we will see you right here 3:00 eastern, noon pacific on fox news channel and when news breaks out, we will break in. welcome to brand new hour inside america's news head quarts. topping the news this hour severe weather causing big troubles across the country. parts of the southeast dealing with massive rains while the southern plains are bracing for a blizzard that's being called historic. high winds also fueling a massive wildfire in southern california, we're following it all. plus, the leader of isis resurfacing with a new message of terror, his latest threats against the west. and not the meriest christmas for retailers amid a sluggish shoppingen is. why is this happening and what

does it say about the state of our economy? the fox news extreme weather alert. severe storms slamming the south, gushing water, flooding the streets in birmingham, alabama, hundreds of roads in the state forced to close after a complete washout. if all that rain isn't bad enough the city also facing a massive cleanup after a powerful tornado tore through the area, witnesses saying everything happened really fast. >> i looked up and that's when i was taking my son to our area in the hallway, but if i had stayed in there any longer the glad blew out across the front of the house and on the back part, the back part is down. it was horrible. >> and there is more severe weather gripping the country. in california a wildfire burning through more than a thousand acres, uprooting dozens of people from their homes this christmas weekend. in the meantime millions of people across the northern rockies, the midwest and parts

of the south are now bracing for a powerful winter storm, threatening to dump as much as 18 inches of snow in some areas. we have fox team coverage. let's begin with brian len nas live in our new york city newsroom. >> the death toll stands at 17 after two people who were missing since wednesday's storms were found in mississippi today. unseasonably warm weather across the nation this winter spawning severe weather all week, tornadoes and flooding from arkansas to tennessee to mississippi, leaving dozens of families homeless for the holidays. on christmas night in alabama a tornado touching down in birmingham, three homes were reportedly destroyed, some people trapped inside, trees downed, several people taken to hospitals for minor injuries, but no deaths reported. >> everybody said, tornado, get down, and the lights went out. you know, next thing i know all

us fell to the floor. running to the bathroom, running over each other. houses were standing in the daylight, next thing i knew i come by in the dark, everything got swept up. and today alabama governor robert bentley meeting with families in shelters. the governor then meeting with engineers in alabama who reassured him that the pea river will stay below the city's levee. 190 roads in the state are closed due to the flooding, flood warnings are still in effect for northern alabama. meantime, in mississippi for than 240 homes were severely damaged or destroyed and more than 60 people injured. families spending christmas day collecting their belongings, scattered in the debris, but communities are rallying together, happening with the cleanup and donating gifts to children and families left homeless from the storms. cleanup and recovery also taking place in tennessee where six people died and in arkansas where heavy flooding took

another life. greg. >> brian, thanks very much. >> and a winter storm of epic proportions could be on the way. forecasters predicting a, quote, historic blizzard for the texas and oklahoma pan handles. blizzard warnings going into effect this hour as the storm system takes direct aim at the southern plains. parts of oklahoma could get up to 15 inches of snow. now to that out of control wildfire we told us about in california. it is threatening dozens of homes and forcing evacuations north of los angeles. parts of highway 101 and the pacific coast highway, they run north and south, both shut down after the brush fire exploded in size and now burning more than 1,000 acres, hundreds of firefighters battling against 40 mile per hour winds that are fueling the devastating flames. will carr is live in los angeles with hi, will. >> firefighters say their

biggest person right now is that this fire is continuing to burn near several oil fields. what they're doing is cutting lines around those fields, doing everything they can to make sure that the flames don't make it to that oil. it comes after this fire already jumped the 101 freeway, prompting some drivers to be stranded and for authorities to shut that freeway down, along with the pacific coast highway. they just recently opened that freeway and it also comes as the fire threatens 50 to 60 homes prompting mandatory evacuations. now, there were 600 firefighters on the ground, every single fixed wing air tanker in california is now battling this fire from the air. it's burned 1,200 acres and is 10% contained. firefighters tell us they have an all out assault on the fire and they are concerned about the continued strong winds throughout the afternoon and the evening. they also say that terrain in the bone dry grass are making it hard to stop the fire from spreading. >> even though you folks have

had pretty good rain in los angeles and orange counties, we literally have had maybe a tenth of an inch in the last six weeks. >> and it's been a very active fire season for california this year, take a look at some of the numbers, there have been almost 6,300 fires that are burned, more than 307,000 acres. compare that to 2014 when you had almost 2,000 less the number of fires and only burned about 191,000 acres. gregg, fire season in california used to be from may to september, but with the four-year historic drought that we're going through it really seems like it's year-round these days. >> will, thanks very much. turning now to the syrian army claiming responsibility for an air strike that killed a top rebel commander who was actually the founder of one of the most powerful groups fighting the regime, some opposition groups

say russia carried out the air strike. the commander's death could deal a blow to the insurgents fight against assad as well as efforts to forge a peace deal. iraqi security forces slowly gaining ground in their latest effort to retake ramadi. iraqi forces closing in on the last area still under isis control, the effort to recapture that strategic city being helped by air strikes from the u.s.-led coalition. iraq's prime minister is vowing that once ramadi is recaptured government forces will then turn to retaking the much larger mosul. the country's second largest city. garrett tenney has the latest from washington. >> reporter: those air strikes have helped clear the way for iraqi security forces who are slowly gaining ground in their latest effort to retack ramadi. iraq's military says this week its forces with the backing of u.s. coalition air strikes have

retaken much of the city and are now closing in on the last area that is still under isis control. where about 100 are islamic state fighters are holding out in a former government compound. the latest round of air strikes helped clear the way by destroying several isis vehicles, fighting positions and several houses that the militants had rigged with explosives, those kinds of bombs and booby traps have greatly slowed the advance of iraqi forces. ramadi is such a strategic location because of its close proximity to baghdad, just about 60 miles away and recapturing the city would be a huge victory for the coalition and iraqi forces whom the u.s. has invested a lot of time training and equipping. before taking off for hawaii last week, president obama said the u.s. continues to increase its support in the fight against isis. >> isil has already lost about 40% of the populated areas it once controlled in iraq and it's losing territory in syria. as we keep up the pressure our air campaign will continue to

hit isil harder than ever taking out their leaders, their commanders and their forces. we are stepping up our support for partners on the ground as they push isil back. >> reporter: iraq's prime minister has vowed that once ramadi is retaken iraqi forces will then turn their focus to retaking mosul, iraq's second largest city and the islamic state's de facto capital. i'm garrett tenney, fox news. the leader of isis reportedly resurfacing in a new audio message threatening the west, that message from abu backer al baghdadi calling for an uprising in saudi arabia while pledging attacks in israel. that as a u.s.-backed alliance of syrian kurds and arab rebel groups say at the captured a dam from isis cutting a main supply route of the terrorists across the euphrates river. let's talk about it now with u.s. ambassador john bolton,

senior fellow at the american enterprise institute and a fox news contributor. ambassador, thanks for being with us. there are as garrett tenney pointed out several war fronts going on simultaneously both in syria and iraq. it looks like u.s.-trained iraqi forces are closing in on what may be the final assault to retake ramadi the capital of anbar province away from isis which took control last may. if isis is driven from ramadi, how important would that be in the war against the islamic state? >> well, i think it's a significant set back but i think on the other hand it's not like ramadi was retaken after a pitched battle. essentially thousands of isis fighters have been able to get out of the encirclement that the iraqi military put them in and they are causing the iraqi and u.s. advisors, the iraqi forces and u.s. advisors to go very, very slowly and at a relatively

high cost. it's a set back for isis, as i say, no doubt about it but it also took the iraqi forces a long time to get to this point. so i think what we're seeing here is the battle space is fluid, but this is hardly the end of isis. >> well, in step two, then, ambassador, is supposed to be taking the much larger mosul, which isis seized a year and a half ago. i mean, will that be much harder, i imagine it would, but would it be a victory -- would a victory be more significant? >> i think it would be more significant, but let's remember mosul is the place where the iraqi military broke and ran in panic from that isis assault on the city that you mentioned. they discarded their weapons, they just ran for it because they were scared of what isis would do to them. and i think, therefore, the significance of he will baghdadi basically threatening the saudis and other oil producing monarchies on the arabian

peninsula in the isis ideology going after those targets remains their first priorities and god forbid through assassination and some other sub verse i have activity they were able to get control of a real oil-producing country and the revenue that that would give to them. >> as we informed our viewers a few minutes ago, a powerful syrian rebel leader whose forces have been battling assad of syria was reportedly killed in a russian air strike. not surprising that russia still propping up assad under the guise of battling isis in syria? >> well, i think propping up assad has always been job one for this russian intervention. that's what they care about. and their principal targets since they built this new air base and brought in substantial air assets and it looks like ground assets as well has been to go after what we call the syrian opposition, sometimes we call it the moderate syrian

opposition, rather than isis because it's the opposition that poses the most direct threat to assad. so i can see this russian activity continuing. i don't think we should hold out any hope really for the vienna so-called peace negotiations. i think this is going to be determined on the battlefield, not diplomatically. >> let me turn to another subject if i may, ambassador. police in austria say that a friendly intelligence service is warning european capitals of the possibility of a shooting or a bomb attack, again, in those european capitals before the new year. police across the continent increasing security measures as a result. ambassador, given what happened in paris recently, how realistic or credible might this threat be? >> well, it certainly sounds like it's a credible threat, something that would get people's attention in the period after christmas, between new year's. we will have to let the facts come out. but i think isis is -- this is

part of the propaganda war, to show that it has reach across europe, across the united states and they're trying to root them out in the area in syria and iraq that they control now is not going to be easy and could be quite costly as their capability to strike around the world appears to be continuing to grow. >> i'm going to squeeze in a third subject with you, democrats are under pressure to be more aggressive in fighting terrorism and there are several stories that say, you know, they're turning to an unlikely ally, former president george w. bush, the democrats asking republican leaders to follow the lead of mr. bush who had denounced anti-muslim bias following the terrorist attack of 9/11. i mean, is it ironic that both president obama, hillary clinton are now defending their foreign policy positions by citing former president bush, especially on the subject of muslims entering the u.s.?

or is this, to some extent, taking it out of context? >> well, it's out of context. really this qualifies for the hoots pa award of 2015. what president george w. bush said, quite rightly, was we are not in a war against islam as a whole, we are in a war against the radical terrorists. if only barack obama had been saying that for the past seven years things might be very different on the domestic front. so really it's quoting president bush out of context and distorting what he tried to say because i don't think any of us in the bush administration ever imagined or ever advocated a war against islam. >> all right. former ambassador john bolton, thank you so much for being with us, happy holidays to you. >> happy holidays. a deadly police shooting in chicago, details behind that dispute that ended with the deaths of a 19-year-old and his 55-year-old neighbor. and japan versus china, the latest dust up between the two

countries in their long running battle over those disputed islands in the east china sea. plus. >> nobody gets audiences like i get. number one with a heart, right? >> well, donald trump not shy about how popular a guy he is. everybody loves me. so what is it about the gop candidate? we will examine his unique relationship and reported influence over the media coming up next. heartburn! no one burns on my watch! try alka-seltzer heartburn reliefchews. they work fast and don't taste chalky. mmm...amazing. i have heartburn. alka-seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief. i built my business with passion. but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i have the spark cash card from capital one. i earn unlimited 2% cash back on everything i buy for my studio. ♪

and that unlimited 2% cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business... that's huge for my bottom line. what's in your wallet?

for the new mattress models! it's time to make room during sleep train's huge year end clearance sale... get beautyrest, posturepedic, even tempur-pedic mattress sets at low clearance prices! save even more on floor samples, demonstrators, and closeout inventory! plus, same-day delivery, set-up and removal of your old set. why wait for the new models? sleep train's year end clearance sale is on now! superior service, best selection, lowest price-- guaranteed! ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ tand that's what we're doings to chat xfinity.rself, we are challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of your experience. and this includes our commitment to being on time. every time. that's why if we're ever late for an appointment, we'll credit your account $20. it's our promise to you. we're doing everything we can

to give you the best experience possible. because we should fit into your life. not the other way around. japanese authorities reporting an armed chinese coast guard ship trespassing into its territorial waters off islands claimed by both countries. these islands of course in the east china sea have been a flash point between the two countries for a long time, japan's coast guard saying this marks the first time, though, that an armed chinese vessel has been sighted in japan's waters. the chinese ship has since left the area, but the incident is triggering concerns in japan that china may be escalating its activities in these disputed areas. everyplace we go it's packed, it's sold out. we broke the record and i don't have a guitar. no guitar. elton john said you get the

biggest crowds in the world for a guy without a guitar meaning, you know, without music, which is pretty good. >> well, that was donald trump pointing out just how large the crowds are at some of his rallies. trump's campaign often puts together of course elaborate concert-style events usually held in large venues, outdoors or in one case in an airport hangar where he arrived in his costume 757. political watchers say trump has managed to get more media coverage than any other candidate, notwithstanding spending the least amount of money than any other candidate, most of them at least. christopher bedford joins us, editor and chief of the daily caller news organization. >> good to see you. >> in many ways the rise of donald trump has been predicated on the vast media coverage of him and, you know, journalists get criticized for it and news organizations, especially as

trump tries to control all of them. but in truth, wouldn't it be wrong not to cover him? >> it would absolutely be wrong not to cover him. not only is he the most interesting character and one of the most interesting times in modern political history but he is a leading republican candidate. critics complain about what the news media is covering but they should remember that more today than probably ever before in history what the media covers is dictated or helped more by the consumers, the news readers. what do they view, what do they click on, what are they interested in. editors are more responsive to consumers wants than they have ever been before but they should also remember no one became a journalist to get rich and we have an ethical duty to present the facts, call out lies and not take any bullying from donald trump when he tries to hand it out. >> i'm glad you brought up that word bully. trump fumes often publicly whenever reporters ask tough questions or fact check his statements and the word bully is

often bandied about when describing him. at one point he himself openly admitted to be a winer, quote, a little is another quote, and to some extent divisive. is the bully moniker fair or not, something voters need to consider? >> i think it's fair and i think it is something that voters need to consider. now, in general i'm pro bullying, i think it made me a better person, i took a few hits when i was in high school for wising off and the media should be able to stand up to donald trump when he tells you what you can and can't cover. they should stand up and say no. also if you are a voter who is interested in less power in the white house with more media access, more public access to the white house donald trump is not your guy. he is going to be probably even harder than president barack obama is on restricting access, in telling people what's fair, saying stop treating me unfairly and expanding white house power.

>> much of trump's lead in the polls is attributable to what he calls free media as we've been talking about, but in places like iowa it takes a strong ground organization which he may not have to the extent he will need to win in the first state contest. could that be a flaw in his strategy? >> yeah, it absolutely is. donald trump is a guy who is willing -- he has had decades of free media and moving up and iowa is a place that is a more evangelical, more humble crowd. a gop crowd that actually responds to more conservatism and that's why he has to watch out for ted cruz. as the polls from a lot of these campaigns have shown a lot of trump supporters are people who have never voted in a republican primary before, they don't go out, they don't volunteer, they don't knock on doors, it's going to be interesting to see february 1st if they even show up to vote for him. >> as we inn troed this segment

we showed trump at one of his gatherings, his mantra there and everywhere seems to be, look, everywhere i go i have huge crowds, people love me, or, i'm leading in every poll, but, christopher, when it comes to the specifics of policies, does he come up short at a time when voters are increasingly asking for details? >> i think he has been hit a little unfairly on his details. he has told people more of what he's going to do than a lot of the other candidates are, the problem is whether or not any of his ideas are going to work, if they are feesable at all and whether it's instituticonstitut. build a wall, who can come into the country and who can't, but he's just spougt off, he has never actually done this and i think the world is going to be a little bit more complicated than he expects it to be if he ever gets near the white house. >> christopher bedford, thanks for being with us.

presidential hopefuls preparing to get back out on the campaign trailing following the holiday break. what to expect as the iowa caucuses inch closer and closer. plus, president obama taking a break from his vacation to visit those who keep us safe. the men and women of the armed forces. >> we never take for granted what all of you do for the american people. you help keep us free, you help keep us strong. jeb bush: donald, you know, is great at the one-liners. but he's a chaos candidate. and he'd be a chaos president. two months ago, donald trump said that isis was not our fight. donald trump: let syria and isis fight. why are we... why do we care? let isis and syria fight. jeb bush: he said that hillary clinton would be a great negotiator with iran. donald trump: hillary's always surrounded herself with very good people. i think hillary would do a good job. jeb bush: and he gets his

foreign policy experience from the shows. chuck todd: who do you talk to for military advice right now? donald trump: well, i watch the shows. i mean, i really see a lot of great, you know, when you watch your show and all of the other shows... jeb bush: i don't know if that's saturday morning, or sunday morning. donald, you're not going to be able to insult your way to the presidency. that's not going to happen. if i'm president, i'll be a commander-in-chief, not an agitator-in-chief or a divider-in-chief... that i will lead this country in a way that will create greater security and greater safety. announcer: right to rise usa is responsible for the content of this message. i'm mary ellen, and i quit smoking with chantix. i have smoked for thirty years and by taking chantix, i was able to quit in three months. and that was amazing. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it absolutely reduced my urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. some had seizures while taking chantix. if you have any of these, stop chantix and

call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which could get worse or of seizures. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you have these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. tell your doctor if you have heart or blood vessel problems, or develop new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. use caution when driving or operating machinery. most common side effect is nausea. i can't believe i did it. i quit smoking. ask your doctor if chantix is right for you.

time for top of the news. two people are shot and killed by a chicago police officer responding to a domestic disturbance call. one a 19-year-old college student, the other a 55-year-old mother of five. federal officials say a fire at a houston mosque may have

been intentionally set. friday afternoon's fire causing major damage to the islamic society of greater houston. and former president bill clinton's childhood home in arkansas catching fire. authorities believe it was arson because investigators smelled an accelerant at the scene. damage to the national historic site is high nor. president obama taking time out of his vacation to thank troops stationed at the marine corps base in hawaii. this year's visit coming just four days after six u.s. service members were killed in a suicide attack in afghanistan. kevin corke joins us live from honolulu, hi, kevin. >> reporter: good day to you. you're right, this is as much of a tradition as coming here to the islands for the president and first lady, a chance to once again meet with u.s. service personnel and thank them, obviously as you and i have talked about on a number of occasions freedom is not free, however, this year's visit

unfortunately comes against the knowledge and the backdrop of that devastating attack in afghanistan that claimed the lives of six u.s. service personnel just outside of bag ram air base. we have heard a lot about what happened in that attack, it never gets easier unfortunately for our women and men who are based overseas, they know they are always in a dangerous situation and this despite layers of security the base of course has been under increasing attacks from militants, the latest attack taking the lives of those six women and men who had been serving their country with valor and selflessness. to transfer their bodies without question a grim reminder of the cost of freedom, something the commander in chief alluded to in remarks here in hawaii on christmas day. >> even though we have been able to reduce the number of folks who are deployed in places like iraq and afghanistan, there are still folks over there every single day and it's still dangerous, as we saw this past

week. we had some outstanding brave men and women who were killed. so we never take for granted what all of you do for the american people. >> reporter: naturally our thoughts and prayers for the families of the victims and our obviously, i think, as a nation our heart felt thanks for all the work that they do to keep us safe here back at home. just in case you're wondering this very likely will not be the last interaction the president has with troops here in hawaii, with service personnel on the islands before he heads back to washington just after the first of the year. >> kevin corke in obviously beautiful honolulu, hawaii. thanks very much. the first contest in the race for the white house the iowa caucuses now a little more than a month away, but main rivals donald trump and ted cruz spending much of this christmas weekend laying low. christian fisher is live in washington with more. hi, christian. >> reporter: so on monday both

marco rubio and chris christie are actually going to start a three-day swing through iowa. it was announced today that rubio will be joined by someone the campaign calls a special guest. south carolina congressman trey gowdy, the chairman of the benghazi committee will be joining rubio at six separate campaign events next tuesday and wednesday. to be clear this is not an official endorsement, back in november gowdy campaigned with rand paul in south carolina, but the implication is clear. in a statement gowdy said, quote, marco is a rock solid conservative and strong leader we can trust. i look forward to campaigning in iowa with him and introducing my good friends to voters across the state. donald trump will also be heading to iowa next week, he is planning a big event on tuesday. on the democratic side bernie sanders is also heading to iowa, he will be holding campaign events on tuesday, wednesday, even on new year's eve. this week sanders broke the record for the most campaign contributions at this point in a presidential campaign. it's a record previously held by

barack obama. sanders has earned more than $2.3 million in individual contribution and he is giving clinton a run for her money. according to polling in both iowa and new hampshire. that's likely one reason why bill clinton will be joining his wife on the campaign trail in january, clinton still 15 points ahead in iowa, but right now sanders is beating her according to that same polling in new hampshire. that primary is just one week after the iowa caucus. gregg. >> kristen, thanks very much. just a reminder tomorrow republican presidential candidate mike huckabee stopping by fox news sunday. you can catch the interview with chris wallace at 2:00 and 6:00 p.m. eastern time right here on the fox news channel, check your located at listings for other air times. as kristen was just reporting hillary clinton bringing some company on the campaign trail, enlisting her husband, bill clinton, a former president to get the word out in

those all important early voting states. could this, however, backfire? plus, we will take a look at the growing fallout over senator bernie sanders accusing the democratic national committee of sabotaging his campaign in favor of rival, hillary clinton. today people are coming out to the nation's capital to support an important cause that can change the way you live for years to come. how can you help? by giving a little more, to yourself. i am running for my future. people sometimes forget to help themselves. the cause is retirement, and today thousands of people came to race for retirement and pledge to save an additional one percent of their income. if we all do that we can all win. prudential bring your challenges®

so don't trust your smile to any regular toothpaste. improved crest 3d white brilliance removes 5 times more stains than the red box. try the whole collection for a smile that gets you noticed. just serve classy snacks and bew a gracious host,iday party. no matter who shows up. [cricket sound] richard. didn't think you were going to make it. hey sorry about last weekend, i don't know what got into me. well forgive and forget... kind of. i don't think so! do you like nuts?

whfight back fastts tums smoothies starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue and neutralizes stomach acid at the source tum, tum, tum, tum

smoothies! only from tums

hillary clinton reportedly sending her husband, bill clinton, out on the campaign trail as the primaries near. take a look at this, according to the latest real clear politics polling average, mrs. clinton is practically running away with the democratic nomination, beating senator bernie sanders by more than 25 points, former governor martin o'malley she's beating by more than 50 points. well, let's talk about it with susanest ridge, professor of law and political science at usc, former national campaign manager for michael due caucus and a fox news contributor.

great to see you. thanks for being with us during the holidays. look, if she's so far ahead, why send out bill clinton to the primary campaign trial? if it ain't broke don't fix t last time, 2008, you probably recall he got her into some hot water when he suggested that barack obama's victory in south carolina's primary was less than significant because o large african-american vote, so why put a potential risk out there? >> well, first of all, he's been out there all along. i mean, he has been out there raising money and there is nobody better in the democratic party at raising money. second of all, while i do think she has the nomination basically locked up, national polls don't govern presidential politics, as you well know, fwreg. so what you have to do is look at the state by state. and if you look at that you see hillary is well ahead in iowa, but new hampshire still a

contest with bernie sanders and when it comes to democratic primary voters, i can't think of anybody i'd rather have on my side than bill clinton. >> yeah, she's way ahead in iowa, 15 points, real clear politics poll average, and sanders is ahead but only by 5%, again, real clear politics in new hampshire. >> sure. >> i mean, after that she's got a 44 point lead in south carolina. so arguably he's got no ground game, sanders does, after new hampshire. >> yeah. >> but the "wall street journal" writes that -- and this is a quote, throwing mr. clinton into the mix could further escalate the rhetoric between the trump and clinton campaigns. is that a potential risk putting the former president into the mix? i mean, trump could begin to do some bigger damage. >> well, trump could begin to do some bigger damage, but it's not

clear who he will do the damage to. i mean, before you get to hillary you've got two other suspects there if bill is out and one is that he tries to damage bill, but i think much more likely is that he damages himself and in terms of responding to some of these trump-isms, i don't know if you followed the one this week that he said i tried for years not to teach my kids, but give it to donald trump, he had it out there for hillary. i mean, trump can do this on his own and if there's ever a politician who knows how to play with somebody at that level it's president clinton. hillary shouldn't touch it at all. so it will be interesting, but, you know, south carolina last time that was a very different race, you had a neck and neck contest for the democratic nomination between two very attractive candidates, including

the first african-american, the first woman and, you know, i remember talking to bill clinton the night of the iowa caucus that time, he happened to be staying in this horrible hotel that fox news was also in, and he was just -- right, it was sort of surprising -- he was just really up in heat about the way the media had treated obama and given him a ride and all of that. that clearly was not helpful and that showed up in south carolina. but basically pound for pound he's the best politician on the planet and having him on your side is better than having him against you. >> his political instincts may be among the best ever. who knows. but, look, let me ask you this, because i notice this in our polling, if trump were to get the gop nomination i wonder if that might turn out to be a gift to hillary clinton when it comes to gender because a recent fox poll has trump at 46 among men

but just 30% among women. in other words, trump has a gender gap that arguably works in hillary clinton's favor. >> there was a great "saturday night live" sketch, i have to say, and it showed the 2008 hillary clinton talking to the 2016 hillary clinton and the 2016 hillary clinton kept saying, we're going to end up in the white house, and 2008 wasn't so sure and she finally says to her who is got the republican nomination? who is the republican going to be? and of course the answer is donald trump and the 2008 hillary starts jumping up and down and saying, we are going to end up in the white house. look, i think donald trump is really not good for our political process in all kinds of ways, but is he good for hillary clinton? at the end of the day, yes. >> all right. let me get back to bernie sanders for just a moment because sanders is now suing the democratic national committee

claiming the organization is, quote, sabotaging his campaign in favor of hillary clinton, you know, the recent dust up over the data breach. >> shocking. >> well, it's prompted the sanders campaign to accuse the dnc of being in the bag for clinton and so on and so forth. fair criticism or not? >> oh, sure, i'm sure it is a fair criticism. the dnc is always in the bag. if the dnc were not in the bag for somebody it wouldn't be the dnc. look, i actually -- everybody has worked at the dnc and i remember working there because i was a month dale plant and then heart started winning and i was like, oh, my god, am i going to keep my job? who do i know in the heart campaign? this is the way the dnc functions in election years and when you have a nominee, a nominee apparent as it's funny, back in 1980 tad divine who is running bernie's campaign was working for president carter, i

was on the kennedy side, we were completely shut out of the dnc. i mean, the dnc was in operation of the carter white house. >> right. >> it's just how it is. i mean, real politics is real politics and debbie wasserman schultz i don't think anybody has accused her of being neutral in the presidential race. >> i do remember that back in 1980. susanest ridge thank you so much, great to see you as always. >> great to see you, merry christmas and happy new year to you and everybody. >> don't forget to read susan's column. she has a syndicated column in newspapers all over the country, it's terrific every wednesday and friday, be sure to check it out. we will tell you why this year's super saturday was more sluggish than super and what it means for the u.s. economy. and try to guess which iconic new york city building is about as long as this cargo ship. we will reveal coming up next.

♪ i built my business with passion. but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i have the spark cash card from capital one. i earn unlimited 2% cash back on everything i buy for my studio. ♪ and that unlimited 2% cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business... that's huge for my bottom line. what's in your wallet? come happy birthday. i just had a heart attack... and now i have a choice. for her. for them. and him. a choice to take brilinta. a prescription for people who've been hospitalized for a heart attack. i take brilinta with a baby aspirin ...no more than 100 mg. as it affects how well it works. it's such an important thing to do to help

protect against another heart attack. brilinta worked better than plavix. and even reduced the chances of dying from another one. don't stop taking brilinta without talking to doctor. since stopping it too soon increases your risk of clots in your stent, heart attack, stroke, and even death. brilinta may cause bruising or bleeding more easily or serious, sometimes fatal bleeding. don't take brilinta if you have bleeding, like stomach ulcers. a history of bleeding in the brain, or severe liver problems. tell your doctor about bleeding, new or unexpected shortness of breath, any planned surgery and all medicines you take. i will take brilinta today. tomorrow. and every day for as long as my doctor tells me. don't miss a day of brilinta.

it's gotten squarer. over the years. brighter. bigger. thinner. even curvier. but what's next? for all binge watchers. movie geeks. sports freaks. x1 from xfinity will change the way you experience tv. >> a giant quarter mile container ship docking in the port of los angeles. unbelievable. it is the biggest container ship to call at the port.

just like a state building in the new york city. the arrival of the massive ship shows that the l.a. port is prepared for the next phase of modern trade. not so super this year. last saturday before christmas often sets the annual record for weekend sales. and this year, sales have been sluggish and retailers are struggling to meet the modest forecast. carl, great to see you. depend to see you, greg. >> for a variety of reasons. they have been carrying the u.s. economy but not spending in ways that everybody would like them to do. what sth does this mean?

>> i think it is an interesting time we live in. there is a lot of concern about safety issues with one. and going to malls or large places to shop. and that comes in to play here. and there is clearly a trend, greg, on line sales surpassing last year's numbers of net sales and they are shopping more on line. you are right. it has been a bit slugerb and we are not deputy yet. we have retailers offering a lot of discounts. >> so people are dramatically changing the spending habits and there may be a lag in the talley on line. and we may not be bad as the recent stats suggest. what dew forecast for 2016? >> lower gas prices helped

people to feel they have more in their pocket to spend in the mall and holiday season. we go with the same sentiment. they are not rushing out and buying expensive items. there is a trend. and they are cautious about p how much they spend. and going into 2016, that is the right approach to the investment community or consumer over all. and janet yellen will be watching how the consumer numbers will come in and she will be cautious about going forward in raising interest rates in a fast pace. >> that is fighting future.

and back to our original subject. people are spending more and more on line. and that has to hurt brick and mortar stores and they shut down, that means empty commercial space and that could hurt the economy. >> greg, i am from new york. and in manhattan, you you can see a hot of empty of commercial space. that is blocks long of places that was existing. >> it will have hessretailers going forward. what i see on ups and fed ex's to get the shipments to where they needed to go. and the traffic there picked significantly.

>> anchor: they were behind on the weather. >> and tornado wivs in parts of the south. we'll watching the weather. we'll be back with more. don't go away. try alka-seltzer heartburn reliefchews. they work fast and don't taste chalky. mmm...amazing. i have heartburn. alka-seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief.

>> finally the unseasonably warm

weather. and the holiday forecasters said the ocean's temps for the 50s. that's it for me. julie banderas up next with the fox report. fox urgent. death rise in the south. alabama hit especially hard. much of the state in a state of emergency. and warm weather sparking rain and tornados and downpours are triggers and hundreds of rods under water. and twisters ripping through neighborhoods. one victim who lost two homes to tornados