>> alisyn: on the show, we have south carolina congressman joe wilson and pro football hall of famer, fran tarkenton. >> steve: let's hope they show up, because it's friday the 13th. we've had this black cat go that way and that way a couple of times. >> eric: i'll see you at the five this afternoon. over america's money is coming right now. president obama requesting an increase in our debt ceiling. total u.s. debt passes the $15.2 trillion mark. we have never been there before. good morning, everybody. on a friday. i'm bill hemmer. welcome. martha is out. welcome back to you. how are you doing? >> i am well. friday the 13th means nothing. i'm arthel neville. president obama has sent his formal request to congress to raise the debt ceiling again. bill: this time, 1.2 trillion which is sure to

recoke fuss america's attention on runaway debt. stuart varney from folks business. good morning. is there a certainty that the debt ceiling will rise or can republicans stop it? >> after the mess last year an agreement the increase in the debt ceiling would be virtually automatic and so it is they may pass a resolution of disapproval but this is will happen. bill: where will we be, stuart? >> just over 16 droll trillion in total. that means our debt will be significantly bigger than the size of our economy. perhaps more importantly by election day of this year, we will be spending almost 10 billion dollars every week on interest payments alone. bill: that is remarkable. get to the election in a moment here. this request is part of a deal back in august, right? >> yes it was. late in the year, 2011. there was such confrontation about whether to raise the

debt ceiling, whether to spend more, spend less. the two sides could not agree. eventually they were pushed into an agreement. it was so can tanker russ they decided they will not have this mess all over again. there will be debate but passage of debt ceiling it is automatic. bill: again it is a election year. politically is it poison? >> it gives republic can't an opportunity to refocus on their issue which is the size of this run away debt. it could be described, maybe, as political poison for president obama. because by the end of the year, we're at 16 trillion dollars plus, when president came into office, january of 2009, it was 10.6 trillion. so this president run it up 60% in four years. bill: stuart, thank you for that. that sets the table. see you at 9:20 at fbn. some context right now. total public debt outstanding has increased 656 billion since the august debt deal of last year, 2011.

u.s. total public debt outstanding is larger than the combined economies of eu, the entire european union. if the amount of debt we compiled debt deal in august by itself its own economy, it would be the 22nd largest in the world. that is just a matter of months. arthel: if you haven't taken to putting your cash under your mattress, listen, up big changes may come to a bank near you. bank of america, once the largest bank in the u.s. by assets reportedly considering closing hundreds of branches and breaking ties with thousands of customers. at greatest risk, small and mid-size cities. fox business network cheryl casone. cheryl, what does it mean for big and small and mid-sized cities? >> reporter: bank of america was challenged by the fed in the middle of 2011. the fed said, what are you going to do? do you have a emergency plan in place if the value of this company continues to fall? remember bank of america one of the big banks that was bailed out. bank of america went back to

the fed well, our plan would not only lay off people which they announced that in the fall, 30,000 job cuts announced but also closing 750 branches. where do they think they close them? small cities across the united states. not big cities. small towns across the u.s. that may happen this year. arthel: that is bad news. that is where folks can least afford to lose their jobs. beyond that, what does it mean for day-to-day banking if you live in small cities? >> that means you will have to buy community banks. we're seeing a lot of interest by investors in smaller banking names. at this point we have three large banks in this country, wells fargo, jpmorgan chase, and bank of america. that is it. that creates opportunity for smaller banks to come into the smaller cities to give the face-to-face, handshaking type of banking relationship many americans frankly would like to have. there has been so much bad blood frankly between the american people and major banks in this country, this actually could be a positive. having said that, yes, arthel, the big thing is job

losses. those 30,000 job cuts that b-of-a announced back in the fall, that hurts. there is lot of pressure on brian moynihan, to do something, arthel. the fed, shareholders are very angry at him. he has more answers he has to come up with. arthel: cheryl casone knee, thanks for wrapping it up. it is a good thing more mom-and-pop banks come to a corner near year. bill: bank of america received 45 billion from the government tarp fund that was in the fall of 2008. they turned around and repaid the feds by end of the 2009 which is impressive but despite that with declining earnings and fears about exposure to european debt, b-of-a, was last year's worst performer in the dow. arthel: talking weather now. looks like a lot of snow we've been missing out here this winter, well it is all in alaska. apparently people seeing one of the worst they can remember, worst winters. alaska's largest city,

anchorage, buried in more than twice as much snow as usual. look at the pictures, guys. on pays for the snowiest winter ever. still more to come. the scary part here that one alaskan is telling us we have three more months to go. >> because i don't like ladders, i'm shoveling out the window, we're trying to get some of this heavy load off before the rain and the next snow. arthel: that is one alaskan's forecast. guess what? forecasters say absolutely right. even more snow expected. bill: the guy said it will snow and snow and snow and snow and the russians, the russians are there to help. a russian fuel tanker breaking through the ice choked bearing sea heading to nome, alaska. the six miles from shore. gnome's 3500 residents missed last delivery. how about that for a winter to forget. they're worried about running out of fuel for springtime. u.s. coast guard is waiting

to first light to try to unload the tanker. hang in there, folks. arthel: first major winter storm of the season hitting the midwest. forcing hundreds of flight cancellations in chicago. now it is heading east. we'll have a live report at the top of the hour. bill: now to the next big battle, that is south carolina. the republican candidates hitting the road early today. we're awaiting rick perry in a moment. he will be at a meet-and-greet in hilton head, south carolina. that is nice place to stop on the campaign trail. arthel: i think so. bill: perry along with rick santorum and mitt romney making several stops across south carolina today. as you see on the map on the southeast and the north, along the border with north carolina. john roberts, myrtle beach now. we hear mitt romney is releasing an ad in south carolina. what's in it? what is the message? >> reporter: good morning, to you, bill. the ad is touting what his campaign says are successes at time with bain capital.

companies like staples and sports authority. clear that the merciless attacks against him about some factories were closed is taking a real to. we started in south carolina where one of the factories was. we stopped by daddy joe's barbecue for lunch. we ran into jim koch. he is the executive director of local economic board. he had done research what happened when that photo album factory closed back in the early 1990s. here's what he found. >> the overall economic impact to cherokee county was minimal. i've looked at the unemployment rates for that time. there was a spike, a short spike but we ended the year about the same as we started the year. as a matter of fact records also indicate that we created about additional 300 manufacturing jobs. >> reporter: about 150 jobs were lost at that photo album factory. back then the economy, even though it was down it was in

much better shape to absorb the jobs. real problem now unemployment in south carolina where some counties it is 12 or 14%, bill. bill: wow! that is remarkable that will be an issue come next week. what did voters have to say, john? what are they telling you? >> reporter: at that same place we talked to one fellow, a voter from florida, voting on 31st. he is not voting for romney because of record for bain capital. i ran into another fellow, tim. he will be probably voting for santorum but he didn't hold any kind of a grudge for mitt romney what happened there in gaffney, south carolina. here is what he told me. >> he may have came in tried to streamline it. if there was not a feasibility to keep it open, sometimes plants closed, you know. that's way capitalism is. >> reporter: so might not have had that much of an effect in the northwestern part of the state but here's the reality, bill. negative campaigning and negative advertising works. there has been awful lot aimed mitt romney's way.

the big kahuna is coming down this weekend when newt gingrich's super pac, winning our future releases that 30-minute documentary, all about mitt romney's time at bain. we'll see what kind of impact that has. bill: scott rasmussen has new numbers out there about the horse race in south carolina. these numbers are interesting too. stay tuned for that. john roberts is up the shore in myrtle beach. down the shore in hilton head rick perry has now arrived. we'll keep an eye on that. arthel: interesting to say the least, bill. monday, mark it on your calendar. january 16th is the date. the next republican presidential redate right here on fox news channel. we'll have it live from myrtle beach. hosted by bret baier. you don't want to miss it. stay tuned for complete primary coverage on saturday january, 21st. bill: big weekend. arthel: exciting weekend. >> not before we get to monday night. arthel: got to get through monday. that's huge. bill: those are just a few of the stories we're

watching right now. rick perry getting his day in court. have you heard about this? he and three others are suing to get on the ballot in a critical swing state. a federal judge will hear their arguments today. do they have a case? we will find out. arthel: it blew through millions of your tax money. what is solyndra doing handing out bonuses? the latest involving the failed solar energy company. bill: also, there are new poll numbers out showing americans are not taking to the health care overhaul. we'll debate how that plays out in moments with a terrific panel. don't go anywhere. we're right back here on a friday morning. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements.

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[ jill strange ] since taking osteo bi-flex, there's nothing that i can't do. [ malannouncer ] osteo bi-flex. the #1 doctor and pharmacist recommended brand. arthel: arkansas police arresting a suspect in a

twisted plot to rob an elderly couple. investigators say 59-year-old paul bradley broke into the home of 73-year-old betty davis on monday, duct taped her husband to a chair and strapped what he claimed was a bomb to betty's leg. then he tried to force her to withdraw $10,000 from the bank. this is a picture of police taking, took of betty there at the atm with this guy davis, saying his arrest is a huge relief. >> i'm very relieved, very. we were just pretty well confined in, and we had no idea what was going on. never in our little community would we have ever thought that this would happen. arthel: of course not. well the bomb turned out to be a fake. bill: thankfully. brand new polling numbers show declining popularity for president obama's health care law. the kaiser family foundation

found only 41% have a favorable opinion of the law. 43% have a unfavorable opinion. that is slightly higher than some of the other polls we've seen. juan williams, fox news political analyst and gretchen hamel, former spokeswoman for the house republican conference. terrific panel. welcome to both of you. juan, election year, there are headwinds for the polling. make the case for the white house. how do they sell this? >> when it comes to the health care there is real headwinds as you would describe it, bill, coming from seniors. seniors clearly do not support the health care bill. when you talk about the health care bill, there are a number of people who feel that, you know what? this thing has been so demonized by republicans, republican opposition is near 80% when it comes to the health care bill, there is lots of anxiety about it. we don't talk so much about the idea that it allows young people to remain on parents insurance. we don't talk about allowing people to get insurance for preexisting conditions. it is all about the

negatives and uncertainty. that is why the poll numbers have 40% support which 60% don't support this health care. bill: you mentioned seniors. go deeper into the survey, 31% in either party, republicans and democrats among seniors don't like it. it is even lower with independents, gretchen at 29%. make the case on the other side? >> well, it is, you know even lower amongst independents. it is not just about uncertainty and ages sight. we've already started to see health care change. we've started to see health care costs increase. just like my non-profit that i run. we had to go back and totally redo the plans we had. our plan wasn't even available anymore. it has already made changes and changes americans don't like because of the costs. bill: all right. now, juan, i did not hear a strong argument from you frankly. are you saying that youth staying on parents plans to age 20 six, that should be trumpeted, that should be a headline, that you can't be

dropped from your insurance plan? what is the case? >> hear is the strong argument, bill and gretchen. people are anxious about saying any circumstance, when you say this change may result in reduction in terms of my medicare benefits, my medicare advantage, that somehow my prescription drugs all that may balloon up because of the change you're making people are not going to be amenable to it. but that doesn't mean they don't recognize the insurance companies right now are ripping us off. doesn't mean they don't understand it, if they have a catastrophic illness in the family it could bankrupt the family and it is bankrupting american business. they see a need for change. >> hang on one second, gretchen. i heard from you and a lot of other folks especially on left, over time more and more people will accept this? >> i think that is true. bill: the numbers don't prove that out. >> not at moment. >> they don't prove that out. i don't think this is something will change over time. let's admit it, health care is problem in this nation. >> right. >> something has to be done about it but this is not the way to fix health care. this is not the way at all.

and saying that 26-year-olds can stay on their parents health insurance doesn't help anybody. doesn't encourage them to get out, find a job and life on their own. it encourages to come back home and live in their parents basement. >> that is not the issue. bill: depending on your parents place. juan, you're going to have to make a case for this. do you run toward it or run away from it if you're the president? >> i think ultimately whole country is running towards because the entire congress opposed it on the republican side and republicans sought to demonize this health care legislation talking about the problems it creates for business, waivers that are necessary for unions. that is the message that has been getting through. i don't think the obama administration has been aggressive enough in selling this as something that is going to help. gretchen just said it. something has to be done about health care. >> look at ohio. ohio is a critical state this election cycle and they just rejected the health care plan because of the

overreaching. americans are tired of government getting involved in their lives and in government getting involved in things they don't need to be involved in. bill: quick reminder. supreme court has a say come springtime. have a good weekend. back to your parents basement you go. thank you, gretchen, thanks juan. arthel: it is judgment day for joran van der sloot, the prime suspect in disappearance of natalie holloway. we'll hear his sentence this morning for the murder of another young woman in peru in 2010. you know when i grow up, i'm going to own my own restaurant. i want to be a volunteer firefighter. when i grow up, i want to write a novel. i want to go on a road trip. when i grow up, i'm going to go there. i want to fix up old houses. [ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're never done growing. i want to fall in love again. [ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life.

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bill: 20 three minutes past the hour. top stories right now. an mostal farewell in l.a. for raymond johnson. former member of the famed world war ii tuskegee airmen. the johnson became a community leader and vice president at naacp.

they were the first african avery eightores in u.s. american military history. new word on health of heather locklear the actress rushed to a hospital. after a 911 call placed to her home. family releasing a statement that look lear will be just fine. watch out for black cats. today is the mark of three friday the 13ths in one year. three in one year. that will not happen again noll year 2040. arthel: are you concerned about it? bill: not yet i'm not. we have to get through today first. we have two more on the horizon. arthel: don't worry, i'm telling you. i had a black cat myself. no big deal. i'm from new orleans. don't worry, you're all good. bill: you're wind of like a witch like you. a good witch. arthel: i'm a black cat. meing on now, law enforcement calling it epidemic in. a rash of brazen pharmacy robbers by gun-toting criminals hunting for narcotics. one of the most chilling on

new york's long island. four people, two of them customers shot dead last father's day execution-style by a pill-popping drug addict. laura engles live in the newsroom. what can you tell us more about this disturbing trend? >> reporter: the number of armed pharmacy robberies in the u.s. rose 81% over last five years according to the united states drug enforcement administration. it is a huge problem. many pharmacies around the country immediately tightened up security last year by that father's day shooting, posting more cameras and saying they don't carry large amount of painkillers and installing bullet-proof glass and hiring guards. on long island where law enforcement says prescription drug abuse are rampant, they are calling doctors to verify pain killing prescriptions before dispensing them. >> people kill for less, actually. so people are very desperate now. they get hooked on the drugs. they can't afford to buy it.

they lost their health insurance. they're willing to kill for it. i don't want to be at the end of that person's desperation. >> reporter: local police departments started training officers now on how to handle pharmacy robberies and also helping to train pharmacists ways to detect so-called doctor shopping for drugs. arthel? arthel: really unbelievable. and a sad state of reference to the economy mostly. what is being done? that is there mainly long island, laura. talk about what is happening on a national level. >> reporter: we spoke with the drug enforcement administration and they continue to work with state and local law enforcement to educate doctors, drug companies and communities to increase awareness. around the nation, dea created tactical diversion squads to assist in prescription drug crimes and robberies. >> i think the approach is being handled here in the new york field division where we're trying to educate the public, we're trying to deal with prevention community, and as well as the law enforcement

and enforcement prong. >> reporter: here's a staggering statistic. more people abuse prescription drugs than the number of people who use cocaine, methaphetamine and heroin combined in the united states according to dea, arthel. arthel: a lot of people are under the misperception prescribed pills are not narcoticss. they are. laura, thank you very much. bill: how about solyndra? the bankrupt solar panel that burned through half a billion of your tax dollars apparently not done spending money. how about a bonus for company executives. good work if you can get it apparently. arthel: i'm going to apply. could it be divine intervention? why tim tebow isn't the only one who thinks god helps him on the field. ♪ . [ coughs ]

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bill: there are new reports today that solyndra, the solar panel company that burned through half a billion dollars of your tax money, before going belly-up is looking to hand out bonuses. fox business network's gerri willis looking into this, anchor of "the willis report" at 5:00 eastern time. good morning. bonuses huh? >> we need more money. bill: good work if you can get it. who is going to get a bonus. >> there are 21 workers.

these folks are engineers, finance workers, lower level people in the company. they would get 10,000 to $50,000 each. that is what the solyndra attorneys are asking this bankruptcy judge to do. the judge hasn't ruled yet. he will have to rule. let me tell you, last summer before they went out of business, before they filed chapter 11, executives, top-ranked executives in the company got $60,000 bonuses. bill: telling you it is good work. why are they asking for this money. >> to keep these people, i can't even believe i'm saying this to keep people motivated to the bankruptcy. bill: to do what? >> sell things. getting 72 to 100,000 as wages but they want the bonuses to incentivize them to get the work done. bill: is it going to happen? are they getting the money? >> it could. this is what the company does. top executives got big-time bonuses. they're trying to keep these people motivated. makes me crazy. bill: i thought this company is already bankrupt. >> it is already bankrupt. bill: why is there any money to go around?

>> work to do. you have to resolve assets. close them off. close the building down. salary is not enough. have to have bonus. bill: those poor folks. thank you, gerri, see you live at 5:00. >> that's right. bill: on fbn "the willis report". >> that's right. >> south carolina's primary, a week from tomorrow could be republican candidates last chance to stall front-runner mitt romney's momentum following romney's back-to-back wins in new hampshire and iowa but big divisions among key blocs palmetto state's voters could deny romney's rivals a chance to stop him. adam bean, political reporter for south carolina, the state newspaper. how are you doing this morning? >> i'm doing great. thanks for having me. arthel: adam, let's break it down. you're talking about evangelicals making up 60% of the voting pool there. they're divided who they

will support january 21st. this is reminiscent of 2008 when romney was fourth in south caroline. the question is, what will it take for romney to win this time? and he do it and i imagine different parts of the ate, they're look for different issues, correct? >> that's right. if you look at romney's strategy this year, it appears he is really focusing on this fiscal conservative message, jobs and the economy. that's the message that really resonates with voters along the coast, the low country, even portions of the midlands of south carolina. this is a similar strategy that john mccain used in 2008 to win the state. you look at some of these other candidates, namely rick perry, rick santorum, their messages while that includes some fiscal conservative issues, heavily on faith and values. they're going after the evangelical voters in the up state of south carolina. when you have so many candidates vying for that vote obviously it is going to speed. arthel: it will split the vote and who wins when that split happens? >> well, it appears that

romney would be in a good position to do that. another candidate who is also going for more fiscal conservative voters is jon huntsman huntsman has struggled to find a foothold here. huntsman really tried to make himself the establishment candidate early on but that is just a title that romney has held and it hasn't been really an opening for huntsman to find among those establishment type republicans. arthel: adam, you have your finger on the pulse of voters there. tell me, of course, south carolina is known for down and dirty politics. did the bain ads, attacked as go too far though? >> well, that appears to be the consensus among romney's, most of romney's fellow candidates here. it is a difficult argument to make because if you're republican obviously you're in favor of capitalism and free enterprise and getting out of the way. you hear the candidates making get government out of the way. arthel: you speak to the voters. i want to know what they're saying about those ads?

>> yeah, i talked to a few voters about it and just depends, i think a lot of them it is bias who they support. obviously if they support romney they are going to say, this is a ridiculous attack on free enterprise and yeah, he made those difficult choices but so do all businesses. arthel: once again that split as well. so a couple of things before i let you go, adam. we'll have the big debate there in south carolina, fox news debate moderated by bret baier. we'll talk about what these guys, your voters in south carolina will be looking for, what they want to hear. if you could, you, do a science project. take a couple of all the contenders here, part of this one, part of that one, put them in a bunsen burner which parts would you take from which candidates, quickly? >> you mean for the ideal candidate for south carolina? arthel: to be appealing to the voter there in south carolina, correct. >> well, i think ideally you would take faith and values

message of perry and santorum and couple it with romney's message of creating jobs and that is really, that would appeal, that would be the most wide appeal to all audiences here in south carolina clearly. arthel: we'll watch, monday night for sure right here on fox news for the big debate. adam beam, thanks very much for your time and your analysis. >> thank you. bill: there is also in south carolina this debate about requiring voters to show an i.d. when voting. the justice department challenging state republicans on that law. that issue is still out there. that brings us now to bya, because you asked. got this off twitter. a fan writes, requiring i.d. to vote how does this work using absentee ballots. they are more and more common across the country. eric shawn watches voter fraud for us. is this an issue? >> reporter: bill, you do not need i.d. to get an absent tee ballot. you have to fill out application and say under

penalty of perjury. to get absentee ballot in south carolina a utility bill or bank statement. these are absentee ballots from troy new york where eight democrats indicted allegingly forging ballots. there will be a trial on tuesday of two officials there. indiana was one of the first states in the nation to have a photo i.d. attorney general there told us there could be a real problem with absentee ballots. here is what he said. >> the biggest problem we've seen is in the absentee balloting. people handling the ballots. people helping people vote. so that distance voting, getting the same protections that we have inside of the ballot box, inside of the voting booth, is really something that is harder to do when people are voting absentee. >> reporter: so you need a photo i.d. to show up. don't need it for a absentee ballot. bill: will the voter law hold up in south carolina? >> reporter: we'll have to see. critics say voter i.d.

suppresses votes that is charge from democrats. many republicans deny that. we'll see how this goes along, very hot issue. bill: bet it is, you have a form of that in georgia and indiana. we'll see how it spreads. eric shawn in the newsroom. go to foxnews.com. there is a baya backs because of the -- you asked. arthel: guess what? tim tebow is the not only one who thinks god helps him on the field. that is according to a new poll. 43% believe divine intervention is responsible for the broncos quarterback's success. on the other hand 42% think god has absolutely nothing to do with tebow's recent football magic. whether you're a believer or not we'll see if he can keep his winning streak going tomorrow night against tom brady and the patriots. bill: here from some of my patriots fans. they think we're a little biased towards the broncos.

brady may have a little something to say about that on saturday night. arthel: saturday, 4:30 eastern, drew bees will have many novenases going their way. bill: you're a saints fan. go with god. arthel: always. bill: awaiting a big hearing on this republican primary battle. four candidates suing a critical swing state to get on the ballot. do they have a case. is this just the start of more legal challenges? we're about to see. arthel: bill, plus parents are speaking out about a mysterious illness affecting their teenagers. a group of students from the same school all suffering from bizarre symptoms. where this is happening and why parents of course are demanding answers. >> i'm talking about something that just comes on within a couple of weeks and these kids are just totally normal and then next thing you know they're going blah -- and their arms are swinging and they can't control themselves. [ male announcer ] in bli, even ragu users chose prego.

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arthel: former first lady laura bush, visiting florida for a town hall event. speaking at at performing arts hall. her appearance is part of the ringling arts association town hall series. before capping her days as librarian and teacher she reflected own her days as first lady. >> i look at those days with a lot of nostalgia. am i glad we're not there? yes. i'm glad we're here this january. that was a lot of fun. i hope all the people that are there, the candidates and their spouses and their families are looking at it for what it is, which is an unbelievable life experience that very few people ever have the chance to have. that kind of real retail campaigning for a presidential election. arthel: mrs. bush also addressed the crowd on topics. she is actively involved in.

>> the fact is what we've witnessed in the last three years is just a complete decimation of the american dream. our nation is in trouble because president obama has mortgaged our children's future with record debt, with this government-run health care, failed spending measures that killed jobes instead of creating them. i'm the outsider. i'm the outsider who will step on a few toes in washington, d.c. if that is what is required. bill: that was rick perry in hilton head moments ago. canvases south carolina. we're following a major hearing in virginia. four republican candidates suing for a spot on the primary ballot. hear is the law. candidates need 10,000 signatures. that breaks out to 400 across 11 congressional districts. int yana, illinois, pennsylvania, have what some would consider tough

requirements. jordan second cue law, american center for law and justice. jordan, welcome back here. >> good morning, bill. bill: how strong is their argument. >> it is interesting. the judge already made some indication where he is going earlier in the week when he said to the board of elections in virginia, don't print absentee ballots, don't mail any ballots out. that is indication. that doesn't mean definitely today he will say, rick perry, newt gingrich, jon huntsman, rick santorum you're all on the ballot. he understands how complicate the. for instance, is, he sees the constitutional problem you have to be citizen to collect signatures from other citizens. rick perry said i couldn't collect my own signatures. rec perry had enough signatures throw that part out, does rick santorum get on? does he have enough signatures? how does the judge decide who met the criteria. this punishes the only two campaigns that followed the

rules since have been in place since 1998. mitt romney and ron paul. bill: the law is the law, right? how do you bend this in the late hours? this is from the associated press from three days ago when i mentioned some of this. virginia's ballot access law requires candidates to submit the segtures of at least 10,000 registered voters including at least 400 from each of the state's 11 congressional districts. that is the law, right? >> that is the law but the provision is so controversyal whether or not the people who collect the signatures have to be citizens. under the current law, since 1998 they do. that is where rick perry -- what is interesting here, newt gingrich is also challenging this. he is a citizen of virginia. governor bob mcdonnell, any statewide candidate had to meet the criteria since 1998. never been a problem. there is also going to be emergency review by the fourth circuit. i don't think this judge will be the final say even if he does hold they need to be on the ballot today. it has to happen quickly. these absentee ballots under federal law have to be out

45 days before march 6th. that would be january 21st. bill: you're saying perry, huntsman, santorum and gingrich have a shot at winning with this? >> i think they have a shot. people did not expect that at first but this judge opened the door to that. we'll see what the fourth circuit says because it is getting so late in the game. it is punishing candidates who followed the rules. i think competency issue. virginia go back and say we don't want to go through this again. we want more options on the ballot for republican voters in the primary but you're challenging people who punish the lay and incompetent campaigns. rick perry has plenty of money. rick santorum out of all the candidates who maybe was late to get in the game. bill: just so everybody knows. this could be important in case this nomination process lingers. if it goes into early march on super tuesday which is when virginia votes. you keep saying virginia citizens. is that different from a virginia resident? >> yeah. you have to be like a

citizen of virginia to collect signatures from other citizens. bill: what is citizen though? >> citizen, someone in the state, you pay your taxes there. you have citizenship you vote there. you have to be a virginia voter. bill: i gotcha. >> if you're a campaign you hire people that were virginians to do this. that is what other campaigns have done. we've never seen a problem with smaller presidential campaigns and bigger campaigns in the past. this is the first time. bill: we're on standby. when the judge's order comes out we'll find out whether the four men win or lose. thank you, jordan. >> thanks, bill. arthel: the u.s. delivering a stern warning to iran, the line the rogue nation is told it must not cross unless it wants to see a response from america. bill: this is judgement day for joran van der sloot, the prime suspect in the disappearance of natalie holloway from six 1/2 years ago. we are only minutes away from his own sentencing for the murder of another young woman, this time in peru. ♪

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arthel: we are waiting for justice coming from a courtroom in peru. joran van der sloot will be sentenced any moment now two days after pleading guilty to murdering stephany flores. she is the 24-year-old, also the prime suspect in the disappearance of course of alabama teenager natalie holloway. her parents, still searching for justice after a judge officially declared her dead. >> the fbi told us that they were investigating this from a homicide investigation and, you know, we've been dealing with her death for the last six 1/2 years and hopefully this meeting today will kind of put some closure on it. arthel: steve harrigan live in miami.

van der sloot of course, steve, he pleaded guilty so we'll find out soon. what is this sentence likely to be? >> reporter: we're probably just minutes away from that sentence which will be handed down by three peruvian judges. no jury in this case the maximum under peru's law would be 30 years in prison. that could be reduced somewhat due to the fact that van der sloot gave what he said was a sincere confession in court. that he admitted publicly his responsibility for this crime. also van der sloot's lawyer tried to get it reduced even further saying van der sloot has been persecuted since the natalie holloway case. he suffers from post-tramatic stress disorder. the 24-year-old dutchman could see a sentence somewhere within the range of a minimum of five years, and a maximum of 30 in peru's jail. arthel: minimum of five, maximum of 30. how is the holloway family reacting to this case? >> reporter: well, natalie holloway was legally declared dead yesterday by a judge in alabama. this about six 1/2 years after she disappeared on the

island of aruba, last seen with van der sloot. the family said they have taken no comfort from this additional murder case in peru. the father said he hopes van der sloot gets maximum, 30 years. he is quote, unrehabilitatable. she hopes van der sloot suffers as much as possible for the unimaginable pain he caused. arthel: steve harrigan, from miami. taking you to the courtroom from lima, peru. a live shot for you. we're awaiting justice to be handed down there. three judges. no jury. it will happen any moment. when it happens we'll bring it to you live here on "america's newsroom". bill: pretty extraordinary. we have the live feed. van der shoot confessing to this murder. when that happens, when the sentence comes down, we're going to bring you back down there live. that is him far right, screen right in the green shirt as you saw. meanwhile closer to home

old man winter is finally here. millions will feel the storm. where it is headed next. arthel: yikes!. it is back, from the request from the white house to spend another 1.2 trillion dollars. why republicans may not be able to stop it [ coughs ] what is thishorty? uh, tissues si i'm sick. you don't cough, you d't show defeat. give me your war face! raaah! [ male announcer ] halls. a pep talk in every drop.

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bill: it had to come eventually, battling the first real blast of winter across more than a thousand miles of america. the wind, ice, sleet and snow pummeling most of the northwest. a welcome sight for skiers, but a nightmare for everybody else. we were only going to be so

lucky for so long. arthel: it had to happen. bill: i'm bill hemmer welcome to winter and "america's newsroom." martha is enjoying a well deserved day off. arthel: she sure is. i'm arthel neville. more of a foot of snow in some places, slowing travel to a crawl on roads, rails and runways all across the region. bill: let's go to janice dean live in the weather center. she has been waiting on this day for three months. mike tobin is live in the streets of chicago, we'll go there first. >> reporter: the bad weather finally did show up for wintertime, six inches of the last night. now you have the way chicago looks in the wintertime. you have the cars going over the wet roads, they look wet because the salt got out. here is something people living in the city are used to seeing, caution, falling ice. the snow can cascade down on the

pedestrians below once in a while. it got particularly treacherous on the roadways yesterday because the snow came down warm and wet and froze. the bridges and the overpasses are usually the first to make the ice patches. that's where you see three traffic fatalities out of st. louis and one out of chicago here. there were patches of ice that people didn't see coming as they were driving along the roads. people can log onto the city's website and get onto the plow tracker and track the city's snowplows in realtime and get a rough idea when they'll get to there street and clean their particular street. the plows were out all last night. 500 flights were canceled yesterday. the kids that love so much to get a snow day this time of year didn't get one. schools are operating on regular schedules for the most part. everyone is back to normal.

the weather is supposed to warm up. they are calling for rain on monday. bill: are they as surprised as we have been here in the east with how mild the winter has been, mike? >> reporter: well, i think they liked it for the most part here in chicago. people get used to the bad weather and they are enjoying the break and everybody knew it was going to end some time. they weren't really surprised when it rolled in. it's january, it's chicago, it happens. bill: indeed you're right about that, mike. some of the airport delays are going to sweep across the east coast. mike tobin thanks so much in chicago. arthel. arthel: janice dean is live in the fox weather center. have you really been waiting for three months for this? >> reporter: woman on, this is like my super bowl, bring it, bring it. you know what, this time last year we were dealing with feet upon feet of snow. this is nothing compared to what we saw last year. we are still way below average in terms of snowfall across the great lakes and northeast. there is a storm.

mike toerb bin i tobin is going, i've been in war zones, this is nothing. i have my hat on. in some cases two feet of snow. nor chicago's midway 6 inches. the temperatures are going to go up, the snow will melt. this will knock your socks off, guys, minneapolis this time last year, 48 inches of snow, and they've only received just over ten inches. chicago had 22 inches, just over six inches. really, this is nothing compared to what we saw this time last year. but it's cold as that system moves eastward bringing the temperatures down to the single digits and teens and with the windchill even colder than that. guys, it is going to warm up again. i don't see a real arctic air intrusion invading the country for the next several days. back to you. arthel: this really is your super bowl. you're really very into this.

i love it. >> reporter: bring it. bill: she'll be tebowing soon. a stern warning from the u.s. to iran not to cross a red line. the obama administration saying that any move to close the strait of hormuz, a key oil shipping route will provoke an american response. already the pentagon has placed ot aircraft carrier near that water way, and stayed about 15,000 troops in nearby kuwait. those forcers include two army inc infantry brigade. peter bush with me now, good morning to you. what are we to make of this peter? >> it's about time. i think it's a very strong signal from the united states. i think the iranian have been doing a lot of what they are doing because of perception of

weakness of obama policy, a lot of people think we are in decline in that part of the world. after fooling around a longtime and trying to be nice to the iranians it's about time we tell them there are red lines they should not and cannot cross. bill: do you think the iranians are serious? >> i do. i think you have to take the threats seriously bill. often opponents, adversaries, others tell us what they are going to do. they keep talking about this. i believe the united states, probably the intelligence community believes that they have the capabilities, that they may be really thinking about that. this is more than bluster, and now is the time to tell them that they shouldn't do this. we've already seen a spike in oil prices. it's over a hundred dollars a barrel. i'm not sure if it's there today but it has been and a lot of this comes from the iranian threats. we have to be concerned about their nuclear program, what they are doing in iraq, afghanistan, their ties into hezbollah and hamaz. skwrad's visit tmahmoud

ahmadinejad visit to south america. bill: how do we bring down the temperature knowing we've reached this point? >> it's kind of hard. we'll have to see what the iranians are doing. they said they are going to let u.n. inspectors in to look at their nuclear program. they are trying to run out the clock until they actually have the bomb, that is a way to pacify international concern while they continue to do what they are doing. i doubt i spechters will have much. this could be a sort of, you know, sock toward the international community toward the iranians to try to lore the temperatures a little bit. bill: we have heard from a lot of folks that delay, delay, delay is the strategy for some time. peter thank you. arthel: there is outrage in mississippi, here is why. the state attorney general is saying that he may have to order a nation-wide manhunt to track down murderers who were set free

from prison. the convicted killers among 200 controversial pardons issued by outgoing governor haley barbour. chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge following this story. what is it going to take to round up these guys. >> reporter: as you mentioned the attorney general in mississippi jim hood saying in a national interview that his office may need a manhunt to bring in convicted killers and a fifth man serving life for multiple robbers. they are tracking the cases they know about. >> there is grave danger. we have murderers out there they have nothing to loose. we gave the governor of our state the powers of the king to release people. >> reporter: after review of the published notices it now seems certain that the five former convicts pardoned did not meet the requirements under mississippi's cons fusion procedure their release. it says notices must be

published 30 day out in the local community paper where the crimes were committed and the men have until january 23rd, to show that they actually met the requirements. arthel: tell us now what more we know about these five men and what they were convict of. >> reporter: this is important. this morning we decided, arthel to really drill down on who these guys are and the crimes they committed. we'll begin with david gatlin, sentenced to life in 1993 after he shot and killed hissess straeupblgd wife as she held their twomonth-old son. he turned the gun on a familiar he friend. charles hooker was sentenced to life in 1992 for killing the principal of a mississippi high school where haoerbg was also a teacher. also among the tkpwraourpbgs anthony mccray who was sentenced to life in prison in 2001 for the mother of his wife whom he shot in the back. and then there is joseph osmat who was sentenced to life in 1993 for murder, conspiracy and armed robbery at point-blank range of a store clerk, and

finally nathan kern who was given life for multiple convictions for robbery. there is a court order that requires these men to report every 24 hours to the department of corrections in mississippi, ever course we'll see if that actually happens. arthel: keep us posed as to when they track these guys down. catherine herridge, thank you. bill: we are off and running, another hour on a friday morning, and 12 girls at one school, all with this mysterious illness and doctors still don't know what is wrong with them. we'll check in on that momentarily. arthel: a vicious beating caught on tape. today an arrest in the hockey fight that left an off-duty cop and war hero unconscious. bill: horrible story there. mitt romney taking fire from all sides. his republican challengers picking apart his record in the private sector today and today mitt romney fires back. [ male announcer ] drinking a smoothie with no vegetable nutrition?

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arthel: new developments for

you now in a case getting attention all across the country. they arrested a man who they say followed a fight following the national hockey league's winter classic. they say he turned himself in after an arrest warrant was issued. the attack leaving a ranger's fan unconscious and in need of stitches. the 30-year-old victim, an off-duty new jersey police officer and war veteran. bill: so mitt romney's campaign going on the offensive now against republican rivals, launching a counter attack, defending his years as ceo at bain capital. here is part of that ad now. >> mitt romney helped create and ran a company that invested in struggling businesses, grew new once and rebuilt old once and created thousands of fact.

we expect the obama administration to put free markets on trial, but as the "wall street journal" says, mr. romney's gop opponents are embarrassing themselves by taking the obama line. bill: some of the republican opponents are warning candidates to stay away from this attack. kevin madden has been adviser to mitt romney's campaign. welcome back to you. brand-new polling numbers in south carolina. scott rasmussen has it this way. it appears the race is getting tight. mitt romney 28, gingrich 21. rick santorum and paul 16 each. uri action initially is what? >> nothing like the iowa vote to remind us that this was going to be a very close, tight campaign. i think the numbers that we see in south carolina are reflective of a very close campaign down there. so, you know, the romney campaign, we are not taking

anything for granted. we know that we have to go out and continue every single day to persuade voters. i expect inside mr. rasmussen's poll there are a lot of undecideds. in the next fine days or so we have to make sure we are concentrating on reaching as many voters as we can and making the case for judge governor romney is the best candidate to help fix the economy and why he's best positioned to beat barack obama on that issue in november. bill: were you ready for these hits about bain? >> i think we expected hits on the governor's record to come from democrats, particularly his record as a businessman. you know, obama and the left are always going to attack business. they are always going to attack private capital, and its place in the economy. what we found very surprising was that newt gingrich and rick perry began to echo the words of people like michael moore and move on. that was very surprising. we are the party of free

markets, the party of economic freedom and governor romney's message is very focused on that, which is how do we help create jobs so that people of all income levels and up and down the economic ladder can prosper in a new american economy. bill: some observed and said they thought your campaign was tphraot footed in term flat-footed. nikki haley had this to say yesterday. >> i am proud of all of our republican candidates, but we have a real problem when we have republicans talking like democrats against the free market. we believe in the free market. [applause] bill: what do you make of her coming to your defense, kevin? >> governor hayley is giving voice to what republicans and conservatives, and look even many independents and conservative democrats in this

electorate believe which is that we have to have free markets and enterprise to fix the economy. nikki haley as well as grass root conservatives across the country share that sentiment. bill: did president obama get a hid this week by all the hits on bain. >> we expected in the general election they would go after governor romney's record and distort it. bill: but what do you think about getting it out right now instead of in september or october. >> we have an opportunity to rally to governor romney's defense. we have an opportunity to who is best positioned to help workers up and down the economic scale in a free market economy, and i think when we get to a general election now we have a head start on making that argument. if this is going to be an election about the future, how we help workers up and down the

economic scale flourish in a new american economy i think governor romney is best positioned against president obama due to his lack of leadership on the economy. bill: we will talk many times down the road. we will hear from the gingrich campaign, that is com coming up about 15 minutes away. arthel: we are waiting to learn the fate of joran van der sloot in a courtroom in peru. any minute now we could take you to the court where the sentencing will be handed down. when it happens we'll bring you the breaking news live right here. bill: watch that. also teenage girls coming down with the same bizarre tourette-like systems. a mysterious disease that has the parents on edge, and our medical a team weighing in on what this could possibly be. >> we can't accept that because the symptoms do not coincide with conversion disorder. even if it was conversion disorder and that was the symptoms of it, we don't know what caused it. why are we getting, 12, 14, 16

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bill: fox news alert right now. a breaking news matter in fort lauderdale, florida. a small plane appears to have hit a fence near the executive airport in fort lauderdale. the plane appears northbound intact. don't know if this is take off orlanding. at least one person inside taken away on this journey, loaded into an ambulance. no word on injuries or how many people were on board. a small plane, clearly. a few miles north of the regular airport in louder day it appears to be a smaller airport there. we'll follow this and let you know how many on board, and how they got out of there. moments ago happening here in "america's newsroom." arthel: parents demanding answers after their daughters came down with a mysterious

illness, 12 girls all from the same upstate new york high school coming down with symptoms like turrets syndrome. the state department has looked into it. the parents say they want the cdc to get involved. this doctor is chief of the robotic division at mt. sinai medical center and a member of the fox news a-team. good to see you. >> good to see you. arthel: they say it's kind of like turrets syndrome. what other symptoms can you expound on? >> this is really a bizarre story, to financed a localized area where you have all a sudden 12 girls coming up with this kind of syndromes. you're talking about repetitive motor symptoms, where they have this jerking move or verbal ticks out of no where. they were fine couple weeks before, all of a sudden they are having issues with speaking, having these muscle movements out of nowhere and it's very concerning. the parents are very concerned, obviously, but the truth is,

this can happen, and i read a lot of studies about this. ban 10% of the time this has been seen in the past. to see all of a sudden 12 of them in the same area, it's a little suspicious. you know, we don't really know exactly what is causing this. arthel: what could it be? you can't just chalk it off to stress. all the girls got stressed out at one time and this happened? >> you're right, you're absolutely right. a tremendous amount of stress could be leading to this, that doesn't make much of a sense. there could be a lot of chemicals in the environment that could cause this. though are denying this. they say the environment is safe and everybody can come back to school. there are case of vaccination, which is also rare. this is not one of those cases, an hpv vaccination that would cause this. to see 12 of them. if there were one or two cases i could argue that could be the case, but this doesn't make much of sense.

some medications, anti-depressants can as you this as well. those are the side effects. arthel: all 12 girls aren't taking ritalin. >> i agree, something is going on that we don't know. they talk about because of hipa. arthel: the privacy rule which basically says that we can't let everybody know because it could break out a health scare, basically right? >> that's what we practice as a physician. i never share anybody's information from one patient to another. if you have some sort of an epidemic going on and a series of girls coming up with this kind of thing, cdc has to get involved and give us a good recommendation. what parents need to watch out for. a lot of this recovers and resolves gradually on its own. some of this ticks are simple ones, they are basically blinking, small motor movements, some of them are very complex. if it goes on after a couple of months they need to see neurologists, get mri's. arthel: after a couple of months? i don't think i'd wait that long. >> they have gone through the preliminary studies.

they all have same doctors. they have not been able to come up with any obvious diagnosis. we'll see if it will resolve on its own or whether they need further care. arthel: the parents want the cdc involved, and the girls got to get treated, and they need to be treated now. >> i'm a parent myself, there is no question it's a serious issue. we node to lock and find ou look and find out what is going on. arthel: before i let you go, we don't know why this is happening, really? >> i read all the studies. i didn't come up with any answer. this is really concerning. before we figure it out the parents have to make a decision whether they are going to send them to school or have the private training at home. arthel: i've got to go, doctor, very concerning and my heart goes out to the parents. bill: no answers at the moment. arthel: i can't believe this. >> a very desar strang have bizarre, strange story. bill: president obama asking

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bill: live right now inside a courtroom in peru, we are waiting to learn the fate of joran van der sloot shown there in that green t-shirt any moment now the court could sentence him for a death he has already confessed to, a 21-year-old girl in a hotel room in pa route. we will ge peru. we will get you the breaking news, we'll stay on top of it. we expect it at any moment and you'll get it first here. in the meantime more red ink could soon be adding to america's debt. the federal government already in the hole for more than 15 trillion. president obama taking the first step toward raising the debt limit again biofigures alley asking congress for an increase of 1.2 trillion in borrowing power. time for a fair & balanced debate right now. mary today the rain ham, daly caller. christopher hahn, former haeud to shubaid to chuck schumer.

how are you. >> great. bill: does this remind americans that the issue has not gone away no matter how you may try and avoid the headlines? we are in a deep, deep hole here. >> yeah i think it does remind us. the question of who that is good for politically. the jury is still out on that. while it's a big, red flashing light that says we just ran out of money again, and we need 1.2 trillion more dollars, but it also reminds people that every time this comes up we are going to have to have a fight about it. now, it would help republicans to have a reminder that the president is driving up debt but it does not actually help them as we've seen when they have debt ceiling fights to fight against raising the debt ceiling. it ends up making everybody mad at all of washington and doesn't necessarily raise their numbers. that is the spector that is difficult for republicans. bill: all right. i see that. and then i want to know how the president defends the policies of the past three to three and a half years, chris, when you're staring at that big, fat

number. >> it is a very large number, but let's remember, the end of the year -- at the end of this year sequester is going to take effect, the bush tax cuts are going to expire and the national debt is going to start to come down. that said the republicans don't really have any leg to stand on, even though they'll reject the president's request in the house of representatives, they basically approved this request over the summer during the debt ceiling fight. basically what they said was, we are going to give you everything the country needs to keep going through the election, but we're going to whine about it when you asked for it. that's why they wanted the president to come back to congress three times to get what he basically asked for in the summer. bill: it's going to lie ride through the election of 2012. have the republicans lost ground on this because they agreed to it last august or can they put up a fight? >> it's not just whining. heaven forbid we have to think about it when we that amount of

money. it's not good for the american people to ignore that it's happening and for it to slide back and it's happening. people have to think this is what it cost to run our government. obama's last budget added 9 trillion over the next ten years. bill: it's difficult to defend, chris. >> the time to actually have this conversation, and mary catherine is right is during the budget process and both parties have added debt during the budget process, nobody has clean hands here. they might want to whine about it now because they say, oh, let's make this debt ceiling an issue. really what we're fighting about is money we've already committed to in the budget process, whether it's through continuing resolutions or an actual budget the republicans were involved with making our spending mans right now, and they cannot then walk away from the debt that they, themselves, approved. bill: last word. >> when was the last time that the democrats engaged in a budget process? i believe it was like a thousand

days ago it would be helpful to see a little bit of that from them. yes it is true that there is spending on both sides, i do not deny that. it would be nice to actually see them engaged in the process that they are constitutionally made to do. >> listen, they have engaged in continuing resolutions. i've been very consistent, the democrats when they had control of the congress and white house should have passed the budget but they didn't. the republicans have been involved in that as well. they've approved the spending going forward right now. bill: this is what elections are all about. chris, thank you, mary catherine thanks to you. thanks for coming in. >> thank you, bill. arthel: south carolina could be the golden ticket for newt gingrich. brand-new rasmussen poll just released shows romney at 28%, gingrich at 21. but after torching mitt romney for days on his record in the private sector. there has been a lot of talk about whether he is now retreating a bit. check out the latest "real clear politics" average in the palm

palmetto state. billy williams, former chief judge of the court of appeals down there, now the south carolina chairman of the gingrich campaign, good to see you this morning, judge. >> good morning. arthel: we just saw it. let me start before we get to the poll, let me ask you about the bain capital ads. are they the bain of the speaker's existence. in hind sight are we talking about the right strategy, wrong place, wrong crime or simply the wrong strategy, and will the speaker retreat a bit? >> retreat? baloney. the speaker is surging. these ads that are being shown here in south carolina are speaking the truth, and that is the difference between a negative ad and an ad that lays out the facts for the people to understand. arthel: okay. so you said that the speaker is speaking the truth, and that he's not going to retreat, he's not backing down, but he does have to catch up a bit, finishing fourth in iowa and new hampshire, some would say the

speaker -- he is down on the mat mat, or at the very least up against the rope. i ask you, how do you fight the fight in the next eight days and have the speaker lock in on creating jobs, which is what the south carolina voters want to hear? >> of course, the iowa caucus, and the new hampshire primary were both important, but they pale in comparison to the importance of the south carolina primary. historically whoever wins the south carolina primary, going all the way back to ronald reagan's win in 1980 will capture the nomination. that is eight out of eight candidates. and six of those eight went onto win the white house. what is happening in south carolina now is that there is momentum behind newt's campaign. every time a poll is taken he rises in the polls, and the opponents stay about the same. and so i think the next poll that is going to come out will show a dead heat between newt

gingrich and mitt romney and by the end of the week we are going to see this surge and this mow ten tupl carrying newt t momentum carrying newt to the victory circle. arthel: what is it that is bringing the surge? what do you a tribute it to? >> one thing. south carolina is focusing on just on what they are saying they hope to do, and want to do. they are looking at a proven record. what have the candidates done in the past that would justify our trust in them to take the highest office in the nation. the only candidate, the only candidate that has a proven track record on the national level is speaker gingrich. now when he was speaker, get this. the budget was balanced for four years in a row under his leadership. that is amazing. taxes were cut. welfare reform took place. 11million jobs were added to the private sector.

and that's because he was able to use his position as speaker to accomplish these things, reaching across the aisle to democrats, and with republicans too, accomplishing these amazing things for our country. now if he could do that as speaker, what we say in south carolina is just think what is in store for our nation if he were president. arthel: judge, i have to leave it there. i tell you we've got the big fox news channel debate happening on monday and people are expecting to see that newt who is the intellectual who can zone in like few others on the g.o.p. message. we'll see if he shows up. we thank you for your time. >> he'll be there. bill: we'll take you to star north carolina the mid-way point between charlotte and raleigh. a workplace shooting being reported at mcbride lumber company. the earlier reporting suggested that four people have been shot, four people shot inside that

company a lit earlier today. and the early indication is that three of them have died. one worker taken to a hospital by way of air lift. so we're working on the story. apparently it occurred about two hours ago, and we are back to star, north carolina in a moment with more details on that. also on this. republicans say it's shovel ready, the white house says it needs more time. how house republicans plan to grab momentum on the keystone pipeline. arthel: trillions of miles of open space up there but apparently the final frontier isn't big enough for the u.s. and russia, a collision in outer space. [ male announcer ] say goodbye to "ho-hum," and hello to "whoa, yum." use campbell's cream of chicken soup to make easy enchiladas, cheesy chicken & rice, and other chicken dishes that are oh...so...whoa. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.

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bill: the battle over the keystone pipeline is heating up again. canada might be ready to move on as the president delays a decision on the controversial pipeline. it would stretch from northern alberto to the refining region in the gulf of mexico. lee terry of nebraska wants to

change that. member of the commerce committee. good morning to you, sir. what can you do if anything? >> first of all, he has to make a decision by peb 21st, and we're trying to make sure that the tpub knows that al public knows that all the information is necessary to make a determination. but it seems to be that the history of this administration, our president, has a policy of procrastination when it comes to energy policy, that needs to stop. bill: they say that the decision is going to take six or nine months, and the 60 days, whatever the extension was is frankly not enough. that was the word from jay carney yesterday. you've been to this area of your state. tell us about it. >> sure, it's a very sensitive, beautiful area. it's an arid climate, which is why it's sandy. the water table is high, that's why a lot of people were concerned about that, albeit that the environmental studies

done in national laboratories showed that it was safe with all of the precautions mandated upon us, which brings us back to the point, all the studies have been done. the state department has told us that they would be ready for a decision december 31st 2011. i see no reason for further delays. bill: okay. apparently that is going to be the case, though, and i guess from a political standpoint, how would you frame this argument if the delay stretches six months, or nine months? because it's an election year, let's face it and republicans could exploit it, frankly. >> well, and i think the president risks the fact that he's going to delay a decision that will probably harm our energy security, so it's more important to play politics than it is to have our energy

security energy independence. it is in our national interest to have this pipeline as shown by the actions of iran in the strait of hormuz. and the inch i stability of opec countries in the middle east. bill: are you helpless at the moment? it's pretty much his decision, it's his call. >> and that's what we wanted to do. the law says it's his call, he needs to stop proceed crass tin naturing, asking for the third environmental study that will be redundant of the ones already done, make the decision. we think, i think the right decision is to build the pipeline, give us some energy security in our economy, create 20,000 jobs. bill: lee terry, thank you. we'll see whether or not you get your way. out of nebraska today, appreciate your time. >> i hope so. bill: okay. jon scott is coming up in about 14 minutes on a friday morning. what are you working on jon than. jon: busy day here in the

newsroom. the president is set to ask congress for some sweeping powers to consolidate several agencies. we are going to take his comments for you live. and in south carolina it is getting ugly, but is newt gingrich softening some? we will talk about that with the former governor. we'll talk with a romney surrogate how they plan to deal with the bain capital issue in 2012. wait until we tell you about a new weight loss drug you could possibly lose weight without exercise, is that possible? and fox news watch takes on a new book on the president's white house, "the obama's" coming up on "happening now." bill: i like that exercise story. if it's free it's for me. jon. now to the courtroom awaiting the fate of joran van der sloot in peru. any moment now the judge could spence sentence him. we will bring you the breaking news when it happens. joran van der sloot in court in lima. arthel: also, bill astronauts eyeing giant debris after a massive collision in outer

space, what they say crashed, and does it affect nasa? bill: some of our country's bravest hitting the ice for a great cause. what are they up to? you'll find out in moments. [ mujahid ] there was a little bit of trepidation, not quite knowing what the next phase was going to be, you know, because you been, you know, this is what you had been doing. you know, working, working, working, working, working, working. and now you're talking about, well you know, i won't be,

and i get the chance to spend more time with my wife and my kids. it's my world. that's my world. ♪

bill: back to breaking news now, star, north carolina, a deadly workplace shooting happened about 6:00am eastern time now. the details are coming clear, that this was a -- this was a brutal scene, mcbride lumber company, star, north carolina. four people shot inside the company at 6:00am. three people killed. one worker airlifted to a hospital. then later the gunman was found inside of his own home, after he shot himself. he was taken to the hospital also. witnesses saying the gunman was

a disgruntled employee at the lumber company, entered the warehouse at dawn, started shooting workers inside and these deputies later finding the suspect inside of his home. he shot himself and he was also airlifted to the hospital. this is star, north carolina, again about the midway point between charlotte and raleigh, breaking news here. arthel: some iraq and afghanistan war veterans taking to the ice for a good cause, forming a hockey team in southern california to raise money for charities like the wounded warriors project. fox news channel had full access as patriots hockey geared up for its main event yesterday. rick leventhal is live from our l.a. bureau. rick, you know some might way it's a big leap from the desert sand to a hockey rink. >> reporter: it's not like these guys can practice in a war zone. there is not a single ice hockey rink in iraq or afghanistan. when they come home they put down their rifles and pick up their hockey sticks.

a former marine sergeant came up with the idea to put this team together and raise money for charity, the wounded warrior project. nearly awful them are active duty marines or sailors. they played after the king's game at the staples center against a team from the fire department. i asked one of the marines about the importance of the game and his message to america. >> don't forget about those guys that come back. there is still a war going on over there, there will be a war for some time. don't forget about those guys. they need your help and support, and they don't do it for the thanks, but take a second to thank them and it will -- it will go a long way. >> reporter: and the marines say patriot's hockey is already catching fire. they hope to play more games and raise more awareness for the cause. arthel: it makes me smile. going from the desert sands in the war zone is nothing fun, but definite hraoet fact that the

definitely the fact that they are doing this is a good thing. how did they do? >> reporter: this was their first game. the firefighters have a great team. the firefighters pulled out to a lead in the first nine minutes or so. the patriots scored a goal but eventually lost 6-1. they say this is more about the message than the score. one taking note was an l.a. king's center. do you have a message for these guys? >> i'd like to thank them. it's been said so many times that we are so grateful and thankful for what they do for us and for our country. playing hockey is a tough sport, but what they do, it's a whole different story. >> reporter: and andre would have been a big help to the marines, considering he had a goal and two assists in the king's game. it's ironic that the staples center has a very strict rule for charity games, there was no fighting allowed on the ice, so these marines were not allowed

to fight in that game. arthel: that's a good thing, a very good thing all around. rick leventhal thank you for big us that very important story. i'm glad to see that the guys are out there, wounded warriors is a great project to work for. >> reporter: absolutely. bill: amazing that a hockey game broke out in the middle of that. arthel: you were waiting to say that weren't you. bill: right on. two communication satellites destroyed after crashing into one another, 500 miles above russia. the company that launched the satellite looks kind of like this right here. they say the loss will have very little effect on subscribers, including the pentagon. the other belonged to the russians and was not functions at the time of the accident. the space station is not threatened by the giant cloud of debris. no word yet as to whether any satellites might be in the way in orbit. arthel: not too bad after all at the end of the day. one is a superstar quarterback of the denver broncos, the other rock and roll legend famous for

cross degrees. i love david bowe. what do tim tebow and david bowe have in common? you are about to find out.

..

bill:, again we're waiting to learn the fate of joran van der sloot in the court live in peru. any moment the court could sentence him. apparently the judge is reading through the case allowed. he seemed to intervene in spanish, get on with it. just tell me, just tell me. the judge is not reacting to that request but he certainly has. he is sweating through his shirt. the verdict, when it happens in lima, peru here. >> we leave you with this. as long as the denver broncos keep winning you will hear about tim tebow. jimmy fallon combined tebow with rock star david bowie, to form tebowie. >> this is jesus christ to tim tebow, please leave me al