we'll be talking to steve more about the things he'll be giving us food wise hopefully today. >> steve: ali always gives something interesting away detail wise about her personal life. today, no exception. see you tomorrow. gregg: texas governor rick perry suing to get on virginia's premarry ballot. the republican presidential candidate saying his exclusion from that contest actually robs the voters of the state for a chance to vote for their candidate of choice. good morning, everyone of the i'm gregg jarrett in for bill hemmer here in "america's newsroom.". >> i'm uma for martha maccallum gregg: for more own perry's efforts to overturn the decision. all eyes seem to be on iowa

except rick perry's eyes focuses for the east coast. >> reporter: that's true, gregg. all the candidates crisscrossing the state of iowa in the homestretch for the iowa caucuses less than a week away now. look at the graphic which pinpoints the dizzying array of candidate stops in iowa. one candidate, texas governor rick perry of texas, turned his sights on the commonwealth of virginia where he and newt gingrich and three other candidates were excluded from the ballot because they did not get get the necessary 10,000 signatures to qualify. while newt gingrich likened it toe the pearl harbor attack, rick perry took a different approach, filing a federal lawsuit on the exclusion. virginia's ballot rules are the most onerous an particularly problematic in multicandidate election. we believe the provisions unconstitutionally restrict the rights of candidates and voters by severely restricting access to the

ballot and we hope to have the provisions overturn and modified toe allow greater ballot access to virginia vet terse and candidates seeking to earn their support end quote. this is filed in the virginia and asserts the 10,000 signature rule is upcone constitutional. mr. perry strong advocate for state rights is asking the court to compel the virginia republican party and board of elections to certify him for the ballot on the march 6th primary remember. gregg: the other part of that if you're out there gathering signatures you have to be a resident of the state that is also a part of the challenge. we understand that mitt romney is weighing in on the virginia exclusion as well. what did he say? >> reporter: yeah, that's right. gregg, he poked fun at gingrich's characterization of the exclusion as pearl harbor-like attack. romney said not like newt gingrich pearl harbor but lulu seal ball in the chocolate factory. he said organization is

important in virginia, something newt gingrich should know. he is resident of virginia after all. gregg? gregg: doug mackel way live in washington. good to see you. thanks. uma: as doug just said. here is romney's comment to all this. >> what did you think of speaker gingrich not getting enough people on the ballot in virginia? >> you know i think he compared that to pearl harbor? i think it is more like lucille ball at the chocolate factory. [laughter] so you got to get it organized. >> romney going on to say that the candidates need to be organized. gregg: the state of virginia considered the most strict when it comes to ballot requirements. candidates must show support across the whole state with at least 10,000 signatures. 400 in each and everyone of the state's 11 congressional districts. apart from virginia, other difficult states are indiana, illinois and pennsylvania but a whole lot less

signatures in those respective states. uma? uma: meanwhile rick perry is resuming his 44-city bus tour in the hawkeye state. the texas governor telling voters he is the authentic conservative in the race as he slams his opponents for being wall street and washington insiders. >> why would you settle for anything less than an authentic conservative who will fight for your views and values without apology? why? why would you have anybody but a real conservative? [applause] fighting for you in washington, d.c.? i've got great respect for the individuals on the stage with me, particularly those they consider to be front-runners, but you have to ask yourself if we replace a republican insider, i should say, if we replace the democrat insider with a republican insider do you really think anything is going to change in washington, d.c.? uma: with just days to go to the caucuses perry is also

blanketing eye waa airwaves with television spots spending more than his republican rivals. but according to the "real clear politics" average he is stuck in fourth place. gregg: set to endorse newt gingrich for president economist art laffer he says like reagan's tax cuts and pro-growth policies gingrich's plans will create tens of millions of jobs over the next decade and his record proves he can get it done. uma: mitt romney scoring a business endorsement from the "boston herald" newspaper. describing the former massachusetts governor the only candidate in the republican field with quote, the integrity, the experience, the organization and intelligence to beat president obama. gregg: former new mexico governor gary johnson expected to end his republican presidential campaign today and instead run for the libertarian nod.

that according to his campaign spokesman. johnson is fiscal conservative who supports liberal causes like legalizing marijuana and abortion rights. remember fox news is america's election headquarters and your front row seat to politics. tune in for complete coverage of the iowa caucuses on january 3rd beginning 6:00 p.m. eastern time. you can log on to foxnews.com/politics to get all the latest news on the candidates and from the campaign trail. uma: there's a new threat from iran to block the flow of oil to world markets in retaliation for sanctions. now that threat has investors very nervous. part of the reason is that oil is above $100 a barrel. this as all this is happening as the gas prices here in the u.s. are ticking back up. the current national average, $3.24 a gallon. stuart varney from fox

business network is joining us now. great to see you today. this is a very big deal because iran is talking about blocking a main jorl flow of oil through the straits of hormuz. >> uma, the price of oil should be going down. there is global slowdown oil should be down in price but it is not and the reason quite simply is iran. this week it has been rattling its sabres. they say we may close the straits of hormuz in western sanctions are imposed and new sanctions start to bite the iranian economist the straits of hormuz is a very narrow piece of waterway and takes 1/6 of all the world's oil supply. so when the iranians threaten to block it up goes the price. today the saudis and other gulf states said, look, any short fall because of iranian action we'll make it up. doesn't make much difference to the price though. we're still at $101 per barrel and it is all because of iran and that's where we stand. uma: even if the saudis help

out you say prices will still be high. what effect will this have on u.s. gas prices? >> up until now for the past few weeks the price of gas here at home has been coming down. we went down to about 3.23, 3.24 per gallon but that fall in prices has stopped and if oil stays well above $100 a barrel then the price of gas at the pump for us will start to go up. uma: wow the steaks remain very high. stuart varney, thank you very much. >> sure. gregg: extreme weather across the country right now. the northeast getting battered by very high winds and heavy rain and temperatures expected to drop somewhat. meteorologist maria molina live in the fox news extreme weather center. hi, maria. >> good morning, gregg and good to see uma working next to you this morning. yeah, we did have a lot of strong winds from the storm system finally exiting the northeast. most of the wind gusts we'll look at were recorded between 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. so the winds were really howling last night.

up to 63 miles per hour wind gusts recorded across parts of connecticut and jfk. we saw wind gusts of 53 miles per hour and 48 miles per hour. this storm system caused trouble with travel. we had delays of several hours across much of the northeast major airport hubs. that storm system today exiting in canada and rain linking in the northern parts of maine. we kind of had a snow drought this season and we'll not really pick up a lot across the interior portions of the northeast. maybe three to six inches of snow. six inches maximum amounts. very localized. that's what we're looking out throughout the first half of today. across the pacific northwest is where we have the unsettled weather. we have a series of storm systems impacting this area so far this work week and will continue to do so throughout saturday. watch out for low elevation threw seattle and portland

that will impact the passes so please drive carefully out here. we could look at slippery travel. up to a foot of snow is possible out here up to some of the higher elevations and several inches of rain along the state of oregon and also washington. gregg? gregg: skiers are getting some reprieve. maria molina thanks very much. those are just a few are of the stories we're following on "america's newsroom" this morning included a tsa worker suspended for a major security breach at one of our nation's busiest airports. we'll tell you what happened. uma: newt gingrich unleashing a new attack against his rival on the campaign trail. we'll tell you why he is slamming mitt romney and what he is saying about a possible ron paul nomination. gregg: thought you would never hear the words debt ceiling after this this year's big battle? think again. we'll give you a preview of what's to come in 2012. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement

or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today. uma: welcome back, everybody. ups trying to catch up after a prechristmas snowstorm

stalled the delivery of some 50,000 packages in the denver area. leaving empty spots under sew many christmas trees. customers anxious to get their yule packages waiting in long lines at ups facilities. >> i would say a couple hundred people in line and i made it in the door which was great because i was able to warm up. >> they were supposed to be here the 14th. and they didn't get here on time. >> they have got plenty anyways. they will be excited. i think we're just happy to have it. >> i suppose next year many people won't use them. i think they will go fedex or go to the post office. uma: wow, what a mess. the postal service and fedex do not appear to have been hit as hard by that denver storm. postal workers even making deliveries on christmas. gregg? gregg: more than $15 trillion in debt now president obama expected to ask congress to extend our nation's borrowing limit yet again to increase the debt

ceiling by another $1.2 trillion. republican jason chaffetz is on the house budget committee. he joins us live. congressman, good to see you. >> good morning. gregg: this is not your normal law making bill. instead in the form of a resolution, even if both houses were to block it the president could veto it. this is done deal, isn't it is it. >> it was. something bake ad while ago. what happen congress passes a resolution of disapproval. the president vetos it the senate will notting able to override that. the president gets so anxious for the ability to spend more money. gregg: what was the point of this? this is a political charade, isn't it? >> it is. just a simple little procedural thing. it was like i said, prebaked when they passed a bill some time ago giving the president his debt ceiling increase he wanted to get you there the election in november of 2012. gregg: you know, we have seen the clip of president, then candidate obama back in

2008 saying it is irresponsible and unpatriotic of president bush to continue to raise the debt by what he then called $4 trillion over eight years. the truth is, president obama has doubled it in half the time, right? >> oh absolutely. if you look at what the president did, he introduced a budget to the senate. the senate defeated it 97-0. there wasn't even one democrat voted for it. you look what harry reid and democrats have done in the senate. it has been close to 1,000 days, 1,000 days since they passed a budget. we deficit spend about $4 billion a day. we can't sustain this. we don't seem to cut spending in washington, d.c.. we just keep adding to the debt. it is now we're closing in, we'll give the president authority to be over $16 trillion in dent by the time we get to the election in november. gregg: i want to be fair here to president obama and bush because we looked up the figures. since president obama took

office the debt has shot up 42% but under president bush the debt increased 84%. so arguably president bush is equally to blame and compliant congress that went along with president bush, agreed? >> well, i ran in 2008 under the premise that i was concerned that the republicans had contributed to this. we were approaching $9 trillion of debt. now going into 2012 election we're approaching over $16 trillion in debt? gregg: right. >> we deficit spend, like i said, $4 billion a day. we spend more than $700 million a day just in interest on that debt. gregg: agreed. >> we have to cut spending. gregg: but just continues on and onto the point where now four of your colleagues in the house, they're democrats, are introducing a bill to actually get rid of the statutory cap of the public debt. put a quote up on the screen from one of them, hank johnson of georgia.

quote, there is no reason to have a debt ceiling at all. it doesn't restrain spending since the spending has already been committed. it just threatens our credit and weakens our country. does he have a point? >> no absolutely not. you can understand the mentality i'm trying to fight against in the congress where people said, oh, we don't even need a debt ceiling. that is like handing out credit cards to everybody in the country, don't worry about your limit, just spend whatever you want. that voting card in the united states congress is the most dangerous credit card because there doesn't seem to be a limit. we need more controls. we need a balanced budget amendment. we need these type of things to rein in spending. obviously washington, d.c. has no ability to rein in spending. gregg: wasn't the balanced budget idea voted down in committee. it doesn't make it to the floor. >> we voted in the house and senate and it was defeated. i think voters need to look back at their senators and house members and see how

they voted on it. the president president needs to be pushed on this too, are you or are you not in favor of a balanced budget amendment? that will tell a lot where you want to take this country. we can not afford to continue to spend at the levels we're doing. we just can't do it. gregg: you're right, it was voted down on the floor. thank you very much, representative jason chaffetz. good to see you. >> thank you. uma: a little-known fee included in the president's health care law that could cost you. what you need to know about this. gregg: plus the potential conflict on the other side of the world that is fueling a rise in oil prices and you know what usually comes next? higher prices at the pump.

gregg: police releasing 911 calls from a deadly christmas morn fire that killed three children and

their grand parents. flames consuming the hole of new york city advertising executive madonna badger. connecticut fire officials saying the accident was sparked by hot fireplace embers. it is not clear if the home had working smoke detectors. here is the frantic 911 call from neighbors. >> 911. what is your emergency? >> huge fire next store to the us. >> what is the address, ma'am. >> it is the house next door. three kids and a woman. >> 911 what is the address of emergency. >> i got cut off. i was talking about a major, major fire in the house. >> we have the fire department on the way, ma'am. >> please. gregg: despite firefighters attempts to save them badger's three children were all killed along with their grandparents. uma: well, there are new questions in a report on a little-known fee included in

president obama's health care law. the extra charge going towards the funding of a medical effectiveness research group. a new agency that will determine which drugs and treatments work best for patients. dr. marc siegel is a professor of medicine at nyu's langone medical center and a fox news medical a-teamer. now you can see him every sunday on quote hoist call" on 10:30 eastern time. >> uma, good to see. >> this took us by surprise. not much was discussed about this when the debate was happening but could this fee be seen more as a tax as opposed to something going towards research? saying it is a tax could really be something in this election year. >> that is a great place to start on this. i think so. it is called the patient centered outcome research institute. sounds orwellian. sounds like is something out of quote 1984". we're seeing more and more of these committees.

this first point it will cost a dollar a year per patient that insurance. $2 the second year. if you're mandated to have insurance, if obamacare actually stands, you know that could be seen as a tax. and then, what is going to be done with the money? i think there is real question in my mind as a practicing internist by the way whether one treatment is ever better than another. we coined something a few years ago that fits this called forced substitution. when a treatment is already working but you come along, insurance company says, wait a minute, that is costing too much. let's switch it to another, cheaper treatment. sound great, right? but sometimes the patient will have side-effects on the cheaper treatment they didn't have on the more expensive one and it ends up costing the health care system more. very, very hard to study treatments and say one is better than another. i prefer options. i prefer having choices. i prefer the idea that one treatment works for one patient and one works for another one. uma: what happens to the insurance companies when it comes to the matter of choice and the effect it

will have on patients? >> well i do think there is an advantage to considering generics. 70% of the treatments used in the united states are already generic. so i'm fine with that. i do think there may be a role here for considering real outlayer treatments. we've seen in the news, lately, for example, 300,000 breast implants were put in improperly around the world stemming from france. the idea that somebody could nip that in the bud before it occurs, fine. for some strange outlyer treatments. but for the standard medical treatments i'm concerned that an insurance company will say, you know, this effectiveness research and you can't use that drug anymore. you should go to the doctor that use this is treatment or we'll charge you a higher co-pay for that treatment. all of which could stifle me from practicing medicine properly. uma: it is already a very complicated system particularlyly when the insurance companies get to decide what is best for the patient. this seems like it is another layer that is going to confuse people more and cause more frustration.

>> i'm glad you put it that way. i think the whole problem with obamacare is the layers. we have a problem with the system took come persome. doctors want to practice medicine. we view insurance as big interface we deal with on a daily basis. making it more complicated is very problematic. the idea of studying treatments is good idea. but apapplying that excessively to medical practice is a bad idea. uma: we'll see what happens in 2012. obviously people aren't happy about it and we'll closely monitor the effect of it. thank you. >> we'll see what happens with the supreme court as well. great to see you. uma: thank you. gregg: a major security breach at one of america's busiest airports. what a tsa agent that is accused of doing that is raising serious questions about airline security. uma: and big scare at another airport when a plane's tires blow out. how the quick thinking of the pilot saved the day. >> the loud explosion. i thought that was it. never heard anything like

that on a plane before. just waiting for some fire to come out at that point.

gregg: tens of thousands of north koreans openly mourning the death of kim jong-il. a black hearse carrying the body of the former dictator,

his son and successor kim jong-un leading the procession followed by communist party and military leaders. greg palkot streaming live from seoul, south korea. what more can you tell us about today? >> reporter: gregg, it was incredibly choreographed scene. no foreigners were allowed. we watched from our vantage point in seoul, south korea, about 120 miles south of pyongyang. the funeral procession continuing the hearse with the body of the late north korean dictator kim jong-il. also was a vehicle with oversized portrait of the man and corsage made up of the namesake flowers of the man and that motorcade made a 25-mile three-hour trip around pyongyang. on display, a lot of that public grieving that we've seen so much in the past couple days. also, on display, the son of kim jong-il, the successor to kim jong-un.

he walked alongside the hearse. he bowed. he saluted and was supported by both civilian and military officials who should be supporting him in the week, months, years to come. gregg? gregg: is south korea concerned now? are the tensions there heightened? >> reporter: yeah it is watching closely, gregg. as we all know south korea has had its share of war and clashes with north korea. the special concern the emphasis on military at this event today. that is sign kim jong-il did with the country. he really put military first and maybe it is an indication of where kim jong-un could be headed along with his protoe sheas. we watched the scene, the funeral at the main train station here along with some south koreans and we got a little bit of reaction to what they thought, what they were thinking as they were watching. take a listen.

>> translator: i'm worried about the future because kim jong is very young and that could be a problem. >> translator: most of them believe it is good thing. >> translator: regarding north korea if the south doesn't set a clear policy direction its security could be threatened. >> reporter: gregg, it is not over. we have yet another day tomorrow of memorial ceremonies marking the man. he will be embalmed and on display at the same mausoleum where his father has been on display since 1994. back to you. gregg: greg palkot live in soul, south korea. greg, thanks. uma: new international reaction to iran's latest threat to choke off the world's supply of oil. iran responding to possible new economic sanctions from washington saying tehran will retaliate by shutting down the strait of hormuz, a critical shipping lane for nearly 20% of the world's

crude oil supplies. kt mcfarland is a fox news military analyst. she joins us now. thanks for joining us. >> pleasure, uma. uma: the white house has been saying through some administration officials there is a plan in place should there be a crisis where this kind of scenario would unfold where iran would try to block the strait of hormuz but offering few details about this. how confident are you that the white house can handle such a situation and the impact it is going to have on the world market? >> well, there are a couple of things to consider. right now the president is about to sign into legislation legislation that the congress forced on him to basically say, we're going to have a blockade of iran's oil supplies but we're not going to do it with gun boats. we're going to do it with banks. iran says you want a blockade? i will give you a blockade. we'll shut down the strait of hormuz. is that a real threat?

yes it is. they could do it couple ways. they could sink a supertanker going through the strait of hormuz. they could mine the strait of hormuz. it is a very narrow waterway. it is only 17 miles wide and two miles in lane and two miles out lane. they could close it down but they can't close it down for long. why? the u.s. fifth fleet is right there. the u.s. fifth fleet could come in with mine sweepers, take out the mines. we could take out any supertanker and drag it away. we could open it right away. what does that do to the price of oil? sends it through the roof. any insurance company leaving all tankers leaving the gulf will say we have to jack up our rates to compensate for the fact that might be a war in the middle east. iran, whatever they do will raise the price of oil. what should the president do? he should go to the u.s. domestic energy suppliers and take the handcuffs off and say, oil, shale oil, gas, natural gas, clean coal, go to it and make america the energy source of the world.

uma: again, it showcases america's dependence on oil in the middle east. >> yeah. uma: and even though saudi arabia is saying that it is going to make up for any short fall, do you think that will be enough to keep prices down? >> prices will go up in part because the supply and demand is going to come into play where, iran is the third largest oil producer, oil exporter in the world. so saudi arabia even if it pumps more oil probably can't compensate. even if some of that libyan oil comes on stream, that probably can't compensate. but what it will do is show that not only is the price of oil variable according to supply and demand but the oil market is going to get spooked because they're going to say, iran is doing this, america is doing that, israel is contemplating this strike on iran's nuclear facilities and all those things added together mean great uncertainty in the supply of oil. i think that is why it is so critical america has to

become energy independent. uma: what do you make of the timing of this threat at this point? >> it is a couple things. one they're looking at legislation the british put in a couple weeks ago, very similar regulations and what happened? the iranians stormed the british embassy. the united states now will probably do something very similar with the sanctions. like i said it will be the equivalent of a blockade of iran's oil but it will be using the banking system. iran wants to make that threat before obama signs that into law. iran is also not a coincidence has a naval exercise going on right now which is showing how iran can operate around inside the persian gulf area and outside the strait of hormuz into the entire region. so iran is flexing its muscles and it is threatening because the one thing it really fears is it it doesn't get its oil to market, then it has a major economic problem at home and what does that mean? that means that the subsidies the iranian government gives to its

people won't be able to give it. so then what happens? the iranian government becomes chaotic, it becomes fragile. the iranian people say, regime change. uma: very interesting. it could end up being quite the showdown. kt, thank you for coming today. thank you for your insights. appreciate it. >> happy new year, uma. uma: happy new year to you. here are facts on critical importance of the strait of hormuz. it connects with the gulf of oman and the arabian sea. 15.5 million barrels of oil a day are transported through the strait. that is roughly 17% of the oil traded worldwide, make it world's most important oil supply check point. gregg: a big security breach at one of america's busiest airports. a tsa worker suspended for failing to screen two bags headed for two international flights. david lee miller live from our newsroom. david, what exactly happened

here? >> reporter: gregg, these two bags had gone through a screening machine. the machine alarm went off indicating that the two bags needed further examination. now the suspended worker for whatever the reason failed to further examine those two bags and they were in the process of being placed aboard two international aircraft. however another tsa agent did notice this security lapse and he reported it before the bags were actually placed on those two planes. then all the luggage on the flights were taken off and rescreened. at no time did aircraft takeoff with luggage that was not properly screened. tsa issued a statement to fox and i quote. the safety of the traveling public is tsa's top plirt. we hold our employees to highest professional standards and take appropriate action when necessary. the individual is no longer doing screening duties and appropriate action is being taken. no word how long the suspension of the employee may be. it could lead to

disciplinary action including, gregg, possible job termination. gregg: what has newark airport security record been for a years? >> knew york security has been a. two employees were convicted of stealing money from passenger carry-on luggage. in january of 2010 an entire terminal had to be shut down after a man walked into a skpur area, terminal c, virtually shut down for about four hours while passengers were rescreened n july of '09 a tsa agent was actually arrested at newark airport because for whatever the reason she avoided preflight screening that caused another significant delay. when we talk about security issues at newark liberty airport it's a very sensitive subject. there have been a number of problems over the last few years. gregg? gregg: david lee miller, thanks very much, david. uma? uma: well, the countdown is underway. we want you to celebrate

new year's eve with us. in just about three days the world's most famous party will take place right in the heart of times square. here's a live look at where preparations for the big ball drop are underway as we speak. this year megyn kelly and bill hemmer will host fox's all american new year. here is a sneak-peek who will be performing. ♪ . uma: love him. it's trace atkins singing alongwith big and rich and the cast of the tony award nominated show, rock of ages. they will be joining us for the countdown of 2012. the fun begins at 11:00 p.m. eastern right here on fox news channel. send us your new year's greeting. texing plus your greeting to

36288. type u text, leave a space and your greeting to 36288 i it will be quite a party. gregg: party down. a brawl in the mall turning scary. police drawing their weapons. what is being done to beef up security at one of america's biggest malls. uma: he promised not to criticize his fellow republicans but newt gingrich is fighting back against an avalanche of negative ads targeting him. can he survive in iowa? we'll ask one of his biggest supporters in congress. [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation,

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the brita bottle with the filter inside. uma: welcome back everybody. developing right now in

"america's newsroom.". retailers getting a much appreciated boost before christmas. seats up four points to 5% compared with the same period a year ago. a tribute to the late actress elizabeth taylor in this year's rose parade. folks from the aids foundation are hard at work building a float. taylor spent decades advocating on behalf of hiv/aids awareness. gregg: accusations and attacks are escalating in the race for iowa. newt gingrich coming out with a new and sharpened criticism on his rival mitt romney. gingrich firing back at romney with these recent comments. >> to have somebody who is a massachusetts moderate, who said he did not want to go back to the reagan-bush years, who voted as a democrat for paul tsongas in '92, who campaigned to the left of teddy kennedy, who

recently as running for governor i'm sort of a moderate pragmatic, for him to have a commercial that questions my conservatism? i mean i've been a conservative my entire life. gregg: the latest "real clear politics" average of iowa polls has gingrich in third place behind ron paul and mitt romney. let's bring in congressman michael burgess of texas, a gingrich supporter. congressman, good to see you. a month ago -- >> good morning. gregg: gingrich had a commanding lead a month ago in iowa as we showed there a second ago he has now dropped to third. why do you think he is losing ground? >> well, first off, remember five weeks ago, if we were told that he would come in third, we would have thought that is a huge victory for the speaker. he is under an incredible assault from all sides. he does lack a little bit in money being able to respond to those. i like the positive message he has put out this his

recent commercial but it's a tough slog right now in iowa. gregg: you know, mr. gingrich is now blasting mitt romney for what he calls harsh attacks. at the same time mr. gingrich launched a seemingly harsh attack on ron paul calling him quote, totally outside of the mainstream of virtually every decent american. isn't that a negative attack and is the speaker trying to have it both ways? >> well, realistically, i think he said that simply describing what someone is for does not necessarily constitute a negative attack. and mr. romney, as a, as a massachusetts moderate, yeah, i think that is an accurate, that's an accurate phrase. ron paul and i are both texas congressman. i know him well but i also know that many of the things that he espouses would, would make it very, very difficult for him in a national race against the current president. after all, that is what it is all about. i'm in washington every day

fighting against the policies of this administration. i need someone at the head of our party that can take the fight to the president and speaker gingrich is the man to do that. >> speaker gingrich compared his failure to get on the again i can't ballot to pearl harbor. that prompted this quip from mitt romney. >> what did you think of speaker gingrich not getting enough people on the ballot? >> you know, i think he compared that to, was it pearl harbor? i think it's more like lucille ball at the chocolate factory. [laughter] so i mean, you've got to get it organized. gregg: congressman, why shouldn't voters be legitimately concerned that if the former speaker can not get organized in just one state, virginia, he may have trouble getting organized enough to cover the nation? >> well, you've had earlier segments on your show about the very difficult task of getting on the virginia

ballot. in fact i learned something this morning from you that you have to get at least 400 signatures from every congressional district across, well, by texas standards it is not a large state but it is still a large state. it's a tight, tight bar to cross and we all know the difficulties that speaker gingrich had early in his campaign with several of his staff leaving to join governor perry's campaign in texas. even governor perry had some of the same difficulties. it is a tough bar. i wish it is one where they had been successful but certainly in no way is this, is this a career-ending injury for the speaker. gregg: right. congressman, "the wall street journal" had a story showing that mr. gingrich seemed to be enthusiastic about mitt romney's massachusetts health care law when it passed five years ago. the same law that he has been denouncing over the last several months. then yesterday mr. gingrich said this.

quote yes, i used to be for individual mandates. i was wrong. question, mr. gingrich has accused governor romney of flip-flopping on issues. arguably hasn't the former speaker done the same? >> you know, flute newt almost single-handedly beat back the clinton health care reforms in 1993. and at that time the feeling was, you can't beat something with nothing. so they went to the heritage foundation to help them with a plan so they had a plan to counteract the clinton plan and part of that plan contained issues you just described. speaker gingrich was successful in beating back the clinton health care plan. unfortunately the house of representatives this past year was not successful in beating back obamacare. so i would just simply suggest that he use the tools at hand. now governor romney in massachusetts made some of the same mistakes that the

obama administration has made in that they expanded the rolls without reforming the system and we all know that is a recipe for disaster. so in fact what happened in massachusetts should not have been extrapolated to the rest of the country and i think speaker gingrich is exactly right about that. gregg: michael burgess, congressman, thank you very much for being with us. to our viewers yesterday we had a surrogate from the mitt romney campaign to be fair. remember fox news is america's election headquarters and your front row seat to politics. tune in for complete coverage of the iowa caucuses january 3rd, beginning 6:00 p.m. eastern. log on to foxnews.com/politics to get all the latest news on the candidates and the campaign trail. uma: a candidate many considered a longshot surging in the final days before the critical iowa caucuses. what is driving his popularity? carl cameron reports live from iowa. gregg: plus serious new questions over airplane safety after a plane's tires explode on takeoff. uma: but before you head out

today make sure you can take fox with you. go to our to our website, foxnews.com/mobile and download one of our apps so you can get the latest news. stay with us, everybody.

gregg: the mall of america in minnesota boosting security today following a massive melee involving rowdy teenagers earlier this week. take a look at this. dozens of young people fighting, pushing shoving, even tossing chairs at shoppers in the crowded mall. one man described the chaos. >> all of sudden there were kids running everywhere tearing through the mall and down the escalator knocking people over. i saw a couple kids literally leap off the escalator 2/3 of the way down. >> i'm from minneapolis. i lived here for a long time. things have changed a little. gregg: apparently that fight broke out that false rumors

spread that two famous rap artists were going to be appear at the mall. at least a dozen teens were arrested. uma: there are new details on an emergency evacuation from a southwest airlines flight. the plane's tires exploding and catching fire during takeoff at sacramento international air report of the here are how some of the 130 passengers describe what happened. >> going down the runway you heard a loud pop. the plane start the shaking. >> we were going pretty fast. there was sort of a popping sound. >> it was pretty scary. >> we didn't know what was going on. we said this isn't very good. uma: that is nerve-racking. adam housley live in san francisco with this story. hi, adam, how did all this happen. >> reporter: flight 227 was set toe take off at 6:15 heading north to seattle. as the front tire came off

the ground that's when the two left tires blew. the good news the pilot was able to stay in control of the plane. keep the nose back down on the runway. the plane was brought around to an area at the end of the run way. they brought out emergency crews. they sprayed foam on the tires. it there was no fire. they did not have to deploy schutz. they brought up the roller stairs. passengers walk the off on buses and taken away. they were put on another flight later in the evening. trying times for those people on the planes. the good news once again the emergency setup in sacramento worked exactly as planned. no injuries, uma. a very close call was averted there,s that for sure. uma: absolutely. that is good news. how are the passengers today? how they dealing with everything? >> reporter: it is interesting to hear with the way things are nowadays with facebook you heard one of the passengers there talk about some of the things that they have seen and heard and how they will talk about this for some time. in the past you would tell your grandchildren. now you can tell people

right away. that's what some of these passengers were talking about. of course they heard the pilot come on, keep everybody calm and then the evacuation took place. take a listen. >> all kind of held on site and -- >> pilot came on and told everybody to be calm and everything. >> stewardess did a good job. they kept everybody calm. >> we have a really good story to tell on facebook. >> reporter: once again 132 passengers, five crewmembers, two small children. everyone is doing fantastic, uma. the good news again, those emergency plans at these air reports which they -- airports continually practice around the country worked fantastic. uma: adam, thank you very much. gregg: will we see a third party candidate in 2012? we'll tell you who is considering jumping from the gop into the race as a libertarian and how it could affect that race. uma: and saying good-bye to california. why more people now, more than ever, are leaving the golden state believe it or

not. gregg: hard to belief. ♪

uma: we've got less than a week before the first contest in the 2012 election season, and the candidates are out in full force in iowa. with just six days out from the saudis caucuses, ron pales alternate the topaul is at the top of the pack. i'm uma pemmaraju in for martha maccallum. gregg: i'm gregg jarrett. ron paul has a serious shot in the state, but mitt romney,

tkpweupblnewt gingrich and perry not out of it yet. >> reporter: ron paul will be having a re rally at the iowa speedway. for mr. paul it's really quite a moment, having been counted for years on the presidential campaign. this. his second time in a row that he's running in the iowa caucuses, he's poised to shock everybody and win it. he's got a very substantial organization, he has plenty of money, and the polls suggest, there is a new one out today he has a point and a half advantage over mitt romney and newt gingrich has fallen substantially. paul is on the air today attacking his rifles branding them as crooked, listened. >> the washington machine is

straggling our economy. serial hypocrites and flip-floppers can't cleanup the mess. one man stands alone, a real plan to cut a trillion dollars year one. >> reporter: he describes himself as inch corruptible in that ad. he is under attack. mitt romney questioned ron paul's position on israel, saying that ron paul would have been okay if iran was to get a nuclear weapon. gingrich has ridiculed paul and so has perry. all the candidates that for months never thought that ron paul would be a threat now recognize that he is knocking on the door for a victory in the first caucus. the sprint starts at the iowa speedway for ron paul, less than

a week from the caucus for ron paul. gregg: on your way there yourself, no speeding. uma: mitt romney trying to hammer home the idea that he's a classic conservative sitting down for a one-on-one from iowa right here on fox a few hours ago, listen. >> i've got a record of conservative principal principles that i think people repbg nice. recognize, in iowa i've seen a surge of that you as eupl so i can have confidence that i'll do well here. uma: he attacked president obama rather than going off his gop opponents. we'll ask our panel if that is a good strategy moments from now in this newsroom. gregg: jon huntsman is not focused in campaigning in the state of iowa this week instead he's committing his time and resources to new hampshire. the state hosts the first in the

nation primary. huntsman last night went on the record to explain his strategy. >> nothing against the good voters in iowa, but i believe that the iowa caucus will be soon forgotten after a day or two and then the bright light will be on new hampshire which is the first primary state and as such you'll get all kinds of people out to vote and because ever that it will establish a candidate or two or three perhaps as the most electable candidates. we are in it all the way in new hampshire, and they are responding well to our message. gregg: stay with fox news for the best live news leading up to and through the iowa caucuses. uma: what the retirement of senator ben nelson could mean in the senate. he has decided to retire rather than seek a lone term. he's one of 51 democrats giving the party a slight but commanding edge in the senate.

suzanne is chief congressional correspondent for the washington examiner and joins us now with insight as to what this means in terms of the fallout for the democratic party. welcome, great to see you. >> great to see you. uma: let's talk a moment about what is going to happen now, now that he has decided to bow out. what do you think the democrats are going to do in that this is a highly charged election year and they'll have to scramble to come up with someone. >> they are four seats away from loosing their majority in the senate. they need to hold onto all the seats that are up for re-election this year, and they have almost two dozen. it's going to be a struggle. there are a lot of seats in swing states. one of the toughest one was ben nelson's seat in nebraska. it was going to be a tough re-election for him. he is their best prospect.

he's been popular in the state because he's taken a centrist stance on many big issues that are important in their state. now it looks like they are going to lose that even though there is not really a solid republican candidate yet, there are a whole bunch of people jocking to the nominee for the republicans. it still looks like they are going to lose that seat. now they have three seats they need to hold on to. it's made the margin much harder for democrats right now and the republicans have a much better edge of taking over next year in the senate. uma: why do you think he decided to bow out at this point? >> well, republicans have been pouring money into the state and have really been attacking nelson for a longtime now. he supported the stimulus bill a couple of years ago and supported the healthcare reform law, since then, those are both very unpopular initiatives in his staoeut, sinc state, since

then they have been hammering him for supporting the issues. he knew it would be a really tough race for him. he said, look it's time for me to move on, find other things to do. you have kent conrad and senator web of virginia deciding to bow out for the same reasons. they knew it was going to be a tough re-election and it just wasn't worth it for them. uma: thank you for joining us with your insights. i know you'll be keeping watch on these races. we'll follow them as well. thank you for joining us. happy new year to you as well. >> you too, thank you. gregg: turning now to the crisis in syria, state-run media saying the government released 750 prisoners detained in the regime in the last nine months, this as international observers toured the city that has become a sight

of the protest. leland havleland vittert is there live. >> reporter: there are a lot of residents who were very upset in holmes because the syrian government has sent mind tkers along with the observers. they didn't want the minders. the latest video shows massive processes with tense of 10,000s of people on the streets right no as they are finally feeling safe enough to protest again. they feel like the observers that are on the ground are going to prevent the open artillery shelling that we saw in the city of holmes when it was under siege for many, many weeks. president bashar al-assad is very strong in damascus but not in holmes.

he's going to try to use as much political power as he can to put the protests down and military power. today four more people were killed, gregg. gregg: can the observers do any good? >> reporter: it's an excellent question. they are unarmed and have no power to stop the violence. another piece of video coming out of syria showing that other than using automatic weapons they are using teargas. that is a minor, minor improvement. we've heard from a number of syrian residents that they are terrified to go outside, because as easily as the tanks left the observers could leave and the tanks could come back. gregg: thanks. uma: the presidential field typically begins to narrow at this time. at least one republican contender may make a third-party

run. what could that mean for the jenn general election. gregg: a burglary targets this house. take a look, but it doesn't consider who was inside. how that led to his capture, stay with us. >> when i saw him he was like jabbing. he was hitting this parbgts he was using the pliers. bev entered our house he threw a brick up the window window, i don't know why.

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uma: terrifying moments for three seublts hom three sibling home alone. they watched as a man broke into

his back door. he corralled his siblings into a closet. >> i went down, he left. i closed it. when i was about to leave he came back with a screwdriver and he started cutting. he cut our phone line so we continue get help. i was scared. my brother and ske sister were here. we hid in the closet. i had to take responsibility. i called 911. uma: he did that as a burglar went room to room looking for loot. cops showed up and arrested the 20-year-old suspect who lived right next door, gregg. gregg: prospects of a third party candidate in 2012 gathering steam this week. presidential candidate gary johnson says he's considering switching parties. >> i can tell you that i'm contemplating leaving the

republican party for the libertarian party. the motion is is that i think most of america are fiscally conservative and socially liberal and that's painting with a broad brush. the biggest growing segment of american politics right now is independence. gregg: the former new mexico governor isn't the only person considering a third party presidential run. some members of the libertarian parties are seeking it as well. jonah goldberg is with us. how much of an impact would a signature, third party candidate have on this presidential race what happens in the way that ralph nader played argue ooh lee the spoiler, drawing away votes from al gore and giving george w

bush votes. >> i think that is the right question. all due respect to gary johnson this is the equivalent of lickenstein declaring war on the united states. he's not a very good candidate. someone like ron paul would be a different story. a lot of people don't know about ron paul in the general election right. the polling right now says that ron paul could probably cost whoever the republican nominee was the election by taking more antiobama votes away from the nominee. gregg: he's still running for the republican nomination, he's leading in iowa with six days to go, and the libertarian party will nominate as i understand it may 5th. let me quote today's "wall street journal." mr. paul who ran for president

as a libertarian in 1988 has said he has no plans to pursue a third-party bid but he hasn't definitively ruled one out. a fine point but a significant one, right? >> it is a fine point. the libertarian party has never really got even its act together. i think it has something to do with the united federation of planet's charter or something like that that gets them into trouble. one of the reason that upon paul might not do it other than the fact that he said he doesn't want to is he has a lot of incentives to stay in the race for a really longtime, because of the way they are allocating delegates in the republican process this year. he could lose a lot of primaries and still within the a lot of delegates and demand a prime-time speaking spot at the convention. if he bolts early to seek the libertarian nomination he loses all of that. i think he might want to stay

longer and keep his profile as high as possible. gregg: in a year in which the electorate seems to be particularly angry with both parties, i wonder whether a third party candidate might have special appeal this election year. >> i think one would. donald trump of course is flirting with it, and contrary to your colleagues on fox i'm not a huge fan of donald trupl than. i trump. if you have the right personality and a bang poll you could see someone like a ross perot figure doing serious damage to the vote. gregg: serious damage but can't win is that when third party presidential politics is all about these days? >> i think it's always been about that. richard hoff stetter once said that third parties are like bees, they have their impact by stinging, then they go off and

die. third parties can radically change, like the bull moose party in 1912, they can change the party, do damage to the party. they are always similar p sympathetic to, they steal votes from the parties they are closer to, it's hard to see a third party win and election. gregg: they are trying to get on the ballot in all 50 states. that is no easy tax. >> eye parent lee it's a difficult task for republicans to get on the ballot, look at virginia. gregg: no kidding. thanks very much. good to see you. >> thank you. uma: well he won't be on the ballot in a key battleground state. rick perry failing to collect the necessary signatures for the gop primary in virginia. but he's not going out quite lee. gregg: and a giant crocodile bytes off a lot more than he can

chew. >> we are going to try to drag it backwards. he's dropped two monstrous teeth once he attacked the mower.

gregg: former leader hosni mubarak is back in court today. the 83-year-old wheeled into the courtroom on a stretcher. he is accused of ordering the killing of protestors during the up rising. his attorneys want the judge to consider evidence of killings that took place after hosni mubarak stepped down as proof that he was not the one who was responsible. in the meantime prosecutors are relying heavily on testimony from people in hosni mubarak's

circle. ♪ [singing] uma: the hotel california seeing a lot more check outs late lease, and that's because the number of people moving out of the golden state reached a hundred year low last year. since 2005 more residents actually left than moved in. out of state migration has been down every year since at least the 1990s. what is behind this decline? anita vogel is live from our l.a. bureau with more on all this. why would folks want to flee such a beautiful state? i can't believe it, anita. >> reporter: crazy, right, uma? it's all about the economy here. california is always known nor setting trends, fashion, and really all kinds of things. it might surprise some to learn that the latest trent in this stattrend in this state is to

get out. from beautiful beaches to the them preut climate california used to be the state to move to. now all the california dreaming has become just that. >> california's attractiveness as a destination has waned, partly because it's become so attractive it's really expensive to live store and people simply can't afford to live here. >> reporter: with high housing costs, unemployment and taxes the golden state's image has tarnished. the number of people moving in from out of state is at a one hundred year low. this couple is among the 130,000 that packed up and headed out in 2010. >> we looked as staying in california as the prospects there weren't good, and the longer we were there, we were going backwards economically. >> reporter: the couple relocated to texas where they can afford a house, a new business and what they call a better way of life. >> everything is really bigger

in texas, just driving up the house, everything was just all big, i mean double the size of what it was in california. >> economically and politically i think california is in a world of hurt and i think it's going in a world of hurt for generations. >> reporter: analysts agree. >> the demographics we see are a long-term phenomena. >> reporter: governor brown has said recently he needs to put $1 billion from the state budget. that affects social services that is another factor that drives people out. where are all the people going, they are going to arizona, texas, oregon, even nevada. the cost of living is lower there and apparently there are more job opportunities. uma back to you. uma: it's too bad that they are having to leave california. i have to point out there are so much beautiful spots there and it's nice to see that all those things are part of america. thank you so much. >> reporter: nice to see you. gregg: mitt romney sticking to his game plan of attacking

president obama. >> i think that the president when he says he wants to fundamentally transform american wants to turn it into something we won't recognize. i love america, i want to restore the principles that made us great. i will get americans to work again in a great nation. gregg: is he on the right track, or should mr. romney be focusing on his republican opponents first? we'll talk about that. your exercising, you're eating right, but still not shedding pounds the way you'd like to. no more blaming it being on the smaller side. we're going to talk to the author of the petite advantage just ahead. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement

or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today. gregg: six days from now a small but crucial number of voters in iowa will tell the whorld who theworld who they want to be the republican nominee, and their decision can make or make a campaign. the candidates trying to appeal to 120,000 people in the hawk-eye states. who are the people who will determine the outcome of the iowa caucus. steve brown joins us live in demone demoines.

a pretty small number of people will be making the decision. >> reporter: you could say it is a group of powerful people in this state. excuse the fancy graphics we have here. terry branstad got 589,000 votes when they were last calculated. that number blow it. that was the number that caucused. when you dived that by 99 counties and 1700 and 74 different precincts or caucus sites from around the state that mix for a lot of open space in some of them. it's a relatively small number that will decide who is the winner in the first and critical contest in the presidential nomination process, gregg. gregg: steve, is it hard to motivate even the politically

savvy io citizens to get out on perhaps a cold, winter night to go caucus in a gymnasium somewhere? >> reporter: it's extremely difficult. we found caucus sites in a winery, in churches all over the state. but yeah, i mean even though there is a tremendous amount of labor intensive effort put in behind all of these campaigns, all of the phone calls, all of the mailers, all of the door knocking, sometimes that doesn't even work. >> vote, you can go in vote and leave. a caucus you've got to go and kind of get rallied up and stay in there for a while. >> it is a pain in the butt. if you could watch them online it would be good. >> reporter: now, obviously there is an awful lot of folks, tens of thousands of i iowa citizens who take this seriously and they will show up not knowing who they are going to

vote for. so it will be very interesting. gregg: thanks so much, steve. uma: mitt romney attacking president obama repeatedly going after the commander-in-chief rather than focusing only on his gop primary opponents. >> this is election not only to replace a president, it's an election to save the soul of america. it's a choice between two very different destinies, one is president obama's entitlement society where those in government control the resources and make the rules. i have a very different vision, an opportunity society. uma: joining us now is alan colmes, host of the alan colmes show and brad blakeman former deputy assistant to president george w bush. gentlemen, welcome, great to see you today. alan i'll begin with you. what do you think of the strategy that mitt romney is playing out at this point. do you think it will serve him well? >> i think it will serve him

well, anything he's doing in eye ways unexpected than what he's done in new hampshire. newt gingrich is pledged to running run a positive campaign but he's taking shots at mitt romney. they snipe at each other. he's going after who his likely opponent will be and i think he will be the nominee coming up. uma: you see that newt is getting a little worried now that he's slipping in the polls. we see a candidate backtracking a bit and going after some of his opponents, specifically mitt romney. >> he certainly is. the candidate who said he was going to take the high road has veered off to the low roads. his ads are the attack dog while his personal appearances, his lofty speeches are about taking

down obama. the candidate needs to stay positive, his ads can be a little more biting. gingrich doesn't have money for the biting edge so he himself is going negative. it's going to hurt anytime in iowa, new hampshire and south carolina. uma: going forward organization is key in iowa. at this point there are those that are skeptical that newt gingrich has the organization to pull off a win there. if he goes negative it's something that may prove positive for him because people like to see him on the offensive. >> he has promised to do a positive campaign. he said i'm going to be positive, let the other people be neglect tip. and his rhetoric seems not to patc match.

the newtmentom goes down, he seems to snipe a little bit more. uma: michelle bachmann has not been afraid to go off newt gingrich, for example, and others there who are also going after one another. how do you think that is playing out with the caucus folks out there? >> i think there is really a three-person race between obviously ron paul, and we've got mitt romney and speaker gingrich. i think gingrich needs to come in thirst, second or third. i think romney needs to come in first or second. if ron paul wins iowa it blows up the new hampshire and south carolina primary because paul will be the talk even if he didn' can't win in new hampshire and south carolina.

the other candidates are going to fade away. ii'd be talking to the second-tier candidates to join my campaign. that would add momentum. >> this is killing me to agree with brad today. it's driving me crazy. it's interesting how the republicans are going after ron paul and ugly stuff that they are really throwing at paul because they are seeing him surging and really they seem worried about him although the liberal media is being blamed, it's really the right wing republicans going after a guy who they are afraid will represent their party and they don't want that, the republican establishment. uma: let me ask you this. i've seen lots of interviews with voters out there, potential voters who are still saying that they are undecided even at this stage. does that surprise you, allen. >> no, not at all. there is nobody they are excited about. they are not excited about romney. they've been looking for a not romney. they've speed dated almost every other candidate.

that didn't workout too well. they are losing some of the allure of newt. romney never goes above 25%. you'll probably have a bunch of far right people sit on their hands that are there the nothing to trust that mitt romney if he is the nominee is a new conservative. uma: what do you think of those comments that gnome people remain undecided at this point? >> romney is the tortoise. he keeps plotting along. eventually he'll have to surge. i think you'll see that in iowa. if he comes in first or second he goes into new hampshire, he has a comfortable lead, he wins new hampshire. nikki hey lease, the governor of south carolina endorsed mitt romney last week. we have florida, perhaps marco rubio will come out and endorse before the florida primary. i think this is romney's time to surge, if he doesn't surge now then i think he's going to have a tough sloug and a long

slough. gregg: the republicans will have t >> they'll have to just say, okay it's romney, he's next to line. >> you've got obama. >> you mean the obama who will probably be reelected, that obama. >> i bet you $10,000. >> i'm not abetting man. uma: all the best to both of you, thank you. gregg: the phi the pb oil spill of 2010 devastating part of the gulf coast. but despite that tourism is better than ever. phil keets has the latest. phil, does this appear to be a pretty quick recovery? >> a lot quicker than anybody participated. this is best year they have had, not only pre-oil spill numbers

but of all time along the gulf coast. restaurants were packed. right now it's still early in the morning, a little early for daka reurbgs s on the beach, a gorgeous, gorgeous beach. you have incredible white sands, that is what the big sales pitch for pensacola peaches. orange beach, alabama. take a look at these numbers, this really reflects the end of a stunning enterprising year for all four gulf states. florida, tourism rebounded up 65%. in bam 51%, in mississippi 7%. they do believe it will be a record year for louisiana as well. retail shops all over the place enjoying a 2011 with substantial numbers of people buying,

spending money, coming back to the beaches that are now cleaner than they probably have ever been in decades. all of the tourism officials say not only is it better than the last year oil spill summer of 2010, they are all time record numbers. >> the numbers we saw in 2011 were the numbers that we were on track to make in 2010, had the spill not occurred. we still lost a year. if you look at the growth curve we have a one year set back, you can never gain a last year. we are pleased with the momentum we have now and are looking forward to a great 2012. >> reporter: if we take a look at some of the other reasons we had, oil spill, oil cleanup on the news nationwide every single day for months back in 2010, those are the images that really deterred so many people from coming out to the beaches along the gulf coast. replace that with the national ads that bp is running, these

spots touting the fast improvement, much faster than anybody anticipated. bp spent about 200 million tkhr-rz o dollars on these tv spots. they have invested and dedicated $20 million on these beaches. last year at this time on the beaches huge sifting machines going down through to five feet really cleaning up the sand. they think the sand is better than it has ever done. you have holiday people wake up and getting out and about. gregg, i've lost programming i'm just going to toss it back to you. happy holidays. gregg: you too, phil, i know you can't hear me. what a beautiful recovery for all those folks. congratulations. phil keating thanks. uma: a battle in federal court this after rick perry's campaign

says it's unconstitutional that they won't put his name on the ballot. does he have a case. gregg: we'll look at this as a crocodile snatches a lawnmower and has no intention of giving up. wait until you see what happens next. >> is teeth actually came out when he had bitten the mower. we just couldn't leave him in the tour. they are abnormally large. his feet were so big, we are not sure why. r the future... what if they were stolen from you? by alzheimer's. this cruel disease is the sixth leading cause of death, and affects more than 5 million americans. the alzheimer's association is taking action, and has been a part of every major advancement. but we won't rest until we have a cure. you have dreams...

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one step at a time is the only way to get there. go to genworth.com/promises. 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 ♪ uma: welcome back, everybody. consider this. crocodile versus a lawnmower. elvis, a 15-foot half ton reptile attacking a grounds keeping grew at a wildlife screw in australia. they used the mower to fend off

the charging beast, but elvis won and stood watch over his new toy. >> i wanted to get that mower out firstly. i tried to pull it backwards. he's lost two monstrous teeth. uma: can you imagine. they got the mower and the giant teeth out of the louisian lagoon. elvis was captured a few years ago after attacking a fishing boat and apparently he has a history of being grouchy. gregg: rick perry taking a petition to a federal court after he failed to qualify for the republican primary vote. he says the virginia provision unconstitutionally restrict the rights of candidates and voters. we have the former member of the federal election commission and a senior legal fellow at the

heritage foundation. thanks for being with us. are the requirements to get on the ballot in virginia, so strict, so o onerous they prevent them from getting on the ballot and diseven franchising the voters who also have a constitutional right to vote? >> that is an unanswered question. this is a murky area of the law. when you're a candidate you don't want to be forging new ground. the perry campaign is basing its lawsuit on a 1999 supreme court decision. in that case the supreme court said that requiring a pwot hro ballot initiative, petition in colto bcolorado to be voters

was unconstitutional. gregg: it's not just that part of it, the circulators part of it. what about the argument that, look, they have created such an incredibly high threshold here. in the last election you about 120,000 people voting but you're requiring 10,000 signatures from any single of the eleven congressional districts and it has to be done by circulators who are residents and potentially eligible to vote and so on and so forth. you look at other states, and i'm sure the courts might take a look at that, it's about 1 or 2% of the total number of voters that you have to get signatures for. here it's almost 10% especially when you add in those that are thrown out. doesn't that, by itself sort of suggest an undue burden here? >> well, it might. i mean there is no question that virginia has stricter raoupbls othestricter rules than other states.

the federal courts give a lot of leeway to the states because they have the right under the constitution to determine the qualifications for getting on the ballot. and it would be up to a court to decide that this particular burden just goes to far. like i said, the law in this is unclear, and perry is going to have to convince a court that what he's saying is correct. and it's an uphill battle for him. gregg: how about just sort of the common-sense approachment you've got a bunch of candidates here who are reasonably high in the polls and yet they can't get on the ballot in virginia. and, you know, i go back to the 14th amendment due process, the right to be free of any law that abridges the citizenship, and voting is a key privilege of citizenship. from a common-sense point of view doesn't it seem like this is just wrong? >> i do think that virginia really ought to not have burdens this high to get qualified to be on the ballot. but whether a court -- common

sense doesn't always rule court decisions, and whether a court will dominican republic this t will consider this to be such a burden that it violates the constitution, that is a question that is unanswered at this point. gregg: thank you for being with us. >> sure thing. uma: "happening now" is coming up at the top of the hour and jon scott is here with a preview. >> reporter: as you know it is a very busy news day. there are new threats out there from iran to close the straits of hormuz and cut off oil to the west. ambassador john bolton weighs in on what might be going on there. a fascinating look by "the washington post" into america's drone program. and dear leader put to rest in north korea what is next in that kingdom? new polling by scott rasmussen out by noon. we'll tell you why mexican drug

cartels are targeting drug rehab centers. go to foxnews.com/"happening now," click on the america's asking tab to weigh in. coming up skwhra. uma: we look forward to it. it can be tough to stay in shape when you're a woman under a certain height. our next guest has the formula, though. gregg: a point sized patriot honoring our men and women in uniform. >> he will come up and see you, he sees the soldiers and greets them, and he'll give you a piece of candy and say, thank you so much for your service. and i said, oh, he's so cute.

gregg: a little boy in georgia making a big impact on soldiers returning from the front lines. 9-year-old cody jackson personally meets and greets troops arriving alternate the

atlanta airport. he says his message is simple. >> i thank them for protecting us and risking their lives, they are fighting for us and our freedom and our country. gregg: we love you cody. his mom says he plans on joining the military when he grows up. good for you. uma: listen up. it could be life-art terg information for all you ladies out there under 5'4" inches tall. a plan for eating right annexer eyeing specifically designed for petite women. author of the petite diet. i have to say i fall in that category, i'm a petite person, and you say there are very big differences between the diet of a petite person against someone who is taller and they should be eating differently. >> you have to go back to the evasion, calories in, calories

out. if you can believe it, a smaller woman, same age, same activity level, same weight simply will not expend as many calories through activity and exercise. they just can't eat like the big people which was actually our first subtitle for the book. i've dealt with so many petite women who said, what is wrong with me, my husband is losing weight, my best friend is losing weight, she is taller, she's on x diet. i said you're right, this is the reason y. uma: how long did it take for you to come up with this idea that this was actually something you needed to pay close attention to? >> this is about four years in the making this book. once i put together a lot of the concepts of the book i started testing it. i have a fitness training firm in chicago and new york. we look into all the different things and determine by working with clients what is going to work. we took the plan and fine tuned it going forward to really hit the amount of colreese and the amount way to eat and the right way tokes spend calories through

e eyes. uma: are there some foods that are better for taller people as opposed to those who are petite. >> protein must be emphasized. it means it takes that many calories to turn into your body to use. i have my petites front loading. you must consume your biggest meal of the day at breakfast, which is counter intuitive to what most women do. they say i'm going to save mychal reese, have a little breakfast, and a little lunch and save for dinner. that is the way to gain wait. you must flip it. uma: great book, thank you so much for joining us today. jim karas. gregg: how a mother's emotional bond with her children early on could affect their health years later.

gregg: three days to new year's eve. folks news channel is the place to celebrate. make begin kelly, bill hemmer hosting the all american new year along with musical guests big and rich. ♪ . the whole crew of folks. just ahead of the show, send us your new year's greeting. tex, you text space plus your greeting to 36288. that means, type, utext, leave a space and type your message and send it to 36288. check it out. >> that will be great