8:00 p.m. and 11 p.m 2:00 a.m. eastern and at 2:00 a.m. eastern and at christmas day+++ fox news alert. former president george h.w. bush is in the hospital. he was rushed to houston methodist after experiencing shortness of breath. >> reporter: i'm leah gabriel for martha maccallum. the former president is 92 years

old. >> reporter: do we know how long he will spend in hospital? >> reporter: doctors want to keep an eye on him until they feel he's breathing more regularly and comfortably. he has a form of parkinson's disease and it's not unusual for parkinson's patients to have shortness of breath. temperature. >> you get a stiffness of your breathing muscles. so you get a lot of perceived shortness of breath. they are always cautious with president bush. the breathing is a sign he's possibly not breathing properly. >> reporter: he spent time in the hospital for bronchitis-related cough and other medical issuers.

>> reporter: we heard president obama has been notified about the former president's health condition? >> reporter: statement said president obama and the first lady send their good wishes to the former president. president obama and his family are spending the christmas holiday in hawaii. >> reporter: prosecutor charging a suspect for posting a chilling threat against police. new protests overnight. hundreds of protesters flooding midtown manhattan despite a call from the mayor to hold off until after funeral services for the

fallen officers. david, what are the protesters saying about the mayor's request? >> reporter: some of the protesters feel emboldened and angered by what the mayor asked. they say the gunman who kid the two privileges was not part of their movement. some shouted "killer cops have to go." there were no arrests. earlier in the day there was a broad coalition of activists. some of the rhetoric was as fiery as ever. >> murdererring pigs is what they are. they get away from murder. they get away with impunity. this has to stop and people will be out on the streets demanding they stop murdering our

children. >> reporter: new year's the demonstrators plan to march into times a square. it seems like they are positioning themselves for some type of a showdown. >> reporter: what are the latest threats? >> reporter: they have beefed up security at two precincts in brooklyn. according to a published report. members of a gang called the black dublackguerrilla family. and a judge released a man without bail after he allegedly posted a photo online about gunmen targeting a a car. -- targeting a police car. it had the caption.

"73 next." the judge called it stupid but he said it would be wrong to use the current climate as a ground to set bail. if convicted of making terroristic threats he could receive 7 years in prison. it's a serious charge. >> reporter: we are learning vice president joe biden will be traveling to new york city to attend the funeral of one of the two fallen new york police officers. his family says ramos was deeply religious and an active member of that congregation. >> reporter: the empire state building, the chrysler building, the rockefeller christmas tree and other landmarks dimming

their lights. the gesture coming at the request of mayor bill deblasio. >> reporter: we have a fox news alert out of st. louis. new eveninger following another police shooting. -- new anger following another police shooting. dozens of people clash with police overnight after a man was shot and killed. police say he pointed a gun at one of their officers. it happened late last night just a few miles from the city of ferguson. the victim's mother arrived at the scene just a short time later. >> his girlfriend saw him. he was going to get up and run. he was trying to get up and run, they start shooting him.

>> reporter: details are still coming in about what happened there overnight. we are going to bring you the latest coming up in a live report. >> reporter: the christmas eve holiday rush is on. thousands of travelers hitting the airport. the storm bringing wit bringingt and snow which is expected to amount to a whole lot of delays. what's it looking like there right now? >> it's typically called the most wonderful time of the year as long as you are not traveling at the airport. but here at o'hare it's more of a typical travel day, not the typical holiday rush we see because folks have been expecting delays and cancellations. so far as o'hare only 95 flights have been canceled.

there are delays over on the east coast at la guardia. several airlines are allowing passengers in cities affected by the weather to rebook these flights without any penalties. that would be united, american and southwest airlines. but it's still early today. as the weather system continues to work its way east. the airports along the southeast and northeast will continue and the delays will stack up. >> reporter: have you heard tips about dealing with the holiday crowd? >> reporter: some people have been yorking about getting drinks as soon as they get to -- through the security line. they are asking folks to come two hours ahead of time and asking folks to sign up for

flight notifications. but here are tips we got from orbits. when you do make it through the security line, get some snacks, get your phone charger just in case you are able to find an open power outlet. >> reporter: at least you don't have to wait in that security line. >> reporter: the country of jordan is confirming isis shot down one of its jet fighters. the pilot is now in the hand of terrorists. the flight went down over a anything syria. jordan says it will hold isis responsible for the pilot's safety. >> reporter: a terrorist once in custody is back in the fight.

now he has a bowrnty on his head. we'll have a search for the died leader and how it could affect our plans for gitmo. >> reporter: waiting for hillary clinton in the plans for 2015. is it possible she is too far right for the democratic party? >> reporter: "the interview" is on. and reverse albie sony pictures standing up to cyber terror. >> this is an opportunity to fight terrorism on christmas day. >> i'm glad sony changed their minds.

leah: the interview rs the intee interview" is back on. sony initially said sit would not release the film after hackers threatened to attack any thee sister screening it. the fbi said north korea was likely behind those threats made by a group calling themselves guard yarns of peace. the government of the pyongyang denied involvement. leland: the u.s. is offering a $5 million bounty for a

terrorist released from guantanamo bay. chris, on friday the administration puts out a press release saying closing the detention facility in gitmo is a national imperative. today they are offering a bounty. is this narrative working? >> it hasn't. the first acts of a president upon taking office was to order the closure. he didn't say i hope it's closed. he said i order the closure and the deadline for that slipped and slipped. it slipped because congress, democrats and republicans both said no fund will be spent to bring prisoners into the united states. they even had a facility picked out. they don't import the terrorists

into the united states, then they can't close guantanamo. we know the recidivism rate. this is not the first person we have seen who has ended up back on the battlefield. >> you talked about that recidivism rate. we pulled up statistics. 620 people have been released from guantanamo. confirmed or suspected of going back to the battlefield. how much of the political capital trying to close gitmo going to cost the administration when you have these kind of numbers? >> they a kill on site policy. they do not capture, detain or interrogate, they kill. that's the most significant change in the administration. on the question of his abit, the president's ability to carry out

this action, i submit that i think the opening up or the effort to rear to diplomatic relations with cuba and this new openness he said is part and parcel of a larger plan he has to shut down guantanamo bay which is of course in cuba. leland: how all of a sudden does engaging the cubans allow you to shut down -- do you mean the entire military base or just the detention facility? >> i don't know in the 18 months or so he has left that he could completely shut down the base. when the president talks about colonialism. remember part of cuba is still in u.s. hand. hugh do you close guantanamo bay? if it's in cuba, having relations with the castro regime

would create new options. for a president who made the closure of this camp his number one priority, i have to think the two are interconnected. leland: chris stirewalt, our digital politics editor, thanks very much. leah: the dow made history yesterday. how does that bode for 2015? leland: caught from the act. how the hope owner caught him red hand. it involves surveillance video.

leland: who doesn't want to catch a burglarrer grinch

red-handed. check out the video. a robber broke into a home in arizona. he even started at one point to feed the dogs. but thanks to the camera in the living room the homeowner was watching the whole scene from work on her iphone. she called police. they showed up. but by the time they got there the suspect noticed the camera. he turned it officers were able to nab him in a nearby house. leah: we are minutes away from the opening bell after the dow's record day yesterday. what can investors expect in the new year? joining us from fox business is adam shapiro. economists don't expect it to keep moving this direction at such a quick pace.

what can we expect for 2015? >> they are expecting the growth won't be anywhere near the 5%. it will be around 2.5, maybe 3%. >> the price of gas has been down and consumer spending up. so where is that going? >> the price of gas is giving us a pay increase and it's driving the consumer side of the economy. but there are a lot of serious issues. the fed does not like that inflation is low. when you look at gdp not being as strong and inflation not being where the fed wants it. people talk about raising interest rates, that might be pushed off. leah: opec has been flooding the

market with oil. >> it could be bad news in the long-run. eventually we'll see layoffs in the energy sector. the people drilling and fracking for natural gas. those industries will start shutting down and sidelining what they are doing. when oil is trading below $60 a barrel they won't be making a project so those projects will shall put on hold. leah: what are respecting in 2015 with home seams. >> we are nowhere near the level we were going into the financial collapse, the recession in 2008. the big question is can someone 30 or under move out of mom and dad's house. can they form a farmly and start

household creation? they are even making it easier to borrow money. you can now put 3% down. leah: the investors have been watching interest rates being kept near zero for quite some time. what are we expecting? >> we expect the interest rates to go up incredibly slowly. even if inflation is as weak as it is right now the fed will start to raise interest rates. but it will be microscopic. if you have got a down payment you will have a good mortgage even in 2015. you have got to live somewhere, why not pay yourself as opposed to a landlord. leah: i have heard the russian ruble is bad for the economy. it makes invest jars nervous. >> are we witnessing a supply

increase because we are producing more or witnessing a slow down. you have got europe in a deflation situation. you have got china slowing down. so that's the red flag that everyone is afraid of. if oil is going down because the global economy is slowing down. that's bad news. eventually we catch that cold. >> don't miss adam shah per eon the fox business networks. if you are not sure where to find it log on to fox business.com/channel finder. leland: the latest behind reports that hillary clinton is growing apart from her own party. leah: protesters take to the

streets in four following another deadly shooting miles from ferguson. @oyu0x?hy@x@8p

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leah: breaking news out of missouri. protesters taking to the streets after a man is shot and killed by police. but police say he pointed a gun at officers. police just held a news conference. what are we hearing? >> reporter: the st. louis county police commissioner said the man could have run away but he approached the officer with his arm extended and the .9 mill meeter in his hand. it happened at 9:15 when an

officer was responding to this larceny call at this gas station. the officer was carrying a flashlight and approached two men on the side of the building. that's when the officers say one of the men pulled a gun and pointed it at officers. >> this is a tragedy for everybody and our hearts go out to the decedent's family. but bad choices were made. we didn't have the opportunity that this individual could have complied with the officer. he could have run away, he could have dropped the gun. all sorts of things could have happened. >> reporter: the suspect's handgun had been arrested. he had been arrested several times since he was 17. leah: after the shooting a crowd formed and the area grew tense.

reporter: very tense. some brought bricks and rocks and started throwing them at the officers. they threw explosive devices at at gas pumps. some police cars were damaged. windows were broken. many compared the incident to the michael brown shooting. the victim's mother spoke last night. >> his girlfriend saw the police. he was going to get up and run. he was trying to get up and run they start shooting. >> reporter: authorities say they understand the anger. the community need to put this in perspective. her spray and a taser is not enough when someone points a firearm at an officer whose life is on the line. leland: potential political

trouble for former secretary of state hillary clinton. there are reports that he's growing distant from her own party. alan colmes and brad blakeman. alan, is this true? do you think hillary is getting farther away from the democratic party? >> ed rogers is a republican operative now a lobbyist who worked for president george w. bush. interesting piece in the "times" yesterday that the real person n hi are you has to look out for -- hillary has to look out for is the guy from virginia, jim web, a senator, a vietnam hero and was against the war in iraq. hillary voted for the war in iraq. but there is a populist movement in the democratic party that may

challenge hillary clinton from the left. leland: is it better for the republicans to be running against hillary rather than running against somebody like lir -- likeelizabeth warren? >> we want to sit back and look at the fight in the democratic party. the clintons have been on the public stage for 30 years. when they left the public stage they cashed in on their to later. they are book didn't do so well. those democrats in 201 dem -- tn 2007 and 2008 said she was

inevitable and she got bested by a community organizer. leland: at some level will it allow someone to swell from an inside race be it elizabeth warren or somebody we haven't heard about? >> while brad is talking about, the clintons have been around. who we talk about is a leading in the contender is on the right. jeb bush and mitt romney. we are setting ourselves up for a clinton versus bush. >> where is the new car smell on the right? hand paul may be your best choice. >> as much as you want to deflect away from hillary, i can understand. you guy think she is inevitable. >> i don't think that. >> she is not inevitable. if anything, i think she has lost touch with her base. she is going to have a tough

time as she did in 2007-2008 to capture the election. >> i don't speak for the democratic party. i don't think she is necessarily inevitable. i would like to see a broader field on the left. i think the right probably has a deeper bench than the democrats. >> so do republicans. i know in talking about hillary you want to talk about jeb bush and mitt romney. >> whose inevitable on the right? >> nobody is inevitable. that's the beauty of having an open seat as a president. you will have a wide field and we'll hash it out and select the best candidate from the party and that's the way it's going. >> reporter: all the polls show it's bush or romney. >> i think the whole country would like to see some new car

smell on both side. >> the polls show a lot of things a couple years out. in this sense, though, alan, you say you are a liberal rather than a democrat. does that put you more in the elizabeth warren camp. she'll not say she is running in the present tense. is there going to be a draft warren race and is that what we are seeing by some democrats to take shots at hillary? >> i'm probably more in sync with elizabeth warren than i am with hillary clinton. but elizabeth washen isn't running. those on the right would like to create a contest between elizabeth warren and hillary clinton. the right would like to create the visions on the left to show dissention but i'm not sure

that's the case at this point. >> are these well placed plants by the republicans or is this genuine analysis? >> this is genuine analysis. ed rogers has been around washington a long time. he served george w. bush and he's very progressmatic. if you read the article it's well thought out. it's coming from the people not only in washington. but around the country. they are look for alternatives to hillary. >> i believe hillary clinton may want elizabeth warren to be in it so she can set herself as a centrist. >> the country is clintoned out. we have seen these people. and we may be pushed out, too.

you might be right. but one thing is for sure. hillary is a lot weaker today than she was in 2008 coming on the heels of serving a failed president. >> i would rather have the bush name. leland: even christmas eve does not bring you guys together. >> i'm wearing my christmas tie. leland: nicely done, alan. i can't believe i couldn't tell that was a christmas tie. merry christmas to all. leah: a deadly winter storm slam can the south overnight. folks are saying it feels like no one was spared. >> it's like a third world around here. pretty much every business on the bypass is gone or sustained some kind of damage.

we had neighbors provide us with plywood they have had preparing for hurricanes. and we'll do what we do and get back to work. >> reporter: in alabama it was a complete washout with cars submerged in water. >> reporter: you were mentioning some of the damage that was seen across portions of the southeast and some of the impacts from the storm system. what he also saw record rainfall across portions of northern florida including the city ofll. the storm system packing a punch in terms of significant weather and rainfall. we have a tornado watch including portions of the pla panhandle. so this is something that we'll continue to watch.

we have a line of storms continuing to push eastward and they could produce a tornado. looking at a risk for portions of the southeast. you have an additional risk across parts of th -- parts of e ohio valley. temperatures are relatively warm across the southeast. and farther north. upstate snork new york, and new england you are going to be seeing most live rainfall. u receive most air yarls along parts of the east staying well above freezing. you are at 15, raleigh and the 40s, in washington, d.c. we have winter weather advisories across illinois, indiana and michigan.

we are not looking at a major winter storm but some snow should be accumulating so you will be looking at slick driving condition for christmas eve. farther west we have a big storm system moving in. watches and warnings have been issues. over to you. >> let's hope things ease up for travelers. and especially those whose homes and property have been damaged. leland: we remember the navy seal who says he fired the shot that killed usama bin laden. now he's under investigation. we'll explain why. lee are dangerous winds force a major highway to close.

leland: over the river and through the woods is going the take longer this christmas. weather is causing major problems in colorado. near hurricane-force winds and blowing snow closed down interstate 70 for 8 hours yesterday. leaving drivers simply stranded on the side of the road. >> i talked to my dad saying the weather is bad. he wants us to be safe but you could hear it in his voice, he

was disappointed. >> we got a hotel room. tis the season. reporter: tis the season for bad weather. another round of snow is expected to move into the state tomorrow. >> knowing based on what we had been told that he would be in that room. it wasn't let's end this story. it was he's going to blow up so let many get it over with. we know the end is coming for 9/11. that is robert o'neill, the man who says he shot usama bin laden. now he's under investigation by the navy to determine whether he revealed classified information. >> this holiday time let's all spare a thought for the persecuted christians in the

middle east who are suffering worse than they have in 2,000 years. leah: i have served with seems from his command. i have been told he's png from this command. >> let me start out by saying robert o'neill while in uniform did far more for our country than i ever did. however, nothing he did gives him the right to compromise classified information or operational trade craft. you have just don't do it. the navy investigation will decide whether he compromised classified information. but other seals are pad about two things. one, the trade craft, the techniques how you do it. you just don't talk about it.

throughout special-ops you don't give away how you do stuff. other seals feel he's hot dogging. there is also a code of silence in the specia special-ops socie. they are tribes and they have their own tribal atmospheres and cultures. most seals aren't like that. most seals are silent warriors doing some of the toughest work our nation has ever asked of anyone. naturally they don't like it when someone blows their cover. let's wait and see what the investigation says. >> reporter: this is as man who spent most of his adult life serving our country. he has two bronze stars and three silver stars. he says he did it for the

families of 9/11 victims. how do you respond to that? >> that's crap. when edward snowden dumped classified information we were all over him and deservedly so. but we can't pick and choose. when somebody else is alleged to have compromised classified information, we can't say it's okay because he served in uniform. there is a word that's unfashionable but we in the military still cling to it. that's the word "honor." it means when you take an oath not to compromise classified material to which you have privileged to have access you honor that oath. when you have a code within a unit not to talk about trade craft and what you have done,

you honor that code. i know honor is terribly unfashionable. but some of us still take it seriously. leah: you and i don't mow having been operators and served in intelligence as we both did that the it in would say it takes more than one person to assess what would constitute giving away secrets or how we .our tactics. how do you respond to that. >> let's wait to see what the investigation decide. but the other thing is this. i have been doing media since i retired in 1998. i have written countless columns and dozens of books and i have never come pro mid classified information. you know stuff people would like to know and you would make a big splash but you don't do it because it's dishonorable. leland: many will wonder what can the military do because he's

retired. >> i'm not a military lawyer but he can be recalled to active duty. this is not a witch hunt. i don't believe that for a moment. i believe there are issues of good order and discipline. you cannot let people at a junior level despite all this great service decide they are the declassification tool. when you pledge to keep secrets you keep secrets. leah: some say the president started this whole thing by allowing people to know it was a navy seal team that executed this whole thing. leland: chris kyle is preparing for a new flound her legal battle against jesse ventura. leah: christians gathering in bethlehem despite a year of

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leland: christian pilgrims are gathering in hotlyland, you are looking at church of the nativity, flooding the densely packed town of bethlehem to worship at the church of the nativity beneath which jesus was born or 2,000 years ago. john, what's it like right now? >> reporter: it's great to be here. it's a great atmosphere below us

in main jerp square. this is my first time being here. being the new guy in the bureau. it's always been a dream to be here. leland you know the deal. it's a beautiful night. i'll step out of the way to set the scene. it's crowd. thousands of people showed up to celebrate christmas eve and christmas here. earlier today, about a couple hours ago, the latin patriarch led the procession through the square to the nativity. that's where the official christmas celebration kicked off. the church is gore just with all the lights on the tree. but inside the church is where the festivities koisked and culminate with midnight mass.

it's a great atmosphere. there was a bit after skirmish in manger square earlier. it didn't get too out of control. it's unclear what it was about. but for now as you can see, it's absolutely gorgeous. you smell all the food, which i love, by the ware. by -- give the way. there have been christmas carols in english and arabic. leland: nothing says christmas like a christmas swharma.

i know you will never forget. thanks, john. leah: the u.s. putting a price on the head after terrorist who was set free in the first place. leland: america is hitting the roads for the holidays. we'll let you know what to expect out there. [♪]

blocks efforts to close gitmo outright or to try to transfer. main land. state department spokesperson, says. will continue. >> thank you, shannon. i guess we lost with the sound bites. >> america's 41 president am

bansambulance to hospital overnight in houston. 90-year-old is being held for observation at houston methodist after being described as shortness of breath. same hospital back in 2012. of a bronc white tis related cough and other health issues. parkinson's, use a motorized scooter or wheelchair recently. >> people are hitting the road for holiday and they could make this busiest travel season on record. thanks to improving economy and lower gas prices, aaa projections 99 million americans traveling more than 50 miles by car or plane and now and january 4th many. claudia cowan, is joining us live from oakland, california. claudia?

>> if you're hitting the road today, leave now or later tonight to beat the risch and buckle up. the highway patrol will look for drunk drivers and make sure people are wearing seatbelts. "click it or ticket." >> you mentioned the lowest gas prices in missouri. so who is paying the most? >> yeah, missouri and oklahoma have the lowest. the most, well you folks in new york still paying around 2.90, up to $3 per gal on in some parts. alaska you're paying more at 3.17 per gallon. hawaii has the highest gas prices at 3.58 per gallon.

still overall, if you fill up your tank tomorrow. you will pay some of the lowest gas prices since christmas of 2008. >> claudia cowan in oakland. thank you, claudia. >> a lawmaker from new york says he will not resign after pleading guilty yesterday to a charge of federal tax evasion in a plea deal. republican michael grimm easily won re-election in his staten island district last month. coface up to three years in prison when he is sentenced come june. so what happens now. let's bring in susan crabtree. white house correspondent for the "washington examiner." susan, as i understand it, congress almost can not force him out, save some very extraordinary circumstances? >> that's right. there is no law or rule in congress that would force any member congress to resign over a felony conviction or conviction of any kind. really what we have here is. >> tended episode of house of

cards. you have brash new yorker straight out of central casting. this investigation has been going on for years and years and years. he survived over and over again all these charges and federal investigations. and yet now, just yesterday, we have a guilty plea and looks like the now, it is going to be court of public opinion that decides whether he says in congress and a lot is up to of course speaker john boehner. >> speaking one of the things the speaker will look at as you noted is also public opinion and grim's reputation. take a listen to this clip that certainly caused a lot of raised eyebrows. leland: speaker boehner is obviously known for running a tight ship. you have the republicans taking over the senate next year, a lot that they want to get done. how big after distraction can

something like this be? >> well i think the timing of this coming right now the day before christmas, it was a blessing and a curse. grimm to have other lawmakers weighing in. you have extended period of time where there is vacuum, a news vacuum and you can play the threat over and over again to a reporter. there are stories about him getting out a gun in the middle of the manhattan club. this has been, these episodes and stories have been going on for quite some time for grimm. and the last thing, that john boehner wants right now, in this new strengthened majority is to be dealing with an accusation of a convicted criminal in his conference. that was accused of basically, paying illegal immigrants under the table and when we're having a major fight over immigration in this country. and the house republicans and senate republicans want to go after the president's executive

action on immigration. really, really bad timing. i don't think it fares well for grim's future in congress. >> former fbi agent. he won 54-point% of the vote. 55.4% of the vote. compare that to 2012. he actually did better. how is somebody who obviously has some significant problems in his personal life, so popular and continuing to win? what does that really say about washington and folks being sent there? >> it says more about new york and staten island and lack of dearth of democratic candidates that the democratic party has been able to field there. you had the "new york daily news" endorsing michael grimm, facing, went after the indictment where he was facing some 20 charges. so you basically have a, the dearth of candidates and michael grim who is sending a lot of

money, sitting on financial services money at the time, sending a lot of appropriations to his district after hurricane sandy. that really helped him. he face ad really bad democratic candidate hot "new york daily news" said was ill-prepared and ill-informed. and made him look much better. >> ill-prepared and ill-informed from someone now a convicted felon. thank you, susan. >> thank thank you, leland. leah: new security concerns as president obama pushes to release more detainees from gitmo. we talked about the gitmo detainee in 2006, now back on the battlefield. what type of threat does he pose? leland: widow of "american sniper" chris kyle kyle against her case against jesse ventura. leah: sony pictures does an about-face. why they finally decided to

release "the interview." >> i enjoyed miley cyrus episode. >> very deep. she is.

leah: activities after they get out. u.s. government offering five million dollar reward for top al qaeda leader who was released from gitmo back in 2006. lieutenant colonel bill cowan, fox news military analyst. nice to see you, colonel. >> nice to be with you, leah, thank you. leah: this past august, former detable e, called on muslims to wage war against the united states. >> this is problem. he represents. kind of problem we have with many of the detainees. administration director of national intelligence, gin clapper most recent numbers were of the 620 detainees, that have been released. those numbers changed a little bit, as many as 180 are directly involved in terrorism acts and expected to be involved in terrorism acts. a large number of detainees floating around out there. floating around who weapon sent a real problem to the united states, to our allies, to our

friend and as a reminder, still held in guantanamo represent the worse of the worse. others are being released as we expect under this administration will be we expect more problems. leah: now you mentioned recidivism rate. dni puts out report each year, director of national intelligence, july 15th, 2014, 107 of 620 transfers were confirmed, confirmed to have re-engaged. now roughly a quarter of those actually are now dead. roughly a quarterback in custody, but that still leaves half of those out there. it is not a high rate of recidivism, but it is concerning, right? >> absolutely. only takes one. only takes one of those people out there in conjunction with many other terrorists around the world to commit some kind of act against the united states. taliban five for bowe bergdahl. three of them indicated some

kind ever support already for isis who might be considered to be a bigger problem than al qaeda. no question, leah. leah. some of them will try to lead normal lives. that's fining. not guys we return to terrorism and pose a threat to the united states. >> will he was not held at guantanamo bay, the current leader of isis was detained by the u.s. eventually turned over to iraq? >> he was. he was captured in iraq by u.s. troops. and he was interrogated by u.s. troops. turned over to iraqis. without the iraqis letting us know, this was a little bit before they left. released him and went immediately back to become a leader as he is now of isis, started out as al qaeda in iraq. moved over to syria and now leader of isis. we had the guy in our possession at one time. he too kind of represents this notion that you have people, you release people, that they go back doing what they used to do. leah: within hours of taking

office the president back in 2009 promised to goes guantanamo bay. the question as we track down people we need to get back, where do they >> well, i mean this is a real problem. i heard chris stirewalt say in the last hour, interviewed by you, that he saw some kind of a linkage maybe between cuba and between guantanamo, opening relations with cuba. he may very well be right. we can't keep these guys forever. we wish that we could. i'm not sure what all the alternatives are. some need to go somewhere forever. if we don't keep them in the night, saudis, jordanians, whomever will put people away for life. if we're not able to find those kinds of relationships leah, we'll see problems with some of these people. leah: over the weekend, four more detainees were released. pentagon says they take precautions. how do you respond to that? >> well the pentagon has to say they're under pressure from the

white house to get people out of there. i understand the pentagon's position there, they are hopeful the people released will be good people. i go back to what i said a moment ago, last ones remaining at gitmo are the worst of the worst. we let better ones go, detainees. some already returned to violence and terrorism. the pentagon, they have to say what they have to say. they're certainly under a lot of pressure. they don't want to let all these guys go. the white house will demand. i think this president wants to walk out of this office, i did what i promised to do, i closed gitmo and those detainees are no longer a problem for us but indeed many ever them will be. leah: just this past week he has been added to specially designated global terrorist list. we'll see what happens with that. lieutenant colonel bill cowan. thanks for joining us. >> thanks, leah. merry christmas to you. leland: christians in the middle east have been suffering persecution and unspeakable crimes at hands of terrorist

groups like isis. pope francis is reaching out directly to those christians, his message of hope just in time for christmas. >> one little girl did something extraordinary to celebrate her 7th birthday. she is letting less fortunate know she cares this holiday season. >> some people think that god doesn't really care for them but they do. so idec crate rated these -- three. that can help your company grow steadily and quickly. great job. (mandarin) ♪ cut it out. >>see you tomorrow. ♪

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leah: pennsylvania girl celebrates her 7th birthday by helping the homeless. instead of asking for presents, mia montgomery host ad dinner feeding more than 300 homeless men and women. she got gotted idea during a recent trip in new york city. she enlisted the help of her family to raise money and shop for food. >> gave me better outlook on my

situation. i was ready to go do crazy things. now i'm not doing those things. >> i really appreciate everybody. >> very happy christmas and i'm going to be on the good list of santa. leah: not the first time she has done something like this. for her fifth birthday, mia start ad toy drive for local kids. a little girl with big heart. leland: definitely on santa's good list. pope francis is extending holiday greetings and special message for isis. penning a letter to christians in the middle east and urging them not to be afraid or ashamed to be a christian despite persecution they are receiving from certain groups. we have dr. jeffers from first baptist in washington. persecution of christians has been going on for thousands of years. you hear stories what is happening from isis, beheads, rapes, sexual torture, these

kind of things. is this worse than we've ever seen or worse because we now know about it? >> i think it is worse than it ever has been. the interesting fact there is more martyrs for the christian faith in the 20th century then all the other centuries combined. this war against christianity began 2,000 years ago when her rod slaughteredder all jewish males under age of two. this is the history of christianity, the more attacked more it spreads. look what is happening in china. 72 million christians and growing exponentially. an early church father said the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. the more christianity is pressed the more it expands. leland: what does scripture tell us about christians that are persecuted and how to deal with the situation.

christmas is joyous time. so many are under threat. >> there is lot of confusion about this and we talked about this in recent days in fox. as individuals we're told to forgive and turn the other cheek and personal offenses but government is never told to forgive or turn the other cheek and the fact is, romans 13, says government has the job to go after and avenge evildoers. as a nation we have every right and responsibility to push back against the attacks of isis. leland: when you say push back, you by that you mean use military force in trying to protect christians, these kind of things? >> absolutely. that is the role of government. that is to to be avenger of evildoers. paul said that in romans chapter 13. i would like to say about the pope's letter which is great. he said that the christmas carols of these persecuted christians will be accompanied by tears and sighs. that is true. but they will be accompanied by

hope. hope you find in carols themselves. that most familiar carol, joy to the world, the lord has come, was not written about the first coming of christ but about the second coming when he will rule the world in truth and grace. and the good news of christmas is, that even though we live in a broken world, and there is no peace on earth right now, that will change one day when christ returns and rules in perfect justice and righteousness. that is good news, not just for these persecuted christians in the middle east but for all peoples. >> good news and certainly hopeful message here on this christmas eve amidst so batched news. dr. jeffers, thanks for joining us. merry christmas to you and yours. >> merry christmas to you, thanks, all the best. leah? leah: lost a battle against jesse ventura but the widow of chris kyle not giving up. why she is bringing her case back to court. leland: sony's new comedy movie,

"the interview" getting four stars for chutzpah. why it is heading back to the theaters days after the studio pulled it because of hackers. >> it was a gift to my grandfather. i take prilosec otc each morning for my frequent heartburn. because it gives me... zero heartburn! prilosec otc. the number 1 doctor-recommended frequent heartburn medicine for 9 straight years. one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn.

leland: well it is the movie north korea doesn't want you to see but now it is heading to movie theaters all across america. sony is going to release the movie "the interview" after all. it comes out tomorrow. christmas day. william la jeunesse is live on the west coast. first they weren't going to release it, then they weren't and now they're going to again. what is going on? >> reporter: well, you got perception, you got money. you've got pressure. embarrassed, emboldened days after saying it had no plans to release "the interview" the comedy will play in some 300 independent theaters christmas day as planned. a far cry from the original 3,000 screens nationwide but facing pressure from the public, white house and some celebrities, sony decided this

was the next best solution. it also delivers a product at the height of demand, vowing not to be intimidated. some viewers want to see the movie out of patriotism. others to support free speech. >> reminds me a lot of banning books. good that sony changed their mind. i think censorship is bad, especially since we're being vaguely threatened by terrorists. >> reporter: sony restarted its promotion campaign releasing the trailer online to compete with other releases. won't make 25 million as hoped or originally but will get the controversial monkey off their back and the studio, leland, can move on. leland: as you reported there was a lot of backlash. even president obama said pulling it was a mistake. the reason sony did that because the big theaters said they will not going to show it. do the big theater chains get

opportunity to? is there bad blood between sony and those chains? >> reporter: leland this is the next bombshell chapter in the story. it could affect movie going decades to come. sony will announce a precedent-setting distribution deal for first-run movie, video-on-demand. in hollywood this is like declaring nuclear war. theaters always had monopoly on new movies, exclusively for two to three months. then they go to pay-per-view. sony may apparently skip the theater chains all together, go directly to demand, possibly tomorrow, using itunes, amazon, netflix or its own free streaming service, crackle. this is huge. could eventually put theaters out of business. as for the threat of north korea hackers they would disable or attack theaters per se, that is now a risk some distributors are willing to take as well as theaters. there may be increased security around those. we know the fbi has been told all the theaters that are getting the movie. leland?

leland: we'll see how this plays out. every day there is new saga. you've been covering it as well. william la jeunesse in los angeles. thanks, william. >> your family is here. your children have no father. >> i'm allowed to serve my country. >> you don't know when to quit. you did your part. we sacrificed enough. let somebody else go. >> let somebody else go? >> yeah. you find a way. leah: scene from the new movie, "american sniper," a movie about chris kyle known as deadliest sniper in american history. the his widow is looking to overturn a verdict brought by jesse ventura. he was awarded a $2 million, by a federal jury that part of kyle's memoir defamed him. we have chip merlin a defense attorney. good day to both of you. >> good more thanking. >> good morning. leah: so, chip, let's start with

you. this goes back to a part of chris kyle's book where he claims that he essentially punched jesse ture a in a bar but he didn't even name him, right? >> right. that is one of the most interesting parts about this entire story that jesse ventura's name was never in the book at all. it was on "the o'reilly factor" and another television show that kyle said it was jesse ventura did this and he said a number of defamatory things about george bush, the war and he wanted a few seals killed. this is what brought the defamation action in this particular case. it is very unique case from the very beginning. it is not based on liable in the book. it is based on slander outside of the book. leah: okay, so jesse ventura was awarded $1.8 million in august by a federal grand jury. chris kyle's widow is appealing this. you say defamation implies malice. >> jesse ventura is a public figure he has to prove actual malice. i think the apappeal will rest

upon that jesse ventura did not approve actual malice. that the speaker knew that the statement was false or had a reasonable believe that the statement was false. look, what this comes down to jesse ventura is seeking money from a dead u.s. veteran. un-american. awful. he needs to learn the lesson that my mother taught myself and siblings growing up, get over yourself. you're really not that important. this appeal will rest upon they didn't meet the standard. more importantly that jesse ventura has not been damaged financially or economically as a result of statements attributed to him. we all had negative things said about about us one point in time. get over it. i'm more jesse ventura and over unout there on social media, ask ventura to drop the lawsuit and leave the veteran's family alone and let them be. he claims $500,000 of the money is covered by insurance.

take the $500,000, don't collect penny more and donate to worthy veteran's cause. that would be honor and noble thing this is ridiculous that jesse ventura is claiming financial damage that his reputation has been irrep practicable harmed. no one has done more damage to jesse's reputation then himself over the years. leah: chip jesse ventura's attorneys claim the money would come from insurance money. how does can chris kyle's widow. how dot attorneys move forward with this appeal? leland: they're trying to appeal it right now. the district court was pretty adamant. jury found chris kyle lied. that the book was wrong. they didn't believe what it was in the book and it defamed jesse ventura. two american icons, people like and lie against one is not right and actionable. kyle was doing it to raise publicity for his book and now movie. estate is getting financial windfall, millions of dollars as

a result of this. part of that was the lie about jesse ventura. >> the chip, did you want to respond to that? >> i'm sorry, i didn't hear it? leah: did you want to respond to that? >> i will respond to what chip said. chip is absolutely right as far as the legal standard. he has it out but the issue with appellate court whether or not the jury got it right. i'm not going to hurt a jury verdict i wouldn't do that to a jury or grand jury verdict. that is what the appeals process is for. it can play itself out. it is extremely economically draining on the family of this american who served our country nobodiably. jesse should pull the plug on this if he thinks, my understanding is that only half a million dollars is covered by insurance. if that is the case, take your half a million, jesse. donate it to worthy veterans cause and leave this family alone. when negative things are said about people, chip said, that doesn't make it right because one person is noble veteran.

but jesse is uniquely situated from everyone else in america. he has a plat for where he can clarify false statements made about him or attributed to him. no one else in america has that ability, that superstar or megastar, public figure has. jesse clarified that. he cleared it up. you know, that the appeal will be whether or not the jury got it right. leah: thank you both. lots to be told on the story. certainly always two side. we'll see how it plays out. keith, chip, thank you. >> thank you. >> there is new controversy over obama administration nominee for a top pentagon post. sources tell fox news that this woman, is one of the congressional staffers accused of stealing classified documents from the cia. chief washington correspondent james rosen is live in washington with that story. james, so what senior level job is this woman up for and how is her nomination playing out with this latest information? >> reporter: leland, good morning. former attorney for senior level post at the central intelligence

agency and the defense department, alyssa starzak was nominated by the obama administration in july to serve as general counsel for the army. con aggression ole sources tell fox news she was one of the those on the senate intelligence committee accused panel's republicans and career intelligence officers improperly read and printed out a classified, privileged cia document. one source telling us that document was flat-out stolen. incidentally happened when she and one other colleague who remains employed by intel committee were reviewing millions of cia documents at secure facility in northern virginia to help prepare the recent report on cia treatment of detape east. the secret document in question was the so-called, panetta review, an internal assessment of cia conduct that was prepared by the agency's then director leon panetta. fox news producer jake gibson who broke the story reached out to starzak for comment but did

hear back, leland. leland: based on what you're saying and some people believe that she was potentially involved in actually a crime here involving this classified information. is there any reason to believe that this could go from just a problem with the nomination and the hearings to prosecution? >> reporter: in fact, cia officials and outgoing chair of the intelligence committee, democrat diane teen stein of california traded accusations of criminal conduct with feinstein accusing cia of hacking into her staffers accounts to monetary their work. and cia accusing staffers stealing the panetta review. they referred the matter to department of justice which declined to pursue any prosecutions. fox news obtained a memo by former senator evan bayh, indiana dell democrat and fox news contributor, examined the cia conduct. he found no agency that the agency hacked into the senate staffer accounts. as to starzak the future is

uncertain. the senate expired without voting on her nomination. that the obama administration would have to resubmit her toot gop controlled senate next year. we were told we have know information whether that will happen. >> we'll see if the political calculation continues. james rosen in washington. thanks. >> thank you. leah: angry protesters tying up streets of new york city denouncing the mayor's call for temporary halt to their demonstration is. but with the latest demonstration have protesters gone too far? leland: emotional story. a spectacular surprise a lot more than just a gift for a family in desperate need. >> when we were on the bus we would always have to wait or hour or two. now you can just go anywhere. >> that will change everything. that will change everything. ♪

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leah: check this out. tears of joy as a christmas surprise is caught on camera in colorado. folks in the town of thornton, stepping up to help families in need for the holiday, presenting a single mother of three with a brand new minivan. she couldn't hold back the tears after getting over the shock. she explained what happened with the family's cars in the past. >> one got stolen. the other one i couldn't make payments on this i'm sorry but -- >> how is this growing to change your life? >> a lot, a lot. being with my kids, like, not on the bus. take me like two, three hours to go get him and come back. it is going to change

everything. >> you can tell she is overwhelmed. the kids look forward not having to wait for the bus anymore. leland? leland: hundreds of protesters defied new york city's mayor bill de blasio yesterday, marching through the streets of midtown manhattan last night. [shouting] leland: they were chanting some vial things on fifth avenue. the latest demonstration coming a day after the mayor begged for calm. at least until after the funerals of two police officers. liu and rafael ramos were shot dead in a assassination tied to earlier protest. erick erickson, red state. chuck rocha, president of

solidarity strategies. i want to start with you, eric, is this civil disobedience warranted or has this crossed line and in poor taste? >> i think it is poor taste. protesters on video cheering on the crime scene where two police officers were gunned down. gone overboard bit people. mayor was probably right. they did need to rein it in. it shouldn't be wait until after the funeral. it should be stop. the mayor emboldened them to protest. leland: what does it say about the situations, with bill de blasio a progressive will be ral here in new york city, a lot of people out protesting conceivably are some of his constituents they're not listening to him? they're walking down fifth avenue. i talked to a police officer down there. they were worried some of these guys would try to break into stores and shut stores down on busy shopping day. there are a lot of tourists out

there and yet they see this? >> i think people are bringing attention to something where most of the bigger groups stayed away and honored what the mayor was going to ask them to do. and in the case of this instance, that when you have people that are protesting, it is within their right under the first amendment to do that but i would kind of agree with eric you can't take things too far. maybe people trying to bring light to this in the wrong way. >> eric, when you look at the situation here in terms of the protests, is this the way you exact change? if you compare it to the civil rights movement, you had dr. king go to washington with tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people on the mall. why not wait until saturday, have a rally in central park rather than disrupting so many people's lives? >> that is just it. this isn't the way you effect change. there are number of people, regardless of politics, believe there are situations with police officers in the country, not all, but some, that need to be addressed. but cheering on the dead bodies,

protesting while we're trying to lay to rest two good police officers, that is not the way to effect change. that is the way to turn people against you for being very self-absorbed in your protests. making it about you and your grievance and not about the actual issue at hand that sparked protests. ignores why eric garner was killed and focuses on a host of other issues that distract from the central problem. but again, cheering on, gunning down police officers and then doing this, that is not the way to solve anything. that is a way to exacerbate a situation. leland: what is interesting, a lot of folks are saying, these are peaceful protests and don't worry about. we see something like this, originally flagged by the "new york post," a quote from an editorial in a cuny newspaper. that is one of the local colleges. the it says the time for peace has passed, in support of violence is the title of editorial. editor-in-chief, gordon barnes. he continued, acts of looting,

destruction of property and violence against state representatives it is not only warranted but necessary. chuck, that sounds like going past peaceful and inciting violence. >> i will not talk about one op-ed out there. i've been part of these protests. there has been senseless loss of life on both sides of this issue. it cuts to the core of who we are as americans. if you disagree with something that happens. you have every right to get out to protest and do it within limits of law. do it in peaceful way. i never say should have points of violence. there is loss of both sides. these two police officers should not have lost their lives, decried. that these people should paper keep peace and let share their voice be heard in sensible, proud manner. leland: we'll see if they take that device or things deteriorate even further. chuck, eric, appreciated your time on this christmas eve. take care, gentlemen. >> merry christmas.

>> modern-day christmas tradition going high-tech. tracking santa claus's journey on more devicep than ever. volunteers prepare for the tonight. ♪

leland: he has left the north pole and already on the move. santa claus right now is visiting christmas island in the pacific and then he is headed to make deliveries all the way across indonesia. you can see him there. we can track his travel thanks to volunteers at norad, that is the north american aerospace defense command. the tradition began back in 1955, when a newspaper ad for children listed norad's phone number by mistake.

they have been tracking him ever since. now there are even apps to follow santa's progress on your phone. you can imagine that colonel was sitting there on christmas eve, 1955. cold war is going on. red phone rings and little kid says, where's santa? leah: where's santa? leland: he played along. >> my nieces they want to know where santa is. this is very cool app. leland: you can find out and see everything they use to track him. it is great. leah: check this out, a revolutionary new earthquake detection system in the works. for first time the u.s. geological survey is teaming up with the private sector to develop a an alert for earthquakes in your area possibly giving you time to take cover. will carr joins us from los angeles. how much warning can people expect to get? >> reporter: good morning, leah. it could be minutes. it could only be seconds. experts say any amount of time could potentially save thousands

of lives when a big earthquake hits the area. there are hundreds of sensors that unup and down fault lines on the west coast. members of the u.s. geological survey teamed up with private businesses to create a cost effective alert system that uses fault line sensors to warn residents across the region. they created an app and device that would let residents know exactly how long they have until the shaking starts and what they should do in that situation. it is similar to the weather and amber alerts that you get on your phone. >> we can play alerts over speakers, directions to employees. we can shut down gas lines. we can open garage doors so they don't get stuck. fire trucks can get out. ambulances can get out. utilities can get out. >> reporter: just a couple of seconds may not sound a lot but enough time to stop a train, stop surgery or simply get into a safe place when the earthquake hits. leah: this seems great. why don't they have the technology up and running right

now? >> reporter: well the simple answer is money. mexico and japan both already have early warning systems that they have up and running but they have had earthquakes they consider to be devastating in the past. >> it was after the 1985 mexico city earthquake, that killed 10,000 people they built the system. in japan it was after the 1995 kobe earthquake that killed 6400 people they built the system. the united states is trying to build a system before we have the next big killer earthquake. >> reporter: an earthquake hit the napa area earlier this year and caused over $400 million in damage but that didn't have the death on scale of mexico and japan. some say that is why there is not the urgency to get the system up and running immediately. to get it starteds experts need $38 million up front and $16 million a year. they say they got $5 million from congress. some members of congress saying that is a down payment to more

money coming down the line. leah? leah: i'm sure a lot of people would like to see this up and running. try not to get sunburn for us over this holiday season, okay? >> reporter: great weather for us out here today. leah: will carr live in los angeles. leland: will has rough duty out there. in l.a. there are no weather problems. weather is causing a lot of trouble on a very busy travel day. there are powerful storms that turned deadly. forecasters say the worst of them may not be over yet.

>> merry christmas eve to your and yours. >> "happening now" starts right now. >> deadly storms on christmas eve with much more dangerous weather on the way as folks race to make it home forthal -- for the holidays. >> mother nature is making trouble all across the country on the busiest travel days with rain on both coast and snow in the midwest. but in mississippi, four people were killed and dozens hurt after a powerful storm blew through the area leaving thousands of businesses and homes in the