jon: iever have done that. julie: it's a little scary, i'm not going to lie. jon: do they wear shin guards? julie: not the one i rode. [laughter] jon: thank you for joining us today. julie: "america live" starts right now. we'll see you tomorrow. megyn: thanks, guys. this is a fox news alert. the battle for iowa heading in to the home stretch with just one week until the first in the nation presidential caucuses, republican candidates are making their frenzied final push. welcome to move on a tuesday, everybody. i'm megyn kelly. merry belated to you. five contestants heading to the state today, iowa, that is, to shore up their support from the nation's first voters. and as you can see on this graphic here, there is a color code we have for each candidate detailing their route in the state today. bachmann and perry tackling southwest iowa, santorum working the central region, gingrich is in the northeastern part of the state, and mitt romney making one stop in iowa today while ron paul will head there tomorrow. what does each candidate need to

do in the remaining seven days to shore up his or her numbers? byron york the chief pretty criminal correspondent for -- political correspondent for the washington examiner. this is it, we've got seven days left, and we've seen fortunes rise and fall so dramatically even over the last couple of weeks, things could change in the next seven days. who's got the most likely hood of going from sort of the second tier into the first? >> well, for weeks now people have been looking for rick santorum to move up in the polls a little bit. he has done the most traditional campaigning in iowa. he long ago visited all of iowa's counties, now on his second, third, fourth visits to some of them. a lot of social conservatives like him a lot, and the only objection they've ever heard voiced to me and other reporters is i just don't think he can win, so he needs to try to convince them that he can actually win. they like what he believes, they like what he says, they're just

worried about him actually winning. megyn: now, according to the latest poll, the real clear politics average of all polls, ron paul is in the first position in iowa with 22.3%, romney's second at 21 and gingrich is third at 14.7. which of those candidates, byron, has the most to lose in these seven days? >> well, mitt romney has played kind of an odd game in iowa. he invested so much in iowa in 2007-2008 only to see mike huckabee come up and beat him at the end, so this time he wasn't going to play big in iowa. but now he's been there, he's going to be there this week, he'd made several visits there, had his super pac which he does not control, but his pro-romney super pac has been running millions of dollars worth of ads in iowa, so he's really all in iowa. so he can't say, well, i really wasn't trying. so he's hoping for victory x if he gets below, say, second place, people are going to say he didn't do very well, and he really did try. megyn: and what happens to newt

gingrich if he doesn't do well in iowa? we looked at the numbers. now, i was one of the moderators at the last debate, last presidential debate we had on december 15th. that was a thursday. then i went on vacation for a week, you know, celebrated the christmas holiday and come back. look at the difference in the polling, okay? just go by that. this is the day before -- yeah, the day before the last presidential debate. and you could see, hold on, no, this is the current one. get rid of this one. i want to show them the old one. look at this. day before, 12/14, the last presidential debate. here it is. gingrich at 28.6%. 28.6. romney, 17; ron paul in third at 16. now look at it. gingrich, his numbers have been cut in half, byron, in half. he's down at 14.7% in the iowa average today. what happened? [laughter] >> you're right. the graph of newt gingrich's poll numbers looks like mount everest. i mean, it's way up and then way

down. what happened was those millions of dollars in anti-gingrich attack ads that were put out all across iowa by the ron paul campaign and by the super pac that's in favor of mitt romney, a little bit from rick perry as well. you cannot drive around iowa, listen to the radio or watch television without seeing these attack ads on newt gingrich. they have been very effective. gingrich has to somehow climb out from under all that and say, wait a minute, that's not me. i helped gain control of congress and balance the budget and reform welfare. don't listen to those ads. megyn: where does he need to place in your view in iowa in order for his campaign to continue on the way it has been at least over the past four weeks? >> well, if he's not in the top three, i think he's got a serious problem. he's tied for second, essentially, in new hampshire, and he's doing very well in south carolina. south carolina's always been a very good newt gingrich state. it's a really bad ron paul state, so that would be good for

gingrich there, and he's done really well in the polling that we've seen -- not a lot of polling, but polling we've seen in florida which is january 31st. so if he can hang in to get to south carolina and then to florida, he might still be in the running. megyn: and one final question. you had an interesting piece talking about how the ron paul supporters who we've been seeing place him so high in places like iowa don't tend to be republicans, they tend to be independents and democrats who are, for various procedural rules, allowed to vote in caucuses or primaries. do you subscribe to the notion that some said that if ron paul wins iowa, it somehow discredits the iowa caucuses? >> well, people, the republican party officials in iowa are certainly worried about that. they worried when ron paul almost won the ames straw poll back in august. scott rasmussen, the pollster, told me that just 51% of ron paul's iowa supporters consider themselves republicans, so half of them are democrats or independents. so certainly, the party is worried that a ron paul victory

would confer some sort of iowa approval on, you know, going back to the gold standard or getting rid of the fed or an isolationist foreign policy. they really view that as kind of a nightmare scenario inside the party offices in iowa. megyn: interesting. byron, a week away. see you in iowa. >> one week. thank you, megyn. megyn: and, folks, as the candidates make their final push, a barrage of new campaign ads are hitting the airwaves. when we were out there, you could not turn on television without being saturated. here in new york, nothing. in iowa, nothing but political ads. some are pushing personal messages, others are attacking their biggest rivals, and coming up, we'll take a closer look at those ads. maybe byron's right, maybe they're making the difference right now. did you see that newt gingrich? cut in half, his numbers, in just, you know, ten days' time. so we'll take a look at some of those ads coming up in about eight minutes right here. and remember, folks, fox news is america's election headquarters. tune in for complete coverage of

the iowa caucuses on january 3rd starting at 6 p.m. fox news has your front row seat to politics. i'll be there along with my friend and colleague, bret baier. well, a telling new survey today about the future of the u.s. economy. a group of leading economists are now predicting the nation's economy will grow in 2012, but the nation's current unemployment rate, now at 8.6% they say, is likely to remain the same. so what do we make of it? cheryl casone, an anchor from the fox business network, she's with me now. it's a good news/bad news scenario, but overall they expect a little more growth in 2012 than 2011. is this cause for celebration? >> no, not at all. what these economists are saying, this is three dozen of the world's top economists from every walk of life. they're saying we're going to have 2.4% growth in 2012. megyn, we had probably about 2% growth for 2011, so are things

going to be much better for the u.s. economy? no, they will not. you also mentioned unemployment at 8.6%. by the november election, these economists say that unemployment's going to be at 8.4%, so we are going to spend the next 11 months in this country during an election cycle with a lot of jobless people out there, and they're going to be very angry. they may show that when they go to vote for him or her. megyn: and yet it seems like there are some objective criteria that bode well for our economy like, well, you tell me, but it says 100,000 new jobs have been created for five months in a row now, that's the longest stretch since 2006 of seeing that kind of 100,000 every month for five months. and they're suggesting that layoffs have all but stopped. is that true? >> actually, that is, that is true. what we're seeing is we're seeing layoffs that have slowed down, but the next piece of the puzzle is not really coming through yet. that's what we need to see in 2012, and these economists say that they believe the private

companies, look, american corporations are sitting on about $5 trillion in cash right now. they are concerned about washington, they are worried about what their regulatory picture's going to look like, their tax structure's going to look like. they don't know, so they're sitting on $5 trillion. what's going to push them to start hiring people, push unemployment down? a little certainty out of washington, but in an election year, you don't have that. i'm sorry, but a lot of the jobs that i'm finding are lower-paying jobs. so that hurts the economy as well. because if i used to make $80,000, now i have a job that makes $40,000, my spending is cut in half, and that's three-quarters of the u.s. economy, so it's going to be rough next year. megyn: cheryl casone, thank you, lady. >> thank you. megyn: pleasure. well, the christmas travel season is winding down, although can you see sixth avenue behind me? i mean, you wouldn't know it from looking at the folks here. it is jam packed, and that's radio city music hall right there, and they're walking,

doing shopping back there. it's a lovely day to be in new york, but it is packed on the streets. and it is also packed, long lines at security for just about anybody who had to fly this holiday. now, however, you may have to deal with tsa screenings while traveling even if you manage to avoid the airports. trace gallagher has that lovely update for you live from our west coast newsroom. hey, t.g., belated happy merry christmas. >> reporter: happy belated christmas to you as well, megyn. you're going to see these tsa agents in train stations, bus depots, even at sporting events. viper teams, and it stands for is visible intermodal prevention and response. they've got 25 teams so far, they'd like to add about a dozen more, and what they do is they go in, and they look for unusual behavior. they also have bomb-sniffing dogs. as you see there about 9,000 of these unannounced checkpoint searches. the tsa points out that when

they raided bin laden's come pound, they actually found evidence he was trying to attack u.s. railways. there have already been, of course, deadly bombings in moscow and madrid and mumbai and london. but critics say there is absolutely no proof that these teams help, a, foil any terror attacks at all or have stopped any major public threats. they call this political theater. we should point out that last year tsa on this viper program spent $110 million. they are now seeking about 40 more million dollars from congress. in contrast, they've spent $5 billion a year protecting the aviation system. megyn? megyn: wow. viper teams. it has a good name, you've got to give them that. >> reporter: it does. megyn: it's got the sort of ring to it that i laugh about when we talk about people who go on air for news agencies, and they refer to us as the talent. which is clearly a name -- [laughter] thought up by the talent. and we'll call ourselves, i've got it!

the talent. >> reporter: and anchors. talent and anchors. sounds great, doesn't it? megyn: see ya, trace. well, coming up, dire new warnings from some doctors regarding the nation's new health care law. after a new survey finds that nearly two-thirds of doctors questioned expect quality of care to decline. and the bad news does not end there. ahead, i'll be joined by a panel of doctors for a look at what this means for you and your family. plus, a heartbreaking end to the search for a missing girl in indiana. who police have just arrested and why the family is in shock. plus, republican candidates unleashing new campaign ads as they make their final push before iowa. excuse me. some of the spots are raising eyebrows. we'll update you. what's going on?

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♪ megyn: well, a series of new campaign ads hitting the airwaves as we count down to the nation's first contest of the presidential election season. mitt romney releasing this ad calling for a balanced budget. take a listen. >> it is a moral imperative for america to stop spending more money than we take in. it's killing jobs, and it's keeping our kids from having the bright prospects they deserve. the experience of balancing budgets is desperately needed in washington, and i will take it there. megyn: so which ad will work, and which ones will not? they have been making a difference thus far in iowa. joining me now, former chairman for the republican party of virginia, kate, and vice president of the young americas foundation, and matt, campaign strategist and consultant for the national republican senatorial committee. all right, so we've gotten two republicans on to talk about these republican ads. it's sort of republican versus

republican, obviously, in this primary. so i wanted to get your thoughts on these because we had byron york on at the top of the hour say what he thinks explains the gingrich hit from 28 on the real clear politics average, 28 in the polls and the front runner to number three at 14%. you know, in just the past week and a half, is the ads. they are saturating the iowa airwaves. kate, do you agree that's what led to gingrich's fall in the polls, and do you think that -- what do you think about the ads that are out right now? >> right. yeah, i agree with that, but also some of the, um, some of gingrich's own comments and the recent, um, discovery of this memo that he wrote in '06 saying that he completely agrees with romney and his health care plan in massachusetts. so it's a variety of things, but also the fact that newt doesn't have any money to be able to combat these ads on the airwaves. his latest ad is just an internet ad that, um, doesn't actually combat that whole question about whether newt is really as conservative as, um, a

lot of folks have been saying. so i think romney's ad was hard hitting, it was positive, it talked about what he can do and perhaps a little bit more effective -- megyn: that's an interesting point, because gingrich fights back, but he can't do it with the same -- what i saw in iowa was all ron paul focused on gingrich, and he can't fight back because he doesn't have the dough. here's gingrich's ad, which kate was referring to, which is positive but not getting seen by a lot of people. >> we can be in the spirit of general washington and the americans who fought for freedom. we can go out, get the vote oat out, make the argument stand up for freedom, and i believe we can have as big an impact in helping america remain free in our generation as they did in theirs. megyn: what do you make of it? >> well, megyn, quite frankly, it looks like newt, as kate said, is somewhat in the perfect storm where he has no money to respond to a deluge of ads

coming against him not just from mitt romney's super pac, but also from ron paul, the other guy that seems to be making some headway who has just saturated the airwaves in iowa is rick perry who is slowly moving up the totem poll into second -- third or fourth place. megyn: he's right behind gingrich. he spent reportedly around two million, and the super pac spent another two billion, so he's got $4 million worth of ads. but still, fourth place, is that going to get it done? this is a sampling of what perry's putting out there to advance his cause in iowa. >> 174,000 a year, and you get the bill. we need a solution. >> that's the reason i called for a part-time congress, cut their pay in half, cut their time in washington in half, cut their staff in half, send 'em home. megyn: go ahead, kate. >> yeah. you know, back to gingrich's ad, though, i almost fell asleep. i love the tea party theme of it, but it is not what is needed in this sound bite, last week stretch. and perry's ad was good, um, but

it is really overshadowedby the other guy we haven't mentioned, and that is rick santorum and his great, fun, quippy ad. megyn: video. >> yeah, yeah, yeah. and he's got the perfect narrative for iowa, and it hits every single one of those attributes, but it does it in a clever, snappy way that has captured -- megyn: now, that's fascinating because i can tell you just sort of in the pod when we does this ad, this one had a lot of eyebrows raised. some loved it, some didn't get it. let's just show our viewers a sampling of what we're talking about. ♪ pleasure -- ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [laughter] megyn: the part about the dog. i don't know, love it or hate it, matt? >> well, i think it's the hail mary pass that santorum has to connect with to try to get into even fourth or third place. i liked it, it's folksy, but i

don't know if enough to get him where he needs to go, and the other problem he has, just like gingrich, a lack of money to get that ad seen by as many people as possible. megyn: all right. they saturate the airwaves, people are listening to them all week long, and then they go into these caucuses a week from tonight, and they chat it up. they talk to each other. one representative or spokesman on behalf of each campaign will speak to the iowa caucusgoers. kate, you tell me historically how unusual would it be for, let's say, a gingrich who's in third place under the average to catapult into first, for a santorum who still even though he's one of the most conservative candidates in the race is down at the bottom of the iowa polls? how shocking would it be if he did catapult up to three, two or one? >> i don't think it would be shopping at all. a lot of iowa voters have not made a decision, so they're going to be making that decision at the last moment which rick santorum last night on fox was

saying he's very encouraged by that, of course, because it gives him the opportunity through a quippy ad that's not saturating the airwaves since he doesn't have the money to do that, but at least it gets it on fox news, people are talking about it. so i think that it's really anybody's game right now. there's a lot of talk about ron paul, and that's got conservatives alarmed, and they realize they are going to have to unify behind one of these candidates unless they want to give ron paul the victory, and a lot of folks have said that is going to discredit the iowa caucus if that happens. megyn: we talked about that a little. >> conservatives trying to unite behind one candidate. megyn: so kate says we have fallen right into the trap of romney and gingrich. all right, panel, thank you so much for being here. >> thank you. megyn: coming up, south carolina's new voter id law requiring proof when you register to vote. it allows five different forms of identification. any one of the five is fine, but the department of justice says it's still not fair to

minorities, and they're challenging it. fair and balanced debate on that. plus, a woman writes a message on facebook stating, is anyone out there, i'm having a serious problem, and my son and i will be dead by morning. how that saved her life.

♪ ♪ megyn: yeah. well, they say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and this weekend one green bay packers fan made her fury known to her ex-boyfriend and millions of football fans and others for that matter. check the sign. my cheating ex-boyfriend is watching from the couch instead. tickets to any packers game are in high demand, but especially on the holidays. blogers are already calling in

the sign of the year. little justice. well, this is one story that could easily have had a different ending. a woman and her child in utah held captive for nearly five days. she finally manages to get some help by posting a message on facebook. trace gallagher has more live in l.a. trace? >> reporter: and, megyn, police say this woman was sexual aassaulted, she was beaten, and she was not allowed to even go outside and feed the dog, all by her boyfriend who was also the father of her 17-year-old son. they also had another child in the house, ooh a disabled teenager. now, the woman told police the suspect, that man there, 33-year-old troy clipfield, broke her son's cell phone and would not allow her communication. at one point she was able to sneak into a closet and post a message that said, and i'm quoting here, hello, i'm out here, i'm having a serious problem, and me and my son will

be dead by morning. her facebook friends began posting what's wrong and trying to locate her. they immediately called police who then went to the house. listen. >> they were met at the door by the suspect in this case, troil critchfield. he was uncooperative initially in allowing the officers to speak to the female. after some persuading, he allowed officers to talk to her. um, when the officers started talking to her, they could immediately see on her, on her face multiple bruises. >> reporter: multiple bruises. she had been beaten the entire week long. critc hfield has been charged with aggravated kidnapping, sodomy, child abuse. he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault last year, and the judge only gave him 120 days in jail. the woman in this case chose not to be identified, she's asking police to respect her privacy. that man's in jail right now. megyn: trace, is that all she

wrote? i mean, didn't she -- did she post, like, this is where i am, this is where you can find me, or was it just that one message? >> reporter: no. police believe she posted that as quickly as she possibly could to get in and get out of that closet hoping that somebody would at least try to find out exactly what was going on, megyn. megyn: wow. thank you. see ya, t.g.. >> reporter: okay. megyn: the justice department challenging a south carolina law requiring residents to show picture id at the polls. but they can choose between five different forms of id, so how is this discrimination as the doj alleges? we'll debate it next. plus, recent acts of violence in iraq causing the nation's christian population to drop significantly. and in 15 minutes, i will speak with one man who says if something isn't done soon, christianity could soon be eradicated in iraq, afghanistan, egypt and beyond. and how about going for a swim and finding this in your pool? whoa. now imagine having to get it

out. not so easy. we'll show you what happened. sweetie i think you need a little extra fiber in your diet. carol. fiber makes me sad. 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.

megyn: fox news alert, breaking details on the investigation into the death of 9-year-old alannah lemon. the little girl was found dead

less than a week after she went missing, and now the man charged with her murder is describing his grizzly crime to police -- grisly crime to police. david lee miller. >> reporter: the man who allegedly killed and dismembered the 9-year-old is a neighbor who the little girl's relatives say was a trusted family friend. 39-year-old michael made an initial court appearance this morning and is now being held without bail. according to a police affidavit, he beat her to death with a brick and then he dismembered her body. police say the man told them he hid portions of her remains at his trailer and at a nearby business. he was taking care of alannah and her two young sisters because their mother had been ill. fifteen registered sex offenders live in the same trailer park as the family and their accused killer. one of those convicted is her recently deceased grandfather. the grandfather had been cared for by the man that police say killed alannah. not much is known about michael,

he is not on indiana's sex offender registry, but he has a criminal record of battery, trespassing as well as assault. authorities say he was interviewed three times before confessing to the crime. early on he claimed he had awoke to find her missing and believed she had left his trail tore be with her mother. the 9-year-old was partially blind, deaf and suffered from emotional problems. there is still no indication why he allegedly killed the little girl he was entrusted to care for. megyn? megyn: david lee, thank you. well, new reactions today to the justice department's decision to reject south carolina's voter id law. it requires residents of the state to show one of five different forms of identification at the polls, any one will do. they can use a driver's license, a state-issued id card, a u.s. military id, a u.s. passport or a south carolina voter registration card with a photo. former south carolina governor and fox news contributor mark sanford weighed in on the

controversy this morning on "fox & friends." >> the law specifically, i mean, exempts people for religious reasons who don't want a photograph taken, it exempts absentee ballots, people with physical disabilities, and the sponsor of the bill on the senate side actually modeled this bill after the indiana bill that has been upheld by the supreme court. so, again, i don't think it's any particular hardship. megyn: so then why is the justice department rejecting it? joining me now, syndicated radio talk show hosts leslie marshall and lars. lars, let me start with you. why is the county of justice challenging this, and we should tell our viewers they're allow today challenge or reject laws like this given the history of discrimination in those states, and south carolina happens to be one of them. go ahead, lars. >> megyn, the logic is kind of weird because they'll say black

americans are less likely to have these forms of id than, say, white americans and so, therefore, they're in greater proportion not likely going to be qualified to vote. the fact is that we found out during the florida election debacle in 2000 you have the opportunity to vote, but you may have to put out some effort. you have to go to the polls, you have to get registered. simply providing id is not an unreasonable requirement, and the fact that, for instance, more black americans may not be literate than white americans, does that mean we're breaking the law when we print ballots in the english language because there will be some americans who are incapable of reading that ballot? it's a weird, perverse logic that only the obama administration could come up with. megyn: the current law in south carolina is not that easy already. it already requires certain forms of id. in fact, it allows, it requires a state-issued or military photo identification or some other identification. it seems like the only thing they're adding now is you can no longer use your printed voter

registration card, you have to have a voter registration card with a photo on it. is that such a big deal that the doj needs to step in to stop the change? >> yes, because they are not, the state of south carolina has not presented any evidence of whether in person, impersianization or any kind of voter fraud, no reason for them to add to the current law of 1998, and the addition of the id does effect -- lars, you might say some. when you're talking 20% of people of color, specifically african-americans compared to white who lack the id from the dmv, when you're talking about the elderly, when you're talking about people who are going to be left out, to me, this is going back before 1964. i mean, remember the civil rights act specifically is in place so that we don't have things like this. so we don't have any disparity toward people of color, toward minorities when it comes to voter rights, registration and

application. megyn: lars, does south carolina need to prove it has a voter fraud problem in order to pass a law requiring more stringent voter identification when you register to vote? >> i don't think they need to because in modern society there are many things that you have to prove your identity, to cash a check, to open a bank account, to rent a car, to board an airplane. now, do you have to prove that there might be a lot of people trying to board airplanes that are using false names to be able to say we have to have that requirement? to have that kind of minor requirement to be able to vote seems not to be racially discriminatory any more than it is, as i said, to print ballots in the english language instead of putting pictures of candidates on there for people who are illiterate. you could make the argument that there are more people of color in this country who are illiterate than whites, but it still means, leslie, that there are whites out there who also have not bothered to obtain a driver's license. it's not the state's job to make it so easy to vote that you

don't have to do anything. there has to be, you have to put out the effort to go to the polls, you have to put out the effort to register and all those other things. providing id seems perfectly reasonable. megyn: do you think, is this about politics for the doj? i mean, certainly, leslie, the administration would like to see, you know, typically democrats want to make the voter registration process as easy as possible, and republicans worry about voter fraud, and we see this every election con contest. but do you think there's a political motivation on behalf of the doj here, leslie? >> no, i don't. because south carolina's not the only state. the naacp did bring this to the department of justice, you know, department's attention and, quite frankly, this is their job. regardless if it's a democrat or republican in office, i don't want any american to have hardship or be prevented from voting, quite frankly, even if they're somebody who's not voting for the candidate i'm voting for. megyn: usually, they get a provisional ballot.

the reason i ask, lars s one of the arguments that the civil rights group raised in challenging this law, they said, look, a lot of african-american folks may not have the means to pay for documentation to get state-issued ids, but then the justice department acknowledged that south carolina's going to give them away for free. >> well, and that's the crazy thing. to say that it has to do with costs, well, then you could make the argument that if somebody has to travel to the polling place, that costs money. it takes time and effort to go register if you're going to register in person. those are specious arguments. and, leslie, you don't want anybody to be unjustly denied the right to vote, how about this? do you want anybody to vote who's not qualified to vote, who's not registered, who can't prove who they are, who can't even prove that they're in the word -- country legally? >> no, i don't, lars, but the 1998 legislation that is in place in the state of south carolina accomplishes that. they don't need to take this

additional step. and if they did, if they're so confident that they need to take this additional step, they can prove an appeal that they did not submit originally with this legislation. megyn: you can bet we're going to have this discussion going forward because south carolina's one of seven states with voter id laws signed into law in the 2011, and it's not the only law, the only state that the justice department's looking at. panel, thank you both so much. leslie and lars, all the best. >> happy new year. megyn: and to you. we've been closely following the deadly attacks against churches all across the muslim world, but there is now a real possibility that christianity in the middle east could be wiped out in our lifetime. our next guest with some facts and thoughts on that. in. plus, new concerns for american homeowners. why a new report could have you thinking twice about trying to sell your home or buy one. and new information on a christmas day fire that killed five people in connecticut. an entire family. what investigators say someone

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megyn: fox news alert, just getting news now that democratic senator ben nelson will reportedly announce as early as today that he is retiring from the u.s. senate, this according

to politico. he is at the end of his second term, approaching the end of his second term. he is from the state of nebraska. he's considered a conservative democrat. he was lekked to the senate in 2000 -- elected to the senate in 2000 after serving as nebraska's governor from '91-'99. he came under serious fire during the health care law, the debate of it. you remember the cornhusker kickback that was offered at one point to get him onboard, and then he came under so much fire that he gave it back, and it was back and forth about this whole, how to get his vote on that issue. he went underground after being very press-friendly after that, basically ever since. and now we get word despite the fact that he had managed to improve his polling after he took a hit in the wake of all that with nebraska cans, that he has decided to retire. that, again, according to politico. we contacted his office. a staffer would only say that he will address nebraskans later today, but this will be big news to the republican party which is

hoping to get that seat and is now considered vulnerable. former senator bob kerrey is a democrat, he's been considering running again, but republicans will be happy to hear that the once-again-popular ben nelson is retiring, and there are 23 democratically-controlled seats up this cycle. republicans only have to defend ten. they are doing the calculations on how they can regain control of the senate. serious threats to christians in the middle east today. there are now warnings that christianity could possibly be wiped out from iraq and afghanistan, egypt as well possibly because of severe and persistent persecution. according to the u.s. commission on international religious freedom, it's a bipartisan group, independent group, in 2003 there were 800,000 to 1.4 million christians in iraq. a startling difference from today when there are only an estimated 500,000 christians still living there.

and according to our state department, there is no longer a public christian church stand anything afghanistan. leonard leo is chairman of the u.s. commission on international religious freedom and my guest now. leonard, the statistics are startling. first, just big picture it for us. what is happening? >> well, throughout the middle east and in north and sub-saharan africa there's a serious increase in the amount of violence that's being perpetrated against christian religious minorities around that region. and as a result, you're seeing dwindling populations, people who no longer want to live there. megyn: violence and persecution by whom? >> well, sometimes it's persecution and violence by the government, but sometimes it's individuals who take the matter into their own hands and engage in vigilante justice, and in so doing they sometimes or oftentimes get away with it because the governments are not investigating, prosecuting and bringing those people to justice. megyn: whoever is causing it, it is a victory in some cases for radical muslims who, you know,

adhere to sharia law, who believe in violence as a solution to problems. what effect does that have on these nations if more extreme elements of, you know, the muslim faith rise to power and the christians leave these countries? >> well, first of all, christianity has always been a very important part of the fabric of middle eastern and north african society. and for those populations to be dwindling or leaving has a very serious impact on the stability, security and prosperity of countries in the middle east and in north and sub-saharan africa, so it's a very serious problem. megyn: how did we get to this point? did you work for the bush administration? >> no, not formally. i was a delegate to the u.n. megyn: you were a delegate. okay, so that's my question because, you know, there's -- you seem to have, you seem to believe according to what i've read that it was our decision to go into iraq and afghanistan that got us in this position in part. >> well, that's right. and one of the problems that

we've had as a country is that we have failed to recognize in the case of afghanistan and iraq that there is a very significant sectarian component to the violence and to the wars that have been taking place there. and the failure to recognize that has resulted in not providing sufficient security and protection to christians and other religious minorities in countries like iraq and afghanistan. megyn: what should or could we possibly do along those lines? >> well, at this point with our withdrawal from iraq, it's very hard to do much of anything. and, unfortunately, in afghanistan when we had the opportunity to reform the afghan constitution in ways that would have protected religious minorities, we didn't quite do that. so at this point in time it's going to be very hard to put the kind of pressure we have to on the afghan and iraqi governments. we have to urge them to investigate, prosecute and bring to justice the kind of violence that is plaguing these christian communities, and in countries like egypt where we still give

considerable foreign assistance and aid, we have to try to condition that aid on proper protection of religious minority communities. remember, egypt has right now probably the largest christian minority population still standing in the middle east, and we really need to be very vigilant in urging the egyptian government to provide security and protection for those communities. megyn: as someone who's been watching the trends thus far, where do you see this going? what do you see the middle east looking like when it comes to christianity and who's in control and who's influencing government in, say, ten years? >> we are very, very concerned. there are dwindling populations of christians throughout the middle east and sub-saharan africa. you're not seeing governments bring people to justice when they perpetrate that violence. all of those trends are very disturbing and could lead to the extinction of christian or other religious minority populations in a part of the world where they've been very important to stability, security and economic

prosperity. megyn: leonard leo, thank you so much for being here. >> thank you. megyn: well, new warnings today from some doctors regarding the nation's health care law. after a new survey finds that nearly two-thirds expect quality of care will decline. just ahead, i'll be joined by a panel of doctors for a look at what this means for you and your family and their health care. and is california's former first couple getting back together? why some say the expression "i'll be back" may have a new meaning today. plus, he was a popular novelist before he was convicted of killing his own wife. the case was dubbed "the staircase murder." it got a ton of publicity. so why has this guy, michael peterson, just been released? that's on the docket in today's kelly's court. >> i know my father didn't kill kathleen. i loved kathleen more than anything, but he didn't do it. he told me, i know it. i believe it in my heart.

megyn: just five days to go, folks, until new year's eve, and times square is prepping for over a million guests at the world's most famous celebration. work withers today installing nearly 300 crystal triangles on the famous ball. there it is, they're lighting this up for the very first time, this massive number two will be moved next week to the top of the times square building. where did 2011 go? fox news is planning a star-studded affair that night, folks, live from times square. bill hemmer and i will be hosting the all american new year right here on fox news channel as we have been for several years in a row now with musical guests trace adkins, big and rich, and the cast of "rock of ages."

if you haven't seen it, buy a tick. we hope you'll be there with us. tivo, you know, not the kind of thing you want to watch the next day. kind of want to watch the ball drop at the exact moment be, so we hope you'll be with us, 11 p.m., this saturday night. as we ring in the new year, several states will be ringing in brand new laws, especially in lifornfornia. and who better to tell us about those than trace gallagher live in l.a.? >> reporter: m.k., i just hope you weren't hankering for some shark fin soup. shark fins will be outlawed. you can't trade 'em, can't sell 'em, right? so it's tortoise soup for you. here's some other things raising eyebrows. california the first state to mandate gay history teaching which means you've got to go in and teach kids about bisexual, gay and lesbian contributions to history, and you can do it as early as first grade. speaking of kids, in california they will now have to remain in car seats until they're 8 years old or 49 inches, whichever

comes first. don't you know we just threw out our 7-year-old's booster seat. great. you want to the get on some cough syrup in california? forget about it. you want to stop coughing in california, forget about it because now the state has put one ingredient prescription only. that's the stuff in nyquil, vix, robe us the sun. if you want to get a tan, you've got to do it outdoors because if you're under 18, you can't do it in the tanning salon anymore. but if you see sharks, m.k., don't even think about shark fin soup. megyn: if it swims, don't eat it. never been a seafood fan. it upsets a lot of people, i don't know why. thank you, t.g.. well, the nation's debt is about to increase big time, president obama asking congress to increase the nation's borrowing limit again. and new information on a christmas day fire that killed five people in connecticut. what investigators say someone did just before the family went

to bed that most likely caused the fire, right after this break. [ male announcer ] cranberry juice? wake up!

♪ that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm [ male announcer ] for half the calories -- plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. megyn: a fox news alert. a major development on capitol hill. the ball administration is getting ready to ask congress to raise the limit on america's credit card again.

it would boost our collective credit limit to $16 trillion. doug? >> reporter: this is one of those things we knew was going to happen, it was just a question of when. back in august congress and the president worked out a deal where they could raise the debt ceiling but only in increments. the nation owes more than $15 trillion. this will give the authority for the president to bring that number up to $16 trillion. when you look at the specifics. this is a request for $1.2 trillion that would bring up the nation's debt level to $16.4 trillion. it sounds like a lot of money, but not when you compare it to the rate at which congress

overspends. this is something that has to get done. congress in theory can object to that by only if they come into session between now and the middle of january, not likely to happen. we are counting down to the first contest of the 2012 presidential election. can you believe it? it doesn't seem like we just had an election? no? moving if onward. the latest real clear politics average puts ron paul at the top of the gop pack with mitt romney and newt gingrich behind him. when it comes to the national numbers. the same three but in a different order with gingrich first. campaign carl cameron doing what he loves most, traveling on the campaign trail.

carl, all that matters for these candidates right now is that first poll. what's happening in iowa. >> reporter: it's a mad dash to the starting line. it seems like a great yes shen dove is coming. newt gingrich is having his first bus kickoff tour event right now in iowa. he has plans to hit 44 cities in the final week. that's been trimmed down to 22. we have live pictures of mr. gingrich as he campaigns. he not on had to trim some of his schedule but he had to try to get a couple more bucks on the air. when it comes to the ground game he's behind and when it comes to air support he's grossly outspent by his rivals. mitt romney and rick perry have super pac help supporting each of them. ron paul spent $1.5 million

himself. mr. paul, the texas congressman by many accounts is favored to surprise here. he has got some organization left over. he and romney are two-time candidates. they do have organization and roots that go back to the last race. so as we head into the last 7 days it's anybody's guess here. one thing we do know. there will be somewhere between 120,000 to 150,000 caucus-goers and half of them haven't made up their minds. fully aware the last six days will ultimately determine their decisions. megyn: carl, thank you. looking forward to seeing you out there. nobody knows the polling trends in iowa and coast to coast like my next guest. scott rasmussen is president of rasmussen reports.

so around busy man, people want to look to you because they want to know in advance what's going to happen. the best interest kateor we very that is the polls. whatever their potential failings are. you are showing romney leading in iowa which is contrary to the real clear politics average all polls which shows ron paul leading in iowa. you show mitt romney at 25%, mitt romney second and newt gingrich at 17. i want to ask what you are showing in terms of trend. >> anybody who is look at a caucus poll is selling you something you shouldn't be buying. the way beam get into a caucus is different and there could be changes. we see mitt romney and ron paul both being steady month after month after month. they are doing well and they will fight out for the top spot. that's what we are seeing in the polls. the different right now.

mitt romney is being seen as more and more strongest potential general election candidate. ron paul is being seen by more and more republicans as the weakest. megyn: who do you actually think can beat president obama. >> that's right. a lot of people are saying i'm not sure mitt romney is my guy but maybe if he can beat barack obama that's good. megyn: the day before the debate he was at 28%, he's now 14% in the national average. >> people spent millions of dollars saying bad things about you in iowa your rating would go down, too. a big part of it has been those ads. and also newt gingrich has been around for a long time. he looks great in the debates. he's very strong. ads reminded them other parts of

newt gingrich. megyn: a shiny new thing you love in the beginning, but the more you learn, you think maybe he's human. >> the first five polls we did we vd five different frontrunners. i think there is more stability in the favorability ratings. mitt romney is views more favorably than any other candidate in iowa. megyn: he had some bad news the past few months. he had an interview with bret baier that got testy. is he doing okay in terms of trending with the voters in iowa and beyond? >> he went down a little bit during that stretch. during that bret baier interview. newt gingrich was rising an suffers. mitt romney has don't best in iowa and the international

polls. is there anybody that would shock if you they won iowa? >> to win iowa -- megyn: would it shock you if ander to actual orbachman won? >> yes, it would shock me if they won. would it shock me with santorum finished third? sit wouldn't shock me. it would surprise me. megyn: romney, gingrich and paul, let's throw perry in there as well. he's 4th in iowa. who has good trending news and who has bad trending news. >> the good trending news is mitt romney and ron paul because they are so steady. we don't know who will actually show up. ron paul supporters are more committed. but those two are doing very well. newt gingrich we don't know if he's stabilized or bouncing back yet but clearly he's not falling

as rapidly as was a couple weeks ago. rick perry moving up. so they are moving into a slightly better position. romney and paul coming out. then one or two other people. megyn: it's all about expectations. mitt romney hasn't been doing an allout assault because he wants to be able to say i didn't campaign that hard there. then we saw rick santorum on fox saying anything but last is a victory for me. >> if you forget about the candidates and focus on the voters. the real messager. >> seeing in iowa while republican voters are angry at barack obama, they are also not thrilled with republicans. the resistance to romney is part

of that. megyn: scott rasmussen. thank you. fox news is america's election headquarters. we would love for you to tune into our coverage of the iowa caucuses january 3 at 6:00 p.m. i'll thereby as well as our special political panel. let me tell you, that not just that. you will have to tune in to find out what else we have for you in special coverage next week. there is new information today on a christmas tragedy in connecticut. the mayor of stanford saying the raging fire that claimed the lives of three children and their grandparents was not the result of foul play. trace gallagher is live from the breaking news desk with more on this. >> reporter: investigators say it appears the mom who is a well-known advertising executive

was up slate wrapping christmas gifts. and when they went to bed they put the burning em% in the hallway in a bucket. the mom and boyfriend were able to escape the flames. they climbed up onto the roof to break the window of their daters to get them out. the girls died along with their grandparents. the grandfather had just worked the holiday season as a santa for saks fifth avenue. the house has been torn down because it was deemed unsafe. but neighbors keep coming by bringing flowers and teddy bears and anything they can to put on the lawn. listen to them. >> we are just heartbroken. it's the biggest fire in a couple decades. >> our hearts go out to the

family and their friends. may they all be at peace. >> reporter: the mom was a well-known advertising executive. she was best known for creating the calvin klein underwear ads. she is at an undisclosed location but she and the boyfriend did survive the fire. megyn: the obama administration says they prevented another great depression their economic policies. michael reagan breaks down their new strategy right after the break. plus new concerns for american home owners. a new report could have you thinking twice about trying to sell your home or buy one. an unwanted visitor takes a dip in the family pool. the stories behind this incredible video. ok! who gets occasional constipation,

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megyn: security today at one of the nation's largest malls at a mob brawl. it happened at minnesota's mall of america. the food court fight turned into a rampage that took police more than an hour to bring under control. investigators don't know what started it. the increased security is expected to remain in place throughout the week. president obama pushing a new strategy on the road to what he hopes will be his reelection. his campaign team is portraying the president as a defender of the middle class. instead of touting his policies as having prevented a great

depression. this from a senior obama campaign advisor. this is about saving the middle class from the decline that has been going on for three decades. michael reagan is a political consultant and chairman of the reagan group. it's not just that consultants. strp joe biden had an op-ed where he talked about mitt romney, saying he would double down on the policies that caused the greatest economic calamity and accelerated a decades' long assault on the middle class. this will be the wait appears the president will pitch the stake for americans. it's not about the economy right now. it's are you for the rich or are you for the middle class. is that going to be effective? >> well, it seems they are the ones doubling down. they haven't realized none of their policies have in fact worked at all.

$15 trillion in debt. it's interesting. they say the last three decades. that would make the as it to 90s. so they are -- so that would take us to the 80s and 90s, the 90s bill clinton was president of the united states working with newt gingrich to balance the budget there will be was welfare reform and the economy was churning along doing very, very well. he's take on everybody and putting himself out there likee is the savior. he said he's the fourth best president this country has had in now he thinks he,ed the best president in the last 30 years. he's throwing out trial balloons to see what might work for him. he knows telling people he saved america hasn't worked well for him at all. megyn: we saw this back and forth in washington over the payroll tax holiday. it amounts to $1,500 a year for a family that makes $50,000 a

year. the argument we saw on it in washington you would have thought it was all $50,000 for that family. they fought tooth and nail and there was some speculation that that argument was about this, was about the democrats and president obama trying to look like champions of the middle class and trying to make the republicans look like they only care about the rich. whether it's real, whether it's right or not, is it working? >> that did work. they don't know how to win an argument. charles kraut hammer was right. all they had to do was change the to two months and send it back to harry reid and let harry reid deal with it flips nothing wrong with making that kind of decision. but nobody the media, not even the republicans are talking about the fact that that was the money that goes into social

security. so the fact that you may be getting your money now, but you are taking money from yourself in the future. the republicans never made that argument and they ended up losing that battle. megyn: the middle class seems to be feeling ignored. they seem to feel they are not getting the jobs. there is a huge income disparity. they need the democratic voters. so the question is what if anything can or should the republicans be doing that to counter that. barack obama has seeds on that. rather than -- barack obama has seized on that. they want to talk about republicans and class warfare. you can call it what you want. 99% versus 1%. they seem to be seizing on an us versus them mentality. if you are rich vote republican. >> that's a battle the president of the united states wants going

into next year's election. i have got people in the middle, the middle class who are so tired of the fighting and the arguing, they just want to get things done. they want a congress that's going to work together much like they did in the 80s and 90s. and they are not getting that. both sides will suffer if they don't figure out a way to work together. the one that makes the winning argument that they are for the middle class is going to win the election of november 2012. the republicans better figure it out pretty quick. and by the way. republicans if they don't want mitt romney they better get behind some conservative because way it splits out, 47% do. megyn: we have heard the democrats refer to him asteriskle down economics don't work. it doesn't work to stimulate the

rich. president obama has rejected that. and here again we see the president and his vice president and others talking about how it's been three decades the middle class has been under assault and deteriorating. >> to me it's outrageous. ronald reagan president of the united states, that boat that floated every economic group. it didn't matter you are black, hispanic, woman, man, everybody did better in the 1980s. everybody moved up the ladder in the 1980s. same thing happened in 1990s when republicans and democrats worked together. but for him to take a shot at the 1980s that the middle class is suffering, this is an inherent problem with barack obama. he doesn't like us have much and the americans need to make that point. and whoever gets the nomination

should take that to the american people. they need the reagan democrats on their side. to take on reagan in the 80s and clinton and gingrich in the 90s is outrageous. the president is throwing out trial balloons and this won i hope gets popped. megyn: a big announcement from two retail giants. why it may be harder to shop at sears and kmart. and fears of doctors will the healthcare overhaul. they say sit will hurt the quality of care in america. >> when you cut through the noise and distractions out there. i think what's most telling is that some of the people who are most supportive of reform are the very medical professionals who know the healthcare system best. the doctors and nurses of

america.

megyn: lackluster holiday sales taking a big toll and a retail giants. sears and kmart is going to close stores nationwide. weak electronics and clothing sales compared to target and walmart. a key housing index shows prices fell in october in most major cities nationwide.

lori? >> reporter: chalking up a second monthly decline. the prior five months showed gains for home prices. but you could say the overall recovery bumping along. but keep in mind this is not a seasonally adjusted figure. a lot of people don't buy houses in the fall or winter. also keep in mind you have got a good reading on consumer confidence today. a component of this survey asked participants whether they plan to buy a home and more people said yes they do have plans to buy a home in the next year. but the problem with the housing industry is that there are so many homes for sale standing idle. that's weighing and home prices. let me break down some of these regions. some of these cities with the big jest struggles. atlanta, detroit, minneapolis. las vegas saw home prices fall toss it lowest level since the

financial crisis a couple years ago. only city to chalk up a price increase was phoenix. back to you. megyn: it could be a shot in the harm for ohio's failing economy. the surge in exploration for oil and natural gas. some say the economic byes not worth the environment risk. he was convicted of killing his wife eight years ago. today he's a free man awaiting a new trial. this time around he may not have to face some of the most incriminating evidence. what happened? this guy has just gotten a second chance at freedom in "kelly's court." a new survey shows most doctors do not think the overhaul of healthcare will cut costs and they have a very scary warning about the consequences for american families. >> it's going to be very, very

exciting, but we have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it away from the fog of the controversy. 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. metamucil uses super hard working psyllium fiber, which gels to remove unsexy waste and reduce cholesterol. taking psyllium fiber won't make you a model but you should feel a little more super. metamucil. down with cholesterol.

megyn: new data from "the washington post" shows from 1984 and 2009, the median met worth

of -- net worth of a member of congress doubled. a vulnerability could allow a scammer to send text messages to premium services. new york city could be home to a casino. the governor supports the prospect. and says it could happen sometime next year. dire warnings from doctors across the country about the president's healthcare law. a survey of hundreds of physicians done by consulting giant deloitte finds only a quarter of doctors believe the healthcare overhaul will cut costs. half of the doctors surveyed say access to healthcare will degrees and 2/3 say the best and the brightest who may consider a

career in medicine may think otherwise. marc siegel is a professor of medicine at nyu medical center. a former emergency room doctor and descr scott berger, a cofounder of doctor's express and a former e.r.doc. this is fascinating and a little scary. two-thirds believe the quality of care will go down. 50% say access to care will go down. 50% predict longer waiting times in emergency rooms. 80% said they will see longer wait times for primary care appointments. these doctors are saying its many bad and we are worried. is this politics or real? >> i think it's real and i have been saying for a long time this is how practicing physicians think. to see the words the best and

the brightest exiting medicine, that must be disturbing to our viewers and i'm afraid that's probably the case. no one thought about this when the bill was being put together. you can increase demand by giving more and more people insurance cards. but you have to think about supply. we are already overloaded. megyn, that's why emergency rooms will fill up and primary care visits are not to be had. if you give more people medicaid, where are they going go in the doctors aren't there. they are not there and they won't in because medicines less and less attractive right now. megyn: they say nine out of ten doctors asked -- this is a healthy majority -- believe insurers will raise premiums not just for employers but for individuals as well. the doctors do not believe the american people will save money on healthcare. they think the premiums will go

up. as someone who was a blast cross-blue shield guy what say you? >> i say they are right. premiums have already begun to go up. this administration and president have been telling us for over a year and a half that people will like this bill. in spite of that, the public by scene overwhelming -- over half, have said they don't like it. and they would like to repeal it. now we have this survey which is a devastating survey in terms of what it says because it's coming from doctors. it's coming from people who do understand the healthcare system and who are on the front lines. and i think it's no surprise that they know that this is a 2,400 page bill with dozens if not hundreds of regulations, sort of con koctd in washington. mostly a one size fits all approach and solution, and they are saying there is no way this can be good for patients.

it's not good for doctors. megyn: they say that 70% of the doctors bleach we are going to see longer wait times plaguing emergency rooms. i thought one of the purposes of this healthcare bill was to alleviate what we see in emergency rooms where it gets treated like general practice for people without insurance. >> i was a practicing emergency room physician. we have to couple with creative and novel solutions and we have done that with my company doctors expression which is a series of urgent care centers that provide walk-in clinics. you don't have to have insurance to be seen. we saw over 1,500 patients the day after christmas. so we don't want patients clogging up the emergency room. we want to give them an affordable option because the

primary care doctors are going have more patients on their rosters who they need to manage their chronic disease. you are not going to be able to go to your doctor and have them come to our house for a cough or cold. you need a viable alternative. that's what urgent care provides. getting more people insurance so they are not flooding emergency rooms and the emergency room can't force people away is a good thing. megyn: i want to ask but the doctor shortage which is alarming. they are talking about now that in 2019, the american academy of family physicians warns the u.s. will be short 40,000 doctors. she say we face a shortage of primary care doctors. medical schools produce one of

the four that our country needs. >> the association american medical colleges say the will be 160,000 doctors short by 2020. they are discouraging doctors because they are cutting our fees. >> by the way, what dr. berger said about the emergency room. they are already full. they cut down emergency rooms by 10%. they are more likely to use the e.r. unnecessarily. insurance is not the solution, it's part of the problem. expanding insurance expands the problem. megyn: i have one physician -- i won't name it physician on the air. this physician is in new york city and is a liberal person. loves president obama. what is it?

at its core what is it the physicians object to? >> they instinctively know that something that has this much bureaucracy and there are a tremendous number of rules in it. they have just begun to implement them. doctors know the medicaid program and the medicare program. and how difficult it is to practice with the rules and regulations. we have an avalanche of new entitlement program. and i think doctors are looking fear way to just have an exchange with their patients and interact with all the middleman bureaucracy. i know this. by was in the government. i was at the federal level. i know that the federal leaders sometimes believer that they can implement something. but they can't. it's just too complex.

megyn: dr. berger. even before the president's healthcare law doctors were shying away from medicine because it doesn't pay as well as it used to. internists, family practice doctors, they aren't raking in huge dough when you factor in medical school costs. there are only a few specialties that still pay a lot of money to doctors. >> if you want to be a millionaire become an investment banker. i would ask my two colleagues. what do we do with the patients who show up at the hospital with a life-threatening condition without insurance. are we going to continue to bankrupt them or ask the government to subsidize that care? it's just frustrating to hear things like this. we need to provide insurance. for the doctors, the emergency room doctor i know you have seen this firsthand. somebody comes in to who needs

an apen detective -- who needs surgery. you know that bill will be in excess of $100,000. if you probably know people who have become personally bankrupt because of that. we have the capacity to take care of these people. why not do it? >> the answer to that is with all due respect, we are going see those patients. i see those patients and you see those patients. we see them whether they pay or not. about it hospital's bottom line does not improvew if a watered down medicaid cuts payments to the hospitals. the reality is they will do worse under obama-care and that's the problem. >> i would agree with you. i'm in favor of a broader insurance coverage for all americans to make it -- but we need to make it affordable. the best way to do that, having

spent a lot of gleerts insurance industry is not put so many mandates in the insurance coverage laws, number one, and number two, to have plan designs where individuals themselves pay at least a third of the cost themselves and pay a lot of that up front. some of the low-income people would have a more difficult time with that. but it's my view we don't ask people enough in terms of what they should do to pay, and therefore some people don't have any idea. megyn: spoken like a former insurance executive, doctor. dr. berger good luck with doctor's express. it sounds like an interesting venture. a surprising new report on the former first couple of california. reports indicates that maria shriver may be having second thoughts about filing for divorce. a once popular novelist convicted of murdering his wife in a case that made headlines 10

years ago, and now he is getting a second chance at freedom. the stunning turnaround in his case. why all these years later? "kelly's court" on that next. >> i couldn't believe it. ♪ [ woman ] ♪ what i want this season

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megyn: "kelly's court" is back in session. temporary freedom for a man convicted of killing his wife. michael peterson set free after eight years behind bars. he was locked up in 2003 after his wife was found dead in a pool of blood at the bottom of the stairs in their family home. he has just been grants new trial after all these years. the judge ruling parts of the investigation and prosecution against him were fraud. but some of the most shocking evidence may not be allowed at the retrial. is justice being served here? joining me now criminal defense southern joey jackson and david wahl. it was carried on court tv. he was somewhat of a famous figure. he claimed his wife had a simple accident. the prosecution believed he murdered her. there was evidence of motive. there was evidence of murder. the jury believed was murder.

set it up for our viewers. was that evidence strong? why should they believe this guy is a murderer. then we'll talk about why this judge reversed the verdict. >> i think initially the jury got the right and here is why. there was an accident. what was the accident according to him? the accident was he called 911 saying his wife had just fallen down 15-2 some stairs. ultimately they respond to the scene and he gives the indication she must have fallen. she was a bit intoxicated and she had other pain pills in her system. further investigation proceeds and that concluded with an autopsy report. autopsy report established it was not her death consistent with a fall, it was more consistent with a bludgeoning. the autopsy report reported she had a broken neck in addition to several lacerations, 7 specifically in the top and back of the head that was more

consistent with a beating with a blunt object as opposed to her falling. based upon that he was convicted and the jury concluded that indied the autopsy report established that it wasn't an accident, it was a murder. with regards to motive they were saying he lived a double life. in addition to being married, he had an extramarital affair with another man. and as a result of that the wife having found out about that, led to the attack, led to the violence that ultimately led to her death. megyn: so the jury convicts this guy of murder and he's sentenced to life in prison. but he maintained his innocence all along. that's not a surprise. but what has now happened that has gotten this guy a new trial after eight years? >> an independent expert came in and evaluated the findings. megyn: the state bureau of

investigation analyst who testified and his testimony was critical. he's a blood spatter expert. they found 34 separate cases western tainted by his evaluations that were inconclusive. by his false testimony money. by not providing the defense something that could help their case. it was a birks -- was a biased technician. they found there was evidence of a murder, but this particular evidence which is so critical to the prosecution case perhaps tainted the entire case, and i have got to tell you this was the most important evidence in the case, and if the prosecution doesn't call into -- megyn: they can't -- >> but the defense can. and, sir, you phoneys up testimony and this wasn't given

to the defendant even though thought it would have helped the defense. megyn: this guy dever is a mess and would and prosecution nightmare if he were to take it stand. can the prosecution obtain -- just because he's getting retrial doesn't mean he's getting set free. dots prosecution have enough to convict this guy a second time without dever. >> i think they do. what will happen is the prosecution will avoid this witness. however, the defense will call him and ask questions they suggested. but the science does not lie here. when you have an autopsy report inconsistent with any accidents. when you have an autopsy report that establishes lacerations and things that occur -- he had nothing to do with it. so it presence and issue with him fabricating who was. he said i participated in 500

blood splatter cases and 200 cases. he exaggerated. megyn: the other thing in the first trial there was something about germany and another person who wound up murdered. they cass suspicion on him? >> i wasn't aware of that. but i have got to say something. one last thing. if she fell down the stairs. the key evidence is blood spatter evidence. she could have obtained lacerations by hitting the stairs. i think that's why the blood spatter evidence is so critical to the case. if this guy doesn't testify the case is done. >> if i can, the other death -- it just so happened he had a very goodfriend and his friend's wife died in the same manner. how? by falling downstairs. so that evidence was introduced not to establish that he did it but to establish that he knew how to fake a death. if it comes in it's certainly

probative, relevant and compelling. megyn: that was a big victory getting that in in the first trial. that's questionable. thank you, joey and david. coming up. a python in a pool.

megyn: according to tmz, maria shriver may be having second thoughts about divorcing arnold schwarzenegger. the webside says shriver is -- the web site says she is now unsure about divorcing schwarzenegger and he has been extremely sweet to her since the split. living in south florida means the occasional encounter with

unusual wildlife, alligators. but one family woke up to an unwelcome guest in their swimming pool and it wasn't santa. look at this. >> reporter: talk about a christmas day surprise. how about this one? a 13-foot burmese python in the pool. how do you get this thing out of the pool? you can see here the beginning of the process. the first attempt failed. the python is taken 3/4 of the way out, and the python then goes back to swimming. backup comes in and finally the

python was pulled out of the pool. this all happening on 183rd street. no one was injured. but what a day christmas day turned out to be. with this python in a pool that was finally captured. megyn: how about that woman doing it by herself on the first go-round. the python won't be released back into the wild because it's not a native species to florida. would you ever float on your pool float the same way again? would you ever do a night swim? i don't think so.

>>megyn: and don't miss the all american new year's eve show, i will be here with bill on the big night. headlining our show this year? take a listen. ♪ what's really going on what right now ♪ i guarantee this memory is a big one ♪ ♪ and she thinks we're just fishing, fishin' ♪ >>megyn: and we will be joined by folks from "rock of ages," right here on fox news until after the ball drops with our cast of characters