>> doug luzader live from honolulu, thank you, doug. a little known provision of president obama's healthcare law will charge a fee to health insurance plans for research. the goal is said to be determining which tests and treatments work best. skepticske question how the government will use the data. ahead of the project says it is not intended to restrict insurance. >>> some victims of a data breach at a security research firm have been targeted for a second time. anonymous is claiming that it stole thousands of credit card numbers of the clients. the company said today that individuals have been hit again. it's communicating through facebook. >>> with many service members returning home after tours overseas there are more people pounding the pavement looking for work. here's a report on one glad could make things easier for veterans. >> as thousands of troops return from overseas, many will be finished with their service, and poised to enter civilian life in an already pressured job market. >> our troops are coming home and we need t

he maintains the lead in iowa with the caucus set for january 3rd as doug luzader reports now the president is also campaigning. >> while republicans are still fighting amongst themselves president obama has been campaigning as well the playing field for 2012 is changing fast. >> release the elves. come on guys. >> reporter: for president obama christmas may be coming early while republicans have been bashing him on the campaign trail he has been blaming them for the country's problems take a look at his poll numbers in two important states in florida, a state that can swing the overall election obama beats gingrich by 12 points, romney by 7 in south carolina a reliable republican bull work, numbers are reliable but the president is over gingrich and romney. >> the only reason you didn't become a career politician you lost to kennedy in 1994. >> reporter: gingrich had a strong showing needling romney as he continues to surge but despite strong debate performances it is widely believed the white house would rather face gingrich. >> he is an expert debater, he said he is going to trail barack

doug luzader smains. >> reporter: nothing but taillights. that is about all we see of the president as he shuttles around the island. it is what he is planning from his vacation home here that has washington guessing. just how far is the administration willing to press its constitutional authority in trying to get its nominees past congress with recess appointments. >> if they're wise and experienced, at a time when things are pretty overheeded anyway in this country, in part soon and ideological terms, i suspect it is best not to play this particular game. >> reporter: but these empty chairs at the national labor relations board may argue otherwise for the president. because he and senate republicans can't agree on new board member, 1012 will start with just two of five chairs filled. not even a quorum so the board will have to shut down. labor unions that back the president will be furious. for them, a friendly nlrb will help expand union power. >> the best possible choice -- >> reporter: way back in july, the president nominated richard c

>> doug luzader live in honolulu with the president, thank you, doug. >>> representatives for new jersey democratic senator frank lautenberg are denying that blocks played a role in the nomination of senator charles seriously's brother-in-law to a federal judgeship. kevin mcnaulty was nominated to the bench 10 days ago by the white house. some say he nominated him to court favor with schumer. >>> a group of iranian dissidents is insisting on continued protection by the americans. jennifer griffin tells us why. >> in april dozens of iranian dissidents were killed, some run over by u.s./iraqi forces after u.s. forces handed over control of a refugee camp. now it seems the united nations and iraqi government have reached an agreement to resettle these 3400 iranians at camp liberty, the former u.s. military base near baghdad before helping them leave iraq where many feel without u.s. protection they will be killed. the u.s. state department welcomed the agreement which may or may not protect the dissident refugees. so who are these iranians left stateless in iraq and why does the u.s. have a

let's get more now from fox news' doug luzader, he's live on capitol hill with more. good morning, doug. reporter: good morning. these are very complicated things. you know, on its face it seems very positive, the fact that the unemployment rate fell, surprisingly fell from 9% to 8.6% when economists thought it would stay even. and we saw, actually, fewer jobs created last month that economists thought. now that seems to not make sense on its face. the number, though, that's really important here, 315,000, that's how many people simply gave up looking for work last month, that's a problem. it makes the unemployment rate artificially lower than it otherwise would be. it means at some point in time those 315,000 are probably going to return to the labor pool and when they do, that will create more upward pressure on the unemployment rate. >> that gives us an idea, though, like you said, that this number isn't exactly that accurate. how much do you think as well that this is going to factor into congress trying to get some sort of an extension of the insurance for the une

fox' doug luzader has more now from capitol hill. reporter: president obama is trying to put more pressure on congress to renew the payroll tax cut. the white house is going to great lengths to show that the clock is ticking. this is the latest white house prop in the ongoing tax battle. in less than a month at the end of the year if congress doesn't act, the social security tax cut that almost all of us now enjoy will end. >> there aren't many folks, either in the middle class or those trying to get into the middle class who can afford to give up $1,000, not right now. reporter: while there is a debate as to how much of that tax cut really finds its way back to stimulate the economy, the bigger issue for congress is paying for it. democrats in congress are pushing back against the president's idea which pays for the one-year tax cut by permanently increasing taxes on the wealthy. instead they're proposing a 10- year program of other tax hikes, even targeting already beleaguered mortgage giants fannie mae and freddie mak. >> i don't

doug luzader wraps up the action. reporter: newt gingrich walked into this debate as the frontrunner, but as we saw last night, iowa is still pretty much up for grabs. the debate stage itself shows how the race in iowa has changed. the former house speaker newt gingrich front and center, leading the polls and oftentimes last night taking heat for, among other things, his work for mortgage giant freddie mac. >> you don't need to be within the technical definition of being a lobbyist to still be influence pedaling with senior republicans in washington d.c. to get them to do your bidding. >> and then to go to work for them and get money from them, it literally is -- it's literally coming from the taxpayers. reporter: gingrich kept his cool. >> i sometimes get accused of using language that's too strong. so i've been standing here editing. [ laughter ] >> and i'm very concerned about not appearing to be zany. [ laughter ] reporter: for his part, former governor mitt romney held steady too. >> this is president obama we've

fox' doug luzader has more from capitol hill. reporter: the talks continue this morning, both at the white house and here at congress, but this could come right down to the wire. [ cheers ] reporter: the christmas cheer may be brightening the nation's capitol, but it only goes so far when it comes to taxes. republicans in the house are meeting today to figure out where to go next. democratic leaders will huddle at the white house to do the same thing. and from the president a warning shot. >> if the payroll tax cut is attached to a whole bunch of extraneous issues, it's not something that i'm going to accept. reporter: the tax cut has been pushing more money into nearly all of our wallets since it was first passed as part of a white house stimulus plan. it expires at the end of the year. one problem with extending it, that tax is supposed to fund social security. >> the concern about the payroll tax cut is this, is that we're taking money out of the social security trust fund. we have a trust fund that we all know is going broke.

as fox' doug luzader reports now, while cain continues to question his candidacy, the rest of the candidates may be passing him by. reporter: out on the campaign trail now, it's all about herman cain's fall and the rise of newt gingrich. >> you are making an accusation, quite frankly, that is not true. reporter: herman cain on the campaign trail and on the war path at times with reporters. still dogged by a georgia woman's allegations of a long- term extra-marital affair, cain says he will see his wife in person tomorrow and decide whether to it stay in a race that is taking a heavy personal toll. >> a lot of the american people are starting to see through this whole character assassination on me, and so those are the things that i am reassessing and i will make the decision over the course of the next several days starting with the assessment with my family because that is absolutely my number one priority. reporter: but for cain the bigger problem may be growing irrelevance. in national polls he is slipping. before the latest allegation he was in third place. but cain is facing serious hea

doug luzader is in honolulu where the president is vacationing.s nation paying our bills. are we really in danger of defaulting on our bent. >> in theory. the white house is trying to play this down. very odd the way this played out today though. now the treasury department may have to really scramble to put some accounting gimmicks in place to move some funds around to try to get us through the next few weeks to make sure that the country does not in fact run out of money. what we thought would happen today is that president obama would announce that he had requested from congress an additional $1.2 trillion in the nation's debt ceiling and to keep everything operating through most of 2012. now, the white house has decided to delay that for several days. the reason why? congress has some input on this. they are not coming back to work to mid to late january. they want time to have a vote. they could potentially turn the president's request down. if they do that the white house is already saying that the president will veto that they think either

correspondent doug luzader looks at some of the president's economic challenges in the coming year. >> the lines are getting longer again. we just learned today that new jobless claims actually went up last week. set-back of what some economists say has been a promising trend. >> the economy is gradually improving, but that improvement will take place in fits and starts. >> as the recovery goes through the fits and starts, mixed signals are everywhere. consumer confidence improved and look at home mortgage interest rates. up slightly today but in an average of 3.95% on a 30-year loan. still historic bargain. >> the problem is very few people have the means or the confidence to buy a house. on the other hand, the national unemployment rate tipped down. last month to 8.6%. >> still needs a lot of work. ton of work. we're headed in the right direction. >> even here in the aloha state they said hello and goodbye to jobs. the unemployment rate here is on the rise again. not many can afford the $260 that the president and first lady are believed to have spent on dinner at the island restaur

. >>> as or doug luzader reports that the president obama didn't leave washington until signing into law a bill that affects millions of families. >> reporter: it got tove a late start, but the presidential vacation is underway a week later because of the protracted standoff because of the sequence of the payroll tax holiday. he wasted very little time getting into vacation mode. he and the first lady head out to a japanese dinner in honolulu. he and the first lady recorded the weekly media address before leaving washington, wishing the nation a merry christmas. >> giving of ourselves and service to others is what the season is all about. for my family and millions of americans that is what christmas is about. it reminds us part of what it means to playoff god is to love one another, to be our brother's keeper, to be our sister's keeper. >> reporter: this was the last piece of business for the president, signing into law the extension of the payroll tax. house republicans largely abandoning their insistence of a full-year tax cut. the president attributed his laciness to growing up i

. >>> also we will check with doug luzader he is examining the latest gop numbers. >> we would love for you to be a part of our holiday tradition here at fox 5 as we decorate our christmas tree with ornaments you donate the tree and decorations will be donated to a worthy charity in the region. send your ornaments to the address on the screen. pgh >>> >> special thanks this morning to gl audrey of northwest dc for sending us these four beautiful firs. we will be right back  >>> want to check our top stories 7:30 a.m. a 14-year-old boy right there that young man from lynchburg virginia, held in captivity in the philippines for 5 months tricked his kidnappers and was able to get away. his family said the boy earned the captors trust and then tricked them telling them he was going to wash by aerifier and ran for his life he -- by a river and he ran for his life. the u.s. ambassador says he will be reunited with his family soon. >> president barack obama is meeting with the prime minister of iraq at the white house this morning they are expected to discuss the future of the u.s. i

doug luzader fills us in on that. president over the national labor relations board and possibility of recess appointments. wendell goler dissects that politically charged issue. on grapevine, we tell you about south korea whose life won't be the same without north korea's kim jong il. "special report" from washington starts at 6:00 eastern. now back to new york and "the five." ♪ ♪ >> andrea: welcome back to "the five" new year's special. time for the 2012 predictions. what does "the five" think of the next 12 months will bring? eric, start with you. >> eric: two predictions were generic republican beats barack obama in a landslide victory. the economy recovers, housing market recovers, the stock market recovers. the labor market probably going to be bad for a long time. sorry. >> bob: here is a shocker. i think obama is going to win big. i think obama will win in a close race, but he will win. the second thing when all the votes are counted the first tuesday in november, 2012, one-third of the tea party caucus of the

doug luzader explains what's at stake. "special report" from washington starts at 6:00 eastern. to new york and "the five." ♪ >> welcome back to "the five." all right. we're going to talk about john edwards in just a moment, worst person ever as some of us like to call him, but first we don't like to give bob the last word, especially when he drops the results of the obamacare survey and goes to break without letting us respond. >> i'm so used to being outnumbered -- >> you don't think it's a big deal that doctors think it will destroy the country. >> i speak to doctors all the time. >> you're a hypochondriac. >> guess what. doctors don't want to practice anymore. i'll tell you why. >> do you know how much i had to pay for a drug last night? >> that's something you elect to purchase. that's not you require. premiums have already gone up thanks to obamacare because you're going to have a bunch of sick people signing up because the premium is much less than the penalty for not signing up, and the democrats cut $500 billion from medicare. now you take dr. mark segal, if he's not go

. >> shannon: doug luzader live with the president in hawaii. thank you.rate way to get your way at the hospital. that is later in the grapevine. up next, the rocky road to peace in syria. >> shannon: in world headlines the trial of former egyptian president hosni mubarak resumed in cairo. the 83-year-old mubarak was taken to courthouse in ambulance. he is charged with complicity in killing 800 protesters earlier in year and could face the death penalty if convicted. >>> a brawl erupted at churches of nativity at the west bank. happened as orthodox monks were cleaning the facility. palestinian police broke it up. similar fights have taken place at the church in the past. >>> iranian exiles in iraq accepted a deal to move 400 residents to camp liberty by the end of the year. state department spokesman says no decision has been made rather to remove the group on the list of the terrorist organization. they fired a block at exile today. no casualties were reported. the state department is urging syria to provide access to arab league monitors. leland vittert

. >> shannon: doug luzader live with the president in hawaii. thank you.rate way to get your way at the hospital. that is later in the grapevine. up next, the rocky road to peace in syria. [ male announcer ] cranberry juice? wake up! ♪ that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm [ male announcer ] for half the calories -- plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. for many, nexium helps. relieve heartburn symptoms caused by acid reflux disease. osteoporosis-related bone fractures and low magnesium levels have been seen with nexium. possible side effects include headache, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. other serious stomach conditions may still exist. talk to your doctor about nexium. >> shannon: in world headlines the trial of former egyptian president hosni mubarak resumed in cairo. the 83-year-old mubarak was taken to courthouse in ambulance. he is charged with complicity in killing 800 protesters earlier in year and could face the death penalty if convicted. >>> a brawl erupted at churches of nativity at the west bank. happened as orthodox monks were cleaning

i'm doug luzader in washington. on the race for 2012 coming up. >>> then big changes coming to a post office near you. we'll take a look at its plan to save $3 billion and how it could impact your mail, as fox 5 morning news at 7:00 continues right now. >>> get your monday started with a little bit of sunshine. cloud cover, too, but makes for a pretty sunrise. it's monday, december 5th at 7:00 this morning. good morning, i'm steve chenevey. >> i'm alison seymour. up first, we want to pass along two school closures in charles county, maryland. dr.thomas l. pigeon elementary, and pickle waxen, both closed. hope that's how you say it. both closed today because of power outages. >>> want to thank everybody who turned out this year to help us stuff a truck friday. your donations will help families in the d.c. region. thanks to giant foods. it goes to help the food bank. a big thank you if you were among the many who donated. thank you so much. >>> big thank you to those who braved the weather, includ

doug luzader has more of what's to come. reporter: we may hear from the president on these new numbers later this morning, but the unemployment rate is not expected to change, stuck at 9%. this morning's news may not give much hope to the millions of americans on the nation's unemployment lines. the job postings are still scarce and for many the clock is ticking on long-term unemployment benefits that expire at the end of the month. >> make sure to renew unemployment insurance during the holidays. reporter: the president -- president obama has been hammering republicans over the unemployment insurance extension. in truth there is some bipartisan support on capitol hill to extend the benefits along with renewing the payroll tax cut. the question is how to pay for it. >> that shouldn't be money we take from some place else to give to them. that's an emergency and that's how we should treat it. reporter: there is little doubt that many americans need the help, but some economists say that long-term benefits, nearly two years in

the president arriving in hawaii last night to begin his christmas vacation with his family and doug luzaders us live from honolulu and doug, the president seems to be starting the vacation on a high note? >> yeah, the president coming on the heels after political victory and might make this delay all the more worthwhile. the president did arrive last night. aboard air horse one and he was in washington prior obviously and signed into law the two month extension of the payroll tax holiday that was the subject of such an intense debate so long, house republicans eventually backed down and their insistence that the tax cut be extended through all of 2012 immediately, but as the president pointed out, this is something we're going to see play out again next year. >> vital unemployment insurance will continue for millions of americans and who are looking for work and when congress returns, i urge them to keep working without drama, without delay, to reach an agreement that extends this tax cut as well as unemployment insurance through all of 2012. >> and that's going to be easier said than done.

in washington, doug luzader, fox news. >> doug, thanks. >>> 11 minutes past the hour now. good news if you drive on i-66 inside the beltway. more on that coming up. >>> and finally some answers today a year after one of the deadliest mine blasts in u.s. history. next what families of victims say want to come out of this tragedy. >>> also newt gingrich surging in the polls, but mitt romney could close the gap after a big endorsement today. details coming up after the break. break. >>> and as we take you to break, a live look outside. we'll, of course, get the latest weather and traffic from tony and julie. it's 7:11. we'll be right here when we come back. to make a commitment is to see things through. confident that no matter what the obstacles we can build something better, together. with the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile, we're making a commitment, to create a stronger network for all our customers. we will invest an additional eight billion dollars and build out the next generation of mobile broadband to nearly everyone in america. that'll mean better coverage

. >> doug luzader traveling with the had president in honolulu. >> new developments in the missing toddlermaine. now learning that someone took the 20 month old from the dad's home. that's the word from the police chief. ayla reynolds has been missing more than a week now. this is the first time cops in the case have come out and said she just didn't wander away from her home. we are learning folks from the community came in to put up $30,000 of reward money to find her. a state official says it is the biggest ever offered in maybe for a missing person. well, facebook isn't just a way to keep in touch. it looks like the web site may have actually helped save a woman's life. friends and family contacted police after the woman posted on facebook that she and her son would be dead by morning. when police showed up to the house south of salt lake city they say they found a man holding the woman and her child captive. police say the woman told them the man had sexually assaulted her and wouldn't let her leave the house. she apparently slipped into a closet with her laptop to post the facebook m

on the island, doug luzader a tracking their every move.ident doing and how did he spend his christmas? >> hi, jamie, merry christmas. the obamas right now are back at their vacation rental home although we expect the president and first lady to head out to go to a local marine base here to meet with service members. earlier today, the first lady, the president, along with daughters sasha and malia headed out to church at a marine base and the president as you see there, dressing casually. in keeping with the atmosphere on the islands and part of a christmas day long celebration for obamas and the white house says their day began at 8 a.m. when everyone exchanged christmas presents followed by christmas carols. when you go out to their home here, it's obviously kind of cut off from the rest of the public and security there is pretty intense and you talk to people though spending their holiday on the eeldz and happy to give the obamas a little bit of breathing room. >> i'm here to enjoy the ocean and beach and great to see them, but i don't

in washington, doug luzader, fox news. >>> well, some big news in local politics to tell you about too. a senior republican official says virginia attorney general ken cucinelli will run for governor in 2013. it sets the stage for a showdown between cucinelli and bill bowling. he made headlines for filing a lawsuit challenging president obama's healthcare law. >>> new this morning, it didn't take long for former washington caps head coach bruce budreuax to find a new job. the anaheim ducks hired him last night after the ducks fired randy carlisle who'd been there for seven years. he was let by by the caps monday after the team got off to a bit of a slow start. the caps and ducks have already played this season and so they won't meet again unless both teams get to the finals. he's already out in orange county. he will be formerly introduced later this morning. >> the world of sports is zipping like that. >> bling and you miss it. >>> it is 10 minutes past the hour now. coming up next, a day of awareness and remembrance, people worldwide unite to fight the spread of aids. >>> and help ha

in washington doug luzader, fox news. >> thanks doug. lawmakers on the hill working to avoid a government shut down early this morning house republicans revealed a massive year end package, cur bing budgets, it contains language the roll back president obama's policies giving cuban immigrants leeway to send money to family in cuba. >>> airforce is imvest gaiting 15 t as airmen for this -- investigating 15 texas airmen for this photo they were seen posing with an open casket one that looks like a metal transfer cassette used to transfer men home. below is the quote, sucks to be you. rob whitman says it is not acceptable. >>> it is appalling, it is dispointing, unacceptable we owe it to our fallen to make sure, we show them the proper honor, respect and dignity. >>> the photo surfaces at a time when the airforce is already dealing with sloppy handling of remains of war dead at dover. >>> taxi war in dc about to get more heated. >>> still ahead, how much money is on the table for casey anthony to break her silence. >> christmas vandals caug

doug luzader is with the president in hawaii. >> good morning, guys.oesn't think this is going to be a beg deal, but once again, the debate over the nation's dead ceiling is coming down to the wire. the government's money is running out and soon the treasury department will have to resort to accounting gimmicks, to keep the cash flowing. this clock isn't stopping. the white house was expected to formally ask congress for a 1.2 trillion dollar hike in the nation's debt ceiling, something already agreed upon. it was supposed to to be routi routine, but the administration decided to wait a few more daysment they want more time so they can vote on the limit and they're not scheduled to be back at the capitol until later next month. a senior white house officials sa says: >> if those votes in congress turn down the president's request, he will have to veto their objections to keep borrowing money and the white house points out the last time congress weighed in on a similar request, it never got that far, but the administration is confident the increase will

as doug luzader reports, romney and gingrich have been sharpening their knives. >>> the fear for republicans is that as this heats up they are providing for fodder for democrats next year. >> the only man who can send barack obama back to illinois. >> mitt romney pulling out the big guns last night campaigning with popular new jersey governor chris christy. right now he needs all the help he can get these two poll averages side by side show exactly what he faces in iowa on the left newt gingrich has a big 13 point lead over romney in new hampshire on the right, romney has the lead but it may be shrinking the tone for both candidates is turning negative romney said gingrich should return consulting fees from freddie mac. >> well, i sure do. he was in a debate saying politicians who took money from freddie mac and fannie mae should go to jail. >> governor romney would like to give back all the money he has earned from bankrupting companies and laying off employees over his years of being i would be glad to then listen to him. >> reporter: that attack on his business dealings is exactly what de

in washington, doug luzader, fox news. >>> time for a look at some of the top stories today. search set to resume at 7:30 this morning for a sanitation worker who disappeared friday. charles duckett went out to retrieve a dead deer when his boat returned, the deer was inside, but duckett was nowhere to be found. >>> a second victim has died after a thanksgiving day tragedy in a hyattsville parking lot. the man passed away this weekend. a driver swerved out of control, ran into the crowd near the home depot after having a medical emergency. the 41-year-old died that day. three others were hurt. >>> the woman accused of going on a crime spree in our area will make an appearance in federal court today. she is expected to enter a plea. the 26-year-old is suspected in two bank robberies and two carjackings since november 19th. she was arrested wednesday after a third bank robbery attempt in mcclain. schwab has confessed to two of these crimes. >>> the man at the center of the penn state abuse scandal says he never sexually abused children. lawyers for his accusers are saying his a

in washington doug luzader, fox news. >>> on the hill congress will try again to force itself to reign in its spending habits the senate is set to vote on two amendments, spending would not exceed revenues in one fiscal year they want to prevent social security from being used to balance the budget. >>> a congress is raising red flags california representative sent a letter to interior secretary saying demonstrators are ruining the park. last year more than $400,000 in tax payer stimulus money was spent refurbishing the square. people living and working nearby agree with the congressman. >> at first i was sympathetic, now enough is enough. >> enough is enough. that is an eyesore. >>> the garbage is strewn they are not taking care of it not respecting the property this is my neighbourhood. >>> $400,000 hit is well worth the price of voices that are decenting but voices speaking something that needs to be heard. >>> demonstrators are not required to have a permit as long as the crowd stays below 500. >>> republican voters don't seem to be all that impressed by republicans vying to challe