but, you know, again, thanks for watching us. miss megyn is next. remember the spin stops here california, we're definitely looking out for you. breaking tonight, brian williams has been suspended without pay effective immediately. welcome to "the kelly file," everyone, i'm mee gangyn kelly. williams has been off the air since last week, he took himself off the air after falsely suggesting that a helicopter he was traveling in back in 2003 in iraq came under fire. it was a story he has been repeating for years. but only caught up to him after veterans who were with him at the time of that event started to publicly speak out. nbc issuing a memo to staffers saying, brian williams' actions were wrong and completely inappropriate for someone in his position.

we have coverage tonight. bernard goldberg is here, political analyst brit hume is here as well. but we begin tonight with trace gallagher on the breaking news. trace? >> megyn, in the memo debra turner said brian misrepresented events which occurred while he was covering the iraq war in 2003. it then became clear that on other occasions, brian had done the same while telling that story in other venues. of course, williams first claimed he saw a chopper in front of him get hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and later claimed his chopper got hit. both are untrue. the nbc president went on to say, we have concerns about comments that occurred outside nbc news while brian was talking about his experiences in the field. as managing editor and anchor of nightly news, brian has a responsibility to be truthful and to uphold the high standards

of the news division at all times. adding, quote, this was a very hard decision. we believe this suspension is the appropriate and proportionate action. the memo was written by deborah turness, but included comments by steve burke who said quote by his actions, brian has jeopardized the trust millions of americans place in nbc news. his actions are inexcusable, and this suspension is severe and appropriate. but remember the internal investigation is also looking into other disputed stories. including during brian williams' coverage of hurricane katrina and the israeli war in 2006. turness concluded her remarks by saying, nbc news is bigger than this moment. and steve burke said williams deserves a second chance and we are rooting for him. brian williams was informed of the decision late today. >> trace, thank you. are this is by all accounts a good person.

and as it turns out a flawed one. who among us isn't. journalists are not expected to be perfect, but we are expected to be honest in our reporting. to adhere to the farkts of what we saw, what we heard and what we know. to not embellish for purposes of entertainment. as nbc boss steve burke said, williams' actions are, inexcusable. he jeopardized the trust of millions of americans. can he recover from this blow to his credibility? from the people's new skepticism about the news he delivers? only time will tell. but over the next six months one thing is certain he will not be forgiven, he will not survive professionally unless he offers some kind of explanation. a full-throated mea culpa. americans love to tear down the mighty but they also believe in second chances. they are in most cases forgiving. and willing to try to trust again. what's owed now is a sincere apology, one that attempts to explain his behavior.

the road back for brian williams may be painful and humiliating but this job, which some of us are so privileged to hold, is worth fighting for. and my bet is, he will. joining us brit hume. that's my take on it, brit. what's yours? >> i would first say, megyn i regret this happened. brian is a friend of mine, someone i always liked and admired. we were white house correspondents back in the clinton years for a couple years. i found him to be a great company, great fun, a good friend hilariously funny. i never detected, megyn in his work as a journalist there no tendency to not tell the truth or embellish. he seemed a straight shooter and a fine television news anchor. so i was surprised by these developments. and saddened by them.

and i, like you, hope that somehow he can overcome this. >> you know, i was thinking about what he needs to do to get back to where he was. i was asking myself well will the american public forgive him. and i think they will forgive him if he comes out and offers a full-throated me a cull pennsylvania. but it's not about forgiveness really, but whether he can establish that trust with the american audience, to get them to believe what he is telling them. >> well, that's obviously true megyn. as the face of nbc news, you know, he's the leading news anchor in terms of news ratings in the country. evening news anchor. and once exposed as someone who is, you know, repeatedly told these tall tales, that's a hard thing to come back from. i hope he can do it, but it's a little hard for me now to see how he can do that. i've talked to a number of people down here in florida where i am now who watched

brian williams and liked him very much. obviously millions did. he was number one. and i was surprised at how many of them said they could never trust him again. a lots of them said that they liked him, but they were very disappointed. so obviously the people at nbc looking at this with him off the air, and this having happened, i suspect what they were fervently hoping is this story would somehow go away, that it would subside. that was not happening. more incidents were being alleged in which he told stories. the commentary devastating satirical photographs of him, you know manipulated photos that showed him in all these historical events just stuff that in a very rough way was kind of funny but if you were a friend of brian as i was, it made you wince. this wasn't -- this was not going away. and i think they took this action to try to stop the hemorrhaging. and i believe that the head of

nbc universal meant it when he said they're rooting for brian. brian means a lot to them. they've got a lot invested in them. >> right. and they know him as a man. >> yeah. >> people came out of the wood work saying, oh he's a jerk but people say what you said. i really like him. i'm shocked by this. i feel sad to see this happening. and yet, the reality of it is brit, it is happening. nbc news has conducted its own investigation, and it's now all there black and white, that it was wrong it was completely inappropriate. that he misrepresented events. and they have concerns about other comments he made while talking about other experiences in the field. i mean it was not a single event. >> that's true. i think it probably -- it really kind of crosses a line when you do what he did on the "nbc nightly news." it is one thing to go on you know, entertainment programs

and tell barroom stories, you know, war stories and exaggerate them. i'm not saying it's acceptable i'm just saying that -- but once you cross over into saying something from your position as anchor, that's a tall tale that's hard to recover from. and that's pretty serious. >> why would he do this? what's your guess? i mean not even just knowing him, brit but somebody with so much experience in journalism. what would make you try to build yourself up so falsely? >> i can't imagine, and i won't try, megyn, anything i said about his possible motivations for telling these stories would be speculation on my part. and, you know just would add in a minor way perhaps, to his woes. and i'm not eager to add to his woes tonight. >> what about nbc in all of this? some of the questions i've heard here have included, if he's telling truth about these experiences, where are his

colleagues? where is the photographer, where's the producer that were with him undoubtedly on his trip to iraq when he was covering hurricane katrina, when he was up watching the tat yusha rockets fly. you know, he wouldn't have been by himself when that happened. it wouldn't have been the military. his nbc news colleagues either experienced these things along with him or have known for years that he has not been telling the truth. >> well, i can't account for their behavior either, megyn. but on the other hand, i can understand someone who works with brian williams and likes them as much as i do for example, wouldn't want to rat him out. particularly when at least except in one instance that we know of he wasn't telling these stories on the "nbc nightly news," he was telling them in other venues. they might not have seen them. i don't know. i'm not inside nbc news. i don't know what goes on there, it's a whole world unto itself, as you know all networks are.

i don't know why people wouldn't have gone to him and said, you can't tell these tal tales or you'll get in hot water. >> perhaps those employees were spoken to and told the truth as they remembered it and perhaps that's what's led to these conclusions. we don't know. >> that all seems to be water under the bridge now. >> i've got howie coming up, but do you think he can survive this? do you think he'll be back on the air in six months? >> i don't know. i certainly hope so. i really like the guy. and i feel terrible for him tonight. >> yeah. i think you speak for a lot of us. brit, good to see you. >> thank you. up next fox's howie and bernie are here. they will weigh in whether we will see brian williams back on the air in six months. plus i will ask them, why the media seems so determined to cover this story so aggressively

and not so much some very public falsehoods told by some very well-known politicses. plus we are following breaking news regarding the death of an american woman at the hands of isis. and reports the terror group wanted a prisoner swap for her. in moments, senator marco rubio reacts. josh earnest asked to clarify president obama's recent remarks that a gunman quote, just picked a random kosher deli during the paris terror attacks. a fair and balanced debate coming up. >> the individuals who were killed in that terrible tragic incident were killed not because of who they were, but because of where they randomly happened to be. >> they weren't killed because they were in a jewish deli? >> these individuals were not targeted by name. this is the point. >> not but name but by religion, were they not?

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breaking tonight. brian williams suspended after falsely reporting on an incident he experienced while reporting on the iraq war. and nbc news confirms tonight, they believe brian williams misrepresented the facts on other stories as well. joining me now, bernard goldberg, fox news media analyst, and howard kurtz. we begin with bernie who is on the phone tonight. bernie, your reaction to the breaking news? >> well, i've been wrong about every facet of this story, right from the beginning. i thought the story would go away, as i once put it in the blink of an eye. and the thing that changed it and i didn't see this coming is that it was a page one "new york times" story. once something like this hits page one of "the new york times," it gives permission to

everybody else in the media to pile on. "the new york times" is the bible of liberal journalism. "the new york times" allows other journalists to know what's newsworthy and what isn't newsworthy, what they can cover and how to cover it. once it hit the front page of "the new york times," that became brian williams' problems. then the new orleans angle cropped up. then you have a million dick tracies out there on the web who are checking every facet of this out. i'm just immensely surprised that it has come to what it's come to. >> that's the thing when it was just the iraq war and he came out and clearly misstated things, and then he tried to apologize, that was the beginning of an avalanche. you mentioned the katrina, the hurricane katrina reporting. just so the audience understands what started happening is brian williams reporting didn't hold up, and his stories didn't match

up. and just one example that was scrutinized over the past couple of days is his reporting of allegedly witnessing a suicide in the superdome after hurricane katrina. let's show the audience what we're talking about. >> the scene became untenable, unlivable, very quickly. we heard the story of a man killing himself falling from the upper deck. we watched -- all of us watched as one man committed suicide. >> that is just one example, bernie. >> you asked brit hume a crucial question, what do you think happened here? because this is like -- what's going on? and i think there are only two possibilities. i think there may be a third that i can't think of right now. one is that he's delusional. i mean that's a mental illness. and the other is that he just flat-out lies a lot. and if he lies a lot, i have

said that it's because celebrities do that all the time. they go on tv shows and they make up stories because in the united states of entertainment, the country in which we all live being uninteresting is the greatest sin you could commit. so some ditzy celebrity will go on a late-night show and make up a story totally make it up and it's entertaining. you can't do that if you're a journalist. i think the seeds of brian williams' fall, the seeds were planted a long time ago before he even knew it. and that's because he couldn't decide which was more important journalism or celebrity. and once you go down that road where you're a celebrity as well as a journalist and you like the celebrity, you start to act like a celebrity. and i think, unless he's delusional, and you know what, i am no longer ruling that out,

unless he's delusional, he lied the way celebrities always lie. but they get away with it because nobody cares if celebrities make up stories. but we do care when a journalist makes up a story or more than one story. >> bernie, thank you. >> thanks megyn. howie kurtz is here as well. howie, does he come back in six months? >> that is the question. strange as it sounds for nbc to be suspending its star, six months without pay using words like inexcusable and breach of trust, this is an attempt to save brian williams' job. because his apology was so weak and lame and contained inaccuracies, as managing editor saying i'm taking myself off the newscast for a few days, it sounded like no one at nbc was in charge. as the atmosphere turned toxic megyn, it has a lot of people 40% in a poll, thinking he should be fired and out of there, nbc realized that not

only does he need to be held accountable, but he had to be seen as paying a price. that's step one. and we need to learn a lot more from him now, or six months from now, explaining, asking the public's forgiveness. >> how much of the suspension as opposed to it termination had to do with the fact that nbc news don't have the deepest bench? >> a hell of a lot. because you have the "today" show slipping from number one you have the problems with "meet the press," and david gregory getting the boot. so "nbc nightly news," number one, 9 million viewers a night, that's a lot of money and reputation invested in one brian williams. i do think the nbc brass was sincere in saying, we have to weigh his whole career against this mistake. >> but is that disingenuous? there are reports that nbc news knew that he was doing this. and actually pulled him aside and said stop talking about that iraq thing. as i pointed out with brit, nbc news employees would have known.

if he was not telling the truth they would have known. >> i have the mail to confirm he was warned a year ago. it is certainly true, megyn that every anchor travels with a crew and produces. there are other people at nbc who knew that chopper in iraq was not hit by an rpg like brian williams said many different times. so i think that what initially seemed to be a brian williams credibility problem, became an nbc news, and nbc universal problem. burke who runs nbc for comcast slapping brian down, shows that the network is putting distance imposing a penalty and it may be in six months, our culture, we've moved on to other outrages and scandals, and he can slide back in the chair, it may be by that time he's toast. but i do think there has to be some penance here. that's not what he did in this apology and that's why nbc was forced to do this. >> howie thank you.

we're taking your thoughts on it. we're also following breaking news regarding comedy central jon stewart. we'll bring that to you. plus, how 22 retired military generals are coming to the nobody told us to expect it... intercourse that's painful due to menopausal changes it's not likely to go away on its own. so let's do something about it. premarin vaginal cream can help it provides estrogens to help rebuild vaginal tissue and make intercourse more comfortable. premarin vaginal cream treats vaginal changes due to menopause and moderate-to-severe painful intercourse caused by these changes. don't use it if you've had unusual bleeding breast or uterine cancer blood clots, liver problems, stroke or heart attack, are allergic to any of its ingredients or think you're pregnant. side effects may include headache pelvic pain, breast pain vaginal bleeding and vaginitis. estrogens may increase your chances of getting cancer of the uterus, strokes, blood clots or dementia so use it for the shortest time based on goals and risks.

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developing tonight, some of the country's top retired military brass are demanding an apology after a nbc news correspondent, this is a different one, suggested on air that former u.s. navy s.e.a.l. sniper chris kyle was a racist. who went on killing sprees in iraq. trace gallagher has more. >> reporter: the letter is certainly an attention-getter signed by 65 high-ranking military members including 22 admirals and generals. it was sent to the chairman and vice chairman of comcast which

owns nbc. the letter begins, quoting, we are deeply concerned by nbc news correspondent ayman's suggestions that chris kyle the real american sniper, was a racist, whose missions were killing sprees. his remarks reveal him to be callous and ignorant. here's the january 29th segment on morning joe they're referring to. watch. >> some of what people described as his racist tendencies to iraqis and muslims as he was going on some of these killing sprees in iraq on assignment. so i think there are issues -- >> killing sprees? chris kyle was going on killing sprees? >> both joe scar brow and kelly challenged him. nearly two weeks have gone by and neither nbc news nor comcast has said a peep. the letter also called the comments an inexcusable slap in the face to chris kyle's widow.

quote, is it the policy of nbc news to allow its own reporters to make inaccurate and insulting editorial comments on its airwaves? aimed at our soldiers who gave their lives to their country. is it the policy of nbc news to ignore the scandal and hope it goes away? ayman is an egyptian-american reporter who used to work for al jazeera and cnn. we contacted nbc news and got no response. a fiery exchange at the white house today over president obama's recent remarks that the media is overreacting from the terror threat from isis. is the president downplaying the terror threat. the death of an american woman at the hands of isis. and reports the terror group wanted a prisoner swap for her. in moments, senator marco rubio is here on whether more americans may be in danger. a major announcement tonight from comedy central's jon stewart. the news he just shocked his audience with a short time ago.♪

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stay active with boost. developing tonight, new concerns that president obama may have said a dangerous precedent as we hear new reports that islamic terrorists propose a prisoner swap with the united states in exchange for the release of an american woman. hours ago, the family of kayla mueller confirming that she died in isis custody. she was captured in 2013 after traveling to syria to do humanitarian work. a short time ago, president obama weighed in, saying for the first time that u.s. forces did try to rescue kayla, but did not succeed. now, reports that isis proposed a prisoner swap for kayla are raising new questions over whether the president's release of five taliban generals in exchange for suspected army

deserver sergeant bowe bergdahl set a bad precedent. just before we came to air, i spoke to republican senator, marco rubio. do you believe that we have set some sort of a precedent that the united states is willing to engage in a prisoner swap with our terrorist enemies? >> i don't think there's any doubt about that. the people noticed it other enemies have noticed it. we said at the time that that swap in and of itself would now put a price tag on the head of every american abroad. isil as we speak is actively looking for more westerners to kidnap, particularly americans, because they can either butcher them in hess horrifying videos that we keep seeing, and it's a propaganda win for them, or hopefully in their mind they think they can get a trade or money on their behalf. there's no doubt in my mind that that prisoner swap created that incentive. >> let's talk about the authorization for use of military force. both parties have been pressing for a new one of these. we had one before we went to war

in afghanistan and iraq. some say we need a new one. now the white house is coming back and going to present it to congress tomorrow, your committee is key on this. the white house is getting hit for making it too restricted, making it too limiting in what a commander in chief can actually do, either this one or the one that's going to follow barack obama. where do you stand on it? >> well, i think we need to authorize not just the use of force, we need to authorize to defeat isil. it continues to develop. what the president needs to come up with is a strategy which i think involves, for example, an anti-isil ground force combined with u.s. special forces for tactical support, and increase in the air strikes. but we need to authorize the use of force better more importantly we need to authorize the use of force sufficient to destroy them. >> senator rand paul came out on the record and said he would oppose any aumf that doesn't have geographic limits because he thinks we could have somebody

fan this saying we're going to go bomb saudi arabia because we think they fall within the definition of what it authorizes. do you agree with it? >> if you put a geographic lal limit on it, you told isil where they can go to hide. if you only say they can hit them in iraq and syria, they have every incentive to move their operations and training facilities to someplace else not included in it. the defeat is to defeat isil. no matter how long it takes or how many places you have to go after them your goal is to defeat them. >> do you think it will pass? >> we need to see the details of it as i said. i hope it is an authorization sufficient that allows us to win, to defeat isil. and i think when you limit it geographically, when you limit it with time constraints, you're basically telling the enemy we're going to fight you for five years. then we're going to stop. or we're not going to hit you if you move to libya or afghanistan. i don't think that's going to

work. our objective is to defeat this very dangerous group. >> let's talk about iran for a minute. there's news on that. just yesterday secretary kerry suggested that this march deadline we have to reach a deal with the iranians or we're going to have sanctions come out of the u.s. congress is real. he can't see that deadline being extended. but then today at the state department, it was said, oh we've never said deadline. it's really more of a goal. do you think that our government is serious about this march deadline on iran? >> i think that the iranians believe that barack obama and john kerry are desperate for a deal. and i think they sense it in our body language and statements they've made in the past, and the fact they're fighting their own congress on giving them authority to impose additional sanctions if the talks fail. one of the conditions not on the table and should have been on the table is the missile and rocket systems they're developing. the only reason you develop long-range rockets is to put a nuclear warhead on it.

>> barack obama's critics say, oh, he wants to say i got the deal with iran. thaw is very cynical. you have to be very cynical to think given the existential threat to israel, that that's his out clause. >> listen, i have no doubt he would want iran to abandon its nuclear program and he thinks he could get a delay that delays it by five years, that's a good thing. but driving a lot of this is domestic politics. the ability to say at the end of his term to say that he got this deal done. a future president was the one that lost that achievement. at least he achieved it. no doubt that is part of their checklist as they try to build a legacy. unfortunately, i think it leaves this country in a very dangerous position with israel, and more dangerous position. >> david axelrod was on fox news last night and was asked about president obama's recent comments at a prayer breakfast, talking about the christians back in the crusades committed horrible deeds so don't get on your high horse when condemning

radical islamist terrorists. his answer to bill o'reilly oh he was just being provocative, the president was being provocative. >> first of all i think he's developed this habit of scolding and nagging and talking down to the american people. i think that's a very dangerous attribute for a president to have. i think it's annoying after some time. to compare 21st century jihadists to 11th century arabs is not right. it happened, it's a historical issue that happened a long time ago. for him to -- here's the thing this is not an off the cuff remark, it was a scripted statement. he wanted to be provocative. i think there are people on the left that think that sort of statement is very appealing. i don't know. >> senator marco rubio, thanks for being here tonight. >> thanks for having me.

>> white house press secretary josh earnest talking about a gunman in paris randomly picked a kosher deli as a target during the terror attacks there. >> the individuals who were killed in that terrible tragic incident were killed not because of who they were but because of where they randomly happened to be. >> they weren't killed because they were in a jewish deli? they were in a kosher deli? >> these individuals were not targeted by name. this is the point. >> not by name, but by religion were they not? >> up next, a fair and balanced debate on whether the white house is downplaying this attack. and a major announcement tonight from comedy central jon stewart. should we be happy or sad? the world is filled with air. but for people with copd sometimes breathing air can be difficult. if you have copd, ask your doctor about once-daily anoro ellipta. it helps people with copd breathe better for a full 24hours.

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is overhyping the threat from isis. take a listen to the press secretary trying to defend the president's position today. >> this is not the random shooting of a bunch of folks in a deli in paris. >> the individuals who were killed in that terrible tragic incident were killed not because of who they were but because of where they randomly happened to be. >> they weren't killed because they were in a jewish deli? >> the individuals were not targeted by name. this is the point. >> not by name, but by religion were they not? >> john, there were people other than just jews who were in that deli. >> in terms of the media hype do you think a jordanian pilot being burped inging burned alive is a media hyping it? >> i think it's a clear illustration of how the international community has been gal vannized to take on this threat. >> this is a big threat that this coalition is confronting. why did the president compare him to a big city mayor fighting

crime. >> he's talking about assuming leadership. >> is the president trying to downplay the threat? >> it's clearly different from the kind of risk that the american people faced in the days before 9/11. >> what did he mean when he talked about these horrible deeds by christians back in the crusades hundreds of years ago? was he trying to make a moral equivalent? >> we've seen individuals perpetrate terrible acts of violence in the name of religion. >> doesn't it sound like he's trying to say this has been going on for a long time i'm like a mayor in dealing with this kind of thing? terrorism is not a big deal? >> i don't think the president's record of fighting terrorism reflects that at all. >> joining me fox news contributor, former presidential speechwriter and enterprise institute fellow. and a democratic campaign veteran who worked on both the kerry and obama campaigns. mark, do you believe based on those exchanges that the president has been downplaying the terror threat? >> oh he most clearly is. but megyn, that was such a

softball question. they couldn't answer. they went about the randomness. >> why is he saying that they were randomly attacked when it was a kosher deli, and all the victims were jewish? >> the answer is so simple it's unbelievable. all you say is of course it was an anti-semitic attack. of course they were killed because of who they are. the administration has repeatedly said this. we said secretary kerry to meet with the jewish community to express our solidarity. all the president is saying i'm being josh earnest here, all the president is saying is the people in this jewish deli were in the wrong place at the wrong time. but they were killed because they were jewish by an ideology for the destruction of israel and we're not going to rest until that ideology is defeated. what's so hard. >> they were attacked because they're jewish -- the reason the kosher deli was chosen is because it's frequented by jewish people. they're trying to draw a distinction without a difference. >> josh did say, to be fair and

part of that interview, or part of that briefing that we knew what the motivations of the killers were. he clarified it later on twitter and social media. >> he was pressed so hard. it took so much extraction to get him to that point. >> right. no question josh kind of stumbled over himself a bunch today. and we could make much ado about this, you know, press secretaries have bad days sometimes. >> but the point is let me redirect you ed henry's question was, are you guys trying to downplay the threat here? >> well, let's talk about that interview he gave. the interview with the blog that you played -- >> when he said randomly. >> he did say randomly. frankly, the deli was selected as a target but the people inside were killed at random. it's absolutely true. he had no idea who was going to be in the jewish deli. i'm sure the terrorists, i'm not going to be in the mind set of terrorists, but i'm sure they

assumed it would be jewish patrons. the president said in that same exact interview that every morning he wakes up, when he takes his coffee or tea, he gets a big thick book filled with death, destruction, human misery, and basically he's thinking about the safety and security of the american people. the first thing he does when he wakes up in the morning and the last thing before he goes to bed at night. >> mark, when they targeted that kosher deli, they thought it was going to be full of radical islamists. >> exactly. radical islamists happen to hang out in jewish neighborhoods in paris and randomly stepped into a deli and thought oh my gosh, it's kosher, let's go kill some people. of course not. it was a targeted attack. the press secretary was given a chance to say it was a deliberate attack. and repeatedly turned down the opportunity to say this. they came up with all these excuses like, well they weren't targeted by name. neither were the people in the u

us cole. >> jensacki came out and said that was what his intended meeting was. >> why is it hard for them? >> that's the problem. >> why is this hard for them? this is so easy. this is like communications 101. the problem is, they're not comfortable -- the prosh is they are so uncomfortable with the language of war, that they think if they don't talk about it in terms of war the war will go away. you know, this is not what barack obama was elected to do. he wanted to change health care, he wanted to be the secretary of hhs. and this is all a distraction to him. they think if we just turn the page, the war will go away. if we don't call it an anti-semitic attack, it will go away. it's not going away. these people want to destroy us. >> the hostage taker in that supermarket, before he died said he wanted to target jews. that's what he was doing there. >> right. >> it's plain as the nose on

your face. why wouldn't you just say, of course this is an anti-semitic hateful, race inspired religion inspired attack, mark? it plays into the narrative that people already believe in some corners, about the president, why are you trying to tell us it's media hype, about al qaeda and isis when you've got -- your own defense secretary is coming out and saying, we have to prepare immediately. >> i think we're quibbling over semantics here whether at random or the particular place was targeted. the president, you're absolutely right, wants to stay away from car a ka turizing some sort of logical extension of very peaceful religion that a lot of people around the world follow. he wants to portray this as something that is basically violent ideology that people are hijacking. let's talk about it. does the media overhype terrorism? maybe, maybe not. the fact is terrorism is

designed, the definition of terrorism is to be the spectacular media jennic, photogenic displays of violence that are intended to intimidate people often american people. when we have marco rubio coming on talking about butchering people, isis is butchering people or some being burned alive, that's replayed over and over again isis is getting exactly what it wants. of course the american people are going to be liable to get a little hysterical sometimes when it comes to this. >> they're not getting hysterical. >> oh, come on. >> who's getting hysterical? >> people's sense of national security is a little bit, i think, influenced -- >> that doesn't mean they're hysterical. >> they burned a man alive in a cage. >> you and i are -- >> they burned a man alive in a cave. a person who will burn a man -- >> a nuclear weapon is an

existential threat. climate change is an existential threat. >> they killed an american hostage today. climate change didn't kill anybody, okay? iran getting a nuclear weapon -- >> if you believe -- >> good to see you. another major storm heading for the northeast believe it or not. when is it expected to hit and how much snow it could dump on cities already buried. jon stewart announcement making big headlines tonight. and what he had to say on "the kelly file," on

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have you heard of the new dialing procedure for for the 415 and 628 area codes? no what is it? starting february 21, 2015 if you have a 415 or 628 number you'll need to dial... 1 plus the area code plus the phone number for all calls. okay, but what if i have a 415 number,

and i'm calling a 415 number? you'll still need to dial... 1 plus the area code plus the phone number. so when in doubt, dial it out! in our house, we do just about everything online. and our old internet just wasn't cutting it. so i switched us from u-verse to xfinity. they have the fastest, most reliable internet. which is perfect for me, because i think everything should just work. works? works. works! works? works. works. have an extreme weather alert. part of the northeast bracing for yet another snowstorm. the city of boston reaching its breaking point with a record almost six feet of snow in 17

days. cars in streets remain covered while people try to shovel out with nowhere to put the existing snow. subways and commuter rails are shut down for a second day. we'll bring you the developments. another big headline tonight in the tv world. jon stewart announcing he will step down as the face of the "daily show" on comedy central. stewart's departure saying he will remain on the show until later this year. just last night, stewart was having a little fun at our expense, and at the expense of some of our guests. >> i'm stunned that you're not asking for him to be fired, megyn megyn. >> really? >> someone as credible as who, while very attractive and articulate, you are credible. you are walter cronkite credible. >> way hotter than cronkite. you're like super credible. but -- oh did i say that out

loud? do you want to go out to dinner? oh, my gosh, that's super embarrassing. >> thank you. no word yet on what stewart plans to do after he leaves his show. coming up next, my better half makes a surprise appearance. we'll fill you in. e.e.e.e.e.e.

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♪ hey, john! john and horace dodge launched their first car in 1914. but they were not only business partners, they were brothers. competitive... stubborn... and always pushing each other, the way only brothers can. ♪ one hundred years later, their spirit lives on. fox news radio with a big get today. tonya powers spoke to my

husband, an author on her special series and my mother-in-law's book club came up. listen. >> my mom is in a book club. and my mom is 78. she's one of the younger members of the book club. and so i -- they always will do my book and i'll go visit. and you get to these scenes that are just so over the top. not the one you want to be discussing with that crowd. there's just some polite coughing and murmurs and then we sort of move on from that. >> that's awkward. doug's new book is in stores live from america's news headquarters. i'm jackie ibanez. disturbing news about the daunting task of winning the war against islamic radicals. u.s. intelligence reveals that foreign fighters are streaming

into syria and iraq in unprecedented numbers. an estimated 20000 trying to join america's enemies ask and at least 3,400 of those fighters are from western nations. 120 americans have tried or succeeded in reaching the war zone. a new york city police officer indicted in an accidental shooting. an attorney for the victim's family says the shooting shouldn't be justified even if it was an accident. the indictment follows other grand jury decisions which sparked nationwide protests which police officers kill unarmed men but weren't charged. i'm jackie ibanez. "hannity" starts now. welcome to "hannity." this is a foxers in alert. nbc news has suspended brian williams for six months without pay. the president deborah turness wrote in