answer that. there we are. >> we will continue. liz, always good to see you. that does it for us. happy new year, of course. >> happy new year, everyone. i'm jaime colby. kelly wright is next in washington. take care. h it is game on for the gop presidential candidates. the iowa caucus is the first contest of the 2012 race. it is now just two days away. white house hopefuls are kris crossing the state and hoping to win over a huge number of caucus goers who say they haven't made up their minds yet. who could be the game inning chaers come tuesday? the latest poll shows mitt romney and ron paul out in front and rick santorum coming in third and as volatile as the race has been, it is up for grabs for everyone. i'm kelly wright in washington. our live election team coverage starts with carl cameron in des moines, iowa. carl, tell us all about it. >> hi, kelly.

well, aver all of the millions of dollars in ads that have been spent and the hours and hours and days and days the candidates have spent on the campaign trail, now it comes down to organizing 120,000 some odd republican iowa caucus goers. and they have two more days to do it, the candidates. as the polls suggest and the pundits have been saying, it looks like a close race at the end between three candidates. it is almost always this way in iowa. so it is not particularly surprising. so many voters are undecided and have yet to make up their minds or say they will change their minds. mitt romney has a strong organization. it is his second time around the track. he ran four years ago. much of his organization is still very much behind him. ron paul has an extraordinary organization. he too is the only other candidate to have run for president in this field. and his organization -- i will shield my mic from the wind here. by many accounts it is even better than mitt romney's. and then you have rick santorum who in the last week and a half has sored in a way

that is historic. there are lots of come from behind candidates, but for rick santorum to peak at the back end of the six candidates is really quite remarkable in the last week. here is the organizational challenge. the state of iowa has 99 counties. when you look at that map, you now have to imagine what it would appear like if there were 1,774 pins in there el straighting where the precincts are. some of the precincts that there will be caucuses at are as small as 30 to 50 republicans. there are a handful across the state where the crowd could be as big as 500. there will be many, many people in some counties. and in order to prevail, each campaign will be given five minutes for somebody to make a speech on behalf of their candidate. right now pre sink packets are being -- precinct packets are being mailed to each of the republican campaigns. rick perry is one of the republicans who has to be watched. he spent the last month and a

half busting all over the state of iowa. he has hit 45 cities and he is building a caucus team. he thinks he could surprise and take fourth of the that would be a very big deal, and today he went to church. the church is a huge part of the iowa caucus process. more than half of the turnout is self-described evangelical christian. all of the candidates are going to a parish in iowa, and many of the pastors are talking about the civic duty iowans have participating in the caucuses and they are advocating for specific candidates. that's part of the reason perry and santorum expect to do well on tuesday. and what happened to newt gingrich who was the front-runner a couple weeks ago and michele bachmann who was the historic first ever woman to win the ames straw poll last summer. she is expected to come in last and newt gingrich is looking yand iowa and new hampshire and says he will rebound. rick perry as well says no matter what happens in iowa he is already looking to the

primaries and caucuss that come later as an opportunity to sort of restore a little momentum. kelly? >> carl, not to steel your thunder, but what happens in iowa will not stay in iowa. take a look. thank you, carl. look at the stops the candidates will be making today. santorum and gingrich hitting three cities today. romney has two stops. bachmann and perry making appearances as well. with his rivals filling the airways and putting all of their attention on iowa, john -- jon huntsman has focused on new hampshire, the first primary state. coming up in this hour, we will have a live one on one with gop presidential candidate newt gingrich. there has been a lot of talk about him. just weeks ago as carl was pointing out, he took the lead in iowa, but now with just days until the caucuses, he finds himself trying to regain momentum. we will ask the former house speaker why he decided to sign on, and what he thinks about his chances in iowa.

rick santorum was stuck at the back of the pack, but iowans appear to be warming up to him right now. the latest polls show him in third place. the former senator is casting himself as the only, quote, consistent conservative among his gop rivals. could he pull off a surprise victory? many were talking about the iowa surprise. here to talk about it, david mercer who is a strategist and a former rnc spokesperson. happy new year to you both. so happy to have you here. look, we have been following the polls, the polls saying rick santorum, his hard work may be paying off for him. but if he wins third place or even pulls off a surprise and wins it all, is it enough for him to go on to victory? >> i don't know if it is enough for him to go on to victory. i think what is important is that santorum is getting those voters from getting bachmann. he has worked hard.

but mitt has more money. he has been working very hard and running ads. paul has one of the best ground games, and he has for awhile. he has a lot of young college students out there willing to stand out in the cold for 24 hours a day. he just has a lot of competition with mitt and ron paul. >> talking about paul and romney having a good ground game and good organization, can santorum duplicate that beyond iowa? >> we might reflect back on to 2008. it is romney and paul who were the only ones among the candidates who have run twice now. it just tells you how -- what it takes to become a nominee of either party. but with santorum, i think he is too much of a niche candidate to have any -- >> conservatives and evangelical. >> and social issues. we we haven't seen much breath from santorum on foreign

policy, on economic issues. anything that has his signature and has any kind of following or distinguishes him from the other candidates. >> actually i do think santorum has been pretty good on foreign policy issues. he has been strong on iran. >> let me ask you about that. what do you think about rick santorum saying if they develop some sort of nuclear weapon, what does that say about his foreign policy? is that in line with the republican party? >> i wouldn't say to come out and say we need to bomb them right uh wii? i don't think that's something -- right away, i don't think that's something they want to advocate right now. but he does have solid foreign policy experience. he was a former congressman as well. but for this comment about iran, i think his policies on africa, he has been an advocate. he has a history there. but the comment about iran is not one that we would advocate right now. >> mitt romney is doing well

in the polls against president barack obama. if the election was held today he would be at 45%. president obama would be at 39%. what do you think about that? is it too early? obviously if he were to get the republican nomination, he says he would like to challenge president obama to numerous debates to talk about hope and change, but -- that he believes the president has failed to deliver. >> we will put the record forward in terms of the hope and putting the numbers on the board and changing the economy and stabilized the economy and preventing or stopping the bleeding. but with regard to mitt romney, the thing about the polls is within his own party, he can't break the 25, 27% threshold. everybody that has taken him on one candidate or another, when they drop out or when they fall behind like newt gingrich who had a surge, those voters did not go to romney. we have to see him put that on

the record. >> i am not concerned at all about where -- that romney can't debt -- can't get above a certain percentage. the republican voters are very energized and they are very clear. if there are choices between romney and obama, we know exactly what the republicans are going to do. the other thing is thus far, obama's talking point has been choose me because what the republican candidate offers is this -- that is not a position an incumbent wants to be in. he is not running on his record. >> you can't do any worse. >> it is not really a good position for any candidate to be in. >> we have to leave it there. i'm sorry. >> happy new year to you. >> thanks so much, guys. happy new year to you as well. >> good to be with you. >> thanks very much. the talk from the candidates has been focused mainly on social issues and not jobs and economy.

as we were just talking about, why aren't they talking about the jobs and the economy? for many in the hawk eye state, jobs are exactly what they need. john roberts is live in iowa right now with more on the lack of job talk. and john, it is surprising to so many people that the candidates have not been more focused on jobs. >> it really is. so many people, kelly, we have talked to say it is issue number one for them. we are a little southeast of des moines in a dutch community, home of the country's largest wind mill. it is a very conservative community. we are really talking about a tale of two towns here. on one side of town is the corporation making heavy equipment for mining, drilling, agriculture which is booming across the midwest. they are adding jobs. they added 100 jobs in the last year, but the town's main employer the window and door company because of the bad housing market has been shutting factories in south carolina and laying off people, 198 in november. one of those people is loretta

sprunk. she and her husband tim are pella employees. he still works for them, but she lost her job in november. what has becomish you you -- become issue number one is spending, controlling spending and on caucus night, finding a candidate who will do the same. here is what loretta told me. >> if we can find somebody who can do just exactly what my family is doing, and that is to control your spending. live within your means. that's what we are looking for. >> they are looking for a candidate or president who will live within his or her means. it is important in a town like this. this is a town that voted values in 2008 to put mike huckabee over the top by a huge margin. mitt romney came in second with 14%. huckabee was in the 60s. the big question heading into caucus night, are they going to vote for mitt romney on the economy or potentially rick santorum if they go for the values vote? jim muir is the new mayor

here. he just took office this morning. he says the key word for what people are going to be looking for out of a presidential candidate is leadership. >> they are looking for somebody who will give them the straight answers. their looking for somebod who knows how to energize and get people and leadership. that's one of the things that i hear over and over and over again is they don't think they have effective leadership. >> there is really no question here in marion county. they went for john mccain in 2008. so it is likely they will go for the republican in 2012. the question is, kelly, across iowa which is a critical swing state, are they going to vote for the same type of change they were looking for in 2008, or will they vote for a different kind of change in 2012? >> well stated, john roberts. he is talking about the economy and values and what the voters in iowa were

looking for as they brace themselves for the first iowa caucuses that will take place of course coming up on tuesday. fox news is your home base for coverage of the first in the nation iowa caucuses. tonight at 8:00 p.m. join brett bier and megan kelly in a special looking ahead to tuesday. and while his gop rivals have been on the trail, president barack obama has been enjoying some downtime in hawaii with his family. he may be on vacation, but as you can knowledge ma, the president is keeping a close eye on iowa and crafting his own campaign strategy. douglas zader is in honolulu with the president right now. everybody is saying it so i may as well say, happy new year, and you have a tough assignment as i can see. >> well, we are trying to deal with the terrible conditions here jie. don't make me cry. >> happy new year to you as well. it is pretty early here in hawaii because of the time change. from all indications it was a

pretty quiet night for the president. that's probably a good thing. he will need all of the energy he can muster heading into 2012. a white house official says this will be a busy year for the president. he will be doing a lot of traveling and obviously a lot of campaigning as well and that means a lot of campaign fundraisers. there has been talk of the campaign eventually raising perhaps a billion dollars. the obama campaign manager says that is simply nonsense. they are not going to raise that much money, but it will be a formidable operation no doubt. here in hawaii we are not seeing that much of the president. we are seeing a lot of motorcade as the president shuttles his way around the island, going out to play golf or a few family outings and that sort of thing. you have to imagine behind the scenes there is a lot of talk about next year. this is going to be a tough -- excuse me, this year. it is going to be a tough election year. >> they will have to have a

plan a, plan b depending on who the nominee is. it will be a part of what the president will need to keep his mind on while away. >> as far as as iowa is concerned the president and his campaign team will watch closely to see which republican picks up the iowa caucuses. and as far as iowa for the obama m ka pain, they already have about eight field offices there according to the washington post with more than 20 paid staffers. that's a pretty big operation. but it is one small part of what will be a huge national effort. kelly? >> douglas zader making it clear how the president will go ahead with his re-election bid. happy new year again to you in lovely honolulu. the great lakes are starting 2012 with a winter storm warning. it is moving toward parts of michigan and it could bring more than a foot of snow and gusty winds making travel there very dangerous in those areas. the storm will

continue to move east later tonight. here is another story. a north carolina man is facing charges for allegedly trying to to take military grade explosives on to a plane in his carry on bag of the troy at water was stopped around 9:00 tomorrow morning at the airport in mid-land, texas after security agents noticed something suspicious in his bag. local media reports there state that they were c4 explosives. the terminal was closed for about an hour while the items were removed. and authorities in los angeles are looking into four more car fires that were started last night. this brings the total of car fires in and around l.a. to almost 40 in the past three days. kasey stiegel comes to us now. this is perplexing for legal authorities. >> absolutely, kelly. and the numbers are very fluid. it seems they are changing all the time, and we are on tom of it.

let's walk you through the time line as we know it now. late wednesday night and early thursday morning is when the horror started. four fires intentionally set in and around hollywood doing about $100,000 worth of damage to two apartment buildings. and then early friday morning more than 12 fires breaking out over a four-hour period covering the same area of just about two square miles. in each one, vehicles were torched as you can see from this video. and the flames then spreading to some nearby houses and apartments early saturday morning. the fire bug said to be responsible for starting another 14 or so fires. this time the suspect or suspects moved north to the san fernando valley a few miles from hollywood. the same deal. the fires originating in vehicles parked in carports under residential units, and then fast-forward to last night and up to seven more fires reported. investigators are now trying to tie it altogether.

listen. >> they are looking at each one of these individually, and then they are looking at them as a whole, as an umbrella to see how they relate. >> the lapd is working to enhance the surveillance tape gathered at one of the crime scenes where they believe that they could recognize an individual's face. and it is believed a cream colored lexus is somehow involved. up to $60,000 in rewards are being offered for anyone who can provide authorities with information on the arrest and the conviction of who ever is responsible for this, kelly. >> all right, casey, thanks. obviously they need help from the public on that one. a little later in the show, we look forward to pastor joe owe -- osteen talking about keeping a positive attitude in the new year. and political polls abound, yaw yaw and beyond as the 2012 race continues to heat up this week. we will break down the numbers and break it down for us next.

and iran is at it again testing missiles and developing nuclear fuel rods one day after looking to renew their talks with the west. all of this and more when america's news headquarters continues.

one day after expressing interest in revivaling nuclear talks in the west iran announced they have produced their first nuclear fuel rod. we go to doug live in washington. >> it was only yesterday iran seemed to be backing off its aggressive stance with word a planned missile launch was post postponed and by signaling they want a new round of multi party talks. and then today it ratcheted up the tension. first with the launch of a medium ranged missile designed

to evade radar, and then it announced a major step forward in the nuclear program. its scientists have produced the nation's first nuclear fuel rod. these are the tubes containing pellets of enriched uranium that provide the nuclear -- i should say provide fuel for the nuclear reactors. that is a feet of engineering that the west doubted tehran was capable of. and it reduces the amount of time it has to act before iran is a nuclear power. >> he said a month ago they could have a nuclear weapon within a year, i suspect it is less than that. i think 2012 could be a very important year. if israel reads the situation the same way secretary panetta , the time in which they have to take military action against the iranian nuclear weapons program is very, very short. >> all of this unpredict built seems in line with what they describe as irrational behavior on the part of iran.

>> one can only guess the international sanctions are beginning to feel the pinch and that the ratcheting of pressure on their oil sector is pinching in a way that is causing them to lash out. >> and these latest provocative acts come a day after president obama signed a measure that is designed to reduce iran's oil revenues by penalizing the financial institutions doing business with the central bank. tehran said it would review such a spx as an act of war. kelly? >> that's concerning to many people. doug kelly live from washington. we are back on the campaign trail where the campaign ads are flooding the airways as the candidates try to win over caucus goers. they are spending millions on these commercials, but are they having any affect on voters? here to talk about that, republican poll -- pollster

frank luntz. good to see you and happy new year to you. the best way to act is be prepared. has mitt romney seized an opportunity to win it, and has his ground game and television ads resonated well with the people of iowa? >> i think he has done a smart campaign. all of the negative advertising that is coming from him isn't actually from him. it is from a super pack that supports him. newt gingrich has dropped from over 30% in iowa and now down to the low teens. the negative ads have clearly had an impact. over the last 48 hours, i was switching through channels and you can't swing a dead cat on any station without any seeing a negative newt ad and it has had an impact. >> let's listen to some of the ads. >> generations of immigrants looked up and saw the statue of liberty for the first time. one thing they knew beyond a

doubt is they were coming to a place where anything was possible, that in america, their children would have a better life. i believe in that america. >> that is more of mitt romney showing himslef as a conservative businessman. frank, to your point about newt gingrich and the attack ads, are you surprised to see that it is having an impact on newt's former front-runner status? and now he is trailing. >> well, you can't be surprised. when they have run $4 million against him and the number is climbing every day, and it is only the state of iowa with three media markets and none are large, it will have an impact. the interesting point about the ad you just showed, not only is it optimistic and hopeful, but if you listen to the music behind it, the quality of the romney advertising is among the best because it matches a hopeful language with a hopeful backdrop. and it is romney engaging with the public. you have the interaction with

voters and the candidates. that's what the people of des moines and the people of iowa want to see. and it is one of the reasons romney leads in the polling right now. >> we can go further and say it is something that the nation wants to see because of the way he is perhaps leading right now in the polls even against president barack obama. another person on the campaign trail, are you surprised at all to seat rise of rick santorum in the polls? >> rick santorum has been to every county in the state. he actually knows more voters by first name than pennsylvania which is where he is from. iowa and new hampshire reward retail-style politics. we did a focus group for fox a couple weeks ago of the 30 participants. 27 had met one candidate and more than half met three or more. santorum has done that. here is a challenge for the senator. he will go to new hampshire and nobody knows him. let's say he comes in for a second or third here. he will get that being the jet propulsion and right into new hampshire, but they have never

met him. they have never shook his hand. they have never looked him straight in the eye. what is great for iowa doesn't take you through nam m that. >> we were just talking about that with some political panelists. frank, always enjoy your insights and how you handicap these events. we look forward to hearing more from you as the iowa caucuses draw mere. -- draws near. thank you. >> and do anything you can to turn up the heat, even in this arctic weather. i thought i saw santa claus flying by me back there. >> i'm feeling for you. i can see the wind blowing scpru cold. get out and drink some cocoa on me. thanks, frank. >> thank you. fox news is america's election headquarters. you just saw frank out there in iowa. tune in for complete coverage of the iowa caucuses on january 3rd starting at 6:00 p.m. eastern. you can also log on to fox news .com/politics for the latest news on the candidates from the campaign trail. it is anyone's guess as to who will win the iowa caucus as we just discussed. and the white house hopeful is

barn storm iowa. it may be less about candidate charisma and more about which candidate has the best ground games. we will have a live report from iowa coming up, and rick santorum is getting more attention as he moves up in the polls, but it is not all positive either. we will tell you why he got glitter bombed. don't go away.

if looks like the fate of the republican hopeful stands with the iowa voters. doug has some of today's top stories. >> a new poll by the des moines register finds 41% of likely caucus goers are undecided or still might change their minds. with the vote just two day usa way, mitt romney and ron paul are in a statistical dead heat and rick santorum has surged into third place. for the second new year's eve black birds fell dead from the sky in an arkansas town. fire work maze be to blame. they say last year's kill was probably caused by birds being startled from the rooves and flying into cars and each other. the los angeles fire department is on heightened alert after another night of car fires. since friday 40 cars have been torched in and around hollywood with some spreading to homes and buildings. authorities are offering a reward of $35,000 for information leading to a conviction.

and the moon now has a moon of its own. after more than a three-month journey, nasa's moon probe sliped into orbit. its twin, grail b, will enter lunar orbit today. they will study lunar gravity and the moon's composition. those are the top stories. back to you. >> thank you for that, and happy new yore to you. >> same to you. it is a back and forth race to the finish line in iowa. the caucuses are just two days away, and excitement over the candidates seems to change daily as the polls go up and down. steve brown in is irvin dale and what are they doing to grb voters -- to grab voters es' attention? >> it is a little breezy out here, but it will be a difficult chore for campaigns today on a holiday, new year's day. it is on a sunday, to try and get volunteers to come into an office and make phone calls to other folks who might be enjoying the holiday to get them out to caucus come

tuesday. what is happening in the santorum campaign which is clearly surging is making sure they can capture the lightning that is in the bottle that the phone calls are made and the doors are knocked. we are told the santorum campaign headquarters will be much busier as the day goes on. newt gingrich whose fortunes have gone the other direction, they have taken quite a hit in the month of december. the question has been consistently whether or not his campaign can put together an iowa ground game to make sure people show up on tuesday night. folks from the iowa team say yes they can, and largely that is because of the amount of help they are getting not only from iowans but from people who are gingrich fans particularly from the state of georgia who have come in to lend a hand with the efforts. and in terms of in state migration for campaign help, rick perry is the king of the effort. earlier in the week, it was talked about a strike force of about 200 folks being flown in or volunteers driving in.

perry himself has said 350 folks from texas are coming in. there are published reports that the number might be closer to 500. they have fanned out across the state and are doing the things they feel they need to do. quite clearly perry with his investment and television advertising, the pro perry pack that has been on the air, this effort to try and get bodies on the ground, it does look like, although it is not described as an all in effort to try and salvage a top three finish in iowa, but it has all of the hallmarks. >> thank you very much. happy new year to you as well. >> rick santorum is gaining positive and negative attention on friday night the gop presidential candidate was glitter bombed at his last campaign stop. a man identified as a gay rights activist threw purple glitter at santorum while saying, quote, stop the hate. taste the rainbow. santorum is thought to have been targeted because he is opposed to same-sex marriage.

after a year of wild ups and downs on the stock market c, 2011 end ended with more of a whimper than a bang. they had a 5.5% gain, but the s&p closed slightly down. the smallest move since 1970. the biggest question here is what is in store for 2012? here to discuss america's financial future, the managing partner of chat wood capital management. ed, good to see you, my friend. >> good to see you. happy new year. >> thank you very much. same to you. what do we look forward to in 2012 in terms of the stock market and just the american economy? >> by the way, kelly, i think the best measure is the s&p 500. even though the dow moved up, it is only 30 stocks. so we had a flat market, and what do i expect? all because the calendar has changed, i don't expect anything that different to occur. the focus will be on europe. it has been for the last half of 2011. i believe it is going to remain there because europe is

very important to the world economy, kelly. >> let me ask you something about that. we talked about europe all year long. can america's capital increase if european -- if the european economy continues to contract? >> well, it is a good question. europe's biggest trading partners are the united states, china and japan. if europe fails or starts to falter, you will see earnings in all of those countries start to fall. i believe that as europe goes the rest of the world goes right now. 21% of our exports go to europe. excuse me, 18% of our exports go to europe and 21% of the world's gross domestic product is in europe. it is not something we can just push to the side and not realize how it affects us. >> ed, we just celebrated the holiday, the christmas season. retailers are hoping the consumer confidence has boweded well for them. tell me about the consumer confidence going into 2012. will they continue to spend? >> yes, they will continue to

spend. we have seen a lot of spending, and it was a fwood holiday season. -- it was a good holiday season. everybody has a look over the shoulder. people are still concerned about what could possibly -- what negative event could occur. they are not spending as much. i spent money this year, but as my kids tell you, i didn't spend enough. i will tell you that i think everybody is feeling that way right now, kelly. and i think not until we get more clarity on the world economy and what is going on in this country will people start to open up and start spending a lot more. en -- even though it is better, it is not where it should be. >> have i to talk to you about the 2012 election politics. how might that affect the economy, particularly if we see who becomes the gop candidate going against president barack obama? what kind of impact will the campaign have on our economy? >> well, i will say we will start opening up a lot of discussions. it will be the wild, wild west. there is one candidate that will not be good for the stock

market and that is ron paul. ron paul has a noninter ven shall list approach to outside our borders. we are in a world economy. anything that goes on the in in the world impacts us. we are trading -- most of the s&p 500 stocks get a lot of growth by doing business outside our borders. ron paul and his policies will not be good for the 401k plans of most americans. >> wow, all right. ed, you are -- you share your points open and honestly. we thank you and good day to you, sir. >> thank you. he's been up and he's been down. we will ask newt gingrich where he thinks he will end up when all is said and done in iowa and much more. our live interview with the presidential candidate coming up. and hundreds of new laws are hitting the books including one that is probably making some drinkers sad by effectively banning happy hour. and burning the american flag isn't illegal, but some occupy protesters are doing just that to get arrested. we'll explain why next.

i apologize to anyone offended by my actions, but i do not apologize for the burning of the flag as it is my constitutional right to do so. >> that man you are looking at was one of four occupy yes, sirs -- occupiers arrested in charlotte, north carolina. they are accused of burning american flags. now burning an american flag is not illegal. it is considered a form of expression under the first amendment. since they set the fire outside a fire pit and within 10 feet of flammable tents they are being charged with being careless with the fire. the occupy charlotte group as a whole has made it clear that they do not support flag burning. chief justice john roberts talked about when they shoo recues themselves from cases. it came up in a challenge to

the president's healthcare law. 134* have said justin elena kagin should recues herself. others say justice clarence thomas should remove himself from the case because of his wife's affiliation with groups campaigning against the law. in his year-end report, justice roberts says it must rest with the justices themselves and they point out unlike the lower courts where the judges can be replaced and he recaused themselves, that is not the case as the court of last resort. we have said happy new year to you, and with the new year come new state laws that are now in affect. 40,000 new laws to be exact. and for many, some of the laws could affect things that you use every day like your cell phone for example. julie ban -- julie banderas is in new york with a look at the

new laws of the julie? >> too many if you ask me. i can't tell you about every one, about 40,000 new laws take affect changing the rules on everything from public schools in california, adding gays and lesbians to the curriculum to banning happy hour in one state. many of the laws reflect the nation's concerns over immigration and worker verification. alabama with the country's toughest immigration law will require all employers who do business with any government entity to use a system called e verify to check that all employees are in the country legally. georgia, tennessee and south carolina are putting similar laws into affect. california is addressing illegal immigration. the california dream act expands eligibility for private scholarships to students brought to the country illegally when they were infants. also in california, gays, lesbians and people with disabilities are being added to the list of social and ethnic groups whose contributions must be taught in history lessons in public schools.

and if you are i can making minute -- minimum wage, eight states are raising it including arizona, oregon, washington, montana, colorado, ohio, vermont and flay you flaw. several federal rules change with the new year as well including a social security increase amounting to $450 a year for the average recipient. also more accountability for young people. in new hampshire a you law requiring girls seeking abortions to tell their parents or a judge first was reen reinstated by conservative republicans. recreational changes to tell you about as well in georgia new safety requirements going into affect for cities that allow drivers to steer their golf carts off the green and on to roads and multi use paths including brakes, reverse warning devices and a horn. very important. and in utah, new laws making any daily drink specials illegal, essentially banning happy hour, kelly. >> oh my. that could be a sad hour. thanks, julie. it is the first day of 2012. how are you doing on your resolutions? losing the weight

yet? how about staying positive all year long, that's a good one. we will talk to a man who knows something about being positive later on in the show. and starting the new year by helping the homeless and less fortunate, country music star candy christmas joins us to talk about what inspired her new music.

here is a look at some of your top stories here on america's news headquarters. mitt romney and ron paul are neck and neck in the latest poll out of iowa. rick santorum moves in behind them with 15%. nearly half of those polled say they could still change their mind before the caucus.

some people in ohio are assessing the damage done by an earthquake that struck this weekend. the 4.0 magnitude quake hit on saturday afternoon leaving cracks in the walls and the chimneys. that was the 11th earthquake to hit in 2011. and a broken watermain causes big problems in denver, colorado. thousands of gallons of water gushing into the street damaging cars and homes and causing a driving nightmare. no word on what caused the pipe to burst and those are your top stories of the day. during the holiday, it is important to remember those who are less fortunate. we hope our next guest's story inspires you to do just that. she is a gospel and country singer who has created an organization to feed and clothe the homeless. it is called the bridge ministry and it is found with candy christmas in nashville where she started it all. today's economy, candy, poverty has increased causing

many families to be homeless, men, women and children, the working poor. what are you doing about it in nashville? >> well, i found a local bridge where i learned there were hundreds of homeless people living along the river that runs through downtown nashville and that's where the homeless people camp. eight years ago i started taking a pot of jumbalia down to the river and feeding the homeless people. we fed 1200 people a hot meal last year. we have many, many volunteerswho help us. we unload trucks and pallets of groceries we feed the poor, the homeless and the working poor, and it is the joy of my life. it is what gets me up in the mornings. >> that's a wonderful thing and very celebrated throughout nashville. there are a lot of people helping. my understanding is you have not asked for any help from the government. where do you find the resource to actually help thousands of families in need in nashville?

>> just good hearted american people who hear what we are doing and they want to get involved and ask how they can help and they give gifts or donations to help us do that. and we see our numbers increasing not just the chronically homeless anymore, but it is families with children and single parents who are trying to connect the dots and have children to feed. the dynamic has completely changed in the last eight years. >> that's heartbreaking. so many people are working to take care of their families. and i was with you recently in nashville, and you took me on a tour through your warehouse, and we were actually walking through the massive 20,000 square feet of warehouse where you have food and clothing and so many things that the homeless and working families need. tell me about that warehouse and what you were able to provide for the homeless people in nashville. >> we have refrigeration where we can house vegetables and

perishables. we have dried guest and peanut products. i have about 9,000 blankets geting ready for the cold weather in nashville. it is still pretty warm, but we are expecting cold weather on the way. we have plenty of blankets and sleeping bags. we gave away a thousand sleeping bags to the homeless on december 20th. it is a great feeling to be able to help people who really are in need. >> candy, have i to jump in and i have to get this answer before we go. are you an american citizen and have achieved the american dream, yet you are giving back to help so many in need. why do you do it and how can others join in to help you where the homeless problems exist? >> well, kelly, i started out because i had depression. i suffer depression, and i was self-absorbed, i guess you could say. when i met people who had real needs and i could help in a tangible way by just giving a blanket or a hot meal, then it

motivated me, and all of a sudden i realized i am not depressed anymore because i can help people with real problems. i encourage people if you want to come to nashville come and help me, bridge ministry .org or find the poor in your community and you will be spriepsed where you find people playing with the children on the playground are children who have needs jie. repeat the website again please? >> bridge ministry .org. >> candy christmas, god bless you on this new year's day for what you do. >> thank you so much. >> god bless you, kelly, thank you. >> what a wonderful thing she is doing right there. newt gingrich has been up and down in the polls. how are things looking for him in iowa? we will ask the former speaker himself. a live interview with newt gingrich coming up.

there is so much focus going on in iowa. so much focus on it because between now and tuesday they are all basically doing everything they possibly can to able to win the iowa caucuses. so we want to continue to follow that as soon as we can. that. as soon as we can we will be hearing from newt gingrich to talk about his penn in the poll, how he is slipping and what he can do about it. meantime, 2011 was quite an eventful 12 months from the so-called arab spring to the end of the war in iraq. year. hope for a better year ahead and of course resolution. but just days into 2011, chaos and unspeakable violence

erupted at a grocery store parking lot in arizona. >> gunfire interrupted a political event near tucson. a gunman shot congresswoman gabby giffords in the head and wounded 18 others six killed. giffords survived the the assassination attempt and a triumphant return to washington a few months later. a wave of unrest in northern africa and citizens toppled the long-time leaders in tunisia and egypt. but it was the dangerous dictator of libya, muammar qaddafi who put up the biggest fight. his 40-year rein of terror finally came to a gruesome end when fighters killed him in his hometown in october. the air -- the arab spring as it was known as continued into the fall. march 11th, a massive earthquake shook japan. the magazine knew tude 8.9 quake unleashed a devastating tsunami and triggered a meltdown at this power plant. a stormy spring in the u.s.

meteorologists said there were more than 750 tornados in april alone. hundreds of people were killed. but the hardest hit city was joplin, missouri. a powerful ef5 tornado left 157 people dead making the joplin twister the deadliest in decades. a new era of british royalty began when prince william and began when prince william and vows. may 1st, a dramatic late night announcement from the commander-in-chief. a team lead by navy seals swooped into this compound in pakistan where they said they found osama bin laden, the seals reportedly shot him in the face and defense officials officials say the world's most wanted man was later buried at sea. uncle sam p maxed out his credit card. lawmakers spent much of the summer fighting before ultimately increasing the more money. who is in and who is out?

>> i'm running for president of the united states. >> as a candidate for president of the united states. >> i'm announcing my candidacy for president of the united states. >> i'm suspending my presidential campaign. >> reporter: race for the white house began to take shape. >> we the jury find the defendant not guilty. >> a jury acquitted casey anthony of charge she's killed anthony of charges she killed her two-year-old daughter caylee anthony. one juror said it was a horrible decision to make but that there was reasonable doubt. shuttle atlantis roared into space. her flight and the last for the 30-year-old shuttle program. a historic hurricane made landfall in north carolina. irene didn't stop there. it tracked up the eastern seaboard from d.c. to maine. ♪ september 11. the nation marked ten years since the worst terror attack

on u.s. soil. a new memorial opened in the and another in shanksville, pennsylvania. >> the true legacy of 9/11 is the bonds are thicker and the resolve is firmer. the millions of lives thrown in concrete. >> occupy wall street started started as a single protest in downtown new york and it exploded into a global movement. the 99%ers as they called themselves lashed out at the wealthy 1%. >> the most amazing iphone ever. ever. >> apple unveiled its latest gadget in early fall but the news was quickly overshadowed by the death of the company's iconic co--founder steve jobs. >> we the jury in the above entitled action find the

defendant conrad robert murray guilty. >> reporter: two years after michael jackson died, jurors convicted his personal physician of involuntary manslaughter. weeks later a judge sentenced him. after eight years and thousands of casualties, the white house ordered virtually all troops out of iraq. >> it is good to know that i am a part of history, and it is good to know that i am leaving iraq a more stable country. >> mid-december, the death of yet another tyrant. authority korean state television reported the dear leader kim gung ill died of a massive heart attack. 2012 begins with a flurry of caucuses and primaries as politics returns to the spotlight for november's presidential election. and the pentagon, we will cover it all as it happens. shepherd smith, fox news.

>> as we mentioned, the iowa caucus is just two days away and the final push is on. meantime, five of the presidential hopefuls have signed on in hopes of getting their names on the virginia ballot. joining us with more is larry sabato, the director of the university of virginia center for politics. always good to see you. let's talk -- >> thank you. >> thank you. let's talk about what is going on in virginia right now. we underand it that the attorney general may be filing emergency legislation to try to get the ballots opened for the five remaining candidates? >> yes. that is a part of the deal. you know, this is in court, perry has take then to court and yesterday it was learned that all of the other republican candidates who failed to make the ballot either because they didn't submit enough sittings or because they didn't even

attempt to submit signatures are also joining in on the lawsuit. separately and more realistically in terms of trying to get the other names on the ballot is an effort to pass emergency legislation. the general assembly of virginia comes in next week, not this week but the following week and they would have to act almost immediately and 80% of the membership in both houses would have to agree to this emergency legislation which would then have to be signed by the governor to get this to happen. the chances, frankly, are slim and i'm being generous but that is what is going on. >> we still don't know what is going to happen in terms of getting newt gingrich, michele bachmann, rick perry and others on that because right now it is only mitt romney and ron paul on. while we are talking about the candidates looking at virginia, all eyes are on iowa because as you know, larry, is tuesday, the iowa caucuses, the countdown time to tuesday and i

will bring you carl cameron right now, who is in iowa as well. ask you a question about who do you see actually not only the frontrunner status but you actually winning this? it is hard to predict, isn't it, carl? >> sure, when you are talking about a state of 3 million people and the caucus is only going to be 120,000 of them in a multicandidate field somebody could win this with 40 or 50,000 votes which is not a heavy lift for a presidential campaign with tens of millions already spent and hundreds of millions spent before it is over. rick santorum looks like the guy getting all of the attention certainly on cable and elsewhere. every four years the caucus comes up with some come from behind conservative. last time around it was mike huckabee. everybody outside of iowa acts as though it is a big shocker and surprise that the conservatives surge at the end. often social conservatives, particularly in iowa. and yet it always happens and it is generally the candidate who got out early, came often,

did the most retail politicking, worked hardest, has a reputation, has a history, and has some degree of electability. and because the polls are suggesting that santorum is surging a lot of iowa wans are thinking that he must therefore be electable and the polls surge even more. >> a good point because he actually spent a year out there campaigning and working hard with the retail politics and larry, it looks like some of that hard work is paying off because of his show in the polls. what will it mean for santorum beyond iowa and for that matter, larry, does iowa really matter? >> that is a great question because if you look historically while iowa is a great state it really doesn't pick presidents all that often. doesn't pick presidential nominees. frequently because of the nature of the iowa republican electorate iowa picks a more conservative candidate than many other republican state primaries and even caucuses. new hampshire would be unlikely, say, to vote for

santorum if he were to win the iowa caucuses. santorum could get launched into contention, though, in a place like, south carolina, which comes right after new hampshire. so we are in for an exciting evening tuesday and, frankly, romney, paul or santorum could end up winning those caucuses. >> as you know, larry, carl is going to be right there tuesday evening. i was going to bring you in, carl, go ahead. >> i want to ask our pal larry a question. hi there, happy new year. >> happy new year to you, too. >> thanks, pal. i appreciate it. tell me what you think the absence of retail has been, a lot less in new hampshire and south carolina. what has supplanted it and what are the consequences? >> less this time around mainly because of the 13 debates held prior to the iowa caucuses. absolutely unprecedented to have that many debates in one party the way we have had in

2011, the year passed. now, having said that, if santorum does well, he is one of only two candidates along with michele bachmann who visited all 99 counties in iowa. so to some degree that contradicts the new conventional wisdom that the old conventional wisdom is wrong. maybe organization, going door to door, voter to voter in iowa still matters. >> does that mean -- i guess my question then for kelly and you can answer this one too. does that mean that we in the media, reporters out here freezing our tails off on the campaign trail, have we not given you enough attention on the trail of the candidates meeting real people? have the debates eclipsed what matters most? >> i have been out there with fanny 2004 freezing my fan any off as well just like you and what you get is a sense that the people of iowa love what they do and love the attention they get being the first of the

caucuses in the nation to hopefully go on and pick a president. as larry was talking about, we have not seen that as a consistent basis. many people, critics of iowa have gone out on a limb to say maybe iowa should be no more. what i was going to ask you, the people of iowa, they are not going to stand for that, are they? >> and you can't change the rules of the game without talking to the actual players. candidates come to iowa and until they stop, iowa will be relevant. same thing with new hampshire and south carolina. i have to be perfectly honest here, i will argue my objectivity on any story on the planet but when it comes to the first in the nation states, i'm a kid from new hampshire. first in the nation primary voters and caucus voters do take it ernestly and provide a service. you can argue all kinds of faults but until such time as the candidates stop playing and these playing fields they will be where the game is played out. >> and carl makes a valid

point, do you think iowa would be played out because the candidates will continually go there and they will be invited and show up and do the retail politics. because of the 13 debates this year has been kind of different. we haven't seen it as much. to be honest and fair to the people of iowa some have been offended by that because they wanted to see their candidates up close and personal. >> well, you know, people who say that iowa or new hampshire or south carolina are going go away have foregotten about one thing. our system, our presidential primary system is built on super uber federalism. that is every state gets a veto poured concreter in -- power in essence over all of the other states. the truth is iowa and new hampshire and probably south carolina will move into the year prior to the presidential election if they have to in order to maintain their first in the nation status. so, as long as iowa and new hampshire, south carolina and other os define themselves by

having that first primary or caucus, we are going to continue to go to them first. >> and such an unpredictable season. go ahead, carl. >> gives an opportunity for candidates who don't have a lot of money to get hurt. rick santorum doesn't have the money to compete against the other candidates. since he has surged in the polls more donations are coming in. iowa allowed him to make connections and friends and get things going here. only talking about a universe of 120,000 votes. in new york or california or florida where it is a multimedia, multicity media market and millions of dollars have to be spent some of these other apts would never get herd, they would get stomped out in the first contest. >> thank you for sharing your insights. larry we ex-appreciate your keen perspective. we want to move on right now and we will get back to those gentlemen later on it today.

we want to talk to someone involved very much so in iowa, newt gingrich. he has hat a rollercoaster ride in the polls as you know. he is now trailing in iowa. probably surprised himself ahead of tuesday's caucus. he is fighting to get on virginia's super tuesday ballot which we just discussed a larry sabato and taking aim at the justice department over their opposition to south carolina's i.d. law. hour number two of america's news headquarters starting right now with the former house speaker himself joining us live from ames, iowa. speaker gingrich, good to have you today, sir. >> good to be with you. >> newt, we have a lot of ground to cover and i know all political eyes for the moment are in iowa. only mitt romney and ron paul are currently on the ballot in virginia because you and the other candidates weren't able to acquire the required 10,000 signatures. there is news that the virginia

attorney general is filing to reopen the process to gop candidates like yourself. give us your thoughts on that action and will it work? >> what really matters is the voters of virginia. they ought to have the right to choose among all of the major candidates and the process, though, is so convoluted that only two candidates who had run before actually made it. governor perry didn't make it. governor huntsman didn't make it. congress woman bachmann, senator santorum and i didn't make it. all five of the candidates who did no the make it came together and said to the court that we thought that the voters deserved the right to choose among all of us, particularly when you look at polls that indicate that iowa is the frontrunner and that the two who did get it would have between them about 35% of the vote. i think the attorney general is indicating his concern not for us but for the voters of virginia having the right to choose and not having a political system stop them from having that right.

>> and, of course, we know you definitely want to be on that some super tuesday, march 6, you and the other candidates want to be on that because it is a delicate a rich state. >> absolutely. >> let's get back to iowa. you were once the frontrunner there but now trailing in the polls behind rick santorum. do you think the negative attack ads on you have caused the slip? >> sure, when you read a recent political analysis that governor romney spent i think $3.5 million in attack ads, all of them aimed at me and then add to that a little attack from ron pul paul and a littlet from rick perry. i have been encouraged, though, the last few days. art laffer endorsed me. a popular local radio commentary endorsed me. the former head of the american farm bureau switched from romney to me he. there are a number of steps moving in our direction. yesterday we had a telephone

town hall meeting. we had 22,000 people on the town hall meeting. that was, frankly, pretty encouraging. >> you have been a prognosticator of the iowa caucus in the past. we can never predict what is going to happen in the caucuses. let's look beyond iowa. how well do you have to do in new hampshire before you go to south carolina and then on to florida and nevada? >> i think we have to be competitive here, which we are. we have to be competitive in new hampshire which has to be romney's for treasure. he worked there for three years. he has lived there. he has to win that by a huge margin. a narrow win will be the equivalent of a defeat. then go to south carolina and to florida which will be much more conservative territory and i think a massachusetts moderate is going to have a very, very hard time succeeding in that kind of environment. so i think that you will see the race stablize over the next month and i think people have a clear choice between a genuine

conservative and somebody who, by every possible standard is simply a moderate. >> newt, real quickly. tell me about your thoughts on south carolina and you have eck of expressed your disapproval over the federal government making a legal challenge over south carolina's desire to have voters present some form of voter identification. why? >> let me say this is the second time recently the federal government has gotten involved in south carolina. they first sued, south carolina, over their immigration law and my position is we ought to have absolute control of the border and until we have absolute control of the border it is totally wrong for the federal government to sue any state, arizona, alabama, south carolina, because they are acting because the feds have failed to do their job. now, you have the attorney general with this very bizarre theory that proving who you are is somehow wrong. i think every american has a right to demand that our elections be honest and we have some way of knowing who is actually voting. that we don't have dead people

voting. we don't have people voting illegally. we don't have people voting who may not have the correct registration and i think that it is again an example of the obama administration's reliance on being able to win by cheating that they are somehow frightened of having an honest election and this is the kind of lawsuit i would drop the very first day if i became president. >> all right. and i wanted to ask you so many more questions but we are running out of time. newt gingrich i thank you for joining us this afternoon and i wish you all the best. >> good to be with you. >> and happy new year to you and calista as well. >> thank you very much. >> you will hear more from the candidates coming up on fox news sunday. check your local listings for time and channel. this is a news alert. word coming in that israeli and palestinian peace negotiators will meet this week for the

first time in more than a year. a palestinian official confirming the meeting set for tuesday in jordan. it will not be a formal negotiation but palestinian officials say both sides will get to exchange positions on key issues of security and borders. and as the arab spring carries over into the new year, developing situations in syria and yemen continue in the region's cry for democracy. leland is live in jerusalem with more details about this. leland, good day to you, sir. >> reporter: good day and happy new year to you, kelly. seems as though the new year has not brought an end to the violence in syria. 250 people killed in just the past week since the arab league monitors showed up there. sinces like the violence is getting worse and the arab league is talking about pulling the monitors out because this they say it is a way for the regime to cover up killing more of its people. the video shows a number of

arrests. reports of a large amount of violence there inside steeria. syria. the security forces at times have shelled entire neighborhoods. there is 150 observers and we have heard reports of them having to pick up cell phones and call the syrian government to say stop shooting because we are in the area, supposedly to monitor the fact that you should not be shooting any more. the observers themselves are powerless to stop any of the violence there. president asaad has been told by many people in the world to stop that in yemen. more protests as well. they want president saleh to be put on trial. meantime, president saleh has asked to come to the united states for medical treatment. the white house is still reaching a decision on that one. back to you. >> leland vittert, thank you very much. while there are a lot of predictions for 2012. one man has some advice on how to make better things happen in

2012 rather than waiting for them to happen. a well known pastor joins us for more on that. and we will ask him about rumors of a reality show. and the latest on the hunt underway right now for a serial arsonist. >> after nearly 40 fires have been intentionally set the last several days around los angeles. i'm casey stegall. a live update coming your way, next. sweetie i think you need a little extra fiber in your diet. carol. fiber makes me sad. oh common. and how can you talk to me about fiber while you are eating a candy bar? you enjoy that. i am. [ male announcer ] fiber beyond recognition. fiber one. and then treats day after day... well that's like checking on your burgers after they're burnt! [ male announcer ] treat your frequent heartburn by blocking the acid wi prilosec otc. and don't get heartburn in the first place! [ male announcer ] one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn.

i got my keys and moved my car and while everyone else was yelling fire and getting out. >> a terrible thing. whoever is doing this is a terrible person. >> that is what one california man thinks about the four new you car fires that were started last night. they appear to be the latest in

a string of arson attacks. about 40 cars have been torched since friday. casey stegall comes to us live now from l.a. with details. casey? >> reporter: kelly, a frightening situation. investigators believe that multiple people may be responsible for this string of fires. police have interviewed dozens of witnesses but so far no solid leaves have emerged. all of the blazes have eery similarities. a vehicle intentionally set on fire. underarked in car ports residential units. several thousand dollars worth of damage already reported. the total estimate still coming in. fortunately, no serious injuries. the fires happening in hollywood and west hollywood and spilling north into the san fernando valley. dozens of people cent running from their homes in the dark of night. >> we were in bed and my wife heard some popping noises and

looked around because we had heard about the fires and so she ran outside and said hey, our neighbor's house is on fire. so we just ran over and i got a hose and started putting it out and she called the police and luckily it was just a car, it didn't get to the house. >> reporter: now, up to $60,000 in reward is be being offered o any one who can help nab the suspect or suspects. tactical alert has been issued giving the police and fire departments the ability to bring in more resources in terms of investigators and patrols. even the feds now involved. there is an increased police presence in the area, eyes peeled for anything suspicious. authorities also asking for the public for help. they are telling residents of these densely populated areas to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity and call 911 right away if they see something that doesn't quite look right. kelly? >> the publisher can help in that case.

>> reporter: yes, they can. >> the great lakes are starting 2012 with a winter storm warning already. a storm system moving towards parts of michigan could bearing more than a foot of snow and some gusty winds making travel dangerous in the area. parts of western maryland, west virginia and virginia could also see snow from the system by tomorrow. well, what is it going to take to win iowa? we have been talking about it this afternoon. steve brown is there to bring us all the details. that is coming up. >> reporter: kelly, it requires phone calls. thousands of phone calls. on new year's day and maybe hundreds of out-of-state friends. we'll have a live report, coming up. [ male announcer ] cranberry juice? wake up! ♪ that's good morning, veggie style.

hmmm [ male announcer ] for half the calories -- plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8.

iran claims to have reached a nuke milestone, the west thought it wasn't capable of. doug mcelway is standing by with the top of the news. >> iran says it has produced the nation's first nuclear fuel rod it says it had to manufacture its own rod since international sanctions ban it from buying them. iran claims its nuclear program is for producing energy but the west fears it is making atomic weapons. a poll by the des moines register finds 41% of likely caucus goers are still undecided or might change their minds. with the vote two days away now, mitt romney and ron paul in is statistical dead heat and rick santorum surged into third place.

the los angeles fire department on heightened alert. since friday, 40 cars have been torched in and around hollywood with some fires spreading to homes and buildings now. authorities are offering a reward of at least $35,000 for information leading to a conviction. and the moon now has a moon of its own. after a more than three month journey, nasa's grail a moon probe slipped into orbit. its twin will enter lunar orbit sometime today. gravityl study lunar gravity and the moon's composition. back to you. with just two days until the iowa caucuses, gop candidates are hoping to surge at just the right time. the candidates have traded positions in the polls several times, leaving many candidates to believe that it is any one's is race. steve brown is in urbandale, iowa, with a look at what the candidates are doing to make sure the voters settle on them. steve? >> reporter: hey there, kelly. we are outside the rick santorum iowa head quarters and it is years day.

on top of it, it is a sunday but inside there are volunteers working the phones calling folks at home on the holiday to try and urge them to get out to the caucuses on tuesday night for rick santorum. santorum is the buzz candidate in iowa. he has been on a sharp increase in the polling numbers. he has pushed himself into third place and there is a sentiment out there that he is the campaign to watch in the closing days. so his organization is trying to make sure that they can cash in on those polling numbers and that increased attention. the newt gingrich campaign has had the opposite happen to them here in the month of december in iowa. falling poll numbers and open questions as to whether or not they can put together a ground game to get people out to caucuses on tuesday night. but one gingrich supporter here in iowa says there is a lot more to the campaign than meets the eye. >> over the past several days we have tripled and then tripled again the people that are prepared to speak at precinct caucuses and prepared

to man phones and do the work that it takes to get this caucus all completed. >> reporter: and rick perry seems to have a very dedicated bunch that isn't bothered by making a rather long drive or taking a flight to iowa to help him out. a strike force of a couple hundred. perry himself described the number as 350. other reports are 500 folks who have come in to help out in the coming weeks. some volunteering their time and making their own way to make sure that their ground game effort is off to a good push as we head towards tuesday night. kelly? >> steve, thank you very much. have a good day. well, romney, mitt romney holds a spot at the top of the polls and while rick santorum continues to gain ground there, many in iowa say they could change their minds before tuesday. joining us is fox news politics

editor and anchor of power play chris. and also my office roommate. >> happy new year, roomie. how are you doing. >> it as little rowdy here. the ap history and politics class from taylor high school down in cincinnati. a rowdy crew, i got to tell you. very rough down here, kelly. very rowdy. here is the vibe and here is what is consequential in iowa. as you say, for romney a win here could be the decisive moment for him because if you have a low turnout affair, republicans can't -- the conservative republicans can't unit behind one choice, be it perry, gingrich, be it bachmann, be it santorum. if they can't get behind one choice and there is low turnout and romney wins here it could be the beginning of the end of the republican nominating process and a speedy process.

conversely, and this is what really matters here. if either newt gingrich or rick prosecutorrperry defeat mitt rn iowa or throughout the process, if one of those two guys who have money, organization, national name identification, governor of a big state, former speaker of the house, if any of them succeed in beating romney here or anywhere it could be problematic. >> what happens if ron paul should win in iowa? >> then mitt romney is probably happy because ron paul doesn't have an organization, he doesn't have the kind of depth that can do that. and he is well known but he is not a unifying figure among republicans. some people love him very much, some people hate him. he can't put it together in that way. if ron paul wins iowa, it is fine for mitt romney because again as long as it is never gingrich or perry, it is

neither gingrich nor perry then mitt romney is probably happy with whoever wins. >> and going to new hampshire mitt romney looks very strong there as. no matter how he does in iowa except if it is newt or rick santorum he will kind of sail through new hampshire and perhaps then go into south carolina. >> but he has got to do a big number in new hampshire and that is just it. look, if he wins here in iowa, it is sort of it is whatever and what does in new hampshire doesn't matter. if he doesn't win in iowa and then he goes to new hampshire and jon huntsman is up there waiting for him. he has been focusing on new hampshire, sandbagging. romney has to do a big number. 15 points, maybe 20 points in order to demonstrate that campaigning there and governing the state next door has paid off. people know him and will vote for him. >> say hello to your rowdy friend there's and happy new year as well. >> while the iowa caucuses often served as an indication

which candidate might win the party nomination it is certainly not a guarantee as we talked about and as history has shown us, it is a long road until november and a lot can change. in fact, remember what happened in the last iowa republican caucus? mike huckabee had a big win over competitors including mitt romney and john mccain who eventually went on to secure the nomination. and then back in 1992, long-time iowa senator tom harkin won in a landslide while future president bill clinton got less than 3% of that vote. fox news is there in every city with all of the candidates tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern an america's election headquarters special for you hosted by bret baier and ma may megyn kelly.

from deadly tornadoes to wicked winter storms folks across the country had plenty to deal with in 2011. fox news meteorologist janice dean takes a look at this years if wow weather storys. >> mother nature hitting the u.s. with plenty of surprises this year. from hurricanes to an unexpected nor'easter, the headlines in 2011 were filled with stories of wild weather and natural disasters. a busy year for firefighters in the west and southwest. triplele digit temperatures and dry conditions sparking thousands of wildfires in texas. the most dove statin devastatin the state's history destroyed over 30,000 acres. and a deadly year for tornadoes. dangerous twisters ripping across the south back in april, reducing thousands of homes to rubble and killing more than 300 people across seven states. in alabama alone, more than 200 people were killed.

>> we got -- >> then in may, a powerful ef 5 tornado touching down in joplin, missouri. completely destroying the small town and killing about 150 people. in august, hurricane irene slammed states all alongae the east coast. the storm destroying homes, flooding roads and knocking down power lines. irene also creating a messy situation in maryland. check out ocean city and this reporter completely covered in foam. >> and in vermont, a dam is compromised, causing hundreds to leave their homes. it was insult added to injury for arizona as a giant dust storm and record-breaking temperatures swept across parts of the state. in august, temperatures reaching a sizzling 117 degrees. filthy clouds of fog known as a haboob leaving residents' lungs

filled with dirt, debris. so the mighty, mississippi cresting at levels not seen in decades. april showers leaving a massive path of destruction along, mississippi, louisiana and tennessee. for many residents it will be a long time before the floods of 2011 are a distant memory. and old man winter striking with an icy fist back in february. snow and ice walloping much of the u.s. from texas to new england. making it one of the biggest and worst winter storms since the 1950s. the windy city receiving the brunt of the storm with more than 20 inches of snow, making this the third largest snowstorm on record to hit chicago. hundreds of thousands of people losing power, schools shutting down, businesses closed. and an unusually powerful october nor'easter dumbed heavy

wet snow from maine to maryland. millions of people in new jersey, massachusetts and connecticut left without power for several days. the record-breaking storm blamed for three deaths including a 20-year-old man in massachusetts who was electrocuted. and that was the year are in wild weather. we can only hope that old man winter goes a little easier on us this year. in new york, janice dean, fox news. all right, thanks, janice. be one couple's new year's resolution to start the year together forever. we'll have the story behind the romantic moment coming up. and he is one of the most popular television ministers in america today. he will join us live with tips on how to start 2012 in a positive frame of mind.

well, this is for all of you hopeless romantics out there as more than a million new year's revelers waited for the ball to drop in new york city, a couple was talking about their three year relationship on the nivea kiss stage and when they were told they could kiss each other, this brave man took the opportunity to do something else. >> you can kiss. you can say i love you. you can do whatever you want in front of a million and a half people right here in times square. do whatever you want. you can start us up. what do you want to do? >> take it away. >> he's down on bended knee. >> would you marry me? >> oh, my god! yes! >> what a moment. no word on a wedding date yet but a happy start to the new year for this lovely couple.

that is nice. and as we draw closer to the start of the gop primaries, immigration is a hot button topic for the candidates as they hit the campaign trail. should amnesty be granted for illegal immigrants that have been in the united states for more than 25 years? joining us now is someone that has lived the story personally. dr. alfredo, a director of the brain tumor surgery program at johns hopkins university. welcome to you, sir. always a pleasure to talk to you. it has been awhile. i want to talk to you about this whole situation where the republicans have been talking about immigration issues and you experienced this yourself because you came into the country years ago as an illegal. tell us about your experience. >> first of all, thank you, kelly for having me and happy new year to you and everybody who is watching us. you are absolutely right. i came to this country over 20 years ago. first, you know, just like many

poor people with a dream of making a better life for myself and for my family and here i am now as a faculty, as a brain surgeon at the number one hospital in the united states and possibly the world, johns hopkins. living that american dream that many of us have lived and have tried to fulfill. the way that it happened to me was through, you know, back in the 1980s, with ronald reagan and the amnesty, i really didn't come through that precise program. it was a legislation, immigration reform of california that gave ability to people like myself working in the fields to pay a certain amount of money to begin a legalization process that allowed me to work first legally and then after paying taxes and going to school get a temporary residency that eventually became a permanent residency and eventually became a citizenship by the time i was

at harvard for medical school. and as you know, i recently wrote a book about my life becoming a doctor and i talk in great detail about this incredible journey that i had as i came to this country. >> and dr., i have met with you over at johns hopkins and seen the work that you do and the students respond to you. this whole immigration issue that is being discussed, though, you are quite an exception because you you came here as a m migrant worker. you were pulling fish and now you are a doctor with the skills of a surgeon. you are saving live. what does that pass on to candidates out there as they look at the whole immigration issue? >> i think that it puts the topic right in front of a lot of people who want to demonize all of the people who have come to this country with just the idea of fulfilling the american dream. you are absolutely right, the very same hands used to be the hands that picked the tomatoes

in the fields that fed so many people and now are taking care of humans and taking out brain tumors and literally saving lives on a regular basis at johns hopkins. i think that one of the things that is clear to me is that there is a lot of great people in this country that understand the complexity of this issue and i, you know, many people ask me regularly, how do you solve this issue and i say you know, i spent my whole life trying to become a neurosurgeon and a scientist so i can cure brain cancer and i certainly don't have an answer but my experience in this country can provide in some way sort of the beginnings of establishing a conversation and nowadays we are at a critical juncture in our country to do that. >> so good to see you and thanks for sharing your perspective and your story with us. it is a fascinating story and so good to have you as an

american citizen working on saving lives throughout america and the world. happy new year to you, sir. >> same to you, kelly. thank you very much. happy new year. >> after seeing a story like that we are reminded, however, that we live in a time of doom and gloom and it is easy to get caught up in the negative opinions. fortunately, the doctor did not. attitudes is and thoughts around us. joel osteen will give us tips and how to keep a positive outlook in the new year. hey, joel. i habe a cohd. yeah, i toog nyguil bud i'm stild stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't un-stuff your nose. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your stuffy nose. [ deep breath ] thank you! that's the cold truth!

here is a look at some of your top stories here on america's news headquarters. mitt romney and ron paul are neck and neck in the latest poll out of iowa. rick santorum who is in just behind them with 15%.

meanwhile, nearly half of those polled say they could still change their mind before the caucus. and some people in ohio assessing the damage done by an earthquake that struck this weekend. the 4.0 magnitude quake hit saturday afternoon, leaving cracks in walls and chimneys. that was the 11th earthquake to hit in 2011. a broken water main causes big problems in denver, colorado. thousands of gallons of water gushing into the streets, damaging cars and homes and caughting a driving nightmare. no word on what caused the pipe to burst and those are your top stories of the day. unfortunately, so much of what we see, hear and read about is negative. how do we keep your glasses half full instead of half empty? joining me now to put a positive outlook on things is joel osteen from the lakewood church in houston, texas.

happy new year to you and your family and the wonderful people in lakewood. how do we look at this new year, 2012? , and make it a positive experience for us? >> kelly, i think the first thing is you have to let go of what didn't work out in 2011. as long as you are bringing baggage of disappointment and who hurt me and the mistakes i made, as long as you are bringing that into the new year it is going to poison your future. say you know what, i will start fresh and anew. god has a great plan for my life and i will let go of what didn't work out and move forward in faith. when you do that, that is what allows great things to come into your life. >> with that, joe, doesn't it require forgiveness of people and their problems with us but forgiving ourselves as well? >> it really does. i learned, i talked to people, they can forgive others but have a hard time forgiving themselves. they made mistakes.

i talked to a guy just recently, messed up his marriage, he doesn't have his family and it is just difficult. you have to say god i believe you have forgiven me, i'm going to move forward and learn from my mistakes, move forward and do better next time. >> i see you have trouble there but i hope you are okay and can hear us. this morning i was talking to a shoe shine man, 59 years old and i asked him what does he look forward to this new year. he said i look forward to god's grace providing for me so that i can help maintain my outreach to families and friends. shoe shine man getting a crystal clear idea of how he can make his new year positive. can we all be like that? >> what a great example. because life is all about giving. i have learned this kelly, if you will make somebody else's day god will make your own day. sometimes we get so focused on my problems and my challenges and what i did wrong. get outside of yourself and say i'm going to help somebody else

today. make their day. bake them a cake. call somebody, encourage them. that is going to help your life to go a lot better. >> what about today's economy, joel. it is tough out there. in for what might be a tough year again economically because of what is happening in your and other parts of the world. how do we make that count for your lives if we are not doing so well in the economy. >> you know, kelly, i think it is important you get up every day and find something to be grateful for. if you don't have your job and do have your health, thank god for your health. it is important to start the day off in faith with a grateful attitude. now, you start the day is going to determine what kind of day you are going to have. i really believe all of us have something to be grateful for. we may not have exactly what we would like but we have some reason we can be grateful. >> and real quickly, i want to talk about how it is always good to be grateful for relationships with our family, our friends, our employers, everything. >> it really is. i think sometimes we take for

granted the people that mean the most for us. it is important every day to appreciate the people in your life. tell them that you love them and in one sense live every day like this could be your last. life is too short to live it negative, discouraged, taking people for granted. a great reminder at the first of the year to tell the people in our lives that we love them. >> joel osteen, thank you for that clear perspective on how to be positive throughout the new year. i understand you are coming to the nation's capital january 28 for a night of hope. thank you very much, joel osteen. happy new year to you and yours. god bless. >> same to you, kelly. happy new year. a happy ending to the banana sam story. we'll update you on the missing 17-year-old squirrel monkey. you have heard about this guy. right after the break, stay with us.

and following up on a story we told you about yesterday. the 17-year-old squirrel monkey named banana sam has been found and returned to the san francisco zoo. according to officials, a bystander found sam hungry, trembling and thirsty but otherwise in good health. the monkey had been missing since thursday night when was stolen from the zoo. the police have no suspects. and it is the first day of 2012 and you have been tweeting us with your new year's resolutions. my resolution, to remember it is not a good idea to discuss politics with my husband. another viewer says he resolves to not make resolutions i won't keep. that is a quote from him. maryann writes make sure i willle do my part to change the presidency by campaigning and voting. thanks for sharing all of you with those resolutions. and i don't have a resolutio