we send to you washington now with shannon bream. have a great day. have a great day. >> take care. closed captioning by closed captioning services,inc i've made mistakes i've had to go to god for forgiveness. >> newt gingrich fields a slew of attacks in his first debate as republican front-runner. plenty of news from the campaign trail i'm shannon bream, live from the nation's capital, right now. >> shannon: with just three weeks to go until the iowa caucuses the gop presidential hopefuls are locked in a bruising fight. candidates came out swinging last night and most of the jabs were aimed at the newly minuted front-runner newt gingrich.

steve brown had a ring side seat and joins us live. >> reporter: if the job of the other candidates the ones not named newt gingrich was to try and throw sand in the gears of the front-runner, that job did not get done last night. >> we can start with his idea to have a lunar colony that would mine minerals from the moon. i'm not going in favor of spending that kind of money to do that. he said that he would like to eliminate in some cases the child labor laws so kids could clean schools. i don't agree with that idea. we have differences of viewpoints on some issues. >> the only reason you didn't become a career politician is you lost to teddy kenny in 1994. >> now wait a second! [ booing ] >> if a clean shot was delivered it may have been by ron paul over gingrich's consulting gig with freddie mac. >> he was earning a lot of money from freddie mac i was

fighting over a decade to try to explain to people where housing bubble was coming from. freddie mac is bailed out by the taxpayers in a way newt i think you got some of our taxpayers answer money. >> reporter: michelle bachmann fired this two for one job. >> you just heard newt romney is also with obama on the issue of a payroll extension. if you want a difference, michelle bachmann is the proven conservative, not newt romney. >> reporter: clearly the talk about moment of the debate was this extinct between perry and rom me that about individual mandates. >> -- you've raised that before rick. >> it was true then. >> it is true now. >> i'll tell you what, $10,000 bucks, $10,000 bet. >> i'm not in the betting business. >> okay. >> reporter: afterwards the romney campaign says that the reason the wager came about is

romney was he was correct and perry was wrong. the political column is for the recentster puts it this way a $10,000 wage not something a likely caucusgoer would do, even on a sure thing. a bad moment, at a bad time for mitt romney. >> steve brown live in des moines, thank you. what is the campaign's response to that $10,000 moment? how do they think the governor did in the first debate where he want the clear front-runner? joining us from boston is romney's campaign communications director. gail welcome and thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> shannon: i want to ask what your response is. you heard steve brown talking about all the talk is about that $10,000 moment, what is your response? >> sure. governor perry has issue proven false attack against mitt romney in the past that was -- [ unintelligible ]

governor romney called him out on it. perry thought he had the facts on his side he's wrong. the reason that governor romney made that wager is because he knew perry wouldn't take it and he didn't. romney call his bluff and perry folded and it made him look weak. >> shannon: i know that of course everybody wants to do well in the first two big states iowa and new hampshire. romney finished second in 2008. how do you think he will do in a couple of weeks? >> we always expectedded this race was going to come down to the wire and it has. we are going to continue to work in iowa and new hampshire and the other early states. governor romney built a lot of support last time in iowa and we are going to continue to build on that support. today he will be in new hampshire and tomorrow too we will continue to talk about the number one issue that is on the minds of voters, the economy. when you look at governor romney's record his record is

far superior to his fellow republican contenders when it comes to having the experience of turning around difficult situations and that's what he would do as president is get this economy back on track he's the only candidate out there that was highlighted at the debate last night who has a 59 point plan, the most comprehensive to tell people how he would give this economy moving again so americans can back to work. >> shannon: what do you make of michelle bachmann last night putting together what i'm sure she feels a catch think phrase newt romney equating those two as one in the same, saying she is the only one who presents something different and their policies are too much alike, how do you respond? >> well, these debates are about distinguishing candidates from each other. i think that's what michelle bachmann was doing. certainly that's what governor romney was doing last night. when you look at governor romney's record and compare with it newt gingrich's

there's big contrasts itch the facts are that newt gingrich has the last three decades in -- washington and governor romney has the majority of his life in the private sector learning how the economy works. what he would bring to the white house is that real world economic experience. of course, speaker gingrich is their washington insider he spent the last three decades working inside the beltway. >> shannon: is it frustrating to have anecdotes people questioning governor rom these's true bona fide as a conservative? how do you strengthen your message to convince voters who are among the most conservative that he's one of them? >> well, our message isn't going to change. the message is always going to be that governor romney is the only candidate that can go into the white house and reverse some of these economic decisions that president obama has made, that has made us slide back from any sort of

economic recovery. i think that that's the main goal of the campaign and that's what we are going to continue to do. >> shannon: gail, thank you for your time. >> thank you for having me. >> shannon: all right, we want to know what you at home think of that offer of a $10,000 bet? it is your turn to weigh in tweet your answers to us: we will read some of your responds layer in the show. newt gingrich found himself on the defensive when it came to controversial comments he made last week about the israeli-palestinian conflict. he called palestinians invented people and the middle east peace process, delusional. >> is what i said factually correct? historically true? yes. are we in a situation where everyday rockets are fire into israel where the current administration tries to pressure israelis into a peace

process. hamas does not admit the right of israel to exist and says publicly, not a single jew will remain. romney calling that debacle a mistake telling gingrich that he doesn't speak for israel. next, gop presidential debate [ unintelligible ] bret baier will moderate that debate and it will stream live on youtube this thursday night right here on fox. another fight brewing on capitol hill. president obama wants to extent the payroll tax cuts not if that is tied to a key republican requirement any extension be linked to the pipeline which with the gop argues will create thousands of jobs. steve centanni has more. >> reporter: time running out for congress to act before the payroll tax cut expires at the end of this year. the two sides still have very different ideas about how to go forward. republicans want to tie extension of the payroll tax

cut to the keystone pipeline from canada to texas. the president has delayed a decision on construction, pending further studies. republicans say it will be a big boost for the economy and the construction needs to go forward. senate republican leader mitch mcconnell may use that pipeline as a bargaining chip. >> we have the keystone pipeline in there. it is a shovel-ready project the biggest and most important ready to go project in america, wouldn't cost the government a penny, not one. three years of environmental studies have already been done. the secretary of state was ready to sign off on it. the president pulled it to the white house and delayed it for a year. >> reporter: president obama has threatened to veto the payroll tax cut extension if the keystone pipeline is tied in with it. the president has a different idea how to pay for the tax cut. republicans want a continued tax cut on the payroll tax republicans want a continued freeze on federal workers' pay.

democrats want to hire owe -- [ unintelligible ] for both sides, peeling to the voters next year is part of the calculation. -- appealing to the voters next year is part of the calculation. >> this is make or break moment for the middle class. republicans have consistently said they will refuse to increase the taxes on the wealthiest people in america, one penny if that's what it takes to make sure that working families get a payroll tax cut. it is a clear defining moment, contrast between the parties that the president has made clear. >> reporter: house vote on the payroll tax could come this week extension of unemployment benefits also on the table in these last few days of the year republicans want to gradually reduce the max number number of weeks of benefits from 99 to 59. democrats oppose that. >> shannon: thank you steve. republicans on the hill are defending themselves against claims by president obama that they've become the party of the rich. in the next hour, i'll ask the

ranking republican on the senate budget committee jeff sessions about the accusation that the gop has abandoned the middle class in favor of millionaires. he joins us live. iran says getting a u.s. drone is major victory and it will not return it. the gloating comes as the obama administration suggests it may shift towards a policy of containment when it comes to iran. >> reporter: iran won't tell us how they intercepted the rq-70 drone. a brigadier general with the revolutionary guard corp says the fact our drone was there is a hostile act. now that they've got it he says it is an intelligence victory for iran and intelligence failure for us. democracy commander says we are not the kind of country to allow our enemy to operate freely within our national security and to continue without response but regarding the kind of reaction we will show our enemies will see its affects.

we've got the drone, we've seen it, two-tone paint job, beige on the top, to match the ground from above and blue on the bottom to match the sky from underneath. one official tells us a wing appears to have been severed and rean. tad. it appears to be in good shape. president obama was given three options for either -- either retrieving or destroying the drone he passed on all, because he thought the iranians would perceive it as an act of war. former u.s. ambassador john bolton says that is not a good excuse. >> the obama administration stated reason was that taking military action could be considered an act of war by iran. so, while there may be a lot of good reasons not to go in that is not one. ryan -- iranians said they considered the drone itself to be an act of war. >> reporter: u.s. officials fear iran might give the technology to the chinese or

russians. >> peter doocy, thank you. a palestinian official says a father and daughter were hurt this morning during's railey airstrike on the gaza strip. the strike follows days of rising violence. leland vittert is live in jerusalem with the latest. >> reporter: hi. certainly been a violent weekend here. the israelis just blew up a major weapons cache, inside the gaza strip. things are different this time. seems the israelis are hitting back harder and palestinians are not letting up on the rocket launching. they released video as they set off homemade rockets out of gaza strip towards southern israel these are crude devices. so far all they've succeeded is blowing up farms. many israelis in the south spent weekends running to and from air raid shelters as sirens went off, dozens of rockets come in.

israelis had a little advantage something call the iron dome to intercept some of these missiles they've been trying to hit would be rockets before they can fire the missiles off. this started thursday when the israelis launched a preemptive strike against a known militant leader inside the gaza strip they blew up his car inside gaza city seen as an intelligence coup they thought this could bring real retaliatory strikes which it has. hamas controls the gaza strip but it is hard to figure out who is firing missiles off? islamic jihad, hamas, somebody else? getting a cease-fire under these conditions is a little difficult. where things go from here is interesting. history gives us a lesson, four days in you see one of two things, either the rocket attacks taper off, israel stops airstrikes or somebody raises the ante, palestinians launch 30 or so missiles in

one day, israelis hit something important or take out militant leaders then you have something that's late out of control very quickly. >> shannon: thank you. at least three people are dead after 6.5 magnitude quake rocked mexico. the country's interior department said it was felt in nine states. the mayor of mexico city has tweeted no major damage there. >> manuel noriega is headed back to his homeland. he spent 20 years in u.s. and french jails on drug trafficking and money laundering charges he faces more years in -- another 40 years in jail. today marks his first trip home since being ousted in a 1989 u.s. invasion. macy's in texas fire add employee after she got night a dressing room dust-up with a

transgender customer. we talk to that employee, next. less than a month before the iowa caucus kicks off. right now newt gingrich is at the top of the hawk eye state polls. does that mean has the state sewn up? we ask iowa's republican party chairman. stay with us. so who ordered the cereal that can help lower olesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. [ woman ] lower cholesterol. [ man 2 ] yummy. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste and whole gin oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios.

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>> shannon: president obama says the nation's unemployment rate could deposit to 8% before he faces reelection next fall. it is currently at 8.6% and hasn't been at or below 8% since he took office in 2009. mr. obama says reviving the nation's economy is a long term project that will likely extend beyond his presidency. a case pitting religious freedom a against a store's anti-discrimination policy. last month an i stopped a person she described as a man dressed a woman from entering the women's changing room when told the man was a transgender said it against her religious beliefs. she was fired.

natalie johnson joins us with founder of liberty counsel a group advocating for religious freedom. natalie, were you surprised about the store's policy and the fact that it did seem to be in conflict with your own religious convictions on this matter? >> well, yes, i was surprised. because although i knew there was an lgbt policy i had no idea that policy would allow transgenders to enter into a fitting room they please. >> shannon: when you found out that was the case did you try to explain to macy's your own personal convictions? >> i sure did. i on to say that -- first of all it was a man going into the women's fitting room. they did try to persuade me this was a women was looking

at. to lie or compromise what this customer would be very much against what i -- my beliefs. >> shannon: at the end of the day were you told if you couldn't comply with allowing him into the dressing room you wouldn't be with company policy and you would have to leave? >> yes, i did obey the policy because -- i did disobey the policy because it was pulling my female customers in jeopardy. again, stating back to what i believe, i could not lie nor could i compromise with anyone who is lgbt. >> shannon: wasn't to read the store's response. they say -- they say mace

-- >> shannon: matthew, do you have a problem with that? >> no that policy is common sense them are not going to check anyone at the door. the problem here what you have is a man who is objectively and to everyone's observance a man except he's wearing lipstick. he comes to natalie's area and he goes into the fitting room. natalie sees him in there changing and unchanging with another woman. when the young man come out he says i apologize, but you can't go back in this is for women only this is clearly a man. not someone who has gone through surgery or various kinds of hormones. the only thing he's got lipstick on. she says, you can't have men in the women's fitting room. i think anyone would do that. she did not know the policy could go so far to literally allow men to go in a women's fitting room and thinks, put these women at risk. i think frankly, when people

around the country realize that's macy's policy the kinds of response we've had has been overwhelming, shock and simply, disgust and hope that macy's will change its policy. >> shannon: natalie, you have or planning to file an employment claim in this case. would you want your job back? do you want to see the policy changed? what do you hope for? >> well, in all honesty, i only -- i would like my job back only if they change their policy. if they don't change their policy they can forget about it is >> thank you both for your time. >> thank you. >> thanks to macy's for their statement as well. >> no problem. president obama claims republicans like senator jeff sessions have abandoned the middle class in favor of billionaires. now jeff sessions fighting back. we sit down with him later. first, will republican voters give rick perry the second chance he's been asking for?

we get chris wallace's take in his interview with the texas governor. >> i happen to believe that would be a local decision that's not the supreme court's business to be telling americans when and how they should pray. for the commander in chief to use our military as a political tool, while we're in combat in two different locations, at least two different locations around the world in iraq and afghanistan, i think it is really irresponsible. [ male announcer ] new vicks nature fusion cold & flu syrup. flavored with real honey. powerful cold medicine that leaves out artificial flavors and dyes and instead uses something more natural, honey.

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>> shannon: a high dollar bet in iowa last night has people talking. >> reporter: during a tense exchange in the debate mitt romney bet rick perry $10,000 to settle a dispute over his record on health care. some romney critics say it proves romney is out of touch with the middle class. the former governor's personal wealth is stilted to be as high as 250 million dollar -- is estimated to be as high as 250 million dollars. russian president medvedev has instructed his government to investigate allegations of voter fraud. prime minister putin's party was declared the winner. mass protests have erupted in the days since.

last night's college basketball game between cincinnati and xavier was called with nine seconds left on the clock after this brawl cleared the benches and left both teams bloodied. three players were suspended. officials say more suspensions could come. xavier beat cincinnati 76-50 . it is good to be jennifer aniston. she topped the men's health list of sexiest women of all time naming aniston the magazine said funny is sexy, also making the list raquel welsh marilyn monroe and britney spears. >> any of your kardashian girls make it? >> reporter: i know jennifer aniston was the winner and also on the list was raquel welsh and britney spears. we are weeks from the iowa caucuses. things are heating up in the hawk way state.

mitt romney and newt gingrich went toe-to-toe. recent polls show romney has catching up to do. joining us with his insight is iowa's republican party chairman matt strong. thank you for joining us. let me start by asking what is the secret to winning in iowa? what do voters expect? what do they want to see and hear from these candidates? chairman, can you hear us? [ no response ] >> shannon: we'll be back as soon as we iron out that technical glitch. >> moving on, -- >> in his first book hard-cover of no apologies he stated that individual mandates should be the model for this country. then he took that out of the book in the paperback. that is the fact a $10,000 bet is not going to cover that. >> shannon: was rick perry

sounding on mitt romney's offer to enter into a $10,000 bet. i talked with chris wallace today. hot off the debate you had one of the contenders who ended up in one of the biggest moments of the debate last night. >> rick perry, who i think is having a resurgence in iowa. he was part of that moment that i suspect everyone is going to talk about where he and romney were arguing about the individual mandate. romney said you want to bet $10,000? i must say as i watched, i thought, not goo. you could see -- not good. could you see perry going after romney today. he said i was driving to the studio and saw a lot of people $10,000 might be all they pay for their house or the mortgage for the year, whatever. for a guy who is worth a

quarter of a billion dollars or whatever, you know, i think maybe saying i bet you a quarter might have been the better move. >> shannon: he's unabashed about his faith he's ramping up that advertising tone now in high what. >> -- in iowa >> yes, according to the exit polls four years ago 60% of the people who came to the iowa caucuses and voted describe themselves as evangelicals. there's a strong strain and he's reaching out for them. he has an ad up now which is not subtle. he says i'm a christian, i'm not ashamed of. accuses president obama of waging a war on religion. one can argue whether that is true north but he makes the case. i asked him -- true or not, but he makes the case. this year faith is less important than the economy and he also has a lot that he talks about that on well. >> still debating what is going to happen with the

payroll tax possible extension. you talked to the senate's top republican about that today. gentleman they are pushing now this new plan. i think -- i think the republicans realize they've been beaten the last couple of weeks by the democrats saying for every tax cut why aren't you for a middle class tax cut expend the payroll tax cut. they've come up with the idea how in the house and it will pass it this week to link that to approval of the keystone pipeline which would create tens of thousands of jobs and probably be more palatable for some republicans mcconnell is pushing that hard. but he predicts the democrats say and obama says we won't go for that. mcconnell flatly predicted they will find some way before the end of the year to extend won't end up on new year's day #z< and $1500 tax increase. >> thank you. catch all of chris'

interview with governor perry after our show 2:00 and 6:00 eastern. weeks from the caucus there is the gop chairman is standing by to talk to us about how the candidates go about winning the hawkeye state. sorry we lost you, glad to have you back. what voters there in iowa need to hear and see from these candidates? how do you win them over? >> good afternoon from the hawkeye state. one thing i heard last night they love to sycuan days aggressively stating the case why they should be the one carrying the republican banner against barack obama. the one thing we need to do is not only aggressively stand up for our republican principles and solutions but aggressively prosecute the case why barack obama's policies have failed america. jobs, economy, cultural issues, what iowafl!i republicans want o see is a fighter carry that fight to barack obama in the general election. i think we saw that last

night. i think that aggressiveness we saw was good that's what we need to do to take the fight to barack obama during the 2012 general election. >> there was a lot of passion. certainly showed people stepping up to the plate. i want to ask you about newt gingrich. he has continued to build a lead in iowa. a lot of critics say he's not the traditional candidate doesn't have the same ground game maybe visiting the different caucus locations and people he needs to be working with. can he still do it without doing it in a traditional way? >> he's been here many times over the years he has run candidate training schools for local danes we know newt gingrich well. the other thing -- over two third of the caucus electorate undecided the ground game over the last three weeks will be important. i had an opportunity to speak with gingrich during one of

the breaks last night and he joked that i'm going to see a lot of him over the next three weeks. even though he's playing catch up a little on the organizational side he understands the importance of being here and letting iowans look him in the eye and ask tough questions. there's no question he's playing a little catch up with his organization but he has a message that is resonating and the opportunity to coalesce that support over the last three weeks. >> shannon: do you think there may be surprises to folks outside of iowa when it comes down to what happens on january 3rd? congresswoman bachmann won the straw poll, santorum has got great endorsement there is. those are folks who are not polling well. >> i think there's a couple of things that outside observers need to keep an eye on when it comes to organization. ron paul near 20% largely on the strength of a very robust organization in the state.

with those three candidates that you mentioned that are either in the single digits like governor perry, bachmann, santorum, they are going to be live in the stay the next three weeks there's an opportunity when you have 2/3 who could change their mind there's an opportunity to swing some of that support their way before january 3rd. don't discount the importance of the debate in sioux city with fox next week. if there is one thing we've learned, debates matter. the opportunity to swing momentum your way in the december 15th, debate in iowa is drama fix for any of the these candidates compete -- dramatic for any of the candidates competing. >> shannon: thank you, 9:00 eastern time, all of us at fox are looking forward to working with you there on that debate thursday night. thank you very much for your time. a story we've been following for months.

catholic university being sued over the decision to go back to single-sex dorms. there's a verdict in the case. we'll tell you what happened and speak to the university's general counsel about that, next. [ sniffs ] i have a cold. [ sniffs ] i took dayquil but my nose is still runny. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ deep breath] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth! ♪ ♪

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already's university, baylor's first heisman award. [ unintelligible ] the road to hell is paved with good intensions so is the road to sex discrimination. every sex discrimination case i've had is not that somebody said i hate women, i'm a mysogynist had virtuous reasons for doing it and the court said those are irrelevant. >> that was george washington university law protestor on our show last july. he filed a discrimination complaint with the d.c. office of human rights over catholic's decision to turn return to single-sex dorm. here to talk about it is the general counsel. thank you for coming in. what ultimately weighed in your favor? why do you think the university prevailed in this case

>> because the office of human rights looked at it the way the man complaining couched it, looked for any evidence of discrimination which means you have to intend to take some action against women or whatever group you are talking about. the office of human rights in its analysis found in every single case in favor of catholics' position there was no discriminatory intent but part of the education process this university's right to shape its educational process the way it wanted. they accepted all arguments and rejected all of the professor's arguments. >> shannon: we talked with the press fessor to question his feedback -- the professor to get his feed back. he argued when you separate things separate is not going to be equal. that women would be second class citizens in these dorms if they were separated from male students and said it was sex discrimination.

sounds like the commission didn't buy that. they said under that reasoning you could ban same-sex locker rooms and bathrooms. >> the office of human rights chided him a little for what they found to be the implicit sexism in some of what he said. he said women won't be able to walk safely to their tkaorpls they can't study at night in these male -- male dominated fields the office suggested he almost underestimated the chivalry or sturdiness of our men and women students. the decision was not made in any discriminatory way. i was made to make the educational process as full -- it was made to make the educational process as full as possible. you are developing a whole student. that is -- you don't just have the academic in one booth, social, spiritual in another booth they all mix together.

what happens in residence life is part of the development of the student. the office saw that a university has the right to shape its educational process the way it clues -- chooses. >> shannon: students had a lot of push back on campus very vocal not wanting to return to single-sex dorms. how do you handle that? >> of course some will and some have that's part of the strength of this. education is the place to come and the old question authority bumper sticker part of this is questioning the conventional wisdom that says you grew up in a society that has certain low and minimal expectations about the nature of relationships between men and women. instead, what catholic has done is challenged them to bring that up on to a higher plain make those deeper, richer more meaningful relationships part of a way to lead students along that path is to house them separately.

they interact in the same way they have the same rights and privileges and opportunities. by housing them differently is part of the ed fighing process of saying take this -- edifying process of saying take this aspect of your life -- some students have opposed it. fantastic dialogue with the president of catholic, even that itself has pro soak -- provoked good discussion, good development of these students. >> shannon: we'll continue to watch it. thank you for joining us. shoppers are headed to an unlikely spot to find deals these days. rick leventhal has the scoop. >> when you think about discount retailers you might not consider pawnshops but business is booming and some say the best place to get a great deal on holiday gifts. i'll have more on this, coming up. [ male announcer ] in his eyes...a race needs no finish line.

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>> shannon: new video of the first family for you. the president and his family made appearance this morning at a church frequented by every commander in chief since james madison across from the white house. they walked over to st. john's church and we're told the sermon touched on, among other

things, the 2008 election. interesting on a day you have the president there. it is a beautiful day in washington, chilly but nice day for a walk from the white house. here's a look at some of the top stories now: family and friends in canton, georgia have said their final good-byes to the 7-year-old found in a dumpster near her home, beaten and sexually assaulted. thousands across the northeast are bracing for a difficult winter. president obama has proposed a 45% cut to energy assistant programs. a bipartisan group is saving -- is fighting to save the funding. a lot of folks in the southern part of the state feeling the ground vibrating yesterday. the u.s. geological survey says no earthquake. >> economy has made things tough for many this season.

one unlikely group has seen an uptick in sales, pawnshops. rick leventhal engines us from new york to tell us about it. >> reporter: pawn store owners say it has been an extreme uphill battle fighting an image probe will you but now are seeing a tremendous growth, -- reality tv may be why. shows have reminded people there can be value in old stuff you might have lying around. skyrocketing price of gold and economy forcing some to part with values they might get back more deals for holiday shoppers. pawn store owners say they are one of america's best kept secrets for buying jewelry and other high end items with prices as much as half off on video games, diamond rings and electronics. there's still the challenge of getting people to take the first step through the door. >> they all think a small

little store with a dim lit shady operation, someone is going to try to take advantage of you. that's not the case any more. as you can see the stores are well lit, large, well staffed, knowledgeable staff, our goal is to loan, give you the best deal possible where we can create a clientele and business for to you come become. >> reporter: more people are finding their way back to the counter. store owners report 10 to 12% buyers in brooklyn, 25% more sellers, traffic up higher in michigan, missouri, maryland, 25 to 50% over this time last year. a guy might pawn his grandmother's wedding ring use the cash to buy gifts for the family and come back next spring with his tax refinanced and buy that ring back. one of the best selling items, diamond engagement rings cleaned up, put in fresh boxes most brides have no idea this new ring came off a pawnshop shelf. >> if you can get a great deal, 'tis the season. >> reporter: why not.

>> thank you rick. >> sure. could attorney general eric holder be facing impeachment pause of how the justice department has handled fast and furious? senator grassley joins us next. >> allowing guns to walk whether in this administration or the prior one is unacceptable. the use of this misguided tactic is inexcusable. and it must never happen again. [ male announcer ] cranberry juice? wake up! ♪ that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm [ male announcer ] for half the calories -- plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. and get a cold... ...you need a cold medicine with a heart. only coricidin hbp has a heart, right here. it's the only cold and flu brand that won't raise your blood pressure. coricidin hbp. powerful cold medicine with a heart.

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the only reason you didn't become a career politician is you you lost to teddy kennedy in 1994. >> the top gop presidentials took off their gloves in iowa last night and some of the attacks got personal. i'm shannon bream. hour number two of america's news headquarters starts from the nation's capital, right now. >> shannon: with just three weeks to go before the iowa caucuses the republican press presidential hopefuls went on the defensive and most candidates seem to have the same strategy, take down the frontrunner which is now newt gingrich. >> it involved mitt perry and

mitt romney. in the middle of the de-- rick perry and mitt romney. there was a discussion for individual healthcare programs. romney had one and the texas governor said that romney wanted one for allstates and all of their healthcare plans. a dispute ensued and then romney offered a wager. >> you know, what you have raised that before, rick. and you are sitting. >> it was true then. it is true now. >> rick, i tell you what. 10,000 bucks. $10,000 bet? >> i'm not in the betting business but i will show you the -- >> okay. >> now, after the debate there were lots of questions about whether the wager was appropriate. a romney campaign advisor explained it this way. he essentially said when people find themselves in the

situation when they are in a dispute and they are certain they are right sometimes they will make a wager but that is not playing well out here in iowa. a political columnist for the des moines register the largest newspaper in iowa she tweeted last night during the debate that was something that a likely caucus goer would not do even if there was a sure thing attached to it. it is a bad move at a bad time for mitt romney. shannon? >> shannon: all right, steve brown live in des moines. thank you very much, steve. two of the gop frontrunners butting heads at the debate. who came out on top? joining us to sort it all out, debbie dingle and karen. thank you both for coming in today. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> ime. >> shannon: i'm sure you watched at least parts of the debate. the moment sticking out is when mitt romney offered a $10,000 bet to rick perry. it is not playing well in iowa. do you think it is a make or

break? >> i don't think it is make or break. i think it is a continuation of is he one of us. and people in iowa who are earning on average probably around $50,000 a year don't go around betting $10,000. so i think it just further alienates him from a lot of the core gop voters whoing go are to turn out just in a few weeks and makes them wonder is this someone i can relate to. >> shannon: he took a lot of heat, newt gingrich is the presumed frontrunner. democrats when they have gone after someone in the field it has been mitt romney. do you think they will start ramping up more with newt gingrich as it appears he is take the lead. >> i don't think you will see democrats go after newt gingrich. i think democrats would love to see newt gingrich. republicans and those that know him best are terrified that he could become the presidential

nominee because he is vulnerable and so many issues. i think that democrats and i think the white house continue to think mitt romney would be the strongest candidate who would hold up long-term. i think the bet was probably not one of the smartest things he did last night. i think mitt romney showed a little less steadiness and newt gingrich showed strong steadiness last night but i still think this is very much a wide open race in the republican party. >> and it looks like the polls bear pout what you are saying when it talks about newt gingrich being maybe a preferred candidate for the democrats. couple of polls. these are from fox news and asking if the election were held today who would you go for and puts the republican frontrunners against president obama head to head. mitt romney versus the president mitt romney 42% to the president 44%. that gap widens when you put newt gingrich out there. 40% for him and 46% for the president. so karen, if gingrich winds up being the gop nominee, what do republicans do to bolster his chances against the president?

>> they rally around him. this is a do or die election for a lot of republicans. newt gingrich has said it is the most consequential election in a century. i'm not sure that is the case but republicans desperately want to see obama defeated in november. and they will rally around him. you will see the rnc be very aggressive injuries the republican national committee will be very aggressive toward president obama, pointing out that this is in fact a referendum on the president. and the more that they can make it more about obama and less about newt gingrich the better and i think that is what you would likely see. >> shannon: does it make sense for the administration or dnc, any one on that side of the aisle at this point to make direct attacks against any of these contenders? >> i think you you have begun to see and it is important that democrats talk about what the issues are and what is at stake. the campaign has begun and candidly, more are attention is

being paid to the republican candidates than they are to the president is the likely nominee right now. i also think too much attention is being paid to iowa and new hampshire and i would like to see them talking about real issues that you get to when you talk about the economy et cetera. i think you will see the higher level discussions by democrats. i think that h they are talking about with mitt romney in particular real economic issues because i think that that is a very legitimate issue. people need to start to think about and we will have to see how the next few weeks play out. >> shannon: interesting that former senator rick santorum said he thinks by this time next year or by the election issues of national security could trump the economy. do you think there is anything that could trump the economy? >> not unless there is an attack on americans in america. i think barring that, it is going to be the economy. you see increasingly the president is losing confidence among the american people as

they feel the economy is not growing at a rate that washington, you know, says it is according to the reports that they are putting out. the american people aren't feeling it and i think they are growing very impatient and very frustrated and saying look is there another way to go about doing this. mitt romney or newt gingrich, what do you have to offer us. i think short of an attack on american soil this will actual be about the economy. >> do you agree? >> i'm tare fide. i -- i'm terrified. i think we as americans have fall noon a seps o sense of fae security again. the president has been a rock star on issues. security issues. he has done a good job. >> shannon: not karen. we talk about things like killing osama bin laden. >> in the area of foreign policy i think we have to be americans first and not republicans or democrats which is what i think we should also

be on the economy, by the way. people are not -- the sense of fear is still very much out there. but i pray that there is not an incident that happens in the next year but we are all vulnerable and we are vulnerable every day and it is still 11 months away from the election. there is anything that can happen and we have seen that in history. >> debbie and karen, thank you both for your time for coming in today. >> good to see you. >> shannon: newt gingrich found himself on the defensive when it came to controversial comments about the palestinian conflict. he called palestinians "invented people" and the middle east peace process illusional. >> is what i said factually, correct? yes. is it historically true? yes. are we in a situation where every day rockets are fired into israel while the current administration tries to pressure the i will i israelise process. hamas says publicly not a

single jew will remain. >> mitt romney told gingrich he doesn't speak for israel. a palestinian official says a father and daughter were hurt this morning during an israeli air strike on the gaza strip. it will toes days of rising violence between gaza militants and israel. leland is here with the latest. >> reporter: it has been a violent weekend here. the israelis have exploded a massive munitions dump there inside the gaza strip. the palestinians for their side are not letting up on the amount of rockets coming out of gaza. they put out video earlier of a number of their people launching rocket. most of the time these are crude homemade devices and this this round of violence they succeeded only in blowing up a few fields inside southern israel but many people in this country spent their entire weekend running to and from air

raid shelters as the missiles came in. the israelis are starting to get a little bit of the strategic upper hand here because they now have a system that can intercept some of the missiles in the air and a little more successful in taking out o the rocketeers before they are able to launch. the latest round of violence started on thursday when the israelis in what we could only be described as an intelligence coop took out a high level member of the militant groups inside gaza city. they blew up his car and they say that was a preemptive strike to prevent an attack. what this happens israel gets ready for the reta retaliatory strikes. israel says hamas is responsible. this has been going on for four days now. if his forry tells us anything this is kind of the tipping point. either everybody decides to call it a day and go home or somebody does something to dallas techally escalate what

what -- drastically escalate what is going on. if that happens you have a balance of power that can quickly tip and then things start spinning out of control as they have in the past. shannon, back to you. >> shannon: leland, thank you. not only is iran showing off the u.s. drone is claims it brought down last week but it also says it is not giving it back. that move comes as the obama administration suggests it may shift toward a policy of containment when it comes to iran. peter doocy joins us live. >> iran says they will keep the drone because it represents a act andn and hostile pant and they say the drone is a symbol of aggression and they don't want to return it to us because we wanted their information. they said "we are not the kind of country to allow our enemy to operate freely within our national security and to continue without any response"

but regarding the kind of reaction we will show our enemies will see its effects. and speaking of effects, the drone doesn't appear to have many. it looks intact. although an official tells us that one wing appears to have been taken off and put back on. the president was given three different options to go in and either retrieve or destroy the drone but he declined all three because he didn't want such a mission to be seen as an act of war. but ambassador john bolton doesn't think that is an adequate excuse. >> the obama administration stated reason was that taking military action could be considered an act of war by iran. so while there may be a lot of good reasons not to go in that is not one of them. the iranians themselves said they considered merely sending the drone itself in to be an act of war. >> and u.s. officials now fear iran might give our intact drones technology to the

chinese or the russians. >> something that got a lot of attention in the debate last night as well. thankser, peter. >> thank you. the department has been fully cooperative and responsive in its dealings with congress. i have answered questions in the house and senate on four occasions concerning this matter. to date, we have provided almost 5,000-pages of documents for congressional investigators to review. >> shannon: could attorney general eric holder be facing impeachment in light of several investigations into the government's failed gun walking operation known as fast and furious. iowa republican senator chuck grassley has been sounding the alarm for months. he joins us live to talk about the latest developments in this matter. senator grassley, thank you for joining us. >> i'm glad to be with you. thank you you very much, ma'am. >> shannon: i want to ask you about the attorney general's testimony on capitol hill this week. there has been something made of the fact that he wasn't sworn in as other witnesses sometimes are. did that bother you at all on

the house side? >> if it is a departure from the house from practice the answer is, yes, and i would like to know why. in the senate i think that he was sworn in. that was a month ago. they swore in almost everybody in our committee and i don't remember during the senate if he was sworn in or not. >> shannon: a representative suggested impeachment may be on the table. he said to officials within the doj. is that something you could see happening as we learn more about exactly what was going on? >> i don't think so. that isn't something i would call for now. my goal is three things. one to find out hot highest person up in the government including the attorney general was that approved fast and furious and if they did they ought to resign. and secondly, to make sure that the terry family, that is the murdered person, gets all the information and then to see

that a stupid program like fast and furious isn't repeated again. i don't have enough evidence yet against holder. as you know this week i asked for brewer the assistant attorney general for crime to be fired or resign because he did -- wasn't doing his job and because he misled us in a letter that we received on february 4 that they later withdrew nine months later. >> shannon: and that letter came up in the hearing this week as well and questions about why it said at that time that the atf didn't know the guns were walking into mexico why it was later withdrawn. there were questions during the hearing about whether or not the attorney general was being honest, whether he was being forthcoming. whether he had lied. here is a bit of the interchange and his response to whether or not he was leading or mislying -- lying or misleading. >> it all has to do with your state of mind and whether or not you had the requisite intent to come up with

something that could be considered perjury or a lie. >> shannon: do you feel comfortable at all about what the intent may have been? >> what makes me uncomfortable about all this isn't just what the attorney general said, yes. when i opened this fast and furious investigation as the first member of congress because i was responding to whistle blowers that knew a lot of facts that nobody in the justice department would listen to them, i handed letters to the president on -- or i mean to the attorney general on january 31 and then we got that answer on february 4 and then what really bothers me isn't so much what he said this week but he has been stone walling for 8 or 9 months and that stone walling makes me very suspicious and the more stone walling that i get i tell bureaucrats of any department when the truth gets out you are going to have egg on your face and i think there is a lot of people in the justice

department now have just egg on their face and they have been covering for the attorney general because i can't believe that he didn't know about this before he said he did when people so high up in it knew about it in the summer of the year before. >> shannon: senator, the attorney general has admitted he hasn't supplied all of his e-mails and relevant data to congress because there is an inspector general investigation going on and it wouldn't be right for him at this point to turn over the materials. is that not a legitimate objection on his part? >> absolutely not. congress has the constitutional oversight. we pass laws and we have to make sure that the laws are faithfully executed. when the laws were violated in our justice department urging gun dealers to sell guns illegally and 2,000 were sold there is something wrong. and so the reason it isn't legitimate to hide behind the inspector general is because we can do our constitutional job

of oversight and we can investigate the same time the inspector general is investigating. >> shannon: senator grassley, republican of iowa, thank you, sir,, for your time injuries we though this is far from over and we appreciate you checking in with us. >> thank you very much, goodbye. >> shannon: another fight brewing on capitol hill. president obama wants to extend the payroll tax cuts but not if that is tied to a key republican requirement that the extension be linked to the approval of the keystone xl pipeline which the gop is arguing will create thousands of jobs. steve centanni has more on this. >> payroll benefits, jobless benefits and the oil pipeline tied together in the last minute cliff-hanger on capitol hill. the question is how to extend the payroll tax cuts before it expires at the end of the year. no one disputes the need to keep the tax cuts on the books at least for now. >> i believe that we should extend the payroll tax holiday another year, avoid a tax increase on working people for another year. i also agree with senator reid

my counterpart that we ought not to do it again next year. >> but the problem now is how exactly will that plan be enacted and how will it be paid for. president obama and his democratic allies want to pay for it by taxing the rich. republicans want to extend a freeze on federal workers pay and charming patients for more medicare. republicans also want to speed up construction of the keystone pipeline with the president threatening a veto if that happens. sets the stage for a major showdown in the upcoming election year. >> this is a make or break moment for the middle class and to this point the republicans have consistently said they will refuse to increase the taxes on the wealthiest people in america one penny if that is what it takes to make sure that working families get a payroll tax cut. it is a clear defining moment, a contrast between the parties that the president has made clear. >> reporter: but one leading republican predicts a deal will be worked out.

here is lindsay graham. >> at the end of the day the payroll tax will get extended as it is now. it won't get expanded it will get extended and we will find a way to pay for it in a bipartisan fashion. this idea of tax is one group to pay for a tax cut for another is not going sell. the pipeline is not going to sell. it is important that we extend the tax cut through next year but it is even more important we come up with sustainable policies that will turn america around. >> extending unemployment benefits also on the table and the two sides, of course, have different plans for doing that. we'll see what happens. shannon? >> imagine that. steve centanni, thank you very much. >> you bet. >> shannon: a recent speech has senator jeff sessions seeing red. we will talk to him about what has him fired up when joins us live. >> to suggest if you have a different view about how to create jobs and wealth in america, if you don't care with

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i'm so happy to have him home. >> i have been like day dreaming about this day since i have been out there so actually it is finally here. it is pretty crazy.

>> shannon: a soldier home early from afghanistan surprised his mom for the holidays in ex-ton, pennsylvania. the covert operations pulled off o without a hitch. david weiss told his mother that he was coming home next week. the entire family kept the early home coming a secret. he just spent 7 months in afghanistan. he is home for just 33 days. shop at a major retailer between now and christmas and there is a good chance you will be offered a discount if you apply for the store's credit card. before you get approved you want to read the fine print. brenda buttner tells us what you should be looking out for. >> four years of hard times have left consumers hard wired for discounts, even during the holidays. and retailers are obliging by promoting coupons, free shipping, and one day sales. they are also offering discounts for signing up for a

store credit card but this may not be the best present to your credit score. john olzheimer is the president of consumer education for smart credit .com. >> 15% to 20% is the standard discount if you open a credit card. the problem is it is an unsophisticated way of applying for credit and applying for credit cards is unwith of the fastest ways to lower your credit card that is something you don't want to ensure territories 2012 with. >> the act of applying alone can hurt your credit score. >> and if the account is approved the new you account going on the credit reports can also lower the score. you are really nailing yourself twice. a lot of people have the strategy i will open it and take the discount injuries the damage has already been done and you cannot undo it simply by closing the card. >> another reason to avoid store cards is if you plan on taking a loan out any time soon. >> when you apply for a new

store credit card this holiday season the damaging effect on the credit score will generally last one full year, 12 months. if you think you are going to apply for anything at all in 2012 it is in your best interest to forego any sort of discount you are going to get because you opened the card and just leave it alone. >> it is not worth the discount. and if you do choose to charge something, use a credit card that is already in your wallet and remember this, pick the one with the lowest interest rate. shannon? >> shannon: good advice as always. brenda, thank you. >> thank you. >> shannon: following one elderly woman's claims about being strip search, two new york lawmakers are calling for a passenger advocate to immediately act upon passenger screening complaints. the transportation security administration denies the complaint says the agency does not conduct strip searches. the tsa said it, too, is

planning its own passenger advocacy service. up next, senator jeff sessions joins us is to defend his party. dad, why are you getting that? is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. [ male announcer ] inside every box of cheerios are those great-tting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholester. is it a superhero? kinda. ♪

>> shannon: newt gingrich isn't backing down. the former house speaker is defending himself over controversial comments he made about palestinians. the bottom of the hour. peter is standing by with your top stories. hi, pete. in an interview with the

jewish channel that aired on friday gingrich said the palestinians are an invented people and in saturday night's debate the former speaker showed no signs of backing off that claim. he called the palestinian people terrorists and said it is time someone has the courage to tell the truth about the middle east. things looking up for president obama despite a gallup poll which shows his approval rating in the low 40s a survey of democratic activists across the country shows a growing optimism about the president's prospects in 2012. supporters say the confidence comes from mr. obama's more populust tone and what they view as a chaotic primary fight among republicans. >> last night's basketball game was called with just 9 seconds left on the clock after the brawl cleared the berchls and left both teams bloodied. three players were suspended. for the record, xavier beat

cincinnati 76-53. and pope benedict acknowledged today that christmas will be difficult this year because of economic crisis gripping many around the world. the pope spoke to parishonners outside of rome while visiting a working class neighborhood and reminded people that the christmas holiday is about much more than just buying gifts. >> shannon: it absolutely is. peter, thank you very much. >> if you want to go back to the same policies that stack the deck middle class americans for way too many years. their philosophy is simple we are better off when everybody is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules. >> shannon: one senator watching says he found it offensive. senator sessions of alabama. thank you so much for coming in today. >> thank you, shannon.

>> you made a pretty impassioned speech in response to the president. what had you you fired up. >> i felt this president has a duty to lead self-lessly. he needs to tell the american people the truth and the greatest threat to the middle class and all of us is the debt over our country. he has not discussd that in any way and his proposal continually borrow more to spend more and it is putting us in exactly the wrong direction. and i also believe he has a host of things he could do to help the middle class which is being hammered and is being damaged today that would not add to the debt, help america grow and prosper and we need that kind of prosperity not a tax and spend big government generated prosperity that has never worked and won't work now. >> shannon: he says that will focs like you are standing in the way of the middle class and republicans abandoned the middlele class in favor of their rich friends,

millionaires and billionaires. how do you respond? >> a political gambut he is participating in. do you remember ronald reagan in the early 1980s, you may not but i do. he took the heat for two years to bring inflation under control and it did put us into a short-term difficult economic situation but he created growth for 20 years. and this president needs to be speaking the real truth about the danger that debt and overspending and a bloated government it creating. how it is hammering the middle class. we need to stand up to china. he refused to do that and support currency balancing and fairness with china. he continues to allow illegal immigrants to take jobs from americans. he is not creating lower costs, more american energy. he is blocking the keystone pipeline. these are things that do not hurt the treasury, do not cost money but create real jobs for

middle class americans. and that is what i think is so important today. >> shannon: he says republicans are playing politics when it comes to the keystone pipeline. there are proposals on the hill about how to handle a payroll tax extension and whether it will go beyond december 31. the president says he won't accept any deal that includes him eceptionly giving the green light to the keystone pipeline which has been vetted and approved through one state department. they are taking another environmental study now. is it true that folk is are playing politics with the payroll tax extension. does it get done with or without the keystone pipeline. >> it is a defining moment for the middle class. every state through which it goes now will support the pipeline. it will be done in an environmentally effective way. we have pipelines all over this country. this will create 100,000 plus jobs. lower energy costs.

make us more energy strong. i think it is the right thing to do and i'm amazed, flabbergatted, stunned that president won't move forward with that. he also slowed dramatically drilling in the gulf of mexico where huge reserves are. this creates american wealth and keeps us from having to send money to venezuela or saudi arabia or foreign countries and creates jobs in america and we all know energy wise if we take advantage of that we can bring down the cost industriesnd make in can more competitive and it will bring in new tax revenue. >> shannon: if the payroll tax deal gets done without the keystone pipeline the next vetting study wouldn't be done before the first quarter of 2013. at that point if president obama has been reelected how quickly do you think he would act to allow it to move forward? >> the pipeline. i don't know.

it seems to me there is no real logical basis not to move forward now. it seems to me he is responding to a very antifossil fuel energy coalition. part of the left. they also attempt to block every pipeline so i don't know where we will go but we need more american energy. we need it cheaper. we need american people not to pay more for their energy but to pay less. and when that happens they will buy more. businesses are more competitive and more people will get hired. >> shannon: are there any of your democratic colleagues in the senate that you have conversations with that you found common ground with on some of these issues and you could work to get things done? >> absolutely. there are quite a number of democrats i believe that would pipelineupport the people and and believe it is the right thing for america. a number understand that the art fix blocking of production of energy in the gulf that has occurred in recent years since

the spill that has been fixed, plans to hand that will have been fixed, that is i think a lot of democratic senators want to do that. a number of democratic senators know that illegal labor coming in at low rates pull down middle class wages and have been willing to stand up on that. they also a lot of democrats know that we need to stand up to foreign trading partners who cheat, particularly china who manipulated their currency. as a matter of fact, i worked with a lot of democrats on that issue and we won that vote in the senate but the president won't support us. >> shannon: good to see bipartisanship of any kind on the hill. >> it is. >> shannon: thank you very much and we wish you the best in finding the solutions to bring the two sides together. >> thank you, shannon. >> shannon: an unprecedented meeting on capitol hill focused on the issue of home grown terror. the aim is to prevent targeted

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>> shannon: iroran says getting its hands on a u.s. drone is a major victory and the country will not return it. they called the drone a symbol of aggression and warns that iran might do something bigger to react but didn't explain that what that might be. u.s. officials admit losing it but say iran didn't bring it down, that is malfunctioned.

>> the problem of homegrown terrorists targeting military installations was the subject of an unprecedented meeting last week on capitol hill. catherine herridge has the story. >> reporter: since 9/11 at least 33 plots targeting the u.s. military including the fort hood massacre where the alleged assailant killed 13 and wounded 30 others. >> american service members and their families are increasingly in the terrorists' scope. >> the first joint session of the committees was told that they see the military as fair game because of a false narrative that the u.s. is at war with their religion. >> are there cases regarding jihaddists? >> i welcome the opportunity to answer that in private session. >> focusing on the followers of one religion as the only credible threat to the nation's

security is inaccurate. our military is open to all faiths. >> we should be able to identify the enemy and it is violent radical islamic extremism. >> a how the defense department deals with such threats. >> it is dealing with violent islamic extremism in the context of broader threat of work place violence. >> defense witnesses responded. >> the primary threat to security at home comes to al-qaeda. >> the attack by a lone gunman outside an arkansas recruitment center killed private william long. he says they betrayed his family by portraying it as an act of terrorism. >> he wore these when took three rounds of ammo from three feet. on it there is the warrior ethoughs. the last line is i will never leave a fallen comrad.

well, the army left h him. >> lawmakers say the internet is a driving force behind radical islam and the new digital jihad. >> even santa needs a little bit of help from time to time. casey stegall looks at one special program this holiday season. hi, casey. >> the economic downturn means more children are asking santa for basic necessities this year toys and electronics. we will tell how you can make a child's christmas a little child's christmas a little merrier in a live report when no mat america's news headquarters returns, next. to... get in the way. not anymore. ink, the small business card from chase introduces jot an on-the-go expense app made exclusively for ink customers. custom categorize your expenses anywhere.

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>> shannon: the holidays can be a tough time for those in need and luckily a pro sec project d operation letters to santa gives americans the opportunity to lend a helping hand injuries casey stegall with more. >> can you believe it is christmas already? we know that santa is extremely busy this time of year and even with all of his elves he still needs a little bit of help reading all of those letters from the good girls and boys which is why he turns to the united states postal service and some of those elves intercept the letters that are mailed to the north pole and the post office staff reads through them.

they divide them up by wants and needs and then hide all of the personal information and then volunteers just like you and me can pick out wish lists that they want to fulfill. the letters in this program come from children in need and they are not necessarily looking for toys, many now asking for basic necessities like clothing, shoes, blankets and food. >> once you start reading them you see such a great need that you fend that you want to -- you don't want that child to be let down on christmas that their prayers weren't answered and some of them are literally begging santa claus for help. >> loot of the letters do identify that they are struggling and that there is hardship. some of homeless even. some don't have a place to sleep or have anything to eat especially during this christmas time. >> this is the final week that you can participate in operation letters to santa. 75 post offices around the

nation are participating. and you can visit be an elf.org to find out where to go. make sure that you call ahead for hours. and then once you are done shopping you bring all of the gifts back to the post office on december 21 and 22 and that allows enough time for the mail carriers to get the gifts all the way up to the north pole so they can be loaded on to santa's sleigh. a very good program, shannon. >> shannon: sounds efficient as well. casey, thank you so much. the battle between church and state is on full display in the mississippi state capital. on one side a nativity scene and on the other side a sign that says religion is but a myth. for a fair and balanced debate, gentlemen, bac welcome to you . >> tank you. >> good morning. >> in the mississippi statehouse we have the nativity

scene and the sign on the other side debunking religion and angels and devils and all stuff like that. dan, is that a good enough compromise for you. >> as long as that is private speech and it appears that the state of mississippi designated that as a public forum then the views of christians are welcome there as well as the views of at least a half a million atheists in the state of mississippi who think that the christian myth is inappropriate in a public building. who think that the whole idea of a baby who grew up to create a hell because human nature is so degraded that we have to bow down like slaves before this master, here in a country that kicked out the king and the master some of us feel like the nativity scene is just as much an insult to america as many christians think our view is an insult. >> let me bring in tony. are you okay with the compromise with the nativity scene on one side and the sign

on the other decrying religion and the nativity scene. >> it is not a war on christmas, not a war on santa claus. this an extension on the war on christianity. they have been pushing to get the winter solstice displays in there. if they want to celebrate the earth and the sun that is fine. we want to celebrate the baby who came down in a manger and created the earth and the sun. this is about the war on christianity and 78% of americans identify as christians. you know, when abraham lincoln said we are the government, we are the people that govern this nation, and you can't let, you know, dan and 17,000 people that are in his organization redefine america and our history. >> shannon: what drives you, dan, because there are

obviously, not just mississippi, you have been successful in a number of states directly taking on religious displays. >> because millions of americans who don't think the month of december is owned by christians or that the family is necessarily a christian exclusive entity in this country. we prefear reason and science and human kindness over the mythology and superstition that human beings he degraded and deserving of eternal torture. the baby in the manger grew up to create a hell which is a place of torture which is an insilt and a huge put down toymannity. what drives us is the respect for the godless is secular constitution. we admire and respect the freedom of tony to put up his mythological ideas and i'm sure he is not disagreeing with our freedom in this country of of free speech to express what we think is a more rationale and

kind and ru humane way of viewg human nature. more americans is are white than black, that doesn't make us a white nation. neither are we a christian nation. we are a secular nation. >> shannon: a chance to fair and balanced answer that question before we got to go. >> look, this is a time of year december 25, it is christmas. we celebrate christmas. it is the birth of jesus christ. the historical person of christ. the evidence is overwhelming. america's history and heritage is overwhelming. we want to celebrate it. it is an inclusive and it is a unifying time of year and dan and them are certainly free to deny it but they can't use the power of government to eraise our history and our heritage. we are not going let that happen. >> shannon: we thank you for a very civilized debate. great to hear from both sides. we thank you very much. >> thank you. >> merry christmas, shannon.

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>> shannon: we have been asking you all day what do you think about mitt romney's $10,000 bet offer to rick perry. jackie writes i thought it was foolish on romney's part. who bets $10,000 on anything. maybe 10 bucks. >> i'm not a romney fan but when you make a big bet maybe a