jillian: it is thursday, november 15th and this is "fox and friends first". it is deadline day. florida election officials scrambling to count every last ballot but will to fight in the courts to win for republicans? back up at the border. illegal migrants climbing the fence even taunting us authorities. how the us military's top dog is rallying the troops as asylum-seekers make their case today. >> give me a little baby, johnny or jimmy. >> i'm not making the same mistake.

>> i am hormonal. heather: country music stars align in nashville praised for avoiding politics. the winners and losers from the country music awards coming up. "fox and friends first" starts right now. ♪ ♪ beautiful wonderful perfect all-american ♪ heather: good morning, you are watching "fox and friends first" this thursday morning. i am heather childers wherever you are waking up. the first wave of the migrant

caravan expected to start requesting asylum at the southern border. white house officials rally troops, thousands of them on the us-mexico line. >> 800 migrants in the caravan are beginning to arrive in tijuana, some actively trying to get appointments with american border officials in order to make their case for sanctuary. all this as james mattis visited the border defending the deployment of thousands of troops calling it, quote, a moral and ethical mission to support our border patrol. >> it is very clear support for the border patrol is necessary right now. >> there are close to 6000 troops on the border with 7000 expected as the migrants get closer. the defense secretary emphasizing he doesn't expect troops to come into direct contact with migrants adding the only military personnel that would be armed and military police.

mattis is joined by kirstjen neilsen, four migrant caravans arriving in the next few weeks. >> whether it is for natural disasters or cybersecurity, don't have to fight the home game and it is national security. >> reporter: look at this, dhs putting of razor wire to prevent a repeat of migrants climbing the border fence in defiance of us law. all-time records for illegal immigrant children and families attempting to enter the us, november looking the same. >> we will talk to a former border patrol agents coming up with more on this. another fox news alert, 59 people confirmed that as wildfires burn across california. the sierra fire fueled by windss

scorching 150 acres east of los angeles. to the north some brand-new drone video showing the devastation caused by the camp fire. 8800 homes completely destroyed in the town of paradise. national guard troops helping search teams comb through the debris as 100 people remain missing. interior secretary ryan zink you touring the devastation with california governor jerry brown saying it is the worst he has ever seen but relief is in sight. rain expected in parts of the state early next week. turning to extreme weather is a powerful nor'easter packed with snow is headed towards the northeast, that same storm bland for deadly bus crash in mississippi killing two people and dozens more injured after police say the driver lost control and flipped on an icy highway. 110 million americans along the east coast now bracing for the first wintry blast of the

season. and it is deadline day in florida. counties have just hours to finish recount as the heated battle over the u.s. senate seat is stirring even more controversy. griff jenkins is in the thick of it in broward county. good morning. what is the latest in terms of the recount. will they meet the deadline or not? >> they will meet it. the machines behind me, celebrations, just about 80 or so ballots short and problems plague folks in broward. yesterday fox news obtaining a letter from the secretary of state of florida to us attorneys regarding altered care affidavits for vote by mail ballots and in four counties, those counties are santa rosa, citrus, opal lose the, broward. it is a little complicated but basically that was due the day

before the election. the altered forms instructed voters to do the two days after the election which wouldn't be counted. we asked the election supervisor brenda snipes about it. is the audio of what happened. >> is of out-of-state? >> we didn't have the affidavits so those people -- >> altering the affidavit for vote by mail and you took measures to ensure it didn't affect ballot integrity. a crime to alter -- shouldn't you still have appointed to the secretary of state? >> even if they weren't successful? >> yes, that is a good.. >> doctor snipes says no ballots were affected in this recount,

we are waiting to hear from the department of state on whether or not they will see connections why snipes did not report this activity. the recount you asked about in the beginning in palm beach county, they are still trying to get there but doesn't look like they will meet the 3:00 pm deadline. >> what happens after that? griff jenkins, thank you. the recount in broward county capturing the national spotlight but election recount monitor richard says the confusion is causing distrust in the election process. >> a national embarrassment in broward county. brenda snipes as supervisor of elections for 15 years now and it is a repetitive problem, one after another, she faced multiple lawsuits over the years, she has illegally destroyed ballots, she has not followed the law and there are so many irregularities in broward county that all confidence is lost as a fair

arbiter of election. myself on sunday night, an employee from a rental agency at the airport contacted me to let me know there was a provisional ballot box left in a rental car at the airport which contained unmarked ballots. there are a lot of problems in broward county and no one has any confidence in brenda snipes. >> the elections department says they expect to meet today's recount deadline as we just heard. we will see but possibly not palm beach county. michael avenatti, attorney for stormy daniels denies domestic violence allegations. >> i have never struck a woman. i never will strike a woman. i am looking forward to a full investigation at which point i have confidence that i will be fully exonerated.

shannon: he is facing a felony charge, he posted bail last night. the attorney was arrested after confrontation at his los angeles apartment with an unidentified woman. tm the reports her face was swollen and be used. retiring senator jeff flake taking a last stand on capitol hill refusing to vote for any of donald trump's judicial nominees until the senate votes on a bill to protect the mueller pro. mitchell, walked a vote on that the wednesday. the decision coming after the judiciary committee moves forward with five of the president's nominees. the senate helps to confirm 40 more before the new congress starts in january. and advisor to the president is out after an ongoing dispute with the first lady. the white house as deputy national security aide will move to a new role within the administration but did not specify what she will be doing. the first lady milania trump,

her office called for her firing or removal after the two clashed over travel issues. the cma awards rocking the stage at nashville or in nashville overnight, they were praised for leaving politics out of the joke filled show. >> just started snoring in the front row. >> quit recording. >> chris stapleton was not sleeping, he was too be busy accepting the vocalist of the year award, casey musgrave beating out stapleton for album of the year with golden hour but last night's biggest surprise taking home entertainer of the year. >> baby girl, i love you so

much. i am shocked beyond shock, thank you for supporting daddy. >> several country legends taking the stage including garth brooks. >> 11 minutes after the top of the hour, fatal flight. remember the shocking incident when a woman was sucked out of the plane window a 32,000 feet? the details i just released on a terrifying ordeal. defending the frontline secondary of defense jim mattis talking tough on the border as a migrant caravan closes in. for border patrol agent jason piccolo says the caravan is our only problem. he explains next.

>> raining and cold, when you are in a position where people are showing lack of respect for

each other elsewhere and you and your team are holding strong, nothing can shake you. nothing can shake you. >> defense attorney mattis rallying the troops to secure the southern border but the first of thousands of members of the migrant caravan already arriving in tijuana, some climbing up the border fence and even daunting us law enforcement. you to weigh in his former ice supervisor jason piccolo. thank you for joining us, really appreciate it. to begin i just want your reaction to migrants climbing to the top of the border wall and taunting law enforcement officers was what was your first initial response when you saw those images? >> i don't think they are part of the caravan. the caravan will go to the port of entry. i believe these are just the other aliens that are trying to taunt our border patrol agents.

heather: what about mattis's visit to the border area? some people say that is just for optics? >> i think it is great. i'm a former infantry officer who did a deployment any rack and having a ground commander come out and see what is going on to get the ground troops is imperative. heather: the opposite of what you are saying, listen. >> it is unfortunate that we have soldiers there. you can't call it anything but a stunned here. i can't say anything but you shouldn't be doing this. this was not an issue congress was involved in. it was an executive decision. >> he talked about the troops, saying it was a stunned, they don't need to be there in the first place. do you agree? >> we need troops there. when i was in border patrol you had one agent every two miles. we would simply get overrun if there were thousands rushing the border at the same time. in the 1990s you would have

hundreds and hundreds of aliens running up the freeway in san diego, we need the military to bolster the efforts to allow border patrol agents to do their job. mattis already said they won't engage the aliens. heather: senator flake said the work should be handled by civilians and not military personnel. >> that is even worse. look at our private prison industries, how are you going to train civilians to go out and apprehends aliens? it doesn't work. heather: we are not even keeping them here, sending them back when they should be. this illegal alien accused of killing three people. he was a dasee a recipient, roderigo perez, illegal alien

from mexico, triple murderer, recipient of the 8ca in 2012-2014, he had been jailed and was released on domestic violence charges. what can you tell us about this case? >> he has three the portable offenses, aggravated assault and child abuse when middlesex county released him. new jersey requires you to have a judicial warrant to honor an ice detail or. that is a criminal warrant. you would need the us attorney's office to honor or apply criminal warrants for every illegal alien. it just doesn't work that way. >> ice accused middlesex county of being a sanctuary policy, the federal immigration agency arrested 37 criminal illegal aliens in that area just in july. >> the thing about new jersey is a lot of police would work with ice but are afraid of being sued for illegally detaining and alien. shannon: we appreciate you

joining us today. the time is 18 minutes after the top of the hour. passing prison reform, donald from ready to reach across the island give ex-inmates a second chance. will democrats finally work with him instead of against him? >> i will not make the same mistake. i am or mobile. >> praise for politics free night. carly shimkus has reactions country music's biggest night up next. ♪ i can't do this on my own ♪ i am a family man.

i am a techie dad. i believe the best technology should feel effortless. like magic. at comcast, it's my job to develop, apps and tools that simplify your experience. my name is mike, i'm in product development at comcast. we're working to make things simple, easy and awesome. heather: we now know the name of the pilot killed in a crash on the us air force base, he was a

28-year-old flight instructor at locklin airbase in texas. another instructor was rushed to the hospital but is expected to be okay. it is not clear why the t 38 just went down, the second of the crash at that training base in less then a year. we have chilling new details about the moment a woman was partially socks out of the southwest plane. and tsp hearing outlining the heroic effort of flight attendants and two passengers trying to pool jennifer to safety. a nurse on board tried giving her cpr as the pilot safely landed that plane. she died from her injuries. the april incident caused by an engine fan blade that broke off and saturday window. the country music awards striking a somber tone with a touching tribute to those killed

in the thousand oaks shooting. >> tonight's show is dedicated to the 12 individuals we lost far too soon a week ago tonight in california. tonight let's celebrate their lives, let the music in a us with love in their enduring memory. shannon: that wasn't the only major moment of the night. carly shimkus with fox news headlines serious xm 115 is here with social media reaction. >> the 52nd annual country music awards could have started in a variety of ways but continues to biggest stars decided to honor the lives lost at the country music bar in california last week and a lot of fans on social media took notice of that moment and applauded the move on social media. that was a brilliant decision to start the cma awards with a moment of silence for the victims of the bar shooting in telephone you, 12 wonderful souls taken from this world too soon. there were a lot of lighthearted

moments courtesy of carrie underwood and brad paisley but one thing the show did not occlude was any mention of politics. it was a trump free show but despite this, big news was still made with carrie underwood revealing a certain detail a lot of fans were curious about. >> last time when i revealed the gender of your baby? tonight we will reveal something even more exciting, who the father is. >> i'm not making the same mistake. >> she is having a willy which means a little boy. a lot of folks thought that was cute and talking about the fact it didn't include any politics was one twitter user says the cma awards approving you can have an award shall be successful without politics, the only words i watched all your and i'm grateful it focused on celebrating great music and musicians.

a big thank you. >> more successful if you don't include politics. >> everyone can enjoy it. the president introducing prison reform bill and getting broad support from both sides of the aisle. >> we could call this the kardashian effect because that is what kim kardashian and kanye west are talking about. the new bill he is backing would reduce prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenders and focus on rehabilitation efforts. here's the president talking about it. >> thrilled to announce my support for this bipartisan bill that will make our communities safer and give former inmates a second chance at life after they serve their time. >> at one point the president joked saying did i hear the word bipartisan? that is a nice word. a lot of folks on social media thanking them and applauding the move, for reversing the clinton era crime bill that has been detrimental for so many african

american families for so many years. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell says he's not 100% sure they will be able to vote on this bill this year because they have other priorities. we will see how onboard he is. >> the first step act, the first major rewrite of the nation's, justice system in a generation. a very big deal. another big deal, very big deal. kfc unveiling and apparel line. >> fashion meets fried chicken, partnering with a high end japanese fashion line, they are launching a line of clothing. it might be flying off the shelves because they will only sell it for one day which is tomorrow at a kfc location in new york. they will sell up to the highest

priced item is 375 is $375. can you believe it? so get them when they are hot. and get our fried chicken hats. the time is half past the top of the hour. congress preparing for major moves as nancy pelosi remains confident about retaking her seat. live in washington the new snag the former speaker's campaign just hit. the florida recount deadline just hours away and the fight moving to the courts. former us attorney kendall coffey says the legal drama is just getting started. ♪

>> welcome back to "fox and friends first," the clock is ticking for congress to pass a spending bill with just weeks until funding runs out but the real drama is with democrats as

more than a dozen are speaking out to stop nancy pelosi from becoming speaker. it was in barbara's live with what comes next as the new congress comes in. >> a dozen incumbent house democrats at half a dozen incoming democrats are preparing promising not to support nancy pelosi as speaker of the house when a vote goes to the floor. democratic aide told fox news the names of 17 democrats currently on the letter. democrats from ohio to colorado to south carolina, some democrats who won congressional races the cycle by promising to oppose nancy pelosi, the party's longtime leader says she's confident she will be the next speaker of the house. >> it is clear i will not be voting for the current leader. i'm supporting change. >> how do you feel about that? >> house republicans dealt with

a challenge in their ranks last night. number 2, kevin mccarthy, easily beat the founder of the freedom caucus, representative jim jordan, to become of the house minority leader. congress is back in session, infamous lame-duck session and lawmakers have a lot of legislation to consider, things related to health care, national security, border wall, legislation related to other protection of special counsel robert mueller, the biggest thing they are going to be focused on heading into the next couple weeks is the spending bill. they need to pass something by december 7th to keep the department of homeland security running. as for nancy pelosi, she will hold her press conference later this morning, democrats will vote on the speaker of the house in a couple weeks, fox news is told democrats against nancy pelosi are looking for signatures for that letter. lou: we had forgotten. thank you.

with democrats returning to power in the house next year they made it clear they plan to stop the president's agenda. steve scalise says if democrats choose obstruction they will pay the price. >> the brett kavanaugh hearing so the country doesn't want that kind of obstruction, donald trump worked hard to get this economy back on track, we worked closely with the president and he talked to a lot of us about the things we want to do to keep the economy going. if they want to focus on turning back the economy growth, trying to raise taxes they are not going to have that happen. if they want to try to sit there and obstruct and block everything the president wants to do and go down the impeachment road that is not -- members that flipped seats from republican and democrat, opposite of that so if they do they will pay a dear price and ultimately that is one of the ways we get the majority back in two years. >> freshman orientation is already underway. the 116th congress will convene

january 3rd. new overnight vice president mike pence and russian president vladimir putin shaking hands at an asian summit in singapore. the world leaders crossing paths as the vice president addresses the summit talking about the importance of government can't ability and protesting people's rights. mike pence will head to papua new guinea for an asia-pacific summit. pence is standing in for donald trump. the brexit secretary calling us quits, dominic ross stepping down hours after theresa may announced a draft deal saying that threatens the integrity of the uk and is one of several critics against the plan that will allow britain to depart from the european union. may will picture draft deal to parliament today. a federal judge sides with democrat stacy abrams as hillary clinton questions bullet illegitimacy of george's governors race. >> if she had a fair election

she already would have won. >> abram still clinging to hope in her race against brian kemp after a judge ordered some absentee ballots with mistakes to be counted. that includes those with missing or incorrect birthdays. it is unclear how many votes might be impacted. kemp leads by 60,000 votes. ballots continue to be recounted as florida counts down to today's deadline but many call into question the 10 day extension given to mail in ballots for overseas voters so could this potentially create a problem of voter fraud? her to wait is us attorney in south florida lawyer kendall coffey, thank you for joining us, we appreciate it. what about those mail in ballots and irregularities, what is your take on it? >> i think mail-in ballots are

always more susceptible to fraud or other irregularities. people inside the polling booths, the system is secure, they are going by themselves and we have a high degree of confidence they will vote their own votes and the system works in that context. mail-in ballots make it more complicated. what will be really interesting to watch is if the federal judge determines to extend the time for voters to correct their mail in ballots, their absentee ballots, provisional ballots. how is that process going to work logistically? how do they get notified to campaign workers becoming involved, contacting every delivering ballots which have supposedly been corrected, that part of the process needs to be analyzed in terms of fairness and whether there is any risk of fraud tainting the gathering of ballots that are corrected. >> would be possible to go about

that and determine if everything is being handled fairly and correctly if we get to that point? >> the logistics are daunting and it is going to require not only people getting the ballots but making sure the process is handled honestly. years ago i handled the case involving absentee ballots, determined there was systematic fraud in collection of absentee ballots so we all know those ballots are in the highest category of risk for fraud. >> here's what the state department general counsel bradley mcveigh had to say in terms of ballot irregularities. he said altering the form and manner that provides the incorrect date for a voter imposes a burden on the voter significant enough to frustrate the voter's ability to vote. then we heard earlier at the top of the show griff jenkins who spoke to brenda snipes, she says it is a good point to note she should have alerted the secretary of state about altered

times on documents. >> that is part of the process too, getting all the information available as to whether there are irregularities, getting that information to the secretary of state, overseeing elections. so they can have a broad picture of what happened and sometimes doesn't include any fraudulent votes. we always try to make it better for next time because we are talking of getting into all these voting controversies in a few years. shannon: we are always hearing about florida, as florida racist with the recount deadline, could more key legal battles play out, do the losers have recourse in this as well? >> the biggest battle i see right now in terms of anything that can change the number of votes coming in is whether the thousands of votes, whether there's a process to allow voters to correct it or fix it. that could add a few thousand.

but the statistics show it could be equally divided among republicans or democrats. the big issue is going to be as we go forward in the recount broward county. 25,000 under votes with ballot designer markings made by voters that can be recovered through manual recount process and at the end of this, a chance to bring election contest under florida statute, that requires a lot of proof of irregularity and there's no indication so far anyone is thinking in that direction but this is florida. anything is possible, 10 days after the elections are certified we will find out if there is additional litigation to challenge those results. shannon: should brenda sipes keep her job? >> is looking at concluding her career. no one on the democratic side thinks she's really corrupt but

a lot of people think it is time for her to move on. heather: appreciate your time, thank you. deadline day. we will see. the time is 20 minutes until the top of the hour and the doj siding with donald trump saying he did not break the law by appointing matthew whitaker. that decision not sitting well with certain lawmakers. how they are responding this morning. the white house christmas tree behind the cinderella story that will make your morning. minimums and fees. they seem to be the very foundation of your typical bank. capital one is anything but typical. that's why we designed capital one cafes. you can get savings and checking accounts with no fees or minimums. and one of america's best savings rates. to top it off, you can open one from anywhere in 5 minutes. this isn't a typical bank.

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with who we are as people and making everybody feel welcome. ordering custom ink t-shirts has been a really smart decision for our business. i love the custom ink design lab because it's really easy to use. they have customer service that you can reach anytime. t-shirts help us immediately get a sense of who we are as a group. from the moment clients walk in, they're able to feel like part of the family. - [spokesman] custom ink has hundreds of products for your business and free shipping. upload your logo or start your design today at customink.com. heather: you are watching "fox and friends first," the justice department backing the president's pick for attorney general. matt whitaker will oversee the russia probe, something he criticized in the past.

senator jeff flake threatening to block judicial nominee until the senate can protect the investigation. katherine herridge has all the details. >> reporter: the 20 page legal opinion back donald trump's appointment of acting attorney general matt whitaker, relying on the federal vacancy reform act, the office of legal counsel found senate confirmation is not required if the appointment is temporary. the constitutionality of mister whitaker's designation is supported by supreme court precedent, acts of congress and countless examples of executive practice. under the justice farm in succession statute the acting attorney general's job, rod rosenstein who until recently oversaw the robert mueller probe. the office of legal counsel found the president may use vacancy reform act as an alternative which is recognized and used by presidents bush and obama. this turn to the impact on

special counsel mueller. >> we went to make sure the acting attorney general does not interfere with the mueller investigation and we believe a republican colleagues will join us. >> don't know how the president feels about the mueller investigation but he never said he wants to shut it down. i never heard anybody say they want to shut it down. >> reporter: before the midterms rosenstein what does it scrutiny he was under allegations of secret recording the president and removing him from office. republican house chairman says they want rosenstein under a fry transcript interview before the democrats take over. >> we are working hard to get that done. >> working with the justice department? >> a number of people. >> reporter: at the republican senator jeff flake says he will oppose the president's judicial nominees until legislation is brought to the senate, which complicates republican efforts to move the president's nominees forward by the end of the year.

heather: arizona senator elect kiersten's inema when asked if she was willing to work with republicans she told the daily caller, quote, i will work with anyone on anything. last year she is a statement saying, quote, the wall is a waste of taxpayer money that will not ever be built and won't keep a safe. donald trump will decide on the fate of his homeland security secretary shortly, telling the daily caller he hasn't made a decision on kirstjen neilsen amid reports he wants to replace her in favor of someone who will be stronger on immigration reform. according to the washington examiner the tsa administrator and customs and border protection commissioner are both under consideration for the job. a rock icon adds a new title, us citizen. ♪

heather: billy idol is an american citizen, the british rocker holding an american flag while taking part in a naturalization ceremony los angeles. he moved to the us in 1981 before setting off on a decade-long career. congratulations to him. the time is 10 minutes until the top of the hour. michelle obama says she broke down in tears following donald y ump's inauguration. just revealed? >> probably the greatest economy we ever had. heather: donald trump making good on another campaign promise and he has got new american millionaires to prove it. ♪ take the money and run ♪ come on ♪ take the money and run today is the day you're going to get motivated...

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heather: federal judge ordering hillary clinton to answer questions about her emails, she must respond under oath to some key concerns over how she set up her email system. use of a private email server when secretary of state has long been the subject of controversy. former first lady michelle obama opening up about the moment she left the white house telling oprah during the first stop on her book tour, when i got on a plane, i sobbed for 30 minutes, the result in eight years of trying to do everything perfectly. he did not criticize donald trump at the event but she does call him loud and reckless. we are not sure she references

this. americans are cashing in on the booming economy as donald trump puts america first. tracy carrasco here with how hundreds of thousands of people just became millionaires. >> reporter: according to global wealth report the number of millionaires in the us has grown in the last 12 months. according to the report, 878,000 more millionaires were added thanks in part to the economy and tax cuts, there were 32.2 million millionaires worldwide, up by 2.3 million over the past 12 months and us wealth grew by 6.5%. >> wealth inequality is no longer rising. let's talk about something, not sure this is a good thing, sour patch kids serial.

>> your favorite candy turning into a serial. and it will be sold exclusively. that's our little candy turned into rainbow colored serial. i'm sure the kids will love it. >> the box says sour, then sweet, not sure how that works out but we will have to try it. cool story here. white house christmas tree is on its way to washington. the 19 foot fraser for was chosen from a farm in north carolina. here's the thing. larry smith that he abandoned the tree a few years ago after it struggled to grow. smith will present the tree to first lady milania trump on monday. it will be at the white house.

the time is 6 minutes until the top of the hour. meet the beer swilling dog that this dog became a viral sensation and we will tell you why.

>> enough time for the good, the bad, and the ugly, and an adorable reaction to his baby

sister, watch this. that little boy totally in love giving the baby kisses on her cheek. the video has been viewed 6 million times, you can see why. this gives new meaning to hair of the dog, helping itself to a.of beer, someone snapping the hilarious picture in ireland saying the dog checked out the coast was clear before taking another swig. this guy is no crown prince of crime. a man known as the florida joker for his facial tattoos arrested for probation violation. the workshop went viral last year from looking like the batman villain. he was arrested twice in 2017 for waving a gun at miami drivers and possessing marijuana.

pretty easy to spot. thank you for joining us. "fox and friends first" continues right now. goodbye. >> it is thursday, november 15th, jim mattis rallying troops on the border as the caravan closes in. >> will you keep the faith, when trouble looms to help your buddies. >> homeland security be think of sincerity as, hundreds of asylum-seekers make their case today, and the congressional leadership starting to take form but house democrats have a lot of questions about who will lead their new majority. >> nancy pelosi is getting into. you can taste the bird live the good life. >> won't believe how much -- what did you say?