might not always see that. i'm jenna lee. jon: i'm jon scott, "happening now" the sweeping tax bill one step away from backing -- from becoming law. jenna: and the bill had bipartisan support. taxes will not go up january 1st, it extends unemployment benefits for millions and enacts a new one-year cut in social security taxes, jon. jon: it just needs president obama's signature at this point and he will sign it later this afternoon. peter doocy, live in washington, so when is the signing ceremony, peter? >> jon, we are expecting president obama to sign this big tax bill into law at about 3:50 this afternoon, that is according to our team over at the white house the bill passed the house of re79 i was -- representatives with yea votes from 139 democrats and 277 votes in support, that's a majority of both parties. and when it becomes law, with the president's

signature, the entire $858 billion price tag is going to be tacked on to the decifit, but then with this tax rate compromise, americans of all income levels will have their tax breaks remain the same for two years. this measure also renews unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed and puts into play a one-year cut in the social security tax that will affect just about every working american. jon. jon: so much wrangling, so much fighting went into this, when they finally got passage last night, what did everybody have to say about it? >> well, jon, you remember that many house members on both sides of the aisle were expressing concern throughout the process of getting to this tax rate compromise, but in the end, members on both sides being hopeful that this is going to lead to something good. here is democrat congressman earl pomeroy: >> we saw the president of the united states strike a deal with senate republicans. in the end, it was a passage that held in the senate

overwhelmingly, passed the house tonight. it's going to mean tax relief for most of the people in this country. >> reporter: republicans chimed in, too, like representative dave camp, who said, quote, this is just no time to be playing games with our economy. the failure to block these tax increases would be a direct hit to families and small businesses. in the recaps there, you heard the democratic reps say tax relief, republicans said tax increase, their words are different but their parties came together for this compromise and it's going to be interesting if they keep it up while they motor through the rest of their busy agenda. jon: can they do that for another week or so. thank you very much. peter doocy, live from washington. jenna: also happening late last night, a pork-filled spending bill scrapped in the senate, the package pulled off the table by senate majority leader harry reid. instead, reid says he's going to work with gop leader mitch mcconnell to produce a shorter-term bill, keeping the government from shutting down by tomorrow. we'll see, though.

jim angle is live in washington with this story. jim. >> reporter: jenna, several democrats indicated they would vote against the massive spending bill as it was so senate majority leader harry reid -- >> inaudible] >> jenna: looks like maybe the weather is -- >> jon: it's cold in washington. jenna: do we have him back? i hear murmurs. we're thinking maybe -- we were going to get to the weather but maybe this is a good example of how -- >> jon: he froze. >> the weather down here is frightful! and the mood inside the senate was not delightful! i can assure you of that. [laughter] jenna: i don't know where we lost you but we lost you pretty much at the top. so you want, go ahead. >> here's the deal. several democrats indicated they would vote against the massive spending bill as it was, that meant majority leader harry reid had to get several republicans. he thought he had some republican appropriator, those on the committee that actually churn out the more than 6000 earmarks, but they got queazy about the process

and decided to vote against the overall bill. reid said that he thought he had nine republican votes. listen: >> one of my republican friends said here's who's going to support you, here's who's going to support you. up to nine. nine. i talked to a number of those senators. i'm not going to identify them, i have them right here, i know every one of them, and i won't tonight or any time publicly ever say anything about who they are. but they know who they are. and in the last 24 hours, they've walked away from it. we need complete this legislation. >> the reason he doesn't have the votes is because members on this side of the aisle increasingly felt concerned about the way that we do business. and for many of our members, it's not so much the substance of the bill, but the process. >> reporter: now, he is talking about the fact that none of the separate bills from the various parts of

government were brought forward, examined, debated and voted on this year. then the massive spending bill put all those together, along with 6000 earmarks which was going to be pushed through in three days with no changes allowed. republicans convinced everyone on their side, including those with their own earmarks that was a bad idea. it's not so much the substance of earmarks which can range from utterly li dick lous examples of pork to perfectly legitimate spending needs that most would support, but when all thrown together in a massive bill intended to be rushed through in three days, lawmakers don't have time to separate the worthy projects from the greasiest of pork, so senator reid's plan went down in flames, now both parties will work on a temporary extension of spending at current levels and start fresh next year. jenna: we should have you do all your heads twice, just two times in a row. what do you think jim? >> why not? i work on commission! yes. jenna: jim angle, thank you very much. >> sure. jon: we all love more air time. a fox extreme weather alert

for you. it is a dangerous day if you have to travel around washington and the maryland area. that's what jim was talking about. take a look at these pictures, this is baltimore, the first snowfall of the season there, authorities are reporting more than 150 traffic accidents, including several involving school buses. that is always scary. wintery weather, closing schools, canceling flights and causing delays on the commuter trains. jenna: jon, why don't we move down south, and we're actually talking about going down south with some of the bad weather, north carolina getting a brief break before the next wave of winter weather hits, the remnants of the last storm, spill on -- still on some roads and you can see it there yourself, snow, sleet, freezing rain, making an ice y commute. conditions are expected to go down tomorrow and that coastal system is tracking towards north carolina. might be headed our way jon. jon: that system off the east coast, supposed to bring snow for the last big weekend of christmas shopping to big parts of that part of the country.

meteorologist janice dean is in the fox weather center. what are you seeing? >> reporter: we're still tailoring our forecast. the local forecast is the same. maybe? could be? we'll have to see. but one thing is for certain, we are watching coastal storm. it's going to ride up the east coast. just how close it gets this morning could mean whether we have a pretty big measurable snow or really nothing at all. certainly cold enough for snow across the northern tier of the country, even down south where we saw those picture the out of tennessee. there's the satellite imagery. syracuse has tied the record for the snowiest december, 70.3 inches of snow so far this year. they will break it. we're also seeing a wintery mix across the texas panhandle, into oklahoma. also want to point out, jon scott, we've got big storm systems moving into the west, heavy rain along the coast, and 6-10 feet of snow for the sierra range across california. so we're watching both of

those systems. just real quick, i'll show you the futurecast and see where this storm is. this is just one of the computers models, you can see riding up the coast, there's our coastal storm, again, you can see the outer ridge here, we are seeing that snow, i think new england, you could brace yourself for a big snow event, we'll have to wait and see if it is d.c., new york, boston event. so that's your future radar. we'll keep you posted. you know what guys? we love your you report photos. you report, at foxnews.com. we got this one in just the other day. can you believe this, this is from shenna in fairbanks, alaska, a uaf student, minus 31, they're pretending it's sand instead of snow out there. unbelievable. it's supposed to go i think minus 45 tonight. so incredible, incredible polls. this is from jay in churchill, tennessee, of course, icy weather moved through that region yesterday, coating everything, power lines, roadways.

it looks really pretty but people were urged to stay off the roads. we saw lots of accidents. so the weather is going to be certainly something we're watching this weekend with storms on both coasts. you're going to see a lot of me and a lot of our weather folks this weekend. back to you guys. onjon got one of our favorite shots on you report earlier, a dog buried up to his neck in the snow, leaping around in it. if you've got pictures, send them to us, you report, the letter u, foxnews.com. j.d., thanks, we'll talk to you later. >> you bet. jenna: this is one of those stories that doesn't leave you, he's the virginia lacrosse player accused of beating his girlfriend, yard r yeardley love, to death, and now we're hearing stories, huguely's lawyers want her medical records. how does this fit into his defense? we're going to tell you about that story. also a multi billion dollar settlement in the bernie madoff case, we're going to tell you what this means for his victims. that's just ahead.

jenna: brand new details in the death of a lacrosse player from the university of virginia. remember this case? twenty-two-year-old yeardley love, found dead in her apartment, her ex-boyfriend is accused of her murder, but now, his lawyers are trying to get ahold of her medical records. doug mcelway is live on the story. >> reporter: when we first heard of yeardley love's murder, it stunned the uva campus last may, the guilt of her boyfriend, george huguely, seemed all but certain, he refueled miranda rights and admitted he repeatedly hit her head against a wall in a fit of rage, the autopsy found the cause of death to be blunt force trauma, huguely's attorney strangely said at the time that her death was, quote, an accident with a tragic outcome, but at a court hearing this week, we learned much more. a former medical examiner hired by the defense told a judge they want access to

yeardley love's medical records, they believe that a combination of the add drug ad roll and a .14 blood alcohol level content in yeardley love's blood stream may have led to cardiac arrest, and the frantic -- resuscitation by medics may have caused internal bleeding in her. >> it could backfire on the defense because intentionally you're trying to sully the character of the victim who as we basically know now got her head bashed in. >> experts suggest this may be an overall strategy to seek a plea deal, something that could be actually advantageous to both sides. jenna: anything from the prosecution? >> we've not heard from the prosecution. we've not heard from the defense, either. i've tried calling both of them, they hang the phone up immediately. if this case does go to trial, a lot of potentially damaging information could come out. both these young kids were partying big time that night, we do know that and

no matter what kind of influence the victims' rights advocates try to impose on the trillion the defense says they have the ability to pull out all the stops with huguely and the prosecution may have other concerns. >> something other than a first degree murder plea is fair in this case because they're worried about the expense of a death penalty case which can be tremendous for a small county prosecutor's office. >> reporter: it may also be that neither family wants to relive this tragedy in a courtroom. the judge is now reviewing that request to release love's medical records and a preliminary hearing is set for jait lan. jenna: a sad story overall. doug, thank you. jon: the estate of one of bernard madoff's investor agreeing to pay more than $7 billion to the swindler's victims. we are expecting the official announcement of the largest settlement yet in that case. it also means the government now recovered about half the money investors had given to madoff. this cash comes from the

estate of florida businessman jeff pickoaur, the government said he withdrew one third of the cash that disappeared in the swindle, picaur died after suffering a heart attack in his pool. one of the oldest, most beloved, most historic buildings in utah is burning right now. an intense fire at a tabernacle in provo, on the registry of national historic places. a live report on efforts to save it, coming up. new warnings from north korea, pyongyang is threatening nuclear war if south korea doesn't back down, the tension, growing by the day on the korean peninsula. what, if anything, can be done to lower it?

jenna: happening right now

in utah, a massive fire, ripping through an historic tabernacle there, flames pouring from a gaping hole in the roof, and fire crews are battling to try to save this very special building. rick folbaum has the story. >> reporter: this is the provo teash knackel, one of the oldest buildings in the state of utah, on the national registry of historic place, the fire was called in just before 3:00 this morning and take a look at how the flames have engulfed this beautiful, beautiful building. hard to see here with all of the flames shooting from the roof there. at this point, the firefighters are still working on trying to put on the the flames. they have their work cut out for them. the roof actually collapsed around 6:00 this morning, so whatever is salvaged is going to need to be heavily repaired, if that's even possible. we do have a picture for you of the tabernacle before the fire and you can see what a pretty structure it is, the architecture that made it so unique and cherished. the orange design had a giant central tower that

we're told had to be removed because it put too much stress on the roof and lately it's not been used as a prayer dwelling but rather for concerts and special veants. we're told there's no word yet on what caused the fire. that could take a few days for investigators to sort through and figure out. luckily, no one has been hurt. but there is no doubt a lot of sadness today as one of utah's best known and best loved buildings is heavily damaged in that fire. back to you guys. jenna: rick, thank you very much for that, we'll continue to follow that story. such a tragic event. jon: terrible. jenna: want to bring you to d.c. we're waiting on moments from now the house speaker-designate john boehner is going to make a few comments, he's holding a media availability, so he is going to answer any questions that are tossed at him and as soon as we see him we're going to bring you some of those comments. there's a lot of things that have happened this week, to say the least. i'm starting to fall over my own words because there's so much that has gone on. the house last night, of course, passing the tax bill compromise.

there was so much strife ahead of that bill, but when it came down to a vote it passed easily and now as we understand it, the president will sign that bill around 3:00 this afternoon. so we'll continue to watch this, as soon as john boehner comes out and makes a few comments we'll bring that to you jon. jon: sounds good. "ing -- happening now, new threats from north korea, warning south korea it will retaliate harshly if the south goes ahead with planned military exercises. a north korean artillery barrage killed four south koreans last month, now pyongyang is upping the ante even more saying if war breaks out on the korean peninsula it will go nuclear and won't be just limited to the north korean peninsula. >> let's bring in the special envoy for north korean human rights, christian, when they say they won't -- that this nuclear war, if it breaks out, is not going to be limited just to the peninsula, what are they talking about, japan? >> that's right, it's a

thinly veiled threat against japan and the united states. so essentially in the nuclear crosshairs are south korea, japan and the united states. it might sound outlandish to us that north korea might strike one of us with nuclear weapons but there's a history of regimes underestimates the results of democracy and combined with weakness out of washington, there's a very real threat here. jon: hold on, we have breaking news. jenna: national security security -- security certainly on the list of john boehner. let's take a listen: >> that's what the american people want, and it's what our economy economy needs. but there are still many in washington who believe otherwise, who believe government spending is what spurs our economy and creates prosperity. but beginning on january 5th, the american people are going to watch their congress do something differently. at least in one house. beginning in january, the house is going to become the

outpost of, in washington for the american people, in their desire for a smaller, less costly and more accountable government. you know, the president's agenda may be the agenda of washington, but beginning january 5th, the agenda of this house will be the agenda of the american people. the peoples' priorities will be our priorities. now, we've laid the ground work for action, and in the 45 days since the election, under leadership of our transition committee, greg walton and others, we've ban ned earmarks, we've arranged to have cameras installed on the rules committee, we've reduced the sizes of committees so that they can work more effectively, and do a better job of oversight. now -- and we've instituted reforms like cut as you go that make it harder to increase spending here in washington. these reforms have put us in a position to start immediately in january on the k458 he thinks that the american people -- on the

challenges that the american people are demanding we address. it starts with a pledge to america, and it will start with jobs. congress has acted to stop all of the tax hikes that were scheduled to go into effect january 1st. but it's a good first step. but let's be clear. if we actually want to help our economy get back on track and to begin creating jobs, we need to end the job killing spending binge, we need to cut spending significantly and we need to provide more certainty to small businesses around america. doing this is going to require tough choices. we'll start first by cutting our own budget. it will be one of our first votes. then we'll turn our attention to the rest of the federal budget, and the job killing polices that are denying economic growth and opportunity for the american people, including killing the job killing health care law.

we can't borrow and spend our way to prosperity. the american people know that. and i think the government's failure to recognize this has led to the uprising we saw over the last year, that helped create a new majority in the house. we're ready to get to work. we're ready to be held accountable. and as i said before, if we don't do what the american people are demanding -- >> jenna: house speaker designate john boehner saying he's ready to get to work after congress get to work the first of the year, a few days left before this man takes the house speaker position officially but certainly is lot on the list ahead for him. we're going to continue to watch any comments that come out of this media availability and you can also watch it live at foxnews.com, it's streaming live there. jon: let's get back to the situation on the korean peninsula which is still boiling. christian whiten is former deputy special envoy for north korean human rights. christian, we were talking about how the north is threatening nuclear war if

south korea does not cancel these planned exercises, military exercises, that are coming up. president li south korea is under a lot of pressure to respond militarily if the north were to launch another barrage of artillery shells or any other kind of action. do you see the possibility of nuclear war resulting from all this? >> it's not a high probability, but there is the possibility. and that's enough to be greatly concerned. president li will strike back if north korea assaults south korea again. at the last assault on south korea he did not retaliate, partly at the request of washington, in fact, largely at the request of washington, but he took a lot of criticism and declined in popularity as a result. and this time, i think he would strike back, it would probably be an air attack on north korea and what happens after that is anyone's guess but we're essentially one north korean strike away from war on the korean

peninsula. other the other hand, rhetoric out of pyongyang is not rare, especially when there are military exercises and often the rhetoric is to no effect but because of everything else going on there's a lot to be concerned about here. jon: especially for those americans who have -- whose families are among the 30,000 troops there on the border. christian whiten, thank you. >> thanks jon. jenna: the obama administration is still trying to figure out what to do with some of those detainees from guantanamo boy and -- bay and now a debate that could hold up the major defense bill lingering in house of representatives. what does it mean for our troops? as -- if lawmakers don't pass it on time, what does it mean for gitmo? we have that coming up. where you can get up to $1,000 off now through sunday. where you can get up to $1,000 off now through sunday. naturally colorful vegetables are often a good source of vitamins, fiber, or minerals.

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jon: after failing to pass that massive trillion dollar spending bill, senate majority leader harry reid is promising the senate will work all weekend on the many issues still on the table as this lame duck session ticks away. let's talk about it with paul gigot with "the wall street journal." i know it's always dangerous to try to venture a guess as to why things happen in washington, paul, but why did they pull that bill? >> harry reid didn't have the votes. about six or eight republicans had said they would vote for it, and mitch mcconnell got them in a room and said you don't want to be voting for this because this is going to to do a lot of harm to the republican party, and they rallied to his side, and harry reid just couldn't pass it. jon: it reflects some of what

happened november 2nd, people are ticked off about spending. >> yes. as the president likes to say, we know, elections have consequences, and that was part of the motivation here, for the republicans not to upset a lot of their base voters. jon: so where do we go from here? is it the slightly smaller bill, the supplemental that's going to get passed? >> looks like there's going to be a bill that extends funding for the government temporarily into the year, 30 be days, 60 days, but then republicans will have to write the bill with the new congress for most of the funding for 2011. jon: paul gigot is editorial page editor of "the wall street journal." tune in to fox news channel 2 p.m. eastern time, journal editorial report runs then, and then do not move for fox news watch at 2:30 eastern time. we cover the coverage of all the big news stories of the week. jenna: right now funding for our military men and women hangs in the balance. the defense authorization bill still hasn't passed, and that's

really historic. if it doesn't pass by the end of the year, the defense department will have to follow the exact same priorities as it did last year. so new training, brand new equipment, new programs hang in the balance. and now one item may cause some big controversy. some language about what to do with the detainees at guantanamo bay. pennsylvania congressman joe sestak is a member of the armed services committee, he's also the highest ranking military official ever to serve in congress. so, congressman, what's at stake for our troops here? >> well, if the authorization bill gets passed, it does help. look, we've got a new way to acquire equipment that'll save $130 billion over the years if it's done. but all that said, if it doesn't pass, the world doesn't stop. look at the foreign aid bill. we haven't had an authorization for that since 1962. but what results over time is that you are still going to appropriate the money because that's a different process. but you don't have proper oversight, you don't have the new policies that eventually

effect what we need to do. so we should get this through for good golfer -- governance. jenna: as someone who's been part of the military and speaking to our military men and women, what kind of message do you think it sends them to see a bill like this toiling in congress? >> jenna, you bring up the best point of all. if there's any bill that you'd think would have bipartisan support, it would be a defense bill. i think at the end of the day that they're going to come to a compromise on this gitmo issue, and you'll see it passed in unanimous support. i think you're going to see they're going to forbid funding to bring in detainees for about a year to gitmo, but i need you to know, jenna, that i'm a george bush supporter on this issue. i watched him bring in 200 terrorists and try them in america and actually make a speech one time and say all terrorists should be tried in the federal court system. i headed the navy's

anti-terrorism unit. i was on the ground in afghanistan for a short mission. i walked out of the pentagon on 9/11. twenty minutes later, people slam spood that building. people who had worked for me previously never came out. i want those criminals brought to justice, given the death penalty, and the fact that we're not going to do it for a year is outrageous. george bush could do it, the laws haven't changed, it's what i defended 33 years in our military, and i think we should just get it done. jenna: so let's just be clear about this because there's been several different changes to the listening as it pertain -- language as it pertains to the gitmo detainees. but, as you say, it would prohibit funding to try them in the united states. is that correct? it's been changing over the last several hours. >> you're absolutely right. initially the president -- before what you just said -- earlier this morning the the president would have to notify and give 45 days' heads up that he was going to bring someone in

to be prosecuted. now it's going to be complete refusal of any funding to do so for at least one year. jenna: sir, we're going to have to wrap it up. i apologize, but you're for passing the defense authorization bill, and you were going to vote yes on this bill, but you disagree with this part about how to treat the gitmo detainees. do we have you right on that issue? >> you have it right, but i'll eventually fight for the bill because when you weigh the good versus the not so good in many my opinion, i'll -- in my opinion, i'll still support this bill because there's many good things in it. that's the unfortunate part sometimes, but i wanted to make it clear to everyone why i think, particularly from someone who's been on the ground, that i want these criminals brought to justice immediately because the supreme court has twice not let us do this in gitmo. they deserve the death penalties, those who should get it, and we should move on. jenna: if we pass it on for another year, when do you think

that's going to happen? we still have many detainees in gitmo. >> jenna, you asked the question. you know, for publicity purposes this sounds good out there. but with when you really watched george bush having been strong enough to bring 200 terrorists and try them, you wonder why we're not doing it today. where i defended the rule of law 31 years in the military, we're bending the rule of law and letting people sit in limbo because somehow all of a sudden because the administration changed we're no longer good in enough with america's laws to bring in the 201st terrorist to be tried under what this nation is founded upon; not the rule of men, but the rule of law. jenna: congressman sestak, we're looking forward to bringing you back again. thank you very much. >> great to be on, jenna. jon: new hope for a health care bill that would help thousands of 9/11 responders who are sickened, now, by some of the dust and smoke emanating from ground zero. senate majority leader harry reid promises a revote.

republican leaders, former new york city mayor rudy giuliani and governor mike huckabee all supporters of this. joining us now a leading champion of the bill, new york senator kirsten jill he brand. senator jill brand, i think everybody wants to take care of the people who helped take care of new york city in the aftermath of that awful event. but the bill, the tab for this, $7 billion. why so much money? >> well, this is a fund that will pay for the health care for all of these fist responders, these heros and all the victims of the families who were there at ground zero who some of the children are really suffering from very difficult lung disorders and conditions. so this is a fund that's going to pay for their health care over the next ten years. and can the bottom line is this is a question of right versus wrong. these are the men and women who literally climbed up the towers when everyone was running down, the men and women there looking for survivors in the fist days and remains thereafter. they remained there day in and

day out for months and months, and i can tell you these are our bravest, these are the ones who came to answer the call of duty, and we have to stand by them. jon: how many people are potentially, you know, beneficiaries of this fund? >> the fund is capped at about 100,000 people. those are the people who worked at ground zero or lived exactly at the ground zero location. so we know anyone who's eligible. there's been about 70,000 people who have been in medical monitoring, that have gone to the doctor so they could assess their health and well being and monitor them over time. so this is a capped fun, a capped amount of money over a ten-year period, and it's the least we can do for these heros. jon: it's a little bit difficult to keep track of where all of this legislation stands in congress with all of the votes and revotes that are going on, but this passed the house in september. >> yes, it did. jon: it went to the senate, it failed. now you're looking for a couple more votes? >> yes, and i think we have them.

i've been talking to about a dozen republican senators over the past year, and i have a very strong feeling they are going to support this bill. some members of the senate they signed a letter saying they couldn't vote for anything until taxes are done. well, taxes are done now, so there's a number of senators who will vote every single democrat in the senate to pass this bill. it's the right thing to do. this is the clearest example of what is right versus what is wrong that i've ever seen in my time, very short time in the u.s. senate. so i hope we can come together particularly during the holiday time and pass this christmas miracle because i'm telling you, these are the men and women who deserve it next. jon: we will keep an eye on your hope for a christmas miracle and hope it passes. senator, thank you. >> thank you. jenna: jon, we have a developing situation out of new mexico where we're hearing about a terrible accident and some reports that maybe 15-20 people are onboard. the information is sketchy as far as multiple injuries, and we're trying to confirm as much as we can. medical responders are on their way to the scene, and we're

trying to get some live pictures and more information for you as well, so we'll stay on that story and bring you updates as we get it. in the meantime, lots of adults can't make it through the day without, you know, a cup of coffee, maybe a soda. turns out kids as young as preschool are getting juiced up on caffeine. coming up, some eye-opening facts for parents that everyone

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call this toll-free number on your screen now... for this free information kit, including this... medicare guide and customized rate quote. jon: fox news alert and a little bit of a change in plans for the president and his travel schedule. you might know that the entire first family was scheduled to head for hawaii tomorrow for a christmas vacation. because of the uncertainty of some of the legislation that is now percolating on capitol hill, the president himself has decided to postpone that trip for at least a few days. his wife and daughters will depart tomorrow as scheduled. the president, we're told, will join them later in the week, and they will all return to washington on january 1st. jenna? jenna: drink a lot of coffee,

jon? jon: i love my coffee in the morning. jenna: as adults we know caffeine can, you know, keep us up, get us going, maybe give us the jitters from time to time. now imagine what it can do to your kids. a new study finds children are drinking the equivalent of three cokes a day. joining us, a physician and can professor of public health at johns hopkins. doc, we know the caffeine can get the kids going, but is it really bad for their health? >> well, remember, caffeine is a stimulant, and if i told you there was a substance that would make your kids have headaches, daytime sleepiness and go to the bathroom frequently, you'd say it's hard for them to do well in school, so people need to think of this as a substance that does affect mood, behavior and heart rate. jenna: so the fda recommended adults don't drink more than three cups of coffee a day of caffeine, that's the guidelines. any guidelines for parents?

>> first of all, people can control caffeine, and they can imagine it, and other people have a tough time. a lot of people say, doctor, i have a tough time sleeping. and we ask do you create a lot of -- drink a lot of caffeine? often times the answer is yes. this study in the journal pediatrics shows kids between 8-12 years of age drink on average three cups of coke and kids 5-7 drink the equivalent of one cup of coke a day. so that's a lot of caffeine for kids. overall, 75% of kids under the age of 12 in the study drank caffeine daily. jenna: and it seems like the journal is also saying that, you know, you have to watch out for tooth decay because of that, obesity. but, you know, as parents looking at this some might say, hey, i can't win. i can't give my kid a coke, i can't give him iced tea, juice has a lot of sugar in it. is it just bread and water for the kids at the holidays, doc? [laughter] >> well, it is good to model

certain juices with low sugar. vitamin water, for example, a lot of the standard drinks have the same amount of sugar as soda. arizona green tea energy drink, i didn't know it, has the equivalent of three cokes of caffeine. so it's good to educate your kids. and also, remember, this stuff can cause dependence. if you miss a dose one morning, you could get bad headacheses, and you don't want kids on that. you want to model good behavior, and, you know, we want the kids doing well and school and not on these drinks. jenna: doctor, nice to see you, sir. thank you so much for joining us. >> thanks. jon: well, the holidays could be a particularly lonely time for our men and women serving overseas. sometimes they can go months without seeing a chaplain. well, they're getting some high-tech help now. lauren green joins us live. >> reporter: jon, we know for some troops attending religious services is part of their everyday lives when they're home. now thanks to technology, it can be while they're deployed too.

the front lines are nothing like home. but for thousands of american troops serving overseas, this little mp3 player has become a friend through hard times. >> somebody by your side to remind you that maybe there's a higher purpose to remind you of some of the hardships that others have had to endure that make your hardship look relatively small, to remind you of your core beliefs. >> reporter: recorded are things like a homily -- >> the love of god and the love of neighbor are the same unique reality and cannot be separated. >> reporter: religious music -- or inspirational readings. mush. >> please protect my dad in afghanistan. >> reporter: a catholic started the grassroots effort last spring after learning some service members go months without access to a chaplain. the group handing out nearly 7,000 mp3s so far. >> the soldiers in the field, you know, once they get it, they want their best friend to have

it too. and can the feedback that we're getting is i get to hear a mass every day, or i get to hear these prayers. >> reporter: the army says all its active duty chaplain positions are filled but it needs 300 more for the national reserve. the front line faith project is one of many be civilian faith organizations providing spiritual help not only for soldiers, but for chaplains as well. groups like adopt a chaplain have the same purpose helping provide spiritual relief for soldiers living in the reality of war. now, the mp3 players cost $23. if you want to donate, go to front line faith project.org. jon: thanks very much, lauren green. jenna: well, the tax bill passed with big support from both parties, but the tea party isn' parties, but the tea party isn' so happy. coming up. together we'll make her holiday.

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jon: just a few hours from now president obama is set to sign the new tax bill. that will make it law. it passed the house with wide support among both democrats and republicans. that is not sitting well with some in the tea party. they call it a bad back room deal. they're blaming some in the gop for turning their backs on the tea party principles that helped win some key midterm races. let's talk about it with mark memberler, a co-kinder of the tea party patriots, one of the tea party organizations out there. mark, some people would say, look, you got a bill run through washington, you know, with a democratic senate, a democratic house and a democratic president, a bill that keeps everybody's tax levels the same and in some ways cuts them next year. what's so bad about that? >> well, in some ways it c cuts them, but in other ways it raises them. for example, the death tax going from be 0-35%.

more importantly, it's process. it was a back room deal negotiated in the dead of night by powerful politicians without consultation by the people, and they came out in support of it before the bill was even written. that's the kind of thing the voters rebelled against on november 2nd. jon: but, again, isn't half a loaf better than none in a case like this? >> well, it might be, but the question is, how did the gop come out of the gate? from our perspective, they came out waving the white flag as soon as the gate went down. i think they could have gotten a lot better deal for the people, and the reality is they should have dealt with a single issue at a time. this kind of horse trading is exactly what the american people object to. they should have simply done a simple up or down vote to extend the tax rates. had they done that, the american people would have supported them in that reaction. jon: all right, so let's name names. who's on the top of your naughty list? >> the top of the naughty list

are the leadership in both houses, mitch mcconnell and john boehner. what they're showing us by their example -- and it's not just this bill, it's the point of committee chairs -- point of committee chairs that don't reflect american values. jon: but you have to admit that even as popular as the tea party movement is, it doesn't represent everybody in america. there are other points of view out there. is this not a compromise that maybe everybody should live with? >> i don't think so. i think this is not a compromise everybody should live with. i think the vast majority of americans agree that we should not be adding tens of billions of dollars to the national debt. americans know that our country is in financial trouble. it's time to stop the crazy spending. this bill department do that. it contain -- didn't do that. it contains special provisions for folks that produce ethanol -- jon: real quickly, though, because we just have a few seconds left, as you've heard many democrats say, okay, you

don't want to add to the national debt, boost taxes. >> that's what democrats always say. that's why we're in so much trouble, that's why productive people are having trouble produce, that's why in states like california where the tax rates are some of the highest in the nation they're flocking to places where tax rates are more reasonable. raising taxes does not fix the country. jon: mark, good to talk to you. of thanks. >> thank you. jenna: police in philadelphia may have a serial strangler on their hands. why they're now linking another murder to this man. ahh, fresh. feeling fresh enough to last through my parent's cocktail party? that's where we're going? ♪ [ female announcer ] feel fresh up to five times longer with scope outlast. still feeling fresh? oh yeah. [ female announcer ] what will you outlas

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jenna: hi, everybody. president obama gets a brand new tax bill today. he's about to sign it. we're so glad you're with it, i'm jenna lee. jon: the clock just struck noon, on the east coast anyway. i'm jon scott. all new on "happening now," we're waiting for the president to put his pin to that $868 billion tax package. the house passed the measure near midnight with a bigger margin than many had expected.

after all the complaining by democrats, the president will be signing a bill that's pretty much exactly the same as he negotiated with re34reu7bs. the signing ceremony takes place this afternoon after the president meets with labor leaders. so congress can move on to other matters like the new arms treaty with russia, the dream act and don't ask, don't tell. our chief political correspondent carl cameron is keeping track of it all live on capitol hill. >> reporter: hi, jon. you barely scratched the surface. in the senate they're working on a short-term measure that would sort of kick things into next week so they can rewrite legislation that would keep the government operating until february when the republicans take over the house. if they don't act, there's a real threat of government shutdown after saturday midnight. but look at the rest of the laundry list they're facing here. in the nat they're also right now -- senate they're also right now still debating the russian treaty. they're going to try to get it done before christmas. the don't ask, don't tell repeal of gays in the military policy

tomorrow will be on the floor, harry reid has said there will be a vote on that. in addition, the dream act, very, very controversial in both chambers. that'll be facing a cloture vote to knock it off with 60 votes. if that's not enough, legislation for health funding

they can expect more in the new year. >> reporter: there's been a lot of sort of democratic griping about the passage of the tax cut extensions last night, but when you take a look at what happened in the house, it sort of runs against what actually happened numerically. the measure passed by nearly a 2-1 margin, and among democrats 139ed voted for it. more voted for it among the democratic caucus than actually voted against it. and as a matter of irony and fact, there were more democratic votes for the extension of the bush tax cuts last night than republican votes, 139-138. so with all of their complaints about this, house democrats got behind the president's deal negotiated with republicans pretty strongly. jon: yeah. was there some arm twisting from the white house?

>> big time. absolutely, there was even some in the democratic conference who suggested that the administration was suggesting if it didn't go through, it could scuttle their presidency and undermine the president's political power for the remaining two years of his first term. all of these things denied by the white house, but it was not denied they tried to lift heaven and earth to make sure this thing passed. jenna: carl just mentioned, also happening right now, there's the whole funding the federal government that lawmakers have to deal with. just yesterday that $1.2 trillion spend being bill that included government funding died in the senate, and that brings a whole new dilemma because the money runs out tomorrow night. what happens if government actually shuts down? james rosen is live in washington on that story. james? >> reporter: jenna, it's not like some scene out of a nuclear war movie where the very second the button gets pressed, scenes of men hailing taxis and children playing with jacks, bulldozers are moving piles of dirt come to an abrupt halt in

midair. early '96 was the longest in american history. what actually happened was an estimated 284,000 federal employees were placed on fur logue, and another 475,000 that were deemed essential, national security and what have you, worked on a nonpay status. close to 400 national park sites were closed, at the state department some applications for passports were set aside, veterans' services were sharply curtailed and the centers for disease control halted its monitoring of the spread of some diseases. politically, the man we were just seeing -- president clinton -- was most -- able to deflect most of the blame to house speaker newt gingrich. aside from the partisan disputes about spending was mr. clinton's seating of him, mr. gingrich, at the back of air force one. a veteran of those days, former representative mark frost predicted to fox news that any

shutdown this time around would be brief because in the local district offices members of congress start receiving calls, hundreds and then thousands of them, from members in those crickets saying -- districts saying am i going to get my social security check? members have a hard time reacting to that kind of pressure. you mentioned, jenna, that the deadline is tomorrow midnight. so the house and the senate have their work cut out for them to pass a spending bill that they both agree on and get to president obama for signature so it becomes law by midnight tomorrow. jenna: we'll see if they can do it. as you said, no one's freeding miss air if they -- midair if they don't. >> reporter: exactly. except me. jenna: it's good imagery. james rosen in d.c. jon jon as the government nears a full stop, there's no slowdown in the senate. topping the agenda right now, a repeal on the ban on gays serving openly in the military and a nuclear disarmament deal with russia. joining us now tennessee republican senator bob corker. senator corker, you promised to

lay down on the railroad tracks to make sure that omnibus spending bill didn't get through. i guess your act worked, huh? >> well, i think it's good for the country that we now will end up with a two or three-month spending bill that will take us into february or march, and we can begin cutting spending like we said we would do. so the effort was successful, and i think it's a good thing for our country. jon: well, how do you answer critics who say, yes, even the bill that this president is going to sign this afternoon does increase the deficit? >> you're talking about the tax bill? jon: the tax bill, yes. >> yeah, yeah. we're talking about two different pieces of legislation -- jon: right. i understand it. i shouldn't have jumped so quickly. there is that criticism out there. >> yeah. there were the things that were extended were mostly things that were already in the tax code, and it's one of those things that so many of us are upset about just in the tax code in general. each year most americans i don't think realize this, but in the tax code itself about $1.2

trillion gets given would like to see most or all of those go away and everybody's tax rates be lowered. so one of the things we'll be doing this spring, i think, is not just focusing on lowering spending, but also reforming the tax code so you don't have all of these loopholes. some of those are things americans support like the mortgage deduction on their home. but in total they add up to a lot of money, and without those tax rates would be much lower. jon: are you just saying that it takes a lot of time to turn this battleship around? i mean, we just had a representative on from one of the tea party movements who was really upset that republicans, especially in congress, hasn't done more to reduce taxes and cut spending. >> well, now, we did extend, you know, all of the existing tax policy. we reduced the estate tax. i would say that that's not,

that's not the case. and the fact is that we just were able to stop a huge omnibus with 6,000 earmarks in it from becoming law. we're going to end up with a three-month extense of existing spending -- extension of existing spending and then take it down. i actually think without the new republican congress that was just elected, we'd begun to turn this around and are heading in the right direction, and i'm really thankful to see that and thankful saner heads prevailed last night in the u.s. senate. jon: in your first answer you seemed to suggest you believe there will be some agreement on this stop-gap fund the government bill that we're not going to be turning out the light in that building you're in tomorrow night at midnight. >> no. no, that's not going to happen. i would say in the next short time there'll be a two or three-day extension, and then we'll work on something that extends funding for the next two or three months. no one should be worried about the lights going off. that will not happen.

jon: senator bob corker is a republican from tennessee and i'm sure a very busy man. you've got a lot of work to do today, we'll let you get back to it. >> yes, sir. thank you. jenna: well, too much debt is getting so much countries into trouble, and can there's growing concern about not only our national debt, but the future of some countries overseas, specifically the european union. the e.u. setting up a bailout fund, once again, $1 trillion on the line. if e.u. breaks apart, what does that mean for us over here? chris stirewalt is joining us on this topic today. chris, what would that mean for us? >> reporter: well, it would probably be pretty bad news because on the one hand they are a competitor to the united states in terms of the global marketplace and selling debt and many other things, its

global reach. so we are very feint on what happens -- dependent on what happens in europe, so what's going on over there matters a great deal to the united states. jenna: our viewers have lots of questions about the value of our dollar, and along with this bailout fund for the e.u. nations, there's some question about whether or not the euro is going to survive. is there any sort of model or any sort of, i guess, takeaway from those type of questions that are happening there? >> reporter: well, what's goin ots in places like london because that's not what we're used to. so the european union's trying to sort itself out, sort of the

haves versus the have nots. if they can't figure out how to deal with what is going to be a couple trillion dollars' worth of debt, the future of their currency is seen to be in doubt by a lot of folks. jenna: chris, there seems to be parallel when we look at our own states like california and certain states that are actually stronger. so is our next bailout going to be a bailout fund for states? >> reporter: well, now, jenna, i wasn't going to bring up your home state, the golden state -- [laughter] jenna: you're going to have to. >> you're right. we can't have the discussion without talking about california. ther behind, california it's billions and billions of dollars that they're coming up short. now, we have an old, durable union here. this is not the european union that's only been around for a decade or so. this is the united states of america. but, yes, what you point to is a great concern on capitol hill that at some point the federal government's going to be called

on to bail out these states that are six months away from serious financial collapse. jenna: i had nothing to do with the debt in california and everything to do with stimulating that economy, chris. [laughter] >> reporter: no doubt, no doubt. jenna: all right, chris. thank you very much, and everyone can catch chris' power play every day, go to foxnews.com/aeaq for complete political coverage 24/7. jon: an illegal ail general sneaking across the border. going low-tech, we will show you a surprising method one guy tried and how he was caught. also, a serial strangler apparently on the loose in philadelphia. now there may be a new victim. police need your help. and the hero security guard who took down the gunman who saided that florida -- invaded that florida school board meeting. you'll be surprised what else he does in his spare time. we'll talk to him live. >> who was shot? the gunman was. >> the gunman was shot? >> the gunman was shot.

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jon: the hunt for a fifth suspect in the fatal shooting of one of our border to troll -- patrol agents in be arizona stretches into a third day. four suspects are in custody, but one got away. local, state and federal agencies are involved in the manhunt. terry was patrolling a remote area about 10 miles north of the border when he was shot tuesday night. meanwhile, some local sheriffs are upset with homeland security secretary janet napolitano. napolitano, the former arizona governor, held a conference call on border security earlier this week, and they were not invited. meanwhile, there's no end to what some people will do to try to sneak into the u.s. check out officers found at the border in the san diego. an illegal alien hidden in the bed of a pickup truck. he was hiding under a bunch of

buckets strapped together with holes cut out for his arms, legs, torso and head. he was sniffed out, though, by a specially-trained dog. all the trash didn't fool the dog. officers seized the truck, the driver -- an american -- now faces federal charges. jenna: well, a dramatic 911 call just released from the school board shooting this florida. take a listen. >> oh, my gosh, he's firing. >> okay. >> he's firing. >> okay. [inaudible conversations] >> he's firing. i don't know -- jenna: everybody's okay thanks to the actions of our next guest. you can't see him on this video, but his shots helped bring down the shooter. security officer mike jones shotgunman clay duke, and while he may not consider himself a

hero, many people do. and as we found out, for many different reasons. joining us by the known right now is mike jones. mike, certainly a big week. how you doing? >> well, a little tired today. i've been doing a lot of interviews the last two days, been up all night, but we're fine. we're going to go forward and do what we're supposed to be doing, educating kids. jenna: we're going to talk about some of those kids in just a moment. do you keep replaying any of those moments from earlier in the week in your head? how are you even handling what happened? >> well, i think, actually, doing all the interviews -- we probably did 30 interviews yesterday and this morning probably ten already -- and i think talking about it's helped me a lot. i asked the news media to leave me alone the first day to be with my family and the church. they did that, and i promised them i'd do an interview be they gave me that one day. they did. i went to 'em yesterday, and we've been going at it about 4

hours now -- 24 hours now really. [laughter] jenna: we appreciate you speaking with us. what we'd like to talk about with you is your effort that you've been doing over the last, well, more than 20 years? >> yeah. jenna: the effort's called salvage santa? tell us about that. >> salvage santa's a toy program i started when i was a detective with the panama city police department, and this is our 27th year. and i was working at a local department store -- i don't know if i'm allowed to say the name of it, so i won't -- and they had some broken toys, and i asked them if i could have those broken toys. i got four or five, i figured maybe i could make one or two good ones. started out real small and now we do probably 6-800. we have done over a thousand kids at christmas time. jenna: we're showing the web site right now. you're a hero in so many lives for so many different ways, mike. this seems like a simple question, but i'm curious what you have to say. where do you think that goodness comes from? not only that idea, but just you just giving of yourself so much

so often? >> well, i can tell you it definitely comes from my mother and father. i was the oldest of seven children, and they were very giving people, and we never lacked for anything when we were kids. we weren't wealthy, and we were always willing to share with each other. no doubt i got that from my family. jenna: mike jones, it's a pleasure speaking with you. we have your web site up on the screen, sal i can't salvagesantr for in of our viewers. mike, thank you so much. we'll be right back. oh, my gosh. [ male announcer ] together we'll make her holiday. that's why only zales is the diamond store. where you'll pay no interest if paid in full by january 2012.

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jenna: just into the newsroom, some video of the president visiting an elementary school in arlington, virginia. he read books to about 90 second graders, and by all accounts they were very well behaved. the president commenting on this when he arrived.

>> everybody's being so nice and quiet. [laughter] it's shocking. i've never sat this still. when i was in second grade? jenna: well, they were nice and quiet there, but listen to what happened off camera a little bit. so the president's reading them a few books intwiewding twas the night before christmas, and he asked the kids what snack they leave out for santa on christmas eve. most of them said cookies. one student said oatmeal, and mr. obama said he loves oatmeal, and to that another student said, that's boring. [laughter] the honesty of kids even with leader of the free world. they really don't told back. he also talked about the importance of giving to those who don't have much and being kind to one another, but apparently not everyone is a fan of oatmeal. jon: he's use today appearing in front of the white house press corps, that's why the kids seem

so well behaved. [laughter] jenna: good point. jon: wikileaks founder julian assange is speaking out now. he was freed on bail yesterday pending an extradition hear anything a sex crimes case. now, though, the australian says he is more concerned with an alleged secret indictment coming from the united states. greg talcott live in london. so what does he have to say, greg? >> reporter: jon, yeah, there are a up with. of conditions -- bunch of conditions to the bail of julian assange, including checking in with the police station nearby where he's staying outside of london every day which he did this afternoon. but there is not much of a gag order or enforcement of gag order because he was talking and talking and talking today including to our sister network, sky news. and you're right, jon, what he seems to be very concerned about is the united states. united states getting him. he claims there is already a secret grand jury convened talking about him. that certainly has not been confirmed by any washington

officials. he also says they are, in fact, looking at ways to get him in some form on an espionage charge, and that has been alluded to by washington. here's a little bit more of what he had to say today. >> always being concerned about is onwards extradition to the united states. and that seems to be increasingly serious and increasingly likely. >> reporter: now, despite any u.s. efforts to try to clamp down on julian assange, he also said today that the flow of documents on wikileaks' site will continue, maybe will even pick up. there's no gag order on the use of his internet, apparently, jon. jon: so what happens next to this guy? >> reporter: well, first of all, he's going to spend a nice holiday season there at that stately manor about 100 miles northeast of london, and then he's got a court appearance on january 11th, and then he's dealing with those efforts to try to get him back to sweden to face those sex charges.

u.k. judicial officials today confirmed to me, jon, that they feel that extradition is not a conviction back to sweden is likely. assange today is saying that he feels that going back to sweden will then make it easier for the united states to get him. i've spoken to officials both in the u.k. and swedish government, and they say that's not a done deal, that both governments will have to approve any kind of extradition to the united states. the one sure thing, jon, is this could drag on for many, many months. pack to you. jon: thanks, greg. jenna: well, risky business happening in one mall where models dressed in short skirts asking for volunteers for swaps of their mouths. this in order to help children with diseases. then the volunteers got the bill. a shocking story straight ahead. ♪ [ male announcer ] you know her. we know diamonds. together we'll make her holiday.

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everyone's eating tacos outside bill's office. [ chuckles ] you think that is some information

i would have liked to know? i like tacos. you invited eric? i thought eric gave you the creeps. [ phone buzzes ] oh. [ chuckles ] yeah. hey. [ male announcer ] don't be left behind. get it first with at&t. the nation's fastest mobile broadband network. period. rethink possible. jon: a fox news alert and a bank robbery investigation underway in western miami-dade county in florida. we understand that a robber walked into this bank of america branch in that strip shopping mall at around 10:30 this morning, about two hours ago. said he had a bomb, demanded money. apparently, got some and ran away. there were no injuries, but authorities are checking the bank now to see whether whatever he had with him was left behind

and whether it is, in fact, a bomb. that's what's going on right now. the robber apparently got away if in a pontiac -- in this a pontiac grand prix. we don't know how much money was taken, that kind of information rarely released. there were customers in the bank at that time, and you can imagine how scary that was. again, nobody was hurt. thanks to our friends at wsvn for bringing us the pictures. jenna: well,tist the season for gift giving, and breaking now folks who lost their life savings in the bernie madoff scandal, a settlement with an insider who benefited so greatly from the fraud. rick folbaum has the latest. >> reporter: this has been a week of madoff headlines, the son's suicide, the two-year anniversary, and now a major settlement with jeffrey pawk our who died of a heart attack about 14 months or so. pick our was alleged to have

known all about the ponzi scheme, was even said to have dictated to bernie madoff the kinds of returns he wanted to see. well, now the civil lawyer working on behalf of investors who lost their fortunes with madoff announcing the deal to recover $7.2 billion from the estate. fox business network's adam shapiro who knows the story as well as any reporter alive says that this is 100% recovery from the estate and that the government has now recovered half of the original money that was invested with madoff of about $10.5 million. so there's still a ways to go, but this is a big deal for all of these people and institutions, many of them charities, which had invested with madoff only to lose everything. most of this money will go to those who have filed civil claims, but eventually it'll all go to the victims. meanwhile, the u.s. attorney's office continues its criminal investigation into other possible accomplices and lawyers continue to try to recover the rest of that money that madoff

stole from his victims. back to you. jenna: all right, rick. thank you. jon: the growing threat of cyber terrorism is raising new alarms, and there are fears that terrorists could combine the use of cyber attacks along with traditional violence to create an even greater level of panic in this country. national correspondent catherine herridge live in washington with this story. lay out the scenarios for us. what are they talking about, catherine? >> reporter: well, as part of this investigation we spoke to some of the country's leading intelligence and cybersecurity experts, and they said there are really just a couple of scenarios that they think are likely. let's take a look at this animation. in this scenario you have a traditional attack, in this case a car bomb in a major urban center. you see new york city there. and at the same time you have a cyber attack be of it being a force multiplier, if you will. it makes it harder for emergency response teams to get to the scene, and that maximizes the

death count and casualty account. so this is one scenario that experts have laid out for us. jon: what else are they looking at? >> reporter: well, in the second she their owe, if you will, the traditional attack is really a distraction from the main event. in this animation we have another major center, this time washington, d.c., and there's a traditional attack using explosives on the subway system. that is a distraction to try to get authorities looking at that event while at the same time there's a denial of service at the federal reserve or the faa. so the priority attack is the cyber attack, but they use a traditional attack sort of like a bait and switch to distract authorities so that not all of their attention is on the cyber attack. what we've heard increasingly from experts is the attack of the future will look like this because cyber will help a disadvantaged enemy or smaller enemy almost level the playing field with a government or a state which really is better

equipped to deal with these situations. jon: scary stuff. catherine herridge in washington, thanks. >> reporter: you're welcome. jenna: jon, a group now under investigation in the northeast is accused of using flirty models in short skirts to coax people into getting a dna test with a simple swab of the mouth. now, it was supposed to be to help sick kids by finding a bone marrow match, but then the volunteers got a bill for as much as $4300 per test. sounds pretty sneaky, but is it legal? that's the question today. let's bring in mercedes cow an, criminal defense attorney, and fredty si is a former federal prosecutor. is it legal? >> absolutely. that's certainly something we learn in the first year of law school, this is an issue they should have asked. how do they get to the insurance information? that's because the volunteers had a dialogue with these models, gave them their

insurance cards. so there has to be an exchange of information for the two employees who actually resurrected this claim. they went back, they thought there was nothing going on. suddenly the employer said, wait a minute be, you stuck us with an $8,000 mill. what just happened when you went to that mall? frankly, there's no fraud here. there's an exchange of information, there's a dialogue between these individuals, shame on them for being duped. jenna: fred, these models were hired, they're professional models, they were all dressed up. some of them were wearing electric blue wigs just to add to the ambience. as a buyer shouldn't you know better? >> first of all, jenna, i actually prosecuted a lot of charitable fraud cases, and i can tell you this one reeks of it. first of all, to have models that target young men, you know what guys are like -- jenna: so do you give all your information to women dressed up

with blue wigs, fred? >> i would hope that the answer is no -- [laughter] but, obviously, in this case the answer was yes, and they did give this information. and, yes, it's an erstwhile organization, and it's a great -- their objectives are great, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions. and, quite frankly, you know, if i'm going to give some model who wants to play dress up my dna and four grand, it's going to include a cheap hotel room and 50 gallons of olive oil. this is just wrong. >> i'm blushing! jenna: i don't even know. >> they charge these guys $4,000. >> first of all, fred, there is no fraud whatsoever. there is no fraud whatsoever. they had an exchange of information, they should have -- these individuals, if they were so starry-eyed because these ladies were so stunning -- >> mercedes -- >> -- shame on them, they got stuck with that bill. >> and i hear ya. let me tell you, the guys are

not without blame, but if they walked up to a booth and they asked if you wanted to give money for kids with cancer and you said yes -- jenna: mercedes, the models did have a pitch. they had a marketing pitch, and i want to know if this has to do with any sort of false advertising because they said, hey, don't you want to be a hero? come on over here, take this test. you know, assuming that you're going to be a match and you're actually going to be able to help someone, and that's not necessarily true. >> well, that's a great point. but they had 185,000 volunteers, believe it or not, that actually participated. so if these individuals want it continued because their dna was a match, they could have continued onward. but just that little minor exchange, there's no false advertisement. do you want to be identified as one of these individuals who could match with someone? this actual organization is related to u of mass, university of massachusetts, so there is some legit maasty to it.

jenna: fred, final thoughts here? >> they are looking for bone marrow matches to help people who are sick and dying, and i'm with you right up until the point where they get people to give their dna and then stick 'em with a pill for four grand. it's that last part that step over the line to being, quite frankly, a fraud. jenna: nice to have you both and a good reminder for our audiences as well during this christmas holiday. you know, you want to do your pest and help out, be cautious. mercedes and fred, thank you so much. >> happy holidays. jon: i'm with fred. [laughter] jenna: i don't know what that means. jon: it's a fraud! the obama administration is asking americans to rethink the unthinkable, an attack involving nuclear weapons. one of the country's top experts says this is a real threat to our children's lives. now the department of homeland security has a survival guide out. next, the number one thing to do in the event of nuclear attack. >> duck and cover.

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megyn: hey, everyone, i'm megyn kelly. the fda revokes its approval for an expensive breast cancer drug saying it's just not effective on the very same day europe approves the drug saying it is. critics are saying welcome to rationing here in the u.s. dr. see bell is here with more. plus, harry reid suffers major loss in the senate, but did the gop just dodge a major political bullet? bernie goldberg said the media had a slobbering love affair with the then-candidate obama, why the president is paying a severe price for that. plus, should michael vick own a dog? he's asking to. our power panel weighs in. see you top of the hour. jenna: we have a fox news alert and some breaking news here. a general motors vehicle being recalled, 100,000 crossover vehicles to fix the intelligents. the 2011 models of the chevy

equinox and the gmc terrain, again, this coming year's model. gm says the seat belt buckle for the driver, maybe even the front seat passenger could break apart. so that's something to pay attention to although they do say no injuries or accidents have been reported so far. in the meantime, from honda just breaking, recalling 35,000 of its passport suvs. they want to inspect the brackets on the rear suspension that they say could detach and lead to a crash. it effects 1998-2002 model years. it is limited, this recall, by the way, to 23 states, also d.c. a lot of road salt being used so check out those web sites in case, you know, you own one of those cars, jon. jon: all right. for the first time in years, jenna, the government is releasing some new guidelines on how to survive a nuclear attack. why? joe is president of the plow shares fund, he's the author of "bomb scare: the history and future of nuclear weapons."

they have been stressing the fact, joe, that this is not motivated by anything in the headlines right now, it's not like we are expecting some kind of a nuclear attack from north korea or some place else, right? >> that's exactly right. you know, my first job in the government was with the reagan administration and civil defense was enjoying something of an upsurge then. we looked at it but decided it wasn't effective against the mass i russian nuclear weapons, these are 10-20 times the size of something a terrorist could use. and we gave it up, the kinds of weapons that the senate is now considering cutting with the new s.t.a.r.t. treaty under debate today and this weekend. what fema's looking at is a terrorist attack, a terrorist who might have a hiroshima-sized bomb, about ten kill lo tons is the one they study, and what could we do to mitigate the civilian losses from such a device. jon: i know you sent us a picture of sort of what the concept, an artist's rendition, of what an attack on a city like

manhattan might look like. >> right. jon: the point is that if a bomb were to go off in a place like manhattan, you don't want to go running out into the streets to collect your family, right? >> that's exactly right. what they're looking at is how to minimize the damage from radiation. they judge that about a mile away from the blast, maybe a quarter of a million people would die from radiation exposure. but be those people took -- if but if those people took shelter for several hours, almost all of them could be saved. and, in fact, we just gave a grant to a group called two futures project, a church group, that's looking at how to mobilize congregations to be kind of a rapid response organization for exactly this kind of circumstance. because one of the things the fema study said is you couldn't expect a federal response or even a city response to such a detonation within 24 hours. so the people that would have to respond would be the people that were being hit, the people at

the attack point itself. jon: the old black and orange fallout shelter signs that were everywhere back in the '60s -- i can't think of the last time i saw one -- but that's essentially a good idea. get underground if you can and just wait a while. >> and that's the good news. there are practical, easy things we can do to mitigate the civilian losses there a nuclear attack. but here's the bad news. you know, if a terrorist planted a nuclear device at fox news headquarters in midtown manhattan, what we're talking about is saving the people who'd be out in queens, out in new jersey from are radiation exposure. but you, you'd be toast. fox news headquarters would be vaporized, everything within ten square blocks would be vaporized, trd be a fire storm, so you have to understand the limits of civil defense. it's not an answer to this threat, it's just something that we could do in response to this ultimate catastrophe.

jon: yeah. if there is a nuclear attack, being toast might be the best way to go, that's my feeling. joe, thank you. >> thank you for having me on. jenna: after that bright and optimistic conversation -- jon: happy friday. jenna: how do you transition from that? if you're looking for holiday cheer, you're not going to find it at the movies. courtney friel is here to tell[c us what's going on. hey tough guy, tat cold needs alka seltzer plus! it has the cold-fighting power of an effevescent packed in a liquid-gel for all over relief! hiyah! dude! oh, my gosh. [ male announcer ] we know diamonds. oh, my gosh. [ male announcer ] together we'll make her holiday. that's why only zales is the diamond store. where you'll pay no interest if paid in full by january 2012.

jenna: that was a clip from santa claus ii, a christmas favorite, and usually one of manymovies this time of year, but lately it seems like hollywood is playing the part of scrooge. what is going on? courtney friel's here with more.

>> reporter: it is bah humbug at the box office. you're not going to be evels, santa or neighbors fighting over celebrations. nutcracker iii kind of bombed at the box office. instead, hollywood has released terror: legacy, how do you know, little fockers and the chronicles of nan ya. -- narnia. in recent years there had been at least one holiday-themed movie from a studio. so what happened in 2010? >> i don't know that studio executives are sitting in some darkened room saying we don't want to release any holiday of-themed films, i think it's just they have their slate, they put these things together, and there's a void this marketplace. had there been a film themed to the holidays in 2010, maybe we'd be doing better at the box office. >> reporter: yeah. he says the holiday season is a

very important time, it contributes to 20% of the full year box office, plus it showcases the box office contenders. lots of movies still that you can be checking out. i don't know if i'll be seeing any of them, i might be having my hands full this christmas. [laughter] jenna: we wanted to send courtney away, this is her final day before maternity leave, and jon wants to know are you considering jon or scott as a name for your son? >> reporter: sorry, neither. i'm not going to tell you what our top two with finalists are. jenna: it'll be a surprise. >> reporter: yes. merry christmas, happy new year to everyone. jon: have a great one. what a great time of year to be having a child. jenna: courtney, this is another fun christmas story. a love match, a real one, made right here at fox news yesterday. a tiny puppy was searching for a new home. take a look. >> chilly was brought in actually at about five weeks

old. he was relinquished from the family that had him, they couldn't keep him. one of our staff members fostered him until he was old enough for adoption. he's now about three months old, and look at that. [laughter] jenna: that made quite an impression. jon: our "happening now" mascot. jenna: our senior producer clint henderson took one look at him and knew he had to take him home, so chilly willie the newest member of "happening now." kind of goes with the theme, new puppies, new babies. jon: here's the funny part, clint thinks he got a damage shund mix, he's a rot weiler. and a half and a half look at that little guy, how could you not love him? he's famous. jon: and he's going to a good home. jenna: so sweet. well, conservative republicans are quietly celebrating a major victory. three major pieces of the health care overhaul are facing a new road block though. now that the spending bill has been killed, how does the government plan to pay for it?

it's one of our top stories today, and it's coming up on fox news. ♪ [ male announcer ] you know her. we know diamonds. together we'll make her holiday. that's why only zales is the diamond store. where you can get up to $1,000 off now through sunday. to bring you a low-price medicare prescription drug plan that has the lowest national premium in the country of only $14.80 per month. so you can focus on the things that really matter. go to walmart.com for details.