first if it was so good. and it's just a publicity stunt. i'm gretchen carlson v a fantastic monday. john scott is in for shepherd smith today. he will take over. first from the fox newsdesk, today's so-called deadline for millions of americans to sign up for obamacare is not a deadline at all. fox has confirmed that the obama secretly made another change to the deadline, one that pushes it to christmas eve. the "washington post" was the first to pick up the story. it reported that government officials quietly made the switch in part as a safety net in case the last-minute rush is too much for the system to handle. tech teams have worked around the clock to improve

healthcare.gov after its disastrous launch back in october. officials say it can now process at least 800,000 customers a day. we ran into trouble when we tried the site earlier today. we got this message which said the sight was overloaded and we would have to wait in line. somebody who did manage to sign up for coverage, president obama himself, as gretchen told you. the first family is on vacation in hawaii. the white house a short time ago announced the president's symbolic move of enrolling in his own signature health care law. ed henry with the news live in washington. what about this latest obamacare delay what is it about? >> as you're not surprised, the administration is trying to downplay this delay by saying it does not mean by pushing it back to the 24th that if you start the enrollment process tomorrow you can still get insurance by january 1st. instead what they're saying is that if you're in process today, and there's a surge of traffic, as you alluded to, as long as

you're in queue, the line today, you can complete the process tomorrow and you will get insurance, they say, by january 1st a statement from cms, the agency involved saying we recognize that many have chosen to make their final decisions on today's deadline and we are committed to making sure they can do so, anticipating high demand and the fact that consumers may be enrolling from multiple time zones, we have taken steps to make sure those who select a plan through tomorrow will get coverage for january 1st. fred upton who has been having a series of hearings on the health care rollout put out a statement saying he thinks this kind of last-minute move is not befitting of an administration that has called itself the most transparent ever. he is wondering what change is coming up next because there's been a whole slew of 11th hour changes. >> then we get to the president's symbolic sign-up for his own insurance policy plan, except he did not sign up, his

aides did it for him and he's not even enrolled because as we said it's symbolic. >> so he signed up but not really. this initial statement from the white house said over the weekend the president enrolled in the dc exchange, symbolically, because he gets the health care from the military. "as you all know the president is one of the 85% of americans who gets his health insurance through his employer. like previous presidents, he is privileged to receive health care from the military. the act of the president signing up is symbolic since the president's health care will continue to be provided by the military." then a short while later some more information from white house officials saying that part about the president signing up didn't really happen. because it's a special case, his information is privileged and whatnot. this was a rare case, there are others who have to do this, this is a rare case where the president had to sign up in person if he wanted to enroll. over the weekend he was in hawaii, not in washington, d.c.

to sign up in person for the exchange. as you say, his staff ended up signing up for him instead. so, bottom line, he's not going to be in this exchange any way. he didn't do the signing up himself. so he didn't have to wait online like the other folks on healthcare.gov. >> what about the politics of all this? what's your sense of how big the deadlines are for the president? >> as you heard from the president last week at white house, he knows the rollout was, he said it bluntly, screwed up. but he thinks they're turning the corner on the website, that's why the next deadline of today, midnight, basically extended a bit into tomorrow is pivotal because if people don't have their insurance on january 1st that will raise more questions about whether the website and the overall law has turned the corner. you already have a democrat like joe manchin warning of a potential meltdown, while republicans like tom coburn say we have to start over. take a listen. >> if it's so much more expensive than what we

anticipated, if the coverage is not as good as we've had, you have a complete meltdown at that time. >> i would say we need to change health care, what they've done, you can't fix this mess. the insurance industry, the indemnification industry, regardless of what you think about the insurance companies, it's on its ear now. >> so, that's the more negative view. when you talk to senior white house advisers, they say, look, they realize january 1 st is a critical deadline, they say the paperwork is going through and if the critics build this up as deadline and it fail, that's a problem. if it works and it turns the corner, they say it's a shot in the arm to show they're finally turning the corner. >> ed henry in washington, thank you. let's take this to bob cusack of "the hill" newspaper

so many people are confused by the rules and the rules get changed all the time. we were told today is the deadline. a little while ago thanks to the "washington post" we find out it's really tomorrow. what's going on? >> jon, initially the deadline was the 15th of december. they moved it to the 23rd, they moved it again to the 24th. part of the problem for the administration, they're still worried about the website. they have been predicting for a long time that there will be a crush of people signing up. that could be good news for the administration. it's bad news when you have a website still having some bugs in it. it is confusing. it's confusing as far as the president. he is signing up, but not really signing up. i think it's a bit awkward for the administration. the president is able to keep his health plan while others have lost it. >> it was a symbolic sign-up, as i said a moment ago with ed henry, he didn't have to sit down at the computer and enter the information. his aides did it for him. that's the frustration that so

many people are feeling now. >> yeah. the president is trying to regroup in hawaii. he's had a difficult year. a lot tof it is because of obamacare. it's gotten off to a shaky start if it doesn't get better, more democrats like joe manchin and others, especially those up for re-election will be ripping this bill. they want to pass legislation that will fix it. but as republicans say, you can't fix this. >> the president said eventually this will all get fixed. obamacare will go down in history as a great thing. if you look at his approval numbers, at least right now, he is not doing very well with the voter voters. >> no his numbers have taken a major hit, that's in large part due to this flawed rollout. some of it is that promise that if you like your health plan, you get to keep it. that's proven to be false.

that's hurt his trustworthy numbers. that's got to be troubling for the white house. he always had that throughout his term, likability and trustworthiness. both of those have taken a hit in 2013. >> you have some problems with the front end of the website fixed. at least people in general are able to enter their information without getting error messages. not all of the time, but it has gotten better. the problem is on the back end. you still don't know how many of these policies are going to be enforce and forcible. so many insurance companies saying they're getting gobblity gook coming out the other end of the computer. >> that's the problem. it will go on well into the new year. there have been reports indicating that people have signed up, or they think they've signed up, but they actually haven't. there could be lawsuits. there could be gaps in coverage, which, of course, could be dangerous to the beneficiaries.

this is a huge change to the country's health care system. it's been a huge gamble for democrats, from the get-go, passing it, and the polls have repeatedly shown it's not popular. parts of it are popular. as a whole, it's not. >> you have lost applications, you've got website crashes, information that doesn't match up. it just seems like the headaches are really only just beginning. for the white house that cannot be good news. >> one of the things people have to focus on are whether young people sign up that means if a lot of young people sign up, the premiums will go down, this program will be a success. we have not seen a detailed breakdown of young people, people if their 20s or 30s signing up. that's the key. that's the success. the website was broken. it's better now. but they have to sign up young people and that remains to be seen whether that will happen. >> bob cusack, thank.

as lawmakers fight over cuts to military pensions, we are learning how tough it is for some of our nation's veterans to scrape by. wait until you hear how many vets rely on food stampses to feed their families. [ woman 1 ] why do i cook?

to share with family. [ woman 2 ] to carry on traditions. [ woman 3 ] to come together even when we're apart. [ male announcer ] in stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and more, swanson makes holiday dishes delicious. gravy and more, ick with innovation. stick with power. stick with technology. get the new flexcare platinum from philips sonicare and save now. philips sonicare.

. a major fight is underway over cuts to some military benefits.

you might know under the new budget that passed congress last week officials will curb annual pension increases force military retirees younger than 62. supporters say cuts are necessary to reduce the deficit. veterans groups argue that congress should find the money elsewhere. lawmakers say they'll look at the issue next year, but defense officials and some analysts say changes are likely. jennifer griffin with the news live in washington. jennifer, there's word those cuts could hurt some military families who are already struggling to get by. >> that's right. the pentagon says the number of active duty troops receiving food stamps is quite small and usually involves the most junior troops with large families. a soldier's basic pay is $18,149. a non-profit think tank says nearly 340,000 veterans receive public money for housing and

900,000 veterans live on food stamps. we recently spoke to some of the nation's wounded being treated at walter read at a bonfire on a farm run by the non-profit trucking for troops. they explained their financial hardships. >> getting these guys to say i need to go on food stamps is like getting these guys to admit defeat. they don't want to do it. >> i know some who go to food pantries because they're too proud to fall for the food stamps. >> about 5,000 active duty troops out of an estimated 44 million americans receive s.n.a.p. or food stamps. about .01% of those receiving food stamps across the nation, according to the pentagon, jon. >> for those famlys who is filling in the gap? >> non-profit groups such as trucking for troops and operation home front. both began after 9/11. they rely on donations. operation home front helps pay rent, electricity bills. recently they've filled grocery bags for military families in the d.c. area who needed help. they expect many more requests

in light of congress's decision to cut military retirement benefits. >> we've really been shocked since 2008 to see the growth in the number of requests for food assistance. since 2008, when the economy really started going south, we've seen a 400% increase in the number of requests for food assistance alone. >> i got a guy in georgia, geez, it's been over a year he's been dealing with it they're talking about repossessing his car and stuff. it makes my head want to explode. this guy has served our country, he's struggling to keep his vehicles? it's terrible. >> breaking news right now, john, president obama has just signed an executive order that will give military families as well as civilians a 1% pay raise this year. it is important to point out that in the past they received 1.8% raises so it means still that groups like operation home

front and trucking for troops will need to fill in and help these military families because other budget cuts will cut into the moan they have to spend at home. >> seems like they could find that money elsewhere. jennifer griffin, thanks. potential victims of identity theft are teaming up against target. they are demanding payback after millions of credit and debit card numbers got stolen during the peak of the holidays what it means for anybody who has shopped eventually at target next.

fewer customers shopped at target this past weekend following that massive data breach which came to light last week, that's according to reporting of "wall street journal." target announced thieves got ahold of 40 million credit and debit card accounts over a period of three weeks, including black friday.

now the retail giant faces at least three class action lawsuits that seek millions of dollars in damages. target responded to the backlash over the weekend by offering a 10% discount to customers along with free credit monitoring. mike monitoring, mike tobin has the latest. mike, this could not happen at a worse time for any retail chain. >> certainly one of the most important shopping weekends of the year. sales on saturday across the nation exceeded black friday but not at target. sales off by 3-4% there. the reason why seems simple. despite that offer for a discount. despite the offer for a free credit screening, people simply lost trust with the retail giant. >> i will use cash more often. i will not use my debit card like i used to. >> i will never swipe my card in target ever again. >> banks issuing credit and deb it cards also affected.

chase bank informed some 2 million credit card debit holders to let them know their holiday purchases are littled to $3400 and withdrawals at the atm is 100. chase kept retail outlets in 1,700 opened on sunday to reissue compromised debit cards. and the secret service now confirmed that high power agency is now investigating. john. >> and the lawsuits are coming? >> yeah. it didn't take long for the lawsuits to come. we are tracking three of them. two out of california. up with ought of oregon. they all pretty much said the same thing, target did not implement and maintain proper security procedures. they're all written in such a way they can pile on as many clients as possible. but there is an evolution that has to take place with these lawsuits. most of your legal experts will tell you that ultimately the court system will only allow one lawsuit, one chief council, john. >> all right. mike tobin reporting. mike, thank you. so let's bring in anne marie

mackay voi a former professor of law here in new york. 40 million customers and are you one of them. >> i am. >> how did you get noticed? . >> i got a notice first from target telling me i may have been one of thee accounts. i knew i had shopped there during that time frame. so i wasn't surprised. i was more surprised by the notice from chase over the weekend and that it's a real problem during the christmas season and yesterday actually i went to pay for a hefty bill on a car repair and was not able to pay for it with my debit card as i expected to do, because it was over $300. >> so it isn't necessarily people who have been defraud who'd are going to be affected heresh even if your credit card hasn't been hijacked, you are on this list and therefore, therefore, your options are limited? >> absolutely. and the problem is my account, for instance, i looked at it this morning, everything was fine. but it could be if i looked at it now, there may be some sort of compromise. it may have been used for fraudulent purposes or either

tonight or tomorrow. one of the things chase customers have to do or anybody with these accounts is try to get a new debit card issued with a new number. >> that, of course, poses a problem, to, if you have an automatic braul withdrawal taken out. you have to remember who is taking those out and have those, if it's based on a debit card number, have that adjusted as well. it's a pain in the neck for everybody. >> so you are experiencing what 40 million other of your fellow americans presumably are. now you got class action lawsuits going. you got attorney general in several states taking a look at this and yet we don't absolutely know it was target's fault. i mean, this data flies back and forth between banks, for instance. it could have been hijacked somewhere else. >> it's very hard to say. it's possible that target may actually know more than they are letting us know at this point. we don't know what the investigation shows. secret service may have more information than we have. but certainly, it's not unusual, unfortunately, for hackers to be able to get into systems.

they have been able to infiltrate u.s. government systems as well. so the question is really did target do everything it could to keep that information secure up to the standard that are expected of these stores? >> but for these 40 million people, do they all automatically get to be a part of this class action lawsuit? >> it depends how it's set up. usually you have to opt-in. we are not near that point yet. they will contacting the attorneys to become a part of the class action t. likelihood is if we get anything, with eget a very, very minimal amount and the attorneys general may actually get involved with that process. there play be some sort of joint investigation to figure out what happened here and how to make it not happen in the future. >> i hope you get your car fixed. >> i got it fixed. they took a check. if you have one of these accounts, use a check. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> deadly winter weather is taking its toll on hundreds of thousands of people. it continues during the busiest

travel time of the year. we will get the fox cast for you, plus, is the u.s. losing its mojo? some critics say we're not really the top dawg anymore on the global stage. we'll explain.

>> a fox report now, more of today's headlines from the fox news desk. dozens of college students clash with security forces in cairo. riot police fired tear gas as students hurled stone, some caused back cannisters of protests. they come one day after an egyptian court sentenced three youth activists to prison. a federal judge allowed today same-sex marriages to continue in utah. the weddings had been taking place since friday when a judge overturned that ban. utah's attorney general had filed an emergency quest to stop officials. the judge denied that request.

and denver bronco's quarterback peyton manning set a record for the most touchdown passes in a single season. manning connecting for his 51st of the season, a record he once held before new england's tom brady spoke a few years ago. much more after this.

. >> freezing rain and cold, freezing temperatures slam the country during the busiest travel tiles, now, icy weather is expected to make roads more dangerous. by yesterday, ice and snow knocked out power to some 440,000 homes and businesses from michigan to new york and northern new england. according to reports, about half of those customers had their power back on by early this morning. meantime the wild weather is reportedly to blame for at least nine deaths, including five who died in massive flooding in kentucky and there is word many customers who lost electricity likely will remain in the dark through christmas.

scott williams is a meteorologist for fox 29 in philadelphia. scott, what itself the latest? >> reporter: well, good afternoon, john. good afternoon, everyone. of course, one of the busiest travel days of the year. right now along the east coaster that's where we have some problems. especially the i-59 corridor. we are looking at that heavy rain continuing to impact the philadelphia area. in fact, some of the airport delays right now in excess of 32 an hour around the philadelphia international airport. 56 degrees, we're looking at that rain. cold right now in chicago. no major problems. as we move into new york city, la guardia right now 50 degrees. we had that rain coming down. i am watching the reduced visibilities occurring as we look at the radar. you can see that flood of moisture around the i-95 corridor, boston, new york city, movering towards washington, d.c., it is going to be a slow go along the interstate. watch how things play out. we still have several more hours of the clouds as well as the rainfall along the i-95 corridor. tomorrow morning, with eget a

break. there will be another disturbance, though, moving through parts of the northeast tomorrow that could coat the ground with a little bit of snow as we move into your christmas eve and christmas night forecast. we'll be watching that very carefully. john. >> are we talking a lot of snow christmas eve/christmas day? >> it looks like areas along the northern tier have perhaps a chance of seeing a whiter christmas. new york city, moving towards chicago, it's 10. zero right now in the twin cities. so we have been looking at mild conditions. those temperatures will be dropping christmas eve and christmas day. it looks cold, pretty much across the entire lower 48. the exception will be the sunshine state. as we watch things play out, christmas eve, we will be watching the northern tiver for clouds as well as snowfall from minneapolis to chicago. so those areas have the best chances of that white christmas. john, back to you. >> scott williams, thank you. well, the u.s. is moving more marines to africa as

concerns grow over a possible civil war in the world's newest nation south sudan. a united nations official says it's likely more than 1,000 people have died after more than a week of violence there. >> that official points out there are no firm numbers available. diplomats say they expect the u.n. secretary general to ask for thousands more peace keeping troops and the state department reports, troops over the last week helped evacuate hundreds of americans and hundreds of other people as well. on saturday, officials say four u.s. troops got hurt during an evacuation mission after gunfire hit here aircraft. a pentagon spokesman says three of them are in stable condition. the fourth is still receiving treatment. i mentioned the troop increase. president obama over the weekend sent a letter saying he may take further military action to protect americans, if needed. the first family is on vacation in hawaii. doug is there live from honolulu. might we have been looking at another potential benghazi here

had these americans not been evacuated? >> reporter: john, it's an entirely different political situation in south sudan, but the risk to u.s. citizens are not that lucky. the u.s. military and the resources to successfully evacuate 380 citizens as well as 300 citizens from other countries. the four wounded u.s. servicemen, three in stable condition, one still undergoing treatment as you said. here in honolulu the white house issued a strong statement to the leaders of the warring factions that said, quote, any effort to cease power to the use of military force will result in the end of long standing support for the united states and the international community. the eun urine secretary general strongly condemned the violence. >> i demand that all political military and leaders stop hostilities and end the violence against the citizens. >> reporter: but one analyst suggests the violence in south

sudan is in some ways the responsibility of the u.s. and its own making. >> susan rice hasvested an enormous amount of energy in helping south sudan to separate from northern sudan after 25 years of civil war and violence and so, we helped install the current president. we have given them over $600 million dollars worth of aid. we have been the countries principally to prop them up during this period of transition as the president takes control of the government. >> well, in response to that accusation, deputy national security adviser ben rhodes said we are proud of the instrumental role in independence in south sudan, which implemented the comprehensive agreement reached in 2005. support for self determination in south you dan has been broad and bipartisan for many years. the administration pushing back hard against that accusation.

they think it's completely unfair, john. >> reporter: what about the future? what are the prospects for more violence there, doug? >> both sides say they are committed to a peace process as they want get a dialogue going. they are accusing each other of atrocities. they want them to stop. for its part the u.s. military has been beefing up its presence, moving 150 marines from spain to dzibuti. they are there on standby in south sudan. >> doug. traveling with the first family in hawaii, thank you. the crisis in sudan is the latest international challenge the united states is facing. there is also the back and forth with israel over negotiations with iran. there is the fight with russia over nsa leaker edward snowden and in the pacific the chinese military is increasingly flexing its muscle. now, some of the president's critics are questioning whether the u.s. is losing its spot as one of the world's top

superpowers. the administration officials defend their actions overseas. they say they are making the best of a tough balancing act on the global stage. joinings now council fellow elliot abrams. it is a balancing act, mr. abram, how would you say the united states is doing right now? >> hi, it is a balancing act. it hasn't been a good year, certainly for the president. you know, his false moves on syria were the kind of things, iranians, russian, allies like the saudis and allies, it's disconcerting, it gives them the sense we are not as powerful as we once were. >> we know some of these relationships, international relationships really hinge on the camaraderie between the leaders. how would you assess president obama's relationships with some of these other world leaders right now? >> i think you have to say he doesn't have those

relationships. president clinton did. president george w. bush did. they were more gregarious. it doesn't look like the president likes to do this sort of thing, jollying up leaders. he doesn't have the relationship, even in europe with our closest allies, with the israelis. it's a kind of institutional relationship. but the close the intimate friendship that clinton-bush had that are really quite useful to the u.s., he hasn't bothered to create. >> so when it comes to an issue like iran pursuing nuclear weapons the saudis and the israelis, in particular, are not feeling very confident about our intention. >> they're not. and the personal relationship say with the king of saudi arabia or the prime minister of israel or with the germans, the french, the british the personal relations isn't there. it sometimes can get you over the have you ever when there is a disagreement on policy that it can matter. we just don't have those. so there is a lot of doubt about

american policy. >> some of the middle eastern nations not or sensed the united states was perhaps turning its back on that region when the president announced his pivot to asia. given we have pivoted to asia, how would you assess how things are going with china? >> the problem there is, there isn't enough of a pivot. if you ask the people around china, japanese, south koreans, australians. they'd like to see a greater american presence than they see right now. they're worried that we're still kind of bogged down in the middle east. and they wonder whether with this rising china militarily, they're going to be able to count on us the way they have over past decades. >> and with regard to the middle east, two years ago the president said assad had to go. assad is very much will. >> syria is the greatest problem right now. iran is the larger problem in military terms. but in syria, where the president said he's got to go. the president will walk to the edge of a military strike on

chemical weapons and kind of got rescued, vladmir putin. the israelis, the saudis, for others in the region, that looks like an america or a president that just isn't willing to take the additional stems. >> that worries them a lot. >> thank you, sir. >> you are welcome. a 13-year-old girl underwent a routine procedure to get her on the sills removed. the complications arose. now her family is fighting to keep her on life support. a judge has made a ruling. we have the updates after the break.

. >> a tour bus crashed near los angeles briefly trapping nearly 40 passengers early this morning. officials say the driver had no control before the bus slammed into a light pole and a fence. debris from that fence blocked the bus door, trapping everybody inside. rescue workers were eventually able to pry opened the doors. as many as 13 people suffered

minor injuries. it's still unclear just what caused that driver to lose control. a 13-year-old is on life support after she went into the hospital for a routine procedure to get her on the sills removed. now her family is asking for a second opinion on her condition. today a judge appointed a doctor from sanford to conduct his own investigation. family members say after that routine surgery the girl suffered severe blood loss and breathing problems before going into cardiac arrest. doctors at the children's hospital in oakland, california now say she is brain dead and they have no obligation to keep her on life support. but on friday, a judge issued a court order that essentially forces this emto keep her on a ventilator. medical researchers say doctors performed nearly 700,000 on the sillectomies each year in the united states, mostly on children under the age of 15. dr. carole ash joins us now.

she is a general intern effort with meridian health. so how does someone go into the hospital for a on the sillectomy and emerge from it brain dead? >> a tragedy. within i first heard this story, two things have occurred from the news, she had trouble bleeding and had blood loss. in a child like the this with sleep apnea is at risk for these catastrophic outcomes. that's now we recommend every child or adult going to surgery the anesthesiologists ask simply do you senator? and do additional monitoring to avoid these catastrophic outcomes. >> the hospital is saying, sorry, this is irreversible. will is no brain activity. no blood supply to the brain. she is for all intents and purposes dead. >> john, 1% of deaths occur as a cause of brain death. most common cause the heart stopping is what we are familiar with. for most people, this is a very

unusual confusing circumstance. >> her heart is still breathing. her mother says, look, i can touch her. her body is still warm. she can't be dead. >> it looks like they're asleep t. brain is actually dead. when there is no blood flow, no brain activity, you are dead. that's how we define it. legally and medically that, i can remove her from life support. again, we keep people alive, amazingly the brain is the ceo the commander in chief. when the brain is gone the control of the decision processes is lost. ultimately, her body will deteriorate and decline. we are artificially maintaining the breathing and blood pressure and what looks like life with technology and medication. >> if they were to take her off life support, it would be all over in seconds? >> it would be all all over e over. it's reasonable for the family to ask for second opinions. there are times our bedside exams can be flawed with chronic pulmonary problem such as sleep

apnea or chronic copd the carbon dioxide is elevated, the tests can be inaccurate. you diagnose brain death when you don't have it. you want to do more testing, cerebral blood flow for brain activity. >> brain activity. so that's what they'll be doing, taking a look at whether there is any sign of life. >> right. john. once the diagnosis is properly made, there has never been a case of a patient returning. never. >> never. >> so, all right. so her family has to wait for the second opinion and if it comes back negative, what happens then? >> well, doctors legally are allowed to remove patients from life support when they're diagnosed as detd. but the problem is doctors usually don't, they try to work with the family. because you have a tragic situation. you don't want to doubly traumatize the family or engage in these kind of legal battles. unfortunately, it doesn't always goes so smoothly. when the patient looks, she went into the hospital well, you may

have a young child who is brain dead. it's just tragic. >> what a shock for that family. you can understand how they're having a hard time dealing with it. >> absolutely. >> my pleasure. a hearing just ended for former new england patriots star aaron hernandez, he is charged with the murder of a semi football player odin lloyd. the judge listened to arguments from the defense and prosecution. hernandez' lawyer accuses the district attorney of a gag order, jeopardizing the right to a free trial. no decision from the judge today a. jogger found odin lloyd's body close to hernandez' mansion. hernandez is pleading not guilty. maybe you are one of those folks that waits until the last minute. ahead, we will look at the

nation's retailers and how they are using pretty significant technology to track your shopping habits. that's next.

americans opened their wallets in a big way last month. the most in nearly half a year. that is according to the commerce department. it reports consumer spending edged up by half a percent in november as holiday shopping picked up steam. analysts credit a boost in sales of cars and other long-lasting durable goods. consumers spend three quarters of our entire economic activity. and the dow is getting a boost. up 67 points right now. and this holiday week is historically light on trading. some big retailers across the country are using mobile

phone technology and tracking technology in their stores to monitor folks shopping habits this holiday season. analysts say the devices can help give retailers an edge over the compete is. the shoppers can download an april on their smartpho links t shoppers when there is a deal. some claim it violates privacy. this is one kind of technology in shopping trends, right adam? >> john, there are a number of different ways to be tracked. you use your smartphone and put down your app and it follows you around the store. there are other ones where they track heat sensing or your phone and if you haven't downloaded anything, they follow your phone in the store and it allows retailers to move around displa displays. but in this case, swirl, we went

to their main headquarters in boston to see how they allow shoppers to download the app and interact with the store and look at different displays and they get offers. we saw one person get a discount tailored just to her. >> it is a new world and retailers are smart in how they use the smartphone. 70% of them take out the phone to research what the best product is to by and the best prices. so we're making it easier for the retailers to get exactly what they are looking for. >> and if you think about it, john, my friends and my wife, you have your phone with you and you can scan different receipts and look at other shopz and compare prices. there is so many things you can do with a smartphone nowadays. and 90% of all holiday purchases will still be in a. >> old-fashioned store so the

stores are trying to interact with the technology and bring everybody together. >> so has this marriage of technology and scholling been successful? >> it is still out to think about. there is no way of -- with all technology there is no true way of knowing. but it is interesting to note that companies are doing it. and you as a shopper can interact or they can follow you without knowing and that is the most controversial. john. >> adam housley in l.a. thank you, john. an update on the walk for the nasa space station. why nasa delayed one of those walks, coming up. stick with technology. get the new flexcare platinum from philips sonicare and save now. philips sonicare.

nasa postponed today's scheduled space walk on the international space station meaning astronauts will be hard at work on christmas eve. tomorrow crews will try to complete work on a broken

cooling line. nasa had to push back the space walk after one astronaut hit a water switch in an air lock over the weekend. water could have gotten into his space suit. nasa reports that otherwise the first space walk on saturday went well. this is marking the second time nasa has conducted a christmas eve space walk. and on this day in 1972, fans witnessed one of the most famous plays ever in nfl history. the immaculate reception. with the season on the line, pittsburgh steelers fank -- frank harris scooped up the ball and run in for a score. some argue that the ball did hit the ground and to this day some fans say the raiders won fair and square and the rest called it a catch and the controversy began 41 years ago today.

no replay then. i'm jon scott in for shepard smith. thanks for joining us today. have a great holiday week. desperate for the last-minute rush? retailers are praying for it and the white house are extending its store hours. why the only dash may be for your cash. welcome, i'm eric bolling in for neil cavuto. tonight was supposed to be the deadline for signing up for obamacare but it looks like now there is a one-day grace period. the president said more than a million people have signed up for obamacare, a far cry from the 3.3 million that were expected to enroll by now. so on january 1s