hello, everybody. welcome to a brand-new hour inside america's news headquarters. >> juliet: good to see you. happy saturday. topping the news. president obama wraps up the nato summit and a meeting with afghan's karzai and he says he's confident the u.s. will be able to go ahead with his troop pullout beginning in july. we'll get a full report. >> rick: also, the vatican opening the door to what has

been a taboo topic for the catholic church and the pope changes his stance on an issue in which none of his predecessors had ever yielded before. we'll go live to rome for a report. >> juliet: and 'tis the season for serious holiday travel. we'll get the until weather as millions take to the skies, railway, buses, this weekend before thanksgiving. >> rick: on capitol hill, no action yet on the battle over extending the bush era tax cuts set to expire december 31 and the lame duck congress doesn't act fast, your taxes, everybody's taxes, are going to go way up come january. molly henneberg live in d.c good to see you. republicans say the democrats aren't moving fast enough on extending those tax cuts. what's going on? >> hi, rick. yes, because the end of the year is coming quickly and the end of the lame duck session of congress is coming even faster. and republicans say preventing everyone's taxes from going up

on january 1 should be the first order of business. here is more. >> americans don't think we should be raising taxes on anybody, especially in the middle of a recession. but instead of giving americans what they want, democratic leaders plan to use the last few days that lawmakers expect to spend in washington this year focusing on everything except preventing this tax hike which will cost us even more jobs. >> there are a number of legislative items that democratic leaders have set they may consider in the waning days of the 111th congress, besides the tax cuts. for example, congress has to pass the resolution by december 3 to continue funding government agencies. democrats also would like to consider the dream act, which would mandate in state tuition for children of illegal immigrants. and also they want to try to end don't ask don't tell in the military. rick? >> rick: the democrats say it's hypocritical for republicans, who are in favor of cutting spending and helping the deficit

to be in favor of extending all of these tax cuts. what do republicans say to that? >> well, democrats, they're talking -- you're talk being how much money the democrats say it will cost to extend all these tax cuts. the top senate democrat harry reid says if the tax cuts are extended to families making over $250,000, then the deeply in debt federal government won't take in about $4 trillion over the next ten years. take a listen. >> we have to be very, very careful extending things indefinitely because we have to focus on what the economy may be future. we'll have a number of different variations to how we are going to proceed on the $250,000 tax. >> senator reit suggested two votes on the matter. possibly one to extend all the bush tax cuts as republicans want, but with democrats in the majority, that may not pass. then a second vote in some way limiting the tax cuts possibly not extending them to families making over that $250,000

threshold. senator mcconnell has said, republicans want one vote on tax cuts, but they are willing to compromise or consider a compromise on how long the tax cuts are extended. rick? >> rick: molly henneberg in washington for us, thank you. >> juliet: let's continue this conversation, shall we? with the tax vote in a stalemate, republicans are reminding americans that the president and his party did agree to a compromise. so does mr. obama need to be more forceful on the issue. joining us is the executive director of the gop political action committee, gopac and democratic consultant, great to see you guys. first of all, let's get your personal thoughts. let's start off with a bang. should we extend or expire? i'll start with you. >> i think there is a level of agreement that we're just not addressing here, that both democrats and republicans want the tax cuts to be extended for 98% of americans.

the disagreement is when you look at the top 2% and democrats and president obama was very strong on this in the campaign and i do think he needs to be more forceful here. i think we're heading toward the compromise, but if president obama caves in on this completely, then i would go as far as to say then he would deserve to lose in 2012. >> juliet: david, your thoughts on that, but also senator mcconnell said today the stimulus was a failure and he suggests basically to alleviate some of the culpability, the democrats need to extend. >> this is an opportunity for the president, who, by his own words, said that his party got a shellacking in this last election and here is san opportunity for him to stand up for the other side of his party and say look, we need to keep tax rates where they are. when you think about -- and she mentioned the top 2% -- those people right around 250,000, 300,000, those are small

business owners. those are the people that create 85% of jobs in america. increase their tax rate and they're not going to be able to create jobs. they're not going to be able to expand their businesses. it's only going to make our recession worse. >> juliet: also, mcconnell says extending is the single best way to create jobs and get the economy going. >> i agree small business owners need as much help as possible. some of the conversation is do we extend the upper level or for a temporary period of time? why don't we look at a compromise that would simply be extending it for 3% of that top 2% that are actually small business owners, because the reality is, not all of the top 2% are small business owners. let's give that extension to the small business owners, but not give it to all of the millionaires and billionaires who, interestingly enough this week, there were a number of stories of a number of

millionaires coming out and saying, they didn't want these tax cuts. let's give it to the small business owners and let's be realistic about what the vote was in the midterm election. there was a shellacking, but it was about the deficit and about the economy and you can't be fighting the deficit and also taking away $4 trillion in the next ten years. it's just -- you can't have both. >> juliet: david? >> the tax rates are where they are. this is about are we going to increase taxes? we say let's not increase taxes. let's not make the burden more. the antigrowth side of the democratic party wants to always talk about raising taxes on the wealthiest americans. we are consumer economy and any time tax rates go up on any american, they spend less. when we spend less, less jobs are created. the only way to get jobs going in america is to keep tax rates where they are. if this congress doesn't do it, the next congress most certainly will.

they'll get the credit with the american people and the president will miss an opportunity want to go do something good for america. >> juliet: do you agree that extending is the single best way to get the economy going again? what other ways are there? >> well, cutting spending. the messages that came out of election, they don't want taxes raised and they want government spending cut. there are any number of ways. you look at what congressman jim jordan of ohio, congressman paul recent, cantor. there are hundreds of thousands of programs that they're talk being that we could cut that wouldn't affect the daily functions of government, that would continue paying for the things we need to pay for and yet, would improve the bottom line of government and the american lives. >> juliet: something that senator mcconnell said that sort of surprised me, he

basically said that before all these folks go off on their christmas vacation, he suggested the democrats are focusing on things that are just not priorities, just not important. he says immigration, don't ask don't tell, reorganizing the f.d.a., more environmental regulations. i heard immigration and i thought, not a priority? that was a little surprising to me. >> i think that the fact that they're going on vacation december 11, i think they should be working for a lot longer before their christmas vacations. immigration is absolutely a priority and i think there is way more than enough time for them to get through all of this business and probably a lot more business that they waited on to get past the midterm election. but going back to the tax cuts, i think we have to be truthful here. if you're talking about jobs, we have -- it's proven that these tax cuts over an eight-year period did nothing or very little to help increase jobs in

this country. so to then say, well, it will help this time around when we saw a very, very small meager contribution to jobs through the initial tax cuts and how we got here to begin with, that's just not a realistic argument. >> juliet: we got to get going. i appreciate both of you for joining us today. >> thanks. >> rick: i think that david cut spending when it came to his tie budget. did you notice that? >> juliet: what? is he there? >> rick: david cut his budget on his tie budget. >> nobody wear has tie on saturday. >> juliet: exactly. except for you. >> rick: maybe i should take mine off. chuck schumer proposed raising the threshold to a million. maybe that's where they end up. >> juliet: l's bring those folks back. >> rick: remember, you can get all the latest on the fight over tax cuts and a whole lot more,

log on to our web site for the latest word on what your elected leaders are going to do with your money. >> juliet: all right. you voted them out and now they're heading home. a number of congressional members are packing it up on capitol hill, leaving behind loads of office furniture, plenty of mementos. our fox news crews got an inside look. here is julie kirtz reporting. >> the halls of congress looked like a dump because they pretty much are. before the new congress can get to work, the old congress needs to move out. this generates a lot of trash every two years. so-called office resupply locations, a fancy name for piles of old binders and papers appear in the hallways on the hill. it's all free for the taking if you still have a job in congress, or if you're just starting out here. we caught up with retiring congressman patrick kennedy, who is not only packing up his office, but packing up a chapter in american politics that dates back to 1946. that's when john f. kennedy won

a house seat in massachusetts. each year since then, at least one member of the kennedy family has been in the white house or congress. >> i had months to pack the stuff up, prioritize it, label it and get it ready. in fact, i've already had a moving truck already move most of it out and that was prior to the election 'cause i already knew i was leaving. >> of course, a lot of members not choose to go move out but getting deseated in the sweep. a political transition and a messy one, if you walk around capitol hill. some of the mess gets recycled. some of it shredded and the rest, for the most part hill staffers have the job of coding everything worth keeping in bubble wrap and sending it back home. the lame duck congress has legislative work to face in its final week after the thanksgiving break, like politically tricky action on the bush era tax cuts and you need more of an office supply to do that. >> juliet: thanks very much.

>> rick: switching gear, pope benedict broadening the vatican's position on what has been a very controversial issue for the catholic church, saying the use of condoms may be justified in some cases, like preventing the spread of aids. it's a shocking comment considering the church has long opposed condom use across the board. the holy father making the comment in a new book that is set to hit book stores next week. greg is streaming live from rome with the latest on this. what's the reaction been? >> rick, quite interesting. obviously people are hugely interested in this because for the most part, the church has held a pretty strong line. there have been voices here and there saying condoms would be okay, but for the most part, the vatican has been very strong in holding the line. that may be changing a little bit here anyway, especially because it is the pope himself speaking. the pope's new book "light of the world" will be coming out next week. there were excerpts today in the

vatican newspaper, including this really very explosive one of the pope saying that the use of condoms could be justified in certain circumstances. he used the example of a prostitute, but he says the church still does not think today that condoms are the solution to the aids crisis. this has been a hotly debated subject, both in and outside the church. inside the church, several years ago, there was a special commissior formed to try to study this issue. they could not come to a conclusion. there was talk of some time that they were ready to publish that. they clearly were not. the pope letting out a bit in this book, but i think it's really going to be the start of the debate because it certainly has to be developed. finally, there was some other news today. there are 24 new cardinals in the catholic church, including two americans, one archbishop raymond berk. he had been in st. louis. he's working in the high court in rome. he became famous for talking about john kerry and other catholic politician, they should not be receiving communion, seen

as one of the arch conservatives. and donald whirl of dc. >> rick: on the condommish, a lot -- issue, a lot of people thought it would help with family planning. what are the other circumstances, according to the excerpts from this book that, have been published where the pope says that condom use might be okay? >> well, he actually has not gotten into it past the idea of the male prostitute. and you can actually tell that he's very reluctant to say that, too, because he said this could be the first step in a moralization. obviously other catholics have argued that married couple, if somebody has aids, a condom would be legitimate or could be. so it will be very interesting to see where it goes from here. the pope in terms of concrete examples just gave that one, the use of a prostitute. there will be some debate there because in the german and english talks about a male prostitute, but the italian

version, it used the woman prostitute. the problems, of course, with translation. but people are going to be picking through that. >> rick: greg streaming live from rome, italy. thanks very much. >> juliet: president obama meeting afghan president karzai for the first time since may and clarifying his afghan war policy today in lisbon, saying he's confident he'll go ahead with the u.s. troop withdrawal plan being in july of 2011. and handing over control to afghan forces. but the president says the u.s. role is harder to nail down beyond 2014. we'll have a full report from nato summit in lisbon, portugal later in the hour. >> rick: a u.s. army appeals court granting a stay in the trial of a soldier serving in afghanistan. private first class andrew holmes of boise, idaho, was charged with killing three afghan civilians early this year. four others are accused. his attorney says the army is banning gruesome photographs from the trial which he says

would prove holmes is innocent. the lawyer is asking that the army let him use the pictures as evidence. the court ordering a halt in the trial so the army can respond to that request. >> juliet: chilling details in the murder of a family in ohio. the bodies were dismembered when they were found inside a hollowed out tree. the remains of the family dog were also found inside that tree as well. the coroner says all three were stabbed to death. >> rick: big storms developing across the country threatening the holiday travel plans of millions of americans as we head into thanksgiving week. on top of crowded flights and long security lines at airports, a nasty mix of snow and rain and chilly cold temperatures are on the way. maria live in the fox extreme weather center. people who are about to hit the road don't want to hear this. >> no, and actually we do have parts of i-90 closed in montana. that specifically in columbus.

major problems out there, not what we want to hear. it's only gog get worse. this major storm that's basically bringing in a lot of storms out west. parts of montana. this is going to continue to slowly move eastward. you can see that circulation right off the coast of oregon and also northern california and this storm has some very cold air and also very strong winds. actually across western utah. we're expecting wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour. it's not just the amount of snow that we're seeing with this system, like five feet high elevation, but gusty winds. drifting along local roadways and white out conditions possible. we have 11 states currently looking at winter storm advisories in effect. some warnings are out for parts of california. that will be a major problem. as we move further eastward, we do have some avalanche watches in effect specifically across parts of utah and also colorado.

so late tonight into tomorrow, that will be a concern. while the snow is good news for skiers, use precaution. the two states as avalanches will be possible coming up on sunday. how much are we talking here? check this out. the accumulation, all of these states expecting a lot of snow. not rust in the mountains. even across parts of northern minnesota and north dakota and once again, feet. we're talking here across the mountains of california. >> rick: all right. maria, thanks so much. >> juliet: a major u.s. city face what is is being called a catastrophic failure of the water system, ordering all the residents there to boil all the water. we'll tell you where that is. >> rick: important news straight ahead. rescue workers struggling to reach 29 trapped coal miners in new zealand after a massive explosion a couple of days ago. the experts say the top threat to the miners right now is another explosion as families hold out hope for a miracle.

>> it breaks her heart.

>> juliet: a look at some of the headlines. russian president medvedev

agreeing to take part in nato missile defense system in europe he said he'll promise to stand cooperation. president obama reacting to frustrated travelers concerned with the new security screening at some airports. he says the current procedures are the only ones security officials consider most effective to guard against terrorism. new orleans mayor is ordering more than 300,000 people to boil their water until sunday afternoon. the order is coming as a precaution after it was a power failure at the city's main treatment plant. >> rick: poisonous gasses are delaying rescue teams from entering a coal mine and reaching 29 trapped miners. a powerful blast trapping the miners on friday. rescuers will stay on stand-by until it's safe. family members clinging to hope. joining us is a correspondent o for global radio news. roger, what was the last time

that officials had contact with the trapped miners? >> well, they haven't had contact at all, not since the explosion, which was more than 36 hours ago now. at the moment, the fate of those 29 miners remains unknown. the rescuers, however, say they're remaining positive about the outcome. the problem is that the rescue team itself cannot get into the shaft because of the danger of poisonous gasses, including carbon monoxide and methane and until the police decide it's safe to go in, it cannot be certain whether these men are dead or alive. at this moment, we can see the mining company is preparing to drill about 120-meters from the surface down into the mine so as to test the quality of the air inside and possibly, hopefully make verbal contact with the miners. but that could take at least another 16 hours to complete. we're unlikely to know the exact fate of these men until probably

tomorrow at the earliest. >> rick: we should remind our viewers that in chile, it was a good two weeks plus before there was any contact. so just because they haven't been able to talk to them, doesn't mean the news is bad. i understand they've been pumping or trying to pump some fresh air down into the mine shaft in order to help the air quality. is that right? >> that is correct. we do know that a compressor is still pumping air into the mine and the temperature down in the mine is probably in about the mid 70s fahrenheit. conditions should be bearable if they're still alive. although there was an initial blast caused by a fire ball which ripped through past the shafters it's possible that the miners were in another part of the mine and therefore, shielded from the explosion. that means they could be sheltering somewhere waiting for the rescuers to arrive. but at the moment, there has been no contact with them whatsoever. there is a telephone line down into the mine. that's been ringing and there has been no answer sadly.

>> the u.s. secretary of state, hillary clinton, with a comment out today about the tragedy in new zealand and she has gone on the record talking about this. she says our prayers are with the missing miners and their families after the november 19 explosion at the pipe river mine in new zealand. she goes on to say that the u.s. stands ready to provide technical assistance if necessary and then she talks about the courage and resilience of new zealanders that she witnessed firsthand after a recent earthquake in christ church in new zealand. this is a country that has seen its share of natural disasters and some problems over the last several months, roger. has the government of new zealand reached out to the u.s. or any other foreign government and asked for help at this point? >> certainly it's considering offers of international assistance from america and from australia. in fact, a party of men engineers arrived from australia to stand by to help if need be.

rather depends how long this emergency goes on for, whether those extra people from overseas will be really required. at the moment, the focus apart from the pipe itself, which is about 40-kilometers from gray mount, the focus is on the town where all these relatives and friends are. and the mood among the people there is obviously growing increasingly anxious. some are demanding the rescue teams go in now. but the police say they just are not prepared to take that sort of risk. incidentally, the mining company has ferried some members of each family up to the mine in the past few hours so that they can talk direct to engineers and to rescuers about the possibility of the men folk being found alive and tell them exactly what's going on to try to rescue them. so the mining company doing all they can to try to deal with this situation, but at the present time, it's just a case of waiting and seeing. >> rick: and another difference between the situation in new zealand and the one in chile is

that there was only one way out of that mine in chile and when there was the explosion there, that exit was blocked off. there are actually two ways out of this mine in new zealand. so hopefully that could potentially make a difference as teams there on the ground do all they can to try to get to these miners and rescue them. roger maynard, a correspondent, joining us live on the telephone. thanks so much. >> thank you. >> juliet: president obama is heading home after an important summit with nato leaders and mapping out the next chapter in the war in afghanistan. the very latest from portugal coming up next. >> rick: also, the holiday shopping season is officially here. the big question is, have you begun your shopping? >> juliet: first of all, it hasn't been thanksgiving. so how is it here? >> rick: the big question is, will americans spend their hard earned cash or hold back? >> juliet: lot of pressure. >> rick: a brand-new poll, results that might surprise you. stick around. >> juliet: black friday, you ever heard of that?

>> rick: bottom of the hour, here are the top headlines. pope benedict says there are times when the use of condoms may be justified using the example of prostitutes trying to stop the spread of aids. pope benedict making the comments in a book that will be published next week. former senator carol moseley-braun flowing her hat in the ring of a chicago mayor race. she says she made history when she was elected in 1992 as the first african-american woman in the u.s. senate. transportation security administration, the tsa, letting uniformed pilots skip those body scans and aggressive pat-downs that everybody is upset about. they must show foe i.d.

>> juliet: president obama is wrapping up his visit to portugal. he met with karzai and clarified the timetable for u.s. troop withdrawal next year. mike emmanuel is traveling with the president and high school -- has the report. >> they were able to spell out their priorities for afghanistan with a transition beginning next year and hopefully the end of combat operations in four years. president obama and afghan president karzai were able to talk about their priorities with afghan forces taking the lead in more peaceful provinces next year. u.s. officials and karzai had dustups which mr. obama explained is understandable because afghanistan is a sovereign country, but he did say when the u.s. is spending tremendous resources in afghanistan, that partnership is a two way street. later the president offered this assessment of the afghan war. >> the fact of the matter is over the last year we made progress and i expect we're

going to make more progress next year and will not be without occasional controversies and occasional jeopardies. >> the president says it is the goal to make sure the u.s. and nato are not still engaged in combat operations for years from now. but the commander in chief did not rule out the possibility of more fighting, noting it is vitally important to protect the united states. bottom line, 2014 is a goal and not a guarantee. >> certainly our footprint will have been significantly reduced, but beyond that, it's hard to anticipate exactly what is going to be necessary. >> but certainly there will be a u.s. presence there after 2014. the president talked about the need to have counterterrorism platforms there. traveling with the president in lisbon, mike emmanuel, fox news. >> rick: the president focused on the economy and so are retailers. while the overall economy remains sluggish, there is a poll that shows most americans plan to spend more this holiday season than they did last year. there is still a third of the

population that say they're holding on tight to their purse strings. what does all this mean for the economy? joining us is david nelson, ceo of asset management, always good to see you. most of us dream of a white christmas. retailers dream of a green christmas. are they going to get it? >> i think the operative word is we are seeing a modest recovery. we have seen some of the retailers report and the numbers have been expected. but i think it's important to point out that what we're seeing in the economy, rick, is we're seeing a two tiered recovery. at the high end of the earning stream, then you'll see strong spending. if you're middle class and employed, then you'll see an uptick. but if you're the low end and you're living on the edge and don't have is a job, then it's going to be pretty tough. it's going to be very hard for them. >> rick: we'll talk about the different income levels and the folks who are still looking for a job or who have been out of work for some time. they're not going to be spending a whole lot. when you talk about this poll that we mentioned, two-thirds of

the people say they'll spend more than they did last year. what does that tell you about the economy overall? >> it's better. i think it's fair to say that. is this robust? no, i don't think it is. if you ask many americans, they'll say it isn't. they're spending more. when you average it out, the high spend higher and the low spend lower and in the middle it's about the same. it's modest. let's not go overboard. we talked good numbers. and i'm particularly interested in what the high end will do later this week. >> rick: these are the folks who the president would like to have their taxes go up and the argument is that if we raise taxes on the biggest earners in the country, that there is sort of a trickle down effect and it really is not good overall for the economy. first of all, what does it mean for holiday spending if you're rich, you probably are going to go out and shop regardless of whether your taxes are going up

or not. when you hear that argument, what do you think? >> i think you're right, if you are rich, you're going to spend regardless of what your taxes are, at least on gifts and such. but it has a negative effect on the overall economy. i understand the argument that if you raise taxes, you increase revenue. but the history shows that when you lower taxes, tax revenues actually go higher. that's what you want in the end and it helps boost the economy. so i think the president is misserved here. >> rick: are we seeing those upper income brackets making prerecession money again? are the bonuses back to where they were a few years ago? >> in a certain areas, yeah. >> rick: 'cause that's the argument, is that once those people start making the kind of money that they were making before the economic down turn, that they're going to start creating jobs. they're going to put money back into the economy and it will get everything going again. >> i think to a certain extent. let's not forget where we came from. we came from a point in 2008

where the spread between the uber rich and poor was so wide, it was probably unsustainable. it was record levels and that's how economies start to falter. and that had to contract. it has. and it has. but by raising taxes on the rich, that concept of increasing tax revenues in the end it really doesn't work. it sounds great and it makes a plausible argument, but in the end, it doesn't work out. >> rick: david, i want to ask you real quickly before we wrap up, take out your crystal ball and if you were to look ahead christmas 2011, a year from now, what are we going to be looking at here? >> i think we'll be looking at something better. i got to tell you, my crystal ball is not that clear. it's pretty fuzzy. to look out that far is very, very difficult. the smartest of us out there, bernanke can't do this. it's just not there. we can see a few months at a time. that's the best we can do right now. >> rick: so let's take us into

the first quarter then of 11. >> much more confident on that. i think the first quarter of 11 will be very strong. we're seeing it -- we're certainly seeing it in industry. the numbers are fantastic in certain areas of industry. you see it in commodity prices rising, they're rising for a reason. money is being spent. it's not just about us. world wide economies, emerging economies are very strong and that will translate around the world. i'm encouraged there. >> rick: we want people to go out and spend this holiday season. maybe they want to buy a flat screen tv. coming up later on, we're going to have a report on the best flat screen tvs out there. in the meantime, david nelson, dc nelson asset management, always good to talk to you. >> thank you. >> juliet: did you just steal my tease? how dare you. >> rick: what? really? >> juliet: he was born in afghanistan, but now he calls america his home. how mitch the war bird made his way to the u.s.

>> juliet: afghan bird of prey finding a new home here in the united states. u.s. troops rescuing mitch the eagle after he was shot in the wing. now the giant bird landed in upstate new york. peter doocy is live in our new york news room with the latest on mitch. >> yeah. this is a story that goes to show you how committed our men overseas are to preserving innocent life and not just human life, you see, this eagle was shot out of the sky in afghanistan by an afghan soldier working with the u.s. he was hurt badly and even though he ended up needing to have part of his wing amputated, this eagle was very lucky because an american contractor with a background in environmental science was nearby, along with a few navy

sales. that contractor, scott hickman, named the injured bird, mitch, after a snake in the movie, "road trip." he built a cage and kept mitch fed with whole chickens at great personal expense. hickman really didn't want mitch to end up in the kabul zoo because apparently the conditions there are not great. and he wanted to send the bird to the u.s., but that's really hard to do because of bird flu concerns and according to scott hickman, because of those bird flu concerns, the department of fish and game was not helpful and it took months, but finally new york senator chuck schumer stepped in and made arrangements for the bird who can no longer fly himself to be flown to upstate new york to live out the rest of his days at the berkshire bird paradise. >> she's going to be an ambassador for school children who visit here and his existence, his getting here speaks to what it really means to be a hero. these young men who saved him are true heros and he's a true hero, a war hero.

they're going to hear that. >> barbara says mitch is doing great in his new environment thanks to good doctors and lots of ratcycles. >> juliet: goodness gracious. thank you very much for that report. >> rick: rats, you think they freeze the rats? >> juliet: perhaps. by the way, it's good to see you. you're looking healthy and fresh faced today despite having a little party for yourself last night. >> i did have a party, but i'm a responsible adult and i am here on time. >> juliet: are we allowed to talk about this? >> i guess now -- >> rick: we already started the conversation. he's leaving new york, be in our washington bureau. >> juliet: but he'll still be with fox news.

>> is that any sendoff? >> rick: it is. we'll send you on your way with a bunch of rat cycles. >> thank you. >> coming up, extreme wide screen, lcd, plasma. what do you have on your wall? >> juliet: i don't know. >> rick: one of those? >> juliet: a flat screen thing. >> rick: well, if you are in the market and you're overwhelmed by all the different options, don't worry, you're in luck. "consumer reports" is here with the best deals in flat screen tvs coming up.

>> juliet: welcome back. 'tis the season for holiday shopping. if you're in the market for a flat screen tv, you'll want to pay attention. >> rick: i'm really not in the market. "consumer reports" did tv testing and found out the best products that your money can buy. senior electronic editor is here with the low down on the best buys. good to see you, jim. the prices on these things have really come down considerably over the last couple of years. >> if you're one of the people who bought a tv a couple years ago, you're probably kicking yourself that you didn't wait. we had a couple years where there have been strong price drops. >> juliet: 55-inch, lcd, the biggest, priciest set. did they really have to give you

this? video, whatever. 1650. >> rick: what did you like about this one? >> it seems expensive and because especially now, black friday, you see the crazy deals, it's got tons of features for the price. 55-inch screen, which is very big. resolution, the highest resolution that you can get. it's loaded with features. 240 hertz technology, reduces motion blur, on-line content that you can access directly, so if you want to get streaming movies. it's a real fully featured tv with all the bells and whistles at an affordable price. >> rick: let's say you have 750. you like the lg model. 42-inch? >> what we like about the lg is that it's got some features that's not as loaded with features, but you get 120 hertz. that helps deal with motion blur. the other thing we really like is it's got a wide viewing

angle. that's one of the draw backs for lcd's, a lot of them have narrow viewing angles. you get a picture that's much worse. >> rick: meaning you have to watch it straight on? >> yeah. the other thing is that tvs have gotten thinner and really become, the sound quality has started to suffer. that's a set that actually has very good sound. >> juliet: lower range, the sanyo. >> 42-inch set. this is really for someone who is in the market for a bare bones budget set that still delivers good picture quality. $530, which if you were in the market a couple years ago, you wouldn't have seen a tv for that price. it delivers good picture quality. a notch below the other stuff we talked about. >> rick: overall your big winner is a 50-inch from panasonic. >> first of all, it's a plasma. the other sets, there are a lot of things that are good about

plasma. really good contrast, the picture looks very movie like. the other thing is that there is no issue with viewing angle. with this, it's a 1080 set, at a pretty low price, $850 for a major brand. it doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, but you get a really quality product. excellent picture quality at a good price for a major brand set. >> juliet: if to do choose between the lcd, plasma, which would you choose? >> i'm a big plasma fan. i own four of them. put my money where my mouth is. >> rick: i know where i'm going to watch the super bowl this year. jim, good to have you here. >> thank you. >> rick: happy holidays. >> juliet: are you enlightened now? >> rick: i'm enlightened. >> juliet: that's it for us. >> rick: stick around. the fox report is coming up. harris faulkner is in for us. >> juliet: she is and looking lovely as ever. >> rick: we'll see you thanksgiving day from 1:00 o'clock to 3:00 o'clock eastern time. >> juliet: and the day after that as well. and then saturday as well. >> rick: bye-bye. ♪

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