thank you for watching. happy new year. we hope to see you right here next year. fox news alert. welcome, everybody. a major setback in the rescue of a russian ship stuck in antarctic ice. an icebreaker meant for that purpose that was en route to help has been forced to turn back. there are more than 70 people stuck on the original ship since christmas eve. they are safe but their supplies are now limited. another icebreaker now rushing in to help. more detail also in a live report later in the show. new figures on how many americans are seeking health insurance under obama care. more than 800,000 people

visited, didn't enroll, but visited healthcare.gov on december 24th. now, the boom coming on the last day to enroll for coverage beginning on january 1st. maybe some did enroll. maybe some did not. they certainly visited. i'm gregg jarrett. welcome to america's news headquarters. >> i'm jamie colby. for many, it was an improvement just to be able to get on. at least it was up and operational. the numbers are said to be on track with the administration goals for healthcare.gov but are they enough to declare victory. traveling with the president, joining us live from honolulu. what are they saying, doug? >> jamie, as you know, the administration said it would be devoting a team of experts to fix the glitches after that disastrous rollout of october 1st. it appears to have paid off. we were watching the deal with great attention. the deadline for people to enroll for health care. later extended to christmas eve,

december 24th. and from the numbers released today by the senators for medicare and medicaid services, it looks like the website did its job. on monday, december 23rd, there were two million-plus site visits, the peak day. the queueing system was activated. 129,000 people were sent to the queueing system. on the 24th, christmas eve, 880,000 total people visited the site. here's deputy press secretary john ernest. >> the website was sturdy, it stayed up, and people were able to shop for website options. >> the administration says it is now devoting itself to the actual implementation of obama care. that is where the critics say we can expect to see much more problems on the rollout of the

website itself. congressman tom price is himself a physician. sees some of these problems beginning to manifest themselves across the country. he certainly sees it in the atlanta area. >> when i talk to doctors that i used to practice with in the city of atlanta in the metro area, four of the major hospital systems are not even going to be on the panel, not even going to have the access. the patients don't know that yet. the hospitals know that but the patients don't know that yet. these are the kinds of hidden secrets in this program that are supposed to make it work from a financial standpoint. it may make it work for government, but it certainly doesn't work for patients. >> we've heard that it needs 7 million people to sign up by the end of open enrollment march 31st. we know 1 million signed up for private insurance on the exchanges. the administration forecast 1.2

million will sign u.p by the en of november. so they're short of expectations. >> you'll keep us posted. doug, thank you so much. traveling with the president. >> utility companies in the state of michigan say they do expect to restore power to most of their customers some time this weekend. nearly 32,000 homes and businesses though remain still without electricity. after a massive ice storm hit the midwest and the northeast. but they warn that melting ice could fall on power lines causing even more outages. in the mean type, some 4,000 people remain without power in the state of maine. >> tough times for those folks there, wow. new developments in the target data breach. the retail giant is now saying customers' personal identification numbers, those pin numbers that go along with your cards, were also stolen. the data, though, they say was ency encrypted, so they believe it's safe and secure. debit card pins were among the

financial information stolen from about 40 million people, all of whom made purchases in target stores at the height of the holiday shopping season. target warning customers to be on the lookout for any questionable purchases on their bank account statements. >> got to keep an eye on those. fox news alert. a big economic change for the long-term unemployed federal emergency benefits are now over. after congress failed to to extend the benefits in a bipartisan budget deal it recently passed. the cutoff now affecting more than 1 million americans. elizabeth prann has more in washington. >> this is immediately impacting anybody who has been collecting unemployment for more than 26 weeks. that was the maximum time before the recession hit when the benefits were temporarily extended. at its peak, the program was providing up to 2 years of coverage. it has since been tapering down.

so which states have higher than average long-term unemployment? california, nevada, illinois, pennsylvania, connecticut, new york, new jersey and massachusetts. and since funding was not included in the budget, both sides are at a stalemate. democrats are slamming republicans and pushing for an extensi extension. deb debby wasserman shults released a statement saying, these benefits provide a critical support to the economy and millions of americans who have yet to find work. republican leadership says benefits need to be paid for first. experts argue extending the program not only adds to the federal de sit, it may not incent vise job seekers. >> the argument you hear is long-term unemployment benefits often cause long-term unemployment, not only help the people who are among the long-term unemployed by giving them incentives to stay on

government assistance rather than getting out and looking for work. >> house bills have also been drafted to undue pension cuts to military retirees. funds for that program. >> reporting in washington, thank you. >> meanwhile, turning to libya. releasing four u.s. personnel, military personnel, who were detained last night at a checkpoint north of tripoli. pentagon officials say the four were likely special operations forces but of course they can't confirm that. they're investigating possible evacuation routes for diplomats. fortunately, no one was hurt. the death toll is rising from that car bombing in lebanon. state media there saying that a teenager wounded in yesterday's blast has now died, raising the death toll to seven. the bombing targeted a prominent pro western politician who criticized syria and its

lebanese ally hezbollah. he was also killed in a big explosion. he'll be buried in beirut. there are some new concerns in the u.s. that is may be abandoning its traditional leadership role in the middle east. >> the gulf arabs feel abandoned, at least the israelis have the ability to defend themselves. middle east is asking, where is the united states? >> now, the question is, when he talks, we listen. our political panel will weigh in on whether or not the president is running a foreign policy of retreat. >> and he's back, don't you know, phil robertson, set to return to "duck dynasty" after making some controversial remarks in a recent article in gq magazine. why a&e is reversing his suspension. i'm nathan and i quit smoking with chantix.

when my son was born, i remember, you know, picking him up and holding him against me. it wasn't just about me anymore. i had to quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven o help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. chantix didn't have nicotine in it, and that was important to me. [ male aouncer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal tughts or action while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which uld get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a seris allergic or skineaction to it. if you develop these, stop antix and see your doctor right away, as some coue life threatening. tell your docto if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, r if you develop new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have mptoms of a heart attack or stroke. use caution when driving or opating machinery. common side effectslude nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams.

i had to qt smoking to keep up with this guy. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chanti is right for you.

time for a quick check of the headlines. the motive of the gunman who killed 20 students and 6 staff at sandy hook elementary school last year remains a mystery for investigators. this, after state police released their final report yesterday. the family of a california girl declared brain dead after a routine tonsillectomy saying it has located a second nursing home willing to provide for her long-term care after another one backed out. the girl is being kept alive on a ventilator. phil robertson is back. the family patriarch of "duck dynasty" returning to his hit reality show after a&e decided

to drop his suspension over controversial remarks. some harsh new criticism of president obama's foreign policy. syndicated columnist charles kraut heimer says his u.s. is abandoning its traditional leadership role in the middle east, instead operating a policy of retreat. listen. >> everybody in the middle east is asking, where is the united states? and all of this is the result of the policy it delivered, when america retreats, the bad guys fill the vacuum. exactly what's happened. >> ellen ratner is here, talk radio news service. and a syndicated columnist. both are fox news contributors. >> thank you very much. >> let me start with you, ellen, and ask you about those comments. we all have so much respect for charles krautheimer. what he had to say on this particular issue, i know you're going to disagree because you've wanted to see attention paid in certain parts of the world,

south sudan was one that i assume he'll give as an example. >> yes, first of all, the president has been very active in south sudan, sending in our troop, to protect our area. but also having his representative, our ambassador at the security council, voting for the united nations to send a lot more troops into south sudan. we've have certainly not been not active on that. in terms of the middle east, well, we have a secretary of state who's been extremely active and engaged. has he been to syria and to the middle east as much as james baker? no, but he's early on in his tenure. we have to see how often he goes. he's very committed to that. >> we're reporting at foxnews.com that secretary of state john kerry's planning a trip to the middle east upcoming. so, let me ask you about what is the complaint then about this retreat philosophy of the president? can you point out some examples that charles may have been referring to?

>> sure. charles krautheimer called it retreat. i think obama called it leading from behind. this a doctrine he announced to take a more modest approach, if you will, in letting people step to the forefront. you look at morsecy and now the military. he used chemical weapons and, guess what, we were going to go to war, right, about labor day. obama said he would make the decision on his own, then he said he wanted congress to get involved. that became a bit of morass. for vladimir putin of all people stepped forward, brought peace to the region, done by putin, not obama. you look at iraq. there was a status of forces agreement that was not able to be negotiated. the u.s. polled out completely. now you have christians being blown up on christmas it a. iran, you have the march towards gaining an atomic weapon.

israel and saudi arabia both joining forces to denounce obama. we see israel and saudi arabia gaining up on the united states, something's gone totally haywire. >> those are two countries we've had relations with. certainly our relationship with israel, would be one of our greatest allies to say the least, is so important. these are complicated issues. but doesn't seem you can mark any of these as a success at this point, ellen. >> these kinds of fights have been intractable. they've been going on for years. you know, as they say about israel, as you go there for a week, you can write a book. you go there for a year, you can write one piece of paper. it's very complex. the situation is very complex. everything from water rights between the two countries -- well, guess palestine is not a country at this point. but between the two areas. and you have the situation from iraq, which we shouldn't have been in in the first place.

>> when i was talking to general keen the other day, the money we give to pakistan and egypt, should we be giving money to countries where we can't really tell necessarily who's in charge, whether they're our friend or foe, ellen. >> that is a very -- that's another complex issue. because if you totally withdraw your support in terms of the military, then what happens. but if you continue to give it and it goes in the wrong hands, what happens. i wish i had that answer. i don't think really any of us have that answer. it's very complex and scary. >> but it is the president's job. he's the guy in charge, commander in chief. he's got to figure these things out, keep us safe. >> that is correct. i agree with ellen, very often these are very complex, very difficult questions. do you deal with the egyptian military, which has all kinds of problems, difficulties? or do you do something like the muslim brotherhood, come back in, which was declared a terrorist group just a couple of days ago. very often, the choice in that area, not between good guys and

bad guys but between bad guys and worse guys. >> it is interesting, some of these huge decisions in these other countries being made from at least what it appears without consultation with the united states. great discussion. i appreciate both of you being here. >> thank you, happy new year. >> great, thank you, happy new year to you. >> is nsa surveillance legal? well, that depends on which federal judge you happen to be talking to. up next, the lack of judicial common ground on the nsa. >> plus, a dramatic rescue, all caught on camera. the amazing details. folks walked away from this? you bet. we'll tell you next. ♪ [ engine revs ] ♪

♪ [ male announcer ] the mercedes-benz winter event s back, with the perfe vehicle that's just right for you, no matter which list you're on [ santa ] ho, ho, ho, ho! [ male announcer ] get the all-new 2014 cla250 starting at just $29,900.

what a dramatic rescue. all caught on video. first responders braving rough surf off the coast of california. to save a young man who drove off a cliff. in this video, you can see the crews successfully pulling the driver to shore. and the 16-year-old was that young man, airlifted to a local hospital with serious injuries. investigators say he may have driven off that cliff intentionally. a judicial split now over the nsa. yesterday, a federal judge ruling that the agency's massive collection of telephone data is indeed lawful. it is legal. it is not unconstitutional. but this comes a week after another federal judge ruled the opposite way. in the meantime republican congressman pete king says that the ruling upholding the nsa should put away any legal

questions. this decision puts it in perspective. there are no suit or violations. the nsa goes to extraordinary length to make sure everything it does is entirely constitutional. >> colonel frederick lleyton joins us, former nsa director and joint chiefs of staff officer. colonel, great to see you. i read the formal opinion, what's very interesting about judge pauley's 53-page p.i.opin. he eloquently delves into national security and appears to appreciate the danger imposed by al qaeda and others. what do you think? >> absolutely, greg. it's great to be with you. the basic opinion by judge pauley was almost as if written by an intelligence officer, because he looked at every single detail in the way in

which the government conducted its case and conducting its las vegases in the post-9/11 world. and it's also constructive in that is look at the constitutional issue in the way that judge leon issues looked at from a more constitutional perspectived. and i think judge pauley looked at it more from an operational perspective. >> and the fourth amendment is always a reasonable task. and that is what judge william pauley looked at. in fact, on the very first page, i'm sure he intended to put it on the first page. judge pauley points out that the nsa intercepted seven calls made by the 9/11 hijackers and then he goes on to argue on page two that these attacks could have been stopped on 9/11 had the nsa had this benefit of metadata program. the government learned from its mistake and adapted to confront a new enemy. a terror network, capable of

orchestrating attacks across the world. it launched a number of countermeasures including a bulk metadata collection. a wide interest that could confront an seemingly disconnected data. he's a judge that gets it, doesn't he? >> he does. they brought the evidence to bear. they presented it in in such a way that it was understandable. and they also were very clear in their arguments against the aclu, which was the organization which had submitted the suit against the government in the case that judge pauley heard. and the way they did it, they really lookeds at the operational exigencies as we would say, being there on 9/11, i can tell you that nsa really turned on a dime to try to find the terrorists, the 9/11 terrorists, and all the cells

connected with them in a way that could be done very efficiently and hopefully with an operational don't in mind. >> last week, edward snowden said i won which is a bit premature. do you find it ironic that snowden demands that the nsa abide by the constitution, but when it comes to himself, however, snowden refuses to do so by hiding from the justice system established by our constitution. which is perhaps why many people call him not only a hypocrite but a coward. what do you think? we've got 15 seconds. >> well i'll tell you, i think he's definitely hypocrite and coward department. he's done so much damage to the apparatus of the united states that had will cost us millions if not billions of dollars to undo what he did. and that's unfortunate. >> colonel, thank you. we'll be right back. [ 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!

glad you're with us. i'm greg jarrett and welcome to america's news headquarters. >> brand new hour. great to have you here. topping the news this hour, it is a race against time for a rescue taking place in the icy waters of the antarctic. the mission suffering a serious setback. we're going to have a live report. hundreds of thousands visited, not enrolled necessarily, but visited healthcare.gov. but it is the victory that the obama administration is claiming, what do voters have to

say. the "duck dynasty" is back on demand. critics weigh in and supporters on the tv show. but we begin with a long-tell me unemployed now facing new financial challenges as we head into the new year. emergency federal benefits. are now officially over for those folks, because congress failed to extend them in a bipartisan budget deal that recently passed. and the economic impact, well, it could have an impact on families, on perhaps the country. the loss of benefits affecting 1.3 million americans. john pfund is a clolumnist for "national magazine." these extensions were actually meant to be temporary. it approaches two years of extended benefits for some people. the current program has actually

been renewed ten times in the last four years. at what point should the government kay enough of these? >> well, the unemployment rate has gone down from 10% to 7%. look, i sympathize with the 1.4 million americans who may be affected by this. i know a couple of them. it's very tough to lose a benefit but we have evidence, including alan krueger who was once president obama chief economic adviser. he wrote a paper in which he said, you know, if you extend unemployment benefits too long, people don't cast their net widely for available job us. they want their ideal job. they want the job they had before. the longer you do that, the longer you postpone the day of reckoning, there's still atrophy. one of the things we know, if you're unemployed for two or three years, you lose your edge and a lot of employers figure that out. and therefore, you become less

employable. >> and then there are people, the guy that we interviewed for the documentary on the subject who said why should i work when the government pays me not to work. i imagine there are a lot of those folks. isn't it true the longer people are paid unemployment checks, the more they tend to remain jobless? is there a correlation? >> absolutely. it's not academic study, it's human nature. you don't necessarily go out and put forth your maximum effort. nobody is going to look over your shoulder to get documentation of every phone call you made. again, i have sympathy for these people. a lot of this is what we're depending on necessity on. one of the things we've learned in life, any job is better than no job. it at least gets you back in the game. >> sometimes, you have to take a job with a lower wage or a different job, one you that -- >> or off hours. >> right. or change careers.

but a job is a job, nonetheless. let me present the flip side. supporters of extending the benefits say, wait a minute, this really does help the economy in is some ways, if eye withdraw the $25 billion a year it could hurt the economy. let me quote "the wall street journal," the story they did. without the money of unemploy benefits in consumers' hands about 0.2 percentage points could be shaved off. the 2.5% gdp growth shaved off by iht global insight. that's a statement by their chief economist. what do you think about that? >> well, it might be true, but it's only looking at one side of the ledger. yes, you're taking xue disposable income. but on the other hand, 15 states have had to raise their unemployment tax. in minnesota, $3,000 per worker is the tax you pay into the

unemployment insurance fund. so what the government giveth with one hand has taketh away with the other. yes, you have people with unemployment money to spend. but at the same time, you're raising taxes on the employer who hire new people. >> but what about chairman ben bernanke said about this, john. he said ending the benefits will bring unemployment rates down but for the wrong reason. meaning that people will simply drop out of the workforce? >> well, as far as that goes, that's correct. but if you'd actually speak to ben bernanke who is an economist, he would agree with the vast majority of the literature. but the best could a jobs program that means people hired by the private sector and don't get extended unemployment benefits. under ra ronald reagan, unemployment hit 11%. we didn't extend the benefits and the economy bloomed. we have not had that kind of

boon. instead, we've had stagnation. that's one reason why the reagan economy is different than the stagnation. >> instead of spending $25 billion a year for benefits, can that money be used to rehabilitate the labor market and create jobs? >> yes, in theory it can. the government has, i think, 169 different job training programs. but the government isn't necessarily a good job trainer. it can't duplicate the needs. the best jobs program is giving economies the incentive and the certainty in the economy that they will go and find workers and if necessary train them for the kind of jobs that they need at that moment, rather than speculate what jobs would be needed from some government bureaucrat. >> john fund, thank you. >> thank you. thank you, gregg. a fox news alert round two

for a ship stuck in ice. there are now 70 people on board and stuck since christmas eve. a chinese icebreaker was forced to turn back today and now an australian icebreaker has rushed to help. hi brian. the australian rescue ship is expected to arrive sunday night or early monday morning. we should know within 12 hours of its arrival, whether or not it will be able to cut through the thick ice. so far, two icebreaking ships sent to save the stranded russian vessel have been unable to reach the ship because the ice is too thick. the chinese ship got within seven miles before abandoning its mission. and a french icebreaker ship got within 12 miles and stopped.

now the hope lies with the australian icebreaking ship. the ship is said to have the best icebreaking capabilities of the three. if all else fail, the ship could possibly be evacuated by helicopter. the stranded ship left new zealand on november 28th carrying 74 tourists, crew and scientists. they were re-creating australian explorer to antarctica. tuesday, high winds wrapped sea ice around the ship, freezing it in place. >> the location of the high winds actually labeled it the home of a blizzard. it's in the guinness book of records as the windiest place in the world. the good news is, the ship is not in danger of sinking. there are week's worths of supplies. the crew is said to be doing just that. they celebrated christmas with a feast and that their own secret santa gift exchange.

>> we're just waiting and in the meantime keeping the spirit direct and high. they're very good. and continuing with the program here as we spend each day here making the most of our time. >> as you can tell, scientists are not letting a little thing being stranded at sea. they are passing the time posting videos on twitter and drills ice around the ship to photograph sea life. oh, by the way, the scientists on board say they plan on continuing their expedition if and when the ship is free. a manhunt intensifying in mississippi for a bank robber there inspected in a police officer's death. the fbi is asking for help to find the suspect wanted in connection with the shootings of two officers in tupelo on monday. one was fatally shot during the robbery. the other critically wounded. authorities say the suspect also

tried to rob a bank in atlanta the same day. and in louisiana, there are new details on a violent rampage that left four people dead and others wounded. investigators say ben freeman was going through a difficult divorce. on thursday, police say he allegedly killed his former mother-in-law, his former boss and his current wife before taking his own life. the shooting happened about 45 miles southwest of new orleans. well, after a week of ruffling feathers, if will you, the father of the flock is back. cable network a&e deciding to bring phil robertson back to its most-watched tv show "duck dynasty." this after controversial comments in a magazine but it remains to be seen if "duck dynasty" is mend fences with critics. >> greg, what a standoff this has been between a&e, the

robertson family. and after that "gq" interview went nuts but under pressure, fans and the biggest reality show that we have out there, and even politicians weighing in, the network caved it in. and a and e had this to say, "duck dynasty" is not a show about one man's views. it's a show about family. a family that america has come to love. they come together to reflect and pray for unity, tolerance and forgiveness, these are three values that we at a&e networks also feel strongly about. and that, actually, greg, seems to have mended fences with the two. now the robertsons by twitter, pat's son willie posting this, back to work he said, so proud of all of the show and the family. phil may be a little crude but

his heart is good. he's the real deal. and this is from robertson's hometown of west monroe, louisiana. take a listen. >> he has a lot of love in his heart. how do you love somebody and not tell that story. >> not everybody agreeing. that surprisingly, the gay lobby has not spoken out. should robertson look gay people and african-american in the eye and hear about the hurtful impact of praising jim crow laws and comparing gay people to terrorists. if dialogue with phil is not part of next steps then a&e has chen profits over african and gay people. and we'll see pat on air again

this january. and he's expected to be taking part once more when episodes resume in the spring. >> it's probably a win-win for a & a. it's going to draw more eyes to the program and raise the revenues. good to see you. >> fox news has now confirmed secretary of state john kerry is heading back to the middle east and it will all happen as soon as next week. his mission is to search for that elusive peace deal between israel and the palestinians. molly hannonberg has his report from washington. >> hi, this will be secretary state kerry's tenth trip since march. this time, he will present framework agreement between palestinians and israel and hash out any disagreements. kerry said it will, quote, fully respect palestinian sovereignty. we have had a lot of details on this round of demaking.

and one middle east analyst says that could be a positive sign. >> -- negotiation where both sides have been disciplined and restrained and not weakened. now, that means one of two things. either there's something there to protect, or there's nothing there. and people want to create the impression that in fact, there's a real process here. i think at the moment, we're somewhere in between. >> some of the sticking points are, what they've always been, israel's need to protect itself from palestinian terrorists. borders of a potential palestinian state and control of jerusalem. one republican lawmaker says, kerry can give it a try, but he doesn't think israel is going to want to give up any more land for a palestinian state. >> they seem that every time they've given upnd, whether it's now southern lebanon they gave away back in the '90s, the gaza strip they gave away. it ends up being a staging area

from which they can attack. i think they're tired of doing that. >> aaron david miller says if there's a solution on paper, it doesn't mean a solution is going to happen anymore soon. if written on paper is one thing, but implementing an agreement between israel and palestinians is, quote, another matter. >> molly, with that news about secretary of state john kerry, thank you. the obamacare website is looking less than a total mess as it attracts more visitors. but is it too soon for the administration to consider running that old victory lap? we'll have a report on that and the problems that remain. plus, problems for thousands of folks shivering in the cold. they don't have heat, they don't have electricity. could be as long a week to bring back power. and the feds charges a man

for the so-called knockout. i think there's a question whether they have jurisdiction in the case. and now my journey across the country has brought me to the lovely city of boston. cheers. and seeing as it's such a historic city, i'm sure they'll appreciate that geico's been saving people money for over 75 years. oh... dear, i've dropped my tea into the boston harbor. huhh... i guess this party's over. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

time now for a quick check of your headlines. there are thousands people today still without power. from michigan, as far away as maine. as after a massive ice storm swept across the east. meanwhile, authorities in michigan expect to restore power to roughly 30 to you, homes and businesses that don't have no power. four american personnel are free thank goodness about being detained briefly in libya. u.s. officials say the four were investigating libya and apparently involved in an altercation at a checkpoint. no one was hurt. and dozens of lawsuits from hurricane katrina are over. a federal judge dismissing those cases seeking damages from the

federal government for levee failure. a houston judge denying bail for a white man accused of a federal hate krierths conrad barrett is charged with sucker punking an elderly black man in a so-called knock outgame attack. the arrest raising concerns, though, about a possible double standard. chief washington correspondent james rosen has this report. at least 25 times in the last two years, cowardly urban thugs have snuck up on innocent victims, knocked them unconscious with a single blow. for the first time, the knockout game has seen a suspect charged by federal, not local authorities and for the first time under a hate time statute. the justice department said 27-year-old conrat barrett made several videos on his cell phone

written he identified himself, used racial slurs and tried to victimize a black man in this fashion. doj further alleges on november 24, in the town of katy, barrett made the account of fracturing the jaw of the man in two places. >> maybe those from the reports of national hate crime is not there. but i do believe this would be an accident test case. >> reporter: suspected crimes of this nature will simply not be tolerated said a u.s. attorney in the southern district of texas thursday. adding that evidence of hate crimes will be vigorously prosecuted and investigated to all the law. in many of the cases, the perpetrators were black, the victims white and in newark city, jewish. analysts believe those cases show intent on the parts of the victims to single hate or

religion. residents told fox news that local authorities asked doj to intervene. texas has its own hate crime laws and even an aggravated assault statute to have yielded a life sentence for barrett, whereas, the maximum he would face if convicted under the federal statute is ten years. >> i think there's question whether or not it has jurisdiction in this case. it almost seems to me a publicity stunt but that's getting real close. >> a two-hour hearing a judge ruled that he was held. his lawyer told me barrett has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and battled alcoholism for a decade. the lawyer added that barrett feels very badly about his actions and is extremely

depressed. in washington, james rosen, fox news. >> thanks, james, as well. new concerns are being raised about a deadly bombing in beirut. what the gruesome attack means for u.s. national security and our allies in the middle east. and a young girl in a big fight for her life. why her parents' insurance will not pay for her life saving surgery. [ male announcer ] this is george. the day building a play set begins with a surprisewinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪

[ male announcer ] wt kind of energy is so abundant, it can help provide the power for all th natural gas. ♪ more than ever before, america's electricity is generated by it. exnmobil uses advanced visualization and drilling technologies to produce natural gas... powering our lives... while reducing emissions by up to 60%. energy lives here ♪

welcome back. new numbers on how many americans are seeking health insurance under obamacare, more than 800,000 people visited healthcare.gov on december 24th

alone. now, that boom coming on the last day to enroll for coverage that begins january 1. those figures are said to be on track with the white house's goals for healthcare.gov. but will they actually translate into a normal? with the president, live in honolulu, a lot of people visit, not everybody buys and enrolls, right? >> that's right, gregg. but there's little doubt that the website healthcare.gov is now working as it was intended to. and a center for medicare and medicaid services released numbers from mon that peak day, to prove it. on monday, the peak day, the system was able to handle 83,000 concurrent users while the queueing system was activated. 130,000 people sent to the queueing system. >> millions of people are taking advantage of this opportunity to get access to quality affordable health care. and what the president's team has been focused on is making

sure that as people transition to the new health care coverage, that that transition is as smooth as possible. there probably will be glitches. have there have been glitches before, and there will probably be glitches moving forward. but we have put in place, a team of experts, who are working you through the holidays to minimize that inconvenience. >> critics say that is expected and congressman tom price of georgia who himself is a physician. >> folks in obamacare and the affordable care act believe they've purchased snag they haven't really purchased. they're going to have a health care coverage with fewer doctors, four clinics being able to see them. they're going to have higher out-of-pocket expenses. they're going to have higher ductables by and large. >> there is also ignorance about

obamacare, it found that 81% of young democrats approve of the affordable care act. but 68% approve of obamacare. what is the difference? absolutely nothing. there's no difference. a lot of americans are paying no attention to the minutia of obamacare and that means problems down the road. >> that's astonishing they wouldn't know the difference. i wonder if they know who the president is. doug mckelway is because he's on the island with the press. doug, thanks so much. good to see you. >> you bet, gregg. well, first, i want to bring you new information on the california girl who is considered brain-dead after tonsil surgery. at least according to a judge. the attorney representing the team, 13-year-old jahi mcmath said they found a second nursing clinic who is willing to provide

the care but they refuse to provide the name. they're hoping she'll make a miraculous recovery after a court-apointed doctor concludes that her condition is irreversible. if she leaves the hospital now, it said they would not insert the breathing tube that she needs to be transferred. we also found another story that we wanted to tell you about. the story of a little girl from texas and her own battle with health insurance. he's only 12 years old. her name is alexis shapiro. she developed a very rare disorder after having brain surgery. she had a tumor removed, and that disorder caused her to gain massive amounts of weight, as much as two pounds of weight. even though her body thinks it's starving. doctors say that gastric bypass surgery the only thing that can help the nearly 200 pound girl now. and the u.s. military which provides her family with health

insurance says it won't pay for the p bypass, because she's too young. so her live is too young. let's bring in kirsten coleson and bob mathai. two little girls. in this particular case, bob, what are the options for this family, with the military-provided hell insura d insurance benefits won't way? >> i went on to see what it is on the website. apparently there's an expedited process. within three days of the denial letter, if they file the appeal, tricare, through their administrator, humana, has to get back to them, basically affirming or giving them, or rejecting them or giving them

consideration. it seems to me, procedurally, the only thing that would be left that far is to try to get into federal court action to see if a judge would consider some kind of injunctive relief. >> kristin, this is even before obamacare. they can make these decisions and yes, this family can appeal. this little girl who has put on all this weight has developed type 2 diabetes. should they look at all the six, or do you think they will? >> they absolutely should. is this a little girl that has a side effect from the surgery. it's an exceptional disease that doesn't happen very often. i think the statistics are 1 in 1 million. the brain surgery and then developed a problem with the hypothalamus gland. bob has mentioned the expedited

process but insurance companies only consider it expedited in a case where it's a life-threatening illness. the appeals process, the federal appeals process, this is all over time. this is a little girl putting on two pounds per week and she's 4'7." the time is the issue. >> let me show you and i wanted to tell this story. as we nerd the jahi case, two facilities, one apparently that the family has backed out now, has offered to take care of this little. we're hopinging that someone would come through. this look at her before this weight gain. this is a normal little girl able to participate in activities. right now, her family has her on a 900-calorie a day diet and daily exercise. still, he she has put on weight

and diabetes. you know what i find out as a lawyer, bob, it costs a lot of money to take these insurance companies court. the insurance companies say if you paappeal it, we'll deny it. but these families, including jahi's, maybe can't afford it. >> hopefully, there are lawyers out there, and you know who you are, will step up to the plate. under tri care, there's a three-day response. the other thing that christen mentioned this is the result of a benign tumor. this is not because of somebody who overeats. this is not because somebody has bad vises. this is causation.

i think a federal judge can look to this and look to irreparable harm and get there pretty quick in terms of the review for this young girl. >> you know what's interesting under this case and jahi and the other one, the hospital is not under any obligation to do anything? >> no, the hospital is not under any obligation. the families are left hanging into the insurance. unfortunately, they feel the insurance company is going to have their back, and they're not. this is not gastric bypass when somebody is over 18 and they'll review it. this is bosses of a medicinal procedure. this little girl is suffering both physically and mentally, while the insurance company is going through their policies. i do think it's important to know, when they talk about how they're going to cover it, the family has started a website. really should the family be in that position? >> well, it's very expensive to have the surgery. there's after care as well.

i'm glad we're telling the story. alexis shapiro is the little girl's name. she's from texas. certainly, if there are people out there who want to help, i know our audience is very generous. we're following the case. this is her now. thanks, guys, so much. >> gregg, it pointed out how complicated the insurance system is already. and people trying to get on the website. we talked about the signup for obamacare. who knows it would have results. >> it's not as easy as the president said, it's just like going on to amazon and find a book. >> well, he went on with the help of other people. >> somebody went on for him. attention home buyers, new mortgage rules set to take place in the new year. will they help or hurt? will you finally build your dream house? and this -- >> ma'am --

>> right then and there. caught on camera, a building collapse, it crumbled to the ground, we're going to tell you why now in a massive heap. 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. .

to be a waiter or waitress. there's a mystery tipper throughout and they struck again in arizona this time. christy jonas is a mother of two and working at a bar in scottsdale when someone left her a $2,000 tip. she says it's like christmas came twice this year. >> it's probably going to pay all the bills i spent for christmas. my daughter and i have my stepdaughter, too. they got spoiled so now i can repay that money. >> that is so awesome. >> someone's been giving big tips to servers across our country calling them tips for jesus. linking the movement to a former silicon valley executive. nice move. well, a big change is coming to the housing market beginning january 10th. new federal mortgage rules are going to be kicking in. that's right, they're going to take effect both on lenders and home buyers. here to break it down for us,

pat powell, founder and ceo of powell financial group. what are the changes? >> we now have new changes about qualified mortgages. qualified mortgages cannot exceed more than 3% of the value. when the borrower can't have their total debt payment exceed 40. of their income. they have to be 30 years or less. and the lender has to make sure that the borrower has a reasonable expectation of paying back this debt. >> right now, easy credit led to abusive lending, risky lending which led to the bubble in the housing market and mortgage meltdown which led to the great recession in 2007 add infinitum. we're still suffering from it. so it sounds like it makes sense. >> it sounds like it makes sense and for creditworth borrowers, it's not going to be a problem.

if you have some thinks in your credit, you're going find you've been squeezed out. for the last months, banks have been implementing these rules and marginal borrowers have found they have difficulty getting a mortgage. >> that's the bad news, keeping you on the edge, the precipice, you're not going get a mortgage. the good news? >> the good news, if you're a qualified buyer, very good credit right now. and rates are reasonably low. and the banks are going to love this. >> because they're protected. >> they're protected. they're saying consumers are protected which is sort of true. but the big protection comes to the bank. if they have qualified mortgages, they are protected from legal recourse. from borrowers and/or investors if the loan had bounced. banks have been assessed more than $75 billion of fees and

penalties since 2008, and they're still coming. banks love this part of the deal. >> new mortgage rules, though, are going to favor wealthier borrowers, right? >> absolutely. they're more likely to be credit worthy. >> there's not that there's anything wrong with that, right? >> i'm saying until that kid goes, that 25-year-old wants to buy a house and he makes that news story, i should be able to borrow but the banks turned me now. i have mixed feelings about this. >> one of the ridiculous ironies in the world is dodd-frank fixing what they have made a mess out of. >> chris dodd and barney frank are two of the most -- >> culprits. the word is culprits that you're looking for. they're the culprits behind the

whole housing problem. if you want to find two people in the legislature. >> because they, as well as president clinton, president bush, everybody with that sort of mentality in the government, oh, you should own a home. everybody should own a home. that's ridiculous. >> you should have less and less of down payment, that we shouldn't hold it against you. and makes it harder for banks to underwrite loans. that was dodd/frank in a fire president. now dodd/frank is we're going to hold everybody accountable. >> you know, i look forward to not owning a home. what a nightmare. "the money pit," have you ever seen the movie? >> it ended well. >> and they got back together. >> and the house is beautiful. >> and they probably sold it for a mint. pat powell, good to see you. a deadly bombing in bay rue is raising serious new safety concerns. coming up, we're going to ask a

security expert what this act of violence could mean for the united states and the stability of the entire middle east. next.

a terrifying building collapse actually caught on

videotape. take a look at this. >> we have a total of ten engines, two trucks. >> well, the hotel in california coming down as crews were battling a fire there yesterday. fortunately, the hotel has been vacant for years and nobody was injured in this. police are now pulling the building apart to find out what sparked that blaze. about from the massive car bombing that rocked beirut yesterday. the death toll rising to seven, including a former ambassador to the united states and a prominent critic of hezbollah. what does this new wave of violence mean to the safety and security of the u.s. in the middle east? let's bring in steven yates, former national security adviser. thank you so much for joining us. this is disturbing news, especially because this region

basically with syria and the other violence now lebanon, hezbollah, is very complicated but it could escalate quickly. >> for sure. it's a very, very troubling indicator. the gentleman that was assassinated has been a very important ally to the west pushing back against a broader shia islamist movement. detablizing iraq, syria and now stilling over the borders. it's a broad conflict that we haven't talked that much about the united states. we have focused on withdrawing from iraq or the nuclear program in iran. >> i want to talk about that broader impact, because we've been talking about the administration's foreign policy. how are we viewed over there? do you think they're looking at this, groups like hezbollah, saying we have a real opportunity here because america is weak? >> i think unfortunately, friend and foe in the region, see the

united states essentially in retreat. there are times when we have amped up our rhetoric. we were thinking about a strike against syria, but even with syria, we focused only on the chemical weapons program, not on this broader regional conflict. so we've had no real strategy, not really picked a side. so allies feel as if we have not chosen their side and they're wondering where is the united states going to come in, if at all? >> this is similar to what charles krauthammer had to say. as iran pushes the envelope and continues to spin centrifuges and now hezbollah and now this bombing in beirut occurs and egypt is so unstable, what must we do? what will it take to get the administration to change its policy and improve our national security? >> the vital first step is to come to terms with who our

enemies is. essentially at the moment, it's a shia islamist movement. unless we can say islamism is an enemy of the united states, we can't organize what the political and military tools will be to push back. we need to first recognize those are the enemy of progress in the middle east right now. >> steven yates, these are disturbing pictures with huge disturbing implications. thank you very much for joining us today. >> thank you. >> keeping an eye on that whole region for you. >> very volatile. that's going to do it for us. we'll be back here at 6:00 eastern time with a brand new hour of "america's new headquarters." >> but in the meantime, maybe you blew it over the holidays and ate too much. we have some help for you. "a healthy you & carol alt" is coming up for you next. so pay attention, feel great.

we'll see you at 6:00. take care. mine was earned orbiting the moon in 1971. afghanistan in 2009. on the u.s.s. saratoga in 1982. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. i'veot a big date, but my sinuses are acting up.

it's te for advil cold and sinus. [ male announcer ] truth is twon't relieve all your symptoms. new alka seltzer plus-d relieves more symptoms than any other behind the counter liquid gel. oh what a relief it is.

♪ i'm carol alt. i'm starting today's show with a question for you. what are gmos? don't have a clue? don't worry, most people don't know. but what's scarier is that now people ingest them every day of their life and they don't know it. it's right in our food and they could be causing you disease. plus, want to hear some staggering numbers? approximately 2/3 of the u.s. population is overweight. these more than 105 million people. why is it that america is so fat? is it something