if you can't trust the that cross-country skiing you are not going to trust them in syria. >> that is it for this week's show, thanks to you for watching, we hope to see you next week. >> a new round of evacuations in southern california where the third-largest fire in the state of history consumes land and homes. powerful windss pushing flames closer to coastal communities northwest of los angeles. welcome to a new hour of america's news headquarters. >> officials morning thousands of people in areas near this fire to get out. the flames continue to rapidly spread and forecasters say high winds could fuel the fires.

it has charged 250,000 acres and reduced hundreds of homes to ash. and two deaths including a firefighter. live to santa barbara. california with an update. >> reporter: we just drove into this area and you can see a big plume of smoke across this region because this fire is in the national forest right now. i want to show you some helicopters making water dumps because the winds kicked up and pushed this fire down towards santa barbara, winds combed right now and the fire has come so close it is in the hillside behind me, it is tricky from a viewer's perspective, so smoky you can't see the flames but the real concern, those flames could

race down into this community, doing home and structure protection on every home in this community. when we were driving in, a huge smoke plume in this area, the thickest fog, residents are worried. >> not sleeping, just keeping eyes open. we thought it was over, we got word we could come back and it lit up this morning. >> reporter: the fires have been burning for almost two weeks and in the middle of this, we had our first firefighter death, corey iversen was 32 years old, we learned he died from a mix of burns and smoke in elation. there's an investigation how that played out. he was a father and young

daughter and had a pregnant wife, which shows how dangerous these conditions can be. >> reporter: conditions are so dangerous. kelly: people have to be ready at a moments notice to get out. >> that is right, under mandatory evacuation. the truth is it is only mandatory in name. some homeowners decided to stay. when they do that, that could be hundreds to firefighters racing through the streets trying to save their home if it comes down the hillside behind me so this area evacuated but we have seen some people sticking around. kelly: hopefully people will heed the advice from authorities. molly: the house is poised to pastoring an expected vote on tuesday and the senate could

follow suit shortly after. now these senators have flipped in favor of the bill as donald trump says the bill will help all americans. >> this will be great for jobs, fantastic for the middle income people and for jobs. it will also benefit lots of other things. if you look at the whole thing everybody will benefit but the greatest benefit is going to be for jobs and the middle class, middle income. >> caroline shively has details on this. >> after all the amendments in the margins republicans haven't failed the final bill last night that keeps seven tax brackets starting at 10% and going to 37%, the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. obamacare's individual mandate while retaining a deduction for medical expenses, reduced for

today's race but also expected to add $4.6 trillion to the deficit over the next decade. the standard deduction would be doubled, so with the child tax credit and losing deductions, others are packed, that will stand for people who use those deductions in high-tech states, republicans are calling the strong middle-class tax relief, democrats remind us that individual tax cuts expire eventually but this tax-cut is permanent. >> i'm excited about this moment. it has been 31 years in the making. >> the tax reform bill is a disaster. it helps the wealthiest, most powerful corporations and hurts the middle-class. >> the senate likely a day later, the senate normally goes first but they hope for extra time for senators to get back to work. the president said he wants a tax bill on his desk by christmas. congress will deliver it a few days early.

molly: thanks for keeping tabs on that. kelly: rex tillerson making a strong statement to north korea at the united nations backing away from statements that talks to come even if north korea continues its nuclear test. he doubled down on the white house position that north korea must put a stop to its threatening behavior and earn its way back to the negotiating table. >> i said earlier this week a sustained cessation of north korea have threatening behavior must occur before talks can begin. north korea must earn its way back to the table. the pressure campaign must and will continue until denuclearization is achieved. we will in the meantime keep channels of communication open. kelly: brian has more on this.

>> reporter: the question is what constitutes cessation of threatening behavior. can talk only begin after the regime stop firing missiles? how much time needs to go by? the regime went 75 days without firing a missile before they fired their new icbm capable of reaching the us quashing any hopes of an opening for negotiation. the other question is does north korea need to prove more to prove they are serious about negotiations before the us will sit at the table with them? mixed messages from the state department and white house suggest tillerson is more willing to speak to north korea while the white house is not. trump said tillerson was wasting his time speaking to the north koreans and earlier this week a white house official said the regime must not only refrain from missile tests but take, quote, severe and meaningful

action toward denuclearization before negotiation can happen. tillerson tried to squash the idea he and his boss are not on the same page. >> the president's policy is quite clear, there is no daylight at all, the pursuit of that policy and the president has been clear we are going to lead this pressure campaign, unite the international community and keep the pressure as much as we can and increase it where possible. >> secretary of state urging the world to continue pressuring and sanctioning north korea in the hopes that it will cripple their economy leaving no choice but to come to the negotiating table as there is concern kim jung un may be planning another missile lunch to mark the 6 year anniversary of his father's death this weekend. republican senator lindsey graham saying he believes time is running out and if nothing changes there is a 30% chance donald trump attacks north korea

first. kelly: that is a sobering sentiment. molly: the director of the margaret thatcher center for freedom at the heritage foundation to talk about this issue, top of the line. we just heard our reporter raise the question, rex tillerson said there needs to be a lull before discussion can begin. what constitutes a long enough lull for there to be discussions and should we have discussions with north korea? will make make a difference? >> clearly decades of discussions with north korea, talks between the united states, the course of two decades, these do not result in anything significant in terms of the nuclear program. the idea we could sit down and

negotiate with one of the most horrible regimes in the world is an illusion and no evidence to suggest going to the negotiating table to deliver anything, the suggestion we should negotiate with this regime. the right approach certainly has to be to increase the sanctions, implement in place, and this regime, bringing it to its knees. molly: the most heavily thanks and regime in the world community has some degree many seem to be continuing with trade. and the north korea organizations still trading particularly important

commodities like call. how important is it to get countries like china, the united states believes china is any part of the key. >> the global community, china and russia are dragging their feet. the executive order, sanctioning chinese companies who are assisting north korea's nuclear program, we need to enforce those sanctions, won't going to do anything assisting the north korean regime, actually employing north koreans, slave labor and assisting the north korean economy. the united states, not to

enforce sanctions against all those aiding and abetting this regime. we need to see the enforcement of sanctions against north korea and the expansion of sanctions against north korea. moscow and beijing have been very unhelpful in regard to the north korean threat and aiding and abetting north koreans. molly: i want to talk about increasing danger, james madison on friday, this missile that was launched is not a capable threat to the united states and the country makes strides in their technology. when does the thread become capable. >> a significant advance in

missile capability, and only a matter of time before they can strike against the united states. we should be clear here. and eminent threat in the united states, the capability of firing a missile against the united states carrying a nuclear warhead. the states are extremely high at this time and north korea does pose a grave threat to the united states and us allies in the region. >> talking about how quickly they are advancing the united states has attempted to be a leader at the international level at the un. is there another world power that stepped up to the stage that we can rely on? >> the answer is simply no.

this is a moment when american leadership really does matter and at the end of the day if the united states does not lead, no one else is going to lead. you have a number of major global actors in particular, the russians and the chinese collaborating against north korea. american leadership does matter, the united states as a world superpower must do what it can to prevent north korea from the merging of the nuclear weapons power that can trust the united states and its allies. this is a time of tremendous gravity at a time for robust leadership. molly: we will see what happens, thank you. kelly: the senate saga that just won't end. a defiant roy moore refusing to concede to democrat doug jones. how the embattled

molly: a shooting in los angeles in 5 people to the hospital including young girl, the lapd says one suspect opened fire from a vehicle striking four men and grazing a little girl, 10 gunshots, investigators not sure what led to the shooting. melania molly: roy moore is not backing down, democrat doug jones beat more by 20,000 votes at a defiant more is refusing to accept those results. i'm joined by bridget bowman, thanks for joining us this afternoon. i got to ask, what do you say about this race and the unusual aspects of it. >> it was a unique race for five days, it was a wild ride

covering this race starting several months ago. in terms of roy moore refusing to back down this is in line with his past behavior. he was removed not once but twice from the supreme court for defying a federal order, to remove a statue of the ten commandments from the courthouse and ordering federal judges not to comply with the same-sex marriage decision. this is not surprising he is taking the stand and last night his campaign sent out another fundraising email for an election integrity fund to look at voter fraud. the secretary of state in alabama has said he has seen no evidence of this and doesn't think certification will shift the results. kelly: what is left for roy moore to do? you talked about a wild ride. i remember him hitting on his horse to ride to the pole to

cast the vote for himself. is it time for him to ride the horse into the sunset? >> trump as you recall, endorsed by roy moore, to step aside, the president did call doug jones and they talked about finding common ground. he is facing pressure to back down but he has paste similar pressure after the sexual misconduct allegations and refused to do so. before certification is complete at the beginning of january. >> how would you define his personality? he is one who is very confident about his abilities and defiant when he feels threatened and

talks about his faith as well. how do those factors weigh in? if you talk about your faith as he does there is also a thing called grace and he could gracefully bow out and concede so the state of alabama and its voters can move forward with doug jones as their senator for the next two years. >> an interesting point and the word defiant is something that captures him. he is someone who often talks about his faith. throughout the campaign, was a key factor in his ground game, the founding fathers and budget as part of the founding of the country, certain evangelical questions, part of his base, and

are alabamians pressuring him but it can be resolved in a couple weeks or so. kelly: the people of alabama you got to know, has this divided the state? have a come together? this was a bruising campaign because of roy moore's position for a number of things, black voters, white voters have you seen them come together, and we roll forward with the nation and the state? >> there is a divide between those backing roy moore who didn't believe the allegations and those supporting doug jones and it was interesting to talk to republicans and independentss who were supporting jones or writing someone in, it was a key

part of the argument, alabama doesn't accept what roy moore was standing for and someone accused of these allegations to represent them in the u.s. senate and interesting to see how doug jones wins with a majority, 49%. he mentioned at a press conference after the election he wants to represent all alabamians, even those who don't agree with him and pledged to travel throughout the state to listen to those he doesn't agree with and forge a common bond. doug jones also said in the campaign trail there is more that unite alabamians then divide the that he will try to move that forward. kelly: in doing so he will have to get involved in people who are very adamant about right to life. is he willing as far as you know, to cross that bridge and

find common ground other than his previous position? >> he has said he supports the current status quo when it comes to this issue and this was a big issue that raise a lot of questions whether or not he could win whether it is pro-life republican this could support him in the end, and leaving that option open. it is interesting to see especially if there's another supreme court opening as this plays into the decision and what the reaction from alabamians is. kelly: for doug jones to go forward and possibly win, when he is up for reelection it will be interesting to see how we play this out and if he can reach out and find consensus among all the people in alabama but thank you for weighing in on this and best of everything to you in the coming new year.

merry christmas. >> merry christmas, happy new year. molly: the transition team leveling complaints against robert mueller and the russia investigation, details on that next. mary's vintage clothing and designer shoe collection were ruined. luckily, the geico insurance agency had recently helped mary with renters insurance, and she got a totally fab replacement wardrobe at bloomingdale's. mary was inspired to start her own fashion line, exclusively for little lambs. visit geico.com and see how affordable renters insurance can be.

molly: officials from the trump transition team pending a new letter to high-ranking lawmakers accusing robert mueller's office of wrongdoing claiming it inappropriately obtained sensitive documents some of which they say were protected under attorney-client privilege. garrett and he is following this developing story for us live from the white house. >> reporter: we are going through this letter but we learn to the trump transition team, an attorney for that team sent a letter to congressional leaders alleging robert mueller's team

acted inappropriately in obtaining materials that belonged to the transition. in that letter, responsible for government oversight, claims mueller's team intentionally went around the transition to obtain private material including privileged communication. mother's team allegedly did that through the general service administration. in the transition period the gs see provided transition supplies and notably hosted the team's email services. part of that agreement, any communications are secure but in august the transition team claims special counsel requested copies of the emails, laptops, cell phones and other materials belonging to a dozen top transition team members who were largely responsible for national security and policy issues and the gsa provided those without notifying the transition and did so without filtering or

rejecting privileged material which is protected by presidential privilege and attorney-client privilege, the transition team claims this session a precedent that could allow future presidential transitions to have private records misappropriated by government agencies and now requesting congress to take steps to prevent that from happening and we are told officials familiar with the investigation are concerned that robert mueller's team may have violated the fourth amendment in obtaining these records and that is something congressional officials are going to be looking at as well. molly: it is busy on capitol hill, thank you. kelly: all of this in the middle of a growing feud with the fbi justice department, let's bring in michael toman, former senior aide to senator chuck schumer and john jordan, republican campaign strategist.

there is so much going on. what do you say on the surface of what we just heard? >> it is a delicious irony we are discussing email servers in the context of the trump administration given what hillary clinton dealt with that ultimately sank her candidacy at the end and it all connects up just like former fbi director comey was doing the right thing protecting the fbi institution, an important institution in law enforcement, institution in american government by reopening the email investigation and in this case mueller and folks looking into what may or may not have happened and russian officials are protecting the institution, i don't see anything coming out of this unless the president think there is rhetoric to shore up space. kelly: what happens to the fbi

going forward? >> the mueller investigation is blowing up its own credibility of the president is on the side of a growing majority of the american people was a poll that came out done by a clinton pollster shows 63% of the american public believe the mueller investigation is not being truthful with congress and the american people and 54% believe the mueller investigation is objective and shows the president with a 36% approval rate so facts are stubborn things and the administration is on the right side of this which is why they piled on the fbi, the credibility is imploding. kelly: if that is imploding what does it say about the fabric of america, the fbi is in tatters

and he is putting down the leadership of the fbi but going to rank-and-file law enforcement members saying i am with you, i'm your greatest advocate and supporter, the president going so far as to make some changes in the fbi as he is down to do. we are at a juncture in our country, talking about draining the swamp, the swamp in our own justice department as it relates to the fbi, men and women who have vowed to serve and protect the citizens of this country. >> these are law enforcement professionals which we are well past the hoover years where it was a political institution undermining other branches of government. i don't think there's -- it is a fight he need not have given the republican congress and administration are poised -- might disagree on certain respects, tremendous victory on

tax code reform. why do this at all unless it is to undermine any conclusion the special investigator may find. kelly: as you know, we are in an environment that is politically toxic right now. talk about swamp thing, we have something going on that is a mess and people trying to sort it out and the american people watching this throwing their hands up and saying what is going on with our country? this thing about collusion, no proof of collusion, this thing about the special counsel, should the president fired a special counsel, should the attorney general step in, a lot going on, the american people are scratching their head saying give me something tangible to hold onto. >> the president should be an ally of law enforcement.

it seems there's a lot of explaining to do across the board and folks and voters thinking a pox on all their houses and pay attention to something else with the president hopes will be tax code reform. >> the leadership of the justice department is not political, there's an entrenched bureaucrat, appointees from the previous administration that are distinct animal from rank-and-file law enforcement. there is a disconnect between the two. the president is an ally of street agent to do the work of law enforcement versus the swamp things at the top of the doj, revelation after revelation. the poll i just cited was done in november, weeks before the revelations about bruce or and peter stark. they are going felt like a duck in winter.

>> the bottom line is the american people want to move forward with their nation, they want to get beyond this. what do you say to the president, the justice department, the fbi to congress about cleaning up the mess so people can move forward? >> i will sound like a broken record and i don't see enormous problems at the fbi. of the president wants to use language criticizing law enforcement professionals, other institutions and certain media outlets, to meet is a bridge too far but he may be trying to shore up his base, they are tired of the overall malaise and swamp. i don't see it.

>> the american people are with the president on this and there's a difference, the political appointees of the justice department are not realigned, law enforcement is with the president and you saw that with the ovation he got yesterday. >> we have two divergent views which is always healthy in america but hopefully we can find common ground. the common ground from both of you is we trust the men and women who serve in the fbi. >> yes we do. >> i got an agreement. i will end it while we are safe. the fbi is serving the country well. happy holidays. >> congress could vote as early as next week on a final version of the gop tax plan. when can americans see more money in their paychecks? one republican lawmaker joins us with his take next. he'd be stopr more pills right now.

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kelly: the pentagon has been trying to answer the age-old question, are we alone in the universe? the new york times reporting they spent $22 million a year for five years on the space threat identification program in which officials investigated us military reports of ufos. the pentagon never acknowledged the program which it now so started in 2007 and shut down in 2012. some officials tell the times the program continues even after its funding ended. molly: republicans crossed the hurdle on the finish line to tax reform, releasing the final version of the gop tax bill. they plan to muscle the measure through congress next week and donald trump could sign it into law by friday.

joining me now is robert pitt injure of north carolina, a member of the house committee on financial services, thank you for being here. let's kick off with this, congratulations, wait for the ink to hit the paper, wait for it to be dry, but republicans and the white house are on the cusp of the legislative win they wanted. why should the american people be excited about this? >> it is transformational. most americans don't know what to expect. you have to be in your 50s or 60s to have perspective, folks in the 20s, 30s and 40s, keynesian theories of government intervention, market-driven economies and low taxes create jobs, this is a jobs bill, more cash back in the hands of the

american people, and expanding and creating jobs. molly: the big concern that has gathered attention is the deficit and the analysis that shows $1 trillion or more could be added to the deficit. >> that is a static model that doesn't enjoin growth. growth tax cuts, for every 1% you ed, there will be $3 trillion. you can't just look at the silo of tax cuts as they are but the reality of growth that comes from that, and bringing revenue to the federal coffers. molly: you are excited about this bill and colleagues are excited about the bill but some

recent polling shows some are not so excited, quinnipiac university poll, 16% of american voters say it will reduce their taxes, 44% say will increase taxes, 65% say the wealthy will benefit the most. when it comes to messaging, when will they see money in their pockets? when will the middle-class feel the difference? >> before the reagan tax cuts only 18% felt they would get a tax cut and as i said a minute ago most folks never experienced those tax cuts that are here today. you have to be in your 50s to be aware what happened to their own paychecks and jobs and increase wages. in february, people get their paychecks, they will feel less money taken out of the paycheck. molly: that would make a lot of

people happy. i was at the salvation army and spoke with an older lady who packed her cart to the brim with toys and she was concerned about charitable tax credit, what would you say to folks who have been in this season of giving? >> they are continued, our deductions, the mortgage deduction, 750,$000 for two homes, deductions from healthcare, student education, graduate education, many deductions preserved for the american people. >> you have to be in your 50s to understand, we haven't seen this since the 80s. when we are talking about families, not in their 50s,

raising kids, marco rubio won that battle for the tax credit, what else is in it for folks supporting young families. >> double the standard deduction, increase the tax credit so that is meaningful for them but what is truly meaningful is the impact on growing the economy and jobs. we will be able to expand, i have eight counties, some of it rural and some of its suburban but they are encouraged, that is job creation. that impact wages as well. a major benefit will come back to every economy. molly: merry christmas to you.

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molly: a democratic congressman announcing he will not run for reelection. he has faced allegations of sexual misconduct, a campaign staffer and nevada lobbyist. the 37-year-old freshman lawmaker was seen as a rising star in the democratic party. in a statement today he denied the allegations but said they would be a distraction from the issues during a reelection campaign. kelly: people killed in the west bank ahead of mike pence's visit to the middle east. the dangerous rioting not showing signs of slowing down after donald trump's historic move recognizing jerusalem as his reals capital. kitty logan joins us in london. >> reporter: that decision was welcomed by israel but it has

angered many palestinians. what we thought today were more clashes, protesters throwing stones and israeli forces responding with tear gas, following one of those protesters killed in friday clashes. israeli security forces broke a palestinian protesters in jerusalem. they have not been on a massive scale, but eight palestinians have been killed since the latest wave of protests began and in germany 1000 people took part in a pro-palestinian rally and do not expect a decision by the us to recognize jerusalem as the israeli capital. interesting to note palestinian officials have refused to meet with mike pence when he arrives in his real wednesday. they are planning a large

protest instead. kelly: kitty logan reporting from london. that will do it for us. molly: the news continues at the top of the hour. kelly: we will see you at 7:00. molly: see you then.