bandit, he got away with $3,000 of merchandise. clayton: "fox & friends" starts right now. ♪ ♪ steve: good morning everybody, january 11th, 2017 and this is "fox & friends". >> marathon of hearings. first up senator jeff sessions. >> east a racist. >> it wasn't accurate. neil: dylan roof has been sentenced to death. >> this is a high schoolo -- hollow victory because my sister is still gone.

>> mud slides, debris flows as well as avalanche danger. >> oh, my god. oh, lord. >> it has been the honor of my life to serve you. to joe biden. you were the first decision i made as a nominee and it was the best. [cheers and applause] >> thank you, god bless you. [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ >> wednesday morning live from new york city. >> don't take us back. we like to be closer to the weekend. >> so jam packed with interesting news, the transition of power, confirmation of candidates as well as different

allegations. ainsley: unsubstantiated report. steve: fake news. senator sessions praised by republicans and grilled by democrats, that's just the way it is. we have dispatched abby huntsman to mobile, alabama, you're in a place called spot of tea which i bet has a lot of spots of tea. >> they are known for their strawberry ice tea which i hear is footballous, this is the hometown of senator sessions as you mentioned grilled yesterday on the hill. it's already packed. an hour earlier in mobile. people are up early. we will be talking about senator jeff sessions, many of them know him personally. i'm excited to hear what they have to say. what do they want him to have answers. it's going to be a fun morning. we will be here all morning long. steve: fantastic, breakfast

time. 5:02, spot of tea in mobile. historic morning here in new york city, mr. trump holdingrens president elect. ainsley: explosive yet unconfirmed report claims that russia might have some dirt on him. brian: what do intelligence agencies know? peter doocy on how the president elect is firing back this morning or is he, peter? peter: he sure is, brian as he often does but before the president elect -- before reporters have a chance to ask the president elect questions in a formal setting for the first time since he won the election, the trump team does want everybody to know that these reports swirling around that allege the president elect was briefed about black-mail material, the russians have on him using an unverified report that buzz feed who published it admits it's unverified are false

fake news a total political witch hunt and incoming counselor to the president added this late last night. >> nothing has been confirmed and i have to say as an american citizen regardless of your party and if you don't like politics, we should be concerned that intelligence officials leaked to the press and won't go and tell the president elect or the president of the united states himself now, mr. obama, what the information is. they would rather go tell the prez. >> the report -- the press report was about them going to the president. >> it says that they never briefed him on it. >> part of this unconfirmed and unverified report alleges that trump confidant michael cohen was sneaking overseas and meeting with officials, but cohen tweeted he has never been to prague in his life. officials at the kremlin overnight also saying this is all incorrect and we do expect

to be questions five hours from right now here at trump tower on top of answers to other lingering questions that have been swirling around specially how the president elect plans to withdraw himself from his substantial business holdings and position once he moves down to the white house. that's something that the transition team has long said needs to come from the president elect himself. so stay tune for that. back to you. >> thanks, peter. he said i'm going to untangle from 500 businesses, you know what, i have to wait. he's going to do that. definitely talk about obamacare, how the word that he put out word to republicans, don't just repeal it. i want a replacement ready to go. he's kind of taken control. first and foremost the alleges about ties to russia. ainsley: allegations swirling and some of the left-media

outlets reporting what they're calling this a report. they're not even calling it facts. this morning we were talking in the news room, why are we talking about this, if you do not have a source, you can't just say some guy in uk is saying this, you have to have a source and anymore a source, if you can't do that, you don't report it. steve: it was opposition research, stuff gathered by republican against donald trump supposedly by the intelligence officer from the united kingdom and handedded over to hillary clinton. it's been swirling politico said we got this months ago but we didn't touch it because it's impossible to verify. here is the question. brian: cnn wept to town on the story. steve: cnn is not looking so good because they said donald trump received a two-page briefing about it at the conclusion on intel meeting on friday. ainsley: because this is -- we want you and president obama to know about this allegedly.

steve: where did cnn get the information? that's probably what prompted to put up tweet last night. >> our corrupt intel agencies black-mailing trump with their own dirt cleverly tag today russian operatives. brian: they go back and specific, the credibility with the agency who did this report, he started getting some substantial information the report says and in july he turns around and tell it is fbi, i have pretty big stuff you want to look into. ainsley: british intelligence guy? brian: worked in russia in the

90's and provided solid information. ainsley: spokespersons for vladimir putin saying this is not consistent with reality. there have been no sources named. the report claims that donald trump's attorney, the guy that your son, peter was talking about michael cohen was in prague this summer, i don't know the date on it. they gave a specific date. i was no there. i was at california. steve ufc. chuck schumer was on with rachel maddow aerial this year where he was talking about it was dumb for donald trump to take on the intel community with that tweet, here is what schumer said and it's kind of ominous given what has happened since. >> let me tell you, you take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from sunday to

getting back at you. even for a hard-nose businessman, he's being really dumb to doing this. >> if you wanted an example, he was not popular inside the cia. things started going against the bush administration. steve: buzz feed went out on a long limb, can't believe you're printing but nonetheless they did. brian: by the way, cnn is way out there too. for two hours yesterday they went to town on this. steve: it is. we went to town yesterday giving you the live feed from capitol hill feed as jeff sessions did his confirmation hearing, he was very good and refresh to go hear him say, you know what, i'm not going to make up rules if i'm attorney general, i'm actually going to enforce the law.

>> even if i don't agree with the law, row versus wade i'm not for it, i'm going to enforce it and that didn't stop protestors for showing up yesterday over and over and over again. this has got to be the worst security i have ever seen. watch. >> two people from the northern most part of our country and the northern most part of our country -- [shouting] >> thank you so much for being here for the people. white people don't get arrested. [shouting] >> here is the way it works in capitol hill, they go in and have signs, the cops sees the

signs and they know they are going to stand up at some point. freedom of speech, they can do that and they are escorted out and turned out to be a circus atmosphere. ainsley: jeff sessions being racist. i don't know who exactly it was that said are you a racist. >> i deeply understand the history of civil rights in our country and the horrendous impact that relentless and systematic discrimination and the denial of voting rights has had on african american brothers and sisters. >> cory book the other make history and put himself front and center and say, jeff sessions cannot be attorney general.

cory booker he layers praise on senator sessions. steve: this year politically is good for cory booker. i think we would all bet jeff sessions will be our next attorney general. brian: agree. ainsley: heather has headlines for us. heather: i do. a developing story and a desperate search to catch an armed and dangerous cop killer, police upping reward to a hundred thousand dollars. please take a close look at the man's face. the round- the-clock manhunt. police turning their attention to anyone helping lloyd. president obama thanking the american people in front of a packed crowd in chicago, watch

this. >> my fellow americans, it has been the honor of my life to serve you, america is a better, stronger place than it was when we started. we have taken out tens of thousands of terrorists including bin laden. i can't do that. heather: the president and the first family shedding tears. could méxico finally be ready to pay for the wall? >> who is going to pay for the wall? who? >> i am not going to pay for this wall. >> he said harsher things over the weekend. he's willing to talk about plans about building the wall but still saying méxico won't pay for it calling that unacceptable and those are the headlines. steve: well, we will see. >> extremely moving moment,

though. absolutely. ainsley: armed and ready to grill secretary nominee rex tillerson today, julian turner,e you're next. or struggle with obesity lose weight and keep it off. contrave is believed to work on two areas of the brain: your hunger center... (woman) i'm so hungry. (avo) to reduce hunger. and your reward system... (woman) ice cream. french fries. (avo) to help control cravings. across three long-term studies, contrave patients lost approximately 2-4x more weight than with diet and exercise alone. contrave is not for everyone. one ingredient in contrave may increase suicidal thoughts or actions in some children, teens, and young adults within the first few months. other serious side effects include seizures, increase in blood pressure or heart rate, liver damage, manic episodes,

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hurdles, to weigh in white house security staffer under george w. bush and president obama. host of "fox & friends" julian turner. >> good morning. steve: thank you very much for sticking around today. let's talk a little bit about russia and putin because famously as soon as it was named that rex tillerson was trump's guy, wait a minute. he's friendly with putin. >> which kind of from that perspective makes it very the least surprising nomination of the entire, you know, transition period that trump has made no bones about the fact that he wants u.s.-russia bilat. it's really not very surprising. steve: do you a problem that the guy is a businessman rather someone from politics or a diplomat?

>> i don't. i do think one thing that i would recommend if i was advising the trump campaign, which i'm not, if you're going to have a government outsider as cabinet secretary and take over state department which you also want to reorganize, reconstitute, i think the deputy -- steve: the number two person. >> person with experience that they can help manage that process. steve: got you. what about the iran deal? iran has been provoking warships over there, you have a not a real treaty treaty thing that trump would like to undo. >> the biggest issue when it comes to iran is really going to be how does the united states counter iran influence, a couple of things that have made it more powerful, it's partnering up with russia. so that is really a direct threat to u.s. national security interest in the middle east.

steve: wait a minute. i thought we were going to partner up with russia. >> that's something in the works. how do we manage that? if we work more closely to russia in coordinate fight against isis and -- that's the hope. that's an ideal world. steve: that sounds pretty good compare today where we are right now. >> as you can imagine, it's not going to be an easy thing to do and i think that's going to be a real challenge for this administration. steve: sounds like trump would also as you mentioned a while ago reorganizing the state department because it's kind of a bloated mess right now. >> yes. for rex tillerson you can't be the secretary of state and reorganize the state department, you can only do one. so that's why the deputy will need to focus internally. steve: julian turner, thank you very much for sticking around. all right, meanwhile straight ahead on this wednesday president obama using last days in office to push the legacy thing. >> i am absolutely convinced that rake relations on the whole

are actually better now -- >> better now? >> yes. steve: do voters believe that? lee carter has that next. ready to welcome? the floors, mats-spotless. the uniforms, clean and crisp. do your people have the right safety gear? are they protected? i'm ready! you think your customers can't tell the difference between who's ready and who's not? of course they do. ♪ i'm ready for you everybody wants a piece of ready. cintas, ready for the workday.

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>> hi, we are back with headlines, convicted killer dylann roof will pay for the nine lives he took by giving up his own. it took three jurors -- it took jurors three hours to sentence the 22-year-old to death. and a violent riot breaking out inside of maximum security prison, nearly 50 massachusetts inmates destroying computers, tables and using fire extinguishers as weapons and prisoners surrendering after pepper spray was injected into

the unit. >> they armed themselves with knives, iron pipes and they were going to go after the co's. brian: wow, incredibly no one was hurt. ainsley: donald trump's inauguration just nine days away. busy time in nation's capitol but how is everybody outside the beltway reacting. pollster lee carter put this to the dial test. she joins us now with the results. >> good morning. ainsley: the first one let's talk about something that happened yesterday, jeff sessions was grilled and what he said, people are worried about his race relations, this is what he said yesterday. >> i did everything required to do and the complaints about voter fraud case and the klan case that i vigorously prosecuted and supported are false and i do hope this hearing today will show that i conducted

myself honorably and properly at that time and i'm the same person, perhaps wiser and maybe a little better i hope so than i was then but i did not harbor the kind of animosities and race-base discrimination ideas that were -- that i was accused of. i did not. ainsley: what was interesting about that, the republicans obviously liked it, the independent pretty -- the democrats usually the dip, way down. lee: way down. ainsley: not the case. lee: he was authentic and genuine and answered the questions and handled it just as well as he did, trump is going to be in really good shape. what people said, i'm the same person prep wiser and perhaps a little better, i hope so and seemed genuine. ainsley: people want to give someone a second chance and

forgiveness whether or not he's guilty of that or not. president obama on race relation this is week, listen. >> i'm absolutely convinced that race relations on the whole are actually better now than they were. >> better now? >> yes, but we have greater awareness of where we are falling short than we used to. ainsley: even george questioned him, they're better now? >> democrats giving him a pass, independents and republicans gave this an f, a d and an f respectively. it seems like he's so out of touch on a couple of things. can he just acknowledge that things are tough. he seems to defend at all costs and bottom line, people are seeing racial tensions rise right now. we are seeing it all over the place, even in sessions' hearings. nobody is buying what he's putting down there. ainsley: everyone supporting him being the first african-american president and we have a long way to go as far as the country is

concerned. chuck schumer on obamacare. >> the republican plan to cut health care wouldn't make america great again, it would make america sick again and lead to chaos instead of affordable care. republicans would create chaos in the health system because they're stuck between a rock and a hard place and have no idea what to put in place with the affordable care act. lee: you can see democrats gave it a b plus, independents a d and republicans an f with this kind of comment represents is everything that's wrong with washington, d.c. this is gridlock, stalemate, this isn't acknowledgment that the american people said more than 70% said they want the obamacare change. they want to see people come together and move this thing forward and not see them fight anymore. ainsley: great to see you. backlash on companies made in america, why liberals are targeting l.l. bean.

abby huntsman grilling in his hometown of mobile, alabama. >> good morning, hometown of senator sessions and hour earlier here in mobile, as you can see, it is packed, people are excited, they know jeff sessions personally so we are going to be around talking. how excited are you guys to be here this morning? [cheers and applause] ever try something so good, you get hungry just thinking about it? at red lobster's big festival of shrimp, get your perfect pair for just $15.99. choose 2 of 6 new and classic shrimp creations, like bold new firecracker red shrimp. exploding with flavor? yeah they are. or try new creamy shrimp linguini,

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>> rumors circulating that hillary clinton could run for new york city later this year. >> that is something about -- 20 °, and they stand out in times square. >> skivvies and cowboy boots. ainsley: that guy or bill clinton as the naked cowboy? >> we don't even stop it. ainsley: we were driving through new york, no one was even looking, just so used to weird things in new york. brian: my wife and i walking through times square going that is the naked cowboy. don't say anything, then he says

hi, steve! ainsley: how does the naked cowboy know you? steve: i am in the showbiz. ainsley: that is an answer. we will check with the intel community on that one to see what they know about it. a troubling new intelligence report confirming what many people feared all along, those gitmo detainees are trying to return to terror as president obama plans to free 18 more before he leaves office. ed royce is chair of the house foreign affairs committee demanding the president immediately halt those transporters. and american-based retailer blacklisted because one person supports the president-elect. lynn been gave $60,000 to approach trump super pac, an online group calling for people to stop shopping there and all other republican linked

businesses. l.l. bean responding the money was private and a personal contribution and is not about politics. a middle school student rushed to the hospital after eating pot laced gummy bears on a school bus was the mother of the 12-year-old boy reporting this video in the hospital saying his son was in a trance like state. doctors say he overdosed on marijuana. luckily the boy will be able to sleep it off, and he brought it. the loss of a true hero, detective stephen mcdonald has died, shot by a teenager in 1986, left him paralyzed from the waist down, stevens for gave the shooter and the decades shooter, compassion and peace, and on the other side, i love

you forever. stephen mcdonald died after suffering a heart attack. and a friend of the show. and he had a heart attack. >> he was here when his son decided to be in office or. >> that picture. >> the cover of the daily news page in the journal. ainsley: god bless the family. >> the weather is not bad locally. >> we will feel like springtime tomorrow. people don't know what to wear around here. i look across the northern tier of the country the cold air snaking as far south as the central us dealing with an ice storm later this week.

look how warm the temperatures are compared to yesterday, 22, 23, upwards of 30 ° above average, a quick look at the west dealing with storm after storm, more flooding rainfall and snowfall heading into the west but the good news is things will taper off friday. we are dealing with a crippling ice storm later this week across the central us. brian: thank you very much. on capitol hill yesterday they were grilling senator jeff sessions for the next attorney general and we think of diners. ainsley: we think of the south with the grilled barbecue. abby is down there in mobile. trying to connect the dots and not doing a good job. >> reporter: this is my first

time in mobile. known for their strawberry ice tea and so many other things. >> i am the chairman of the executive committee. >> he is getting grilled on capitol hill. >> not surprised he is getting grilled. we anticipated that. i have known him for a long time. our children worked together in baseball and my son worked for him in washington dc. i have known jeff to be not just a man of high values but a southern gentleman. the greatest respect of everybody he comes in contact with. he is a likable guy, so easy to be around, you never know he is serving.

>> you know virtually as well. >> i represented the district he lived, we are so proud of him. he defended himself, and everyone coming out against him is on ideological differences, any of the accusations were nullified yesterday. i like crews early on. week of thehe trump bus. election, so excited to have change and extremely excited in mobile. >> the biggest rally mister trump had within mobile, 40,000 people, can i interrupt your breakfast and say hello?

good to have you here. >> i am the us attorney in alabama. i know for 20 years, 10 of those years in the ethics committee, very conscientious, deliberative, and bring the same spirit of deliberative nests to his role as attorney general. ainsley: what do you think of the racist allegations against jeff sessions? >> they are unfounded. people who note jeff sessions know he is a man of character, it is a gross exaggeration or distortion of his record. >> what do you do? >> i am a circuit judge in alabama who worked with jeff sessions as an assistant attorney general. i have known jeff almost 30

years, he is a great boss, great guy, he has been a great asset to my career. >> reporter: george gave "fox and friends" a gift. >> in mobile, and senator jeff sessions, and celebrates making america great, and the transition team. >> reporter: you are excited about mister trump. >> need a change. we are in bad shape over the last eight years. we need to bring this country back, maybe in law enforcement,

retired army major, very important security is the most important thing and jobs in the united states. >> reporter: we believe it there. we will be here all morning long. it is packed in here and unbelievable. come back to us. >> having breakfast and getting gifts. >> they are nice folks. >> we heard of that monday's game. brian did. college kids say the darndest things. >> people at valued guns more than people at lives. >> the document is written 200 years ago. >> it is old. ainsley: college professor who says donald trump is the only person who can end the brainwashing on college campuses.

brian: it went up, it went down, three or four times, republicans and democrats fighting over the painting that depicts cops as pigs. one of the congressman at the center of this joins the divide. a huge show ahead. writes priebus right there, chris christie will be here live, stay with us. thanks for loading, sweetie.

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learning away from scholarships towards left-wing advocacy. professor frank buckley is a professor at george mason university school of law school and the author of the way back. you think this is organized? >> more like astroturf. what is happening is the federal government is pouring a great deal of money into colleges with programs to train students to be student activists, the ultimate goal is to make this a part of every course for tenure for university professors so it is really a takeover of smaller -- scholarship in the direction of making little community organizers out of all the students. brian: when the this infiltration take place? >> it happened over the last 20 years. it certainly increased over the last eight years. it is really remarkable, it is under the radar screen, well

hidden but there. it took an organization, national association of scholars to see what was happening at the results are shocking. brian: the government has leverage because it provides so much leverage to universities, uc boulder, $25 million for your, colorado state $15 million per year, university of north carolina $9 million per year. what do you think if you want to balance things out again should those contained? >> first of all i see no reason why we should be training people or paying for students to do stuff which is totally unrelated to scholarship. we are giving money for scholarship, students to learn things, not giving money to teach people to occupy buildings and go out on the streets. that is not what it is about. we shouldn't be paying money for that in terms of college grounds. in general in terms of dedicating money to universities, what the trump

administration should be doing is looking at how faithful they are to the mission of doing ordinary good scholarship. for example, $4 billion given towards general purposes which includes a new kind of civics, another $25 billion toward scholarship generally and what the department of education should be looking at are things like is this really about scholarship or activism? also to what extent is academic freedom protected in universities, if universities permit students to embark on witchhunts against conservative professors that is something that should be taken into account in relations with universities. brian: what they have, what they put out, professor buckley, author of the way back, restoring the promise of america, thanks for joining us.

coming up straight ahead, on capitol hill, jeff sessions was slammed for using her as a prop because of her race. the insane story from an mtv host. it went up, it went down more than three times yesterday. republicans and democrats fighting over this ridiculous painting that depicts cops as pigs and it is hanging in our capital. one of the people who took it down, doug lambert, will be joining us.

>> it went up, it went down three or four times yesterday and republicans and democrats are fighting over that painting at the capital which depicts cops as pigs. >> it really is adverse to the decorum and civility of the long history of this institution. quite childish. ainsley: one of them who removed the painting, thank you for being with us, tell us why you decided to take it down. >> it is in blatant violation of the of the congressional art competition. this artwork is hateful and divisive, it shows cops as pigs shooting and killing people. the congressional art competition is about reflecting congressman that congress does

not reflect divisiveness and hate. we want to bring people together and this artwork violates the rules and is hateful on top of that. >> you are violating for taking this painting down, that is it stands for freedom of expression. >> the congressional art competition puts part in the capital for all the hundreds of thousands, millions of visitors that come in the capital, is a reflection of congress and our country and congress doesn't want to promote hatred and divisiveness. that is all this does. brian: i heard congressman clay yesterday, i understand you walked by and said i can't take it, take it down. he said what you did and other republicans did was childish. what is your message to congress? >> he and his people who pick out the artwork for this competition should pick

something that reflects congress and what the united states stands for, showing cops as pigs killing people is disrespectful and reprehensible. that is a message of hatred in my opinion. brian: did they talk to you like they did congressman hunter? >> i was looking at it deciding what to do and someone stood behind me and said my son is a cop, that is disgusting. that is disgusting. for me that was the last straw. brian: it is going to back up today. if you walk by it, you will take it down again? >> if i don't i hope someone else does. ainsley: police officers protect all of you, working for our great country. brian: asking for you to go to those guys. 450 entrance and that is the winner. thank you for joining us. straight ahead in the next two

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to help reduce the risk of progression of moderate to advanced amd after 15 years of clinical studies. preservision areds 2. because my eyes are everything. ♪ brian: good morning. today is wednesday. it is january 11th, the year is 2017 and this is "fox & friends." >> marathon week of sessions. >> he is a racist. >> this caricature of me in 1986. it wasn't accurate then, it is not accurate now. >> people who know jeff sessions know that he is a man of character. i think it's a gross exaggeration, or distortion of his record and who he is as a person. >> democrats are expected to grill later today secretary of state nominee rex tillerson.

>> trump made no bones he wants u.s. russia bilateral closer. the fact he has somebody with built-in relations with russian leadership is really not very surprising. >> dylann roof has been sentenced to death in charleston, south carolina. >> this is hollow victory because my sister is upon. >> controversial painting hung up four times and taken down three times and i think three hung. >> this is an insult to all police officers everywhere who are protecting the american people. >> mudslides, rockslides, debris flows and as well as avalanche danger. >> owe, my gosh. oh, lord. >> it has been the honor of my life to serve you. [applause] to joe biden, you were the first decision i made as a nominee and, it was the best. [cheering] thank you, god blows you. may god continue to bless the united states of america. thank you. [applause]

♪ brian: one of the many celebrity friends i have. [buzzer] steve: i thought we were black and white show. speaking of the '50s. we have bret baier here. he has written -- brian: is he 50? steve: 1950s. ainsley: was he born in the' '50s? steve: he has written a book about dwight eisenhower who was president in the ''50s. all about transition of eisenhower to kennedy, where we're from obama to trump. brian: we'll talk about that too. how it didn't work between truman and eisenhower. ended up working between the general and 40 something-year-old president. ainsley: where bret baier found the time over last year in the

middle of this crazy election i do not know. brian: you could hear the type writer in the breaks. typewriter in the breaks of "special report." steve: i saw him out in abilene. he has been working on it for two years. i saw abby huntsman in mobile, alabama, spot of tea, taking the pulse of the town, hometown of jeff sessions who would like to be our next attorney general. reporter: this is facted in the spot of tea where everyone seems to know jeff sessions personally for 10 or 20 years. chip and his family has incredible story of his own. his life getting married and 9/11 happened. i will tell the story. his son harry is 11 years old. you say the original mardi gras in where? >> mobile, alabama. reporter: having a good time. we'll be back in a few minutes. ainsley: thanks, abby. brian: find out what the people

of alabama are doing as senator jeff sessions has day two of his testimony. it is historic morning in new york city. president-elect donald trump holding his first news conference since he won the presidency over about 90 days ago. >> as an -- steve: as explosive and unconfirmed report with many factual errors that russia may have dirt on donald trump. ainsley: peter doocy live outside of trump tower how mr. trump is firing back. good morning to you, peter. reporter: good morning, ainsley. the president-elect who has been casting doubt on the authenticity of united states intelligence for months is now responding to these reports that u.s. intel officials used an unverified document to brief him and make their case that russian government officials were trying to blackmail him. now buzzfeed, where this document was published, admits that it is unconfirmed but

mr. trump thinks it is far more sinister. he tweeted fake news, a total political witch-hunt. and incoming counselor to the president, kellyanne conway breaks it down like this. >> nothing has been confirmed. i have to say as an american citizen regardless of your party if you don't like politics at all which are many americans, we should be concerned intelligence officials leaked to the press and won't go tell the president-elect or president of the united states himself now, mr. obama, what the information is. they would rather go tell the press. >> the report was, the press report was about them going to the president. >> it says they never briefed him on it. reporter: another part of this unconfirmed intelligence document, long-time lawyer michael cohen was sneaking off to meetings with russian officials with off the books back channel. trump said he never been to prague or czechoslovakia. the places he alleged visited.

he thinks this whole thing is meant to distract from today's news conference. spokesman at the kremlin made this declaration. fabrication of such spoof stories is an obvious attempt to damage our bilateral relations. we don't have to wait to hear more from the president-elect him self about this. long-awaited first press conference as president-elect starts in about four hours. back to you. steve: peter doocy live on fifth avenue. thank you, peter. peter mentioned for couple of months. started out with the stories, hey, russia may have been trying to influence the election. remember back in the day it was john brennan reportedly at cia who said, we've got the goods on him. then the fbi and the director of national intelligence both said we don't have that information. trump took a shot at intel community. fast forward to just about a week or so ago, trump said i was

supposed to get briefing on wednesday. now they moved it back to friday. what is going on? maybe they need more time? some have suggested including matt drudge, maybe the intel community could be the source as it was for the cnn report. brian: there are factual errors, definitely. there are things in there that are disturbing. mi5 agent with reputation, with a good reputation, gave us information before in the past has been reputable says that he was doing some background research for other republican candidates, opposition research when they came across something substantial in the routine investigation, he began sending this information to the fbi in july. yesterday, james comey would not confirm or deny an investigation is going on. they do talk about him being someplace in same hotel as president obama in 2013, using the same room at that time. that he was in fact in russia in 2013. president obama did stay in that it room in 2009. so there are things in there

that raise concern, that warrant a follow-up question which why it is fortuitous for the president-elect to have a press conference today. ainsley: whether or not it is true or not, we don't really know. that is what is concerning. because you shouldn't be reporting information you don't have a source for. journalism 101. steve: completely unverified. buzzfeed said, we don't know whether or not this is true but there is story floating around. so we'll put it out there for you to decide. ainsley: you to decide. to your point, there is stuff in there that can be proven. they both stayed in the same hotel room. there is stuff debunked like peter was talking about. you got his attorney, donald trump's attorney, michael cohen, he tweeted out a picture of his passport. i've never even been to prague ever in my life. in the report how he talks about he was there in prague. brian: paul manafort is other one. trump surrogates have compromising information about trump and business dealings along with the salacious information that might compromise him when he is

president. again the latest chapter in information that has come out since he won, to make you feel that he shouldn't have won. steve: look, coming 10 days before he takes oath of office, donald trump himself tweeted out last night, it is fake news. there is nothing in here to suggest it is news other than donald trump did go to russia for the miss universe pageant back in 2013. brian: question, were they both, was president obama and president-elect both briefed in these go pages over the last week about this very information? so if it gets into the presidential briefing, that is disturbing, that shows there is some, going to the "national enquirer," what is the craziest thing about ufos we can tell president? steve: peter brought this up in the kellyanne sound bite with seth myers, that is the scary part, if the president was briefed on friday by intel community, trump people would not leak that.

that would have to come from the intel community. somebody at the intel community did this to cnn. ainsley: according to the report the intel community had to approximately president obama and had to tell donald trump about what this report said, it was so salacious about donald trump we wanted him to know and we wanted him to understand. whether or not that was happened. she was on seth meyers, kellyanne conway, he never saw the report. steve: completely unverified. people are talking about it. we thought we would bring it to you. the jeff sessions was in the hot seat where he was grilled by democrats and praised by republicans that is the way it works on capitol hill. there was item put out by a mtv writer that took a look at jeff sessions who showed up earlier in the day with his family surrounding him and tweeted this out, with this picture. brian: this is ira madison. ainsley: who tweeted out, sessions, sir, kindly return this asian baby to the

toys "r" us you stole her from, saying that, about his granddaughter. brian: unbelievable, because they feel as though she is a prop before he gets on to the table in front of the microphone before testifying. >> you know what i thought when i heard this? i thought that poor child. this report, backfired on reporter. reporter tweeted it out. some peoples had problem with it and wrote to her and let her know on twitter. it is backfiring on her now. this is child. children should be off limits. what about the child? she wants to attack jeff sessions for his granddaughter but that little girl one day will read these headlines. i thought that, i can't even believe she used that child for her story. brian: i forgot there was still an mtv. steve: back in the old days, music television, actually had music. brian: they're tweeting about hearings. steve: this is -- brian: wonder why ratings are dripping. steve teach are is a line, ira

madison iii crossed it. ainsley: it was not questioning. returning stolen baby from toys "r" us. brian: he did a follow up tweet. steve: terrible. 7:11 in new york city. heather joins us with headlines. >> what little girl doesn't want to sit on her grandfather's lap. that is terrible. hope you're off to good day. in florida there is desperate search to catch and armed and dangerous cop killer. police upping the rewarded to $100,000 for this man. please take a close look. around the clock manhunt for march keefe lloyd intensifying this morn. march markief. they received hundreds of tips so far. new report confirming what we already new, veterans not getting care they need.

government accountability office placing va on high-risk list again. two years later not much has changed. after all we know about this horrific situation there. records showing more than 1000 veterans waiting more than a month for care. the va not responding to that report, saying it has made steady progress. during the campaign president-elect donald trump pledged to fix the agency's health care system. by the way he is supposed to be announcing his va pick later today in the press conference 11-15. steve: if they get around to it after the all the russian questions. thanks, heather. ainsley: secretary of state nominee rex tillerson expecting to face a tough confirmation hearing. senator ron johnsons joins us live next. brian: didn't learn her less son after bashing of president bush. wait until you hear what dixie chicks singer natalie maines is saving about donald trump. this is going to be good.

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about foreign relations committee, senator ron johnson. senator johnson today you have a chance to talk to who could be the next secretary of state, tillerson, he's the nominee. what is the main focus of your questions about a very successful businessman who wants to be the top diplomat? >> good morning, brian. i'm not sure exactly what line of questioning i have for him. depends on what line of questions have been asked. so many problems in the world, talking about iran or north korea, isis or continuing slaughter in syria, russian aggression into all over the world, quite honestly, particularly ukraine and other areas of eastern europe. let's face it. eight years after the obama administration the world is in greater turmoil, it's a big mess. we've got a lot of problems that we have to deal with here. brian: rex tillerson is most intriguing because we know so little about him because he has been successful business executive his entire career with exxon. we know he dealt with nations. he was endorsed by condoleeza

rice and former secretary of defense gates. that puts him up there. what is concerning to rubio, mccain, others, others, relationship with russia, award of friend of russia, at a time russia has not been our friend. does it bother you? >> what we know about him he rose in the mid '70s, being a production engineer to the ceo of america's largest corporation. he has extensive global contacts. he dealt with world leaders at the top on economic and oil exploration issues. fabulous background, great experience. face it, oil and energy make the world go round here. brian: right. >> i think he has incredibly and interesting, intriguing background to be secretary of state. obviously if he is exploring oil in different countries he will have relationships with those type of leaders. he had a different role back then. becoming secretary of state, he will be a patriotic american. brian: right. >> i give the president, any president, including president obama gave him a great deal of latitude in advisors he wanted to surround himself with. brian: does it bother you at

all, he might be best secretary of state and certainly one of the best businessmen, does it bother you he had dealings with iran? that he went to russian conference allege led after told by the government not to after the sanctions were levied? >> we'll ask questions about that. per se doesn't really bother me. i would expect that of a ceo of a major oil company. we'll hear his answers to our questions. i note them for over an hour before christmas, he is incredibly intelligent individual. and we need somebody with that kind of background experience and intelligence and competence serving this administration. brian: we know senator rubio has tweeted out, he is a little concerned. it will be very intriguing. the questions will be fascinating and why the ratings are suddenly going to spike. you will be a part of it. senator johnson, very nice job, chairman of homeland security yesterday. thanks for joining us today. it is a big day for you as well. >> have a great day. brian: coming up straight ahead, donald trump response to russia report that is so disturbing if

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brian: donald trump tweet come out, has everything to do with our next guest and number one topic. russian report so salacious appeared in buzzfeed and worked by cnn russia said the unverified report paid for by political opponents is complete total fabrication, utter nonsense. very unfair. steve: reince priebus, incoming president's chief of staff joins us from trump tower. good morning, reince. >> hey, good morning, guys. steve: donald trump last night, tweeted out fake news. total political witch-hunt. buzzfeed has said, look, we can't verify the stuff in this.

what is the official campaign response to it? >> well it is complete garbage, i'll tell you that. and i, look, i was in the briefing too. i got to tell you, this salacious stuff, the first i heard of any of these things when someone printed up a buzzfeed. buzzfeed themselves says the stuff is not credible. "the new york times" announced overnight that they couldn't even publish this stuff because they couldn't verify it, they don't believe in it. i talked to, the big accusation here, was that a guy who works for the trump organization by the name of michael cohen, was in prague meeting with some russian agent. i talked to the guy. he has never been to prague in his life. i looked at his passport page by page. he has never been to prague. on top of it, a news outlet yesterday verified in fact he was in california at the time that they claimed that he was in prague. the guy was never there. here is the thing people need to understand.

this report was prepared by some retired uk agent, who set up shop and getting paid independently by opposition, someone, in a campaign opposed to trump, to perform some sort of a opposition research. this stuff is total garbage, and it's not true. ainsley: these rumors have been spreading around for months because democrats, left-wing media is trying to derail i guess the election. why do you think, why would buzzfeed and why would cnn put out reports unsubstantiated and can't name a source? >> yeah, because it is irresponsible and it's what's horrible about politics and what is happening in america. they should be ashamed of themselves. look, the fact that the actual case that they're making is that a guy who has never been to prague was in prague, what does that tell but the rest of the report? what is the niece media, not you guys, what do they say about a

report that's based on something that never happened as now being independently confirmed was untrue? brian: so, reince, they also said carter page and paul manafort helped set up a relationship that, began about five years ago for donald trump in the hopes he would be successful and he was successful. that is what they're saying. reince, is there a sense, for example, cnn citing multiple intelligence source, when donald trump came out and said the intelligence agencies that gave us weapons of mass destruction in iraq, is this payback for the president-elect's statement on that, do you think? >> i sure hope not, brian. look, if it is, it's really, really shameful and horrible and something that we've got to look into and guess what? we're coming in in nine days we'll look into it. i don't know if that is how it happened. this thing could have been circulated among campaigns and somehow got in someone's hands and eventually got into one of the intelligence agencies's

hands. who knows how it looked. but the truth is, this is not an intelligence document. this is not a document produced by any of american intelligence. this is a document apparently produced by a retired agent somewhere in the world, which by the way there are tens of thousands of these folks, that hung a shingle out and gets paid by people to put these reports together. looks like something the next eye ian fleming draft fiction novel. certainly isn't true. we know that. ainsley: the material is salacious. >> and it is disgusting. >> how is his family handling this? >> well, unfortunately, i hate to say this, coming through this campaign, i hate to say it, they're almost used to it. it is disgusting. i don't know. honestly guys, you build up such a crazy tolerance for insanity that it is like, it is like, here we go.

let's knock this thing down. what is the plan, you draft up the plan and you knock it down. steve: this story is certainly about an 11 on the crazy meter. and you say it -- >> when "the new york times," when "the new york times" won't publish it because they don't believe in it, you have a problem. >> "politico" had the story a while back and didn't publish it because it was unvary liable. >> another good point. steve: for people looking in, first it was russia thing, and it was recount thing, just looks like people on the political left are throwing everything including the kitchen sink at this guy to delegitimize him as he takes the oath of office next friday. >> yeah. they want to embarass us and want to do exactly as you say, nine days before. but look, i think the real story is how does a document based on facts that are not real, that are clearly verifiable, i mean either the person was in prague or wasn't in prague.

that is not something, either true or not. ainsley: he never has been there. >> he had never been there. so now what? now what's the story? the follow up is not keep talking about stupidity in this report. the follow-up is, how does this stuff happen in america, and how do news outlets report and break stuff that is absolutely untrue. brian: at 11:00 we understand donald trump will have his first press conference. that is on board. one of the things come out, he likes to do it with the victory tour speeches to announce cabinet secondaries. everyone waiting on have a selection. our john roberts says it could come today. will we get a va secretary nominee today? >> it could happen today. i hate to do this to you all. i don't know whether for sure we're ready for that or not. we'll figure that out in the next few hours. you will all have to wait and see at 11. steve: we're watching here on fox news channel. reince, thank you very much very

much. you have a busy day. >> thanks, guys. >> steve: reince priebus saying hashtag, fake news. ainsley: more than a sank wear but how about a slush fund? we'll tell you where that is happening. steve: bret baier has a new book. he will weigh in on the russia report reince priebus is fired up about. down in washington -- ainsley: i will put it back up, brian. i'm going to put it back up. steve: she will put it back up. brian: that is so inappropriate. ♪ (avo) tresiba® is used to control high blood sugar in adults with diabetes. don't use tresiba® to treat diabetic ketoacidosis, during episodes of low blood sugar, or if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. don't share needles or insulin pens. don't reuse needles. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause dizziness, sweating,

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♪ . steve: see him 6:00 p.m. eastern. he has got a two-hour show this week. bret baier. talk about your new book. let's talk about the story that captivated everybody. buzzfeed published

extraordinarily a completely unverified story that russia had their meat hooks in donald trump last five years. they have details about a hookers and ritz-carlton. brian: video. >> they don't have video. ainsley: they say there is. steve: we don't know. completely unverified. buzzfeed said we can't verify this, we don't know if it is true. why would they run it? >> they have a couple of intelligence officials said there was an addendum to a report given to president obama and president-elect trump. trump says that is not the case. he is pushing back as you all talked about very hard. minus, actually something coming forward, and some sort of evidence like a tape, and i think that we are in a place where we're talking about things that potentially could have happened. i think this news conference today will be really interesting. i think a couple of people that trump is putting in or potentially putting in his administration, dan coats at

national intelligence director, really steely eyed when it comes to facing russia and threat from russia. jim mattis, also had some really pointed things to say about russia and the threat. that helps donald trump. but, minus evidence, i wonder where this story goes. brian: it was flipping around last night to see where this, where the legs were, really at cnn they cite multiple intelligence sources that moved this story. >> right. but, only to the point where it was an addendum to the presentation saying that russia may have this. i'm -- brian: some of your business dealings and personal dealings might be, might compromise you to russia. >> he will be asked about it today. i can imagine the answer but it will be interesting to see. ainsley: the report said it was so salacious that the intelligence community felt like they needed to tell president obama and president-elect donald trump about what russia is claiming or what this report is claiming. that is the cnn story. we talked to reince priebus to

ask him. he was in the briefing. we asked him, did president obama get briefed on this. listen to this. >> well it is complete garbage, i'll tell you that, and i, look, i was in the briefing too. i got to tell you, this salacious stuff, first i heard of any of these things when someone printed off a buzzfeed. buzzfeed themselves said this stuff is not credible. "the new york times" announced overnight, they couldn't even publish this stuff because they couldn't verify it around they don't believe in it. i talked to -- the big accusations here was that a guy who works for the trump organization by the name of michael cohen, was in prague meeting with some russian agent. i talked to the guy. he has never been to prague in his life. i looked at his passport, page by page. he has never been to prague. brian: michael cohen tweeted this out after. i have never been to prague in my live, #fakenews. we'll see where the story goes. >> definitely will be a focus today.

brian: your book, "three days in january." we're in january and talking about a transition of presidential power. talk about truman, eisenhower, did not go smooth. who would have thought. >> did not. brian: eisenhower to jfk, supposed to be rocky and ended up smooth and being reliable relationship. from bush to obama, the president's code was broken. there was no relationship between them. >> right but the transition, they were dedicated to making that transition smooth. as was eisenhower. this book deals with the farewell address delivered january 17th and kennedy's inauguration january 20th. those three days, and to bounce back and look at eisenhower's presidency, what we can learn from that. it's a presidency a lot of people don't focus on. today looking back, really could or should. ainsley: what is a fascinating story that you learned? >> first of all, we found a ton of nuggets and oral histories that had never been tapped about eisenhower. first everything you learned about this presidency i think is another addition.

most people know about the general eisenhower of world war ii. this gives you real, in the room, kind of a breath of life of history from that presidency. he was committed to making this message, not about him, he was pretty humble. he had, long story short, he grew up with six, five brothers. his mother, he was coming home from the war and they had a parade in abilene, kansas, as the general who won world war ii. somebody turned to ida eisenhower and said, are you proud of your son? and she said, which one? there was always instilled. kind of like my wife. she keeps me grounded. steve: sure of the listen, i grew up in abilene, kansas. i known, been to the museum a million times. this is the best book ever written about eisenhower. you so encapsulated a guy, keep in mind he was not flashy like jfk, who came in.

jfk got all the headlines of the eisenhower kept the country and world safe, nato allied commander, ran the operation overlord and when he was president of the united states. >> this image on the book is, kennedy calling in former president eisenhower to camp david after the bay of pigs, and they're walking there, and kennedy turns to eisenhower and says, wow, you don't realize how tough this is. and eisenhower who just left says, with all due respect, mr. president i think i told you that three months ago. couple of things real important as we toss over to heather. he reached out to the soviet union when they were clearly our enemy, went south when all democrat to win them over. don't tell me a republican can't win there. just like trump. don't tell me you can't win in the midwest. >> by partisan. weil see if donald trump follows the lead. steve: john f. kennedy

bad-mouthed eisenhower left and right, when they final i met face-to-face, who didn't like him, kind of liked him. your special on sunday 8:00 p.m. >> yes. ainsley: they were trying to say you were born in 1950. >> i put the painting back. brian: my painting. >> i had a choice. >> bret, congratulations on the new book. great to have you back here in new york. good morning to all of you. a troubling new intelligence report, confirmed many people all along, freed gitmo detainees trying to return to terrorism. this as president obama plans to free up 18 more before leaves office. california congressman ed royce, chair of foreign relations committee, demand that the president immediately halt all of the transfers. no comment from the white house. another city using hard-earned tax dollars to keep illegals reported, washington d.c., pledging half a million dollars slush fund for illegal immigrants in our nation's capitol.

the mayor, muriel bowser doubling down on sanctuary city status. chicago, l.a., new york, san francisco, either established those or are proposing similar funds to keep those illegals here in the united states. a former senator kicked off of a flight after a long and frustrating travel day. alphonse d'amato, republican of new york, was trying to fly from fort lauderdale to new york. his net blue flight was delayed nearly seven hours. before takeoff, the captain asked some passengers to move around the plane to redistribute the weight, which is a safety issue, an important safety issue. those passengers refused to move out of their seats. so senator d'amato, tried to convince them to listen to the captain, but again passengers refused. well then, d'amato, wanted the captain to make the passengers get up, but at that point the captain refused. well the senator, then tried to rally the entire rest of the plane. watch this.

>> making an appeal to all you people, you want to know why? stand up for what's right, and walk out with me. >> can't believe the airline pilot caved. senator's office says jetblue apologized for that incident. folks, did the pilot ever tell you to redistribute the weight? >> get up. >> people have died as a result. brian: i don't blame the senator for being frustrated. >> don't want to fly cooked, just saying. experts calling it the trump bump, apparently small businesses confidence in the future is hitting highest level since 1980. if you ever thought about starting your own business. now could be the time. we'll show you how to do it, step by step coming up next. ainsley: a lot of people are asking where in the world is new jersey governor chris christie? we have the answer for you. he is here! live. steve: now we know.

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♪ ooh! ufo! false alarm, eyelash! steve: it is being called the trump bump. u.s. small business confidence soaring to record high in december, with more businesses planning to invest, an expand and hire. how can you launch your own successful small business? we have christie wright, a certified business coach and the host of the business boutique podcast. she joins us from nashville. good morning to you, christie. >> good morning. thanks for having me. steve: apparently small business optimism surges by the most since 1980. a lot of people are thanking donald trump. >> an exciting time to start small business. optimism in our country will be good news for the economy.

when people take their strengths and talents, make income for family and impact the economy. steve: what do you think about donald trump that people are going, you know what, if he is going to run things i'm more optimistic? >> he is big on branding. he is a expert on branding and small business guy. this is setting across our country this optimism, hey, maybe i can do this as well. it is encouraging. steve: if anybody watching right now and always dreamed of starting a small business, you're an expert, number one thing you have got to start with a is about plan. >> yes, absolutely. the thing about entrepreneurs they're movers and shakers and i love that they're out there making things happen but in all this activity we forget to plan. so i want you to set some goals and start with the end in mind. if you set goals you're much more likely to actually reach them. steve: sure. you might set a goal, christie but in your head you will have to spend as much money as it takes until it becomes reality. you say that is not the way to do it.

you should choose your how much money you can lose? >> i want you to set the money in advance. if not careful the small business can nickel and dime and drain your personal bank account. the number you choose, depends on your personal comfort level, amount of money you have and industry. if you're starting a business selling handbags and hair bows you can turn a profit bigger than opening a food truck where you have more startup cost and more risk. you get to decide based on your bank account number and how much you're willing to invest. remind you, never go into debt. build the thing slowly to stay in control and have less risk. steve: you brought up hair bows, if you know everything about a hair bow don't open up food truck, stay in your strengths. >> that's right. it is interesting a lot of entrepreneurs get ideas about their business looking at entrepreneurs. i want you to figure out what you are good at and stay in your strengths. if stay in your strengths you will be successful and have the

most fin and your quality will be highest. steve: i wonder if we inspired small business. christie, thank you very much. >> thanks for having me. steve: you betcha. ten minutes before the law. while lawmakers grill attorney general nominee jeff sessions in washington, abby huntsman is grilling people in his home town of mobile, alabama. right, abby? >> that's right. we're celebrating with mardi gras. we're getting showered with gifts. if you know anything about football you know this man. it was kind of a rough week. you were at the game. long-time quarterback at alabama. what happened? >> the best team won and, congratulations to clemson, dabo swinney, alabama graduate. gives coach saban something to work toward this upcoming season. >> we'll leave it there. we'll be back right after the break. we'll see you guys soon. when did mixing food, with not food, become food? thankfully at panera, 100% of our food is 100% clean.

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brian: looking for abby huntsman in the building, don't. you have so go to mobile, alabama at spot of tea where she finds out what the people of mobile think about senator sessions and his confirmation hearings. act by? reporter: abby, this is such a fun morning. chip, i hear your incredible story, you were going about your life and everything changed after 9/11. tell us what happened. >> after 9/11 i felt compelled to serve my country as did thousands of other americans. went down the next day and volunteered to serve my country, and served in the national guard. reporter: you saw what was happening on tv said i'm going to go. >> exactly. i remember when pearl harbor, people defended their country. my country was attacked. i just gotten married. my wife supported the decision. it was worthwhile and i loved

serving my country. reporter: you're wife is here. what did you think about we got married but i'm leaving you. >> it is hard but i know about service. my mom was lieutenant colonel in the army. i supported him and his choice to serve the country. reporter: your son hairy is 11, trying to get today off of school, i'm on live television. i will go over here to these ladies. we've been chatting all morning long but tell us what you do. >> i'm retired from the department of justice. >> how is everyone feeling about senator jeff sessions? >> every happy. everyone i talked to is very happy. he is a great guy. he will do wonderful things for this country. reporter: i love that. tell us what you do? >> i'm a kin der garthen reading teacher. >> how many years. >> this is my 40th year and i'm on my way to work in just a minute. reporter: 40th year of teaching. did you you vote for mr. trump? >> i certainly did. known for jeff more than 40 years. reporter: why did you vote for mr. trump?

>> i voted for mr. trump because i want to make america great again. reporter: education is huge for you. >> education is my passion. i believe especially with early childhood education, set and build a firm foundation you set the child's course for the rest of her or his life. reporter: telling me your story earlier. single mom. three kids. >> i'm a single mom with two kids. i'm currently three classes away from my human resources degree from columbia southern university. we voted for trump because we wanted change and i feel like our elected officials have let us down and we wanted the change. and, we give sanctuary to all these illegals, housing and medical care, and sanctuary and, we don't do enough for our veterans, and our veterans are important. reporter: they are. they are everything. >> we need to do more for them. >> we'll have to leave it there. we have some more people to talk to. we'll be back right after this.

steve: abby, thank you very much for the live report. ainsley: we were saying earlier, wondering where new jersey governor chris christie has been? he is here with us. come on in, governor. brian: governor welcome, welcome back. ♪

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giving her more time for what matters most. tech: how'd ya do? player: we won! tech: nice! that's another safelite advantage. mom: thank you so much! (team sing) safelite repair, safelite replace. ainsley: good morning today is wednesday, january 11th. it is 2017 if you still write checks. this is fox and friends. >> to a marathon week of hearings for the next cabinet. next up, senator jeff sessions. >> he is a racist. >> this caricature of me in 1986 was not accurate then. is not accurate then. >> people who know jeff sessions know he is a character. >> it has been my honor of life of serving. to joe biden. you were the first decision i made as a nominee, and it was the best.

>> dylann roof has been sentenced to death in charleston, south carolina. >> this is a victory because my sister is still gone. >> watch three people together and this artwork violates the rules, and it's hateful on top of that. >> explosive yet unconfirmed report claims that russia might have some dirt on him. >> i can assure you that the details and all of this other junk that people are talking about is garbage. ♪ ♪ steve: so that's where we start live from new york city third hour of fox and friends. and joining us right now the governor of the great state where i live, new jersey. >> yes, sir. great to see you. steve: state of address last night. >> do one more next year. steve: so we'll talk about that in a second. but no doubt about what everyone is talking about is

11:00 at trump tower today. going to be president-elect first press conference since winning the legacy. how will this be different? >> it won't be. listen, i've known the president-elect for 15 years. he is who he is and one of the reasons people elected him is because that's the kind of person he is. he's going to be who he has always been. and i think what you'll see today is typical performance by the president-elect. he'll listen to the questions. if he thinks they're good questions, he'll answer them directly and bluntly. and if he thinks they're stupid questions, he'll say they're stupid. that's the way the president-elect operates. and i think that's what you're going to see from him today. steve: i have a feeling the first 50 are going to be unverified story that said the russians have had their meat hooks in him for five years, he hired hookers at ritz-carlton. not verified. but he has been tweeting already this morning and this is his reaction. ainsley: this is his tweet. intelligence agencies should -- wait a minute.

am i reading the wrong one? this is the latest one i have it pulled up. steve: i win election easily. movement is and try to belittle our victory. and the latest one was. ainsley: intelligence agencies should have never allowed this fake news to leak into the public. one last shot at me. are we living in nazi germany? what's your response? >> well, listen, i think the president-elect raises a very important issue. if intelligence agencies have these information, it should be kept private. steve: sure. >> they went through a big briefing of apparently the president and capitol hill, this is supposed to be our nation's secrets. and especially when things aren't verified. so this is what it's like to live in public life right now, unfortunately. anybody can throw things up on the wall, it can get reported on tv or newspapers. and then the public will often think it's true because they heard it some place or read it some place. so i think the president-elect is trying to use what he has

used all along is tens of millions of twitter or facebook followers to give his side of the story which, by the way, i think is the true of the story. brian: when he says the intelligence agencies should never have allowed this to leak out. that means he was briefed on this. so that would verify the story that he was briefed that perhaps his business dealings and personal dealings could compromise him to russia. >> well, listen, i think what he was briefed on these were allegations that were in a opposition research report that would be put together by his opponents. i mean, listen, if everything that was in opposition research report was to be believed over the course of my life in politics, you know, you wouldn't be able to get out of bed in morning. you wouldn't be able to get out of bed in the morning. so we have to remember contact in this stuff. and i think the bigger problem here is the fact that some of these outlets on the internet in particular, you know, print this stuff even though they can't verify it. there's no rules of journalism anymore in many places.

and people don't understand that the rules have changed. so the public looks at this and think so, well, it must be true. steve: right? >> it's not fair to the people in public life. ainsley: and then people are questioning intelligence agencies. >> right and that's where the president-elect is right to push back. you know, sometimes people in politics just ignore this stuff. and that's not his style. and he's going to push back and push back hard, and i'm proud of him for doing that. steve: sure, well, friday the trump team got the intel briefing and next thing you know cnn got it and that was their big exclusive yesterday. >> yeah. steve: so who leaked? was it intel? trump team? and then nbc got it before that. >> i can't imagine that this would be the trump team. steve: of course not. >> it's not in their interest to do so. and i think so far what we've seen from them in all of this is that when they've gotten these briefings, you haven't seen the president-elect or any of his people talking about it. he's handling this

intelligence in the appropriate way. ainsley: on the show just a little while ago, and he was talking about this. he says it's garbage. listen. >> it is complete garbage, i'll tell you that. and, you know, look, i was in the briefing too, and i've got to tell you this stuff, the first i've heard of any of these things was when someone printed it off buzzfeed. buzzfeed themself said this is not credible. "the new york times" announced overnight that they couldn't even publish this stuff because they couldn't verify it and they don't believe in it. it's irresponsible, and it's horrible about politics and what's happening in america, and they should be ashamed of themselves. but, look, the fact that the actual case that they're making is that a guy who's never been the prague was in prague. what does that tell you about the rest of the report? steve: so don't believe it? >> no. i don't think you can believe it. i believe the president-elect. and let's face it. donald trump is a guy who has

traveled the world for most of his adult life. he has been involved in business dealings all around the world. there is no chance in my view that the president-elect would allow himself to be involved in this. he's just too smart for that. brian: there's something else to consider and maybe you have in the trump camp. that the cnn cites multiple intelligence sources. and if this was actually in the report and accurate and nbc was accurate, the intelligence agencies have turned on the president-elect. >> welcome to washington d.c. brian: that's not the -- that's national -- i mean, this is the next president whether you love him or not. steve: and that's the point of his last tweet. >> sure. ainsley: and we have to talk about this, and it's not even confirmed but we have to talk about it because he's tweeting about it. >> well, i'm glad, though, that he's tweeting about it because the fact is he needs to get his side of the story out. ainsley: right? >> and the incoming chief of staff does a good job of pushing back on this. steve: sure. >> but hearing directly from

the president-elect on this is something that the american people have gotten used to in their interaction with him during the campaign within and i think that's something that's going to continue. ainsley: well, there's going to be a press conference today. and then also we have all of these hearings today. jeff sessions was in the hot seat yesterday. there were some protesters. listen to this. >> two people from the northernmost part of our country and the southern most part of our country -- [yelling] >> thank you so much for being here. >> black lives matter. black lives matter. steve: does that help their cause? >> well, to them it does.

but the fact is jeff sessions is -- and i got to work with them extensively during the transition prior to the election. this is a really, really good person who has a great career in public service and who i have complete confidence has the backbone to do what's necessary to do as attorney general. and all the rest of this stuff is just theater. in the end, those things are not going to sway the vote of one person on the committee. if they're opposed, they're going to vote against him, if they're for him, they're going to vote against him. and he's going to be confirmed because he's a good man. steve: and you would know because you got a chance to know him well during the campaign. >> yeah. brian: governor, last night was one of your save of speeches, but you had a laser focus on drug abuse and stopping drug addiction. it's no longer the person in the ghetto somewhere, it is everywhere. why did you choose that topic? what hit home? >> about one of every 12 high school students say they're using vicodin.

one of every 12 high school students say they're using oxycontin. and one in five of those kids become heroin addicts. ainsley: wow. >> last year in new jersey, four times the number of people died of a drug overdose than were murdered. three times as many people died of a drug overdose that died in an automobile accident. this is an epidemic, and we need to understand that this is a disease. it's not a moral failing, it's a disease, and we need to treat it. and, by the way, we see it happening as you said to people at every different economic level, every different level of education. it doesn't matter. it doesn't discriminate. and it's killi and our friends. steve: absolutely. and this has been through some town halls in new jersey about this because it starts in many cases start. they just take the stuff out of the medicine chest, next thing you know they're buying the oxy on the street. it's really expensive. so then they get heroin because it's --

>> it's cheaper. yeah, it is. and now you're having young people, middle-aged people, working professionals who are becoming heroin addicts. and it is tearing our country apart. 50,000 people in america in 2014 died of a heroin overdose. so this issue needs to be addressed, and we're going to address it very aggressively in new jersey because our citizens are dying. brian: how, though? especially a lot of them have no money, and they have to go into facilities, and they don't have the insurance to pay for those facilities will be the has been, listen. first off we know in new jersey for the very poor, medicaid has covered drug abuse treatment. now we have five times as many people who are very on medication. wealthy people get to pay for their drug abuse treatment. they don't have a problem. what i said yesterday is that insurance companies now are saying no regularly to drug abuse treatment, and it's wrong. brian: we'll give you a week in rehab, which is nothing. >> nothing.

so i'm saying 30 days. if you don't help insurance in new jersey, six months of coverage for inabuse drug abuse treatment without denial. if you remember your family who has a drug abuse problem, are you going to put them in inpatient treatment because, well, why not? it's a last resort. you're going to put them some n some place because they have no other place to go. you're desperate. of course they're going to be able to cover it. insurance companies, health insurance companies in particular post obamacare are making more money than they've ever made in recent history. the fact is we're losing our citizens. they pay for health insurance. this is a disease. they don't deny them for cancer. they don't deny them for heart disease or diabetes. this is a disease. and as steve said, you know, kids come, they try some prescription medication they find in their parent's medicine chest, and they think it's okay. before you know it, we had a story yesterday talking about a young man who started taking painkillers. within weeks, he was a heroin

addict. ainsley: oh, my god. >> and parents, it happens like this as a parent. and then what do we do? we cannot choose to let insurance denials cost our kids their lives. we pay for this insurance. we need to get them treatment, and we -- brian: , you think, it would be a model for the country. if it worked for new jersey, it's going to be a model for the country. >> absolutely. and i don't think there are any viewers out there that haven't had their own family or neighbor touched by this epidemic. so it's time to get to work. brian: we want to see you more frequently. >> i'll be back. steve: morphine on the gitmo detainees and their return to terrorism perhaps. we've got the brand-new developments coming up. ainsley: and planning to pounce on ricks teller son claying he has ties to iran. is that true? ed henry is live from washington. that's coming up next. brian: plus senator jeff sessions planned to get grilled on capitol hill day too and abby is grilling in

his own hometown of mobile, alaa

. ainsley: just hours away from

being grilled on capitol hill as he looks to be confirmed as mr. trump's secretary of state. brian: but democrats are chomping on the bit so to speak and as a friend of russian president vladimir putin, he actually has a trophy for that. steve: and chief washington correspondent live in washington d.c. with more. brian: everyone gets a trophy. that's not a big deal. steve: the big question is rex tillerson going to get the trophy? >> yes. and this is why. this is almost comical when you hear the left saying, oh, my gosh we really have rex tillerson in the crosshairs. do you think politicians in either party are going to have on the run somebody who has run a global business like exxon? i would say the same thing about cheryl i is sanberg if she had been picked by hillary clinton we're going to get this facebook chief. these folks who are running these major companies. they're not perfect. of course they make these mistakes. but the idea of pontificating

politicians in washington is laughable number one. number two, on the substance of this in terms of russia what we're getting leaking out from the trump transition team is that he's going to take a clear i do of russia, and it's going to be tough on what they've done in ukraine, for example, and not going to let putin walk all over this incoming administration and, by the way, this whole friend of vladimir, people seem to be forgetting and maybe this will come up today and something i was covering in 2012 before that election barack obama said this about working with putin. watch this tape. >> that's in my life. >> so that was a hot mic, basically. once i get reelected, i'm going to have more flexibility. i can be friends with vladimir. so this idea all of a sudden four years later going on five years that, oh, this is awful

to have a good relationship worth russia, that was exactly what president obama was promising then. steve: wait a minute, ed. are you saying there's a double standard in washington d.c. when it comes to republicans? >> yes. i was just looking into it. i think there might be a double standard. steve: that's a news flash. yeah, i read that in buzzfeed today. thank you very much. brian: that will be an exciting interview. steve: it should be. meanwhile backlash and boycotts aimed at a company right here in the united states. why liberals are targeting ll bean. ainsley: back about lash boycotts. and improving your home can be expensive. but are you at risk for scammers taking even more of your hard-earned money? property man bob with what you need to know. next. steve: i like the new yellow garage door.

afoot and light-hearted i take to the open road. healthy, free, the world before me, the long brown path before me leading wherever i choose. the east and the west are mine. the north and the south are mine. all seems beautiful to me.

steve: we have got some quick headlines and then bob massey. first up, a troubling new intel report confirms many people's suspicions. three gitmo detainees are going back to the terror business. president obama plans to free up 18 more terrorists before he leaves office. great. congressman ed royce chair of the house foreign affairs committee now demanding the president immediately stop all the transfers out of gitmo. and a navy sailor jailed for mishandling classified information wants the hillary treatment, what she got and petitioning president-elect trump for his release. was sentenced to a year in jail for taking unauthorized pictures on a nuclear sub. but his family says the fact

that hillary clinton wasn't also charged for mishandling information is a double standard? down right disgusting. ainsley earhardt. brian: elder scams, especially when it comes to seniors making home improvements. ainsley: how sad people do this to the elderly. with a each year 3.6 billion is lost from the elderly from financial abuse, according to a true link report. and some of that is due to exploitation and fraud. one of the biggest risk is when scammers target them during repairs and renovation of their houses. brian: bob knows all about this and he knows what you can do to prevent it from happening to you. bob, when did you become aware that it's been an issue? >> it's been an issue for many years, brian and people look people who are in probate, who died, they understand a lot of people who are elderly own their homes free and clear. and as a result of that, they target these people.

they literally knock -- excuse me my voice this morning, they knock on the door and they say, hey, you need your roof repaired. your stucco doesn't look very good. and they solicit these lonely people who are basically there lonely and that's how they scam these elderly people. it's true. ainsley: brian's brother does this kind of stuff. had to fix the guy's work in my house. i didn't know that the guy didn't have a license. i guess i should have asked for that. i didn't know to ask for that. so how do you know? >> well, first of all, somebody knocks on your door and starts saying these things, and they start saying, hey, we don't need a written contract, we'll do it out of contract. we want 50% down. we could get it done in, like, two weeks. you know right away that this is a problem. that these people are not licensed, they're part of a bigger camera. they literally have teams of people, guys, that go out, and they target these different homes in different areas.

and because of the lone and they're lonely, and they think these people are being so nice, and they give them a lot of money down, and they're gone. and they disappear. and sometimes what happens is they buy materials, they don't pay the people who buy the materials, they put a lean against the house and now they have to write another check to pay the people that actually provided the materials. so it's a big scam that we have to be aware of. brian: so how do we avoid it? just look out for these and things of course if it happens, you have to make the extra effort to report these people. >> if your brother's in the business, you know the first thing to do is somebody comes to your door, you get the license, you contact the contract board, you find out if their bonded. but i'm sure like your brother's business, there's nothing like referrals. who else have you worked for? give me their names and phone numbers. if those people turn around and walk away, you know you're part of a scam. and, unfortunately, millions and millions and millions of dollars are lost by seniors in this country by situations. ainsley: people write about them online, call the better business bureau, don't pay

them the full amount up front. >> yeah. absolutely. brian: and we look forward to seeing you. saturdays and sundays at 3:00 p.m. right here on the fox news channel. it is back, meaning the election's over. thanks so much, bob. ainsley: senator jeff sessions proudly showing off his granddaughter during yesterday's hearing on capitol hill. and then he was slammed for some people saying he was using her as quote an asian prop. that insane story coming up next. brian: and abby huntsman is live in the senator's hometown getting close to the people in mobile. they'll be watching today, and it's not a highlight real from monday night's game. >> i'm here with the oldest black member of the republican party. tell us your name. >> my name is lee arthur james senior. >> how old are you now? >> i'm 85 years old. >> i'm having the best timght h. when we come back, we're going to talk to them.

some of them go to church with senator jeff sessions. they have some great stories. i'll be back right after this yoh on a perfect car, then smash it into a tree. your insurance company raises your rates. maybe you should've done more research on them. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. and if you do have an accident, our claims centers are available to assist you 24/7. call for a free quote today. liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance.

. >> president obama gave his farewell address tonight in chicago and thousands of people waited outside in freezing temperatures to get tickets. and now those people have a week to get over their pneumonia before they lose their health insurance. steve: oh, boy. by the way, a week from today we'll be traveling down to our nation's capitol. we're going to be live from the mall for the inauguration on thursday, friday, and saturday right here on fox. brian: and the difference is you too will be on the -- you two will be on the train, i have my own private jet. made it up. okay. ainsley: if you did have that, you definitely take us on that.

brian: if you see me get on a private jet. ainsley: this would not be resentment. i would run over and jump on. i would love it if you had a private plane. i think you should in your next contract and take us. steve: right now, though, we have news and we turn to weather. >> good morning, everybody. this woman is known for a trader for leaking classified secrets. well, chelsea manning we're talking about. could get out of prison early. nbc news is reporting that manning is on president obama's short list for commutation. that decision could come as soon as today. manning is serving a 35-year sentence and is begging for pardon. no comment yet from the white house. well, the last call senator jeff sessions a racist even attacked his family during a hearing in capitol hill. here's sessions as he introduces his family. >> my daughter ruth, if you

would stand up and her husband john walk, and they have four children as you see before you today. >> and do you see the beautiful little girl sitting on senator sessions lap? well, that's who mtv was lashing out at tweeting this. sessions, sir kindly return this baby to the toys r us you stole her from. well, a self proclaimed social writer. received major backlash online from that and made his account private. what a low blow. beautiful little girl in the family. when american-based retailer blacklisted because one person on the company board support president-elect donald trump. linda been of the ll bean family giving $60,000 to a pro trump super pac. well, now an online group is calling for people to stop buying there and all other businesses that they consider to be republican linked. ll bean responding this way

saying that the money is being private and person of contribution and that the company completely stays out of politics. an unlikely cure for crime. a three-month girl from texas recovering from her second heart surgery. and the only thing that turns off her tears is watching the dallas cowboys. well, her mom is a broncos fan but says she will now root for the cowboys because it keeps lola happy. beautiful little girl. so sorry she had to go through that surgery. ainsley: it looks like she's healthy. >> they should play this video for the cowboys to get them motivated. do it for the girl. do it for the baby. ainsley: being a mom changes everything. watch that. she just had surgery. >> but she's okay. ainsley: i know. i know. steve: meanwhile, 25 minutes before the top of the hour. if you've been paying attention, it's been very cold in new york city. until today where janice dean the weather machine is outside

where it's about 50 degrees. >> yes. and tomorrow it's going to be close to 60 degrees. where are you guys from? what's your name? >> jeff and beth from georgia. >> nice and what are you in new york for? >> just vacation. >> any highlights of the trip? >> yes. we've been to the statue of liberty, the rock. >> and now you're on fox and friends. anybody you want to say hi to at home? >> madeleine and the babies. >> and all our friends at the bar we go to. >> i'm sure they're all watching. at the bar. it's too early. well, it's 5:00 somewhere. >> it's warm. yes, you can wave of course. it's warm out there across the eastern seaboard -- i mean, talking about temperatures 20 degrees warmer than we were yesterday. and we're watching a storm system exiting -- are you guys leaving today or tonight? >> tonight. >> okay. so get out of here while you can. look at the west, though, we have had a lot of rain and snow in a lot of cases, the most rain and snow they've seen in a decade.

so that's going to be on going. but the good news is goodnights start to relax friday. things will dry out. however, i want to make mention that if you live across the south, the central u.s., we're going to watch a system this week that could bring the phenomenal freezing rain and ice. okay. wave to everybody at home and at the bar. ainsley and brian, back to you. >> thank you. talking about the freezing rain down south. well, abby's down south; right? steve: that's right. ainsley: it's the city that donald trump credits for igniting his campaign in 2015 and where he returned for a final victory lap on his thank you tour last month. brian: so what are the voters of mobile, alabama thinking as we get ready for the inauguration? let's talk to abby huntsman, she's talking to everybody in mobile, alabama. >> they're teaching me the ways of the south. all y'all, floral y'all. it was originated right here in mobile, alabama. it's amazing how friendly

everybody is here. i'm here now with lee, who is the oldest black member of the republican party. how are you doing, lee? that's quite the title to have. quite the title to have. the oldest black member of the republican party here in mobile. >> enjoying my stay and the republican party made great changes over the past 25, 30 years in mobile. and it's young, strong, and aggressive and the party is moving greatly in its conception. a wonderful time to be a republican in south alabama. >> you voted for mr. trump? >> yes. of course. no one qualified for the position to be great again except donald trump. donald trump. >> you're hopeful. and you know senator jeff sessions. >> i'm not just hopeful. i know it's going to be. jeff sessions, magnificent man. yes. he's very highly regarded in the mobile area here. highly regarded.

>> you are just a fabulous man. george, we've been talking as well. you were a democrat up to about ronald reagan era, and you said that changed your mind. >> that changed my mind because at that time i felt president carter was so weak and the country was going downhill, and i was with the federal government, and i just felt that we were very weak. >> and you feel it's similar now; right? >> i feel very similar to that. i think it's a little worse now than when president carter was in office. and i think we need somebody to bring this country back and that's donald trump and jeff sessions. >> you were saying you're frustrated with how the media's been handling jeff sessions and these racist allegations. you say that's all false. >> that's all false. that's all false. jeff sessions is the gneiss person you ever want to meet. and the news about him being racist, it's not true. jeff session was a guy who prosecuted the kkk. okay? and when they said he tried to interfere with the voters up in northern alabama, it was

the black folk who asked him to do that. so i'm just tired of all of these lies and the women. >> that's a great reminder. i want to go over to this table here. how are you doing? you guys have been all morning long. i want to come over to these ladies because -- i'm going to interrupt your breakfast for a minute because you go to church with senator sessions. you've known him for what? 30 years? >> yes. over 30 years. >> tell us more about him for people who don't know. >> well, i do believe he's a very honest person. the thing i've noticed about him is that jeff treats everybody the same. he makes everybody feel good about themselves. rich or poor. children, little old ladies, everybody he treats the same. and sink he's a very principled person. >> today president-elect, what are the issues you care most about for him in office? will go to has been i care about ethics in government. i want people we can trust.

and that's one of the reasons why i like jeff sessions so much. i know he's honest. i care about jobs. i care about treating everybody in this country in a humane way. i care about peoples rights and that we will all be able to progress in this country. not just certain groups. i want everybody to feel united in this country. we've been divided for too long. and being united as a country is important. >> so well said. and we were talking earlier. you own a small business here in mobile. >> yes, ma'am. >> so what are you passionate about? >> we are a department store here in downtown mobile here. we've been in busy for 80 years. my biggest concern is the health care issue. our health care has gone up 200% and frankly it's twice our house payment now.

and it's unaffordable and that's the biggest concern that we have. that and taxes. >> and you're a big fan of fox and friends. >> oh, absolutely. i watch you every morning from 5:00 to 8:00. >> love it. we'll be with you guys this morning. thank you so much. i'm going to toss it back to ainsley, brian, and steve. steve: it started at the diner, and we've been going right through the inauguration. coast to coast with toast. brian: and when the inauguration's done, the diners are done. ainsley: so fun to meet the people who wake up with us every day. they're part of our family, and we appreciate it. this morning everyone is talking about politics as the president-elect cabinet picks are in the hot seat this week. >> i did everything i was required to do and the complaints about the voter fraud case and the complaints about the clan case that i vigorously prosecuted and supported are false. ainsley: how are the people responding to that? the brand-new dials next.

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government was blackmailing him the same way he responded to reports that the russians are interfering with the election process. he says none of it is true. it's something we're talking about this morning because buzzfeed published a document even though they said it was unverified and contained information about the president-elect. and the details are not confirmed as the headline. so he has tweeted a lot today. intelligence agencies should have never allowed this fake news to get into the public. one more shot at me. are we living in nazi german? a great movement is verified and crooked opponents try to belittle with fake news. a sorry state. president-elect also wrote russia has never tried to use leverage over me. i have nothing to do with russia. no deals. no loans. no nothing. the incoming white house staff landed on that a little bit earlier today. >> it is complete garbage, i'll tell you that. and, you know, look, i was in the briefing too.

and i got to tell you. this stuff, the first i've heard of any of these things was when someone printed off of buzzfeed. buzzfeed themself said this stuff is not credible. >> something else the trump team says proves the document is illegitimate, the long time lawyer michael cohen sneaking overseas to allegedly meet with russian officials in prague. problem is cohen says he's never been to prague. kellyanne conway says nobody made it because that wasn't part of their strategy. >> nothing to do with why hillary clinton lost. vladimir putin didn't. her campaign spent more money in georgia and arizona than they did in michigan and wisconsin. >> today's press conference the first in a formal setting since mr. trump won the election was originally build as an opportunity for him to explain how he was going to separate himself from his business interest before moving to the white house. now there's obviously a lot

more to talk about. back to you. steve: all right. peter ducey with a live report from trump tower. trump was mad. did you notice he was yelling? all caps. ainsley: right. steve: meanwhile this morning, everyone is talking about politics as the president-elect's cabinet picks are in the hot seat once again today. >> i did everything i was required to do and the complaints about the voter fraud case and the complaints about the clan case that i vigorously prosecuted and supported are false. steve: so what do you think about these new sound bytes? we've got brand-new dials with lee carter next. brian: but first, let's check in with martha. hey, there, martha. >> there's a lot to talk about this morning and first up today, rex tillerson, the secretary of state nominee will get his grilling before the committee today on capitol hill. and you've been talking about it all morning. donald trump and russia explosive new information that the president-elect says is 100% false. bill and i will see you for a

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steve: all right. just nine days before president-elect's donald trump's inauguration, and it's a busy time in our nation's capitol. but how is everybody outside the beltway reacting to what's being said inside? good morning to you. >> good morning. steve: all right. yesterday was all about jeff sessions; right? >> it sure was. steve: and the run-up was that he was a racist, but he took that bull by the horn threat early and listen to what he said. >> i did everything i was required to do and the complaints about the voter fraud case and the complaints about the clan case that i vigorously prosecuted and supported are false.

and i do hope this hearing today will show that i conducted myself honorably and properly at that time and that i am the same person perhaps wiser and maybe a little better, i hope so today than i was. but he did not harbor the amount of animosities that i was accused of. i did not. steve: man, republicans were off the chart on that. >> off the charts. they gave him an a. independent said -- you can see democrats at c minus, which is actually pretty good. he did very, very well. and by putting that out there up front, he neutralized the concerns and had a great day yesterday. steve: here she is. will they work with the people across the aisle? watch the dials. >> no question. look, i've heard from elizabeth warren, i've heard from bernie sanders, i've heard from a

number of democrats that will fight. but there are also other democrats who said, look, put something on the table. let us work together. we have a lot of -- a lot at stake in terms of the economy. president obama is leaving the white house and leaving the economy and at much better shape than when he found it back in 2009. ainsley: so you can see there democrats responded well to this. they gave it an a. even i apologize, they're so hungry to hear when she went or to defend obama and said they're better off than 2009, it just didn't resonate. but that's what people want to hear. steve: speaking of defending obama, that's valerie, trusted aid to barack obama's job. here's she is talking about scandal free. >> the president prides himself in that his administration hasn't had a scandal.

but that's not because he's being someone other than who he is. that's because that's who he is. that's who they are, and i think that's what really resonates with the american people. steve: scandal free administration. >> you can see democrats an a, independent c and republicans f. steve: lee carter, thank you very much for doing all of that work for us. steve: we're going to step aside. more fox and friends in two mins

>> all right, breakfast with friends. abby is mobile, alabama. good morning, abby. >> i have to say i wish that i had time to talk to every single person. we're here in mobile, alabama. they've fabulous. it's the home of jeff sessions. you have heard how much is he loved down here. >> no kidding. you wish you could talk to everybody. we want some of the home fries.

>> i want some of your beads, lady. >> they have the strawberry tea. >> thank you, abby. >> see you back here tomorrow, everybody. >> bill: good morning. what a morning this will be, a significant day for the trump administration. donald trump holds his first news conference since the summer two hours from now that he calls completely unverified reports about russia and potential blackmail. serious allegations that no news organization has been able to confirm yet it's out there and the most controversial pick in his cabinet faces congress this morning. we say hello. it's wednesday and there is a lot going on. i'm bill hemmer. welcome to "america's newsroom." >> martha: i'm martha maccallum this story is rapidly developing today coming ahead of a