>> he should have been taken a long time ago and we had a shot at it and we took him out and we are a lot safer now. we will see what the response is if any but you've seen what i said our response will be. >> it is tuesday january 7th. happening right now on the east coast a fox news alert. overnight iran, the u.s. army and the pentagon is terror organizations. we are live with how donald trump plans to respond as the rogue regime ramps up its anti-american rhetoric and

apocalyptic scenes australia, overnight the rural air force one through ferocious flames as the search for signs of life, we are live in city work conditions are expected to get worse before they get better. >> 3, 2, one, 0, ignition, lift off. >> we have liftoff, the united states space force officially taking flight. "fox and friends first" starts right now. ♪ taking me higher ♪ higher ♪ higher off the ground ♪ higher ♪ higher ♪ higher off the ground

♪ heather: you are watching "fox and friends first" this tuesday, thank you for starting your day renting it with us. we begin with a fox news alert breaking overnight iran designates the american military is a terrorist organization following the takedown of the country's top military leader. rick leventhal joins us from jerusalem is iran's revolutionary guard says will, quote, set ablaze places supported by the us. >> that rhetoric has ratcheted up over the past 48 hours or so including those threats from iran to set us facilities on fire, chance from crowds yelling death to israel and motion iran's parliament to designate the us military a terrorist force after qasem soleimani was buried today, he was killed by the us and a targeted drone

strike early friday outside baghdad airports, many dressed in black to mourn his death as they did yesterday when an estimated 1,000,000 plus filled the streets honoring the leader of the revolutionary guard, revered as a hero by some iranian's blamed by the us for killing and maiming hundreds of us troops and thousands of american allies over decades long career. >> we repeat once again our willpower is firm, we tell our enemies we will retaliate but if they take another action we will set ablaze the places they like and are passing about. >> the president aggressively defending the takedown, saying he was planning more attacks against us interest and threatened an overwhelming response if iran tries to retaliate but the pentagon contradicting the president says historic sites in iran would not

be among the targets, the pentagon going after a letter written by us military officials was leaked to the press detailing the us troop withdrawal from iraq after the iraqi parliament voted to expel american forces from that country. >> there's been no decision to leave iraq, nor do we issue any plans to leave or prepared to leave, we are committed to the d isis mission in iraq alongside allies and partners. >> military officials have begun making tentative plans to leave iraq if they have to do that but in the meantime thousands more troops are headed this way to help fortify us positions there. >> prayers with all the troops and their families at home. we appreciate your coverage for us. back at home donald trump slamming democrat in the media

for downplaying the death of qasem soleimani saying the world is now a safer place. griff jenkins is live force in washington where congress is set to be briefed the had a looming vote to limit his war powers. >> good morning. before we get to any voting or any resolutions the administration is defending the airstrikes claiming he was responsible for leading operations in iraq that killed 600 american servicemembers and an interview with rush limbaugh he says we are safe now but had this morning for iran. >> he should have been taken out a long time ago and we had a shot at and we took him out and we are a lot safer now because of it. we will see what the response is if any but you've seen what i said our response will be. >> democratic congresswoman tulsi gabbard disagrees. >> the commander-in-chief needs to make a decision about what is

in the best national security interests of our country, trump's decision has undermined our national security and made the american people less safe. >> now is democrats urge passes of war powers resolution to limit the president, the effort in the house, where this is all headed. >> every president has the right to self-defense always and don't have to go to congress to deal with that. if we are under imminent threat we should go and that is why i want to know the basis of that. i have no problem with that. i have a problem with the larger conversation of where this leads. >> tomorrow the secretaries of defense, the joint chiefs and cia director briefing members of congress as iran's foreign minister says the us is planning to issue a visa to attend un meetings. we will find out, the state department not commenting.

heather: light on behind you at the state capital. some other headlines, to another fox news alert a minnesota police officer shot in the line of duty overnight, the officer was airlifted to a hospital after responding to a disturbance call at a home. a suspect was shot and taken to the hospital, no word on their condition. it is located an hour south of minneapolis. the brother of the missing children in iowa is baking there mom to do the right thing, saying lori bell and her husband chad refused to cooperate in the search for timeline and joshua valid. her oldest son is taking her to change her mind. >> you have the power to end this. i don't know what else i can tell you to do than just know that this is the right thing to do. >> the fbi seized computers, phones and journals from the family home as they searched for

evidence, the daily mail reports she may have been poisoned back in october. chad and laura got married weeks later. police believe everything could be connected. but the woman accused of murdering a texas mom in another bizarre case and kidnapping her newborn faked her own pregnancy from months. court documents reveal megan told her boyfriend that she was due around the same time as heidi broussard, he is the one that led police to their home in houston where investigators found the baby safe along with broussard's dead body stuffed in the trunk of a car. the baby is back with her father. the remains of a fallen american soldier killed in the terror attack on a kenyan military base expected to be returned this week. henry mason junior of chicago was killed when our shabab extremists attacked the airfield, two military contractors also killed. the commander of the air traffic

services command calling nato, quote, a dynamic soldier who inspired those he served with to excel both on and off duty. he was 23 years old, air-traffic services mechanic and leaves behind many family members including eight siblings. days after ending his white house run how about some campaign news, julian castro endorses senator elizabeth warren. >> there is one candidate i see who is unafraid to fight like hell to be there for everyone, will make sure no matter where you live in america or where your family came from in the world you have an opportunity. that is why i am proud to enforce elizabeth warren. >> castro will stump for warren in new york city as some speculate he is angling to become her running mate. we will see.

the time, 9 minutes after the top of the hour, the death of qasem soleimani creating a ripple effect in the middle east. what impact will it have on the relationship between iran and russia and can serious put them apart, lots of questions. jim hansen says the power struggle is good news for the us and joins us to explain. a new for spreading across nuclear -- social media, the new star wars challenge that is going viral. ♪

>> fox news alert, iranian commander qasem soleimani's death creating a ripple effect in the middle east, possibly causing trouble between iran and russia. what could this mean for the us. you to break it down is jim hansen. thank you for joining us on such

an important topic, we appreciate it. explains was the relationship here, what could happen in terms of iran and russia and how our movement will impact that? >> bashar al-assad was close to qasem soleimani, he has been running it as a puppet. qasem soleimani might as well have been the syrian defense ministry considering the influence he had and this was a large possible relationship. removing him from that through monkey wrench into a lot of iran's plans. the question is between russia and iran, which way does the syrian regime push in this direction and there is a split there and that's to our advantage because anytime those two are working at odds it makes the most likely to be causing us direct trouble. heather: what is best for the united states? >> i think the split not resolving itself will. if they figure out one or the

other is in more control there is no way to do that remaining in a split in syria between russia and iran and who they want to back is better for us. shannon: todd: 1 did not back bashar al-assad. >> we strongly said that bashar al-assad is an illegitimate ruler for syria and syria would be better off without him but they need to resolve that to replace the current dictatorship with a more constitutional government. heather: at the same time that is the red line president obama allowed to be crossed. >> president obama did a lot of things to empower iran in its pushed across iraq, building a militia that is now causing trouble in the iranian militia in syria, the same people they

built strong militias with an allegiance to tehran that was usually disadvantageous to the united states. >> let's talk a little more about that double standard and begin with nancy pelosi announcing the war powers resolution against donald trump, she says as members of congress our first responsibility is to keep the american people safe. for this reason we are concerned the administration took this without the respect for congress's war powers granted to us by the constitutions so the same attitude when it came to president obama? >> he did not. she fundamentally misunderstands the constitution, it grants the president commander-in-chief power which is what he used to act to stop an imminent and ongoing threat. congress can weigh in if we decide we want to declare war but it is not their job to decide whether the president can take a strike against a terrorist leader who attacked our embassy.

as we go forward with this we are looking back to the time when congress said nothing about president obama lying us into the iran deal. the senate refused to make the negotiations over that a treaty which they most certainly were. they helped him as far as lying their way through the things that weren't being told to the american public about how bad the deal was and when he decided to load a plane full of cash that ended up paying for terror nobody in congress on the democrat side had a thing to say about that. >> nancy pelosi did have this to say in january of 2016 in reference to sanction relief to iran, a nuclear armed iran is an acceptable, thanks to the strong strategic leadership of president obama we are on track for greater security and stability in the middle east and around the globe so the complete opposite response, no response

when you bypass congress. >> they didn't seem to think it was a problem for barack obama to act as commander-in-chief but for some reason donald trump doing things that are demonstrably more important and better for us security and the world overall are suddenly a problem and this is more partisan politics and trump is the problem for the democrats as opposed to a serious and legitimate concern over our security. >> we always appreciate it, thank you. the time is 18 minutes after the top of they are. forget the military, congresswoman ilhan omar says donald trump could start a war over his hotels, carly shimkus has the tweet that is sparking backlash on social media.

heather: a brand-new graphic image, jeffrey epstein was murdered, a path just hired by epstein's family says photos reaffirm his belief the sex offender did not kill himself in a new york city jail cell. >> from the autopsy findings and i was there at the autopsy, the crushing injuries of the neck, often found in manual or liberatory strangulation, homicidal, not found in hanging suicide. heather: his first question to the suicide ruling on "fox and friends," epstein was founded in august, awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges. harvey weinstein is reportedly

trying to delay a, fry was jury selection expected today. the deadline, they may ask for an adjournment in the wake of new sexual assault charges announced in los angeles, the new charges coming just hours after his initial new york court appearance, accusers celebrating calling it a moment of justice, the ex-movie mogul has denied any wrongdoing. ilhan omar attacking donald trump on twitter claiming his hotels could be the reason behind a war with iran. carly shimkus with serious xm 115 here to break it down. definitely have to explain this. >> reporter: tensions continue to escalate, ilhan omar issued a new warning trump needs to immediately divest from his businesses and comply with the emoluments clause. iraq threatened trump hotels worldwide and he could provoke war over the loss of revenue from skittish guests.

his business interests should not be driving military decisions. the us or the a strike that killed iranian top general after a us contractor was killed and after protesters stormed the us embassy in iraq, neither of those things have anything to do with trump's business interests a lot of people responding on social media, hank on twitter says donald trump's businesses have no bearing or impact on his decisions regarding iran or anything else. stop the fear mongering, dana tweets ilhan omar's favorite thing to do is lie answer a paid against the president and this twitter user echoing what omar said about the 9/11 terror attacks saying no big deal, some people might do something. shortly after entering office the president resigned from the trump organization and handed the reins to adults. >> and using this is a

distraction from the impeachment hearings and now he is using it for his business interests, everything except the fact that he's trying to keep americans safe by killing a terrorist. judge judy has someone she is endorsing as it is michael bloomberg. >> michael bloomberg has done amazing things. >> what made it - there was no other voice for me other than the voice of someone who has experience in governance. >> he released an endorsement video and appeared on the view to endorse him again saying she is campaigning, championing bloomberg because he is a brilliant self-made guy and philanthropist. folks on social media don't agree. i respectfully disagree, he has shown he has no respect for the process, thinks money is enough for him to win and this twitter

user says this will be his biggest accomplishment, something i remember coming from the new york area. big gold gate. >> the challenge circulating on social media involving star wars. >> for all the star wars fans that have seen the latest movie. the been so low challenge is the latest viral sensation and involve somebody pulling out a light saber from their back and shrugging. this is the original video other people have emulated. look at this next one. a little cutie named ella from a tiny sick been so low who wanted to join him and this person wielding our weapon of choice, a hair straightener.

you will see these all over the internet today and in the coming weeks. >> we have to do one but todd is not here. >> maybe, we will see. the time is 26 after the top of the hour and a teenage girl from oklahoma shot and killed after family is attacked in mexico. is the us on the verge a crisis? tom homan says this brings back bad memories the two ice agents getting ambushed in the same area, joins us with a warning from mexico's government.

heather: look at out of headlines starting with a fox news alert iran designates the american military is a terror organization following takedown of the country of stop military leader. iran's revolution regard and it

was a place places supported by the us. us military leaders vowing to keep boots on the ground despite iran's calls to expel american troops. the final lawsuit filed by the parents of kate steinle has been dismissed, they sued the federal government for the park rain or who stolen gun was used to kill steinle in 2015. josé garcia fired the shot and killed steinle on a san francisco.. the mexican national was acquitted of murder in 2017 but faces charges for being a felon in possession of a gun. a live look at capitol hill where the senate finance committee will markup the mexico canada trade agreement as negotiators finalize the mca before passing the house, the senate is expected to vote this week. also happening republican senators launched a new push to

dismiss articles of impeachment against donald trump as nancy pelosi delay sending the case to trial. marianne rafferty joins us with more on the gop's proposal. >> the resolution would update senate rules allowing republicans to introduce a motion to dismiss articles of impeachment over lack of prosecution. republicans ramping up pressure on nancy pelosi after she delayed sending the impeachment case to trial a month ago. josh holly of missouri is rallying his colleagues to take action. >> i'm introducing a resolution to update the senate's rules to account for this unprecedented attempt by the speaker of the house to delay, deny, obstruct a trial in the united states senate. the senate would be able to introduce a motion to dismiss the articles for lack of prosecution. >> democrats started the impeachment inquiry over a

whistleblower's claim that donald trump asked the ukrainian president to investigate joe biden. the president is accused of using his oval office power to influence the 2020 election. donald trump is now accusing democrats of doing the same thing. >> i think what they are trying to do is affect the election illegally but that is what they are trying to do. so sad for our country. think of it. we are fighting with iran, all these different places and in many cases doing great, making trade deals and sewing go -- doing so good but my team has to spend time on this stuff. >> this all comes as national security adviser john bolton announced he would testify in the impeachment trial of subpoenaed by the senate. bolton's willingness to talk and reignite democrat calls for other witnesses to take the stand. shannon: thank you, very busy in

dc. in the store we are following, families grieving this morning after a 13-year-old girl shot and killed, the family was attacked when traveling home from vacation in mexico, this just the latest in a string of violent clashes with mexican cartels. is the us on the brink of a cartel crisis or are we already there? tom homan says mexico needs to step up and he joins me with more. thank you for joining us, we appreciate it. this attack, the latest one brings back memories for you, ice agents killed in the same general area. tell us about that. >> in 2011 two special agents were ambushed, both were shot, one died from his wounds and that was on highway 57 which feeds into this highway this family was killed on. that is why i said in the

preinterview that mexico is well aware this area is controlled by the cartels for a decade at least so it is shocking that mexican law enforcement hasn't stepped up efforts in that area. there should be highway patrol and state law enforcement officer every mile of that highway but they are victims of cartel violence. shannon: we know in november we covered the nine us citizens killed from that mormon family traveling in october, there was a shootout that freed number 0 -- el chapooh's son. 94 americans killed in mexico since january of 2018, 31,000 homicides in mexico, adding up to 100 murders per day nationwide in mexico so my question to you is what more is

mexico waiting for? >> mexico has failed to take these cartels out for decades. when donald trump made that offer to the president of mexico he should have jumped at that offer. they failed to hold the cartels responsible. they are offering impunity, tens of thousands of murders by the cartels of mexican nationals in that country. donald trump made the offer, we have shown our success at international operations, we did it with el chapo in mexico, and numerous cartel members out of columbia. the united states law-enforcement has ability and expertise, take their money, take their power. the united states has been successful of this and we need to step up and do it. >> in december the president said he would delay designating mexican cartels as terrorist

organizations unless another incident changes that. i want to talk about this a little bit with you. 400,000 anchor babies born in 2019 in the us surpassing us births in 48 states was the question is when will, or democrats acknowledge there is is a problem and a -- do they need to do something to put a end to birthright citizenship? >> birthright citizenship has been a problem for a long time, i am glad you are doing this on national tv because it is a big driver for illegal immigration. a lot of people give birth to have a us citizen child because the child can get social benefits. also illegal alien parent believes the child will keep them here in the united states and they are right. the biggest complaint i had was why this illegal alien has three us citizen children.

due process, had a couple us citizen children, now he is immune from that and get amnesty and they are not far from the truth because that is the biggest complaint. if the measures we want to send the rest of the world into the country illegally, have us citizen child and you are free to go then we will never solve the border crisis and this doesn't take into account the birth tourism, the number of tourists come to this country for business or pleasure but the real reason is they are pregnant and want to have a child because they think it's their golden ticket to the united states. it is a huge issue that you are bringing attention to. >> the birth tourism is a lucrative industry for several countries including china. we talked about the cost of the anchor babies, 2,400,000,$000 in annual cost being reported there. >> when i was a special agent in 1980 long time ago i can't tell

you how many illegal aliens i arrested, and i asked how did you get this, you are not authorized to have this, having us citizen baby, that is one of the first things they do. i'm not fear mongering or saying they are bad people, this is one of the first things they do, we looked for family units and when we found them, 40% were pregnant or had a us citizen child. it is a fact, the birthright citizenship, drivers for illegal immigration. heather: the numbers are a fact as well so people can take a look at those. thank you for joining us. we appreciate it. 20 minutes until the top of the hour, democrats second guessing the strike against qasem

soleimani, saying it was unprovoked but what about the violent attack on the us embassy in baghdad. benghazi security team member mark giese knows firsthand about the seriousness of such a thread and as asking when is enough enough? he joins us live.

>> i'm increasingly alarmed about the strike, strike that was carried out with insufficient transparency. it is indicative of donald trump's foreign-policy record which is riddled by chaotic, uninformed, erratic and impulsive decisionmaking. >> democrats slamming donald trump's order to kill qasem soleimani as impulsive but the strike was not unprovoked. it was in response when attacked by the us embassy in baghdad among several other incidents.

a member of the security team that thought in benghazi joins us with his response. thank you for your service and we appreciate you joining us on this important topic today. what about that? we know there was a long list of incidents. the president withheld taking this action and said enough is enough. >> you start with the imminent threats that were there. had he not acted upon them imagine what democrats would be saying. quite possibly we would end up seeing more diplomats debt and american servicemembers dead. qasem soleimani, his tactics, techniques and procedures always comes into handle these attacks anywhere to the embassy bombing in kuwait. he was in country when that happens, he wants to be in control and that is why he was

obviously coming to baghdad and in that along with all the other threats that were imminent, he had to be taken out, when is enough enough? when are the democratic leadership, how much blood has to be spilled before they stand behind america and what we do taking care of those who sacrificed so much for our freedoms and all across the middle east. >> i want to bring this up, this is what donald trump had to say in terms of qasem soleimani that he should have been taken out by president obama and i want your response to that. >> this should have been done for the last 15 to 20 years, he is a terrorist who was designated a terrorist by president obama and obama did nothing about it except give them 150,000,000,000 dollars.

heather: you know firsthand what president obama did and did not do and the difference that made in benghazi. >> everything from what the president said, giving him 150,000,000,$000, pulled us out of the iran nuclear deal which is a fabulous thing, increase the sanctions on iraq and in doing that, that much more pressure on them. iran saw gdp dropped one.5% last year looking at 3.2% drop this year. there chamber of commerce leader, the vice chair made a statement that 10 to 15 large companies are leaving iran every month which puts more pressure on their finances, their economic capability and we want to bring them back to the table. let them come back to be big boys and play with us in the

right way, take care and give up this idea of nuclear arms as a thing of the past and join the rest of the world. heather: would benghazi have happened if donald trump hadn't been in charge had he responded to that? >> it might have happened but the outcome would be completely different. donald trump had assets responding in 13 minutes and the obama hillary clinton administration couldn't get assets moving toward benghazi in 13 hours and that is criminal in its own self right there. heather: thank you for joining us, appreciate your insight and your service at this time. >> thanks for having me on, have a good day. heather: it is 15, 10 minutes until the top of the hour and

the infernos raging across australia expected to get worse as temperatures heat up sparking concerns that fragile species could be pushed to the brink. and wildlife parkinson the crews try to save as many animals as possible. a photo op gone painfully wrong, the mishap, and actress battered and bruised.

sometimes your small screen is your big screen. and with the xfinity stream app, which is free with your service, you can take a spin through on demand shows, or stream live tv. download your dvr'd shows and movies on the fly. even record from right where you are. whether you're travelling around the country or around the house, keep what you watch with you. download the xfinity stream app and watch all the shows you love.

what are you doing back there, junior? since we're obviously lost, i'm rescheduling my xfinity customer service appointment. ah, relax. i got this. which gps are you using anyway? a little something called instinct. been using it for years. yeah, that's what i'm afraid of. he knows exactly where we're going. my whole body is a compass. oh boy... the my account app makes today's xfinity customer service simple, easy, awesome. not my thing. >> of fox news alert australia bracing for scorching heat as wildfires burn out of control. the flames could merge. and omega blaze in the next few

hours. and they are trying to save lives, and thousands - leaving australians heartbroken and scared. >> it hurts. it hurts to see this and i don't want anyone to go through this again. heather: this map shows the scope of the australian wildfires compared to the size of the us, nearly the entire country is covered. donald trump offering support to the australian prime minister as they rush to save people and those animals. live from city wildlife rescues, rescue efforts are underway. what is the latest? >> efforts are incredible.

we -- volunteers are nursing all sorts of animals. this is eastern gray kangaroo and they are 6 to 9 months old, in their mother's pouch but mama is nowhere to be found, we are keeping them nice and wrapped up. this one's name is member short for mimosa's while, the state planned, new south wales has 100 fires burning at this hour. the prime minister expects them to continue for months to come. this is a long road ahead of us. if we want to take a listen to one of the volunteers here. >> the system will collapse if we don't do something. it is tough.

they all need each other to survive. >> it is absolutely devastating, kangaroo island, 50% of the co-op population perished and in new south wales, 50% of the co-op population, these fires are not overhead. allahs are the face of tourism, so many other different species, not just kangaroos. and other australian native animals are struggling. these ecosystems are so unique in some places. and it needs to be paid attention to. >> we heard as you show us, we were told you receive some rain yesterday, did that help at all? apparently not.

>> it was welcome in a lot of respects, psychologically and if nothing else the strategic back burning they do hampered those efforts and we have more bad conditions on the way, no substantial rain in the forecast. heather: we appreciate your coverage, our prayers with you, everyone there and the animals as well. definitely a tough story but we have a transition, celebrating what is happening in australia. thank you.

heather: time for the good, the bad and the ugly, space x kicking off the year with record-breaking lunch. 60 internet satellites sitting on top the falcon 9 as it roars into orbit from florida, the first launch under donald trump's new us space force. the bad, one of puerto rico's national wonders collapses during a 5.8 magnitude

earthquake. the arch the one stood. the ugly, actress patricia arquette accidentally smashing her costar in the 4 head during a video shoot leaving joey king with a giant bruise. thank you for joining us and thank you to my coworkers for my birthday cake. "fox and friends first" continues right now. >> reporter: this is a fox news alert, playing with fire, extended us allies, threatening to burn up places that support the us amid cheers of just his real. rob: the president says democrats and the media need to open their eyes to the iranian regime's threats. >> should have been taken out a long time ago and we have a shot at it and we took him out and we are safer now because of it. we will see what happens and what the response is that you have seen what i said our response will be.