gregg: fox news alert. a massive explosion rocking beirut overnight, killing a former ambassador to the u.s., and four others. this is new video just coming in now. the blast also wounding dozens. this is the latest in a wave of bombings over the past several months as tensions mount in lebanon over nearby syria's civil war. good morning, everyone, i'm gregg jarrett in for bill hemmer here in "america's newsroom." jamie: they sure have seen a lot of violence and terror there. i'm jamie colby. i'm in for martha maccallum. we're happy to have you here today. first the top story. the explosion was heard across the lebanese capital, and sent a

big black smoke through a posh downtown district. the army later blocking off the area where twisted wreckage of several cars are still smoldering. gregg: conor powell in the middle east bureau with the latest. what do you know so far? >> reporter: gregg, as you said at least five people were killed, more than 70 people injured as a massive explosion rocked an upscale neighborhood in downtown beirut. it brew out -- blew out windows for several city blocks, sending smoke across the entire area. the device appears was detonated by remote. violence is no stranger to beirut. it appears the target of today's blast was a convoy of a pro-western former lebanese minister ambassador to washington. he was an important advisor to the hariri family, one. most powerful political dynasties in all of lebanon. the former prime minister, rafik

hariri was assassinated in 2005. so of course hezbollah has -- they are the leading to believe, to behind this attack, gregg. gregg: well, conor, we know the ambassador was a very outspoken critic of hezbollah of the that is a pretty dangerous thing to be doing when you're in lebanon. is that likely what cost him his life? >> reporter: so this is pleased to be a very professional attack. the type that has hezbollah carried out in the past and has the ability to carry out but beirut's been rocked by a lot of violence in recent weeks and month, particularly an attack on the iranian embassy in beirut. there are plenty of groups in lebanon that can carry out these types of attacks. shatah has been outspoken critic of hezbollah, al qaeda and syria's assad. he was on his way to an anti-syrian meeting. he has made a lot of enemies in

lebanon and across the wider middle east. hezbollah may be the easiest group, gregg, to point the finger at but there are a lot of people hot could have carried this out. its still too early to say it is hezbollah. it is a very dangerous country in a very dangerous region, gregg. gregg: it sure is. conor powell live from jerusalem. we'll check back in with you. jamie: back here at home some 1.3 million long-term unemployed americans will lose their benefits tomorrow. democrats are furious at those benefits were left out of the year-end budget deal, vowing to restore the aid when congress returns in january. but, the nation's unemployment rate is down to a five-year low of 7%. the government last week reporting the fastest economic growth in two years. so opponents, including leading economists, say it's time we end long-term unemployment benefits. wow, that is double trouble for those folks out of work. charles payne from the fox business network joining me now

to talk about this. it's been a hard road for those folks but is it, is it reasonable then to take away these benefits at a 7% unemployment rate, charles? >> you know, in this whole era of fairness, jamie, this question is skewed a little bit. it is always presented that we're being unfair but you know some would argue people have looked into this really deeply on a historic level, when you let people get paid for not working for such a long period of time, it diminishes greatly their chances of ever getting a job again. so, the people who are arguing for this saying already we've had people in this country who have gotten benefits for 99 months. they should continue to get these benefits, but, it's not necessarily the fair thing do because the longer that they wait out the job market, the more their skills erode and less likely it is they will not find a job. certainly not the job that they had or may want right now. jamie: but benefits are averaging 300 a week, as you say. it could be a disincentive, even

if there were more jobs, to look for one. many people, $300 a week is enough, especially if they live alone, maybe, to not look for a job. >> right. jamie: there is additional almost two million people that lose their benefits in mid 2014. so what is the employment situation look like then? do you think more people rushing for jobs and it is tougher to find one? >> well, if we do, you started this whole part talking about the economic momentum that we have right now. if you notice our stock market really has gone straight up here recently. the federal reserve is starting to remove some accommodation, all because the signs are a lot better for 2014 being a pretty good year for the economy. not the kind of robust, postrecession recoveries we've seen in the past, but those same props are holding back the job market. but that will open up. that will get a lot better. i think the problem though. we've got to be frank about this, a lot of people will have to accept job that is pay less than they made before, that aren't the jobs they want and it

is a new economic reality for a whole lot of people there is proof in the past when people come back into the job market it helps the economy. there is a certain sense to any -- jamie: hopefully they will spend. >> of course they will spend. here's the thing, jamie, no matter what the economic seem is, if people don't buy into it, if there is not certain element of confidence, revealed with people coming into the job market, not leaving it, it is not going to work. jamie: look at the 7% number, is that the real unemployment number, 7%? >> no. it's higher than that we, millions of people, maybe i think last time i did the math, maybe seven million in the last five years have left the job market completely. they're not looking. so they're not counted. the real number is a double digit number. it is get being better. it may have hit bottom. 99 weeks, sounds draconian and a lot of people watching sounds

mean-spirited but they have to remove it. this money is borrowed. has to be paid back with interest. this we don't get from pixie dust. people that are working will have burdennen of paying this back as well. 26 weeks where it has always been. probably where it should stay. jamie: maybe there is a middle ground. maybe there is a middle ground since they didn't put it in the budget. charles, totally understood. have a good show. pixie dust, interesting. gregg: meantime the president signing that bipartisan budget deal charles was talking about while vacationing in hawaii. the two-year deal scaling back some domestic and pentagon spending cuts. the president also signing a defense bill that cracks down on sexual assault in the military, but, the commander-in-chief and congress may need their rest. democrats promising to push bills on boosting the minimum wage as well as extending jobless benefits when congress returns. we may see another big battle over raising the nation's debt limit which could expire sometime before march.

jamie: you may think it's a little early to talk about 2016 but we're going to do it anyway. there are brand new fox polls in fact that give a pretty good indication what it could look like. shows hillary clinton and chris christie among the top picks among party faithful for that presidential nomination. among democrats, it is not even close. former secretary of state is a clear frontrunner at 68%. closer among republicans even. new jersey's governor leading with 16%. followed closely by florida former governor jeb bush, senator ted cruz and congressman paul ryan. later on "america's newsroom," what to make of early 2016 polls but plus possible contenders currently at least flying under the radar. gregg? gregg: fox news alert now. help is on the way for passengers aboard that stricken russian reserve ship. it is stuck in very thick ice on

the edge of antarctica since christmas morning. a chinese ice breaker is getting closer to that trapped vessel. jonathon hunt is in the newsroom. jonathan, how close are they to the rescue? >> reporter: could be, gregg, that the rescue is underway right now. we heard from professor chris tierney leading the science expedition, he tweeted, the ice cracker comeeth. he thought it was a couple of hours getting closer to them. it has been tough going even for the ice breaker, the snow dragon a chinese ice breaker simply because the ice is so thick. this rescue should be happening right now if not certainly within the next hour or so. lear is professor chris tierney. >> we have just seen the chinese ice breaker snow dragon on the horizon. it turned up about an hour ago.

it is making steady progress getting through. it is nine nautical miles from the vessel. a huge sense of relief at the moment. it is not quite here yet. at least we can see it now which is huge improvement of our prospects from a few hours ago. >> reporter: as you can imagine, professor turney said there were a lot of happy faces on board among the 74 people on board today, gregg. gregg: it's a tough experience to go through. i mean you do kind of get a sense, and we are receiving information, some of them are kind of enjoying the experience, right? >> reporter: we've been listening to chris and watching his videos he has been tweeting over the past couple of days. he is a science geek and it is hard to deny the fact that is he actually having a lot of fun. they were stuck in blizzard terday. winds gusting across the bow of the ship up to 50 miles an hour according to professor turney. they seem to sort of embrace it. they were carrying out more

scientific research. they even, the professor even clearly at one point was enjoying those conditions. listen here. >> the location we're at with high winds. morrison labeled this area, the home of the blizzard. in "guinness book of world records" as windiest place in the world with average wind speeds of 70 kilometers an hour. >> reporter: i think they're all enjoying it. there were tourists on board, gregg. i think those were pretty adventuresome. they knew they were not signing up for a carnival cruise which we know is different kind of adventure anyway, gregg. gregg: oh, it certainly is. jonathan, appreciate it. jamie: bitter and dangerous cold and tens of thousands of americans spending at least their fifth night, so tough without power following last weekend's massive ice storm. when they can expect to get their power back on. an update next. gregg: plus clinton and christie, the 2016 front-runners in the latest fox news polls. what to make of their

frontrunner status and who's liable to in their rear view mirrors. jamie: also the frustrations continue over obamacare. millions of canceled health plans. the stars of new attack ads targeting democrats. what these new spots say about the dems vulnerability over the unpopular health care law. >> millions of people have lost their health insurance. millions of people can't see their own doctors. and millions are paying more and getting less. obamacare doesn't work. it just doesn't work. at 100 calories, not all food choices add up. some are giant. some not so giant. when managing your weight, bigger is always better. ♪ ho ho ho ♪ green giant

jeff a violent rampage leaves four people dead, three others wounded in louisiana. ben freeman attacked his former in-laws, shooting father, mother, former sister-in-law and killing the mother. freeman allegedly killing his former boss at his home and wounding the man's wife. he was later declared dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. his wife was found dead inside their home.

surviving in-laws and boss's wife all hospitalized. gregg: is it 2014 yet? well frustrations over obamacare and canceled health plans, some six million of them, starring in new ads targeting freshman democrats in swing states in the house. this ad from the conservative advocacy group, americans for prosperity. this is airing in new hampshire. take a look. >> people have lost their health insurance. millions of people can't see their own doctors and millions are paying more and getting less. obamacare doesn't work. it just doesn't work. gregg: steve hayes, senior writer for "the weekly standard", joins us. he is a fox news contributor. women, steve, really turned against obamacare so that ad targets them. i want you to look at another one featuring a man in minnesota. take a look. >> received notice that my current insurance was no longer qualified. i had three heart attacks in the last six years.

health care is something essential to, my life depends on it. gregg: what do you think of the ad, what do you think of strategy by republicans and conservative groups? >> i think the ads are very effective the one that you played opens with the woman. she begins her pitch in effect by saying, you might be sick of politics, none of us like these political ads but here's the reality. i think it was very effective. sort of a stripped down, no-nonsense, i'm just going to level with you kind of a message and by beginning with sort of a pitch to voters or would-be voters i'm one of you, i'm sick of politics like you and let me explain obamacare doesn't work. i thought it was very effective. gregg: six million canceledness plans and that number will go up. three average for each plan, talking about 20 million people. the latest cnn-orc plan, steve, gives republicans 449-44

advantage on generic congressional ballot. that is 13-point swing in last several weeks. of course individual races could be different but is this a pretty good indication how the electorate is now leaning? >> this is very good indication. if you look back at the same measures before the 2010 elections which republicans did historically well, this is better. this looks better for republicans than the same polls did at that time. look, i think obamacare is going to be the key fining issue in the 2014 midterm elections. certainly already beginning to affect, as we're seeing, these ads up in competitive house districts. there is no question that it will continue to play a major role in senate campaigns, whether in red states, states that mid romney won where democrats are defending some tough turf, even i think in blue states where republicans are intending to go on offense. really try to take this message to the voters who are, who we know are already skeptical of

obamacare and it hasn't even begun to be implemented in a way that will effect people's lives in the new year. gregg: democrats must be worried, immediately after the ads came out the house campaign committee sent out email appealing for cash. they said this. this is very revealing. there it is on the screen. latest republican assault on obamacare has proven to be dangerously effective. the damage to the affordable care act and our chances in 2014 could be irreversible. that speaks volumes about their fear? >> yeah, pretty significant i think. and look, that is what you would expect the national arm of democrats to be saying at this point. what i think will be interesting, i think we may see this in the first few months of the new year, is whether democrats try to adopt the message that is we heard in the ads that you played before. remember, this is going to be, i think, if you look at the level of popularity right now, the fact that it is increasingly unpopular among dedemographic

groups, particularly women as you mentioned, this could be something where you see democrats running against obamacare. i think it would be a pretty significant shift and i think it would tell us, again, foreshadow where we're going in the 2014 midterms. gregg: boy, really hurting the president too. he reached an all-time low in his approval ratings. steve hayes of "the weekly standard", good to see you as always. >> thanks, gregg. jamie: veterans are finding themselves in a brand new battle to keep their military benefits. we'll look at cuts outlined in the new government budget. gregg: deadly violence in egypt as supporters protest the muslim brotherhood's designation, as a terrorist group. 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®.

gregg: the swine flu death toll is rising in the houston, texas

area. the city's department of health saying a teenager has died from the heighth heighth virus yesterday did, h 1 n 1 virus. reporting the death toll to 13. according to centers for disease control, texasings alabama, new york are hotbeds for the virus. doctors say vaccination is the best defense. jamie: fox extreme weather alert, this has been a really tough week. tens of thousands from michigan to maine are still in the dark heading into a second weekend dealing dealing with frigid temperatures after an ice storm downed trees and powers lines, even snapping utility poles. there are 27 deaths blamed on that storm. meteorologist maria molina tracking all of this live in the fox extreme weather center. will they get a break after the weekend, maria? >> i hope that power is earned to so many people in the upper great lakes and also into new

england as we head into this weekend we could look at another round of significant snowfall for some areas. parts of the upper great lakes could pick up over six inches of snow. we could be seeing significant accumulation in portions of maine as well. that will be mostly sunday into monday across new england. i want to show you the current temperatures. it is still pretty cold out there. parts of the northeast you're talking 30s. look at caribou, mine. the current temperature is one degree. in marquette. it is one degree. factor in the breeze it is so much colder. feels like 2 below zero in marquette. minneapolis and fargo, across parts of new england feeling very cold. teens in the cities for buffalo and boston. right now relatively quiet day across the lower 48. snow off the great lakes. three to five inches possible off lake ontario and parts of up state new york. in parts of texas we have rain

including cities of brownsville and areas south of austin. farther east, here is the forecast coming into saturday and also on sunday. we'll have this area of low pressure developing across the gulf of mexico, moving northward, producing areas of heavy rain across georgia and carolinas. we could look at flash flooding concerns out here. that is something to keep an eye on. some of the moisture eventually makes it farther north. we could be looking maybe more than six inches of snowfall in portions of maine. people without power out here. that will be something to watch. otherwise high temperatures are actually going to be on the warmer side across places like new york city. the high coming up tomorrow? 49 degrees. take a look at this, jamie as we head into sunday. much colder air dipping down from canada behind the storm system. the high temperature in fargo, 7 degrees below zero. that is not wind chill. the high temperature. jamie: yikes! 83 in miami. >> that must feel good. l.a. has been unusually warm.

78 degrees for the high coming up on sunday. >> we'll bundle up. maria, thank you. >> thank you. gregg: you may have signed up for health insurance under obama care but if you get sick, will be able to see a doctor? why some say the new health care law could have serious problems associated with medicaid. jamie: that's interesting. how about there? we don't want to hear these kinds of stories. a terrifying security breach as one of america's busiest airports? it is not the only one either. we'll give you the latest details in a live report.

[heart beating] [heartbeat continues] [heartbeat, music playing louder] ♪ i'm feeling better since you know me... ♪ announcer: this song was created with heartbeats of children in need. find out how it can help frontline health workers bring hope to millions of children at everybeatmatters.org.

jamie: welcome back, everybody. new efforts to restore military benefits. congress passed a budget agreement before the holiday break, trimming cost of living increases and benefits for some retirees. now lawmakers and veterans are fighting to stop those cuts. steve centanni is joining me live from washington now with more on that. exactly what's happening, steve? >> reporter: well, jamie, there is this intense lobbying effort by veterans groups and there are bills being introduced to repeal that provision of the bipartisan budget deal. as you know president obama signed the budget agreement just yesterday in hawaii. among other things it calls for that cut in the cost of living increase for military retirees under the age of 62. this has caused a huge uproar from veterans groups and members of congress.

the president of the military officers association of america said the measure comes at a terrible price for our existing force and retirees. the 1% annual reduction to uniformed service retired pay cost of living adjustment could have disasterous, unintended consequences and does not represent good faith to the men and women in uniform. house members on both sides of the aisle are proposing legislation to overturn the cut. representative julia brownlee of california said in a statement, as a member of the house veterans affairs committee i believe our servicemembers, veterans and families must receive benefits they earned and deserve. these benefits are owed to them without equivocation. gop congressman ted poe of texas introducing a similar bill in the house, jamie. jamie: ultimately it has pitted prominent republicans against each other, hasn't it? >> reporter: that's right. john mccain, senator john mccain of arizona and lindsey graham are on opposite

sides of the fence on this issue. mccain a veteran himself of course, supported the bill in order to get some kind of a budget deal passed while lindsey graham opposed the bipartisan agreement because of this very measure, the cut to increases in veterans retirement benefits. the battle bound to continue when congress comes back next year, jamie. jamie: steve, we know you will keep us posted on that. thank you so much. >> reporter: you bet. jamie: gregg? gregg: mounting tensions in egypt now as supporters of the muslim brotherhood call for widespread demonstrations today. protesting military-led governments designating them as a terrorist group. one person already reportedly killed today. lisa daktari joins us, middle east journalist and fox news contributor. good to see you. according to the new law, the muslim brotherhood is outlawed. anybody that does anything to support them can be arrested immediately and face as long prison term.

all the protesters who dare go out there today could end up bind bars. >> they could be rounded up. you you have to look what is going on here. the interim government is having trouble restraining these groups. egypt is perpetual demonstration mode until we get the groups off the street. you face the problem of suffocation and not allowing people to protest and organize the way we know freedom. gregg: so basically egypt is now reverting back to the marshall law days of anwar sadat and hosni mubarak where the muslim brotherhood was outlawed for decades and decades. they essentially went underground. >> appears, what they are accusing the interim government of doing, protest the culture of protest out of egypt. they think since 2011, since the toppling of mubarak, this is go-to for the muslim brotherhood and their followers. what you have to really look at here, the muslim brotherhood, you can outlaw them but there used to be a top down hierarchy.

since they got rid of top leaders seems as though they have a widespread following but not so much a deep one, right? gregg: right. >> you have a lot of lone wolf zealot terrorists among them. the interim government attempted to include muslim brotherhood members and leaders in the government. let's inclusive government, you can have the representative be part of the parliament system but they refused. gregg: the muslim brotherhood their chance. mohammed morsi was popularry elected t took him a year to ruin the economy. he had no skills beyond politics. he had no business or economic skills neither did anybody he appointed to help egyptians and their abysmal economy. it only got worse. >> it was very well-demonstrated, revolutions and demonstrations don't happen because people are dreaming of a different type of government or democracy or justice or liberty but they're hungry. the economy in egypt is number

one. until they get rid of sideline terrorist groups and bombings they can't go on building their economy. gregg: sure. it's a tough balancing act to give them just enough freedom without giving too much to be abused at least in the egyptian culture. let me ask you this. general assisi is the head of the military, defactor leader in the military government. is he likely to seek presidency himself? >> maybe. he is gaining a lot of popularity. the silver lining, the people's voices are being heard. what happened with morsi, the power grab. came into office, the egyptian people said we didn't come into tahrir square for this. this type of government and morsi to be overextending his hand. they're much better organizing sideline groups than governing a country like egypt. seems as though the military is gaining a lot of support within the country and people's voices are being heard. gregg: america ripped away some

of its financial support to egypt. so what does all of this mean big picture for u.s. interests in the region? >> right. looks as though the u.s. made a big mistake but pulling its influence an money therefore influence in egypt and that was quickly swept up by the saudis and kuwaitis and russians who are cozying up to the egyptian government and soon to be irrapian government once again extending its hand to egypt. everyone knows egypt is a pivotal player in the region. what did we do? we said was it a coup, or not a coup? let's define this we pulled our money and egyptian and people and government said, you know what? we don't need it. we'll get it elsewhere. gregg: what you're saying the obama administration and president in particular vacillated and finally made a decision which you would regard as the wrong one which is only going to alienate u.s. interests and ability and leverage in the region? gregg: >> it was absolutely shortsighted. the big picture the reason

egyptian aid from the u.s. was implemented in the beginning, those reasons remain, keeping security of the sinai, keeping peace with israel. we look for egypt as a partner keeping security in the region. for one short term, very shortsighted, one mow mem terri laps i think they -- moment men terri lapse, they made the wrong decision. gregg: decades of support tossed away. we needed them. >> we still do. gregg: lisa, good to see you as always. thanks. jamie? jamie: thank you, gregg. former secretary of state hillary clinton and new jersey governor kiss christie both names you know and may be hearing a lot more from them. they may be front-runners and are in the latest fox polls for the latest 2016 race for the white house but who else may be thinking about the race? we'll have that. gregg: boston flight ford 68 bucks. late christmas present for some

savvy flyers. ♪ [ sniffles, coughs ] shhhh! i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. [ sniffles ] i better take something. [ 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!

♪ gregg: some lucky travelers, you will not believe this, enjoying unusually low air fares thanks to a computer glitch or mistake. delta air lines says for about 90 minutes yesterday customers were able to buy tickets at dirt cheap prices on many discount travel sites, cross-country flights, for about 40 bucks. boston to honolulu, 68 bucks.

no word how this happened but delta says the problem has been fixed. that's too bad. get this, it will honor those tickets. well, good for delta. jamie: you know what though? not good for us. thanks for telling us about it now, gregg. gregg: i'm a little tardy. that is the story of my life. jamie: would you bought at least extra one for a buddy? gregg: absolutely. i'm generous with other people's money. jamie: 40 or $60. many some day, maybe. speaking of spending money, can you imagine what campaigns will cost by 2016? already a lot of people are thinking about it. it is closer than you think. we have new fox news polls that show hillary clinton and chris christie are leading the pack for the presidential nomination in their parties. among democrats in the poll, it is runaway for now. former secretary of state hillary clinton is leading by a wide margin, 68%. while republicans are a little more closely-bunched, new jersey governor chris christie is

leading the gop pack at 16%. juan williams is a fox political analyst. mary catherine ham, editor-at-large for hotair.com and a fox news crittore as well. i couldn't wait to talk to you guys as about this. even when i report on 2016 i assume that people will write me saying, it's a little early. nobody has. it really isn't. so if we're thinking about it, they must really be thinking about it. juan, do you think these numbers are accurate at this point and will they hold? >> i don't know if they will hold, jamie. i think critical point here a lot is determined in the midterms coming up next year in those 2014 elections on the democratic side. i think whether or not obamacare continues to be a dominant issue. how do people relate it. hillary had her own problems with trying to put in place a health care system and it failed. so, you know, and she has been an advocate for obamacare. how will democrats react? right now in the polls we have on the democratic side elizabeth

warren is down there. she would be another woman, more progressive woman coming in. i don't know. she is one who has energy that has been climbing in the polls recently. on republican side, what is really fascinating to me, christie is there he doesn't have the kind of lead hillary clinton has on the democratic side and there are a bunch of people right behind him. chris at this at 16. 12%, people like bush, cruz, ryan. i think there is a big stack or block if you will on the republican side and a lot to be determined for republicans in terms of tea party versus the establishment republicans in the 14 midterms. jamie: interesting, more cohesive republican party would be helpful for the party. >> yes. jamie: goodness, knows, mary catherine, obama care will be something that the republicans will talk about. how influential will it be at midterm? and how do voters look at midterm results in terms of deciding what they want to do in a general election? >> well, jamie, i think the most

important part about your intro of those polls, for now. it is a little bit of a guilty pleasure to talk about the 2016 right now. like the 37 hershey kisses i had this week, preresolution we can talk all we want about 2016. obamacare will be interesting. on the republican side there will be some jockeying for position and already has been how to best oppose obamacare. how to best come up with a system that might work instead of obamacare. and i think the key for republicans is going to be how to figure out how to have that fight without making it too destructive of the eventual nominee. we see on the left side democrats seem to have largely landed upon a candidate at this point but it will be interesting to see if somebody does come in from the left. perhaps with the flag of single-payer to rescue obamacare and he see how that plays out. there will be folks who are looking for that option on the left as well. jamie: in terms of hillary clinton's former health

care proposal, juan, the chances of it coming up in what context rand how much impact will it have with voters? >> remember what we're talking about here in this discussion i think are primary voters, jamie. so we're talking about how democrats vi you looked at the s falling poll numbers in recent weeks it is in large part in response to the fact that they think he is the smartest guy in the room but how could you screw up in the rollout of obama care so badly knowing it is your legacy item. i think people will say, wait a second, as we heard from mary catherine, he should have gone whole hog and shouldn't compromise and not go with single-payer and insurance companies retain a large role in the system. maybe he should have been more aggressive that would be argument coming from the left as mary catherine said. the other argument people would say, howard dean not in this poll, maybe like a joe biden would say you know what? just a matter of execution of rollout. we can do it better.

shouldn't give up on our principles. we are democrats, we stand for caring and compassion and make that case. jamie: what is the future for joe biden, juan? what do you think the future is? >> people write him off. joe biden is very popular guy. people make a lot of fun, he makes malapropisms all the time, when he is out on the campaign trail, it is hard to beat joe biden. his home state, pennsylvania, delaware, but also ohio, michigan, midwest, he is a rock star. jamie: those are important states. >> i know. surprises but yeah. jamie: mary catherine, before we go, new york governor andrew cuomo, if hillary clinton runs is there any way he or elizabeth warren would step into the race? >> i'm not sure. she does seem to be quite a juggernaut at this point but i think folks on the left who are hungry for another option. i would not be surprised if somebody might want to take a stab at that. of course we see martin o'malley in maryland as one of the folks

in the poll but not doing so well. deval patrick is in the poll at 1%. on republican side i want to note, i think it is christie is on top of the pile. a lot of conventional wisdom to political junkies, he is toast. he will not get past the sandy embrace with obama. it looks like a pretty open field and may get messy for republicans. jamie: it will be so interesting starting with those midterms next year. always great to have you here. >> happy new year. jamie: happy, healthy new year to you both. gregg? gregg: bizarre security breach at a major airport. take a look at this. a man actually runs on to the tarmac and hit as plane. it is raising airport security questions at this hour. jamie: amazing video. new concerns that obamacare could look a lot like medicaid with fewer doctors taking patients. we'll take a closer look next.

female announcer: it's time to make room female announcer: for the new mattress models during sleep train's huge year end clearance sale. get beautyrest, posturepedic, even tempur-pedic mattress sets, at low clearance prices. save even more on floor samples, demonstrators and closeout inventory. plus, free same-day delivery, set up and removal of your old set. why wait for the new models? sleep train's year end clearance sale is on now.

superior service, best selection, lowest price, guaranteed! ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪

jamie: later today connecticut state police will release their official report on last year's mass shooting at sandy hook elementary school in newtown and it will include several thousand pages of police documents from the investigation as well as text messages, pictures and 911 calls received by state police. 20-year-old adam lanza killed 21st grade students and six teachers and staff before taking his own life. gregg: well a weird to say the least security breach at sky harbor international airport, that's in phoenix. police say a man suddenly jumped a fence, ran on to the tarmac and able to slap this plane which had just landed. police quickly busting the guy

saying he appeared to be under the influence. no kidding. alicia acuna is live from denver with more. alicia, how did he get by security to bin with? >> reporter: gregg, that is actually a big question still and a huge concern this morning. that fence was a nine foot fence with bausched wire on the tap and able to square. barbed wire. police say 49-year-old robert bump, approached a southwest airlines plane that landed. pilot was told about the situation by security. he stopped engines. a passenger took the photo and cops took a booking photo of bump. he smacked the engine of the aircraft with his hand and he was arrested. >> one thing they noticed right away he was definitely under the influence of alcohol, which they could detect and even possibly drugs based on his bizarre behavior. >> reporter: that mug shot may have been somewhat comical but travelers did not find any of

this to be humerous. when you consider how he got close to the plane. >> concerns me someone could jump over a fence and get close to a airplane without being arrested by police. >> federal regulations say six feet and we have nine so we far exceed federal regulations. >> reporter: bump was charged with trespassing. gregg: that was not only bizarre airport breach this week. talk to us about that. >> reporter: newark's liberty airport on christmas day, there was a 24-year-old man in women's clothing who was arrested after he was found on the tarmac in the early morning hours. the port authority says it is not clear how yet exactly how he got there but this is what they believe happened. he may have climbed over two fences, crossed two runways before approaching an airline

worker. it's a very serious concern for everybody. this should not happen. in this stay and age, this should not happen. >> reporter: authorities say he was charged with misdemeanor trespassing. a lot of concerns today. gregg: man in woman's clothing. all right. thanks very much, alicia acuna. appreciate it. >> reporter: sure. jamie: well, at this moment iran is moving closer to further enriching uranium, despite that deal they made to limit the expansion of its nuclear program. at least a temporary deal. we'll tell what you iran is doing now and what response we can expect from the white house. gregg: plus, curiosity getting an upgrade from a world away. look what is ahead for nassda's rover on mars. nasa's rover very. pp ÷ó

>> and fox news alert. iran is blasting open a nuclear

whole and expanding their programs. welcome to news hour. >> iran is announcing a new generation of new equipment to enrich this urranium while getting around the deal with the u.s. >> they are claiming it is in the testing phase and not operati operational but it raises questions about what the response we will see from the white house will be. chief correspondent ed is here from the white house. this seems to be a setback from the administration who touted this bill as progress who touted this as progress. >> this is going to put pressure on the president, the secretary of the state who negotiated the

deal. the new law does allow them to develop them, but for six months they can not bring them into existence. the white house has pushed back by saying these comments are playing to the audience. there has been pressure in iran saying why are you talking to the united states and allies. the suggestion is they are putting out this rhetoric, put they will stick to the deal and make clear they are not developing nuclear weapons. but people in the united states and israel are going to raise questions. >> we have a tense relationship with israel already.

and the president is facing backlash from the democrats as well. >> you are right. it isn't just the normal critics. you have bob mendez who has joined other top democrats saying continue to talk to iran, see if the dealworks, but push sanctions in the meantime so if iran backs out of this. the president insisted these sanctions are not needed. >> i think the politics of trying to look tough on iran are often good when you are running for office or if you are in office, but as president of the united states who has been responsible over the last four

years with the help of congress in putting together a sanctions regime that put pressure on them to bring them to the table to negotiate. >> a number of critics, in his own party as well, are suggesting maybe this deal isn't going to stick. >> sanctions we know work, a deal where they maybe pushing the enevenvelope. keep an eye on it. >> ups is offering refounds to customers who didn't get their packages in time for christmas. but one lawyer is saying that is not good enough and everybody should get a refund. air delivery customers have been

offered refounds. fed-ex hasn't offered refunds. >> it has been a pr nightmare for them and also for target. new jersey senator robert mendez says the government must hold businesses accountable when information is stolen. 40 million target customers had their account hiked. and the senator is saying they should dole out fines for the future issues. >> i want to know if the federal trade commission can hold people accountable. >> he is saying if they don't have the authority to impose a fine for such a broach, he would propose legislation that would

give it the authority to do so. the attorney representing jahi mcmath, the oakland girl declared written dead from a routine tonsillectomy has found a new center to take their daughter to. this plan to move her is very complicated i would imagine? >> that is right. it sparked a new battle between the family and children's hospital in oakland where jahi mcmath has been on a ventilator since december 12th.

they found a facility willing to take care of her and they hope to move her before monday night as that is when the judge's order to keep her alive. listen to what happens when a reporter said it might be time to let her go >> what about those people that are saying the time is enough? >> what people are those? >> the viewers. >> have their child be in this situation. >> her family says her blood pressure stabilized and she appears to breathe on her own and moved her shoulders -- all of which reasons give them hope. >> if she is moved, the cost will be absorbed by the family or the facility. how is the hospital responding

to this new request? >> hospital officials are sympathetic but they have made it clear they will not help the family move her because that would involve giving her breathing and feeding tube firsts >> children's hospital doesn't performing surgical procedures on a deceased body. >> the family says they willbri in outside doctors to perform the surgery so she can be moved. but it is unclear if that can happen. >> a long and difficult weekend for everybody out there. >> a knockout game attack in

texas is leading to federal hate crime charges and concerns of a double standard. conrad bater was arrested for shooting cellphone video of himself sucker punches a 79-year-old black man. this story is also complicated. charged with a federal hate crime as opposed to a simple assault, why? >> the feds are involved to assure a stiffer penalty and to show the state has a handle on this crime. he alleges me made several videos on his cellphone. one where he identified himself. one where he stated his intent

to attack a black man so he could get national attention. and then he recorded himself knocking out the man. >> he used the n-word and maybe those that would say the national hate crime is there, but i do believe this is an excellent test. >> conviction would mean a maximum of ten years in prison. >> i understand in the video he is not seen, but her. there is talk about a double standard, can you explain that? >> because so many other

instances in this case, the races and the defendants have been reverses. and hate crime charges have been fairly rare. one exception came after a knockout against a jewish ran. >> they want to country to think they are on the front age of this knockout. the fbi, the dea are involved, an absolute utter waste of money. >> he faces a detention hearing at 2 p.m. central time today. >> thanks so much. that was bernie green talking about the case. we will talk about whether the feds will allow hate crimes to

stick. this is a disturbing trend the legal panel will debate. >> is it possible the doctor will not see you? that might be the case for nil millions who signed up for obamacare. why they could be in for an unpleasant surprise. >> hilary clinton might be the front runner in 2016, but will the democrats have buyers remorse? we will debate. >> i think she is going to be weak if she decides to run, a relatively week opponent and republicans will have a good shot at the white house. 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.

>> a fox news alert. we couldn't resist showing you

this picture of the russians in the middle of a seven hour space walk. they are installing a pair of high definition television satellites. they plan to swat out several science experiments as well. folks who do manage to sign up for obamacare may have trouble with their insurance when they go to see a doctor or may find doctors will not see them because the payments are low. many of the plans will look like medicare with more and more doctors facing fewer doctors could lead to rationalizing. the president kept demeaning

plans calling them substandard and experts are warning the plans could look like medicare. how do you see it? >> no one has never seen a doctor or visited a hospital under obamacare. that starts next week. we do know one of the ways that obamacare saves money is to pay doctors less. we talked about higher p premeiums. if a doctor gets $100 under private, he gets $70 under

medicare, and $40 to medicaid. and if they get to medicaid levels, doctors will see fewer patients. >> our own doctor in today's wall street journal, how can quality of care not be effected if the antibiotic i feel you need isn't covered under your plan? valid points? >> absolutely. that raises another point we have not talked about. which is the limits on prescription drugs that are in in a lot of plans. when you talk about medicaid, we

had a groundbreaking study this that showed that people on medicaid when you measured key elements like blood pressure and diabet -- diabetes -- they were no better than if they would they had no insurance. so there is questions about expanding the roles and expanding medicaid-like care to people with coverage. >> you argue republicans should undertake an individual mandate in obamacare. you pointed out something that escaped a lot of us. 68% disapprove of the individual

mandate but among the uninsured 77% more people disapprove of the individual mandate. >> it is by far the most unpopular part of obamacare. you are right about those numbers. 77%. and that is of the group that is supposed to benefit the most from this. the republicans have tried to delay the individual mandate several times. back in the summer, the republicans said why give that break only to business? what about individuals? they held a vote and 22 house democrats voted for it. my guess is now, if you had that vote again, that was before the implementation of obamacare. when republicans hold the vote

governor, they are likely it get more than 22 democrats. >> lots of folks deciding to ride bikes to raise money. but one city is going to tax them. we will tell you why. >> we have all said the pledge allegiance and now one state could require it in all public elementary schools. we will have more on that.

female announcer: female announcer: get beautyrest, posturepedic, even tempur-pedic mattress sets, at low clearance prices. save even more on floor samples, demonstrators and closeout inventory. the year end clearance sale is on now at sleep train. ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪

certified. international. and the mail man picks it up. i don't leave the shop anymore. [ male announcer ] get a 4 week trial plus $100 in extras including postage and a digital scale. go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again. >> you have to ride your bike to school. you maybe taxed for doing that. a chicago city councilwomen

wants to set a $25 bike tax. it is setting off debate against motorist and bike riders across the county as more people see bike riders as a new source of revenue. >> really. snow birds and holiday tourist are fed up with the cold and they are flocking to florida. they could see the biggest holiday crowds every. phil keating is in florida right now. now you are there they are

flocking there. >> florida's tourism is valued at more than $90 billion and they will see a 3% spike over last year. temperatures feeling warm enough to play in the ocean. but during the christmas and new years holiday particular down here in south florida the place is packed. especially around miami. more than 3 million travelers are landing here and many more are driving. 90 million are driving for time away from it all as we fade out 2013. the best marketing pitch is right here in your weather map. blue, cold and frigid but in florida, the only state in a warm orange color with temperatures in the 70s and 80s.

>> a couple hour airplane flight. a couple hours to drive to places in the northeast. where would you rather be? in the cold? or the heat? go heat. >> plenty of people opting for the heat in that equation. a lot of families are here. that family is from canada. this family from chicago. and what are your friend in chicago doing today? >> ice fishing. >> it is terrible to be them. jaime you miss it down here. >> i love florida. it isn't just florida. i hear of people going to the panhandle and savannah and have people moved on from the bp oil

spill? >> they have. it has been three straight years from alabama, mississippi, and the panhandle reporting improving tourism numbers. it was only 2010, the year of the spill, they suffered. they are reporting down in the panhandle the best number in years. this week, hotel rates are through the roof. all the way done to key west most hotels are sold out. >> best numbers since 2007. i think it was kicked off by the cold weather in the northeast and canada. they got snow early. sold out numbers and the best rates in almost five years. >> up north you have a lot of

bur going on. if you are watching with jealousy, florida retailers wish you would come on down. >> we did notice you were in your shorts. and greg is loosening his tie. you could have worn a tie. but the flip-flops cash. >> phil has the hair, location, attire, and women running after him. >> you have a beautiful day and we are happy for tourism there and other places. >> i want to be phil. >> some day. >> a ship with dozens of crew and passengers on board trapped in ice near antarctica and a

frantic rescue effort is underway. >> is there a double standard when it comes to prosecuting these knockout game cases? is race an issue? our legal panel debates that ahead.

toxic chemicals and carcinogens are leaching into the environment. it's happening right where we live, work and play.

everywhere. cigarette butts are toxic waste. let's stop the toxic litter. learn more at rethinkbutts.org >> a fox news alert. an ice breaking ship is racing

against the clock to rescue a russian ship with dozens of crew members aboard. a blizzard pushed sea ice all around it freezing it in place on christmas morning. the scientist are counting bird and drilling ice to photograph the sea animals there. >> we reported of a white man in texas who has been charged with a federal white crime for breaking the jaw of an elderly black man. he said he was playing the knockout attack. the feds are saying the hate crime charge is justified because the attack was motivated by racism.

we have a trial attorney and a defense and family and trial lawyer here. is this appropriately being heard in federal court? >> yeah, it is appropriately being heard in federal court because it is charged under a federal statue. but is it a federal hate crime? i would say no. the guy is playing this computer game. it is terrible. but he was motivated because he wanted to be on national television. he made that statement. >> there is video that exist appare apparently where he is showing video of him suckering punching his african-american man who ends up with a broken jaw and he is bragging about it. what other factors would you

need to prove a hate crime? >> the fact he was racially motivated. and specifically said he was targeting an african-american man to target. he was specifically looking for that person. and he did end up harming an african-american man. these need to be prosecuted to the full est extent of the law. >> he is the going before the judge today. and will the audio and visual evidence from his cellphone be

admissible? he is not seen, but heard making the racial slurs and the man in question is seen sustaining these serious injuries? >> yes, i think it is going to be admissible but they have to prove it is hate crime because the guy is black. and there is evidence to show the guy wanted to be on television and thought he could get on there quicker if he attacks someone who is black. there is a lot of crimes where the perp tratraitor is black bu they are not being accused of hate crimes. so they need to prosecute consistently. if the guy targeted fat white men with gray hair is that a white crime? no. it is just a way to get on television. >> let me call the viewers

attention to the video -- i was going to ask our producers to run the video so folks can see what this crime is. you are walking along and the game is someone comes along and punches you out where you fall and they leave. some injuries are minor, substanti substantial, but in this case i would assume this man has civil action he can take against the man he believes if he is prosecuted, hate crime or not. what would that look like? >> he was injured by this man so the inability to work and extend of injuries and future harm they may have come thime as a result of this crime, sure there is -- him -- civil damages to the extend the defendant could way

them. we don't know how much the victim will receive in terms of a civil suit. and he brought a private criminal complaint against mr. barret. i think they are appropriate especially given the strong evidence showing he was racially motivated >> thank you, ladies. we hope these charges or cases well eliminate this this disturbing trend. we don't want to see them k anymore. >> there is a battle between jobs and land rights. a tribe is opposing a copper

mind there saying it will disturb sacred land. will carr is live. >> this came up in congress and they are hoping it comes back up in 2014. the unemployment rate is 20% in this town and that is why residents are hoping this copper mine opens soon. >> when you hear resolution copper what do you think? >> jobs. >> we need mine people. >> it would be generating a

billion dollars. >> it runs more than a mile deep. >> they have been developing the mine for years. it should bring thousands of jobs to the area. >> but to finish the mine, they want to tried acres for 25 acres owned by the federal government. land this tribe considers sacred. >> we felt the public know how close we are to that area. >> it is up for congress to swap the land >> what the real value of this extraction and is this trade worth it? >> for one community it isn't worth loosing its heritage. for the other the value could be priceless. >> the land swap bill was pushed in november because native american tribes pushed to

have to stop. but they will continue to push for the swap and the jobs. >> will, thanks so much. >> speak of jobs, democrats are looking ahead to 2016 and hoping that hilary clinton will be the nominee but republicans are hoping the same thing. >> i think she is going to be weak. 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 mediyears. one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn.

>> 2016 may seem a long way off unless you are making plans to run for the white house. hilary clinton could be a contender but charles power says the nomination could help republicans.

>> i think she is going to be weak opponent if she runs and i think republicans will have a good shot at the white house. >> campaign director for the center of american action fund and a radio host on 77 wabc and two-time best selling author. good to see you both. charles is about the smartest guy i know and he is politically wise. but that is a startling statement when you consider how much fundraising ability hilary clinton has. what do you make of it? >> i think it is strange for democrats to correlate hilary clinton as their candidate.

i don't think she is a lock for her own parties nomination. >> jetta pinned a column and said look at her record and what she has done. as the first lady her only major accomplishment was a failed health care scheme. what historic legislation did she shepherd as secretary of the state? she travelled a million miles. >> i think hilary clinton does have large broad scale support. she went through the entire term of secretary of state and represented the united states abroad good.

i think people will look at her record and be there to support her. >> there is a column in the new york times. she is the washington entrenched ruling class and that could hurt her. >> there is a lot of holiday elitist who helped sink her campaign in 2008 and i don't think they will come around to her. they may. but it is true. what did she do? did she leave the middle east in the better state? people would say no. i think her signature accomplishments have to be standing by her husband while he treated the white house like it

was cancun during spring break. >> benghazi might be the most detrimental thing to her and her saying what difference does it make it was my watch. >> look, benghazi was a terrible situation, we have learned from that, but we mead need to move on. it wasn't the massive scandal people thought it was. it wasn't the big red hair people thought it was. people are moving on. >> the white house has been stone walling on benghazi and the longer they do that and the more damaging information that is coming out, couldn't that

hurt her? >> i don't think benghazi is going to be a significant issue with voters. it will be more of the domestic agenda. and hillary care proceeded obamacare. what big bold progressive agenda can she run on? >> we are out of town. we have to go. please come back. thank you and good to see you both. >> thanks so much. >> there are so many places that is going to go. details on the new upgrade for nasa's mars rover.

female announcer: female announcer: get beautyrest, posturepedic, even tempur-pedic mattress sets, at low clearance prices. save even more on floor samples, demonstrators and closeout inventory. the year end clearance sale is on now at sleep train. ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪

>> i love the start to this story. new year new gear for nasa's rover. the robotic arm can do more and store more. mission operations are hoping to check out the aluminum wheels and prepare it for future exploration. i have said it before, everybody should visit the planetarium. i love the first fact i was told that it can now take selfieself. tell me about that. >> this is like a rolling lab. it can take pictures of itself

and they are diagnostic about the condition of mars as far as dust storms and other things that are important to scientist is engineers. the pictures are important and it is great it can take self images. >> what do you expect to learn? >> one of the things we expect is how does the rover survive on the surface of mars? mars is well-known for its dust storms and they have been a problem for previous rovers because they have used solar panels for energy. as you mentioned, another thing that is important, is the stuff diagnostic of being able to look around the rover and the damage. there is concern about aluminum

wheels >> tell me about that. >> they can not replace them, but they can monitor how much damage has been caused to the wheels as it rolls over the surface. it has six more miles to go. so engineers may find a smoother track. the aluminum is so much lighter than steel but not as durable. >> how long can it stay there safely? >> it is outfitted with enough power to operate for ten years. so if nothing else happens, it will provide good science for that long. it has satisfied its main mission of being able to identify the possibility of

environment where life could have developed. now it is giving us extra gravy science >> space is very, very cool. we love the pictures. >> ten year battery back. we could use one of those. >> what a deal. security breaches at two major airports including a man jumping over a fence and reaching an airplane.

>> well, the clock is ticking. there is times square. a live shot for you. 2014 is almost here. you can ring in the new year with bill hemmer and elisabeth hasslebeck for the all america new year's eve special that begins 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on the fox news channel. looking forward to that. >> so much fun they're starting an hour earlier thank goodness.

we'll be back here at 1:00 to three eastern. we have great top i cans. don't be afraid to open your four owe one or r statements. it will be one of the best year's all time. >> we'll look at that. "happening now" begins right now. harris: breaking news on headlines and brand new stories you will see here first. leland: twitter taking wall street by storm. why the social media stock soared so much since last month. nobody likes the dmv but is this really necessary? what the thieves were after at the dmv. not sure there is anything there i would want to steal. a new study revealing the most common types of surgery in this country may not actually be necessary. what you need to know and what you need to ask your doctor. it is all "happening now."