>> sandra: brand-new at 2:00, twitter tantrum. elon musk sending shock waves around the world after he suspended at least half a dozen reporters. hour two, i'm sandra smith in new york. happy friday, john. >> john: happy friday to you. journalists from cnn, others, slapped with a seven-day suspension after they reported

on a twitter user who posted the realtime location of musk's private jet. aircraft tracking information that is publicly available to anybody who cares to look for it. musk said he would not ban that user, calling it proof of his commitment of free speech. >> sandra: instead, not only decided to ban that user but suspended accounts of journalists who reported on it. he says it put him and his family at risk. but some say anybody can track a jet's location for free online. >> john: and others say its undermines making the forum for free speech, and twitter under musk is going off the rails. >> sandra: where does brian kilmeade fall on all of this. he'll join us live in a moment. >> john: i have asked myself that question, anyone what

bathroom tissue to buy or whether to have chicken or fish. susan is live in new york city. >> i have also asked what kilmeade thinks all the time. virtually no notice, almost a dozen journalists without access to their twitter accounts. they all have covered musk in the past, all tweeted or retweeted links to the suspended elon jet account, and criticizing me all day long, totally fine, but doxxing my location and endangering my family is not. a stalker in l.a. jumped on top of a car carrying his youngest child, baby x was in it, and retweeting and tweeting a video of the alleged stalker asking if anyone has seen them. elon jet account has been around a few years, it was started by a college student using data even i could access online.

musk did confront some of the banned accounts on twitter. >> showing realtime information about somebody's location is inappropriate and i think everyone on this would not like that to be done to them and there is not going to be a distinction between journalists and regular people. you are not special because you are a journalist. >> he is asking whether he should unsuspend the accounts. majority, 59% say yes. bari weiss, entrusted with the twitter files says i don't need to dwell on how mesmerizing it is to watch those journalists who defended, even celebrated twitter fans under the old regime under the guise of safety now call it censorship and says it infringes on freedom of expression. it did then, as it does now. we have a u.n. spokesperson in the past hour saying they are very disturbed by the arbitrary suspension of journalists on twitter. guys. >> john: bari weiss has a point

there, you didn't complain about it before, so why are you complaining about it now, and it was wrong in both cases. susan lee for us, thank you. >> sandra: bring in brian kilmeade, "fox & friends" co-host and "one nation" host, what does brian kilmeade think about this. >> to build on it. i think he has to set up a board. i don't think the billionaire can check his twitter at 8:00 at night and decide who to ban. >> sandra: why not? >> he could, but not credibility, he spent billions of dollars. i had this on the radio, donny o sullivan is one of the people that got banned so he hopped on with anderson cooper and acts like it's the worst thing it happened. meanwhile, shadow bans for the last five years, outright bans the last four years, he says don't feel bad for me, we have a platform just like when trump got kicked off his post as well,

important, chilling impact for journalist, independent journalists, especially those who cover elon's companies. it's not chilling, suspensions, i think he should avoid criticism, build credibility up, continue to have interest but i think the billionaire should not make decisions on his own for his own good. >> sandra: and mentioned donny, one of the journalists from cnn. his reaction. >> i do think, this is very important, about the potential chilling impact this might have for freelance journalists, freelance journalists, and those that cover tesla and spacex. it could have a chilling factor. >> he's not going to ban someone saying they don't like tesla, he's obsessed with this guy that

follows oligarchs and rich people, he offered the kid like a million dollars to stop tracking his plane, the kid is no, i'm going to do it. >> sandra: i think he offered him $5,000. >> ok, let's say 5,000. if he does, he doesn't want to do it. he's obsessed about his privacy but i don't think you can just ban people for a week and do a poll online do it. >> sandra: here he is making his point on doxxing, revealing his precise locations. elon musk said doxxing info of anyone will be suspended, it's a safety violation, posting sites to realtime location info, and slightly delayed basis is not a safety problem so it's ok. what about that distinction? he's making the case this is like assassination, you know, coordinates, essentially, that are being provided to the public. >> no, now listen, i understand. but also what he did, i don't

know twitter hangout, another twitter you can hop online with people. he took a conference call from these other guys and he talked to all of them and said this is why i did it. we don't have their accounts suspended. but they were trying to say on the call we were not doing that, and one of the guys said i had nothing to do with it, i just took public information and retweeted it. so, that was interesting for them to be banned but yet got on a conference call with them in the end he hung up the phone and said i told you my side, that's it. >> sandra: there are some who are watching on and like the decisive action he is taking on this, saying he believes that his family's safety was in jeopardy. another one of the suspended journalists saying elon musk is taking aim at journalists,ism one of them. i got suspended from twitter yesterday, one of at least eight journalists casualties of elon musk thursday night massacre after the billionaire went on a power hungry suspension spree.

twitter did not explain what rules i allegedly broke, i believe he did in the tweet, but that's expected under the new management whose transparency has mostly consisted of musk personally reapplying to tweets explaining his decision making. to that point and your point, if these are rules, and were these rules before he had ownership of the company? if so, post 'em. >> right, absolutely. alleviate all of this. don't give the "new york times," cnn, washington post, a reason to ridicule a platform you spent $44 billion for. make them earn it. if they will decide twitter is no longer their thing, make it be on them. don't make it easy. get the board, make it public, have a quick reaction team. >> what do you think elon musk anyway? >> 100% for him. transformational. i hope he does not preempt is your program. but when the hearings start,

it's no longer a bunch of republicans and democrats at that youing to social media executives. it's going to be this is what twitter did, now facebook, tell me what you did. and tell me what you did, google, tell me what else you are doing, youtube, and let me -- and then you have complaints. now all of a sudden you are in the game, you are looking around and know twitter was not the only one shadow banning, putting their hand on the scale with issues and covid-19. and when you ban pete hegseth, sandra smith, ok. but a stanford doctor that has respect in the medical community and you ban him, you squelch him -- am i running out of time? >> stop wrapping at 8:00 eastern

time saturday night and watch "one nation," then start wrapping again. >> sandra: awesome job, we were wondering what he was thinking and he gave it to us and more. the u.n. is responding to this, by the way, in a tweet, john, saying that they are deeply disturbed by the reports of journalists being arbitrarily suspended. >> john: now they are disturbed. i have time brian stops talking i think of the words walter cronkite used to say "that's the way it is." >> sandra: what do you think about that? >> good thing my self-esteem is high, it's really taking a beating. i don't know if we are still on speaking terms. >> john: see you tomorrow night. or somewhere in between. you are never off tv or radio, you'll show up somewhere. >> i'm listening to you. >> john: days remain until title 42 is toast, threatening to take the southern border to a new level of crisis. video shows thousands wrapped in

blankets huddled along the rio grande bank in el paso, texas. struggling to keep up with the influx of migrants, and suspected arrival of migrants when title 42 ends in five days. listen here. >> there is no work being done here, we have been given money, we have been promised money, using money from our general fund. there is nothing done here in el paso. it's only going to get worse. >> sandra: meantime, the who us says it is prepared for the coming surge. jacqui heinrich is live at the white house with those details. what exactly are we hearing from the white house about how they plan to deal with this expected surge next week? >> not a lot, sandra. all week long we have been promised more details soon on what system exactly is going to be in place when title 42 expires five days from now. we have been told that that information will come next week

before the deadline but did notice a subtle shift in messaging after months of whispers that some in the west wing would like to see the courts punt this until it's more clear what system will replace it. the white house is now refusing to say whether they think lifting the trump era policy is a good thing. >> what i'm telling you is that it was a court order that was -- that we are following, and we are going to follow the law when it comes to what the court has decided to do. >> john kirby would not tell me this morning whether the white house would like to see the courts delay this if they need more time. dhs is asking for funds for resources for the border, target smugglers, but lawmakers say they don't have any details and they are hesitant to throw money at the homeland security secretary who said the border is

secure. >> we have not seen anything. we know 7500 earmarks, it's negotiated in the dark, just a few people know anything that's going on. but whether it's border security or anything else, none of us have any idea what's going on with regard to the spending bill. >> before title 42 goes away, denver, cost 800,000 in shelter fees and eric adams is asking for a billion dollars in emergency funding, struggling to house more than 30,000 migrants. >> it's bad, it's bad, and continue to evaluate. this is a national problem, and a national government has a responsibility to, number one, have a decompression strategy to resolve the issues at the border, to make the municipalities whole who had to take away from their citizens to

pay for this. we should not be paying for this. >> imagine how they feel in el paso, more than 53,000 have crossed since october 1st. yesterday the press secretary could not estimate how many more migrants were going to be seeing every day once title 42 goes away. it's not like the estimates don't exist. number between 9 and 15,000 migrant crossings each and every day, sandra. >> sandra: and that day is quickly approaching. live at the white house, jacqui, john. >> john: shannon bream, white house insists it's prepared for december 21st when title 42 comes off, but nobody can discern anything that even looks remotely like a plan. >> the folks at the border say they don't know what the plan is from the white house. i've talked to border agents and

others in authority, and saying listen, 60 to 70%, is border patrol assets are being used to process people, to do the paperwork and the administrative stuff, and assist in that, just about all democratics and republicans aware of what's going on is a broken system. their worry, once title 42 goes away, that kicks to 90%. you'll have huge swaths of the border where there is more increase drug trafficking, the cartels will operate, whether it's humans or drugs, they are very concerned they are not actually at the border to do the job they were hired to do, that it's now turned into a giant administrative state down there. >> john: and we see the drug busts at border crossing checkpoints, stunning in terms of size and scope. millions of fentanyl pills seized, that's a fraction of what's getting through. if you start taking more and more people off of the points of

the border that are in between these border crossings, you can imagine the drug traffic is only going to get greater. karine jean-pierre in her own fashion insisted the president is on top of all of this. >> what americans should know, the president has done the work to deal with what we are seeing at the border since day one. the president has done the work, he secured record funding, taking steps to prepare for what is -- for when title 42 is lifted. >> john: i don't know if anybody believes a word of that. >> and democrats are calling out the white house saying the president needs to get down there. there is a conversation, oh, if he goes, it would be viewed as a photo op. a lot of people would say that's okay, we need attention at the border. you have governor gavin newsom, a very blue state, california saying we are being overrun, he

is visiting the border, even though he's out there saying publicly i think president biden should run in 2024, when he visits the border and undermines that issue, you wonder if there will be democrats saying the president is not getting this right but i could. >> john: you have to wonder about that. many people cannot understand why the white house suddenly sees it as an urgent matter. they are stunned, oh, a problem at the border, where have they been the last two years. >> exponentially, the numbers have gone up and this is not our data, any partisan or particular organization, it's hard data from the government that tracks this and only what we know about, as william and others at the border, and they are terrified coming in days. >> john: we have the huge got-away problem now. what's coming up on your fine

program? >> talk about the border, a democrat and a republican, they admit there is a massive problem. do they agree on anything that gets to the solutions of this. congress has not been able to solve it but we will dig in and we also have live coverage from the world cup, people actually know what the soccer stuff is about, unlike me. but that means in most local markets if you watch on your affiliate, on early there, otherwise 2:00 p.m. eastern on fox news channel. >> sandra: it's a big game on sunday. have you got a dog in the fight? >> i like messy sergeant. >> as great a player as he is, now i'm done with all my material. >> sandra: there may be a few less presents under the tree, stores reporting a drop in holiday sales as inflation eats into american consumers' ability to spend. a look at the dow as we look at

it finishing up the week, down 400 points. the dow, the nasdaq and the s & p 500 on track for the second straight week of losses. so, what lies ahead? grover norquist is on deck with his take. >> john: and a panel in california coming together to discuss the possibility of paying reparations to the descendants of slaves. one activist says it's not only possible but it better happen and soon or we will all face the consequences. appraisal or termite inspection. no upfront costs at all. let us get your family security of cash in the bank. first psoriasis, then psoriatic arthritis. even walking was tough. i had to do something. i started cosentyx®. cosentyx can help you move, look, and feel better... by treating the multiple symptoms of psoriatic arthritis. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx.

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>> john: possibility of reparations gaining steam coast to coast, and in california, one activist is demanding $800,000 to go to each black resident and

is warning the state to comply or face a "serious backlash." madison alworth reporting from our new york newsroom. obviously if there were reparations paid, somebody would have to pay for it, who would that be? >> looks like it would be up to the taxpayers to foot the bill, and goal of reparations for black americans inside the state of california. governor newsom created a first in the nation task force to look into reparations and that task force has begun deliberations to decide just how much this is going to cost. >> we built this country, we serve this country honor ably, we need reparations. >> at the end of the day, any amount is too little and every amount is nary enough. >> the correct platform is to be on the national level, you have to get it to that point. >> one activist even told the task force that every eligible

person should get $350,000 in compensation, and that black-owned businesses should get a quarter of a million dollars on top of that. but california is the first but not the only state to consider reparations. new york city mayor eric adams also publicly supporting the initiative calling it long overdue. and in november, california announced despite nearly a $100 billion surplus last year, the state was currently looking at a $25 million deficit for next year. the california task force has until july 1, 2023, that's their deadline to deliver a final report to the state legislature on just what should be done and how much should be given out. john. >> john: see which way it goes. madison, thank you. sandra. >> sandra: inflation putting a damper on the holiday season, level of uncertainty never good for wall street stocks. dow off 464 points, grover

norquist, give your assessment of what's playing out in the markets. the dow is down almost 500 points and we know to finish the week, it would be the second straight week of losses and we are starting to get a glimpse of the holidays and retail sales are revealing people are cutting back. >> all these things you point out are true, they are getting worse, there are a couple challenges, just a year ago, or two years ago, what biden people did and the democrats every single democrat, was they dramatically increased taxes. and they said it would not affect middle income people. this is what's happening. not only is the too much spending giving us inflation and now higher interest rates to combat the inflation, but all of those tax increases on businesses in particular make it difficult to hire more people, make it difficult to pay them

more. this is what happens when you spend too much, raise taxes and then all the regulations that you keep hearing about. biden and the democrats brag they do many of these things without ever going to congress, so add the regulatory burden to the cost of everything you buy. why are gasoline prices going up? shutting down the creation of new energy, the production of new energy here in the united states. one thing after another, it should not surprise us, this is exactly what they knew would happen, and so we have higher interest rates, inflation, when they talk about inflation coming down, inflation is the rate of growth -- the rate at which your dollar becomes less valuable. when inflation goes down, it means your dollar is becoming less valuable not as quickly as last month, less valuable, down in value every single day. >> sandra: it's showing up in the polling. wall street journal asked nationwide how would you rate the strength of the u.s.

economy, those that said good or excellent was 32%, those that responded not so good or poor, 67%. so you've got to ask yourself what that means for the new year and also they asked this, federal reserve, favorable or unfavorable. more people have an unfavorable review of the federal reserve tasked for bringing this inflation down than those that have a favorable view of them. so, there's a lot of concern they are going to be able to bring prices down and now as a result you are getting some layoffs, expected job layoffs. goldman sachs announcing that it's going to lay off up to 4,000 people, as many as 8% of its employees may be let go as that wall street giant hits profitability goals, and we hit it yesterday. but i'll put it on the screen again. fortune, a quote on the young millennials, and more and more

young people are living with their parents in this economic environment. a new way to afford luxury handbags and watches, back home living with mom and dad, according to morgan stanley. saying half of young adults in the country are living at home, and they have all this cash burning a hole in their pocket because they are not paying for rent and utilities. >> well, they are also not paying down a mortgage so they are not developing capital, the value of a home that they are going to start later in life. this allows the economy, hurts people in many different ways and for those young people, they are not accumulating wealth inside a house every year, they are picking up handbags. l>> sandra: it is an interesting phenomenon that is happening. but some moved home because they were squeezed by inflation and high rents, once you are there, you are comfy not having to pay rent and you have some cash to

spend. the anyway, grover, thank you very much for joining us on all of that. john. >> john: one of the first people to breach the capitol building on the 6th of january is going to prison for five years. douglas jenson, iowa construction worker, sentenced, and $2,000 in restitution. >> sandra: a break in the case of the american college student that went missing in france. we have an update on the story. we'll have that next. >> john: and the dream of becoming an american citizen could be slipping away for thousands of afghans who helped u.s. soldiers fight the taliban. why hasn't the u.s. government acted to help these families? new york congressman lee zeldin will join us on that just ahead. so we're hard at work, helping them achieve financial freedom. we're providing greater access to investing, with low-cost options to help maximize savings.

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>> sandra: an american college student who went missing while studying abroad in france has

been found alive nearly three weeks after he went missing. chief religious correspondent lauren green. >> the good news after the child goes missing, family of 21-year-old kenneth deland posted he was alive and in spain. the family said we are so happy to announce that kenney is safe. we received a call from kenny in the other morning hours on december 16, 2022, kenny is in spain and carol his mom is in france preparing to see kenny and hopefully bring him home for christmas. 21-year-old deland who is from upstate new york had been studying abroad at the university of grenoble alps. last heard from on november 27th and reported missing two days later after he did not attend class and his host family and friends had not heard from him. he was last seen on surveillance video on december 3rd in a

store. what is not known at this point is why deland decided to leave without telling anyone. the public prosecutor in grenoble said he seemed to have left voluntarily and that he wanted to go to marseilles before returning to the united states. family credits members of the media, saying without the media's help kenny would not have seen him self in the news and reached out to us. her gut feeling her son was safe, but the question why he never reached out to them or anyone else. >> sandra: they are keeping it private for now, maybe we will know more later. thankfully found. thank you very much. >> john: former afghan interpreters and commandos say they are losing hope of becoming american citizens after a visa program got stripped from the national authorization act.

>> sandra: asking the question why, how did we let this happen? congressman lee zeldin moments from now, but jennifer, what does it mean for the afghan families. >> the massive pentagon funding bill passed the senate last night and in the process it awaits the president's signature but will not have protections or a path to citizenship for thousands of afghans who helped the u.s. waiting to hear whether they will be sent back to taliban controlled afghanistan. an act would have smoothed the legal asylum, tens of thousands have been here over a year ago. and some have raised concerns the afghans were not properly vetted during the withdrawal so

suggested, as suggested in a pentagon ig report last year. >> to claim there could be terrorists getting brought in with the guys we are talking about, i mean, these guys are more vetted than you and i, jennifer. we are talking annual polygraph, we know every thing there is to know about them. there's no chance they are terrorists. >> ben owens, an army veteran who started flanders fields to house u.s. vets and fund safe houses for afghan partners left behind was referring to the afghan special forces commandos and translators who have the visa, and 14,000 have been approved and are waiting in kabul, with 60,000 more afghans who can show they worked with the u.s. government. >> a lot of the politicians, just don't get, is the level of connection that exists between these junior officers and these ncos and their partner.

because they fought alongside these men and women for in some cases over a decade. and then to just all of a sudden be told it's over, nothing you can do for them, let it go. that in itself is a moral jury of huge magnitude. >> if a new adjustment act is not included in the omnibus spending bill, thousands of afghans already traumatized during the pullout will be sent to afghanistan in a year. >> remain committed to helping as many as we can and keep our word in that regard. >> working frantically to have the act included in the spending bill that expires on december 23rd. sandra. >> sandra: jen live at the pentagon, thank you. >> john: new york congressman lee zeldin, former republican new york gubernatorial

candidate. jennifer griffin did her usual fabulous job of laying out the issue here. where do you stand on this and would you like to see the afghan adjustment act passed, it did not make it into the authorization act, but trying to attach it to the omnibus spending bill. do you support that? >> i think we have an opportunity to get on the same page before this session is over at the end of next week. you are going to have both houses in washington, d.c., so get it over the finish line. understanding you have these individuals who decide at great sacrifice to themselves and their family to help us, and in many respects they are fighting alongside us, risking their own lives and a breach of trust if we are not looking out for them after the fact. the we have right now a massive affirmative asylum backlog in this country of hundreds of thousands of cases. we have an even greater three

and a half times size broader immigration backlog, so this legislation seeks to get these individuals on a faster track so they are not stuck in the two other backlog situations. when we hear the discussion, the debate with regard to what's happening at our southern border and immigration policy, this is another consequence because yes, we do have a significant backlog and to senator grassley's point we should be concerned about vetting, absolutely. we can't let these people be hung out to dry at the very least. we need to take care of them short-term, try to get it fixed by next week. >> john: so a rock and a hard place. promised by congress they would get special immigrant visas by virtue of the fact they helped out either u.s. civilians or the military, about you chuck grassley saying in the chaos to get out of afghanistan, they were not adequate vetted and now you want to give them green

cards without properly vetting them. does he have a point or do you believe the system can vet people before they are put on track for a green card. >> senator grassley has a point. and the counter point, you identify individuals thoroughly vetted, yes, absolutely. in the chaos were other people who ended up getting put on the planes and brought here. so senator grassley, whether you are in the administration, congress, democrat, we should all be concerned about. we need to figure out how to get it over the finish like, the individuals thoroughly vetted should be put through, not lumped together with the individuals thrown on a plane and don't have the proper documentation and questioning. >> john: switch gears and ask you about the speakership. you will not be there to vote, you are leaving congress after your term expires, do you believe kevin mccarthy will have the votes, will he have 218 to

become the next speaker? >> i do believe he'll have the votes but i don't know if he'll end up needing 218. my first vote when i got to congress january of 2015, there was a move to try to get john boehner out. and then mario cuomo passed away and then they went to the funeral and it was south of 218. members will be there in person and casting their votes, so he'll need to get as close to 218 as possible. i think he'll get there, having a lot of conversations with people. we need to challenge the status quo, improve the way congress runs and is operated, but the one thing i would say, i watched it firsthand. kevin mccarthy has worked harder than absolutely anyone else to making sure that nationally, not over the course of the last few years but the past few years

there would be a republican majority and i believe he would be a great speaker. >> john: i expect a lot of horse trading between now and january 3rd, maybe some members will see something extra in their stocking christmas morning as well. congressman, and we anxiously await also what's next for your future, so we hope to stay in touch. >> thank you, sir. bye, john. >> sandra: we have been looking forward to this, coming up, off script with the cast of "the five" to see what it's like in the green room minutes before air. i'll give you a hint, not a whole lot of studying going on. >> you look here, there are no notes. everyone else is very prepared. >> it shows. >> yeah, yeah. (stalled engine) come on, ole' beauty. hey, are you ready? ♪

♪ ah, this baby's coming. (knocking) ♪

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so i called the barnes firm. when that car hit my motorcycle, insurance wasn't fair. so i called the barnes firm. it was the best call i could've made. atat t bararnefirmrm, our r inry a attneysys wk hahard i could've made. atat t bararnefirmrm, to get you the best result possible. call us now and find out what your case could be worth. you u mit bebe sprisised ♪ the barnes firm injury attorneys ♪ ♪ call one eight hundred, eight million ♪ >> sandra: team for our favorite friday segment taking you off script and behind the scenes, and i caught up with "the five" right before the cast went live. >> hey, guys, we are going to go off script with the cast of "the five" today, getting ready in the green room, thought we would take you along for what happens the minutes before the show starts. let's go.

hey, guys. >> hi. >> thank you for going off script. >> hey, hey, hey. >> we just happened to catch the guys before the show. preshow rituals? jesse, you have to have one. >> no, they don't like it when i eat on the show. >> what are you talking about? you eat on the set. >> it's a ritual, i eat an apple and then get very quiet in hair and make-up, no one is allowed to talk to me. >> i feel every time i do the show, everybody has their notes. can you read that? >> barely. they encourage me to write small, i don't see the notes. >> writes it this way jesse cannot see it. >> they yank it from me every once in a while. >> this is such a treat. judge, what do you do? >> what do i do before the show? i pray, dear lord give me some thought so i don't sound stupid on the show. >> you have to be so prepared every single day.

by 5:00 you have a lot of the news of the day. >> if you look here, there are no notes in front of me here. everyone else is very prepared, and -- >> it shows. >> yes, yes. >> that's because johnny is putting them together and will present -- we are missing one person. there he is. >> let's wander over, greg's hangout is like the sofa, every time i'm in here, no legs on the coffee table. hi, greg. >> how you doing? >> we are going off script. >> oh, wow, that's exciting. >> how you doing? >> all right, thinking of stuff to say, my usual. i try to like -- i try to save the show. >> come on over, guys. ok. so, greg -- >> my job is to save the show from jesse, moronic comments about gender. >> do you wait until the last possible second to walk in?

>> that's jesse. jesse is known for that. >> we are on time, i'm never late. i've made every show. >> right now i'm watching "fox & friends" recap of pickleball, i'm not leaving. >> i've only seen -- >> kilmeade loses. >> what do you believe is the biggest, you know, ingredient for the success of "the five?" >> it's interesting you asked what are our rituals. we, for 12 years, we never really talk about the show before the show. we are in here shooting the breeze. >> it's fun, it's loose, it gets -- a little four in onish out there, that's why i like the green room. out there it's different. >> where we learn all the things greg will say about what harold said in the green room. >> i love it. thank you very much. >> thank you. thanks, greg, thank you. >> all right, guys, we are going to take you out of of the green room. >> sandra: that was so much fun and thanks to "the five" for

letting us into their green room before the show, very exciting. and they just kind of -- normally greg does have his legs up on the coffee table. i'm joining the show tonight, i'll be co-hosting with that great group, and that was fun. >> john: fantastic. i like greg's strategy, a fly on the wall, collect the intelligence and then hit them during the show. >> sandra: easy to see why it's -- >> john: and chemistry is warm and fuzzy. and it's not in certain places in the country. fox weather alert, a coming storm could mean millions will actually see a white christmas and some meteorologists say it could be one of the most intense winter storm the nation has seen at christmas in decades. >> sandra: exact details are hard to know for certain this far out, especially when you are talking about snow. meteorologists say chances are increasing for a major storm

bringing snow and strong winds to much of the country from next thursday all the way through christmas eve. models showing the storm likely to bring snow extending from the southern plains to the midwest, and then the northeast, and even possibly states in the southeast. the monster storm is ed to coincide with a blast of cold arctic air and it would mean a very intense weather system that would snarl holiday travel potentially, both on the roads and in the air. a lot in the air but forecasters say there is even the possibility of rare snow pretty far south and a possibility of blizzard conditions in new york. i love these pictures, danbury, new hampshire, coming to you live, it's a ski resort there and clearly people are enjoying that snowfall, john. >> john: yeah, up there in new england they love their snow in the wintertime. the mountains is where it's supposed to be, and mother nature has cooperated. looks like it's going to be a

great christmas for skiing. no place like home for the holidays and thousands of u.s. soldiers will spend christmas with their families after military leaders granted them a break from training. jonathan is live in atlanta where a lot of soldiers are >> hey, john. we're talking about thousands today. 6,000 expected to travel through the airport. in all, ft. benning has granted 12,000 soldiers a holiday block leave. about half traveling with family or by bus. the other half coming through atlanta's hartsfield-jackson. during this phase of training, it's important the young men and women get a chance to rest and also a chance to show their family and friends back home how military life has transformed them for the better. >> you know, we make a handshake with america every time moms and

dads drop their young people off to join the army. it's very important to us. >> and we asked some of the trainees what they're looking forward to doing once they get home. take a listen. >> probably shopping with my mom. buying her some clothes and some -- probably jewelry too. >> being able to sleep when i want to. >> this is the only thing i miss. i want to do it again. >> i live on the west coast, california. >> got to live the in and out burger. leave is through january 3. back to you. >> john: nothing better than an in and out burger off of training. jonathan serrie at hartsfield-jackson international airport. merry christmas to you. >> you too, john. >> john: i did the story jonathan did in 2011, i think, when i was based in atlanta.

we got out there at 4:30 to hartsfield-jackson as the first bus loads of the troops rolled in. i got a chance to spend time with them, talk to them. they were so happy to go back home and so proud to be serving this country and all of the fabulous people that live inside this country. >> sandra: i love that. i love we're featuring them. the videos of the soldiers, the men and women coming home and seeing families never gets old. you can play it all day. i love it. >> john: they were going everywhere there is to go in the country. it was very important for them to get back home because a lot of them back then at least in 2011 were facing deployment to afghanistan. you know, they knew that there would be tough times ahead of them. they wanted one last chance with the family before they served. >> sandra: we're going to head into the final week before christmas next week.

it's here! >> john: ready? >> sandra: i thought i was way ahead of the game early on. then not so much. some things caught up with me. work to do. >> john: for a lot of people, it's going to be a special christmas. we'll be there with you up until christmas eve. >> sandra: i love this time of year. great to be with you. see you monday. thanks for joining us. see you on "the five." i'm sandra smith. >> john: i'm john roberts. "the story" starts right now. >> martha: thank you very much, you guys. good to see you. good afternoon. good to see you, everybody. i'm martha maccallum. leo terrell, katie pavlich dr. robert redfield and more coming up today on "the story." first, the breaking developments this afternoon in the elon musk free speech battle that is hitting home for him today. here's musk back on april 14. the day he made his bid for twitter. >> i think it's very important fo