alert on a race against time in italy as rescue teams resume their desperate search for survivors inside the wreck of this luxury cruise liner which hours ago began to slip further into the sea. welcome to "america live," it's great to be with you, i'm alisyn camarota in for megyn kelly. in just the last hour, we got word that a state of emergency will be declared as fears are mounting that if the ship continues to shift, hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel could leak out. this story is developing by the minute, but the details that we already know are terrifying. there was panic and chaos when the ship ran aground. onboard more than 4,000 people, and among them 120 americans. today the death toll rising after a sixth body is found. sixteen people are still missing at this hour including an american couple and a 5-year-old child. the cruise line is blaming human error on the part of the captain, saying he took the ship

off its planned course and then after the crash left the damaged vessel and thousands of terrified passengers behind. >> when i was pounding on the wall, and the wall became my floor, and i had about a meter in a step either way, and that was the end. it was timing because the water was coming up, and we were just waiting and estimating at what degree we thought we were and how long we thought until we had to get into the water. and we'd already judged where we were going to swim to on the shore. i mean, thank god we made the shore. >> just watching the helicopters and everyone's life jacket flashing still on the ship, you could still see and then, yeah. alisyn: fox's greg burke is there streaming live from italy's west coast. what's the latest at this hour? >> reporter: well, allison, you know, yesterday there was a great, dramatic rescue. an italian crew member with a broken leg was taken off the

ship by helicopter, nothing like that today as the death toll rises to six and 16, that is more than a dozen unaccounted for. it looks like 16, but the number has shifted from day-to-day. now, it has been three full days now since the costa concordia ran into a huge underground rock formation. it could be possible somebody's still on the ship and has survived, but it is going to be tough. the sea also got a little rougher today, not exactly high seas, but just with the movement of the tide, the high tide and the weather shift ago bit, some movement on that ship which makes it difficult for rescuers and also a problem for all that fuel, 500,000 gallons of fuel still there. now, more information coming out today on the captain and why there was so much problem, why there was so much confusion with the ship in the crunch time, the hour or so that it took between the time it hit the rocks next to the island to the time when

they started getting off. passengers very, very angry. the company has basically after initially defending the captain has now said, no, there was serious, serious human error and that he had strayed very far from the course the ship normally took. it's a course that the ship was taking once a week, as a matter of fact. finally, allison, interesting the anger continues. there was a lot of anger that night, but it continues actually. one of the representatives of the cruise company was attacked by some passengers in a rome hotel. allison? alisyn: oh, my goodness. the aftermath is just incredible. greg burke, thanks so much for that update. among the 16 people that are missing is a couple from white bear lake, minnesota, gerald and barbara hile. neighbors say the couple are pillars at their church, and they have four grown children and 15 grandkids. their children say their parents were looking forward to this trip, eager to see the world after retiring. as we learn any more on their

status, we will update you. and we're also learning more about the captain of the ship. he is facing manslaughter charges for reportedly making it to the dock before anyone else and failing to help those frantic passengers. this is 52-year-old francesco scatino, it's believed he caused the accident by taking the ship too close to the island's rocky shore. authorities are now looking at why he never sent a mayday during the accident. we're also tracking the cruise ship tragedy on our web site, check it out. you can see the gallery of photos there from the scene, plus eyewitness accounts, and you can find it all at foxnews.com. fox news alert for you now from the campaign trail, as we get brand new poll numbers from rasmussen reports on the issue most critical to voters. the new poll asks who would do a better job of managing the economy, and rasmussen reports show mitt romney leading president obama by a margin of 38% to 39 -- 48% to 39%.

rasmussen also asked about romney's past work with that investment private equity firm. we have more on all of that at the bottom of the hour for you. well, the former governor of massachusetts taking the stage with his gop rivals tonight in south carolina for the latest fox news debate and there's, obviously, a lot on the line for all of the candidates, but maybe none more so than rick santorum who knows he has to do well in this socially conservative state. >> we finished first in the conservative primary in the second state, we're running in first and second place in the third state, badly outspent by everybody else and yet we're hang anything there because we do have that strong base of support. alisyn: chris stirewalt is the fox news digital politics editor and hosts "power play" on foxnews.com. chris, great to see you. >> of course. good to see you. greets from south carolina -- greetings from south carolina. alisyn: what does rick santorum need to do tonight to distinguish himself from the pack? >> well, he's got to make a

triple play tonight. he has to, basically, deal with ron paul. he's been making a strong socially conservative argument against the more libertarian, super small government brand that ron paul has out there. he's got to double down on that, but tonight he's got to come out -- which is the weakest spot for ron paul which is national security, it helped him in iowa, so he's got to push ron paul down. as you see in the latest fox news poll and that reflects here in south carolina, ron paul, former speaker newt gingrich and santorum are all sort of knotted for second place behind romney. so he's got to push paul aside. then he has to start drawing contrasts with newt gingrich. he has to say i'm a better choice to go the distance with mitt romney as the conservative alternative than newt gingrich. time is running out with the vote here on saturday, so santorum has little choice. third and probably most important is that rick santorum has to explain why it's necessary to have an alternative to romney. with people coalescing around romney, with his numbers up 40% in the latest fox news poll and

the rasmussen numbers that you point to bear that out further, he has to explain, santorum has to explain why it's necessary to take a guy who looks increasingly inevitable to the mat before he gets the nomination. alisyn: so, chris, let's say rick santorum can beat the guys that he's in that statistical tie with, newt gingrich and ron paul, but he doesn't beat mitt romney. is that good enough? >> on saturday in the vote, no. i mean, look, it's good enough to get him down to florida, continue the conversation and start to win the field, but if you're mitt romney what you're looking at in south carolina is if you have rack up a third win, two of those states that originally we never thought he'd have a chance to win because of their social conservativism and because of romney's more moderate record, if he's won in all three places, unless santorum makes it close, he's got to get close if he wants this thing to go the distance, so he needs to wreak out to the pack and mistake it about him and romney again. alisyn: and, chris, it seemed

like rick santorum was going to get some momentum from this weekend's meeting of those 1250 evangelical leaders who basically endorsed him. has that paid off in south carolina? >> no, and, you know, the people that i -- i've talked to a couple people who were involved and one in particular, people did not walk away satisfied. it was a three-ballot process that they went through to end up with santorum. there was some hard feelings about how that all went. and remember, and this is very important, these are folks who believe strongly they're led by the lord to do certain things, they're going to follow their faith and prayerful considerations, and they're not always happy if somebody's telling them how to be. alisyn: chris stirewalt, thanks so much for previewing that for us. >> you betcha. alisyn: we're now down to five gop presidential candidates. just a short time ago jon huntsman ended his white house bid throwing his support behind his rival, mitt romney. >> today i am suspending my campaign for the presidency.

i believe it is now time for our party to unite around the candidate best equipped to defeat barack obama. despite our differences and the space between us on some of the issues, i believe that candidate is governor mitt romney. alisyn: so this is really a tale of the numbers. the latest real clear politics average shows huntsman last in south carolina after a disappointing third place finish in new hampshire last week. and, again, the rest to have gop field on stage on fox tonight, plus we'll have special coverage on primary day, saturday, january 21st, beginning at 6 p.m. eastern. and we will be live in south carolina with realtime results and analysis for you, so keep it here on fox news channel for all of your election news. fox news alert now, the u.s. and israel postponing a major military exercise as the drum beat of possible war in the

region gets louder. general martin dempsey, he's the highest-ranking officer in the u.s. military, he will be visiting israel this week, and he's meeting with that country's top brass. the visit comes as u.s. concern is growing that israel is on the brink of taking military action against iran's nuclear facilities. reena ninan is live in jerusalem with the latest. reena? >> reporter: hi, ali. first, israeli officials said this delay was because of budget woes, but the truth is the delay could very well be because of using a pressure tactic maybe to threaten iran the use of force at a time that could be the most optimal to pressure them. it's likely the drill will be move today the summer of this year -- moved to the summer of this year. it's not completely off, but just slightly delayed. the last time israel and the u.s. held joint training drills was in 2009. this year is expected to be the largest drill that's ever taken place, some 3,000 american troops will come to israel and bring the american gear needed

to practice defending israel against missile strikes. so are israel and the u.s. on the same page about iran? while there are reports the white house is worried israel will launch a unilateral strike, is this part of a facade allowing iran to think only the u.s. is standing between iran and a possible attack? it's really hard to know for sure, but what we do know, the israeli defense minister, ehud barak, has consistently said that 2012 will be a critical year in dealing with the iranian nuclear threat. he believes the clock is truly running out by the end of this year while others like the former israeli mossad director doesn't believe that to be the case. but, ali, the truth is israel relies on $3 billion of aid a year for military spending, and it's hard to imagine they would go against the u.s. and take unilateral measures here in the middle east. ali? alisyn: all right. reena ninan, thanks so much for the update, and we should let our viewers know we'll have more expert analysis on this very critical story just about an

hour from now. also, we've got more coming in on the cruise ship disaster with efforts to head off a massive fuel spill. plus, in just minutes we'll speak to one of the americans survivors onboard that ship about how she made it alive, her chilling story is just ahead. plus, could a new pill help you stay in shape without that sweaty workout? our medical a-team on what could be an amazing breakthrough. and could tensions with iran lead to another gas crisis like the one this country suffered through in the 1970s? lou dobbs in three minutes with just how serious this could be. >> we've never paid this much in january for gasoline. >> there's no money, so it's making things very difficult. sometimes i have to think twice about where i need to go before i start driving. it's really important. sauce and still reach your weight loss goals? you can with green giant frozen vegetables. over twenty delicious varieties ha sixty calories oless per serving and are now weight watchers-endorsed.

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alisyn: we want to get back to one of our top stories now, and that's the growing tension between the u.s. and iran.

we're getting new reports today that iran's threats to block that strategic oil route in the middle east is having a direct effect oven gas prices -- on gas prices here at home forcing the average american to pay 15 cents more per gallon in just the last couple of weeks, hitting an average of around $3.39 a gallon. and you couple that with higher prices that we typically get each spring and then summer, and this could be a big issue for consumers and, of course, for political leaders. lou dobbs is the host of "lou dobbs tonight," he joins me now. hi, lou. >> good to see you. alisyn: gas prices have ticked up steadily, six cents in just the past week. now, typically in winter gas prices are lower than they are in spring and summer. what's happening here? >> well, a couple things are happening, and as you said and as you well know what is happening with iran is creating some suspense in the world oil markets. that's at the margin. but what is more significant at least in my view is that home heating oil prices are right now

sort of in limbo because demand for heating oil because of our warmer winter is really declining. so the refiners are caught in sort of, you know, a situation where they're watching their margins drop, they're watching their top line drop, and as a result they're trying to hold prices higher, in some case move prices higher, for gasoline to offset what they're losing with home heating oil. now, the reality is that iran's not helping in any way, but what we're watching here is a little more complicated than just iran. alisyn: okay, that's interesting. so is there any way to predict what this means for spring prices or summer prices? >> the likelihood, as you said, it will mean higher prices. to what degree we don't know because basic supplies are still running high. our inventories of crude oil are still running high, and the distillates are also in good shape. so why these prices are staying up is, i think, personally

really a matter of decision making on the part of the oil refiners. alisyn: let's talk about iran, and if they decide somehow to close the strait of hormuz, apparently one-fifth of the world's oil goes through there every day. is there any way for the u.s. to pivot and get more of it imports from, say, canada so that we're not as vulnerable? >> first of all, we're not vulnerable to iran at all. alisyn: even in the strait of hormuz? >> and not to that 20% of oil that moves through the strait of hormuz. our friends in europe certainly are and other parts of asia certainly are, but the u.s. supplies are not in any way dependent on what happens in the strait of hormuz. but there is such a national security issue, a geopolitical issue here with the straits of hormuz that we've already informed iran that effectively it will watch 40 years, 40 years of investment disappear. if they really want to be paupers, if they want to destroy their lives and by that i'm

talking about their economic lives, this would be the way to do it. i think we have to be careful here. the iranians are led by ahmadinejad, but their true leadership rest with the mullahs, the ayatollahs, and khamenei would not be pleased to see ahmadinejad run off at the mouth and watch, say, $50 billion worth of infrastructure evaporate under the, under an attack from the united states or any of our allies. alisyn: so let's talk about the political implications for all of this back at home here in terms of gas prices. what matters more to voters, high gas prices come election time or jobs? >> well, i don't think there's a way which we can make that choice. what does matter to all of us right now is restoring prosperity. prosperity means for all of us in this country. our middle class, those who aspire to it, and that means we've got to be creating jobs, we've got to do so at a rate of more than 200,000 jobs a month, and we also have to maintain

predictable and lower energy prices. alisyn: got it. lou dobbs, thanks so much. >> great to be with you. catch lou on the fox business network every night airing weeknights at 7p.m. eastern time. the president's latest political play now headed to court claiming the president broke the law with his latest pants. we'll show you how this could impact the public. plus, it may be a godsend for couch potatoes. all the benefits of exercise without any of the effort. scientists opening the door to a workout in a pill, finally! is this too good to be true? dr. manny's going to explain next. ♪ wanna know the difference between a trader and an elite trader? it's this... the etrade pro platform. fast. beautiful. totally customizable.

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alisyn: tributes across the country today celebrating the legacy of martin luther king jr. visitor in washington paying tribute at the new mlk memorial. the 30-foot-tall sculpture was inspired by king's famous "i have a dream" speech depicting him emerging as a stone of hope. the civil rights leader would have turned 83 years old yesterday. ♪ alisyn: all right, you got to hear this one, it's a medical breakthrough that could ultimately help people stay fit without exercise. it's all thanks to a newly-discovered hormone that scientists say actually boosts your body's ability to burn fat. we should point out that the saad talks about this as a treatment for obesity or diabetes, not as a way to skip the gym. let's find out what dr. manny

alvarez, fox news medical a-team, thinks about all of this. dr. manny, i know it's designed for diabetes and to fight obesity, but ultimately, down the road does it mean we could skip the gym? >> it could, it could, but listen, this hormone mimics exercise. and this is the whole basis of this study. iricin is the name of the hormone, it was discovered by a group of scientists over at harvard, published in the journal of nature. this is a huge study because, basically, what it's telling you that there is a hormone that is produced by muscle, and it turns the fat into energy. and, basically, it helps you to burn those calories. and it really has a lot to do with finding new ways now to look at how fat is stored, how we can use, perhaps, the enhancement of this hormone and use it as a potential treatment for diabetes, even cancer because, remember, a lot of the cancers are due to a lot of overweight, a lot of fat, a lot of toxins.

so this is a huge finding. and eventually, perhaps, it could be in pill forms, and then you're going to be able to take those pills and it will enhance your energy, and this will make it easier for you to, perhaps, exercise because exercise is important. remember, not only do you burn calories, but it's good for your heart, the pump, it's good for your brain, the endorphins. so you don't replace exercise, but it sure is going to be a very positive finding for the treatment of diabetes. alisyn: okay. so in other words, this pill while it can maybe keep you thin and keep you, prevent you from becoming obese, it can't substitute for exercise. >> no. i know you're looking for a prescription right now -- alisyn: i sort of am, actually. >> no, i don't think so. look, the challenges and a lot of the people that are severely overweight or have true buy dietz is they have a lot of fat stored in their muscles and, therefore, the insulin which is the other hormone which makes you regulate your sugar is unable to work properly.

so i think by looking at this new hormone which is clearly produced by the muscles themselves, if you're able to increase that, then that's going to reduce the fat in your muscles, your insulin is going to work, and then you're going to have a better treatment for diabetes. but so far as exercise, i don't know. i may take it myself, but i'll give you some feedback after i take it. alisyn: you know, we should mention it's not yet in pill form, that these researchers at the cancer institute in boston have just fashioned upon this new finding, and it sounds like what they focused on, correct me if i'm wrong, is something called brown fat. >> right. alisyn: it sounds gross, but it's actually great because it converts more to energy instead of foot. >> yeah. brown fat is that kind of fat that really stimulates sort of the energy-burning facet of having fat. that's what you want. the problem is the theory in the past was that you're born as a child with a lot of brown fat. as you get older, that brown fat

begins to sort of get -- disappears, and you end up with a lot of yellow fat like the one i have, and that doesn't do any good for your body. but it seems like if you exercise and your muscles are really producing a lot of these types of hormones, you increase the amount of brown fat, and that's going to help you burn calories. and, ultimately, this specific hormone is the one that discuss the trick. so, yes, you're going to be able to hopefully translate a lot of that fat into brown fat. alisyn: okay, got it. come back when you can. >> i'll have a prescription ready for you. alisyn: i appreciate that, thank you. we've got more on that big story breaking on the campaign trail. president obama versus mitt romney on the economy, plus what voters think about romney's corporate past. three minutes to that big story. plus, wisconsin's union-fighting governor may be squaring off for a new battle. just ahead, why tomorrow is a critical day for scott walker. and there are new clues in the case of that missing montana

teacher. the fbi is questioning two men as the search takes on a different tone. >> keep your eyes open, keep praying. god may push you to do something, listen to that. we're going to find her.

alisyn: we have a couple of developing stories we're following for you right now including congress getting ready to debate the payroll tax cut extension again this week.

that's after approving that two month extension for the cuts before leaving for their holiday break. they're now looking at extending it for the rest of the year. plus, russian officials are scratching their heads saying they still have no firm information where that failed mars probe fell to earth. the unmanned probe fell yesterday after being stuck in the earth's orbit for two months. ♪ alisyn: we've got new fallout today from president obama's controversial recess appointments. the president recently installed the head of a new consumer protection agency, and three members of the national labor relations board without the required senate approval. now several groups are challenging the appointments in court saying they violate the u.s. constitution. fox news' shannon bream has more, what's the latest? >> reporter: well, allison, these groups are asking a federal judge to step in and rule that the president's appointments to the nlrb are unconstitutional. president of the national right to work foundation says

president obama is ignoring the constitutional limits on the executive branch and that the senate was in session when mr. obama decided to step in. >> this president has said because they won't act, i must. and i think what he said is i don't care what the constitution says here, and process be damned, i'm going to do what i want. and that is a very serious violation. this is a constitutional crisis. >> reporter: the white house is also taking heat over the appointment, as you mentioned, of richard cordray to head the consumer financial protection bureau, but the administration point toss a legal memo that notes the president can determine that the senate is not actually in session when it is holding only, quote, pro forma sessions where no business can be conducted. >> the absolute necessity of doing this remains as clear today as it was when he did it and prior to him doing it, and i think that the american people by and large, in fact, overwhelmingly support the existence of somebody here in washington looking out for them.

>> reporter: but there's also this. a letter written by then-solicitor general, now-supreme court justice elena kagan back in 2010. it notes that the senate can cut off the president's ability to make recess appointments, quote, by declining to recess for more than two or three days at a time which is what senate republicans say they were doing. alisyn: shannon bream, thanks so much for explaining that. back to our fox news alert now, because we have some brand new poll numbers from rasmussen reports on the issue more critical to voters, or most. the new poll asks who would do a better job of managing the economy, and rasmussen reports shows that mitt romney is leading president obama by a margin of 48% to 39%. and the poll also uncovered a couple of other very interesting items. brad blakeman is a former deputy assistant to president george w. bush and dick harpootlian is chairman of the south carolina democratic party. gentlemen, thanks for being with us. >> thank you. >> hi, allison so.

alisyn: 48% of the respondents think that romney would do a better job with the economy than president obama. isn't that the very heart of what this election is about? >> well, i think there's a couple things we need to note about this poll. first of all, the rasmussen poll's an outlier. it had, it rated president obama -9 points. two other polls, one of them yours fox news but o other gallup, had him down two points. having said that, there's no question that this race is close, and there's no question that we're going to have to fight hard between now and november to stop mitt romney from taking over the country and doing to the country what he did to south carolina with bain capital. let me tell you, it's very important -- wait, wait, wait with, it's very important to understand this poll does not, first of all, it's an outlier, but more importantly, they haven't had time to flesh out mitt romney. once the people in this country get to know mitt romney, they ain't going to like mitt romney. alisyn: it's interesting you say

that was there are other questions in this poll. one of them says do you see romney's track record in business as a reason to vote for him or against him and, brad, it's sort of mixed. basically, 39% see it as a reason to vote for him and 34% against him. does that mean the attacks on bain capital are working or not working? >> well, negative ads tend to work, but in the macro sense fox news is reporting that people believe that mitt romney has the creds on the economy which is exactly what they're looking for. let me pull a dick harpootlian. you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. more devastating is the fox report that shows polls recently that 62% of independents don't only like what the president's doing, they're angry with the president and turning away from the president, the very voters the president's going to have to rely on in order to be reelected. alisyn: dick, i'm curious. you say wait until the voters hear what bain capital did to

the people of south carolina. but when our correspondents have gone to south carolina where there was that photo album company that was closed down, people have basically met it with a yawn, many of them don't even remember the company, say it wasn't a big deal. >> well, remember now bain capital took five million tax dollars, bonds which they got from the state to open that plant. they made millions of dollars off of it, shut it down, put 200 people out of work and went to another state. they wasted $5 million of our state tax money. that story hasn't been told. number two, i think a sow's ear into a silk purse is not really the comparison here for mitt romney. it's the old political adage, it's political alchemy. you cannot make chicken salad out of chicken doen do, and by the way, mitt romney is chicken dodo. [laughter] i've cleaned that up. >> i'm going to pass on that one. [laughter] alisyn: i have another one for

you, and that is who is better at creating jobs, venture capital companies meaning venture capital or private equity companies like bain capital, 57% of responsibilities believe those companies are better at creating jobs than government programs are. brad, what do you make of that? >> they're smart. they understand that it's the private sector that creates jobs, not the government. this government under this president told us that if we passed an $800 billion stimulus at the dawn of his administration, that it would create an environment by which our national unemployment would not rise above 8%. well, it's been above 8%, it's topped off at 11%, so he's been a total disaster on jobs. as it stands now, no president's been reelected with an unemployment national rate above 7.2%. we're way above that. and if you take into account those people who are underemployed or stopped working or in our inner cities, it's

trouble that. it's no longer bush to blame, the president to stand on his own two feet and accept what he said himself is a standard by which he'll be reelected, something he can't be reelected on based on his own admission that if i'm not able to do what i promised to do, i don't deserve a second term. alisyn: dick, i see you shaking your head. what's your response to more people trusting venture capital firms than the government? >> well, i mean, some venture capital funds are ethical, honest, they try to keep jobs here, and they don't rape and pillage. let me point out what happened this weekend this south carolina. mitt romney was approached by a woman who did not have iraq, tremendous financial problems and asked mitt romney what he would do to help her out of his situation. what did he do? he opened his wallet and gave her a $20. mitt romney's solution to poor people and need financial help is beg. there is a role for government in this. mitt romney knows there is a role for government, what he did in massachusetts when he was a massachusetts liberal -- >> mitt romney was being

compassionate, and he yets slammed by being compassionate for somebody who's down on their luck. >> twenty bucks? come on. alisyn: he said it was $50. >> she could get a kidney transplant. >> and he felt it necessary and honorable to help this woman out. it's never enough for you guys because why? >> no, no! >> the government's not giving the money. if it was the government, what would you have given her, $50,000 or maybe a half a billion dollars like you've given solyndra for failure? >> we would have given her what she needed to cure whatever ills she had. alisyn: all right, guys, that's hard to put a price tag on. exactly how to solve what cures everybody's ills. dick harpootlian, brad blakeman, thanks for coming in for the debate, we appreciate it. >> thank you. alisyn: new developments in a growing showdown with iran as the chairman of the joint chiefs heads to israel. and the obama administration delaying a huge military drill with our closest ally while iran

flexes its military muscle and shows no signs of backing down. ambassador john bolton and captain chuck nash join us next hour on where this goes from here. plus, ski slopes without snow, winter not looking like winter? janice dean is going to tell us what's up coming up. also still ahead, panic and chaos as passengers try to make it out alive from that doomed cruise ship. an incredible story of survival in just three minutes. >> it was kind of tilting, and then it came back a little bit, and then it did it again, so i grabbed this brass pole and grabbed my friend, and she said we've got to go to our room and get our life jackets and our coats. >> you knew right away there was a major problem. >> we were tilted, absolutely tilted. 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. g this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday. 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. >> we, we hear like a pause and a noise, and like everybody, like, kind of like started

tilting on the right-hand side. the breakage of glass, breakage of, like, so many plates on the dinner table started to happen. >> because the ship was tilting on our rescue boat and there were not many people on the boat, our lifeboat was closing, and they have to use hammer to cut the ropes. and all of a sudden after five minutes -- >> fell from four floors -- >> to the water. all the way to the water. >> i keep praying the whole time, you know, for somebody to come and rescue us because i had to keep, and i thought i was going to die. because nobody was saying anything to us. nobody, we were just there. i was super afraid. i've come so far for this, it was just too much. alisyn: those were a few of the survives of that tragic cruise ship accident describing the horror onboard. details are still coming out, but here's what we do know at this hour. sixteen people are still

unaccounted for. as of today, six people are confirmed dead, and at least two of the unaccounted for are an american couple from minnesota. joining us now on the phone is one of the survivors, vanessa rosales. she was watching a magic show when the ship went aground. vanessa, great the hear from you today. >> hello, how are you? alisyn: we're doing well. tell us about how you were at this magic show, and the lights went out. what did you think was happening? >> well, it was very bizarre because we had just sat down to watch the magic show, and all of a sudden we just heard a big thud, and the lights went out. and i automatically looked at my parents, and they were just like, what is going on. but right after the lights went out, the lights came back on, and there was an announcement that it was just a minor technical difficulty and that we should just remain calm and just sit down, and everything would resume as it was. and then, um, yeah, they just told us to relax and sit down, so we just remained seated.

alisyn: and, of course, that was the wrong information. once you figured out that this was actually tragedy of these proportions, what instructions then were you getting from the crew? what was the scene then? >> well, it was for the longest time it was not to worry, it was just a minor technical difficulty, and it wasn't until i went downstairs to my cabin to use the restroom that one of the staff members was screaming for me to get out of that floor and that i needed to report to the deck floor, and i was just very confused because at the magic show they were like, relax, it's okay, everything's fine. and then it went to get out, and i ran upstairs to find my participants, and right after the siren went on that we needed to abort the ship, and it was very, very scary. alisyn: and were you able to find your parents? because we've heard how chaotic the scene was. >> yes. luckily, i was fortunate enough to find my parents because they

had waited at the stairwell for me, but, yeah, i'm very lucky that i found them because it was so chaotic. everyone was fighting, screaming, pushing each other. it was very, very scary, but luckily i found them. alisyn: we understand you went to the place where the lifeboats were, but you couldn't get on one. what happened? >> yeah, it was like we went, and they all told us to report to the one side, and when we got there, it turns out that there wasn't any lifeboats, so they just kept telling us different directions like go to the next one, go to the next one, and everyone would run to the next one, and they were all full, so we never got to one. alisyn: did you -- >> and then -- alisyn: i mean, oh, yes, you couldn't get on one, how did you get rescued? >> yeah, we couldn't get on one. so i was just thinking don't panic, there has to be enough lifeboats for everyone, but, um, like at the end they were all gone, so that's when i started panicking, and i was going to -- i was crying.

and i was just like there aren't anymore lifeboats, i don't know what to do. luckily, some people had given us extra life vests that they had found. but it wasn't until a rescue boat or a lifeboat that had already launched came back from dropping people off at the island that we got on to, like, the last boat that came back. gratefully, we were rescued at that moment. alisyn: well, vanessa rosales, we're so happy to hear from you today, so happy that you and your parents were okay and you survived this horrible tragedy. thanks so much for sharing your personal story with us. >> you're very welcome. alisyn: safe travels home. meanwhile, a fuel tanker has now made it to alaska after battling snow and ice. we'll have the latest on that for you. and janice dean is here with your complete winter weather forecast and what's going on with this crazy weather next. ♪

alisyn: help is on the way to a town cut off from the world by ice. a russian oil tanker arriving off the coast of alaska with much-needed fuel. a coast guard ice breaker cleared a path for it to go through hundreds of miles of ice. the crew is now preparing to funnel the fuel over the ice to the town of nome. coast guard personnel taking every precaution. >> people falling through the ice, you know, we're taking every effort possible to drill the ice before anybody goes out on it to test that as well as you have the potential for a fuel spill. we've got everything in place right now to assist in that if something was to go wrong. alisyn: the fuel transfer could take up to five days.

well, it's bitterly cold in alaska, but the weather this winter has been very unusual in the large parts of the nation. no snow for big parts of the country, great for heating bills, bad for ski resorts and all the jobs, of course, that they support. meteorologist janice dean is lye in the extreme weather center. what's going on, janice? >> reporter: it's extreme weather, allison. if it wasn't for extreme weather, i would be out of business. certainly, we have nine more weeks of winter, but right we're dealing with incredibly dry, very warm conditions. the first ten days of january have been the warmest and driest on record. parts of the northern rockies seeing some snow, but the great lakes and the northeast typically where we see heavier snow totals across those great lakes, we're not seeing that this year, and the ski resorts are really feeling it. unfortunately, we're -- fortunately, we're not seeing the blockbuster storms we saw this time last year, right now minneapolis just over 10 inches.

really incredible amounts of deficits of snow here. six inches in chicago, and new york city as well just a little over to inches and that was from the freak snow that we saw in october. so a lot of folks seeing below average in terms of snowfall, but the good news is if you like the snow, we still have several weeks of winter left to see if, indeed, we are going to get snow. in february sometimes, allison, we get some of those really big, blockbuster storms. alisyn: sometimes it snows in march and april even. janice dean, thank you so much. america's highest-ranking military officer is heading to israel, joint chiefs chair martin dempsey supposed to talk about the growing showdown with ann iran. the story from the white house next. and still ahead s tea time over? senate democrats targeting the tea party in a new way. >> i hope that the tea party

doesn't have the influence in this next year they had in the previous year. i hope that the republicans will understand as i think they learned in the last week or last year that -- one chance to hunt down the right insurance at the right price. the "name your price" tool, only from progressive. ready, aim, save! grrr! ooh, i forgot my phone! the "name your price" tool. now available on your phone. get a free quote today.

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call 1-800-411-7040 right now and ask about your risk free 30 day trial. get a lyric in your life. alisyn: this is a fox news alert on new developments in a growing showdown with iran. welcome to "america live." i'm alisyn camerota in for megyn kelly today. we start with the latest twist in a dangerous game of who blinks first in the middle east. the u.s. and israel canceling large-scale war games over worries it could lead to increased tensions with iran. let's go back in time. it was october 13 when president obama threatened tough sanctions

against iran. december 4, iran captured a u.s. drone packed with high-tech military equipment and iran started warning it would shut down a critical oil route if sanctions went forward. the u.s. responded by sending a powerful air craft carrier into the area and threatening a military response. last wednesday two people killed an iranian nuclear scientist by attaching a bomb to his car. iran blamed the u.s. and israel and they denied any involvement. wendall goler is live at the white house. >> reporter: martin dempsey, the joint chiefs chair * is meeting with his counterparts in france and brussels. in light of iran's threat to close the strait of hormuz and

its apparent progress in enriching iranian. this is dempsey's first visit to israel since taking over as joint chiefs chair at the end of september. it comes days after president obama spoke with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. it comes as the u.s. and israel played plans for a large-scale war games exercise in part to avoid increased tensions with iran. it was a joint decision that the timing wasn't right, and not just because of iran's threats. last week's assassination of an iranian nuclear scientist raised tensions. a bomb was attached to his car. iran blamed the u.s. white house spokesman jay carney of course denied the charges. >> we reject those accusations. we are engaged in an effort to

pressure iran to live up to its obligations and give up its nuclear weapons ambitions, and we'll continue to engage in that effort. >> reporter: iran's official news agency says several suspects have been arrested in that assassination. the nuclear atomic energy commission says they have managed to even rich uranium. the is reallies indicated they might take military action if they feel sanctions aren't doing the job. alisyn: been today goler, thanks so much for explaining that. how is the u.s. being perceived militarily, diplomatically and politically in dealing with iran? ambassador john bolton will join us live to give us in-depth analysis of awful this.

governor huntsman's exit is shaking up the presidential field. some analysts pointed to newt gingrich as the one man who can slow down the former massachusetts governor's steady march towards the nomination. larry sabato is the head of the center for politics at the university of virginia. newt's numbers in south carolina are hard to pin down. some polls show him ticking up. others show the margin between him and mitt romney widening. what's going on? >> it's one more ambiguity that's playing into the mitt romney dream design for the south carolina primary. if conservatives can figure out whether newt gingrich or rick

santorum or rick perry were the ideal conservative consensus candidate to coalesce around prior to south carolina, maybe they would have a chance of beating him there and reenergizing this race for the republican nomination. but every time you try to analyze which one is really the strongest conservative, you end up with one of these ambiguous results. alisyn: newt generally does well in debates and tonight is the fox news debate. do you think that he continues his attacks on mitt romney's bain capital experience or dose drop that? >> he has been deemphasizing because gingrich and perry have been getting a lot of blowback from republicans. they see this issue helping obama in november.

so my guess is he deemphasizes it. i will stress other things. gingrich hopes his debate performance tonight and in another debate later this week will help him to establish that he is the premiere conservative candidate. well, rick santorum and rick perry aren't going to go along with that. they will try to do as well as they income the debate so they are also tagged as the key conservative challenger. alisyn: let's talk about rick santorum. we had chris stirewalt on. he said tonight is make or break for rick santorum. he has to somehow distinguish himself from the rest of the pack to move forward. >> he has to break through. no question about it. he got a big break over the weekend with the evangelical leaders in texas. it turned controversial and some people are claiming even voter fraud in that vote. but it did help him.

to the extent he can convince evangelicals in south carolina that he is the one that they need to unite behind prior to saturday he will be helped. he tends to do reasonably well in debates but he rarely has a break through like gingrich does. gingrich gets a full "a" usual any these debates. santorum is in the "b" range. tonight it will have to be reversed if santorum is going to make progress. he needs the "a." alisyn: spoken like a professor. we appreciate you giving us the preview. keep it right here for tonight's presidential debate. we are live in myrtle beach, south carolina. fly mary day, saturday january 21, tune in for live coverage from south carolina. realtime results, analysis and the best election coverage anywhere only on the fox news channel.

wisconsin's union fighting governor may be in for a new fight this time for his job. republican scott walker made national headlines last year when he challenged state unions and stripped them of their collective bargaining rights. demonstrations and even arrests, now his opponents want him gone. tomorrow is a big day in that effort. gregg jarrett is live in our newsroom. >> reporter: tomorrow is the deadline. those who want to kick walker out of office, they have to produce 540,000 signatures. they claim they have 720,000. the republicans are vowing to challenge each and every signature. if in the end it's approved and the recall happens, it will be closely watched throughout the nation as perhaps a precursor to the november presidential election. wisconsin, of course, one of

several key mid western states that helped elects barack obama in 2008 but elected many republicans including walker in 2010. who can forget the angry protests in the state capital when walker cut benefits as a way to solve the budget deficit. that will be his recall defense as the governor told fox news recently. the people of wisconsin don't want to go back to the days of double digit tax increases and record job losses. if the recall election happens and let me be clear it will take two months to go through the signatures with, then you have to have two 0 three months for campaigning. fit happens, walker would appear on the ballot against an opponent. and so far democrats have not settled on a candidate. and historically, two governors in the nation's history have been recalled.

california governor gray davis. 2003, you know result. the actor arnold schwarzenegger replaced him. alisyn: thanks so much, gregg. that majority leader harry reid says he has the answer to bipartisanship in america and it involves the tea party. we'll debate his message to congress. bizarre scenes like this after the death of kim judge i will. and now we are told that some of these people were jailed for not crying hard enough. >> * one of the americans who survived the horrifying ordeal at at u.s. state department weighs in on this nightmare next. >> i keep bringing for somebody to come -- i keep praying for somebody to rescue us. i thought it was going to die.

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alisyn: the state department said the u.s. embassy to italy is formally requesting assistance from anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of gerald and barbara ann pyle. they are among those missing after the ship hit a reef. they are americans. we'll talk with an american surveyor later in the hour. they are still searching for the missing american couple. there are also new developments in this growing showdown with iran as the chairman of the joint chiefs heads to israel. the joint chiefs canceling

scheduled war games. martin dempsey is traveling to israel after 12 weeks of back and forth threats from iran it was october 13 when president obama threatened a new round of tough sanctions against iran. by the beginning of november israel was talking about a military strike becoming more and more likely. december 4 iran captured that u.s. drone packed with high-tech military equipment. and iran started warning it would shut down a critical oil route through the strait of hormuz. last wednesday two people killed an iranian nuclear scientist by attaching a bomb to his car. iran has accused the u.s. and israel of being behind it. now comes this dempsey trip and the cancellation of war games. we have chuck nash, a retired

u.s. navy captain and former ambassador to the u.n. john bolton. thanks for being here. captain nash let me start with you. what's going to happen at this meeting of chairman dempsey and as the israelis? >> i'm sure they will share their respective government's positions. i think it's a mistake to cancel the exercise because it looks like the americans and the israelies would be backing down in the face of these challenges from iran. and i think that's precisely the wrong signal to be sending. but i'll defer to ambassador bolton on that, he's the diplomat. alisyn: let's talk about these signs we are getting from iran. they seem to be ratcheting up their uranium enrichment. is this just saber rattling or something else going on here? >> they are very close to the point of achieving a long-sought

objective which is to have nuclear weapons. let me be here what it means when with we say they are very close. they know everything they need to do to create a nuclear weapon. they know exactly what the procedure is. and the fact that not just in the past few months, but the past years they haven't stepped up the pace shows they don't feel they are under any pressure. now i think they do feel pressure because they can see israel as it has in the past getting ready to take military action, and that has them nervous as they should be. alisyn: if israel tells martin dempsey, that they are considering taking military action, how should the u.s. respond? >> if it's in for one, it's probably going to be in for both. either way, the united states is going to get blamed for it. the israelis i think will take action if they need to because

they are being presented with a threat. and it's been aimed right at them. necessity now it's coming. and the inaction of the rest of the world is driving them to the position that the world thinks it's trying to avoid. and it's precisely having the opposite effect. i think if it starts it's going to be a regional issue. it's going to involve the gulf. we have national interests there, and it would be, i think in our best interests to get this cleaned up once and for all. alisyn: ambassador bolton. some u.s. official and even benjamin netanyahu suggested tougher sanctions do seem to be working in iran. is it possible we should stay the course with sanctions? >> no, absolutely not. look, prime minister netanyahu is going out of his way to keep the obama administration happy. what the obama administration is saying about the effect of sanctions is reelection

propaganda. i think that the israelis and the united states in this upcoming conference will agree on one thing and that is nobody wants israel to act alone. the israelis would appreciate that we act with them just as captain nash has said. if israel strikes we'll get blamed for it as well. the israelis demonstrated twice before, they will act against a hostile power getting close to nuclear weapons and they will do it here as well, despite the obama administration's unbelievable pressure on israel not to acts. alisyn: captain nash, help us understand the significance of sending the joint chief's chairman to israel? >> the pentagon said this trip has been planned for some time. whether it has or not, its relevance is all the more important given what's going on. he has the responsibility to act

as the direct representative and advisor to the president of the united states for all military matters. so having him sit down with the head of the defense forces in israel are -- they are the two top military guys. they will have to speak directly to each other, not nuance anything. this has got to be frank discussions. alisyn: obviously the story is getting more intense. captain chuck nash, ambassador john bolton, we'll be watching what happens this week. some of mitt romney's rivals attacking him for his work at bain capital. we have a fair and balanced look at bane bain capital. who they are, what they do and what they have done. tea party rallies and protests have sparked protests from republicans. now a prominent democrat says the gop needs to abandon the tea

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alisyn: the president and the first lady ... >> if you look at that speech talking about dr. king as a drum major, what he really said was all of us can be a drum major for service, all of us can be a drum major for justice. there is nobody who can't serve.

alisyn: this is the third year in a row the obamas have participated in a service project on martin luther king day. we have some polls to share about governor mitt romney surrounding his work at bain capital. a rasmussen poll asked people about romney's track record in business. 39% viewed it as the primary reason to vote for him. but 34% saw it as the primarily reason to vote against him. as far as what's better for creating jobs, venture capital companies got the nod with 57% of those you are advise. government programs getting 25%. for an in-depth look at bain capital we called in chief washington correspondents james rose on help us make sense of all this. what have you found, james?

>> reporter: even newt gingrich admits that a super pac that supports him has thread dishonest attacks on mitt romney. but he may have contributes with statement like this. >> we didn't sell them off and take them apart. we started business. we started staples. we started the sports authority. published reports show bain capital only gave sames less than 10% of the $35 million. in recent weeks we heard the governor say he invested in over 100 different businesses while at bain. when he first began running for office he talked about building 20 businesses. he says the companies he built

have added 100,000 jobs. in his campaign against ted kennedy he said he helped create 10,000 to 17,000 jobs. private equity investors reject the notion that romney was involved in vulture capitalism. >> bain, just like all the other firms are paid for success. they are paid for improving companies. that's how they get compensated. and their compensation is directly related to the success that the company experiences. and not in all cases but in most cases it involves growing the company. >> reporter: among the investors for whom bane cal tall

and mitt romney have done well are the pension funds for public employ ployees, those who will likely work hard to defeat him should he become the nominee. alisyn: she went out running and never returned. the on trace, one sneaker found on the side of the road. we have new developments in the search for that missing montana teacher. crews heading back into the cruise ship that ran aground off the coast of italy. >> the ship was tilting. our lifeboat was tilting and they had to use hammers to cut the ropes. and after five minutes. >> our boat fell from 4th floor to the water. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement

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alisyn: the feds are reviewing the deportation policies for non-criminal defendants. hackers zap zappos. the shoe retailer say cyber thieves stole account information from 20 million customers. credit card information was not

taken. a bank is forecloation on simpson's florida home. he was convicted in the killing of his ex-wife and her friend ron goldman. the fbi is getting involved in the search for that missing montana teacher. they are asking residents in three counties to search their properties for any signs of disturbed earth where her body may be buried. >> reporter: two colorado men are now in a jail in neighboring north dakota in connection with the january 7 disappearance of 43-year-old sherry arnold of sydney, montana. at this point police have not been able to locate her body. police are asking property owners to look for signs of soil being dug you will or overturned or even matted grass. they suspect the montana teacher

may be buried. hundreds of residents, police and firefighters combed the town and surrounding countryside after her disappearance with no success. the only clue, one of her shoes found along her running right. two men are in jail awaiting extradition to montana. they are facing a extra rated kidnapping charges. and the north dakota jail is 46 miles from sydney. that's where they say arnold disappeared along a truck route. arnold and her husband have five children begins from prior marriages. two live at home and attend the same school system where sherry arnold worked for the past 18 years. if anybody has seen anything, notify authorities immediately. alisyn: what a sad story, thanks

for the update. drop the tea party. that's the call from senate majority leader harry reid. he says it's time to rebuild america by working together to create jobs. and he says the on way to do that is to leave the tea party extremism behind. >> i hope that the pea party doesn't have the influence in this next year that they had in the previous year. i hope the republicans will understand as i think they learned in the last week of last year, that they can't be led over the cliff by this extremism in the republican party with all i ask is for the republicans to understand what legislation is all about. alisyn: here for a fair and balanced debate, day sprid webb, he's cofounder of tea party 365, and sally colmes.

this is her first official debut as a fox news contributor. congratulations. now you will have to work even harder. let's go back to what said. david, is there any grain of truth? has the tea party at times been too is real. >> if you call extreme wanting fiscal discipline and wanting a limited government that's constitutional, i'm going for extreme. harry reid allowed 17 bills passed in the house, he blocked from coming up. the $5 trillion spent about it last congress by the pelosi-reid congress, that was 2006 to 2010. then we got obama and we got steroidal spending. auto bailouts. multiple failures. now they are pushing another

fanny-freddie program down to the lenders. we shouldn't compromise with bad legislation. unemployment where it is. the job situation where it is. they are not providing any reason to work with a socialist agenda which is what harry reid believes in. >> if david is done throwing the kitchen sink at the president. >> i'm talking about harry reid, sally. >> the american people have spoken clearly and resoundingly in poll after policing that they believe that the republican party is not only obstructing any legislative progress in congress, but actually seeking to sabotage the economy in order to help obama's reelection. >> i can't listen to that b.s. here's the reality. let's quote the reality. republicans don't want dirty air, dirty water, we don't want children not having school to

the go to. we want firefighters and policemen to be employed. this what is comes out of the left. you want to talk about obstruction. harry reid didn't let 17 bills come to the floor. that's obstruction. >> let's take a clear look. the american people are in touch with that the republican party said they wanted to extend tax breaks for the richest of the rich who are already very well in this economy, and meanwhile didn't want to extend unemployment payments and didn't want to extend payroll taxes -- you tell me that's not obstructionism when you can't come together to compromise. alisyn: when says republicans are engaged in obstructionism on steroid is that helpful rhetoric? is that a new dawn in d.c. when lawmakers are going to come back. is that the kind of language he thinks will help compromise?

>> i think at this point in time that's all they have left is rhetoric. because they have tried. i was one of the first people to say they were too conciliatory in the beginning saying we'll extend the tax cuts for million tears and billionaires so we could give tax breaks for working people. and republicans wouldn't refuse to even pass their own ideas. >> let many talk reality by the numbers here. payroll tax holiday, about $83.33 a month. america, really, $83 a month matters much? it doesn't improve the job situation. >> it matters a lot of working people. >> it doesn't giver employers the break they need. alisyn: do you think republicans should have dplug their heels and they shouldn't have given two more months' extension. >> what does washington do on

both sides around christmas? they do something that feels good but does nothing. the president has a tax holiday and jobs did not improve. >> we have had six years of historic tax cuts for the wealthy and business. they are paying the lowest percentage in taxes they paid in the last 30 years and that hasn't created jobs. >> we would be better off -- a little economic lesson. tax cuts for corporations subsidize loses. they don't go after gains. tax cuts for corporations is for losses. so let's take that off the table because it's not the real economic picture she is trying to paint. if we don't have an environment where we lower corporate tax rates where we allow them to hire, where we allow main street by lowering those tax rates which allows them to hire, we'll not get this take from the one side and giver to the other.

>> i hate to trouble you with pesky facts. but we have the lowest percentage of real corporate tax rate in the developed world already. in addition the republicans wants to lower it first. corporations are sitting on $2 trillion in unspent money and they are not creating jobs. the big business job fairy hasn't appeared. you have got to create demand and put money in the hands of working people. >> sally needs a course in basic economics. alisyn: here is what i'm getsing from this. if you were a microcosm of the country i'm not sure it's going to be a new day when lawmakers come back. >> if people like david and i can have a conversation and at the end of the day say i'm willing to give on this if you are willing to give on that. >> i'm not willing to give on

policy. you have come up with progressive trends that have not worked in any country. alisyn: let many take it to the green room. >> i don't compromise on bad policy and neither should the republicans. alisyn: we have to tell you about this. it's a desperate search for 16 missing passengers after that cruise ship capsized off the italian coast. >> i was crying. i was terrified. i was telling my husband, we are going to die here. somebody told us -- my husband told hem we have to get on this boat because we are not going to die. when i grow up,

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[ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. alisyn: a strong denial coming from north korea over reports it was punishing citizens for not

crying enough after the death of kim jong-il. crowds in the communist country were seen wailing in grief. then came word that people who did not cry enough were sent to concentration camps. today the state news agency lashed out at those reports calling them misinformation from the quote reptile media. a fox news alert. the u.s. embassy is reaching out to the public at this hour asking anyone with any information about a missing minnesota couple to come forward. gerald and barbara hyle are believed to be among the passengers still unacted for. six people have been killed so far after the costa concordia ran aground. the ship's captain currently behind bars accused of manslaughter and abandoning the

ship. joining me is a survivor of this horrific tragedy. how are you today? >> i'm doing better today. still trying to play back everything that happened. it's amazing when you are faced with a life or death situation how if you just stay focused you don't really see the peripheral stuff going on because you are just worried about yourself. trying to survive. alisyn: tell us where you were. we understand you were eating dish when this chaos broke out. describe the scene for us. >> we had only been on the boat maybe two hours. we were the second seating for the restaurant. and our restaurant happened to have two floors. we were on bottom floor. maybe we were in the restaurant 15 minutes. when we first had, you know, things moving around, you think it's waves.

and then whoa! we had a big one. at first when they were saying it was electrical -- living on a boat you think perhaps stabilizers. they can make thing go wary. then it got really bad. at that moment i knew something was really not right. when it just kept getting worse and worse and the dishes are falling and bottles are falling and people can't walk. alisyn: we have seen some video of that. one of the interesting things about your experience is you were on vacation with your friend lynn and your husband and sons were back home in seattle. what was going through your head when the chaos started breaking out? >> to tell you the truth i just knew we needed to get -- i knew -- being on cruises before, you know where your life jackets are. but my first instinct was we had to get back to our room, we had

to get life jackets. we are playing it back in our heads. you think you are leaving, but you are really not leaving because you certainly would take pore things than you took. but i knew we had to be dressed warm. so i made sure lynn and i, i told her, put on socks, put on shoes, have your life jacket. i had tangs our wait and i had chargers for our phones. and then all chaos broke loose. because some people were running around -- then it really started to move, the boat. people didn't know what to do. they were panicking. alisyn: we understand people started arguing about who could get in the life boats first because there was no direction. >> that's absolutely true. it was -- it was really the people that were not prepared at the stations where the life boats were.

they didn't have coats on, they didn't have shoes on. they didn't have their life jackets on. our friend whom we have become close with, karen and manny, they came across at one of the boats that was filled with crew members. they were saying no you can't come in. and they wanted to break loose right away. alisyn: we heard the captain also abandoned ship before the passengers. we are so happy you survived and you joined us to tell your story and you are headed home to be reunited with your family. thanks so much for being with us. safe travel home. here is a sight sure to bring a tear to your eyes. families reunited with loved ones after nearly a year apart. we have a happy homecoming for our soldiers returning from afghanistan. meet his home on the range maybe

finding a new home at your favorite restaurant. [ sniffs ] i have a cold. [ sniffs ] i took dayquil ♪ home home on the range you've felt like this before, right? 2:30 in the afternoon, a lot to do, and you've hit the wall. but you got to get stuff done. so take 5-hour energy. just open it up, knock it back, and roll up your sleeves. 5-hour energy is faster and easier than coffee. man, does it work. you'll get that alert, energized feeling you need to get stuff done. a lot of stuff. wow. look at you go. 5-hour energy. when you gotta get stuff done.

♪ keep them doggies rollin' rawhide ♪ alisyn: buffalo is going from roaming on the range to showing up on your dinner plate. alicia, is it lunchtime?

>> it's about lunchtime and i think they are having buffalo. resurgence in the sales of this meat is due in part because folks are looking for healthy alternatives with everything they do these days. we are at rocky mountain natural meat. these folks can tell you how much their industry has grown. this is the largest by -- the largest bison processing plant in the country. the herds had thinned because in the 90s a lot of folks got excited about selling this lean red meat. but the consumer wasn't convinced. people didn't want to try it. but that has changed. >> it's changed in flavor profile, a lot of that is how the ranchers raise it it used to be people thought it as being

gamey, about it's no longer gamey. if you were to do a side by side test between beef and buffalo you will see almost the same thing >> the first time they trite, we heard it was lean, healthy and raised naturally, but when they buy it again it's because it was really good. >> reporter: this industry is not attempting to compete with beaver. 50,000 head of birks son are harvested each year compared to 30 million cows. right about now when folks are trying to stick to those new year's resolutions to eat better. back to you. alisyn: i guess i can just say yum, thanks so much for showing it to us. we'll be right back. so, this is delicious

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