i want to wish everyone a very, very merry christmas and happy hanukkah as well. remember our heroes in the military and our heroes in blue who keep us safe. have a wonderful and safe weekend, everybody. tensions between allies, the u.s. refuses to block the u.n.'s condemning israel's controversial jewish settlement. what will that mean to the elusive middle east peace process. one of the big issues president-elect trump plans to tackle, but could sticker shock be one of his major campaign promises. and they've been holding their punches. but now president-elect and president-elect trump are not exactly playing mr. nice guy anymore. happy hanukkah, merry christmas eve. whatever you're celebrating, i'm leland vittert. nice to be with you.

>> i'm elizabeth prann. welcome to america's news headquarters from washington. major fallout after the u.s. makes a huge policy shift in its stance towards israel. a long-standing and key middle east ally. the obama administration choosing not to veto a u.n. security council resolution condemning israeli settlement expansion in palestinian claimed territory. the u.s. abstained from the vote instead, a stunning break from past practice that allowed the measure to pass, despite intense lobbying from israel. and president-elect trump. john has the latest on what happens now from jerusalem. hi, john. >> reporter: well, elizabeth, first of all there's been, as we all know, a great deal of fallout from this vote. the united states, here in jerusalem, to the west bank where christmas celebrations are going on right now in bethlehem. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu called it shameful,

while palestinian president mahmoud abbas said it was a big blow to policy. benjamin netanyahu released a statement, quote, israel rejects this shameful anti-israel resolution at the u.n. and will not abide by its terms at a time when the security council is not doing anything to stop the slaughter of half a million people in syria, it disgracefully gangs up on the one true democracy in the middle east, israel, and calls the western wall occupied territory. the resolution passed 14 votes to 0 with the u.s. abstaining. it demands they cease all activity in the territory, including east jerusalem. the u.s. envoy to the u.n., samantha power, said israel's settlement undermines israel's security. >> one cannot simultaneously champion expanding israeli settlements and champion a viable two-state solution that would end the conflict. one has to make a choice between

settlements and separation. >> reporter: along with palestinian authority leader mahmoud abbas, the plo general described yesterday as a historic kay with what he said a clear and unanimous message to prime minister netanyahu. >> this is a day where the international community have utterly rejected such activities, the policies of dictation, the policies of apartheid, being employed by the israeli government. >> reporter: now, the resolution also states that the settlements have no legal validity. president-elect trump, a strong proponent as we know of israel tweeted out after the vote, after the u.n., things will be different after january 20th. elizabeth? >> john huddy reporting, thank you so much. certainly a polarizing issue.

fred is a former adviser toment george w. bush and doug shown who advised president bill clinton. thank you, gentlemen, for joining us. >> thank you. >> we partly think this is aptly perfect for this topic. i want to start with you, brad. i'm curious as to your take as a dynamic, as we see the dynamics of the relationship between prime minister netanyahu and president obama really come to a head as we're transitioning to president-elect donald trump. what is your take on the events that took place yesterday? >> well, friends don't take friends to the u.n. security council. israel is an oasis in a sea of despair and terror. israel should be our closest ally. the united states should not be cowardly and abstain. this is the last slap in the face of barack obama, not only to the prime minister of israel, but to the people of israel on the eve of hanukkah. this is absolutely unacceptable. i would use stronger language than the prime minister of israel in condemnation.

but things will change after january 20th. we're going to respect our friends and be close to our friends, like israel, because they are the true allies of america in a troubled region. >> you said that you would -- >> we're punishing our friends. >> let me use part of his reaction, and get doug's reaction. the prime minister writes in part, the obama administration not only failed to protect israel against this gangup at the u.n., it colluded with it behind the scenes. israel looks forward to working with president-elect trump and with all of our friends in congress, republicans, democrats alike, to negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution. doug, your reaction? >> well, i would agree. i don't know what the collusion was specifically, but let's just say a day after donald trump was able to negotiate with the egyptians to withdraw the resolution, four nonpermanent members of the security council put it back on the agenda right away.

i believe the u.s. could have and should have done more to stop it. but what the prime minister said about bipartisanship is where i would really like to begin. i'm a democrat. i worked for bill clinton but i'm a staunch supporter of israel. i've worked for at least three israeli prime ministers. this will retard the peace process. this will make war more likely. and this divides israel and the united states. fortunately, donald trump is becoming president. he will reverse this policy. i am certain after january 20th and the world will be better off. israel will be better off as a result. >> okay. i want to see if you both agree on this. because there have been some reaction to trump's interference. appropriate or inappropriate? brad, i want to start with you. >> it's absolutely appropriate. >> but one at a time, no? >> it is appropriate for him to speak out in less than a month he's going to be our president. it's absolutely mandatory for him to say something when our

country has done something so disastrous to the relationship not only with israel, but the stability of one of the most troubled regions in the world. so yes, i applaud donald trump for speaking out. and this sends a signal about the change that will take place when he's our president. >> what do you think, doug? because there's been some criticism that it really is a standoff there that he's stepping on president obama's toes. >> well, normally i would want to and tend to agree. there's a big "but." this upsets settled american policy. eight years of, you know, steadfast veto and blocking these type of resolutions, to do this, as brad said, right before christmas and hanukkah is an outrage. and with the president also having put a ban on offshore drilling, it looks to me like president obama is effectively trying to usurp donald trump's

authority. i'm very glad the president-elect said and did what he did. it's right, reasonable, and responsible. and i'm confident we will be back on an even keel after january 20th. >> that brings me to my last question then, brad. i want to give you the last word. as we move forward, what can be done to perhaps get some of the emotions down? bring down the temperature after this? >> well, i think what donald trump should do is reach out immediately to the state of israel when he's president, and start a new course of dialogue that will bring the parties together. but remember, donald trump understands better than anybody else, a deal is only as good as it is for both parties. both parties must get something out of the deal. by the way, we have to be fair dealers in saying, first and foremost, our allegiance is to the state of israel. that's where israel's allegiance should be. >> the next parting shot would be, we do need a peace process, but under traditional terms to reach a two-state solution. what happened yesterday will

retard, not advance that process. >> very interesting points and perhaps more agreement than we expected. happy holidays to you, gentlemen. >> happy holidays. >> happy holidays to you. president-elect trump's latest tweet may be a preview of u.s.-israeli policy after he takes office. saying, quote, as to the u.n., things will be different after january 20th. that, of course, being inauguration day. zoom out. it may also be a metaphor tor the differences between the current administration and the next one. garrett is outside the president-elect trump's florida estate where they're celebrating christmas eve. merry christmas eve, garrett. >> reporter: merry christmas to you, leland. we are celebrating christmas together. i'm sure the trumps will be inviting all of us in for christmas morning with the children. until that happens, though, it's clear looking all the way back to the campaigning, president-elect trump does plan to shake things up when he comes to washington.

but even before then, he's not planning to wait until he takes office to do that. most recentlies you can look at this week, in the u.n. vote with israel. now, we've seen him repeatedly weigh in on u.s. foreign policy, even when it contradicts the administration. with esaw that a couple of days ago. after the u.s. refused to use its veto powers to protect israel, mr. trump released a statement criticizing the u.s.'s decision, previewing how u.s.-israel relations will be tan tand. the united states has long maintained peace between the israelis and the palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties. and not through the imposition of terms by the united nations. this puts israel in a very poor negotiating position, and is extremely unfair to all israelis. then on friday, mr. trump reinforced the changes to come with a tweet, stating, as to the u.n., things will be different after january 20th.

and as you mentioned, that is when he will be taking the oath 6 office. this week in another indication of possible changes to come, mr. trump also indicated that the u.s. needs to upgrade its nuclear arsenal. yesterday, incoming white house press secretary sean spicer said the president-elect trump is sending a clear message to world leaders. >> i think countries need to know that under donald trump presidency, business as usual is over. he's going to act, he's going to protect america. if they increase their nuclear capability, america will act. >> reporter: the president-elect does not have any scheduled meetings or events today. we do not know any specifics on his plans for the rest of the weekend. we can tell you, how far, that last year when he was in palm beach for christmas, he did go to mass. he may decide to do that again. leland? >> garrett tenney covering it outside mar-a-lago. if you get invited in for christmas, let us know. moving on, one moment president-elect donald trump --

a fox news alert. we're covering the differences here between president obama's world view and president-elect trump's world view. we bring in a member of the national security council and fox news contributor. you saw the bush-to-obama transition at the nsc. it was a change in world view, but doesn't seem as drastic as a change as we're seeing now between president obama and now president-elect trump eight years later. >> well, i think the traditional foreign policy of the united states has conducted for the last 50 years is most certainly going to be sort of turned on its head, with the start of the trump administration in a month from now. but we don't actually yet know a lot of the concrete stuff that he's going to take to get us there. meaning, president-elect trump has done a very good job of laying out his vision, and his kind of strategic goals. but we're pretty thin on the particulars right now. and a lot of times the devil's in the details. so what i mean to say by this is

that he has very big goals -- >> at least in this idea in terms of israel, israel with respect to the u.n., he was very clear this should have been vetoed and israel is put in a bad position and i would have done things differently if i was in the white house. >> absolutely. as we all know, it's the commander in chief's prerogative to guide that foreign policy. i think that there's no bones about the fact that the u.n., for example, is going to have a much sort of smaller role in a trump administration as compared to the obama administration, which greatly expanded it since the george w. bush administration. >> there is at least some reporting out there, by one of the big israeli newspapers, that president obama was intimately involved in this decision on thursday and friday while he was on vacation to abstain from this vote. larger picture, what message does this send to our allies who are all of a sudden watching this shift in power and trying to figure out, to your point, somebody who has broad, big

ideas, but perhaps the knitty dprity details aren't figured out? >> a couple of things on that. one is that i think it's now clear to everybody that a change is coming. i think it's clear to everybody that donald trump is very eager to kind of flex his muscle and wants to show that he wants the united states to kind of reassert its leadership on the global stage. but the caution, i think, for an incoming administration is that there's a lot of sort of rights that come along with being elected and being the soon-to-be commander in chief, but there's also a lot of responsibilities. one of those is to maintain the dignity and respect of the office at all times. it's also incumbent on the president-elect to not impede upon president obama and undermine his policies right now. so he's got to really tread carefully and balance that here. >> in another place we've seen this real split between president obama and president-elect trump is when it comes to the issue of russia, t

friend or enemy, should we get along or not. this coming from president putin's letter to president-elect trump. quote, i hope that after you assume the position of president of the united states of america, we will be able by acting in a constructive and pragmatic manner to take real steps to restore the framework of bilateral cooperation in different areas as well as bring our level of collaboration on the international scene to a quantitatively new level. sounds like a long way of saying the famous reset button from the other side. >> i hate to be the grinch, because it's christmas eve day -- >> we all know that's sort of your general personality. >> my prediction for this relationship is that it's great that president-elect trump has lost the aspirations to have closer bilateral relationship with the russians. but he's not yet dealt with president putin as a head of state counterpart. once he does, i predict that he's going to come to the same

conclusions that every president for the last 50 years has come to. and that is that you actually cannot trust the russian regime as far as you can throw a stick. they have lied their way through the world stage, everything from their invasions of georgia and ukraine over the past year, to the humanitarian crisis, they've now participated by inserting themselves into the war in syria. i think that once the president has to actually deal with putin as a counterpart, his estimation of him is going to change. maybe i'm wrong. >> certainly with ewould hope that you're wrong. >> we would hope so, exactly. i hope i come back a year from now and talk about how wrong i was and that the russians changed and vladimir putin has become a sort of responsible world leader. that's my hope. >> we typically have people back, but we'll mark the tape. if you're wrong, we'll talk

about it. >> all right. >> thanks. merry christmas. >> great interview. the best military money could buy could cost u.s. taxpayers $618 billion next year. president obama signed the national defense authorization act allowing that level of spending for more troops and higher pay, even though it didn't give him one of the things he wanted and promised to voters, which is the closure of the detention facility at guantanamo bay. looking at the fine print, we're joined with the very latest. hi, lauren. >> hi, liz. while president obama signed the $618 billion measure into law, he took the opportunity to attach a lengthy signing statement. essentially a few parting shots from the outgoing president. in a statement writing, i am also disappointed that the congress again failed to enact meaningful reforms to the unneeded structure, reduce wasteful overhead and modernize military health care. our restrictions on transferring

gitmo detainees. mr. obama will leave office in a month after failing to shut the prison at guantanamo bay, cuba. he was never able to fulfill his goal. president obama said it makes gitmo, a permanent fixture of our struggle against terrorism. a controversial provision backed by democrats that would require women to register for selective service was left completely out of the bill. the president said he signed the bill because it, quote, provides vital benefits for military personnel and families, and includes authorities to facilitate ongoing operations around the globe. it also authorizes a troop pay increase of about 2.1%. even though mr. obama only requested a 1.6% pay raise. to put that in context, that's about $550 more per year for junior level enlisted troops, and $1,800 for mid-career officers.

it also bolsters the number of troops in the army, marines and air force. the grand total is about 23,000 additional troops. mr. obama initially wanted 16,000. the bill will take effect on january 1st. liz? >> all right, lauren blanchard reporting live. thank you very much. more than 103 million americans will take planes, trains, automobiles to go over the river and through the woo to grand ma's house for end of year holiday travel. that is the most ever according to aaa. now the bad news. with snow and freezing rain expected to slam parts of the country, get ready for some travel headaches. you can see the snow there by new york, and a long line of rain from dallas all the way up through memphis. air-train service was shut down yesterday afternoon, forcing them to make it to the terminal on foot. thankfully the air train we're

told -- yeah, that's the air train stuck. is now back working we're told. more than 6 million people will fly this holiday. video from denver international airport where security wait times were just about 30 minutes long. but officials say leave two hours before your flight just to be safe. sorry in so many ways, a star college football player apologizes for attacking a woman, but why is he still on the scene? a smalltown epidemic fueled indirectly by big money drug companies. how a public health crisis affecting one of the most rural in the state. small acts of kindness to the tiniest victims. the spirit of season crosses all borders. where hope is in such short supply. >> giving them a christmas that the way it used to be before they were displaced or refugees. the holidays should bring joy.

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it's never, never okay. you know, never, never okay to retaliate and hit a woman, you know, the way i did. i'm here to apologize to everybody who was affected by it. you know, my mother.

she worked hard. i disappointed her. >> disappointed a lot of people. that was university of oklahoma running back joe mickson apologizing after being caught on camera punching a woman back in 2014. his coach, bob stoops, said if it happened now instead of two years ago he would be off the team. he was suspended by the sooners for one year. the hope and cheer of the holiday season is lacking for thousands of christians, forcing them to flee their homes because of terrorism and civil war. one group is working hard to make sure the children feel the spirit of the season. >> reporter: for thousands of christian refugees fleeing isis terrorists and sieve wars, christmas comes with hardship. many lost their homes and their way of life. one organization is trying to

make a positive difference. >> we're giving them a christmas, giving children a christmas the way it used to be before they were either displaced or refugees. >> reporter: the program is called christmas for refugees, which has given thousands of children a taste of merry christmas. these images show from last year's celebrations that just for few hours children whose lives were changed forever through war and strife knows that christmas means sgs pure and good. in the basement of a local church, they sing songs, eat a meal, even get a visit from santa. at the end of the party, they each go home with a bag of food and gifts. >> many of these children had ipads and went to private schools. now they are sitting with the entire family in one room, often in a tent, no transportation, no school, no nothing, without hope, without a future. and with much of their homes, particularly those in the plane,

destroyed. and what we are trying to do is to give them a little hope, to bring christmas back to them the way it used to be for them, before this devastation happened to the christian community in the middle east. >> reporter: this year the program will help about 6,000 children in dispoliced areas, thousands in northern iraq. many will never be able to return to their homes because most of destroyed and looted. but the program helps give them hope that regardless of where they are, it is still christmas. lauren green, fox news. come january 20th, there might be some bridges to be built across the political aisle. ahead, a look at the president-elect's high-ticket infrastructure rebuilding plan, and if we can afford it. speaking of bridges, those bridges between the united states and israel, they hit some sort of diplomatic potholes while president obama was out on the golf course. our kevin cork is with the president in hawaii.

hi, kevin. >> reporter: you're right about that. we're going to talk about that when we come back. what does this mean for the future of u.s.-israeli relations? that story and more as we continue on a saturday. i'm here from bagram air force base in afghanistan. i love you guys. i can't wait to see you again. family road trip! fun! check engine. not fun! but, you've got hum.

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we've been following the obama administration, defending its decision not to to veto the united nations vote on friday. our own white house correspondent kevin cork joins us from hawaii, where the first family is vacationing this holiday week. hi, kevin. >> reporter: hey, good to talk to you. you're right, a stunning decision that continues to reverberate across the globe. but of course, the administration is going to

continue to push back as well saying, listen, this doesn't mean we've had a change in our posture and in our relationship with the most important ally in the region. no matter how you spin it, people are still shaking their heads and wondering what in the world happened in new york yesterday at the united nations. the president, we are told, came to his decision after several rounds of consultation with key members of his team, including u.n. ambassador samantha power and secretary of state john kerry. deputy national security adviser ben rhodes said while the u.s. didn't agree with all the resolution, it was a signal for both sides that they need to do more to ensure a peaceful process for the two-state solution. >> when it comes to final status issues, we believe that those should be negotiated between the parties. at a certain point, the words and actions are found to be irreconcilable, and that's what we're concerned about. >> reporter: obviously directed at israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu wlos relationship with the president has been, let's say complicated

at best. former arkansas governor mike huckabee said while this is part and parcel for the u.n., this is a big mistake by the president. >> it's also policy that american presidents don't change a long-standing four-decade-old policy about vetoing these kind of actions at the united nations, in the waning 30 days of his tenure. the u.n., it's time to stop sending money down that rat hole. these are a bunch of mosquitoes pretending to be eagles and they have no right to determine what other countries do in their own sovereign nation. >> reporter: administration officials continue to point out the fact that, listen, we just wrapped up a $38 billion aid package to israel. great military cooperation. so in no way does this signal a major sea change in that respect. but i'm sure at least in jerusalem this morning, that might ring pretty hollow. elizabeth? >> kevin corke reporting live

from beautiful hawaii. thank you so much. donald trump's proposed trillion dollar infrastructure plan has congress taking sides. not exactly the side you might expect. republican lawmakers are in sticker shock while top democrats like incoming minority leader chuck schumer are onboard. steve moore, always nice to see you. mer ri christmas eve. >> merry christmas. i want to go to hawaii, i want kevin's job. >> i think you have to get in a long line, my friend. we'll look at getting you snow in chicago. >> we don't have the white stuff yet. we're waiting for it tonight. >> we'll be working on that. maybe santa will bring it. on to economics here. as we look at mr. trump's economic plan, specifically the infrastructure plan, you've been on this program a lot. many times you really argued against these kinds of massive federal government spending programs. why is this different?

>> well, there's a big difference, leland, between infrastructure, you know, especially private infrastructure, which has a return on investment, and makes oh- >> but what does private infrastructure mean? we keep hearing this. >> well, when companies build factories and plants, and there's all sorts of energy projects that could be built with private money. i'm making a distinction here, leland, between the old-fashioned public works projects which obama spent, you know, hundreds of billions of dollars on, in the shovel-ready projects that didn't really create many jobs at all, versus really smart infrastructure, a mixture of public and private. when people throw around the $1 trillion number, they think the taxpayers will have to pay for $1 trillion of spending. i don't think so. i'll give you one example of a project that is hugely important for our infrastructure, that's not going to cost the taxpayers a dime, and that's the keystone e sell pipeline, something held up for five years by president obama and hillary clinton. we could get that going in the

first month after donald trump takes the oath of office. i would submit to you, there are dozens and dozens of other projects like that. smafrt infrastructure is what i'm for. >> but in terms of whether or not you're going to get congressional approval for a lot of these smart as you call them infrastructure projects, why is it that republicans are very tepid to get behind this? they're still talking about sticker shock, whereas democrats are saying, this sounds great. i'm guessing that if democrats and republicans are talking about slightly different things here -- >> i think that's exactly right. i think you nailed it. that republicans are saying, look, we'll build a network of pipelines around this country. we need l&gr terminals. i live in virginia, we have a privately funded toll road where it was built with private money, paid for by the tolls that people who use it. that didn't cost the taxpayers a dime. given the fact, leland, that we're still running nearly $1 trillion a year deficits, we've got to find ways where we can

really leverage that private sector funding for these projects. what we don't want is the bridges to know we're in alaska, the $70 billion high-speed rail program in california. those things are a waste of money. >> but it's so much quicker to get to vegas then. when you hear chuck schumer say i'm for the trump infrastructure plan, though, do you think he'll be for the plan you just discussed or bridges to nowhere? >> that's a great question. you might have to ask him that question. it's probably going to be a combination of both. i would love to see a jobs bill from donald trump right out of the gate with his business tax cut that you and i talked a lot about on this show. and then you add some of the infrastructure spending that the democrats want. i would envision maybe a bill, a jobs bill that you could get passed in the first hundred days that does some infrastructure spending, those business tax cuts that are so important for growth -- i'm excited about 2017. i think we could see a burst of

growth, 4% growth, putting a lot of americans back into jobs. i want to see democrats vote for that. i don't just want to do it with republican votes. i want to do it in a bipartisan way. we'll see if chuck schumer wants to cooperate. >> you are the first person i interviewed as an anchor on fox news that was christmas 2013, you said i'm cautiously optimistic. you crossed your fingers. >> are you sure about that? >> i'm positive. and now you don't have to cross your fingers. and you are optimistic. >> exactly. >> merry christmas to you and yours. >> you, too. >> thanks, steve. speaking of christmas, christmas morning, wake up and watch this. don't miss fox news sunday tomorrow morning, one of trump's most outspoken supporters, former house speaker newt gingrich joins chris wallace. check your local listings for air times tomorrow. terrifying video for you. you can see here, it's one family, a toddler in china that

was all captured on video. a 3-year-old was riding a tricycle when a truck ran a red light and hit the toddler and dragged him under the wheel. thankfully the little boy walked away with minor injuries. authorities were able to reunite the little boy with his mother after getting him from under the truck. pretty startling video there. still ahead, why some drivers are fuming when arizona opens its borders to a california region. this is a sign of arizona being a welcoming place. not only to people, but businesses. who's ultimately responsible for the uptick in our nation's opioid epidemic? the families grieve the loss of addicted loved ones, a new investigation said big corporate process in one of the hardest hit states. despite telling all the medical professionals, the medical personnel, that she was a recovering addict, when jessie was discharged, shef was given

50 oxycodone pills. that night jessie died. i'm currently deployed overseas. i want to wish happy holidays to my husband and family. i love you and miss you all. merry christmas. ♪ as soon as i became a parent i changed as a person, drastically. ♪ i tried hard to quit smoking. ♪ but when we brought our daughter home that was it. ♪ now i have nicoderm cq. the nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release technology helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. it's the best thing that ever happened to me. can you say thanks nicoderm cq? every great why needs a great how.

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welcome to 2027, the fut are. a driverless truck driving a driveless car to arizona. it happened days after california revoked permits and banned driverless ubers from its roads. uber packed up and said it wants to head to phoenix now. the governor expects the technology will bring new jobs to his state. he said the vehicles will be fully insured when they're on the road. some uber drivers, though,

complained it's going to hurt their bottom line. for now, though, don't worry if you're on the roads out there in phoenix. during this test period, someone is going to be sitting in the driver's seat of those driverless cars. as i go from group to group to group, what's your biggest problem? heroin. heroin. heroin. >> over 800,000 people, they shipped 200 million pain pills to my state of west virginia. >> more than 33,000 americans die from heroin, prescription drug overdoses last year. according to the cdc. one of the hardest hit states is west virginia. an investigation this week by the charleston gazette mail followed the link from the pharmaceutical pain clinics and so-called pill mills. we're joined by eric who uncovered the story. he joins us now from charleston, west virginia. thank you for joining us, sir. we have some new information,

just yesterday there was a $44 million settlement nationwide that was brought in by the doj with one of the biggest prescription distributors. i want to read in defense so they can get their part in. a statement they released that reads in part, to combat the scourge of opioid abuse successfully, this must be a collaborative effort that includes all parties. it went on to talk about regulators, also manufacturers and those who produce medications along with doctors and pharmacies. i want to get your reaction to the news of the day, when we hear of the settlement, and also moving forward, the new lawsuit that was also brought. >> well, that stemmed from an investigation in 2012, and just reached a settlement. the interesting thing is the same company, cardinal health, a couple years earlier had also been sanctioned by the daefea, this is nothing new. there are other corporations that paid $150 million.

>> i want you to set the scene for us. because we look at some of the numbers here. i can put up a full screen, when you look at the prescription are thatting going, and just to west virginia, from between 2007 and 2012, oxycodone dosages up to $224 million, hydrocodone 555 million. more than 1,700 fatalities related to overdose. can you set the scene in your investigation on how much medication is going to a small state, as far as population is concerned? >> it amounts to about 430 tablets to opioids that you just described for every man, woman and child in west virginia. and what was most interesting is that a lot of these shipments were going to the small pharmacies, the mom and pop, the independent locally owned pharmacies. they weren't necessarily going to the rite-aids and wal greens and walmarts.

you had one case where we had a far si in a town of 400 people that received 9 million doses of hydrocodone alone, in a town of 400 people. and that was just over two years. >> okay. so for our vours at home, when you say there's 9 million going to the small area of this population, who is ultimately responsible? because not only, you know, are we seeing a lot of hands involved in the drug companies, we're seeing the lawmakers, the pharmacies themselves, but also the doctors prescribing them. there are a lot of people seeing these statistics. why is nothing getting done? >> well, you have a situation where you have rogue doctors that are prescribing. you've got pill mill pharmacies that are dispensing a medication. you've got these drug distributors, wholesalers that are shipping the drugs. you also have the manufacturers. so you have all of them working together. it seems that none of them want

to take responsibility, however. >> moving forward, do you feel as if there will be action? tell me a little bit about the new lawsuit that's just been filed. >> yeah, the poorest county in west virginia, about 28,000 people, drug-ravaged county, very impoverished county. yesterday they filed suit against the drug wholesalers and a local physician that was prescribing an excessive number of pain pills. so it's finally the counties are trying to strike back, or fight back against these forces. >> all right. eric, we appreciate you joining us. please stay on the story. as you said, 9 million pills to one county seems absolutely startling. please stay on it for us. thank you so much. >> thank you. coming up, they thought it was their annual christmas evening of the nutcracker. then there was this christmas surprise.

we'll tell you what it is. and more of the reaction coming up. plus, he made his list, he's checking it twice. exclusive video you can see. the big man pulling out. we're going to check on his journey coming up next. all finished.

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please welcome -- [ cheers and applause ] >> daddy!

>> all right. now tore the back story. the church family goes to "the nutcracker" every single year, but this year they were in for the biggest christmas surprise of all. their dad, air force captain howard church was quite literally waiting in the wings. he is deployed in saudi arabia and wasn't to be home for another month. as you can tell, he made it home for christmas. >> i love that. it never gets old. on dasher, on dancer, on prancer and vixen. it is the big night for santa claus and his eight female reindeer. he spent much of his time in his workshop at the north pole, kriss kringle, his official residents is in finland outside the arctic circle. hundreds of tourists gathered to wave him on. right now the norad santa tracker says the big guy is over

tirk men stan. >> it's a small country. >> already delivered more than 2 million toys to the little girls and boys. after working at local news, it is a tradition to cover santa as he travels overnight. i do it on my free time. >> just pull up norad on your phone. now it has an app. we've come so far since the 1950s when sears, roebuck and company published an ad and accidentally put in the phone number of norad. that's how it began. there was a kid who called the number on the ad and called the red phone in colorado springs. the colonel picks up the phone. the kid goes, where is santa. the colonel told him and now we have the norad santa tracker. >> we'll be following him with his female reindeer. >> she really loves that part, the female reindeer. >> we have more news after the break. we're going to continue to cover the story of the u.n., really pole rising reaction from both

sides of the aisle. we had a heated debate about it. we'll continue the conversation. >> st. nick is trading in his sleigh for a pair of skis. live picture of the potomac as we are awaiting the skiing santa. ♪ so i went onto ancestry, soon learned that one of our ancestors was eastern european. this is my ancestor who i didn't know about.

turkey about to go in the oven. presents getting wrapped. glatd to have you with us. >> welcome to america's election headquarters from washington. here is what's making news right now. pair of fears mixed with holiday cheer. europeans on alert as new arrests are made in connection

with the berlin christmas market massacre. in california, the families of those killed in a warehouse fire are trying to seek relief in court. >> their numbers may be small, but their faith reaches to the heaven. christians celebrating christmas in iraq. as you might know, this has not happened for a very long time. we begin with a fox news alert. police have arrested the nephew of the berlin terror suspect. police, of course, shot and killed that suspect at an italian checkpoint yesterday, but the investigation continues now to his home country. authorities in tunisia arrested three men for the attack that killed 12 and injured so many more. this is, of course, a widespread investigation now on two continents. kitty logan following it all for us from london. hi, kitty. >> reporter: hi, leland. as you say, the hunt is very much on for accomplices in that

berlin attack. earlier today tunisian security forces arrested a number of people. these, they say, are allegedly extremists with links to annise am mooer, the 24-year-old thought to be responsible. one of those arrested is understood to be amory's nephew. authorities say the two men had been communicating about supporting isis. german investigators are pretty sure it was amri who was behind the wheel of this truck when it plowed into a busy christmas market on monday evening killing 12 people. amri's i.d. was found under the driver's seat and his fingerprints were on the shot. amri was shot dead on friday morning by police after he pulled a gun when he was asked for i.d. he apparently traveled there by train from germany almost unnoticed. german authorities have empathized that despite stopping amri, the investigation

continues. both inquiries are international. isis, of course, has claimed responsibility for the attack in berly and a video of amri has since emerged pledging his allegiance to the group. the question now, who else was behind this and where could be the next target? there is increased security in many places across europe in the wake of this attack including at the vatican in rome. >> kitty logan live in london. thanks. for more on the suspect and our security at home and abroad this holiday season, let's bring in alexander, research director at george washington university's program on extremists. we see other suspects have been apprehended. what does this tell you? initially we saw him travel through germany, france and into italy. there was a lot of people asking if he had support. are you getting the sense he did have more support?

>> the arrest was in tunisia, with family members of the suspect. whether or not they were directly involved, it's not clear. it sounds like he was trying to recruit them to go with him. the details are not clear, but in the end, traveling around that part of the european union is easy. it's a shan gan zone, visa-free travel. >> are you worried he wasn't discovered earlier. when we talked earlier, italian officials did apprehend him but it was during a routine traffic stop. >> yes, his event killing was not due to any sort of int intelligen intelligence, he was routinely stopped in the square in milan. but, yeah, in the end, he bought his train from france to italy, that train doesn't check any details. you can buy those tickets without anyone making any serious inquiries about who you are or what you're doing. >> we talked a little bit about the profile we're seeing, especially from the men who were apprehended to day, young males between the ages of 18 and 27.

perhaps men who haven't been able to integrate into society. is this a vulnerable profile that authorities should be looking at and where do you start prevention? how do you get them before they become disenfranchised? >> it's difficult. there is no terrorist profile. but he does fit a general trend which is guys involved with petty crime, who go to jail, end up making connections with extremists through criminal networks and guys essentially rebelling against society. >> do you focus on the groups in jail and prison? >> there are a number of people who radicalize in prison. it's a revolt movement. these angry young men get drawn into the violence and prestige and adventure that comes with it. >> we look at the fact that there are threat of lone wolf attacks and directed attacks. we're seeing them come to a head when we see as a second time a

suspected terrorist has to use a vehicle to plow through rounds of people. so that's really difficult for authorities to stop. how do you even begin to prevent attacks such as this. >> a lot of the attacks are lone actor. they are low tech. you don't know someone is going to do something until they commit the act. this is a typical terrorist attack. >> we see this happening at large gatherings. what measures being taken here in the united states to say you can go out and enjoy the holiday seas season. we got the warning there was availed threat by isis to conduct attacks at churches and large gatherings. that makes people afraid going into the holidays. >> that's their intent. i would advise people to live their lives as they normally would and trust the authorities are doing their job. generally the fbi and police do a good job of stopping these attacks through a mixture of

sting operations. >> we are heading into the holidays, and it is scary. people are afraid. thank you very much. leland? >> a fox news alert, israel is accusing the obama administration of betrayal at the u.n. because the security council there passed a resolution denouncing jewish settlements. the u.s. could, of course, have used its unilateral veto to protect israel and did not. this marks a huge shift. the vote also laid bare the polar opposite foreign policy of president obama and president-elect trump. lauren blanchard has more on the vote and the fallout as it continues here in washington. hi, lauren. >> hi, leland. the u.s. has stopped similar rets lugss in the past. but in another blow to u.s.-israeli relations, yesterday the obama administration abstained from a vote allowing what some call an anti israel resolution to pass

14-0. the vote condemns controversial israeli settlements in disputed palestinian territory. ben ming netanyahu said in a statement, the obama administration not only failed to protect israel against this gang-up at the u.n., it colluded with it behind the scenes. over the years the president's administration has become increasingly critical of israel settlements saying they are counterproductive to peace talks. samantha powers did concede ob staining from the vote was in line with the president's policy. >> the united states has been sending the message that the settlements must stop privately and publicly for nearly five decades. one cannot simultaneously champion expanding israeli settlements and champion a viable two-state solution that would end the conflict. one las to make a choice between settlements and separation.

>> prime minister netanyahu has also accused president obama of colluding with israel's enemies in the decision to ab strain from the vote, further straining what has already become an uncomfortable alliance between mr. netanyahu and mr. obama. >> you do get the sense that president obama may be on an island even when it comes to his own party. give us a sense of the congressional fallout. >> the backlash continues from some democrats and many republicans on capitol hill. house speaker paul ryan saying the vote was shameful, and the new unified republican government would work to repair relations with israel. mr. netanyahu stated publicly he looks forward to working with the president-elect and the republican congress. mr. trump tweeted before the vote he believed it should be vetoed. after the resolution passed, mr. trump simply passila tweeted, t

different after january 20th. this cover from the "new york post" says what many are feeling, a president obama has betrayed our ally israel. leland, it's not all negative reaction. the president has received some positive feedback from human rights groups saying it was a welcome change from the past. back to you. >> lauren blanchard live in d.c. as the reaction continues. merry christmas eve. we bring in washington examiner managing editor phillip klein for more on this. nice to see you. there have been many who say betrayal is the worst word in the english language. that's the word we're hearing from the israelis. we saw on the cover of the "new york post," too strong or is that real? >> i think that's real. this was morally disgraceful decision by the obama administration that basically says the western wall which is the holiest side of israel, of the jewish people is occupied

territory by the palestinians. i might note that decades ago when arabs had control of the holy sites, jews were allowed to visit their holiest site. now since it's been controlled by israel, israel allows control of the muslim side to muslims. muslims, christians and jews can worship freely under jewish control. under obama administration policy, if followed by israel, that would mean that maybe jews wouldn't be allowed to visit the site which is disgraceful. >> that may be a bridge too far if you want to look at it that way. we'll get back to the issue of holy sites in a minute. big picture, how much of this was personal? we know president obama and prime minister netanyahu have, what might be -- do you think simply a policy.

>> i think clearly there is a personal element to it which if true makes obama look fairly petulant. if he's making a decision that has dramatic effects on the peace process and actually blows up the peace process which for decades was premised on the idea that any negotiated settlement would have to happen between both parties. >> now, you talk to folks in the white house, ben rhodes and deputy national security adviser had a conference call yesterday talking about this and said, look, at some point friends have to be honest with friends. they've thumbed their nose at the united states and president obama's attempts for negotiations for the past eight years and finally they felt they had to do something to control the israelis out in building on the land that the palestinians want. >> you claim there's a prbridge

too far. this resolution makes no distinction among settlements. in other words, the settlements deep in the west bank are the same as jewish communities in the suburbs of jerusalem home to hundreds of thousands of jewish families. i don't think it's a bridge too far. >> fair point. >> in terms of what the real implications are of what this resolution says if it were actually followed. netanyahu has said he does not intend to abide by it. >> last question. this gets to the issue of whether this was a personal decision against prime minister netanyahu by president obama. if hillary clinton had been elected president, do you think, number one, this vote would have happened? number two, would the united states have continued to abstain or would they have used their veto if incoming president clinton was waiting in the wings? >> obviously it's extremely hard to have a counter-factual. most of the reporting and

conventional wisdom is they probably would have vetoed it if it were hillary clinton and there wouldn't be a new administration that presents such a clear break with the u.s.-israel policy of the obama administration. of course, that's something historians will be debating for decades. >> they've been debating what's going on in the middle east for about 5,000 years. pretty safer to say that will continue. philip klein, appreciate your time. great conversation, sir. >> thank you. >> all the best. speaking of israel, video from bethlehem now as palestinian security forces are beefing up their watch in the holy city. christians from around the world gathering there. that is, of course, located in the west bank. tensions between israelis and palestinians in the area is of concern and growing concern, especially this year after an attack on a christian church last sunday in egypt. as you can see, there's some crowds gathered inside the church of the nativity for christmas eve mass.

it's ability 8:15 p.m. in bethlehem. they'll announce the birth of jesus in about three hours and 45 minutes from now at the holy christmas eve mass. christians in iraq are celebrating their first christmas mass since the city was liberated from isis. bartel la was once home from thousands of christians, many forced to flee when the city fell to isis in 2014. the terror group took down crosses and defaced statues of saints at all the churches. to make this special mass, a new cross has been raised and a d decorated tree welcomes worshippers. not a winter wonderland for the minnesota vikings. a slippery mix caused their plane to skid off the runway in wisconsin. no one was hur, but it took hours for emergency crews to help them off the plane.

i think there were two players that came off at a time. the vikings are playing the green bay packers in the wisconsin cold this very afternoon. not the best commute, if you will. >> welcome to green bay. coming up, ivanka trump may be known as a fashion and real estate mogul, now she's set to become a washington, d.c. power player. we'll look at howie van ka may transform the role of first daughter. just in time for peak tourist season, the big apple opens a new subway line a century in the making and, of course, billions later. this as prelkt trump trouts his trillion dollar infrastructure plan. we'll tell you how. experts say this could be the busiest holiday travel season on record. you guessed it, travellers are feeling the pain. what you need to know. leave early, dress warm, just ahead. >> a rush to get here to get on that one because the other later

ones didn't look good at all. hopefully i remembered to throw everything i needed in my bag.

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live pictures from the potomac. our cameraman will zoom out. if those people got out of the way, you would see that's actually santa.

santa stops at nothing to deliver presents, whether he needs reindeer, whether a water ski boat, whatever it is. out on the potomac, a little excitement before the big night. >> you know what i want to know? i want to know, we should put up the screen, the outdoor temperature and the water temperature. santa is sacrificing so much. not only is he delaying his christmas present delivery, but also sacrificing his health really. >> this is a dedicated santa. >> i'll say. >> we'll keep monitoring this shot. when santa returns with his reindeer and some elves, we'll bring it back to you. oh, wait. is that the grinch? >> that's an elf. >> an elf trying to get onto a jet ski? >> we'll keep you posted because i know you're dying to know. now to some very serious news. the first wrongful death lawsuit in the deadly oakland california warehouse fire had been filed three weeks after the blaze at a dance party that killed 36

people. the families of two of the victims filed the suit. will carr has the very latest. hi, will. >> hey there elizabeth. the deadliest fire in the united states in more than a decade, three dozen killed. now families are casting a wide legal net. you may remember the fire engulfed the warehouse filled with fire hazards. a makeshift staircase, a maze of wood and furniture and no sign of smoke detectors or a sprinkler system. attorneys filed two civil complaints on friday, one on behalf of 20-year-old michela gregory who died in her boyfriend alex vega's arms. on friday gregory's father said their family won't be celebrating christmas this year because the pain and grief are still too raw. >> first of all, our daughter will never come home. there's not a day that goes by that we don't miss her. she was a good kid. her and alex loved each other. they just wanted to have a good

time and never came home. we will never see them again. we just want justice. we just want justice. >> a lawsuit was also filed on behalf of 23-year-old griffin madden. his family's attorney says the defendants in the lawsuit created a death trap responsible for horrific gross negligence. separate claims have been filed against the city of oakland and alameda county, and even though there were a number of complaints filed against the warehouse by other residents, the city has confirmed the building had not been inspected for the past three decades. so far no charges have been filed in the case, but there is an open criminal investigation and the district attorney has said charges could be filed, elizabeth, up to and including murder. elizabeth. >> will carr, devastating. thank you for updating us. next week traveling around new york city ahead of the

iconic ball drop may get a little easier. traveling around new york could always be easier. new york's second avenue subway is set to open after more than 100 years of planning. with donald trump's plan to invest a trillion dollars into infrastructure, i talked to steve moore about this, will we see similar projects across the country and federal funding for this. rob schmitt following this from new york. >> nothing in new york takes a hundred years. this certainly did. a project almost 100 years in the making, new york's second avenue subway line days away from opening phase one to the public. the first phase of the project has cost $4.5 billion. this line will some day serviceman hat tan's entire east side. right now phase one just covering the upper east side. it's critical infrastructure and such a time, as donald trump won the white house by selling the

vision of american infrastructure first, critical of billions going overseas, money that could be used to rebuild our failing roads, bridges, airports and trains. this is an area where democrats and republicans seem to have a common goal. the devil is in the detail as to where the spending will come from and how to prioritize which projects would come first. new york city, much of the northeast as well, needs a lot of attention with bridges deteriorating, antiquated highway systems, aging airports. not long a ago, joe biden compared lagaraguardia airport being in a third world country. as a result it's being ripped down and rebuilt in phases. mr. trump has one ally, new york senator chuck schumer. it appears the two will have a good working relationship and schumer praised mr. trump for wanting to rebuild infrastructure and said his

spending plan of $1 trillion over the next ten years sounds pretty good to him. >> i'm asking congress to support the construction of new roads, bridges, airports, do you believes and railways all across this nation, and we will put our people back to work. it's time to help get americans off welfare and back into the labor market. >> so that's just about a week ago. this apparent common ground between democrats and mr. trump is just the beginning of a long process. any plan would have to go through congress and a lot of thrifty republicans worried about where money for this would come from. it is very expensive, rebuilding u.s. infrastructure. $20 billion to $30 billion to complete the second avenue subway line. most of that money isn't going to be federal. back to you. >> president obama learned eight years ago just how hard it is to

have shovel ready projects. rob schmitt in new york, thanks. enjoy your ride on the subway. elizabeth? >> more than 100 million americans will take planes, trains and automobiles for year-end holiday travel, the most on record according to aaa. with snow and freezing rain expected to slam the country, you can expect travel headaches. we talk about this every year. people in new jersey already dealt with one. air tran's service to newark airport shut down yesterday afternoon stranding passengers and forcing others to make their way to the terminal on foot to catch flights. it's now been reopened. since more than 6 million people will fly this holiday, that means security checkpoints will be quite stressed. at denver national airport, security wait times were around 30 minutes yesterday. officials say leave about two hours just to be safe because the times may get a little longer. speaking of travel, a christmas miracle for one

8-year-old girl and her best friend, teddy the bear. the two were separated at the airport during the family trip. the mom posted a missing alert on facebook. an airport employee tracked down teddy posting these social media pictures of him around the airport. the man personally returned teddy to young eleanor just in time for the holidays. why can't they find my bag that quickly when they lose it? eleanor gets better treatment. i need to have a pull bag that looks like a teddy bear. see if it works. after the break, flaring temperatures and a decades-old alliance and patterns over one u.n. security council vote. we'll have a fair and balanced panel weigh in on the future of israeli and u.s. >> things are getting a little frosty between this panda and his new playmate. what this furry friend did with

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the decades-old alliance between the united states and israel seems to be on thin ice today. yesterday the obama administration allowed a u.n. security council measure condemning israeli settlements to pass. this is all but unprecedented. the move has president obama on a political island with congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle upset.

here to weigh in our fair and balanced political panel. antoine sea write is a democratic strategist, and ron meyer, the editor of red alert politics. nice to have you. >> antoine, it was robert frost who said betrayal is the worst word in the english language. that is the worst word the israelis are using, covered "new york post," the president has betrayed israel. has he or is that strong? >> i think it's very strong. in these situations it's so easy to criticize and not necessarily learn. what people will not tell you is how pro israel this president has been, whether it's $38 billion in a memorandum of understanding or $3 billion to help fund their defense system or the hand delivery of f-35 jets. those are the things people will not talk about as relates to this administration?

israel. >> money can't always buy you love or real support. that's the problem. in 2008 republicans warned obama would vote as president. te just voted present on the most important vote of his presidency, especially in this lame duck session. right now with we have care yos in the middle east, syria. now we're backing israel into a corner where they feel like they might have to strike back against hezbollah, against iran. they have no support. this is so destabilizing when obama has destabilized the region in so many other way, backing the arab spring which turned into an arab winter and created more islamist dictatorships. we've seen it time and again -- >> ron, the political thought at least in israel is not necessarily all on your side with this one. ha regard rah, the main israeli

daily newspaper has a column out saying obama's u.n. vote, where have you been for eight wasted years, mr. president? there's a lot of israelis saying it's about time the government there is held responsible for throwing mud in the face of the u.s. and keep saying, we're going to give you all this money, but stop building settlements and they keep building settlementsment. >> it's an interesting point that israel has division on this. the problem is whoever is in israeli's leadership is the one making decisions on leadership. the next four weeks are really scary. we have a lame duck president making different decisions than he was during the rest of his presidency. now israeli is backed into a corner. you've got chaos in syreer assa taking even more ground with isis backed into a corn ever. we have scary things to get into. we're not even getting into the south china sea area. >> ron, ron, ron, ron.

>> yes, sir. >> ron, one second. you forget about a few things. for decades every administration a has talked about a two-state solution being the goal as far as long-term lasting peace between israel and palestine. this is no different. >> ron brings up an interesting point about the idea you have a lame duck president in president obama, he will no longer be commander-in-chief in 30-some-odd days. whether people are excited about that or not excited about that, is there a responsibility by the current commander-in-chief to not rock the boat greatly, in the same way there's not -- >> absolutely. it's auld about the peaceful transfer of power. no, president obama should not -- no, mr. trump should not, and i don't think he did that in his vote. on december 4th, secretary

kerry -- >> you don't think abstaining in the vote, that's not rocking the boat? that changes 25, 30 years of u.s. policy. >> it doesn't because as secretary said in his statement, it's all about a two-state solution which will be long-term peace -- >> which means the compromise on settlement, you protect the jewish settlements in jerusalem and compromise in the others. this statement doesn't do that. you're saying a peaceful transition of power between obama and trump, we're talking about it could be not so peaceful. frankly, it's such a joke that the nobel peace prize is given to this president and all the things happening in the middle east, he needs to turn that nobel peace prize back. >> ron, come on, man. >> he didn't do all the things he said he was going to do. it's been a disaster.

>> we've got to go, gentlemen. merry christmas. hopefully christmas dinner will be a little less contentious. >> merry christmas to my friend on the right. >> i like that. >> okay. who says only humans get to celebrate the holidays. one giant panda in the toronto zoo got a festive playmate this christmas season. the zoo's panda cam captured the giant panda discovering a snowman the staff built for him. he took a few swipes before going in for an all-out tackle. as i mentioned, it's all love. love and peace. >> he didn't get the memo. >> can we keep playing that? >> over and over. >> the 1960s was a decade that rocked america. nasa gave us a moment to reflect and think about our place in the universe. why their christmas eve broadcast decades ago still

matters. china continues to rattle nerves in the pacific. our present gone producer has broken a number of stories about the chinese as china launches new carrier drills. >> there's a reason i feel it's a crisis. air superiority is not an american birth right. it's actually something you have to fight for and maintain. >> i'm captain willy whitley. i'd like to wish my family and friends merry christmas and happy new year. wait...is this where you typically shop? you should be getting double miles on every purchase! switch...to the capital one venture card. with venture, you earn unlimited double miles on every purchase, everywhere, every day. not just ...(dismissively) airline purchases. seriously... double miles...

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christmas eve. as the sun sets on president obama's presidency, china continues its power grab almost unchecked. since november the chinese military has been flexing its muscles, moving major military

hardware into the region and challenging u.s. dominance. lucas dtomlinson that first broe the story joins us with more. we talked yesterday about bringing you on for this story. already it's changed significantly. >> that's correct, leland. i just got off the phone with two separate u.s. defense officials who tell me chien nas amassed hundreds of surface-to-air missiles on the largest island located in the south china sea. it's called hainen island. >> are these the same island that they said we want to do wreaths and do research. >> this is not single island. the u.s. intelligence committee assesses this is just a staging ground, training for the crews because they anticipate, they think these will go, man made, artificial islands in the south

china sea where they have air strips on a number of islands. >> these are the things that could shoot down an airliner, shoot down u.s. bombers? >> correct, leland. i've been told by intelligence officials there are three different types of missiles on the island, short range missiles, the range of ten miles, medium missiles, hq-9 with a range of about 125 miles. most concerning to the pentagon, long range sa-21 which has a maximum range of 250 miles. clearly this is a very aggressive posture. >> something that could challenge you as u.s. dominance in the south china sea. what are the chinese up to? we haven't gotten flak by the obama administration yet, therefore, we're going to keep doing what we can to see when somebody says stop, or is this really a major move? >> it is a major move. the officials i've spoke to said this is part of them wanting dominance in the south china

sea. earlier this year, the top navy official -- top navy officer in the pacific told congress south china sea is no more china's than the gulf of mexico is mexico's. they're not listening. they created what they're calling the international boundary surrounding the -- >> really the united states hasn't done anything to challenge this, even though president obama has talked tough, but so far nothing. >> the navy conducted four different what they call freedom of navigation acts where they'll fail bombers in close proximity to some of the artificial claims. one note, leland, you can trace back these latest military maneuvers to thanksgiving. two days after thanksgiving, the chinese flew a pair of long range bombers around taiwan for the first time. a few days later is when the taiwan president called president trump to congratulate him on his election.

>> lucas, great reporting. thank you, sir. as 2016 winds down, we reach a very sad milestone. the number of migrant deaths in the mediterranean has surpassed 5,000. around 100 people feared drowned on thursday as the italian coast guard continued recovery operations. they're asking for reform of policies to stop this migration across dangerous seas. so far 360,000 have made it across the sea this year alone. the soob-to-be first family made waves when mel layne yeah trump said she wouldn't be moving into the white house right away and ivanka would take up some traditional first lady duties. we'll explain why this first lady dynamic is not a new phenomenon in the white house. plus, this is a perfect job for elizabeth prann. italian officials make sure the wine you drink is up to snuff. i don't know anything more about

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this is tragic. talk about the grinch. bogus bottles of bubbly are popping up. italy wants to crack down.

the country has seen an increase in using the name prosecco. the consortium of prosecco producers found the fake stuff was online. clearly they have not talked to elizabeth bran, an expert in these matters. since some folks aren't experts, it makes it easy to produce fine any wine. >> do you think prosecco experts -- >> i'll be your agent. as the nation prepares for obama's final christmas in the white house and the trump's upcoming move, we thought it would be a good idea to bring in an expert on life in the white house, the first lady's man, andy oaks, a friend of the show and offer of "unusual for their time." we want to talk about the first family's role in the upcoming administration and how christmas is marked a people's house, obviously christmas time at the people's house. i'm so excited that you're here,

first because you're an expert on the first lady. some people are saying this is a very unconventional family that's moving into the white house. we're starting to see the daughter of the president, ivanka trump, take a very powerful role within the administration. in sfakt, she was perhaps scouting rooms in the white house where she could get some work done. i want to ask you, have we ever seen this before in administrations past? >> we have. it's not unprecedented for a female family member, a niece, a daughter, a sister to take over white house first lady whose steting duties. jefferson didn't have a wife so his daughter emily -- i'm sorry -- martha patsy jefferson ran dof was the first lady. it happened in the wilson administration, his sister in between his two wives. this has happened. it would be unusual in the sense

that melania is young, she's intelligent, she's healthy, capable of doing these roles. so anything that she passes off to one of trump's daughters or ivanka would be unusual but not unprecedented. >> one could argue, especially as we saw her during the campaign and her role in the convention, she was a powerful tool for president-elect donald trump very relatable. it makes sense she would carry on these duties as he continues on in the white house. >> absolutely. melania trump has the -- she can do what every other first lady has done before. she can make this role her own. she can do as much or as little as she wants, as public or private as she wants. make her children as private or public as they want. ivanka is very capable, as you mentioned, out on the campaign trail, proved herself a great advocate for her father. >> that's the role of the first lady, to continue this pr

campaign and make their presidential husband or father more user friendly to the public. that would be a role she could do as well. >> i don't want you to leave before we get to talk about christmas. traditions that you have found most compelling in all the research that you've done as we head into christmas eve. >> you know, the first family in the white house at christmas is publicly and even personally for them some of the most special times. christmas is a special time for every family. they get to share it with the american people and the world. i think the most surprising thing about this is to find out that the modern day traditions that we embrace so much have not always been around. mrs. obama's theme is a gift of the holiday. the themes started with jacqueline kennedy. she was the first to theme her white house christmas decorations with nutcrackers. there wasn't even a public christmas tree on display in the white house until the hoover administration in the 1930s. as these have developed and come into the public eye, it's neat

to see how each first lady has made them her own and we get to enjoy it. >> i think it's safe to say that everything goes by the wayside this time of year and you see pictures of the white house. it's a neat time. >> andy och, thank you for bringing your research here today. we appreciate it. >> of course. >> leland? >> we told you earlier about santa's water skiing break here along the potomac. a little better look at st. nick's stunt run. also we're told you have elfs, frosty the snowman, jack frost -- wow. santa is getting fancy all of a sudden. there's mrs. claus. >> what would it take for you to get in the water? these are brave characters. >> only ten degrees away from the rain turning into a white christmas. they're way braver than me. there's the grinch, his jet ski died. fitting perhaps. it was the day before christmas a long time ago. still ahead, three wise men

deliver a never-before-seen gift. the details on that gift and what they had to say straight ahead.

it was one of the most dazzling images of the year and it seemed the whole world paused to admire november's super moon. >> on this day 48 years ago another draw jobbing image captured the world's attention, a christmas eve gift narrated by the apollo 8 astronauts. >> we are now approaching lunar sunrise. for all the people back on earth, the crew of apollo 8 has a message we would like to send to you. in the beginning god created the hetch and the earth, and the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

the spirit of god moved upon the face of the water and god said, let there be light, and there was light. god saw the light, and it was good. from the crew of apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, merry christmas and god bless all of you, all of you on the good earth. >> what a time. the mission was to check the surface of the moon to find the right spot for the first lunar landing by the apollo 11 astronauts. that happened, as you might remember, july of 1969. >> absolutely unbelievable. seeing that you can't imagine how powerful that was. >> what an iconic time in america, and the way the astronauts captured what was happening, the same way armstrong did when he was first on the moon. having just lost john glenn, you thought about those time and the men who had the right stuff.

thank you so much for joining us. a very merry christmas eve. we'll be back tomorrow. >> noon to 2:00 for sure. enjoy your christmas eve. happy hanukkah for those who celebrate. we'll see you tomorrow. at this hour several stories making news on the international front with big reaction here at home. first, we have new developments in this week's berlin terror attack that killed 12 people at a german christmas market. investigators are now saying the prime suspect shot dead in itly had help. i'm uma pemmaraju. welcome to america's news headquarters has spread into tunisia and beyond europe. that's the home country of anis amri, the man who carried out the mass