bill: we could invite them up here and they could perform outside and we could get them on tv! martha: look at that! did you do that in ohio? bill: i did not. le bron james goes back to cleveland tonight! martha: that will be interesting. "happening now" starts right now. bill see you tomorrow. martha: we'll be here. bye guys. jenna: hi everybody, thank you very much for joining us, i'm jenna lee. jon: happy thursday to you. jenna: to you, too. jon: i'm jon scott. we are here in the fox news room, "happening now", big power play on capitol hill, house democrats plan to push a vote today on whether to extend the bush tax cuts. jenna: but democrats don't want to keep tax cuts in place for the wealthy and republicans are drawing a line in the sand on this one, they want tax cuts made permanent for all americans. for more on where this is heading, let's check in with

chris stierwalt, digital politics.com. the week started out good, lots of talk about compromise, bipartisan meeting. now where are we? >> well, maybe kumbaya has broken down in the second verse. you hit it on the head, democrats and republicans are still miles apart on the question of what to do with the tax rates set to expire at the end of the year. now, what house democrats are going to do today in all likelihood is pass an extension of only some of the current tax rates, which means that those people and families earn more than $250,000 a year are going to see rates go up substantially under the plan passed by house democrats, but this is more of a symbolic act or maybe a bargaining position than anything else because what for now speaker pelosi is trying to do is really send a message that she has the votes to pass a tax increase, when senate democrats don't. jenna: but the republicans

are playing, too? right, when we talk about the game, political posturing here, what are the republicans doing, what do they plan to introduce here to also place their position for the public? >> well, in the house, republicans have been cut off from the process but if they could, if they could offer anything what they would be offering would be a full extension, as you described, permanent and for good. now, the negotiations that are going on right now behind closed doors between members of the administration and a gang of four members of the house and senate who are selected by their respective leaders to get together and hammer something out, all the whispers and talkby keep hearing has to do with a one or two-year extension of all the current tax rates. that's not what is popular in the house but certainly what the white house and senate, republicans and democrats alike, seem to be coalescing around. jenna: what can we take from this vote in the house because it seems the house of representatives under nancy pelosi is not following the will of the white house, or is this part of the way to achieve what

the white house is hoping for in this agreement about temporary tax cuts for some income earners? >> well, certainly if the message that comes through today is that house democrats do not and will not vote for an extension of all the bush tax cuts, that strengthens the white house's bargaining position. but the big thing here is the calendar, jen kwrarbgs because we're running out of days, and we only now have 16 more days to get all this work done, and it's an open question about whether or not this can be achieved, and what many in the house are hoping for is if there is, in fact, going to be a final deal, if this is all going to get done, that a way that they can pull it off is by adding something like unemployment benefits that have expired, renewing those and extending those to another 99 weeks for unemployed americans, something like that to sweeten the pot for liberals in the house to go along with a compromise. jenna: we'll see what they come up with. all i keep thinking of, last year at the same time we were voting -- voting for health care on christmas eve and it seems

like the same scenario again. maybe we'll see you christmas eve. >> i hope not! jenna: get chris' power play by logging on to our blog, foxnews.com/hehq and get new offers for the app users. we know there's a lot of you out there. go ahead, check it out. jon: a fox news alert. a new video just coming into our international desk on a deadly fire raging in northern israel. it's burning near haifa, a popular tourist spot on the mediterranean. there are reports 40 people have been died. leland vitter is live in jerusalem. how did this start and what's happening on it right now legalland? >> reporter: here in jerusalem, jon, we are already hearing the sounds of fire trucks heading up to the north to fight this fire, they're bringing in resources from all over the country. in addition, they have called up the military with those big bulldozers to try

to cut fire lines. the 40 people who died were traveling in a bus, they were prison guards on their way to try and evacuate a prison in the fire zone. what we're told from local sources is the bus drove into the wall of fire, tried to make a u turn, got caught in the fire and that's when the 40 prison guards burned to death. there were a number of other people caught in their cars who were also injured in the fire. the fire started earlier today. there are reports with the israeli media this was an arson fire because it was touched off in three places. those are unconfirmed. we do know, however, it's been very dry here in israel and very hot. so that certainly made this fire grow quickly. they evacuated -- in addition to a university, they evacuated a school, also evacuated a number of houses, about 500 people, and also, a prison, and that's where the prison guards were headed up to try and evacuate some of these prisoners and keep everybody

else safe when they perished in this fire. as you said, this is near haifa, the third largest city, they are trying to cut a fire line around the fire, they've given up on trying to save things inside the fire. of course, this is a very sad day in israel, 40 people have died, compounding the sadness for this country, this is the second night of hanukkah, one of the more festive jewish holidays, most are trying to make it home to be with families and coming home to this extraordinarily sad news. the only thing about this, this is nighttime and you know this from covering wildfires as well, the temperatures go down, humidity goes up and that often times is the time that firefighters have their best chance to try and gain an upper hand on these fires. we're hearing right now that the prime minister has already asked for international help to try and come in. i think they're going to be fighting this for the next couple of days. jon: those wildfires can be absolutely terrifying and for the guards trapped in that, that just had to be awful. leland vitter, thank you.

jenna: now back to d.c. congressman charlie rangel may have just hours left to convince his colleagues to spare him from his punishment from ethics violation, the house expected to vote today on whether to impose its most severest punishment, censure. he isn't going down without a fight. julie, what exactly do we expect to happen today? >> reporter: jenna, this is all in flux because the house as you know is dealing with that tax cut vote. they could bring up the raquel vote but we're hearing they could vote on censure resolution by about 4:00. there's no doubt this will be a dramatic and humbling experience for someone serving in congress 40 years. the house ket -- house ethics committee has taken a hard line and the full house is expected to do the same thing. short of getting kicked out censure is the most serious

reprimand a representative could face. representative rangel will have to stand in front of colleagues while the speaker of the house nancy pelosi reads a resolution condemning his misbehavior, including failing to pay taxes for 17 years on a vacation home and using his congressional office, stationery and staff, to solicit funds for a college center named after him. it wasn't happened since 1983. jenna: that's a good point. it hasn't happened. he gets to keep his pension, his salary, it isn't punishment in a form that's over and done with in a day's time. will he speak on the floor during this vote? is that expected? >> reporter: you know, everyone here i think would be surprised if he doesn't speak on the floor. and he insists that he never meant to break the house rules, he's likely to make that case from the floor, we expect him to, and he did make a plea to his supporters yesterday, sent out 25,000 e-mails, asking them to flood the capitol capitol hill switchboard, ask him to vote know.

he wrote i spent my entire life standing up for those in need and now i'm asking that you please stand with me in this hour of need. he'll probably make the same statement from the floor later today. jenna: julie, great to see you, we'll check back in with you later. >> okay. jon: those three beautiful boys, missing in morenci, michigan, the search is desperate, and then the words no one wanted to hear from the police chief, saying he doubts that a positive outcome is possible. still, there is something new coming in on this story. harris is on it from the breaking news desk. harris. >> reporter: there are several items that are new, jon, but you hardly ever hear from the breaking news desk the word miracle. that is what people locally there in morenci, 70 miles outside of of detroit, say that they're hoping for after the police chief expressed the very words you mentioned that a positive outcome is not likely in all of this. now, they have about 24 hours left to officially search for these boys because police have decided

in the announcements yesterday, and they look like they're going to do this, they're going to call off the official search for these boys for a suspension of time while they figure out over the weekend where is the best place to look. still, there's a small army of volunteers looking for little andrew who's nine, alexander, seven, the youngest is tanner, we showed the pictures, he was just 25 years old when they disappeared on thanksgiving day, their father, 39-year-old john skelton is across the border in ohio, fighting extradition to come back to michigan. he wants to stay there. he's charged in their kidnapping. and all of this, none of this bringing any hope of finding these little boys. they need details on exactly where to look, and they don't have that right now. a couple of other things happening this morning, an anonymous donor has given $10,000 reward to help kind these beautiful little boys and get this, the police chief just a little while ago said this, that money doesn't count. it won't be given if the person is involved in the

children's disappearance. maybe that is standard, but i had not seen that before attached so closely to an offering of a $10,000 reward. we're watching there. there's the -- watching this, there's the tipline and volunteers are searching, a huge group of them again today, to see what information they can possibly give police to lead them to these little boys. this is a heart breaker. we're hoping like everybody in that town for a seasonal miracle. back to you. jon: it is just so hard to look at those faces and think about what might have happened to those boys. harris, thank you. >> absolutely. jenna: well, no end in sight to mexico's drug war, violent cartels returning residential areas into virtual ghost towns. we have a live report from the front lines up ahead. during the financial meltdown the u.s. laid out big bucks to bail out big banks. how much of that cash went to troubled banks overseas and why do we do that? we'll have that story. go to foxnews.com/happening now, if you click on the america's asking button,

you'll see not only the live chat but breaking news developments from laura ingle, she's live in the courtroom for the sentencing of steven hayes and the hole invasion murder of a connecticut family. laura says right now dr. pettit is talking about his daughter, touching and breaking news from connecticut on foxnews.com.

jon: it's america's third war on the front lines of mexico's war with the drug cartels, long-time residents trying to find safety for their families are leaving their homes behind. it's turning once vibrant communities near the u.s. border into virtual ghost towns. steve harrigan is live with a look from el paso, texas. steve. >> reporter: jon, it's basically a trade war here, and a real one. mexican cartels trying to move about $40 billion a year of illegal drugs, just across the road from here to

there. the problem is, they're not just trying to control the trade routes, they're trying to control entire villages, towns, and in this case a city along those routes. if anyone gets in their way, mayors, police chiefs, they kill them and in the city behind me, those cartels are winning. in two states of mexico that border the u.s., the central government has lost control. >> they have one of the highest murder rates on the planet. higher than baghdad right now. higher than kabul in afghanistan. >> the worst spot is jaurez, across the border from el paso, mexico. -- el paso, texas. >> we've been in jaurez one hour and come aupon -- come upon the first murder, the victim's family is collapsing with grief. a man has been murdered and dumped in this drainage

ditch and the police and fire are here, trying to pull the body out. murder in jaurez has become routine. >> the worst days are when you wake up and there are already 10-15 people dead and as the day goes on it's another ten, sometimes 25 people killed in a day. those are the hardest days. you realize just how ugly this city is. >> reporter: ugly enough to make people flee, 5000 thousands abandoned in the last six months in jaurez, a place that's become scary enough to make families leave everything behind and run. other >> reporter: while we were waiting for fish to -- police to fish that body out of the creek we got a call about a dismembered body in the next town. before that, we heard about a mass grave one town over, so for news crews, working in jaurez, you get the choice, do you go for the dismembered body or the mass grave. jon: glen is on our chat and

asks where is the mexican military. >> i think that's the difference, kpwr you -- why you see such open violence in jaurez as opposed to just across the border here. the state police, the local police and the military are pretty wipe with corruption and they're weaker in some places than the cartel themselves, they are very weak institutions. that's why in some areas, certainly not all of mexico, but in jaurez, they're on top. jon: tough way to live. steve harrigan, thanks. jenna: a good question if our viewers, good you -- if you want to get on the chat, go to foxnews.com and we'll share your thoughts. it's the way of the future but is wi-fi frying our brains? how about that? not just our brains but maybe our trees, too? could this be possible? dr. marc siegl separates fact from fiction on wi-fi. we know a lot of you are online while watching. check out fox noose.com to

see what's clicking, 24/7, on foxnews.com.

jenna: check out this story. during the financial meltdown, the fed she would out big bucks to save america's banks, but it turns out they didn't actually stop there. six of the top 11 companies to get support from our central bank were european banks and it didn't stop there. how much money went overseas and why exactly did this happen? fox business' charlie gasparino is with us. what do you make of the story? >> i was blown away with it, the breadth of the bailout, the financial system is so interconnected, what happened in the financial crisis, you can't borrow money, can't use your credit card, companies can't do payrolls and because it's

interconnected they had to open up the borrowing powers to foreign entities but i was blown away by how many companies fit this thing. jenna: can you give us numbers on how much went out the door, how many were involved? >> there is a number but it doesn't matter, it's like monopoly money at some point. it's tens of billions of dollars. the money came back obviously because they repaid it but it's amazing. goldman sachs, they spent a lot of time, a big wall street firm, saying it didn't need a bailout. this thing proves it did. they hit the window like a hundred times, they a hundred times on an emergency basis. jenna: what does that tell you about the financial health of some of our most prestigious banks? >> what it tells you is about every major bank was about to go out of business in the fall of 2008 and major companies about to implode as well, like ge, because they didn't have the temporary cash on hand to keep operations going. jenna: when you see this information, you're analyzing and listening to these stories, does this give evidence or support the moves by the fed? >> it's going to be interpreted both ways.

yes, the fed is going to come out and say we had to do this, we had to bail out the financial system which is controversial. average americans don't like the fact that we bailed out wall street, but the financial system, large parts of corporate america were going to go under and we would have hit a great depression. it's like this, if you gamble, you risk, you lose. >> and the central bank is in charge of the dollar. any effect on the dollar after seeing this money that went out the door? >> i don't think this -- i think the worst problems for the dollar is $600 billion of printing money but quantitative use. that's what -- >> jenna: just recently. >> i think that will have the big impact on the dollar. jenna: thank you, charlie gasparino, from the fox business network. jon: one of the stories we're watching today is the sentencing of steven hayes, he was convicted in that connecticut home invasion murder. such an awful story. harris is monitoring our laura ingle, who's inside the courtroom and harris has

an update on some of laura's blogs. >> reporter: she's blogging, she and i are e-mailing back and forth and steven hayes, who's facing death in this case is on the stand right now, and he's addressing the court saying, quote, i am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering i have caused. no cameras allowed in this courtroom, dr. pettit was the only survivor that night back in 2007. his wife, young daughter, 17 and 11 years old were killed and hayes is the man who authorities say along with an accomplice sexually assaulted and strangled the mom, tied the young girls to their beds, poured gasoline on or near them and set the house on fire. this very man, addressing the court right now, apologizing for the pain and suffering he's caused. now, we heard from the dad, who survived, a little bit earlier this morning. he said that he thought of committing suicide several times since the loss of his family. imagine the pain. of course, we can only do that. but right now, we have the reality of stevens hayes,

standing up before the court. i'm going to continue to watch this. our laura ingle is also all over it. as news breaks out of that courtroom -- this has been a huge case in the state of connecticut, and it's attracted so much attention across the nation. we're all over it. back to you. jon: harris faulkner, thanks. you can go to foxnews.com/happening now, do that right now. you can click on the america's asking button, and there on the righthand side of the screen, you see it there, that's where laura is sending her tweets, really, out of the courtroom. she's will for stevens hayes' sentencing. laura says that dr. pettit has been talking about his daughters, just in the last couple of minutes. you can see what she is reporting from inside that courtroom on our blog site. jenna: well, this is about the only time when it's good that tkr-t is in. the other times, not so sure about it. we hear the debate all the time about this, what does talking on cell phones do to our brain. the new study claims wi-fi

or as they're calling it, why fry, creates an election -- electro smog. doctor siegl separates fact from fiction. why fry? it's all around us. >> i don't want to break this bubble but with respect to thomas edison the light bulb puts out 60watts, wi-fi gives you 100 mili watts, cell phones, 120 mili watts. i think we should be studying the light bulb. jenna: the light bulb puts out more radiation. >> a thousand more times of radiation out of a light bulb than wi-fi. i'm really not concerned. this study was kind of humorous, because it shows that the trees, the bark was bleeding more, and the trees themselves weren't doing as well, but leaves were dying but you know that -- what, that could have been -- >> jenna: they're saying that was connect to the

wi-fi. >> there were more wi-fi areas, areas where there's more wi-fi. what i'd like to say about the smog in those areas. there's another study presented at the american society of reproductive medicine they think is more scientific, that raises the question that a lot of exposure to wi-fi could have a fertility problem, that it could make sperm move more slowly, could lead to more damaged sperm. that's come out before with cell phones. the question is if you're really exposed to all these rays and there are laptops, are you affecting fertility. jenna: wait a minute. dr. manning has talked to us about this before, the laptop on your top and -- on your lap and you're a guy, it could affect sperm count. >> this is heat. this is looking at the wi-fi rays themselves. it's not accounting for heat. it's looking at rays. but again, this doesn't show you're less fertile. this is a preliminary study looking at sperm function. i think we're a long way from worrying wi-fi but it's worth studying and talking about. jenna: we'll continue to follow it and follow the

electrosmog as well. >> watch out for those trees! >> i know, right. we have breaking news. >> reporter: this is what's coming in and we knew that there would be movement in the courtroom and now the judge has just said, this is in connecticut, that home invasion where the doctor was the only survivor, his wife and two young girls killed, the man at the heart of this case, steven hayes, has been sentenced to death in the home invasion killing of the woman and her two daughters. get this, the judge, john c. blue saying moments ago to stevens hayes, may god have mercy on your soul. a lot has happened in the last 30 minutes or so inside that courtroom. we've been getting live reports from the -- via blog and e-mail from our correspondent in that courtroom because there are no cameras but no cramra need tell you what this state of connecticut has gone through since 20 07, when that family was held hostage, inside of its own home, the father was the only survivor, the mom, sexually assaulted, strangled, the daughters,

the moments, all set on fire in their beds. and now steven hayes, authorities say, who worked with an accomplice, joshua kamijesky, the judge saying you will die for these crimes, judge john c. blue, may god have mercy on your soul. a couple of things, kamijesky goes on trial next year. this isn't over for this doctor and this community, but this is a huge step in what the court says is justice. and right now, the death penalty for hayes. >> and if hayes is getting the death penalty, we could see this imposed a second time foro whoa that second second trial is over. at any rate, our laura engel is

inside the courtroom. if you go to our web page, foxnews.com/"happening now" you can read laura's tweets from inside the courtroom. don't ask, don't tell, it's the policy that bans gays from openly serving in the military. now the debate takes center stage on capitol hill. should that law be repealed? we're live with that story. also, it's a grid locke alert on capitol hill in this lame duck session of congress. the fallout and what it could mean for your paycheck very soon. fair and balanced debate. bob beckel and chip salzmann, you can see them there, they're ready to faceoff. h good driver , multi-car discounts, defensive driver discounts... woman: you! oh, don't act like you don't recognize me! toledo, '03?

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armed services committee. senators debate repealing the policy for good. steve centanni's like at the pentagon. what's happened so far? >> reporter: well, a lot of concerns being expressed about when report released by the pentagon saying there would be no crisis in the mill fair if -- military with about 70% of the troops saying they wouldn't mind seeing gays serving in the military. but, of course, many have objections, questions, serious concerns about this, chief among them john mccain, the ranking member of the senate armed services committee. he cites what he calls a rush to repeal. let's listen. >> i'm not saying ha this law should -- that this law should never change. i am simply saying that it may be premature to make such a change at this this time and in this manner without further consideration of this report and further study of the issue by congress. >> reporter: and defense secretary gates also testifying today along with a chairman of

the joint chiefs, mike mullen. secretary gates saying those who have served alongside gays have fewer objections. back to you, jenna. jenna: hey, steve, hold up that book again. >> reporter: there it is. jenna: for us looking at that, you know, inside is the pentagon telling us, advocating an immediate change to the policy? is that what they're saying should happen? >> reporter: no, they're not advocating an immediate change, but they do say it needs to be studied and implemented carefully for it to work and needs to be implemented with better training on the ground and percent leadership in the military -- better leadership in the military. admiral mullen says under the current policy, the men and women of our military are being asked something almost impossible. here's what he had had to say. >> join us, work with us, fight with us, die with us and lie about who they are the whole time they're in the military. and while they're here and able to do that even in the policy

that we have, they are actually individuals who go through extraordinary pain to sustain that lie. >> reporter: and mullen also says that we respect each other in the military, and those who don't want to respect their fellow soldiers can find a new place to work. jenna? jenna: steve seven nanny live at the pentagon on this developing story. thank you. jon: so that question about repealing don't ask, don't tell, it's just one democratic initiative that could fall by the wayside in this lame duck session of congress, quickly turning into a gridlock session of congress. any bill brought up before votes to extend the bush tax cuts and to fund if government -- the government would be, essentially, shut down. let's talk about it with bob beckel, democratic consultant and a fox news contributor. chip salzmann is also with us, former campaign manager for

governor mike huckabee. i'm going to read mike's mind right now. >> i do do that over the airwaves, and i can tell you he's going to say republicans in this session of congress are being obstructionists, what do you say to that? >> i can't imagine bob would ever say that. jon: i think he might! >> the democrats have huge majorities, and their not getting -- they're not getting anything done. democrats are refusing to take on the tough issues, and they're connecting the can down the -- kicking the can down the road. the fundingish shoe is very important, and i think they're going to pass a continuing resolution just to fund the government for so long and kick that can down the road for january. jon: bob, there's been a lot of speculation among democrats that republicans would try to let the government shut down. >> first of all, republicans are obstructionists. [laughter] jon: you see! i have the ability.

>> you did, indeed, jon. let's put it this way, this tax bill is going to get dealt with. i mean, there's not going to be anybody who wants to go into january with everybody's taxes going up. now, having said that -- >> except the democrats. they kind of like that. >> wait a second, wait a second. there's going to be a proposal by the democrats, always been one in the house for 250,000 and below be permanent, above that they only extend it a year. but the final proposal by the democrats is going to be a million dollar cutoff. now, if you, chip, or anybody in the republican party wants to defend 305,000 millionaires against 33 million americans, then you're a better politician than ronald reagan on his best day. >> i would be happy to defend you to make sure your taxes don't go up. >> i mean, seriously, you're

sitting here saying the democrats are obstructionists -- they're not, we're willing to make a deal, and the deal is up over a million dollars. what's wrong with that? >> they've got the votes, and they're refusing to do anything -- >> they do not have the votes. >> they're going to solve all these problems and what usually happens is nothing gets done, and i think the democrats have kind of got stuck in the mud. they're looking to the president for leadership on it, he's not really doing anything. i think over the next week or two you're going to see the grinding to a halt, but their going to move the big issues on to january. jon: bob, here's the way a lot of people see it, they say that republicans feel they were elected in this last go round to go into washington, shrink the size of government, stop as much of the deficit spending as possible, so why shouldn't they reflect that view on the part of the voters in these votes that

they're casting on the floor? this. >> well, let's remember the bush tax cuts was the biggest deficit spending that's taken place in the last 20 years. number two, i glee with chip. there's not going to be a lot of other things done, you're not going to get immigration reform, don't ask, don't tell, i but you're going to get action on this tax bill. in this case people say they don't want their taxes to go up, and i'll tell you i don't know how the republicans can sit there and defend millionaires versus everybody else. i mean, you can't do it. it's the worst kind of politics. >> trying to treat people fairly, bob. >> i see. 300,000 versus i 300 million. >> it shouldn't be class warfare, bob. i know you like to play class warfare, but this discussion should be about less government and lower taxes. the people that got elected in november aren't up in washington making these decisions, it's still nancy pelosi that's got the gavel. they'll pass manager that probably gets the -- something that -- >> can i make a prediction, jon.

>> then we gotta go. >> you're going to see the bill pass with a million dollar exception and extense of unemployment benefits and funding of the government. those three things and they're going to go old. jon: all right. bob and chip, good debate, guys, thanks. >> good to be with you. jenna: breaking news off the coast of galveston, texas. harris is on this developing story looking for some lost or missing boaters, huh, harris? >> reporter: yeah. what happens is there was a vessel that went down just before dawn. the coast guard got out there so quickly, and they were able to pull three people out of the water after their boat had just sunk. the fourth person, though, is who they're looking for. he's approximately 40 years old, last seen wearing yellow rain pants and a k -- t-shirt. he didn't have on a life jacket, and that's what proved to be problematic for the three. they've been taken to a local

hospital, but now the look for the latest fourth victim. you're looking at pictures that have just come in to fox news channel. this is galveston. it happened about 10 miles off the coast of texas as they search, now, with everything they've got, basically, because they feel like if they're going to find this guy, they need to do it soon. jenna: well, they got the three, so let's hope they get the fourth. we'll continue to watch this story. thanks. stunning new developments in a murder mystery that has ruly transfixed hollywood. police move in on the murder of this woman, but what happened leaves investigators with even more questions. we're on the story. did you know someone actually counts the number of stars in the universe? wait until you hear what they found. that's just ahead. ♪ [ female announcer ] humana and walmart are teaming up

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jenna: a fox news alert. as we first told you just minutes ago, steven hayes has been formally sentenced to death in that murder of a connecticut family. our very own laura engel's been inside the courtroom witnessing all of this firsthand today and, laura, we've been following you tweet by tweet, so we felt like we've been with you in the courtroom, but we didn't have cameras, we didn't see what was happening, so tell us about what you saw today. >> reporter: it is now official, steven hayes is being taken to death row in somers as we speak. he arrived in the courtroom today just before 10 a.m. eastern. he was hackled, he was unshaven, he shuffled in his orange jail jump suit. he sat down x the prosecution had a moment to set up the scene for victim pact statements. this is the only time that a

statement can be read in court after a jury has completed a penalty phase. with that we first heard from jennifer hawk pet it's sister via video. she could not make it to court, she had been in court every single day of the guilt phase and penalty phase. sintny called hayes a misfit in life, she called him pure evil. during this portion of the victim pact statement, steven hayes sitting at the defense table paid attention to every single word of hers. she said directly to him, you did not have to murder or rape any of them, but you did. we also heard from william petit sr., dr. petit's father, who spoke of the unthinkable horror that he went through the day that he got the phone call that something was going terribly wrong at his son's home and finding out that what he said was the moment when all the girls were dead.

dr. william petit making a victim impact statement today, we weren't sure if he was going to speak, he had said in the past he wasn't going to. the court has just handed out the written segment of what he read, i will read a portion of it to you. he talked about the moment that he woke up, he says, i will always remember my father's face when i asked about the girls x he slowly shook his head side to side and sobbed. steven hayes did apologize. he spoke in court today. the judge sentenced him to death and said may god be with your soul, may god have mercy on your soul. jenna: a heartbreaking story. laura ingle following this story live in connecticut. you can go to foxnews.com/"happening now" right now. you're not only going to see our live chat. but you get all the tweets as well from be laura, all the developments from connecticut live as they happen. just go to fox news/"happening now." jon? jon: we are also getting new

ofltion on that out of control wild fire in israel we told you about at the beginning of the hour. at least 40 people are dead as a result of this. israel is asking for help fighting this raging fire. more on this breaking news straight ahead. plus, feet of snow stranding hundreds of drivers on a highway in upstate new york. how do they get out and where does this storm go next? a live report coming up. ♪ [ male announcer ] you know her. we know diamonds. together we'll make her holiday. that's why only zales is the diamond store.

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jon: little green fashions makes for a scary -- mar sans makes for a scary movie, but is it real? captain kirk spent years seeking out new civilizations but never -- well, i guess he did find it once in a while. now nasa is holding a news conference to reveal what it says may be a major breakthrough

in the search for life on other planets. any specifics about what nasa has found here? this. >> reporter: no, i talked to a spokesperson in d.c. this morning, and they are mum until the 2:00 eastern time news conference. detailing specialically what it is nasa calls an astrobiological finding. we have had had some confirmation from arizona state university that, in fact, the speculation is on point. the doctor happens to be one of the four scientists who are going to be at this 2:00 news conference. for the past two years, she has been doing research out in california at yosemite national park. specifically in a basin lake about 70 square miles, but it has no fish, just some bacteria and shrimp including bacteria that have been found -- according to sources -- living in the mud in arsenic, a poison.

now, all life as we know it, everything you can think of on planet earth, depends on phosphorous for life, not arsenic. arsenic's a poison. so if this particular bacteria can live in arsenic, well, that opens the door to, perhaps, an alien being discovered right here on planet earth that will, quote, from an view last march with the doctor, she says there is life as we know it, and there is life as we don't know it. what would that look like? i am trying to give us a framework to help us look for what we don't know, that particular framework of arsenic. she said her study should be published by the end of the year, and here we are in december. jon: phil keating live in miami. phil, thank you. if you want to know more about what nasa has found, be sure to tune in to "america live," 2 p.m. eastern. they'll bring you live what nasa has to say about the possibility of extraterrestrial life. that news conference gets under

way during that show. jenna: well, speaking of e.t., ever wonder how many stars are really out there? a new study suggests there are 300 sextillionn of them. you can see on paper it's a 3 followed by 23 0s, about the size of jon scott's bank account -- jon: about the size of the federal deficit, i think. [laughter] jenna: in general, there's just a lot of stars out there. so there you go. something you didn't know. jon: who counted all those? jenna: good question. jon: hey, the tax cut showdown is live on capitol hill after democrats and republicans battle over whether or not to extend the bush tax cuts. a vote is set for today. can anybody come propose? we'll talk with republican mike pence about what lies ahead. call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert

your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today. for a scary -- martians makes

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support a tax cut just for the middle class -- aimed at making the gop look bad just as republican leaders in the white house were trying to work out a bipartisan compromise. white house correspondent carl cameron is live on capitol hill with an update. >> reporter: it has some democrats a little uneasy because the president had made strong overtures by appointing -- nancy pelosi forces this vote. we have a live shot of the floor where the debate this afternoon will cull culminate is likely passage of the tax cuts for income up to $250,000. with that said, however, the republican opposition will include a handful of democrats. there have been a number of democratic fiscally-moderate members who have suggested that to only extend the tax cuts to $250,000 would mean a massive tax increase for too many

members of the economy in a down economy. then the battle will move to the u.s. senate where already republicans have made light of what the democrats are attempting to do in the house. earlier today the senate, excuse me, republican minority leader mitch mcconnell took to the floor in the u.s. senate in essence to athe house is now about to pass something, but when it gets to the u.s. senate, it's going nowhere because many democrats have said all the tax cuts should be extended. here's mitch mcconnell. >> right now house democrats are getting ready to send us a bill on taxes they know won't pass in the senate. this is a purely political exercise. >> reporter: well, the political exercises are going on behind closed doors all over capitol hill, and they're trying to find some sort of a deal. one in discussion would take unemployment benefits and extend them perhaps three months, perhaps even a year which would be $56 billion. democrats have sort of put that on the table offering, at least behind closed doors, to consider

extending all the bush era tax cuts for a year. that is deemed by most republicans to be inadequate. there's an awful lot of bargaining and many, many more meetings. most people don't expect this to get done before christmas eve, but they're talking about getting something accomplished. jon: so somebody's going to have to blink. >> reporter: before christmas because on new year's eve without new legislation making sure that these bush tax cuts do not expire, the tax rates will go up, and they'll go up huge. democrats and republicans alike agree that would be devastating to the economy. republicans don't want to oppose the middle class tax cuts, they simply don't want to lock out the rest of the economy, and democrats are attempting to call that bluff in the house knowing full well they don't have the votes to pass a smaller tax cut extension in the first place. jon: a high noon showdown in washington. carl cameron, thank you. jenna: let's brung -- bring in

bret baier to give us some context. we hear the terms political exercise, you hear showdown, you hear horse trading, you say political theater. it seems like we disregard some of this pretty l maneuvering as, oh, that's just washington, that's what's happening. is that an adequate explanation for our viewers? >> reporter: well, no. it's not. it's pretty frustrating, wail, the back and forth -- actually, the back and fort especially when you talk about companies that are trying to get a look at what the tax rate is going to look like in the new year. they have to start planning a lot of them in the next week or two, and if this gets pushed to christmas eve; that's a problem. most people up here think there will be some sort of deal because neither party can afford and the country can't afford for the u.s. economy to take such a big hit by the tax rates, basically a tax increase, these tax cuts not being extended.

so there is going to be some effort to tie some things together, and that's what's happening behind closed doors. the effort in the house this afternoon to take this vote on just the 250,000 and below, extending that tax cut, some people say hurts the negotiation because the white house and senate democrats perhaps don't like that move. jenna: we're talking about some sort of a deal being made sometime, and you mentioned christmas eve. as we were talking about last hour, bret, it brings up those thoughts about what happened the health care bill, right on christmas eve, right up until the end. do you imagine ha kind of scenario again? what kind of timeline do you see here realistically? >> reporter: yeah, it's possible. senator reid has already forecast that the likely week -- next week will likely try to wrap some things up. the s.t.a.r.t. treaty is still pending, they are going to try to push that through, and that takes time.

in the senate things don't move lickety pretty. you have to have some -- lickety-split. you have to have some debate on the floor, there's procedures, and those take days. this could push all the way up to the holiday, and we could be looking at a similar scenario which is hard to believe after all of the backlash from the american people for how the operated as a process last year. jenna: we'll have a little eggnog, you and i, we can watch the maneuverings. just real quickly, bret, because we are focused on the short term here, but just thinking ahead to the new congress and you have the introduction of the new tea party members and a different dynamic in the house and the senate. how do you think this foreshadows, you know, this exercise on compromise, what we might see in the coming year? >> reporter: yeah, i think that's a great question, and it'll play out in the early days. i think one thing you're going to see is more laying out the schedule to what they're trying to accomplish early instead of, you know, pushing it down the road. there was a lot of kicking the can in this past congress, and

that's what we're dealing with now in these final weeks. jenna: we'll see what happens, eggnog and everything else. we get to see you again tonight right here on fox news channel. special report at 6 p.m. eastern time, full report on "special report." thanks, bret. jon: it's a mystery that consumed hollywood, and now there's a very shocking twist. a person of interest in the shooting death of famed publicist ronnie chasten kills himself just as police close in. harris has the story from the breaking news desk. >> reporter: yeah, jon. they had gone to this residential hotel in los angeles, and as they were about to talk with this man who you mentioned is a person of interest only, beverly hills detectives making that distinction because they say their investigation goes on beyond this, he pulled out a handgun and shot himself according to police and other witnesses there in the lobby of this residential hotel. and lots of people describing on the inside of that hotel what it looked like.

it's lunch hour, i won't go into the detailed about that, but they corps donned off this four-store hotel as they looked for clues. the person who shot and killed ronnie chasten, that famed publicist in hollywood, was an expert shot, able o squeeze off multiple rounds in a tight and deadly formation. so they are looking very specific. they say the case goes on even with the death of this person of interest. ronnie chasten found in her mercedes just moments after she'd left the movie premiere of burlesque. she was promoting the soundtrack in hopes of getting an oscar nomination for it. as police moved in on this person of interest, that 170-unit building was emptied out, and now that person is dead. they have not indicated where they will go next with their investigation, but they're still giving out the tipline that you see there on the screen. back to you. jon: a lot of questions left to answer. >> reporter: oh, yeah.

jon: harris, thank you. >> reporter: sure. jenna: for our fox weather alert, some truly crazy weather out there. jon: unbelievable. jenna: really everywhere, a deep freeze hitting europe, and this will affect you if you're heading over anytime soon. airports closed in major cities, hundreds of flights canceled at gatwick airport. it's been shut down for most of the week because of this. you have heavy snow, you have very, very cold temperatures causing big headaches, as you can imagine, for anyone that's traveling. france, poland, germa, ireland all seeing record snowfallfall, and technically it's not even winter yet. forecasters predicting the cold snap p will continue, o it's not over. jon: and we heard very dry in israel where they've got those nasty fires burning right now. also huge storms across the southeast in this country are causing a big mess. a tornado rips through a small town in south carolina near greenville. winds estimated at 100

mile-an-hour. some homes ripped from their foundations, all part of a major storm system that brought rain to the northeast yesterday. jenna: janice dean is joining us with a forecast and maybe an explanation? we've got tornadoes, storms, what's happening? >> reporter: yeah, an arctic air mass just sunk southward, jenna. we had over reports of -- 20 reports of to tornadoes, and thn we saw wind gunfights here in the northeast -- gusts here in the northwest and extentive flood -- extensive flooding. feels like 0 in international falls, 10 in minneapolis, so, yes, it is december, and it is feeling like winter time. speaking of that arctic air maas, that is also causing lake effect snow downwind of erie and ontario. look at the totals, this is

within the last 24 hours. just east of the buffalo area close to 2 feet of snow. i know we have video from this morning out of the buffalo area. look at this, guys, hundreds of motorists were stranded on i-90, a 10-mile stretch of i-90 shut down in boast directions because we had an -- both directions because we had an accident involving two trucks that were buried in snow. just incredible video, and hopefully things have reopened since. this was early this morning. hundreds of motorists were stranded. this is what they're seeing in new york, jon scott. i hope you've got your shovel ready. i know you've got a little injury that we have to work on -- jon: yeah, i'm going to have to use a snow blower this year. >> reporter: mr. plow in session. let's take a look at the radar across the the great lakes again. the arctic air mass 10-15 degrees below average. i don't know, guys, i think

summer and fall is gone. we are dealing with winter time. jon: isn't that the song, j.d., shovel off to buffalo? >> reporter: is that a song? jon: i believe so. ♪ off we're going to shovel, shovel off -- jenna: i didn't think he was going to do it, that's so great! >> reporter: he is so talented. jon: any dare she offers me, i will take. jenna: "american idol," jon scott. >> reporter: when's the cd coming out for christmas? jon: that's painful. jenna: he doesn't have the answer. that was good, jon. you can carry a tune, man. jon: dramatic developments to bring you, the man accused of kidnapping elizabeth smart. what the defense said that made her storm out of the courtroom. and what is north korea hiding in the u.n.'s nuclear watchdog chief expresses new concerns about that rogue state's growing nuclear program. flrch ♪

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jenna: well, breaking right now the defense expected to rest its case today in the let's elizabeth smart kidnapping trial just one day after elizabeth smart stormed out of court. harris is tracking this trial live at the breaking news desk. what do we know about her storming out here? >> reporter: of course, she was taken in 2002 when she was just 14 years old, and some of the details of this case are tough, but if i just read a couple of charges, maybe it'll make it clear. brian david mitchell who's 57 years old is charged with kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines for the purposes of illegal sex. no, we don't have a pinpoint on why he ran out, but those charges are pretty tough for anybody to hear, and the details of that as well. brian david mitchell's attorneys continue to say he's too mentally ill to be held responsible for his crimes. prosecutors say, nonsense. he's trying to avoid prosecution. jenna, you mentioned the defense attorneys are wrapping up their

side of the case. that's what we're watching today, to see if there are any more emotional moments coming out of that courtroom. back to you. jenna: harris, thanks. jon: the head of the united nations nuclear watchdog agency speaking out on north korea's growing nuclear program. he says he has great concern about the knot's intentions, and the u.s -- north's intentions, and the u.s. envoy is now saying the secretive nation could be hiding even more weapons. coming out of the meeting underway in vienna right now. let's talk about it with fox news military analyst major general bob scales. general scales, i know you were in many korea the last time there was a big leadership shake-up when kim john -- i'm sorry, when kim jung-il took over. there is another one of those shake-ups apparently underway right now. is that why we're seeing all of this belligerence from north korea? this. >> oh, absolutely, jon. they've dusted after the

playbook, and they're playing it become almost line for line the way they did it 16 years ago. look, they are, both kim jung-il and kim i don't think unare both terribly isolated. it's clear that the regime is very unstable right now. and so the game plan goes like this. you, you tell the world that you have a nuclear program, you do various military actions on the periphery of north korea in order to excite international reaction, and that leads to the extortion of resources and a backing down of the western powers. it's playing out today exactly as it did back then, jon. jon: well, in what way are the western powers backing down, and what should the united states do about it? >> well, i mean, that's exactly right. what's different this time is that the western powers are no longer going to reward bad behavior. my sources tell me that they're prepared to punish bad behavior,

and that's the big difference. they've changed their rules of engagement, they've streamlined their reaction times to respond to north korea in provocation, they've allowed the korean military more latitude in how they restation weapons to respond to the north koreans, and so what we're going to see should the north koreans do something stupid, we're going to see the south koreans respond in a much more forceful way. because the south koreans are getting tired of it and, secondly, i think the south koreans realize that this time the north is playing from a position of weakness, jon. jon: as you well know, we've got almost 30,000 american troops right there on the border, and a great number of our viewers have served in north korea -- i'm sorry, in south korea. they're, obviously, very interested in what's going on there. would you see if there is some kind of another strike from north korea, do you see american forces getting involved? >> no, i don't. the south korean military is very capable, 600,000 soldiers, first-class equipment unlike the north, and can the north knows

that. the north knows that the south is militarily capable, they've just been politically hamstrung in their ability to react. south korean artillery and particularly their air force is capable, and it will be the south koreans who react to the next prove vegas, not the u.s., jon. jon: major general bob scales retired if the u.s. army, finish from the u.s. army, thank you. >> thanks, jon. jenna: two of the senate's most conservative republicans have now put their support behind a controversial deficit-slashing plan by the chairman of president obama's debt commission. the deficit problem is too great to put off action until after the next election and if lawmakers don't act now, they will have to face far more painful choices later. house republicans are likely to oppose the plan because of tax hikes. we're going to have more on this but, again, a vote on the debt commission -- the proposal is on friday, and that will lead if it is voted, if there's a majority to approve talking about it, it

moves to the next step of actually seeing if we could implement any of these proposals. it just opens up the discussion. we also have harris logged on our live web chat. debt, of course, always a big issue every day, but what's happening today? >> reporter: debt and taxes. i know you're getting ready to talk to congressman pence who's come up with this legislation to deal with bush-era tax cuts in perpetuity. that is hot on the chat. come in, talk with us on fox news foxnews.com, lots of people saying what their thoughts are right now on those bush era tax cuts. stay close. are often a good source of vitamins, fiber, or minerals. and who brings you more natural colors than campbell's condensed soups? campbell's.® it's amazing what soup can do.™ whoa! that achy cold needs alka-seltzer plus! it rushes multiple cold fighters,

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jon: "happening now," the obama administration is reversing course on offshore drilling.

last march the president called for new exploration along the atlantic coast and in the eastern gulf near florida. well, now the administration is pulling the plug declaring a moratorium through 2017. drilling can continue over in the western part of the gulf though. as of last week 3,398 oil platforms were active in that part of the gulf. shannon bream is live in washington. why did the administration do a 180 on this, shannon? >> reporter: well, jon, this does represent a very significant shift pa what president obama promised as far as back when he was a candidate in 2008 and all the way through the beginning of his administration. then, of course, the bp spill happened, and it sounds like that was the game changer for this administration. interior secretary ken salazar says of the big change, quote, as a result of the deepwater horizon oil spill, we learned a number of lessons. most importantly, that we need to focus on creating a more strip -- stringent regulatory regime: flsh

jon: but not everyone's convinced, i guess. there's a lot of backlash here? >> reporter: yeah. you can imagine those within the oil and gas industries are not happy here domestically in the u.s. they say this is yet another move by the administration to implement policies that kill private american jobs. here's myron ebell of the competitive enterprise institute. >> president obama and his administration in general seem to think that the only engine for creating jobs is the federal government. in fact, of course, it's private companies working in the free market. seafood on

the menu. natalie is reporting from houston. >> 27,000 tests have been performed, and the seafd has beroen becoming ill from eating gulf seafood. >> reporter: it's a perception problem, the perception that seafood from the gulf is not safe after the worst oil disaster in history. a perception affecting those who make a living in the waters off the texas coast, including sports fishermen. >> i think we need to support the local fishermen -- >> everyone. >> you know, all the seafood that's coming out of the gulf, more now than ever before.

>> that's right. because we need to make sure that we always have gulf coast food. seafood. >> i mean, every chef in the country north, south, east, west, coast to coast, they're all buying gulf coast seafood, you know? it's simply the best seafood available. nobody's going to put any contaminated seafood on a menu. i mean, it's not an option. somebody of our reputation, our stature, there's no question. we're not going to do that to you. >> reporter: tonight brent man's seafood house in houston will join almost 300 restaurants across the country featuring gulf seafood on their menu all in honor of america's night out for gulf seafood. so why only a few? >> sure, i wish more of the local folks were participating, but, you know, they were really will in the early days, and they're doing the most important thing. our local restaurants are buying, you know, seafood out of the gulf waters, and that's what

really matters. jenna: so on the one hand we're being told by washington it's too dangerous to drill in some areas, on the other hand we're told the danger from the gulf oil spill is over and we should go ahead and eat seafood. the doctor is in, dr. manny alvarez. he did some reporting from the gulf durinthe bp crisis. again, bringing these two stories together, it's tough to figure out there a health care provider how do you look at this? >> well, look, i'm optimistic that the fda and some of the agencies are doing the right thing. you know, transparency is important and, of course, the president is now bringing seafood to the white house, i think 2,000 pounds of seafood are being served now for the holiday season. so one could argue that this has been looked at pretty well, that there seems to be no danger. however, you know, again, i would caution us that this ises a story that will continue to be in the news because sometimes toxic effects or long effects of

embedded, let's say heavy metals at the sea bottom could start creating problems for our health. but t optimistic -- it's optimistic, and i would not discourage anybody from eating seafood. however, i would say maybe pregnant women should be cautious. and also the excessive amount of seafood until you know for a fact that everything has been completely clear, and there's no reports, you know, limit to maybe once a week -- jenna: it looked pretty good. we talk a lot about health in general, seafood, people say don't eat too much of tuna, you're going to get mercury poisoning, so if you had to choose buying from the can or -- >> tuna, no, i would go for the shrimp in the gulf for sure because sometimes tuna does have, you know, high concentrations of mercury, and that could be more debt

detrimental to your health. jenna: are you going to go back down there? >> i hope. [laughter] jenna: see, i'm frying to help you -- trying to help you out. jon, over to you. jon: i'm hungry now. jambalaya, some shrimp, that looked good. there's high tension right now on capitol hill. democrats about to bring up a vote oven tax cuts. essentially -- on tax cuts. essentially, they are daring republicans to oppose it. the stalemate that could wind up costing you a lot of money. wk

.

jon: a fox news alert on a topic that's been burning up our chat on foxnews.co foxnews.com/happening now. the white house council of economic advisors just releasing a report. it urges congress to further extend jobless benefits. those benefits were already extended to a total of 99 weeks. the report warns if congress fails to act, there will be dire consequences. let's get an update from mike emanuel. he is at the white house for us. mike [. >> reporter: jon, the report is just out. what it says two million americans are at risk of losing unemployment benefits this month alone. extending unemployment benefits is not only the right economic policy, it is the right thing to do in terms of economic policy. they say if those two million families have continued unemployment benefits in this christmas, hanukkah holiday season, they go out and spend money.

that helps the economy elsewhere in terms of jobs for other people. and so they are making the case for extending unemployment benefits. republicans on capitol hill are saying fine, you want to extend unemployment benefits, find a way to pay for them. the white house is pushing back a bit on it, hey, you want to give tax cuts to people. why not help people who are really hurting out of jobs looking for work? so the debate continues but the council of economic advisors making the case for a critical economic impact of extending those benefits and the ripple effect they will have throughout our economy. jon? jon: mike emanuel live at white house. thank you. jenna: mike emanuel set it up pretty good. i will bring in congressman mike pence of indiana. he is joining us to talk a little bit about tax cuts and what is happening in d.c. right now. congressman, let's start off just broadly. today. >> hi, jenna. jenna: a month to the day, since the elections, just curious our viewers are so curious whether or not there really has been a change in tone from the white house? that compromise is really in

the air. what do you think? >> i was talking to our incoming speaker john boehner yesterday and we were chatting about the meeting at the white house. i think the tone has changed but the consent hasn't. i mean, you know, we're hearing more conciliatory tone coming from the administration. i think there are reports that the president actually expressed some sense of disappointment in his own administration's failure to reach out more but, you know, quite frankly with the legislative stunt that is coming to the floor this afternoon that will result in enormous tax increase in january on small business owners and family farmers, it's pretty much business as usual on capitol hill. i think that's why the american people made the decisive change that they made one month ago. jenna: so, what you're calling a stunt, is the democrats introducing in the house a bill to extend the bush-era tax cuts to those families making up to $250,000 and less.

essentially the criticism has been they were drawing a line in the sand, they're forcing a vote. but you today are introducing legislation as well would extend the bush-era tax cuts permanently. which is also being viewed as a line in the sand and not really a move towards compromise. why are you choosing to introduce that legislation now and maybe not a bill that includes thoughts from the democrats as well? >> well, because i really believe that the american people know, the last thing we should do in the worst connie in 25 years is raise taxes on anybody. so i'm going to unhook the microphone in a second. walk over and raise the curtain alongside senator jim demint on a bill that would permanently extend all the current tax rates which would mean we would permanently repeal death taxes once and for all. we permanently fix amt with a patch. and look, as i said at the detroit economic club monday, i think most americans know, jenna, uncertainty is the

enemy of our prosperity. saying that there is going to be a tax increase two years from now or saying we're going to raise taxes on some americans and not others, leaves further uncertainty in the system. we think the time has come to make it clear to the american people in this economy, and the world community, here is our tax rates. this is what they're going to be permanently. and then they can get on with growing this economy, encouraging investment and putting americans back to work. jenna: congressman, a lot of viewers on the chat board said they agree with you. they think that's a great idea but just agreement doesn't help you pass legislation. so how will you get the other side to compromise with you on that issue so we have some sort of agreement before the end of the year? >> i've been saying the last four years that minority in congress plus the american people equals a majority, jenna. i still believe that. we've got a new republican majority that will show up in town here in january but right now republicans and conservatives are in the minority but we have got the

american people on our side. all we're asking, all jim demint will ask of the senate, i'm going to ask of the house, if you're going to bring your bill to the floor today that only preserves and makes permanent tax relief for americans under certain amount, raises taxes on others, let's have a fair up-or-down vote on our version, to make all current tax rates permanent? i got to tell you, i don't know for certain what would happen if we have a straight up-or-down vote on it but i like our chances. i think, the members of congress who are here, democrats who are coming back, heard the message a month ago and if given the opportunity to make those tax rates permanent i think we've got a fighting chance to do it. we need a vote and if the administration wants to demonstrate that they aren't just changing the tone and tenor but they're changing the content of their relationship, with republicans on capitol hill, they will tell their party, give republicans a vote on permanent tax extension. jenna: our viewers are

looking forward to hear about a compromise to come. what personally, have you done, congressman pence? have you taken democrats out to lunch? have you guys share ad glass of wine? how does this actually get done? >> well, look, we're, as i said, jim demint and i are raising the curtain in the house and the senate today on a permanent extension bill. we're going to start the process of distributing that among our members. i've been talking to colleagues in both political parties about this economy and i have to tell you, people talk about a compromise but i don't know why a tax increase that doesn't make sense in january, makes sense two januaries from now? i mean if anything, we're going to end up delaying our recovery for another two years. people back in muncie, indiana, don't want to wait two pour years for this economy to start start growing again. jenna: a viewer, friend asks this. he is giving a reason why you should not extend tax cuts to the rich. he says tax the rich proven

it won't effect your jobs because the rich don't spend like middle class and poor do. what is your response to him? >> well, i think if you look at the data, an enormous percentage of consumer spending in this economy taken up in americans that have incomes over the amount that they want to raise taxes on. at the end of the day, look, i would just say, anybody that thinks that raising taxes on job creators is going to create jobs, he is going to meet with an argument from me. i think most americans know higher taxes aren't going to get anybody hired. right now do what we can. have a fair up-or-down vote. they want to do their thing for a tax increase in january, so be it but give us, on the pens-demint bill, straight up-or-down vote making all tax rates permanent. i got a feeling millions of americans let their voice be heard and put real certainty in the tax code and lay a foundation we can continue to grow the economy again. jenna: 30 seconds congressman pence, but if

you get a compromise on bush-era tax cuts, will you vote in favor of +++nç>

>> notwithstanding all comments about your beautiful singing earlier jon. jon: i'm not doing that again. >> tax cuts are a big deal now. chris said how can we get congressman pence's bill to the house floor right now today? kerry perez saying extend tax cuts permanently for everybody makes below 500,000 and next five years for everybody else. working out their own compromises on foxnews.com. go to jon and jenna's picture at the top of the page. click on it. go to the happening now page which is terrific page to hang out. look at clickable portion in red where you can get in on the live chat. let your voice be heard america is asking. it is all about you. stay with us.

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>> hey, everyone i'm megyn kelly. at 2:00 p.m. eastern time we find out if "e.t." really

phoned home. nasa's big press conference. you will see it only right here. plus harry reid angering republicans by introducing four different versions of the dream act to pass citizenship for millions of illegals. it may come to a street today or tomorrow. we'll have a full report. plus a 13-year-old boy brutalized in the classroom by another student. a teacher sits there and watching it without intervening for 15 minutes. why? school policy we'll show you the tape in kelly's court. a a spot for doings complete with disco, photo shoots and liver-flavored bubbles blowing in the air. seriously? wait until you see this. top of the hour. jon: well the road to the white house in 2012 begins in iowa. and right now one possible contender is taking part in a book-signing. former alaska governor sarah palin. steve brown is live in spirit lake, iowa. we hear governor palin is getting some guff in that state, steve?

>> reporter: a little bit and it could grow to be a little bit more than a little bit. the governor is inside walmart signing copies of her latest book to a crowd of hundreds at least. about 250 stood in line as of 7:30 this morning. the that line was only growing as the morning wound down towards noon. the sign something going on for a couple hours. kathy obradovich the political columnist of "the des moines register" wrote this week it is not enough to flirt with iowans. she keeps the media pretty much at bay. does a lot of interacting with folks who have the book autographed and does no media interviews and doesn't take questions from caucus-goers. the questions that make politicians grasp for answers. her point is you it is not simply good enough to come to iowa to flirt with the notion for president. you have to get your sleeves

rolled up and leave image consultants behind and get out in the people. newt gingrich, mitt romney or a host of others come to iowa they have all done that during their visits even though they're not yet presidential candidates. so a little bit of chiding for governor palin. jon: this is not a walmart commercial. that is where she is doing the signing right, behind you in that store? >> reporter: that is correct. she is inside at walmart doing the signing ability slultly. >> steve brown, thank you. >> you're welcome. jenna: breaking news, a new reaction out of connecticut where stephen hayes formally sentenced to die for his role in a brutal home invasion. we'll take you there next. plus a group that helps out our troops in the war zone. celebrate the holidays. they actually need your help this year. what you can do straight ahead.

jenna: justice today for

jennifer hawke pettitte and her two daughters. during our show a connecticut judge sentenced their killer to death. harris is live with this story. harris? >> i'm over at the web wall. this is one of the ways we watch news coming in. i'm at foxnews.com. if you ever want to know more what we're covering right away you can. steven hayes is featured in the box down here. if you click on this it will take you to the blog from our reporter laura ingle inside the courtroom. just about half hour ago we found out steven hayes got the death penalty in this case. jenna was talking about the petit family, the doctor was only survivor in all of that. his wife, his 17-year-old, and 11-year-old daughters killed. the man at the heart of the case, steven hayes in a courtroom today telling courtroom members my actions have hurt so many people, affected so many lives, caused so much pain i'm tormented and have nightmares what happened in that house. remember, he is getting the death sentence. what does the judge say to him. may god have mercy on your soul. death is your penalty in all of this.

if you want to read more about this you can go read the blog on foxnews.com. get through it from the front page or happening now, which is always a good place to be as i mentioned before. click on jon and jenna's picture. this story has been huge in connecticut and reverber races across the nation as people watch what would happen. a home invasion left two young daughters and their monl killed brutal -- mom killed brutally. back to you. jenna: harris, thank you. jon: there is a big hit in a program tries to send presents to our troops this holiday season. donations of exists and supplies are pouring in and the groups are left struggling to pay for the postage to ship the gifts overseas. like elves making all the toys but not being able to afford the feed the reindeer to deliver them. mary harper, president and founder of operation shoe box. she joins us now. you have a lot of stuff, mary. you can't pay to get it over to places like afghanistan?

>> yes we do have a lot of items to ship over there we're sending christmas stockings over there. we're trying to get 30 thousand over to our troops. it is important to remind the troops that people back home have not foregoten them. they sacrifice so much for us. it is constant struggle with the postage. we have to raise all of our own funds. we don't get any men from the post office or government in any way to get the packages over there. i will is really important. jon: a lot of people assume, oh you've got a us air force they will fly everything over there for free. that is not the case, is it? >> no, abs absolutely not. they call it civilian mail and will not put any civilian mail on a flight. which leaves us the balance to get it over there which is hundreds of thousands of dollars to ship these items over there. jon: right. >> our volunteers are awesome but unfortunately we're not able to raise the funds. jon: takes more than a 44 cent stamp. tell us about a typical shipment. what is in it, what does it weigh and what does it cost?

>> a typical shipment is box of these stockings which 15 go in a box. it averages 22 to $24 a box. last year we were able to ship out 29,000 christmas stockings at a cost of $595,000. our entire budget is over couple hundred thousands each year for postage. it costs a lot to get it over there. jon: it sure does. i know you talked with former president bush. we have a picture of that meeting. what about a website? where can our viewers donate if, if they want to contribute to this cause? >> people can go to our website at operationshoe box.com. they can donate online or send a donation through the mail. we really appreciate donations. it is only way we get our stuff over to the troops. it is so important to let the men and women know we still care about them. this late date in the war that people are still back here pushing for them. jon: i know they really appreciate it. mary harper. it is good of you to do that. we hope you get some

donations out of this. >> thank you so much. thank you. jenna: well, is there life on other planets? a major nasa news conference scheduled to begin shortly. have scientists found "e.t."? little green aliens, stuff like that? we'll bring you live coverage just ahead the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today. until the combination of three good probiotics in phillips' colon health defended against the bad gas, diarrhea and constipation. ...and? it helped balance her lon. oh, now that's t best part. i love your work. [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. i'm hugh jidette and i'm running for president. i'll say a lot of things but do i really care about this baby's future? when he's 30 years old our $13 trilli debt will be $70 trillion eventually his taxes will double just to pay the interest. i'm hugh jidette and i say let's keep borrowing

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