remember, the spin stops here because we're looking out for you merry christmas. welcome to the "kelly file." and live from the world headquarters of fox news in new york city. tonight -- one of the most important questions out there, what is the white house backup plan if obama care falls apart? we'll investigate. plus -- >> no, sir. >> see why those two words are at the heart of new calls for criminal charges against the director of national intelligence. we'll talk to one of the people pushing to make that happen. and then -- as the arguments get louder over "duck dynasty" and the controversial comments by

the duck commander, phil shares new thoughts about what he said and why. the panel's here to break it down. and do you have a backup plan? one of the most important questions out there tonight. what is the white house's plan? and what will they do next if this obamacare system does not work? and tonight, a last-minute crush of insurance shoppers jam the obamacare system. and now instead of stuffing the stockings, people are stuck in line worrying if they will be insured when the new year comes. hello, everybody, and welcome to "the kelly file." tonight was supposed to be the night. december 23rd was the original final deadline for millions who were supposed to sign up for obamacare in order to be covered in 2014. and now we are told after weeks of desperately low sign-ups that there's an 11th hour surge causing backlogs.

so now while some folks can put out the cookies and milk for santa without worrying about insurance, other people many who have lost their plans because of obamacare are wondering when or if they will be covered. and what they're going to find when they get their crack at the website. ed henry is our chief white house correspondent with the latest on this latest delay. good evening, ed. >> you're right. a surge, indeed. administration officials tell me tonight there have been well over 1 million visitors today alone to healthcare.gov. they say it's that's a good sign because it suggests the website is getting better, more durable, taking on a lot more traffic without breaking down. and also has a better error rate right now. you're right, there's an extremely long line. the question is not how much traffic is there because people have been queued up for hours, some waiting up to nine hours or so before they're getting some sort of response. the question is not just visitors, but how many of those

people will be enrolled over the next 24 hours to make sure they have insurance on january 1st, january 2nd. a democratic sen yesterday he fears what he calls a meltdown that you could have people enrolling but not enough of the young healthy people the president has been trying to get on to make the math work, paying into the system. that's his fear tonight. the other question is those wait time broadly speaking, that's why the administration had another late tweak today, basically saying that if you're in line several hours today and trying to get in by the midnight deadline, they're going to extend it 24 hours through christmas eve as you noted so you could have insurance on january 1st. nobody knows for sure what people are going to see on january 1st, january 2nd, that's a big question mark tonight. finally, somebody who is not waiting in line to enroll is the president of the united states. we learned today from the white house initially they said he enrolled this past weekend and signed up for what they called a bronze plan.

paying about $400 a month in premiums. but then they came back to us and said, well, wait, he didn't actually enroll. they said his staff did it because of his unique circumstance as commander in chief, that his personal information is not in various government data bases, so healthcare.gov could not verify his identity oddly enough, so he had to do it in person this weekend. but he was in hawaii, not in washington, signing up for the d.c. exchange. so his staff did it. they said, look, a symbolic gesture to get behind it. but the bottom line, the president liked his plan and he'll get to keep his plan, which is not exactly the exchange, period. >> end of story, we think. ed, thank you very much. and while the president may have extended that deadline, a cnn poll today suggests that support for obama care hasz hit an all-time new low. look at the numbers tonight. 35% now say that they support the president's signature law. that's a drop of five points since last month while a whopping 62% say they are now

opposed to the law overall. another potentially troubling sign for the president's signature achievement as folks who used oregon state exchange may have to seek coverage elsewhere. row bow calls went out to people who used the cover oregon exchange. and in these row bow calls, they say, look, if you haven't received a confirmation of your coverage by today, you really ought to start look elsewhere. helpful, right? but as the president spends his holiday in hawaii, he arrived there today, some americans are scrambling to get covered in time. but critics say that symbolic enrollment he did really may not be much reassurance for some of those people. senior political editor at townhill.com. >> merry christmas. >> merry christmas to you. is that a consolation that the president symbolically signed up? >> not really. i guess it's good he did it and he is going to be paying for coverage he doesn't need, which

is sort of ironic. that's one of the criticisms of obamacare. he doesn't need any coverage, any sort of health care coverage. he's got the best things you could ask for because he's commander in chief. and rightfully so. so he's trying to sort of pretend or at least show some solidarity with those millions you described who are trying to gain coverage and obtain coverage and endorsing his product as best as he can. it is ironic he did it on vacation and his staff had to do it for him. i guess they say they might draw attention to the deadline, but that won't help them either if the website can't really handle this crush of last-minute applicants. >> so much anxiety out there. it's bad enough to have to worry about getting all your presents done and your last-minute shopping done and shopping list taken care of, right? and on top of that, you have this underlying rumble of anxiety that people are concerned that what happens the first time i go to the doctor in january. is the plan i signed up for

actually going to work? and it just creates a very anxious feeling and it's backed up clearly by these numbers. >> yeah, the polling data we just saw, there was a subquestion in that poll that is really going to leave a mark for the white house. they asked, do you expect the affordable care act to increase or decrease the cost of your coverage. 63% said they expect their coverage costs to increase. 28% said they expected it to stay about the same. 7% in that poll said they expect the affordable care act to lower their costs. >> you know what that says. it says every single promise has been broken basically. if you liked your plan, you can't keep it. if you liked your doctor, you can't keep it. if you liked your prescription medicines, you can't keep those either. and if you thought it was going to cost less, people were told $2,500 per family less no. uh, i believe the administration is still saying, down the road, we think that will happen. but given the enrollment

numbers, people are going to have a hard time believing that, aren't they? >> i think this is a self-delusion. once the website issues are finally ironed out and many of them have been. some of them remain on the back end. but once this technological, you know, series of glitches has been dealt with, we'll be fine and this will no longer be a story. but the big issues you just raised, martha, dropped coverage and also higher premiums, these are going to be new realities. and i think more searing and difficult realities for additional americans in 2014 as insurers and the industry gears up for 2015. and i think the whole rollout debacle has not helped either of those two. >> the president's got a lot to think about over the course of his vacation and so do other americans as they work it out. thank you. good to see you. >> merry christmas. breaking news tonight in the "duck dynasty" controversy as twitter is cracking down on a support group for the embattled

phil robertson. this is quite a development here. all of this as we hear new calls tonight for the director of the national intelligence department to face possible criminal charges. we're going to stick with one of the people who is looking to make that happen next. and then there is this -- can you believe this? i mean, look at this. this is what we're calling holiday shopping at its absolute worst. and that feels like an understatement, doesn't it? we're going to show you what happened that inspired that beatdown in aisle nine coming up just ahead. i'm nathan and i quit smoking with chantix.

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officials in the intelligence community have actually been untruthful. both to the american public and hearings in congress. and there have been cases where they have inadvertently made false representations and they themselves have discovered it and corrected it. >> that was national security adviser susan rice arguing this weekend that nsa officials did not lie about collecting data on hundreds of millions of americans. that question came after a group of lawmakers last week suggested that congress pursue criminal charges against james clapper because of the moment last

summer when clapper was asked this question. >> does the nsa collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of americans? >> no, sir. >> it does not? >> not wittingly. there are cases where they could inadvertently, perhaps, collect. but not wittingly. >> not wittingly, inadvertently, perhaps collect. that statement turned out to be not true. and tonight, several members of congress are demanding some accountability. congressman, welcome. it's good to have you here tonight. >> thank you, martha. merry christmas to you. >> merry christmas to you, sir. >> what is that exchange we just played tell you? >> martha, i guess, if i in this season of good will would extend my best analysis or my kindest

analysis, it would have to be if the director of national intelligence is so out of touch or incompetent he doesn't know about a major nsa intelligence gathering or data gathering system taking place in the american people, i'm not sure that encourages me much. but i find it particularly disturbing that susan rice would be his principal defender given the fact the thing she's most famous for is the benghazi tragedy, saying it was somehow connected to a video. and they -- they knew at the time that wasn't true. so it's a difficult time for the administration to explain these kind of things to say the least. >> well, that statement last summer which was in answer to a question by ron wyden. senator ron wyden. it came three months before edward snowden's revelations

started to pour forth. and then clapper was put in the situation of having to come forward and saying, well, it was the least untruthful statement that i could come up with at that moment. basically -- i wasn't in a position to divulge what i knew. but it was the least untruthful statement i could see at that moment. it begs the question, why didn't he just say, i can discuss that with you, you know, outside this public forum, but i can't answer that question right now? >> well, you know, i serve on the strategic forces committee, which is probably over half our committee hearings are classified. and that's exactly what we do all the time. when generals or others that have important information, they simply say we will have to discuss that in a classified setting, which we have skiff settings to do that. but i'm concerned because this is the same director of national intelligence that told us some few years back that the muslim

brotherhood was largely a homogeneous, largely secular group that issued violence. and of course, they went on to gain control of egypt and put the entire nation in flames and thousands of people died. >> that's one of a list that people have, you know, noticed over the course of director clapper's tenure. he also told diane sawyer back in 2010 he wasn't aware of a round-up that was on the front of the newspapers at the time. he also said he thought russia and china presented the greatest threat to the united states raising a lot of questions about where he might place iran on that list. is it the cumulative effect that concerns all of you? or is it really down to this nsa issue and a belief that he may have misled or lied in that testimony? >> well, you know, i think one of the greatest things that concern me most is the fact that this administration as a general rule seems to default towards deceiving the congress.

you don't have to look just to general clapper here. you look at attorney general, susan rice, the president himself. it seems like it's becoming more surprising to get a truthful unsallied answer than it is to hear further deception. i just have to say, this administration seems to have done for deception what stone henge has done for rocks. it's something quite serious for congress because it undermines our ability to do the constitutional duty we have, but undermines the faith in government to a tremendous extent. it's not a small issue, martha. >> understood. and you are part of several senators that are pursuing this criminal inquiry against the director of national intelligence. and we'll see where it goes. congressman frank, thank you very much. good to have you with us tonight. >> thank you. thank you so much. >> well, just ahead. this question. if you thought the hacking of 40 million target customers

accounts was a big deal, up next, the website security threat that is even worse right now. and also, breaking developments over the controversial comments by "duck dynasty" star phil robertson. the social media website has just blocked signing to a high-profile petition in support of him. why would they do that? plus, a holiday greeting from one of our troops. hi, this is captain mike harvey out of afghanistan, i want to wish a merry christmas and happy holidays to my friends and family back in portland, maine, including my cousins, kayla, lizzy and emma, and my nephew andrew. miss and love you all. i'll see you soon. love ya. [ male announcer ] e new new york is open. open to innovation. open to ambition. open to boldids. that's why n york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state.

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well, christmas shoppers were stunned to learn last week that 40 million customers' accounts at target were hacked. but target by law has to inform its customers that there has been a security breach. however, tonight we're learning that healthcare.gov has no such requirement. meaning if your personal information once you've logged on and registered is then stolen or compromised in any way, the government has set it up so they are under no obligation to give you a heads up about that. congresswoman diane black from tennessee is trying to change that. congresswoman, welcome. good to have you here tonight. >> thank you, it's great to be with you, martha. >> when i read this, i was very surprised to learn that during the set-up of this website, the hhs was urged to have a clause in there that made it necessary

that they would have to let people know if there was a breach in security. but they decided not to include that, right? >> that is correct. and we knew that all along that all of the information we were receiving from places like government accountability office were telling us this was not going to be a secure site. and it is a large concern that the federal government requires the private sector and most of the state exchanges to do just as you say to notify someone should they be a security breach. and yet the federal government doesn't see fit to do that of themselves. and i think that we need to hold the federal government as accountability as we do both the private sector and also the state exchanges. >> you make a good point. important to understand. which is that the state exchanges do have a requirement if they see a breach. but the federal government does not have that kind of requirement. you know, when you dig into it, there were two i.t. managers at cmf who refused to sign the

authority to operate order over this website because they were so concerned about the breaches they were already seeing. one of them retired shortly after and the other one has only spoken out a little bit. but that raises a lot of questions, doesn't it? >> it certainly does. where you have a chief security information officer. we had sent the letter over to her asking her how was it you could have this website go forward without the ato being signed. and we later found out after she refused to sign it that actually signed it herself to give the authority to go ahead and have this website which we knew was not ready for prime time to be put into place. and to also put in jeopardy so many millions of people's private information without giving them assurances of the security. >> so congresswoman, what do you plan to do? is there a way to put that genie back in the bottle at this

point? >> well, i do believe there is. and we have a bill, it's hr-3731, and it's called the federal exchange data breach notification act that just simply says, you must do the same thing federal government that you're requiring the private sector and the state exchanges to do. and that is to notify someone should there be a security breach so that individuals can then therefore protect their information after knowing that there is that potential that that information may be used. you know, this site was never really secured to begin with. and that as you have already said was known by those who were in charge of releasing the information as they go forward. we knew it was not ready. we've been saying it all along. >> congresswoman, thank you very much. good to talk to you tonight. >> thank you, merry christmas to you. >> and merry christmas to you. all right. one of the big questions tonight with the whole obama care plan is there a backup plan? one of the most important questions out there. what is the white house planning

to do if in january there are huge gaping holes in this system? what's their next plan? we're going to talk about that coming up. plus -- a former philadelphia eagles cheerleader gets a hometown hero's welcome. and wait until you hear. she's returning to the field as an army lieutenant. plus, we've got a holiday greeting from one of our troops far away from home. >> hi, i'm stationed here, i just wanted to give a shoutout to my friends and family in minnesota. amanda, jennifer, tommy, the rileys, englands, and everybody else back there. i miss you guys and hopefully see you guys soon. mine was earned orbiting the moon in 1971. afghanistan in 2009. on the u.s.s. saratoga in 1982. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down

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a fox news extreme weather

alert tonight. a powerful ice storm is headed east. after threatening to ruin christmas for hundreds of thousands of families in the midwest. blamed for at least 11 deaths left over 500 million businesses and homes without power yesterday. trees loaded down with ice. heavy rain and snow expected in parts of new york, vermont and new hampshire. and tonight in nicotine maine, ice storm warnings in effect where up to an inch of ice could accumulate over what they've already seen in freezing and icing conditions over the last two straight days. here's meteorologist jim dickey with tonight's forecast. hey, jim. >> hey, well, thankfully the ice finally leaving here. you look at the current radar. still freezing rain right now, portions of maine in the bangor area, as much as 1/2 inch of ice piling up on top of what's out there. we've dealt with this system for days. finally moving out to sea, taking the ice and snow with it. but behind it, colder air moving

in. you remember over the weekend, many spots broke record highs across the east. that coming to an end. these current temperatures where you see the blue, anywhere below freezing. that colder air moving in. watch out for icy spots through the early morning hours as we'll likely see re-freezing here. and as far as what we're talking about with this cold air mass, across the northern plains, upper midwest. it's minus one right now in minneapolis, minus eight in bismarck, minus six in pierre, and that cold headed off to the east. as it does, snow flakes, couple snow showers across new york, western p.a. on christmas eve. not a white christmas, not expected to accumulate. we will track a system moving out to the northern tier of the rockies headed through christmas eve. that will spread light snow into the midwest. spots like minneapolis, chicago, white christmas for you. >> lucky them. jim, thank you very much. we wish everybody well out there in the rough spots of the country as they're moving around to get where they're going for christmas. back to our top story this

evening. as the president has now quietly extended the deadline one more time for obamacare. an extra day now giving everybody until christmas eve to complete their enrollments. what would you rather do on december 24th, right? the white house is reporting more than 1 million have signed up since october 1st. but that is well below the 7 million that they're shooting for by march. when asked about a plan "b," if obamacare starts to unravel, some believe it already has, jason furman had this to say. >> does the administration have any kind of backup plan? this may be beyond your purview. if not enough young, healthy people sign up for the affordable care act, what's going to happen? >> there's a plan "a" to enroll as many young, healthy people as you possibly can. >> there's plan "a," is what he had to say.

charles krauthammer, the author of "things that matter," which is number one on the "new york times" best seller list and has been for the last six weeks. good evening, good to have you here. >> pleasure to be with you. >> so apparently, at least according to this administration official, there really is not a plan "b," charles. >> there is a plan "b" and won't say what it is. but it's obvious that is a bailout. you heard the question what happens if there aren't enough young people who join the exchanges so their overpayment can subsidize the older and the sicker. and the answer is if this were a true free market, if the insurance companies were on their own, they would go bust because then their expenses would be huge and their income from the premium would be small. but, the administration understands -- and there's actually a provision in the bill all 2,000 pages of it, goes by the name of risk corridor were

built into the bill, the ability of the government to bail out the insurers and to fix the balance sheet. the reason that in normal commerce this is called the debt spiral for insurers is if you're paying out a huge amount in benefits and you're getting only a small amount in premiums, then the only way out of that is to raise your premiums even more. but that would mean even fewer young people joining. and that would mean that you go way down into the death spiral where you become insolvent. the government plan is that is a plan "b," but they won't say it, a bailout. >> yeah. that provision that you talked about -- it was baked into the bill, really in a deal. it was like a backroom deal between the insurance companies and the administration. because the insurance companies saw the writing on the wall. they knew that it was going to be next to impossible to cover all the insured under their normal business model. they baked that into the cake and said, well, you're going to

have to help us out if this is going to make us go broke as companies. is it looking, charles, though, it's bigger than they dreamed and the bailout might not be quite enough. you might need to go to a real government engineered program. >> well, that turns it into a government-engineered program. remember, the people who go into the exchanges are going to two places, medicaid, and an overwhelming number is going into medicaid, and that is entirely paid for by the tax money we give to the federal government. that's one aspect of the government funding entirely this kind of health care. the other people going into the exchanges presumably to get private insurance and private coverage. but, again, if it's what they call the adverse selection happens, too many young, not a lot -- not enough old people. so the insurers are losing money. there's only one way out, the government itself, again. but what you end up with is a

system where the federal government, your tax dollars are paying for just about everybody in the exchange one way or the other and the insurers as we just saw today and we saw last week are ordering around like servants by the federal government, extend the deadline, allow people who had their policies canceled to not have to pay a fine, suspend the individual mandate. all of these things are happening that show the insurance have lost their independents and counting on the government to bail them out. >> you wonder what the people do. do they say at that point, you know, we're just going to go along with it, not going to have our doctor, not have our plan anything the way we like it anymo anymore. if this is the best you got, this is what we'll do. >> i think pressuring people in the congress, particularly in the representatives and the house of representatives to present a bill right now that

says there will be no government bailout of the insurance companies if as might happen likely to happen, they're going to become insolvent as a result of being forced into obamacare. i think this is a real opportunity for the gop as the debt ceiling approaches, this might be the one thing you demand in return. you would have broad popular support, nobody wants a bailout of another set of big companies. and i think americans would resist having to pay in taxes for the mistakes of this administration. i think it ought to be presented as an alternative, and i think we get wide support. >> charles, thank you so much. good to see you tonight. >> pleasure. thank you so much. we're also tracking breaking news tonight on this controversial comment by "duck dynasty" star phil robertson. reports one huge social media site may be blocking the support efforts for robertson. this is quite a story tonight. we'll have that coming up.

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we're new york. if there's something that creates more jobs, and ows more businesses... we're open to it. start a tax-free business at startup-ny.com. ♪ ♪ i know they say you can't go home again ♪ ♪ ♪ i just had to come back one last time ♪ ♪ ♪ you leave home, you move on [ squeals ] ♪ andou do the best you can ♪ i got lostin this o♪ ♪ and forgot who i am we are back with breaking developments tonight over the controversial comments by phil robertson. we're getting some reports out there that twitter may be blocking users from tweeting a

link to this i stand with phil petition website. that's a petition in support of phil robertson. joined now by our fantastic panel tonight. fox news legal analyst and fox news contributor. ladies, welcome. good to have you here. >> i mean, this is -- monica, if that's true. why would twitter be blocking? that's a rather political statement on their part if that's what they're doing. we want to make sure, point out -- saying that's what's going on. >> if it's true, this wouldn't be the first time that twitter would be charged with censoring conservative groups. they have been charged with this kind of thing before. 200,000 people signed this in support of phil and what this kind of thing does, the website was blocked from twitter. we don't know how or why yet. but what it does is actually

have the opposite reaction. it ends up ginning up a lot more support for phil robertson and grabs a lot more attention to the situation. >> what do you think they're going to do, mercedes? >> i think they're going to keep him. there's been such an outcry against anyone opposing robertson. they're going to keep him. there's 12 million viewers a night. that's unbelievably high. probably the highest rating cable show. >> they've been mum for quite a while. cracker barrel turned within 24 hours, but a&e seems to be mulling this over longer than you'd expect. >> they're going to look at the contract. if there's some sort of morality clause, something they can hang their hats on and say, look, this is something you breach, maybe you can't continue in the show. but given the outcry and the outcry against robertson, i think frankly they're going to keep him. >> in the atlantic, which basically stuck up for phil robertson and said, look, 45% according to the pew poll feel

similarly to the way he does. this is a very divisive issue in this country and went back to quote the different sections of the bible that backed up what phil robertson said. and also said, you know, well, a, they would fire pope francis based on their assessment of phil robertson. what do you think of that? >> listen, i am a tremendous first amendment proponent. if you don't like what whatever his name is -- i never heard of him until last week. but if you don't like what he says, turn the channel. nobody's compelling you. i think it's a win/win for a&e, all of a sudden people like me who never heard of this show until the past week may be tuning in. if you're a&e, you're pretending you're upset about this, but i think they might enjoy this because now when they bring him back, he's coming back, we know he is, all of a sudden people will be watching. more people will be watching. call me cynical, but i think this is a win/win for them. >> i think you're right. i think the lawyers are going through the contracts very closely because they might be saying, we want out of here. we all know it is the holiday

shopping season and you've only got 24 hours to go at this point. this is the whole thing at the lowest form, the release of the new air jordan sneaker, the 11 gamma blues causing this brawl over the weekend at a mall in california. the release of the sneakers that reportedly cost upwards of $240 resulting in massive lines and several fights. look at this. i mean, it is unbelievable. what does this say about where we are with this craziness? >> well, first of all, i'm surprised that air jordans are so popular after 20 years. there's all these versions and they're still as hot as ever. we can have a little chuckle about this. but actually, this puts a lot of people in danger when people react in this kind of melee for a certain product. i've been known to move heaven and earth for a certain pair of shoes. >> jimmy choo samples, i've seen ladies go crazy at those things. >> i've been one of those ladies.

not throwing punches. >> that was not me. i will never cop to that ever. so i understand the impulse of wanting a hard to find or scarce item, but not to the point you're throwing punches. i do think, though, on a bigger level, it kind of points to the hyper consumerism that pope francis has been talking about. how that can take a rational person and turn them into an irrational person. >> there are 500 people lining up before the store opened. that store should've said, well, we need extra security because 500 people before the stores opened. >> i mean, you know, is it -- are they setting up a bad situation here? or is it -- is that a free market and you've got to put up with it. >> this is christmas. and i don't know what -- i haven't been this upset since the cabbage patch craze of '85. >> ugliest dolls ever. >> but there's no excuse for air jordans.

>> we're going to do this very heartwarming -- the antisneaker story now. the former philadelphia eagles cheerleader whose name is rachel washburn, who got a hometown hero's welcome this weekend. she was a cheerleader from 2007, beautiful girl, to 2010. and there she is in her oather job as a first lieutenant in the united states army. she's a bronze star recipient and served two tours of duty in afghanistan. she has received a number of awards and badges for her bravery. and she did -- she's an amazing young woman. i heard her speaking this morning. what do you think? >> she's beautiful on the inside and out. and i want to say at a time when everybody seems to be talking about miley cyrus, i've been on your show talking about miley cyrus and she's half naked out there. i think young girls would do well to set aside miley cyrus and look at a girl like rachel as a pro football cheerleader gave up her vera wang cheerle

cheerleading cos tul, which tumy uniform. >> beautiful, smart, and look at her sacrificing her life for this country. amazing. i'm with you, monica. she's a role model. >> she went from the cheerleading. she did the uso tour as a cheerleader and then became a cultural ambassador in afghanistan. she helped a woman give birth to a baby. she's super woman. >> well, she's a jets fan, i'm a giants fan. good for her. -- good for her. all the respect in the world for her. >> yeah, look at those two pictures. that's a woman who can absolutely do it all. and rachel washburn got an amazing hero's welcome. and we give her a huge, huge vote of thanks and gratitude for all of her service, as well. thank you very much.

you guys, too. nice service tonight on your part, as well. merry christmas to all of you. great to see you all. well, ms. washburn may have had an nfl-size home coming, we'll she you why some of the most inspiring reunions for our men and women in uniform come out in front of much, much smaller, tiny crowds sometimes. don't want to miss this. we'll be right back.

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>> there's no place like home for the holidays, right? and for the men and women in uniform returning to their families this christmas. truer words may have never been spoken. >> welcome home! >> my son returning after so many didn't return has got a real special meaning this christmas. >> a son returning to houston from bagram, afghanistan, to a crowd of relatives that could outnumber some platoons. and while his father has served before, hilmself, he says the reunion is beyond words. >> to have my son back, can't explain it. >> family and friends aren't the only ones happy to have our troops back home for the holidays. in denver, colorado, folks gather to welcome back troops as a simple thank you for their service. >> just welcoming home troops, saying thanks and merry christmas and giving them applause. they're so humble. you can't get a smile out of

them until after you come up and shake their hand. they're always thankful and respectful. >> some reunions mean a whole lot more than a simple welcome home, like this couple who were deployed to different countries and were reunited with their young son just in time for christmas. >> good christmas present? >> yeah, the best. >> and this couple who are reunited with their kids after also being deployed to two different locations. >> when you don't have your spouse to sit there and talk to you or decompress. >> the enjoy of a parent's return may have best been described after mom and dad delivered the ultimate surprise while their kids were sitting with mr. and mrs. clause themselves. >> i just had the best christmas ever. >> daddy! >> and it may be the best christmas ever for the father who got to surprise his daughter on santa's lap before meeting his 5-month-old son for the very first time.

>> was this a perfect christmas gift? >> it was amazing. more than perfect. >> so sweet, right? and if that wasn't inspiration enough this christmas, stay tuned for advice to share over the holidays or any other day for that matter. >> did you never have a bad day, get down? i've never seen you down, which is good, i'm not complaining. >> of course i do like everybody else, i think my personality's naturally upbeat. and, you know, a lot of stuff, i try to live what i teach and that is, you've got to get up, find something to be grateful for. so you get up and think, i don't want to go to work, i've got these problems, i've never done that. if you start the day off in a grateful mood thinking of what's right, i think it'll make your day go better. i take prilosec otc each morning for my frequent heartburn.

because you can't beat zero heartburn. woo hoo! [ male announcer ] prilosec otc is the number one doctor recommended frequent heartburn medicine for 8 straight years. one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn.

thanks for watching tonight on this christmas eve eve, everybody, wishing you and yours a wonderful merry christmas and happy holidays from all of us here at fox news. i'm martha maccallum in tonight for kelly. and this is "the kelly files."

welcome to "hannity." while the fate of "duck dynasty" remains up in the air and after a&e's indefinite suspension of phil robertson, one thing is clear, the patriarch of the robertson family is not backing down from his bible-backed position. i'm david webb in tonight for my good friend sean. according to a report in "the daily mail," phil robertson led a bible study group yesterday and during the meeting said, quote, i will not give or back off from my path. phil went on to say again, and i quote, i love all men and women. i'm a lover of humanity,