through the straight of hormuz where middle eastern oil makes its way to asia, western european the usa. a pentagon spokesman saying any such move by iran will not be tolerated. that is after iranian leaders made two threats in the past two days. senior iranian leaders. if iran closes the straight some energy anal lis say the price of oil could double to $300 a barrel. can you imagine that? that would create stress for the world economy and lead to huge pressure on iran. jennifer griffin is live in the pentagon with new reaction from the u.s. navy. jennifer. >> reporter: well, megyn, first it was the vice president of iran who threatened yesterday. today it was the head of iran's navy. it's the second day in a row that iranian leaders have threatened to close the straight of hormutz, all of this while

the navy is kaeurpbg out exercises. the exercises are being carried out on the eastern side of the straits down into the gulf of aden and could put us on a course with the iran navy. they said they would blockade the straight. a spokesman in bahrain responded by saying, quote, anyone who threatens to disrupt freedom of and navigation in an international straight is clearly outside the community of nations. any disruption will not be tolerated. the threat instability caused oil prices to go above a hundred dollars a barrel today. if iran's central bank is sanctioned iran will not be able to sell its 4 billion barrels today on the world market. that will lead to a shortage and a rise in prices. saudi arabia has said it has

about 2 million barrels of excess oil reserves. at the last opec meeting it said it would bring the production online to bring that stability. we got off the phone with the navy's fifth tphraeut in bahrain. the uss john c. stinus passed through the straight of hormutz without incident. it is now in the north arabian sea and will be carrying operations in support of the afghan war effort. there is not another u.s. aircraft carrier in the persian gulf. a warning to the iranian leaders not to attempt to close the strait. megyn: it is located at the mouth of the persian gulf, ruffle flee a 6th of the world's oil passes through there. the majority of the oil is exported to asia, western european america. coming up we'll ask fox news

military analyst and retired navy captain chuck nash to weigh in on this new threat and what the united states can and is likely to do in response. right now, folks, six of the top seven republican presidential contenders are chris crossing iowa in a final push to impress iowa caucus goers. the iowa caucuses are now six days away. early polls suggest ron paul and mitt romney are leading the field. take a look at where the candidates are, newt gingrich making stops in northern iowa. romney and rick san torn yum canvassing the eastern part of the state. rick pair reand michelle bachmann campaigning in the central part of the straight. ron paul is in newton, iowa where congressman paul will be holding a houpb hall meeting momentarily. right now the polls show that congressman paul is the

frontrunner in iowa. recently his rivals have stepped up attacks against him on social issues and social affairs. in ten minutes his campaign will be there live to respond to the very latest attacks on him. roughly 20 minutes from now mitt romney is supposed to meet iowa voters at a deli and a bakery in clinton, iowa. he hasn't been doing so much in iowa. he wanted to maintain plausibility if he didn't win the state. we are six days away. they all want it. the romney camp will be focused on jobs and the economy with the voters out there today. rick santorum has been trailing in the national polls but has a huge push in this race. he says he will quit this race if he finishes dead last in iowa. he added that he did not think that will happen. this monday and tuesday, folks, "america live" is in iowa for the latest on the caucuses. i will be there on the ground in person to bring you the

and-new developmentsra f. startingt 6:00pm eastern tuesday night we invite you to tune in for our special coverage of the caucus live in iowa, shepard will be on at 7:00, brett and i will have special coverage from 8:00pm on as the caucuses take place and the results come in, the first contest of the 2012 presidential election, this tuesday night. now to america's debt crisis, a growing debate over little known federal rules that allow government employees to add to their pension payments. it's done through a process called buying air time. that allows workers to purchase credit for years they did not work. it's happening in at least 21 states and we're told it is costing taxpayers millions of dollars. cheryl from the fox business network joins me now. i don't get it. >> it's very obscure but happening. they are learning how to gain

the system. you said it there, it's called air time. it was originally thought out by many states across the country as a perk for employees or to maybe get them to retire early. they were thinking that would be the casement what the states didn't realize is that by shelling out say $5,000, $7,000. i say i'm going to spend this now and then i'm going to bank that against years that i worked later on, but if i keep going on my salary jumps i in fact will get that money back that i spent tenfold in some cases in some states. it depends on the math, it depends on the state. basically you are buying air time for later on in your career, based on your current salary. and as we know, megyn, government workers have been getting raises year after year, they've been gaming the system. this is pension reform at its worst right now. this is what we need to see -- in particular there are nine states big time in jeopardy right now. taxpayers are getting crushed until they deal with this. new hampshire done, got right rid of it.

texas, new hampshire, kentucky, the three states that have done a nice job, actually of clamping down on this. but it's still happening. megyn: the taxpayers have to pick up the bill, if they don't reform and they still agree to it then the taxpayers in a lot of these states that are very much in the red when it comes to the overall budget crunch are going to have to pay. >> it's legal, what they are doing is absolutely legal on a state-by-state bate basis. going back to the kwr-fd this it was to hopefully getting these people to retire. they are not doing this. they are cashing out and the taxpayers are paying for it, megyn. megyn: cheryl, thank you: new details emerging on a shocking act of violence at wal-mart on christmas eve against a 70-year-old. a 26-year-old woman accused of punching that 70-year-old wal-mart cashier in the face literally sending her flying across the store, after she was asked to show a purchase receipt. this is just the latest incident

of ugliness at the check out line in particular at the christmas season. trace gallagher. when you think christmas you don't think punching out a 70-year-old. >> reporter: the 26-year-old was with her boyfriend. they were in the back of the store, they bought electronics. they were walking out and the cashier asked to see her receipt, like all of us have to show it on the way out. she got outraged and began screaming at the top of her lungs. she attracted the attention of most if not awful the shoppers. then the cops say she hauled off and punched this 70-year-old woman in the face. the cashier went sliding across the floor and the 26-year-old and her boyfriend ran out to the parking lot, but they were chased down by dozens of shoppers who then surrounded their car and waited until the cops got there. listen now to one of the witnesses. >> she refused to show her the receipt, and the people started walking away, and the cashier

stopped -- like stepped out of her little box, and the female punched her in the eye. >> reporter: the woman of course is now charged with two counts of assault, just one of the rowdy incidences this holiday take a look this video from the mall of america in minnesota this was a brawl that broke out, and i'm talking about fists flying. we had chairs flying, food was flying, and the store started shutting down. it was all apparently because there were rumors that the rappers, drake and lil wayne were about to make an appearance at the mall. the police came in and arrested nine people. luckily there were no weapons or serious injuries. at several stores across the country, megyn, there were all kinds of fights and violence because of the air jordan 11's being rereleased, right? they are basketball shoes. look at this in indianapolis, people storming through to get these tennis shoes. in richmond, california, which is in the bay area, someone

actually was firing off rounds of gunfire to get the crowd to disperse so that he could move his way to the front of the line to get his air jordan 11's. nike put out a statement saying, come on, knock it off, they are tennis shoes after all, or basketball shoes after all. you have very rowdy holiday around the country. megyn: some are calling on nike and michael jordan to step in on these and say, hey, stop, they should have known that this was going to harpbgs because it's a limited release sneaker. they gin up excitement about saying you can only get it right now. it's never going to be released again, and it's very popular in the inner-cities. some are saying it's basically a call to incite this type of excitement which can lead in certain circumstances to violence. is that right? i don't know, i'll leave it to the viewers to decide. trace, thank you. it is something that we'll be discussing in about half an hour right here. you have all the shopping violence. it's a disturbing trend.

as you can see it's not just about the air jordans. at the wall smart, and so on. what happened to civility? what about being full of good will and peace toward men. what is going on in this country right now. the justice department starting an early push to challenge state voter id laws, photo ids ahead of the 2012 election. some were in blue, red and purple states. why is the doj up in arms about photo id when it comes to voter registration. reaction from one state that has been shut down by the doj. south carolina, their attorney general is here live. ron paul retains a lead in iowa ahead of the caucuseses. still struggling in new hampshire and elsewhere, in particular nationwide he is at least a distant third. we'll talk to his campaign senior adviser about his chances and their strategy right after this break.

plus, we've got the final number on the cost of this little guy's gym membership. you know who is picking up the tab, you are. stay tuned.

megyn: there is a new leader in the republican pack in iowa folks as we countdown to the caucuses, a week from yesterday. ron paul maintains a first place position against his rivals in the hawk-eye state ahead of next tuesday's contest. with all the last minute jocking

for votes congressman paul leads the public policy poll with 24%. mitt romney is in second with 20%. newt gingrich third at 13. doug weed, a senior adviser to ron paul is here with me. good to have you. >> thanks, megyn. megyn: you have all these folks and ron paul continues to be first in a lot of polls. in the "real clear politics" afternoon he's up there as well. you have a lot of folks saying he could win iowa it's in the going to go any farther than that. to those folks you say what? >> winning iowa is a big deal. the last two presidents of the united states, presiden barack obama and george w. bush won in iowa and did not win in new hampshire. this is a good example of how it will resonate other places,

tweaked for regions. it's a good sign, it's not a bad sign. megyn: what is the plan to parlay a victory or even a srebgd place o second-place or third place victory in iowa, how do you parlay that into states where congressman paul may not be polling as well. >> the same template. the people of iowa have tpoeubgs eud ofocused on this race. the people in california who have voted in a poll of gallop or ras mass a rasmussen are not focusing on who they are going to vote for. a woman came to us last night and someone pulled her aside and asked her why are you voting for ron paul. she said he's the purest protest that i can do. the corruption in washington d.c. is so bad, he's the purest

vote. gave back a hundred thousand dollars of his own congressional allowance, if you want a pure protest vote it was ron paul. we think when the people in new hampshire, as the polls are already beginning to show there, and the people in south carolina focus and make their decision, we are going to do very well when they see our commercials, we're going to do very well. megyn: i was in iowa for the debate on december 15th and i can say you guys have certainly peppered the air wave with ads against gingrich and rom no and others. i want to ask you about the news that gary johnson who has been a republican candidate for president is going to run on the libertarian ticket. that's your guy's thing, libertarian ideals, although gary johnson shares them as well, ron paul has not closed the door to a possible third-party ticket run if he doesn't wind as the gop nominee. your thoughts on the announcement from gary johnson today? >> ron paul is not an absolutist, that is the only reason that he leaves a little bit of the door open. the last time around the republican party didn't treat

him very well, and the fact that he's a contender, and a player, and is going to win the nomination, it's a moot point. the ppp poll you referred to last night showed a remarkable thing, it showed ron paul leading among evangelical christians in iowa, over perry, bachmann and gingrich. it bodes well for him in south carolina and him winning the nomination and the presidency. "the washington post" poll three days ago showed him doing better than newt gingrich against barack obama and a statistical tie with mitt romney within the margin of error against barack obama. we are talking about winning in iowa, and making a run for it if not winning in new hampshire and winning the nomination. megyn: one of the issues you obviously know that congressman paul is most controversial on is his foreign policy stance, and in particular israel and iran and whether he would allow iran to get the bomb.

he doesn't want it because he's worried the united states will go to war with iran. he thinks we are too prone to attacking other countries and injecting ourselves military. >> true. megyn: newt gingrich came out and said, given that kind of attitude and policy stance it would be a tough choice for americans if the choice came down to barack obama versus ron paul. and ron paul is to the left of barack obama on certain issues, including foreign policy with respect to iran. what do you say. >> i totally disagree with that idea that he's to the left of the right. he's proconstitution. he's in favor of taking the idea of war -- he's not against war. he was the only public figure in 1981 to stand up and defend israel's right to defend herself and takeout those iraqi nuclear facilities. he's not against war, he's in favor of going to the u.s. congress as the constitution says, debating it, committing to

war, getting in, winning it and then getting out. he's against these endless wars that just happen at a whim because somebody believes that someone is a threat to the united states. if there is a serious threat to the united states, and are our allies, let's take it to congress, let's discuss it, let's commit and let's get in and win it and get out. megyn: last question for you. and forgive me if this is inpolitic. ron paul is 76 years old. is there a concern that his age might be an issue for him in going off this nomination? >> you know, the real problem is getting right on the issues, not having the right age. barack obama has got the right age, but he is totally wrong on the issues. and the people who are voting for us in iowa and who support us in iowa are people who have lost the value of their homes, and their ira's, students paying 8% interest on a student loan

while billionaires are getting zero percent interest-free loans to stimulate the economy. and they are fed up with that corruption. his message resonates ward less of his age. the hard part is getting right on the issue and ron paul is able to do that on this cycle. megyn: you're focused on that number 24% that puts him in first place in the latest ppp in the iowa poll than the number 76. thank you for being here. occupy protestors have big plans for the iowa caucuses, they are now planning to target republican presidential candidate forums, even the caucuses themselves beings an, and that's not all. we have the story and reaction live from the gop for man out there. remember when shopping used to be therapeutic? this holiday season we are seeing more and more scenes like this. what happened? what is happening to us? we'll ask a leading psychologist

when he joins us live. remember this little guy necessity was part of a pricey research program. it was even pric pricier than we thought. that in three minutes. [ male announcer ] the more you lose, the more you lose,

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♪ [singing] ♪ ♪ megyn: we've got new details today on a federal research project, i say a federal research project targeted by conservatives as wasted spending. why? look at video. you may remember we told but a project called a shrimp on a treadmill. it's part of a government program to study human-made stresses on marine life.

the project was originally set to cost $500,000. according to a new report from the national science foundation the study, which watches a shrimp running on a treadmill actually cost u.s. taxpayers over $680,000, not to mention the emotional stress and toll it took on the shrimp. i guess he took his hit for the rest of marine life and all of us. $680,000, folks. well the situation in syria is taking another deadly turn today. at least four soldiers were killed and 12 others injured in an ambush today. meantime arobject league monitors are now in that country in hopes of ending the government crackdown there. leland vittert following this live from our jerusalem bureau. >> reporter: it doesn't appear as if the arab league observers have exactly succeeded in ending the violence. not only did we have the syrian soldiers killed, we had a number of syrian civilians who were

activists killed there inside the syria. it seems like the violence is subsiding a little bit. there are now tens of thousands of people out on the streets in the city of holmes, in the holmes has been lifted now as the observers are in place and tens of thousands of people are back on the street demanding that bashar al-assad step down. a couple of weeks ago they would have been met with artillery fire. that is certainly an improvement on the situation there on the ground. we have a second piece of video, though, to show you the kind of crackdowns that are still going on, this is in the case of using not only teargas but also a number of other methods to try to disperse these crowds. you've seen video of the arab league observers having to take cover when from the government fire. this is the same government that promised they would end the crackdown on its own citizens. the other thing that is hampering this operation is government minders are following these observers around everywhere. many people are intimidated before they are willing to talk to the observers and tell them

actually what is going on on the ground there in syria. we are far from this being over. to give you a little example of the kind of things that are going on there, the syrian intelligence agency and also the syrian police, according to a number of arab league television stations. the syrian intelligence agency and syrian police are dressing up as observers going into the town. as soon as anyone tells them about the alleged atrocities or things that are going on they arrest the people that are reporting. it doesn't do a lot to build trust in that count trao*efplt back to you. megyn: that is tkeut disturbing. iran's military is upping the anti. in three minutes a normer navy captain shows us how the pentagon is likely to respond. also occupy wall street wants to disrupt the iowa caucuses, and there are real concerns that the movement could actually do it. we'll show you the next steps being taken to secure the voting process there. and shopper rage gone too far.

again, another scene of chaos in a hunt for bargains at a wal-mart store. a closer look at what is behind all of this. >> everyone just stopped in their tracks to wonder what was going on. you don't usually hear people screaming like that in the score and cussing the way that they were. settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today. diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65,

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we have a plan for almost everyone, so you can find one that fits your needs and budget. with all medicare supplement plans, there are virtually no claim forms to fill out. plus you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare. and best of all, these plans are... the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp. when they told me these plans were endorsed by aarp... i had only one thing to say... sign me up. call the number on your screen now... and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan. you'll get this free information kit... and guide to understanding medicare, to help you choose the plan that's right for you. as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare, get help paying for what medicare doesn't... and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now. megyn: welcome back, 1:32 almost

here in the east. republican candidate rick perry is fighting back after failing to qualify for the virginia primary in march. governor perry filing a lawsuit in an attempt to get his name on the virginia ballot. north korean leader kim jong-il is laid to rest today. his son and successor led the two and a half hour procession in the bitter cold. kim died of a heart attack on december 17th. he was 69. last-minute shoppers giving retailers a big boost this holiday season according to new numbers. sales during the week before christmas were up nearly 5% as compared to last year. well the iowa caucuses are just six days away, and every single gop candidate is crisscrossing that state. but it looks likes they will have some competition for attention. occupy wall street protestors are planning their own caucus in demoines. occupy protestors will be going

to iowa with the express purpose of getting their message heard. >> reporter: the occupy protestors say they have no intention of actually disrupting the iowa caucuses, but they are going to be out there en masse and they are hoping to put pressure on all of the gop candidates. they are hoping to get people from at least different states. they hope from more. they are planning on hundreds, they are hoping for thousands. the occupiers say once they get there the plan is to break up in various groups and target all of the various candidates. the occupiers have disrupted speeches by michelle bachmann and by newt gingrich. this next video is of the gingrich event where they came and started screaming. you see them in the background there. now listen to newt gingrich's response to the occupiers, play this. >> you just saw the one 10th of one percent. i was at the university of iowa the other day and that same 10th of one percent all noise no thought tried to drown out

conversations. >> reporter: now the iowa republican party is asking the various precinct leaders to be on the look out for any disruptions on tuesday, and th to report those disruptions to police. the police said anybody who interferes with the caucus will be cited. the protestors say they do not plan to be anything but peaceful and vocal, listen. >> it's crucial that we come in here and make demands and reraise our voices, so that at least other members of the 99% will again some coverage and people will start listening to us. we only have our bodies and voices, this is the only way to get the word out. >> reporter: the whole goal is to put pressure on the gop candidates and the candidates themselves are planning on ways to handle the various protestors. megyn: it will be interesting to see, trace. when i was out in iowa they were saying there would be occupy protestors. we looked outside there was one guy with a sign. what he was upset about is he didn't feel he had been treated fairly by his family court judge

in his divorce with his wife, security at the convention center says he's been doing it for five years. i don't know, that girl seemed legit, that guy i don't think he was really at the heart of the occupy movement. >> reporter: they are hoping for thousands, they may get a few hundred, maybe 50. megyn: not just that one guy from souix city. thank you. back to our top story now, iran's new threat to shut off a vital oil passage in the middle east. the uss john c. stinus passed through the strait of hormuz yesterday. the pentagon says it will be in the north arabian see between yeah man and tack stan in the coming weeks. the pentagon warning any move to cut off oil from the strait of hormuz will not be tolerated. iran says it will be an easy move. chuck nash joins me now. thank you for being on the

program. what is iran doing here? you have not one but two senior officials making this threat in the past couple of days. >> iran is doing what it's been doing since 1979. because the united states and the rest of the western world has never stepped in to stop bad behavior, it just keeps going on and on and on despite the fact that they blew up our embassies in africa. they blew up the marine barracks in beirut. they killed americans by providing ied's to the extremists in iraq and they are killing americans in afghanistan today. and administration after administration has never put these guys in check, so they are continuing to act out. it's totally predictable behavior. megyn: ambassador john bolton was on our air earlier today. he said if they did this. their entire navy would be on the floor of the ocean within a matter of hours, or days. do you agree? >> no. i think what wao happe would happen is there would be a response from the u.s. navy.

the iranians have put a lot of money into unconvention alnaval forces, small boats, high-speed. they carry rockets. they also have a couple submarines that can deploy mines underwater. it would take longer than a couple of days. but i will agree with ambassador bolton completely, that there will be no doubt as to the eventual outcome. it will take longer than that. you don't even have to put out mines, you can say we did do mining, then it's up to the united states and western powers to sweep that region to insure that there are no mines there. the threat is almost as good as the real thing. megyn: what do we do? all right, we're take it's not going to be tolerated and look at our big aircraft carrier over here, the united states of america's aircraft carrier, iran, and they continue to thumb their nose at us. what would we do? if they actually did this. captain nash, if they actually cut off one 6th of the world's oil supply by blocking this

strait what would we do and what help would we get from our friends and allies. >> if they start mining that is an act of war. things can get a lot more decisive at that point. again, you know, you've got just secretary of state clinton just last week was saying, we need to engage these people more. they are not going to stop acting out. they are like a bad teenager until somebody puts them in their place, then nothing is going to happen. so if things really do come push to shove, the united states navy and the fifth fleet have been working on contingency plans to reopen and keep open the straits of hormutz, they've been working on those things for decades. they are very well established. the fact we only have one carrier battle group over there right now is a sign that we probably wished that we had two, but that is the sign of the reality. and post iraq and post afghanistan there is going to be a big push to cutback on

forces. so we're going to have to change the way we think about doing a lot of things, because four structures are coming down, and when they do they are going to change the way that we can take care of our national interest. megyn: is there anything political here? some had suggested that this was sort of thumbing the nose alternate the obama administration. but iran has been difficult to control, and mis misbehaving under republican and democratic presidents alike. where do you come down on it? >> i come down on it, this is continued bad behavior from a country that has been an outlaw regime and there will be no change in iranian behavior until the regime is changed. so that really ought to be u.s. poll see, it ought to be the poll seif the industrialized and the civilized world and that is that this regime has got to go. just wait, if we think things are difficult to deal with them now, just wait until they set off their first test nuclear device, then everything is going

to change. megyn: captain nash thank you sir. >> you bet. thap happy new year. megyn: and to you. >> ben nelson announced he will not seek re-election. the democrats may have a tough time keeping control of the u.s. senate. everyone has been so focused on the white house race. have you paid any attention to the senate race? we will just ahead. and a search is now underway for a missing arkansas mother. her torched car was just found abandoned near a highway. a 70-year-old wal-mart cashier punched in the face on christmas eve. she had to go to the hospital. a melee at the mall of america, and fights over air jordan 11's. what is going on here? we'll have a full investigation right after this break.

megyn: police in a arkansas are searching for a missing mother of three after her charred vehicle was found in the words. the 4 46-year-old was last seen leaving a christmas party last week in hot springs village where she worked as a police dispatcher. her station wagon was found three days later off a highway in a national forest. search dogs scoured the scene but did not pick up anything. it's supposed to be the most

wonderful time of the year, but we have seen plenty of dramatic scenes of violence this holiday shopping season. this woman here is accused of punching a 70-year-old wal-mart worker in the face on christmas eve after the woman was asked to show a receipt. on monday ten people were arrested after a massive melee in the nation's largest mall, the mall of america. police drawing their guns inside of the mall to try to stop it. and this scene playing out in several spots across the country, people stampeding, breaking down doors, running each other over. in one instance there was a stabbing, just to get their hands-on a pair of nike michael jordan, air jordan 11 sneakers. whatever happened to civility? joining me is a psychiatrist of psychopathic medicine. thank you for joining us. good tied things that we bring

to you and your kin. >> and very bad behavior. megyn: i don't remember it ever being like this. where every christmas you hear about people hurting each other over retail goods, even though we've had big sales and black fridays and electronic bonanzas, why? >> i think this year we are seeing something a little different, people rile being malicious with one another, being mean-spirited. part of it of course is the economy. people are much more desperate. of course the retailers take advantage of that, not to point fingers at them, but they use psychological tricks such as limited quantity, showing you what big breaks you're going to get, as far as the prices. giving limited store hours and really hyping up. when you have people at risk of violent behavior to begin w i believe these are people who are not living in a vacuum, these are people who have behaved badly before, acted out before, when you get them in that kind

of environment they act out but it's not newbie haeufr. megyn new behavior. megyn: you see movie clips from the 50s. it doesn't seem like this type of behavior happened. why is it happening more and more now? >> what we are seeing is there is much more density, whether it's in an urban area or a suburban area, when you put a lot of people together and you put them in this kind of a retail pressure cooker, and it becomes an event. people like to shop, their lives become hum drum. they are concerned about their finances. they need something to stimulate them, this is the perfect recipe for disaster. and we know from all of the experiments that we do with animals and rats and so on, once you pi put them all together that's when they begin to ca canabaliz one another and behave

in a horrible manner. megyn: this woman is 26, she punches out a 70-year-old woman to the point where she got thrown across the floor, she had a garb so deep in her eye blood was spewing out of her eye, they took her to the hospital. on the bright side dozens of wall smart shoppers surrounded her and they are companian until the police got there. what does make someone act this way? at mall america they were having a melee, it was reported a rap star was going to be there, they started to beat each other. >> i think these are two separate incidents. when you take a look at this woman, she's been accused not found guilty. this 70-year-old woman she punched, i don't think it had anything to do with the 70-year-old woman, it has a lot to do with this person that acted out in such a violent

way. megyn: because she was asked to show her receipt. >> she is angry over something else, feeling pressure from something else. probably has a difficult life for whatever reasons we don't know, therefore when the cashier asks for a receipt it opens up the flood gate. she didn't know this woman and there was no reason to do that. megyn: how do we shift it back to the way it used to be when we were more civil towards each other and more polite to one another. we were talking about your arrival on the streets of new york city, people rude, bumping into you, not saying sorry, excuse me. it's his heart evening. you go to the dwain read, you buy your deodorant, things like that. you can have an exchange with somebody and you never even speak, they never even make eye contact with you. >> there in lies the answer. we have just become numbers. if you want to dial some sort of a company or corporation or utility company you can't even

get a human, you get the answering service. i think what has happened is that we have lost that human touch, and we need to go back to that. we need to have people listen to one another, and talk to one another, and try to be civil in a way that perhaps we suggest that it's the only way to be able to interact and not just on the internet, not just by video but actually that one-on-one interaction where people know one another, can reach out and touch one another, and can feel the emotion that people really do have for one another instead of just strangers jostling for the prize, whatever that may be. megyn: it makes you feel more connected. i've had that experience in the line, wherever, where you're getting angry -- it's like -- she won't even look at me, she won't even say like the numbers, and then you challenge yourself to try to kill them with kindness and say, how is it going today? and then they show you kindness in return and you're happier. megyn: that is what people need to do, i give you an honorary

phd today. that's what people have to do, you have to try harder. don't be like anyone else. rise above the crowd. i talk to a lot of cashiers at the drugstores, they don't even want to look at me. i insist that they speak to me, i kill them with kindness. in return they start talking and smile. if you can get that smile from someone then we are returning to our humanity, and that's where we need to be. megyn: i agree with you about the value of human touch. >> yes. megyn: merry christmas and halfee ne new year's. megyn: south carolina's attorney general will join us live, and i will have him whether south carolina plans on challenging the move in federal court. 0 blown tire, that is too big even for aaa to handle.

a scary flight on southwest airlines when the landing gear failed. it's a medication i coue and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantiis proven to help people quit smoking. it reduthe urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking orood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reactioto it. if you develop these, stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart orlood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. my inspiration for quitting were my sons. they were my little cheering squad. [ laughs ]

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megyn: big and rich want to celebrate new year's eve with you, not to mention cowboy roy. fox will have a new year's special. we will be joined by trace atkins performing some of his biggest hits as well as the cast of the tony award nominated show, rock of ages. have you seen it? if you haven't, if you're coming to new york you have to get

tickets to that show. i loved it. they'll also join us for the count town for 2012. five-time game me award winner sandy patty will show us why they call her the voice. all the fun starts at 11:00pm eastern right here on fnc. we'd love you to join with us. how would you like to give a shout out to a loved one as part of the live show. it will appear on the news ticker on the bottom of your screen. on your cellphone you next, you next, a space and whatever you want to say to your loved once to the number 36288, then you type u text, type a space and then type your message. we do have somebody here on the america live/all american new year's staff. it's really one in the same who will go through all of the texts and weed out the dirty words, but not the marriage proposals. so you just keep that in mind. a tense situation for passengers aboard a southwest airlines flight. adam housley live in san

francisco with what happened, adam. >> reporter: we had two tense situations actually in a 12-hour timeframe. the first one you talked about was the flight last night taking off from sacramento headed towards seattle. as the front part of the plane came up the nose came up two left tires blew. we are told there has been no debris found on the runway. the investigation goes into why did the tires blow, nothing on the runway caused the tires to blow. the pilot did come on the radio overhead, told the passengers to remain calm, brought the nose back down, brought the plane to a stop. the emergency personnel then arrived on scene to get the passengers off. they put foam on the tires to make sure no fire got up into the plane. you can imagine people were shaking from what happened. take a listen. >> right as we took off we went right back down and we were bouncing all over the ground. >> we were about halfway down the runway and you heard a loud pop and shaking, the plane started shaking, they set the nose back down and they said we blew a fire.

>> they were going pretty fast. there was a popping sound. >> reporter: another incident happened on another southwest flight on the same runway taking off it hit a bird. no major damage and the passengers were dephra*eupbd and put odeplaned. two major incidents back-to-back. no injuries. megyn: the doj says no. will south carolina night back in court? i'll ask the attorney general of that state when he joins me live. new details of a horrific christmas day fire in connecticut that killed five family members. the heroic action one person attempted to make before meeting his own death. stay with us. when you have tough pain, do you want fast relief?

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megyn: fox news alert. new challenges for the front runner a week before the first contest of the 2012 election season. we are six days out from the iowa caucuses. can you believe this? the first votes will be cast in the presidential contest of 2012. checking in on the real clear politics average, ron paul topping the republican pack. romney behind him, neck and neck at 21%. all of the gop candidates sporting a royal following. strong organization. and now some new-found life ron paul is.

campaign carl cameron is at a ron paul rally in newton, iowa. one thing you can say is they love him deeply. >> reporter: arguably a third of the crowd was media. ron paul got the attention of the national press with his position in iowa. there are some polls that show he's in front, there are some polls that show mitt romney is in front. as you said, the idea really is to get people out of the polls. it's worth recognizing the 7:00 caucuses will last at least an hour of speeches there. then they dough write-in ballots. ron paul recognizes that, and this morning he made the argument or just a little while ago he made the argument with folks go with status quo the country will lose.

it's an argument from ron paul in favor of himself. >> if you don't do anything and we keep the same president status quo. if you pick another status quo presidential candidate, nothing is going to change. but somethingo has to change. something will change. >> reporter: mr. palm says he recognizes there are more cameras and the crowds are getting bigger. today mitt romney, his chief rival in the polls went after mr. paul suggesting that he doesn't agree with palms asirgts would be okay in romney's view that iran get nuclear weapons. mr. paul hasn't exactly said that. newt gingrich has gone after mr. paul for the last several weeks on a whole host of issues. and rick perry invested money in web videos trashing his fellow texan mr. paul.

focusing on trying to bring down ron paul in the last 5 to 6 days. who would have imagined with all the candidates who had their rise and fall in the polls, as we get into the final days ron paul is getting his moment, too. megyn: thank you, sir. we are taking this show "america live" on the road. we are broadcasting live from the iowa caucuses and in the days ahead of the iowa caucuses. monday and tuesday live from the hawkeye state. we hope you will be with us. one other developing story, the occupy wall street movement taking on the iowa caucuses. protesters hoping to disrupt the first presidential contest six days from now. hoping to make their voices heard. they have already done so. interrupting presidential gop candidate michele bachmann.

listen. megyn: matt, it's quite a coordinated the effort. yesterday, tuesday they met these activists to go through civil disobedience training to come up with their plan and present a list of the activities and events they want to show up at and disrupt and interrupt the candidates. which ones they are going to go to and what they are going to do that caucuses tuesday night. what are you going to do in response? >> we look forward to seeing you in the hawkeye state. on the ground we have to make sure no one has their voice silenced by outsidage tier toes. we are counseling the precinct chairs just what their legal rights are. we made sure local law enforcement personnel is aware

of where all our location are. it's volunteer iowans staffing these precincts. while these folks have a right to have their voices heard. that right ends when it infringes on another iowan. it's the height of irony that they are choosing to disrupt probably the most grassroots process in politics. megyn: they say they are encouraging activists who live in iowa who can participate in the caucuses to show up on caucus night to vote no preference as a protest. but they say they have no plans to interfere with the voting itself. your reaction to that. >> i take people at their actions and not their words. that footage you showed from a michele bachmann event. speaker gingrich have had events disrupted. their past actions do not

indicate that's their method. we need to prepare for that. we are making sure our county chairs and precinct volunteers know we are not going to tolerate this nothing sense. and especially folks from outside the state, certainly they don't have the opportunity to vote, only legal iowa residents are eligible to cast a ballot on caucus night. we'll make sure all those safeguards are put into place. we are working with the campaign to make sure the results we report are accurate and timely and the outsidage tier toes don't get in the -- the outsidage tear toes don't -- the outsideage tier -- agitators dot get in the way of the process. megyn: mass arrests may take place in light of what they are planning. you are at the helm of trying to

maintain a civil process. iowa known for its civility. they are look at something that could throw a monkey wrench in that i'm told as a result of all of this you are taking an unprecedented step which is to move the vote tabulation to an undisclosed location. that's not normally the way it is. normally we get to watch it. now you are having to shroud it in a little bit of secrecy in advance to avoid disruption? >> right. let me explain how the vote counting works on caucus night. the votes are counted in each of the precincts. a campaign observer from each of the campaigns can watch that happen. so the voting is done in a clear and transparent process. then those results are called in to republican headquarters where they are tab late and weeing a a gait that from a and we aggregate that from across the

country. we have got to repair for the worst and hope for the best. we can't have this process disrupted. we can't have iowans not have their voices heard. and they deserve to have timely results on the night of january 3. megyn: as the gop chairman. you were there on the night of the fox news debate. what are your thoughts as we stand here six days before the big caucuses. iowa getting the first chance in the nation to get a chance to cast a vote for the presidential season. >> the one question i get most often is why iowans haven't solidified behind a candidate yet. that's because we aren't making this decision in a vacuum. we understand the decision we make extend far beyond iowa's borders. we want to get this decision

right. the fact that we have all the candidates on the ground this week, we can look them in the eye and make that personal connection. that's what iowans are looking for in the days of the caucus. megyn: the momentum has built behind one guy or two guys. anything can happen. we'll see you tuesday night. thanks for being here. we are getting rare video from the reclusive country of north korea. tens of thousands take together streets to say good-bye to kim jong-il. gregg palkot is streaming live from seoul, south korea. >> reporter: it was an incredible choreographs scene. foreigners were not allowed in the country so we had to watch from outside from seoul, 120 miles south of pyongyang.

the funeral procession included the hearse carrying the body. they did a slow 3-hour 25-mile loop around the snowy, weird landscape of pyongyang. on display what we have been seeing is the public grieving from soldiers and civilians very much on display. the son of kim jong-il, the successor kim jong-un was walk alongside the hearse. he was saluting and bowing, and alongside of him, flanking him, his uncle, other civilian officials, military officials. by all accounts these are the

folks that will be working with him to pull the springs in a future regime. a big, big display of military strength today. a lot of soldiers, 21-gun salute. this was kim judge i will's trademark. he put the military first. there has been rhetoric indicating kim jung un will do exactly the same thing. that has people here in south korea next door which is seeing its own shaffer clashes and war with their neighbor, north korea a little bit nervous and trying to reach out to the folks up north right now. believe it or not, it's not over. in a couple hours we'll see yet another memorial, a mass display in the center of pyongyang. this will go on and on as long as the regime wants. megyn: coming up, the department of justice saying no to south

carolina's voter identification registration law. democrat ben nelson said he would retire when his term is up. today some democrats are worried about holding majority in the senate in the wake of that news. that story we go in-depth, 10 minutes away. if you have been busted for drugs, probably not a good idea to steal a cop car, too. [ male announcer ] drinking a smoothie with no vegetable nutrition? ♪ [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8.

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hitting speeds up to 120 miles an hour. it ends with a crash when the suspect plows into stopped traffic. he was arraigned on a variety of charges. the department of justice challenging voting laws across the country. today we are learning many state laws got green lights from democrats across the board. one of the states that is under fire from the doj is south carolina. the southern general of that state is allen wilson. that's the largest state to be singled out by the doj. thank you so much for being here. let's talk about this letter you got from the department of justice trying to tell south carolina it has no business requiring photo i.d. from folks when they are registering to vote. now, this letter goes on for 7 pages.

it's from tom perez, the assistant southern general. he claims this will disenfranchise black voters and that you have no justification for doing it. while you tried to pin it on voter fraud, he says you provided no -- provided no evidence that's a problem your state. >> i strongly disagree with mr. perez. i want to say how disappointed we are in the department of justice for striking down a law that offers protections for the citizens of south carolina that the supreme court has upheld for the citizens of indiana. we find it disappointing it's a different standard for south carolina than citizens of other states. the data showed 23,000 people -- this was data collected from the election commission our state. 239,000 people were registered to vote that had no photo i.d.

subsequently we met with our department of motor vehicles. they did an audit of that data and found out 37,000 of those individuals registered to vote who had no i.d. were decreased. 96,000 had moved to other states and we had been informed by those states that those individuals got registration there. there were other qualifiers that showed people's i.d.s didn't match the election commission's data because of discrepancy in the name. at the end of the name after the audit was completed. there weren't 239,000 people who didn't have photo i.d.s, there were 27,000, and that number is probably far less. so the justice department basically disregarded effectively that information. so i disagree with mr. perez' assertion it was designed or would infringe on people's right to vote. megyn: he takes the number of

people who are registered to vote and don't have photo i. dvments. let's say we shrink it down to your number of 27,000 and change. he says if you run the numbers there are more african-americans who don't have a photo i.d.s then there are whites. unless you can come up with proof of significant voter fraud in the state, you can't pass this law because it's going to disenfranchise more blacks than whites and given south carolina's history -- that's why the doj has this right to veto your law. given south carolina's history, you can't do it. >> if i recall the data he's relying on, the disparity between the individuals who are caucasian and those who are minority between not having a photo i.d. and having a photo i.d., the african-american population. it's about 4%. 1.% difference.

given that account, we believe that this is analagous to buying prescription medication. it's no more discriminatory to require a senior citizen, a white person or black person or any color person to provide basic photo identification to get prescription medications. furthermore, in our law the person can show up to the polling place the day of the election. they can sign an affidavit stating they had a reasonable impediment why they didn't have a photo i.d. and their vote will be counted. there was a case where a local house member was running for reelection. he lost by 70 votes. there were 170 ballots turned in with an "x" marked on the line. had this law been in effect those individuals would have had to check a brief affidavit jaig they couldn't give their name or why they didn't have a photo i.d. i dispute what the justice

department says, and i believe this law would protect not only the system that we have in place, but individual voters. megyn: do you believe that this is legitimate -- forget whether you believe it's justified and it needs to shut down your law. but do you believe the motivation by tom perez at doj is to preserve the legitimate voting rights of african-americans or do you believe their goal is to preserve the voting rights of folks who may not be registered to vote or may not have the right to vote in your state because they believe it will help the democratic cause? >> i'm always hesitant to get into people's personal thought process and intentions. people always tea describe intentions -- people always ascribe intentions to me that are not accurate. i know the justice's decision to

strike down this law has preserved the voting rights of dead people and people who no longer live in the state and are registered elsewhere. that's the effect of what they have done. that number is probably larger when you count transient students. megyn: tame perez says you can challenge this in federal district court if you want to. >> we are going to challenge this in federal district court, that's a fact at this point. megyn: general, thanks to you. all the best to you. coming up, the occupy movement costing los angeles more than $1.5 million so far. now the city is considering suing the occupy members. does l.a. have a case? "kelly's court" weighs in. new information on a tragedy in connecticut. the cause, the rescue attempt and the dramatic 911 calls next.

>> 911. what is the address of the emergency. >> i was calling about a major fire with people in the house.

megyn: new information on the suicide of a bullied teenager. the lawsuit was settled for $225,000. the 15-year-old girl hanged herself after classmates taunted her for dating a popular boy. the settlement with the school and the town was reached more than a year ago. but a journalist just won a court order for the release of the information.

the brand-new details today on that deadly christmas day fire in connecticut. the fire chief in stanford held a news conference detailing the mistakes that may have led to this tragedy and talking about the 911 tapes just released. >> reporter: we are getting a much better idea of what happened in those horrifying seconds after the fire started. the fire chief said around 3:00 in the morning somebody put burning embers outside of the mud room and those embers caught a wall on fire and that spread to the rest of the house. the home was being remodeled so the smoke detectors were not hoorkd up at the time. but everyone inside the house actually woke up. three young girls on the third floor. the mom, the boyfriend. the boyfriend at one time was with the twin 7-year-old girls trying to get them out of the house, but the heat separated them and tragically the two

young girls ran back upstairs. the grandfather was trying to get his oldest granddaughter out of an upstairs window but he fell through the rafters. >> just inside the window he came out of we found one of the young children. i guess there were a pile of books, looks like she was placed on the books so he could get out window and reach in and grab her. but when i went out the window, that's when succumbed. >> reporter: firefighters say the mother tried to go back inside the house to get her children time after time, but she kept being restrained by the firefighters. the neighbor heard the mother and boyfriend screaming and called 911. listen. >> 911. >> there is a fire at the house next door to us. the whole house is on fire.

2241stamford avenue, it's the house next door. >> reporter: the firefighters tried to go back in and get the grandparents and children. four firefighters were injured in that fire. and the mayor of stamford says the family should not have been in the house because they did not have a permit to occupy the house during remodeling stage. megyn: that's deeply disturbing. you look at these things and try to find something to come out of them. maybe it's just a warning and lesson to other folks not to do that with the embers. the smoke detectors being disconnected. maybe they would have had a few moments's notice. trace, thank you. all eyes are on capitol hill as democrats cling to power after another democratic senator calls it quits. paving way for the gop to reclaim the majority. we'll have the latest on the likelihood of that. california once the land of opportunity now more bleak news

for the golden state. why more and more people are pack up and moving out.

megyn: right now new questions about the balance of power in

the u.s. senate. democrats scrambling to retain their slim majority now that nebraska senator democrat ben nelson announced he will call it quits. nelson is one of five senate democrats not seek reelection. now there are questions about whether the democrats can retain control of the senate in 2012. joining me, christopher hahn, a former aide to chuck schumer. let me ask you, chris. you are a democrat and i worked for a senator. is it true democrats are scrambling? how worried are they about losing control of the senate? >> listen, of the 33 senate seats up this year, there are 23 democrats up. that's a lot more to defend than the republicans have. i have to say there are 11 tossup or lean one way or the other races.

unfortunately for the democrats none of those belong to us. the democrats with outperformed in the fundraising field. they have got very strong candidates that they are running across the country. and the republicans are now in a situation where they have got to devisive -- there are tea party candidates at work. megyn: nebraska is not look good for the democrats. according to an article by the post. they. there is almost no scenario he says that a democratic win at this late stage. do you agree? >> i do agree. the democrats, the extinct blue dog democrats is what happened

in the congress, senate and house. the cornhusker kickback and other policies, they are all tied to obama policies, arguably the most left-wing president we have had in the united states. the stimulus, the problems with the uncertainty in the bismarck the. business environment. so they see themselves as being tied to a legacy. they see states changing because even though they raised a lot of money and they have from wall street to the dig donors. the fact is democrats can't change the voters' minds. and voters see this country is heading in the wrong direction and that is hurting them. >> david, who do they blame? they blame the republicans. megyn: we had that debate, who is to blame. but i want to ask you, how have we focused, do you believe the

democratic party should be on the senate races? we have been so focused on the senate race. but if the republicans win control of the senate and maintain control of the house, what will this country look like even if barack obama wins another four years in the white house? >> it will be divided government. a government that's going have to work the president if ball wins reelection. he's not running for reelection. so you can't put out the argument that all he cares about is the next election. whatever happens in the senate you will see a congress that's more likely to work the president than not next year. >> i think we are all going to lose -- megyn: they will get more control? >> it takes 60 votes to do anything if the senate. and i don't see any scenario where the republicans take 60 votes in the senate.

megyn: but that misses the point. david, it's not that the republicans are going to want to get things done with 60 votes. they are going to want to stop things coming down to them from the president. they don't need 60 votes to stop things. >> no, they don't. let's look at what's happened in the past four years almost -- what will be the four years of the obama first term. most of the opposition to his policies have even been from democrats. the bipartisanship in washington has been in large part opposition to obama's fundamental transformation as he put it of america. when we go to the senate we can stop things as you said with less votes. but we can also have policies that come out of the house that are taken up in the senate. 17 billions on the economy. >> there has been more

filibusters over the last three years in the united states senate then there has been in the last 50 years in the senate. all they wanted to do -- mcconnell said it on day one. all he wants to do is make sure this president doesn't get reelected. when this president gets reelected, what is his next goal going to be? i hope it's going to be to make this country a better place. i hope to god he will say that goal failed. let's see what we can do to get this country out of the hole it's in. >> with a teleprompter it would be an awesome speech. >> i have no teleprompter. >> the economy is where it is. we have obama-care going to the supreme court with possibly a june decision. the government is broke. megyn: here is what i'm trying to get at. david, let's say president obama

wins reelection but the republicans cake control of the senate and retain control of the house. this news yesterday was not great news for the democrats. anything could still happen. let me ask you, david, if you have republicans controlling both house of congress and a democrat in the white house, what will the next four years look like compared to the 3 1/2 we have just been through? >> you have the reality of an override of presidential retoes. we need good energy policy bills. we need to fix problems with free trade. we need reform. we need tax reform. and the republicans are serious on their side. and they are able to draw in the democrats want to actually fix the problems. then we can put the president in a political box and override the vetoes. >> the bottom line is this. democrats have a good chance to to take the senate. the tea party wants to kick out

dick luger, they think he's too liberal. there will be no overrides of vetoes. a lot of these tea party guy in the house of representatives who have been holding up everything will lose their seats. the democrats might take the house back. i think losing nelson is a problem. but if bob kerry runs we have just as good a chance to take the senate. megyn: he hasn't officially ruled that out. guys, thank you both so much. see you soon. california dreaming may be a thing of the past as more folks leave the golden state than move in. anita vogel live in los angeles and she is the only one. hey, anita. >> it's all about the economy here. california is a trend setting state. we set trends for fashion and other fads. so it might be surprising to learn that the latest trend near

this state is to get out. from beautiful beaches to the temperate climate. california used to be the state to move to. but now all the california dreaming has become just that. >> california's attractiveness as a destination has wayneed. it's become so attractist's expensive to live here and people simply can't afford to live here. >> with high housing costs, unemployment and tax, the golden state's image has tarnished. the number of people moving in from out of state is at a 100-year low. jennifer and garrett packed up and head out in 2010. >> we looked at staying in california as the prospects there weren't good, and the longer we were there, we were going backwards economically. >> they relocated to texas where they can afford a house, a new

business and what they call a better way of life. >> everything is bigger in texas. just driving up to the house. everything was big and double the size of what it was in california. >> economically and politically california is in a world of hurt. i think it will be for generations. >> the demographics in california are a long-term phenomena. >> reporter: governor jerry brown proposed budget cuts that hurts social services that drivers even more people out. they are going to neighboring states like like arizona, texas and washington. megyn: the potential lawsuit against the occupy wall street movement.

"kelly's court" is next.

:

megyn: "america live" is tracking the candidates as they zip around canada building support they hope for next week's republican caucuses. newt gingrich is on his second day of a bus tour. he's highlighting his support of

supply-side economics favored by president ronald reagan. rick perry is getting voters fired up by telling them they don't have to settle for washington insiders. "kelly's court" is back in session. on the docket, occupying a courtroom. los angeles considering filing a salute against the occupy wall street movement. looking to recite some of the $2.3 million the city has accept strayer toes have cost the city since protests began. there is damage to the plaza in front of city hall. lost business opportunities and other damages. it's pouring fuel on a $72 million budget short fall in the city of angels. but can the city actually do this and exactly -- joining me is jonna spilbor. the city decides to fight back.

but let me ask you, anna, is the city of l.a. talk out of both sides of its mouth. we heard a different message from los angeles when the occupy movement first got started out there. >> that will be their problem. they shot themselves in the foot. the city council passed unanimously welcoming occupy protesters. now, what i would like to see the city recoup, the mess the october pyres made of the park, i would, but they will be hard pressed to prevail when they said come and stay we embrace you. but now that we how much it's going to cost us we want our money back. megyn: that's the thing. it sounds like a joke. this could be a real debate if the city hadn't invited them there. if this was some city where they didn't roll out the red carpet. but l.a. said, come, stay as long as you need.

then the city council voted to support the movement. now the city attorney is saying we may sue you for damages. >> every guest can overstay their welcome. and these guys did. if i invited a few friend over to join my pool and they even right few friend. next thing i knew i had 300 people in my pool. i could kick them out and recoup my damages on a small scale. that's a prime example of what l.a. is trying to do. i don't see why they can't do it. >> who do they susan how do they win? they -- the occupy folks -- one of the representatives has called this outrageous and said, look, the city should have set aside money for protests like this. and the fact they want us to pay for overtime of the police officers, they lower police to us begin with, she says.

we didn't need 1,400 officers policing us. >> the october pyres should pay for the public property they destroyed. i'm not going to second guess the police and they think that's what they need for public safety. who knows what would are happened if they didn't have the police there. for the october pyres to say they can't do this. but where else can you destroy public property and get away with it. if you spray paint the washington monument you have to pay. if you go to a public beach, you have to help pay for the costs. the city says we want you to pay for take over our lawns. what we have to do to get it back to what it was. unfortunately they created a situation where they said, you note other cities are cracking down, we welcome you here. they even got rain ponchos for

the october pyres. megyn: how does the city go about finding who to sue? is it this woman who comes forward as a representative? don't you have to find who trampled the grass, who stray painted things on the wall. you have to identify an actual defendant. >> yes, you do, and that's probably going to be near impossible unless they opt to sue a spokesperson who may have to bring in other people who she knows are codefendants to get some liability off her. i think the effort will be few few -- will be futile. if an alarm goes off in your house and you have to call police, you will get a bill. the october pyres should get a bill because the taxpayers end up paying for that if they don't. megyn: l.a. can't afford it. so the taxpayers will be on the

hook. anna, could the city possibly win a case again the protesters? can some of the protesters are suing the city. claiming they cracked down on them unfairly, the police. could they counter sue against those individual occupy protesters and maybe get sort of an offset for the damages ultimately imposed against the city? >> could they, yes? how are they going to collect the money? where is the money going to come from? i think the october pyres. megyn: maybe some of these occupy wall street protesters have more dothan they let on. we'll watch it. she says she is considering it. we'll watch to see if she files it. 48 years later they crashed the case. scientists claim they know a triggered that crazy bird behavior that inspired the classic horror film, "the

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>> the mystery behind an alfred hitchcock classic may be solved. remember the film the birds? that movie was inspired by an incident in 1961 where disoriented sea birds crashed into homes across california's monterey bay. the event sparked the interest of a local visitor, a man by the name of alfred hitchcock. and it led to this movie. scientists think the birds' strange behavior may have

resulted from them ingesting a toxic form of plankton that damaged their brain. that was creepy, wasn't it? a new twist in the forbidden world of online gambling. gamblers may have a way to make legal bets online thanks to a ruling by the justice department. wendall goler live to explain. >> the justice department designed the law it uses to ban online betting only applies to betting sporting events. utah republican congressman says it's a bad move. >> for decades there have been sufficient laws on the books that prohibited online gambling. but this creative decision at the department of justice will allow online gambling into every

home. >> reporter: the government is struggling to limit access to online gambling sites based outside the country. some gambling advocates think it's a losing battle. >> we have been advocating for several years fear national federal policy that allows a multiple states to operate under the umbrella of a federal regulatory regime. we think that's probably preferable for consumer protection. we think that's preferable in terms of states and federal government generating revenue. >> reporter: experts say electronic gambling is the most addictive form even in a casino setting. and bringing it into the home would make it even more addictive because it would be more convenient. megyn: wendall, thank you.

you are what you tweet. but if you use certain words online homeland security wants to know all about you. now there is a lawsuit to protect your privacy. that's next. ♪ [ woman ] ♪ what i want this season ♪ if you'd like to try and guess ♪ ♪ it is something very special ♪ i would readily confess [ dogs barking ] ♪ 'cause all i want this season ♪ ♪ is something from your heart ♪ la da da, la da da [ male announcer ] thinking of others this holiday season, travelers.

>>megyn: folks, don't miss fox news' all american new year's eve live from times square. and trace adkins is headlining the show and performance by big and