us. >> i am a little scarred today. your after christmas deals you can get tomorrow -- >> merry christmas, everyone. >> another day and another obamacare extension. the white house is adjusted the deadline again for everyone who wants coverage on the first. >> and you came from jeruslelem from where it started. >> thanks so much for joining

us. we look forward to spending the day with you. the website officials are telling the new york times this was a common sense move and it was a response to the huge traffic surge. with no period of how long the extension last, critics say this is just another pushback. >> the white house says the people are there. and the white house reads you might have run into delays. if this happened we fight be

able to get you signed up for january and at the latest february. the president has stayed quite and only making appearances when it is a vacation related. some republicans say this is a big stretch to look enrollment numbers look inflated >> people are eager to get the security that health care covererage will provide to their family. because of the affordable care act and the president's effort to pass, sign and implement this law, millions will have option to quality, affordable care for the first time. >> officials say web traffic was high on tuesday. 130,000 people couldn't complete

enrollment so that is another reason why the deadline is a moment in the rear view mirror. >> it is big mirror. >> let's turn to david rucker now joining us from washington. we are beginning to lose count on the number of extensions, modifications, changes, and appa appa appa appa apology. will they be able to get a handle on this? >> i expect it will continue to push back deadlines and blow past the deadlines. anything it feels it needs to

get the program on solid footing. i think what the ad ministration is doing is trying to bulster the numbers of people in the exchanges and the reason they are doing is because the insurance companies are going to take a bath and no one needs to feel bad about them. but if they take a bath in 2014 they will raise their prices for 2015 and those are supposed to publish before the next election or drop out of the exchange all together and americans who need insurance will lose access to choices and companies that are in at least health care dot gov. it could have spillover into thex changes that are running

well. if the idea starts to have a bad taste, we could decide we'll not be bothered with this. without enrollees you don't have a viable market place. >> looking into 2014, you say there is a potential for price spikes. we pulled up things that happened coming in 2014, 8.9% medicare increase for joint filers. a $2 per policy few for new research. right now the latest numbers show 35% of americans support the laws. once those price increases come

into effect, what is that is going to do to the poplularity f the law? >> since this hasn't gone well start, i don't know if the unpopularity of the law can get worse. what we are finding out, though, is the law used to be unpopular. the law is no longer a theory. the reaction americans are having to the plans are based on real fact. if you are a supporter and you think it is going to do good things and you are hoping people realize its positive effects.

if you are a critic you are watching what you expected to happen happen. there are many critics of the law that predicted the very things happening would in fact occur. so i don't think if can get that much more unpopular. but i think what this means is the opinion of the law is rooted where it is and i don't know it is possible to turn it around. especially now it is more than a theory. >> it seems like every day brings us new news on the law. david rucker thanks for joining us. >> back to you. >> giving him the rest of the day off? he joined us yesterday, too. nsa leaker edward snowden is set to take an appearance on british

television. the united states fugitive is calling on cizens to end widespread state spying. >> together week we can find a better balance and remind the government if it wants to know how we feel asking is always cheaper than spying. >> peter, in lieu of the queen, really? >> the christmas message that snowden is going to broadcast is a call for balance. he did say this week he doesn't want to end all intelligence gathering, but doesn't want to collect information about innocent people. that is why he told the washington post i am not trying to bring down the nsa. i am working to improve the nsa.

snowden is always going to say this: >> a child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all. they will never know what it means to have a private moment to themselves, an unrecorded and unanalyzed thought. and that is a problem. privacy allows us to determine who we are and who we want to be. >> and the reporter that met with snowden said the leakers life in moscow isn't much different than it was in the states. >> he is indoor cat he said. he is a guy who never used to go out all of that much. the life of learning and contact with people takes place

primarily with the key board. >> we asked the white house about snowden. and they reminded us he is being charged with multiple nelly -- felonies -- in the united states. >> here in the united states, not even a sled can help ups get their packages on time. they have been overwhelmed and some of your presents may not be under the tree today. rick is live, what went wrong? er >> reporter: the company's delivery system was overwhelmed. drivers are not on the road today. if you have not gotten the gift

today, it is not going to make it till tomorrow. demand was bigger than expected. they made a statement saying they under the importance of your gifts and they are making every effort to get the gifts out. but the volume is exceeded our expectations. we have not delivering on december 25th. they will be back on the road tomorrow. >> maybe they can take a picture of the gift, wrap that and give it to me. >> not quite the same >> do we have any idea how many packages are delayed?

>> the company is saying it is a small percentage of packages. but there are weather issues in dallas, fort worth where a line formed outside a distribution center where an ice storm hit. some people spent hours waiting in line to pick up the boxes. >> i spent four hours on the phone. i have been trying to call them since wednesday. >> more workers will be called in tonight to sort on thursday and you can track specific shipments on ups's website. >> if it isn't under the tree, it isn't going to be there today. >> it is the birth place of

their religion, but the middle east is seeing an attack on christians. >> and a live report on the duck dynasty twist as a and e prepares to air a special christmas day marathon of the show despite suspending phil robertson. hea philippin robertson a&e alcohol

fuelled partiesalcohol-fueled p

doubtself-doubt >> welcome back, everybody. merry christmas to you. we hope the weather isn't getting tht way of your family fun. there is a severe ice storm that

is tearing down power lines and leaving 250,000 homes and businesses without power mainly in michigan. some power companies are pulling in other workers from as far out from georgia. michigan is looking at a white christmas with an inch of snow in detroit. >> an inch isn't much. but makes it beautiful for a white christmas. a&e is welcoming phil robertson home for the holidays. they are moving forward with the christmas day marathon despite suspending him. will carr is live. will, good morning. >> good morning. merry christmas. a&e has come out and condemned the comments but apparently feels it is okay to run a duck

dynasty marathon that will start this afternoon on the east coast. kw the founder of faith drive n consumer is finding irony in that. >> they recognize that faith-driven consumers value that programming and they recognize it is a money maker. >> that is chris stone. he helped start an online petition i stand with phil and demands his reinstatement. it has more than 220,000 significa significant. jesse jackson senior jumped into

the story strongly condemning them. jackson tells chicago tribun quote at least the bus driver was following state law, robertson was within the context of what he seems to believe is white privilege. we reached out to a&e and asked why they plan to run the marathon, but we have not heard back. >> it doesn't seem like this story is going anywhere. will carr, thank you. >> happy holidays to you. in 2013, it has been a big year for criminal trials and legal battles and the supreme court has been busy. our legal panel will talk about

the big cases of the year and the big surprises in the courtroom. >> and americans helping those in need. homeless families getting the five star treatment.

>> there are still some of us who send out old-fashion christmas cards. but the cost is going up. the price of a first class stamp is going to be 49 cents.

the produce of sending bulk mail is increases well. they are trying to make up for $2.8 billion in loss revenue brought on by the recession and e-mail. >> i am sure my mom is going to love the e-mail christmas card. have to do what we have to do. >> this year, we got an eye full for the legal and most of them were gripping courtroom drama off television. let's bring in two criminal defensive attorneys. merry christmas. >> thank you so much for being with us. what a year. whether you are a lawyer or not, there was plenty to watch. i have to start with george zimmerman. reminds me of the criminal that walks and he gets in trouble

again and again. do you see this when you you have a defendant, prove innocence and several weeks later they are in trouble for something else? >> sometimes unfortunately it happens. george zimmerman was in a fish bowl wondering if he was going to spend the rest of his live in pris prison. now i think he feels he is in destructible. i would be careful if i were him. he needs to lay low and stop attracting this negative attention. >> is that what you would advise

a client, john? this was a charged case. and then accused of domestic violence. posing with the owner of a gun shop. would you have told him to lay low as ester is recommending? >> of course. after we win a trial, my clients lay low. i say take this opportunity to reflect they are lucky and this is a second chapter in their life. i would have told george zimmerman this is your opportunity to make amendez -- amends -- and move on. in fairness to him, he had a lot going on. >> and the affluenza defense

where the lawyers were creative in a defense saying he is so rich and raised a certain way he d d did not know his actions were wrong. that reminds me of the jodi arias case saying he has such beautiful hair she could donate that to cancer patients. what did you ink think about that? >> i think the defense attorney did the job he could have done. he was in a very difficult position and this was the only litigating factor. you don't blame the attorney. you ask the judge where did this come from and why are you

accepting the defense. i have represented plenty of clients as a public defender and if i said my client is too poor to know the difference between what is right and wrong. it is one thing to see he didn't know right and wrong and was stealing a loaf of bread, but staying it was because he was never punished as a child. >> i want to move on. the brother of the boston bombing case, dzhokhar tsarnaeved, survived. do you think a fair and

impartial jury can be seated in that case? >> it is going to be difficult. there is not going to be any court in the united states where no one has heard about the ba boston bombing. they should present questions to the federal judge to ask the jurors whether they could be fair and impartial. but the media and global attention on the case will make it hard. >> kudos to john winter, a writer who won a ruling she didn't have to reveal one of her sources. a great one for the future of journalism on cases like this.

merry christmas to you guys. >> coming up, more of the attacks on christians in the middle east as the christians are under threat increasingly.

this is the pope's first year on the job and used this christmas

message to call for peace. he praised for peace in the middle east and embattled nations. the terror groups carried out attacked in the middle east on christians. the latest attack was in iraq. we have an expert joining us. it seems like the christians are more under threat than every. >> in iraq, attacks on churches on christmas and in egypt as well and in lebanon. but the bigger issue is in syria. christians are being pushed out ouf their -- of their -- homes

and villages. >> we have heard about the rise of the groups being forced to convert in some of the regions the rebels have taken over. is al-quida one of the biggest ones? >> they are one of the major threats to the christian community to syria. but they are protected their own christians that work with them. the christian community in syria is sandwiched between extreme terrorist organization and the

iranians on the other side. >> widen this out in terms of the greater syria conflict. thousands are dying every week. it seems to be spiraling out of control. the pope says he prayed for a better world. do we have a chance to put syria back together? >> the pope mentioned he doesn't have military forces, but his message is heard by catholics and christians around the world. it seems to me the regime isn't stopping. they are bombing and killing people. they feel like the united states is striking deals with iran.

and what we can do now is put the pressure on both forces. do we have somebody planning on this? i don't know see any policy. certainly not in washington, d.c. >> does the united states have the ability other than say going to start bombing in syria to project influence? do they have the ability to send in the cia and affect change? >> unfortunately, we come late. that is a historical fact. but in 2011, every thing we want to send today was already there. we were in iraq. we had stopped the iranians comes from to syria. hezbollah wasn't in syria. we didn't act. 2012 we had our own elections.

everything has changed now. and yes, i agree with you the price would be much higher if we want to consider any intervention. >> it seems like this is the perfect storm inside syria. is there any room for moderates who might be able to protect the christians? i remember there was a time that one of the warehouses was overrun with terrorists. >> they are everywhere mostly in the eastern part. if we have a policy, we can find the moderates and work with them. >> merry christmas to you and

your family. the news isn't that merry for a lot of christians trying to celebrate their own holiday. >> it is a familiar sound of the season. >> heard it all over new york city. those ringing salvation bells. difference that lose change makes in people's lives. and surprises by secret santas.

>> early christmas morning and north pole craftsman are hard at

work. in the town of north pole alaska ice carvers are creating works of art for the seventh annual christmas and ice carving exhibit. that is a serious exhibit. two world champion are taking home first and second place in the single block competition. >> it is a fast medium. there is endless capabilities you can do with it. >> it wound up being 30 below 0 when i was attaching the spikes. this was a daring undertaking. >> it runs through january 7th. if you do decide to go, it is about 400 miles from anchorage, but it is right next to santa's

house. >> the salvation army, you have seen them out there. they are used to getting dollars and coins. this year they got something a bit bigger. a secret santa donated two gold bars. they are worth $1200 and $1500 each. it is a shorter giving season because thanksgiving and christmas were close together and bad weather making it tough, so we are going to try to do our part with major ron who is joining me. national spokesperson for the salvation army. merry christmas and every year we get the work out you do and i have covered disasters where i have seen you there lending a hand. but first the wedding ring

story. >> it is a wonderful story. someone donated wedding rings and said if you could find a nice couple who needs these. so they are working on something on valentines day. a local restaurant is involved to help do a reception. so that is a special way to give something at christmas that has a significant impact. >> what city was that in? >> mobile, alabama i believe. >> you found an engagement ring and wedding ring and a note that said love last forever and if you know a man who wants to propose but doesn't have the money give them the rings. >> the kettle is a quick way to

give and anonymous. >> it has been tough this year, hasn't it >> five fewer day and that is $22.7 million dollars. that is what five fewer days are. >> those are huge numbers you can raise. what is some of the most significant work the salvation army did this year? >> helping children to make sure families have a gift on christmas morning that there is a nice meal for them. and in some cases, with homeless children and families to they can sure there is a nice, decent safe place for every child to stay. >> i remember going to head quarters and learning that

salvation army members are only married to salvation army members. i know the one question viewers ask is what percentage of their donati donati donati donation goes to giving. >> 82 cents of every dollar knows to programs. and what is interesting is that if people want to give through the internet or some other way what they need to know is those dollars stay in the community where they are. so when you give in front of time square that money stays there in new york city. if you are giving in texas or the gold bars in south dakota that money stays there. >> neighbors helping neighbors is a wonderful program.

thank you. >> speaking of christmas, a different gift turning up under more and more trees. we will go ge inside the friend of giving the gift of a new you -- trend --

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♪ because during the holidays, keeping your identity protected means keeping your family protected. >> well a fox news alert. it unclear what this means, but egypt's back government has declared a breaking news. the muslim brotherhood is a

terrorist group. we will keep a close eye on whether or not there are know protest or acceptance of the fact the muslim brotherhood would get that label of being a terrorist group. >> could change a lot in egypt. it may not be the most traditional gift and you may not be sure how people will react to receiving it. but there is a growing trend of giving plastic surgery as a christmas present.

dr. perry is joining us. when you hear about it sounds strange. how do you go about this? >> if you search websites you will find hundreds of different doctors offering gift certifi t certificat certificates. let's think about this: there are a lot of different issues. what if you give them the breast augmentation and she doesn't realize she needs that. there are ethical issues involved. >> talk about the ethical issues. we are talking about thousands of dollars, risks of surgeries,

how does this work? >> a gift certificate is fine for a consolultation but we get into issues about a specific surgery. sgr >> what are people who want to buy their loved one a present of this type. what are they saying? >> i don't offer gift certif a certificcertific certificates like that. i will do consultations. and once they come in, and it all checks out, it might be reasonable to have the third party pay for that.

>> despite the recession and discretionary income being limited, it seems this surgery is on the rise. >> it is on the rise, but the big surgical procedures have declined. botox and fillers are what is rising. those are poplar with millions of people each year having these procedures. they work and are relatively non-invasive. >> and much less expensive. >> we can make people look better with non-invasive procedures whereas 10-15 years ago we required surgery. >> thank you for coming in. >> talk about a christmas gift that is a true bundle of joy. how one hospital is getting new

mothers and fathers into the holiday spirit. next.

jamie: well is it a surprise or not such a surprise? another day and another new obamacare deadline. the administration announcing a christmas eve surprise, extending once again the date and cutoff to enroll for coverage that begins january 1st if you can get it. if people can prove they ran into technical problems on the website when they tried to set up and sign up. good morning, everyone. merry christmas to you. i'm jamie colby in with leland vittert. how lucky. he won the lottery today. he came all the way from jerusalem. leland: all the way from

jerusalem with christmas greetings. great to be here, jamie. merry christmas to you at home. we're happy you're with us here. the hits keep on coming for obamacare. the obama administration is calling the delay, quote, a practical move in response to a surge of traffic on the website. others just say it is one more sign of the confusion that has been plaguing obamacare since its october rollout. of the doug mckelway is traveling with the president who is on vacation. he joins us live on a very early christmas morning there in honolulu. doug, good morning. merry christmas. what is the administration saying about this change? >> reporter: well, they're saying despite this criticism of extending the rollout by another day, that the website worked and worked very well. here is josh ernest at the hotel here in honolulu. >> we made tremendous technical improvements to the website. when the website was first rolled out in october, it was crashing regularly and was not

reliable. it is reliable while taking on significant traffic. more than a million people today used that website. >> reporter: yesterday that, extra day the center for medicare services said they had another busy. not quite as busy as the 23rd. they say it worked very well again. their spokesperson said, and i'm quoting here, we're taking thousands of calls at our call centers which remain open until midnight. we're seeing thousands of visitors complete enrollment online. the website says you can still enroll if you had trouble getting on the website on the 23rd or the 24th. it seems to suggest that deadline has been extended even farther. even the severest critics of obamacare's website say the website itself is not the fundamental problem. it is obamacare. and the question of whether it can remain solvent if, not enough young, healthy people sign up for it. it raises the question where the money will come from if that happens. there is some speculation some democrats in congress who are

very much afraid of obamacare's falling fortunes in the polls and their own falling fortunes in the polls may team up with republicans to make necessary changes best midterm elections in 2014. here is senator jerry moran in kansas. >> we need to do things to improve health care in our country. the affordable care act is not the way to do it but for us to determine where to go from here, one would think, particularly they're spending taxpayer dollars that congress would have something to say about it. >> reporter: the obamas are staying out of the fray while here in hawaii. michelle obama tweet ad picture by jerry susa of her talking to children across the country through the hotline at the north american air defense command. this tradition began in 1955. a local paper put the santa's telephone number. it was norad's instead. norad has gone with it.

this is the third time he has played golf here. traditionally on christmas day he visits troops in hawaii. we'll see if that happens. there is no public or published schedule. with that statement i have fully expended my hawaiian vocabulary. leland: doing pretty good with the hawaiian, doug. we need christmas lights for palm trees behind you. put you in the christmas spirit. ry -- merry christmas, doug. jamie: i don't think ed henry spoke hawaiian when he was there. leland: that was very impressive. jamie: he always goes the extra mile. politics is not making a break this christmas. the president may be golfing but lot of people are starting to beer up for the mid term elections, that is right, next year. obamacare could make some races much more competitive. already we have some front-runners for the race for the white house. let's bring in our political

panel. erick erickson, correspondent for the "washington examiner" and doug schoen a fox news contributor, former advisor to president bill clinton. although they are very much respected here they are not the front-runners i'm talking about. neither of you guys are running, right, ready to announce? >> no. >> that is not going to happen. jamie: know too much to be interested. so interesting at this early time, doug, the "real clear politics" average poll is showing hillary clinton with a huge, more than 50% spread. what do you think? >> yeah, i think hillary is the consensus nominee of the democratic party, should she decide to run. i'm one of those who like many believe she will run. she is in a neck-and-neck race in the general election. so the real challenge for her, i think is not so much the primary but ultimate contest in november 2016. jamie: eric, nothing really changed in terms of her pop later or interest or her name coming up.

she says that, she told barbara walters in interview being named one of the most fascinating people of 2013, that we'll know what her plans are early next year. she's pretty much kept the spread that she has over any other candidates including andrew cuomo, governor of new york. biden, warren, other names that come up, elizabeth warren. what would she need to do to increase the spread or at least maintain what she has, percentage she has comply maritime? >> you know, i think that once she actually announces it will probably go up a little more. i think most people think she is going to announce. a lot of people aren't paying attention to 2016 yet. we're kind of anomalous paying attention. once she announces, popularity among democrats will go up some. remember, she is very, very well-known already. she has a cap she may not be able to overcome. being president obama's

secretary of state and tied to some degree with the obama administration, if the health care law drags down the president, it may start dragging down people who is in his administration. she will need to thread the needle carefully to make people know she has a secretary of state, a senator and a first lady but not of the obama administration. jamie: interesting point. doug, we look at the republican side, i want to put up the numbers of average, the name ted cruz is probably now more well-known than it ever was. rand paul is certainly making the round as well. you hear a lot about chris christie. why? >> sure. well, you hear about chris christie because he won overwhelmingly about 60% in a blue state. he is somebody who is a fiscal conservative. probably a social moderate to some extent. the interesting thing though about those primary numbers, jamie, if you combine ted cruz

and rand paul who appeal to the same constituency, you get 26% which is even greater than the 20% that chris christie was getting. so we're in for a tough, tough republican fight. christie is the frontrunner now but not really at all clear how long or in what way that lead will manifest itself. jamie: do you think ryan has any advantage, eric, because his name is more well-known, either for budget reasons or for being involved in races previously? >> well, you know i actually think ryan and christie are experiencing to some degree the same phenomenon. they're most familiar to voters. ryan having been vice-presidential nominee and forefront of budget crises. i think ryan will be hurt bit debt deal and other things. other conservatives will seize on those. a lot of establishment likes chris christie. chris christie is benefiting being republican governor closest to new york city where most of the media is. jamie: doug, what do you think the most important issue to the

democrats if the election were right now in 2016 and to republicans? >> i think we have two or three issues. i think the economy looms larger. it hasn't been talked about much. but bottom line the recovery is still tepid and even though wall street's gone up, it hasn't been manifest in either the economic growth or the job creation numbers. the affordable care act as you were saying before for both side is a critical issue. and i predict that obama's is going to try to get immigration through the house and senate next year. will probably be a tough sledding. that is almost certainly going to be an issue as we go forward. jamie: do you have anything to add? >> i would highlight the economy and the ap poll of top stories for 2013, the economy wasn't listed but that does not mean it is a, not a story for the middle class. doug is right, the middle class is not being benefited although wall street is. that is populist issue both sides will have to deal with

with in 2014 and sift is sift. jamie: great debate. doug schoen, erick erickson. >> merry christmas to everyone. leland: politics never stops even for christmas. we have received a christmas message, a little bit of an odd one from nsa leaker edward snowden, the whistle-blower wanted here in the united states on multiple charges was making remarks on british television. his speech has been called an alternative to the queen's annual message. an interesting comparison with edward snowden and the queen. here to explain, peter doocy live in washington. peter, what did he have to say? >> reporter: leland, edward snowden's alternative message basically boils down to a call for balance in the broadcast to british audience. he brought up george orwell who wrote about big brother in the late '40s. snowden said governments today go further than anything orwell

ever imagined. >> we have sensors in our pockets that track us everywhere we go. think what it means for the privacy of the average person. a child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all. >> reporter: today edward snowden is in moscow, reportedly living on rahman noodles and chips. while that is a lot different than the life he had in hawaii as a high-paid intelligence contractor earlier this year he tells "the washington post" this. quote, for me in terms of personal satisfaction the mission's already accomplished. i already won. as soon as journalists were able to work, everything that i had been trying to do was validated because remember i didn't want to change society. i wanted to give society a chance to determine if it should change itself now the reporter who met with snowden in moscow last week gave as you preview yesterday of what we may learn in 2014. >> he has no control over and no desire over to control what new

documents may be leaked. he left that entirely to the journalists to decide what our stories will be but i think you can expect more stories and i assume you can expect more developments in foreign capitals, congress, courts and so on. >> reporter: the former deputy cia director michael more relsaid recently if snowden wants the american public to decide the fate of bulk data collection programs and come back to the united states and let an american jury decide his own fate. that is basically what the white house is telling us as well. leland. leland: so far doesn't seem like he is coming back even for christmas here in the united states. peter doocy live in washington. peter, thanks. jamie: a skier caught in an avalanche, the one thing you don't want to happen. he was buried under a mountain of snow but his brother saved the day. we'll tell you how. look at those pictures. scary times on the slopes. leland: new timeline for our troops in afghanistan develop

celebrating christmas in afghanistan. while the u.s. may be softening a deal for the deadline with president karzai. we'll go in depth. ♪ heart healthy, huh?! ugh! actually progresso's soup has pretty bold flavor. i love bold flavors! i'd love it if you'd open the chute! [ male announcer ] progresso. surprisingly bold flavor for a heart healthy soup.

jamie: wow, life-saving rescue when a skier gets stuck after an avalanche all caught on camera. the 22-year-old was buried under a mountain of snow while he and his brother were skiing out of bound in veil, colorado. thanks to hiss fast acting brother and hours of digging he made it out alive just before dark. >> i definitely thought i might die, while i was sliding, and knew if i got buried deep it would be a very bad situation. i was so grateful to be off the surface a little bit. it would have been a lot more

tram tick if i had been completely buried. jamie: you think? wow. he left only with a knee injury. he considers himself truly lucky to be alive. leland: christmas miracle there. there has been a christmas day attack at the u.s. embassy in kabul, afghanistan, and there are conflicting reports exactly what happened. an embassy official said indirect fire hit the compound and all americans are accounted for. here are video from the scene. while the taliban claimed it fired rockets and inflicted heavy casualties. word from the obama administration may be softening the deadline in terms of a deal to keep u.s. troops in afghanistan beyond the 2014 timeline. joining us ambassador john bolton, former ambassador to the united nations and fox news contributor. ambassador, let's start with this. how bad is the situation right now in afghanistan? how bad does it have the potential to get? >> i think with the prospect of american withdrawal or substantial drawdown in forces and other nato forces, taliban

and al qaeda know that time is on their side and i think this attack on the embassy this morning, small though it was a piece of propaganda. it was not coincidence it was on christmas. it is not coincidence they are showing they can attack our embassy in a time and manner of their choosing. it is designed to affect the feeling among the afghan population. i must say the administration is waking up a little bit to what the pentagon has been telling the white house for some time if american troops really do end up withdrawing from afghanistan, i'm sad to say we will be where we were before 9/11. leland: we heard so much about the security withdrawal, president hamid karzai talks about seems at some level he is stringing the united states along at some higher and highers price. at one point we thought we had a deal and that fell apart? >> that is why this extension of

the deadline is very troubling. when you're in a negotiation situation and you laid out a deadline or lay down another condition and then you back away from it, it tells the negotiator on the other side that maybe other things you've said were paramount importance are not so important after all. i'm afraid this is very bad way for the white house to go about this. i have chills when i think about what happened in iraq where we went through the same kind of negotiation, couldn't reach a deal. american forces had to withdraw. we now have both chaos in that country and increased iranian influence. so it's a bad situation. unless the administration pays more attention to it. this requires high-level attention to nail this deal down. leland: it seems so easy you can use that word in the beginning of a the september 11th attacks to take over afghanistan. seems like it is much, much harder to actually convert afghanistan into something a state surviving on its own without the u.s. security

influence. >> well honestly i think that was our biggest mistake. i don't think we'll convert afghanistan. i think it was a mistake to try. we'll not make it into the switzerland of central asia. weto a democracy. we're not going to eliminate corruption. we'll not improve its economy and basic politics. what we went in there for, what we're there for now and what we should stay for, to prevent al qaeda and taliban retaking control and using it as a base for international terrorism. equally or more important, making sure pakistan right next door doesn't fall into the hands of their taliban or radicals and stock of nuclear weapons. we're not there to improve afghanistan. we're there for american natural security interests, at least that is what our priorities should be. leland: the person negotiating with president karzai here, he doesn't seem to share that goal of american national security interests is that an accurate statement? >> i think from his behavior that is the only conclusion you can draw. one way to handle it from a

negotiator's point of view, in private remind him very clearly he wouldn't be there but for us. this is not the first time we've met with ingratitude from people we put in power. i think if we had, i'll be blunt here, leaned on him harder earlier this deal would be done on terms favorable to the united states. the conclusion i draw is the white house's unwillingness to insist on terms favorable to the united states demonstrates their real underlying feeling, they just like to withdraw american troops entirely. leland: it seems like though as we're talking about this and as this is going on there continues to be a number of attacks on americans there. at some level that americans are becoming more at risk because they have less ability to respond. how right now can americans protect the people that they have on the ground right now amid these negotiations, some would say with one arm tied hyped their back by president karzai? >> i think it is both president

karzai but the u.s.'s own policy there if the only thing you're trying to achieve is protecting your own forces it's a legitimate question why you have forces there at all. this goes to the basic question, what the obama administration really wants. there are a lot of people in afghanistan underneath president karzai out in the rest of society who fully understand if america goes, karzai will go soon after. that government is not going to survive i'm afraid to save. what the taliban is trying to do by attacks on american troops, by attacks on the embassy is to demonstrate they are the coming power. we're withdrawing. our influence is declining. so if the afghan population as a whole wants to be on the side of the winner they should recognize it's taliban. we could change their perception but we're not doing it. leland: we'll see what happens with the afghanistan elections come april 2014. ambassador john bolton, thanks for joining us on christmas. merry christmas to you and

yours. i look hyped you, see mountains. always nice to be where it is white for christmas. people are getting christmas cheer today due to a five-star luxury hotel. heartwarming stories next

jamie: welcome back, everybody. merry christmas. same-sex couples can still get married in utah. a federal appeals court rejecting the state's request to stop it but the state had wanted to put same-sex marriages on hold while it appealed a judge's ruling overturning the ban. a constitutional law professor said the u.s. supreme court could make a decision on this by friday. but for now clerks in utah can continue issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian

couples across that state. leland: it wasn't the grinch who stole your christmas presents but the ups deliveryman who just didn't get them there in time. ups says high demand simply overwhelmed its system. and it now says it will not deliver some shipment that is were supposed to be under the tree until tomorrow. rick leventhal live in our new york city newsroom with more. rick, what went wrong? >> reporter: well, leland as you said according to ups the company's delivery system was overwhelmed by up credible demand. too many boxes and not enough planes. and since pilots are not driving and drivers at wheel on the job, there will be frowns at the tree. probably already were this morning. if you haven't gotten a gift dropped on your doorstep by now, it will not make it until tomorrow at the earliest. according to a company spokesperson said demand was much greater than forecast this year. in a statement posted on its website united farce sell service says, ups understands the importance of your holiday

shipments. ups is experiencing heavy holiday volume and making every effort to get packages to their destination however the volume of air packages in the system exceeded the capacity of our network immediately preceding christmas so some shipments were delayed. ups is not making pickups or delivery on christmas day and will resume normally scheduled service on december 26th. have faith, drivers will be back on the job bright and early tomorrow morning. leland? leland: rick, any idea how many people were affected by this? if it was a systemwide issue seems like probably there was a lot. >> reporter: the company describes it as a small percentage of packages and not releasing any numbers you but the number is well into total of thousands of late deliveries. weather to blame in dallas-ft. worth which endured a significant ice storm this month. some frustrated customers there form ad line outside the fort worth ups distribution center, waiting hours in person in some cases to pick up boxes themselves.

reports suggest it was worth the wait. most people got the packages and cheers from others in line when they did. more workers are called in tonight to the international hub in louisville, kentucky, to sort packages for delivery tomorrow. customers can track progress of specific shipments on-ups.com. leland: you print out the shipping thing that says your package is delayed. put a picture. wrap it under the tree. my little sister forgot my present entirely. i got a wrapped piece of paper with a printout. thanks, rick. jamie: i wish people would remember even though it is christmas great to get presents and also about helping others. leland: that is the spirit it is about. if you can do it, where christmas started as before the whole commercialization took over. jamie: that's true. i like that. so you're past not getting the birthday present? you're moving on? because i have a great story to tell you. leland: i can get over it. good news can get me over it. jamie: listen to this. hundreds of homeless people in

texas are getting five-star treatment this christmas. we have fox fill eight kdfw in dallas has a great story for you. [sirens] >> reporter: an honor usually reserved for dignitaries. coupled with the rock-star welcome. all for 500 homeless men, women and children. >> it is really nice. really nice. it's a blessing. >> reporter: there is plenty of celebration. hugs for thousands of volunteers who welcomed them and tears of gratitude. >> i was going to sit around on the street today and feel sorry for myself. so i'm so blessed to be here. >> christmas is a hard time for a lot of us that are struggling and not with our families. so this really, really helps us. gives us hope to keep going. >> reporter: soup mobile is in the hope business year-round, serving up hot meals and sheltering the homeless but for christmas this special treat.

>> 2,000 years ago there was no room at the inn for baby jesus. we can't change that but we can do something for these people this year. we're going to give them a magical christmas at omni hotel. >> reporter: each guest also gets new clothes, gifts and other goodies. they're often ignored. >> can i grab one for you? >> reporter: now they're being treated like royalty. >> all right. oh, wow. >> oh, my gosh. >> reporter: renee and her roommate for the night are in awe. renee says she never thought she would be homeless. instead of a rented room, she used to have a home. >> had good jobs and had nice homes and, you know, my alcoholism got in the way. i am 40 days sober tomorrow. that's a good thing, yeah. >> reporter: more grateful than ever, she vows to some day give back to the organization that has given her so much. >> more than i can tell you. i can't put it into words. pretty emotional. >> reporter: a holiday from the

problems that playing her and hundreds of others. jamie: that's what i'm talking about! leland: there is something really special when you see that, you get up this morning, think about christmas. that really is what it is all about. jamie: everybody should do a little something for somebody else. great, great story. we're so happy to tell it. leland: great day to have it, especially this time of year. it isn't always easy to keep up with healthy habits. so as you indulge at parties and of course at tonight's christmas dinner, some tips to stay in shape or perhaps if you need to, get in shape for 2014. jamie: hotdogs and french fries? leland: didn't look like christmas dinner. jamie: we'll do better than that and maybe, no, i can't do better than this. a christmas present for you guys out there. that's right, victoria secret is unveiling new technology at its annual fashion show. should i talk slowly so we can run more video? it is christmas. we'll take a closer look how it

all came together. that is straight ahead. ♪ so i got the windows nokia blet. it's, well, impressive. it's got the brigest hd scree super-fast 4g lte, so my son an play games and movies almost anywhere, and it's got ofce for school stuff. but the best part? i g the lumia 928 for my dahter for free, with the best low-light smartphone camera this side of the north pole. dad for the win. mm! mm! mm! ♪ honestly, i want to see you be brave ♪ dad for the win. mm! mm! mm! ♪ fare thee well ♪ farewell ♪ mr. gloom be on your way ♪ ♪ though you haven't any money you can still be bright and sunny ♪ ♪ sing polly wolly doodle all the day ♪

♪ hah

jamie: fox news alert and an interesting development out of egypt. the military-backed interim government, declares that the muslim brotherhood is now a terrorist group. what does this mean? well it could mean they could make arrests of muslim brotherhood members, those who

finance the muslim brotherhood. remember they were the ones that had gotten morsi out of office and taken over and now the military is in charge. declaring today that the muslim brotherhood is designate ad terrorist group. we'll keep an eye on any new protests or reaction out of the region coming up. leland: it is the bottom of the hour. here is your headlines. another last-minute change on obamacare. the white house again extending the deadline to sign up for coverage starting january 1st under the affordable care act. the feds say people can continue to complete applications about they can show they missed the latest deadline due to web site problems and there have been a lot of them. the administration calls it a common sense move after a recent surge in traffic to the site. it is causing more confusion for insurance companies and even some consumers. violence this christmas day in iraq apparently targeting

christians, a going trend in the middle east. violence leaving 37 people dead. one attack during a christmas mass killing 26 and wounding another 38. earlier two simultaneous bombs ripped through an outdoor market in the christian section of the city. in vatican city, pope francis asking for piece in iraq and spots while celebrating his first christmas as head of the roman catholic church. the pope is calling on athiests to unite with believers of all religions and work with a homemade peace that can spread across the word. recent polling suggest that is the pope has a favorability rating of nearly 90%. jamie: we have spent much of the last hour 1/2 telling you some feel-good stories of people doing wonderful things for christmas. christmas wishes in fact coming true for dozens of families in wisconsin. their loved ones, home for the holidays after serving seven months overseas.

if you watch this channel, you know, i love our troops and i appreciate what their families do too. check out this from jonathan greg, fox affiliate, witi, in milwaukee. he has some more. ♪ >> reporter: sometimes we don't get the gift we really want for christmas. >> pray for him every day. talk to him when we can. >> reporter: you feel bad for being ungrateful and a little selfish. >> i can't even express the emotion. >> reporter: we can't help but wish for the perfect gift. the schmidt's family knows what that is. >> sergeant joel schmidt. >> reporter: as well as. >> specialist brennan. >> reporter: and lea. >> first time meeting him. >> reporter: whose husband never held their newborn son. in fact a request no man can hold him until he gets home and does it first. >> grandpa, great grandpa, uncles, everybody is waiting to

hold him after today. >> reporter: everyone here, more than 200 people anxiously waiting all have the perfect gift in mind. not surprising, it is all the same. >> to have joel home safe and sound was probably the best christmas present ever. >> reporter: when the word was given, the gifts were released. >> thank you so much. >> reporter: it's true of the we don't always get what we want, but today, the families of the 372nd are. >> all i wanted. honestly i just wanted to be home with family and friends so. >> reporter: getting exactly what they wished for. their brothers, their sisters, their husbands, their fathers, home for christmas. and there's no need to feel selfish. let's call it a reward for such a selfless act. jamie: love that they're home for christmas. i wish everyone could be. that was jonathan greg. we thank you so much, jonathan. leland: no place like home for the holidays. think about all the mothers and

families who don't have to worry anymore. you see relief on their faces at the moment. jamie: temporary for many of them. they redeploy after a quick break. leland: temporary on christmas day. i know everybody is. speaking of christmas it's a time of giving and generous time of year. we have an amazing act of generosity this christmas to tell you about when a secret santa stops by a walmart in kentucky and helps cover serious bills. from our affiliate wdrb has the story. >> i could not believe somebody out there picked me and don't know anything about me or my situation. >> reporter: when you listen to her explain her situation, it's a wonder she is still alive. hit by a train, homeless, divorced, all at the same time. >> i had already told, just give mama time. >> reporter: she had all but written off for another christmas for her 10-year-old daughter. but somehow she is i can shaking gifts under the tree like a kid

herself under christmas morning. >> the first time in two years i can give her what she wanted. >> reporter: there are 167 more right on time stories coming from the walmart. the secret santa who's sleigh landed here paid off $13,000 in lay away. gifts two days headed back to the store shelves because people couldn't pay. >> being in retail you kind of get immune to holidays and just brought back the spirit of christmas for me. >> reporter: when the donor came in, walmart workers started looking for people who needed help, people who hadn't paid in a while with toys or toddler clothing on hold. >> one woman told me she had a couple of grandkid and wasn't going to be able to get them anything and she was. that is time i lost it and started crying myself. >> reporter: the secret santa had two requests, to remain anonymous he helped to pay it forward. not the presents, just help

someone else. >> she doesn't know? >> she has no idea. >> reporter: tequila had $150 left on her layaway and now her christmas is priceless. >> thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. you have no idea what this meant for me and my daughter. god bless you. and i will pass it on. >> reporter: if only more people paid it forward and that story. just like that santa did. jamie: you know who may have more time to pay it forward? are you a belieber? that is justin bieber? leland: no. jamie: be a belieber. he has announced in a beat on christmas eve, my beloved beliebers i'm officially retiring. that's right. he is only 19 years old. he said the media talks a lot about me. a lot of lies. they want me to fail but i'm never really leaving you. leland: i have a terrible life. it is so awful. jamie: being a bee lieber is a life-style. don't give up the lifestyle. he previously denied he is

retiring. this just in via tweet how you get at love your news nowadays. that's it. 19. he's out. leland: i'm not sure i could go on with the show. it may be up to the you for the rest of the show. jamie: you're ferklempt, aren't you? leland: i'm heartbroken. jamie: perhaps someone else will call in, like miley cyrus. maybe she will call us and make you feel better. it's christmas. leland: it's christmas. you have to have hope, right? all right, this might make some people feel better here. jamie: no names. leland: holiday treat in 3-d. we'll not unveil any names. victoria secret unveiled the christmas new technology show. all that skin and lingerie. i promise i did not ask for this story to be aired today. stay tuned. jamie will tell you what it is. ♪

jamie: if you're one of those folks who didn't get anything during the holidays, here you go courtesy of victoria secret and is a love ski, julie. we take a quick look at the victoria secret fashion show earlier this month. we only watched it, a few times. swarovski helped angels get their rings and accessories and footwear for the show early this month. to do it the company used some new technology, 3-d. check out pictures of one of the outfits printed by technicians from the firm, shapeway. the bodies of that, for guys don't know that is the top part of the outfit, part of the wings too, were made by machine laser printing. soup irmodel lindsey ellington

wore the creation on the runway. here is the technology. it takes all the equipment. you think these girls put this sufficient on and they leave? what happens her body is scanned by a computer and her exact measurements are used to generate a digital model of the garment and sparkly spark, there she is, on the runway, okay. don't say we didn't tell you. leland: take as village. jamie: apparently. a lot of equipment. why was the guy wearing like a white suit? to keep it all hygenic. or he doesn't stuff any of the crystals to take home? we're not sure. leland: we don't know but he probably enjoyed that part of his job more than the rest. jamie: spectacular. leland: not bad. not bad. this is ard ha transition to make from victoria secret to christmas the way it began. the little town of bethlehem seeing one of its largest holiday turnouts in years as crowds pack the biblical birthplace of jesus this christmas day. conor powell is live in

bethlehem. conor? >> reporter: well, leland, merry christmas and good morning to you guys here from bethlehem. the festivities here have started to wrap up here in bethlehem. a few minutes ago we heard fireworks. there are still a fair amount of people in manger square behind me but they're starting to dismantle the stage that had all the performances last night as transition from the festivities in the square have now moved to the church of the nativity. that is the site where tradition hold that is is the church over the spot where mary gave birth to jesus some 2,000 years ago. last night there was a midnight mass hosted by the latin patriarch. he prayed for peace in the middle east not only here in the holy land but also in syria and across the entire region. he also requested a just and equitable solution to the on going israeli-palestinian crisis. one of the americans we bumped into down there in the manger square yesterday said she is really hoping the message of

peace here at christmas will rub off on world leaders working on an israeli-palestinian peace deal. >> a lot of time we hear about division this region of the world but here all the people speaking different languages for a similar cause. so that is very hopeful thing to see. we just very much spirit of christmas as well though. i guess hope is a good thing you take away from here. >> reporter: visitors here in bethlehem past decade have dropped off because the war in iraq and war in syria. the on going conflict in israeli-palestinian areas. that has seen a change this year. according to organizers in bethlehem they said they saw a up tick in visitors of tourism from all over the world. that is good thing for bethlehem and the overall region. back to you. leland: conor powell, live from where it all began above manger square. jamie: it's a bird, it is a

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jamie: merry christmas, everybody. great to have you here. if you've been to an airport lately, many airlines going wild with the fuselage design, trying new things. air new zealand finished an amusing promotion, middle earth is closer than you think. hobbit moviemaker peter jackson is a new zealand native. one air new zealand plane is decked out in massive dragon decals. it flew to los angeles recently for "the hobbit" premier.

the decal was put on to the plane in a painstaking process. we're speeding it up to show you. the promotion aims to encourage tourists to new zealand. who wouldn't want to go, which is up due to popularity of "the lord of the rings movies filmed there and "the hobbit" desolation of smaug, has been in earned 12million dollars. that is what it has raked insofar. i guess i have to see it. leland: go see it or fly on the plane to new zealand. jamie: love that. long flight. leland: go anytime. this christmas, one hospital is giving neweaning to the term stocking stuffers. the banner gate way medical staff in phoenix is making stockings big enough to hold babies and babies seem pretty happy about it. jamie: ah. leland: they are necessary selled into the christmas booties and sent home with the proud new mothers and fathers. i don't know which they're more excited about. the stockings or the fact they

have a new kid. take a listen. >> i thought it was super sweet. past staff here has been wonderful and kind taking care of our son. it has been really comforting so when we go home and stocking was just like a super cute present but good for us. leland: very cute. looks like mother and baby are doing well. the nurse got the idea from a hospital she had worked at previously. a momento for a long time. hang that up on the fireplace mantle. jamie: so adorable. the babies are so cute. we want them to be healthy and try to stay healthy. come on, the time between christmas and new year's filled with holiday sheer we hope. complete with all family dinners and trimmings and lavish parties and some drinking for some of you. all that could pack on some pound if you're not careful. which is why we're going to bring you some great tips now. she is licensed certified nutritionist. promise you will not take all our fun away.

are you? >> no way. no way. it is christmass. jamie: i will reveal you after. folks have to stick around. leland's little christmas tree. i will ask you at the end whether or not he should go for it. leland: tell me whether i can eat it or not. jamie: everybody wants to have fun. don't want to go to someone's house for christmas dinner and say i can't eat this, i can't eat that. what are one or two things you should definitely stay away from even though the holiday? >> we wouldn't want you to have too many things with too much sugar. it is time for sweets and christmas. think about this, sugar is blocking amount of vitamin c you take into your body. is that why people get sick. more after meat or protein fat combination. pepperoni or cheese. olives they put out ahead of time. that will satiate you longer. jamie: i know you like protein.

protein could be yummy this time of year. >> what is wrong with great fillet or wonderful turkey someone prepared. jamie: at love people think holidays are an excuse for excessive drinking. >> yeah. drinking is bad for a couple different reasons. when you drink too much you had so many empty or naked calories. that is the title of our book. be careful not to do that for yourself. have a glass of wine followed by glass of water and glass of wine. spread it out so you don't do too many calories. nothing wrong with club soda or sparkly water. water it down and make it last longer. >> all that and maybe a few laps around the try. thanks so much. >> absolutely. jamie: try to keep moving at the same time. merry christmas. >> merry christmas you too. jamie: we'll have much more nice after quick break, we hope you stay with us.

leland: merry christmas i'm overhe hill. my body doesn't work the way it used to. past my prime? i'm a victim of a slowin? i don't think so. great grains protein blend. protein from natural ingredients like seeds and nuts. it helps support a healthy metabolism. great grains protein blend.

leland: president obama toughing an extra gift in your stocking. breaking another extension of sorts to sign up for obamacare. merry christmas and thank you for joining us. jamie: hello, i am jamie colby. merry christmas and thank you for keeping it here on the fox news channel. the administration is stretching the deadline again, giving folks a little bit more time to sign up for a plan that will cover them starting one week week from today. the new extension applies to anyone if you can show that you missed yesterday's deadline due to internet problems.

a frantic effort to boost enrollment. and doug mckelway is alive following all of this were the president is on vacation in hawaii. reporter: it is great to see you. medicare services has got away with it entirely, at least as it pertains those who sign up for coverage as of january 1. take a look at this post from just yesterday. sometimes despite your best efforts, you might run into delays caused by heavy traffic or other maintenance issues that prevented you from finishing the process on time. if this happened to you, do not worry. we still may be able to help you get covered as soon as generators. it goes on to give a telephone number to contact the marketplace call-center. and the white house says that the website handled december 23 certainly well, no problems there. and here is press secretary josh earnest. >> the website was sturdy and

people were able to shop for health care options. the fact that a million people went to the website is indication that the demand is high for the affordable health care options that are available. reporter: but they expect the problems to be ironed out. including better criticisms of obamacare itself. it's not enough young healthy people sign up for health care coverage, some fear that it could add to the death spiral and it could pose a risk to congressional democrats who are seeing the dwindling numbers both in themselves and for obamacare itself. they are up for reelection in 2014 and that leaves real concern. here is senator jerry moran of kansas. >> you certainly see it today in polling information. independindepend ent democrats, republicans, all of them find the affordable care act and its implementation a huge problem. and it really goes to show you

that it's one of the most important thing for any elected official or candidate has his trust. reporter: nancy pelosi recently said that all of these problems will be ironed out. it's a very transformative nature of obamacare, much like medicare and medicaid and social security. incidence is quick to take time, but it will all work out at the end of the long run. the first family first family largely staying out of the fray. yesterday michele obama talked to the nations children via the norad hotline, tracking the progress of santa claus across the country and i think that's the third round. and they suspect they are under the christmas tree opening presents as we speak. jamie: thank you, doug, you merry christmas to you and your

family. leland: for more on this, we have "the weekly standard" joining us now. merry christmas to you and yours, thank you for coming out on christmas day to talk with us. what is behind the extension after extension and delay after delay. an attempt to get more people health care? the administration, to have their own self interests at heart? >> merry christmas to you as well. i think it's probably a little bit of both. as was just discussed. more people are signing up, more young people are signing up. by extending this deadline, it is sort of an attempt to get a return james obamacare, getting more people signing up for health insurance. in our poll numbers that don't lie. not only to save the law, i think that we are saving barack

obama's presidency as well as trying to salvage some political capital here over these last three years of the administration. leland: speaking of the poll numbers, it seems that the obamacare poll numbers are something like 35% favorability rating. as administration done to the point where it's desperate? are they still in damage control? >> you know, it is difficult and very hard to say. they are not being transparent about what these numbers mean. if you talk about enrollment numbers and they are touting these great numbers that were higher than what was expected, back on track from others was to get when the law was implemented. but it's not clear whether people are actually paying premiums and getting health insurance or these are just people that have said yes, i will buy the plant, but they haven't actually signed a check or put in their credit card information. so it seems like the administration is scrambling a little bit to save themselves. and i think about is reflecting

these poll numbers. if the obama administration looks capacious, looks like they're making decisions here and there and everywhere. people will lose confidence and i think that they already have and i think a lot of this is the administration trying to save face. leland: does the scrambling going on have residual effects? they read the law, they try to play by the law. so what happens now that the rules are changing in the sands seem to be shifting under their feet every day? >> insurance companies, a lot of them helped write the law. these changes are not without any approval from congress. but the house and senate try to change some of these things in the obama demonstration pushed back. now the administration says we need to make some executive changes, leaving everyone feeling like they don't know what happened next.

and i followed this really closely because i'm a journalist. imagine if you are an insurer or a health care provider or a consumer like all of us are. you don't know what's going to happen. you don't know if the time you spent on the website will be worth it. or if the administration will waive that 95-dollar fee, it could be a real disaster for them and once again they are doing everything that they can to try to stave off any political problems for them going into this new year. leland: i only have about 30 seconds here. but nick, how many more changes can the administration unilaterally make with this law? delays, extensions, before they actually have to go back to congress and asked for a new law? >> your guess is as good as mine. i've been surprised, but i will say that all these changes in executive orders and this sort of regulatory change that the

department of health and human nature and human services have made, they don't seem to have any limit. another problem that i think you'll see. republicans make that case. not just the case a case of people are losing their health insurance coverage for their paying too much, but that the administration and the democrats have overstepped the constitutional and regional balance by trying to make all of these changes make this law work. a lot of republicans are rallying against obamacare and we will see if they provide some political fortune to that. leland: michael moran, thank you so much for joining us. jamie: where's my get? that is what a lot of people are saying. and i will tell you a little bit more about it. because people around the united states might see that empty space under the tree and ups says it is their fault. they just couldn't deliver all the presents and time for the gift exchange today.

that we simply ordered way too much. rick leventhal is liable, although they are not blaming us for over shopping. >> some people are calling the ups ups the grinch that stole christmas. but but who could have predicted an increase in volume in december? not you, jamie. jamie: i can see that they may have anticipated all of this. they think they won't straighten it out anytime soon? >> by tomorrow, according to ups. which said that their system was overwhelmed and drivers are not on the road today. so if you haven't gotten your gift, it's probably not going to make it until tomorrow at the very earliest. demand was simply much greater in the forecast this year in a statement on its website, it ups says they understand the importance of holiday shipments

and they are experiencing heavy holiday in volume and making all the efforts to get packages to their destinations in the volume of air packages in our system exceeds the capacity of our network immediately preceding christmas. ups is not making pickups or delivers on christmas day. but we will resume scheduled service normalcy on december 26. they are not say how many packages were unaffected, calling it a small percentage greater the number is apparently in the thousands nationwide. some of the delays also been blamed on weather. you might recall a nasty ice storm that hit texas and that is one reason that they say there are issues there, forcing some to line up outside the distribution center in fort worth, waiting for hours to pick up the boxes themselves. >> i spent no less than four hours on the phone with them yesterday trying to get it. i've been calling him since thursday last week, trying to get the status on it. reporter: more workers are being called in to the international

hub and drivers will be back on the road bright and early tomorrow. if you are among those waiting, you can track the progress of your package on ups.com. jamie: imagine, people will call tomorrow asking for a refund or credit for shipping. reporter: there a lot of people who say that they've been trying to get resolution on their packages and they are understandably frustrated. jamie: thank you. leland: celebrating christmas in russia, that's where edwards noted in his. but he has a special message for the united states. plus, merry christmas to our men and women serving overseas. they a there having christmas dinner and we will show you how one special group of troops is spending their holiday this christmas day.

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jamie: for any of our troops are watching, merry christmas to you. we know a lot of you celebrate away from home. this is some of our brave men and women and how they are celebrating the holiday in afghanistan. sitting down for a christmas lunch. they're mourning began with indirect taliban gunfire hitting our embassy just a few hundred feet away. more on that in a few minutes. today could also mark the final christmas for many of our troops within the country as we get closer to next year's troop withdrawal deadline. leland: nsa leaker edward snowden is making a christmas day appearance on channel four. he delivered what he called a special speech to the british people.

he is calling on citizens to work together to end widespread state spying. we have more on the message and her christmas message. reporter: a big part of this is a warning for what he believes will be the new norm that children will live with if government agencies continue to collect intelligence about innocent people. >> a child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all. they will never know what it means to have a private moment to themselves and unreported and unanalyzed thought and that is a problem. because privacy does matter. privacy is what allows us to become who we are and who we want to be in life. reporter: edward snowden says he doesn't want to end all intelligence gathering, but he wanted wants it to be targeted. he tells "the washington post"

that i'm not trying to bring down the nsa, i'm working to improve the msa and i'm still working for the nsa right now and they are the only ones who don't realize it. and the nsa had no comment about that line. when a reporter who sat down with him last week says the man who leaked so much sensitive material is enjoying a life largely uninterrupted. >> he said he's an indoor cat, but i've never used go out all that much and spent a lot of time in front of the tv screen and lives a life of learning and advocacy in contact with people, and it takes place i'm primarily in this way. reporter: he's not giving a lot of specifics about his next move. at the white house says they want him to come back to the united states and face trial for the felonies he's been charged with you. leland: we will see what happens.

peter, thank you so much for the update. jamie: american forces are always ready for action. the united nations is sending more troops, protecting civilians and the growing political violence there. plus i'm a christmas day bonanza for "duck dynasty." a cable network cashes in on controversy coming up next you know how painful heartburn can be. for fast, long lasting relief, use doctor recommended gaviscon®. only gaviscon® forms a protective barrier that helps block stomach acid from splashing up- relieving the pain quickly. try fast, long lasting gaviscon®.

leland: welcome back and merry christmas on this christmas day. a taliban launching an attack on the u.s. embassy in afghanistan. claiming that they have fired four rockets just before dawn. u.s. officials say that two rounds at the compound, but no one was hurt. insurgents have intensified the

attack as nato forces drew down, preparing to die down completely at the end of 2014. leland: the u.n. security council is scrambling to send more peacekeeping forces to south sudan. the world's youngest country, not one that we talk about all that much. in the middle of africa, only two years after the country got its independence. the violence there has really exploded. tens of thousands of men and women and children are looking for protection at u.n. bases amid growing ethnic violence. lisa is joining now to talk more about this. she is a fox news contributor and it is something that we don't always talk a lot about. but we are sending more peacekeepers. how tense is the region right now? >> this situation can turn into something much greater.

the u.n. has the experience and 800,000 people perished in rwanda in 1994. in the u.s. has the experience of benghazi in their hands, without a warning we did not act in time to save folks. and we are sending aid over there in order to keep these up -- keep at it as best as possible, with the hope of re-stabilizing the two countries jamie: are their political needs and a humanitarian needs? >> both. so you have a disaster here and we have two nations that have been at each other's throats since they got their independence and the reason that they even got their independence is because of this. we have terrorist elements within sudan itself. and you have oil in there as well.

and these rivalries have been going on a long time. while there was something to trigger this new around of intensified violence, but people are at risk and the government is not going to back down. jamie: is corruption issue? >> corruption is always an issue. if you look at the different u.n. peacekeeping missions, a lot of people look at the people that are sent over there and there are documentaries that show peacekeepers are going on there but not doing what they're meant to do. and that's the fact that the u.n. is meant to do and they are trying to secure the region once again. jamie: if we get the peacekeepers there working, what is the future look like for south sudan? >> is a very important situation what goes on in the next few weeks in terms of re-stabilizing

what goes on in subsidies sudan. so the most important thing being that we have a global security. because we have again, terrorist elements in sudan and this will serve as a head to this situation. in 2004 alone there were $275 million in foreign aid that we supplied to south sudan and we have every interest in seeing him stand up and protect it from the terrorist elements and those who are very much interested in getting involved in the oil industry, including the u.s. speak your it's a smaller region. asked how big it wasn't excited about the size of texas. that's a lot of money to send over. >> yes, it's a lot of money, but we are really keen on getting in on this oil economy and currently there is no u.s. interest in this because of the sanctions. but once it's re-stabilized, we can remove it from south sudan and remove those and not allow

those to get involved. and again, we are worried about the muslim brotherhood influence in egypt, the east and the west. there's a lot of forces that are looking to swoop right in and have their influences as well. and it is all about the oil. leland: thank you so much for explaining this topic that we don't think about enough. thank you. leland: santa is a very busy guy these days. this one was a special guy who had a wish for sandbox. he wanted a white christmas in snow. but he was in georgia. but that wasn't going to stop some good folks are making it happen. plus, the best shopping deals for you might come after christmas, my stores are slashing prices now more than ever 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. jamie: do you remember snail mail? the cost is about to go out next month. prices of a first-class stamp

will be 49%, that's a 3-cent increase, bulk mail is going up as well by 6%. which is a hefty increase compared to the current 1.7% rate of inflation. but the post office says they're trying to make up for about $2.8 billion in lost revenue. bought out by the 2000 a recession. >> and the new unconfirmed report. leland: target is denying, saying that there is no evidence of the pin numbers were compromised. and banks have been lowering their credit and debit card limits. about 40 million accounts, and hackers had stolen the numbers during the holiday season.

and a disappointing holiday shopping season for traditional brick-and-mortar stores. many are opening tomorrow at 5:00 a.m. our fox news contributor joining us. thank you for being here. and i'm reading some of these things here. 50% off select toys and apparel at target. 40% off appliances at sears. is it better to have waited until after christmas to all of your shopping? >> yes, now they tell us. [laughter] i paid full price all of these items and what's really interesting about all of this as is this is a new phenomenon. it used to be the day after christmas and a couple days after christmas where they would take things back for exchange. but now what we are finding is that those have become major shopping days like black friday right after thanksgiving and now

it's a big shopping day because you get all of those huge meltdowns. so the malls could be very crowded. leland: from a larger perspective in terms of why they are doing this, are they trying to get in those last-minute sales to boost earnings? was behind the? >> i think one of the one you just mentioned. before january 1 i want to get as many as they can to boost their numbers and the other big factor is that it looks like -- and it's a little premature. we won't know how many will go through. but look that have been somewhat disappointed and that means that the retailers and toy companies in all these stories have a lot of goods and services that are basically still on the shelves that they want to get rid of. and there's opportunities to get

big discounts in the next week or two. leland: what i thought was most interesting is that the average household in america have $300 in unused gift cards sitting around. do they have any desire to give this away to folks? >> you are right that people have huge amounts of money that they haven't redeemed in these gift cards. and this is a really good opportunity to use the gift card and get a really good bargain in the days ahead. so what i'm saying is that one of the things that annoy me about these gift cards is that many of them expire after a certain number of months or a year. and i could never understand that. why should a gift card ever expire. the longer -- i mean, it's like they basically an interest-free loan that you are making to the retailers when you buy one of those cars. so that always kind of annoyed me. people should pay attention.

because once that day passes, it's just more money given to retailers. leland: there's all this talk of the 2013 will be a fabulous year for the economy and does that mean less sales for consumers or deals out there for the retailers? so it's better to spend her money now rather than to wait for things to get better? >> i am one of those economists who feels very good about this. and we finish this on a strong note with respect to stocks. we saw a really good year for stocks of 30 to 35% and we are starting to see the jobs pick up the last couple of months and we are continuing to see the jobs numbers and corporate profits as well. so i agree with the president on something. i believe that we could see a breakout year for 2014 and it's been a long time because we just haven't seen the powerful growth since that terrible recession in

2008 at 2009. leland: a lot of folks hoping you're right about that. we will have more from now, merry christmas, may not be the new years wish that comes true. thank you for joining us. jamie: thank you, steve. leland: it sounds like a nice thing to dright now. we know that the president is on vacation. meanwhile, health care website controversy continues. in the british family have their own holiday traditions as well. we are going to tell you about how the queen spent her morning perhaps with her grandson, george. leland: a&e making a big decision over "duck dynasty." will they drop the big bearded bunch? of back pain...

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jamie: britain's royal family gathering for a christmas day service and after church they have created greeted thousands of well-wishers, some arriving as early as 4:00 a.m. just to get a glimpse of the royals. but the big families latest addition is a no-show, prince george stayed behind with his manager. but his dad told the crowd that he's looking forward to joining everyone next christmas. and it is the queens great-grandson. i skipped a generation in my sentiments before. it looks like a beautiful day. the. leland: a little bit of controversy controversy has stopped any cashing in on controversy. the network is moving forward with its special "duck dynasty" holiday marathon.

despite spending family patriarch phil robertson on remarks he made to gq magazine of anti-gay sentiment. we have more in los angeles with the latest on the duck dynasty marathon. reporter: the marathon that you are talking about starts this afternoon and it runs into tomorrow and it actually does include slow. this comes at the same time as an online petition is going around called i stand with bill, which was created by faith driven consumers and the founder says that he still to be reinstated anyone's a&e to issue a formal apology. but this season will still include phil robinson. >> they have a conflict.

however committee recognized the value to their pocketbook and the bottom line as well. reporter: overwhelming support has been given to him, and on tuesday jesse jackson senior jumped into the controversy, condemning his comments in a statement to the "chicago tribune." saying that believes the bus driver who ordered rosa parks to surrender her seat to a white person was following state law. whereas robertson, without law, was defending the context of what he seemed to believe was white privilege. and we reach out to a need for common and how her back. the. leland: we will see if we produce. thank you so much. jamie: you are not nervous coming in today? all coming in today? all the way from reporting from the middle east? leland: it's amazing to be so nice to sit here and air

conditioning rather than wearing a flak jacket you're wearing a suit jacket but. jamie: it would've been better if you are were nervous because there is a new medical study. so check out the study. you get all worked up, you get anxious and worried. and it turns out it's a good thing. because getting excited to help you overcome a common problem and calm down. i will explain coming up from a doctor who knows all about it. plus, a magical holiday tree with the sweet sounds of christmas. ♪ double mocha

leland: it is the magic christmas caroling chuck in north hollywood. a merry mix of music and dancing and also snow. >> it brings back so many memories of when i was a kid in the midwest. and i just want to thank them so

much. leland: it's a community thing that makes you feel part of something. and that's what christmas is all about. leland: they have been doing it in southern california all the way since 1984. speak to so many people love wearing reindeer headbands this time of year. but we wanted to tell you about this medical study. i have a feeling that you might get excited. at times you're anxious or nervous about doing something for the first time. and you may get all shaky. maybe you have to make a speech and you don't even bother trying to relax. well, there's a new harvard study that finds that wouldn't help anyway. that's right, telling yourself to relax is not as beneficial as getting excited. how does it work? we have a physician from the nyu school of medicine who is here with us and it's so interesting. use it or anything, okay, deep breath, relax, not as good as getting excited about having to do something you're frightened

of. >> normally we think of these things as different emotions. like being afraid or anxious, it's completely different than being excited. but in reality they are very similar. in both cases your heart rate goes up in your blood pressure might 11 you start thinking about all kinds of things. but the main difference is that if you're anxious or afraid, you're thinking about everything that could go wrong. whereas if you're excited, you're thinking about everything that could go right. so it's a lot easier to go from being afraid and keeping your body in the state and just change your thoughts and so you're focusing on the positive versus the negative. >> yes, you want to think about things that way, even just changing what you say to yourself, it can make a difference. so if you're trying to tell yourself, stay calm and relax, you're fighting your body. your mind is fighting your body because you have to slow down

your breathing, you're trying to do a lot of different things at once that you might not need to do if you switch your focus from fear to excitement. leland: how important is breathing? >> breathing is very important. they start to feel a little breathless and more tense. and so that's a very important thing. but it's not just about the breathing. it's really kind of changing your whole focus. so it's possible to have a lucky charm or something that makes you think positive thoughts, that also makes a difference. the study says that saying those positive words yourself may make you better. most people, when they say something, they force their mind to think about it. if you just save yourself,, i'm excited, your mind starts to feel like, okay, what are all the things that could go good about this. jamie: some people have to rely on medication. they take a peek outside, they're like oh, my goodness, 500 people are sitting in this

audience and i hope i found interesting. these questions will go through your mind and you're just supposed to say, okay, this is really exciting and that's what helped? >> well, it can. even successful performers, people can have performance anxiety. so i actually think that number is probably a little bit higher. when i was a kid people would ask me to sing or play the piano. leland: be careful, and we might ask you to do that, were short on entertainment and are. [laughter] >> so a lot of people have this anxiety. there's a difference between night and needing medication. so someone is stressed all the time about their job or their family or their finances, it's important to relax. you know, you want to consider maybe yoga, meditation, exercise

or other types of things that might help you to relax. jamie: i love exercise for that. assign want to get into the zone it helps. but when you are making a diagnosis for someone who says i feel nervous cooking dinner with things that i shouldn't be nervous about, and i don't feel like this all the time, how do you determine whether or not someone legitimately needs medication? >> that is true and i look at risks than benefits for any medication. so the more specific they are, the better. you want to be able to tell it's working or not working. let's say they want to take something to help them perform. it's like people who want to be able to walk further, to exercise come in to do physical therapy, then at least we have that goal and we know that it

can work. and we can also tell them what the side effects are the negative effects will be. so the more specific you are, whether it is anxiety or something else, the easier it's going to be to tell whether a medication might be able to help. leland: okay, so be as specific as you can about what you try, i tried an try to exercise class before i had to do this or that, so what about children? children today are under a lot of pressure. i mean, just watching videos of school shootings could make them so nervous they don't want to go to school. so how do you help a child without medication to feel more calm? >> the parents should work with the children because parents tend to take a lot more bases and that includes their environments. the other thing is also it's important that doctors can help

also, so the doctors can work with schoolers or the social workers for everyone to kind of work together to help the child out. jamie: that is gray. doctor debbie, that's fantastic and interesting in the area of medicine that you practice. merry christmas. leland: we all think that santa claus is having a big red suit. this one put on a pair of swim trucks. and this is all part of the annual santa surfing event in brevard county, florida. all of them writing surfboards and boogie boards during the holidays. trying to raise money for a good cause. jamie: and we will give you a weather update and what crews

are doing to get the power back on as another storm is closing on and in certain areas. stay with us, merry christmas, we will be right back ing. [ male announcer ] dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat all that. it doesn't? [ male anner ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. oh, what a relief it is! [ male announcer ] at progresso, we lieve the second chapter of your life should be just as bold as the first. try the new bold flavors of heart healthy so from progresso. ... ... reference... ... ...

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welcome back everybody. critics giving obama care only a lump of coal this christmas. after the white house announced another extension for those who tried to sign up to meet the january 1st deadline. they were not able to do that because of lingering issues with the website. >> merry christmas. thank it you for joining us in america's news headquarters. >> this is the latest of a sery was extensions and adjustments and all coming as the administration reveals it is in the process of sporting through thousands of applications. doug is following the story live in ho noluyendyk and he wouldn't

want to be in ho noluyendyk but that is where the president is on vacation. he had to take the assignment. any progress with the website. it is still having problems. >> reporter: the website can help you out if you tried to get coverage and were unable to on the 23rd and 24th. and despite all of the criticism of extending the december 23rd dead loip, the white house said the website worked and worked well. >> we have made tremendous technical improvements to the website. when it was first rolled out, it was crashing and not reliable and now is reliable and even while taking on siing can traffic. more than a million people today used that website. >> the center for medicare services spokesman said that the december 24th sign up went well,

to. she wrote on the web, we are taking this happeneds of calls in the call centers that remain open until midnight and seeing thousands of visitors complete enrollment on line. the critics say the bigger problem with obama care itself. the obama care threatens to become insolvent if not enough young healthy people sign up. where will the money come from if that indeed happens? there is speculation that democrats reading the poll numbers dwindling about obama care and their falling poll numbers in the midterm elections might be willing to work with republicans to craft an amendment to obama carr and make necessary changes. here is jerry moran out of kansas. >> we need to improve health care and the affordable care act is not the way to do it, but for us to determine where to go from

here when they are spending taxpayer dollars that congress would have something to say about it. >> hello, everybody and happy holidays. >> obamas are leaving the troubles behind while on vacation. they thanked the troops for the service and sacrifice and urged americans to support communities and especially the less fingerprint among us and nothing on their public schedule today. we know in years past they visited the troops stationed in hawaii. we'll keep you posted. >> thank you very much. >> merry christmas jamie. >> we'll talk about the impact on so many americans. we have a former aide in the gw white house and boswell michaels a democrat strategist.

>> first of all some progress has been made, right? >> yeah, when you are so down dope in the abyss and things are not working. who was the ein stein said christmas eve and then now january 1st. we'll remember that is new year's day and people are upping over from new year's eve. it is the gift that keeps on giving politically. and republicans are going to win midterm. the democrats are bailing left and right on obama care. it is a bad policy. let's face it, if obama wanted to give to the presidency let's start over again. it is it a disaster. >> people are bragging that the coverage worked and the president ser moppuously and he's covered under a military health care plan and with the help of aides he was able to sign up through the exchange. is that message getting out by

democrats? >> not really. the preface to the segment dealt with how democrats are sort of starting to work with the republicans to try to craft amendments. and you have mary, the democrat from louisiana who herself talked about ways in which the bill should be changed. but listen, it is a good bill with horrible implementation and that is a problem the administration had with a lot of policies since he was elected and they are losing the messaging. i will say something that is uncharacteristic. but mitt rom no made a good point when he talked about the bill. it is probably a better bill for individual states rather than the large national program and if you look at successes of the bill thus far, they are doing well in states that have their open programs and website that are set up. but the ones rupby the federal government is not doing well.

>> it is interesting that you bring that up and doe, doe, i would love for to you comment. there was a lot of talk about this type of health care plan and mitt romney's home state and we could have learned lessons from the implementation and discussion and debate and what happened to those lessons? >> i think it is interesting and good that the states are getting involved and aggressive about it. start nothing south carolina, we'll pass a law, legislators that come in january and they don't have to implement obama care, because they know it is not good. indiana want nothing to do with obama care. if these states say they will not take obama care and it is a double-digit obama care will go away and going to crumble anyway. young people will not buy in. if you are 26 or below, you will not buy it because you are on your parent's health care. it is a disaster to gip with.

>> i imagine democrats and as a strategist they will talk about how those under the age of 27 will be covered on their parent's policy or preexisting conditions will no longer prevent people from getting coverage. what else would you like the president to say given the faulty implementation to democrats as they look at midterm elections that are right a round the corner? what would you like to hear the president say like none of this is straightened out really before it hit the big time? there was notice that we learned through the congressional hearings and potential ideptity theft? >> i think what the president needs to do and democrats need to do is highlight more of the success stories in the individual states. they actually hired a pr firm to do this and spend money to find the success stories. >> are youoc with that as

a democrat? that is taxpayer money. and the rap commercials. >> that was a good commercial, but i am actual okay with it if it helps to get more people to seen up. because that saves us money. but to go back to another point that dee- doe in ohio. he expanded medicaid coverage because that helps the porpeople. democrats need to i don't know if the governor would support the president's plan, but i think that more examples like that and you can point to how individual dpof goffs and individual states are actually making this work. >> like dee- doe is giving them credit for that. and before we go. examples are great for the people where they work and you try to seen on and it is christmas day and you are stuck on the computer and can't get

on, you think that it is something they will remember in the midterm? >> we'll make sure and remind them. every day all day. we need to let them know it is it a failed policy and people cannot afford the health care. it is something to be repealed. if we want a christmas preponderate and repealing obama care because it is not working and my prediction it will go away and we'll win the midterms and we'll get rid of the terrible policy and have a happy new year. >> i wish you both of the same. a healthy and happy new year. great to so you. >> jamie, this christmas, thousands of last-minute presents. and the present i got for you department make it here not under the tree and it was not santa or the grinch, but ups who said it is their fault and they are apologizing to customer and said system overload is to blame for the delay. when will the gifts make it

there? >> i am all ears. i want to know. >> we'll have a report. >> and winter storms making for a tough christmas for folks in the country and half million from maine to michigan without power and that means no heat. there was an ice storm that rolled through the region last weekend and one utility calling it the worst christmas week out age in history and calling in repair crews from all over and working to restore the service. all of those folks without heat and going to warming centers and temperatures are continuing to drop and windy weather will be in the forecast and that could restore the heat and electricity. and fears that gusts could bring down more power lines and please be careful out there. >> there is major news in egypt that the military backed government has now declared the

muslim brotherhood a terrorist grouchlt a move that gives authorities more authority in cracking down on the brotherhood. the broorth head is waging daily protest against the army and interim government and there is massive violence and rocking egypt blamed by the al-qaeda backed groups there. and since it toppled president mohammed morsi in july. morsi was a member of the muslim brotherhood. >> and beautiful town of bethlehem. there is no place like it on earth. no question this christmas they are seeing larger crowds than in previous years. but leaders hope it could mean more for the region. we'll attack you to bethlehem coming up. plus pope francis is calling for peace this christmas and a new poll that tells what people think about him and the catholic church. he is one popular pope.

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there is no place like it on earth. bethlehem. hundreds of worshipers are packing a christmas mass. conner powell has more from mafrmger square. >> reporter: jamie, christians flocked to the manger square and filled the historic church of the nativity today. masses led by the patriarch who prayed for an end to the violence in the middle east and here in the holy land, asking for a just and equitable solution for the israel xepalestinian conflict. they hope the christian message of peace will influence world

leaders. >> we hear about division. and here all of the people spoking different languages and that is a hopeful thing to so and very much the spirit of christmas. joishgs the church of the nativity which tradition is the spot where mary gave birth to jesus 2,000 yearsing on is renovated after the three branches of christianity agreed to a plan. given the nature of the region here, this small agreement between the roman church and groek orthodox and armennian system hailed as a christmas miracle this holiday season. >> they can agreement and pope francis taking little bit from the church of the nativity preaching peace as leader of the

catholic church. >> love and a dore him. and the pontiff speaking to a massive crowd in st. peter's square urnling believers to work together for peace. a new poll shows a jump in popularity for the hope and catholic church itself. joining me is father morris a fox news contributor. you are back from christmas day service in your own church. it seems that there is a transformation in the image of the catholic church and led by pope francis. are you seeing that every day? >> i wont say the church is traps formed by pope francis. but the image of the catholic church has gone under major revision. let me give you an example. i came from my own church. as i came down the aisle and after the service and after the

mass and the recessional hymn a woman stepped out and bawling over to me. and i thought i didn't think it was good. but she looked at me and she said father johnathon, francis has brought me back today. back to the church. i started to give hear a hug. no wait, it doesn't mean i am coming all of the time. can i get together with you next week? there is an openness now next week and people who have been on the fringes and hurt in some way and either through their own mistake or sin or somebody els and the leadership of the church. >> it seems like it goes beyond catholics. pope francis's favorably is in the high 80s and 90s and noncatholic. schopercent favorably.

pope benedict only 48 percent. what is about pope francis that has the affect? >> he tapped in the core of the gospel mess amg that is for everyone. and the idea of forgiveness and redemption and love and mercy and compassion and we know that we need more of those voices in the world. 37 christians were killed in iraq and just hatred among human beings. what is that? pope francis is saying, we are better than that. you are better than that. and i have never in my life time had a pope that spoke to my own conscious. johnathon start over and get back to the basics and that is very powerful. >> it is still not without controversy. his views on gay marriage and reproduct ukz. it is against the typical american view. >> he said himself.

i am a son of the church. the son of the word of god and bible. he's not changing those things but he has decided and repeated this under criticism, he decided to avoid the controversial issues in terms of what he's talking about on a daily basis in order that the core of the gospel of mercy and love and redemption is communicated well. and then people checking in to what you believe about these things. and you ask why? it is a fabulous nine months. >> certainly since nine months ago and you and i were in rome and saw pope francis come out on the balcony it was a special time and father johnathon morris safe travels and merry christmas. good to be here. >> father john, merry christmas to you. >> thank you, jamie. >> yuletide coming from an unusual source. >> edward snowden.

why he's getting a chance to address the entire nation in the first place. holiday tidings not happy for ups customers and why they want to give the delivery joint a lump of coal. [ male announcer ] this is george. the day building a play set begins with a surprisewinge of back pain... and a choice.

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>> we send you our christmas growths and you probably department expect to get a christmas message from edward snow depgranted temporary a sylum in russia and now speak out in british television. it was an alternative to the queens message and here's more about the remarks.

can't imagine, peter. >> edward snowden said he leaked the documents and telling a british audience that british author george orwell 1984 doesn't do enough to describe the invasive practices of government today. >> we have sensors in our pockets that track everywhere we go. and think of the privacy of the average person. it is a child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all. >> earlier this year, snowden had a high- paying job and a place in hawaii. today reportedly living off ramen noodles and chips in moscow and said it was all worth it and here's why with his interview. for me, the mission is accomplished.

i already won. as son as the journalist were able to work, everything i tried to do was validated. i didn't want to change society but give society a chance to determine if it could change itself. the reporter that sat down with hip. we should expect more of the same from snowden. >> no control over and no sdoir to control the documents. he left that to the journalist to decide what our stories will be. but you can expect more stories and you can expect more developments in foreign capitol and courts and captaining so on. >> reporter: michael morel said if snowden wants americans to decide, he is come pack and let a american jury decide its own fate. and that's what we heard from

the white house as well. >> he is charged with crimes. thank you, peter. >> as jamie mentioned coming up, the president and first lady share their annual christmas message and plus, from christmas joy to holiday nightmare, ups announces it will not be able to deliver the packages that were supposed to be under the tree this morning and tomorrow. we'll have a live report with what big brown said is an excuse. .

>> merry christmas growth from the white house. this week president obama was joined by first lady mishil obama as they delivered the annual christmas message. >> hello, everybody and happy holidays. >> we know how busy it is. and we'll not take much of your time and we wanted to take a moment to wish you merry christmas from our family to our

yours. this is a season for holiday tradition and show grat to youed to those we love and some of you might watch basketball and eat christmas cookies. >> and play golf. they thanked our men and women in uniforms for their service. and encourage everyone to help spread the message of christmas. >> and we heard about a lot of them. great stories and don't blame santa. he did his part. if your christmas gifts did not a ratify. it is possible they used one of these. ups said high demand can overwhelped the system and caused a delay. some shipments will not reach until tomorrow. and my gift from rick didn't arrive. i cooperate imagine why rick and now you can explain. >> reporter: i have it right here, jamie.

>> not relying on big brown. >> reporter: some claimed as early as december 1st. but the delivery system was overwhelmed by the high number of items shipped and since ups drivers and pilots are not on the job today any packages will not be under the tree until tomorrow at the earliest and cording to a company spokesperson the demand was forecast and they understand the importance of the shipments. ups is experiencing heavy holiday vol oum and making an effort to get to the destination and it exceeded the capacity. and we are not making deliveries on christmas day. and company is not saying how

many packages were affected and calling it a small percentage and the number of late deliveries is in the thousands nation wide. and you might recall the nasty ice storm that hit texas. that is one issues there. and some lining up and willing to wait hours to pick up the boxes themselves. >> spent four hours on the phone with them yesterday and trying to get it. and we came up on saturday and called them sinceed with of last woke trying to get a status on it. >> ups said reenforcements are called in to louisville, kentucky. and if you are waiting, you can track the progress of the package at ups.com. >> it is your friendship and kindness that means the most to me. nyou're welcome.

>> take care. >> it is a deadly christmas for christians in iraq. in baghdad three car bombs killed dozens of people and hitting worshipers as they were leaving. and 26 are dead and another blast ripped through a market and killed 11. and these are not isolated attacked. and the afternoon. the u.s.itate department today condemned what it called years of deliberate and senseless targeting of the christian people. and chris, it is nice to see you. is it specifically in iraq and syria but it seems like christians in the middle east are under threat. >> reporter: it is not a merry christmas for the christians here in the mitted east. for christians in the united states or anybody around the

world. if you wore a santa hat you could be killed and christmas decorations subject to an attack or waiting in line for a midnight mass you are putting your life on the line and these are things we take for granted in the west. but in the middle east is a dangerous time evidented by the attacks today. it is a systemic attempt poi radical islam al-qaeda in iraq or muslumbrother hod in egypt to eradicate christians from the cradle of christianity. nobviously syria is a mess and iraq has their open sectarian violence. in egypt there is a military and u.s. money there. 3 billion in u.s. military aid goes there depending on the year, are these governments doing what they can to protect the christians? or are they left on their own? >> reporter: in the case in

iraq, so many bombings there in iraq and beheadings in syria which is a mess. and egypt church burnings and although the government changed and better than the muslim brotherhood government overthrown, there is a lot of dafrmg for the christians in egypt. i was down there just after there were dozen of churches there. and some say in seven centuries in egypt. >> and from your reporting and traveling in the middle east, you get a sense that enough is enough. and we'll take our family and leave or are folks staying because they don't have a choice or their open religion. >> many times they are leaving because they feel the threat to their lives. and the arch bishop of baghdad said it was a mortal exodus. and the number of christians

fled is staggering and 850,000 christians from iraq have fled and 450,000 from syria fled in two years alone. and let me give you an example of what it is like for an iraqi christian. several men came in the store and gave him three options and the first was to to convert from islam and pay a cent thousand dollar tax and if you don't do the first two, we'll kill you and your family. he tock a fourth option which thousands of christians have done and fled their country and the christians are facing here in the middle east. there is an a ra bic saying, i have two choices and both bitter and what the christians are facing right now. chris, thank you for joining us and merry christmas there as it is night fall in jerusalem. jamie? >> thank you so much. we wanted to tell you about

a little boy, suffering for cancer. all he wanted was a white christmas. he lives where there is no snow. a community got together and worked together to make his wish come thorough. we'll tell you that story coming up and there may be one more chance, for a family of a teen who had a routine tonsilectommy. she is ordered off life support and her parents trying to save what life she has next. we'll explain with the legal panel next. pp ÷ó pp ÷ó tonsis great...

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pop in the drum of any machine... ♪ ...to wash any size load. it dissolves in any temperature, even cold. tideod pop in. stand out. >> family of the girl that was declared brain dead after commiications from a routine tonsillectomy still are hoping for a miracle. the judge ordered her taken off life support. they have until 5 o'clock p.m.

december 30th allowing her to stay on life support until then. joining me is doug burns and philin sea dht gull, gentlemen, thanks for joining us and this is a tough story to tell. the family is supposed to be cell operating and the family is in a desperate attempt to prolong, right, philin. they don't know if they can save her life and three different doctors say she is pran dead. but the choice can be taken from the family legally? >> legally under the california law, yes, it could. but this is a classic tragic choice, where what we in the majority would say is probably the right thing to do say there is no hope and there is no brain activity at all and she should be disconnected. we have that side and then the family wants to have her alive as longs possible and maybe

there will be a miracle and so the court gets involved and it is appropriate. it is good for the court to get involved when there is no good outcome for everybody. >> had the family not petegzed the court. the hospitals and doctors have a right to discontinue life support on their own and that is froit eping for a family, especially in the situation where they might be willing to do whatever it takes to take care of their child in any condition. >> yeah, the problem is, you are mixing different disciplines. . and that is groving and bereavement and biometric ethnics. and in all 50 states. brain dead amounts to legally dead. and it is all parts of the brain. and sethe reality is that that is the lawpart. in terms of the mother.

she has every right to be absolutely unable to process what happened. it was a are you tone tonsillectomy. and my understanding, i just realized and learned that she had assured the child don't worry everything is okay. because the child was upset about the tonsillectomy and she is racked with a horrific situation. >> so what happens from here. what would you expect? >> i would expect that the county judge in alemedia county would be upheld. they have to the 30th to a pole it. and at that point, absent the family's resources to pay for life support on its own. we don't loc to talk about it. it is a cost thing as well. we as a society if you are prolonging life for decades and someplace who doesn't have a chance to come back, that is money that could be spent on someone else. we don't like to talk about it. but that is the reason about not

keeping people alive. i would expect if it were appealed to the california supreme court, that this the girl would pass away. >> your prediction it doesn't have the ending they are hoping for. and doug, you brought up the terry schia vo case. this family is hoping for a miracle and that she will restore whatever life she can. >> the competing point, is that it is it a hail mary for a lack of a better term. today we say breath death is reversible. but what if that were to change. i don't believe it would. but i am not an expert. the mother believes in miracles and i mention religion and moralities. >> and what about the hospital loiblt wise? >> that is a very, very important separate topic. you would think that there would

be a very potentially large amount of malpractice. >> and that is the facts of the case. thank you so much to bofth you. and leland. >> and the worst part of christmas, families are the best preponderate and inspiring story and we use the word inspiring fittingly here this christmas about the kindness of strangers. and just a few months in the battle with cancer told sapta his wish. and no snow in the forecan have the. george franco in atlanta has the story. >> reporter: he has leukemia. he asked santa a important question. >> asked him what he wanted and he wanted a cure for cancer.

and santa had no idea that he was fighting this battle. he would really love a white christmas. they were dopely moved and she overheard the conversation. and she rented a snow machine and arranged for 4,000 pounds of ice. and her husband got the fratern fraternal. and it is covered in snow. it is a white christmas. covering the yard with a to the of snow. and throw some on the tree ands bushes. and wait for the kid's reaction. dillan said they are being kept away from the tv and front yard. and even if the news crews.

and it is such a wonderful miracle christmas. and definitely so much gratitude. >> how does it feel to be a part of the time effort. i am spoechless. it is fine and heart warming and exciting knowing he will be okay. >> what a fabulous christmas wish it is. how is it going. the affiliate sent us pictures of the big reveal this morning. this is dill an in his new cool backyard. >> and he also got a snow fort. >> that is col. we wish we could do it for every child that wants it. >> you wish you could. but think about all of the people who put themselves out to

do this. we'll be right back and we'll tell you more about the weary tell you more about the weary weather. the day building a plt we'll be right back. rrn and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

deadly winter storm affe affecting more than 30 states leaving more than half a million customers in the dark and in the cold. kelly right reports. >> reporter: at least 14 people are dead as the riice and snow

continu continues to build. making holiday planning a nightmare in many areas. more than half a million people still without power on tuesday night. those customers forced to spepd christmas eve in the dark. >> i have no power or water. i don't have a phone now. >> it has been kind of hard at times. but i get through it though. >> the wicked weather making life miserable for holiday travelers. thousands more delayed and the roads are no better. in ohio the icy conditions causing state troopers to close a major highway. >> everybody started slipping and sliding. one of those winter accidents i guess. officials saying the storm is thee worst since the one in 199.

the main concern at this point is getting home for the holidays. >> hopefully we can have christmas presents opened. >> emergency shelters are being kept opened for those without heat. and the national weather service is expected to move in on christmas morning in the great lakes region. in new york kelly wright fox news. >> we have been asking everyone to send in pet pictures. can you understand why when you look at this? >> we love what you have been sending us. we are going to try and answer your question why people love reindeer head bands.

hi, my name is sergeant first class with the task force lifeline here in afghanistan. i would like to say happy holdaze and happy new near to my friends and family in clarksville, tennessee i will see you soon. [ coughs ] have a cold with thiannoying runny nose. [ sniffles ] i bett take something. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat all that. it doesn [ male announcer ] nope. [ sniffles ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast acting antihistamine to relieve your runny nose. oh, what a relief it is! [ man ] shh! for fast cold and flu relief, day or night, try alka-seltzer plus day and night liquid gels. for fast cold and flu relief, day or night, ♪

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all i've been hearing about from the control room is their pets. one of them owned a gerbil, i'll get to that in a second. >> this cat's ornament found in the tree. >> fleas navi dog. gentleman here is the gerbil roxy dressed ip a santa suit.

great to have you with us. merry christmas. >> thanks for being with us. i'm around all afternoon. for all of us here merry christmas and i'll see you tomorrow. enjoy your family and friends peace. >> merry christmas everybody and welcome to a "fox and friends" christmas special. we want to thank you for letting us into your home. >> we have an amazing line up for you including pastor rick warren and our favorite tv family, duck dynasty. first we want to well you you to our audience. we want to thank you for your service to our country. [ applause ]