bottles of crystal and 24 diet cokes to chase that down. i'd skip the cristal and have a beer! don't you think? looking for the cynical under belly of the story. happy friday, everybody! see you monday! bye! >> jen weren't you in dubai last weekend? >> jon: i thought that was the "america's newsroom" holiday! jen they have quite a crew. hi everybody, we're glad you're with us on this friday, i'm jenna lee. jon: i'm jon scott, in the fox news room, "happening now", four days and count to go new hampshire's first in the -- first in the nation primary, most candidates are there push to go win the delegates for the republican nomination, a of the six republican candidates are

hitting the trail. the candidate comfortably leading the polls, already setting his sights on another big prize, south carolina. jenna: this morning, romney visiting the palmetto state. south carolina's primary is more than two weeks away and romney's southern visit is drawing criticism from one of the contenders who skilled the iowa caucuses to focus exclusively on new hampshire. >> the establishment is teeing up mr. romney as the choice for the republican party. and i say the people of new hampshire will not be told for whom to vote. the people of new hampshire don't want a cornerration. you know what i sneen -- coronation, you know what i want? they want people to earn the vote. jenna: molly line is in new hampshire with more. what's happening now? >> reporter: as you mentioned, governor mitt romney spent the morning in south carolina. he has been down there promoting his endorsement

with john mccain, john mccain endorsed him, as well as the governor of south carolina, nicky haley and returns to the granite state tonight for a spaghetti dinner. that's the essence of what mitt romney is doing, he made a trip to south carolina and right back to the granite state, despite the criticism you hear from jon huntsman. rick santorum, also barn storming across the state, setting a tougher road. he has long held himself up to be a consistent conservative, and in that fact, he has always consistently supported his social conservatism principles. that's catching a little flack in the more liberal areas of new hampshire. he actually was booed at an event bay small contingent when asked a question about gay marriage. gay marriage is legal in the granite state. take listen. >> thank you for your time and attention. thanks. >> [booing] >> the new hampshire voters

can be tough, even if they like you and plan to vote for you, they may still ask tough questions. that is tradition here. they like to talk to the candidates, look them in the eye and ask those tough questions. newt gingrich also on the ground here, has been for the past several days doing town halls, talking to a lot of people. yesterday he said he's will to go go before the ncaap at the annual convention and talk about why african-americans should demand paychecks and not settle for food stamps. to jon huntsman, you mentioned that he kind of ripped into mitt romney as the establishment candidate. he actually, jon huntsman, has spent more time in the granite state than any of the other candidates, including mitt romney, who has a vacation home here. hey got the endorsement of the boston globe, a big endorsement that is romney's home town paper, at the same time, mitt romney was endorsed by the boston herald, the more conservative paper in the state of massachusetts. that is the state of the race, it is in flux, those

poll numbers are altering ever so slightly, romney is still holding a commanding lead. jenna: we talked about mitt romney, gingrich, huntsman, santorum. what about ron paul and rick perry? >> >> reporter: ron paul took a couple days after after his finish in iowa, went back to texas. he arrives today, has a big rally and a town hall. he is still polls second place in the granite state. rick perry also taking time off. he was reassessing his campaign, waiting for word, then he announced he was going forward on to south carolina. he will also return to the granite state this weekend. there are two debates. that will be sort of the final staging in the two debates before the candidates have the last chance to talk to the voters who head to the polls on january 10th. jenna: we'll continue to watch it, molly line, thank you. jon: a fox news alert. a deadly bombing strikes syria's capitol. syrian tv reporting a homicide bombing in damascus, killed at least 25 people, and wounded dozens

more. state media blames terrorists for the second attack on the capitol in two weeks. reena ninan is live in jerusalem for us now. do we know who's behind this attack reena? >> reporter: jon, no one has actually claimed responsibility but as you mentioned, the protestors say assad's regime is leading the protestors, calling them terrorists and the protestors against assad's regime say they are doing it, assad's regime is doing it on purpose to try and put the blame on them and get the people of syria to turn away from the protestors. we also know that syria has very well been a route for suicide bombers going into iraq, so it's not difficult to penetrate. it's hard to really tell who's behind this attack. what's interesting, jon, the area of this bombing is where antiassad protests have been growing, jon. jon: i know a lot of protests have continued on fridays. has that gone on today? >> reporter: yeah, that's right. thousands of people took to the streets throughout syria, some, in as many as

50 different locations around the country. video on the internet showed protestors running away from heavy machine gunfire that was being fired by assad's security forces. they chanted in arabic, the protestors did, calling for the world to intervene, they said if the international community did not intervene, they're calling on god to do it for them. jon. jon: reena ninan, live for us from jerusalem. thank you. jenna: provocative video and we'll continue to watch it. the military is trying to make do with a smaller duty active force, one of the changes the president announced yesterday to adapt to nearly half a trillion dollars in budget cuts in the next decade but some military historians are warning this could be a bad move and point to previous drawdowns as a lesson. jennifer griffin is taking a closer look at that for us. jennifer, what is the historic context for all of this? >> reporter: essentially they've tried this after every war since world war ii. you remember truman after world war ii drew down the

size of the army, eisenhower tried to draw down the size of the army and rely on air power on the b52 bomber, on nuclear weapons, then of course most recently, there was donald rumsfeld and the notion that at the beginning of the bush administration, before 9/11, that they could make a smaller, more lean, agile military. then the unexpected happened, 9/11, and then with the iraq war, that was supposed to be one with shock and awe. jenna: it was dejavu all over again. it was very similar to what president carter did after the vietnam experience. so it was an unpopular war, america was war-weary, they were looking for a peace dividend, the economy was in shambles, they were trying to look to cut -- somewhere cut federal spending, so they go after defense and do it off the backs of defense. >> reporter: according to military historians, there's nothing really new about the strategy that president obama rolled out yesterday to cut defense at the end of

the two wars we've been fighting. jenna: and the de intait whether it's the right strategy. k.t. mcfarland worked with the reagan administration and let's look at that particular area she was talking about, when carter made those cuts to the army. what was ronald reagan's response at the time? >> reporter: remember, the nation was very war weary after vietnam so there was high inflation rates, essentially there were 58,000 u.s. troops who had been killed in that war, nixon began the drawdown, carter carried out cuts, k.t. mcfarland as you mentioned worked in the pentagon under ronald reagan and she describes how hollow the army was when they took over. >> when i was in the reagan administration, when we came into the pentagon after that trough in defense cuts of the carter years we were stunned by what we found. we had plane that is couldn't fly, because the pilots didn't have enough hours of training to be qualified as pilots.

we had ships that couldn't sail because they didn't have fuel oil to motor rise and sail around the world. >> reporter: what historians will tell you is that the danger after these wars, when the army is cut, that that will project to america's enemies they can take advantage of the u.s., so there is concern, and some concerns that with all this going on in the world, in the persian gulf, in north korea, that it's the wrong time to project that the army is being cut, because while the pentagon officials will tell you nobody wants to fight another land war, and nobody plans to fight another land war any time soon, nobody has ever wanted to fight a land war, and the problem is when the army looks like it's weak, that's when america's adversaries take advantage of the situation, according to military historians. jenna: good point, and a lot for us to think about today. jennifer, thank you. jon: right now n. colorado, the air force academy is dealing with a sexual assault scandal, stephen klaxman, kyle cressy and

robert amenson, all three are free right now, two even attending classes at the air force academy. alicia acuna has more live from denver. >> reporter: the air force academy is planning to hold a air force conference within the next hour. we're told the way they discuss the way they go about investigating these types of charges and cadets report sexual assault. we do have details on the charges. according to documents released by the air force academy, stephen h.claxton is charged with attempting to have sex with a female cadet while substantial eincapacitated, end quote, also accused of trying to choke her, kyle a.cressey is charged with sexual assault of a victim last spring, that victim was also incapacitated and cadel robert evanson faces rape, aggravated sexual conduct and engageing in an

unprofessional relationship. officials at the academy say the three incidents were separate and happened over the course of the last 15 months. the reason it's being made public they say is each investigation wrapped up around the same time. in a statement, academy vice superintendent tamra rank wrote the accused in each case is presumed innocent until proven guilty. we take these allegations seriously, sexual misconduct with a particularly egregious offense and we have a zero tolerance policy in the air force. according to a report by the defense department, reports of sexual assault at all of america's military academies went up 50 percent in comparison to 2010, an official at the defense department says that is because now students have become much more comfortable with reporting crimes. jon. jon: alicia acuna, sad to see that kind of thing happen, and the accusations. alicia, thank you. >> exactly. jenna: this fox news alert, unemployment rate dropped to 5.8% last month, the lowest in three years, better news, of course, but is this actually sustain --

sustainable? a panel breaks down what the new numbers tell us about the jobs outlook. jon: also his favorite meal turned out to be his final meal. the evidence that suggests this billionaire was poisoned. wait until you hear who policehink is behind his murder. jenna: mitt romney, snubbed today, massachusetts' biggest paper endorses someone other than the former governor of that state. who got it? we'll tell you, coming up. [ male annouer ] juice drink too watery? ♪ feel the power my young friend. mmm! [ male announcer ] for unsurpassed fru and veggie nutrition... v8 v-fusion. could've had a v8.

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jon: let's talk a little politics now and maybe it comes with the territory of being a frontrunner. right now mitt romney's rivals are trying to present themselves as the best alternative to his candidacy and they are stepping up their attacks. adding insult to injury, for the former governor, massachusetts' largest paper, the boston globe, is opting not to back romney, who used to be governor of that state. instead, the publication is endorsing jon huntsman, former governor of utah. kevin ladrigan with is the national telegraph, his newspaper has endorsed romney for the pub li indication, it's the second largest newspaper in new hampshire and kevin, thank you very much for being with us. >> thank you for having us on. jon: let's talk a little about this boston globe

endorsement. how much of a slap is that at mitt romney, how much might it affect the results? >> it's certainly not helpful to mitt romney to have your home town newspaper not endorse him. obviously the more conservative boston herald has endorsed romney and that's helpful. i mean, the boston globe has a lot of influence in new hampshire, particularly in the southern tier, but the people who it is going to most influence with its editorical policy aren't voting in the republican primary tuesday and that's good news for mitt romney. they are democrats, liberal leaning independents. the more conservative republicans and conservative independents are boston herald readers and mitt romney got that endorsement and that is helpful. this gives jon huntsman a little bit of a bump, and he needs a big bump, as he talked about yesterday. the tyranny of the clock is running against him. like a lot of candidates, he's running out of time to close this huge lead that mitt romney has over all his rivals right now. jon: bill hemmer just spoke to him live and pressed him time and time again and said

what kind of a number are you hoping for, and he wouldn't give us a number. he wanted to beat expectations, he said. really, the right in new hampshire is for second place, it seems to me. >> it truly is, jon, you're right. and it's an interesting election in that respect. it's a very aggressive fight to second place. it's a lot like the 19 # # democratic primary. why do i mention that? well, it happened to be a democratic governor at that time of massachusetts, mike dukakis, who was the overwhelming favorite, and you had this fierce fight, firefight, between some significant democrats at the time, dick gech heart -- gephardt, a guy named al gore, you'll remember was in that fight, jesse jackson, paul simon and it was all about who could finish second and we're seeing that here, some real sharp elbows being thrown not just at mitt romney but at and between the potential second place finishers, whether it's rick santorum, ron paul, newt gingrich or jon huntsman. jon: how is ron paul playing

in new hampshire? it's kind of an independent state, he's got a lot of independent sort of libertarian leaning support. how is that playing? >> we're a libertarian leaning state as well. we're certainly not center right, we're center center, and independents as you know can play a huge part in this race, just as the independents played a huge part in ron paul's pretty strong showing in iowa. i expect that to happen here. he's got a firm hold right now on second place. why is that? it's because independents who are against the war, and many of whom by the way voted for barack obama in 2008 want to play a part in this primary on tuesday. i think many of them are going to vote for ron paul, because there's antimilitary intervention polices. i think that gives him at least 5 percent or 6 percent bump on tuesday, and could help him hold on to second place. jon: so you've got this fight for second place going on. you've got mitt romney expected to win.

but a lot of division among the potential second place finishers, and that could mean that this race goes on for a long time. >> reporter: that's correct. and what's really interesting about this race, jon, is we're already seeing the potential second place finishers playing on the stage for the states down the road. let's take rick santorum and wednesday. that argument he had with students about his position about same sex marriage, not a smart play in the state of new hampshire. one of only five states where same sex marriages are legal. and where they're very popular. but he is playing to those every longelical cris 00 evangelical christians that make up 11 percent of the vote. jon: you got to hand it to him for not being a politician that says what the audience wants to hear just to get elected though. >> that's true and that's one of santorum's endearing quality, he's a trusting

conservative and unapologetic conservative. i think you can say the same against newt gingrich who is turning up the heat against mitt romney, saying it's a joke to call mitt romney a conservative. that's pretty harsh words. that's what we're going to see in those two debates this weekend. it's going to be a foot fight and all the cafeteria trays are going to be aimed at mitt romney. jon: we'll see who comes out of this the messiest. kevin landrigan, i know you have a lot of work to do, thank you for joining us from the telegraph. >> thank you very much. jenna: that food fight leads into our next segment, completely unrelated to politics, by the way. a chinese billionaire dies after having his favorite meal. wait until you find out what that is. his family claims he was murdered. >> reporter: it's a local del cassy, cat stew and this billionaire was in the southern province and the very latest on the story is that there is an investigation looking at one of the other men who had

dinner with lonley juan, made his money off on forestry company years ago and was in the area having dinner with two other gentlemen to see land. they were going to look at property, have a little meal. now one of the men he was eating with is being looked at by police. more on that in a moment. but first of all, leon rwam died while eating this cat stew and when they looked at this closer look, it had a secret ingredient, something they hadn't suspected, a poisonous plant indigenous to this part of the world, this toxic herb ends up in the cat stew. he ate more of it than any other person at the table. the guy they're looking at is gu -- at juan wong, they are looking at him because he got up to go check on the stew and was gone about ten minutes before everybody started eating it. lonley juan's family says they believe it was murder

because he's eaten there many times before without a problem. jenna: guess we should all stay away from the cat stew. just saying. i don't know. jon: i won't you ordering that. jenna: no. jon: the murder trial against joran van der sloot underway and aon surprise from his defense team. that's coming up. 4 nutritious grains come together for more taste, more healthy satisfaction. get more with honey bunches of oats.

jon: our fox news alert. the murder trial of joran van der sloot has been postponed. he was inside a courtroom in lima, peru, wearing bullet-proof vest, ready to go on trial apparently for the murder of a young peruvian woman, nearly seven years after he became the prime suspect in the disappearance of american natalee holloway in aruba. van der sloot faces charges of killing 21-year-old stephanie flores in his lima hotel room back in may of

2010, but now that's on hold steve harrigan is following the breaking developments live from miami. what's going on, why the delay steve? >> reporter: jon, a real moment of decision for joran van der sloot, the 24-year-old dutchman is accused of murder and we saw him debate inside this make-shift courtroom next to his maximum security cell inside peru, with his attorney, about whether to accept a deal by the prosecution of 30 years in jail or not. it looks like van der sloot is going to accept some sort of deal. he wants to make a sin ser confession, and he hopes to get rid of a life in prison possibility. his appearance in court was most unusual. he dmaim as you said wearing a bullet-proof vest and blazer over that. he took both off, and at times was reprimanded by the judge for his behavior. he's trying to make a good impression, make a good apology before these three women peruvian judges but instead he yawned and was rebuked for slouching and

not standing up straight so not good for a man facing life in prison for the budgonning -- bludgeoning murder of a peruvian woman after being the -- and after being the chief suspect in the natalie natalee holloway ca. jon: the thinking is if he pleads guilty the court will plead leniency, is that what the defense is thinking about? >> leniency would be a 30 year prison term. that's the deal on the table and we should see this again in the courtroom five days from now. of course the case against van der sloot is much stronger than with what we saw with the holloway case, the alabama teen, seven years ago. this time there's the body of stephanie flores, the 20-year-old was found bludgeoned to death inside a lima hotel room, the two were seen on surveillance leaving the casino together and entering a hotel room together, only van der sloot was seen leaving that hotel room. there's also a confession that van der sloot made to the police.

here's that. >> [inaudible] >> reporter: that confession made in spanish. the question asked was you're the one who killed stephanie flores and both times van der sloot answering yes, so five days from now we should see whether the 24-year-old, notorious in one missing woman's case and charged with murder in a second will face either 30 years or life in prison in a notoriously difficult peruvian jail. back to you. jon: a lot of people in this country are going to be paying close attention to that. jenna: geraldo rivera will be here to talk about that trial and he's going to weigh in on a new web video, have you seen this, showing casey anthony like we've never seen her before, the story behind how this video surfaced, coming up. take a look at the latest unemployment rates in the nation, 8.5%, a better number than we've seen in three years. what does this number tell us about the year ahead? our econ panel takes a look, just ahead.

when bp made a commitment to the gulf, we knew it would take time, but we were determined to see it through. today, while our work continues, i want to update you on the progress: bp has set aside 20 billion dollars to fund economic and environmental recovery. we're paying for all spill- related clean-up costs. and we've established a 500 million dollar fund so independent scientists can study the gulf's wildlife and environment for ten years. thousands of environmental samples from across the gulf have been analyzed by independent labs under the direction of the us coast guard. i'm glad to report all beaches and waters are open for everyone to enjoy. and the economy is showing progress with many areas on the gulf coast having their best tourism seasons in years. i was born here, i'm still here and so is bp. we're committed to the gulf for everyone who loves it, and everyone who calls it home.

jenna: a fox news alert and quite a headline, the u.s. navy has rescued 13 iranian fishermen from pirates. this news is coming into our newsroom right now, and there's an interesting twist to this story. again, the navy went on and boarded a ship, rescued these fishermen that were iranian from somalian pirates. the helicopter they used to get to this fisher boat or fishermen's ship, i guess, was from the aircraft carrier the uss john c. seven us in, the same aircraft carrier threatened by iran earlier this week motto return to the strait of hour news. so kind of an interesting twist. we're going to be talking a little bit more about iran coming up next hour but, again, the u.s. navy rescues these iranian fishermen from somali pirates, let's them go on their way, and we'll have more as we get it, jon. jon: yeah, that's an ironic

twist. the u.s. navy helping the iranians. take a look at the dow numbers, down about 28 points on this friday. this despite the national unemployment rate for december which dropped to about 8.5%, that's the lowest level we've seen in nearly three years. the white house thinks that's pretty good news. that's on remote 257 here at the fox news channel. the labor department says the economy added about 200,000 jobs last month. the president is going to be making his thoughts known about those unemployment numbers in just a few minutes. and that's not all he'll be talking about. our chief white house correspondent ed henry is standing outside the executive mansion and has some updates for us. ed? >> reporter: good to see you, jon. what's interesting is that what we're likely to hear from the president is touting the fact the unemployment rate has now gone down for four consecutive months, also republicans reacting about the fact that it's now been 35 straight

months, though, where unemployment has been at least 8%. one of the big problems for this president, as we now begin officially this election year, but we spoke a little earlier today to alan krueger, one of the president's top economic advisers, who said on the bright side the white house is looking at the fact that there's now been 22 strait months of -- straight months of private sector job growth. take a listen. >> well, one can take away from today's report the data on unemployment insurance claims yesterday, some of the other information coming in is that the u.s. economy is expanding, we're creating more jobs, we have a very deep hole that we have to fill given how many jobs were lost in the recession that began at the end of 2007. but this shows that we're digging our way out of that deep hole. >> reporter: now, in just a few moments the president will be talking about these jobs numbers, but also talking about the middle class and consumer issues when he gets together with richard cordray, the man he installed this week through a

recess appointment, outraging republicans by bypassing the senate as the new consumer protection chief for the president. republican eric cantor charging what the president is doing by continuing to speak out about that agency is to campaign. cantor saying, quote, while the white house has made clear they do not intend to work constructively with congress in the coming session as the president moves into full-time campaign mode, house republicans stand ready to work together. fox also confirming there's going to be a proposal from the administration for a .5% pay hike for civilian federal employees. bound to see republicans saying that this is just more government spending at a time when the government cannot afford it. republicans actually have put out a proposal to freeze federal pay right now in these lean times. but here the battle is joined. republicans saying this president is abusing his executive power, that he's increasing federal spending at a time when the government can't do that. on the other side, the president's message heading into the election very clearly, he's

standing with the middle class, he's standing up for consumers, and we're going the hear that in just a few moments when he gets together yet again with richard cordray for the second time this week, jon. jon: very much taking on republicans as the candidate inform -- candidate-in-chief, i guess you'd say. thank you very much. jenna: there's all kind of work going on at the white house. let's bring in our panel today, steve moore with "the wall street journal", patricia powell is founder and ceo of powell financial group, and mark madsen is founder and ceo of madsen money. welcome to you all, nice to have you all with us. sorry, guys, but ladies first because that's where it has to be on this show. [laughter] pat, why do we see this number, why do we see such a good number -- depends on how you see it -- but what's behind snit. >> actually, it was everywhere. this was a pretty good number. it was everywhere. every part of the economy had some growth, the private economy

had some growth in employment with the exception, perhaps, of construction which was flat. so it was pretty much across the board. i use the word that it's good, but you have to remember that we've not yet had any robust recovery of jobs in the neighborhood of five, six, of seven hundred thousand which is what you've seen from prior recessions. it wasn't too impress i have. jenna: mark, should we even expect a number like that, a half million jobs created in one month? >> well, the economy's a chaotic system. it is possible sometime in the future to see something like this, but this is really a mixed bag. yes, unemployment went down to 8.5, but if you add back in the people that stopped looking for work and the people that are underemployed, you've got 23 million people, that's 15.2%. and your one-third is likely to find a job today as you would have in 2007, so, yes, this is movement in the right direction, but there is a long way to go. jenna: is it sustainable, steve,

the trend that we're seeing right now? something better? >> you know, we have 1.1 million jobs in the one month in the reagan expansion so, yeah, we could get -- we should get much bigger jobs numbers than we have had over the last year. but this was a really good number. and, you know, it's interesting, if you look at the data behind it, jenna, what you see is a couple other pieces of good news. wages rose so workers in america got a pay raise in december. the second is that the workweek was longer. that means that people are getting bigger paychecks because they're working more which is a good thing. and the other thing that i found very constructive about this report is that almost every sector of the private sector had jobs, jenna, even -- believe it or not -- manufacturing and the construction industry which is housing. so i thought there was very little to complain about. whether this is sustainable -- jenna: we never get that from you, steve. very little to complain about. really? >> i know. i'm usually a grouch, you know? but this was a really positive report. you asked the really tough

question, can we sustain it? 2012 is going to be, i think, a tough year because you're going to have this whole battle about where are taxes going, what's going to happen with the budget deficit, all those things, i think, hold back the expansion as we might see it. jenna: a lot of big factors, pat. one of the things you all have mentioned, that you see this growth across the board and we should feel good about this report, but i wonder about the month of december and the fact that it's the holidays and maybe seasonality factors to this. i was looking at some of the data from the bureau of labor statistics, and they said 1% of the jobs added had to do with transportation, warehousing -- >> couriers, absolutely. one of the highest areas for employment. but i think the 200,000 was still a good number. we have that seasonality every december, and i think we might want to look at the total year. the total year was 1.6 million new jobs, net new jobs created compared to less than a million the prior year. now, we need about 100,000 jobs

a month just to take care of the net new workers entering the work force, so this was the first time in years we've actually added enough jobs to make any kind of dent in the unemployment number. you've got to call that good, albeit not robust. >> yeah. remember, patricia, i mean, you're exactly right. one statistic that is going to weigh against the president, he's going to have a very exuberant press conference in a little while. but we're still about five and a half million jobs short of where we were in 2007. jenna: sure. >> think about that, jenna. i mean, it's been four and a half years, and we've lost five and a half million jobs, so we're still a long way from being out of this, and one of you raised an important point, that the decline in the labor force. if we had the same participation that we had in '06-'07, you'd have about a 10% unemployment rate today. jenna: mark, as the group that is out of work for a longer time, it's hard to come back into the labor force. i asked viewers over twitter

we're seeing better trends in the numbers, but do you feel differently where you live in this country? some like kevin said they opened up a new toyota plant right near where he lives, so that helps a bit, but people in lexington, kentucky, or richmond, virginia, they say they don't really feel any difference, and confidence is a real factor in the economy, too, mark. >> well, no doubt about it, and you have 1.9 million new jobs in the private sector compared to 280,000 net decrease in government. that's also a move in the right direction. we want the private sector to grow and the government to shrink. so that's move anything the right direction. and quits, people who quit their job last month exceeded people who were laid off. so if people are feeling confident to look for opportunities. i always tell investors and people in the job market, don't wait for someone to create a job for you. go out there, look at becoming a

entrepreneur. don't wait for the government and for big business to create work for you. go out there and create it yourself. >> yeah. if you wait for government, you're going to be waiting a long time. [laughter] jenna: and the federal reserve, i believe, in this a report last year said it could be three to five years before we see this return to, quote-unquote, normal. >> that's for sure. jenna: mark, inspiring words and steve and pat, thank you so much, all of you, for being here today. >> thank you for having me. >> thanks, jenna. pleasure. jon: so president obama's campaign strategy is taking shape, why he is not just focusing on the field of republican candidates. we are awaiting those live remarks that jenna mentioned from the president. we expect he will be talking about this jobs report today that in some segments shows some good news. what does it mean for you? that's coming up. also an iraq war vet and purple heart recipient attacked after a hockey game in philadelphia. police are still looking for the suspects, but one of them may have dropped a major clue.

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>> reporter: i'm harris faulkner at the breaking news desk. this is the picture of the day. look at that. this is minnesota, it's in monticello in the minneapolis/twin cities area. and what has happened is a target truck somehow has veered off of interstate 94 and hit a pond, an icy pond. and what witnesses are saying is

that the truck was there for a moment or then crushed or crashed through the ice. the driver of the truck had minor injuries, we have been told he's been taken to the hospital, but look at this brand new video coming into fox news. the minnesota state patrol is tweeting out pictures of this, they've got a tow truck on the side to try to haul this thing out of the ice. but when they take a wider view, you can see just how far away he is from interstate 94. they're thinking he may have hit just an icy patch of road and ended up on this icy pond. and in minnesota, having lived there, i can tell you that the ponds are thick. probably not going to hold an 18-wheeler quite like this. the lakes, yes. the ponds, no. wow. we'll bring you up to speed if there are any other pictures, and there they are, the people walking on the ice to figure out how to get this thing out of the water. wow. jon: they might try an ice breaker. president obama's re-election

campaign is kicking into high gear, and it's not just targeting the republican candidates who want his job, he's also going after gop leaders on capitol hill. will this two-front campaign strategy work? let's bring in paul gigot, he is the editorial page editor for "the wall street journal". so he's not just going after mitt romney and the other presidential candidates, he's going after the republicans in capitol hill, on capitol hill. >> right. because it's less popular than he is which is unusual. the president's approval rating, what, mid 40s? congress down there with friends and family -- [laughter] jon: down there in the -- >> yeah. so he figures, i think, if he changes the summit to them, that he gets a benefit from it. and in particular there's a little audacity here. you have to admire it in a certain respect politically because he's trying to convince the american people that, in fact, republicans run the whole congress when, in fact, they only run the house.

senate democrats still run supposedly the world's most deliberative body. jon: right. in fact, harry reid and nancy pelosi, too, on the house side, but harry reid in the senate was praising the president's recess appointments which leapfrogged over the head of the body that he's in charge of. >> are well, and when they were still in recess. supposed to have recess appointments in the constitution only when the congress, the senate is in recess. it isn't. it was in pro forma session, and harry reid tried a similar strategy when george bush was president. president bush said i'm not going to risk that constitutionally because i'm not sure i have the power to do that. but now president obama does it, and harry reid says, well, that's wonderful. [laughter] jon: there's an op-ed piece in your paper today calling it flat out unconstitutional. >> and we're going to have a debate about that. he made four appointments to two regulatory agencies, national labor relations board and this new consumer financial bureau. if they issue regulations, those

regulations will be challenged immediately by people affected, and up with of the arguments they'll make is those appointees had no right to make the regulations because they weren't constitutionally seated. jon: semantics, it would seem to me, sort of enters into here. who wants to argue against something that's called the consumer finance protection bureau or, you know, whatever the title, sounds like a great thing. >> we want to be protected, sure. jon: right. >> the question is how are they going to exercise that authority because they have a very broad definition. are they going to use it to correct real abuses or to punish businesses unfairly? they have a very generous, new word called abusive practices that hasn't been tested yet that they get to define, and that's creating a lot of anxiety among bankers. what's it going to mean to our lending practices and business model? jon: paul gigot, thank you. catch more of him this weekend when he hosts the journal

editorial report, that's tomorrow 2 p.m. eastern time here on fox news channel. you'll be talking about some of these issues, i'm sure. >> absolutely. jon: then stay tuned, at 2:30 i will follow paul with news watch, our panel will coffer the media coverage of this week's biggest stories. paul, thanks. jenna: a new york company is working to give you access to your own money at no charge. what a concept, right? we're going to tell you how they're making no-fee atms available for everyone in the nation. also a rare birth on a family farm. more video of these babies who are thriving despite near impossible odds. we'll tell you more. ♪ 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.

jenna: well, free atms could soon start popping up in if new york city and around the united states. the machines won't charge any fees and won't be tie today a bank. sounds pretty good, right? jon: sounds good to me. jenna: i don't know, maybe not. live in new york with more on what this can mean to us as well as big banks. ann that? >> reporter: absolutely. good morning to you guys and everybody at home. consumers are complaining all the time about banks tacking on fees where we least expect them, but there's one place we may not be seeing them anymore, at the atm. free atms nyc is seeing success and plans to expand first throughout new york city and then across the country with thousands of machines by year's end. it will start in big cities and work its way into suburban communities. the company says national advertisers are already expressing interest because the machines have a captive audience. >> and with our system there is a tangible way that you can actually track to see how many customers have used this atm.

furthermore, there are people you can't track that are looking at the atm machine and seeing that advertisement. >> we also talked to jana heron, an expert from bank rate, she says if these free atms saturate the market, they'll be a big hit. >> i can definitely see it catching on in other you are pan markets. but you also see atms in gas stations and grocery stores and drugstores so it could also make a difference in more suburban areas unlike the new york city market. >> reporter: and now you may not pay the company at the time of the transaction, but your bank could still be charging you on the back end. competition from this service could cause other independent atm companies as well as banks to completely do away with their fees as well. if that's the case, jana heron warns us the banks may end up making consumers foot the bill regardless because they have to make up that rev somewhere. jenna: any progress sounds like some progress good to me.

welcome to the family. >> reporter: thank you. i think i'm one of the only ones wearing a light-colored coat, so i need to blend in with the dark colors a little more. jenna: no, it's okay. you stand out, and that's the way we want it, anna. jon: a little bit busier than it is in charlotte. jenna: well, you know, every city has its own charm. jon: and new york has plenty. jenna: has some of it. [laughter] jon: he's an interesting story, an extremely rare birth, female quadruplet calves. their mother gave birth back in early december, but tests just confirmed two are identical and two are fraternal. the calveses slightly underweight at birth, but now they are doing well. apparently, the chances of this happening? 1 in 700,000. jenna: how about a big round of applause for the mother. jon: yes. jenna: just putting it out there. we'll be right back with more "happening now." y, i'm really glad we took this last minute trip

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jenna: here we are, we started the week with the countdown in iowa and we're moving all over the place and new hampshire is of course the first primary in the presidential campaign. we're glad you're with us on this friday, i'm jenna lee. jon: high noon on the east coast, i'm jon scott, the candidates are on a campaign

blitz in new hampshire, trying to win votes as they chris cross that state. jenna: as the mud slings intensify, it looks like a two horse race, maybe. carl cameron will join us more on that mud we're seeing. jon: that is flying all over the place. so with mitt romney looking like he's in the driver's seat in new hampshire the main battle could be for second place, the runner up possibly gains momentum for south carolina where the race is anyone's game at this point. joining us live, tom bevin, cofounder and executive editor of real clear politics.com. so mitt romney has long been in first place in new hampshire. have you seen anything change in his numbers, is the momentum very much his way? >> yeah, i mean, we just got three new polls in the last 24 hours, we're probably going to get another three here on the eve of the debate, then the primary itself. so a lot of data coming n right now it's showing that mitt romney is holding a

solid lead at 40 percent in the real clear politics average and rickson torum has -- santorum has popped up, he was at 4 percent on caucus night and now up into the double digits. he's at 12. santorum looks to be moving in this latest round of polls. everybody else -- everybody else is static, ron paul is at 20 percent, but mitt romney is above the crowd at 40. jon: kind of interesting, because new hampshire as you know often likes to sort of opportunity its back on the iowa results, but rick santorum got a pretty good bump in iowa, obviously, and new hampshire seems to be, what, embracing that? >> yeah, a little bit. you look four years ago, mike huckabee didn't get nearly the same alt of bump and that has to do with santorum is a northeasternern, he's from pennsylvania, and so it's a better fit for him stays wise. then the races also is so fractured and so wide open, all the candidates have had their rise in the polls now and santorum peaked at the right time in iowa and

getting a real nice bump heading into new hampshire. we'll see how long that continues and we'll see whether or not he can overtake ron paul. that would be huge for santorum. jon: the media headlines will be important coming out of new hampshire. >> very much so. much like iowa it's an expectations game. you look at mitt romney, if he scores at or above 40 percent, that's a convincing win for him, will help him move along in the process, slidfy his standing as a nominee. if he scores below 40 percent n. the 35-40 range, it will be little iffy for him and if he scores below one third of the vote, he wins but only wins by a few percentage points, i think we'll see him coming out of new hampshire with that same story line out of iowa which is that he's weak, his support is soft and republicans are really still looking for an alternative to him and that doesn't bode well for him heading to south carolina which by all accounts will be a much harder state for him. jon: one of the guys who wants to be the alternative is jon huntsman, he got the

big endorsement of the boston globe, he's staked a lot of his candidacy on results in new hampshire. how is he showing up? >> you know, huntsman is around the 9 percent, 10 percent range depending upon the poll and he has not shown that -- we've got reporters on the ground that have been attending huntsman events. he's not shown he has caught fire yet. again, there's still time, we've got two debates coming this weekend, one saturday night, one sunday morning, so maybe huntsman can make news and grab some attention but up to this point we haven't seen him getting that sort of traction in the same way that four years ago when john mccain staked out his territory, we had already seen him moving up in the polls as the vote approached. we're not seeing that from huntsman now. jon: so the prospect of a mitt romney first place finish and then everybody else sort of, you know, dividing up second place, that's going toy these candidates into south carolina and after that, it's short of anybody's game >> yeah, we'll see. obviously, rick perry decided to stay in the race,

he will participate in the debates but he is staking it all on south carolina, whether he can sort of get back in the game down there. then again, rick santorum, who is a hot candidate right now, we had a poll in south carolina showing him up over 20 percent right now, so a very fluid race and i think anything can happen. jon: but right now, the second place finisher in the real clear politics poll at least for now looks to be ron paul? >> yes. he has got 18-20 percent in new hampshire, and look, paul is one of those guys, he's got a solid core of support. he's doubled his percentage of support from four years ago, both in iowa and in new hampshire. but the question is, he didn't score the kind of win in iowa, his third place finish sort of muddled the picture for him, i don't think it offered him much of a nod towards the nomination he's not really threatening to win the nomination.

jon: he's got an awful lot of support and has a fair amount of money to spend as well, so it's going to be interesting to see what happens there. tom bevin from real clear politics.com, thank you. >> thanks jon. jon: fox news is america's election headquarters. this is where you want to be for the primaries, january 10th, live team coverage all day tuesday and special coverage beginning 6:00 p.m. eastern that night. jenna: and the economy is certainly a big issue for the election coming up, and today we have some positive signs for the economy. labor department reporting that 200,000 jobs were added last month, pushing the unemployment rate down to 8 1/2%, the lowest level in nearly three years. rich eston is reporting for the -- edson for the fox business network joins us. >> the labor market is looking for consistent monthly performances like this. for december analysts expected the economy to add 150,000 jobs and for the unemployment rate to slightly increase. instead, investors saw more

jobs, a lower rate, and additions across the economy. transportation and warehousing increased by 50,000 jobs. retailers hired 28,000. manufacturing increased 23,000. and the construction sector added workers for the first time in december since 2006. in total, the u.s. economy added more than 1 1/2 million jobs last year. still, the economy needs to add even more jobs than this, over years, to fully recover from such a deep recession and one analyst says that scenario is far from guaranteed. >> i'm hopeful that we'll continue to get good solid job numbers but there are things to be nervous about. european debt crisis continues to rage the ongoing foreclosure use sis, house decline prices remain a problem, we have the daunting fiscal issues we need to work there which could create problems this year. >> the labor department says there are more than 13 million americans still unemployed and broader measure of the unemployment rate, that includes part-time workers looking for a full-time job and those who have stopped looking all together puts

the unemployment rate at 15.2%. also, more than 5 1/2 million americans have been out of work for 27 weeks or longer. jenna. jenna: a better trend, but still a little bit of a long road to go. rich, thank you. jon new information just in on a somewhat unpleasant topic. the fbi is revising the definition of rape. so it will better reflect state criminal codes and victim experiences. chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge is live in washington with more on that. why redefine rape, catherine? >> reporter: thanks a lot jon and good morning. for the first time, as you mentioned, the fbi is changing the definition of rape to include men under the current 85-year-old definition rape is defined as the carnual knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will, victims' rights groups have long argued this definition was limited, it meant the fbi's crime report did not reflect the number of rapes involving men or boys. statistics were grossly inaccurate. one example of the alleged sex crimes in the ongoing

investigation of penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky would not be counted in the fbi's national crimes statistics. sandusky is accused of allegedly assaulting an sexual misconduct in at least ten cases involving young male victims. the most recent fbi oversight hearing by the senate in december, the fbi director robert mueller said the old definition was being reworked. here's that exchange with senator leahy. >> i know the fbi is currently working to update the definition of rape for the uniform crime report, and why is that important to update that? >> that definition -- was in some ways unworkable, certainly not applicable, fully applicable to the type of crimes that it should cover. >> reporter: the justice department said the new definition is more inclusive and better reflects state criminal code. in addition, we had a statement from the vice president who has apparently worked on this issue for two

decades, reads in part, quote, rape is a devastating crime and we can't solve it unless we know the full extent of it. this long awaited change to the definition of rape is a victory for men and women across the country whose suffering has gone unaccounted for over 80 years. for context, we wrapped up an on the record conference call with vallerie jarrett and the vice president's office, we were told this has been in the planning stages for well over a year and was not in fact connected to the sandusky case. jon: catherine herridge in our washington bureau for us, thank you. jenna: on another topic, it's not just cars anymore. the epa holding big rigs to new emissions standards, some truing companies say this is going to put them out of business. so they're fighting the feds in court. we'll tell you more about that. also new video of robbers attacking a store clerk. we're going to show you what happened when one brave customer got involved. also, a heroic effort to save a cyclist, pinned under a car. how he lived to tell the story, next.

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jenna: right now new information on stories we're watching forbes you all caught on tape, a car lands on top of a luxury sedan, inside this massachusetts office parking lot. i don't think that's where they intended to park that car, jon! police say the driver stepped on the gas instead of the brakes, jumped the curb and this is what happened. luckily, though, no one was hurt. in the meantime, surveillance video showing

two robbery suspects, attacking a clerk out in california. this happened when one of the guys tried to buy beer and he was questioned about his age. a customer tried to help the clerk, he was attacked, too, and they're still trying to find these guys. also a crew of firefighters in oregon, lifting up a 3200-pound car to free a cyclist pinned underneath, the rescue, taking about two -- i think it's two minutes to get done. the cyclist is in serious condition and getting cited for making an illegal lane change as well. we'll keep you posted on those developments, and all of those stories. jon: we are america's election headquarters. as promised, chief political correspondent carl cameron is live in dublin, new hampshire right now, only four days to go, carl, until mitt romney and the others go up against the voters of new hampshire. is he getting a run for his money? >> reporter: he sure is. and take a look at the new

hampshire landscape. not the political but the real one. there's actually snow on the ground in dublin because we're up in the mountains, a couple thousand feet above most of the rest of the country on sea level, and so a little bit of snow, four days ahead and yes, mitt romney comes back from south carolina tonight, and he's going to find here in new hampshire rick santorum getting huge crowds. romney was in south carolina this morning with nicky haley, the popular state's governor, a tea party darling, as well as the winner of the 2008 south carolina primary who yet again criticized nick san -- rick santorum and romney. romney is exclusive on president obama trying to cast himself as inevitable. there is a former senator from pennsylvaniwho disagrees with that inevitable self-characterization by romney. rick santorum is telling people in new hampshire that they fight for the first in the nation primary and they have to fight the polls and find the punditry that suggests that romney has a lock on the granite state

and nomination and rick santorum has the crowd that suggests he has the motellum. early ner keene a packed house on the western southerly corner of new hampshire with massachusetts and vermont. it tends to be a fairly liberal part of the state and yet, santorum drew such a big crowd that we saw the first of what will likely be many warnings from law enforcement officials, in this case the fire marshal came in and said folks, we're overcrowded, and he actually asked people to move out of the room. that is not an uncommon thing in the new hampshire primary unlike in iowa where the crowds tend to be only a few hundred people. here the fire marshals are poised for candidates to hold events in rooms designed to be overflowed. that may not have been what was intended by santorum this morning but clearly he loves the interruptions from authorities saying you got too many people here. in dublin, here it will come to the dublin school, he'll have an event in an hour or so. there's no doubt that rick santorum has a lot of buzz in new hampshire. he's well back in the polls, doesn't have the kind of

organization that mitt romney does, but much the same things that we heard in iowa, where republicans were in some cases reluctant to acknowledge their support for mitt romney, the same sort of misgivings are expressed even among those who say they are going to be backing this time in new hampshire and there's growing curiosity about rick santorum. he's been so low in the polls a lot of folks in new hampshire haven't paid great attention but that iowa win, the bounce you get from coming in well and exceeding expectations in the first caucus is definitely affecting santorum in new hampshire. doesn't necessarily mean he could pull off a come from behind victory but does mean he is poised to potentially exceed expectations. santorum said on caucus night it was a -- it was going to be a race between himself and romney. he's got four days to see if he can do it. jon: what about the undecided vote in new hampshire? >> it is huge. it is huge. the polls suggest it's maybe 15-20 percent. but chances are, it's a heck of a lot higher than that. it always is. folks in new hampshire know that when you go to the

movies, you wait until the very last scene so you don't get surprised by something when you get home and you find out you walked out too soon. in new hampshire, that is the case. not only are there are a great number of undecideds, it's important, almost essential to point out, that independents, registered undeclared voters in new hampshire, outnumber republicans and democrats. significantly. 41 percent of the electorate in new hampshire is a registered independent. the next biggest bloc is republicans at 30 percent. but it's not much of an advantage over democrats. 29 percent of them. so in this race, it is very much wide open, with a combination of underdecideds and independents who swing. they go from republican to democrat, they change parties, they change views very, very quickly, and in new hampshire, where one on one relationships between voters and candidates matter most, they wait. they want to make sure that they pick the right person having given them every opportunity to be heard, which means most of the votes won't get wrapped up until sunday and monday, jon. jon: and the fire marshal

might be a candidate's best friend there. interesting. carl cameron, thank you. jenna: now to this national issue, a new legal fight over epa regulations, forcing big rigs like the one on your screen to reduce emissions, some small trucking companies say that's going to force them out of business and claudia cowen is taking a closer look at this from san francisco. claudia, tell us about what these new rules do. >> reporter: jenna, for the first time, the government is regulating big rigs and tractor trailers in such the same way it's held car makers to rigorous fuel efficiency standards for decades. the epa is ordering heavy trucks sold in the u.s., including trucks made in mexico, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20 percent. engines must become more fuel efficient starting with models built in 2014. it basically means virtually every trucker will eventually need to upgrade what they have or buy a new rig. not cheap. even so, the powerful american trucking association is fully on board. >> the federal government

did a really fine job of working collaboratively with all the partners in this to come up with what we think is a reasonable and fair rule. >> reporter: but many smaller owner-operators say the regulations are unnecessary, and that the prohibitive cost will drive them out of business, and several trucking outfits here in california have filed a federal lawsuit to block the new rules from taking effect. jenna. jenna: interesting as we hear about that lawsuit but also from the association, that they like the way they were working with the got. so beyond just the cost or economic hardship, is there more to this argument to not make this change? >> >> reporter: well, some of these truckers here in california say the environmental protection agency did not get these new regulations approved according to proper procedure. plaintiffs like trucker robert robert mcclarnan have hired a watchdog group to argue the epa failed to submit findings to a blue ribbon panel called the science advisory board as is required by law. >> epa missed a step and our

organization is interested in making sure that the government complies with the law just like the rest of us today and -- do and when epa violates the law like they did here we're going to hold their feet to the fire. >> reporter: the epa argued it posted all relevant information online making it accessible for scientific review but critics say that's not good enough and contend the rules are less about clean air, more about bushing smaller operators out of the way. jenna. jenna: claudia, thank you. jon: now an update on the story that has captivated britain, the remains of a young woman, discovered on the grounds of queen elizabeth's country estate, police say they suspect murder, and now they might know who the victim is. plus, a new warning for 2012. what a former cia director says about iran's growing threat to global security. or annuity over 10 or even 20 years?

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jon new details on a murder irsry at queen elizabeth's country estate. harris faulkner has it from the breaking news desk. >> reporter: whose body is it? british police talking now with families of missing women in norfolk and sf uffolk counties. they've gone to complicated links using dna and still have no idea who the woman is because of decomposition. so far they have this from the bone and other fragments they've been able to test. she was between the ages of 15-23 years old, 5-foot four, 5-foot 6 inches tall, with high cheek bones. that's not a lot to go on. the story is breaking since sunday in the u.k., when a dog walker came across the remains on a vast property blanking -- belonging to the queen of england, called

sandringham, the estate there, where the royals spend a lot of their holidays. there is suspicion today that the dna might match that of alisa demetriava of cambridge, she was last seen 10 miles from those royal grounds. police are now saying they don't want to jump to any conclusions. they, however, there was no ivy growing on the body and that means something to them, like maybe the body wasn't put there any earlier than august, and this coming out today, detectives now saying it is highly unlikely the woman died from natural causes. you heard jon saying that a murder mystery could be afoot. they won't say exactly why they suspect that. they say there are no signs of any sort of accident or anything like that. but there's also no flesh on these remains so not a whole lot of detail about how this person might have died. she was found near the royal stud, where the queen oversees the breeding and training of race horses on the property. it's about 3 miles from the main residence of the queen on the estate. by the way, prince wills and

kate middleton just celebrated christmas right here. and there are other a number of public gardens, villages and cottages on the grounds, so 20,000 acres, basically now, at least portions of it, a crime scene. so they think, jon. jon: also not fenced off. it's pretty much open. >> reporter: right, yes. jon: thank you. >> >> reporter: sure. jenna: iran sets the stage for another show of force against the west, announcing a brand new round of military maneuvers and this time iran's revolutionary guard will conduct naval war games on the strait of hormuz. the islam -- the islamic republic is threatening to shut the key oil route over new sanctions. in the meantime former cia director michael hayden is predicting that iran, with its rogue nuclear program, will be the single greatest threat to global security in the coming year. peter brooks, former cia officer, is a senior fellow at the heritage foundation and joins us now. peter, do you agree with that?

>> when general hayden speaksi listen. i think he's right but i would also say, add to that, that iran was already in 2011 the greatest threat to international security out there jenna, from their involvement in iraq, with the militias there, their supplying of weapons to the taliban in afghanistan, they have some involvement with al-qaeda, the support of hezbollah, hamas, involvement in latin america. next week, i think about sunday or so, president mahmoud ahmadinejad is going to go to venezuela and or places in latin america, their nuclear war program, the games they had last year in the persian gulf, i mean, iran has for a while been the top threat to national security but i think the general is right for this year and will continue to be. jenna: let me ask you about something else that the cia director said, along with many comments about iran. he says there seems to be nothing that we or other like-minded nations can do that will stop them. now, do you agree with that part, peter?

that there's nothing we can do to stop them? >> he referring to a nuclear program there, is that what he's referring to specifically? >> jenna: yes,. >> i think when you're talking about peacefully doing that, such as sanctions or, you know, diplomacy, i mean, there are military options out there. i'm not sure anybody is going to grab on to them. i don't think this administration will. the israelis might feel like they have to do something about an iranian nuclear program because it is an existential threat to them. so i mean, i don't necessarily -- i'm not necessarily sure what his full intent was there but i think when you're talking about sanctions i think it's going to make it painful for them but i don't think they're going to stop their nuclear program. north korea has been under sanctions for them and they're not stopping them. they're two different cases but it is somewhat of a model. jenna: you're right to point out the context of it, how exactly it's put when we're talking about important issues here. it's interesting, when we got on the air today, peter, we got this news about the

navy rescuing iranian fishermen from somali pirates and letting them go free and it was a helicopter from the same aircraft carrier that went and rescued these iranians, there was an aircraft carrier threatened by the iranians earlier in the week and sort of a veiled threat, but i don't know, it was pretty direct. i don't even know what to say about that, peter! >> truth is stranger than fiction. jenna: i guess we're supposed to be the good guys but who's the good guy in the situation? >> we are the good guys. we are the good guys and we shouldn't forget that. truth is stranger than fiction. if you did that in hollywood, people probably wouldn't believe it but it happened in real life. go navy! we're good people, we do the right thing, and we're not causing these problems with iran. we're reacting to them, unfortunately. and this is going to be a real challenge for us going forward. now, what happens if the shoe were on the other foot and the iranians had found american sailors in distress, i don't think it would have exactly turned out as this one has turned

out, jenna. jenna: you think about the hikers, right? we've all seen that story. peter, a lot more on this topic. we have to run. we have the president speaking so we're going to go to that. jon: these are remarks by president obama making remarks at the consumer financial protection bureau but also talking about the new jobs numbers and the economy. let's listen in for a moment. >> hello to all of you who have just been doing extraordinary work in standing up for what i think is going to be one of the most important agencies for people that there is. and i know that all of you have devoted an enormous amount of time and energy and many of you are here making significant sacrifices with your families to make sure that this agency gets up and running really well, and so i just want to say thank you to all of you. let me begin by saying a few words about the latest economic news. this morning, we learned that american businesses

added another 212,000 jobs last month. now, all together, more private sector jobs were created in 2011 than any year since 2005. a lot of people that are still -- >> [applause] >> there are a lot of people that are still hurting out there. after losing more than 8 million jobs in the recession, obviously, we have a lot more work to do. but it is important for the american people to recognize that we've now added 3.2 million new private sector jobs over the last 22 months. nearly 2 million new jobs last year alone. so after shedding jobs for more than a decade, our manufacturing sector is also adding jobs, two years in a row now. so we're making progress.

we're moving in the right direction. and one of the reasons for this is the tax cut for working americans that we put in place last year. and when congress returns, they should extend the middle class tax cut for all of this year, to make sure that we keep this recovery going. it's the right thing to do. there should not be delay. there should not be a lot of drama. we should get it done. and the american people i think rightly understands that there are still a lot of struggles, a lot of families are still having a tough time, a lot of small businesses are having a tough time, but we're starting to rebound, we're moving in the right direction. we have made real progress. now is not the time to stop. so i would urge congress to make sure they stay on top of their jobs to make sure that everybody else is able to enjoy hopefully an even more robust recovery in 2012. so the economy is moving in

the right direction. we're creating jobs on a consistent basis. we're not going to let up. not until everybody who wants to find a good job can find one. but we have a responsibility to do even more than just try to recover from this devastating recession and financial crisis. we have a responsibility to make sure that the economy that we're rebuilding is one where middle class families feel like they can get ahead again. a lot of the problems that we're dealing with are problems that existed even before the recession, even before the financial crisis. for a decade or more, middle class families felt like they were treading water, that they were losing ground. and what we want to do is make sure, not just that we're getting back to the status quo, we want to make sure that we're dealing with those underlying problems. getting to a point where middle class families feel like they can get ahead again, where hard work pays off again, where everybody

gets a fair shot, and everybody does their fair share, and everybody is playing by the same set of rules. and that's where all of you come in. every one of you here has a critical role to play in making sure that everybody plays by the same rules. to make sure that the big banks on wall street play by the same rules as community banks on main street. to make sure that the rules of the road are enforced. and that a few bad actors in the financial sector can't break the law, can't cheat working families, can't threaten our entire economy all over again. that's your mission. to make sure that the american people have somebody in their corner. that american consumers have somebody who's got their back. and you finally got a great director who is tailor-made to lead this agency. >> [applause] >> you've also got an

extraordinary team that is lined up behind me here, who did a great job in getting this agency up and running, and are going to -- >> jon: so the headline there is the president is pleased with the new unemployment numbers, which show unemployment down to 8.5% in this country. he's also there to introduce former ohio attorney general richard cordrey, the man he has picked and gone over the head of congress to appoint to head the consumer financial protection bureau. jenna: that also includes commuters! >> jon: it does. it covers the whole gamut. jenna: you got it all. jon: the president introducing voo introducing that choice and really what you're seeing is the opening of his campaign for reelection and some real direct shots at congress as

well. we have you covered on the campaign trail. welcome to america's election headquarters. now that rick santorum has jumped from the back to the front of the republican pack, he can expect a lot more attention from the media. reporters are digging a lot deeper into santorum's political record, focusing on social issues, as well as his politics positions. let's talk about it with our news watch panel, judith miller, pulitzer prize winning investigator, kirsten powers, for the daily beast, both are fox news contributors. so perhaps no surprise, judy, that this morning, a front page headline in the "new york times" takes on rick santorum and some of the moves he made in the past when he was a u.s. senator. >> absolutely. and now, the scrutiny begins that always comes with being if not in his case the frontrunner but the person who finished improbably second in iowa and all of the sudden people are looking at earmarks that he

got for the state of pennsylvania, whether it was an effort to spruce up the guns of gettysburg or build a new facility for polar bears in the pittsburgh zoo, all of the sudden, you're going to see not only a focus on his very conservative social positions, but what he did when he was in the senate, what he did throughout his life. it's going to be really rough. but one thing about rick santorum, he's been through this before, he's a fighter. he may not have an organization but he's ready for it at least personally. jon: kirsten, santorum supporters and even maybe casual observers will say there they go again. this guy was nowhere in the polls a week or ten days ago and now that he turns in number two in iowa the media goes gunning for it. whatwhat do you say to that? >> i don't consider it gunning for him. i think it's covering him. some in the media are gunning for him, but the

reality is when you're a lower tier candidate you get less scrutiny because people don't think you're potentially going to be the president of the united states. once you get to the top of the polls, you start performing well, as he did in iowa, then naturally, you're going to start getting scrutiny. and anyone who runs for president should expect that. jon: what about mr. obama and the appointment of richard cordrey? the wall street had an editorial, an op-ed piece saying today that is flat out unconstitutional and that basically, any moves this guy makes as head of this consumer protection financial -- financial protection bureau, any of those moves are going to be struck down by a court. judy gloo i think that is surely the republican argument but the white house lawyers say that's not true, that the congress is not in session, even though they are technically in session, they are not there, they're not performing, and therefore, the president has

the right to do what he's done. this is going to move into the courts, no doubt, and i think republicans will try and make it a political issue, whether or not it sticks remains to be seen. jon: what about the constitutionality of it and the coverage it's getting, kirsten? >> well, i can't -- i'm not a constitutional expert. but certainly, presidents make appointment the when -- recess appointments when congress isn't around. it's not the first time it's ever happened, so i think the complaints the republicans have about this probable have more to do with who he chose and they're making it a constitutional issue. but you know, if this is what they want to make their fight about, i guess they can go ahead. i think most people are much more concerned with the economy and creating jobs and all those other things and if they want to get into one of these sort of washington fights, i guess go ahead. jon: some observers, judy, suggest that it's as much about reelection politics as it is about consumer

protection, that the president has decided that, you know, taking on congress and in particular the house of representatives, because if they're headed by a republican, that that's going to win him points as he tries to win reelection. >> i think that makes tremendous sense from his point of view, and the kind of campaign that he's decided to wage, which is shoring up the base, talking about social injustice, and inequality in america, protecting the little guy, the consumer, the 99 percent. this is where he's going to stake his ground. and i think it makes perfect sense for this president to do that. that, and the recovering economy, will be the two means, if you will, of his campaign. jon: all right. it's going to be interesting to watch over the next 11 months. judy, kirsten, thank you. our panel is going to have a lot more interesting discussion for you tomorrow. i will host "news watch" at 2:30 eastern time on fox news channel. be sure to tune? >> jenna: a modern day

migrant worker, a new trend in the work force, employees hired on the go. we're live with those details. seven years after he was named a suspect in the disappearance of natalee holloway, joran van der sloot is charged with the murder of another young woman. what happened in cart today -- in court today and how his trial could play out.

jon: on the job hunt there is a new trend in the working world, work campers or retirees who travel around the country in rvs, ready to get to work. adam housley is live in benson, arizona with the story of one such bunch. adam. >> reporter: butlefield r.v. bark in benton, arizona, a number of the work campers come in the winter seasons, snow birds if you will, the age group, 59 or older. at least that's the majority. the idea is simple, they've trade their house, got an

rv, travel around the country, see friends and family, pick up odd jobs when necessary because they're living on a fixed income. warren is one camper, he's been doing this for ten years, he used to be in the high tech describe and says he loves this lifestyle. >> you're not paying rent anywhere, you get around, seeing different parts of the country, and go where you want to, when you want to go. >> reporter: most work -- most of the work campers are full-time rvers, they travel around the country, do odd jobs, everything from amusement park, national parks, dough sents, some of them volunteer, a lot work for free. they get a chance to stay for free, get free electricity, free wi-fi and camping spot, others get a small salary for the three months they actually work, like this couple who are working here in vincent, arizona. >> we've traveled the country four times in seven years, we've hit all the western states, we're missing some of the northeastern states. we just haven't had time.

>> yeah! >> our saying is so much to see, so little time. >> reporter: and they have seen a ton. their kids actually live in florida so they have a chance to get down there and see them. we're finding out it's a 1.3 to 1.5 million people doing this. the companies are happy because they don't have to pay retirement, they don't have to pay medical, they're picking up these people for as little as a couple of weeks to three to four-months during the different seasons. in the winter time they come south to the sun belt states, in the summertime they head as far north as canada to pick up the odd jobs, jon. everybody seems pretty happy with it. i have to say it's a unique bunch of folks we've had a chance to meet in southern alabama and 1.3-1.5 million people are doing it, jon. jon: looks great. i'd give it a whirl. what about the jobs that are open. there must be an online clearinghouse or something? >> a couple of ways. word of mouth is one way, also there's a couple of online websites they go to. a couple of corporations like amazon have found out

where the people camp out and they've recruited them to come in during christmastime to pick up the odd jobs. that's only for maybe three or four weeks. a lot of the people come to park like this and they'll work in the gift shop, the pool person, or help check people in and in exchange they'll be able to stay in a spot behind me for two or three months with free electricity, free hookups and not have to really pay anything to stay here. jon: nothing wrong with arizona in the winter. adam housley, thank you. >> not at all! thanks jon. jenna: the prime suspect in the disappearance of american teen natalee holloway is in court today, charged with another young woman's murder. this court case has already taken an interesting twist. geraldo rivera joins us to talk about joran van der sloot's trial, next. if you're one of those folks who gets heartburn

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jenna: a familiar name, joran van der sloot's trial postponed, the 24-year-old asking for more time to enter a plea in the murder of a peruvian woman in a hotel room. van der sloot is also the prime suspect in the disappearance of american natalee holloway. of course you remember that teenager from alabama, vanishing in aruba in 2005. we have another postponement of justice here. geraldo rivera, anchor of pp geraldo at large" is with us. >> i think you'll see joran van der sloot spending most of his natural life freezeing in a high andes prison in peru on the bolivian border, i do indeed. jenna: why do you think that -- do you believe that? >> the person he chose to murder, stephanie flores, hers is a prominent family, her dad a multi millionaire,

former presidential candidate, they are paying acute, close attention to this whole proceeding, and they will bring -- and he also confessed to the murder. jenna: he confessed to the murder but he also says this wasn't a murder he planned, this was a crime that happened because he got angry at this girl because she saw something on his computer and that, if it's not a murder that has premeditation, it's my indianaing in -- understanding in peru he could get as little as eight years in prison. >> technically that's problem. when you look at him, he's had the same arrogance he's always had, he is in many ways flirting with the three female judges, he is the self centered narcissistic i believe murderer of natalee holloway, the alabama teenager who went missing on her senior high school trip, you know, from her high school in alabama, and i know that these proceedings are really in some ways for beth holloway, the mom, what goes around is finally coming around, but on the other hand, the fact that it

was postponed today and he is so slick, here's how it breaks down legally, jenna. i think this maybe is being overlooked as we focus on this hideous young man. there is a big difference, particularly in latin america, in the way crimes of passion are viewed as opposed to crimes of property. in other words, the family, the ramirez family, the flores-ramirez family, they are alleging that joran van der sloot killed stephanie ramirez to get the money she had won gambling. jen yuen that's key. >> that's key. that would be a crime, a murder for property gain, that could really see him sentenced to the rest of his life behind bars. on the other hand, joran's explanation, his excuse, is that he saw her, she was going through his property, his computer, he had a spontaneous, impassioned reaction and they had been intimate and in the heat of the moment, he killed her.

that's where certain commentators are getting the whole 8-20 year and emphasizing he could be out in as few as eight years. i think that's a very long shot. and i think that he asked for the postponement mainly because he has my lishous glee in being the center of attention. jenna: and here we are talking about him. >> and here we are talking about him. jenna: and let's leave that subject and we're going to see that trial in a few days and we'll continue to watch that as it happens. here's one of the -- obviously one of the biggest stoas last year about casey anthony and we just found online she has a video diary out, and it was on youtube, and suddenly a lot of people are reviewing it, but no one really knows how it was posted or where it comes from. you just spoke with her attorney. what does he have to say? >> jose baez, her lead defense attorney and they're still involved in other life, they're monitoring her because she still has a criminal appeal on the conviction for lying to authorities, he says, and he swears to me and i know him very well, we are friends,

dear friends, in fact, i'm proud to say, although he's -- i think that a lot of the unpopularity sha she, the most reviled woman in america, is experiencing has gone to her defense team, but jose is who is teaching at harvard university's criminal justice institute, he says that -- first of all, the defense team had nothing to do with the leaking of this video, even though she is portrayed relatively sympathetically, he swears they had nothing to do with t. she's keeping the video diary, somehow it leaked, everything about her and any contact she has with anybody about forever be leaked as long as she maintains this very reclusive stance that she is. as you can see, she's a blond now, she is living a very, very secluded, ietionlation -- isolationist life, she las very few friends, she's at an undisclosed location in the state of florida, she doesn't have a job, she's not doing the courses online, she's just living really in limbo. jenna: there's a lot of

criticism, obviously, of her, and criticism of the video for saying that she didn't even mention her daughter, mention her family. >> it's four minutes. how do you know, maybe there's 400 minutes. i'm not defending her, but the -- >> jen yuen you could see it pop up, and what is this all about. thank you geraldo. >> thank you jenna. jenna: we have a lot to talk about. "healo at large", that's where it is. jon that's right, jenna. it's a day for celebration in our newsroom and new addition of the fox news family. can you recognize the man behind the mask? he and his wife, holding their beautiful newborn baby. we'll tell you who, coming up. >> ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪ beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy. >> ♪ >> ♪ hello, how can i deliver world-class service

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jon: