>> yeah. >> awesome way to end the week. >> peter johnson, jr., thank you. >> to hear it here live, incredible. >> merry christmas. >> have a great weekend. see you back here monday. 13th. obama administration changing rules on obamacare again. what is up with that? new day, new story. i'm bill hemmer. welcome to "america's newsroom." martha: good morning, bill. welcome, everybody. i'm martha maccallum. this time insurance companies are being asked to extend the deadline a little bit. allow people to sign up now. give them to the end of the month, the government says. not only that. kathleen sebelius is asking insurers to start covering americans in the new year whether they're actually covered or not. bill: novel idea, isn't it? stuart varney, anchor of "varney & company", fox business network. good morning to you. the government is running the show. >> they're making up rules as

they go along to account for the chaos and mess which they themselves have created. as you pointed out they extended deadline. essentially they are telling insurance companies, get out there and cover people who may or may not have valid coverage. one more quick point, bill. they're strongly encouraging insurers to treat out of network doctors as if they're in network. bill: my gosh. this is like an amoeba, stuart. it keeps on bouncing around and moving around. takes a different ship every day. what will the companies do? can they say no to this request? >> very difficult to say no to a government which strongly insist that is you do this. the insurance companies are in a real pickle here. they know that come early january, awful lot of people will think they have got coverage but they don't have coverage. the administration wants to make sure theyly do have coverage. so it is forcing insurance companies to pay up. whether they can legally do that or not, i don't know. i'm not a lawyer but that is

exactly what they're saying. bill: we had a lawmaker on yesterday. he thinks hundred of thousands in january will find out they thought had coverage but actually did not. bless you, martha. >> bless you, martha. here is the worst case. first week of january. somebody gets in a car accident. they think they have got coverage. they don't. are they on the hook for a million dollar bill? who is? who pays? bill: great point. the government and insurance companies will get together. they will make a guess how much insurance companies should be making. >> yes. bill: that is like arbiter, it may be a, it might be b, it might be c. >> the fall back position here they can till the insurance companies what to do. the insurance companies will lose money on the extension of the deadline. remember hidden in obamacare, that legislation, at the end of the line, if the insurance companies don't make enough money, the taxpayer will top them off. the taxpayer will bail them out. ultimately this comes on to our

back. we pay for this. bill: you're a money guy. you're a market guy. tough to run a market with the rules changing every day. >> is not a market. it is a command economy. doesn't work. bill: stuart varney, 9:30, fox business network. thank youthank you, stuart. martha: house oversight commit tea holding a hearing how it will affect access to doctors and hospitals. telling darrell sighs issa the concerns go way beyond the glitches in a website. >> none of what you're about to see is unforeseen. affordable care act problem is not a computer site. >> basically no way, any hospitals in the phoenix area, bulk of the ones around the country would stay open. martha: wow. what do you think about that? are you concerned that you could lose your doctor in all of this? send us a tweet. @billhemmer, @marthamaccallum. we'll share what you have sent to us today. we'll put them up on the screen at the end of the show.

bill: got a letter from a doctor two weeks ago, sorry, first of the year, you're done hemmer. a proposal would allow people to get access to federal subsidies but with the freedom to purchase coverage plans directly from the insurers. walker needs the blessing of health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius to get this done. here he is talking about. >> if they don't approve this, this would ultimately exposing this really isn't about access, and this is not about affordability. it is about the government playing a heavier hand in these decisions. bill: governor walker's plan gaining bit of traction even among democrats in the badger state of wisconsin and stands in the face of the president's claims, when it comes to republicans are all complaint and no solution. martha: watching this. john boehner once again slamming tea party groups after the house passed a bipartisan budget deal. the vote avoids a government shutdown. it saves $85 billion and rolls back part of the

across-the-board cuts known as the sequester. house speaker john boehner commenting on the plan, criticizing outside con tiff groups allied with the tea party to tried to sink it. fired up. here is what he said. >> this budget agreement takes giant steps in the right direction. it is not everything i wanted but when groups come out and criticize an agreement that they have never seen, you begin to wonder just how credible those actions are. martha: wow. the budget goes to the senate for a vote next week. steve hayes, fox news contributor, and "weekly standard,", senior writer at "the weekly standard." we did have our christmas party last night. did i mention that? thanks for joining us, steve. good to see you this morning. >> hey, martha. martha: for a while felt like john boehner was walking fine line trying to keep tea party happy, his own side. feels like all bets are off now. >> it does to a certain extent. i'm not sure i agree with his

characterization that this takes giants steps in the right direction. you could argue it is moderate steps in the right direction or just getting beyond a big fight about the deal. i'm not sure it is smart to take on tea party groups, outside groups right now in the middle of the collapse of obamacare. the last thing republicans should want at this point anything that takes attention away from obamacare. i think that is an argument for the deal. i also think it's an argument for not going after outside groups right now. martha: yeah. i mean, you know, perhaps that should be the way that, you know, some might advise he should go about it. keep focus on obama care but you know clearly he is calling out these groups and he basically said you didn't even know what was in it. you criticized before it was passed and went through the process. do you think they are losing credibility with the american people? >> well, no, i don't necessarily think -- look, these outside groups represent a lot of american people. i think they represent a lot of conservatives. certainly when i travel around

the country there are many people making these kinds of arguments, people who favored what conservatives did back in the context of the debt ceiling fight, the budget fight. these groups certainly have a constituency. at the same time i think these groups have gone overboard in some of their criticisms. it is not the case every time john boehner or somebody else in leadership has a different tactic that they become a ryno or a sellout. i think both side in this case have been guilty of jumping to conclusions and making claims that sometimes are not backed up by all of the evidence. again, i think the timing on this kind of a fight is foolish. now what you've got in newspapers across the country and other networks to a certain extent is discussion about republican infighting. when the focus, for republicans, from their perspective should be on obamacare. martha: steve, thank you very much. >> thanks, martha. martha: see you later. coming up in this hour, tea party republicans and utah senator mike lie will be here. we'll get his reaction to this debate and the firing up of the

rhetoric by john boehner, that you just heard, and some are calling it outburst against conservative elements of the party. we'll talk to him about the senate talkathon and senator rubio will be here as well. bill: looking forward to that. fox news alert in the meantime. stunning news out of north korea the government execution of kim jong-un's uncle, calling him, a traitor of all ages. who opposed kim's rule and plot the his overthrow. david piper on this. southeast asia, bangkok, thailand. what does it mean for north korea, david? >> reporter: hi, bill. demise of uncle of kim jong-un has major ramifications for this communist regime. after all he was number two in the country a few days ago. then kim turned on him. first he was publicly arrested at a politburo meeting. over the last 24 hours he was found guilty by military

tribunal and executed. now this number two, he had a lot of control over the country. he was believed to of course the mentor of kim and had a lot of control of the economic levers of the country and you do have to question what is going to happen next. south korea is suggesting that there may be more purges over the next few days. there have been suggestions of defections from the regime already. and of course it is a risky business, bloodletting. this family that controls the country usually does their business in private but this of course is a very public end to the career of this man and it really is the question now, what happens next in this nuclear-armed country. back to you, bill. bill: got it. david piper on breaking news out of bangkok, thailand today. martha. martha: there are big problems with the controversial nuclear deal that was struck with iran. the talks have hit a brick wall on thursday in geneva after the

obama administration said it was freezing assets of more than a dozen companies accused of evading sanctions already in place. the treasury department said some of those countries are helping to build tehran's nuclear program. bill: shocker. 10 minutes past. shocking revelation about american believed missing in iran for six years. his possible connection to the cia after years of denial and whom he may have been really working for there. martha: plus this morning. a court handing down its ruling on a cross that stood on public land for decades and has been the center of huge litigation for years. what this means for the cross' future. bill: also president obama getting on award he will probably not want to put in his trophy case. remember this time and again? >> if you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan. period. if you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period.

martha: some bombshell developments on the american citizen who vanished in iran more than six years ago. after years of denial there is some new reports that robert levinson may have actually been working for the cia back in 2007. the retired fbi agent was reportedly on an unapproved operation at the request of a group of rogue agents. the u.s. government long insisted levinson was a private citizen traveling there on business. it resulted in a 2 million-dollar payout to levinson's family and shake-up at cia. bill: meanwhile we have the pastor who we haven't heard from him. and 30 minutes we'll have the his wife on and the plea to congress. martha: very emotional. that is coming up. >> if you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. if you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan, period.

if you like your doctor, you are going to be able to keep your doctor. if you like your plan, keep your plan. if you like your current insurance, you will keep your current insurance. no government takeover. nobody, nobody's changing what you've got if you're happy with it. if you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. bill: so dubious honor for president obama. "washington post" and politifact calling that known promise to be, one repeated over and over again going back four years, the lie of 2013. juan williams, fox political analyst and rich lowery, editor, "national review", both are fox news contributors. juan, i was told you were stuck in the parking garage. i'm happy to see you're free. >> man, it is wild out there. bill: i bet it is. the lie of the year, juan. the whopper of 2013. what took them so long? >> well, i don't think there is any question in terms of the

domestic politics it might be the lie of the year. and you can't take away from "politifact." they're clearly credible source. they do a good job. i happen to disagree with them. they must have ignored bashar al-assad say he wasn't killing people. didn't launch gas attacks on people. but i think that takes away, does not diminish from the power of having them come out and say this is the lie of the year. very damaging to obama administration. bill: 2009, 2010, on. valerie jarrett sent out a tweet in october basically saying the same thing. rich, what do you think of >> juan, lie is exactly the right word because the white house advisors knew he was out there saying something that wasn't true and actually debated whether he should be more honest about it and decided he shouldn't for political reasons. it was lie because extremely consequential lie. the law probably doesn't pass unless he tells this law and key dishonesty and defied politics of this year. it dragged him and the party down in a big way.

and may mean that they lose the senate in 2014. so this is very good choice for lie of the year. bill: political equation here. look at the trustworthy issue now. we found this from "usa today," pew research and "usa today." the not trustworthy mark in january was 30%. it has jumped 15 points, rich, at 45%. >> those personal qualities that, really key to a president is really hard to get back. so, there is lot of analysis actually showing that second-term presidents, once you're dragged down, it is very rare thaw bump back up. the first term you have re-election campaign to reintroduce yourself. obama will not have that chance to reintroduce himself. there are other lies about this law that will be exposed as we go on. the idea that you can keep your doctor if you like your doctor is not true. and especially the idea that it makes health insurance more affordable. mandates that makes insurance more expensive. bill: to your colleague,

juan williams, go back 30 years in your days at the white house, juan. how does a president go about recovering when you're not trustworthy mark jumps 15 points in two months? >> well, i mean, you know, you think back, if i go back actually to ronald reagan's white house, it is very difficult as rich was saying, what you do you move on. you don't stay stuck in that mud. i think president obama will have a chance to move on even on obamacare. rich and i differ. i think this program has a chance to succeed but you just move on in terms of pointing fingers. right now the republicans in congress have even lower approval rating. bill: rich is arguing he lost the senate based on this whopper? >> oh absolutely. and you know, it is possible, it is likely in fact for second-term president to lose seats in the congress. i have mean you think back. reagan's ratings at that point, to your point, bill, had gone up, i think he was like 60% and he still lost a few seats in the house but lost control of the senate. so when you're looking at here,

potentially disasterous for president obama. it would mean that the last two years of his presidency, he would basically be out in the cold as i was in that traffic jam. so, i don't think there is any question about that but i disagree with rich on the idea that you know there is nothing he can do. by the way, i don't think that it was anything to do with doctors or cancellations. i think it was failed rollout where people trusted the president on his signature legislation to do it right and he couldn't even do that right. bill: five, six million cancellations. you had a tweet from valerie jarrett on october 28th. fact, he says, nothing in obamacare forces people out of their health care plan. >> they're lying about the lie. they're blaming it on insurance companies. it was written into the law and subsequent regulations if your insurance changed at all, you will lose it. that was part of the design. it was to cancel these people out of their individual policies so they had to go on to the exchanges. now juan's right, obviously confidence around the website hurt. that is not what hurt fundamentally.

it was a lie what this law is b that lie will not end. there is no way for the president to put his signature piece of legislation disrupting all of american health insurance behind him. it will continue to be a huge issue. bill: rough lowery, thank you. juan williams, good to see you out of the garage. >> this is why i don't drive here. i take a cab. bill: martha? martha: shocking turn of events in the trial of a newlywed accuse of pushing her husband off a cliff. what she said that left some family members shocked. bill: wife of american pastor jailed in iran for a year-and-a-half based on his faith blasting the administration. why she says the white house failed her and her husband. >> so desai eid sits in that iran -- iniranian prison that he will not deny his faith that gave him life. he refuses to deny his faith in jesus and return to islam.

bill: the trial of a woman accused of pushing her husband of eight days off a cliff, taking a shocking turn. jordan graham's 22, pleading guilty to second-degree murder in admitting she pushed, cody johnson off of a cliff in glacier national park. here is johnson's family reacting to the late-minute news. >> it was very emotional. it has been a long haul for us and really don't have anything else to say except we're very thankful for the prosecuting team and outcome we have. bill: the defendant changed her mind at last moment before deliberations began. graham could face life behind bars when she is sentenced in march. martha: federal judge ordering this giant cross to be removed from the site of the korean war memorial on a mountain near san diego. it is public land.

the judge calling it unconstitutional, a separation of church and state. will carr is live in los angeles. will, what are people saying about this? >> reporter: good morning, martha. this has been disputed for years. it has been controversial for a long time. we're talking about the big cross, that stands 43 feet tall. it was elected back in 1954 at the mound soledad national veterans memorial in san diego. in 2006, the jewish war veterans of the united states of america and several nearby residents got help from the aclu. they came together and sued. so yesterday a judge ruled that the cross is unconstitutional because it's a religious display on government property and the judge said it has to come down. the aclu came out and celebrated the decision but visitors at the memorial, they have mixed feelings. >> when men and women go off to war, they go off under the flag of the united states, not under religious symbol. >> a part of san diego for such

a long time. such a monument to the city and so, i mean to remove that i think is being too overly politically correct. >> a slap in the face to people who aren't christians. i'm sad it is colling down but on the other hand, like i say, it is, it is not a universal symbol. >> reporter: the judge ruled that the cross has to come down within the next 90 days. thethe aclu immediately said it would like to see the cross replaced with a large american flag. martha? martha: is there any possibility that this won't happen at this point? >> reporter: well, you know that's a good question. at this point it's a possibility because representatives for the memorial have indicated they plan to appeal this decision. if indeed they do that, it could stall the cross from having to come down. we should point out that the supreme court has already declined to hear this case once in the past but now that the judge has ordered the cross to come down the case could be sent back to the supreme court. so it could be quite some time

before this entire case is settled, martha. martha: will, thank you very much. bill: so the wife of the american pastor, saeed abedini harshly critizing the administration as her suffers in one of iran's most notorious prisons. she will bring her story to us live in a matter of moments. do not miss that. martha: we have a talkathon with senator mike lee and reacting to last night's budget deal and these comments from the house speaker. the groups came out and opposed it before they ever saw it. >> yes,. >> they are using our members and using the american people for their own goals. this is ridiculous. listen, if you're for more deficit reduction, you're for this agreement.

bill: fox extreme weather alert now. millions across a broad section of the country about to get a winter wallop. forecasters expect heavy snow and sleet and freezing rain. wow, that is nice combination, not. mississippi river valley all the way up through new england through sunday. that rough weather expected to start later tonight. watches and advisories already in police with some areas. we'll check in on that. martha: speaker john boehner accusing the tea party critics of working against the interests of the republican party after

several conservatives slammed the budget deal that was just passed in the house. here he is yesterday, pretty fired up. >> they're misleading their followers. i think they're pushing our members in places where they don't want to be. frankly i just think that they have lost all credibility. you know, they pushed us into the fight to defund obamacare and shut down the government. most of you know, my members know, wasn't exactly the strategy that had in mind. but, if you will recall the day before the government reopened one of the people, one of these groups stood up and said, well we never really thought it would work. are you kidding me!? martha: senator mike lee, tea party republican. he joins me now with his reaction. senator, good morning, good to have you here. >> good morning,. martha: are you kidding him? that is what he wants to know? >> look the point about this budget deal, the point that many

of us find disappointing at this budget deal, as republicans we need to work together to make government more efficient. this deal makes government more expensive. what it does, it takes spending cuts that should be happening now and it puts them off for 10 years. it actually allows for spending to increase in the short term with the mere promise that we will cut 10 years down the road. as we've all seen, martha, those promises rarely materialize because one congress can't bind another congress especially 10 years from now. martha: all you have to look is look at $17 trillion in debt to know you're absolutely right about that. we have heard for so many years about cutting waste from government spending and it is simply never happens. so i think, a lot of people would be understanding of your principle but with paul ryan and john boehner are arguing, look we can never do those things unless we can, you know, basically gain more control on capitol hill and put those things through. that is what they say you have to do.

>> i understand that, martha but, those of us who have real reservations with this bill are simply suggesting that we follow current law. that we just stick with current law. law that was passed two years ago, with bipartisan support in both houses of congress. and, what we look at this bills we see one of the ways this brings more revenue into the equation is by charging more fees to families who travel, increasing their tsa fees. interesting thing about that, martha, is, that these fees are not going up in order to make tsa lines shorter. they are not going up to make us staver. -- safer. they're going up so we use that money elsewhere to make government go up washington. martha: that is act sly lit right. the talk about this deal there is no tax increases but there is essentially because it is exactly what you just described. the tax is going to go up every time you buy an airline ticket

you will pay twice in terms of the fee than what you used to pay. that is absolutely accurate. how do you, i'm wondering how you feel about this debate because we spoke to steve hayes earlier today from "the weekly standard" and he said, you know one of the arguments is that the republican party need to focus on health care because that is the biggest issue that is facing the american people right now and by doing this devisive thing, and you guys on the one side and john boehner saying you lost all credibility and he is frankly angry at what you're doing, you know, is that the right political tactic? >> well, look, i can't vote for a bill that i disagree with. i can't vote for a bill i think is going to make our budgetary situation worse rather than better, especially since it has been gradually evolving consensus in the america, that the greatest threat to our national security is our debt and our deficit. so i can't vote for a bill that fundamentally disagree with. now as far as your concerns with what the speaker said to my knowledge the speaker wasn't

speaking to me. he was speaking to some groups. i don't speak for those groups but i do speak for myself. i have intend not to vote for this because i'd like to see us at a minimum stick with current law with with regard to the total amount of money we spend in washington. i think most of the american people are demanding nothing less than that. they want their government to be more effective and more efficient. they see themselves not getting huge increases every year and they want the federal government to stay the course and at least not increase the amount of money that it is taking from the people. martha: let me ask you one other thing before i let you go, what is going on with health care and changes that we saw yesterday afternoon, that the government is encouraging insurance companies to you know, you should cover people. we'll push the deadline a little bit further. extend your hand. make sure they're covered and we'll make sure you get paid down the road. what do you think? >> yeah. i think that's a problem. i think it is definitely a step in the direction of what we all feared which is, national,

single-payer, government-run, government health care system, the likes of which can be scene in other countries around the world, many parts of europe. we're not well-suited for this sort of experiment in america. it is not going to work here. this is a step in that direction. and it is, more importantly, martha, yet, another indication that obamacare is not going to work. it is not working. they know it is not going to work. so they're trying to backfill all of these problems by just throwing more money at them. and that too is going to make us poorer. that too is going to take money away from hard-working americans and bring it to washington where it doesn't belong. martha: what do you see happening in january? a lot of people are talking about complete chaos at beginning of 2014 and go to the doctor and realize they may not be covered at all? >> that's right. you have that problem. you have a problem of people losing their health benefits. other people will be losing jobs sometimes sometime in the next 12 months or so because of this

law. you have the problem for people that signed up for health care and entered into a contract and may discover that through some flaw in the system that they don't actually have health insurance even though they signed up for it. martha: that could be a problem. >> even those who have it, may discover treatments they come to depend on won't be covered and that is alarming as well. martha: senator lee, thank you very much for being with us. i know you got your work cut out for you. we'll see you soon. >> thank you, martha. >> we'll see how the vote goes. marco rubio coming up in 45 minutes with all that. the head of the fcc said it is safe to use your cell phone on a plane. just because you can, should you? just yakking away up there, 30,000 feet, on and on we go. martha: a very emotional plea from the wife of an american pastor imprisoned in iran. why she says that the white house misled her and has failed her husband. she is going to join us live. >> my husband is suffering because he is a christian. he is suffering because he is an

american. yet his own government did not fight for him when his captors were across the table from them.

>> can you hear me now? the fcc just voting to consider lifting its 22-year ban on in-flight cell phone use. fcc chairman thomas wheeler tells congress there is no longer any technical reason to ban calls on planes adding -- >> if this new technology is permitted, you will be able to email, text, surf the web. if an aircraft has the new technology installed. and, the new technology has the capacity to block voice calls. martha: him, i don't know if this is a good idea. at the same time the department of transportation wants the final word and will decide

whether allowing calls in flight is called, fair to consumers. i love being up in the air and having that time to actually read and not get phone calls an not do emails and text. bill: why i like being on the subway. because it is radio silence. martha: so rare in life you have opportunity -- bill: i hope they don't change this. martha: i hope they don't either. there are two votes against, hemmer and mccallum. thank you. bill: all right. she says the white house has forgotten her husband. nag mao abedini the wife of said, the american pastor locked away in one of the most notorious prisons in iran more than a year. mrs. abedini delivering a emotional appeal before congress and blasting the administration for not doing enough to release her husband. it should have been a precondition before they cut any deal with iran and its nuclear program. >> i had anticipated that i would battle the iranian government for my husband's freedom.

i never anticipated i would have to battle my own government and that the journey would become even much more difficult than it had been. my husband is suffering because he is a christian. he is suffering because he is an american. yet his own government did not fight for him when his captors were across the table from them. bill: nagmeh abedini with here with us along with jordan sekulow, american center for law and justice representing her. do you think you got anywhere yesterday with your testimony? you. >> know i, i got to share again about my husband. i did see a lot of support from the congressman and congresswomen that were there. and i'm pursuing every, every effort i can. but i did, i was very hopeful, i was very hopeful to be able to get the word out. bill: do you think this administration has your back? >> no. i don't think this is a priority. i think he was abandoned.

our family was abandoned and, it really sends a dangerous message where we stand with religious liberty issues and human rights issues. bill: do you think you were misled? >> you know, i was. i was really hoping that it was such an important issue. i was hoping hoping hoping thatg to be a precondition. i was devastated when i heard that it wasn't and -- bill: can you say, i apologize for the interruption but i want to try to get a better picture of this. the negotiations reported started back in month of march. your husband was in a veil back then. he is still in is today. can you say there were no negotiations brought up with that table at your husband? >> yes. we heard that there was, on the margins, we don't even know what that means, even if that is true according to what secretary of state john kerry said. we know there was no discussion at the table. we, i had assumed there would be some precondition for the release of my husband. bill: nagmeh, why do you think that is?

why do you think that was the case? >> you know, i don't know. i don't understand it. i shared at congress yesterday. i don't have an agenda. i'm an american citizen, a wife, and a mother who is trying to get her husband out. it doesn't make sense what my government is doing. i grew up naive thinking that my government will stand up for me and religious freedom when i need it most and i feel abandoned. i don't understand it. i don't know the politics behind it. i don't understand any of it. bill: jordan, i want to bring you into this conversation now. do you feel the hearing yesterday helped move the ball forward at all? >> i do and here's why, bill. that question you asked nagmeh, should be easy to answer, was he brought up at the negotiations? the reason why we don't know, we had people like the deputy national security advisor to the president under susan rice, tony blanken say it was not on agenda. ben rhodes, spokesperson for the white house national security council say it was discussed on the margins. two days before we testified in the same room, secretary kerry,

the secretary of state, so everyone's boss when it comes to these negotiations said it was absolutely not discussed at p 5 plus 1 talks. we heard three different ways it may or may into the have come up. if we assume secretary kerry was straightforward and honest with the committee and he was kick to say no, we have to assume the worst this is not being brought up on the margins. bill: if that is the case he is not priority. >> that's right. bill: why would that be? >> i believe that there is politics at play here. i believe, bill, issues involving his religious conversion at play here since the beginning we have said because he is a convert from islam to christianity, and this administration's priority has been trying to rush to a nuclear agreement with iran and has again betrayed americans, it is not just saeed. but i would say that people are starting to find out more about some of the other americans who have been held prisoner, things are changing rapidly as this every day, as this story -- bill: as you mentioned, there's a report that an american has

been connected to the cia and has been held there for six or seven years. >> yeah, robert levinson. he is always lumped in with saeed abedini and hekmatty. saeed and amir is in prisons. he is in eban prison where saeed used to be and saeed was transferred last month. robert levinson is former fbi agent went missing seven years ago and occasionally there are photos. i was chastised by democrat member of congress yesterday at hearing he said, you know what you need to understand, mr. sekulow the administration is doing everything they can. i wonder if he was a little bit surprised when he found out because that is his constituent the government paid that family millions of dollars, millions of dollars to stay quiet by his cia involvement. this is just, just so wrong for our government to even being lumping saeed in that category. if robert levinson was truly cia, saeed abedini should not be

in the same discussions. bill: in limited time we have left, nag mao, what is your next play -- nagmeh. what card do you throw down next. i'm hoping and praying that as the american people we continue to fight. it has been a hard battle not seeing my kid for 400 some days an traveling, but i hope that we can bring him home. whatever avenue. whatever doors that are open i will step into it and until i bring my kids daddy home, for, i'm hoping, i'm still hoping for christmas but, i will not give up that hope and i will not stop fighting for his release. bill: nagmeh, thank you. jordan, thank you as well. we'll continue to tell your story. hopefully we get him home soon. thanks to both of you. >> thank you. bill: martha: hope for christmas. you can't blame her and hope a miracle will happen and that family will be reconnected for the holidays. all right. another violent incident after an nfl game. we'll tell you what happened

after the broncos game last night. that is raising some new questions about the security of the league. >> this was a very chaotic scene. there is lots of witnesses. we're going to have, you know, be interviewing witnesses throughout the night, to determine what precipitated this event.

♪ bill: shaken, not stirred. not that we had any of that last night. martha: no, no. bill: british researchers did study on james bond drinking habits plotting out each drink in the bond novels.

they plot out bond hat 92 drinks a week. four times recommended amount for british men. wonder what about american men. that alcohol would have given bond a life expectancy of 56. which is exactly the age creator ian fleming lived to be, 56. martha: wow. who is your favorite bond? bill: connery. martha: i was going to say. not a hard question. sean connery. daniel craig is pretty good. bill: "goldfinger." martha: 69 martinis. another violent incident happened outside of a football stadium. last night four people were stabbed at sports authority field after the denver broncos lost to the chargers. alicia acuna is live in denver with the latest. what happened last night? >> reporter: hi, martha. denver police are still trying to figure that out. they are talking to witnesses. it happened shortly after the thursday night game in which the broncos lost to the san diego chargers. it happened in a parking lot

outside sports authority field in downtown denver. there were multiple witnesses to the altercation which took place near two vehicles in the parking lot. police say three stabbing victims were taken to the hospital and one person is in critical condition. they also say multiple suspects were arrested at the scene. >> we're not sure what led up to this, but again, all parties are in custody we're looking for at this point. we believe three people at the hospital conscious and talking after having been stabbed following the game this evening. >> reporter: police say they believe there is actually a fourth person out there who was stabbed. as of right now, martha, they haven't been able to locate that person. martha: do they know what started all this? >> reporter: no, not at this point. they're still talking to witnesses. as you can imagine it was pretty chaotic by all accounts and also the number of people streaming out of the stadium, that didn't help matters either. at the same time this is all when the game ended, and that

chaotic atmosphere is making it very hard for police to piece this thing together. >> no word at all on motivation. i don't know if this is game related or what caused this. certainly after we are able to interview several witnesses and even of the suspects, we go through with those interviews, at some point if those occur we'll have a better idea what precipitated this after the game tonight. >> reporter: witnesses say they saw two people put into police cars. they have bronco hats on. that makes sense. we don't know if this is a team rivalry situation. we're waiting for updates from the cops. martha? martha: alicia, thank you. bill: another day, more changes on health care. why charles krauthamer is saying they're just making this up as they go along. martha: tomorrow is the three-year anniversary of the murder of brian terry. his death sparked the investigation into the fast and furious operation. so where are we now on that? >> i think that there's

something, there's something that they don't want us to know and there is something to hide. >> they're lying, oh, yeah, big-time. big-time. passing the buck.

martha: fox news alert, this morning the white house moving the goalpost yet again. they're now asking insurers to extend the sign-up deadline and make sure that people are covered whether they have paid that bill or not. welcome to a brand new hour on a friday of "america's newsroom," i'm martha maccallum. bill: i'm bill hemmer. the white house wants to move to deadline to new year's eve x the white house telling insurance companies not to worry about late payments, just cover those people anyway. what a great people. martha: imagine if all wizs were run this -- businesses were run this way. charles krauthammer says the obama administration is approaching a new level of lawlessness.

>> the democrats are looking at a train wreck in january, and this is exactly the reaction to a deep understanding among democrats it is a train wreck, and it's a panic reaction. as the judge said, this is utterly lawless. this now approaches a banana republic lawlessness. i mean, instead of -- the only difference is that here when you get presidential decrees, it's done on a conference call instead of from the balcony of the presidential mansion. martha: chris stirewalt, fox news digital politics editor, good morning to you. >> good morning. martha: you know, i mean, this is just the latest shoe to drop, and you can only wonder what the insurers think at this point. i know nobody generally feels too sorry for insurers, but imagine if you ran any kind of business and said just give them the dinner, and can they're going to pay their bill later. >> ah, but remember what's in this law, remember what

democrats baked into this banana pie was a provision to allow a bridge loan of a couple billion dollars, a bailout to the insurance industry. so basically what's happening right now is, and we've seen it rolling out in different regulatory phases, but the administration is making ready to say so we shattered the insurance industry, but we have a provision to give them a bailout to get them out of the trouble we put them into. and they're getting ready for that moment probably at some point in the middle of january when the president is basically going to make a decree and say everybody who thought about logging on to healthcare.gov is insured, and we're going to give the insurance industry this money to cover the costs of these payments and moving on. martha: i mean, there's so many different levels of sort of what this could mean, i mean, for the insurance companies. are they going to look at this vergingly and just say, you know what? we can't really be in this business, we simply cannot coffer everyone, we can't cover

every single doctor, we can't do it, you know, and cover all of the uninsured, medicare, medicaid. the doctors don't want to see these patients because they don't like the money that they get, they don't feel it's enough to cover it. i mean, just so many leaks in so many places what's going to happen? >> well, for the insurance industry they partnered on building this law and put lots of provisions in it. martha: that's true. >> to protect themselves. their lobbyists helped seal the deal. they worked with the president. now what the president is saying is and the administration is saying is the rules are going to be what we say the rules are going to be. now, for their partners in the insurance industry that's okay as long as the dough shows up, as long as lots of money rains down on them, and the administration can somehow make this work. but once you get to the part that you're talking about where doctors decline to take this insurance because it's not done correctly, when hospitals say we're not going to do this stuff, you have a serious breakdown. and that's when -- and we've talked about it before -- for the 80% of americans who haven't

been touched really by this law yet, for the 80% who get their insurance through their employers, this starts to affect them. and if they break this down, if these failures within the administration to administer this law become severe enough, what happens is for the other 80%, for most americans this train wreck becomes quite consequential. martha: i mean, you know, if you've got the government having an increasing role in the insurance business, which it looks like exactly what's happening, and you have to wonder, chris, if they're going to like the deal they cut, these insurance companies, down the road. it was sort of save their, you know, you know what in the construction of this whole thing, and then, as you say, you look at the doctors' side of it, i just wonder if there's going to be some sort of revolt. people are going to say, you know, either the government's going to say to the doctor you have to see this person, right? that may be what happens next. they're going to sort of muscle the insurance companies. are they going to muscle the doctors next? >> well, that's what's happened in other countries when the

government came in and sewer screened. we've seen it -- intervened. we've seen it in canada and other places. so they say you're compelled to purchase insurance, and then they say to the doctor, you're compelled to take it. and that's not exactly what we were sold when this began. but remember, what the president has on his are, essentially, human shields. you have the people who are going to lose insurance because of the law, but now that they're losing insurance and can't get coverage and they're sick and they're dying, the president will say to the nation isn't this worth a few billion dollars and some revisions of the written law so that these sick people get care? and americans are pretty compassionate. martha: they're going to push the deadline to the end of december, december 31st, and then once you get over into january, they're going to tell you you're covered even if you haven't paid. it's an interesting equation, chris. thank you very much. see you next time. >> you bet. martha: sign up for kris' daily -- chris' daily political

newsletter, foxnews.com/fox news first. bill: the bipartisan budget deal facing gridlock in the senate, democrats facing major backlash as republicans protest the recent rule change by the majority leader, harry reid. it's causing a huge end of the year time crunch on this, and mike emanuel's watching it all from the hill so you don't have to. what's up, mike? where are things now? >> reporter: bill, good morning. republicans are taking turns talking on the senate floor, eating time, essentially, as the senate works its way through a list of ten presidential nominees. let's take a live look. republicans are clearly angry after senate majority leader harry reid changed the rules on what it takes to confirm presidential nominees. without a deal they will finish up this list of ten presidential nominees sometime late night tomorrow night. early this morning senator reid talked about what's left to be done. >> the senate's already received the budget bill from the house, we expect momentarily to receive the defense bill from the house. so i would like the senate to

process these important bills as quickly as possible. so i plan to proceed to these bills as soon as we can. and that would be as soon as we handle the pending nominations that are now before this body. >> reporter: republican senators are talking about their anger about the senate process, they're also talking about their frustration trying to sign up for obamacare, bill. bill: you know, mike, the republican who cut the deal seemed to address critics in his own party. what did he say? >> reporter: he sure did. republican paul ryan, the house budget chairman, said to his colleagues who don't like the deal that he negotiated with democrat patty murray, big picture it's all about winning. >> to really do what we think needs to be done, we're going to have to win some elections. and in the meantime, let's try and make this divided government work. i think our constituents are expecting a little more from us. they're expecting us to not keep shutting the government down, they're expecting us to pay the

bills, they're expecting us to be accountable. >> reporter: house lawmakers are gone for christmas, you can expect the senate to take up the budget deal and the defense authorization probably some time next week. bill: thank you, mike emanuel on the hill. senator marco rubio is against this deal, but how will he vote in the end? you'll find out in a matter of minutes when we talk to him, and we will get his reaction to paul ryan's comments that you just heard from mike emanuel. ♪ ♪ martha: new developments in the nsa's surveillance scandal. a presidential task force will reportedly push the overhaul the agency's spying tactics. according to "the wall street journal," the panel's draft recommendation would limit how the nsa collects and stores electronic information on americans. they would also change the agency's leadership. the nsa's director defends the spy programs which came to light when former staffer edward snowed be p leaked them last summer. bill: eight minutes past the hour. have you seen the obama

administration's latest campaign to promote obamacare? here we go, roll it. ♪ president barack, president barack, president barack -- ♪ and if my critics get an attitude, i tell them to stop, i tell them to stop. bill: would that convince you to go ahead and sign up there, maccallum? i mean, that's destined for millions of young adults to sign up for obamacare. rap on. martha: we're going to talk about that with tucker carlson. wait until you hear what he thinks about that. and how about this? an atheist group posts this ad in the heart of times square in the middle of christmas. who needs christ during christmas, it says. nobody. wait until you think what the holidays should really be about. we're going to have a fair and balanced debate about that. bill: also, one family's home wiped out in the dead of night. >> very emotional for the whole canyon. >> it's been tough, it's been depressing. been tough to see the people show up and, you know, crumble into tears.

bill: a rock slide, he said, leaving two people dead in the state of utah. police say this two-story home was crushed last night, and the victims were inside when this happened. >> just a freak accident that you don't have time to escape. sounded like an earthquake, a lot of vibration. bill: rock slide sent up a dust cloud so thick it stopped traffic and delayed firefighters' arrival on the scene there in the state of utah. martha: so the obama administration has now launched a new campaign to help resell obamacare to those all-important young adults. ♪ no pre-existing condition could ever make you -- so tell a friend or a random guy. ♪ i've got a game changer right here that saves lives. ♪ it's chock full of topnotch health care.

martha: gonna cover all your fizzles. and it doesn't end there. celebrities like singer adam levine is also joining the get covered campaign using social media to make their appeal, so it's everywhere. they haven't asked tucker carlson, co-host of "fox & friends" weekend because he has such a strong connection with the 18-34-year-olds. >> i have some. [laughter] martha: you know, when i first saw this, it's alpha cat, this guy, which i learned working on this story, i thought it was a joke against the program. >> well, the whole idea is to make it seem fun and cool to sign up for obamacare. martha: right, sure. >> actually, it's the law, and you're going to be punished if you don't, so it really is the velvet hammer. hey, or kids, all your friends are doing it, and what they don't say is if you don't do it, we're going to fine you. i don't think it's going to work. in the end, kids are being asked to shoulder the bill for older people who are sick.

the point is not to cover young people, it's to have them pay into the system to have them subsidize other people. the real story is these are people who claim to be artists who are speaking truth to power. they're not speaking truth to power, they're hand maidens. they're doing the bidding of politicians, and by the way, they're using tax dollars to do it. i can't imagine why people aren't complaining about this. martha: i'm going to pose a question that i don't think neither one of us know a answer to, but you have to wonder how much some of these individuals know about the health care plan. i would lo someone to ask adam levine exactly how is it going to work, and is it true i can't keep my doctor? i find it hard to imagine they're going of to have good answers. [laughter] >> none of these, by the way, are signed up for obamacare themself. but again, imagine people whose job it is, we designate, you know, this community of artists,

they're the ones who are going to tell us the truth, ask they're just like staffers. they're just water carriers. you know what i mean? is. martha: i do. >> people who are sucking up to those in authority. another politician, and they're doing his bidding. it's really discouraging. martha: you're right. we have all these tweets coming through, story after story after story, people lost their doctor, people saying, you know, actually now i think the insurance companies are the good guys, i'm so confused. but you're right, because these celebrities -- this is all at an arm's length for them, and it's sort of this notion that it would be nice to cover people who don't have coverage, and i think that may be where their understanding of the whole situation probably ends. >> but they're working on behalf of a specific political agenda, and it's not just rappers and actors -- martha: it's an agenda they think is cool, tucker. they're saying this is the cool side to be on, i'm with the cool kids. >> since when are comedians supposed to do the bidding of politicians? funny or die is a pretty

sophisticated site, will ferrell's site, there's some good stuff on there. but they're just little servants for persons in power. and that's really distressing. you want people who are willing to say something truly unpopular, and where are those people? martha: very good question. and the question for the administration is whether or not the investment of this money to do all of this -- >> right. martha: -- is going to pay off. because we saw the harvard study last week which is really interesting, it shows that so many of the young people that have voted for the president now are not interested in this plan. >> and it's also, i think it's wrong because it's sneaky, it's stealthy. the white house should just go on television to say here's what the plan entails, here's why you want to join. instead, they're enlisting comedians and actors to convince kids to sign up using facebook. facebook announced yesterday thai going to be using the power of their social network to convince people that various parts of the administration's agenda are worthwhile, specifically immigration. they're doing this on a bunch of

different fronts, and it's propaganda. martha: it is propaganda. you know what's going to be interesting, if you start to see any of these people who did this program, who came out in favor, and then their mom, turns out, is not going to be able to keep her doctor. i abandoner if any of them i wonder if any of them are come out and say, you know what? i was part of that campaign, but i don't like this program anymore. >> yeah. when did hollywood people start abouting like hill staffers, you know what i mean? it's really distressing. i think there is going to be a hangover from this, i don't think it's going to be something they're proud of years from now. martha: we're proud we had you on the show, tucker. [laughter] >> i'm proud to be here, martha. bill: i like your query, though, how much does adam levine know about obamacare? martha: we should send him a quiz. bill: i smell a water's world, maccallum. you've got the golden globes coming up. martha: that's a really good idea. will: i'm looking out for you.

growing outrage after a teenager gets probation for a drunk driving accident that left four people dead and the reason? you will not believe this story. martha: awful story. plus, three years since border patrol agent brian terry was gunned down. is the terry family any closer on this three-year anniversary to finally getting justice in the fast and furious scandal? >> where is the outrage throughout the united states, throughout the world with respect to what took place?

martha: well, snow is now coming down steady in upstate new york. 40 inches in three days. the town of constableville, snowblowers getting a serious workout there, and it's not

over. some places could see another 7 inches of snow by tonight. if there's one place where they're used to that, it is upstate new york. tough folks up there. wish them well. more coming. bill: tomorrow marks three years since the killing of brian terry, the border patrol agent whose death kicked off the fast and furious gun operation that went so terribly wrong. william la jeunesse on whether the family is closer to answers today in l.a., good morning. >> reporter: we know, bill, this was not a botched investigation by rogue agents, there was no plan to catch criminals or stop guns. what we don't know is how many died because of the scandal or what top officials really knew. >> three years have gone by, and we still wonder why. >> reporter: from a death in the desert to contempt hearings on capitol hill, three years after border patrol agent brian terry died, the family still has questions. >> we know who in atf and u.s.

attorney's office were found negligent in putting this operation into place that resulted in the death of brian terry. but we still don't know why. >> reporter: terry's murder prompted agent john dodson to blow the whistle on a government-approved operation that allowed thousands of guns into mexico where they killed countless innocent victims. >> mr. attorney general, i didn't ask you a question -- >> reporter: congress also still wants answers. >> we don't know why we were lied to by department of justice and why for ten months they continued to push a false story about not letting guns walk. >> reporter: attorney general eric holder was held in contempt, and the house sued to obtain what it believes are incriminating documents that show who knew what about the operation. >> i'm particularly disappointed with this president because president obama himself asserted a privilege not to allow documents that show false statements and cover-up to

congress to be revealed. >> reporter: the terry family is appealing a ruling that it cannot sue the federal government. no one was ever fired or lost their pension be, though an agent did lose his life. >> we'll go to bed with another prayer that no other american law enforcement officer will lose his life like brian did. because of the guns of operation fast and furious. >> reporter: so the big fight now involves e-mails and correspondence subpoenaed by the house that the white house claims executive privilege. the department of justice may be forced to produce a log of those withheld documents, bill, or it could appeal such a decision. that is where we are today. bill: wow. thank you, william la jeunesse live in los angeles, and more to come on that three years down the road. martha: the house republican behind the new budget deal takes aim at a senate republican who says he's against it. reaction from marco rubio after congressman paul ryan says rubio should read the bill. bill: here's one way to get away

from it all, right? a balloon to the edge of outer space. take a look at this thing here, huh? ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ bill: we mentioned this a few minutes ago, the compromise budget deal passed by the house

is now this the hands of the senate. what now? earlier i spoke with florida republican senator marco rubio about this. marco rubio, senator, good morning to you from washington. >> morning. bill: you call this budget deal irresponsible. why? >> well, because we have a government that's already spending over $600 billion a year more than it takes in, so it's borrowing $600 billion a year, and the budget actually increases that. and i think what makes it even more irresponsible is that a couple of years ago they actually passed a bill here that would lower that number, that would hold the line on spending, and you've seen some reductions in the deficit because of it. this, actually, undoes a lot of that. so it increases spending over the next two years by $60 billion and promises to pay it with cuts over ten. well, that never happens around here. we promised those kinds of cuts just two years ago, and already we're undoing them. it only exacerbates an existing problem which is a government that continues to spend money it

doesn't have. bill: you're right on the 17 trillion mark, but will you vote me or no? i take it from your answer you're a no, are you? >> oh, i can't support this budget. there are other reasons. for example, the budget changes this rule that will now make it easier for democrats in the senate to raise taxes. they can now raise taxes by 51 votes as a result of this arcane thing that was done in the budget negotiation. bill: so you wonder why house republicans voted for this. and paul ryan called people like you out. he said read the deal and get back to me. >> yeah. bill: people are going to do what they need to do, and the minority don't have the burden of governing, of getting things done. that's a clear message to relins like you on the senate side. >> i appreciate the hard work they put into it. the bottom line what's in the bill, even's been well aware of the top lines and the most important parts of it even before they announced any deal. and, of course, since then it has been reviewed by everyone, and it's only confirmed our fears. i respect the decisions they've made. they're trying to do the best with what they feel is a

difficult situation. but on the other hand, i can tell you that it's just not a good deal for america. i mean, we're -- it fails to deal with the fundamental problem of a national debt that continues to grow at an alarming pace and that threatens our economic future and is destroying jobs right now. bill: paul ryan said it'd be a bad idea to encounter two possible government shutdowns -- >> well, i'm not in favor -- bill: in 2014. is he right or wrong about that? >> i don't want a government shutdown. and that's why i oppose this deal, because i think this budget actually contributes to the day when we're going to have a real shut down of government not because the congress can't pass a law, but because we have a debt crisis. and we've got to begin to deal with that. every year, every time we're asked to vote for something up here on the budge, it's always, well, we'll wait for the future to deal with the serious issues we confront as a country, and this is one more example. we're now being asked to wait two more years before anything meaningful is done, and i just don't think we have that time anymore. bill: you enrolled your family

in obamacare this past week, correct? >> that's right. that's the law of the land. if americans -- bill: i apologize, just wait for the question, what did you think of the level of insurance you received now? >> well, a couple things. i think it's important that if americans are going to be forced under obamacare, their members of congress should be forced to live under obamacare. is the second point is the insurance we have, obviously, has less providers, less hospitals and less of the doctors on previous plans. it costs more money as well, it has a higher deductible. and by the way, those are the experiences that people across the country are facing with obamacare. so i think it is important that their elected representatives have to experience the same things people across the country are experiencing -- bill: well, on that note -- >> we shouldn't shield our policymakers. bill: and you're allowed to take the subsidy under law, and you opted for that. >> right. bill: how does that help you and your family under that sub is i si -- subsidy? >> first of all, it's the federal contribution that employers make, and people get that as well.

every employee in the federal government gets it. i'm -- if there is a law here proposed to actually do away with it, i would vote for that. but i'm going to comply with the law that is currently written. we're going to live by the laws of the land just like everybody across the country has to live under those laws and those rules as they apply, and that means being under obamacare. bill: a lot of people hear that answer and think it's hypocrisy. what would you say to those people who believe that? >> in terms of -- bill: members of congress taking the subsidy like that. >> again, it's an employer contribution x if we want to do away with it as a body, i would support that. senator vitter has proposed that initiative, and that is something that i would vote for. bill: what is your expectation for this law come january? we've heard some dire stories this past week. what do you think? >> well, i think it's going to get worse, and you're already seeing it. i think the latest string of bad stories that we're starting to experience are people that are having massive increases in their deductibles. before you can even begin to access your health care

coverage, some people have to come up with $10-$12,000 which basically means they're uninsured because they don't have it. and that probably is going to get worse next year. i think you're also going to see the federal government have to step in and provide a cash infusion to keep these insurance companies from going bankrupt or insolvent, and i think that's going to become extremely unpopular as well. i think we've only seen the tip of iceberg as to the series of bad stories that are going to come out with regards to obamacare. bill: we're about to all find out because we're just a few years away. senator be, thank you. wishing you and your family a merry christmas. marco rubio from the hill, thank you. ♪ ♪ martha: tomorrow marks one year since the shooting massacre in newtown, connecticut. twenty children and six administrators were gunned down at the sandy hook elementary school on that awful, awful day. the shooting shocked and saddened this entire nation, and it sparks new proposals to try

to prevent this type of violence. rick leventhal is here with more on this. rick, there have been efforts to toughen gun laws, and they have been met with very mixed results. >> reporter: that's true, martha. soon after the tragedy, president obama called on congress to strengthen background checks and restrict access to assault weapons. that failed. and the vast majority of bills proposed at the state level were rejected. in fact, gun owners in general have more freedoms today than they did before sanity hook. more than 1500 new gun laws have been proposed across the country since newtown, less than 10 percent of them passed. and of those 115 new laws, only 41 are considered tougher, 74 loosen restrictions, for example, allowing guns in some churches, bars or schools. the law center to prevent gun violence and the brady campaign gives most states failing grades. california and the new orleans east were given -- northeast were given the best marks, and the group says progress is being made, but gun advocates continue

to fight back. >> wherever you tell people you can't protect yourself, that's the magnet for the criminal element. they may be evil, but they're not stupid. they don't go shoot up a police station, a gun show, a gun store or anywhere like that. they choose specifically places where they're going to be the only one with a gun. >> reporter: interesting to note, in newtown gun permit applications skyrocketed after the shooting. the police department had to hire a part-time clerk to help process all the paperwork, martha. martha: amazing. obviously, this town has been through so much. how do they plan to mark this anniversary tomorrow? >> reporter: well, the families are hoping to grieve privately. town leaders asked the media to stay away. we know there will be church services offered to help the community heal, and earlier this week some family members made a brief appearance to thank supporters and revealed what they'd be doing this evening. >> we will light a candle for my older sister, victoria. >> we will be lighting a candle for my sweet boy, jack.

>> we will be lighting a candle in honor of our beautiful girl, grace. be. >> reporter: the families created a web site to honor the victims, my sandy hook family.org. you can go there today, pay your respects, martha. martha: unfathomable, the grief these people have suffered this year, and thank you for doing this story, because be it really reminds everybody what they've been going through so we can keep them in our thoughts and prayers on the anniversary. >> reporter: absolutely. bill: our prayers with them in sandy hook this holiday season. taking christ out of christmas, a new billboard in the middle of times square with a controversial message. is this something that should be displayed in the crossroads of the world, we're wondering? martha: look at this, this adorable little girl. what she is doing to make sure that her mom and dad can enjoy her school concert. ♪ ♪

bill: all right, fox news alert now, tomorrow the heisman trophy is awarded in college football, the top player receives that honor, and one of the leading candidates is this guy here, quarterback, florida state, who's playing for a national championship as well. he had been investigated for a sexual assault, but last week those charges were dropped against him, and right now the attorney of the accuser in that case is not giving up her fight. here's the attorney. >> we have five interviews of the victim by the time she identified the perpetrator on the 11th of november, excuse me, of january. so if this doesn't strongly ring of an investigation of a rape victim rather than a rape suspect, i don't know what does. bill: last week prosecutors made

a decision that there was not enough evidence in this case to go forward with it. they dropped it. winston has not been suspended, expected to play in that national championship game come january. heisman trophy tomorrow. ♪ ♪ martha: a lot of outrage after atheists post a controversial billboard in the heart of times square, and this is what it looks like. who needs christ during christmas, and then it gets crossed out, and on the bottom be it says, nobody. be the 15-second ad is looping in times square, and it says that it points out the real importance of the to holiday which is actually things that it mentions like presents and the rockets and -- rockettes and chinese food. father jonathan morris is a fox news contributor, leslie marshall is a sindhuated radio talk show host, lars larson as well. we have another comment we want to try to get to as well. father jonathan, it seems right to start with you. what do you think? >> well, they've also said that

the real celebration is the winter solstice. so saying that christmas should be celebrated without christ is a little like saying the winter solstice should be celebrated without winter. doesn't make sense. i encourage atheists who are not act is vises like this, who are trying to knock christ out of christmas to stand up and say, you know what? that's not us. we just don't believe. but we're not trying to take belief away from anybody else. atheists who are not activists should stand up and speak the truth. martha: there's such an anger in this, leslie, which never makes sense to me when they do these things. >> i think the reason they're doing it is to get their point across a little bit sensationalism and, certainly, to get attention. they've done that. they certainly have the first amendment right to do that. but additionally, i think that, unfortunately, we have taken -- and i do believe in god, in christ, and that is the reason for christmas, and i think that we with our commercialism and with our greed and the lines at the stores have taken christ out of christmas. so maybe rather than offense,

people should look at it and reremind themselves what the holiday is truly supposed to be celebrating. martha: well, there's that option. that wasn't the first thing that popped into my mind, but it's an interesting take on it. lars, what do you think? >> well, merry christmas, martha. the fact is the reason for the season is to celebrate the birth of jesus christ. and the fact is, we are celebrating. and some of that celebration is gift giving which is, which goes right back to the original birth story. the father knows that better than leslie and me put together. what i've never understood is the antipathy of atheists. and as you said, it's only the vocal ones. but the vocal ones seem to hate the idea that we believe. the fact that they don't believe they're entitled to, but i don't -- i dislike and i resent the fact that they want to try to reject our belief. i don't think the atheists have the right to tell us what to think. martha: one thing we know the season is not about is nastiness. so i don't understand, you know, why -- there's just such a nasty nature to it. >> martha, to be fair and

balanced here, should also say that there isúgnsó a christian, a creationist group who put up a sign also in times square that said to our friends, our atheist friends, kind of a sanctimonious way, in my opinion, thank god you're wrong. that's not the way either. martha: all right. >> i agree, father. martha: very good point. well taken. i want to get to this other topic with you was it's just a horrible -- because it's just a horrible story that happened. 16-year-old ethan couch took his pickup truck with his friends loaded in the back and plowed into four incident people who were on the side of the road trying to help a distressed motorist. killed all four of those people on the side of the road, and the judge has given this boy be ten years probation. no jail time at all. and the argument is that he suffers from affluenza, he comes from a wealthy family who never explained boundaries to him, so how could he finally understand right from wrong? >> oh, gosh, so it's affluence.

what this is is if he doesn't understand right from wrong, it's because he's a spoiled brat. that's not an excuse whatsoever. but i don't think 20 years' jail time is the solution. i don't think jail time for something like this over a long period of time is the answer either. martha: leslie, what do you think? >> well, i think this is an example of you get what you pay for, and this is the best defense money can buy. this defense has successfully been used in the past with drunk driving. i abhor drunk driving, i think anybody drinking and getting behind the wheel is irresponsible, and this kiddied know what he was -- kid what he was doing. of course, if the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit. so i'm not surprised, and his parents are getting their money's worth. unfortunately for the victims and their families. and i disagree with the father, i think 20 years is fair. he took four lives. if he had murdered them, which i believe he did, i think the punishment is fair. martha: quick thought from lars.

of. >> father, it is a red letter day, leslie and i agree. twenty years is appropriate. it was an idiotic decision by the judge, and this father has raised his son in an idiotic fashion and is now supporting the idea that his kid can get away with anything. he's foisting a mom on society. martha: a pastor, a mom and her daughter and another young woman whose car was broken down will not live to see this christmas, and this young man gets ten years' probation. the judge talked about how boundaries have never been put on this child, this judge had an opportunity to finally put some boundaries on this child and passed it up. so he learns nothing from this experience, and it's a sad, sad story all around. thanks to all of you for getting around both of those topics with us this morning. >> merry christmas. martha: merry christmas, everybody. thanks so much. bill: "happening now" rolls your way in 11 minutes, before we go there, we will go here. you can take an incredible journey to the edge of space.

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jon: another new delay in the rollouf obamacare as we get new polling on democrats' prospects. also today the white house press corps versus the white house, boehner versus some in the tea party, the montana murder trial wraps up in missoula. perhaps you can prepare to say good-bye to los angeles. the earth quake lady is here, and james bond dead at 56? we'll explain coming up, "happening now." ♪ bill: a good show. thank you, jon. check this out. floating to the edge of space by way of a souped-up hot air

balloon. i talked to two of the people behind this cool endeavor about it. mark kelly is director of flight crew operations for world view enterprises, former astronaut, and jane pointer is the ceo of world view enterprises. cool idea. i mean, really, really cool. 100,000 feet, you need oxygen at that level. >> oh, yeah. you need more than oxygen. you need a space suit if you're outside the capsule. >> you're not going to be outside. and that's the, you know, unique thing we're going to do here is take people to a unique vantage point in, essentially, what's a spacecraft. very comfortable. >> when you look out the window, your going to be able to see the blackness of space, the curvature of -- bill: he just said shirt sleeve? >> oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. comfortable. you know, as an example, when we're in flight in space in the space shuttle, you know, we're wearing shorts and the t-shirt. so it'll be a similar environment, you know, fully

pressurized, pressurized to sea level, same atmosphere as you have on the ground, but you'll be above -- bill: you know, i get the idea this is like a souped-up hot air balloon, right? and you put six people inside plus two crew members, that makes eight. and you elevate to an altitude of 100,000 feet. >> yeah, that's right. >> what do you see at that level? >> well, from my perspective of, you know, launching, you know, i've flown on the space shuttle four different times, and from that altitude you're going to see the earth as a planet are. so like it really is, not like we tend to see it on the ground. so it'll be a very unique experience for people to have. i treasure every one of the 55 days i've spent -- bill: i bet you do. what's the curve of the earth look like? >> well, you're going to see the earth like a ball, not like what you see in an airplane, and you'll be, you know, you'll have the blackness of space above you and our incredible planet underneath. and seeing it round gives you a unique perspective -- bill: i bet it does. >> -- on a lot of things. bill: let's talk about the business end, jane.

$75,000? >> indeed. bill: are people rushing to beat down your door? ier only just -- >> we are only just starting to sell tickets this week, but, yeah. it's a vibrant market, right? i mean, people are already buying tickets to go on rocket flights. this is yet another way for people to go. a very interesting experience. bill: i'm assuming you give it your stamp of approval, and i'm assuming you would encourage everyone to do it. >> well, i mean, i would think it's not for everybody, but certainly there are a lot of people out there that are going to be, you know, hopefully rushing to us to get this experience. there's always a little bit of risk involved, but we're going to try to build the safest system possible to give people the opportunity that until now really only a few people on the planet have had the opportunity to see the earth. bill: very, very true. >> like this. so we're going to work really hard to make in this as safe as possible. bill: jane pointer, great to meet you. mark kelly, nice to see you again.

now i know what to get you in 2016. martha: i would do that. i would think that would be an incredible opportunity. just to see the curve of the earth like mark kelly said? i'm looking forward to that christmas gift. all right, john boehner taking aim at the tea party as the house passes a budget deal that averts a government shutdown. >> they're using our members, and they're using the american people for their own goals. this is ridiculous. listen, if you're for more deficit reduction, you're for this agreement.

. martha: hands down the best story of the day. the cutest christmas carols ever. watch this. ♪ five years old. claire cook of florida, using sign language during a school concert so that her parents were

deaf so they could enjoy the show. why did she do it? sit is simple. >> i wanted them to understand me. >> did they thank you after? >> yeah. martha: she is so cute. make that is whole thing that happened in south africa, this is the real reason that people sign, right? bill: real deal. have a good weekend everybody. bye-bye. jon: right now today's top headlines and brand new stories you will see here first. jenna: house speaker john boehner offering choice words for members of his own party. why he is blasting more conservative members of the republicans over the new budget deal. we'll get into that. plus a look at the media's and the public's access to the president. we'll explain what is triggering revolt inside the white house press corps. plus years of fighting over this war memorial and it all boils down to one judge's ruli