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♪ ♪ >> we just had about 12 million people enter the country counted by cbp crossing the border illegally. something must be done about what just happened over this last four years. >> we are actually going to have an opportunity to put handcuffs on bad guys under this administration so it is going to be costly, but when you look at the impacts the migrants have caused the american people and themselves. >> we are going to look at what really outweighs the costs come outweighs the risks is really having and removing criminals in the country convicted of crimes, that should be the priority for anybody right now. >> bill: you hear it there. the calls are growing whole lot louder for action to be taken at

our southern border. we are now less than one month away from president-elect donald trump taking office, where he has pledged to put an end to that crisis, which has been almost four years in the making. good evening -- good afternoon, excuse me, thank you for joining us. and bill melugin. anita, great to be with you again. >> anita: it will be evening soon enough, bill. >> bill: we will do it for another hour. >> anita: i'm anita vogel. john roberts and sandra smith have a day off. this is "america reports." these are some of the alleged migrant criminals arrested by i.c.e. after being released. a pillar of trump's campaign was assuring ic could work with local officials to deport dangerous criminals. one example is the 287g program where local agencies across the country are partnering with i.c.e. to enforce immigration laws. >> bill: in the meantime, two governors are taking vastly different approaches when it comes to the southern border. california governor gavin newsom is looking to block trump as texas governor greg abbott is celebrating the success of operation lone star.

terrel county texas chair sheriff coming up and just moments. >> anita: but first brooke taylor has been following this story out of dallas. hi, brooke. >> hi, anita. we have all seen the headlines, illegal migrant charged with a crime despite an i.c.e. hold. in many cases i.c.e. is never notified and in other cases it is just completely ignored. here are some of the cases and just last few weeks. illegal migrants who had to be picked up off the streets by i.c.e. after posting bond and released from jail. their charges ranging from rape to assault. and illegal migrant from el salvador wanted on federal charges of battery on a child. despite immigration detainer i.c.e. be notified al of his release, ignored and simple he roamed the streets. many communities as you just mentioned are resisting president-elect trump's mass

deportation plans, some law enforcement agencies have been stepping up to help. in texas, the rothwell county sheriff's office participates in this program 287g. it allows jails to partner with i.c.e. and train officers to basically ask inmates about their immigration status, something they actually can't do right now. if someone is here illegally, than the jail can notify i.c.e. >> it's another way to protect the public because of going, you know, taking a suspect or someone who has committed a crime and making sure they do make it through the criminal justice system. we promise and it is up to i.c.e. whether they put a holder come them up. >> and the program essentially gives some federal power so they are able to identify these criminal illegal migrants who are already in their jails. this program is nothing new. it has been around for decades.

about 21 states -- 21 departments, i should say, within some states, use this program. but under a new trump administration, it is expected that more jails will be part of this program. anita? >> anita: wow. we will be following that story. we know you will, as well. brooke, thank you for that live report. >> bill: let's bring in terrel county sheriff in texas. you have heard there are shares in jurisdictions across the country who flat out said they are not going to cooperate with i.c.e. and not participate in the 287g program. on a personal level, as sheriff, law enforcement officials, they take the oath to protect the public and their constituents. when you hear these sheriffs who say they are not even going to cooperate with serious cases like aggravated child rapists, what goes through your mind? >> hi, bill, good to see you again. to your point, it is shocking.

and i have said it, you know, for the past two and a half years. unfortunately we have some sheriff's that are more concerned about protecting a vote or securing a vote rather than secure the u.s.-mexico border. here even in the state of texas. look, we take that same oath that i took as u.s. border patrol agent. it is no different. it is to protect our communities, protect the u.s.-mexico border. terrell county, we may not have the amount of traffic they have in eagle pass, would you know very well, or out in el paso, but we are the busiest county between del rio -- and we look forward to continuing our cooperation with the state, as well as the u.s. border patrol here in our county to keep it safe. >> bill: yeah, sheriff, the state of texas have had to spend billions of dollars of their own money, biting administration sued them anytime they tried to do some thing to secure the border. operation lone star, it's been a most four years a bit now, these are the numbers, the state of

texas has apprehended over 520,000 illegal immigrants. they have made a most 50,000 criminal arrests, and they have seized over 600 million lethal doses of fentanyl. sheriff, some democrats in texas have called this program a complete waste of money. what has your experience been with it? >> bill, i'm smiling because it makes me laugh hearing that statement, it is a waste of money. when i was a border patrol agent and this operation kicked off and since i have been the sheriff in my home county, terrell county, governor abbott has done, the resources sent to my county, by way of funds through operation lone star, it has benefited us tremendously. to your point about the administration fighting governor abbott, i like to say this administration has spent more time fighting governor abbott than it has spent fighting the cartels in mexico. there are still a lot of work and needs to be done, and we will continue seeing people crossing this portion of the

border. the cbp and the chn v program being y utilized until president trump comes in office. >> bill: one month from now we have that administration. law enforcement being eager to work with the trump administration. take a listen. >> we are going to see law enforcement, local, state, and federal, want to become an ally with the new administration working together to remove these threats from their states. that is priority number one. i don't see how anyone, i keep repeating this come how anyone can be against that. >> bill: sheriff, last question real quick. i have heard from a whole lot of i.c.e. officers, border patrol agents, and texas dps troopers who feel the sun is coming out after a long storm with this crisis and the new administration. do you feel the same way? >> bill, it certainly is to be a brand-new day. the status of border patrol

station, a thousand apprehensions a year, the highest watermark we had was 417% increase in illegal alien apprehensions right here in terrell county. in that same year, fiscal year 2022, we had in increase in gotaways. it's long overdue. we can't wait. and i tell you what, it's going to be a sight for sore eyes, i'll tell you that. >> bill: sheriff that he is cleveland, thank you for your time today and thank you for your service. >> thank you, bill, god bless you. >> anita: democrats are scrambling after their brutal november loss. marianne williamson just spoke to us about running for dnc chair. is the party ready for a change? fox news contributor byron york will join us on that. >> bill: plus president biden last-minute push for more weapons for ukraine. will he get his wish? as president-elect trump plans a

different approach. >> problems fundamentally happened directly because of the absence of american leadership and american deterrence. you have to convince vladimir putin the cost of continuing this conflict that seems to benefit, and when you don't do that, you get innocents killed all across ukraine.

♪ ♪

with so much great entertainment out there... wouldn't it be easier if you could find what you want, all in one place? my favorites. get xfinity streamsaver with netflix, apple tv+, and peacock included, for only $15 a month. ♪ ♪ >> bill: welcome back. president biden is directing the pentagon to fast-track weapons to ukraine after russia's massive christmas day attack. senior congressional correspondent chad program is in washington with the latest on this. chad, are we hearing any numbers in terms of what president biden wants this time? >> it's a race against time for president biden to boost ukraine, especially since the incoming administration and the

new g.o.p.-controlled congress opposes more assistance for kyiv in its battle against russia. president-elect trump believes the age should stop. >> ukraine prepare for less aid after you are in office? >> probably. sure. >> aid for ukraine is one of the reasons house speaker mike johnson is on thin ice, with some conservatives. he green lit and aid package several months ago that johnson made sure there was no ukraine money in the government funding bill last week. that would have been a poison pill to some republicans. >> what's our plan? what's the objectives? and i've been saying that from the very beginning. i'm a former navy seal. i did 23 years. i never went on a mission without a plan. and yet we are going forward without objectives, without a plan, $200 million plus in a wa. >> mr. trump and his former secretary of state say a lack of leadership from president biden

exacerbated the war in ukraine. they believe europe should be responsible for its own security, rather than the u.s. >> when you don't do that, you get innocents killed all across ukraine for now over two years, coming on three. american leadership is important. that will mean leaving the europeeuropeans to do what is ir backyard, it is a european conflict. president trump understands that. >> the uss sent ukraine billions of dollars since the start of the war. mr. biden says it was an effort to freeze people during the winter. bill? >> bill: it certainly sounds like trump wants to shut the spigot off or at least slow it down when it comes to all that money to ukraine. chad pergram live in d.c., thank you. >> there is a matrix of corporate power that is holding our government hostage. it has turned washington into a

system of legalized bribery. we've always known that the republican party stands for market solutions and being in bed with the corporations. the democratic party is supposed to be a counter to that. and the democratic party over the last few decades has tried to have it both ways, and this is what it has gotten us. the american people no longer feel, the working people of the united states no longer feel the democratic party has my back. >> anita: wow. okay, former 2024 presidential candidate marianne williamson joining us moments ago on why she is running to lead the democratic national committee. let's bring in byron york, fox news contributor and "washington examiner" chief political correspondent peered hey, byron, great to have you in on this, happy holidays to you. >> thank you. >> anita: marianne williamson, she is looking for a big challenge here because the democratic party, by all accounts, appears to be a party in peril. one democrat strategist said there is no leadership right now at the highest levels of the

party. most of the party's messaging will come from hakeem jeffries, house minority leader, but isn't kamala harris supposed to be the head of the demo democratic par? who is it? >> well, there isn't one. this is really not specifically the old of the democratic party. political party does not control the white house or the house or the senate, then they don't have a leader. that is what the democrats, the situation they are going to be incoming next month, and even at this moment, of course, president biden seems to be more out of it then he was even in the past. so they have no one to lead. the only bright spot they have had in the last week or two has been that republicans in the house have so much trouble getting their act together, and they hope -- they, democrats, hope that will help them trip up the republican party in the coming year, but right now there is one leader, and that is the president-elect donald trump,

and democrats don't have anybody to match his stature. >> anita: yeah, that appears to be the case. i want you to take a listen to democratic strategist liz smith on this whole debacle. listen to what she has to say. oh, sorry, i'm going to read this. it's a statement. she says, quote, the democratic brand is in the toilet. many of the democrats who succeeded this cycle our best ever over performers in house races, pri people who ran against the democratic brand. byron, is that true? >> it is. when you have a party have a big loss like this, you are always going to have a bunch of different opinions about what to do. you are going to have some people who say you know, we really just had a messaging problem. we don't really have a problem with our policies, it is just communications. in this case, you are going to have some democrats say we went too far to the left.

we just went too far to the left. other democrats say, no, no, we need to go farther to the left. i think marianne williamson may want to do that. so they have to have this debate. and they are going to have this debate in the context of a new president, who's got a lot of ideas about what he wants to do really fast, coming into washington with a new program, and they are going to have to try to figure out, democrats are, are they going to oppose everything that donald trump does? are they going to work with him on some of these things? what are they going to do? and right now they really have no answers. >> anita: yeah, they are going to have to figure it out, pretty fast. back to marianne williamson for a moment. she has announced her run for the dnc chair. she does have some competition. let's put those folks up on the screen. these are all democratic party insiders. they are former officeholders, behind the scenes players, so

they are not necessarily household names like she is, but they know how the party works. she's the only outsider in this group. does she stand any chance here? >> well, i'm going to step way out on a limb and say no. [laughs] marianne williamson is not going to be the next chair of the democratic party. you've got martin o'malley, who is a longtime democratic, "politico" from merrill lynch, former governor. you not have the party chairman of both minnesota and wisconsin in the running for this which is probably pretty smart idea because if democrats have been able to win wisconsin, they might have actually won the election. you are going to have a contest for the february 1st election for the dnc chair. you are going to have a contest among people who actually had some background in the party and people who have actually held positions in the party. >> anita: yeah, yeah. all right, byron york, thank you

so much for your insights today. happy holidays to you, and we will see you soon. >> thank you. >> bill: winter storms are expected to slow down holiday travelers out there so coming up, we will talk about which areas are expected to be hit the hardest. >> anita: plus cease-fire talks between hamas and israel are inching forward. is there hope for a new deal or a deal in the new year? former israeli ambassador to the u.s. michael warren will join us next.

♪ ♪ >> bill: welcome back. cease-fire talks are slowly inching forward between israel and hamas. major sticking points include the release of hostages as well as the withdrawal of israeli troops from gaza. this as israel carries out more air strikes on the gaza strip. former israeli ambassador to the united states michael oren joins us in just a few moments, but first we're going to send it live to chief foreign correspondent trey yingst in tel aviv today. trey, what are you hearing about

a potential for a deal on the horizon? >> yeah, hey, bill come good afternoon. as the entire region waits to see if there will be a cease-fire between israel and hamas, today the israelis struck back against the hooties in yemen. explosions rocked the capital city of sanaa, with idf fighter jets overhead. the israelis they these strikes that targeted the main airport in the city in addition to power plants were in response to continued ballistic missile and drone attacks against their country. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu oversaw the strikes alongside his chief of staff and israeli defense minister israel katz. >> interpreter: we are determined to cut off his terrorist arm of iran's axis of evil. we will persist until we complete the job. >> the strikes come as today marks day 447 of the war between israel and hamas as diplomatic efforts continue. reports say both sides are accusing the other side of

adding or changing positions with the ongoing conversation facilitated by the qataris and egyptians. egypt's foreign minister spoke about the negotiations this week, saying this. >> interpreter: certainly at the heart of the arab cause was most important in the palestinian cause and the catastrophic conditions in the gaza strip and the efforts made by egypt in cooperation with qatar to quickly reach an agreement stipulating an immediate cessation of the israel aggression, a cease-fire, and a full and unconditional access to aid the gaza strip. >> while these conversations take place, israel is continuing to strike gaza. overnight, five palestinians were killed while in a van rocked with the wordpress. the israeli meant military claimed they were members of islamic jihad while photos acting as journalists. there are still dozens of israeli hostages still alive inside gaza and th there are hos

to bring them home. >> bill: i can't imagine what it is like for the families waiting for information on their loved ones. 447 days, as you said, hopefully a deal can get cut soon and those hostages make it home to their families. trey yingst live in tel aviv, thank you. >> anita: for more on this, let's bring in michael oren, former israeli ambassador to the u.s. ambassador, thank you so much for joining us today. i hope you were able to enjoy hanukkah yesterday. i want to ask you, there is a lot of finger-pointing as we heard in trey's report between israel and hamas about a potential cease-fire deal and the possible release of hostages. what can you tell us about where things stand right now? >> good to be with you, anita come and happy holiday to all of your viewers. it is very difficult to determine where anything stands right now, whether there is a deal on the table or whether there is a table at all. we are not even certain who is calling the shots with hamas after the major leaders of hamas likes to more were eliminated.

it's not clear who is even making the did decisions on the hamas side but basically hamas wants them to -- that will allow them to basically retake the gaza strip and mount another october 7th because that is what their leaders pledged to do, 10,000 october 7ths until israel is destroyed. israel willing to pay a price to get a hostages back. israeli parents say we will not be able to send our kids to the army of the hostages are not returned. it is not just a moral issue, it is a strategic issue. the question is what price? withdraw forces when hamas win the war? or the government would prefer let us have a time-limited cease-fire for six weeks of a cease-fire, for example, give us 30 hostages. and that is where the negotiations are stuck right now. on the length of the cease-fire,

the number of hostages that could be released, and in addition to all of that, the number of palestinian terrorist prisoners in our jails we have to release in order to convince hamas to lease our hostages. >> anita: that was my next question, would there be a prisoner swap is part of the deal? palestinian terrorist hostages being released in exchange for israeli and american hostages being held? is that part of the deal? >> indeed. it always has been part of a deal. but understand the difficulties, in releasing was terrorists, they have killed israelis. you have to explain to the families of the people they killed why their loved ones are still on the ground and these guys will go home and get a hero's welcome. explained to the soldiers who risked their lives, may be gave their lives to arrest the terrorists, why they are going free and what that means for our national morale, and even our justice system. none of these issues are easy, exquisitely painful but i will stress, we understand we have to pay a price for hostages. we are willing to pay painful price. but we don't want to pay a price

which in the long run is going to cost more israeli deaths result in more hostagetaking. >> anita: yes, i understand. president trump has been pretty strong, he has had some pretty strong language about this whole thing. he has set up the hostages are not released by january 20th, there will be hell to pay in the middle east. there is his post on truth social. in response to that, ruby chan, the father of one of the hostages, hh chen, had this to say about what president-elect trump said right there, take a listen. >> we are very thankful to president-elect trump, statement on social media, we are missing that type of language. that said, it is unacceptable and there will be hell to pay if the hostages are not out by january 20th. the president-elect's statement showing the fact that u.s. hostages are taken and kept, who

takes u.s. citizens and can get away from that? you need to make that stop. >> anita: a completely different approach than what we have heard from the biden administration. what are your thoughts on that exchange right there? >> but i especially liked about president trump's tweet is he said hell is going to be paid but doesn't mention who is going to be paying that hell. we found much to our frustration and pain that the more military pressure we put on hamas does not result in hamas releasing hostages, it results in hamas executing hostages. who is behind hamas? what is the one country the major sponsor and backer of hamas the it is iran. president trump is saying -- may well be saying this, that hamas was going to have to pay that hell, the buck is going to end not in gaza but in tehran. that would be very welcome indeed by the people of israel. >> anita: we all hope the gossage is will come home soon.

they have been in captivity not far too long. what else can you say about that? investor michael oren, happy holidays and thank you for joining us. >> bill: anita, prosecutors are missing a number of mistakes in their case against democrat bob menendez. the former new jersey senator end up getting a new criminal trial. analysis on deck. >> anita: one nonprofit providing warmth and shelter to hurricane helene victims in north carolina this winter. >> three months here, so much as a country, every rocket ship the size of them all to outer space and planets, but having a hard time getting people drinking water right here in western north carolina. wait, did you rob my bank? sharing is caring, bro! let's make like dice and roll. ♪

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>> anita: welcome back. well, in in out apparently forced to close a location in oakland due to rising crime. the heiress who runs the burger chain says her workers had to deal with rampant crime, including shootings and stabbings. >> it was absolutely dangerous. there was 365 days, almost 300 days, there was some type of event. >> oakland. >> in oakland, yeah. the amount of time it would take the police to get there, too, was alarming. >> anita: wow. oakland has has seen an ongoing surge in crime with armed robberies and vehicle break-ins earlier this year. democratic governor gavin newsom recently deployed 120 california highway patrol officers to the city. well, that is going to be a bummer for a lot of people in oakland because people love in-n-out. >> bill: californians are fed up with the crime out here, and look what just happened with prop 36 and election, passed

with about 70% of the vote. for those at home we don't know, that reversed california prop 37, soft on crime law. if you steal something $950 in value, that is gone for the most part. californians were fed up with that and you can feel the tide shifting a little bit. >> anita: they spoke with a loud voice this election. >> bill: they certainly did. other news, could disgraced former new jersey senator bob menendez get a new trial? well, his attorneys are seeking just that as prosecutors admit to a series of big-time errors that could upend his guilty verdict and maybe even allow him to walk free. mark eiglarsh is a criminal defense attorney kind enough to join us. mark, thanks for coming on, looking forward to hearing your insight here. it looks like federal prosecutors inadvertently gave jurors access to evidence that a judge ruled they shouldn't have seen in the first place, so to tu up. this is what "politico" are reporting, a little lengthy, they say, quote, putting to

halloween records on halloween day, prosecutors started to realize they had put evidence on a laptop they shouldn't have. they revealed the mistake to the judge in mid-november, menendez and his codefendants requested trial. while they were waiting for the judge to rule, they revealed another set of mistakes. jurors had access to several long text message threads that prosecutors said contained small portions of material that a judge has said should not be admitted into evidence. markham a scale of 1-10, how bad to the federal prosecutors grew up here? >> i would say nine. that doesn't mean he has a 9 out of 10 chance of getting a new trial. they admitted this was colossal. jurors should never see evidence unless it's legally and properly admitted. and this specific stuff, the judge had ruled was inadm inadmissible. but the question is, did they see it? did they see it?

3,000 documents they had on a laptop, and we don't know that they saw any of them. in fact, the defense lawyers and prosecutors who reviewed these exhibits, they missed it before he went back to the jury room, so i'm not sure even the prosecutors saw it, but that is the first hurdle. the second hurdle is, all right, if they did see it, is this significant error? a judge can still say, all right, it is error, but it is what we call harmless, meaning there are so much other evidence of guilt that we're just going to blow this one off. >> bill: so if you are menendez's defense attorneys, what do you do with this information? >> oh, i'm livid. i tell everybody. i'm outraged! and then i say, you know what, still, the appellate court is not in the business of really reversing a lot of convictions, so i've got to manage my clients expectations. i would come at a minimum, ask the judge to conduct an inquiry, bring the jurors in, find out,

did they actually see this stuff? and if they did, how much did they rely upon it? and if so, this is a denial of due process. and whether you like menendez or not, everyone of us should care about the constitution. everyone of us should care about everyone getting a fair trial. the minute you don't care about menendez, then what is your chance or your family member needs protection under the law, well, nobody really cares. >> bill: look, defense certainly had the goods on them, we remember that press conference where they had the stacks of gold bars. he was convicted, sentencing next year. in your opinion, the material uncovered, could we be looking at a mistrial or some world where he potentially gets off on this? >> i think the worst that could happen for prosecutors is that the judge makes a finding that this is significant error, and then he just has a new trial. he doesn't walk. no one is saying the prosecutors intentionally tried to pull a fast one. they were the ones who revealed the error.

so at worst the judge could say that it wasn't a fair trial and simply retry him. the evidence is still the same. the evidence is still overwhelming. and a jury still found proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed the acts alleged. >> bill: last question: where do you personally see this going? >> well, it's hard to know whether jurors even saw the stuff, so i need to be honest and credible with you, i would say that if jurors, if there is evidence that jurors saw the stuff, then he's got a better chance on appeal. if there is no evidence that the even saw it, then so what? >> bill: good points right there. that's why we love your insight. mark, things are coming out today. happy holidays. >> thank you. happy holidays. >> it was sad not being our own home for thanksgiving. you know, we are all homesick. >> thanks to the generosity of friends and friends of friends we are house hopping around. until we see if we get that

housing allowance. >> the hurricane came through here, helene, and flood, this end got completed wiped out. >> i'm just going to take want to at a time is what i've come to grips with. >> anita: some victims of hurricane helene. operation anchor is one group on the ground helping families who lost everything to rebuild. operating a mountain community about 40 miles north of asheville. danamarie mcnicholl has more. hey, dana marie. >> hi, anita. 27 homes in green mountain were washed away by hurricane helene and tragically a young couple has lost their lives in the flooding's, but volunteers have been working through the holiday season to rebuild their home and their legacy.

>> it's a tight-knit community. one person passes, it affects everybody. >> they were in their 30s and lived with three children. they were not in the home when the hurricane hit and survived. once t the home is built by operation anchor we are told it will become a safe haven where families who lost their own homes can live. operation anchor has made it their mission to not only rebuild their home, but anyone affected by the catastrophic flooding. >> when we run out of money, we've got supplies, and we'll figure out how to make it to the jobs and we will figure out how to keep repairing. we might not build a house, but we can repair a house. and that's what we'll do. we'll keep going. >> that was stephen lemberg, who said most are left with big mortgages to pay since many didn't have flood insurance. they tell us a 1400 square-foot home cost about $42,000 for the foundation and shall.

supplies are being donated, but the heart of the project is the manual later done 100% by volunteers, whether they have experience in construction or not. >> i can tell you personally that if this happened in my house, i couldn't afford to rebuild, and i don't know how many families in the country could afford to rebuild without no help right now. i mean, you have to understand, these people are getting absolutely nothing. >> and stephen thinks it will take about three to four years until this community will go back to normal. he says they are looking for people to directly sponsor the rebuilding of people's homes and operation anchor can make those connections. anita? >> anita: wow, what a great organization and thank goodness for them because those people really need help. danamarie mcnicholl, thank you so much for that live report on the ground. you know, bill, that hurricane took place the top or 24th. two months ago. and people are still in dire

straits. >> bill: how much money we sent around the world while months later we have this on our front door. thankfully congress didn't pass that spending bill, money going to the disaster. >> anita: it did take a long time but help finally on the way. >> bill: holiday shopping hitting a new high but now it $900 billion issue impacting retailers. more on that next. ♪ ♪

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when kids play outside, it increases their motor skills and reduces stress. but sometimes it's hard to get them out there. try something that's hard to say no to, like bubbles. it works every time. ♪ ♪ >> anita: all right, well, millions are starting the track home after the christmas holiday but it may not be smooth sailing

with heavy rain and snow in some parts of the country. fox weather meteorologist dane menards joins us now. jane, how is it looking out there for the holiday travel? >> oh, anita, i wish i could bring better news but texas has been a problem today. houston, dallas, we have been in delay central, cancellations, too. houston, things will get worse from here is the severe weather threat ramps up into the evening. right now dallas over 650 delays, cancellations even worse, canceling close to 500. 7,000 delays across the country, which outside of that severe weather risk, east coast looks good, we are seeing volume delays here, west coast gearing up for our next atmospheric river taking into night in northern california and that leads up into portland, seattle, but anita, i really want to focus on the severe weather risk. level 3 threat for houston, texas, the next several hours, expecting potential for to

nato's, damaging winds come all of this is going to come in a really inopportune time. flight delays, traveling on interstates is going to be tough, we have the watches until 7:00 p.m. from houston all the way up to texarkana for these damaging threats. this severe weather threat as it marches its way eastward should begin to die in overnight so we will see improving conditions. back to an isolated threat on friday but back on the board for severe weather risks going into the weekend across the south, anita, going to cause troubles for traveling in a nonresponse like atlanta. >> anita: oh, boy. we will keep the people in houston in our thoughts. thank you so much for that, jane minar, appreciate it. bill? >> bill: the holiday season's record-breaking shopping frenzy now in the rearview mirror but return lines are about to get just as crazy. fox business' jeff flock is in new jersey to unwrap all of the aftermath, amazing live shot to

the escalator. what kind of numbers are we talking behind holiday returns? >> you know, we have been all over this mall today, bill, and it's a most as busy as it was on black friday. take a look at the number we think will be returned this year in the u.s., $890 billion, with a b, that is about 16% of all the stuff that is returned. crazy stuff. it's important. returns are important. 84% of people surveyed said they want to return at the mall. 76% say it is a key factor, the return policy. 68% say that is retailers that they are going to upgrade their policies. it all goes to senior general manager of the mall, the little brook mall, this is a huge day. >> it is a real big day. people have returns. people have gift cards, and they are ready to get themselves something nice. >> interesting. go ahead and show them the line.

we have minds for people to buy stuff and then we have people to return stuff, as you report. bill, back to you. >> bill: jeff, impressive timing with the escalator live shot, but an 8-second window to hit that as you hit it perfectly, that was great. nice job out there. we will be right back.

>> it's been great to be with you today. believe it or not for the viewers at home it's our first time meeting. we've just been passing ship some out of town so much and you're out of town to finally be with us. >> it's crazy we've never met and we've talked of the television before but good to be with you in person it's been a great two hours into it again tomorrow. >> sounds good to me let's do it. >> in just a few minutes the story will start with jackie heinrich in for martha. stay tuned. >> good afternoon everyone and