talk about policy with china, and while he's there the opportunity to talk about something like iran. and so i think what will be interesting for president trump moving forward is can he use the levers of negotiation he does have to get china and russia a little bit further away from iran so that the u.s. can isolate iran into sanctions that we're trying to impose on iran >> said he had a mask, his face actually work. and i think these just a blatant was obstructed, and he show that iran has communication executed -- [inaudible] with china and russia. eric: as you can see, graphton laura: yeah, i was going to ask you about the sanctions e. thomas, that is the suspect reimposed on iran after the u.s. being arraigned in new york for quit the nuclear deal last year. that knife attack that happened here we are with this new at a rabbi's home in sufficient situation at hand. run, new york. -- suffrin, new >> absolutely. i think that, you know, one of the biggest criticisms president york, just about a half hour trump is taking right now even drive from the scene to have from john bolton is perhaps he isn't applying enough pressure attack. hello, everyone, this is to north korea. "america's news headquarters" but in that same token, north for this sunday. korea hasn't launched a laura: i'm laura are ingle. thomas is facing five counts of long-range missile test for, i think, over a year. attempted murder and one count so are we seeing the same kind of burglary in this attack which

took place last night during a of i don't want to say movement, but at least a holding in iran hanukkah celebration. jacqui heinrich on the ground with the very latest on this with the sanctions that we are imposing there? developing story. i think the problem is that china and russia are bigger >> reporter: hi, laura, hi, players than iran or north korea eric. yeah, prosecutors wasted no time will ever be. so much like the proxy wars we bringing justice to this suspect, just over about 12 fought in indochina with vietnam hours since it happened. and korea, are we seeing he's been arrested, arraigned and taken out of court in something similar to really are our struggle is with china and handcuffs. thomas pleaded not guilty to five counts of attempted murder russia. you know, i'm going to speak as and burglary. an american voter, not he was arrested in new york city and was covered in blood and necessarily a foreign policy expert because my foreign policy smelled like he tried to clean up with evidence with bleach. starts and stops with two deployments in iraq and he's billion years old, live -- afghanistan. 38 years old and has no prior but what we want to see from our government is a better record. at least 60 people were inside explanation of what are our interests? why are these things important, celebrating the seven isth night and why is it so important to do of hanukkah when witnesses say this, and is it worth saying thomas came to the door with a machete, stormed in and started letting our farmers being hung hacking people. out to dry in order to negotiate one person was reportedly so they don't have iran in a stabbed sick times. better portion for us -- tables and chairs were thrown at position than whataway trying to the suspect, and at least one man chased that suspect before he fled in a car. do? laura: joey jones, we've got to leave it there, want to thank you for coming on with us today.

people were able to get the and we'll have more on all this license plate number and police coming up. >> absolutely. thank you. found him in manhattan. ei♪ ♪ prosecutors pointing out he went to the city after the incident, not to his home. we make ideas grow. governor cuomo called this an from an everyday solution... to one that can take on a bigger challenge. act of domestic terrorism. >> very aggressive hate crimes we are solving problems that improve lives. that we prosecute, but i think it's gone beyond that. i think this is an about of terrorism. i think these are domestic terrorists. finish they are trying to inflict fear, they're motivated by hate, they are doing mass attacks. these are terrorists. in our country perpetrating terrorism on other americans. >> reporter: this is the second attack on jewish people in this town since november. a man was beaten and stand as he walked into a synagogue. it's also the latest in a spate of recent attacks around new york city. since december 23rd there's been one anti-semitic attack each day

including one on christmas day when a man in traditional clothing was punched in the face in brooklyn. the next day a jewish woman walking with her child said someone beat her head with a bat. earlier this month four people were killed in a massacre at a kosher grocery store in jersey city. police called that also domestic terrorism. in light of what happened, the nypd is stepping up patrols at in america, the zip code you're born in houses of worship, and the can determine your future. volunteer patrol group guardian but no matter what neighborhood you grow up in, angels also said they're hitting the streets in brooklyn because the y creates opportunities for all. of all these recent incidents. for a better us, donate to your local y today. laura? laura: jacqui heinrich on the scene for us, thanks. eric: i'm joined by veteran former new york city assemblyman who has faced these anti-semitism attacks and cases for far too long. he's the founder of americans against anti-semitism the, you know, assemblyman, we've discussed this for decades. from the pittsburgh tree of life of shooting, jersey city and now this, your reaction. >> well, anti-semitism's out of control. the numbers speak louder than

anything i can say. the fbi, the new york city police department, the adl, we have never had a situation as it exists today in this country and in new york in particular. out of control. 36 years as a member of the new york state legislature, you know, i dealt with swastikas, hate, that's part of the scenery of the world that we live in. but what we see now is systematic, day-in, day-out horrible things happening. verbal assaults, physical assaults, murder. out of control. eric: where does this come from? what is the cause? >> it's a combination of things. we can point to a lot of things. when we permit the farrakhans of the world to get away, when we have responsible people say about farrakhan who's the most vile anti-semite, i mean, he can compete with goebbels and hitler, when people say, well, i disagree with the things he says

but he's done a lot of good stuff, that's a disaster. when you have the omars and the aocs, when you have someone running for the presidency of the united states, a major candidate -- bernie sanders -- who has a vile anti-semite on his staff, someone who represents him, i mean, it is so clear who she is. this creates an atmosphere, this creates a, it creates a for a better us, situation, the legitimization of itreat them all as if, they are hot and energized. stay away from any downed wire, anti-semitism, the legitimization of hating the one place where the jewish people call 911 and call pg&e right after so we can both respond out have a place, the state of israel. so it is a combination of all and keep the public safe. that. we just had jersey city, i've got to tell you, jersey city, the murder of innocent people, that's horrible. but then you had a member of the board of education come out and eric: learning new details about that tragic church shooting in fort basically legitimize the murders worth, texas, this morning that that were committed. reportedly has left at least two and what happened? eric: by blaming -- people dead. >> by blaming the jews. christina coleman has been following it as it develops. eric: public officials that you christina? >> reporter: eric, we just got

just mentioned, rashida tlaib an update from officials in and others, they would say white settlement, texas. they're not anti-semitism. at least three people were in fact, the congresswoman has a critically injured, including the shooter, at west freeway happy hanukkah video that he sent to a local group, and she church of christ. ages of the victims range from said during that happy hanukkah, 304660 year -- 30-60 years old. end the occupation. but she also said to fight gunshots, specifically a person with gun shot wounds there at at's wrong with that?ht white the church. when white settlement police and >> by the way, bernie sanders fire arrived, they found three says the same thing -- people in critical condition, at eric: they would say they're not least three people. our local affiliate, kdfw, anti-semitic. >> but these people are dangerous, dangerous to the jewish people, dangerous to the reporting the shooter was engaged by an armed security well-being of the state of officer at the church, but at israel. eric: why is that? this time it's unclear whether >> they have indulged in the gunshot received was language, they have indulged in self-inflicted or if they were the kind of things that are shot by the guard or someone picked up by other people. else. officials can't say yet whether remember, words are very the shooter made it into the powerful and have a sanctuary or whether church was tremendousfect. in service at the time. people -- tremendousfect. however, we have learned that people listen to the hate or the church did have a bible comments made about jews, and study and a worship service they go outthey do terrible scheduled for this morning. things. eric: do you equate people authorities believe there is no against some of the policies of ongoing threat to the community, the israeli government to but bomb-sniffing dogs are

anti-semitism in causing these checking the area to make sure types of attacks? the church grounds are safe of >> by the way, i have been out and secure at this time. in the streets to criticize the we are also hearing reports that israeli government over the the shooting may have been years. captured on camera. that's not the issue. there are reports that the when you support bds, which church was live streaming online nancy pelosi of all people says when this shooting occurred. but again, as of now officials is anti-semitic, the speaker of say they're at the very beginning stages of this the congress says bds is investigation. they have a lot to look into. antisemitic. and nonetheless, you have all fort worth police and fire these members of congress who assisting white settlement support bds. what is the message that that authorities and the atf is also sends out there to people? enroute. no information at this time on a so it is, it is this attitude on motive or details on the shooter the part of people on the left. as of now. they don't see any anti-semitism eric? eric: christina, thank you. on the left. laura? laura: and in new york the man all they see is the right. blame the right. blame trump. suspected in a brutal hanukkah they don't see what's going on. stabbing is being arraigned. you know, people like the mayor, the 37-year-old has been the city of new york should look identified as grafton thomas, in the mirror and see what the and he's facing five counts of reality is of what's going on in attempted murder and burglary his city. charges. eric: well, he does. all the people who were wounded in the attack were taken to the mayor de blasio was just on with hospital in critical condition. ed henry and talked about the the incident took place last night during a hanukkah fact that the city of new york is going to start a new program celebration inside a rabbi's and a new extremism unit. home. new york governor andrew cuomo let me play you a sound bite of

calling the attack an act of what mayor bill de blasio just domestic terrorism. eric: it is a shocking sunday said moments ago. >> we have a huge nypd presence, when you have two apparent and we announced on an attacks that are additional presence. anytime there's an attack on the religious-based, one against jewish community anywhere we re. jews in new york, the other against christians in texas. earlier today we had officials what we have to do is get at the calling for increasing hate root cause, so we're focusing on crimes, trying to deal with what racially and they say is the rhetoric and the cause of some of this in this ethnically-motivated extremism. eric: do you get at the root country. this is just so sad, and it's cause? you're shaking your head. not who we are. >> i think the mayor's being laura: and the weekend after christmas on a sunday morning in very dishonest because the may texas. corps is not dealing with a that's all for us. reality -- the mayor is not "fox news sunday" with mike dealing with a reality that emmanuel in for chris wallace is exists. most of the attacks in new york that have happened against jews coming up next. happen to come from the i'm laura ingle. african-american community. eric: and i'm eric shawn, we are we're not blaming the on standby for any break news as african-american community, but when you look at the video it happens here on the fox news surveillance and you see that channel. almost all these acts are have a good sunday. committed by young blacks, you ♪ ♪ need to raise the question, you need to have the discussion, you need to bring in the clergymen, numbers to examine investment opportunities firsthand. you need to bring in people and say why is this going on? eric: why do you think it's like a biotech firm that engineers

going on, because many of these a patient's own cells to fight cancer. are in the orthodox community in this is strategic investing. brooklyn, your district. >> well, jews are easy targets because your investments deserve the full story. because they can tell that's a jew when a guy wears a beard, t. rowe price. dresses a certain way. easy, easy target. invest with confidence. and the mayor has never actually dealt with this reality. the mayor needs to create, to now and forever more. announce that we are in a crisis inside these buildings in jerus throughout israel mode. he needs to bring -- eric: well, he did say that. he did say that, and it goes there are many elderly jews who suffering daily. beyond the mayor of the city of new york. it goes to the mayors and governors and public officials. and they need our help now. how as a society, as a culture, as this country do we get a hand as christians and jews we know on this explosive problem that we have a scriptural mandate to hungry. has suddenly exploded over the past few months especially? >> well, i think by facing some and here there are thousands in need. of the realities that exist that i'm talking about. why is so much hate emanating 17 years ago edna was in a horr terrorist attack. from the left? so much hate emanating from the she's still in excruciating pain minority community? and she can't even afford her m. why is it someone in my i've lost my will to live. congregation, an elderly man all the time i suffer alone wit and pain.

who's standing at a subway station in brooklyn and someone walks over to him, an african-american woman walks your help is urgently needed. over to him and says you f-ing please call right now and make $25 that will rush food and essentid jew twice -- >> she was arrested, but she's to an elderly jewish person str survive. s somebody else. eric: should it be hate crimes? every gift helps keep them alive right now the suspect in this and show's your love to god's p. attack is charged with attempted murder as well as burglary, but for over 35 years, there's no terrorism hate crime the international fellowship ofs and jews statute. >> well, there should be. and one of the things we need to has been bringing christian and communities together. do is to bring in the federal government. this, you know, the new laws and it's only with your help that are coming in in january, that we can meet this challenge basic essentials you have to kill someone, you have to beat the daylights out like food boxes to the elderly t most. of someone for you to be -- for you to stay in jail. you know, the man last week who inside each food box we put a was assaulted in midtown hanukkah holiday note letting t recipients know manhattan, i mean, 41st between second and third, a 65-year-old that this is a gift from christ jews who love them. man on the way to a meeting, it means so much to me. someone comes over there and belts him in the face, calls him your help will bring food to th and much needed peace into thei you f-ing jew. whether you can help one time o month

you will recieve god's blessings the reason he came to me, he less these children o. said because the ada from manhattan told him that this culprit may be released by the i pray that god will speak to y now. end of the day. we need your help more than ever before. something is terribly wrong. eric and how do you change that specifically? t in new york. the legislature today is more progressive and more liberal than ever in the history of new york. we need the trump administration, we need the federal government to send a powerful message that if the leaders of new york do not do their job to truly deal with this problem, the federal government will step in. and i think that will send a powerful message. and we're going to be doing something like that. we want the federal government -- you know, there is a czar right now that deals with anti-semitism. he only deals with anti-semitism all over the world. we need someone dealing with anti-semitism in this country. it is out of control, eric.

we've never had a situation like this. these are special circumstances which require special needs on the part of the federal government. i do not trust neither the city government, or the state government. there's too much politics, there's too much p.c. involved in really dealing with this situation. eric: well, governor cuomo has >> mike emanuel in for come out and certainly condemned this and said they're taking chris wallace. no sign after break in the action, and mayor de blasio -- standoff over a trial in the >> [inaudible] eric: they're certainly taking senate. action. yep. >> condemning doesn't take very much. eric: also having this new police department extremism unit and other steps, and perhaps there could be a way to change the law. >> we hall see. but meanwhile, almost all the people who have been arrested for these racist crimes, no one has spent any time in jail. >> leaders remain at odds over they're all free on the streets. father mat and whether witnesses eric: that's partially because of the new bail reform program that has come through. should be involved. we'll discuss with steve scalise >> the mayor and the governor's and get reaction from senator

support. eric: last word, what's the web ben cardin of maryland, only on site? >> americans aa.org, and we are "fox news sunday." out there speak loud and clear christmas passes without a about the issues. support us, be part of it. and our greatest supporters are non-jews all over the united states. eric: assemblyman, you have been on the front lines of this battle for decades, thank you for coming. >> thank you so much, eric. eric: of course. laura: this is a fox news alert. police and emergency units responding to a church in fort worth, texas, where multiple people have reportedly been shot. christina coleman following this developing story as we're getting new information. christina? >> reporter: right. this is a very active situation right now happening at west freeway church of christ in fort worth, texas. our local affiliate kdfw reporting that one person has been shot and killed, two others are in critical condition at this very hour after a shooting there.

multiple reports out of the area saying the shooter has died after he was engaged by an armed security officer at the church. it's unclear whether church was in service at the time, but we've learned that the church had a bible study and a worship service scheduled for this morning. now, this is a situation right now. again, unknown how many people were in the building, how far the suspect got into the church or how many shots he actually got off before he was stopped. we're checking in with law enforcement right now, my producer's telling me we have a lot of information coming in right now. again, this is a very active situation, and there is a heavy police presence at this church right now. again, three victims, at least three victims at this time including at least one fatality. laura? laura: christina coleman for us, thank you so much. i was looking at pictures of this church online, it is a massive church, and we know we'll get to you as soon as we get more information. thank you so much for that report. eric? eric: well, laura, president

trump again sounding off on the democratic leadership as the impeachment effort remains, for now, in limbo as lawmakers grapple over the rules for a potential senate trial if there is one. rich edson in west palm beach near where the president has his holiday vacation -- i'm trying to get it out -- at mar-a-lago. rich with the latest. hi, rich. >> reporter: good afternoon, eric. the president's about halfway through this two week trip to florida, and he has settled into a daily routine of criticizing the speaker who led the impeachment effort after him. the president now tweeting today, quote: crazy nancy pelosi should spend more time in her decaying city and less time on the impeachment hoax. pelosi's still withholding the impeachment articles the house passed earlier this month. that delays a trial in the senate. she wants senate republicans to allow witnesses in any senate impeachment trial. republicans say these tactics show the speaker is playing political games. >> for months she was saying how important it is they've got to

remove this president immediately, he's a threat to their, you you know, their wholy of life. and once they passed the impeachment, she doesn't want the senate to get the papers to start the trial. they can't have it both ways. i think people see through the charade. >> reporter: democrats say if the president did nothing wrong in suspending aid to ukraine, then white house officials should have no problems testifying in a senate trial. >> we have a responsibility to have a fair trial. we need to hear from those who have the direct information about the president's call with the president of ukraine about the holding up of a presidential meeting, about holding up of aid. those witnesses need to be heard in the united states senate. >> reporter: this impasse over a senate trial and witnesses continues on twitter and in television interviews. congress isn't due back til january 7th. eric? eric: all right, rich, thanks so much from near mar-a-lago. for more reaction, you can catch

fox news sunday. mike emmanuel is in today for chris wallace. he will have sewer rues with -- interviews withkey scalise and senator ben cardin. you see them both here. just keep it on fox news channel. it will come up right after our newscast at the top of the hour. laura? laura: a new woman comes forward accusing the late convicted child predator jeffrey epstein of sexual abuse. we'll have more on that story just ahead. ♪ ♪ those obstacles that limit a company's growth. i try to find companies that turn these challenges into opportunities. but by going out in the field, and meeting management, suppliers, competitors. in the end, it's these unique companies with creative business models that will generate value for our investors. that's why i go beyond the numbers.

that will generate value for our investors. dealing with our finances really haunted me.ttle cranky. thankfully, i got quickbooks, and a live bookkeeper's helping customize it for our business. (live bookkeeper) you're all set up! (janine) great! (vo) get set up right with a live bookkeeper with intuit quickbooks. if your glasses aren't so will we. no we won't. don't forget to use your vision benefits before they're gone. now in-network with vsp. visionworks. see the difference.

laura: we're going to take you live toa news conference in progress now just out of fort worth, texasness where there has been an incident at a church. let's listen. >> our hearts and prayers go out to all the families that were affected by this incident. we'll continue to pray for them and continue to do everything we can for them. >> do you know if -- [inaudible] >> at this time everything is still very much in the beginning stages of this investigation. as we continue to work through it, we'll update you guys with what information we can give you. >> any possible motive? >> i do not have any of that information at this time. the information i've got is about those patients. as far as the shooter, the

motive and everything like that, we don't have that at this time. >> did this happen in the sanctuary or where at inside the church? >> again, i do not know if it was inside or outside. >> [inaudible] >> i believe they were transported to jps, which is downtown fort worth. >> all three are in critical condition? >> they were all transported in critical condition. >> [inaudible] >> again, this is all very beginning stages of this. we'll continue to work with the sheriff's office to work on that information for you. >> [inaudible] >> i do not know that information. >> we had heard two people dead though -- >> i cannot confirm -- [inaudible] >> [inaudible] >> beginning of the year, end of the year holiday, it's all very

tragic. anytime that we suffer loss in our community, it's -- it not only affects the people who were here today, but it affects the first responders as well. all of our first responders carry these things with them for a long time. and we'll continue to assist the community here. we'll continue to assist the firefighters and first responders and police officers that are here today. >> [inaudible] >> i'm not aware of exactly what the time frame was or where the shooting -- [inaudible] >> you said around 9:55 you got the call? >> 9:57 is when the first dispatch was received. [inaudible conversations] >> they are, they are actively talking to people that were here at the time of the shooting, yes. >> do you know how many people were in the sanctuary? >> i don't. i don't. i'm going to go back, i'm going to work with -- this is,

obviously, something that we don't do a lot when we are here assisting another agency for the public information aspect. involved in this incident right now. i wanted to make sure i could get you guys some details as quick as i could. i apologize there's not a lot, but that is what i can 100% tell you right now. >> [inaudible] police dogs on the scene about 15 minutes ago. is there still possible danger on the scene? >> so i can tell you those are actually fort worth fire department dogs. that is a precaution. we do not believe that there is a threat, but we are going to do everything we can to make sure 100% everything is safe. >> [inaudible] in place right now so no one's allowed to leave -- [inaudible] >> fort worth pd are actively talking to them about what happened, what they saw, getting

witness statements. all right. as soon as i can get something, i'll try to get back to you guys. ill send it out on our twitter -- i'll send it out on our twitter, i'll let you know exactly what time, and i will try to get them to get a written statement out as soon as they can. thank you. laura: you've been listening to a news conference with the following, the developing situation just outside of fort worth, texas. this is a suburb, white settlement, a suburb of fort worth where there has been a shooting at a texas church there on a sunday morning. the first 911 call coming in just before 10 a.m. local time at the church of christ. multiple people have been shot. the officials there saying that several people were taken to hospital in critical condition. we heard the mention of fort worth pd, white settlement pd, that's the suburb. k-9 units with the bomb squad coming in as a precaution, and we will get more information as

we continue to track this developing story today. eric? eric: this comes just in the wake of this attack last night in money si, new york, against an orthodox synagogue and rabbi as this country today on this sunday, sadly, has been gripped by what apparently is anti-religious attacks. on the telephone now joins us danny coulson, former assistant director of the fbi. danny, your sense of what this could be in white settlement, the pd up there talking about this attack at the church. >> well, eric, unfortunately, we've seeing more -- we're seeing more of these. it kind of started with the new life christian church in colorado, and then, of course, the terrible shooting in texas. now this. we have to get ready for these things. it's a terrible thing that we have to think about protecting our religious institutions no matter if they're islamic or jewish or christian or whatever. but we have to. we have to start thinking about

how do we protect the people that worship with us. and it's a terrible thing to have to think about, but it's the reality of the world that we live in now. eric: just a few moments ago we had a former assemblyman who was head of a group dedicated to anti-semitism saying that there should be more hate laws, hate crimes, and he blamed the rhetoric of the left. we don't know the situation involving in situation in texas, what the motivation is, whether it is terrorism or domestic, but he made a point about the fact that in some cases the hate crime statutes are not strong enough and that there is too much divisive rhetoric around in the country today especially when dealing with religion. >> well, i don't necessarily agree with that. [inaudible] we have some laws. i think the laws are fine. i do agree about the lettering, and i think it's hateful and

divisive -- rhetoric. and the rhetoric also encourages demented people to take action. and i think that's the thing we need to focus on. there are people out there either demented or just evil, and they take some solace in the fact that we are criticizing each other with a great deal of venom. and i think that leads to a lot of violent acts. i agree with the latter but not the former. eric: we've been doing a lot in dealing with terrorism threats, do you think we do enough or have been able to do enough on dome know if it was from his own or her own gun or the police and that there are multiple victims. clearly, what are authorities doing now in terms of finding out who this shooter is and if the shooter was radicalized in some way on the internet or what the motive is? >> well, i guarantee that there's a joint effort here. the fbi, i'm sure atf and the local place there in white settlement, and they're getting his identification, and they'll

start a complete investigation that'll look at everything he's been involved in especially his internet traffic. or even just looking out on the internet, who is he. they'll start doing interviews of his family, his friends, if he's the member of a group, they'll start doing interviews there, and they'll completely flush this thing out. it's important to know, eric, as you know, who else is involved. is he a lone player or part of a group. eric: danny coulson on the very latest on this shocking sunday in which we are discussing two attacks, religious-based. one on the jewish community in new york, the other on christians in texas. danny, thank you. >> thank you. laura: iran, russia and china teaming upper for joint naval military exercises in the gulf of oman this weekend, holding drills in the same waters where the u.s. says iran attacked several oil tankers. we'll talk to retired staff sergeant joey jones on rising

tensions between washington and iran coming up. ♪ ♪ lots of ink. print about... this many pages. the epson ecotank. just fill and chill. rowithout the commission fees and account minimums. so, you can start investing wherever you are - even on the bus. download now and get your first stock on us. robinhood.

car vending machines and buying a car 100% online.vented now we've created a brand new way for you to sell your car. whether it's a year old or a few years old, we want to buy your car. so go to carvana and enter your license plate, answer a few questions, and our techno-wizardry calculates your car's value and gives you a real offer in seconds. when you're ready, we'll come to you, pay you on the spot, and pick up your car. that's it. so ditch the old way of selling your car, and say hello to the new way--

at carvana. eric: new details on a shooting at a texas church near dallas, white settlement. police department has responded, they've been telling us that multiple people have been wounded in this apparent take. police say the shooter was downed. it is not clear now if that shooter was shot from the police or if it is a self-inflicted wound. several emergency units now on the scene. no motive known as of yet, no specific number of casualties or those who are wounded. they're keeping on top of this troubling story in fort worth, a shooting at a christian church this morning, the west freeway church of christ. we will bring you the very latest, of course, as the story develops. ♪ laura: and an update on another tragic attack. the man suspected in a brutal hand a ca stabbing in new york,

grafton thomas, being arraigned. the 37-year-old arriving in court this afternoon. he faces five counts of attempted murder and burglary e charges. five people were wounded in the incident which took place in a rabbi's home last night. all of the victims were taken to a hospital in critical condition. new york governor andrew cuomo calling the attack an act of domestic terrorism in a news conference this morning. a new jersey -- i'm sorry, a new jeffrey epstein accuser claiming she was sexually abused in the new york mansion between 2003 and 2006. in court papers followed friday by the accuser going by the name of anastasia doe, it says in creating and maintaining the network of minor victims in multiple states to sexually abuse and exploit, jeffrey epstein worked and conspired with others including employees

and associates who facilitated his conduct by, among other things, contacting victims and scheduling their sexual encounters. this as the fbe -- fbi is reportedly opening an investigation into joy maxwell, accused of being epstein's madam. deborah blum, thank you for being here today, a lot to get to. obviously, this is a case we've been following for a while here. back in august attorney general william barr vowed to track down and prosecute anyone who was complicit in these crimes saying, quote with: any co-conspirators should not rest easy. so here we are months later, and they're looking into this. >> yes. they're definitely moving forward with claims against maxwell. if i was her defense attorney, i would certainly not advise her to cooperate in this probe, speaking with the fbi is not going to get her a sweetheart deal. laura: and we're not even sure exactly where she is and what kind of extradition we're talking about here if she's overseas.

>> absolutely. you know, it's a question of whether she'll come into court voluntarily to face charges or if there'll have to be extradition proceedings. she might be somewhere where we can't even extradite her. laura: looking at this too, virginia due free had very similar claims to what we saw on friday. these documents were filed on friday that this woman says she was forced to have sex not only with epstein and his friends -- which she says was facilitated by maxwell. maxwell claims she had nothing to do with it. how, if you're maxwell's attorney, how do you even begin to defend this? where do you start? >> it's very difficult because now we have another victim coming forward saying that maxwell participated in the actual sex act, so it'll be hard for her to knowledge she didn't have knowledge -- argue she didn't have knowledge. we have victims who say she recruited them, she used a car which is the interstate sex trafficking --

laura: right. >> transporting someone across state or international lines for illicit, unlawfl sex acts. so it's -- she was very lucky, she would get to take a plea to that which is a 10-year maximum sentence unlike sex trafficking which is a 15-year minimum sentence. laura: and there are alleged other co-conspirators in this case. there was a hotline that was set up by the fbi's field office here in new york and, apparently, that hotline has been filled with people coming forward. how do you weed through that amount, you know, and how can we see this go forward from there? >> you know, the difficult that the government has in this case is these claims are from a long time ago. nowadays there would be surveillance -- laura: right, that's the thing. >> right. it's the alleged victim's word against maxwell and the other associates that participated in this sex trafficking scheme. laura: right. >> but they have similar stories which is a problem for the defense to overcome if they do

go forward with charges. laura: we're going to have to leave it there with today's breaking news, but thank you very much for coming in. thank you so much. eric. eric: well, laura, a show of unity this weekend as russia, iran and china -- not the type of unity you may want -- they're holding joint mill care exercises in the gulf of oman. what a -- coming up, a look at what those drills might mean for us and policy in the middle east going forward. i'll get that later. dylan! but the one thing we could both agree on was getting geico to help with homeowners insurance. what? switching and saving was really easy! i love you! what? sweetie! hands off the glass. ugh!! i love her!

and mine super soft? yes! with the sleep number 360 smart bed, on sale now, you can both adjust your comfort with your sleep number setting. can it help keep me asleep? absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. and snoring? no problem. ...and done. so, you can really promise better sleep? not promise... prove. and now, during our new year's special queen sleep number c4 smart bed is only $1299, save $400, plus 0% interest for 24 months on all beds. ends new year's day. sleep this amazing?

that's a zzzquil pure zzzs sleep. our liquid has a unique botanical blend, while an optimal melatonin level means no next-day grogginess. zzzquil pure zzzs. naturally superior sleep. [google assistant] yes, snow is expected on saturday. nice! good job. download the booking.com app, book by january 5th and get a free google nest mini eric: an update on that tragic shooting at a church in fort worth, texas. our local fox affiliate that four people -- two people, excuse me, have been this attack. again, officials telling fox 4 texas. others possibly wounded in the incident, we don't know the condition of the shooter. woman was shot.

it is not clear at this moment if that shooting was self-inflicted or was from the police. again, two people killed as they worship at the west freeway church of christ this morning. police units, of course, on the scene, the investigation ongoing. we'll bring you the very latest developments as we get them in this tragic development this morning. and as this year comes to a close, there will be at least two top foreign policy challenges for president trump in the new year. north korea still has not given up its nuclear weapons, and tensions continue with iran. mark meredith is standing by with more on what we can expect for 2020. mark? >> reporter: eric, good afternoon. this weekend iran, russia and china are conducting joint naval drills in the gulf of oman, and these military exercises come amid heightened tensions, as you mentioned, in the region. now, the drills were launched near the border with pakistan. a chinese defense official says the exercises are meant to deepen cooperation between all three countries' navies.

now, iran's state-run media broadcast video of the drills on saturday, showing military forces from all three countries involved as well as people firing machine guns into the water. iran has conducted military drills with china befor hormuz. meantime, the trump administration says it's continuing to closely watch any potential developments out of north korea. the president's national security adviser says officials remain hopeful the north will avoid escalating the situation with any weapons tests. >> we have a lot of tools in our toolkit and additional pressure can be brought to bear on the north koreans. kim jong un promised to denuclearize the peninsula. we want to hold him to that commitment, and we hope he follows through with the commitment he made in singapore. >> reporter: north korea's state-run news agency reports party leaders held a meeting on sunday including a focus on north korea's national defense. kim jong un is expected to deliver an annual address on new year's day. we also continue to monitor

developments from the pentagon, u.s. forces have conducted strike against an iranian-backed militia in iraq and syria. the u.s. says the attack a response to a string of attacks that have killed one american contractor on friday. officials say the strikes were aimed at five targets and hope it will degrade the militia's ability to conduct future attacks against coalition ll right, mark, thanks so much. laura? laura: and for more on the rising tensions between the u.s. and iran, we turn to retired marine staff sergeant and fox news contributor city jones. good to sigh you, i -- to see you, i want to get right to it. the president has responded on twitter to these reports tweeting in the day after christmas: russia, syria and iran are killing or on their way to killing thousands of innocent civilians. don't do it. turkey is working hard to stop this carnage. now, the president's tweet didn't include a threat to retaliate as we've seen sometimes in the past, so what

do you think the u.s. response should be here? >> well, you know, the tweet is about something happens, and we have these naval drills between the three countries, so i think really what we're looking at is a kind of definitive moment where we understand the trump administration's policy is sort of to isolate iran and north korea, and we can't understand if that policy is going to work if china and russia are hosting drills and doing military operations with iran in the region. and so the united states' problem with iran is we don't want them to be nuclear, and we don't want to continue to fund and be a protagonist for instability in that region. but if we're having talks with china over economy or russia, tt we have to understand is we can't isolate iran by ourse an o