foxnews.com. alisyn. alisyn: it apparently happens more than you think. eric shawn, thank you. there are new questions today about a performance review that president obama just gave himself. during an interview with "60 minutes" this week, the said said -- the said his accomplishments match or top those of all but three former presidents. >> i would put our legislative and foreign policy accomplishments in our first two years against any president with the possible exceptions of johnson, fdr and lincoln. but you know, just in terms of what we've gotten done in

modern history. but when it comes to the economy, we've got a lot more work to do. alisyn: well that, part of the "60 minutes" interview did not air on tweubgs, it only appeared on the cbs news website where it is suddenly getting a lot of attention over the past 24 hours. monica crowley, a fox news contributor and radio talk show host and dan gerstein, a ghost writer and democratic strategist, welcome. let's be clear about what the president was tying, take out the titans, johnson, fdr and lincoln and you can match my legislative and foreign policy accomplishments against any of the other 40. what do you make of that? >> which includes george washington, thomas jefferson. look, what i found was so interesting, we know that every president has a health why ego. i mean, they their in order to think that they could be the leader of the free world. but this guy has taken ego mania to a whole other level.

whenever a sitting president is asked this question, and they all are, rank yourself, grade yourself, the only appropriate answer is to say we're doing the best we can, given the circumstances, this is our agenda, we va lot more work to do, and then you stop talking, you zip your lip and let the historians judge and you can even say you can let history judge or accomplishments and what we have tried to do here. for him to proactively put himself in a group with lincoln, who pretty much singlehandedly saved the republic and two of the most progressive presidents we've ever known, fdr and lbj i think says a lot about this man's ego, more so than we've ever known so far. alisyn: what do you think dan? >> here's something i learned in politics, a loft high profile politicians have a unique trait that have a double edged sword. newt gingrich, he doesn't are -- have an off switch. he'll say things like having kids work in low income

cities as janitors in their schools, it's a strength and achilles heel. with obama, what we saw was another example, part of the double edged sword is the self of high regard. during the campaign it showed in two ways, when supporters doubted whether he could beat clint crone and when the crisis happened with the collapse of the economy, he looked strong and steady, he projected confidence to the american people as compared to john mccain. now that he's in office, though, i think often times it transforms into arrogance or perceived as arrogance and that gets in the way of him and he doesn't have people around him which i think is a key point to compensate for it or hold it in tact. alisyn: or not listen to go them. what the subtext is, ali, which is really damaging to him is he's basically saying to the american people look, you guys are giving me approval numbers in the low 40s. i'm great. i literally am a great president and you're too dumb to see it. alisyn: what's also interesting, he did have a

major, significant legislative accomplishment. he got the health care overhaul reform bill, but what he's not connecting with is the majority of americans don't like it. that one is not a feth ner his cap, according to this. >> or it's divisive. a lot of people don't like it, a lot of people do like it. it's polarizing. that's the problem. you can't rank it up there are the launch of medicare which incredibly quickly became very popular. this is where a president should say i'm proud of my record, i'm going to campaign on my record, i'll let the historians judge my accomplishments, because at this point, maybe over time, history will judge the health care bill more timely right now it's very divisive. >> you mentioned medicare, omabacare, ali. the difference is every time we've had a major piece of social legislation like medicare it's had bipartisan support. omabacare has not. the american people by about 50 percent would still like to see it repealed. alisyn: let's talk about the foreign policy

accomplishments, the death of usama bin laden, anwar al-awlaki, these are accomplishments that he could trumpet, yet what i think is missing and i want to hear your thoughts, people aren't connected as that emotionally as they are to the economy. >> oh, absolutely. that is something you're going to see play out in this campaign. he had a major, major accomplishment in the elimination of bin laden. but it's so disconnected from what is really emotionally and viscerally happening in peoples' lives, he won't get the credit for it that he should and we're going to have a campaign that will almost exclusively be about domestic policy and the economy. alisyn: is there more credit for the foreign policy accomplishments? >> i think he expected more credit especially for the taking out of bin laden. i will say that for every achievement he's had on the followsy -- foreign policy side of the register, maintaining the bush counterterrorism policy, keeping gitmo open which is the right thing to do although he's reluctantly doing it, he had a series of

foreign policy failures. almost the entire middle east is fall to go the islamists, vladimir putin is taking the reset with russia, flying it right out of the window, with north korea, with every victory, he's had fumples and the american people are balancing that as el. >> i disagree with that assessment, however, in terms of public perception, this is the area where president obama is strongest. majority of the people support his handling of foreign poll stkpwhraoe eye ironic, isn't it. >> it's not eye ironic. he's had a lot of high profile successes but that's the irony of this campaign is where he's been strongest is where most people never predicted it and where it's going to be least helpful for him in his reelection effort. alisyn: we'll let history, as you recommend he says! thank you very much for coming. >> thanks ali, you bet, merry christmas. alisyn: we're getting word that hackers there from china may have been stealing u.s. business secrets. ahead, we'll investigate what they may have been after. a nonpartisan fact check website is now saying a

democratic attack on the gop medicare plan is the, quote, political lie for 2011. how are the democrats fighting back? we'll show you. plus, bad weather and holiday travel often go hand in hand. so what can you do to make sure you get home safely this christmas? we have the 5-day forecast for you, and some suggestions, next. >> ♪ >> ♪ i'll be home for christmas. >> ♪ >> ♪ you can count on me. >> ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪

for a hot dog cart. my mother said, "well, maybe we ought to buy this hot dog cart and set it up someplace." so my parents went to bank of america. they met with the branch manager and they said, "look, we've got this little hot dog cart, and it's on a really good corner. let's see if we can buy the property." and the branch manager said, "all right, i will take a chance with the two of you." and we've been loyal to bank of america for the last 71 years. alisyn: fox news extreme weather alert for you, a new storm is brewing in the south. it's expected to hit the east coast by this weekend. forecasters are already predict ago white christmas.

will it be anything like the deadly storm that ravaged parts of the southwest and great plains earlier this week? janice dean is live in the fox weather center. what are you looking at janice? >> reporter: things can change in 24 hours, alisyn. we certainly got a few days before christmas, and it looks like it might be a little warm, a little on the warm side across the northeast. so interior sections could see white, but it looks like the coastal areas are going to see rain. already, though, travel delays across the northeast, at least an hour at jfk, as well as newark and again, these are on average. you want to call ahead if you're dropping someone off or picking someone up at the airport. let's take a look at our current storm system, the one that was in the southwest, now bringing heavy rain across portions of the southeast, up towards the mid atlantic and the northeast. extremely messy. we're getting heavier downpours across upstate new york and snow flying across the northern rockies and parts of the northern plains. won't be the blizzard we saw a couple days ago but it's certainly going to cause

travel problems for sure. current temperatures, you can see the real difference between the cooler temperatures and then the way warmer than average temperature phos raleigh up towards new york, 54 degrees, 66 in atlanta, and because we're going to deal with warm temperatures, it's going to be hard to get that changeover into snow as we head towards christmas. so future radar, we head further out in time, this storm exits, another one starts to form, as alisyn mentioned, across the southeast, then as we get into thursday and friday, nasty if you're traveling here across the northeast. look at the snow that's flying up towards upstate new york and new england and then mainly a rain event for new york down through philadelphia. but again, things can change, so stay tuned, we'll bring you the very latest. just a real quick look at your christmas day forecast, as of now, it looks like it's going to be sunny and 44, new york, five # in new orleans, with a few showers here and there. otherwise, pretty quiet across the country. forty-three in denver, 36 in

provo, 54 in san francisco. so a quiet christmas day but of course alisyn we've got to get everybody to their final destination before christmas. that's what we're here for, we bring you the very latest. alisyn: janice, i recommend that everybody leave now! whatever they're doing, stop and go right now! very good. janice takes my advice often! thank you, janice. all right, so as janice just told us, that storm is likely to create a big challenge for holiday goers, especially in year though year, where more than 90 million people are expected to travel more than 50 miles from their homes, of those, more than 83 million people are expected to travel by car, and more than 5 million others, traveling by airplane. so what can you do to get where you're going safely and in a timely fashion? and executive editor of travel.com, anne, thank goodness you're here because you're going to help us avoid sleeping upright in an uncomfortable airport seat on christmas day. so what should people do?

because goodness knows, there's going to be lots of cancellations. >> right. and one of the things that people should keep in mind is there are a lot of -- there were a lot of storms last year, there was a big christmas storm. since then the airlines have preemptively been canceling flights. they don't want people to be stranded at the airports. so my advice is to confirm your flight, make sure it's still going on before you get to the airport. it's not fool-proof, but it will be a much better situation for you. because once you get to the airport and you're stranded, you don't have that many rights when there's a weather delay. alisyn: you say if your flight is canceled and you happen to be at the airport, try everything. you say call the airline while you're waiting in the customer service line. you also say try avenues like twitter. what does that mean? >> exactly. well, you know, when your flight is canceled, everyone else is in the same boat so they're all trying to get on the the next available flight, too. the thing is the airlines have reduced capacity, there's not that many

available seats left so you one to get on that flight if there's anything available and that's what i mean by getting on your smartphone, seeing if you can reback that -- rebook that way, while you're in line at the customer service, whatever you get to first is going to be the best option for you. twitter is also pretty effective. i know last year, airlines like delta were really effective, if you could send them a message via twitter, they were actually helping people rebook that way. when you're desperate, it's worth giving much any avenue a try at that point. alisyn: i love your session suggestion, also, you say make sure you go to the airport with a charged cell phone. how many times have i made that mistake? >> well, that one is so easy. so many people, they bring their cell phone with them but leave their charger in their checked bag, so really make sure, before you get to the airport, that your cell phone is, a, charged, and pack that charger in your carry-on luggage so if you are stuck at the airport or your airplane is delayed, you are going to be able to call family and friends, let them know your plans have

changed or try to rebook or make alternative arrangements. alisyn: anne, it's all great suggestions. i also suggest to bring a snack if you're stranded! >> good idea. alisyn: thank you very much, good luck getting where you're going. meanwhile to track this storm and get the latest weather update and headlines across your town and in the country, log on to foxnews.com/weather, we'll have all the information there for you. the new year is closer than you think. and this year, fox news is planning another store--- star-studded affair, live from times square. you're looking live i believe at times square right now. you can be sure to catch our own megyn kelly and bill hemmer as they host the all american new year's eve special with musical guest including country legend trace adkins and big and rich, along with the best of the '80s from the cast of rock of the ages. it all starts at 11:00 p.m. eastern right here on fox news channel. don't miss this! well, a notorious

russian arms dealer convicted of trying to sellen weapons to south american terrorist, but it was vehicle victor bows trial, we'll explain why his case may go to trial again. lif. my doctor's again ordered me to take aspirin. and i do. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. [ mike ] listen to the doctor. take it seriously. or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

>> the real money is in actual war. >> how many salesman can talk about their work? at least mine has a safety switch. alisyn: well, that was a clip of the nicholas cage movie, "lord of war", it's a film inspired by the exploits of real life arms dealer victor boot. boot was recently convicted of selling millions of

dollars in weapons to terror groups but then his lawyers returned to court arguing the verdict was tainted because the foredemocrats woman admitted to watching that movie. earlier today the judge rejected that appeal request. for now that, verdict stands we've got new information after a deadly plane crash on a major highway yesterday morning. five people were killed after the single engine plane slammed into a new jersey interstate. investigators are still looking for pieces of debris scattered by the impact and now we're learning the pilot may not have been told about a major weather hazard before embarking on his final flight. rick folbaum is in the newsroom with more. give us the update, rick. >> reporter: you hate to hear stories like this any time but especially before christmas, the family was headed towards georgia, a new york city banker, his wife and two young kids, he had been a pilot for ten years. this was his plane. he was traveling along with the family's dog and also flying a colleague who was heading to a meeting in

georgia. this small plane took off from teterboro airport in new jersey, apparently it had problems with ice building up on the wings. this is robert gretz of the national transportation safety board: >> 14 minutes into the flight out of teterboro, there was a conversation between the pilot and the controller about icing. it seemed to be a routine conversation, in the effect that it was not a distress call or anything like that. there was some conversation about icing, and the plane dropped onofre dar. >> reporter: in fact witnesses reported seeing one of the wings snap off before the plane went down. and there were some reports of other pilots in the area. also reporting a problem with ice. we don't know if the pilot of this particular plane was told about that. this investigation, now, will take about six months. back to you. alisyn: so sad, rick. thank you for the update. the white house makes a bold threat in the fight over the payroll tax cut extension. coming up, details on what the president is warning will happen if the bill does not pass. and today marks 23 years

since the lockerbie bombing over scotland. coming up, details on the new push to find evidence and possibly others who may be responsible for that bombing.

alisyn: fox news alert for you. so this is how they celebrate christmas in washington, with the house, the senate, and the white house locked in a struggle that will likely mean less money in the paychecks of 160 million americans. it's brand new hour of "america live", i'm alisyn cam camarota in for megyn kelly, president obama saying that congress will not have a christmas holiday without extending the tax holiday, warning lawmakers they may not be leaving d.c. until they prevent a middle class tax hike by the first of the year and he's prepared to scrap his vacation plans as well. chief white house correspondent ed henry joins us live from the white house. ed, we know this changes by the hour. what's happening now? >> that's right, we still don't know, alisyn, whether

the president is even going to hawaii at all. remember, it was a couple of weeks a. critics say he was going to go for 17 days. that's been shrunk down, might even be shrunk down to zero. we just don't know. they are literally doing this hour by hour. the latest development is a short time ago, the president called speaker john boehner, the first time they've talked in a while. what the president basically said, according to spokesman jay carney, that there's only one way out here which is for john boehner to give in and sign on to a two month extension on the payroll tax cut and according to carney, the president will make some sort of an agreement that after christmas, after the new year, both sides will come together and extend this for one year. bottom line is that jar carney is taking a very hard line, this entire white house has carney jumping on this "wall street journal" editorial page, beating up on john boehner saying it's time to cut his losses and give in here, carney saying he'd thought he'd never quote from a conservative editorical page, but the white house is done

negotiating on this and john boehner has to give in. take a listen: >> the ball is in the house's court. there was a compromise available, an avenue out of this blind alley, if you will, that they've driven themselves into, and it is the senate bill. vote on it, pass it, and we can move on to discussing and figuring out a solution for the year-long extension. >> reporter: now, speaker boehner's office is quickly responding that the bottom line is that john boehner is not giving in at all. he still wants a full one-year tax cut extension, that if you can get it, a two-month one done now, why not do the whole thing, demanding that the president call senator harry reid, telling him to bring senators back to work out a deal but we're told the president called senator reid, congratulated him on passing that two-month extension on saturday and basically said there are no plans for the senate to come

back so, they are still at a stalemate alisyn. alisyn: thank you very much for the update ed henry. let us know when news breaks at the white house. >> we will. alisyn: there are three big parts to this legislation and here's how it breaks down. if the legislation is not passed by new year's day, 160 million americans will see their taxes go up by an average of about $1000 a year. almost 2 million people could lose unemployment benefits, and doctors would see major cuts in medicare payments. and there are new numbers out today that show home sales are up, which of course is good news. but you know, there's also some bad news in this. it turns out the national negotiation of real force admits they made a big mistake, and today, they say they overstated home sales by 3 million units, just in the last four years. meaning the housing market was in even worse shape than we ever thought. lori rothman is from the fox business network, she joins me now. how with ce trust their new numbers? >> it's so true, alisyn. great to be with you. we were surprised, we got a

heads up that the national association of realtors was going to revise downward its overall health of the housing market. and the fact that it came out saying they overstated by more than 3 million home sales, well, that was pretty shocking. but the good news is we are starting to get some better news on home sales. existing home sales today came in the best level in something like a year and a half, yesterday, the construction starts were quite strong as well, the existing home sales, up about 4 percent. so here's what happened, according to the national association of realtors. they say changes in the way the census bureau collects data, so they're pointing a finger at the census bureau, population shift, and in some cases they might have counted sales twice. so they say they're going to what they call rebenchmark future calculations, but economists are very angry. they're calling for hearings and investigation into the national association of realtors. but then there is a whole other camp saying you know, it is a massive downward revision, alisyn, but when all is said and done, the

sales have been improving, albeit slightly, on the existing home sales. november we had just over 4 million, you need about 6 million by comparison to have what characterizes is health -- healthy housing market and you have in the last couple of months especially fewer homes sitting idle, waiting for buyers. so that's where we stand. alisyn: all right. lor i rothman, thank you very much for skph-p thank to us. >> sure. alisyn: meanwhile, banks in europe are borrowing at a record pace, after a move by the european central bank to prevent a credit collapse by making longer term loans. more than 500 banks took out 489 billion euros, that's way above the 310 billion expected. stocks initially jumped at the news, but then slipped as investors began to worry the lending was only treating the symptoms of the crisis and not the whole problem. hackers targeting police who worked the occupy protests. they say they're retaliating for violence during the evictions of protest camps

in cities nationwide. the hackers, publishing the personal information of thousands of law enforcement officers online, including e-mail and home addresses, phone numbers, and in some cases, even salaries. law enforcement advocates saying the disclosure is dangerous. hackers from china, pulling off one of the boldest known online infiltrations. we're learning they breached the u.s. chamber of commerce, getting access to everything stored in that system, including information about its 3 million members. doug mckelway is live in washington with more. how did this happen doug? >> reporter: chamber of commerce says that the scope of this attack was very limited and that after it was discovered by the fbi, the chamber took aggressive steps to prevent further intrusions. china has denied any involvement in it. a spokesman for the embassy in washington telling the "wall street journal" the allegation of hack o'clock, quote, lacks proof and evidence and is irresponsible. end quote. but u.s. officials say this is all a part of a widespread effort by china

to tap into u.s. businesses, to capture sensitive research and top secret information from defense contractors. but it also amounts to, in the words of one expert we spoke with today, pure economic warfare. >> with this kind of informs, china will know our red lines and know how far they can go in terms of extracting confessions. >> rick fisher says china has devoted millions of dollars to its military and espionage branches to invest in its cyber hacking capabilities but it's not just the chinese government doing it, hundreds of organize crime outfits, tongs in that country, are often paid or at least rewarded by the government to hack into computer systems the world over. the chamber is confident that the chinese hackers focused on just four chamber employees who worked on asia policy. though the intrusion ended, there is a suspicion the chinese are still hacking away. a them stat for example at a

townhouse that the chamber owns on capitol hill at one point was communicating with an internet address in china and last march a printer used by chamber executives started printing pages with chinese characters. alisyn. alisyn: all right. doug mckelway, thank you. for more details on this, on the hacking of the u.s. chamber of commerce, go to foxnews.com, and read much more there. well, just when they started digging out from a blast of winter, a thousand miles stretch of the heartland could be in the crosshairs again. what could be an ugly forecast, after the break. plus, the passing of north korea's leader, kim jong-il, lead to go uncertainty for the reclusive country and the world. we'll show you the newest concerns after the death of a dictator. and 23 years since the pan am bombing over lockerbie scotland, for the first time since the attacks, the man accused of green lighting it is dead. in three minutes, the possibility of new charges in the wake of moammar

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blizzard there. snow drifts as high as 5 feet reported in some spots, and while highways are open for the most part today, troopers say they have responded to dozens of calls from motorists who slid off the ice and snow-covered roads. there are some brand new developments in the bombing of pan am flight 103 over lockerbie, scotland, and they come 23 years to the day of that deadly terror attack. now scotland's top law man is meeting with the fbi to see if more suspects could be brought to justice. this comes just months after the man accused of green lighting the terror attacks, libyan dictator moammar qaddafi was killed by his own people. a university of syracuse student heading home after spending time in london was on flight 103 when it exploded in lockerbie, killing all on board and 11 people on the ground. her life was cut short at age 20. susan cohen is the mother,

author of "pan am 103: the bomb, the betrayals and bee rieved family's search for justice. susan nice to see you. so susan, i know that today marks 23 long years for you, but have these past few months felt differently given that moammar qaddafi is now dead? >> obviously, we're having problems with susan cohen's aud oefplt we will go back to her as soon as we can to find out how she's feeling, also about the new investigation, and whether more charges will be brought against those responsible. we'll be back with her as soon as we can. well, hate in the classrooms of saudi arabia. the nation promised it would clean up extremism in the schools, but our investigation found otherwise. denials now coming out of the desert kingdom despite the proof. our catherine herridge has that update on this one.

then the lie of the year politifacts is revealed, republicans vote to end medicare. is it true or false? we have a fair and balanced debate on that ahead. >> it was probably a quick force of the budget that ends medicare, making seniors pay more to get less, while giving tax subsidies to big oil. [ nadine ] buzzzz, bzzzz, bzzzz, bzzzz, you know, typical alarm clock. i am so glad to get rid of it. just to be able to wake up in the morning on your own. that's a big accomplishment to me. i don't know how much money i need. but i know that whatever i have that's what i'm going to live within. ♪ ♪ i'm a dad, coach... and i quit smoking with chantix. knowing that i could smoke during the first week

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alisyn: welcome back, everyone. we're going to try to go back now to susan cohen, the mother of ceo cohen, the 20-year-old american student killed in the bombing of pan am flight 103 over lockerbie, scotland, exactly 23 years ago today. susan, you can hear me? >> yes i can. alisyn: susan, thank you for

sticking around and talking to us. i'm curious about the news that broke today, and this weekend, that is that scotland's top law man has come here to the u.s. to meet with the head of the fbi, robert mueller, and u.s. attorney general, eric holder, because they are talking about plans for new inquiry, they're thinking about sending investigators to libya to talk to witnesses and to seek new evidence for a possible second trial. what do you make of this 23 years later? >> i think it's wonderful. i think we should have -- they should definitely do this, send people over. there are lots of questions asked. they should be looking into the case against fema, the other person indicted, and because scotland has changed its law now, and it's no longer an issue of double jeopardy, they also should be looking much, much higher, because i think there are people who must

know in libya how this was done, how it was planned, and who else was involved. mcra he, who -- megrahi who placed the bomb was the lower part of this. we must find out the names and get information and possible trials on all of the others who were involved in this ghastly crime. alisyn: susan, why has it taken 23 years to get more names and do a more thorough investigation? >> well, of course, because of this situation in libya, now libya has changed and i am so happy about that. it is theo it has made the anniversary of the bombing much easier for me. i think it's because there were periods when we actually had polices towards libya -- of apiecement towards libya and now that has changed, so the government of libya itself should be willing to

cooperate and help us. but i always felt the trial was very, very kind of limited. you know, this whole thing has been driven by oil more than it was ever driven by justice. and i think there were attempts to just keep it low, get the person to place the bomb and maybe not look too much higher but now that is different and they really should find out everything they can. alisyn: did you feel that moammar qaddafi's death was justice on some level? >> i think advertise death was definitely justice. and i owe it mainly to the libyan people. this is very important for victims. every day, to get up to see governments off and oning over qaddafi, what happened, businesses, get that oil, not -- and really not caring about the vicious act of terror which never did get the attention that it really should have gotten over the years. yes.

yes. i got up this morning and i could say you cannot hear me, but c.o., he is dead. qaddafi is dead. the man who ordered this, the man behind it, because nothing went on in libya without qaddafi's approval. the man who was really behind it all dying a vicious, horrible death, much deserved. much deserved. and yes. it's helped. it brings me justice. a veryo much more that lies ahead. if the government will actually pursue this issue. alisyn: so susan, what do you want to see happen now? >> i want to see information, much more information about the specifics of the bombing. people in america don't realize that in europe and britain and in scotland, in many places, there has an massive libyan campaign under qaddafi to indicate that they didn't really commit this crime, and it was megrahi, and i don't believe any of that, that was a propaganda campaign

and the conspiracy theory campaign. but it's important that the world knows the truth about pan am 103, that the theories will not be able to dominate in time to come. and i think that that's one big reason. but we have to know the specific involved and we have to bring the other people to justice. we really do. i mean, the scots let megrahi go. that was scandalous. the man who placed the bomb. and people in this country reacted correctly, strongly, strongly, against that. so now let's get the rest of them. no one should be able to blow up an american plane and just get away with it. obviously. that is so basic. so in the war against terrorism, let's include this. let's go on and find out who oels was involved, who else committed it, who else did it, how was it done, how did it happen, and let's try those people, and if found

guilty, well, you know, if it were up to me, they could be tried in libya and if found guilty, give them the death penalty, that would be fine with me, but at least let them be tried, and that includes qaddafi's son, saif, who was not directly involved in the bombing, he was too young -- too young, but he knows about it. al we know you have been fighting for this for 23 years, and let's hope with this new information, that investigators are going to libya to try to get more information about who did this. let's hope that this coming year does bring you some more resolution. we're thinking of you and c.o. this holiday season, thank you very much for coming on with us. >> thank you so much for having me. alisyn: all right. now we want to get to a story we've been tracking for a couple of years. reports that some mideastern schools actively teach hate toward the west. fox news has uncovered new evidence that saudi arabian school bookies contain messages on hate and violence, despite claims that language like that has been removed.

chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge joins us live from our washington bureau. what have you found out catherine? >> thank you alisyn and good afternoon. the textbooks range from eighth-10th grade, obtained by confidential source necessary washington pw-pbd translations were provided exclusively to fox. in 2006 the saudi ambassador to the u.s. publicly pledged that a kingdom had reviewed the textbooks and removed anything, quote, inconsistent with the needs of a modern education. but according to the translations provided by the institute for gulf affairs, the textbook showed tenth graders where to cut off the feet and hand of of -- right now we have the illustration, all other translations call for the deaths of homosexuals and annihilation of the jews, quote, the hour of judgment will not come until the muslims fight the jews and kill them. there's a jew behind me, come and kill him. >> it's the government that is imposing.

it is the government of saudi arabia, the minister of education, who are responsible for this education, and it's in their control to change it. >> reporter: in atlanta earlier this month the saudi minister responsible for these textbooks talked about the importance of teaching women, and fox asked specifically about the textbooks offering to provide the quotes to him. >> i always say to people, please come. come, come without preconceived ideas. especially when you you want to raise the future, no one is going to introduce violence. i don't know who put in those ideas. >> i can show you photos -- >> fox news asked the saudi embassy in washington for comment, if they had anything more to add and if we get a response, of course al lin -- alisyn, we will be sure to update you. alisyn: please do, since the pictures and quotes are so troubling. catherine, thank you. what was the lie of the year in washington?

a nonpartisan website dedicated to fact checking, crowning the king of all tall tales. wait until you hear what it was. >> do you know we decorate evergreen on christmas? fox news goes inside the meaning of the christmas tree. we have that live report just ahead. ♪ [ woman ] ♪ what i want this season ♪ if you'd like to try and guess ♪ ♪ it is something very special ♪ i would readily confess [ dogs barking ] ♪ 'cause all i want this season ♪ ♪ is something from your heart

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♪ hah @ alisyn: there are reports of at least 100 people dead after syrian government forces bombarded a village of rebellious residents. they are unleashing rockets, tank shells, gunfire, after surrounding then. that brings the death toll to more than 200 in just two

days. egyptians returning to the poll phos parliamentary electricals after five days of deadly violence in cairo that has cast a pall over the transition to democracy, protestors demanding military rulers hand power to civilian leaders. and the national labor relations board has approved rules that could give labor unions a boost in organizing new members. the rules are expected to speed the pace at union electricals by simplifying procedures and reducing delays. the death of though north korean dictator kim jong-il puts focus on the tense border between north and south crowa -- korea, now the de militarized zone, one of the most heavily fortified borders in the world becoming a home base for demonstrations in the democratic south. so how does kim's passing affect residents there? greg palkot is streaming live from seoul, korea. what's the answer greg? >> reporter: first word that we're getting from north korea, and what we're

getting is the claim that now 5 million people out of 24 million in the country have participated in public mournings of the late north korean dictator kim jong-il. we can't verify those numbers but in fact we have been there on the ground a couple of times and can verify that if this government wants to get people out, they do. and we saw that today in video coming from pyongyang, the capitol of north korea, where we saw tens of thousands of people there. also, we know that the government in north korea is tightening its grip on the centers of power, soldiers are being ordered back to their barracks, there are clampdowns in various cities in north korea and we're told that the officers in the military are being made to pledge allegiance to kim jong-un, the young heir apparent in that country. meanwhile, to that border now between north and south korea and the dmz, the de

militarized zone, we were there today. there was apre test on the southern side by activists, north korean defectors, as well as human rights protesters. their protest has got actually the government on both sides of the border a little bit nervous. take a look at what we saw today. >> just a few days after the death of kim jong-il, just a few hundred yards from the dmz, activists stage ago protest, filling up the balloons with helium and the leaflets showing kim jong-il and two other fallen leaders from this year, on the other side, kim jong-un and his two brothers, a rise up against hereditary succession. the hopes is these balloons will rise up and float into north korea and find their mark. >> reporter: well, they did rise up. north korea calls this activity propaganda warfare and has threatened to act against these people doing this. but in fact, they rose up and didn't go to north

korea. when we were watching it, it stayed on the southern side. perhaps why we didn't see any response from pyongyang. but certainly the anger we were hearing both in south korea and what we've been seeing in north korea, there's a lot of direction there. a lot of venom on both sides as we follow this continuing developing story. back to you alisyn. alisyn: we bet there is, greg palkot. thank you. >> so in a year full of political doublespeak, a nonpartisan fact checking website has now crowned the lie of the year. and that award goes to the democrats' claim that republicans voted to end medicare. you may remember, after republican congressman paul ryan unveiled an extensive medicare reform plan we saw a series of controversial ads accusing republicans of wanting to kill medicare. those ads were also echoed by statements like this from the white house and top democrats: >> at the end of the day this plan would end medicare as we know it, for millions of seniors.

>> republicans have put forth a budget that ends medicare, while making seniors pay more to get less, while giving tax subsidies to big oil. alisyn: christopher han is a former aid too aide to chuck schumer, also joining us, rich lowry, editor of the national review and fox news contributor. guys, thank you very much for being here to talk about the big lie of the year. and let's just remind our viewers of the ad that came to sort of symbolize this big lie, and that was someone who looks suspiciously like congress paul ryan, pushing an old lady off a cliff. let's just watch a minute of that. >> al oh boy. rich -- >> very subtle. alisyn: very subtle. political facts saying that

was the biggest lie of the year. >> this is how paul ryan gets his workout, when he's not at the gym, shoving people off the cliffs. i don't put a lot of stock in the fact checking outfits, i don't think they're as objective as they claim to be. in this case i think they're absolutely right, it was an obvious and blatant lie. what is medicare? it's guaranteed insurance for early people. there still would be guaranteed insurance for elderly people under the ryan plan. it's just the delivery of the benefit would change, but you'd still have medicare, elderly people would still have health insurance. so this was a blatant, hideous lie but all the sleeking on the left tells you how scared they are to give it up because it's so important politically. alisyn: christopher, what do you stph-pbg. >> listen, med care wouldn't end but medicare as we know it sure would and that's the difference between this being a lie and being a fact and that was pointed out in the article on politifact.

it would be replaced by a voucher system that would not necessarily go up with the cost of medicare, of health care going up. it would be tied to general inflation, but not medical inflation which has been substantially hire, and would go even hire on this plan. basically, what the ryan plan was was a giveaway to insurance companies at the expense of senior citizens. >> chris, let me ask you this, this medicare part d, the prescription drug benefit, does that exist? >> it does. >> yes, and it's a premium support man just like paul ryan envisions for the rest of medicare. the way medicare -- hold on. the way medicare works now, you choose your doctor, government pays the doctor. under the ryan plan, you would choose your health insurance plan, and government would pay the health insurance plan. so government would still -- >> they wouldn't pay it in full. to be honest -- >> alisyn: politifact did say in this analysis it

would keep medicare in tact for people 55 and older, the ryan plan but it did dramatically change the plan for everyone else for privatizing it and providing government subsidies, christopher, to your point, why didn't democrats just say that, if it's changing -- changing medicare as we know it, why did they not say that, why did they say and ooverboard and say kill it? >> for the most part democrats have been saying that of late but it's easier to say the dramatic point and say look, they're killing it, because at the end of the day, they really are, because this would evolve into ending something as we know it and would cost americans more. >> medicare -- >> the prescription drug plan is popular with seniors and operates on exactly the same principles and everyone agrees medicare is out of control. president obama repeatedly says medicare is out of control. so the question is, rich -- how are we going to control it and the way the president is going to control it, for the first time ever in 2015, creating an arbitrary cap on

medicare spending which in democrats' terms, must be ending medicare, because it's a fundamental change in how it's worked and giving a bureaucratic panel control over how to reach that cap. so you either get market -- >> i'm a little -- i'm a little shocked, rich. >> -- or you get the bureaucrats deciding. >> the market forces would drive up costs, you know that. but i'm a little surprised you're hanging your hat on the prescription drug benefit, probably the biggest boon doingel passed during the bush years, worse than the bush tax cuts. it's costing americans more than it should because it doesn't allow the government to negotiate with drug producers so they can get a better price for -- >> alisyn: hold on a second. by we get into the weeds before -- >> weeds is where we live, stphobg. >> alisyn: i understand! >> there are weeds everywhere. alisyn: one of the interesting things they said, one democrat who they thought was accurate and truthful was president obama when he talked about the paul ryan plan for medicare.

let's play this, of the one that they said was accurate. >> what we're not will to go do is to restructure the program in the ways that we've seen coming out of the house over the last several months, where we would voucherrize the program and you potentially have senior citizens paying $6000 more. alisyn: okay. so rich, politifact said voucherrizing the program and seniors paying more was accurate. why didn't the democrats highlight that instead of once again, you know, going overboard? >> one, there's no voucher. so it's not voucherrizing the program, if you want to be highly technical about it. two, because obviously if you go around saying oh, they're going to restructure and reform medicare, that's not as scary as saying they're going to end medicare which nanny pelosi said in that clip we saw with no qualification whatsoever and ran ads about paul ryan pushing people over the cliff, and on the weeds again, the prescription drug plan, it's one of the few or probably the only health care program

that's come in under cost and under estimates because there was a market element, and what paul ryan and the liberal democrats -- ron wyden want to do is enter a market element into medicare. >> rich, rich, you're smart enough to know if we would have negotiated like the v.a. does, we'd probably save $50 billion, to $100 billion over ten years. >> you can't -- >> let's talk about the voucher. pretty me address your voucher point. you're right there might not be a physical srouper but what you're really going to get is a discount on health insurance and if you can't afford the health insurance above the discount or need -- discount or need more than they'll pay, you're out of luck. ali want to go back to -- hold -- >> the voucher is wrong which you used yourself. if it's wrong, don't say it. alisyn: i'm glad that we brought -- >> it's not a political -- >> alisyn: i want to get to the point about truth telling and the message and christopher, doesn't it undermine all the democrats'

message when they inflate all of this, it's going to push old ladies off the cliff and it's going to kill medicare? i mean, doesn't that end up undermining their purpose, which is highlighting these differences? >> you know, there's always a time in politics where things get exaggerated to prove a point. i think at the end of the day, is there any immediate danger that medicare as we know is going to change? no. but there is a danger of opening up a can of worms that will lead to this program that has been so successful and so good for so many americans to be ruined by -- >> government is not a business. it is a government. >> and it's eating the federal government. even president obama acknowledges we need to do something about it. >> we do. >> instead of giving more choice and entering market forces into it, he wants to have an arbitrary cap on spending in 2015 which means doctors will be paid less and you'll see more and more doctors leave the program. >> actually, insurance

companies will be paying less. alisyn: fist christopher, what i hear you saying, christopher, is it doesn't make for as catchy an ad to say hey, there's no immediate danger. >> you know, listen, bottom line is this. every party has been accused of demagoguing, politifact made the lie two weeks ago, death panel, there were no detroit panel, they called the american care act, the republicans called it a government takeover of health care, which it's clearly not. it's actually the same thing as the ryan program, except for the entire country would be involved. so it's -- >> alisyn: >> i don't understand why it -- i don't understand why ryan doesn't support the president's american care act. >> crazy. crazy. paul ryan wants to take medicare in a more market-oriented direction, president obama wants to take the entire health care system in a more government-oriented direction. that's a big difference. alisyn: all right, device. -- guys, leave it there. go ahead, christopher,.

>> all i can say -- >> give him the last word. >> rich, keep paul ryan away from my grandma. al we know that you both are committed to truth telling. >> a nice young man. >> christopher, rich, thank you. >> thanks a lot. >> thank you. alisyn: new concerns for some parents in kansas, after their daughter vanishes, after leaving a chilling voice mail for her sister. we have the latest on the search for a missing college student, asha kahn. >> she's a family member, and we have to find her. she's our daughter, everybody is, you know -- we have to find her.

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alisyn: the search for a missing college student is intensifying today. the last anyone heard of 19-year-old asha kahn was a frantic voice mail she left for her sister saying she was runing from a man who was harassing her. this happened while she was sitting on a bench at the university of kansas campus. police are now going through

phone records and checking social media, hope to go find more clues. tom ruskin is a former new york city police detective and president of cmp group security. tom, thank you very much for being here. let me read for our listeners the chilling voice mail that asha left for her sister, she said oh my gosh it was so scary, my heart is like pounding. i've never gotten scared like this in my life. obviously, some stranger had accosted her, and then she disappeared. is it your assumption that they are connected, those two incident? >> well, you don't know that at this point in time. what i would have liked to have seen is the crime scene. if the crime scene, or the last place she was seen, which was at a bench on the outside of the campus, supposedly studying, what is weird to me, that day, in that area, it was in the mid 30s, so be sitting outside at 11:00 in the morning to be studying raises suspicion to me.

the fact of the matter is her book bag and cell phone was supposedly left behind. if you're struggling with someone, was there a sign of a struggle, did anyone see her, did anyone see commotion or could this be a staged thing, that she just disappeared. alisyn: as you point out, this was broad daylight, on a college campus, so surely, there must be witnesses. >> you would assume so. and if she was struggling with someone, it's not like you can very easily grab the person. one person grabbing another person makes a scene. and she's on the middle of a college campus. you would have thought that someone would have seen something. again, unless this is something staged, or she staged her own disappearance not assuming that her family was going to call the police. alisyn: we should mention that her family seems distraught. she has a husband, her parents, they have all come out and seemed genuinely sick over this, but i also want to say that interestingly, this college campus where she was taken does not have any

surveillance cameras. so where do local police begin? >> well, i think most police departments would have done is exactly what this police department is doing, they're going through social records, they're determine tp-g she had any correspondence with anyone from that cell phone or any other cell phone. i'd be looking for a throwaway phone, did she purchase something in the last days that she was known, her credit card receipts, toll records in the area, were there any other area surveillance systems, since the college itself didn't have surveillance systems, did any place in the area have possible surveillance systems. and thereafter, i would be using tracking dogs. i mean, bringing in canine dogs that can track the scent of if she was dragged from that park pefrpblg or from the bench in the campus, to wherever she may have been taken. alisyn: all right, tom ruskin, thank you very much for coming in with your expertise. people can call 816-474-tips if they have any information.

tom, thank you. >> alisyn, have a happy holiday. alisyn: you too. thank you. well, it could be a white christmas and then some. there's a major winter storm brewing. how it could mess up your holiday travel plans, straight ahead. plus queen elizabeth, getting out of the house for the christmas holiday, but you won't believe how she got to her destination. >> [ male announcer ] tom's discovering that living healthy can be fun. see? he's taking his vitamins. new one a day vitacraves plus omega-3 dha is a complete multivitamin for adults. plus an excellent source of omega-3 dha in a great tasting gummy. one a day, gummies for grown-ups.

selling fishcakes from the back of his truck, and in 1942, of course, they were sent away. after the war, as a japanese coming back from camp, he started a little store on main street in seattle. of course they needed some money, and bank of america was the only bank who would talk to my father. and we've stayed with bank of america. we have four stores now, three in the pacific northwest and one in oregon. my parents would not believe how popular it is now.

alisyn: even the queen apparently takes mass transit across the pond! britain's queen elizabeth ii joined with every day

commuters taking the train from london to norfolk for christmas break, though she did rise first class, bundle d up and wrapped in a head scarf, most passengers didn't even realize they were traveling with royalty. so christmas trees fill can light -- with lights, they're a sure sign of the holiday season, but what's the religious significance of them? lauren greene is live in our new york city newsroom with the answer. hi lauren. >> hey alisyn. decorating christmas trees dates back 500 years. it's not a religious symbol for christianty but it does have strong ties to faith. >> christmas tree, the tradition in pennsylvania, one year, supplying the clinton white house with its tree. >> this is a family business since 1945, and we have grown over the years from what used to be a hobby. >> nationwide, 25-30 million real trees are sold annually. despite conflicts over calling it a christmas tree or a holiday tree,

evergreens have no biblical ties to celebrating the second big season of the christian calendar. >> the chrisas tree is not by any means an essential element of christianty or the story of the birth of jesus. there's no association from a biblical and theological point of view. >> reporter: however, the trees do have religious origins, ancient egyptians, romance, celebrated festivals around them, dramatic tribes connected trees, sacrificed animals were placed with them, in seventh century, an english monk stopped the practice. >> saint bonifis chopped down odon's tree, a sacred tree, that ended the practice and he says you guys just love trees, look a the evergreen, it's evergreen, it never dice, the the eternal life that jesus gives you, it's an arrow, it points to heaven, to god. >> it was the germans who brought the custom of

decorating christmas trees to americans during the revolutionary war and christmas trees is one of the backstories about christmas that i'll covering this week and you can check out more information about the christmas trees and others online at foxnous.com. alisyn: that's great, we will do that, thank you very much. there is movement today in the investigation into the disappearance of that toddler in maine. there are new leads as police talk to ala's father, plus new focus on his suv. that's ahead.

>> ten days until new year's eve. can you believe it? why not spend it with us. fox is planning a another start-studded affair live from times square. catch megyn and bill as they host the all american new year's eve special with musical guests including country legend trace adkins and big and rich and the best from the 80's from "rock of ages," right here on fox news channel. thank you