dictator launching an outpouring now of shock and grief in its home country. >> screams and tears for the man president bush called part of the access of evil. >> meanwhile, nancy pelosi says don't look at the democrats. it's the tea party that's trying to raise your taxes. will that kind of claim really stick? we're going to report and you're going to decide and good morning, larry gatlin. >> well, it's a homecoming they will never forget! >> oh, my goodness! >> "fox & friends" starts right now. >> you're watching "fox & friends." that's a great way to begin your day. >> well, good morning, everyone. we are going to bring you the

latest on the breaking news coming out of north korea this morning that kim jong il has in fact died but in the meantime, we want to welcome larry gatlin sitting in for brian kilmeade today. you clean up nicely. >> i keep looking around wondering where's brian? >> you are brian today. >> i am brian. ok. i've looked forward to this. you kids have been very nice to me. >> kids. >> i watch the show -- >> kids. >> both of you by a bunch. >> listen, it's great to have you. you've been on the program many, many times. we know you watch it every day. so why not? lasso yourself in for another three hours. we have a lot of breaking news. >> this is what happens when we have breaking news. it's called a fox news alert right now, screams and tears all across north korea as the country confirms the death of dictator kim jong il. >> brand new video right now from the streets after the news broke. according to the north korean

government, the leader died on saturday due to heart failure. he was 69 years old. he ruled the country for the past 17 years. his body will now be placed inside a memorial. the funeral next week. meantime, the north korean government immediately called on its 24 million citizens to rally behind kim jong il's son. now, that is kim jong un calling him the great successor. he's only 22 years old, apparently. you don't know much about him. only that he could be 27 or 28. who knows? he studied english and avoided cameras for most of his life before this photo was released in 2010. kim jong un hadn't been seen in public since age 11. who knows what's going to happen in that kuncountry and that parf the world right now. >> what does this mean for america's future relationship? steve centanni is live in washington, d.c. with early details. good morning. >> good morning, steve, gretchen and larry. u.s. watching very closely these events in north korea. this will be a very different political and diplomatic landscape for the u.s. and for

other world governments. it could be a new opportunity for the u.s. it could mean new headaches for the u.s. president obama talked with south korean president around midnight and press secretary jay carney gave this readout of their conversation. carney saying the president reaffirmed the united states' strong commitment to the stability of the korean peninsula and the security of our close ally, the republic of korea. the two leaders agreed to stay in close touch as the situation develops. and agreed they would direct their national security teams to continue close coordination as well. excuse me. now, this death could set back efforts by the u.s. and others to get them to abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions. that's been the big problem. a thorn in the side to the u.s. and other world governments for many, many years. the untested successor, kim jong un, the young son who we know so little about, may seek to avoid any perceived weakness as he moves to consolidate control

which means he could lash out at south korea, for instance. no firm reaction yet here in washington. just what we heard about that readout between the phone conversation between president obama and the leader of south korea. the obama administration, by the way, also was planning on reengaging the north in nuclear weapons talks and providing it with food aid according to u.s. officials, the administration has been expected to decide on both these issues this week. possibly as early as monday but now, this could delay that process. officials saying the u.s. was particularly concerned about any changes that kim's death might spark in the military stand-off between the north and the south so a very touchy situation there right now and we'll keep you posted on any late developments and reactions coming out of washington. back to you guys. >> all right. steve centanni live in the bureau, thank you very much. let's dial in senator mark kirk from illinois who joins us. by the way, he was an intelligence officer in the reserve. now that kim jong il has passed away and his son has taken over,

what do you worry about? >> now, we're entering into a shaky time for the history of north korea. the rezegime is trying to pass power to a third generation but kim jong un used to be called the brilliant comrade is very young, only 27, 28 years old. the question is can he hold the loyalty of the key commanders of the north korean army and would he try to make some sort of military move against south korea like the sinking of the south korean vessel that we saw to look tough? that would be unfortunate. >> it's really interesting from an outsider perspective, you wonder as not american or anyone else in the world what the people of north korea are thinking today. we're seeing this amazing video of them crying and going to kiss the ground after the death of this leader and yet, he's been a ruthless dictator so you have to wonder, senator, is this just the older people in that country who feel that way about their leader passing?

will the young people there? do they know about the western world? will they rise up? have they seen the arab spring? what will happen? >> most of them do not know, the power of the regime is concentrated around the capital. when i was in north korea, i generally found that when you're away from the capital, for example, on the chinese border, people do know more about the outside world and they know how far north korea is falling behind. but the key question today is, is kim jong un, the brilliant comrade retaining the loyalty of his core commanders. we know both militaries, north and south korea are on alert right now. we don't want anybody to do anything stupid as power is transitioned and also, kim jong un's uncle appears to be the key regent in power and the moves that he makes on behalf of his 28-year-old nephew who is formally taking power is something everybody is watching. >> sure. this is larry gatlin.

if conventional wisdom, does it say this could get worse? i was with president 41, george h.w. bush, the day that kim il song died 17 years ago at kennebunkport with the general and a bunch of ceo's and they were concerned about their international companies and the business, what was going to happen. they decided that morning no matter how bad kim il sung was, that kim jong il was probably to get worse. how much worse can it get that people are starving to tet and all the money is being given to the military to have the second or third largest standing army in the world. could it get worse? >> it could get worse. remember, north korea is the country where two million people starved to death in 1998 and 1999. it's a nuclear armed country that also sells its missiles to a number of clients around the world. and with a 28-year-old leader running one of the largest militaries and nuclear arms

militaries, there's a lot of uncertainty now. remember, the united states is not only a military ally of south korea, we just signed a free trade agreement with them. i think president obama did the right thing by calling the south korean leader and we have to make sure that everyone knows we're staunch allies of the south koreans in this time of turmoil. >> absolutely. senator mark kirk, republican from illinois, we thank you, sir for giving your perspective on this monday morning. >> thanks for having me. >> rest of your headlines to start off your week. secret negotiations are reportedly under way to release several suspected terrorists being held at guantanamo bay. according to reuters now, an agreement is being made between the united states government and taliban leaders. it involves the u.s. handing over some prisoners in exchange for the promise of peace. the former taliban leaders would have to denounce future acts of terror and enter talks with the current afghan president hamid karzai. pfc bradly manning returns to

court today accused of leaking documents to wikileaks. yesterday, witnesses testified that manning broke through a weak computer system on a base in iraq when he was deployed overseas. a forensic investigator says the same documents found on those serveers were on manning's personal computer and later sent to the document leaking site. a frantic search under way for a 1-year-old girl missing in maine. police say the 1-year-old may have been kidnapped after she vanished from her bed on friday night. her father reported her missing early saturday morning. the young girl was able to walk and detectives haven't ruled out the possibility that she simply wandered away. little ayla was last seen wearing green pajamas that say daddy's princess. she also has a broken arm from an accident a couple of weeks back. it was the first kiss, this couple will never forget. >> oh, my goodness! >> lance army corporal drake

francis getting a very warm welcome home from his new girlfriend in oklahoma, now here's the story, folks. they were just friends when he left for afghanistan. yeah, larry, don't look at me that way. i know you like a good romantic story. they were just friends when he left for afghanistan more than a year ago but as time passed well, you know, things can change. you know what they say. >> they fell in love basically over the internet. >> you know how everyone pictures it, you run, you hug, you kiss. >> wow. >> they're now going to be able to spend their first christmas together and if i had to guess, i would say there might be a lot more smooching. just a guess. >> absence makes the heart grow fonder. >> no doubt. >> all right. and that's news and let's talk a little bit about what's going on on capitol hill. the big news over the weekend was the fact that the senate had passed overwhelmingly a payroll tax cut extension for two months, white house was on board. but here's the problem. the house is supposed to vote on it tonight after 6:30. and they say, republicans have

indicated to fox, that there will be a couple of changes to the bill and it is expected that they will probably kill it. so what will happen so close to christmas? >> well, let's take a look at what the senate actually approved. keep in mind, mitch mcconnell, highest ranking republican in the senate likes this plan although he's supporting john boehner who sdendoesn't. here's the price tag $33 billion. renews benefits for long term unemployed and cuts 33% of medicare payments to doctors. the big stink here is the timeline on this. this current form only extends the payroll tax cuts for two months. and what some of the house republicans are saying, let's not continue to kick the can down the road. let's make it a year. >> right. don't you think that's really big of them to do it for two whole months? i wonder what my life would be like if i hired a band, did all that and said i know what we're going to do for two months and the next 10 you're on your own.

i usually kind of pick on the folks a little bit to the left. and i think i'll pick on some on the right. with all due respect to senate minority leader mitch mcconnell, it's kind of like i voted for it before i told him to vote against it. it would be like eli manning throwing a touchdown pass and going down and knocking it down himself before it got in the end zone. >> the question is what did boehner talk to mcconnell about? were they in concert before the senate voted on it? here's boehner yesterday on "meet the press" saying two months is not enough. >> i believe that two months is just kicking the can down the road. the american people are tired of that. i think -- frankly, i'm tired of it on the house side, we've seen this kind of action before coming out of the senate. it's time to just stop, do our work, resolve the differences and extend this for one year. >> well, even president obama wants this extended past the two months. i mean, he's up for re-election. he does not want to be fighting this battle again in two months. and quite frankly, i don't know how the american people feel

about this. you'll have to let us know. but do you want to be going through this again in two months? having this discussion take over everything that we're talking about and congress just can't seem to get anything done? >> well, they should have settled it once and for all. instead, here's what nancy pelosi says what's going on right now. the republican tea party's tax increase, that's what she's calling it, will hurt the middle classes and hinder the economic recovery and they know it by holding up this bipartisan compromise, tea party house republicans are walking away once again showing their extremism and clearly demonstrating that they never intended to give the middle class a tax cut. the one good thing that some republicans feel, that keystone thing is in it right now. will it be tonight? stand by. coming up on our show, more on the payroll tax bill. stuart varney says there's another surprise hiding inside of it. uh-oh. you got a lot of surprises on your mind. it could affect your mortgage this time around. >> and they were supposed to be eating healthy. but now, students are not eating at all. why tons of food is going to

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>> thinking about buying a home? well, you want to look a little bit closer at these mortgage fees. >> that's because it could be going up if congress passes the senate's version of the bill that is -- the one that extends payroll tax cuts for just two months. didn't know about that, did you? >> stuart varney is here to explain. now, usually you bring us some negative news and a slight glimmer of hope. is there any hope? is there any hope in this particular story? i saw a little silver lining but i'm going to wait to hear what you say. >> i've got a fabulous introduction on a monday morning at 6:17 a.m. eastern. i'm trying to think of where the glimmer of hope might be. haven't got there yet. >> ok. >> so here's the story, if this goes through and it's a proposal at the moment which, of course, is on hold because of tonight's vote on the payroll tax extension. if it goes through, $15 per month on average for all new mortgages, all refis for fannie mae, freddie mac and federal

home mortgage association. it's a new fee permanent on all new mortgages and re-fis to pay for the payroll tax holiday extension. note, this is a permanent increase in fees and taxes as opposed to the temporary nature of the tax cut holiday extension. >> it would be one thing if the money went to prop up fannie and freddie. they're using it over there to pay for this generous tax holiday. >> the tax holiday takes money out of social security. you've got to replace that. so you introduce these new fees on mortgages. the bank collects the fee. the fee then goes to the treasury. the treasury puts it into the general fund. not the social security trust fund. you find that glimmer of hope. go ahead. >> i thought that possibly it would move people more into the private sector away from fannie and freddie. >> yes. except that, ok, ok, ok. a temporary victory on your part. there is virtually no private sector for the mortgage market at the moment.

only 10% of mortgages are backed up by the private market. 90% are backed up by these government agencies, fannie and freddie. so yeah, you're right. the intention here, the hidden goal gets you off the public sector, gets you into the private sector, except that private sector doesn't yet really exist in a robust fashion and you're always going to have to pay this tax. you impose it. you'll never see the end of it. >> and that's only if it passes and it sounds like the house is going to kill it tonight. >> maybe, yeah. do you want to impose a new fee on mortgages with the housing situation as it is? >> no. but -- >> i know i don't. >> you're looking hard and i'm not sure you found it. >> have a fantastic week. >> i shall. >> we'll be watching you. 9:20 on the fox business network. >> that's where we'll find you. >> you do. thank you. >> it was a big story over the weekend. electric cart goes off course taking out everything in its path. look at that. new details of what went wrong. who left that thing in the on position? >> why is ron paul surging in

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>> welcome back, everyone. we're just two weeks now from the iowa caucus and take a look at this rasmussen poll. ron paul rising to third place with 18% of the vote in the iowa caucus. newt gingrich 20% and mitt romney 23%. our washington insiders are here to weigh in on why. cory ilan, senior vice president of fox global and former communications advisor to president obama and didi benke, political strategist and former campaign advisor to president bush. good morning to both of you. >> good morning, gretchen. >> good morning, good to be with you. >> let me start with you.

this is a very interesting surge for ron paul in the state of iowa. this new public polling has him winning iowa right now with 23%. what do you make of it? >> yeah, ron paul could definitely win. it's almost likely. this is a smaller group. iowa is a completely different animal than the other states. and it's so targeted and the ron paul people are so enthusiastic and organized. yeah, he could very well win. i mean, but it doesn't necessarily mean that he has a chance winning and really he doesn't to win the presidency but yeah, iowa, he is going to do very well and he'll be one, two or three. >> is that disasterous for the republican party or where do you fall on that? is the media propping up this -- >> oh, i think the media, i wouldn't be surprised, he probably has a ron paul t-shirt underneath his suit. the democrats would love for ron paul to win. they're going to prop up anybody but mitt romney because mitt romney is the one that can beat president obama. he's the biggest threat which is why they're targeting him in

every way possible. >> look, i'm not going to ask cory to actually take off his neck and tie although he probably just put it on because it's so early in the morning. cory, how do you respond to that? >> well, i'll tell you, i think the only people that are propping up ron paul right now are his very dedicated supporters all over the country and especially in iowa. i mean, look, people like to talk about the fact that mitt romney has been running for president since 2007. well you know, what? ron paul has been out there that entire time as well, only difference is he has a day job as a member of the united states congress. also, you have to take a look at this kind of campaign that ron paul has run. again, his dedicated support efrz, he's been in iowa which you can't say that for newt gingrich or mitt romney. he's run in some of the most devastating ads in the state right now against both of those gentlemen and he is the man of conviction. whether you agree with him or not, he's somebody who believes in what he believes and he stands firmly on what he believes. >> yeah, but cory -- >> ron paul could definitely win iowa and i've been saying it for weeks there's a golf course at

that -- >> your boss, the president of the united states would love it if ron paul won iowa because come on, let's face it, the obama administration is scared of mitt romney, right? > >> that's a yes, cory. admit it. >> let me say this, president obama and democrats are not in the business of deciding who the republican nominee is going to be. that's going to be the people in the republican party all over the country. >> sure. whatever! >> you're going to have a long process here to have this conversation. >> about mitt romney more than a year ahead, that's disingenuous and both sides do it. >> you're exactly right. they're of course involved. they're going to spend a billion dollars they say and that's going to be a part of it. they're going to do everything and anything on every level and be creative because we know that barack obama was creative last time so absolutely. again, cory, i think that t-shirt is on underneath your shirt. i think you are ron paul supporter. you all want ron paul to win in iowa. >> that's really -- >> and you want him to beat mitt romney. he's the one. he's your target.

we know it. we know it. >> i'm curious about this term, inventive. but i won't even go there to try to get deeper into what that's about. again, look. here's where we are. if you look at this field of candidates, what do you have? you have mitt romney stuck at 25%. what does that mean? 75% of the people who are republicans have not decided that they are for this guy. that's a big deal. >> cory, but -- >> hold on a second. when you take a look at voters in iowa in particular, people who are said to be iowa caucus goers, 70% of them have not made up their mind about who they're going to support and the others have -- if they have made up their mind, they don't have a close second. so this is a field that has been messed up from the beginning. let's just say that. >> that doesn't necessarily mean that the 75% undecided don't like the other candidates. they're taking their time to make up their mind. >> next time we'll find out what

t-shirt you have underneath. >> he's rooting for ron paul, trust me. not mitt romney. >> good to see both of you. >> thank you, bye-bye. >> killing the keystone pipeline with thousands of jobs on the line. is the president making a bad business decision to please environmentalists? we'll see what donald trump thinks about that coming up next and is former secretary of state condaleeza rice thinking about jumping back into the political ring? she's eyeing a pretty high position, friends say. happy birthday to actress jennifer biels. she turns 48 today. ♪ [ female announcer ] erybody loves that cushiony feeling. uh oh. i gotta go. [ female announcer ] and with charmin ultra soft, you can get that same cushiony feeling you love while still using less.

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>> welcome back to "fox & friends" on this monday morning. today, brian is taking a much deserved day off and in his place, we've gone outside our area code. larry gatlin from his now native texas is with us in brian's place. >> well, i've moved from texas back to nashville. i tell people, back in lighter days before 9/11, i used to say that i was an american by birth and a texan by the grace of god. so i think thaurz a 10 year -- there's a 10 year, i still honor and respect those who lost their lives. i came last night, you're from minnesota, right? >> yeah. >> we were in -- we were in -- so far north in wisconsin that i was saying eh? you know, a lot of nice people there at the lake of the torches casino. had a great time. nice to be here with you kids. >> on friday when you were also here, you said that you were going to wear a little red. and so steve and i planned accordingly. now, usually we don't all match

here on the set. if we do, trust me, folks, it's by happen stance. >> today, we do. >> are they clashing a little bit? >> christmas season is coming. joining us on the phone is the author of "time to get tough" good morning to you, mr. trump. >> good morning and good morning to larry. a friend of mine for many years and performed for me many times. >> good to hear from you. >> terrific. >> we'll come back to some fun in a little bit, donald. let's give your reaction to the death of the north korean dictator kim jong il. i'll wondering from your perspecti perspective, you know a lot about china. many are concerned about china role in his demise. what should the united states do right now? >> well, it's an amazing thing to see somebody who was so loved over there and yet the people can't eat. i guess they probably have nuclear but, you know, nobody knows if it works. the fact is that the people loved this guy. i'm looking at people crying in

the streets and what has he done for them and now the son seems to be taking over. china has fairly good control over it. let's see what happens. china does no favors for us. it will be a mess for a little while, at least. >> south korea is on high alerted because the son who presumably will be taking over just proved that he has the wherewithall that he can run his dad's country, got to show that he's a big man so he might squeeze something off at south korea. that's one of the worries. >> i know. it's a crazy -- it's a crazy situation. who can believe that could happen in an age of television and all the things that we have, you wouldn't believe it's possible. >> over there, something like 200,000 people have cell phones. everybody else is in the dark. they just watch, you know, north korea tonight by the state-run media. >> that's why it works. without that, it doesn't works. nobody knows what's happening. >> do you think possibly we

could see in north korea. all the people we're seeing crying are a little bit on the elderly side. could we have an arab spring type moment in north korea? could it be that the younger people know what's going on in the western world? >> it seems that they don't but certainly if they did, i think you'd have it. you'd have the arab spring, a term i'm not exactly fond of because i don't know -- it sounds like an obama term. the wonderful arab spring. who are these people taking over the different countries? i guess we'll be finding out over the next couple of years. i don't think it's going to be pleasant but it certainly is -- if the word got out to what was going on in north korea, i'd believe they'd have an overthrow there eventually. >> go ahead, larry. >> during the occupy wall street thing, there was evidence of people who were being paid or, you know, asked to -- >> sure. >> i don't think it would be beyonb beyo beyond, you know, real stretch of the imagination, you get another can of beans. let me see you cry. i can't imagine someone crying

for a man who kept them starving. anything is possible with those people. >> i've never seen anything, those crying, those were serious tears. that was major, major -- either they're wonderful actors or something is going on. it's a very strange place and because it's so strange, we have to be very careful and on the alert. >> all right. it does sound as if his son will be taking over. the ultimate apprentice but this apprentice will have nuclear weapons at his disposal. >> not good. not a good situation. >> let's come back to the domestic front, mr. trump, this morning and talk about this pipeline situation. the keystone pipeline. apparently, the republicans and i guess democrats have put in this little part of the fine print of this payroll extension cut bill where they say that the president will have to make a decision on this pipeline from canada down to texas within 60 days. do you think that's a good idea? >> well, i think it's fine because he has to make a decision. we have a country that has no leader. he's got to make a decision one

way or the other. he has to -- now, he's going the way of the environmentalists who want nothing to be done who don't care, they just want nothing to be done and even many democrats want this pipeline. it creates jobs and also it's good for energy and it's just -- there are hundreds of pipelines. you know, they act like this is the only one. there are hundreds of pipelines all throughout the country. no problems whatsoever. >> good point. >> and, you know, it's great. you hear about the keystone pipeline and it sounds like it's the only pipeline in this country. there are hundreds of them going throughout the country and 61 of them in this area. >> true. >> to make it such a big deal so he ought to make a decision to build it, get it going, you know, i don't know if this is the canada ploy but they're saying well, if we don't sell it to you, we're going to sell it to china and shape it in a different direction and we're going to sell it to china. i don't know if that's canada talking, who knows? >> yeah, well, the dilemma for the president is -- and you look at his poll numbers, they're going in the dumper. so you've got the

environmentalists who say mr. president, you cannot ok that. and then you've got some of his other core supporters and that would be organized labor and they're going 20,000 jobs, we need it now. so you got his base arguing amongst themselves. so -- and he wants to get re-elected. >> and he doesn't make a decision. he doesn't make a decision. he's not even saying one way or the other. he's not making a decision. but it seems that he's going the way of the environmentalists and that makes the least sense of all. it's really incredible. we have a rudderless country and a country without a leader and it's very, very sad and very dangerous, very bad for us, all of us. >> it sounds like they're going to have to make a decision now in 60 days. >> if this thing goes through. >> donald, before you go, larry says and you said this at the top that you guys have known each other for a long time. >> we have. i first met mr. trump -- i've known you 30 years, i'm going to call you donald. ok. we had -- we sat together at the u.s. open with -- was it john

bassett? many years ago, your friend and then i was at the will rogers follies years ago and donald, i wanted to go, you know, look at trump tower and some of his properties. beautiful apartment up there. 1800 square feet. he said which one do you like? i said well, the only one that works for us is the big one, the one that i can't afford. the little one doesn't work, we're going to have guests. how much are they going to give you for the allowance? i told him. ok, you can have it for that. every morning he'd write on my "new york times," let's play golf. so i appreciate your friendship and i wish you'd be the secretary of commerce or the treasury. you know a hell lot more about it than those -- did i say that on tv? sorry. back to larry in a minute. >> he lived in one of my buildings. he was great. i got to know him well and he's a fantastic guy and we definitely need a good secretary of commerce. there's no question about that, larry, you know, in theory that should be the position that brings back our money. it brings back money from other

countries. and we don't have those people in this country anymore. >> all right. >> i'm going to write you in. >> well, thank you. >> merry christmas if we don't see you before that time. see you soon. now the rest of your headlines for a monday. sentencing expected today for one of two young boys who nearly killed a woman after shoving a shopping cart off a balcony. it happened at a target department store in new york city. the woman hurt, 47-year-old marion hedges was put in a medically induced coma. according to her family, it will be months before she's fully recovered. the 12-year-old boy who admitted to pushing that cart has a history of wild behavior including six school suspensions for fighting, stealing and shoving a principal. both boys could go to prison until they are 18. this could spice things up in the race for the white house. new rumors suggesting coni rice might be front and center for vice president. quotes the secretary of state ready to get back to politics and is quietly positioning

herself to be a popular choice for the v.p. nod. rice hasn't endorsed a republican candidate. the los angeles school district says too many kids are complaining about the bad choices and sometimes, well, they're just throwing the food away. some of the unpopular items on the healthy menu, vegetable curry and beef jambalaya. to avoid all that waste, the district says it's going to bring back hamburgers now and pizza with whole wheat crust to the lunch menu. seven people hurt, all expected to recover after this runaway cart plowed into a group of people on the field at cowboys stadium over the weekend. cameras caught the unmanned cart mowing down seven people including a coach before one man jumped into the driver's seat and hit the brakes. the question remains how did that pedal get pushed to the floor? still, no one knows for sure. now that tim tebow's winning streak has come to an end, will his critics use this to say god doesn't exist? >> that's coming up.

plus, you heard of distracted driving. but what about distracted doctoring? think it doesn't happ? think again. coming up, the scary statistics on a frightening new trend. texting in the operating room! come in.

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>> now for some quick headlines. iran's state tv releasing video of a man it claims is acting as a c.i.a. spy. they say he tried to infiltrate the country's secret services. the report identified him as an american iranian who allegedly received training at u.s. military bases in iraq. and afghanistan. the c.i.a. is not commenting at this time. and they thought it was a sweet deal. but now, congressman daryl issa is calling for an investigation into at least four members of

congress who allegedly received discounted loans under countrywide financial's v.i.p. program. >> all right. larry, thank you very much. how safe would you feel if your doctor was texting or talking on the phone while he was operating on you. you passed out on the gurney. >> all right, a frightening new survey shows 62% of medical technicians between the ages of 41 to 50 claim that they have talked on the phone during heart surgery. what's even worse, 58% of technicians between the ages of 31 to 40 admit to texting during open heart surgery. the professor of anesthesiology is here on talk to us, do we have to give you smelling salts or are you ready to tell us how could that be? >> you know, gretchen and steve, as you probably walked into the studio today, you noticed more and more people are tied to their electronic personal devices. >> sure. >> and health care workers are

not unique but health care workers need to be educated on the proper use and the proper interface between the human and technology. >> sure. ok, what would be improper? i would imagine if you were, you know, you open somebody up and you see something, you google it and say figure out, you know, from that vast data base they've got of medical knowledge, that would be ok. what would be inappropriate? >> well, i think teaching health care workers that -- to turn off their personal electronic devices during patient care is a very important aspect and we do educate our staff at the university of rochester in that type of care that we should focus -- we should be focused on our patients. >> look at that survey. even if they're being told not to do it, more than half are doing it. interesting thing is it's the younger generation. once these older doctors retire, it's going to be everybody doing

it. >> well, gretchen, i think we need to start educating nurses, doctors, medical technicians, early on in their professional schooling. and during their orientation in the hospital to the proper use of electronic personal devices in health care. >> yeah. >> you know, mentoring, educational programs, pointing it out to them, i believe pointing it out to health care workers during rounds or in the environment of the operating room will limit it because at this point in time, it's not common practice to educate physicians, technicians and nurses in this type of electronic etiquette. we see it all around us. >> the other thing to worry about, if you're going under the knife and somebody is doing that texting, they have that dirty old phone in what is supposed to be a clean hand. you never know what that might cause. thank you, sir, for telling us what's going on behind the door

there in the o.r. thank you. >> thank you again. >> not to mention a lot of lawsuits, too, if you find out something happened and they were texting. coming up on our show, attorney general eric holder says people don't like him because of the color of his skin? legal analyst peter johnson jr. next. >> and no mile high miracle for tim tebow yesterday leaving critics to wonder does god not exist? >> come on. >> comedian brad stein reacts to that suggestion when we come back. i take an omega for my heart. but to be honest, i find the omega choices overwhelming. which one is right for me? then i found new pronutrients omega-3. it's from centrum, a name i trust. it goes beyond my heart to support my brain and eyes too. and these ultra-concentrated minigels

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>> well, it was a devastating loss for the denver broncos as

the new england patriots put an end to their winning streak. final score 41-23. so will tim tebow's critics use this loss to try to say, see, god, doesn't exist. i didn't tell you. na na na na. joining us from nashville, comedian brad stein. how are you doing, pal? >> i am going to tell you, god does exist. he came in the form of jesus. here's what it tells us about god. he would have helped tim win except he got distracted when kim jong il appeared at the pearly gates and he had to explain to him why he wasn't on the guest list. >> are you sure? you sure that's what happened? >> i'm sure that he didn't make it in. he's an atheist. here's what killed me, did you see those kids who got suspended from school for doing a tebow? >> i saw that. i wondered, you know, were they really being -- was it because they were obstructing the hallway or was it because their beliefs? what's your take on that? i have an opinion on that. i'd like to hear your take on

the whole situation. >> oh, it's definitely their religious beliefs, my friend, that's the whole thing about it. people say that it's illegal that if you defend your faith in front of people you're going to get in trouble. here's what's funny about these guys. they didn't believe in jesus. it's one thing to get suspended for practicing your religious beliefs. now they're suspending kids for pretending to practice their religious beliefs. do you hear me? they hate christians so much, we get in trouble if you fake being a christian. that's what's blowing me away. >> i've always been a big fan of his. i think he's a fine young man and i'm rooting for it. last night, i think god had the patriots in the big office pool, you know what i mean? took the points and went ahead. i'm still going to support the young man. are we going on have some of those kids -- they were on saturday. i was traveling. seem like nice kids. do you consider yourself a -- to me a conservative comedian or

just a comedian that happens to be conservative? how much do you work into your shows? we don't do a lot of politics in our shows, people don't come for that for our shows. what do you consider yourself, how do you bill yourself? >> you know, people -- the new yorker magazine called me god's comic because i've always stood up for god and country. i believe the united states of america is the greatest nation on earth. i don't get -- i'm not a political pundit, not an expert on, you know, all the elements of politics but i do believe this country is great. and i'm a christian. i believe that jesus was god which around this time is a great time to talk about it and merry christmas, i might add. that's what makes my comedy unique, what makes me different and it's what has made people so interested in me because, apparently, they didn't realize you could be a christian and be funny or be conservative. so that's really what i've tried to do is show america that we can actually be extend the arts and still be believers in jesus and be conservative. >> thanks for coming and being with us. i want to see if we can get you back in nashville and back on the grand ole opry.

i agree with you. >> i'll be there give me a fiddle and i'll do my best. >> steve doocy, you got something for us, buddy? >> i do. i hadn't thought about kim jong il at the pearly gates until brad brought that up. good fox news alert. thank you, guys. say cheese, amanda knox on camera celebrating her new found freedom. the pictures that have everybody talking coming up next and then the death of kim jong il. what does it mean for the future of our relationship with north korea? should we be even more concerned? they got those nukes. dana perino, former press secretary to president george w. bush weighs in on that and more coming up next.

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♪ oh what a relief it is! ♪ >> good morning, everyone. hope you had a fantastic weekend.

it's monday, december 19, 2011. i'm gretchen carlson. the death of kim jong il launching an outpouring of shock and grief in his home country at least as thousands of north koreans sleep in the streets. this as the military making a bold move. what does this mean for the united states and the rest of the world? >> our president promising to cut payroll taxes but for two months, then what? john boehner says two months, not enough. >> it's time to stop, do our work, resolve the differences and extend this for one year. >> ok. but congress is almost out of time. is it too late for a deal? will your taxes go up? we'll get answers straight ahead. larry? >> attorney general eric holder says people don't like him. >> really? >> because of the color of his skin? legal analyst peter johnson jr. weighs in. "fox & friends" starts right now.

>> larry gatlin is here, folks. >> at this time of the morning. it's a little bit high. good gracious, can we do it at about 3:30 this afternoon? >> by 8:50 a.m. eastern time. you will be performing on this show. >> i know that singing a song i know and it's kind of in my key. not -- where the chickens were. >> that way we wake people up and their dogs as well. >> if i tried to sing it in that key, it would definitely wake them up. it won't be real pretty. >> larry is in for brian. we have two more hours and we start this hour with a fox news alert. if you are just waiking up, screams and tears across the country of north korea as that country's state-run media confirms the death of its leader, kim jong il. >> yep. brand new video from the streets of pyongyang taken after the news broke not happy.

>> according to the government, the leader died on saturday. they're saying he had a heart attack on a train. not sure about that. >> fatigue. >> he was 69 years old and ruled the country for the past 17 years. his body will be placed inside a memorial in pyongyang. the funeral is scheduled for next week. meantime, though, the north korean government immediately is calling on its 24 million citizens to rally behind kim jong il's son known as kim jong un calling him the great successor. he's said to be about 27 or 28 years old. he knows english and he's avoided cameras for most of his life. in fact, before this photo was released in 2010, kim jong un hadn't been seen in public since age 11. we don't know a lot about him. >> really don't. better the devil you know or the devil you don't know. i'm not sure. meanwhile, the north korean government has conducted one short range missile test today. it claims the launch was a planned test drill and is not related to kim's death.

>> of course it isn't. what does this mean for america's future relationship with north korea? steve centanni gathering details in our d.c. bureau. steve, good morning. >> steve, gretch, larry, good morning. the u.s. and the world community watching closely in the wake of kim jong il's death and now some very strong language from a u.s. official expressing concern over the situation in north korea. this official telling fox news this morning of kim jong il's death, this brings extraordinary change and uncertainty to a country that has seen little change in decades. south korea's concern is warranted, frankly, because an insecure north korea could well be a more dangerous north korea. president obama talked with south korean president around midnight. press secretary jay carney put out a statement shortly afterwards saying in part of that conversation, the president reaffirmed the united states' strong commitment to the stability of the korean peninsula and the security of our close allies, the republic of korea. the two leaders agreed to stay

in touch in, close touch as the situation develops and agreed they would direct their national security teams to continue close coordination. this comes at a time when the obama administration was considering reengaging north korea in talks about its nuclear ambitions. the plan was to exchange food for a north korean agreement to suspend its uranium enrichment program. an announcement was expected this week possibly as early as today. the death of kim jong il will impact that decision, possibly putting it on hold before the position of kim jong un remains clear. back to you guys. >> all right, steve centanni, thank you very much. joining us live on the set is one of the stars from "the five", dana perino. north korea has conducted a missile test. a couple of days after, kim jong il passed away. you were deputy white house press secretary at the time

something else like this happened. >> our 4th of july in 2006 when they set off five or six missiles. a lot of it to gain attention. but this development of kim jong il's death is a very significant one fraught with possible difficulties but also possibly some opportunities as well to finally get in and to try to penetrate that society. kim jong il himself, i read today. in his 69 years probably never heard anyone ever criticize him. and he ruled with an iron fist. yesterday, we saw the death also over the weekend, the great freedom fighter from czechoslovakia. these two people could not be more different. >> no kidding. >> we were asking if there was a god, maybe so. look -- let's take a listen to so what your former boss, president bush. he called things as he saw him and didn't care what the reaction was. here's what he said about kim jong il. >> states like these and their

terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil. >> that's the day that was added to the lexicon. >> and one of the things that happened, i think, in 2007, it was discovered that the north koreaens had sold nuclear weapon technology to syria and syria had been building a facility and the israelis blew that one up. so when he talked about the axis of evil, there was a connection to these types of rogue regimes that have access to the technology that would threaten freedom everywhere. the south koreans and the chinese in particular today are probably very concerned and need to mobilize their plans because the waves of immigrants coming across the border could create a humanitarian situation of the life of which we haven't seen in asia for a long time and it's winter so food shortages. kim jong il used food as a weapon against his people, would starve people to death. >> absolutely. >> not a nice man. >> no. >> the other issue is -- is when

we see these people crying in the streets, you know, your heart goes out to them because you have to imagine that they don't really know what's going on in the rest of the world. i guess my hope is that the younger generation have some inkling but wouldn't you think from being inside the white house? >> also, i've had the privilege of serving on the broadcasting board of governors for president obama and one of the things that we talk about is the access to free media. there is none. you can smuggle in a voice of america or radio free asia type of radio but you have to listen to it under your bed. if you're detected, you'll definitely be sent to the slave camps or executed. and also they don't have any internet access. the north korean government has been blocking all of that because they don't want any criticism to shine the light on any type of thing. that -- i remember the plight of the north koreans touching president bush very personally and there was a young man who had written about an aquarium as they were being moved out of their house and he wanted to take his aquarium and the guards broke it and all the fish went

everywhere. that was his last memory of north korea before he got to escape to america. and he got to come and see president bush in the white house. >> all right. let's move on. >> one example. >> let's talk about what's going on domestically, it looks like the senate passed that bipartisan bill to extend the payroll tax cut for two whole months. two whole months. john boehner was on "meet the press" yesterday saying two months, mr. president, come on, we should do a year. watch. >> it's pretty clear i and our members oppose the senate bill. it's only for two months. the president said we shouldn't go on vacation until we get our work done. house republicans agree. we passed a one year extension of the payroll tax credit. i believe that two months is kicking the can down the road. it's time to just stop, do our work, resolve the differences and extend this for one year. >> it sounds like the house is going to kill that, the senate-passed bill tonight. >> right. so let's see, two months is like -- half of that is the president's vacation himself.

he's about to take in hawaii which i'll get some heat for. but it's not good policy either because if your expression is -- if your policy is that the payroll tax cut helps get money into the economy and helps people -- give them more certainty so they can plan ahead, the year long tax cut makes a lot more sense because if we do this two months from now, it is just going to get boiled down into the presidential politics. >> well, the president wanted a year. i mean, let's be fair. he probably doesn't love -- >> he should want a year. >> but now he's supporting the two month deal because reid it's said that's the only thing they can get done in the senate. >> what's it say about mitch mcconnell and john boehner? mcconnell supported this two month long and now the leader of the house, speaker of the house saying no can do. >> mcconnell also wanted the one year. i think most reasonable people wanted a one year. when reid said the only thing they could get done was a two year to avoid the tax increase and make sure people had that certainty but the other thing that mcconnell and boehner did was add something i thought was very smart which was the pipeline. >> squeeze play. >> this was really smart policy

and when you have smart policy, it's good politics and the president -- the president is in a little bit of a bind here because -- well not, just a little bit. it's a big bind and he doesn't want to have to make a decision in 60 days on the pipeline. >> deal or no deal. >> i was in a little place in wisconsin a year ago. >> oh, adigo, wisconsin? never been there! >> a little beer joint. the lady at the holiday inn said it's a great place to get a steak. i went in there. this old gentleman recognized me and said larry, i've seen you on fox. keep it up. keep doing a good job. i said thank you. and he looked at me and he said i feel hopeless. he didn't feel like he had any voice. when american people see these kind of shenanigans like with all due respect, mitch mcconnell voting for the two months, then, you know, saying, you know, voted against it and then say he voted for it when boehner. how do we look the american people in the eye and say these people are working for us? i'm a political science major and i can't understand all the ramifications. >> i do think this will all work

out. i think the payroll tax cut will be extended probably for the year and this will be able to move forward. what we really need, that question is better asked on a bigger picture level which is we can't have this nickel and dime type of tax reform that a leader that wants to actually change things in america would say, let's do something quite dramatic, either a flat tax or a fair tax, do something bigger rather than a two month extension on a payroll tax cut that will not make a difference in the economy at all. >> not going to happen before re-election. always great to see you and we want everyone to know "the five" christmas special airing december 24th and 25th at 5:00 p.m. with five people. >> so convenient. easy to remember. >> no kidding. >> merry christmas. >> thank you. >> merry christmas. now a couple of quick headlines for you. secret negotiations are under way to release several suspected terrorists being held at guantanamo bay. according to reuters, an agreement is being made between the leaders. it involves the u.s. handing over prisoners in exchange for the promise for peace. to uphold their end of the deal,

the former taliban leaders would to denounce future acts of terror and enter talks with current president hamid karzai. bradley manning returns to military court today, he's charged with leaking secret documents to the web site wikileaks. today will be the fourth day of hearings. yesterday, witnesses testified that manning breached a weak computer system on a base in iraq while deployed overseas. as forensic investigator says the same documents were found on his personal computer and later sent to the document leaking site. a frantic search under way for a missing 1-year-old girl in maine. she may have wandered away or was kidnapped. she vanished from her bed on friday night. her father reported her missing early saturday morning. the young girl has a broken arm from an accident a couple of weeks back. she was last seen wearing green polka dot pajamas that say daddy's princess and say cheese. check out these new photos of amanda knox having some fun in seattle. the 24-year-old looking carefree

and happy posing for a picture with a fan. since her release from the italian prison, knox has been spending time with boyfriend james torano and they reportedly have moved in together. she was convicted of murdering her roommate in italy in 2009 but was later cleared on appeal this past october. those are your headlines. >> attorney general eric holder says people don't like him and says it's president obama's fault. legal analyst peter johnson jr. on this story coming up next. >> it's always better to give than receive, right? but there's some things no one wants to receive this holiday. we have a list of the 10 worst gifts. i can think of a few. >> it's not fruitcake either. >> no. get the technology they love, on the network they deserve.

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which one is right for me? then i found new pronutrients omega-3. it's from centrum, a name i trust. it goes beyond my heart to support my brain and eyes too. and these ultra-concentrated minigels are much smaller than many others. it's part of a whole new line of supplements. there's probiotic and fruit & veggie too. new pronutrients from centrum helps make nutrition possible. >> welcome back. in a "new york times" interview, attorney general eric holder says kfconservatives want him o of office partially because of his race and the president's race. he says "this is a way to get at the president because of the way i can be identified with him.

both due to the nature of our relationship and, you know, the fact that we're both african-american." joining us with reaction is fox news legal analyst peter johnson jr. well, there you go. >> well, there you go. it really is a brutal comment on american life when the attorney general says that both he and the president are victims of discrimination. and that's one of the areas that the attorney general supervises. it will be interesting to see if president obama agrees about what mr. holder has said. the problem is it has international implications because when our enemies can point to a nation where the president and attorney general are somehow victims of racial discrimination, that becomes a problem as to who we are and what we are and how we're viewed around the world, especially manipulated by enemies, we'll talk about north korea all morning. short term, it may be helpful standing down some of the attorneys general's many

critics. senator grassley, congressman issa. i hope the attorney general isn't referring to them because they're persons of great integrity in this country. but longer term, it leads to a bad climate. it leads to a climate of resentment and racial resentment. i hope we chose his words carefully. i know in the past he mentioned that we were nations of cowards in regards to race. what i'm saying this morning is it's interesting comment comment and apparently it's heart felt. >> there are a lot of critics for him right now. and he's trying to shut down his critics by saying look, he's playing the race card essentially calling them racist. does it seem like that to you? >> it's absolutely politically charged and i don't know what his motivations are. i know the political effect and

the race issue is one of the most explosive in american history. i saw it up close and personal in helping the first african-american mayor of new york city is one of my best friends. senator advisor to him, we have to nunderstand the dynamics of american politics and how we're evolving as a people. it's a difficult statement to make at any time and will provoke a lot of debate and a lot of discussion about what the true reason is for the statement. >> absolutely. >> good to see you. have a good week. >> indeed. >> merry christmas. >> thank you. straight ahead, the fast track of getting a green card, throw the feds some cash. can immigrants skip the line and buy american citizenship? that story coming up. our next guest wrote the book on tim tebow literally. the co-author of the quarterback's memoir here with what you don't know about the guy from the football field. [ male announcer ] it's simple physics...

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>> now it's time for your news by the numbers on this monday. first, $801 million. that's the estimated number of cards and letters the u.s. postal service will process today. ho holy cow, that makes the busiest mailing day of the year. $3.24. that's the average price of a gallon of gas regular. while the price has fallen more than a nickel in the past weeks, it's $0.33 higher than it was at this time last year and finally $40 million. that's how much the sherlock holmes sequel made at the box office this weekend. it was the top moneymaker but overall, movie sales were down

for the fourth straight week in a row. larry up to you. >> it was a devastating loss for the denver broncos as the new england patriots put an end to their winning streak. final score was 41-23. >> yep, i saw part of that game but it seems that the tim tebow craze is picking up some steam. who really is the man behind all the tebowing going on? nathan whitaker is the co-writer of tim tebow's memoir "through my eyes" and his new youth edition "threw my eyes, a quarterback's journey." good morning to you. >> good morning, gretchen. good morning, larry. >> we have the pleasure of meeting tim tebow and i had a chance to interview him, i believe, when the book first came out. seems like a genuine guy to me. your take? >> very much so. what you see is what you get with tim and that was really a nice part of getting to know him and getting to work on the book. >> uh-huh. so you, i guess, have stayed in touch with him since that time. you told some funny stories about how when you were writing the book with him, you would go outside and play a couple of sports games on the side. >> we would. the first time i was there, all of a sudden, we took a break and

everybody was gone. his dad, his brothers, timmy, they all vanished so i kept looking around for them and finally found them playing home run derby in the backyard. that's how it was. games break out at any time with the tebows. >> i'm a big fan of this young man, i really am. i've seen him play football obviously and i've seen him express his faith. and i really appreciate that and respect that. there was a book, i think it was the five people you want to meet in heaven or the 10 people, something like that. well, one of the guys in my top five or one of the people i would like to meet is tim tebow. if you'll come to nashville, i'll see if i can introduce you to carrie underwood if you'll introduce me to tim tebow. i believe in this young man. win or lose, he's kept his composure. he's been shot at by the media and everything else. so if you can work that out, i'd really appreciate that. think we can handle that? >> well, how about i just meet you since i'm married and we'll work out the meeting tim part of it. >> that's fine. that's fine. steak dinner, something. free enterprise and a bribe, they're pretty close to the same

thing. look, i made the comment to somebody in, you know, last fortnight as the brits would say, last couple of weeks, i thought if it was ok for george washington to pray in the snows of valley forge, it was probably ok for tim tebow to pray on the sidelines at mile high stadium. so what do you think this will do, you know, hopefully the book will still sell. >> nor should it, and timmy looked very good yesterday. the broncos were playing well. their formula so far has been to not turn the ball over and they had a stretch where they did, unfortunately, in the second quarter. but they'll be fine. tim is not the type to get down by things like that and i'm sure the broncos will rally as well. >> what do you make of the fact that there's been so much criticism about a guy who basically does well? i mean, he's a good guy. it's not like we read about a lot of nfl players who are getting locked up. so why the criticism about a guy

who simply is a christian? >> right, i don't know. he's such a great role model and in this day and age, as you noted, gretchen, it's so refreshing to have somebody where i can have my daughters, you know, they'll stick his poster up and you know exactly what you're getting and you don't have to worry about taking down in a few weeks for whatever's happened. but i guess that's just how we are at times, that as people get more popular, we tend to nit-pick and try to find ways to pull them down off of whatever pedestal others have put them on. >> well, you are behind the book. you co-wreet it, tim tebow's memoir if people want to check it out. the author is nathan whitaker. thanks for getting up bright and early with us today. >> i appreciate it. thanks, gretchen. thanks, larry. >> good to see you. >> coming up, an electric cart goes off course. watch this video. it took out half dozen people in its path. that guy tried to get on it to stop it. new details of what went wrong

coming up. >> before you finish your holiday shopping, you want to hear this. the absolute worse gifts no one has received. i've seen the list. oh, dear god. i wouldn't do that. pay the check?

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wielding crooks. one of the suspects had a gun and shot the officer in the face. five men all dubbed career criminals have been arrested in connection with that horrible crime. sentencing expected today for one of two young boys who nearly killed a woman after shoving a shopping cart off a store balcony. the horrifying incident happened back in october at a target store in new york city. this is the woman who was hurt, 47-year-old marion hedges. she was buying halloween candy for needy kids. now she was put in a medically induced coma. according to her family, it will be months before she's fully recovered. the 12-year-old boy who admitted to pushing that cart has a history of wild behavior including six school suspensions for fighting, stealing and shoving a principal. both boys could go to prison until their 18th birthdays. it's a story that's taken the internet by storm. that's a golf cart going without anybody in control. out of control cart on the field at cowboys stadium knocking out a half dozen people including

coaches and reporters. the unmanned cart mowing them down before a coach jumped into the driver's seat and jammed on the brakes. another coach who witnessed this from the start say the cart was parked and jumped out of its gear on its own. seven people in total hurt. all expected to recover. forget the paths to citizenship. try cash instead. a federal program targeting big overseas donors have been booming for the last two years. it allows rich foreigners to turn green cash into green cars. here's how it works. wealthy foreigners must invest in american construction projects at a minimum of $500,000 and then in return, they're nearly guaranteed permanent resident status. nearly 4,000 people have taken part in the program so far and the obama administration likes it so much, it's looking for ways to streamline the application process. >> oh, man. >> those are a couple of quick headlines for 7:30 on the east coast for a monday. larry gatlin is sitting in for brian today. >> good morning. where is he? >> brian is off -->> never

know. >> larry, you and tim tebow have something in common. both great football players. >> oh, no -- >> to mention me in the same -- yes, i was a pretty good football player in high school. i got a college football scholarship for which i'm very grateful, university of houston. my folks would not have been able to afford that. i'm grateful for that. i was on the scrub team. pretty much for three years. finally got in a game. we played in the astrodome. the score was -- >> you played high school in the astrodome? >> no, i played college in the astrodome. but high school in west texas. the score was 86-6 when i got in. we were playing tulsa. and rusty clark, the quarterback -- >> 86-6. >> he called 53 r out. i was r. ran an out route and caught the pass. ran into the end zone. so the nice -- pretty well put the game away for us. >> you touched the century mark by the end of the game. didn't you? >> yeah. our field goal kicker who is also a groomsman in my wedding

kicked the 100 points. we found a scouting report for me one time, idaho left it behind. and we beat idaho 77-3 and as we were walking up, you know, the ramp out of the astrodome, i found this old scouting report. it had over all americans listed like we do note. and it got to me, gatlin, wide receiver, 5'9", 165, has deceptive speed and then in parenthesis it said he's a hell of a lot slower than he looks. all joking aside, johnny carson asked me one time, did you get a letter? yeah, i got a letter from the coach asking not to come back but i got -- >> basketball. >> i really am grateful for that. like i say, it would have been hard for mom and dad to do it. they're in a bowl game. hail, cougars! i'm sorry they lost the ballgame last week but i'm rooting for my cugs. >> that was the team that ran up the score from time to time. >> well, we did. we had to get attention. >> and you did. >> and we did. >> a little known fact about larry gatlin because you've become so much more famous for

your singing than your football prowess. >> well, i sing a lot better than i play football. >> we're going to hear larry. >> you're going to play a hannity on me. throw me the football. >> and larry is going to sing at the conclusion of today's telecast. in the meantime, if you're wondering where it is wintry feeling today, the answer is, as you can see, down in larry's beloved home state of texas. we have a big storm scooting through portions of texas and new mexico just getting out of arizona for the most part. this is going to be quite a snow and rain maker. there could be some blizzard conditions and it's certainly going to feel like winter down there. right now in el paso, they got 39 degrees. dallas/ft. worth metroplex, 54 and about the same for the houston area. meanwhile, it's freezing here in new york city. only two right now in caribou, maine if you're lucky enough to live in florida, temperatures for the most part in the 50's heading to the 70's later on today. and those will be the readings along the gulf coast.

50's and 60's from the mid atlantic back through the central plain states. cold once again in the northern plains and out west, if you're already up at 4:36 in l.a., your high today will be 56 degrees. all right. now, let's talk a little nfl football with mr. football. >> now, normally, brian does the sports but since he's not here, i have the honor of bringing you the recap of sunday's football action. let's start with the undefeated packers who are no longer undefeated. taking on the kansas city chiefs. skip to the fourth quarter. takes it in for the chiefs and it's 19-7 kansas city. green bay's undefeated season is on line. it's now 19-14. seal the win. and they get it but the chiefs beat the packers 19-14. green bay is now 13-1. all right. green bay didn't want to lose a game all year. the colts have been trying just to win one and they did. they still haven't won a game but took advantage of the tennessee titans. in the third quarter, finds

reggie wayne for the touchdown! 10-6 indianapolis. later the finishing touch. check out this run by donald brown. off to the races! and he could go all the -- that's the wrong network. colts get their first win. 27-13. finally, you have to see this incredible play between the new york giants and the washington redskins. all right? we're going to show that? watch this. eli, here he is. back to pass. the deep ball. off the helmet, one of his players it hangs in the air and it finally comes down in the arms of the redskins defender. take another look. just an incredible play. that bad of an afternoon. he didn't want it. i did. it helps my dallas cowboys. putting a damper on new york's playoff -- i'm sorry for you, new york giants fans. >> what are you surrounded by? >> i know.

i understand that. i'm just a guest. i get to be here one day. so, no, it helps my cowboys who, you know, you talk about jekyll and hyde of the football world. sometimes it's the cowgirls and sometimes it's the cowboys. so i don't know which one it was. did i say that on national tv? >> international. >> that's all right. we'll talk about gifts now. christmas is less than a week away. you have all your shopping done? >> i don't have any shopping done. >> do you have all your shopping done? >> no. it's not the 24th here. >> usually the two guys here are going out shopping on christmas eve. so maybe they would want to get some of these gifts for people that they don't like very much? here are the top five worst gifts being offered up at amazon.com. >> look at this. how about if you gave somebody what is referred to as a premade cremation plan. amazon posted this on line for $1,200. everything is included. they have since taken it down. look, larry, you can give some of your gatlin brothers live ladybugs. >> live ladybugs. that would be good.

>> that's right. >> what do you do with that? >> well, i'll tell you what they're doing with it in iran. >> we know. >> making nuclear -- >> yeah, they're not making nuclear weapons, then i would be a giant fan. >> ok. number two is an automated. you could use this in your band. an automated band machine. it's only $20,000. >> do they have a picture of that? >> yeah, with the banjo. it's made up much a bass guitar, banjo, flute pipes, accordion and bells stuffed into an oak cabinet. only 20 g's. >> you know what perfect pitch is? >> yes. >> it's the sound that's made when you throw a banjo in the dumpster. and here's one other thing you can give your loved one this christmas season. how about a fresh whole rabbit? am i making that up? they are having a lightly flavored taste that is slightly nutty. >> yuck! >> it's not a pet. you're not getting that cute bunny? >> yeah, you get it like that.

>> no, you get it on a skewer. you're getting it on a skewer. >> no, i think you have to do it yourself. >> it's live? no, excuse me. >> it makes a better story. i don't know. >> get the bunny and then you kill it? >> no, i think fresh -- >> ahhh! >> i believe it has already ended -- >> how much treasure could it be if it was live? >> if you could do that. >> that should be at the bottom of the list. anyway, let us know what you think could possibly be the worst gift. maybe that you've ever received or that you bought. >> it's got to be real. don't make it up. friends at foxnews.com. in the meantime, straight ahead on this monday, gretch, you got some more. >> most americans unhappy with the direction of the country and while they're quick to blame lawmakers, do they care enough to fire the folks who work there? pollster pat goodell will weigh in. >> she's taken iconic photos like this one of president reagan. photographer who took his pictures here to share the stories behind photos that you've never seen before. >> i remember that picture. but first, the trivia question of the day. born on this date in 1972, this former nfl star lost the seventh

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>> 45 minutes after the top of the hour. if you're just waking up, a couple of quick headlines for you now. casey anthony's lawyers are heading back to court today. the texas search company eqisearch suing anthony for more than $10,000. they claim she knew her daughter was dead the whole time they were looking for them. new video in from colorado. a pilot had to make an emergency landing on a road after his plane started having engine trouble. they had to close the road so the pilot could bring the plane down safely. >> meanwhile, the united states of america in a bad mood. that's according to new polls

that show 64% of voters feel they don't have much say in how the government works. when you look right there at the pie. a pollster behind the numbers is a former aid to president jimmy carter and a fox news contributor as well. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> this is kind of a hopeless look at the nation's psyche, isn't it? >> the nation's psyche, i've never seen in the 40 years that i've been involved in public opinion polling one way or the other, i've never seen anything like this. that number we cited there, that's 64% in the late 1970's, 1978, 1979 which is another low period, that question which has been asked since 1958 has never been at 50% before. it's at 2/3 now and that's what larry gatlin was referring to earlier when he said people feel like they have no say about things. this is a very frustrating situation. >> ok. >> for people. >> before i get to the next poll question, how do you believe that affects the voter in 2012? do they come out then or do they stay home? >> that's a good question,

gretchen. question is usually that kind of sense of alienation makes people not participate. but the other questions we're going to get to show such anger that it may well bring people out and bring them out in a way to vote in the way they haven't before. and that's why both parties are now threatened by the third party candidate. >> and take a look at this. 86% believe that the system is rigged and that -- you know, that kind of taps into the whole occupy wall street thing where people go, well, i can kind of understand the feeling but i certainly wouldn't do it this way. >> well, this is one of the toughest questions i've ever written. not only is the system rigged and the treasury is being looted by wall street, banks, special interests, unions, the whole bit. but that it's being done in the direct harm of every man, woman and child in america. 86% from left -- >> did you use the word rigged? >> i used the word rigged and that the treasury was being looted and that it was being done directly and none of the people had been punished. that is what is out there.

when you see the kind of volatility in the republican race, and the kind of anger the occupy wall street, whatever people think about the tactics, that belief is shared by tea party people and shared by everyone. au and not the kind of america that i grew up. that the america of freedom is rigged. does the government operate with your consent? only 24% said yes. 71% said no. what does that mean? because the people vote in elected officials. >> that's right. let's remember, the declaration of independence, what does it say? in the second paragraph, the government has derived their authority from the consent of the government. is this government operating with the consent of the people? 3/4 say no. this is why i describe this as a prerevolutionary moment. it is why you've had support for people like donald trump you had on earlier this morning, not in the political field. comes in and leads the pack. we've seen great volatility in this race. we've seen support for herman

cain, outsiders, i think all kinds of incumbents are in trouble. when people believe that the people they elect are not responsive to them. they will then take action and part of this is being driven, remember, by what i talked about on saturday which is the sense of decline. that america is in decline. and the country is not interested in having decline managed. they want it reversed. >> man. a guy who by trade calls people up during suppertime and asks them some tough questions. that's what pollsters do. >> i used to. i only do that occasionally, folks. i don't bother you most of the time. >> you don't bother us. good to be here. >> next on the rundown, she's photographed everyone from hollywood stars to past presidents. up next, ellen graham steps out from behind the lens to share the personal stories behind celebrity photos you're about to see for the first time. >> another day in paradise by phil collins number one in the u.s. of a. [ male announcer ] what can you do with plain white rice?

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>> and the answer to the question of the day is warren sapp. the winner is justin from salem, oregon. over the past 40 years, she's photographed some of hollywood's most glamorous celebrities and now she's sharing some of these photos and the stories behind them. it's in her new book "talking pictures." photographer ellen graham. how are you? >> very good. wonderful. >> and exactly, what page of your book is my picture on? >> the cover. >> the cover. maybe the next edition. you've taken -- people are different. celebrities are different now than they used to be, don't you

think? i mean, they don't want to have their picture taken. they have bodyguards to keep people away. this is a whole different generation of people. they thought about things differently than they do now. >> they have handlers who don't know a damn thing about the business. >> i agree. i agree. so how -- >> they just get in the way if you're taking a picture. >> were these personal friends of -- you have people here, may i use my glass. robert wagner. r.j. is a dear friend of mine. love the man to death. >> they were a wonderful pair. they were madly in love with each other and i knew them very well and photographed them for many years. and all this new nonsense is ridiculous. >> i agree with you. i think it's ridiculous, too. >> and very unfair to him. >> you know, things are what they are and people are going to pick on people but 30 years ago, i don't believe it happened at all myself. christopher walken, you have christopher walken in there. >> i have christopher walken, natalie and r.j. >> that whole thing. >> you have a fella here, mr.

clint eastwood. >> yes. >> wonderful, wonderful man. probably one of the greatest directors today. >> he has done some incredible work on both sides. i've played golf with him and he's not worth a flip. >> i tell you what, i'd like to play him for his stack of money but i don't think he's going to do that and my favorites, the reagans. president reagan and nancy. >> they were wonderful and i wish -- i mean, if they were in the white house today, we'd have a much better world. >> oh, i wholeheartedly agree. i sang in the white house a couple of times for president reagan at some campaign stops out on the, you know, on his campaign the second time and got to go with him on air force one and i have a picture, i'll share that with you sometime of my brothers and i were in the -- in the plane with him. so this -- when can we -- how can we get this book? i think we have a picture. >> it's everywhere and it makes a marvelous christmas present. >> how much is it? >> $65. but it's a beautiful coffee

table book. that weighs 5 pounds. >> it weighs 5 pounds. we have a copy outside. they're looking for one. i want you to autograph it for me. thank you very much for being here. can't wait to look at it. miss ellen graham, thank you. >> pleasure. >> this ninth grader wants a word with newt gingrich. >> did newt's answer win him over? and if he could vote, would he go for gingrich? the 14-year-old will be here live next hour. and mr. bill o'reilly makes history by landing the interview he swore he'd never be able to get. o'reilly is here after the break to break the big news. ♪

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>> gretchen: good morning, everyone. it's christmas week, december 19, 2011. i'm gretchen carlson. thanks for sharing your time. fox news alert, while you are sleeping, big news breaking news, north korea's long time leader kim jung-il has died. while his sobbers are crying, his north korean military could be making a move. what the heck is going to happen to the rest of the world now? >> steve: from vegetable curry to beef jam ba lie i can't, remember those healthy school lunches? kids aren't eating them and they're throwing them away. what's that about? we'll tell you. >> larry: we'll show you touching moments of soldiers returning are war. >> they fell in love over the internet. >> larry: this is not your average reunion story. "fox & friends" starts right now >> steve: brian kilmeade off probably with the kilmeade

brothers. in his makers we've got larry gatlin from the gatlin brothers. >> gretchen: welcome. made it for two hours. >> larry: i haven't passed out so far. >> gretchen: you've been doing a fine job. coming up toward the end of the show, larry will actually sing for us, which we will very much look forward to. >> larry: that's the first time i will be not nervous. >> gretchen: oh, come on. >> steve: coming up in two minutes, the king of cable, bill o'reilly, who is here in studio e is going to be joining us to talk about the big news story which gretchen leads this hour. >> gretchen: if you're just waking up, all across north norh korean, that country confirmed the death of the dictator, kim jung-il. brand-new video into fox taken after the news broke. according to the north korean government, the leader died on saturday due to heart failure. he was 69-year-old.

he ruled for the past 17 years. his body will be placed inside a memorial. funeral scheduled for next week. the north korean government called on its 24 million citizens to rally behind his son, calling him the great successor. he's said to be about 27 or 28 years old. he knows english. but he's avoided the cameras for most of his life. before this photo was released in 2010, he hadn't been seen in public since age 11. >> larry: the north korean government has reportedly conducted at least one short range missile test today. it claims it's a planned test drill and not related to kim's death. yeah, right. >> gretchen: let's head to steve centanni. >> not the president, but uncertainty and potential danger, that's how one u.s. official views the unfolding situation in north korea. this official telling fox news

of kim jung-il's death. this brings extraordinary change and uncertainty to a country that's seen little change in decades. south korea's concern is warranted, frankly, because an insecure north korea could be an even more dangerous north korea. president obama did talk with south korean president around midnight last week. jay carney putting out a statement shortly afterward saying in part, the president reaffirmed the united states' strong commitment to the stability of the korean peninsula and the security of our close ally, the republic of korea. the two leaders agreed to stay in close touch as the situation develops and agreed they would direct their national security teams to continue close coordination. this comes at a time when the obama administration was considering reengaging north korea in talks about its nuclear ambitions. the plan was to exchange food aid for the korean people for a korean agreement to suspend its uranium enrichment program.

an announcement was expected this week, possibly as early as today. no word yet from the white house on whether that initiative will be put on hold. back to you guys. >> gretchen: steve centanni, thanks very much. joining us on the curvy couch is bill o'reilly. he's the author of the book "killing lincoln." he's here to respond to the situation over in north korea. >> yeah. i'm here to respond. number one, if there is an after life, i wouldn't want to be this guy. all right. he's a little warm right now. number two, put those weeping ladies up. the seven ladies they're paying to weep in north korea. >> steve: state run tv. >> yeah. there they are. i guarantee you, ladies and gentlemen, they have been paid with hamburgers. there is no food in that country. all right? so they said hey, we need, what is it, eight leaping ladies, in the christmas song. we need weeping ladies and there they are. is there one tear. do you see one tear? i see no tears. >> steve: this is choreographed to show the people of north

korea are sad he is gone? >> yeah. the only person sad is the guy's hairdresser. have you seen this guy's hair? what was that going on there? look, let's just be very, very clear that, tyrant. this was was a killer, a murderer, enslaved his people, starved his own people. nobody knows what's going to happen in that back water now, but they do have nuclear weapons, so you have to watch them. it's like a crazy guy with a knife on the subway. there is nothing you can really do to him, but you have to contain him. you have to watch every move he makes. that's what we're doing. >> gretchen: does it make you nervous? >> me nervous? >> gretchen: should americans be nervous in general because of the nuclear missiles that they have? >> look, this is a bad world and anything could happen at any time. pakistan has nukes. pakistan helped north korea develop the nuclear weapons, by the way. good friend, pakistan. you know, it's a dangerous world. so everybody should be a little bit tense. >> steve: they got to keep them in a box, so we're relying on china now. they're the big brother there.

they got to help. >> gretchen: china doesn't want the world to go up in flames, so that's not ridiculous. china will obviously keep a close eye on these people. >> gretchen: some people are afraid of you and coming on "the factor." >> but not you folks. >> gretchen: not me. i come on every week. there have been two prominent politicians who have not as yet come on "the factor." dick cheney and one other one who you finally snagged. >> bill clinton tomorrow night and it will be good. he's a smart guy, whether you like him or not, he knows policies. he's got a book out. he wants people to buy the book. it will be an extensive interview. i think people enjoy it. cheney, i'm not getting cheney. but he's simply -- i think he thinks i'm a thug. >> steve: you're a cuddly pussy cat. >> well, let's not go overboard.

>> i was nice to you because i had to be. like the korean women, i was paid to be nice to you. >> larry: i'm hurt. i sang to you, there are rumors there might be another song in the offing. i tell you what you did, you let me speak my peace and make my point without interrupt meg and telling me how stupid i was and that i was wrong. i really appreciate that. and then you called me gatlin, i knew i was part of the family. it was a first. >> larry: you heard it right here! >> i just liked the music. >> gretchen: what kind of questions for president clinton, because there is so much to talk about. >> the interesting dynamic about president clinton is his book, he does go into problem solving. here is what i would do to try to get the economy back. some of that runs up against what obama is doing. some of it is not the same. and the same thing on the republican side. i mean, there isn't anybody on earth who knows newt gingrich better than bill clinton because they just fought. so it's really an important interview in the sense that i

think clinton will tell the truth. he can't not, he's got it down in his book, which i read over the weekend. so it's going to be a good interview. >> steve: what do you think of what's going on in the house? it sounds like they're going to say we don't like this, the payroll tax cut extension for two months, it's got to be a year. >> these pinheads. look, just extend it for two months and go home v a nice christmas and then come back. all right? that's what should happen. just extend it for two months. we know it's a boon doingle. everybody gets it. and we know that there is going to be big changes, in my opinion, in 2012 in this government. so all right, i hate this expression, kick the can down the road, kick the stupid can, all right, because it's going to be big, big changes in this country. that's how you have to do it. >> steve: what do you mean big changes? obama loses the senate to the republicans? >> my predictions on politics aren't good. i thought hillary would beat

obama. people are angry. when the country is angry, things change. so that's what i can tell you. >> gretchen: pat goodell, who was just on the show, a well-known pollster, worked in the carter administration, he did this interesting poll on the mood. here is what people say about how much they don't have much to say about how government works. 64% say that they agree with that fact, that they don't have any say. are you surprised by that? you, o'reilley? >> i'm looking at this poll 'cause i didn't see that segment. you basically have an electorate that says, we understand that the partisan divide between the democrats and republicans is so big that nothing is going to get done. we got that. but we just don't want you both to destroy the country. we don't want you to destroy it so that we get downgraded, we can't pay our bills. just keep it going into a very

divisive cycle, where you'll pick a new president, maybe, or keep the old president. and if you do that, you're basically going to buy into the big government deal. if americans want the government to run the economy, run health care, run almost everything the environment as well, then you vote for president obama. that's what you want, that's a country you want, you got a choice. >> larry: you know, what we need to realize also, we put the scoundrel in office. >> i'm not putting the word counsel cell on anybody. >> larry: i'll do it for you. >> you can do it, but i can't do it, as an analyst i can't call the guy a counsel scoundrel. i can't do that. but americans drive me crazy because i don't think 50% are paying attention. there is a huge divide between those who want private sector driving the economy and the other people want the entitlement culture and the government running everything. it comes to the point where you have to decide and that's what

next year is all about. that's what 2012 is all about. you have to decide. >> steve: all right. listen, join bill o'reilly every night at 8:00 o'clock. but in particular, tomorrow night where he sits down with click. >> we got romney tonight, by the way. >> steve: excellent. >> a big wig for us. >> larry: am i going to get to sing my song for you? >> not this week. but we will have you accepting a song. is it about me again? >> larry: it's a christmas song. it would pretty much have to be a christmas song. i'll phone it in. i'll save is for next christmas. >> gretchen: make him a patriot at the end of the show. >> i can do that. you got to get it in quick because we have a lot of stuff going on. >> larry: 30 seconds. >> 30 second song? i like that. love the vest. >> steve: 'tis the season. >> absolutely. >> steve: thanks, bill. >> appreciate it.

>> gretchen: i got to do a couple headlines. secret negotiations are reportedly underway to release several suspected terrorists being held at gitmo. according to reuters, here is the agreement being made between the u.s. government and taliban leaders. hard to previous. it involves the u.s. handing over some prisoners in exchange for the promise of peace from the taliban? to uphold their end of the deal, they would have to denounce future acts of terror and enter talks with president karzai. bradley manning will return to military court on charges of leaking secret u.s. documents to week conclude conclude wikileaks a forensic investigator says the same documents found on those servers were also on manning's personal computer and then later sent to the document leaking site. it was a first kiss, this couple will never forget. check it out. >> oh, my goodness, are you

excited! >> gretchen: here is the background on it, army corporal drake francis getting a very warm welcome home from his new girlfriend in oklahoma. here is the gist of the story. they were just friends when he left for afghanistan more than a year ago, but as time passed, well, things changed. >> they fell in love basically over the internet. >> how everyone pictures it, you run, you kiss, you hug. >> gretchen: they will be able to spend their first christmas together. smooching all the time. great story. >> steve: all right. straight ahead on "fox & friends," you were kind of tearing up. the ninth grader who took on newt gingrich and asked him a tough question. >> steve: that 14-year-old will be here next with what he thought of newt's response. >> larry: former secretary of state condoleeza rice eyeing another high position in

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>> steve: that is 14-year-old isaac from new hampshire questioning presidential candidate newt gingrich last week about the influence of lobbyists on capitol hill. and this morning, young isaac joins us from boston. good morning to you, isaac. nice to have you. >> nice to see you, too, steve, good morning. >> steve: good morning to you. so you asked if elected president, would you keep the bribes down? what are you talking about? >> well, because lobbyists pay money to get influence in government -- to get government influence, it's sort of like a bribe, right? >> steve: sort of. >> so i'm thinking if there is more transparency in -- >> steve: sure. what you were concerned about is the legislation and the regulations now where pizza is considered a vegetable and you felt that the lobbyists pushed

that through with bribes. that's kind of the way you feel, right? >> yeah. yeah. it is. >> steve: and that particular question wound up with the biggest applause line of the night. everybody went crazy. and then how did newt gingrich answer the question? >> he answered it in a very convincing way and he actually joked about his weight and actually made me feel better knowing that he had problems like me. >> steve: sure. now, i understand, i read in one of the local papers up there that given his answer, if you were old enough to vote -- not yet -- but perhaps newt would have your vote, right? >> well, the thing is that i'm trying to see who -- i'm trying to see if laying the cons on these candidates. so i'm still trying to decide. >> steve: and of course, we've got until january before the new

hampshire primary up there. what do you think his answer told you with newt gingrich? >> well, he actually gave me strong answer. i actually -- i've actually seen some other candidates who gave like very vague answers to questions at some of these events. so he actually gave me a good solid answer that satisfied my question. >> steve: if you ask a question in a town hall, that's what you want. ninth graders up in new hampshire, isaac, we thank you very much for joining us. good question. >> thank you. >> steve: you bet. very nice. all right. straight ahead on this "fox & friends" for this monday, the gifts that are never okay to give. we're going to read some of your christmas horror stories. e-mail us if you've got one. you got something you just couldn't believe it. and rick perry's religious ad kind of backfires.

>> i'm not ashame to do admit that i'm a christian. but you don't need to be in the pew every sunday to know there is something wrong in this country. >> steve: how can that hurt him with both political parties? pollster frank luntz, the guy with the dial, explains as we roll on from new york city. laces? really? slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] now there's a mileage card that offers special perks on united, like a free checked bag, united club passes, and priority boarding.

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>> gretchen: welcome back. republican presidential candidates are on the attack with ads, but are they resonating with the voters. frank luntz found out. good morning. >> we have hit over 2,000 ads we have tested for fox news since

2008. the ones coming out right now, usually i bring the best ads to you, this time i'm bringing the ones that don't connect. >> gretchen: so it's the good, bad and ugly, focusing on the ugly. starting with rick perry's ad. let's look at it. >> i'm not ashamed to admit that i'm a christian. but you don't need to be in the pew every sunday to know that there is something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military, but our kids can't openly celebrate christmas and pray in school. adds president, i'll end obama's war on religion and i'll fight against liberal attacks on our religious heritage. faith made america strong. it can make her strong again. i'm rick perry. and i approve this message. >> gretchen: all right. so how did it do? >> it was down in the 20s. the problem is, this is something that rick perry can say in a debate, but to buy time in that 30 second slot to deliver a message that is so overtly

religious and even begin, i'm a christian, that's not something we expect to hear in a political context. >> gretchen: were the people you were asking this, were they iowa voters? >> this was done in iowa, but this was done with both republicans and democrats. we started to do ads now across the spectrum because that's the key question the republican primary, who can defeat barak obama. >> gretchen: if you're his strategist, you know he's trying to pander to the conservative voter in iowa, but apparently it's not working. >> even the republican numbers weren't favorable because they thought it was too much in your faith. >> gretchen: this is an attack ad against newt gingrich and we want to say, you have to read along with it, so if you're not at your tv screen, come to it now so you can see what we're talking about. >> hi, i'm nancy pelosi.

>> we do agree, our country must take action to address climate change. >> there is enough of us demand action from our leaders. >> together, we can do this. >> gretchen: so people didn't like that one either. >> don't make people struggle to figure out what it is. the single tough most important rule and aboutle 0% of the negative -- 80% of the negative ads fail, if i can't figure out instantly what that ad means, then i'm not going o react favorably to it. >> gretchen: all i'm thinking about is that i heard a marimba playing. >> and it's too difficult to decipher. don't make people have to read it. tell them. no one wants to look at their television and work at it. they want the stuff o come to them. >> gretchen: especially when they're listening to the radio. they have no idea what that was if they're listening to fox on

the road. >> here is the cool thing, anybody who wants to go and be in any of these focus group, go to luntzglobeal.com. you, too, can be dialing these ads in the future. >> gretchen: a lot of fun. good to see you. >> thanks. >> gretchen: they were supposed to be eating healthy, but some students are so unhappy with the lunch menu at school that hear opt to go not eat at all. so all the expensive food just gets thrown away. then your e-mails keep coming about the absolute worst christmas gift you've seen under the tree. we'll share your stories coming up next [ male announcer ] the inspiring story of how a shippingiant can befriend a forest may seem lie the stuff of fairy tales. but if you take aw the faces on the trees... take away the pixie dust. take away the singing animals,

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in for brian kilmeade and we discovered an interesting larry gatlin bit of information and that is your connection to the king, elvis presley. >> larry: yes. i tried out for his back up group many years ago. the imperials. i later met dotty west and she took me to nashville. but he did record two of my songs. one called "help me," one called "bigger they are, the harder they fall." >> steve: would he have called you up ahead of time? >> larry: no. i knew his producer. i met him and talked to him a little bit when we were in vegas. then i didn't see him for three or four years, i moved to nashville, wrote some songs. i fount out he was going to be at a big concert in nashville. i bought him a beautiful turquoise bracelet. some guys took it to him and he wore it that night and he said, i'm going to sing a song about my good friend larry gatlin. stand u, larry.

i was sitting way back and this little 16-year-old kid stood up. i was very honored. >> gretchen: earlier on the show, by the way, he's sitting in for brian. we were talking about the worst gifts that people can still get their hands on at amazon.com. in case you don't like somebody that much, do you think these are the kinds of gifts you would give people that you don't like, like, a fresh whole rabbit, and it doesn't come like that, folks. it doesn't come all cuddly and nice looking and fluffy. no, no, no. we're talking about rabbit meat. >> steve: it's freeze be wrapped. -- freezer wrapped. we asked you about questionable gifts and we got a tweet from kathy. she says, worst gift ever, my friend is vegan. i think her worst present was the omaha steaks i sent her as a joke. >> gretchen: i got my shipment from them the other day.

the tweet from mary is, my boyfriend of ten years gave me a pair of earrings. my ears are not pierced! never wore earrings. oops. >> larry: here is one from cary in mississippi. one year my mother-in-law gave my husband new dress shirts and gave me an iron. she is currently my ex mother-in-law. don't ever give a woman something with an electric cord. it's not a good thing. >> gretchen: or marry a husband who does the ironing, like mine. >> larry: he does the ironing? >> gretchen: yeah. >> larry: i love to iron my own shirts. >> gretchen: i put a few things of mine in there while he's doing his shirts. >> larry: janirk ce ironed this at 3:00 o'clock because i was trying to get goofy and fluffy. that's the first thing i do when i check in at a hotel, iron my clothes. >> steve: me, too. >> larry: you iron my clothes? >> gretchen: oh, oh there's a story here. >> steve: larry, great to have you.

we got a half hour more. congress can't seem to reach a deal on that payroll tax cut extension. house republicans expected to reject the senate's version of the bill later on tonight, setting up another showdown on capitol hill. >> larry: wendell goler has details on what's next. wendell? >> larry, congress had hoped to be headed home for christmas by now, but a deal to temporarily extend the payroll tax cut fell apart over the weekend. the measure easily passed the senate, but house republicans rejected it, saying it would be kicking the can down the road, wouldn'toxyq! solve the oñ?ñ? pr for it.ayoblem of speaker john boehner used the president's own words against him, saying, passing the temporary measure would be like going on vacation without getting their work done. >> it's pretty clear that i and our members oppose the senate bill. the president said we shouldn't go on vacation until we get our work done. and frankly, house republicans

agree. >> for a while it looked as if the president and congress had compromised, that they temporarily extended the tax cut while they looked for ways to pay for a full year's ex pension, which mr. obama said should be done with as little as dr. ma as possible. but the past couple of years of divided government have been filled with drama and it appears that will continue. harry reid released a written statement yesterday saying, quote, if speaker boehner refuses to vote on the compromise that passed with 89 votes in the senate, republicans will be forcing $1,000 tax increase on middle class families on january 1. now, the house is scheduled to vote on a payroll tax cut extension today. it could either pass its version and send it to a conference committee for negotiations or it could pass its version and send it back to the senate. but either way, it looks as if neither the president nor lawmakers will be going on their christmas break when they wanted to. larry? >> larry: now the rest of your headlines.

family, friends and police officers expected today at the funeral for new york city police officer peter faguski. the father of four was killed last week during a home invasion. wnyw's john huddy is in babylon, long island, with details. >> good morning. an estimated 15,000 people, according to the nypd, may show up for the service. that's based on how many people attended the wake over the weekend. right now the nypd is starting to gear up. basically they'll be shutting this street down in front of st. joseph's catholic church. the funeral for the officer begins at 11 a.m he was shot and killed in the line of duty, a week ago today. we were covering this story a week ago when it happened in brooklyn. five people were arrested, including the alleged shooter in the case, according to police. they were trying to rob an apartment for drugs and money and that's when the officer,

22-year veteran of the force, was shot in the face. last night family, friends, fellow officers not only from nypd, but throughout the state showed up for the final wake in his honor and then this morning, of course, is the funeral. he leaves behind four daughters, two of whom actually go to babylon high school next to the church. two others graduated from the high school -- i'm sorry. from the high school here. it's shut down for the day. it's closed for the day. one, because the traffic concerns and two, out of respect for the officer and his family. 22-ier veteran of the force, leaves behind four daughters. back to you. >> gretchen: john huddy live. very sad story. thanks very much. couple other headlines, major development in the search for a missing one-year-old in maine. the mother of the baby claims she filed for full custody of her daughter just one day before the little girl went missing. the little girl vanished from her bed friday night in her dad's home. he reported her missing early saturday morning and ever sips,

a frantic search has been underway. she also has a prone arm and she's wearing green polka dot pajamas. sentencing expected for one of two boys who nearly killed a woman by shoving a shopping cart off a building. it happened at a target in new york city. the woman hit by the cart is this woman, she was put into a medically induced coma. her family says it will be months before she is fully recovered. the 12-year-old boy who admitted to pushing that cart has a history of wild behavior, including six school suspensions for fighting, shove ago principal. both boys could go to prison through their 18th birthdays. this could spice things up in the race for the white house. new rumors that condoleeza rice might be willing to consider the nomination for vice president. washington times op ed quotes a source that says the former secretary of state is ready to dive back into politics and she's quietly positioning herself to be a popular choice for the vp nod.

rice still hasn't endorsed a republican candidate. that would make it interesting, wouldn't it? very qualified for her to be considering that. >> steve: indeed. you have heard about this administration's initiative trying to get people to eat healthier stuff. out in los angeles, what the unified school district there tried to do was, okay, you might not like it, we're going to push this through. on the menu they put black bean burritos, tostado, fresh fruit and stuff like that. as it turns out, the kids were so grossed out by it, they said, that stuff is nasty. it's rotten. what has happened now is they're going over, they're either getting cheetos in and eating worst food than before. >> gretchen: you know why? because why does everything have to be done to an extreme level? why do you have to serve beef ja nba laya. pad thai tofu, vegetable curry.

keen with a and black eye pea salads? what about happened to lean hamburger, brown rice, fresh fruit? why did they have to take it to such an extreme, 'cause you know what will happen now? now they're bringing back the stuff the kids want. hamburgers, pizza, but it's a little healthier. it has a whole wheat crust. why didn't they start with that? >> larry: what is life without cheetos? >> steve: not worth living. >> larry: i know women in the workplace, it's a different paradigm than it was than when i was in first grade. our mother made us a sandwich. okay. of ham or turkey or chicken. she put lettuce and tomatoes on it, she would send us an apple or some fruit. i know, ladies, women, girls, we don't know what to call y'all anymore, but that's a step beyond. i wouldn't eat tofu with jesus at the last supper. i just ain't doing it. have you ever done it? >> gretchen: yeah, i like it. >> steve: sure. >> gretchen: but you got to put a bunch of stuff on it. >> larry: no kidding. you can put a bunch of stuff on

a piece of bread. >> steve: the kids are eating half the stuff. they like the salad and other stuff. here is what the people who put the food together say. we're trying to put healthier foods together. that's a challenge. we want to be responsive and listen and learn. so what they have learned is that the food, while perhaps healthier, has grossed them out. they're not eating it. they're eating the cheetos. >> larry: the bottom line is, that we have abdicated our role as parents to teachers and people we really don't know. i don't want someone else parenting my child or my grandchildren. if that means getting up 15 minutes earlier -- >> steve: the parent has to take the initiative to get up and make the sandwich. >> larry: people, pay attention! >> gretchen: don't just go to such an extreme. inch it in. and they might go for it. coming up on the show, newt gingrich portrayed as marvin the martian on the cover of a major conservative magazine? national review columnist mark stein joins us to tell us why. >> steve: our special co-host for the day, larry gatlin is

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>> larry: over the weekend, this out of control car sped on to the field of cowboy stadium, knocking out a half dozen people. the cart was reportedly parked and jumped out of gear on its own. the coach jumped into the driver's seat and jammed on the brakes. seven people were hurt. all are expected to recover. they thought it was a sweet deal, but now congressman darryl issa is calling for an investigation into at least four member he was congress who allegedly received discounted loans under country wide financial's vip program.

>> steve: friends of angelo. in the run up to iowa, candidates are hoping for big endorsements. what about when publications come out and speak strongly against somebody? a national review issue came out last week right before the iowa caucuses and that is raising some eyebrows this morning. >> gretchen: that's because the cover, it depicts newt gingrich as marvin the martian? joining us now, the man who wrote that cover story, national review columnist mark stein. it's a little harsh, isn't it, mark? >> i don't think it is, gretchen. newt has about five good ideas for 95 completely out of this world ideas. literally out of this world. at one point, he was in favor of putting giant mirrors out in space to light america's highways by night. if you live in the i-95 corridor, you might want to consider buying heavy blackout curtains. it might be a great idea, but it

ought not to be a priority for the united states at this moment, this perilous moment in american history. for the things that are the priorities, newt is a very wobbly guy who blows back and forth on all kinds of important issues. >> steve: mark, in national review, there was an editorial talking about how newt can't win. there wasn't an endorsement of anybody else, but it suggested that you consider mitt romney or huntsman or santorum. but the fallout from a lot of conservatives has been substantial. for instance, brent bozelle said this: their endorsement of romney and huntsman proves only that this is no longer the magazine of william f buckley, junior, my uncle would be appalled. how do you respond to that? >> look, that is the stage we're in. i don't want mitt romney as president either. look, the story of the last two or three years is that millions

of people formed the tea parties in large part because they objected to the government in effect, nationalizing your body, saying your with regard and your kidneys are now under the control of the united states government. you have to make arrangements for their care that suit us. we have now come down to a choice in the republican primary between newt, romney and mitt gingrich or whatever michelle bachmann says. two candidates who supported that position. >> gretchen: so let me ask you this, 'cause look at the latest poll. the gop voters seem to like both of those guys, newt gingrich sitting atop at 28%. mitt romney, 24%. ron paul, 10, michelle bachmann, 7. that's the latest poll. so who do you like then? >> i think there are genuine conservatives in this race. michelle bachmann, there is rick perry who is the chief executive of a state that, if it were a nation, i think would be the 12th biggest economy in the world. if that's not experience, i don't know what is.

okay, he says goofy things in debates. but in the end, we're not electing a debater. we're elect ago chief executive. >> gretchen: isn't that kind of like the goofy ideas of newt gingrich, though? >> no, not at all. i think the problem with newt is that on health care, he's favored the individual mandate. on the environment, he was in a debate with john kerry where he wound up agreeing with john kerry that we needed liberalism for environmental matters. >> steve: we'll have to leave it there for now. mark stein also has a talk show and as if that's not enough, he's got a new christmas cd called "making spirits bright." check this out. >> eat your heart out, larry. >> gretchen: oh, oh,. >> steve: mark, thank you for joining us today. >> gretchen: speak of that, coming up next, our co-host for the day, larry gatlin will play for us. don't miss it. >> steve: coming up in 11 minutes is bill hemmer. here he is with a preview. >> what a treat that is.

good morning to both of you. breaking news out of korea. kim jung-il is dead. what about the 25,000 u.s. troops serving in south korea? what about the nuclear potential there? full analysis with a terrific line - up on that. what now for congress? a classic head on collision. only six days from christmas. and the major concession the administration made on health care, this will affect all of you. martha and i will see new ten minutes. larry gatlin is up in three really, head & shoulders is for more than dandruff? yeah, it does seven great things like ving me a healthy scalp and great looking hair. you should make that eight things. dude, why don't you just use the stuff?

[ male announcer ] head & shoulders: seven benefits. every bottle. i thought i was invincible. i'm on an aspirin regimen now because i never want to feel that helplessness again. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. talk to your doctor, and take care of what you have to take care of.

>> steve: before we leave you today, we want to thank larry gatlin for fill not guilty for brian this morning. >> larry: thank you. aid great time. y'all are very kind. >> gretchen: a lot of fun. we understand you have a special christmas performance for us this morning. >> larry: i do.

my granddaughter, parker, two years old, we were watching tv and it was date that the terrorists bombed the church in bethlehem where it says christ was born. it broke my heart and i did what i always do when my heart is propose, i pick up this guitar. ♪ no star tonight over bethlehem ♪ ♪ no peace on earth ♪ goodwill to men ♪ the dogs of war are loose again ♪ ♪ no star tonight over bethlehem ♪ ♪ no wise men bringing gifts of gold ♪ ♪ through ages long the story has been told ♪ ♪ but now there is killing and dying in the city of old ♪ ♪ there is blood in the streets of bethlehem ♪

♪ abraham's seat on different sides of a line drawn in the sand ♪ ♪ dear god, please hear my prayer tonight ♪ ♪ and heal your holy land ♪ no star tonight over bethlehem ♪ ♪ no peace, goodwill to men ♪ the dogs of war are loose again ♪ ♪ no star tonight over bethlehem ♪ >> a few nice folks asked medicine to come back around christmas, wouldn't it be really nice if i didn't have to sing

that song again ever? >> steve: no kidding. the great larry gatlin. what a fantastic day it's been, larry. thank you very much, my friend. >> gretchen: great to have you. >> steve: we're going to continue live from larry gatlinville in two minutes. >> larry: thank you [ sniffling ] [ male announcer ] all stuffed up? simple relief is here. introducing robitussin® nasal relief pills. the right relief for nasal congestion...in a pill. ♪ ne from robitussin®. relief made simple.

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for the same low price. verizon. >> steve: sometimes during the time outs during the commercial messages, we like to sing along with the music that is piped in. but having a professional singer has been too overwhelming today. >> larry: i think it was a really good choice on your part. >> gretchen: the truth be told. coming up tomorrow on our show, we'll have our medical a team here, plus jeremy irvine, the star of the new movie "war horse." >> steve: that looks like it could be the movie of this christmas season. opens on christmas day, the story of a boy and his horse in world war ii. >> larry: my wife and i are going tonight. >> gretchen: a very successful play here. thank you so much, larry. it was a pleasure to have you here. >> larry: i enjoyed it. >> gretchee