>> matching shirts for the holidays. >> that's awesome. we will see you tomorrow on the "fox & friends" weekend and more coming up now on "fox & friends" only -- on the after the show show. >> good-bye, everybody. >> president obama spending part of his christmas with the troops and at the same time marking end of more than one combat operations in afghanistan. hello, everyone, welcome to "america's newsroom." i'm eric shawn in this morning for bill hemmer. >> i'm leah gabriel in for martha maccallum. so good to see you and all of you as well. the president met with a group marines at a base in hawaii. he thanked them and said afghanistan has a future thanks to their sacrifice. this is set as the u.s. will end its rule there at the end of the year. >> peter doocy has more on this. peter, how was the president first received. >> reporter: the president was received very well.

he was beginning to talk about this is the beginning of the end of the war in afghanistan with the first lady at his side the crowd in the marine base in hawaii erupted >> we have been in continuous war now for 13 years, over 13 years and next week, we will be ending our combat mission in afghanistan. afghanistan has a chance to rebuild its own country. we are safer. it is not going to be a source of terrorist attacks again. >> reporter: but attacks are obviously still a big concern globally as isis continues kidnapping and beheading westerners and doing their best to inspire lone wolves. as the taliban keeps making headlines, most notably two weeks ago with their ruthless assault on a pakistani school that left more than 100 students dead. christmas provide a one-day distraction. the president used it to celebrate the sacrifices made by

it members of the american military. in fact as he wrapped up his remarks he said the best present the country got on this christmas is the best military the world has ever known. >> that's for sure, peter. what is your plan for afghanistan after our combat role end at the first of the year? >> reporter: still will be 10,000 american troops stationed there but not in a combat role. the residual force will work to get afghan security forces up to y can defend their own country. incoming chairman of the senate armed services committee, republican short john mccain was in kabul in christmas. he held meetings with key afghan leaders. eric. >> peter, thanks so much. leah? >> police in new york city are on high alert after a man overheard talking about killing police. it is the sixth such arrest the nypd made since ambush killing two officers last weekend. families and friends of one of those officers, rafael ramos

will gather to remember him and hundreds of officers are expected to gather his wake. jonathan hunt joins us live from queens, new york. jonathan, it will be a somber couple of days for the n.y.p.d. >> it certainly is, leah. the funeral service for the first of two the slain officers, officer rafael ramos, will take place tomorrow. some 25,000 police officers from all over the country expected to fill the streets where i'm standing right now. last night the family of officer ramos went to the spot in brooklyn that has become a makeshift memorial for the two officers. they spent a few minutes there. clearly that was a very emotional time for them. there will be a wake service beginning at 2:00 p.m. here this afternoon for officer ramos. funeral arrangements for his fellow officer, officer wenjian liu are still being made. some of his relatives need to travel from their native china. meantime, a spokesman for the family of officer ramos appealed

to city and police leaders to do all they can to heal divisions. listen here. >> to be able to go back and not only represent the department but the police association but to stand up with all the new york city officers and officers from around the country and to show our support. >> reporter: that officer just one as i say of an estimated 25,000 who will line these streets to pay tribute to officer ramos tomorrow. leah. martha: jonathan, lots of healing that need to happen but what more do we node about these latest threats bense police? >> reporter: well the nypd tells us they have had literally hundreds of threats coming in. they have deemed 40 of those serious enough for, to merit full investigations. one of the latest threats came when a man was overheard on a cell phone talking about killing white cops. a witness to that conversation

reported it to the police. they moved in. they have arrested that man. they then went to his home where they found a number of weapons and a bulletproof vest. so they obviously felt that was a very serious threat. they are taking every threat that comes in to them seriously and as they say they are carrying out dozens of full investigations. these are indeed tense times, not just for the nypd of course, leah, but for police forces across the country. >> jonathan hunt, live in queens. thank you, jonathan. >> protests turned violent in california over march over recent police sheetings. protesters march in the streets of downtown oak lan and smashed 30 windows and several stores were looted. a christmas tree owned by the city, that was damaged too as protests moved through the streets. demonstration lasted 90 minutes. no word if police made any arrests. >> one two punch against taliban

targets in pakistan. suspected u.s. drone strikes on two terrorist compound killed seven militants in waziristan tribal region. pakistani officials telling the associated press that pakistan's military killed the plotter of a recent taliban attack on a school that killed 148 children and teachers. >> take that, pyongyang. movie-goers packing hundreds of theaters nationwide on christmas day to see the controversial film "the interview." sony finally releasing that movie after initially pulling the plug because of threats from those hackers. >> part of it and freedom of speech and all the bickering back and forth. >> really wanted to see it. when i saw it was coming out i bought a ticket last night first chance i got. i want to exercise freedom of speech. i want to dom see it. >> adam housley in los angeles with the very latest on this adam, how is the movie doing on theaters and online now that it is out? >> reporter: doing pretty well,

eric. hard to gauge whether it would have done better had it came out normally. was supposed to be out in 3,000 theaters. old sony hacking happened and got pulled and ended up in a few hundred and available online. check out the online feed on facebook and twitter, they want to make sure americans do watch what they want to watch and can not be told by somebody else what to watch. big theater chains declined to run it initially after the sony hacking scandal because of threats that came down. because of the whole deal to make it available online that hurt some bigger theaters bringing it back. whole criticism for sony to pull it, it got a push to put it back on some independent houses. 331 at least independent theaters brought that movie in. that was important of course. also the streaming as well. analysts estimate, eric, it could potentially bring in as much as four million dollars. nowhere near what "unbroken" for example, brings this holiday

weekend. decent amount when you consider only 300 some odd theaters and online steeling. >> as have ryety says it has legs t can go on and on as long as it stays in the news. original hacking sparked headlines but the off-line did have problems? >> people were warning last week that xbox, sony playstation, youtube's streaming ability, google, youtube google reported being their number one streaming movie yesterday but a lot of people warned it would be streamed so much and a lot of people i know never streamed movies before hey we'll watch this thing because we want to tell north korea to get lost. it tells other hackers to hang out and look at people that don't have computers protected. there were reports of problems with a couple of different issues. for example, xbox and playstation online gaming services were down yesterday afternoon. no idea if that was actually a cause or if these were online, people taking advantage of the situation, eric but there were some issues but what it is also

talking about when you talk to people in the industry this movie may encourage a lot of people to start streaming more. we know streaming services have become popular for tv shows and such. it only expanded significantly over the past year but people out there as i mentioned who never streamed a movie before who streamed a movie to tell pyongyang to get lost basically. interesting to see how this all plays out, eric. right now, sony thinking and some analysts are estimating maybe 3 or $4 million they pulled in for this streaming and limited release. >> adam, who would thought you strike for freedom by watching "the interview." adam housley, thanks so much. >> we're watching james franco and seth rogan blow up the dear leader's head. >> like the founding fathers. thank you, adam. >> reporter: right. >> leah? martha: former florida governor jeb bush parting ways with several companies that he worked with, including one that profited from obamacare. what does this mean as he

considers a white house run? >> it was 10 years ago today that overwhelmingly devastating and destructive tsunami tore through southeast asia. it claimed more than 200,000 lives. coming up we'll look how the countries are remembering and rebuilding. >> plus a christmas miracle as officers scramble to help a woman give birth on a train. >> it was a wow factor for myself. i know i was just at the right place at the right time. >> i have three kid. my way is pregnant again. it was get in there and help. that es what is what we do, trenton police department.

leah: mem more services across asia today marking 10 years since a magnitude 9.1 earthquake open ad fault line deep beneath the indian ocean, triggering a tsunami that wiped away coastal communities in more than a dozen countries. it killed more than 230,000 people amounts part of today's commemoration, survivors and officials gathering across the region from thailand, sri lanka and indonesia remembering the loss with tears and prayers. eric: former florida governor jeb bush it seems is preparing to run for president. he is now cutting ties with some companies he has done business with over the years including one health care firm that made money under obamacare. what do his moves mean for a possible bid for the white house?

juan williams, fox news political analyst, mary catherine ham, hotair.com and fox news contributor. welcome. juan, let me first start with you. you know you will run tore president when you write a book and divest any controversial investments, consulting fees, corporate board memberships. is this a tip off he is running? >> big clue right under the tree for christmas. i think jeb bush is running. not only that you have jeb bush now leaving barclays bank next wednesday. he also just quit, eric. eric: tenet healthcare, which was a big supporter of obamacare, profit the from obamacare. i think he is cutting all of these ties, big business investments to clear the way for a presidential run. eric: mary catherine, what does this mean when they do this? can it be used against him? >> this is a natural part of the process where each candidate basically has to vet himself before he jumps in, right? he is going through what have i been doing might be

objectionable to voters? here is the thing. a lot of stuff that former candidates and former governors get involved with does not sound normal to a lot of people. it is a lot of investing and boards and a lot of rich guy sounding stuff. including hillary clinton who has been involved in a lot of rich guy stuff herself. they have to communicate that and very clearly as we saw mitt romney was not able to and vulnerable to attacks. for the republican party i don't think it is important to divest from business entirely. many democrats and liberals would prefer that. business is icky and don't be involved with it. the problem he runs into with tenet healthcare which is company designed to profit from obamacare, supported obamacare, yes that will be issue with republican voters. eric: what will they do about that? he made $2.3 million over several years through that investment and involvement in tenet healthcare? will they say he is hypocrite? >> they will say he is a

hypocrite. i imagine his critics will and his opponents will. the defense from the bush campaign there are republican governors who joined into the obamacare plan if it is beneficial and he is doing this as a private businessman of the he didn't control the company. in fact, one of the clear distinctions that they are already making he did not control and restructure these investments in the way that romney did. romney ran a hedge fund. made some decisions like closing factories, that later came back to be political liabilities. they're saying, what jeb bush did was simply invest, help people raise money so they could invest in these fund, make some decisions. it was all about business. it was not about the level of control that you could say, oh, well, he was one of the people that hurt our economy or made decisions that caused people to lose their jobs. eric: mary catherine, hillary clinton and her board membership of walmart. that has come under criticism. rich guy, like rich guy toys.

how come can you glob on to the gravy train. when they want to run for president they jump off fast as they can? >> this is part of the mysterious science of american politics because you have to relate to normal people and many people who run for president have not been normal people for quite sometime. hillary clinton would be a great example of that. the walmart board is something she has taken fire for before. when i say it comes to democrats versus republicans the media will be far more interested on bush's foibles or ted cruz's foibles whatever they been involved in the past rather than interested in hillary clinton. that will make a difference as well. eric: wouldn't that be refreshing to have a normal business run for politics at some point. >> naive, probably. >> i agree. eric: one more point, juan. i mentioned at beginning, want to run for president? book, dump all the controversial investments, christmas cards. that is the tip-off. iowa we're told, romney,

governor cruz, senator paul, sending christmas cards. totally be nice. there could be like 25,000 friends. juan, what about that christmas card list? george h.w. bush we know famous must for all these notes and look what happened? >> this is a way to try to pave the way. what you have here, this is real signal to the voters, we're having early election already about organization, about donors and in this case a specific appeal to iowa and iowa religious leaders and evangelicals in the state which will be a real battleground because you've got so many republicans now set to run for president and you've got iowa as the place that will be the sieve. they have to do well to stand out in iowa or else they will be left out of very early start. eric: maybe not just who is the polls but a biggest christmas

card list. that will be the big tipoff. >> that is the organizing factor. i will not hate on christmas cards no matter who sends them but signals there is wide open field on the right. eric: exactly. mary catherine, juan, good to see you. leah? leah: new year is approaching and so are new obama care tax penalties. what if anything, can people do to lessen the blow? eric: president obama is preparing for a huge drawdown of u.s. troops in afghanistan. hasn't stopped the taliban. they are still launching their attacks. does that mean is this right time?

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eric: former president george h.w. bush is doing well but remains in a houston hospital this morning. he was admitted on christmas eve for shortness of breath. president bush is now 90 years old. he was visited on christmas by

his wife barbara and son kneel. he is in great spirits and wishes everyone a happy holiday season. no word when we i will be able to to return home and of course our very best wishes go to the former president. >> new fallout over obamacare as the health care law's penalty provision goes into effect for the first time in 2015. people who decided to skip getting insurance this year will end up paying a fee. those who did buy insurance through one of the online exchange, well, they may end up having a lot more tax forms to complete. ed boo to you ski is -- ed butowsky at chat man investments. >> good to see you. leah: good to see you. the number is three months, right? >> not so much three months. anytime you had throughout 2014 you were not insured you have to a pay a penalty for that. it is actually called, individual shared responsibility payment.

they don't call it a tax still. call it a payment. drives me crazy. shared responsibility. makes you question this law over and over again but you have to pay. now, the answer also is, on your tax return form next year you actually have to check a box saying you did have insurance, okay? if you checked the box and you did not have insurance you commit ad federal crime. if you checked that box and you didn't have insurance you have a big problem coming your way. leah: for some this is coming down to a lot more than having to check a box, right? >> anybody who got subsidies. if you got a bonus at the end of the year, or if you got a raise during the year, okay, some people got some raises as their jobs got better and things got better to them but they were getting subsidies that subsidy is going to have changed. because you calculated the actual subsidy based on a certain amount of money you were making, if that amount of money increased because of a bonus or

you got a raise, you might have to go in and recalculate things. you might actually owe money. this is confusing. >> break it down. what do people need to know? >> wealth advisors or cpas don't understand. there are a lot of websites out there. you don't know which website is truthful or which website is politically motivated. best thing to do is call the irs. guess what? even if the chief of the irs said if you call you will not get through. call back again and again. you better star applying yourself to figure out what you owe, what you don't owe before you file that tax return for next year because if you call today, you might have, you might be on hold for two or three hours. you might hang up. but that doesn't mean you're not still responsible. when you say figure it out, everyone has to figure it out for themselves. here's the other thing of the as you know through 2014 the rules kept changing. they made ifs, and, buts and what if. nobody can tell you what you exactly need to do because your

personal situation is difficult. it is difficult but if you do it wrong it is a federal crime. you have to figure it out quickly. leah: the irs commissioner admitted because of budget constraints they will not be fully staffed to answer people's call. i might get a courtesy hang up. >> they will say call back another time, right? if you go to the website, probably best thing you can do go to informational website, go to the government website to learn more about it. but the point of all of this is it is confusing but because we live in this country we now have this shared responsibility and we have a shared responsibility payment if you didn't have that insurance. so you must get knowledgeable quickly and a lot of people don't know where to go. go the irs if you can. leah: some people may have exemptions they need to know about. i'm hearing some of the most confusing ones might be foreclosures, death in the family. you have to fill out paper. >> there is another form. you have one form. now there is another form with those ifs, and and buts.

you might in a lot of cases most people don't have the situation. they fill out and check a box say i'm covered, end of story. but a lot of people do have extenuating circumstances. they either got a raise or bonus, remember that, that will change how much you pot in subsidies. you might have to pay more money in. foreclosure or death in the family, so on, there is another form you have to get to do that. again there is not too much clarity on the subject but you need to be clear when you fill out the forms next year. leah: lots of good information to help us stay out of trouble. ed, thanks for being here. >> thanks. leah: eric? eric: major developments in the v. ascandal. have you heard about this? a shocking new report shed light about how long top officials knew about the deadly patient backlogs before they made it all public. plus this. leah: america's unions struggling after years of losing members. now president obama's controversial immigration move

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leah: new details this morning in the scandal at the va and long top officials knew about the props there. "the new york times" is reporting top leaders in washington knew about massive patient backlogs at a va hospital in phoenix years before the scandal ever became public. doug mckelway is live in washington. why are we just learning about this now? >> reporter: it is all coming to light with documents released in the case of sharon hellman who is suing to get her job back after being fired in late november. "new york times" reports that sworn statements by susan bowers who oversaw facilities in the western u.s., even before sharon hellman was ap.ed to her job as director in phoenix an audit showed the hospital was out of

compliance because it didn't put patients waiting on electronic list. bowers further stated in sworn documents she was pressured by her bosses in washington to report the hospital was in compliance after she submitted reports says it was not. "the times" also reports that bowers said she briefed va secretary eric shinseki many times about the patient backlog but her pleas were largely ignored because she was told there was no money to lease more space to handle all the backlogs. >> doug, what is the latest with sharon hellman's effort to get her job back? >> reporter: "the new york time" reports just this week an administrative law judge found it was quote, more likely than not, some senior agency leaders were aware or should have been of nationwide problems getting veterans scheduled for timely appointments. the judge, steven mish, also found the va didn't provide enough evidence that hellman should have been fired over

conditions in phoenix but upheld her firing anyway on the ground she took favors from a health care industry consultant. leah? leah: doug mckelway in washington. thank you, doug. eric: seems america's struggling labor unions are getting set to take advantage of president obama's executive action on immigration. labor leaders are launching a new recruiting push, possibly offering work permits to some four million immigrants who entered our country illegally. who until now are reluctant to join out of fear or retaliation. so is the president's executive order a big christmas gift to his union supporters? brian york, chief washington correspondent for the "washington examiner" joins us and fox news contributor. byron, always great to see you. >> good morning, eric. eric: do these soon to be i guess legals offer a big recruiting pool for american labor? >> they do. unions have been traditionally ambivalent about immigration. on one hand admitting large

numbers of unskilled immigrants would have downward pressure on wages especially at the lower end. on the other hand their potential members and most importantly potential dues payers. president obama's action i think is all positive for them because it applies to immigrants who are already here. and in many cases already working. so what this means is, the unions would get the benefit in two-ways. if be newly legalized immigrants would join unions of course they would be paying dues. even though they can't vote, they're not citizens, they could provide some of the muscle, political muscle unions flex during campaigns. they could knock on doors, work in phone banks, do all sorts of things that unions do in every election cycle. eric: do you think the president did part of this on purpose for this? >> i think this is one of the benefits that the president has always known would happen. the democrats worked very hard

to get the unions on board for the "gang of eight" to comprehensive reform bill. because remember back in 2007 when immigration reform died on capitol hi, the unions pretty much killed it. this time in 2013 they did get them on board in part by promising all sorts of wages and concessions especially for agricultural workers. but that has not become law as we know. the house republicans declined to pass that. so the president was looking for a way to strengthen union support. you have to remember, unions, in the private sector have been going downhill for decades and decades. at the moment 6.7% of the private sector workforce is unionized. all-time low. eric: yeah, we've seen an incredible decline in that. it was all-time high, 35% or so of government workers, public unions. you raise a good point. what changed? caesar chavez, the great union hero, he was savagely and after

individually anti-illegal immigrant because that threatened jobs of his members of the farmworkers. what happened? >> right. well, what has happened is, you saw that as recently as 2007, not very long ago. if you look at the "gang of eight" bill, it makes all sorts of provisions for wages for workers. the "gang of eight" bill is in such detail that it actually sets the hourly wages of fruit sorters in the southwest for 2016. i mean it's something that the unions worked very hard with mostly democrats who drafted that bill to get those unions on board because they realized that such a bill would not have passed the senate, much less the house, if unions had not been on board. eric: so it seems that what unions are using their political muscle and influence to actually enshrine labor contracts specifics through the congress

of the united states? >> absolutely. if it had become law it would have done just that, but since it has not become law, this is a way the president's unilateral action on immigration to actually get some of the benefits the democrats hoped to achieve through comprehensive immigration reform. it reaps some of those political benefits for democrats. remember, the unions that are working hardest for what you just talked about, that is, signing up members who will be affected by the president's unilateral immigration action, those unions are unions like the service employees international union and united food and commercial workers union. these are unions who have a lot of low skilled members who want more members. and the president's action will help them get there. eric: and clearly, how will this affect them politically, voting democratic over republican? >> well there is two ways about it. one it has an immediate effect because even though the

immigrants affected are not formally legal, they're not on a path to citizenship and they can not vote right now they do help unions at election time in terms of all of the volunteer activities like phone banks and door-knocking that unions do and the second thing is i think that the unions believe that these immigrants will ultimately be on a path to citizenship. i think that they hope that they will ultimately vote democrat. so there is a benefit now and there is a long term benefit. eric: byron york. fascinating. we'll see how it shakes out in the new year. >> thank you, eric. eric: absolutely. >> president obama marking the end of combat operations in afghanistan telling returning marines that we are safer now than we were before the war began. so is that really the case? eric: a get that, well, you know, simply couldn't wait. look at this. a woman goes into labor on that crowded train. >> we were there doing what we

do. we were just there to help people, in any kind of way, shape or form they called me. because i make the best chicken noodle soup. for every way you make chicken noodle soup, make it delicious with swanson®.

eric: family in pennsylvania getting three special presents this christmas, triplets. the babies, two girls and one boy, were born christmas morning and two months ahead of schedule. doctors say they are completely healthy and the proud parents say they are looking forward to taking them home. >> i'm excited. i want to get them home after courtney had them for so long,

carrying them around and i i wat to get them home and have her home since they're healthy. eric: dad said there are two older siblings at home who can't wait to meet their new siblings. leah: with troops returning from afghanistan president obama said we're safer now before the 9/11 attacks and afghanistan war as well. as we prepare to end combat operations in afghanistan next week is that really the case? jillian turner a former national security staffer for both president bush and obama and fox news contributor. good to see you. >> thank you. leah: i deployed in the military to afghanistan in 2008. this has been a very deadly year for afghanistan, for civilians in afghanistan. i know that it is less permissive now than it was when i was there. >> yeah, absolutely. i certainly, you know, commend the extraordinaire efforts of our armed forces and agree with president obama's appreciative sentiment here but from a national security perspective

there is very little evidence to support the claim that we're safer today than we were 13 years ago. the united states is, as you know, certainly understand a great deal more about asymmetric threats now but at the same time, terrorist organizations continue to proliferate across the middle east and africa and radical islam is on the rise. we've seen this from al qaeda and its offshoots to organizations like boko haram in nigeria and al-shabaab in somalia. leah: so as we end the combat operations there, a lot of people compare afghanistan to iraq. i know there is a lot of differences but what are some similarities we're concerned about as we move forward? >> you know counterterrorism analysts are very concerned about, there is, despite this sort of perceived safety and what that amounts to, there is this pattern emerging where international security forces will squeeze terrorist strongholds and drain them of their operatives.

those operatives in turn have a tendency to scatter. but what happens subsequently is they regroup and reemerge in neighboring countries. we've seen isis do this in recent months across iraq and syria. leah: you talk about things reemerging you know in pakistan we saw this attack on the school killing nearly 150 people, mostly children. senator mccain has been in afghanistan over the holidays and he is basically saying unless the u.s. leaves a stablizing force and the tie-down is drawn to conditions on the ground we'll see more of those in afghanistan. >> yeah, i believe senator mccain really thinks that the plan to leave behind some 10,000 800 of ground troops to train and advise is completely inadequate. you know i would say that, we could argue that afghanistan, you know, kind of isolated manner is anomaly safer today than it was in 2001 by virtue of

the fact that we've squeezed a lot of taliban insurgents out of the country. but the important question here is not just, is afghanistan safer today but, what is the region look like? what do afghanistan's neighbors look like? what do americans, what does our safety look like both abroad in the middle east and here at home. leah: yeah, i think a lot of people realize a part of the strategy to get the neighboring countries to have some skin in the game here and take ownership of the region. completely understood as we know. the general that was in southwest regional command in afghanistan before he turned camp over to afghans, they have to want it more than we do. do they? >> well, that question remains to be seen. you know by all accounts the afghan security forces have done, you know, sort of a decent job of stepping up to the plate here. but you know, we have to recall

that this perceived safety has come at a tremendous cost to the american people. 13 years later, over a trillion u.s. dollars and most detrimental of all, 2200 lives lost in this conflict. so when we're weighing cost benefits here that needs to be taken into account as well. leah: what will happen to the country as the aid starts to trickle down? nearly, more than $100 billion of aid has gone into afghanistan mostly from the u.s. nearly 500 million, for example, on 20 transport planes for afghan air force but in the past year most of those were turned to scrap metal. >> yeah. as attention shifts in sort of refocus in the middle east, we're looking at iraq and syria as really new frontiers for, no longer called the war on terrorism but whatever you like to call it. you know, what has to accompany this is funding which the

congress has to approve and that's where ultimately we're kind of geared up for some difficulty here. i think that the way the president's managed the, initially when he came into office first the surge in afghanistan, now the drawdown, especially something gop leadership has not been supportive of. so as he looking to kind of re-engage in certain parts of iraq and now syria that's something that will cause a lot of contention. leah: what do you see happening in the region as we move out of the region and possible power vacuums kind of develop there? >> well that's one of the questions that the administration has been grappling with particularly with countries, allied countries in the middle east like turkey who are really concerned about ousting the assad regime from power before or in tandem with the fight against isis. this administration has made it very clear that a power vacuum

resulting from the ousting of assad in syria would make that consider considerably more dangerous than it is now. so that's definitely, no matter where you come out on this issue, that is something we need to think long and hard about as we sort of topple regimes, what comes, what flowers in their aftermath? what's the next step? winning the peace so to speak. leah: jillian turner, thanks so much for joining us. good insight. >> thank you. eric: well, how do you rein in kim jong-un? a new historic agreement has been reached trying to do that, keeping closer tabs on increasing threats in north korea and a new agreement involves south korea, japan, joining forces with us. leah: a boy with a rare and dangerous illness gets to live out his lifelong dream. >> i'm going to be big and strong and be like one of the policemen. and now that is coming true.

>> the kansas city police department giving an ailing teen his christmas wish. >> i do solemnly swear i will support the constitution, the laws of the united states, and the state of missouri, so help me god. >> i do. [applause] >> hes has suffered from sickle cell anemia since he was a baby. but on christmas day he was sworn in as an officer for the day. >> i'm going to grow up and be big and strong and be like one of the policemen. now it is coming true. my favorite part was riding in the police car with the police officers. with the real once. and, just helping, and helping the kids. leah: thompson was presented with a badge and saluted with a

helicopter flyover. he also helped solve the case of some stolen christmas presents. they were meant for kids at childrens mercy hospital. you know, he really looked great in the uniform, didn't he? eric: absolutely fantastic. spirit and caring being with police officers. they showed up at his home, a secret santa elf with a note from the mayor of kansas city. they didn't know this was going to happen. his mother was just in tears. absolutely wonderful. >> i love he helped solve a crime too. eric: perfect. speaking of police, two transit police officers deliver ad christmas gift to one expectant mother. happened in a subway train in philadelphia when she suddenly went into labor. the officers boarded that train, saw the baby was already on its way and resorted to the training that they have when these things happen. rick leventhal in our new york city newsroom with wite latest on this christmas miracle. >> reporter: indeed, eric. the separate at that train was packed as it approached center city at 6:00 p.m., peep were

moving away from the woman who witnesses say was screaming and moaning, she yells, philly, my baby is coming. cameras captured the special delivery. this photo was a from a musician. this miracle made in part by transit police officers who were at the police station alerted one woman was in labor. one cop yelled to the officers, everyone get your gloves on. they raced to the crowded car and went to work. >> we delivered a baby for her like her christmas present. it's a blessing an present for myself. this is the first time i experienced something like this. >> reporter: that sergeant told him said people told him there would be crazy days like this. he didn't think it would be on christmas. eric: what a miracle. be a slewsly fabulous. how are mother and child are doing? >> reporter: as far as we know the mother and daughter are in good condition at the university hospital. they were brought there by paramedic kick dicks last night. we don't know if the baby's

size. the baby popped into the officer's hand soon after they arrived and cleared out room around the woman who was already doing breathing exercises. there was some concern because the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby's neck but they were able to unravel it quickly. >> we're there doing what we need to do. to help people in any way, shape or form that comes. >> reporter: witnesses say there were a lot of tears on the train and city hall subway platform a great gift for the mother and that all made it possible. eric: rick, thank you very much. what a special story. police officers are really, you don't know what is going to happen. >> i ride the subway every day here in new york city. somebody starts moaning and making weird noises people are going to move away. i love this was such a nice surprise. they were able to get umbilical cord unwrapped and safe delivery. so wonderful. eric: wonder what they name the baby? leah: that's a great question. check this out. a drone strike in pakistan striking a number of terrorists.

we'll have a live report from the pentagon. that's ahead. eric: new troubles for obamacare after one insurance company in one state, welling going belly-up. folks are forced to find coverage elsewhere. they said this wouldn't happen. could it be a sign of things to come?

eric: president obama marks the upcoming close of the u.s. combat mission in afghanistan. he's visiting troops in hawaii on christmas day, and when he was there, the president thanked

them for their service as we prepare to officially end our fighting role in afghanistan after 13 years of conflict there. welcome to a brand new hour of "america's newsroom," i'm eric shawn in for bill hemmer today. leah: i'm leah gabriel, the president and first lady thanking men and women of the armed forces for making the world safer and giving afghanistan a chance to rebuild. eric: dan springer is covering the president in hawaii where he is live in an early morning honolulu. dan, how are you, and what does the president have to say about this? >> reporter: good morning, it is early here, eric. president obama, as you know, visits with the troops every year here this hawaii, but this year was a little different as he took the opportunity to put a wrap on this long, 13-year war in afghanistan. as everyone know, the longest war in u.s. history. mr. obama and the first lady

went to marine corps base hawaii to wish the troops a merry christmas. on christmas eve he placed a phone call to afghanistan to thank the soldiers who are still deployed there for their service. all but 13,500 of them will be coming home after dis31st, and the president -- december 31st, and the president spoke about the end of the war. >> the world is safer, it's more peaceful, it's more prosperous, and our homeland is more protected because of you and because of the sacrifices you make. >> reporter: and mr. obama also said what he's thankful for on this christmas is to have the greatest military in the world. mark: dan, you mentioned the president trying to put a wrap on this war. taliban only increasing their attacks, they are still out there, and many critics think the government of afghanistan can't fight back against them. what are they saying about the administration's change in direction.

>> >> reporter: well, that's right. yeah. all you have to do is look at the news, eric, and see that the taliban is most certainly still a threat, especially to the people of afghanistan and in the region. attacks on civilians are actually up this year, and the country is close to having 10,000 people killed this year, the most since the u.n. began keeping track of those stats in 2008. we also just saw that that horrific attack by the taliban on the school in nearby pakistan, so there are plenty of republicans and regional, perts who worry about the pull -- experts who worry about the pullout and what that will mean next. mr. obama wanted to take out more troops, but we have to have that 13,500 because of what's happening with the taliban in afghanistan and also nearby in iraq with isis. eric? eric: all right, dan. thanks so much. we'll have a lot more throughout the hour. ♪ ♪ leah: a new u.s. drone strike targeting the taliban in pakistan. two missiles hitting a compound

in the innovate west tribal -- northwest tribal areas and also striking back against the alleged planner of that devastating attack on a school last week that killed 148 people, most of them children. national security correspondent jennifer driven where is -- griffin is life at the pentagon. >> reporter: good morning, ya. pakistani officials are confirming there were those two drone strikes in a part of northwestern pakistan where many of the taliban fighters thought to be responsible for the attack on the school that left 148 -- most of them children, as you mentioned -- members of pakistan's armed forces, that's where these fighters had fled. the valley is an area where al-qaeda and taliban have taken refuge for years. there were two strikes, one of them hit a vehicle, four uzbek fighters were killed. the second strike included two

missiles fired into a compound where a known taliban leader was reported to be hiding. we have no independent confirmation of these strikes which reportedly killed nine people and were believed to be carried out by u.s. drones, leah. leah: it's been rough going between pakistan and the u.s. government since the bin laden raid, so has cooperation improved in recent months? >> reporter: it's actually increased dramatically, especially in terms of drone strikes since june of this year when talks between islamabad and the pakistani taliban broke down, and pakistan's prime minister ordered the pakistani army to finally enter north waziristan which had been a safe haven for al-qaeda and the taliban for 13 years. the u.s. had been asking pakistan to rout out terrorist, and pakistan had been worried about sump an operation -- such an operation. killing 2100 militants.

again, there is no way to verify those claim, but what you are seeing are u.s. drones helping pakistan from the air squeeze the taliban from above with the hopes of routing them before more u.s. forces leave afghanistan. leah: it's going to take teamwork. jennifer given in washington. eric: a terror attack has been foiled in kosovo. police in the capital saying they've arrested the driver 06 a car that was packed with explosives. no word yet on the suspect's background, but authorities this have been keeping a close eye on islamic radicals who they fear may be planning attacks in support of isis. ♪ eric: and there's new troubles for the health care law put in the coverage of some 120,000 folks at risk. the state of iowa now taking over a health care insurer amid deep financial problems for that cooperative. customers are being told to find new carriers. is this a sign of things to come

when it comes to obamacare nationwide? mike warren is a staff writer for the weekly standard and joins us now. this is really troubling because the president said the rates would go down, we'd get to keep our doctor, but now you have this case in iowa where this one co-op is going bust. >> yeah. it's really bad news for those 120,000 customers in iowa who now have to scramble at the end of the year here and find new insurance. they've got to go on these oh insurance companies in -- other insurance companies in iowa and that really undermines those two stated goals of obamacare which was insure the uninsured and do that without disrupting anybody else's health insurance or health care coverage. i mean, this is a pretty big disruption for those 120,000 people. eric: what happened with this co-op? it's called coopportunity health, and it effects people in iowa and nebraska too. so you're deeming with two -- dealing with two states. >> that's right. this health care co-op was created after a provision in obamacare that was sort of a

compromise between the single payer government insurance folks in congress and the more free market types. this was supposed to be a nice healthy come propoise, a healthy company. $146 million that the federal government was supporting this company. it was new in the marketplace, it didn't really understand health insurance. it's only about two years old. and, actually, this year pulled out of the iowa state medicaid program because it was losing money on those people. so they had to end up raising insurance premiums on the remaining customers who were still buying, and it ended up being just a complete mess. they don't have enough money to finish out 2015, and so that's why you're seeing this development here. eric: yeah. the customers are being told they've got to get new policies by february 15th for next year. it's not going to affect other co-ops, they don't foresee problems throughout the country, but do you buy that? >> it's a little too soon to tell. you know, this is one of these

things, iowa's a small state, a small marketplace, maybe it's a canary in the coal mine for some co-ops in some larger states that maybe can put off, uni, troubles for another -- you know, troubles for another year or so. but i think it's important to look at what happens in the iowa insurance market. these insurance market, you know, there's sort of a bubble within each state, and if this is happening to this particular company and all these folks, these 120,000 people have to go to other company, that's going the disrupt a lot of other insurance companies as well. so i think we have to watch that, and i think that will be indicative of what could happen in other states. i guess you sort of have to take the federal officials at their word until we see information otherwise. but i would be wary of federal officials sort of supporting this law because every single time we come up here, there's some new problem with it. mark: oh, man, i mean, one thing after the other. then we've got the push of so many patients into medicaid.

now we're being told there might be enough doctors to cover anybody. >> yeah, it's a problem. this is a problem with this health insurance co-op. they realize taking on these mid decade patients -- medicaid patients was actually losing them money. i think you're seeing ripple effects across the market, and i think when you asked that question of whether or not other co-ops will fall, i think we have to wait and see if the ripple effects will hit those states as well. eric: what happens if so many people go into obamacare and medicaid, and they just don't have the physicians to cover them all? what could the waits be like? what could the coverage be like? what could the medical care for our country be like if this's what we could face? >> i think we're talking about long lines, long wait times. there's a lot of specialists who were basically getting out of the market because they weren't getting paid enough by insurance companies. so a lot of sort of ob/gyns

were getting out of the obstetrician market and becoming gynecologists, and that, of course, increases wait times. there's fewer doctors for people, and they've got to see more people. they're not getting paid as much. i think it could be a real disaster, and i think the story in iowa is a perfect example of how something small could create larger problems down the world. eric: at the time of the employer mandate and other issues still to come. mike warren, thanks so much for joining us this morning. leah: a historic move in asia, what leaders are now doing about the growing threat posed by kim jong un's regime in north korea. eric: and a deadly attack on an oil facility in libya. leah: and more liberals pushing for senator elizabeth warren to run for president. our political panel will be here to weigh in.

eric: a rocket attack in libya has sent an oil storage taj on fire. rival groups fight for control of that country's biggest export terminal. the facility was shut down weeks ago amid all the fighting by armed factions tied to the competing governments in libya. the country has had two separate governments since august when rebels seized tripoli and tried to set up their own

administration. ♪ ♪ leah: a first of its kind deal now being reached, south korea and ya is pan joining with the u.s. in an agreement to share intelligence on north korea's nuclear and missile programs enabling the three countries to respond swiftly to growing threats by kim jong un's regime. what will this mean? nile gardiner, director of the margaret that much everybody -- margaret thatcher center. i can't say what the answer is, but the question was always where is north korea on nukes. how does this change things? >> well, i think it's a very significant development. this is a first trilateral arrangement between washington, seoul and tokyo with regard to intelligence sharing. in order to head off the threat posed by north korea's nuclear and missile programs. and since the first time the

three countries have collaborated for historical and territorial reasons, the japanese and south koreans have resisted this kind of agreement in the past. but the development of north korea's nuclear program has been so rapid in its pace in recent years that the south koreans and the japanese now have decided to enter into this historic agreement which i think will be very, very important in terms of allowing the united states and asia to head off the north korean threat. leah: the rhetoric is always so forceful and saber rattling as well when it comes to nukes, do you think the north koreans could potentially act irrationally as it seems as though they sometimes do? >> yes, i think so. and it was recently announced actually by the command of u.s. forces in south korea that north korea now has the capability to put a nuclear warhead on a ballistic missile.

the north koreans have the ability to strike against key u.s. allies in asia, but also against the united states itself, and this reinforces the need for the united states to enhance its own missile defenses against the north korean threat and also against the rising iranian threat as well. s.d so these are extremely it's vital that the united states projects clear leadership and strength in asia. north korea is an extremely dangerous threat. the regime in pyongyang as we've seen recently with the cyber attacks against the united states, this is a regime that is hell bent actually on undermining american interests across the world. this is an extremely dangerous regime that has to be met really with strength and determination by the free world. leah: and it's also known as a ruthless regime. we saw kim jong un put to death his own uncle, reports of that as well as the uncle's family because of power issues there in

north korea. but, you know, you mentioned the cyber attacks. that's a lot different than the concern of nuclear weapons. >> yes, that's right. i think the cyber attacks is clearly an act of international terrorism by the north korean regime which is one of the key reasons they need to be put back on the list of state sponsors or terrorism. but you're right. the nuclear threat is a totally different game here. it's on a different level. and let's be certain about this, north korea poses a direct nuclear threat to the united states and to u.s. allies in the region. everything must be done in order to rein in north korea. this is a barbaric and brutal regime that is quite capable of launching a nuclear attack not only in the region, but also against the united states itself. and, there therefore, certainlye united states needs to be significantly strengthening its missile defense, an increase in defense spending and, of course, bolstering u.s. allies in the

region, especially south korea and japan. leah: so it's good that we're expanding those intelligence-sharing agreements, certainly. >> absolutely. leah: now terrorism traditionally refers to violent physical attacks rather than hacking, so why are people saying that because of the cyber attack or this cyber hacking on a private company this needs to be taken to the level of putting north korea on the list of state sponsored terrorists? >> well, that's a very good question, and we have to acknowledge the fact here that the north koreans not only launched a cyber attack, but they also directly threatened terrorist attacks against, for example, cinemas showing "the interview" film. it directly threatened, frankly, the lives of u.s. citizens here. this is an act of terrorism and, therefore, north korea thoroughly deserves to be placed back on that list of state respond -- sponsors or terror. and let's not forget as well that north korea has something like 3,000 so-called cyber

warriors working on hacking attempts against the united states. so this is a regime that certainly means business in terms of cyber terrorism. it's also a regime that does not hesitate, frankly, to threaten the lives of u.s. suicides themselves. this is -- u.s. citizens themselves. leah: the good news is the folks at the nsa mean business as well. thanks so much, nils gardener. >> my pleasure, thank you. eric: last week's deadly ambush of new york city's two police officers, we'll tell you about the connection between one of the fallen officers and another of new york's finest. leah: plus, a snowy holiday surprise in the south pacific. so ally bank really has no hidden fees on savings accounts? that's right. it's just that i'm worried about you know "hidden things..." ok, why's that? no hidden fees, from the bank where no branches equals great rates.

♪ ♪ eric: heartbreak and mourning continue today in new york city as it braces for the massive funeral tomorrow of a fallen police officer. more than 25,000 fellow officers from are across the country are expected to attend along with vice president joe biden. rafael ramos will be laid to rest, one of the two police officers who were killed in last week's deadly shooting. two of new york's finest protecting the public ambushed and killed execution style while they were sitting in their patrol car in brooklyn. the death of officer ramos hits especially close to home in staten island, the other borough of new york, because before joining the nypd, ramos was a safety officer at a school that was named after another officer who was also ambushed in cold blood. killed in the line of duty, new york city police officer rocco laurie gunned down in 1972, more than 40 years ago. his memory and honor kept alive with the rocco laurie foundation. joining us now is someone who

knows the story very well, a former new york congressman of staten island. congressman, thank you for coming. >> thank you, eric. eric: it is so tragic and such a heartbreaking bond that ramos was so well known and liked at the rocco laurie school named after a famous case that's so very similar, ambushed in cold blood by an insane maniac who in laurie's case were part of the black liberation army. >> yeah. it's a sad and tragic story and similarities and the parallels are just so obvious. you know, rocco laurie was a hero on stat pen island and kept -- staten aloond, and his memory's kept alive by many members of the rocco laurie foundation. he served in the marine corp., left the marines and joined with his partner who was in the marine corps with him who was african-american. and both he and his partner were gunned down and killed. and as a result, you had a situation at the time where climate was allowed to happen.

if you remember the black liberation army went on a national rampage, really threatening to kill cops and successfully, sadly, killing them. and the similarity today is that it's almost the same type of atmosphere that exists where nypd officers and police officers are the targets. instead of being the ones who protect us, an essential part of this compact of a free society, they're the ones being targeted. so the world is upside down. so the similarity and the connection is more pronounce inside that officer ramos, as you mentioned, worked as a school safety officer named after rocco laurie on staten island. then wanted to serve the public, put his life on the line and tragically lost his life protecting you and me and all of us by, frankly, some animal. it's an amazing story. eric: yeah. the school is now going to have the ramos award which they will give to an eighth t grader who is graduating and $1,000 in honor of ramos.

foster and laurie, they're walking down the street in the east village, and three members of the black liberation member go past them, turn around and shoot them in the back. these two american hero, new york's finest, 1972 shot dead by the black liberation army extremists and militants. and you talked about the atmosphere. let me read you a quote at the staten island advance that adelaide laurie, his widow, said. if our leaders don't do something to fix the racial divide we have, i don't know what's going to happen. it's so sad that it seems to be reverting back to the way it was. we all lived this, you lived this. do you fear that with a lot of the torment and some of the atmosphere that's going on now that it could go back to that point when we had these assassinations of police officers and this threat to our civilized and moral order? >> absolutely. i feel that unless the appropriate response from leaders at all levels of government -- from the mayor up to the president of the united states, frankly -- unless they step in and remind and reaffirm

to the american people, the people of new york that the police officers are there to protect us, that we have a compact through free people through elections to say we want public safety paramount, we want to insure that every citizen is entitled to the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. and the way we have done that for the last 200 years is to empower police officers to keep us safe. now what's happened, i think, is too many very, very small, vocal minority have basically said we want to undermine that compact, undo the thing that has kept the country and the city safe for the last 25, 30 years. and i think what's happened is, frankly, you see it in social media, throughout the protests in new york city. rather than step back and say, you know what, folks? let's take a timeout. we have two new york city officers who were executed in cold blood. instead what we hear is let the people protest, let them continue, and i fear, my fear is it will grow, continue to grow and get out of control. and i think it's poor judgment.

and whether you're in manhattan or minnesota, frankly, the american people get it. and i don't think that the political response has been appropriate in light of this, these executions. eric: and finally, quickly, i was walking down the street through the protests the other night here in manhattan, and there were parts of them yelling kkk, how many kids did you kill today, and right around them are police officers protecting their right for free expression. should they stop at least for a few days? you have the funeral tomorrow and then, of course, the other funeral of officer liu still to come. >> you would think at a certain level of decency they would understand that. out of respect for the families, officer rah not left behind -- ramos left behind a 13-year-old son. wouldn't they have just a shred of decency and work toward a workable, positive solution? instead you still hear the same hot rhetoric. two weeks ago they were protesting, chanting what do we want? dead cops. tragically, they got two of them. and my concern is it won't stop.

i think the political leadership needs to step in and do the right thing and stop this from happening and, frankly, protect all of us and especially the brave men and women of the new york city police department. eric: they're out there today, day and night, protecting us. thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> my pleasure, eric. leah: coming up, a rebellion on the left is placing hundt and senator -- and senator elizabeth warren on a collision course. erik erik plus, pinball, yeah, it's back. gaining in pop lair i think. we'll tell you about that.

♪ ♪ leah: as hillary clinton gears up for a possible bid to run for president, she is facing a rebellion on left, losing support among liberals who want massachusetts senator elizabeth warren to jump in the race. progressive groups are practically begging her to run if only to move the campaign dialogue to the left. lisa booth is senior director of

blackrock group, and jessica tarlove is a senior political strategist. good day to both of you. lisa, she's said again and again she's not going to run. >> she has. but you're absolutely right to highlight the fact that there is this rift in the democrat party. hillary clinton's going to have a lot of problems with her base, we've already seen it. groups like democracy for america and moveon.org are actively campaigning for elizabeth warren to run s and this represents a bigger problem for the party. the 2014 election saw the end of the moderate democrat. and this is going to represent a big problem for them into the 2016 election and next congress. we got a little taste of this during the recent budget fight over the $1.1 trillion spending bill. you had elizabeth warren and nancy pelosi on one side and steny hoyer and president obama on the other. these problems are going to increase in the days ahead.

leah: lisa, you say it's good to have a competitive primary going into the general election, so do you agree? >> i agree it's always good to have competition. i think that's what democracy's all about. i wouldn't say, though, this is a rift that can't be sod, and i think -- solved, and i think elizabeth warren and hillary clinton both want what's best for the party, and i think we should trust elizabeth warren as well fact that she's saying she's not running at least for now and she's going to be supportive of what the party puts forward. something she emphasizes that hillary clinton will have to deal with and add to her own platform. i feel like we could find a meeting of minds and move forward with one strong candidate. leah: lisa, you mentioned the $1.1 trillion spending bill, and elizabeth warren was known for having pushed back against rollback of the dodd-frank law. she's known for not necessarily tow iing the party line. >> well, i think what she represents is not good for america. what she represents is higher

taxes on americans, she represents obamacare that's punishing small businesses and americans, and those aren't positive things for america. but to touch on what jessica said, the problem that the democrats are going to face is that the party's represented by liberals now. the benefit of republicans right now and the beauty of the party is we're becoming this big tent party, a more diverse party. we've got conservatives like ted cruz ors we've got moderates like john mccain, we've got libertarians like rand paul, and we've also become a more diverse party. the 2014 election saw the re-election of tim scott, mia love in and even someone like the youngest woman serving in congress. so democrats have real problems on their hand, the fact that they're a shrinking party, and the republican party's a growing one. leah: jessica, is this true? we've seen video of hillary clinton speaking to half empty rooms. >> i know we've seen video of that, and those things happen. hillary clinton is 50 points ahead of everybody in the field. that means something.

i know she slipped ten points lately or in a recent abc poll, but that doesn't mean she's out of this or is going to become unpopular. i want to speak to the point about the gop being a tent party at this point. they're more divided than ever. mitch mcconnell has a huge problem on his hands trying to unify that party. yeah, you have a ted cruz, and he's out there saying let's shut town the government again. -- shut down the government again. that's complete tally unhealthy, not good for america, and i really disagree with your point there. lee rhee okay. so, you know, lisa, actually, elizabeth warren has not said that she's going to run, but jim webb has. >> right. he actually, he absolutely has. you know, i don't really know how much of a threat he faces to hillary clinton, but, you know, i do think she's going to have problems on her hand. hillary clinton's not as strong a candidate as everybody likes to say she is. she owns president obama's failed agenda and one that was just soundly rejected in the 2014 election. hillarycare paveed the the way

for obamacare, and she's directly responsible to the obama administration's failed foreign policy record. leah: okay. so, jessica, i said that jim webb's running, but what he actually said is he's launching a -- >> just like jeb bush. it's a precursor. if people like him, he's going to go. leah: i'm sorry, go ahead? >> it's testing the water, right? jim webb has expressed interest before, and i think he has the populism to him and also the foreign policy experience. that, i mean, these things are hugely important, but i don't think that he's a big challenge to hillary clinton in the end, no. leah: okay. lisa and jessica, we will see how things go. thanks so much for joining us today. >> thank you, leah. eric: you know, it's a white christmas in parts of colorado after a major snowstorm there. just take a look at that scene. it's in denver where people could see up to eight inches of snow and the rockies even more, a foot of snow might 235u8 in some places. meteorologist mara molina is

live in the fox extreme weather center. >> reporter: hi. it's been extreme the past couple of days, a number of storm systems impacting the country. you mentioned snow in colorado. there are reports of already 20 inches of snow in some of the higher elevations out there across the colorado rockies, so incredible stuff. the storm system really packing a punch bringing in that white christmas for many areas across the rockies. the day after we're still seeing that snow in places like new mexico and still coming down across portions of colorado. some of it even starting to move into western parts of nebraska and also cross portions of kansas. parts of the plains looking at snow, and it's going to be a very quick hit. by saturday morning most of the snow's going to be out of places like nebraska and kansas, but it's going to have to moved into portions of the great lakes. parts of wisconsin, and iowa looking at that. take a look at this, these are showers and storms, and some of these storms across parts of the gulf coast including louisiana,

parts of mississippi could be looking at a round of isolate ared severe weather with these storms not only on saturday, but also on sunday. so that will be something to watch for. the other concern, of course, is going to be flash flooding. and if you remember earlier this week, we already had several tornadoes reported across portions of southern united sta. so, yes, tornadoes and severe weather can happen even this late in the month of december during the winter months. we do have winter weather advisories in effect across parts of the rockies. again, generally light accumulations, about 3-5 inches, but much heavier snow for the higher elevations of the rockies. current temperatures, cold across the rockies but ahead of this storm system, it's been very mild, still mild with temperatures in the 40s in new york city and also in places like raleigh, north carolina, but that will be changing. take a look at these temperatures coming up monday morning. forecast low temperatures, now in the 30s in new york city, but much colder farther off

towards the west, and then it gets chilly across the northeast as we head into tuesday morning. 20s for new york city and also the city of buffalo. eric: winter's back in the northeast. all right, maria, thank you. leah: well, a white christmas in colorado is no surprise, but in hawaii? it's another matter. [laughter] a storm blanketing parts of the big island with snow for the first time in years. this is almost 14,000 feet above sea level. children who would otherwise be at the beach enjoying a rare moment playing in the snow, but it will not last for long. forecasters say warmer weather is on the way which would melt all that beautiful snow. eric: do you believe that? i'm going on a skiing vacation. where you going, colorado or vermont? no, i'm going to hawaii. leah: i know, gosh. and you go there for the beach. eric: it's not there are. [laughter] eric: well, this may bring some of us back to our childhood memories. lincoln logs, remember those? they're set to make a comeback.

laura ingle has the story. >> generations of american kids have grown up with lincoln logs, constructing miniature forts and buildings and knocking them down. created in 1916, the iconic american toy, designed by john lloyd wright -- the son of famous architect frank lloyd wright -- has been outsourced to china for manufacturing for the last 60 years. now the little logs are coming home. >> it's taken us almost five years to figure it out, but for next holiday season we are going to have made in the usa lincoln logs on the shelves here in the united states. >> reporter: the producers of lincoln logs is thrilled to have the notched logs made in the states. and he plans to have the plastic pieces eventually manufactured here too. >> there is no better brand than made in america worldwide. it stands for quality, it stands for innovation. >> reporter: repatriating lincoln logs to the u.s. has take then lots of planning, hard work and pride as many pride

manufacturing in burnham, maine. pride beat out furniture and other wood working companies to not only win the lincoln logs' contract, but to do it better than the chinese. >> we have to do a lot of pieces per minute, we have to do it with fewer people. we have to be able to make the machine that's capable of making a lot of pieces per minute at a high quality level. and that's how we compete. >> reporter: for pride manufacturing, which is currently making samples of the toy pieces, it's not just about the honor of making lincoln logs, but also creating jobs. pride manufacturing says their goal is to go into full production mode in 2015 with enough american-made lincoln logs to challenge the minds, imaginations and motor skills of children around the world. leah: a call for racial unity in new york city from al sharpton, but can someone who's been accused of fanning the flames

actually help put them out? is our panel debates. eric: and george washington crossing the delaware, take two. how some are honoring one of the most iconic moments in our nation's history. >> i pledge to you that i and your officers will not leave you. >> it's just like a little way to sneak in a history lesson. >> i think so, yes. 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.

when electricity is generated here's awith natural gasu: instead of today's most used source, how much are co2 emissions reduced? up to 30%? 45%? 60%? the answer is... up to 60% less. and that's a big reason why the u.s. is a world leader in reducing co2 emissions. take the energy quiz -- round 2. energy lives here. leah: an american citizen detained for months in southeast asia is now being freed. the state department says

dr. stacy addison was released from jail yesterday. the portland veteran was arrested in september after crossing the border into that small country. authorities say she was sharing a cab with a stranger later to have drugs, but addison was never charged with a crime. eric? eric: leah, anti-police demonstrators in new york city vowing to again march tomorrow, the same day that the funeral for officer rafael ramos will be held. as you know, he's one of the two new york city police officers who were killed in cold blood in that brazen assassination by ismaaiyl brinsley. on attended one of the protests himself. meanwhile, activist al sharpton, he says he's now planning an event here in the new year to help bring new york city together. can he, of all people, do that? tammy bruce is a radio talk show host, guy benson, political editor for townhall.com. both are fox news contributors. tammy, let me start with you.

>> sure. eric: can al sharpton be the great healer, or should he just go away? >> hook, he has a hues -- look, he has a history of doing the opposite. i've been speaking with police officers who have gotten caught up in these protests. they're awful. the damage has been done to this city. i think new new yorkers are goio have to decide what it is they want. what we do see in the form of someone like mr. sharpton is an opportunism that exists, and i don't think anybody is really taking him seriously. i think we're at a point now where people are going to have to reject it. when you think about the marching during these funerals and memorials, it's almost turning into an even more ghoulish westboro baptist church. i think it's quite horrific and remains, continues to be damaging, to say the least. eric: well, guy, sharpton has condemned the killings, of course, and the eric garner family has spoken out about them and even go to the site of the killing to offer homage to the

two police officers, so is it fair to even blame sharpton for any of this? >> well, two points. first, on the uniter claim, i think that al sharpton relinquished any legitimate or credible claim to that label a very long time ago based on his entire career. he is a career sower of racial tensions. that's what he does. that's a what gets him up in the morning. in terms of your second question, is it fair to blame him for what happened, no, it's not. i strongly believe this. i think this is very important. as odious as i find someone like al sharpton and and as much as i disagree with the mayor or president obama, i don't know political rhetoric from any of them should be somehow conflated into an accusatory attempt to say this is what caused a madman, an animal to go out and murder these cops. political speech is not responsible for the actions of

an individual. eric: tammy, you know, i've covered him for 30 years going back to 1984 when he was sitting on the subway tracks at grand central station. benson hurst, i covered that. howard beach, a young black man chased across the highway, run down after going to the newport pizzeria, a man savagely shot to death in a crowd of whites, but again, you've got him in 1991 called david dinkins a noble man, using the n-word in public. people don't remember that, and does that past action now affect him today, and does that make him a moral or ethical leader that should be followed? >> look, as a form earn community organizer, we relied on an environmental situation created by politicians. when i was on left, to make

certain things happen. so that is not the singular issue or the exclusive responsibility, but these events don't happen in a vacuum. and it's not just local people. it's, of course, national leaders as well. that's why we call them leadership, because they do influence the community as a whole. and i think there's either good leadership or bad leadership and good or bad intentions. so it's, certainly, it's not just leadership that does it, it's not an exclusive issue, but this is like a recipe. there's many different ingredients that happen, and then you have the one lunatic, surgeon individuals who look for that as the tipping point and then move. so this has got to be a massive, collective look at the nature of where the country is going, where new york is going, what we expect from leadership and holding everyone accountable for what happens. al sharpton, we know who he is. there's no reason to stick our heads in in the sand at this point. eric: in harlem they were

holding demonstration, and a mentally-deranged man set fire to it. what should sharpton do, what are you looking for as we go forward? >> look, i agree with tammy that as the evidence continues to mount, there is a clear indication that these protests were influential in the mind of the curl, right? and -- the killer, right? i think some of the chanting, for example, we've heard at some of the protests, what do we want, dead cops, that sort of thing, it's completely disgusting and bordering on outright incitement. but again, i think it's there's a distinction to make though because even if you think this overall climate of protests is feeding some sort of environment where someone who's deranged might go over the edge, yeah, you can say there's an influence there, but i don't think you can target that as causation. and even if you want to, what's the solution -- eric: we have to end it there because we're at a hard break.

tammy and guy, thank you so much. leah: well, a classic game is being taken to a whole new level. it's pinball, and it's making a comeback. we'll have that coming up next. huh, fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know you former pro football player ickey woods will celebrate almost anything? unh-uh. number 44... whoooo! forty-four, that's me! get some cold cuts... get some cold cuts... get some cold cuts!

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♪ ♪ lee lee a classic arcade game getting a new shelf life. pinball is rebounding, and it's moving far beyond the arcade. more than 1600 pinball tournaments are held worldwide. phil keating is live in miami with more. hi, phil. >> reporter: hi, leah, good morning. you know, back in the '80s and '90s, everybody thought all the video games would kill pinball games, but not the case at all. turned out two international governing bodies -- [inaudible] including this $5,000 machine,

the walking dead. pinball is back. there it is. consumed with the banging and clanging of oldtime pinball, alt discuss and jeff palmer are pinball i and ii. they're addicted to these games of the '70s. once thought forever replaced, pinball's booming again. bouncing steel balls battles broadcast live on the internet. >> i'm usually playing pinball every day. >> yeah! >> 16-year-old atticus is florida's reigning pinball champion. the year before dad jeff was the state's number one flipper. they have so many pinball machines at home -- there this is from 1975. >> a lot of the '90s ones over here. >> reporter: -- 16 of them,

there's barely room left for the trophies. >> what's cool for me is when you get a jackpot, that's always great. everyone knows you're doing well. >> i love pinball. i love the physics of it, i love the actual interaction. i feel like i am control what the ball does. >> reporter: all right, here's me in action. atticus gave me some tip, but i'm really old school, '70s kid. these tournaments are broadcast on the web, very, very popular, and these are now collectors' items in a lot of house. good thing to do on the day after christmas, leah. leah: looks like a tough assignment. thanks, phil keating. eric: here in new york police are keeping up their guard in the wake of the two killings of officers last saturday. and there are new threats the nypd is facingful more detailsen -- facing. more details on that straight ahead. could protect you from cancer?

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>> reporter: leland, the christ tabernacle church behind me