jamie: i'm jamie colby, great to be with you today. jon: "america live" starts right now. >> thanks, guys, and a fox news alert. all eyes on iowa as the countdown begins. we are seeing a final push on the campaign trail with just eight days to go before the very first presidential caucuses. welcome to "america live," i'm rick folbaum. juliet: and i'm. julie banderas. you're probably still recovering. candidates criss-crossing the state in a final effort to win the hearts and minds of caucus goers, and we're seeing a surprising turn around in the polls. rick: carl cameron is live in des moines with the very latest. a couple of days off, but i gather the candidates are right back at it. >> reporter: they'll be arriving from all across the country. the ads took a break, but really for the last two or three weeks we've seen a number of the

candidates really escalate dramatically their campaigning, their going to small diners and restaurants and visiting people's homes, knocking on doors and talking to the small groups that make up the iowa caucuses. it's important to know that there is a major and tough, tough fight to organize for the iowa caucuses, but it's not the kind of thing you're going to see out in the open because, frankly, folks are looking for needles in hay stacks in iowa. that will break a record. let's take a look at the latest average of the polls taken before the holiday sweekd, and it shows we've got a new front runner, it's ron paul. he now has moved to just about a point and a half lead over mitt romney. this is an average of several polls taken in the week prior to christmas, and there you see newt gingrich has dropped down to 14%. that's in iowa. not nationally, not in other states, here where it matters most. when you talk about each individual candidate, for ron paul he has by far and away the most energized and devout

following here in iowa. this is his second time around the track as a candidate, he ran here in '08 as a libertarian back in the '70s, but he has an existing organization for last time that he's aggressively cultivated right on through. mitt romney is also a repeat candidate and came up just barely short. he was in second place last final. he has kept a lot of his organization, he has not worked as hard in iowa or spent as much money as last time, but he is considered in many minds something of a favorite if there's a record-breaking 120,000 plus in the caucuses eight days from now. newt gingrich has taken a lot of hits for his personal baggage as well as political mistakes as speaker and thereafter and lacks a lot of organization, rick. it's very important to be able to find those needles in haystack to get the folks out in eight days. gingrich hasn't had the organization to do that, nor has he or just about any other candidate with the exception of romney and ron paul, shown an ability to build a national

organization for the states that follow iowa and new hampshire and south carolina. all the candidates, save ron paul and mitt romney, didn't qualify for the virginia ballot last week, that's a sign they're the only two who have a national organization, and the others are going to have a hard time getting bicycles -- folks to the caucuses. rick: karl, i have heard there are really only four tickets out of iowa, and so aside from those three we've just talked about, who gets the last slot? >> reporter: well, there's been an awful lot of buzz about the candidate who has not had the benefit of his own surge. we're talking about former pennsylvania senator rick santorum. whereas michele bachmann went to the top of the polls and then plummeted after the ames straw poll, whereas rick perry went to the top of the polls in her wake and then plummets giving rise to the herman cain phenomenon which also imploded, and now newt gingrich seems to be subsiding though outside of iowa he is competitive in a number of other

states. it looks like rick santorum may be getting his moment in the sun at the best time possible just in the last week. he doesn't have the kind of money or ad campaign as a lot of the other candidates, but he has been working below the radar, evangelical christian vote like no other candidate. he has been looking for home schoolers, youth groups, church to church and town to town trying to find those christian conservatives. rick santorum does seem to have a bit of a buzz going with them. albeit late, it could be something of a surprise for him. maybe he'd get that fourth ticket out of iowa. >> reporter: carl, good to see you. thanks so much. fox news is america's election headquarters, tune in for complete coverage january 3rd at 6:00 eastern time, and you can also head over to foxnews.com for the very latest. fox news, your front row seat to politics. julie: turning to the middle

east now and growing fears over a potential nuclear arms race taking shape in the volatile region. the concerns sparked by comments made by the former head of saudi arabian intelligence. david lee miller is live in our new york city newsroom with the very latest there. hi, david. >> reporter: hi, julie. the ongoing rain ran navy's war games are being closely watched by neighbors, especially saudi arabia which could fuel a middle east nuclear arms race between the two countries. saudi arabia's ambassador warned that the kingdom might pursue nuclear weapons to protect itself from long-time adversaries iran and israel. yet iran's suspected push which could lead to a nuclear arms race. >> the saudis are definitely going to move in the direction of the iranians, and the only way to do it would be to prepare their bomb. the saudis will respond. >> reporter: as a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation

treaty, saudi arabia is prohibited from acquiring nuclear weapons, through according to one expert there is a loophole. the saudis could turn to pakistan which experts say saudi arabia helped pay for. >> saudi arabia could actually legally have pakistan station nuclear weapons on its territory the way non-nuclear states like germany, italy, turkey and belgium have u.s. nuclear forces stationed on their territory. we do it for nato, saudi arabia would argue they zephyr equal -- deserve equal treatment. >> reporter: u.s. efforts to help to be a saudi civilian nuclear program that could be used for things such as energy and medicine. similar programs are underway in a number of countries including the united arab emirates which has agreed to not to enrich uranium. so far, though, the saudis have been reluctant to accept that condition. julie? julie: david lee miller, thank

you very much. rick? rick: new reports of deadly violence as foreign observers arrive in syria. these are monitors from the arab league who are now being urged to go to a city where there are new reports of a bloody government crackdown on civilians, at least 20 people killed. the nation's capital, ca maas da damascus, is reeling from coordinated bomb blasts. coming up, we'll have a live report from the region. julie: well, you know the loose-knit group of hackers known as anonymous? they have allegedly lifted credit card numbers from a major security firm. the victim is a security think tank, stratfor. the hackers allegedly stole credit card information in a robin hood-inspired stunt, and they charged these people's credit cards and donated it to charity. the web site is currently

displaying this "under maintenance" message. this firm has suspended its server and e-mail in response. we're going to have more on this developing story a little later, we'll be talking to an expert here on the show, so stay tuned to that. rick: all right, looking forward to that. a nuclear saudi arabia, one of its princes hinting that the kingdom may join the nuclear arms race, and body john bolton -- ambassador john bolton will tell us what it means. julie: the tax cut battle on capitol hill only resolved for the next two months, so could we see another groundhog day? we'll debate it. l. rick: plus, a remarkable story of survival. a family trapped in their car for two days under a massive pile of snow. how did they get out of this alive? >> the back end of the car just slid to the right and off the road. that's when we kind of looked at each other and realized that, that we could be in some serious trouble.

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julie: well, the day after christmas giving retailers plenty of reason to keep the holiday cheer going. shoppers are back in the stores today, believe it or not, many looking to spend, some looking to return some stuff. and sabrina rodriguez from ktxl is in sacramento where she's stand anything the midst of it all at a local shopping mall. people are very quick to get back there and make those returns, but i guess some pretty good deals as well. are a lot of people coming to the mall today? >> reporter: tons of people actually showing up. we've been at this since about 5:00 this morning, dark and cloudy ask cold. you can see we're here at one of the main malls here in sacramento, and the cars just keep streaming in, and you keep seeing people walking out with all those shopping bags just full of stuff. that's actually, probably, one of the smaller bags that i've seen coming out of this mall

this morning. since about 5 a.m. the people have been streaming in, there have been plenty of good deal, obviously. retailers are looking to clear out that inventory in time for the new year, so people capitalizing on the good deals. lots of things 60, 70% off. talked to quite a few people who have saved more money than they actually spent. one woman we talked to earlier spent about $230, she saved $250. so one of the things where people are really trying to maybe even capitalize on that christmas spirit even a day afterwards. but a lot of good deals really, definitely, taking place here, and tons of people just keep stream anything and talking to the mall folks here, they're expecting even more people as the day goes on and people start waking up. julie: sabrina, thank you very much. i can't imagine why anyone would want to return to a mall so quickly. [laughter] rick: hear how much that woman saved? that's what it's about. julie: i don't care. you can't get me anywhere near a

mall for quite some time. [laughter] rick: all right. serious new concerns today as we switch gears about a possible arms race in the middle east. saudi arabia threatening to get into the nuclear game. one saudi prince is now suggesting that the kingdom might consider developing a nuclear arsenal of its own, john bolton is former u.s. board to the united nations and a fox news contributor. thanks so much for join us. >> glad to be here. rick: what do you make of the prince's comments? >> well, i think he's simply giving voice to what everybody expects will happen with saudi arabia if, in fact, iran gets nuclear weapons. this is really a case study in how nuclear proliferation occurs. if iran gets nuclear weapons, saudi arabia, egypt, turkey, perhaps others will feel impelled to get nuclear weapons in response. and so i think it's what he said is exactly accurate and very candid. rick: if saudis or turkey or some other middle eastern country wants to get their hands on nuclear technology, where do

they go for that? >> well, i think there are a variety of different ways to do it. in the case of saudi arabia, it's long been speculated that they already have, in effect, options on nuclear devices in pakistan's arsenal and they'd simply pick those up. but more long term countries like egypt and turkey and probably saudi arabia and some of the other gulf states would develop their own nuclear programs whether through the enriched uranium route or the use of plutonium from processed reactor fuel. rick: ambassador, let's add israel to this discussion. israel is a country widely believed to be a nuclear nation. it has not come out and claimed officially that it does have a nuclear arsenal, but most people think that it does. what happens if saudi arabia or some other middle eastern country becomes nuclear? what effect does that have on israel and on the iews as well?

-- u.s. as well? >> quite clearly, israel's strategic vulnerability would increase. i think that's why people in israel and the united states are so focused on iran. that's really the tipping point. i think virtually everybody in the region believes israel has nuclear weapons. that has not been enough to provoke the saudis, the egyptians or others to get nuclear weapons in return because they don't really see israel as that much of a threat to them except in self-defense. iran is a very different case. iran with nuclear weapons is a real game changer, and it's part of the ongoing struggle that we see in bahrain and syria and lebanon between arabs and persians, sunni and shia muslims. this is a struggle for dominance within islam and the region as a whole. so that's why the balance of power changes enormously once iran gets nuclear weapons. and you could have a middle east with half a dozen nuclear weapon states in a relatively short time. that has to put israel in

extreme peril. rick: um, a question that may be a silly question, i have to say it out front. i'm just wondering why any self-respecting country would not want to have nuclear options in its back pocket. i mean, why wouldn't a country like saudi arabia want to go out and have this technology, you know, if only for self-defense? >> well, that is what happens in a proliferation situation. you know, most countries including iran, for example, have signed on to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty which says we're not going to get nuclear weapons, and they're very happily violating it as so often happens with these kinds of international agreements. each new country that gets nuclear weapons provides an enormous incentive to countries that have reason to fear it to go out and get nuclear weapons on their own. so to come back to iran, that's why it's so important in this region to stop iran from getting nuclear weapons. because once they achieve that objective, a half a dozen other countries could respond by doing

the same. rick: you know, gun rights advocates like to say if everyone were armed, there'd be a lot less crime. does that argument not translate to the world of nuclear technology? >> well, i'd prefer to keep as few countries as possible with nuclear weapons, but there's also no doubt that the kind of regime and the kind of policies they pursue makes a lot of difference. i feel very different about a united kingdom with nuclear weapons than i do about an iran with nuclear weapons. rick: absolutely. final question for you, mr. ambassador. the outgoing president of yemen would like to come to the u.s. for medical treatment. this is a guy who has been accused of doing some pretty bad things to his people there. and the united states has helped to sort of nudge him from power. should we allow president saleh to come to the u.s. to get treatment here? >> yes, i would let him in. let's remember, he's been being nudged out of power for the last ten months. this is fundamentally a civil war inside yemen, saleh has

played both sides against the middle, but he's done a lot of things that we have needed over the years. so i would admit him for medical treatment, yes. rick: ambassador john bolton, former u.s. ambassador to the united nations kind enough to join us on this holiday weekend. thanks very much, sir. good to see you. >> my pleasure. thank you. julie: well, the latest cyber hacking case raising serious questions about our national security. it's the not the first time this has happened. the victim this time, a major security firm with sensitive information on government clients. so how are hackers pulling this off, and how can we stop them? rick: also a father's ordeal finally come toss an end just in time for the holidays. a custody battle that put thousands of miles between him and his daughter. we'll have their story straight ahead. >> she left the blanket open for me to close i. -- close it. and that was the moment i knew she was at home. reat pioneers before me, guided only by a dream.

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rick: welcome back. hope everyone's having a great holiday season, but don't blame santa if your christmas presents were missing from under the tree yesterday. ups now apologizing for failing to deliver about 50,000 packages in denver. the company blaming the delay on a snowstorm that hit the area. hundreds of people lining up outside the distribution facility on christmas eve trying to get their gifts in time and adding to the frustration, ups offices and distribution centers are closed today. julie: speaking of terrible, the cyber hacking group known as anonymous sparking renewed concern over national security. the group apparently stealing thousands of credit card numbers from a security firm, a security firm i should readd, that counts

government agencies among its clients. so how in the world does this happen, and what do we need to do to protect our national security? marc rotenberg is executive director of the electronic privacy information center and, mark, thank you very much for coming to talk to us about this. let's just talk about how much they actually stole. anonymous stole some 4,000 clients, and they say they've got details for more than 90,000 credit card accounts. how did the hackers pull this off? >> well, it's not clear how they did it, but the security, obviously, wasn't adequate. they got access to unencrypted password files, unencrypted credit card information which basically means understand you have the data, you can use it. and i think it is embarrassing for the company, stratfor. >> oh, yeah. it was obviously intended to embarrass the company, and they did so. this web site actually oversees intelligence and security, and here's what they look like now.

the hackers say they failed to encrypt the credit card details, and that's what you just mentioned. you know, but my question to you is whether they're encrypted or not, does every system have some level of vulnerability? >> in 2011 we've seen an extraordinary number of security breaches, financial institutions, sony playstation, the state department. what's embarrassing here, of course, is that this is a security think tank, and you'd think they would do a better job protecting their own data. julie: sure. and according to the hackers' online postings, i guess the group decided to play robin hood, so they voted to contribute to different charities, cancer and aids research, the american red cross, wikileaks and, my favorite, the tour project which is a software that enables online anonymity. >> that's right. julie: now that they've donated

to all these charities, one guy saw charges of $700 going to these charities but didn't know it was actually these hackers that took the money. what happens to these people's money? >> well, it's a real hassle for them. i mean, it's likely that the credit card companies will end up footing the bill, but i think what anonymous sometimes misses even when they're trying to be a bit clever like that is their attacks do cause real harm to real individuals. it's snot just the companies they're going after, you know, it's the people -- julie: the people are suffering more than stratfor, i can guarantee you that. >> that's the unfortunate part. people are going to have to go out, get new credit card numbers, deal with the hassle of this attack that they had nothing to do with. julie: the attack, i guess, could have been retaliation for the arrest and imprisonment of bradley manning, the army intelligence analyst on trial on charges of leaking that classified information to wikileaks last year. so it seems they're not over

yet. should we expect more attacks this week? >> i think there probably will be. anonymous tends to communicate on their twitter account, and it's through twitter they're hearing about what they're planning to do. even though this stuff may seem clever, it does cause real harm, and that's a problem. julie: yeah. it's a shame they chose the hold lay -- holidays as well. rick: coming up, apple revealing a potential breakthrough in computer technology. i love this stuff. it's a future innovation that could change the way we use our mobile devices. julie: you can't keep up with the mobile devices because they're constantly making changes. plus, congress just battled it out over a payroll tax cut extension. next, why both parties are gearing up to do it all over again, and what that may mean to your paycheck come next year. >> we will go forward understanding our work is not yet done. >> it's hard to do the right thing, and sometimes it's politically difficult to do the right thing.

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rick: police in texas say the man they believe killed six people and then himself on christmas day was dressed as an that claus at the time. they say he showed up at the home shortly before the shootings happened. all the victims, including the gunman, were related. a private delegation of south koreans meeted with kim jong un to pay condolences for the death of his father. it's the first meeting with south koreans as the needer of the north kim jung-il's funeral is set for wednesday.

a recent patent application filed by apple looking to make computers and phones that could run for weeks at a time and would be lighter than those with batteries. julie: well, the u.n. and iraq reaching an agreement involving camp ashraf, a refugee camp near baghdad. iraq agreeing to relocate thousands of the camp's residents while the u.n. determines each person's refugee status. but exactly who are the occupants of this camp, and how did they end up where they are today? national security correspondent jennifer griffin is live in the washington to explain to us. >> reporter: hi, julie. this is a group of iranian dissidents who have been based in iraq since 1980s. i first went to their camp in 1995. saddam hussein gave them protection because they were fighting the mullahs in iran. after saddam fell, the iranians had been trying to push the iraqi government to push them out. this is a complicated group. technically, they are still on

the state department terror list because they allegedly killed six american diplomats during the shah's era. some western intelligence agencies in recent years were the ones who provided information about the secret uranium enrichment facility which was a key intelligence breakthrough for the west. iran is so threatened by this group that when an agreement was rumored in recent days to resettle them, iran's quds force reportedly fired these ca tour shah rockets as their camp in iraq. more than a dozen top former u.s. national security advisers have been lobbying the state department to protect the people of camp ashraf because the u.s. military convinced them to disarm after the u.s. invasion and then washed their hands of the situation. >> the united states general gave a guarantee in 2003 when we invaded iraq and they surrendered their arms, heavy arms and light arms that they could have used to defend themselves, we gave them a

guarantee that they would be treated as protected persons. >> we asked a troupe of people to disarm -- a group of people to disarm themselves, to give, give away, surrender their capability of defending themselves, and in exchange for that we promised them, we made a commitment that we would provide for their safety and security. >> reporter: these 3400 iranian dissidents living at camp ashraf worry they could be killed if left in iraq without u.s. protection. julie? julie: jennifer griffin, thank you so much. rick: well, gearing up for another payroll tax fight on capitol hill. the white house ending this year with a big political victory. the republican house finally agreeing to pass only a two month extension of the payroll tax cut and jobless benefits, but that means that the fight is getting set to start all over again. just after the new year. brad blakeman is a former deputy assistant to president george w. bush, dick harpootlian is south

carolina democratic party chair. brad, let me start with you. if democrats won the first round, how does the gop sort of situation themselves so they could come out on top in round two? >> well i'm not so sure the democrats won anything. basically, the payroll tax extension for two months was triage on a patient that needs open heart surgery. the next round is really what's going to matter. it's the last kind of tax bill before the presidential election in 2012. republicans have to be smart, coordinate between the house and the senate. and if i were advising them, i would say take the keystone pipeline out of the payroll tax next bill and have it as a stand-alone bill before you vote on the remaining payroll tax for 2012. force the democrats to vote down this jobs bill, and then if we're unsuccessful in getting it to the president, add the keystone pipeline back true the payroll tax extension and put the democrats' feet to the fire and show the american people how

out of touch this president is on taxes. rick: dick, interesting strategy. what do you think of that? >> well, you know, i think brad is one key phrase he just said is if republicans were smart, and that's the problem, brad. what happened here was 160 million americans got their tax cut extended so that they can go out and spend money and put groceries on the table and do the sorts of things the average american has to do. the problem the republicans have is, and they put the keystone pipeline bill, they did a whole bunch of things to this, they've got to understand the american, average american out there is hurting, and these games that brad just talked about, well, if they don't do this -- >> no, they're not games. dick, come on. >> these are games. these are the political games, and the american people are tired of it. rick: all right, brad. >> when the president asked for a one-year extension. >> well, he wanted a one-year extension. >> i will not -- but we couldn't get it through the house and the

senate because you guys decided that vacations were more important. the president going to hawaii -- [laughter] than solving the problem for a year. >> no. brad, brad, brad -- >> he had to catch up with michelle, so give me a two month bill, and we'll visit this again after my vacation. >> no. the republicans wanted to tag everything on to this bill. 160 million americans were getting ready to have their taxes go up january 1, and all the republicans had to get back to their hedge fund, pat today and champagne christmas parties that wall street's paying for. by the way, the most interesting statistic i saw today in the newspaper was the average tax cut under the bush tax cuts for the 1% -- >> no, they're the obama tax cuts knockout. >> is more than the average american makes $55,000 a year. so we know the republicans' bread is buttered by the rich 1% hedge fund managers, wall street crowd while president obama and the democrats are fighting for the average 160 million -- >> well, your robin hood theory

of economics -- rick: let me ask you this. it's pretty much believed that it was the freshmen republicans in the house, you know, who really were the ones who were putting john boehner's feet to the fire saying, look, let's not do this, let's not concern ourselves with the politics here. we were sent to do the right thing. let's stand on our principle and not cave in, and yet at the end of the day we all know what happened. but what advice would you have for republicans, freshmen republicans in the house of representatives, as we get set for these longer-term, one-year talks? >> keep your eye on the prize. understand that we need to get through this next election cycle. let's not have too much drama. the democrats would like nothing more than us to be fractured and not be able to get our act together. we've got to do the tough decisions that need to be done in january because this administration and this president refuse to lead, and that would be my advice to them. coordinate, understand that defeating this president is our number one priority and getting america back on course, reducing

spending, reducing the burden of taxation and getting our economy on track. and the way you do it is to get rid of this president and take back the senate. and if we do that, i think america will be on the right track. rick: and, dick, with an election 11 months away and a top priority to the republicans to make sure president obama does not win a second term, are we going to see any compromise on capitol hill? >> well, you see there's where brad and i have a difference. the top priority of the freshmen republicans, all of congress shouldn't be about who wins an election in november. it ought to be about getting this country back to work. and that's the problem with the republican party right now. they're worried about the next election instead of the next generation. they're worried about scoring political points instead of putting people back to work. they're worried about rewarding the rich wall street buddies instead of the average american. and that's going to be the distinction drawn in november. >> the only way we're going to change the status quo is to get rid of this president. >> the status quo is the republicans in congress -- >> please. >> i am a political person, but

the freshmen republicans in congress have drunk the jim jones kool-aid and have no compromise in them. this country's going to move forward when democrats and republicans get together, and while these guys are smoking the tea instead of drinking it, that ain't going to happen. rick: gentlemen, good to see you both. a spirited discussion, and we'll see you again and see how this plays out. thanks very much. >> happy new year, brad. >> happy new year to you. julie: are peace talks on the horizon in the afghanistan? what we're learning and what it could mean for the tens of thousands of soldiers that are still on the ground there. we're going to go live to kabul. rick: and if you're worried, perhaps, that you ate too much this christmas, don't worry. why sucking down some sweets may be just what the doctor ordered. ♪ ♪ my name is robin. i'm a wife, i'm a mom... and chantix worked for me.

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oh common. and how can you talk to me about fiber while you are eating a candy bar? you enjoy that. i am. [ male announcer ] fiber beyond recognition. fiber one. rick: a texas family grateful to be alive after their suv was bury inside a snowstorm. david and yvonne higgins were headed for some prechristmas skiing with their 5-year-old daughter. this was last monday. and as you can see, they ran into some problems. they ended up getting stuck and buried in a blizzard. it took two days for rescuers to locate them by sticking poles in the snow. david higgins says that his family nearly ran out of air to

breathe. >> my wife and i looked at each other and held hands and told each other i love you and prayed. we have so much to be thankful for, you know? we, we have our lives, we have another chance. there's obviously a reason for it. you know? hannah's perfectly fine. n it was a christmas miracle that they found us. and secondly, it's a huge christmas miracle that we did survive and we are alive. and now we're really anticipating a third christmas miracle for a quick recovery and healing for my wife. rick: wow, what a story. the mom is recovering from pneumonia at a nearby hospital. dad and daughter, we're happy to say, are doing just fine. >> new research giving the green light to pile up your plate this holiday season without feeling stuffed afterward, is that even possible? a medical journal in norway publishing a report that says

that eating sugary snacks can ease the pain of overindulging. sounds a little counterproductive. joining us now, dr. marc siegel, professor of medicine at nyu. all right. i'm sorry, i love to be a believer of these so-called miracle ideas, but, i mean, really? is that going to make us feel less stuffed? >> this was in the journal of the norwegian medical association, and regular viewers of mine are going to say, wait a minute, dr. segal, how can he read norwegian? i'm going to give you a little clue. i used the google translator, and i read the piece in english. julie. and what'd you fine? >> they haven't proven the theory on a lot of people, but when you eat a big meal like your turkey or ham dinner, you have a big dinner, and you're done, you feel stuffed. your stomach is overstretched. julie: pull out the pie and the cake.

>> along comes the pie or the cake or the ice cream, and they say the first touch of sugar signals the vaguest nerve in the stomach to signal the brain to stretch that stomach further. and it's the upper part of the stomach that was already closed down opens up invitingly, and here comes the dessert. now, i have another thing to add that the researchers didn't say. i want to add something. the nerve also signals hunger to go away. so that means you have your dessert, but you don't have three or four desserts. you have one dessert, and that same nerve says to the brain, no seconds, you're done. julie: i like this vegas nerve. i have the biggest into sweet t, and my daughter's got it too. you're not saying we should skip perhaps the loaded plate, do we skip our meals and go right to dessert because that's going to curb our hunger? >> i'm not even saying dessert at all. this is what they're saying in norway where they have plenty of

desserts over there in scandinavia. i'm a big believer in small portions, drinking plenty of water, exercise and probably forgoing dessert, but they're saying here they're answering an age-old question, how does somebody at a table that thinks they're full suddenly fit in dessert? the sugar itself signals your stomach to expand. but, julie, this is no way to lose weight. it's the way to gain weight. julie: and the way to gain weight is load up on fats and carp hydrates, and it's impossible to avoid those two when you're getting through the holidays. what is the lesser of two evils there, is there one? >> well, here's the lesser, separate them. in other words, if you're having your meal with to teen, don't then load up on carbs. the body sends them right into the fat cells, and that's how you gain weight. so, again, i'm telling you the study about why it works anatomically, but i am not recommending a big turkey dinner -- julie: so having a big

bowl of pasta, for example, stay away from protein? >> right, right. have your pasta separately from your fish and chicken. julie: that's fascinating, i've never heard that before. >> you want to lose weight, have your fish, have it with a vegetable, have water and stay away from dessert. if you ate a big meal and somebody's saying this is the best dessert i've ever made and you want to be able to eat it, this is the theory behind it. julie: all right, dr. segal, thank you -- >> and i'm ready to read norwegian now. julie: i know, i was going to say, what can't you do? rick, i'm having dessert tonight, but i'm going to skip the carbs. rick: just five days until new year's eve, right around the corner, and fox news is planning another star-studded affair live from times square. megyn kelly and bill hemmer hosting the all-american new

year with trace adkins and big and rich along with the cast of the tony-award-nominated show, "rock of ages." go to foxnews.com/"america live" where you'll find information on all of our guests. julie: all right. we are just eight days away from the first contest of campaign 2012. can you believe it? the iowa caucuses right around the corner. we're going to look at what candidates are doing for that last minute push. plus, to this teen mount everest is just child's play. he climbed that when he was only 13. l why that amazing feat pales next to the world record he just set. ok! who gets occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life.

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rick: cool story now, a california teenager becoming the youngest person ever to climb the world's seven tallest mountains. his name is jordan romero, 15 years old.

he called his mother yesterday telling her that he had reached the top of antarctica's highest peak. jordan, his dad and their team now making their trek down the mountain. jordan set the world's record for being the youngest person ever to climb mount everest. he did that, julie, when he was just 13 years old. julie: do you know what interests me the most is what is his cell service? [laughter] he was at the toppest peak in antarctica, and he managed to call his mom. he had service up there? rick: you're thinking about that, i'm thinking about when i was 13 years old, what i was not doing -- certainly not climbing mountains. julie: or breaking any kind of records. [laughter] all right, well, coming on to security now and beefed-up security in iraq after the interior ministry was target inside a suicide bombing. the violence escalating there since the u.s. soldiers backed out. in fact, seven people died in the attack including five policemen. 32 others injured.

security officials were later seen using explosive detectors and searching vehicles passing through a baghdad checkpoint. today's bombing is fueling fears about iraq's future now that u.s. troops are out of the country. rick: and could we eventually see peace in afghanistan? there is new information on possible peace talks between the afghan government and the taliban. reuters is reporting that the afghan government is laying out the ground rules for any negotiation as they look to end the ten-year-long war. david piper is streaming live from kabul with the latest on this. >> reporter: hi, rick, yes. afghan politicians are pushing to end the taliban's international isolation and perhaps nudge them to those very important peace talks. but, of course, it's a long road before you could get that militant group around a table. now, according to a latest report by the reuters news agency, afghanistan's high peace council sent a note to foreign

missions setting out the ground rules for engaging the tbanl. they say -- taliban. they say they will not accept a taliban offer anywhere else but in the gulf state of qatar. but there are preconditions if any negotiations with the taliban are to begin. now, the peace council says talks could only start after they stop violence against civilians, cut ties to al-qaeda and accepted the afghan constitution which guarantees civil rights and liberties including rights for women. now, the council also said the documents, in the document any peace process for the taliban would have to have the support of pakistan. as members of the militant group were based there. now, the peace council also wants well known figures from the taliban and the government to be involved in the talks. according to afghan officials, their government would have preferred an office really in

saudi arabia or turkey, but thai come around -- they've come around to the idea of qatar as long as it doesn't weaken the position of the afghan state in the talks. and the office is only used for those peace negotiations. and a government official said he didn't think the peace council had laid down conditions so tough that the talks would fail even before they started. so far there has been no reaction from the taliban. this is, of course, a difficult road to get these peace talks under way, and there has been problems over the last few months including the assassination of the head of the, the peace council. but also the clock is ticking because western troops will be leave anything 2014, and the taliban have said so far they won't stop fighting until they all leave the country. back to you, rick. rick: david piper streaming live for us from kabul, afghanistan. david, thanks.

julie: new video in to fox of china's newest high-speed railway. take a look. it's like taking a look into the future. state it's broadcasting the first look at the new line. it connects two chinese business hubs with 36 pairs of bullet trains, they call them, each traveling at nearly 200 miles per hour. along the 63-mile route. earlier in the year two high-speed trains on a different line collided killing at least 40 people. rick: i take the train in to work, and i would love to have my commute time shortened. julie: wouldn't that be wonderful? rick: but i don't know whether i want to travel that fast and deal with the obvious risk. julie: you might as well get a personal plan. rick: now you're talking. julie: and i know you've got the bucks. [laughter] rick: right. all right, they're promising to do it again, computer hackers stealing thousands of personal information from a top security think tank. we've got the fallout.

julie: and series of christmas day terror attacks in nigeria, several of them targeting churches. what this means for the region. rick: plus, after serving almost a year in afghanistan, this philadelphia native is finally home. the heartwarming reunion just ahead. >> it's a blessing from god just to have him home, that i'm in the kitchen, i'm sweating, and i'm cooking. i want him to eat everything that he has thought about to eat. [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation, so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪

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julie: this is a fox news alert. a sophisticated computer hacking network claiming to be robin hood after stealing thousands of credit card numbers. rick: this group known as anonymous hacking into a security network. julie: they are stealing from accounts and giving the loot away as christmas donations. doug mcelway joins us in washington to tell us more. >> reporter: the company

provides intelligence of political and economic nature. it's important that this think tank was compromised. the hacking group claims it was able to get the data in part because stratfor didn't bother to encrypt it. >> this is a serious invasion. if someplace like stratfor, the super secret community around the world is getting hacked into you wonder, is anything safe? >> reporter: there are reports that clients had money withdrawn from their accounts and deposited into charitable accounts. it's working with authorities to track down those responsible for the breach. a process many believe is easier said than done.

>> it's difficult to trace that back because of the way the cyber cat burglars are able to cover their tracks through any number of servers around the world. >> reporter: the release of this stolen data may be the tip of the iceberg. >> not as many as you expected in worry not, these are just the as. anonymous claims to have 200 gigabytes of data from technology firms such as apple and microsoft. julie: it was founded back in 1996 in austin, texas. they employ former government agents and former high-ranking military personnel. they specialize in economic

analysis and intelligence. rick: the government crackdown against protesters raging on in syria. today just as arab league observers arrived to broker an end to the bloodshed gunfire killed another 20 people. leland vittert joins us from our jerusalem bureau. >> reporter: we may be in the situation where the syrian government is trying to kill as many people as they can before the u.n. observers get into place. according to reports one was possibly wounded by the syrian government trying to destroy a neighborhood where this uprising began. it's disturbing stuff. it's under a siege and under artillery barrage. that's where the 20 people have died in the past couple hours as the syrian army seems to be

willing to do anything and use any amount of force to put down this insurrection. the deserters baned together to protect some of these anti-government protesters. they don't have the weapons or fire power they need to be able to repulse these attacks coming in. according to a number of sources inside syria, it looks like this crackdown is entering a final stage. the syrian government is doing everything they can to put down these protests right before the 500 or so arab league observers make their way inside of syria. so far 5,000 people have been killed since this all began about 9 months ago. about it appears as though the tactics are getting more and more brutal as you see tanks open fire on civilians in the various cities much syria. the -- cities of syria.

syria has two allies, iran and russia. that takes the military option off the table. rick: leland, thanks. julie: we are just 8 days away from the first contest in the presidential race. the iowa caucuses will be make or break time for several gop candidates. so who's up and who's down in this matchup. the director of the center for politics at the university of virginia. larry sabato. it's always great to have you come in and read your crystal ball for us. according to the real clear politics poll romney is on top with 25%. ron paul with 20%. they flip-flopped. last week they had ron paul on

top. followed by gingrich, bachmann and perry. and last week ron paul had been on top. what does this she exactly when you look at these fluctuating numbers? what does it tell you? >> i caution people. there is going to be additional truck in tbhaights last eight days. -- there will be additional fluctuation in the last eight days. the odds are ron paul or mitt romney will come out first in iowa. it could go either way. it depend on the weather and the turnout on election night and lots of other factors. there will probably be three or four tickets out of iowa. soy want to look at the next tier. gingrich is there but he seems to be on the escalator down. who might replace him if he continues that? somebody i keep hearing is rick santorum will do better than

expected. we'll see 8 days away. rick perry also has people who say he will do better than expected. so you have got a lot of candidates in the mix. remember the iowa caucus results depend on the people who are willing to brave chilly temperatures on a tuesday evening this year and they will be there potentially for hours. they have to be dedicated to turn out at these caucuses. julie: the weather plays a huge role. last week i was wondering, ron paul does have a following there. especially among younger voters, and maybe they are willing to brave the cold as you just said. perhaps that is what's helping ron paul out, who knows. i want to look at our next poll. it's the 2012 gop nominee preference heading into the iowa caucus. we have ron paul in the lead with 22.3% and romney 21%.

how is ron paul managed to crews to the top in -- to cruise to the top in iowa? >> he has a dedicated group of followers. i have college students who are ron paul supporters. they like his lib tear craneism on social issues as well as his opposition to iraq. that isn't widely shared in the relationship can party. he has a firm floor, he can't fall below 15% or 20%. he also has a low ceiling. he would have a hard time going below 15% or 20%. julie: he seems to poll well. but when it comes to actual votes, how do we do? >> when it comes to the votes in

caucuses i think he will do relatively well. when it comes to voting in primaries because the turnout is bigger and much more representative of the republican party, he won't do as well. jill * your prediction for mitt romney's position in iowa? >> he's in a good position as it turns out. it's been a rollercoaster. even though he hasn't spent much time in iowa, he will probably finish first or second. that will give hip the momentum to maintain the lead in new hampshire. then florida is his chance to clear the field in the sense that it will say i am now the front runner. julie: newt gingrich is expected to start a bus tour in iowa.

he said he believes romney will come out on top in iowa. but in national polls his popularity has cooled somewhat. why do you think that is? >> there have been some negative stories, and that's inof particular on a front runner. -- that's inevitable on a front runner. them all get banged up when they are the front runner. and gingrich has not had organization and money to do with other candidates are done in iowa and other states. i think in that sense the chickens are coming home to roost. julie: romney's campaign ads have been pretty brutal on begin grish. they pulled the negative ads through christmas eve and christmas day. how much do you think he has been hurt by these ads. he has asked for them to stop and he has been frustrated openly about it. >> he has been hurt.

there is no question about it. and it wasn't just romney. ron paul also aired some tough negative on gingrich. and there have been a lot of negative newspaper stories. all of this is cumulative and it clearly has take and lot of the wind out of gingrich's sails. julie: remember fox news is america's election headquarters. tune in for complete coverage of the iowa caucuses january 3. fox news your front row seat to politics. rick: millions of people wrapping up their holiday celebration and hitting the roads and rails and head together airports to go home. how are things look for travelers out there? any problem spots, maria? >> reporter: a few trouble spots.

it could be worse. we could have a massive blizzard going on. but that's not the case on the i95. the cities are doing well as far as airport delays. newark has some delays because of gusty winds. we have a storm system across the south producing flooding this morning and continuing throughout the afternoon hours. we have flood warnings because of how much rain we got throughout the morning and yesterday. several inches of rain have fallen. the northeast, some gusty winds. but it will get a lot worse as we head into tomorrow as a storm system in the south producing flooding will helped towards the northeast. on the back side this system it will pull in much colder air. just a couple of inches, we are not expecting a major snowstorm. but nonetheless it should be enough to produce travel delays. as we head into tuesday night,

fortunately for the big cities further off to the east in new york city i'm not expecting to see a lot of snow. it should stay generally as rain. the winds should be an issue. you can see in excess of 30 miles per hour at times. another troubled area later this afternoon and tuesday and wednesday is the pacific northwest where we'll see unsettled weather and a lot of snow for the mountains. rick: good news for skiers. julie: one week to go before the iowa kay cusses. rick: an amazing christmas story years in the making the the incredible and emotional reunion right after the break. >> there were three christmases before that she wasn't there. but this christmas she'll be there. ♪ it is something very special ♪ i would readily confess [ dogs barking ]

♪ 'cause all i want this season ♪ ♪ is something from your heart ♪ la da da, la da da [ male announcer ] thinking of others this holiday season, travelers. did you hear sam... ...got promoted to director? so 12 seconds ago. we should get him a present. thanks for the gift basket. you're welcome. you're welcome. did you see hr just sent out new... ...office rules? cause you're currently in violation of 6 of them. oh yeah, baby? ...and 7. did you guys hear that fred is leaving?

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to a slow response to last year's blizzard. the christmas storm dumped 2 feet of snow on the city and many streets went unplowed, hindering emergency respond ders and leaving residents stranded for days. julie: a sweet reunion for a wisconsin man after his daughter was taken to japan. she was returned just in time for christmas. chip brewster has the story from milwaukee. >> reporter: garcia says his life changed when his daughter was abducted by her mother and taken overseas to her native country, japan. this is video of him and now

9-year-old corrina seeing each other a year after her kidnapping. >> there were three christmases before that she wasn't there. >> reporter: this isn't the first time a child has been taken to japan by a favorite against awcht s. court order. >> no child has been returned through legal means to her lawful home in the united states before from japan. >> reporter: the legal battle may have begun four years ago but problems came up before that. according to garcia's attorney, he and his wife were married in 2002. four months later corrina was born. >> the wife sometimes called the

police. >> reporter: garcia says he wants to leave those marital problems in the past and focus on corrina's future. >> she left the blanket open for me to close it. that was the moment. i knew she was at home. julie: chip brewster reporting from milwaukee. chip did try unsuccessfully to contact garcia's ex-wife for this report. the girl's mother pleaded no contest to interfering with child custody and was released from jail friday after little corrina was returned from japan. rick: it's so tough on the kids who end up in the middle of these situation. julie: four years is an eternity in a child's life. rick: why recovery from illness

hay not only hinge on your health ... julie: a christmas massacre leaves 3 dozen people dead. what the terror group behind it is warning next. worried about retirement. he'd yet to hear of mutual funds, iras, or annuities. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement solutions for our military, veterans and their families. from investments... to life insurance... to health care options. learn more with our free usaa retirement guide. call 877-242-usaa.

rick: new warnings from a terror group boko haram vowing there will never be peace until their demand are met, including imposing full sharia law across the country.

walid farris is the middle east analyst. the boko haram is a group a lot of us in the u.s. are not familiar are. who are they and what are their aims? >> boko haram unlike what many in the media are deserting is not a sect. they don't have a theology of their own. they are a jihadist group, meaning an extremist islamic organization or movement that would be parallel to the taliban in afghanistan or shah back jihad. what they said an islamist state in all of nigeria and they are pushing mostly now in the center to expand the area of their control. rick: this is the second year in a row they have struck on

christmas day? >> yes, they have been active the last four or five years. they have been targeting christians at christmas. the actions of the boko haram group are to intimidate the population to leave the area. when they attack a church during christmas and nothing is done to defend the population then boko haram can claim a victory. rick: what is the story about the inability to defend the population. some in nigeria say the government is defenseless, that there isn't anything they can do to protect the citizens. >> the opposition is criticizing the government that they are unable to protect the christian population. the reality is that the armed forces of nigeria and the army of my jeer yeah all show strong and haven't been able to couple years ago to smash boko haram

one time, they have limitations. and those limitation are political. if you push too much on the armed forces and don't finish the business of countering the terrorists you may bring that struggle inside the armed forces. that's why the nigerian forces are concerned with that issue. rick: what does that mean for the african continent and what are our interests in that region? >> nigeria has in the past had a bloody civil war in the in the mid 60s. they are concerned if the boko haram are not controlled it could become the beginning of a civil war. but for the united states there are american and european interests. nigeria is one of the major producers of oil.

one of the alternative oil resource for us. if the jihadists can hit that stability they will be hitting our economic stability as well. rick: you don't hear a lot from the state department or white house about nigeria. we have our fingers in a lot of pies around the world. should the u.s. be more actively involved or is the u.s. involved behind the scenes doing things we wouldn't know about? >> certainly diplomacy begins behind the scenes. but we are behind the curve here. what we need to do first all, and there are no answers for that matter. the u.s. administration should put boko haram on the list of terrorist organizations. that's the first message to send to nigeria and to the population. why that has not been done is a mystery. rick: when we talked about -- i was reading -- a lot of people

look at this as sectarian violence between muslims and christians in nigeria. but if i'm reading you correctly, you are saying this is not sectarian violence. it's out and out terrorism. >> it's a tir strift jihadist organization trying to -- it's a terrorist jihadist organization. a small minority of jihadist extremists are trying to pound the christians for them to react. when they react that will be the beginning of a sectarian strive. rick: walid, always good to see you, thank you for your time and your insight. julie: the crucial iowa caucuses one week from tomorrow leaving republican candidates locked in a fierce battle to win the first

contest in the presidential race. rick: a sweet holiday homecoming for one soldier returning from afghanistan. we have more of the heartwarming details for you straight ahead. >> i thank god for ... i went with my daughter and had her open her gifts up. ed to, when i'm out with my kids, my daughter's like, "mom, wait up!" and i'm thinking, "shouldn't you have more energy than me? you're, like, eight!" [ male announcer ] for every 2 pounds you lose through diet and exercise alli can help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat. simple. effective. advantage: mom. let's fight fat with alli ♪

rick: police in california are on the hunt for this man. he is wanted in connection with a recent shooting that wounded a soldier on leave from afghanistan. britain's prince phillip spending the fourth night in the hospital. queen elizabeth's husband currently is undergoing on were vaition. he had -- undergoing on were vaition. he had heart surgery last week. the mexican armied captured the leader of the sinaloa drug cartel. julie: the iowa caucuses right around the corner. right now it's anyone's guess who will win the gop presidential candidate nomination. meanwhile the president compiled

a huge campaign war chest. and he's holding his fire as the republicans go after each other. thank you, gentlemen for talking to us about this. the real clear politics national average. the average all polls for gop nominees have gingrich ahead of romney. romney has 24.4%. in third place you have got ron paul with 12.6% followed guy perry, bachmann and rick santorum. huntsman barely on the map. dan pretty much spells out how volatile the political environment these candidates are in going into this election. >> absolutely. what we have seen is the problem mitt romney had all along. he is the best general election candidate of this crop.

but he's out of step with the base of his own party. they have been continually searching for this crew of unqualified candidates. it's been like a clown car of bad candidates one after another in homes of finding someone who is more acceptable to them. now they are stuck with him. i see this as a replay of what happened with the democrats in 2004. after they wanted howard dean they settled for john kerry who was a bad candidate and got decimated by a lot of bad advertising. you will see replay of that with president obama using a lot of negative advertising to define mitt romney. jill * we just learned gingrich added five more to his leadership team in new hampshire. >> i think new hampshire will be important for gingrich if he's able to win iowa.

tropical any has a strong fire wall in new hampshire. iowa is where romney will have a first-round knockout. he's spending a lot of money on the air there with $3 million in commercials where gingrich can prove with his debate performances and polling numbers can transform into organizational strength. so gingrich wins. but the third thing that's interesting and you mentioned rick perry. there is 20% of voters in a recent cbs poll who like romney, 20% who like gingrich and 20% who want somebody else. perry has a lot of resources, if he can get the support of the evangelical christians in iowa you will see him emerge as a fact more this race. julie: if gingrich fails to

qualify on the virginia primary ballot where he lives, how does he come back from that. >> if they don't have the structure and the organization to go for the long haul and win delegates, romney is the only one who has that all in place which is why all things being equal he has a strong advantage over the rest of the field. about it problem is, the base does not like him and does not want to nominate him. you have a strange thing where i think romney is probably going to win by default with little enthusiasm from the base of his party and have a lot of liability in the general election. mitt romney was a missionary in france. it's startling. i think you will see potentially a similar result with right romney in the general election. >> it is fluid but romney is

slowly solidifying. he is a compelling general election candidate. that's why you see in the battleground polls you see him beating obama in the battleground states by a margin of 5. only 41% of americans believe the president deserves rye election. these are bad plums for him starting off -- these are bad numbers for him. >> you are right. and the president has some very big weekness. however, this is all before mitt romney has been defined to the american people. he has been playing in a narrow sandbox and strangely there has been almost no negative advertising against number this campaign. but that will change when the obama campaign machine gears up and starts defining him in a negative way and starts pointing

out his liabilities. he's a moderate in principle. by's poorly attuned to this time in our history and i think because of his ties to wall street, the private equity market he many the wrong guy for this moment. >> the president of the united states has already been defined by the american people as a poor leader and running this economy in a direction they don't support. julie: the jobless rate is 8.6%. chronic unemployment is the worst since the 1930s. a majority of americans believe the country is on the wrong track. when asked if president obama deserves to be reelected. 43% say yes, 52 -- the majority thinks he deserves to be vote out. dan, do you not agree obama is in big trouble? >> i stated up front.

he is in trouble. but you have got to remember, presidential campaigns, incumbents don't run against polls and statistics. they run against candidates. they run against other candidates. just like in sports. politics is about matchups. the matchup with the republicans, there are a lot of negatives. their polling is worse than president obama. approval ratings republicans are trailing president obama by 8 points in terms of the general election. >> dan, you know enough about polls to know groups trend lower. the 12 battleground state polls. he's up by 5 points. but at end of the day, incumbents run against himself. they run against their records. the reason the president is going follow the pathway you said which is negatively defining his opponent is because

he doesn't have an agenda and record the american people support. than and that's a big problem for them. >> then this terrible economy, if you look back in the last 50 years there have been two candidates who unseated incumbents. ronald reagan and bill clinton. anyone necessary that republican field don't come close to measuring town those two guys. it's all about matchups. you will need a strong candidate then this environment to beat obama. >> the economy in 1980 and 1992 was nowhere near as bad as it is today. in this case the american people will vote the economy. >> i have been talking about virginia where newt gingrich is not going to be on the ballot and did not qualify. it will be interesting to see what happens with these five additional top staffers he assigning to new hampshire.

thank you very much. 8 days is a lot of time in the world of politics. >> yes, it is. rick: we have been talking about president obama, and the first lady spending part of their christmas holiday with the troops in hawaii. >> reporter: we just heard that the president returned back to the obama's residence after a workout at a local marine base it's a typical routine. the obama's are spending a fair amount of time at that beachfront home. they had christmas continue they are with family and friends. earlier today we saw the entire family, the first lady, family, and daughters heading off to cher church at a local marine base to celebrate the christmas service. later today the president and the first lady returned to that same base for a meet and greet with local service members to thank them for their service and

spread christmas cheer. it led to one amusing incidents. watch and listen as the president tries to take the photograph one family and their baby. the president getting a mouthful of fingers. he latched it off. and the family involved got a photograph i'll sure they will treasure for a long time. beyond the christmas cheer a couple serious issues the white house has had to face. the first -- the situation in nigeria, the bombing of a catholic church, islamic extremists claimed responsibility for this. the white house issued a statement calling it senseless violence and a tragic loss of life. and the white house is promising

to help bring those responsible to justice. the other issue we'll touch on is yemen. government forces have taken up arms against demonstrators and have been calling for the president of yes known leave the country. the white house says john brennan reached out to yemen's vice president to show some restraint in dealing with this. we are also hearing yemen's president is asking to come to the united states to seek medical treatment. rick: thanks very much. i'm glad the secret service was able to restrain themselves. julie: you don't know where those little hand have been it's nice to see a nice candid moment any time you see a president laugh with a child, it's nice to see. the supreme court taking up some shot button issues in time for

the presidential campaign. a crackdown on illegal immigration to the healthcare overhaul. how things will be brewing for the 2012 elections. rick: an out of this world display of the christmas spirit. what nasa says this picture shows next.

julie: nasa releasing an image of a wreath nebula. it looks like a ring. it's barred barnard3. i see some red and green. it's christmassy in that sense. it's a mass of sashage winds blast a sphwriet star 1,000 slight the -- it's a blast of winds from a star 1,000 miles away. key rulings on immigration and healthcare could come down right in the middle of the campaign. former prosecutor arthur. >> i gallon is here as is mark eiglarsh. thanks very much for being here. it occurred to me you spent so much time talking about the candidates. the justices will generate

just as much attention. >> they decided to take on some cases that affect all of us, especially the healthcare one. can congress tell us we have to buy health insurance? that's a huge one. the immigration laws that are being challenges in four different states, when police seize somebody for the most trivial arrest they have to look into their immigration status. they are looking into a big case in texas which could alter the balance of power in congress. at the very least, they are going to have an impact on the conversations going forward in the next year. rick: smart on the part of the courts to inject themselves into these highly political issues where americans will go and vote on the presidency. >> i don't tell the court what they can and can't do. they will do whatever they want. it will be interesting to see today scalia and kennedy do on

the healthcare issue. in 2005 both scalia and kennedy joined in majority on this gone zales decision -- on this gonzales decision on the commerce cause. they joined in the majority and angered conservative supporters finding that was insister state commerce and they were subject to regulations under the commerce clause. that is the best interest kateor they may uphold the obama-care. >> i think it's going to be a close call. people assume justice scalia is going to take the conservative point of view no matter what it is. that's not accurate. he looks at the constitution and tries to interpret it as literally as possible and lets the chips fall where they may in terms of the till decision. i think this is a nail biter that is identified with two i

individual justices making the decision whether obama wins. if he wins that takes the whole conversation off the table. it eliminates the topic that the republicans would like to beat obama up on. and if justice scalia of all people say it's okay to have this ball care, that shifts the conversation. julie: they say it will be justice kennedy who will be the swing vote on this. >> i agree. it will be kennedy. we don't know which way he's going to go on this. i don't know. i'm going too ask my legal scholar friend arthur aidala. >> are states doing what the federal government supposed to do. are the state laws usurping the federal laws? it will probably be along ideal

logical lines. julie: you were just called a legal scholar, arthur. >> that's my gift to you on the holidays. rick: as we wrap things up. i heard a lot of analysis and a lot of folks are predicting a split decision. maybe one victory for the president when it comes to healthcare or a defeat on immigration or vice versa. what do you think? >> that would probably be my vote. the two candidates that will most complain would be gingrich and romney who just recently came out and said that obama committed unconstitutional acts and we did flies in the face of the tenth amendment and the constitution. i wonder what they will say when the supremes rule potentially ... >> i think it will be interesting. the healthcare arguments, they did something they don't do.

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rick: he spent the past year overseas fighting for our country in afghanistan. now the soldier is back home in pennsylvania make it a truly merry christmas for him and his entire family. >> woke up and went to church. had our daughter open her gifts up. with the family, doing traditional thing from there and running around ever since it's a blessing to see her so happy and staying focused, keeping me focused. rick: he was originally

scheduled to be home in time for thanksgiving. but things got pushed back with the afghan troop drawdown. julie: when you picture a hospital do cold and sterile rooms come to mind? authorities are trying to get a better look with softer colors and lights to help patients heal. >> reporter: it sounds like a healing environment. if you happen to see a hospital uncon stluks is a good chance it's being built with bean approach called evidence-based design. it's starting to catch fire now because 1,000 studies have shown a patient's environment can have a major impact on comfort and healing. so architects are working on soothing elements like natural light and sitle colors.

the hope is that comforting environment like this will speed healing which could shorten your stay, meaning a lower overall cost to you, the hospital and your insurance company. >> one of the things we are trying to do is create more value for our patients. we know this is going to increase quality. and i think if it does reduce length of stay, reduces need for pain medications and other interventions that will be a huge value to the patient. >> it goes beyond patient rooms. hospitals are incorporating canine therapy which has been proven to reduce anxiety and tranquil healing gardens. just ask the patients. >> to be in a facility that requires you to be inside is difficult when you are used to go, go, go. so there is a fail stt that offers you a place where you can go outside, a fountain or just

have some normal part of outside is so helpful. >> reporter: the new hospital there, the rebuilt hospital there, it's the scripps hospital is cost $400 million. it's an up front cost for the hospital which the ceo says will be absorbed over time through future hospital income. but the goal is for everyone to pay less in the end. so it sounds like a remedy to me. julie: thank you so much. rick: when we come back. a a former police officer and vietnam bet is told he can't use his service dog in his hometown. what subaru owners care about. ♪ that's why we created the share the love event. get a great deal on a new subaru

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>> do you have your television set in five days away from the big might and fox planning another star-studded affair live from times square. making be -- trace adkins and the cast of the show "rock of ages," and the fun starts at 11:00 p.m. eastern right here. >> thank you was the scene, the live shot from times square, it will be crazy. a lot crazier and