apparently, is not going to pass, if i have this right. democrats have said they will not appoint any conferees. thank you for joining us. jenna: and the beat goes on. "america live" starts right now. jon: crazy stuff. alisyn: we start with a fox news weather alert, mother nature with a nasty holiday storm. it's a travel nightmare shaping up for millions of americans as a deadly snowstorm sweeps across the country right now. welcome to "america live," i'm allison camarota in for megyn kelly today. from the southwest to america's heartland, seven deaths reported so far. this is the scene in texas. fierce winds and whiteout conditions making it very tough to travel. stranded motorists, as you can see, closed highways and blizzard warnings now in effect in kansas. there are reports of at least 10 inches of snow on the ground. snow pack and icy conditions closing the main roadway through the state. >> because they're not going to

make it anyway even if they get past any of our checkpoints, they can't see. visibility is so poor that it makes it impossible to pass through that area. alisyn: fox's mike tobin joins us live from our chicago bureau. tell us what we're seeing, mike. >> reporter: you know, allison, there's such a temptation to try to be clever and throw out lines about white christmas, etc., but that would ignore the seriousness. as you mentioned, at least seven people have been killed. one colorado state trooper says he cannot count the number of rollover wrecks he has seen since this storm rolled in. it seems the hardest hit is kansas right now with some 10 inches of snow on the ground, and the wind has been blowing the snow around, so as soon as the road crews get the snow off of the road, the snow gets blown back onto the road. there's also a lot of ice on the ground. as you may have mentioned, this storm stretches all the way across the heartland of the great plains all the way from kansas into new mexico.

the effects are varied. you've got schools closed down in western texas. in phi states there in the great plains, you're talking about major highways that have been shut down. so if you're going over the river and through the woods this holiday season, you're thinking about traveling to the heartland, that's where you really want to think about checking your travel plans before you go. and i can end it with a couple of bright spots. first of all, the fact that it gets a little bit warmer as you go east, so as you go east, the snow is turning into rain from east texas stretching up into the ohio valley. and when there is bad weather there's going to be a huge ripple effect with flight delays. we see it here in chicago's o'hare airport more than anywhere else, and i'm happy the o tell you the flight delays have not really manifested for the most part. everything is on time. alisyn: thanks so much for that update. we want to show you pictures and videos showing how the storm is affecting you. e-mail them to us on the address there on your screen. u report at foxnews.com. give us your name and location

and a brief description of what we're looking at. also make sure to head over to our web site for up to the minute details on this storm, everything you need to know about where the system is, where it is heading next right on foxnews.com for you. all right, now to a fox news alert from the campaign trail. just a short time ago an announcement from the leader of a key christian group in iowa. many iowans have been waiting to see who the family leader will be endorsing, and now the answer is rick santorum. santorum has already won the endorsement of some well known iowa conservatives including evangelical leaders, christian voters traditionally making up a large portion of iowa gop caucus goers. so what does this mean for the field? bob cusack is the managing editor of "the hill." hi, bob. >> hi, allison, how are you? alisyn: i'm well. tell us how significant this endorsement is. >> this could be an indication that santorum is going to move up in the polls.

evangelicals in iowa very important. they catapulted mike huckabee to a victory in iowa there. rick santorum has not caught fire yet, but he still has time and, really, iowa is a jump ball. you could make an argument that any one of about five candidates could still pull this off. it just depends on who finishes strong. alisyn: now, we also know the group was seriously considering michele bachmann. do we know why they chose not to go with her? >> well, no, i'm not sure why they didn't, but i understand why they narrowed it down to those two. they're socially conservative where mitt romney, newt gingrich some concerned about both of them for different reasons, so i'm not surprised that they were narrowing it down to those two. michele bachmann has also picked up steam in the polls recently. since she won the ames straw poll, she's really gone down, but in recent weeks she had a strong performance in the last debate, maybe she can pull this off. there's no doubt about it that anybody can win this. this is not like new hampshire where it's probably mitt romney,

newt gingrich, possibly jon huntsman. this one in iowa is wide open. alisyn: yeah, no, iowa is certainly very interesting. it seems to still be in play, but we also know that rick perry would have been happy to get this endorsement and, in fact, it was michele bachmann, link perry and -- rick perry and rick santorum who signed what the family leader was hoping for which is this marriage vow that they would look for an amendment, a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. so do we know what other calculus the group used? >> no. i mean, that, obviously, you had to sign that vow to be considered for such a high-profile endorsement. and, of course, the group waits before right before the iowa caucus to make that endorsement. rick perry's campaign has not -- he's really been on a steady decline in recent weeks. obviously, the debate performances have hurt him. but there are a lot of people thinking that rick santorum is one that could surprise and, certainly, he has been in iowa the most. he's had over 350 town hall

meetings, he hasn't been able to connect, though, with voters, and that shows in the polls. can that change over the next couple weeks? possibly. alisyn: of course, michele bachmann claims iowa as her home state. do you have a sense of where she is now with voters there? >> well, she's spending a lot of time in the iowa. she's missed all the congressional votes in washington because she's making that last push. and it's, iowa's so important because it's so, such a wide open race. anybody can win. but also, if you don't do well there, and especially for rick santorum, michele bachmann and rick perry, you might see two or three of those candidates drop out because they have so much riding on the hawkeye state. alisyn: bob cusack, managing editor of "the hill," thanks so much for your perspective. we're also hearing from mitt romney as he accuses newt gingrich of going too far with that judiciary overhaul plan. romney called the ideas, quote, unusual in the extreme. some of those ideas include firing judges for controversial

rulings and ignoring certain supreme court rulings. gingrich argues that the judiciary has overstepped its bounds. a number of conservative leaders say it is gingrich who has overstepped his bounds. if you want to read the entire gingrich plan, we have it on our web site at foxnews.com/"america live." and here's something else to watch for. voters may soon be able to make their pick for president pay off in cold, hard cash. in futures exchange based in chicago has filed a request to allow trading on 2012 election bets including wagers on who will win the white house and which party will take the two chambers of congress. these contracts would be bought and sold the same way that a trader could buy oil or gold. the government not commenting on that request. all right, if you're looking for a job, how about training people to occupy office buildings to dispute -- to disrupt businesses, i should say, or to take over state

capitols? well, the seiu union, they're posting a job ad with duties that include, quote, training and leading members in nonviolent civil disobedience like occupying state buildings and banks. execute field plans, mobilizing members around political campaigns, execute a plan for special campaigns including the fight for a fair economy and execute direct action field plans including banner drops, bank takeovers and capital occupations. capitol occupations. stu varney is here with me now. stu, this is an interesting job description. tell us what you've discovered on the seiu web site. >> it sounds an awful lot like the takeover of the occupy movement. the union is advertising they want to bring in and pay a new leader of the occupy movement who would then go out and teach occupiers how to occupy private property like banks or public

buildings. it's very explicit in that job posting. and i'm going to quote for you again, allison, you just said it. this new person would plan and execute direct action field plans including bank takeovers. it sounds an awful lot like the union is taking over the occupy movement, redirecting it, organizing very much in favor of president obama's re-election campaign. that union committed $61 million to the election of president obama in 2008, looks a lot like there's now shark troops being organized in support of the re-election in 2012. alisyn: do we know if this is a new job description that they've added since the advent of the occupy wall street protests? >> i believe it is, yes. i've not seen this before. it popped up on the web site just a couple of days ago, i believe, and now we're quoting directly from it. you have to ask the question, is this legit? is it legitimate for a union to use its own dues, union dues, to

hire someone who then goes out and organizes potentially illegal activity. the occupation of private property can be illegal, and certainly the disruption of private business is, indeed, illegal. is this a legitimate job, is this a legitimate posting by this very large union? alisyn: and we know that it is for real, we have checked the web site this morning. stu varney, thanks so much for bringing that to our attention. all right, new details just ahead on our top story, that's the deadly winter storm spreading across the country. we have a live report just ahead on how a new weather system is shaping up to bring more problems. and brand new details on what could stop a memorial going up for veterans of what's often called america's forgotten war. and defense secretary panetta vowing that iran will not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon. is a military option on the table? will all this impact the new -- next year's, i should say, election? ambassador john bolton is going to be with us live in three

minutes. >> we have asked for it back. we'll see how the iranians respond. >> a strong america is the best ally peace has ever known. this is a president with the spy drone being brought down he says pretty please? [laughter] a foreign policy based on pretty please? you've got to be kidding. okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle --

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the sand with iran, vowing that the u.s. will not allow tehran to build a nuclear weapon, even indicating that a military response is not off the table. here he is speaking recently on "60 minutes." >> so are you saying that iran could have a nuclear weapon in 2012? >> it would be, you know, sometime around a year that they would be able to do it. perhaps a little less. the one proviso, scott, is if they have a hidden facility somewhere in iran that may be enriching fuel. >> so that they could develop a weapon even more quickly than we believe. >> that's correct. >> if israelis decide to launch a military strike to prevent that weapon from being built, what sort of complications does that raise for you? >> we share the same common concern. the united states does not want iran to develop a nuclear weapon. that's a red line for us, and it's a red line, obviously, for the israelis. if we have to do it, we will do it.

>> you just said if we have to do it, we'll do it. >> that's right. >> what is "it"? >> if they proceed and we get intelligence that they're proceeding with developing a nuclear weapon, then we will take whatever steps are necessary to stop them. >> including military steps? >> there are no options that are off the table. >> a nuclear weapon for iran is -- >> unacceptable. alisyn: joining me now, former u.s. ambassador to the united nations, john bolton. hi, mr. ambassador. let's parse this interview with cbs a little bit further. when leon panetta says we will take whatever steps necessary to stop it, what is he saying exactly? >> well, with all respect, the interview is incoherent because right before the part you just quoted, he said if we get intelligence that iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon. we have known they've been pursuing nuclear weapons for ten years. so it's not like we're waiting for anything new. and he said at the very beginning of that clip you ran

that they could have a weapon within a year or maybe sooner. and that's not inconsistent with what other administration people have said before. so let's be clear, they are developing nuclear weapons, they are very close. he said we may not know about facilities they have, so our intelligence is weak. and it could well be they're a lot farther along than we know. so what exactly is it that's holding up the use of military force to stop iran? it's because for three years the obama administration has been trying to find a way to negotiate with iran to try to talk them out of their nuclear weapons program. that has manifestly failed, and yet for three years iran has continued to make progress toward that objective. alisyn: okay. so do you interpret what leon panetta is saying now as ratcheting up the rhetoric to, i don't know, put people on notice that the military option is on the table? >> i think -- well, maybe he's ratcheting up the rhetoric although bits and pieces of what he's said have been said before.

but the fact is this administration is never going to live up to that rhetoric. and i think it's a big mistake for politicians or cabinet officials to threaten when they're not prepared to deliver. iran has heard this before, they've heard it from the bush administration just to be nonpartisan in my criticism here of administration officials saying it's unacceptable for iran to have a nuclear weapon, and then we didn't take steps that did anything to prevent the unacceptable from happening. so i think iran is perfectly within its legitimate interpretation of american rhetoric not to pay any attention to this. alisyn: so you can't foresee any scenario, any scenario that would predicate some military action by the u.s.? >> look, with respect to the obama administration, no, i cannot. i very much hope i'm wrong, but i just don't see them using military force against iran. alisyn: i want you to look into your crystal ball for a second and tell us what you think the biggest threat to the u.s. will be in the year 2012.

>> well, i think as it has been for some time it is precisely the proliferation of nuclear weapons. in the case of iran, in the case of north korea where as we've seen in the past two days we've got a leadership transition going on in this a country that has demonstrated it has nuclear weapons. it's tested two of them. we have pakistan with a substantial arsenal of nuclear weapons under threat from radical islamist takeover, we've got venezuela, who knows what hugo chavez is doing. we've got russia and china reviving their nuclear weapons capabilities. so this issue of nuclear weapons and the threat they pose to the u.s. and its allies, i think, is a grave and continuing threat all next year. alisyn: chilling stuff. ambassador john bolton, thanks so much for coming in. >> thank you. alisyn: we have new details coming in now on some breaking news out of new jersey. a small plane has crashed into a major highway this morning taking several lives. we're going to go to the breaking news desk in three

minutes. and the mayor of a large connecticut city is considering a proposal that would allow thousands of illegal immigrants to vote. we're live on that story for you. plus, who turned out the lights? what exactly happened last night at candlestick park when the stadium went dark twice? we'll try to shed some light on this mystery. ♪ [ male announcer ] how do you trade? with scottrader streaming quotes, any way you want. fully customize it for your trading process -- from thought to trade, on every screen. and all in real time. which makes it just like having your own trading floor, right at your fingertips. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start.

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alisyn: we have new developments on some breaking news out of new jersey. multiple deaths are being reported after a small plane crashes on a busy interstate. witnesses say the plane spiraled out of control before hitting the ground and exploding.

julie banderas is following the story from our new york newsroom. >> reporter: i just got off the phone with the national transportation safety board, and they are enroute from washington to go and investigate this crash. they are not releasing yet the pilot's identity. this deadly plane crash, though, the fatalities, that number going up. authorities have so far confirmed three fatalities, but they say that there may be up to four to five people who were killed. now, the private single-engine turboprop had departed from nearby teeter borrow airport when it disappeared from radar and crashed into the trees separating north and southbound lanes as you can see here on interstate 287. traffic has since been diverted in both directions at milepost 235. there are also several injuries. we're not being told exactly who might have been injured, perhaps motorists that were traveling beneath them and how serious those injuries are. per the faa, though, that plane caught fire upon impact. the plane's tail number info has

also yet to be released. we are awaiting confirmation on that pilot. it seems they are notifying family members as we speak. they will be holding a press conference, i've just been told, at 3 p.m. eastern time, so that's just about an hour and a half from now. we'll stay on top of it as we learn more. alisyn: okay, julie, thank you so much. >> reporter: sure. alisyn: well, there's growing outrage over a proposal by a connecticut mayor who says he wants to grant illegal immigrants the right to vote. democrat john dereceive know defending his decision saying undocumented citizens deserve the same rights as other minorities, but critics ask when will it end? shannon bream is following this live from our d.c. bureau. this is a controversial proposal, shannon. >> reporter: it is. and, allison, you know, this mayor is no stranger to controversial proposals. new haven's actually been considered a sanctuary city since 2007 when it started providing local id cards for all residents so they could access

services like the library regardless of immigration status. he argues that people who live in a community, pay taxes and send their children to schools there locally, they could be included in a more expansive definition of what it means to be a citizen. >> what it's meant to be a citizen and what the rights and privileges of citizenship have been have changed over time. what they were at the adoption of the constitution in 1784 i actually think is very consistent with this core virtue and strength of america of always broadening the meaning of citizenship. >> reporter: there are an estimated 10-20,000 illegal immigrants living in new haven, and to give you some context, in the last mayoral election there, there were fewer than 16,000 votes, so it's easy to see what kind of impact that group would have if thousands of illegal immigrants are now allowed to cast ballots. he would first have to convince the state legislature to go

along with the plan, and skeptics have real doubt about his ability to get lawmakers to go along. >> well, i don't think he's going to get very far because you ask people what they think of this, and you will find overwhelmingly that voters think this is a very bad idea. >> reporter: and it sounds like connecticut's democratic governor dan malloy may be one of them. he called the proposal, quote, not an idea that i'm particularly comfortable with. you also may remember the mayor for his refusal to promote white and hispanic firefighters and applicants who fared better as a whole than african-americans on qualifications exams. that case went all the way to the supreme court here in d.c., and they overruled the mayor. alisyn: yes, i do remember that case. shannon, thanks so much for that. >> reporter: you've got it. alisyn: will america be the land of entitlement or the land of opportunity? that's the question that white house hopeful mitt romney is asking, and that's a decision he says we'll make in 2012. we're going to debate that in just three minutes.

and going deep into the mind of a homicide bomber. a would-be bomber recently out of an israeli jail speaking out in her first western interview. what she says about her failed attempt. plus, a brutal blizzard you don't want to see this time of year with all the travel. we have the latest on where it's hitting and the impact it will have on christmas plans for millions of americans. >> we have a lot of rear-end accidents, minor accidents, but it's causing traffic to absolutely stall to a standstill. my name is robin.

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alisyn: fox extreme weather alert on our top story, all eyes on the weather map as a deadly snowstorm makes its way across the country. the monster blizzard triggering deadly accidents and making for tough travel just in time for the holidays. chief meteorologist rick reichmuth is live in the oklahoma pan hand with the

latest. rick, tell us what it feels like out there. >> reporter: i tell you what, it's been a really rough overnight hours and morning. it's getting better, though, i have to tell you. they've done a lot of work already. you can see how much snow they've had to plow on some of these roads now, huge piles. they're going to stick with them for a while because it's going to remain cold, testifies not getting -- temps not getting above freezing. thursday another round of snow, so it's extremely cold, but conditions are getting better. take a look, though, at some of the pictures coming out of new mexico. this was last night when the storm was at its peak. conditionses along i-40 were treacherous, and they had to close down i-40. so many accidents being reported back towards albuquerque, and then when you look at the video out of amarillo, they had to close down i-40 between amarillo, headed back west because there were not enough

hotels. they were completely booked up, and they didn't want anybody else trying to get in. if people could make it through, they didn't have a place to land. same story across northeastern parts of new mexico, texas and oklahoma, kansas and colorado. highest snowfall totals i've seen in new mexico were two feet, but a lot of places around 15-18 inches of snow. and now they have to sit there and start the cleanup. a lot of people happy in this area. got to point this out, they're under the worst drought that they've ever seen in this area, and the crops had been in such bad condition. they planted the winter wheat, and now you get this kind of snow, and everybody here while they're having to deal with it right now in the short term, they're really happy that this snow is going to slowly melt in the ground and, hopefully, help them with the drought and their crops. alisyn: that's greater. that's a nice silver lining. thanks, rick, for the update. well, mitt romney is getting a lot of attention today for an editorial he wrote in "usa today" asking, do you think

america should be the land of opportunity or the land of entitlements? federal spending under president obama is now nearly a quarter of our gross domestic product, unemployment has been stuck at over 8% for nearly three years. on the current course, entitlement programs could cost america more than a trillion dollars a year before the decade is out. so let's debate what mitt romney is talking about. simon rosenberg is the director of the think tank, ndn, and a former campaign adviser for president clinton. also joining me, david webb, host of the david webb show and co-founder of tea party 365. gentlemen, thanks for being here. >> good to be here. alisyn: let me read you both and our viewers some of what mitt romney said today in this op-ed. he says, um, over the past three years barack obama has been replacing our merit-based society with an entitlement society. the federal government has insinuated itself more and more deeply into health care, finance, energy, industry, the environment and labor.

with the growth of government has come an inevitable contraction of the private sphere. simon, do you think as romney does that big government is getting in the way of opportunity? >> i think mitt romney's going to have to do an awful lot better than this if he wants to be the president a year from now. i mean, the problems in the american economy started when george bush and the republicans were in office back in the last day-to-day. we had the house -- decade. we had the housing collapse, the financial, the big global financial meltdown, the recession and all the major struggle that we're having with the american economy happened then. it didn't happen under barack obama. and so when we had low taxes, low regulation is when everything went to hell back five years ago. so he doesn't really explain that. and until he can explain why it is things went bad under the last regime, he's just not going to have an argument that's credible to the american people. alisyn: okay, david, you heard

simon. we had low taxes, low regulates, and things went haywire. >> right. and if we could say that all the problems started day one of the bush administration, his argument might have validity. it doesn't. the reality is we've had decades of bad behavior when it came to our federal debt, when it came to how government operated at the federal level that has led us to this. now, bush did his fair share. so did the pelosi progressive congress. they spent five trillion, barack obama spent four trillion. we have a debt of 15 trillion projected to grow by another 15 trillion over the next ten years or so. and, look, barack obama buys policies. he's a big government borrow, tax and spend. that has never been the success of america. we have had opportunity, capitalism. we need to enforce regulations, make sure the bad actors don't get away with it. but we also need to unleash the american economy, the rugged individualism that made this country what it is. and whether that's technology,

finance combined with manufacturing and better trade policies, mitt romney's right. we need to get back to foundation principles, and he states it very clearly in this op-ed, and we see the failures in europe that point the other direction. alisyn: and, simon, isn't just the heart of the matter do you think the government is too big? >> i don't think that's the heart of the matter. i think what the american people want are people working together to solve these enormous problems that we have. we want government, we want all the players on the field. we want government working with business, we want the federal government working with local communities, we want our government working with foreign governments to create more opportunity for american workers here. this is a false choice. i mean, we have to have all the americans on the playing field together working to create a better economy, a better future for the country. and i think this is sort of an early opening salvo in an early part of the presidential campaign. if mitt romney thinks this is what's going to get him into the presidency next year, he's going to have a rough year in 2012.

>> you know, the problem we have here, simon, is you're stuck in just what government has to do. america's never been a success because of government. it has been a success because we had a government that let the free market work. and when the free market works, it's not burdened by dodd-frank, financial regulatory reform, $787 billion of stimulus, attempts to continue to create shovel-ready jobs that don't exist. government cannot create wealth in any economy anywhere in the world. certainly will not work here. we can't borrow 40 cents on the dollar from china, we can't borrow our way to getting out of this financial mess we're in. alisyn: simon, go ahead, respond to that. >> i just think it's ideological gobbledygook. of course government is significantly involved in creating wealth. >> how? >> for americans. all the major investment that went into creating the internet was government-funded -- >> no, it wasn't, false statement. >> all the work going into creating our american military which is, you know, creating peace -- >> the military doesn't --

[inaudible conversations] >> is government-funded work. this idea that the free market operates outside of the government is silly. these work together hand in happened to create opportunity for work people. schools give people the knowledge they need to compete. that's government funding. it's both. [inaudible conversations] >> not government funding. but he has billions in the bank even after he died. his company did well. that is one example of innovation in america that has grown our economy, hired tens of thousands of people and provided income and better technology for the world. >> allison, i just want to finish by saying i think that most americans think that the job creators are them, that they are the people that create the jobs in the united states, not a handful of very wealthy people -- >> you just said government did, now it's the american people do it. which one is it, simon? which one is it? government or the people? >> it's not a choice. it's both together. it's both, and it's not either/or. >> how does government create wealth is a question americans

are going to be asking themselves. it's failed under obama. our debt keeps growing. that's the fact. alisyn: i keep trying to end this, but you keep saying provocative, interesting things, and then i get caught up in listening. [laughter] >> thanks a lot. alisyn: great to see you guys, thanks for coming in. we have a fascinating story now from the middle east where we're getting some disturbing insight into the mind of a homicide bomber. a palestinian woman recently released from an israeli prison as part of a prisoner swap is speaking out for the first time about her failed attempt to kill israeli soldiers. leland vittert has this story from jerusalem. tell us what you found out when you interviewed her, leland. >> reporter: you know, it is really rare to get an insight into the psyche of a suicide bomber for obvious reasons. it's very difficult to ever interview one, and you might think for someone who has stared death in the eyes, suddenly they would reevaluate their choices. we found, actually, that the opposite was true n this case it only hardened those radical beliefs, and i think this

interview will really shatter the illusion that those who are driven by hatred can have their hearts changed. these were supposed to be the last seconds of her life. instead, it was the beginning of a prison sentence. this is the moment she pressed the button to explode her suicide belt, and the detonator failed. but staying alive has only made her more determined to blow herself up. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: i will carry my explosive belt once again, and i will cross inside and turn my body into a bomb that will explode in the face of the zionist enemy. >> reporter: june 2005, she tried to cross into israel from gaza with a bomb ready to sacrifice her own life to kill israelis at a local hospital. she knew the hospital well as doctors there once treated her. i brought with me the video of when you were going to blow yourself up when you were caught. how do you feel watching this now? [speaking in native tongue] >> reporter: hard to watch?

[speaking in native tongue] >> translator: i am very proud of this. i hope time will come, and i will live again the moments in which i was tasting and smelling paradise. >> reporter: she was sentenced to 12 years in jail but now is home in gaza, part of a prisoner exchange over the past two months. israel released a thousand palestinian militants in return for one captured israeli soldier. she leaves her house every day heading for university to train, of all things, to become a journalist. but her hope is to leave a far different legacy. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: i wish that every girl in this age has a dream to get this mart or.com. for me it is a wish and a will that must be achieved. >> reporter: now, the israelis have turned gaza into a virtual prison. they are very strict about who they allow in and out and what they allow inside the gaza strip. now, they say, of course, this quarantine, obviously, punishes hundreds of thousands of innocent palestinians, but they say with someone like this and others like her inside the gaza

strip, the only way they can keep israelis safe from bombers is by keeping that very strict quarantine there. alisyn: that's sure understandable given her stated purpose of wanting to blow herself up again. leland, that's fascinating. thanks so much for sharing that with us. just a short time ago the house rejecting the senate's payroll tax cut extension because, of course, it extends it only by two months instead of a full year. so what now? and what will congress do before your paychecks begin to shrink on january 1st? plus, one minute all is fine, the next darkness at the stadium. lights going out during "monday night football." we'll tell you what went down here. and they served our country during the korean war, but now some veterans are accusing lawmakers of turning their backs on them. what they're fighting for today. >> it's more than insulting, it's recognition of, you know, the old adage that we have that korea was the forgotten war.

>> the other people are in it, and they leave us out. whether it's an oversight or just bad paperwork or just laziness, i don't know. >> to take the offensive. ♪ ♪

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alisyn: they answered the call of duty for their country, but some south korean war veterans -- korean war veterans say the state has turned its back on them. now they're fighting to make sure future generations never forget their valor. mike beaudette has the story from our fox affiliate in boston. >> 83-year-old lou pelosi is a decorated korean war veteran; a silver star, three purple hearts. but he's not here to talk about that. >> it's not about me. this is about the korean war veterans' memorial. >> pelosi is fighting a different kind of battle, a fight for state funding of the official massachusetts korean war veterans' memorial in charlestown. for more than a decade, the state gave the memorial $10,000

a year, money used to maintain the memorial. >> all of these things cost money, and over the ensuing years with the inflation that has occurred we depend on that $10,000. a lot of names on there. >> 78-year-old joe is another korean war vet who was on the front line of this fight. >> a lot of guys never reached their 20th birthday, you know what? >> reporter: the veterans say they understand times have been tough and accepted the state eliminating funding for the maintenance of all the state's war memorials pack in 2009. -- back in 2009. since then they've had to raise more money on their own and leave expensive items unfixed including two displays that used to let visitor listen to veterans' stories. >> and it's like the broken window syndrome. once things start to go, everything falls apart. and this is a beautiful spot. it should be maintained. >> reporter: this year's budget lawmakers restored some

of the funding for the state's war memorials. $25,000 for maintaining the state's vietnam veterans memorial, $15,000 for the vietnam veterans' moving wall and 25,000 for the uss massachusetts at battleship cove. but there's no money for the state's korean war veterans' memorial. as a veteran, is this insulting? >> well, it's more than insulting, it's recognition of, you know, the old adage that we have that korea was a forgotten war. >> the other people are in it, and they leave us out. whether it's an oversight or just bad paperwork or just laziness, i don't know. but it's got to be corrected. that's the main thing. >> reporter: something that can only be corrected on beacon hill. but the veterans say they're getting few answers. >> nobody ever calls back, you know? i know my phone works because i can call my house, you know? >> reporter: this man did speak with state representative eugene o flairty. >> reporter: why does it seem

like the legislature is snubbing the korean war vets? >> we are not forgetting the need to maintain this facility. >> reporter: the korean war veterans' memorial is in this representative's district why give some funding to some memorials but not others? >> not every memorial has received an appropriation for its maintenance, some have. and the reason probably why some have is very simply an effort in the ways and means committee to demonstrate a commitment to restoring system of that funding -- some of that funding. >> reporter: he has a commitment from the house speaker to fund maintenance for the memorial, but not until next year's budget. the men remain frustrated, even after speaking with the representative. >> he still feels like he's not getting any answers. >> i respectfully would suggest that it's probably because it's the process. i don't have the ability here to just go get a check. >> reporter: will there be money for this memorial? >> yes. >> reporter: when? >> next year's budget. >> reporter: is there any

chance of getting money before then? >> a possibility, yes. it's something that my staff and i are looking at. alisyn: that was mike beaudette reporting from boston. we'll be sure to keep you posted on whether state lawmakers restore that funding to the memorial. and in the almost 24 hours since a sellout "monday night football" crowd found themselves sitting in the dark, there's been a lot of conspiracy theories about why the lights went out. in three minutes we'll show you what we found live from san francisco. and a college student in kansas missing since friday, word now of a strange phone call made in the moments before shety appeared. she disappeared. >> whoever have seen my daughter or whoever has my daughter would just bring her safe back home. we'll forgive him. just want her safe back home in our hands, please. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement

or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

alisyn: irony at its finest on the football field. a park named candlestick loses its light. a power outage throws a sellout crowd of more than 60,000 people into the dark not once, but twice during last night's game between the 49ers and the pittsburgh steelers. claudia cowan is live from san francisco. so, claudia, i mean, did somebody trip over a cord, hit the wrong button? what happened? [laughter] >> reporter: you know, allison, we just don't know. fans were ready for some football, they got a double dose of darkness instead. the problems appear to have started about 25 minutes before the opening kickoff. first the lights in the parking lots went out, then a transformer blew out outside the stadium. officials again trying to figure out exactly what happened, whether it was equipment failure or something else, but what an

embarrassment for the 49ers and their much-anticipated return to "monday night football" and prime time tv. the first power outage delayed the kickoff by 20 minutes and left nearly 70,000 people there in the dark. many using their cell phones to see. the public address system stopped working along with everything else, so team officials asked members of the media to twitter their fans and encourage everyone to sit tight and not panic. the lights went out again early in the second quarter stopping the game between the playoff-bound teams for about 15 minutes. the san francisco police officer took the power outage in stride. >> power will be back on. i mean, this is san francisco. it'll work. [laughter] and you know what? everyone's cooperating, everyone's still having a good time. life is good. >> reporter: well, after play resumed, the 49ers won the game, and the team's been assured the stadium is fine for playoff games down the road. still a lot of questions here and some interesting timing too.

officials say routine checks before the game showed that all the systems were fine, but the power failure just hours later highlights the age of the park. candlestick's been around more than half a century, and this could boost the 49ers' push for a new stadium. some are hinting at a conspiracy saying the outages were the work of those who want the team to move south to santa clara. alisyn: interesting. it had to be nerve-wracking for people who didn't know what was going on. thanks for the story. >> reporter: you're welcome. alisyn: a deadly winter storm is dumping up to a foot of snow in some areas. there are fierce winds blowing, ice closing major highways, and now we're getting word of a new system that could mean big headaches headed into this holiday weekend. plus, new outrage over a ban on christmas cards from members of congress, what two lawmakers are doing to change this 37-year-old rule. ♪

alisyn: house lawmakers rejecting that two-month extension of the payroll tax cut. the senate deal would have extended the payroll tax cut for two month and extended unemployment benefits. republicans say it's another stop-gap measure that kicks the can down the road. president obama is speaking live about this deal right now. >> they want to extend the tax

cut and unemployment insurance through 2012. but a faction of republicans in the house are refusing to even vote on the senate bill. a bill that cuts taxes for 160 million americans. because of their refusal to cooperate eight all those americans could face a tax hike in just 11 days, and millions of americans out there looking for work could find their unemployment insurance expired. let's be clear. these bipartisan compromise reached saturday is the only viable way to prevent a tax hike on january 1. it's the only one. all of the leaders in congress, democrats and republicans say they are committed to making sure we extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance for the entire year.

this is something i called for months ago. issue is the republican and democratic leaders of the senate worked on a one-year deal, made good progress, but determined that they needed more time to reach an agreement. and that's why they passed an insurance policy to make sure taxes don't go up january 1. in fact the house republicans say they don't dispute the need for a payroll tax cut. what they are really trying to do, what they are holding out for is to bring concessions from democrats on issues that have nothing to do with the payroll tax cut. issues where the party is fundamentally disagree. so a one-year deal is not the issue. we can and we'll come to that agreement as long as it's focused on the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance and not focused on extraneous

issues. the issue right now is this. the clock is ticking. time is running out. and as the house republicans refuse to vote for the senate bill or even allow it to come up for a vote, taxes will go up in 11 days. i saw today one of the house republicans referred to what they are doing as quote high stakes poker. he's right about the stakes, but this is not poker. this is not a game. this shouldn't be politics as usual. right now the recovery is fragile but it's moving in the right direction. our failure to do this could have effects on families and the economy as a whole. it's not a game for the average family who doesn't have an extra $1,000 to lose. it's not a game for to be looking for work that might lose his house if unemployment

insurance doesn't come through. this is not a game for the millions of americans who will face a hit when the entire economy grows more slowly because these proposals aren't extended. i just got back from a ceremony at andrews air force base where we received the flag and the colors that our troops fought under in iraq. i met with some of the last men and women to return home from that war. these americans and all americans who served are the embodiment of courage, selflessness and patriotism. when they fight together and die together they don't care who is a democrat and who is a republican and how somebody is doing in the polls or how this might play in the spin room. they work as a team and they do it for something bigger than themselves. the people in this town need to learn something from that. we have more important things to

worry about than politics right now. we have more important things to worry about than saving face. or figuring out internal caucus politics. we have people counting on us to make their lives just a little bit easier, build an economy where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded. and we owe it to them to come together right now and do the right thing. that's what the senate did. democrats and republicans in the senate said, we are going to put our fights on other issues aside and go ahead and do what's right on something we all agree to. let's go ahead and do it. we'll have time later for the politics, we'll have time later to have fights around a whole bunch of other issues. right now we know this is good for the economy and they went

ahead and did the right thing. i need the speaker and house republicans to do the same. put politics aside, put aside issues where there are turned amountal disagreements and come together on something we agree on. let's not play banksmanship. -- let, not play brinksmanship. the american people are tired of it and they expect better. i'm calling on the speaker and the house republican leadership to bring up the bill for a vote. thank you. alisyn: you have been rinsing to president obama in an unexpected moment at the podium talking about what the senate was suppose to be voting on today,

which was that two-month extension of the tax holiday but which they decided not to vote on because they wanted a one-year extension. we are awaiting a conference by the republican speaker of the house john boehner and other members of the gop leadership. we expect that in about 15 minutes. we'll bring that to you when it happens. right now let's go to mike emanuel live on capitol hill with response to what the president said. he's angry that they wouldn't even vote on whether they like this senate deal. >> reporter: that's right. the last time we heard from the president about this issue was after the senate passed that two-month extension. he thought that would be it. that the house republicans would pass that senate plan, he would seen it and everybody would go on about their christmas holidays. we have heard some of the republicans in the house take

his words and say the president said he would prefer a one-year extension and we agree. they say the president said we should finish our work and we agree. the senate is now on recess. he talked about families counting on this tax break and how it may impact them. we are expecting the republican leadership team in the house to step forward after they voted to take the senate plan and house plan that was passed earlier and send to it a conference where negotiators from the different branches of congress would hammer out a deal. the republicans are going to present their conferees. harry reid says he won't participate until the house passes the senate bill. it's probably confusing to folks at home. i'm trying to break it down for you the best i can. senator reid said it's

unconscionable speaker boehner would hold up this senate extension. but we heard them say it may cause for problems, more expense, more issues than it is worth. so we heard the republicans say we need to to a full year. bottom line, the end of the year is coming up pretty quickly. so it is tough to see a way out of this dilemma at this point. alisyn: you are doing a good job of helping to try to allow us to understand the lunacy of capitol hill and washington, d.c. we'll check in with you later. we have a fox news weather alert. a big part of america's heartland is completely shut down. the first blizzard of the winter and where it's headed next. a hair-raising chase on the

streets of los angeles. vice president joe biden says the tall baines not an enemy of the u.s. what's even more amazing is how the white house is responding to that comment. >> it's regrettable to take it out of context because it's a simple fact we went into afghanistan because of the attack on september 11. for a hot dog cart. my mother said, "well, maybe we ought to buy this hot dog cart and set it up someplace." so my parents went to bank of america. they met with the branch manager and they said, "look, we've got this little hot dog cart, and it's on a really good corner. let's see if we can buy the property." and the branch manager said, "all right, i will take a chance with the two of you." and we've been loyal to bank of america for the last 71 years.

[ woman ] ♪ what i want this season ♪ if you'd like to try and guess ♪ ♪ it is something very special ♪ i would readily confess [ dogs barking ]

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alisyn: blizzard and whiteout conditions make for dangerous travel just in time for hanukkah and christmas with more than a foot of snow reported from new mexico to kansas. the winds are kicking up and the blowing snow is causing highways and interstates to shut down with visibility near zero in some spots. the storm affects five dates, colorado, oklahoma, new mexico, kansas and texas. tell us what you are seeing on the streets? >> we have had a busy morning. however, things are much better now in southwest kansas. alisyn: we heard you had a record number of overturned cars and accidents.

it must be quite treacherous. >> it was late last night and early this morning. some highways looked like parking lots. but with the help of kdot and our employees we are getting them back to near normal. alisyn: we heard a large churning of kansas is closed for business today. >> that was the situation this morning. roads were closed due to blowing and drifting snow. things are improving quickly. kdot has been working 24 hours a day. as long as we can keep the roads cleared from blowing snow we are doing well. al rsh the weather has moved on from there? >> pretty much so. we are still dealing with the winds in southwest kansas which we normally do. kdot is going where the winds are prevalent and clearing off

the roads as quickly as we can. alisyn: you sure know how to turn it around when a huge pile of snow is dumped on you. thanks so much for giving us the update. here is some brand-new polling data that sheds new light on the race for the white house. according to a national telephone survey of likely voters president obama beats newt gingrich by 13 points today. scott rasmussen is a even independent pollster. hi, scott. >> hi,al -- alisyn, how are you? alisyn: john boehner has just

taken to the podium to give us the house response. we'll be back with you in just a second. >> the president and leaders of both houses of congress have called for a year-long extension of the payroll tax credit. the house has passed a bill that would do just that. it would extend and reform unemployment insurance, protect social security, and create jobs. we are proud of the bill that we passed. the house passed it with bipartisan support. we also understand the senate passed a different bill. we oppose that bill because the two-month extension will create more uncertainty for job creators in our country when millions of americans are out of work. the payroll processing companies say the senate bill is unworkable and so complex that's

americans may not even get the tax credit. so today we have voted to go to a formal conference to resolve the differences between the two bills. this is a system that our founders gave us, it's as old as our nation and as clear as the constitution. our house gop negotiators are here and ready to work with our counterparts in the senate to resolve the differences as quickly as possible. our negotiators are kevin brady, david kemp. tom price, tom reid, fred upton and gregg wolf. now it's up to the president to show real leadership. he said that he won't leave town for the holidays until this bill is done. the next up is clear. i think president obama needs to call on senate democrats to go back into session, move to go to conference and sit down and

resolve this bill as quickly as possible. i sent a letter to the president today asking him to do just this. we have done our work for the american people. now it's up to the president, the democrats in the senate to do their job as well. i'll take a couple questions. we have done our job, all we need now is to resolve our differences. a two-month extension is nothing more than kicking the can down the road. the president has asked to us do this for a full year, we did it for a full year. we offset costs with reasonable offsets. there is no reason we can't do this. you will remember just several weeks ago the house passed a dod authorization bill, the senate passed theirs. in the period of less than a week they were able to resolve

big differentials in these two large bills. there is no reason why we can't resolve this in short order. >> if senator reid said let's sit down and work this out. would you not forge ahead with the conference committee? would that be a facade to get this solved? >> there are a lot of ways to resolve this. we are doing this wound we call regular order. system our founders gave us. if there is a difference between the two houses we sit down and resolve those differences. >> are the members going to go home for the holidays or are you going to keep them here? >> our negotiators are here, ready and able to work. we'll be available to do what needs to be done. but the issue now is will the president engage with the senate democrats and bring them to the table so we can resolve this and give to the president what he

asked us to give him, a one-year extension of these expired programs. >> the president just said he appeals to you personally, says i need john boehner to help out. >> i need the president to help out. [applause] >> i had a question ... he's asked you to help out and asked that you take up the senate bill which you have not done. any chance of that happening? >> we have already taken up the senate bill. we rejected the senate bill and moved to go to conference. under the rules of the congress, that means the papers that were in our possession are on their way back to the united states

senate. >> [inaudible] >> the senate voted to give the american people a $166 tax cut. we voted to giver the american people a $1,000 tax cut. we are going to insist on doing this the right way. >> they have been working on this for weeks and haven't been able to come to an agreement. what makes you think you can do that between now and new year. >> we have not been working on this for weeks. i told the senate leaders that there would be no negotiations with the house until such time as the senate passed the bill. i meant what i said. and when they were getting ready to pass this and somebody passed on to me what they thought it would look like, i made it clear to them at that point that it

was uncomfortable with where they were going. i expressed my displeasure. and once again taking the convenient route and not doing the people's work. thanks, everybody. alisyn: you have been rinsing to house speaker john boehner explaining why republicans in the house don't like that two-month extension. they want the extension for a year, not just two months. let's bring in the scott rasmussen. have you done any polling about how americans feel about these budget battles and these tax cut battles between democrats and republic chance in the house and senate? >> certainly. first all, most americans believer tax cutting is good for the economy. they do believe it will help create jobs. that's why democrats and republicans and the president

are all trying to take credit for cutting taxes. in terms of the internal fights that go on. the lunacy inside the beltway i think you called it. most americans say everybody looks bad. they are not happy with the president, they are not happy with congress. and they don't think either side put together a reasonable proposal for going forward. that's part of the reason congress gets some terrible ratings in all polls. alisyn: we hear that over and over again that their approval ratings are in the basement, yet they just can't help themselves. they are seeing the same polls we are but they just keep doing it. >> the republicans think it's the democrats that look bad and the democrats believe it' the republicans and the americans say they all look bad. we saw this dynamic when the super committee was created. the american people never believed the super committee would accomplish anything. we saw the same thing back during the debt ceiling debacle.

the american people believed some kind of deal would be reached in the end to raise the debt ceiling but they never expected any spending cuts to come out it. so the cynicism is just being ratcheted to a higher level by what's happening in congress today. alisyn: thanks so much for standing by and giving us that context. we appreciate your input. michael reagan has a message for newt gingrich. and he's going to join us in five minutes. plus we'll talk to a congressman who wants to put christmas back into the holiday message on capitol hill. [ male announcer ] the more you lose, the more you lose, because for every two pounds you lose through diet and exercise, alli can help you lose one more

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alisyn: extreme weather alert. a massive snowstorm packing high winds. making holiday travel very rough. whiteout conditions and steer in zero visibility force highways to shut down across five states. now word another winter blast could make things worse. janice dean is in the weather center. >> reporter: it might affect us in the northeast. watch this storm system get wound up overnight last night and into tomorrow -- or into today. oh, my goodness. you can seat snow trailing off here. so the worst of the storm is over. the blizzard conditions pretty much over. we'll see the threat for severe weather. threats of tornadoes. that's a possibility. the snow totals over a foot in a lot of locations pack colorado, new mexico and kansas.

but the bulk of the storm is over with. as we go further out in time, mainly a rain events. so a little bit of a messy commute tomorrow morning then it heads off to sea. but our next storm system. this is one of the computer models we looked at. not one of the most reliable ones. we'll have a lot of travel delays if this pans out. friday and saturday delays possible. as low pressure develops act southeast, and then and then if this comes true, look at this little number here. a nor'easter. that means travel problems for the mid-atlantic and the northeast. so we'll have some see if this pans out. we'll keep you posted. that's a tease. alisyn: i would like to know if we are going to have a white

christmas. >> reporter: i'll keep you posted. alisyn: let's go to the campaign trail where the lead more newt gingrich appears to be fading in the leadup to the crucial iowa caucuses. take a look at these recent twitter posts from michael reagan. newt gingrich with no message to back up your great debating skills. newt, you need a consistent message if you plan to win iowa, south carolina or florida. newt it may sound good but you aren't going to be arresting judges because you disagree. hi, michael. >> i'm glad to see you read my tweets. why are you lobbing so many

twitter bombs in newt gingrich's direction. >> when you don't answer the phone i send twitter bombs. i do talk to him. but i see what's going on within the campaign. having been around campaigns for 40 years and being part of my father's campaign, you learn things. what's happening with newt is he's allowing others to define his candidacy, if you will, by going off message, talking about the judges or what have you. newt needs to define who he is and what his message is and be consistent in that as goes out to try and wrestle the nomination away from mitt romney and i don't think he's doing that. alisyn: it sounds like you think he's blowing it. >> i do think in many ways he is blowing it. he's a great debater, we love him in the debates. but if you don't stay on that message, what he wants to tell

the american people. why he wants to be president. then he seems to go back into his professor-type mode and starts talking to us in professor-speak about journals and what he would do. this campaign is not about judges, this campaign is about jobs. creating jobs in america. getting the economy going again, and the judges aren't going to have anything to do with that. once you become president if you want to deal with judges, deal with it. but don't go off the page where everybody can attack you. find a consistent message and sell it. alisyn: isn't that vintage newt? he is an outside the box thinker? do you think he has the discipline for the single minded the focus you are talking about? >> if he wants to win the nomination he has to find that discipline and use it to wrestle the nomination away from mitt

romney. otherwise mitt romney will run away with this. rick perry the same kind of situation. rick perry has found his message. he's going up in the polls. newt gingrich doesn't have a consistent message and is dropping in the polls. at the same time he doesn't seem to have the money to take out the radio ads and television ads to go back at $9 million worth of ads being used against him. the good side of newt is he is the only one i see really holding by the 11th commandment put forward by ronald reagan, not speaking ill of other republicans. the other republicans are doing everything in their power to make sure none of them can beat barack obama in next year. alisyn: some blame the fact of his opponents negative ads against him for his drop. >> listen, i'm with him for not

going negative. there are plenty of negative in all of us out there. but i don't think america wants to live with the negative. they want to live with the positive. i think you can win with a positive message going forward. i think newt finds that, it will work for him and the backlash will be against those people using the negative ads to build themselves up. by doing that, they are tearing down whoever the potential nominee of this party is going to be. if it's going to be newt gingrich, mitt romney, rick perry, they will do enough damage to that person that barack obama will waltz into the white house in november of next year. alisyn: thanks so much for coming on. we'll be monitoring your twitter feed. a special ceremony at andrews air force base where they marked the return of the u.s. forces

iraq colors lowered from a staff in baghdad last week. >> reporter: the ceremony marked the end of the longest war in u.s. history. now that he's president and the war is over he's under fire from some republicans who feel he should have negotiated a longer stay for u.s. troops. though iraq's refusal to grant them immunity from prosecution made that impossible. the military leadership was greeted as it landed at andrews air force base in contrast to the welcoming the soldiers got. the president saluted the official flag of the iraq conflict that lasts 8 years 9

months. once it became clear they wouldn't be there after year's end, the commanding general was told to get them home for christmas. and today austin says they accomplished their mission. >> together with our coalition partners and corps of dedicated civilians they removed a brutal dictator and gave the iraqi people their freedom. their courage and ability to adapt aloud to us persevere through the darkest days of the insurgency to create hope and to provide the iraqis opportunities that they have not seen in their lifetime. >> reporter: the president didn't speak at the ceremony. but he did show up unannounced in the middle of jay carney's briefing to push the house to push the tax cuts. he said he had just come from

the ceremony where people who put their lives on the line for this country are currenting on congress to put their partisan differences aside. alisyn: the white house is forced to answer new questions today about our mission in afghanistan. they come after the vice president declared the taliban is quote not our enemy and the white house has backed him all the way. >> we went into afghanistan because al qaeda launched an attack against the united states from afghanistan. what the vice president was reflecting is that -- this is related to the reconciliation process was discussing -- the taliban per se while we are fighting them, it's not the elimination of the taliban is not the issue. objective that the president laid out when he laid out his afghanistan strategy made clear the number one principle is to disrupt, dismantle and defeat

al qaeda. alisyn: the taliban is not our enemy? really? >> total surprise to me. what they continue to attack american soldiers on the ground. they have the ability and they threaten the government in kabul. and they harbor the haqqani network in pakistan. so that's a definition of an organization that does not share our best interests. it doesn't mean we don't try to negotiate with these guys but you do it from a position of strength. clearly they are an enemy. alisyn: didn't we go to war in afghanistan because the taliban was providing safe haven to bin laden and al qaeda? >> no we went to war in afghanistan to get bin laden and al qaeda.

the president wanted to get out of iraq. he's done that. he said he was going to get out of iraq and take the focus to al qaeda. we have done that. the troops have done an amazing job. we have got -- they got bin laden. so it's to keep the focus, to keep dismantling and destroying al qaeda. alisyn: how could you classify the taliban -- what else would you classify it as if not an enemy. >> i think for the most part the taliban has been relegated to trying to assert power inside afghanistan over afghanistan they want a snack it future of afghanistan. i think what the vice president was saying is as part of the reconciliation process, that there are people who would like to see -- like northern ireland, those militant factions coming together in a positive the way

within the system. i agree with the general. these guys -- they come after our troops, our troops are going to get them. that's going to happen. that's why the per se i think is important. the taliban -- there are taliban that are our enemies. they are coming after our troops. but the entire taliban in terms of how do you assimilate them -- they are not going away,er in not going to kill every single one of them. how do they assimilate into the future? are we going to stay there and mediate forever? no american wants to do that. alisyn: is this a distinction without a difference or does that make sense he doesn't want to cast aspecials against the whole taliban. >> the taliban has been a char bore of care rift activities and they do attack the united states on a routine basis.

the notion of using per se as a significant qualifier to the president's statement, it confuses our friend and embolteddens our enemies. i don't know why the vice president would say that. he's smarter than that. it opens the door for confusion and missions on the ground not to be prosecuted in a way that gives an end result. as joe indicated, if the taliban wants to engage u.s. forces or afghan forces in combat, let them do that and they will be slaughtered. the point is they don't want to do anything that facilitates afghan government advances and the united states partnership with the afghans. that's the definition of an enemy. alisyn: why did the vice president say this? >> i think they are better ways of saying it. he was looking at a northern ireland solution of the militant groups within afghanistan as we

finish the afghanistan war. but they are elements of the enemy. they come off us, we are going to get them. and i don't think he said it quite the way i would have said it. alisyn: joe trippi and spider mark, thanks for coming in. any idea how much you pay at the pump? we know. you might want to sit down before you hear what filling up costs. a house committee has prevented members of congress from sending christmas cards to their constituents since the 1970s. we'll talk with someone who wants to change that. what makes scottrade your smartphone's most powerful trading app ? total access - to everything.

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alisyn: here is positive news on the job front. unemployment fell in 43 states last month. two brothers will serve prison time for helping their father carry out terror attacks from their north carolina home. five people including two children killed in a small plane crash in central texas. the authorities say they don't know if bad weather played a role in that accident. are you missing some cash? we think we know where it is. if you are like most americans the price of gas has taken a big toll on your wallet. according to new numbers from the associated press, the typical american household

shemed out 4,000 bucks. that many the biggest gas guzzle in 30 years. we'll will have to choose between food on the table or gas in the tank. there is an update on a ban on holiday a cards from members of congress. all holiday, birth day and other birthday greetings have been banned since 1974. but now two congressmen are claiming the responsibility of the francing commission should not be to enforce political correctness. how is wishing constituents a merry christmas or happy

hanukkah a political message? let's try to dissect this rather incomprehensible rule. basically you are not allowed to say merry christmas or happy hanukkah in your holiday greetings because those would be an endorsement of a religion? >> i don't know. the francing commission which has to approve mass mailing including mass emails from congress. i do a weekly newsletter that goes out to 100,000 of my constituents. i wanted to end it with merry christmas and they struck it. yet the senate can do it. but the house can't. apparently happy new year is fine, but merry christmas is not. i'm kind of sick and tired of

all the being politically correct, if you will. and, you know, enough is enough. as a member of congress and as a christian if i want to end an email newsletter with merry christmas, i should be able to do that. this is america. alisyn: let me be devil's advocate. why should taxpayers have to pay for to you send out christmas cards to your constituents. if you want to send out christmas card why don't you pay for them like most americans do. >> i don't know any members of congress that send out christmas cards with taxpayer money. i'm talking about my weekly email newsletter to keep constituents on what's going on in congress. it doesn't cost anything as far as i know to send out an email. i wanted to end this week's email newsletter about issues going on in our nation's capitol with the words "merry

christmas." if i had been a snow shower would have been allowed to do it. alisyn: the francing commission doesn't just oversee what taxpayer dollars are spent on, they control your message. >> when you have more than 499 letters, emails, saying the same thing, that message has to be approved by the house franking commission. it's always been that way. the idea is to make sure it doesn't become a political vehicle to promote yourself. what i don't understand is my weekly email newsletter that goes out to 100,000 people every monday. i couldn't end it with merry christmas? alisyn: you have written a letter to try to get this changed. please let us know if you make any headway on that and thanks for joining us. >> we have 50 members of

congress who signed the letter. the deadline to sign the letter is 3:00 p.m. eastern time. call your congressman. thank you. alisyn: thanks so much. we'll be right back. but my nose is still runny. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ deep breath] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth!

>> alisyn: extreme weather alert update for you now. get right to the radar showing this massive snow storm moving across the great plains and southwest. the blizzard complicating your holiday travel plans, no doubt. the icy roads, whiteout conditions and near zero visibility causing highways across five states to shut down. a few are now reopening. we're happy to report, but state troopers say they are dealing with dozens of car accidents because of these messy road conditions. please be careful out there. so, do you hate or love picking out the christmas

tree? on a a lot? well, if you hate it, you can now avoid the masses. you can just point, click, and have the tree delivered to your front door. but where is the fun in that? fox news adam housley has more from santa monica, california. tell us about this new trend. >> yeah, you know, allison. beautiful day. no snow on the ground. no tree like sean's trees in southern california. yesterday tree owners say it was packed around here. people still buying trees. 27 million fresh cut trees. maybe people too lazy or work too much or live in a warm climate or want a tree from back home they are going online and clicking to buy. take a listen. >> it gets to the point where the most fun is decorating it and the most fun is christmas. and taking time away to go chop down the tree just wasn't where we wanted to go with it. >> now, some big retailers are also getting on board,

wal-mart, target, as well as the smaller tree lots brown's tree lot in michigan that can send these things overnight and one day you can have a tree fresh cut on your front doorstep. some are not buying this trend jationdz scwaz without that experience the buying the treat and the smell and the dirt on your feet, it takes the whole fun out of it to me. >> alisyn, give it back to you. the most poplar tree is the noble fir. most stay open until christmas eve, alisyn. if you haven't got your tree, you can still get out and get one. >> alisyn: we have gotten it. i don't know what my family would do if we couldn't spend 20 minutes arguing over which tree to get. >> how do you fight over an online tree, right. >> alisyn: great question. we'll be right back.

>> alisyn: thanks so much for watching.