tv Americas Newsroom FOX News January 1, 2014 7:00am-10:01am PST
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and also, more of the calorie myths to lose weight this winter. >> and we learned a lot this year. i will stay away from pigeons. and you will set your alarm clock. >> have a good day. bill: fox news alert, we're waiting for medical update on former first lady barbara bush. this after she was hospitalized for a repertory related issue. she is said to be in good spirits and her husband and other family members have visited with her. she is getting "fantastic care" at methodist hospital in houston. barbara bush's 88 years old and last week made a public appearance with her husband at an award ceremony of the voluntary service award started by the former president.
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good morning, happy new year, thank you for starting it here with us. i am in for bill hemmer here on "america's newsroom." >> thank you for being here. lee: great to be here with you. >> i am in for martha mccallum. the botched rollout and all of the website glitches, it is now the big day for obamacare. with the elements of the sweeping health care law going into full effect, including the controversial individual mandate and the expansion of medicaid. chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel is live in washington for us. mike, any sign of nerves for the obama administration as this law takes effect? >> heather, white house states now that generally first is here, people are actually able to access to health care benefits that they are owed. telling fox there will likely be bums, it's not as much.
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>> there will be issues, there always are. these are private plans and private market. there are millions of people who change their insurance coverage everyday, but we have done a lot of outreach with hospitals and consumers and helped to make the transition as smooth as possible. reporter: the contraceptive mandate is on hold. they issued a stay, ordering companies must provide contraceptives regardless of religious benefits won't take effect until the high court weighs in on the legal challenge, heather. heather:'s a water experts saying could be some issues with the law moving forward? reporter: some concerned there could be a disconnect between those who signed up on the website and the applications actually getting to the insurance companies, one expert
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mentioned another ongoing issue is cost. >> the issue for individual families, president obama said he wanted to see $2500 reduction in a family's insurance budget, and what is happening according to a recent study is that over 10 years those costs are going to go up by 7450. so on all measures, the cost is problematic. reporter: another thing to watch for is young people are slow to sign up with mostly older and sicker folks getting new benefits, that could throw the cost structure out of whack. heather. heather: we will talk about the cost that will come with it a little bit later. thank you very much, mike emanuel, for joining us. >> thank you. leland: a fox news weather ale alert. this new year is getting off a frigid start, much of the country seeing the coldest air it will in years. northern plains, upper midwest getting blasted with dangerous
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windchill, it can really get deadly. on top of the cold temperatures, a storm hitting the northeast tomorrow and friday bringing snow, gusty wind and trouble for travelers heading home after their vacation. janice, we talking about snow in feet or inches here? janice: in some places it will be over a foot. i am sure you will be out there doing snow angels, am i right? leland: i don't know about snow angels, but it will be good for skiing. janice: there is a silver lining. but temperatures are dangerously cold. we have canada to thank for this. minus 67 in acre lake, minus 57 in big trout lakes, minus 40, you get the picture. all of the cold air is accelerated. this will continue to stick as far south as florida over the next couple of days.
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a big arctic plunge. the other story is the storm system we will get. the low moving over the ohio valley. some cases six to 12 inches, and a low coming out of the gulf of mexico. both of these energies will merge together for our nor'easter. the worst of the weather thursday afternoon overnight tonight into friday. eight to 12 inches, that could be considered treacherous. it will be very cold friday, saturday. we could feel some of the coldest temperatures across the northeast that we have not seen or felt for years. single digits for people waking up saturday morning. going out further in time, kansas city toward chicago, wednesday evening, this evening, that was last evening, wasn't it? six to 12 inches, and all the moisture moving up the east coast, we will see this
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nor'easter across the northeast bringing back with it some snow, in some cases we could get upwards of a foot. winter weather advisories in toward the northeast. through friday the coastal low will develop, it will bomb out, get very strong over the atlantic and then we will see the wind, so even if you don't get a lot of snow, the wind could cause blizzard or whiteout conditions. just be aware. there will be delays and cancellations, for sure. six to 12, new york city kind of on the fine line. we could easily get 6 inches, but the jackpot is going to be for new england north of boston with 12 to 18, even upwards of 2 feet of snow. as i mentioned, the cold air behind us, i am not sure if you're used to 8-degree temperatures overnight, that is what it will feel like.
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it will feel even colder than that, probably subzero for the windchill. leland: as you break this down a kept waiting for the good news, i guess that comes in the next report, right quick to mark janice: may be. leland: work on something for us. janice: at some point we will be complaining it is so hot outside. leland: at some point anything is possible. heather: kids get monday off, they would like that forecast. leland: that could be the good news. heather: and new year means freedom for notorious terrorist defense lawyer. the 74-year-old former civil rights lawyer is dying from cancer. he was serving a 10-year sentence over the conviction for helping her client, a blind egyptian cleric. that cleric smuggling messages from prison to his followers for a plot to blow up new york landmarks and assassinate then
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egyptian president hosting mubarak. leland: we have a fox news alert, this is breaking as we speak, an explosion has rocked a building in minneapolis, and you can see the aftermath there. this video coming into the fox news room. the flames shooting out, the first responders are on the scene. we are told all the people who are known to be inside the building at the time of the blast have been accounted for. we also know there are injuries, perhaps a dozen people hurt in minneapolis this new year's morning. >> five, four, three, two, one. leland: there is no place on earth like times square. revelers ringing in the new year in new york city, and what a
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party it was. you see everybody having fun, the confetti flying down after the party comes the cleanup. here is a look at times square now. a little bit different than it looked last night, hundreds of thousands of people ended up back into the crossroads of the world to watch the crystal ball drop at midnight. there it goes. heather: we at fox had a new year's exclusive when "duck dynasty" joined us and talk about the firestorm over his father's suspension had reversed and his remarks about gays. >> ask a question about all the stuff that went on surrounding you and your family and the show, what did you think of a&e's decision about your father? >> we're just glad to be back to
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work, a&e and us are fine. looking forward to getting back to making some funny shows. a new year, we are ready to break in a new year and start it all over again. >> i bet. congratulations on that. now you have made a decision to go back with a&e for another season, looking forward to 2014, how did you arrive at that decision to stay with the network? >> we are ready to get started, we have and the season coming up in a couple of weeks and we are excited about that. we are ready to move on. we have all learned a lot and are ready to move on, ready to go. have to make sure my guys are back there with it duck call. >> are moving onto the new year with a fresh start with the same network.
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>> no matter what they say can we don't worry about you are not getting their real opinion on it. you don't have to ask what does that mean. heather: a&e taking as an opportunity to talk about all different groups getting along. leland: if that can come out of this, all's well that ends well. heather: we will see. leland: obama kankakee and for millions of people today. this is the day. we get a look at the fine print details as they come up. the hidden cost that could make your insurance premiums spike. plus, russia reeling after a pair of terror attacks as president putin vows to nell annihilate those responsible. what we are learning about the suspects in the case. check it out.
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six years treating soldiers. twelve years, flying choppers. my hands? they're here for the person who fought in afghanistan. i made the call and got support for my sister. my hands are here for the person who treated those soldiers. i helped connect my son with the care he's earned. mine take care of the person who flew those helicopters. and if life gets overwhelming they're ready to dial the veterans crisis line. the veterans crisis line is here for all veterans and their loved ones. call 1-800-273-8255 and press 1. or chat online at veteranscrisisline.net
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heather: a fox news alert, bread and development of the building explosion minneapolis. about a dozen people injured, some suffering injuries after they jumped out of windows, others with burns. you can see why. everyone inside the building. they have been accounted for. the fire though now at three alarms, firefighters are swarming the scene, as you can imagine people nearby this fire also concerned. no word on other evacuations in the area, but we will keep you updated on more details as soon as we got them, so stay with us. leland: police in russia are identifying one of the suspects in the back to back terror attacks in russia. they say one of the men is a 34-year-old russian man
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converted islam, and then joined a militant group. police say he blew up a train station on sunday, another bomber targeted a trolley just hours later in the same city. the two attacks combined, still at least 34 people russian president vladimir putin visited the city yesterday and bowed to bowed toncrannihilate suspects. heather: obamacare coverage kicking in today and with it a massive insurance tax, the fee is supposed to bring in billions of dollars, but many people are worried it could further inflate their premiums. a staff writer joins us now with some more details. happy new year to you. >> happy new year, thank you for having me on. heather: describe what is this insurance?
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adding roughly $100 billion over the next decade, how is this going to affect individuals? >> it is unclear that will raise rates, but certainly a little bit of money out of the insurance companies pocket. obamacare what a lot of people, a lot of new customers that they now have to buy insurance. it is unclear whether it will cause a rate spike. what is clear is if we see rates coming up, even if it isn't necessarily driven b my changes with obamacare, it has been coming up for decades now. heather: so how else would they cover the cost if the insurance companies don't raise their cost to individuals? >> the now have a larger pool of people who will be involved in different health care plans, medicaid expanded. a lot more new customers. with more people, they can make more money. the question is if this chunk coming out of their pocket will be larger or smaller than that. still a little bit unclear what the final numbers will be about,
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what type of people will be in rolling, a bunch of folks making a lot of money because younger people are huge profit margins for them. it is still unclear what the final effect of this will be, but they have been fighting this from the beginning because it does cost them money. >> does it concern you, it is unclear how all of this is going to play out, not just this tax in particular, but there are 20 new or higher taxes on small businesses in obamacare that are going to start hitting people. >> it is very complex, there are a lot of moving pieces here, it is unclear a lot of things people like and don't like. it is unclear whether this will be a net positive for lots of people. a lot of people may not be so happy with what they are getting, they may not have the
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same type of insurance they have had in the past or it will be more expensive for them, so it is unclear how people will feel about this. there will be some winners, there will be some losers. heather: for people affected by this, they will know what affects them once it affects them. is that really fair? >> the question of fairness you will have to leave the individual. there are people i know getting better insurance policies or for the first time getting insurance policies. they are happy. some who may be self-insured, self-employed all of a sudden paying larger rates are not so happy about this. it is in the eye of the beholder here. heather: have you signed up for obamacare? >> i'm not affected by it because my company has insurance. the majority of the country will not be that directly affected by this because they already had insurance through their employer.
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heather: do you believe the majority of the people, which they need to pay for it, will be younger people, do you believe those folks are signing up for it? >> the early signs are they haven't been. more policies have been bought. it has not yet been compiled, but it looks like it is the older skewed generations getting into the plans, it was too expensive for, they really need this coverage. the big question will be when the final deadline hits in march, the actual individual mandate you have to get the plan by then or you have to pay the penalty. some people will end up paying that penalty to avoid this. that is the big question. heather: a penalty or a fee or a tax, whatever you call it. thank you for joining us, we appreciated, and happy new year. >> happy new year. leland: not really a happy new year at target. they are starting 2014 with another pr problem.
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the latest issue they are facing less than two weeks after millions of customers credit and debit card information was compromised, and people are lighting up. legally. the nations first recreational pot industry opens for business. in colorado. we will tell you how green wednesday is going coming up. life could be hectic. as a working mom of two young boys angie's list saves me a lot of time. after reading all the reviews i know i'm making the right choice. online or on the phone, we help you hire right the first time. with honest reviews more than a full time job,es.h s and i don't have time for unreliable companies. angie's list definitely saves me time and money. for over 18 years we've helped people take care of the things that matter most. join today.
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leland: this new year's morning is bringing more headaches for target customers and it has nothing to do with the partying last night. two weeks after massive data breach involving the credit card information of 40 million customers, the retailer is now revealing some gift cards sold over the holidays don't work.
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target saying less than .1% of the gift cards sold were not properly activated. people with those cards can and bring them to target service desks or call the service number. 1-800-544-2943. you can actually use the gift card. heather: 2014 starting out on a high note in colorado. the first recreational erewhon a stores the u.s. open this morning in denver. legal pot sales beginning in washington state later this year. dan springer joins us live from the seattle bureau. how is it going so far on this historic day? reporter: heather, 34 stores across colorado are now selling pot legally as of about 20 minutes ago. there were predictions people would be camping out overnight, theit would be long lines this morning.
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that has not happened, still plenty of interest in how this instrument will play out. they pass legalize recreational marijuana in 2012, colorado was the first to have all the rules and regulations in place. washington expects to have sales this summer. the sellers in colorado had been medical marijuana dispensaries. eventually there can be 150 selling pot to people 21 years and older. those who have been pushing for this day for a long time say it is just the beginning. >> most americans now think marijuana should be legal for adults, and we're seeing states begin to consider these policies. lawmakers and voters from portland, oregon, to portland, maine, are watching what is happening in colorado thinking about passing some of their own laws. reporter: california is one of those states considering passing one of those laws. a ballot initiative to be on the ballot this november. heather: is it going to be
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basically a free-for-all with people smoking pot in public? reporter: it remains to be seen how law enforcement will treat this. under the laws in colorado and washington, smoking marijuana in public is not legal, but we have seen plenty of people in public in the both states this last year. it will have a question of how do the workers deal with it at work for those who show up with is still in their system. you have the right to fire those workers. and what about the federal government, which still considers marijuana a schedule one drug, the same as heroine. they will not sue over legalization as long as the tight regulations are followed. >> they will be watching very closely. his importance the marijuana does not cross state lines, marijuana does not end up at the airport or in the hands of children, and that the quantities really do stay very limited.
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reporter: another big question is how much tax revenue will this now legal pot generate for the state? some have predicted it will be $70 million for colorado alone to help build schools. now that it is legal, we will see if those predictions are true. heather: we will see, thank you so much for joining us for the update, and happy new year's. >> okay, happy new year. leland: and we continue following the breaking news out of minneapolis were first responders are on the scene of a building explosion in that city. we are told at least a dozen people have been injured, and you see the flames pouring out of the building there right now, police officers and firefighters trying to get a handle on what has got to be a chaotic scene. plus, gitmo may be a big step closer to closing. why the pentagon is: the transfer of three detainees a
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see these hands? they gripped the wheel of a humvee in afghanistan. twelve years, flying choppers. my hands? they're here for the person who fought in afghanistan. i made the call and got support for my sister. mine take care of the person who flew those helicopters. and if life gets overwhelming they're ready to dial the veterans crisis line. confidential help is just a call, click or text away. leland: fox news alert as we continue to follow the breaking news of a building explosion rocking downtown minneapolis. the video continues to come in as first responders are on the scene. right now as many as a dozen people are reportedly hurt, although we are told everybody
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they knew was in the building at the time has been accounted for. following the story in los angeles. reporter: like you said, first responders are on the scene after an explosion in this building. this is a three-story building, kind of a mom and pop type grocery store. according to the local buildings, 13 people may have been injured in this fire. they have seen people falling or jumping out of the windows on the second and third floor of those apartments. everybody injured has been rushed to the local hospital. you can see smoke in minneapolis. this is a three alarm fire. if you know the area, it is on cedar avenue south in minneapolis, very close to where interstate 94 and interstate 35 connect. minus 5 degrees according to
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janice dean. it has mad minus 19 degrees wind chill. it is freezing as they try to get the fire out. leland: the cold makes it so much harder to fight the fire, water lines freezing, guys getting hurt, hypothermia, and long day ahead of them in minneapolis. we will check back in with you, thanks. >> you bet. heather: a controversial part of obamacare delayed only hours before it was to take effect, supreme court justice sonia sotomayor blocking enforcement of the birth control mandate that forces employers to provide contraception coverage in the health care plan. the justice saying the government has until friday morning to respond. live from washington with this story.
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this specific decision in response to the little sisters, cap a group of nuns who oppose this mandate. >> their lawyer said they were delighted with the decision. a denver-based order of nuns, they don't want to include it in health insurance they offer to their employees who help them run nursing homes for low income people. the group was turned down by federal appeals court earlier yesterday and an emergency request to the supreme court. justice sonia sotomayor granted the request for implementation of the mandate for now. a lawyer praised the decision saying in a statement our government has a lot of ways to deliver contraceptives to people. it does not need to force nuns to participate. if justice sonia sotomayor had not stepped in, they would be facing large fines today if they didn't comply with the mandate.
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heather: but the obama administration says it is trying to accommodate religious groups. how? >> by allowing some churches and some nonprofit religious groups to opt out of the mandate. meaning they can find some other insurer who will provide the contraceptive coverage to their employee. they put out a statement in november saying the administration has already acted to ensure no church or similar religious institution will be forced to provide contraception coverage and has many commonsense accommodation for nonprofit religious organizations that object to contraception on religious grounds. these steps protect women's health and religious beliefs. religious groups have said it still goes against their religious beliefs to ask others to provide contraceptive coverage to their employees. heather. heather: molly live for us. thank you and happy new year. >> to you too. leland: on this new year, the
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pentagon saying it has reached a significant milestone in the effort to close gitmo. after transferring the last of 22 chinese nationals. the move comes amid renewed efforts to fulfill his promise to close u.s. military prison in cuba despite some intense opposition in congress. major general joins us now, fox news military analyst. put aside the logistics right now of this latest move, broader picture here, is america safer by closing it, or do we need to keep it open? >> for now we need to keep it open. remember about half of the 155 inmates that are left are from saudi arabia. this is the last hard-core reminiscence of the post-9/11 war on terror. not only do we not want to release them, but their parent
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countries don't want them back. the last thing the leaders of yemen want is for them to show up on the doorstep right when they are just beginning to get a handle on their own counterterrorism effort. what is left once they are gone, what is left are some pretty bad guys and yet in many ways made more radical over the last 11 years. leland: so you have is 155 guys left, not a lot of countries who want to take them, what do you do with them? >> that is the question. the administration has been all over the world. el salvador, slovakia, poland, many, many different countries. even islands in the pacific in an area to find somebody willing to take these terrorists. for the most part they have said no. now that you're in the last 155,
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the last thing they need is 40 or 50 yemeni terrorists showing up. the u.s. has put enormous pressure to take these guys off of our hands. what we would suggest at the end of this administration, gitmo will still be opened. 100 or so hard-core terrorist they cannot get rid of and it will be a long time before we see gitmo finally closing its doors. leland: you being in these meetings before, looking forward from this, at one point gitmo was a place of last resort, the worst of the worst, we send them there. what options does administration have now when they catch the worst of the worst and have to put them someplace? isn't the only option is to bring them to the united statesf access to the united states court. what are they to do?
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>> for the military in particular the only place he can put them it in the country you cap for them. look at afghanistan, for instance. we put hundreds of taliban terrorists into these prisons, and what has happened? we turned the prisons over, already started to release many terrorist back to the taliban. our options are limited, the cia is prevented by law for doing this kind of thing. there aren't many places for these bad guys to go. they certainly will not go back to get well in this situation. increase when the terrorists are being left with the parent country, and oftentimes they escape where they are released back into their environment. sort of like a catch and release program, that is sort of where we are right now. leland: not what you want to do with these guys. i have two choices, both of them which are bitter.
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thank you for joining us, happy new year. >> happy new year to our men and women in uniform. leland: may the new year bring a bit more piece for them as well. thanks. heather: bring them home. a breakthrough for alzheimer's research. what a promising new study says can slow the progression of the disease in certain cases. plus one lawmaker lashing out at washington over the problems of the past year. the message he has for voters in 2014.
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5 million americans suffer from it. sadly there is no cure, and medicines only meet symptoms temporarily. and new form undeterred more than 600 older veterans with alzheimer's over two years. it found vitamin e slowed the decline of daily living skills like making meals and getting dressed by about six months. doctors are not sure why it helps, but it is an antioxidant like those found in red wine, grapes and also some tease. heather: blasts in the political year that was, a republican from oklahoma singles out both the president and congress for unwinding the country's founding principles and the government basic responsibilities. he says there is hope for the future. right in the year presents an opportunity to americans who hope for better.
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despite washington's dysfunction, we the people still call the shots and can demand of course a correction. here is a message worth considering, if you don't like the rulers you have come you don't have to keep them. joining us now is red, former deputy assistant to president george w. bush and former clinton appointee and democratic strategist. thank you both for joining us. >> happy new year. heather: he called his opinion piece of the year washington fled reality. he went on to say the year the rule of law gave way to the rule of rulers, so i will start with you, who was most to blame for the stalemate we experienced in washington this past year? >> certainly the administration, and here's the reason. the president gave his authority when he could act and took more authority than the constitution allowed him. whether it is amending obamacare, issuing new
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regulations which should have been with the epa, and quite frankly if you don't like what i do, sue me. we do almost on every issue, mr. president. that is not what government should be. it should be a respect of the coequal branches of government, they should follow the constitution. that is what the senator was saying the american people people a wake-up call for 2014, return government to the process by which our founders dedicated themselves to. heather: to the people, not the rulers. president obama's approval rating is low, low, low. but so are the approval ratings for congress. >> yes, they are. fortunately this is not part of the issue because across-the-board the american people don't like the congress. it is around where stalin is. this is an issue of stability and to some degree, i think,
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frankly cable news and other things were people are contentious and yell at each other contribute to this atmosphere. one of the solutions we are finding now are the leaders seems to have decided on small steps rather than going whole hog. just passe past surprisingly siy the president. if we confront these major issues on all sides, immigration reform and tax reform, two of the most important ones, and we don't try to go whole hog but we try to agree where we can agree, perhaps that 6% may edge up to 10%. i don't know how far it will go. heather: did the budget passed a compass anything long-term? it was just last week the annual waste book report was released and we are already reading the federal government funding the study of romance novels, for
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example providing military benefits to the fort hood shooter. so have we accomplished anything long-term, bread, and have we showed cohesiveness and ability to get along on the big issues? >> we have not. you are seeing the polling with the president and congress at record lows and the american people want the job done. they don't want politicians not tackling problems which we have on that, just, run the board on immigration. i think a divided government, what paul ryan did was a step in the right direction in 2013 with the budget agreement. let's see if that wasn't an anomaly in apple to the rule of order in 2014. we can get moving in the right direction and divided government we must have compromise, we cannot rule as republicans in a world we which we had. the only way to get a better
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hand is good policies and great candidates and then it will take back the senate, the house and the president will have to deal with us. heather: thank you for joining us, we appreciate it. happy new year. >> happy new year. leland: coming up, a charity that is a lot like make a wish, with one big difference. what that difference is and inspiring story of how it was created. a live report coming up.
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program. >> it is, indeed. it gives both cancer patients and their loved ones the thing they want and need most. the gift of time. reporter: she was preparing to die. >> 's given two years to live, maximum. reporter: today she is on a trip of a lifetime. they are in florida things to a keepsake sending them on vacation. >> we will give you up to seven days to pay everything related to it, get the rental car, get the cash. reporter: they started the charity after her husband was diagnosed with cancer in 1998. >> they have hospitalizations, surgery, surgery radiation.
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reporter: they sent them to the caribbean the following year. >> there was really that gift of time that i cherished. reporter: now hoping others can take it right from the cancer. more than 100 patients plus their families on trips every year. each vacation cost $5000. her trip is priceless. >> when we go home, we will go home feeling better knowing that we are not a statistic to a disease to know that we are a family that has walked a path not many families have walked and we are stronger on the other side. reporter: the breast cancer has spread to her liver and bones but doctors will soon confirm she is in complete remission, a good new year's wish indeed.
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heather: thank you. leland: dubai is beginning the new year with a new distinction. the city setting a world record new year's eve for the largest fireworks display. it looked like buildings. the six minutes long show features 400,000 fireworks launched from 400 different parts of the city. the president of the guinness book of world records says dubai smassmashed the record set one r ago. >> we do already know the display has beaten the current world record held for 77,383, so we can say this has been a successful record set this evening. leland: we're told dubai's government celebrated the holiday as well is to bring investors. it is somehow missing from the story. heather: that is amazing, it looks like the fireworks of being shot off down the building.
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heather: fox news alert. firefighters battling a three-alarm fire in minnesota after this. an explosion rocks a storefront apartment building in downtown minneapolis. first-responders say that more than a dozen people were rushed to the hospital after suffering burns. some of those injured, they reportedly jumped out of those windows to escape the blaze. we are told though, some good news, everyone inside the building has been accounted for. the cold weather causing concerns for those firefighters. below freezing temperatures and windchills, listen to this, of minus 19 degrees. that is making things more dangerous, causing concerns
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about maybe hypothermia and icy water lines. that fire also threatening the buildings next door. we'll keep you updated on the developing story as we learn nor more. leland: now a fox news alert overseas. a palestinian ambassador to the czech republic has been killed after an explosion right now believed to be an accident. the police say the ambassador was at his home in prague when the blast happened. he was rushed to the hospital but later died. the palestinian foreign ministry says the ambassador was trying to open a safe and the explosion was probably caused by a security device on the safe itself, some type of self-destruct device. police say a woman has taken to the hospital suffering from shock but so far no other injuries have been reported out of prague. heather: well the white house with some big plans for the new year despite sinking approval
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ratings and persistent problems with obamacare. welcome to a brand new hour of "america's newsroom." i am heather childers in for martha maccallum. happy new year to you and to you as well. leland: to you as well, everyone. thanks for spending the beginning of 2014 with us. a lot of news is going on. i'm leland vittert in for bill hemmer. the president of the united states has called this a year of action and he says 2014 has got a lot ahead. on his agenda, job creation, raising the minimum wage and immigration reform, this all while issues from the health care law are still getting a lost attention and costing valuable political capital. senior white house foreign affairs correspondent wendell goler is traveling with the president on vacation in live from honolulu. where it is very early new year's eve morning. wendell what does the president have on his agenda in 2014? >> reporter: leland in his end of the year press conference the
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president wants to create more jobs and extend unemployment benefits for people who can't find work out of job six months or so. he wants to raise rates for folks at low end of the scale and as you point out he is also pushing for immigration reform to lure the country's 13 million illegal immigrants out of the shadows. republican divisions over the path to citizenship many see as amnesty make that a tough sell in the house and democrats are well aware the issue is hammering republicans politically. >> they can't find a plan that they within their own party agree upon. how are they going to work with and agree with democrats? this has to be done. you can not, this isn't even a political, this is common sense. you can't ignore the fastest-growing population of this country. >> reporter: leslie marshall and other democrats say they don't enjoy the republican divisions over immigration reform though
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hard to take that seriously, leland. leland: wendell, we saw the budget agreement that happened right before the president left for hawaii. are they trying to go down that route for 2014? some more kind of bipartisan agreements to actually get something done in washington? >> reporter: house speaker john boehner has made clear he doesn't want another government shutdown but republicans are still demanding some commitments to cut the deficit in exchange for raising the debt ceiling which will have to be done again this spring. they're bristling president's use of executive offer to do things house republican especially object to, letting children of illegal immigrants stay in this country or wave some requirements of the affordable care act. >> the president loves talking about how he was reelected and he was but also wants to ignore the same american people that reelected him also reelected a republican house to serve as a check and balance on this runaway administration.
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>> reporter: the white house find more common ground with republicans elected statewide in the senate than some from very conservative districts in the house, some whose constituents frankly don't want them to compromise. leland? leland: we'll see what happens in 2014. it will be a busy year. wendell goler live with the president in honolulu. be happy you're there. i see palm tree hyped you. it is only 12 degrees here in new york. enjoy it while it lasts. safe travel home. >> reporter: happy new year. leland: to you as well. thanks, wendell. heather: before emergency filings made in the hours before the clock struck midnight on january 1 dealing a major blow to obamacare just as plans were set to go into effect. supreme court justice sonia sotomayor ordering a halt to one of the signature aspects and most controversial mandates in the obamacare law, forcing employers to provide contraception coverage for employees as part of their health plans. several religious organizations,
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they have already filed suit, and, the supreme court has already agreed to hear cases this session from hobby lobby stores, con stowing ga wood specialties, which filed suit against hhs secretary kathleen sebelius. both of those. last night's injunction was brought on by a request from the catholic nun organization, little sisters. now the obama administration has until friday to respond. charlie hirt, a columnist with the "washington times." he joins us now with more. charlie, what does this latest event mean for obamacare? >> well, heather, i think chiefly what it does it gives us some forecast that 2014 probably is not going to be a whole lot better for obamacare than 2013 was and it's a reminder what a disaster the law has been since its rollout, even since before its rollout quite frankly but more importantly i think it also reveals how deeply and how wide
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the opposition is to certain aspects of the law and this particular mandate in the law as you pointed out has been, you know, hotly and deeply contested by a lot of catholic groups but it's far broader than that and we see from last night's really startling move by justice sotomayor that opposition, at least, at least and she's not a conservative justice. she was put on the court by president obama and is not particularly a big hero of catholics or religious rights groups on the court yet she looks at this and she sees that there's a real issue here and i think that what we're going to see going forward is not only the dealing with this very complex issue but a lot of other similar issues that have raised
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concerns. heather: and, charlie, before we talk about some of the other mandates that have raised concern and not been dealt with, how do you expect the obama administration will respond to this? they have until friday. >> reporter: i think they will make the arguments they have been making all along which is that, you know, that these contraception requirements are integral to the law and they're integral to safely, you know, and equitiably providing health care to men and women but it is not going to assuage the real concern and so the real, what will be really interesting to see is what happens on friday when they come back with what i would predict are going to be some pretty overused and up to now rejected, you know, supposed compromises. heather: so, charlie, we have to talk about this individual mandate, also controversial to say the very least in obamacare. it finally takes effect on wednesday. do you believe that this move by
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justice sotomayor could have any influence on any type of delay maybe finally being implemented with the individual mandate? >> it is interesting you say that, heather because i think that in a lot of ways it actually does, and this is more of a political issue than it is a legal issue because democrats on the hill, they are very, very nervous about all of this. you see, with every week that goes by and there is more bad news you see more democrats, and we're not talking about just blue dog democrats. we're talking about mainstream democrats who have been reelected comfortably in the past, to, you know, left-leaning districts, they're really concerned about this because this is really hitting a lot of people in all age groups, all demographics and it's a real problem. so i would think that the way out of this will be sort of a political solution of some sort where democrats pressure the white house to come up with some
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kind of a delay or some kind of way to, you know, some sort of relief and i do think that justice sotomayor's decision last night will play a big impact in the political aspect of all of that. heather: you know what will play a big impact for those democrats? the midterm elections. possibly a delay until after that. so we'll see what happens. >> to be sure. heather: thank you, charlie. >> thank you, heather. leland: perhaps not the way you want to spend new year's eve. passengers on a russian ship stranded in antarctica say they are still waiting, still waiting for rescuers. they got trapped in the ice on christmas eve. first wind and snow stopped previous rescue attempts. yesterday the passengers spent their new year's eve stomping on the snow and ice, you see the snow and ice, trying to make a flat surface for a helicopter to land. >> it is 31st of december.
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we learned the aurora can't reach us. so we're preparing the helipad by getting the team to stomp down on the snow and ice so the chinese helicopter from snow dragon can reach us, when the weather improves. leland: a couple of days ago they said they were having fun. doesn't look like they're having much funny more. amy medical log joins us live from london. amy? >> reporter: fog, too, leland is keeping the helicopter from getting to the ship and rescuing the passengers still stuck in their icy trap about 1700 miles south of tazmania in the antarctic. as you alluded to, those passengers seem to be taking it all in stride. they appear to be in pretty good spirits aboard the academic schakowsky, ringing in the new year in more memorable way than most will ever do. they're not in in i danger now but their voyage on the russian vessel which started on
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november 2th which was to replicate the famous exploration after douglas, from hundred years ago. they have create a frozen helipad 10 miles away from open water for the rescue chopper to land on. it will take 5passengers which includes tourists an scientists many of them australian in groups to the chinese icebreaker, the snow dragon. from there they will be put into a barge an ferried to this icebreaker the aurora which will take them back. there is hope, leland, tomorrow which is pretty much right about now south of tazmania time the weather may improve enough so the chopper than actually get to the stranded ship. however it has been wait and see for a few days now. so clearly we won't know until daybreaks there. there have been three icebreakers tried to get to that ship and have not been able to do so. when it got stuck it was wind
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thats basically crowded the chunks of ice around the ship, creating an impenetrable block. if for some reason this helicopter mission does not work out, there will be an american icebreaker in the area in about 10 days time and that vessel has the ability to cut about 20 feet deep into ice. leland? leland: what a place to be stuck. i remember on friday morning they said they were only six hours away from being rescued. obviously that din happen. amy kellogg live in london monitoring the situation. we'll check back in with you for developments. heather: what a way to ring in the nee year. leland: they look like they had fun. heather: at least then. we're learning more about a suspect that blew up train in russia killing more than a dozen people. we'll tell you about them and what the attacks could mean for the olympics. we're tracking a nor'easter making its way across the u.s. and what it could mean for your travel plans. many of us, maybe you, still recovering from last night's new
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year's parties and maybe you made some pretty absurd resolutions. we will tell you why these best laid plans are so hard to keep and what you can do to stay on track. [ bottle ] okay, listen up! i'm here to get the lady of the house back on her feet. [ all gasp ] oj, veggies you're cool. mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! 'cause i'm re-workin' the menu, keeping her healthy and you on your toes. [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. i see you, cupcake! uh-oh! [ bottle ] the number one doctor recommended brand. ensure®. nutrition in charge™.
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leland: seven-time formula 1 ratings champ michael schumacher remains in stable condition after doctors in france said he may surprising signs of improvement yesterday but his manager says the overall situation is still bleak. >> michael's condition has been carefully supervised throughout the night and the condition remained stable all of the night and the condition remains stable also this morning. that is for the moment good news but i repeat this is just for the moment because michael's injuries is heavy and the overall situation is critical. but for the moment, i don't want to go into any further medical details the situation is stable
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which is good news for this today, for this moment. leland: you will remember last sunday schumacher fell while skiing in the french alps and hit his head on a rock. since then doctors say he had two brain surgeries and is remaining in a medically induced coma. security stop ad man posing to a priest trying to get close to him but would not comment further. heather: new safety concerns being raised after that train derailment and explosion in north dakota. monday's fire burning so hot that emergency crews could not even attempt to put out the flames for more than a day. casselton, north dakota, that is where it happened, the town was evacuated as oil inside those tankers spilled out. now the mayor wants federal officials to do more to guaranty the safety of the transportation routes across the country. leland: new terror attacks are
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sparking security concerns in russia. a bombing hitting the train station in the city of volgograd, on sunday, a day later a man blew up a trolley bus in the same city. a combined 34 people died in the attacks. now police are identifying the suspect in the train station bombing as middle-aged man reportedly converted to islam and joined a militant group. security is being ramped up across russia as athletes around the world travel to sochi for the winter olympic that is are weeks away. joining us now, ambassador john bolton, form u.s. ambassador to the united nations and fox news contributor. ambassador, good to see you. just now president putin said he will annihilate the terrorists. dot russians have the ability to do that? >> i don't think they do because of the nature of the threat but at least he understands that the objective is victory over the terrorists as opposed to some in the west who think it is a condition you can never eliminate entirely.
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but don't underestimate the nature of the threat that the russians face here. the chechens and the russians have been opposed to one another for centuries. it has gotten worse in the past several decade because of rising islamist extremism. we've had a history over the past 10 or 15 years of successful chechen or other terrorist attacks in key russian cities up to and including several in moscow itself. so i think that putin is correct to be concerned. whether he can put enough guard out there to prevent it i think is very doubtful. leland: you remember back to 2000 two when the chechen militants, about 50 of them took over a movie theater and they sent in commandoes, russia's elite terrorism team. in the end 130 of the 150 hostages were killed. the russians face ad lot of criticism how they handle this, over their tactics. has enough trained since then?
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have they gotten the training the world's eyes will be on them with the olympics and they will be able to handle this? >> you have to say, that is a very important question. you have to say they learned their lesson from the theater attack. i was in moscow just before and just after that attack on government business and we wondered what chemical weapons the russian authorities had used there. they follow ad similar strategy at the beslan school hostage situation where relieving the siege in hostage-taking probably cost a number of childrens lives. one hopes they have worked with more sophisticated security services but it is going to be very hard if terrorists are able to get into the sochi area beforehand and i'm sure they have. they're right next door, almost literally. it leads you to ask why the olympic committee, the international olympic committee agreed to put the winter games in sochi to begin with. leland: it will be an amazing time to watch. ambassador john bolton. a dangerous time as well.
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leland: from the fox extreme weather center, check out the current windchills around the country. it is dangerously cold as the temperatures are plunging all the way from the northern plains into the midwest. i'm looking right now, negative 10 in far foe. negative 18 in minneapolis. now a major snowstorm is set to slam the northeast starting on thursday night. some areas are expected to get over a foot of snow. travel, all folks heading home for the new year's holidays that
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will be a problem. temps will drop into the single digits and teens to start the weekend. janice dean is here in the next hour with the very latest on the track of what could be a very dangerous storm. heather: new polls showing that voters are feeling optimistic heading into the new year though they weren't too happy how president obama handled the economy last year. a "fox news poll", take a look, finding 55% desapprove of how the president handled the economy in 2013. 41% approve, but, 51% said that 2013 was a better year for their family. 11% gave it mixed reviews. 37%, they called it a bad year. looking ahead, 54% said they think the economy will be better one year from now. 35% predict that it will be worse. ed butowsky, managing partner at
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chatwood capital investment management. he is creator of chatwood portfolio investment score or chip score. thanks for joining us and happy new year to you. >> same to you, heather. thanks for having me. heather: 54% things will get better next year. are they right? >> look it depend on their own situations but there is no question things have gotten better. they haven't gotten to the point where people can rest comfortably we have turned the corner because the facts are just not supporting the jubilation if you want to call it that. i will make it very, very simple. a lot of people have number numb bess. they don't know what is relevant and what isn't. let me tell you what you need track in 2014. we have to have that enough 12 month period with tax revenue to full-time jobs. we need to be shooting for. we're somewhere 190, 200,000 net
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new jobs a month. that is what we're looking for. one other number to narrow down to be specific. we need to average 4% gdp over a 12-month period. we're about 2.3, 2.4. so things are better, we're happy, i'm very, very happy but we're not anywhere close where we need to to be. that is what people are concerned about. heather: still remain 1.3 million below the record. you have to account for all the people that have given up looking for jobs. i want to talk about a couple other things affecting the economy moving forward. >> sure. >> the long-term unemployment benefits for 1.3 million americans, those expired on saturday. congress, they failed to pass an extension. by some accounts those numbers will be five times higher when we get further down the road. so how is that going to affect the economy? >> well, it is going to. that is money. that is people who are not getting money. the question where does that money come from? it comes from taxpayers.
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it comes from the government which increases our deficit and obviously our debt. that does affect it. a lot of programs like that. for instance we have about 50 new laws that have gone into place, or excuse me, 50 new tax that is have gone into place this year, starting january 1st. that includes this little thing called obamacare which will also negatively impact the economy in a big way. so there are a lot of new things that will come into play that weren't there in 2013, that are going to negatively impact the economy in 2014. heather: one other new thing that we haven't really mentioned the past couple days is the minimum wage hike. the minimum wage, it will rise in 13 states this week. as many as 11 states and washington, d.c. they're supposedly going to consider increases. how is that going to affect, jobs, businesses? >> well, it is going to hurt a lot of small businesses. you know, people think, let's get people more money. it has to come from somewhere. money just doesn't get printed, does it? actually it does. all right.
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but the truth is it comes from somewhere and has an impact and negative impact quite frankly when you raise that minimum wage on small business. it is good for people who are working. i'll tell you another thing. it is not that much money that will make a positive impact on someone's lives. the key to this whole thing in 2014 we need to see numbers i spoke about before get a lot better. when that happens, everyone will be happy. that minimum wage will not really negatively impact businesses because the economy is doing well. that is what we have to focus on, getting economy going. heather: jobs, jobs. >> that is the way it is. heather: ed, thanks for joining us. happy new year. >> you too. leland: speaking of new year's, a big chill for partygoers in the netherlands. if you didn't have to work this morning this is what you would be doing. heather: really? leland: thousands of revelers taking the plunge in the frigid waters of the north sea. part of the annual new year's dive. it started in the 1960s when a few friend decided to go for a swim to start the new year. exactly what you would do if you were there at this time.
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now the event as sponsors and divers get a tin of dutch pea soup. that really very colorful and so elegant beaney hat as well. heather: the beanie hat. that is all the difference. leland: the beanie hat makes all the difference. >> it keeps them warm. without that it would be cold. leland: exactly, without that, just how bad would it be? heather: speaking of taking a swim, divers in italy taking a bigger splash. look at this, this diver leaping over 50 feet off a bridge in rome, right into the icy river below. four divers making the frigid fall as well as crowds watched as part of a traditional new year's celebration in rome. when in rome you know what they say? leland: no, you don't jump off a bridge. coming up from an apology from a tv host whose guest joked about the mitt romney's adopted african-american grandson. she tweeted she is sorry but is
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sorry for remark she made on a segment on her show over the weekend. this had to do with this the picture of the 2012 president and his family and showing his grandchild or grandchildren, including kiran romney, who was adopted and african-american. her guest joked about the baby. harris-perry said she would like kiran mary kanye west daughter so west and romney would be in-laws. yesterday she tweeted i'm sorry without reservation or qualification. i apologize to the romney family #mhg apology. david webb, siriusxm patriot and cofounder of tee h tee party 365 and fox news contributor and jehmu green, former president of the women's media center and fox news contributor. they join us now with some more thoughts. thank you for joining us first of all. happy new year. >> happy new year. heather: the new year starting off with a little bit of controversy which seems to be getting used to, melissa
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harris-perry. what do you think about the latest incident that happened on her show? >> well i tweeted out that joking about romney grandson was inane. it was purile, we also, especially on this day, heather, need to look at her apology. it was very sincere and hopefully we can begin the new year by allowing someone to apologize and believing in their words. we've all been there. we've all had to poll buys for things that we've said or maybe even put out over social media and, i think we should leave it there. heather: what about for the segment itself? clearly this segment was also preplanned. so it wasn't just something that came up out of the blue. so should an apology from the network or should she issue an apology on the air where she, where this segment actually happened versus just twitter. >> first of all who cares if she apologizes of the look at it what it is. you hit the nail on the head. this was preplanned. they picked this picture.
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i've been on melissa's show. she told me to my face she is unfair to conservatives. where she operates operate. where progress skiffs and elitists operate from they have intolerant pass on things they wouldn't tolerate. jehmu is right. we've all said things out there. the difference i haven't done ad whom minim attacks on social media otherwise on people that i had to make a major apology for. when you look at picture of this family, most americans go, look there's a family. they go to which one doesn't look like the other, or ebe yaw. >> that is what her guests did. heather: you're right. >> my point. i am a host. heather: it was her two guests. >> i am a host. let me finish that point. let me finish my point. i am a host when i host a show i'm responsible for ho is on that set with me and push back if they do something completely out of line.
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if you wash that video, melissa, only goes along with it, look at body language, and way she acts it is incluesable. most americans will look at any of these situations go, that is unfair, whether you're on the left or the right. but it is this self-entitled, intolerant belief we can do anything we want and she is has responsibility as a host to do something about it. heather: jehmu, she didn't really control what her guests were saying. >> absolutely. melissa harris-perry is not megyn kelly. she did not control her guests and check them in the way that i think many fox hosts are able to do. now, we also have to look at her words. her words, not her body language, her word was, this is a gorgeous baby when she talked about it. she was ebullient about it. >> she was ebb buell end, effusive. give me a break. she set up the segment and didn't check it. >> agrees with you on political issues. >> we're not talking politics.
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talk about using a child. >> so you want to interrupt me constantly, go ahead. go ahead. happy new year, david ebb webb. >> no. >> happy new year. >> you're arow against -- >> child is black versus madonna or angelina jolie shows exactly what it is. hit the nail on the head. she set the segment up and lost control of her panel. that is her responsibility. >> what is your response to the segment being set up? did she in fact contribute further to the joke by making offhand comment about this child getting married to kanye west's child? she had opportunity to respond to what they said, in terms of this child looking different, what looks different than rest of the family. what about other children who are not two years old, who heard these comments by now, on twitter, what are they to think? they look at themselves, maybe i look different than rest of my family as well. >> i absolutely agree. i have a mixed race family and i understand the issues that
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children face in dealing with being a part of those families, very much so. she should have controlled her guests more. their apologies, the guests who went on twitter and then didn't really apologize. they were like -- heather: dismissive. >> they were dismissive. that i don't agree with at all. i think especially on the new year, heather, when someone, like melissa harris-perry did when she apologizes, she comes from one of these families. it was a mistake. let's all -- >> real apology? heather? msnbc calling that entire panel of melissa harris-perry on tv to give an apology to the people, to the family, to the nation for what they did. that is an apology. heather: based on what you just said, jehmu, i want two of you to hold hands and sing kumbayah now. is that going to happen? >> good luck. >> happy new year. >> i will say happy new year. leave it at that. >> wow. heather: leland, what is coming up next? leland: coming up next, get sick, go to a hospital, makes
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sense. well you mate may want to take more precautions when you head to the e.r. we'll talk a deadly threat spreading to the hospitals around the country. ate cd that wothat's correct.a rate. cause i'm really nervous about getting trapped. why's that? uh, mark? go get help! i have my reasons. look, you don't have to feel trapped with our raise your rate cd. if our rate on this cd goes up, yours can too. oh that sounds nice. don't feel trapped with the ally raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally.
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leland: as the calendar flips the cdc, centers for disease control and prevention is already issuing a warning over so-called nightmare back tear draw. sound bad. it is. they have shown up in more than 40 states killing of tens of thousands of people each year, infecting millions more. worse yet those germs are drug resistant. we have dr. debbie from the nyu school of medicine. the words drug resistant sound bad. what does that mean? >> the drugs and antibiotic we usually use are not effective against the bacteria. the reason that comes about, we use antibiotics readily to treat infections even things they
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might not work for. leland: i have a cold, call my doc. he prescribes one. >> exactly. what happens these bacteria are not killed completely when you take an antibiotic. what happens if they survive they have immunity now to that antibiotic. they have been basically vaccinated against it. if you have those bacteria that are resistant to these different antibiotics and you're in the hospital they can spread much more easily. leland: easy for us, you know, medicine will come up with something. this isn't something i have to worry about. as a doctor, are you saying now this is something you have to really worry about? >> oh, this is a huge problem. if these bacteria spread resistance and immunity, we don't have as many as new antibiotics to defeat them. what happens, hospital workers, for example, will travel from one patient to another and they can spread bacteria that way. the other thing is, people have different things like, ivs in their arms. they might have bladder catheters. leland: is this gone yet? have these bacteria moved yet
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from hospitals out into the real world? we heard about locker rooms and those kinds of things. is that becoming a new concern? >> i think so. so the hospital is a place you would worry about it most but people leave the hospital, right? so they go home. usually sick people are the ones who will get these bacteria. when they go home and spread it within the community that can be a concern. that is why over the past decade or so it spread from one state to about 46 different states, basically from people moving and being hospitalized in different areas. leland: scary stuff to deal with. dr. devi, from the nyu school of medicine. thank you. happy new year. heather? heather: he toss ad great game in the world series. he helped the red sox go from worst to first. but john lester is not only a lace pitcher he is also a cancer survivor. he shares with us how he is giving back. plus he talks about a little boy who made a real impact on them. that is up next.
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heather: welcome back. happy new year. pitcher jon lester led the boston red sox to the dramatic worst to first world series win. on top of that he is a cancer survivor who start ad charity with the pediatric cancer research foundation. he works to raise money and this year he met hundreds of young cancer patients and their families at 10 different ballparks, signing autographs, telling them that they should never quit in their battle for recovery. >> there's a lot of attention
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drawn to, prostate cancer, breast cancer awareness and all that for adults. there's not a lot for kids. so we really wanted to get something out there that had kind of a little punch at the end and we could get a point across and try to really raise the awareness of pediatric cancer. >> jon partnered up with the pediatric cancer research foundation and last year in 12 we launched never quit platform. >> green monster is a beast. >> the psa was filmed in april of 2012 and jon talks about fighting. >> i fought and beat cancer. time to fight for the kids. each ball represents a child diagnosed with cancer. >> we travel across the country to the jon is playing. when he is not pitching that night, we bring some kids down to the field on batting practice and we get them tickets and they have a whole night at the stadium and give them the never quit balls. we keep reminding the kids,
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never quit. >> teams are great as far as hosting us and hosting kids and getting them out to the game and getting them tickets. so it has been a good thing for to us build and, it's fun. >> i want a picture. >> was it hard? yeah. it was hard. but you know it was, i think it helps you later, you know? once it's over, nothing else holds you down, you know? hard, hard for you? no, it is easy for you, right? you're strong. >> yes. >> yeah? good. i like it, man. i like it. you want to take a picture. >> it is beyond encouraging. it is definitely giving him the strength, giving him that momentum that push that he need to actually beat cancer. it's a fight and the fight of our life. he knows that it is a big fight. and when he sees other adults
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who have actually gone through this, gone through with it and beat it and they're looking healthy and strong and they have got muscles and doing all kinds of fun things, it is beyond motivational. beyond motivational. doesn't get any better than this. >> just to meet a kid like that, some of the stuff he would say, like i said, it may, definitely made my month to meet him. you know, and he gave me a bracelet for him and, you know, wrote his name on my glove. you know, he is, he is one of those kids that you meet and kind of sticks with you and, you know, it was definitely a pleasure to meet him. everybody's different. you know, there are some guys that want to be role models and other guys that just want to be a baseball player, you know, or a basketball player, or whatever. they don't want that responsibility. you know, i think in the position that we're in i feel like you don't really have that choice.
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everything kind of gets better with age. you figure things out. you start to understand yourself. settling down, being a, being a husband first and then being a father next and, kind of figuring out where priorities are in your life. and kind of understanding what people expect of you and want of you and, accepting that. and then you know, doing what you can from there. heather: well lester has kept in touch with zane, all through the summer, fall and even now and even tweeted a message to zane when he started round of chemo during game 1 of the world series. ken rosenthal talked about lester's work and showed the tweet. zane undergoing intensive treatment with at least another six months to go. zane's family says lester's support helps and gives hope for the future. so glad we did that story. leland: awesome story. gives you hope for the future when you see athletes, obviously there is whole spectrum of them in the personality realm. you see a guy like this acting
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that way, it really warms you up. heather: i like that jon answered zane honestly, because zane asked him was it hard, did it hurt? you heard jon's answer there, yes, it was hard. it was hard for jon, but he said once it is over nothing else ever keeps you down. leland: and he has a great role model, jon lester certainly proven that over the years. heather: yes. leland: zane has a good role model to stand up and look up to. heather: we're pulling for you, zane. leland: there you go. we're learning new information on a three-alarm fire tearing through an apartment building in minneapolis. we've been following the story all morning. a press conference wrapped up just a short time ago. the fire chief says not everyone who lives in the building has been accounted for. it is still too dangerous for firefighters to go in and sweep through the building. a live report coming up next. [ bottle ] okay, listen up! i'm here to get the lady of the house back on her feet. [ all gasp ] oj, veggies you're cool.
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leland: fox news alert on this new year's day cruiser battling a massive three alarm fire in a complex in downtown minneapolis. we are told not everyone who live in that building is accounted for and it is still too dangerous for firefighters to go inside. first responders at least 13 people rushed to the hospital with burns and other injuries. some even had to jump out of the building in minneapolis. welcome to "america's newsroom." heather: dangerously cold weather is complicating firefighters efforts, below freezing temperatures in minneapolis this morning with wind chill registering minus 19 degrees. we are following the breaking developments. they have just changed, so this is still developing. he joins us now with more details. reporter: that is right, heather. this the very fluid situation.
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13 people have been hurt, six are in critical condition. contrary to some of the reports that came out earlier this morning, not everybody has been accounted for. authorities say there may be more people inside of this building right now. the explosion happened earlier this morning. the flames ended up raging for hours. this is a three-story building that is a well known community grocery store in the bottom and had apartments on the second and third floors. some people according to witnesses ended up falling out of the second and third floors, the possibly jumped. we have seen people with severe burns. this is how one witness described the scene. >> there is one guy hanging out the window saying help me, help me. another guy screaming and yelling. they got here really fast. >> and firefighters arrived on the scene, they say the second and third floors were fully engulfed.
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they went inside and realized it was too dangerous to be in there, they had to pull back. police were on the scene before the explosion but the police chief says that was a completely unrelated call and had nothing to do with the explosion. no reason to believe any officers were hurt here. negative 19 degrees wind chill, 13 people injured, six in critical condition. we're still working to get the blaze completely out. heather: wanted to ask about the concern of hypothermia amongst other things. what else is in that building? you mentioned the grocery store. have other areas been evacuated? >> the building is completely evacuated, unfortunately at this point not everybody accounted for. there is the grocery store underneath. 10 apartment buildings underneath, the third and fourth floors, people lived in nine of those units and there is a very popular mosque in that community
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that is behind this building. we are told that mosque had damage from the fire as well in terms of the totality and the damage. we will have to cs the rest of the day plays out how much damage this had on the nearby area. heather: thank you, joining us live. leland: it is finally here, after all the controversy, the problems with the website, the fixes to the website, obamacare insurance goes into effect today for millions of americans as well as the expansion of medicaid takes effect. chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel. what are the experts saying as the law gets rolling today and the problems we might see? >> good afternoon. there are concerns they might have gotten that information about those that signed up so folks thinking they finished the process but a disconnect between the government and insurers, some predict many people will attempt to use the new benefits
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and it won't quite work. >> i think there will be more confusion and turmoil as they go to their scheduled checkups when a doctor office is open. people who may have done well on the front end of the website but did not get the information transferred to the back end of the website. leland: justice sonia sotomayor put a provision on hold now forcing employers to provide contraceptive coverage even if it is conflicted with religious beliefs. leland: we saw all the problems with the rollout from the website. the administration took a big hit politically. are there any signs of nerves from the top administration officials about this critical stage, the next couple of days? >> not publicly, but behind
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closed doors they have been working on the clock to make sure this goes right, this is when it all gets real after struggling with the healthcare.gov website, we're trying to find another way for the benefits to start. requiring everybody to have some kind of health coverage or pay a fine. safety of health and human services sounds cautiously optimistic. >> i am thrilled we will have millions of people for the first time with health security, it should be a great new year. we've done a lot with the pharmacies and doctors and hospitals, consumers, helped to make the transition as smooth as possible. >> that transition will be critical for public opinion. of course featuring tremendous ms. coverage throughout the country about a fumbled rollout of obamacare. expect democrats to emphasize those who do not have benefits for the past now having health coverage, and republicans emphasize the impact on many who
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are now paying higher costs. leland: either way a lot to talk about in 2014. thanks, mike. >> thank you. heather: now an update for you. waiting on a medical update on former first lady barbara bush after she was hospitalized for a respiratory problem. mrs. bush said to be in great spirits, her husband former president george hw bush, other family members have visited with her, we are told. his office says she is getting fantastic care at methodist hospital. barbara bush's 88 years old and we wish her well. leland: a fox news weather alert, the new year getting off to a really cold start in a lot of places, even dangerously cold start, and it is going to get worse as a storm hits the northeast tomorrow as well as friday expected to bring heavy snow and the trouble for travelers heading home from their holiday vacation. janice dean is here with us
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inside. are we talking about snow in feet or inches? janice: over a foot of snow in several areas. the last weather report he wanted good news is so here have it, spring is 77 days away and six hours. let the countdown begin. [laughter] and we will. leland: i appreciate that. janice: no problem. it is col called in a lot of pl. it could get as cold as far south as florida the next couple of days. this is quite an arctic plunge. some feeling the coldest they have in years. we're already seeing that. with the wind chill, it is dangerously cold, people are urged to stay indoors. coastal storm, w we're going to have enough cold air in place, this will be an all snow event in the northeast. the couple low-pressure centers that will merge the next 12 to
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24 hours and give us a nor'easter, a coastal storm that is going to bring in some cases over a foot of snow. we are still fine-tuning the forecast, on the borderline between 6-12 inches, the problem is the wind is going to be gusting over 30 miles per hour, so could see some blizzard watches posted in several big cities in the next several hours. not just for the northeast, talk about the midwest as well, easily six to 12 inches and the bull's-eye we think new england and new york on the cusp, but the problem is when the conditions, whiteout conditions, the worst of it coming overnight thursday into friday morning commute. plan accordingly. in the northeast including new york city, boston, north of boston we see the jackpot going to be. lot of snow and wind.
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certainly keep it tuned to your local forecast and we will keep you posted. 77 days. leland: or first time working together, you are setting a dangerous precedent of ask and you shall receive. i had to come up with more requests. janice: anytime. happy 2014. leland: thank you. heather: it is a brand new year and fox's scoring and new year's exclusive with "duck dynasty" asterisk willy robinson and his wife. they joined our all-american new year's celebration address in the firestorm over his father's suspension by a&e since reversed. several remarks he made about gays. >> you have been in the news for weeks now, and really it is our first opportunity to ask you a question about all the stuff that went on surrounding you, the family and the show. what did you think of a&e's decision regarding your father?
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>> we're just glad to be back to work, a&e and us, we are looking forward to getting back in making funny shows and a new year, we are ready to break into the new year and started all over again. >> i bet. congratulations on that, so now you have made a decision to go back with amd for another season. how did you looking forward to 2014, how did you arrive at that decision to stay with the network? >> we are ready to get started. we have a new season coming up in a couple of weeks and we are really excited about that. we are ready to move on. we all learned a lot, ready to move on and the family is happy, we are ready to go. i have to make my guys are back there building duck calls. >heather: one of the groups not
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to glad would be glaad. it came down to money. leland: they came down to a lot of money. in addition to money, a&e got a bunch of backlash. they have to weigh the decision of how many people they wanted to offend. heather: i think they will get high ratings. leland: if history repeats itself. it is called the affordable care act bu that could end up costing many americans a whole lot more money. heather: russia preparing for the shadow of two terror attacks plan to keep athletes and spectators safe, but what let me put in is bombing. leland: and teenager declared brain-dead, why the hospital is refusing to allow any other medical procedures.
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leland: obamacare coverage kicking in today. with it a possible rate shock. $100 billion of new taxes is going to be slapped on insurance companies. insurers will be on the hook for it, but critics as well as the nonpartisan congressional budget office says these costs are going to be passed on to americans i in the form of highr premiums. we already saw a lot of the higher premiums coming out from folks who had their plans canceled, what happens the administration whose polling is already really, really down in terms of the top 30 when the affordable care act doesn't seem that affordable anymore. >> people go throughout the
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year, more and more people are going to find out if formal care act simply is not true. making it more, not less. president obama said premiums are going on $2500 for the average family. we're going to see that this tax is on normal people getting their insurance through their employers. there are some exemptions for larger unions, self-insured employers. you will see the rates go up even if they are not forcing the obamacare exchanges. leland: what does that mean politically for this administration? it seems it is coming through, what are the whispers in washington or the relative talk in washington going forward looking toward the 2014 midterms? >> it is more bad news. there's more than $100 billion. is it worth it for what we ended up seeing in terms of enrollment?
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they canceled the plans of 6 million people, only 2 million people are now signed up on the obamacare exchange. the president talked about how many people were getting plans canceled, said it was just 5% of the population. now less than 1% have signed up. they are heralding this as a great success. i don't see that playing well in the election. the immediate crisis is what happens to those who have their plans before, have them canceled and now they are without coverage. what will happen to these people in january if somebody gets hit by a car? the obama administration has tried to say insurers should offer retroactive insurance, somebody is hit by a car, they sign-up for a plan, that is simply not how insurance works. if a spouse can sign up for life insurance, the math simply doesn't add up. leland: there is a lot of math out there. the administration privately is
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very worried about the rollout january 1 of simply the benefits in terms of medicaid, in terms of folks who signed up for coverage under obamacare, a couple million or so who did under the exchanges. with so much up until now, what are republicans doing to try and capitalize on future problems going forward? is there really a plan in place, or just see what minefields happen to be ahead? >> the life of speaker john boehner in the limited strength, they pushed the administration and we ende i enp using some executive orders to try to effectuate the same thing. you will see that again, pushing on these pressure points for example $100 billion tax will hit a whole lot of people in the middle class. republicans bring that up, they already have a bill in the house of representatives, and maybe
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attempt to delay the individual mandate for everybody. people who had their plans canceled will not be in effect. republicans will try again. why not for everybody, this is unfair to people who have plans, why is it unfair at all to force people to buy the product for a whole lot of people? leland: we will see how affordable it is. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> help is on the way for a ship full of people stuck in the life behind antarctica. three of them fell short of reaching them, but they have a new plan, and this is also coming up. leland: hotshots open for business in colorado. what they're expecting on day one with legal marijuana. [ bottle ] okay, listen up!
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heather: colorado blazing a new trail this peter's day, recreational marijuana stores opening in the state for the first time this morning. washington state will be following suit later this morning. lives for us in seattle. how is it going so far, do we know? >> yes, we do, heather. christmas shoppers have black friday. this in colorado is considered
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weed wednesday. new line look at the line outside of a cannabis center in denver. business has been steady. each customer 21 years and older able to buy up to announce either live in colorado, quarter of announce if they live out of state. the first customer was an iraq veteran who has been using marijuana for ptsd. officials say they will be about six months away from legal sales. all 34 stores opening colorado had been licensed to sell medical marijuana. anticipated eventually 150 outlets across the state. >> and all the rest of the nation's watching comedy the whole world is watching. this is the beginning of the end of cannabis prohibition. heather: but what about the federal drug laws which still
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lump marijuana in with other drugs like heroin? >> that is right, the federal laws have not changed but the doj said they not sue over legalization as long as it is tightly regulated in those states. cops raised eyebrows when he seemed to make light of pot by passing out bags of doritos at hemp fest. many don't like it being smoke in public which is still against the law. >> they will be watching very closely, it is important the marijuana does not cross state lines, marijuana does not end up in the airport, marijuana does not end up in the hands of children and that the quantities really do stay very limited area di.>> the state also has an incentive to have a lot lot sol, somebody can colorado this year will rake in $70 million. heather: we appreciate it, happy new year.
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>> you too. thanks. leland: try, try, and in this case try again. the mission to rescue a ship full of people trapped in the ice in antarctica is now in the ninth day. the cruiser going over it and the rescue helicopter that is if the fog clears in time, in the london bureau with more. amy. reporter: nobody's lives are said to be in danger, but at some point within a week or so, supplies will be running out. the stranded making not lemonade, maybe lemon sorbet trying to greet 2014 with cheer and a sense of adventure. one passenger saying she realizes the state of being completely stock and having nothing to do was actually a rather lucky break from life so she is trying to understand her
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break from captivity. one of them, chinese snow dragon will send a helicopter to grab the researchers and tour is on board the academic, re-creating the expedition of 100 years ago. the rest of chapter eventually landing on it. the helicopter will put them on the snow dragon which will transfer them on a barge to the aurora. crewmembers will stay back to wait until the ice melts. every day brings new hope, and the day is about to break 1700 miles south of tasmania where the 74 researchers, tourist and crew have been stranded since the ship ran
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aground or rent the ice, got trapped i the ice. the wind blew it into a terrifying chunk on christmas eve we had back to you. leland: we will see if joy comes in the morning. in some levels what a way to spend new year's eve, that is one you will never forget. >> or live up to. heather: still to come, a deadly bombing targets in russia raising fears of terrorist striking during the russian winter olympics. while the get new information of one of the bombers, president putin taking a strong stance. leland: a charity that makes a difference in the lives of those suffering from terminal illnesses. we will show you how it is affecting the family. hritis, li, and you're talking to your rheumatologist about trying or adding a biologic. this is humira, adalimumab. this is humira working to help relieve my pain.
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heather: controversial provision of obamacare blocked hours before it was to take effect. sonia sotomayor blocking enforcement of the birth control mandate that forces religious affiliated employers to provide contraceptive coverage in the health care plans. live in washington with more on this. just a temporary retrieve. >> for now, yes. beside the government government had to hold off on enforcement mandate on a group of nuns for now.
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the little sisters of the poor, denver based group of nuns don't want included in health insurance they offer to their employees. who help them run nursing homes for low income individual people. the lawyer said in a statement the government has lots of ways to deliver contraceptives to people, doesn't need to force nuns to participate. this is just a temporary retrieve. the little sisters of the poor and other groups could face millions of dollars in obamacare finds if the mandate ultimately is allowed to be enforced. >> the obamacare administration, they said there is a way out for these types of groups, tell us about that. >> if they qualify, churches and religious groups can opt out of the mandate usually meaning they can find some other insurer who will provide the contraceptive coverage to their employee. the president's spokesperson put a statement saying the administration has already acted
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to ensure no church or similar religious institution will be forced to provide contraceptive coverage and has many common sense accommodation for nonprofit religious organization that objects to contraception on religious grounds. protecting women's health and religious beliefs. religious groups such as little sisters of the poor have said it still goes against their religious beliefs to ask others to provide contraceptive coverage to their employee. heather: molly live with us for the very latest. thank you. leland: this new year has brought freedom for a notorious terrorist defense lawyer. a judge has granted stuart a compassionate release from prison. former civil rights leader is dying from cancer. serving a 10-year sentence for her convictions for helping her client, it lined egyptian cleric smuggle messages from prison to his followers in a plot to blow up new york landmarks as well,
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egyptian president mubarak. >> we will annihilate terrorist bid that threat coming from vladimir putin following back-to-back terror attacks in his country. the two bombings rocked the same southern city in less than 24 hours triggering increased security ahead of the winter olympics next month in sochi. former cia director and officer of national security affairs of the heritage foundation joins us now with some more insight. so the islamic terror threat in russia, nothing new. tell us a little bit about the history. >> this has been going on for some time. russia has been subjected to terror threats, insurgencies by islamist militants going back to the end of the cold war. especially in places. at times they believe they have the situation under control, but we also have seen recent attacks
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which tells us we're certainly not out of the woods in terms of this, especially with this very big event, showcase event of vladimir putin in just a few weeks. heather: realistically how secure can he make the athletes and the leaders who visit? sochi is miles away from this location. >> there will be a big security bubble, which is in the neighborhood, assuming these are the people that are behind it. blessings to be be the conventional wisdom right now, these are maybe the caucus emirates, a number of other terrorist groups, four or five on the state department's list of terrorism and terrorist groups, but there will be a security bubble obviously for the athletes, the fans, the dignitaries. many times in the past american presidents and vice presidents
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haven't attended the openings. but russia is a big place. nine time zones, mostly attacks have been in that area or moscow, now a new target which shows these groups have the capability to attack perhaps anywhere in russia, perhaps most particularly outside sochi which is looked at very closely. >> it will be as a potential hard target. will that make soft targets more vulnerable? >> they have already achieved something, making a very good point, they put a call over the olympics, people are nervous already, the athletes have to be thinking about this trying to train spectators going there. thinking about what they're going to do, secret services. even small attacks, this was a
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small attack compared to others that we have seen from the terrorist groups. they can make a lot of headway here. heather: before we run out of time, i want to get this question, the boston bombers trained specifically linked to the leader of this group referred to as the russian bin laden. so what about that connection and the possibility of any threats here in the united states? >> they are still investigating that, but thi there seems to be international connections to those bombers. the terrorist groups sometimes our regional, but at times they become international and they go beyond that, and this leader you mentioned has said the united states is in their crosshairs. if they prosper in russia, they could reach out at some point to try to attack the united states of american interest in russia or outside of russia.
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heather: thank you so much for joining us. we will keep an eye on it. happy new year. leland: the iphone 5s, the ipad mini, some of the very cool things in tech from 2013. we have this year in innovation. >> self driving cars, new ways to sequence your baby's dna. 2013 was full of innovations setting the stage for a blockbuster new year. plastic beverage bottles are not always two things that go together, but coca-cola and ford teamed up to turn the plastic bottles into car interiors. it is already used in 50% of the global packaging cannot be woven into fabric and used to blanket car seats and floors. scientist at the european organization for your research confirmed they discovered the
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god particle be at subatomic particle known as higgs boson brings together why matter has mass. google changes the way we look at the world by looking at a technology looking like glasses but works like a wearable computer. this can take pictures can record video and through voice activation. eyeglasses are not the only innovation for the wardrobe, now the watches are on the trend things to big electronic giants like sony and samsung. qualcomm joined unveiling the wearable wrist technology allowing users to city forecast and more. self driving cars of the consumer electronics show in las vegas this year. they can navigate parking garages and parked themselves with the camera, laser, sensor and even wi-fi. the questions about doctors becoming more sophisticated than if it is a boy or a girl things a new startup to sequence the
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dna before birth. the testing can be used with more traditional testings to determine down cancer and others. amazon goes futuristic with an announcement on the ceo that will begin testing delivering services via unmanned drones. by spigot to arrive arrived in high-tech style anytime soon. they won't be ready for prime time for another four or five years. groundbreaking ideas and discoveries for the innovation. one thing that the platforms will be a springboard for 2014 big leaders to build on. fox business. heather: pretty cool stuff. leland: the drone thing scares me though. heather: they say the mailman delivers through the rain, the sleet, the snow. can the drone? leland: this is good, we will have to see. unless ups gets overloaded again, who knows what will
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happen. heather: another setback for the family of a girl we told you about declared brain-dead after surgery. the new legal battle fighting to keep her on life support and the hospital refuses to help move her to another facility. >> pronounced dead by a chief physician in this hospital. the attorney did not believe that.
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heather: welcome back. and new york emt say he was wrongly suspended for drive an ambulance a child's life. stephen sawyer said he could not wait any longer to help a four-year-old having seizures. he broke the rescue squad rules that drivers have to be 21. when he could not find an available driver, but according to "the new york post," the
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bosses say he had a driver and emt available but instead sent them to a far less critical call. he has switched his volunteer post. leland: we have new developments in the very sad story of a teenager declared brain dead following a tonsil surgery that went horribly wrong. the 13-year-old girls family is fighting to keep run life support but the family says it won't help with the transfer to another facility. it will not even allow the necessary procedures to be performed on their premises because she is legally dead. former prosecutor and brown is a trial attorney. i will start with this, lots of folks don't understand the case here. surgery have been at this hospital, things go wrong, she ends up trended, how in any way is it the hospital's right to
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decide to take her off of life support and not the families? >> i think the hospital has it out of the way and let them do what is best for their child. they say she is brain-dead and the family has located doctors that are willing to come in and transfer to a different facility. leland: it doesn't seem like you agree with that in that the hospital has this right, the california state has this right. go under california law there is no legal obligation for the hospital to get consent to pull the plug so to speak if somebody is declared dead or brain-dead. in this case families hanging on for dear life, understandably so. the biggest point of contention is the definition of death in a court of law and a medical profession. in this case six doctors, three
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of which selected by the family and one of which on the court have all confirmed there is a sensation of rain activity, there is nothing going on up there. with that in mind i can understand why the hospital is getting some heat but i can understand the hospital's position. >> at some point can you argue this comes down to keeping so summary on life support indefinitely is very expensive? or saying it is cheaper for us to do it this way? >> i think it is a combination of both. thousands of dollars for the hospital to keep this poor girl on life support, but also from a medical ethics perspective how is the hospital supposed to justify performing a tracheotomy on this girl to provide her with food? how to perform a surgeon somebody already declared dead? from a legal perspective how can they justify their position this
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girl is declared legally dead but perform the surgery? leland: justify it, why should the family be able to decide to do this. why can the hospital back down? >> we have doctors willing to perform the surgery, the hospital doesn't have to do to it. talk about purely financial standpoint, if the family has the means, facilities willing to transport this young lady, it should be done. this is not the first time we have been faced with an issue like this. in utah he was six years old pronounced brain-dead at the hospital but allowed to be transported to another facility where he continued to live for many months after that. if the family has the means, a doctor ready and willing and a facility that will take them, why won't this hospital get out of the way and do the right thing? >> there is some contention if doctors will come in and transport her. there was a hospital in new york
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allegedly interested in bringing her to the hospital but that hasn't been substantiated according to the hospital in this case. i can understand the legal liabilities for other hospitals that have fear in bringing her over because let's be honest, we live in it which just society. if anything happened, or they pulled the in another hospital, are they going to get thrown into a lawsuit in the future? these are important and legal questions hospitals are asking themselves determining if they want to take on that role. leland: we have got to go. thank you for your time on this new year's. either way, a horrible situation for this family and the little girl caught in the middle. heather: especially when you talk about legal responsibility while she is lying there. a charity a lot like make a wish with one difference. inspiring story of how it has been created. up next. f the house back on her feet.
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heather: dislike him make a wish for adults. catering to stick adults and children giving all expense paid trip. more on this great story. >> the security is called for peace sake. getting cancer patient and loved ones what they want and need most. a gift of time. reporter: two years ago press cancer patient was preparing to die. >> i was given two years to live maximum. reporter: today her and her family are on a trip of a lifetime. they are in florida things to for pete's sake. setting cancer patients and families on vacation. >> we will give you up to seven
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days for everything related to it. while you are there, get rental car, tickets, relax. reporter: she started the charity after her husband was diagnosed with cancer in 1998. >> hospitalization, surgery, radiation, all of a sudden you stop going anywhere. reporter: the family and friends sent them to the caribbean before he died. >> it was really that gift of time that i cherish. reporter: now for pete's sake helps others take a break from cancer. the nonprofit cents 100 patients plus the families on trips every year. each vacation cost around $5000. for her, the trip is priceless. >> when we go home, we will be feeling better, standing taller knowing that we are not a statistic to a disease to know
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that w we're a family that has walked a path not many families have walked and we are stronger on the other side. report magid has spread to her liver and bones but feels doctors will soon confirm she is incomplete remission. the new year's wish indeed. heather: we hope it comes true. thank you. leland: so amazing to be able to build those memories under so much stress, and you say all right, here's a vacation, it will last a lifetime especially for the kids. >> time is priceless, absolutely. leland: that is true. speaking of time, new year's is a blast. a new world record for the largest fireworks display, more than half a million fireworks loading from 400 different spots in the city. some coming out of the building.
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it beat out the previous record holder, kuwait lost the title from last new year's eve, the display of 50 years of independence. heather: we hope you had a great new year's. leland: thank you for being here. heather: the facts that are most compelling our next. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪ [ male announcer ] that's handy. c explore what's new for 575 calories or less on oulighter fareu. enjoy fresh tossed. go fish. and try our new rosemary garlic chicken at olive garden.
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