i am bret baier. i am bret baier.yed professional basketball for 12 years. today i own 165 wendy's restaurants. and i get my financing from ge capital. but i also get stuff that goes way beyond banking. we not only lend people money, we help them save it. [ junior ] ge engineers found ways to cut my energy use. [ cheryl ] more efficient lighting helps junior stay open later... [ junior ] and serve more customers. so you're not just getting financial capital... [ cheryl ] you're also getting human capital. not just money. knowledge. [ junior ] ge capital. they're not just bankers... we're builders. [ junior ] ...and they've helped build my business. this is not how witness protection works! when we set you up with that little hardware store we didn't intend for your face to be everywhere. but fedex office makes it so easy. not only do they ship stuff, they print flyers, brochures -- everything i need to get my name outhere. that's the problem. now we need to give you a third identity. you're paul matheson. and you're g

i am bret baier. thanks for watching.

joining us now, bret baier, the anchor of "special report".chew on these numbers as much as anybody. still very much a field in flux. still a field, that well, i guess anybody could win, huh? >> definitely, jon. it is a field in flux. this poll shows us a number about of different things. you mentioned herman cain quadrupling his numbers about. newt gingrich quadruple ed his numbers in a short period of time since august. mitt romney fell a bit, 23% to 20%. his high in our polling has been 26%. we've seen that over time. in this poll he is dropping support. i will say in other polls, some new statewide polls out of the first states that will vote, mitt romney is seen as leading in all of those other organizations polling. you have to look at polls with a bit of a grain of salt but they do tend to give you a broad picture as you look over all of the polling and right now we see that mitt romney has so far capped at about 23 to 26, maybe 30 at the top. but herman cain has really picked up steam in recent polls, even after some of those so-called

jon: bret baier, the anchor of "special report." we'll see you tonight, 6 p.m. eastern.'m sure the news conference gives you plenty of fodder to talk about with the panel. thanks. jenna: fox news alert out in california where police have shot and killed the gunman suspect inside those shootings in sunnyvail that we were reporting on yesterday. we're going to have the latest from california right after a quick break. being your average brs... we know how to tighten our purse strings. that's why i buy new charmin basic. it's very reasonably priced. plus, it's two times stronger when wet versus the leading competitive brand. new charmin basic works for my bottom line. and my bottom. new charmin basic. jenna: welcome back, everyone, to this fox business alert. a huge headline today. 0 and 15-year fixed rate mortgages now at historic low. that means a 30-year fixed mortgage is now below 4% for the very first time ever. president and economist at the university of pennsylvania's warren school of business. sam, why now? why are we see these record low mortgage rates now? >> it

gregg: bret baier, thank you very much, bret, good to see you.t will give you more details before tonight's big debate, tune in, "special report", 6:00 p.m. eastern time. jenna: tough turn to a tough story next. in a connecticut courtroom, closing arguments are underway in this capital murder trial of the second suspect in a horrific home invasion, the killing of jennifer hawk pettitte and two daughters, hay lee and mckayley, you're seeing the picture on the screen, the house set on fire and joshua komisarjesky facing the death penalty if convicted. laura ingle has followed this story from the beginning, she's outside the courthouse in new haven with the latest. >> reporter: jenna lee, the day got off to a surprising start when defense attorneys requested a continuance in this case, just before closing arguments were set to begin, sthaig they had brand new letters from stephen hayes, the first defendant in this case, who was convicted and sentenced to death last year for his role in the home invasion. now, in these new letters, stephen hayes clai

jon: all right, bret baier. thank you. >> reporter: sure. atch more of bret when he hosts "special report" tonight. 6 p.m. eastern time. jenna: here's a big story as well when it comes to politics. the president is set to announce a plan to jump-start america's housing market today. some are already crying foul before he even takes to the mic. the plan will allow homeowners to refinance even if they owe more on that home than it's actually worth. the only problem, some say, with the plan is it won't require congressional approval. some say it's still a no-brainer, so there's a lot of details you should know about it. the president is set to make his announcement about 5:30 p.m. eastern time. you can head over to foxnews.com right now for more details on how this program could end up affecting you. jon: there are new questions and concerns following the president's decision to withdraw virtually all u.s. forces from iraq by the end of this year. specifically, iraq's ability to handle its own security. and the u.s. is planning to maintain some

. ♪ >>> i'm bret baier in washington. the big story here is presidential politics. republican candidate rick perry unveiled his tax reform plan. the texas governor is advocating an optional plat tax, a balanced budget and other ideas designed to woo conservatives. carl cameron will report from columbia and jim angele in d.c. will break down the governor's plan. former utah governor jon huntsman will be our guest tonight on "center seat." he will take questions from the all-star panel and stick around for special edition of the online show to make your questions. the man owl of these republicans are trying to replace is on the west coast three-day track. president obama taped a gig on the tonight show. he is in san francisco right now and heading to denver for more fundraising this evening. send it back to new york and "the five." ♪ ♪ >> andrea: welcome back to "the five." the youth vote was crucial to president obama's victory in 2008. if he wants a second term he needs young people in his corner this time around. so through is a new initiative to get young visitors

i'm chris wallace in for bret baier. the dictator who threatened, confound and fascinated the world for more than four decades is dead. libya's muammar gaddafi was killed today following a nato airstrike on the hometown of sirte that involved an american aircraft. david piper has the latest from tripoli, including images you may find disturbing. >> reporter: bleeding from the gunshot wound to his head and leg, says this is the place where gaddafi was hiding. he had been hiding there following a nato airstrike on his convoy. an attack that included armed u.s. drone and french fighter plane. gaddafi and the entourage had been trying to flee sirte but they finally were able to capture him. the fighters saw gaddafi was alive and said to them, what is going on? what is going on? but between then and the ride he died. they thought he had further bullet wounds to head and shoulder. tripoli, the nation's capital erupted to wild celebrations. >> under this tyrant i have aged while i'm still young. because of life i have lived and

joined by bret baier, anchor of "special report" with bret baier. >> good morning, martha.he way those were put together i think it really reflects the strength of mitt romney's performance last night. he seen the second time around running for gop nomination, bret, if he has gotten a lot more comfortable in his own skin. i handled himself very well i think by most accounts. >> you're right, martha. most analysis say he comes out of this debate again a winner simply because no one laid a glove on him and he is able to get through some tough questions in a way that i guess, leaves him unscathed. and it is, basically, how he is approached these debates. he made significant headway each one. the question is, whether the gop primary voters are really buying into him yet. he still has this ceiling in almost every poll, it is about 25, 26%. there seems like there is a real want or need to have someone who is not mitt romney as an option. herman cain has been that in recent days. could newt gingrich be the next? not mitt romney because of his performance in several debates? we'll

i'm bret baier. this is a fox news alert. we have new information

i'm jim angle in for bret baier.begin with a 2012 presidential campaign and preparations for the first primary vote of the year probably in mid-january. correspondent molly line is in new hampshire where the g.o.p. hopefuls are already planting the seeds. >> texas governor rick perry signed on the line growing list of white house hopefuls to face off in the first of the nation primary held in new hampshire. >> the national team means the candidate will send more time on the trail and less time debating rivals. perry says -- >> there will be a lot of debates. it might get be a good debater before this is done. >> less than a week to go. perry does not have the granite state to himself. gary johnson scrambled to sign up for the primary in person. requirement on the final filing day. >> congressman bachmann planned ahead and mailed hers in, after her new hampshire staff quit last week. former massachusetts governor mitt romney is hosting a town hall in manchester today. the latest rasmussen poll shows he's a new hampshi

. >> bret: i'm bret baier. fox news alert. herman cain sits on top the latest fox news poll of 2012 presidential candidates released moments ago. herman cain quadrupleed his support amongst primary voters in the past two months and has a four-point cushion on mitt romney. chief political correspondent carl cameron has the story. >> reporter: the latest fox news poll shows herman cain solidifying his top-tier status and lead nationwide with 24%. mitt romney slipped to second at 20. newt gingrich inched to third with 12%. texas governor rick perry slipped to 10% and fourth place. cain had no public campaign events today. he rallied the tea partiers in texas last night. he has been criticized for lacking a serious organization and spending too little time meeting people in the early voting states. he started prerecorded robo calls to drum up support in iowa today. northern virginia, romney was in clean-up mode after refusing to back ohio referendum in support of the new public union reform law. visiting a phone bank yesterday in

bret baier is the anchor of "special report". d of an interesting bit of intrigue, this is a guy who was well known to republicans, he ran last time around, often republicans like to nominate the guy who finished, you know, second or in the top tier the last time around. he did with john mccain. what's the deal, what's the problem here? >> there are a couple of vulnerabilities for governor romney and we've talked about them before. the massachusetts health care law and the mandate there in the statewide health care law that he signed into law, also, his previous stances on gay marriage and abortion and some video about those elements in his race against then senator kennedy in massachusetts in 2000, and the big thing is, and what i was going to say, in 2008, a lot of that was exposed and talked about, but it hasn't been really delved into in the primary as much, and yet, there seems to be this feeling. we've talked about it, 23, 24 -- this ceiling, 23, 24 percent. there's a want and need to find someone who's not mitt romney. righ

. >>> i'm bret baier in washington. latest fox news poll on the 2012 republican presidential race. just out a few minutes from now. tonight on "special report," we will tell you who is in front and where all the candidates tax up. carl cameron detail what is is happening on the campaign trail. congressman ron paul will be sitting in our center seat tonight. he will take questions from our all-star panel. then he will answer your questions. critics are calling a slam on americans that he made at the san francisco fundraiser. what he said, plus the reaction. we'll tell you about the latest move to go around congress. this involves student loans. we will tell you how the super committee in congress is doing as it tries to come up with a trillion dollars of spending cuts. "special report" from washington starts at 6:00 eastern. now send it back to new york and my colleagues at "the five." ♪ ♪ >> dana: welcome back to "the five." mitt romney has been called out for flip-flopping on positions in the past. the latest accusatio

. >> good evening, i'm bret baier, this is a fox news alert. tonight, american combat troops near harm's way in a new, dangerous theater. u.s. special forces are now on the ground in central africa, with more than on the way. the first declared u.s. military mission in subsaharan africa since the blackhawk down incident in mogadishu, somalia that left 18 soldiers dead and 73 wounded. as ed henry reports, the president is deploying these troops to train and advise african forces fighting a notorious army, blamed for years of murder, rape and kidnapping. but the u.s. deployment raises question it's why now? why there? and not other hot spots? >> tonight in central afcar, trying to hunt down the rebel leader, wanted for a brutal campaign of murder, rape and kidnapping women and girls to become sex slaves. the move was disclosed by president obama in a letter to congressional leaders on friday afternoon, as he toured a general motors factory in michigan with south korean president li. the u.s. special operations fighters will only be there for mont

. >>> i'm bret baier in washington.t prompted a settlement several years ago. tonight, carl cameron looks at the specifics of the claim and his emphatic response. greta van susteren wrapped up interview with the cain. we'll get in details of that and analysis from brit hume. a presidential hopeful that seems to be o on the up-swing is newt gingrich. this evening, shannon bream looks at the candidate's slow methodical approach that seems to pay off in the polls. there is another executive order to work around congress that takes step to reduce drug shortages and it will stop what he called a slow rolling problem. in if grapevine, eye-opening numbers about the occupy wall street movement. "special report" from washington starts at 6:00 eastern. now send it back to new york and colleagues with "the five five." ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> greg: welcome back to "the five." as occupy protesters wage on, some proesthers have become adorable. did i say adorable? i meant unstable. fox five news reporter john huddy, brother of juliet. >> he is ma

i'm bret baier. this is a fox news alert. after climbing to the top of the g.o.p.referential polls, herman cain is fighting to save his capped dassy tonight. he is denying sexual harassment claims. that were settled out of court years ago. this morn, cain said he was aware of only one complaint and unaware of a financial settlement by his employer. he told greta van susteren he was aware of the settlement. he said the only thing he can recall from one complaint is a remark he made to a coworker comparing her height to that of his wife. the candidate known for being straight shooter on the campaign trail is firing back and trying to answer all of the questions. chief political carl cameron begins our coverage. >> reporter: leading national republican polls, georgia businessman herman cain forcefully denied allegations he sexually harassed two female sub boardnants when he was the chairman of the board of the national restaurant association in 'ed 90s. >> i have never sexually harassed anyone. yes, i was falsely accuse while at the national restaurant association. i

good evening, i'm bret baier. a taxing morning and afternoon for rick perry.is trying to attract positive buzz to the campaign. chief political correspondent carl cameron has specifics. >> reporter: far back in the polls, rick perry tried to jump-start his campaign with optional 20% flat income tax. >> this is the size of what we're talking about right here. taxpayers will be able to fill this out and file their taxes on that. >> reporter: families could deduct charitable giving, mortgage interest. state and local taxes exemption for independents. perry plans sweeping entitlement and called out critics in advance. >> those who oppose it will wrap themselveses in the cloak of status quo. america is under a crushing burden of debt. >> the latest cbs "new york times" poll shows herman cain leads 25 over 21 over mitt romney nationally. perry is down to 6%. he zinged the tax overall as the same. >> others are offering warmed over reform based on the current ingredients. >> romney took himself up in ohio and visited a phone bank working with reserves on the public u

i'm bret baier. president obama is at this hour preparing to do what many try and few accomplish. leave las vegas with more money than he came with. the president wrapped this up as three-state cash and carry swing of fundraising to feature foray to late night talk circuit. beside money, today's focus was a new attempt to go around congress and institute his economic policy. this time, taking aim at housing. something he details just moments ago. chief white house correspondent ed henry is traveling with the president. >> reporter: business is starting to boom on the las vegas strip. a dozen miles away at the neighborhood of underwater homes the economy is in terrible shape to people like teresa cabrera. the 43-year-old customer service rep at auto glass store believes obama is trying but not delivering. >> has he done enough to deal with foreclosures? >> i don't think so. he went to down here and it's been hard for everyone. >> the president came to cabrera's neighborhood to prod congressional republicans with a new message. >> we can't wait. >> reporter: and unveil a new housing

jon: bret baier is the anchor of "special report".not often you get a politician who makes a direct doanl a claim like that, and this was pretty direct. >> it was, jon. i talked to him in the green room here in washington for a while and asked him other questions. i thought jenna did a great job laying out that interview and trying to pin him down on those specifics. and the main question was if this wasn't out there, did he know about it. he said yes, he knew about it, but that they were baseless claims, as he said on the interview here on the show. he also said that there is not another shoe to drop. he said if there's another shoe dropping, somebody is making up that shoe. you know, how the cain campaign and how herman cain deals with this in the next 24, 36, maybe 72 hours, depending upon how this story develops, will be the key to the rest of his campaign. and you saw him address it here, i think he'll be on other shows, he's on "iron the record" tonight with greta and he'll be on center seat tomorrow with my panel with "special

bret baier is a anchor of "special report" right here on fnc.o with cain at the top, we looked at the national basis, cain's at the top according to cbs/new york times. florida he's one point behind romney, south carolina cain's on top with 31% aaccording to an nbc news poll. despite what all the media types are saying are gaffes and missteps and misstatements. what does it tell us? >> reporter: it tells us herman cain is for real, and he's competing, and he's doing so in a way that is reaching people especially in the conservative base of the gop electorate, that he is identifiable as someone that they like, that they're buying what he's saying and that they are forgiving him when he has missteps. this is a candidate who has surpassed the ability to say something and then apologize for it right away saying he got it wrong or he misspoke and to be forgiven. and it seems like the electorate, at least at this point, is giving him a few mulligans. he's not a candidate who's been in the colleague lights of a national campaign, and they seem to appre

good evening, i'm bret baier. president obama lashed out at republicans and later said he is prepared to work with them. on this, the second day of his bus tour through 28 electoral college votes to key states. ed henry reports that it seems the president is selling himself and his jobs plan. >> don't be bamboozled. >> reporter: president obama on the attack in north carolina, declaring on the bus tour time to kick the tires on the republican jobs plan. >> what is standing between us and full employment is we prevent companies pollute our air and water too much. we on the other hand have said let's put teachers back in the classroom in north carolina and all across the country. [ applause ] those are two choices. >> reporter: after bashing republicans the president insisted he wants to work with them to pass his jobs plan. in washington, one of the most likely republicans to support the president did the opposite, and delivered tongue lashing to treasury secretary tim geithner. >> time to get administration to con

. ♪ ♪ @=h    >>> i'm bret baier in washington.s in this evening's "special report." carl cameron still out in las vegas where the presidential republican hopefuls went at each other in another debate. they have done it five times tis in the last six weeks and they are clearly getting on each other's nerves. we will welcome one candidate to the studio. rick santorum will be in the center seat answering questions from panelists and then from now during our online show. president obama wrapped up the bus tour and continued his assault on republican opponents of the jobs bill/stimulus package. comments by vice president biden that had a lot of people shaking their heads today. the water cooler item of the day, dozens of wild animals on the loose in ohio. we will tell you how it happened and what became of all the creatures in a live report. "special report" from washington starts at 6:00 eastern. now we'll send it back to new york and my colleagues at "the five." ♪ ♪ >> bob: what the hell kind of music that? >> kimberly: romance. >> b

good evening, i'm bret baier. president obama on the road again taking his push for his jobs bill/stimulus package to voters in two key swing states this week. the president just finished a speech at a north carolina high school looking for votes in congress now. in the election a year from now. ed henry is traveling with the president. >> it's a bus tour, but president obama used air force one to make his grand entrance in north carolina. the crowd of only a few hundred was not so grand. considering this is a critical battleground. still, the crowd was hively, chanting "yes, we can. "even has the president concedeed no, he can't get congress to pass his whole jobs bill now. >> maybe they just couldn't understand the whole thing all at once. so we're going to break it up to bite-size pieces. >> the white house insists the taxpayer finance tour is not a series of campaign events. even as the president posed with the cute kid at a not a campaign event in a barbecue joint. at the asheville airport that could get runw

. ♪ ♪ e s     >>> i'm bret baier in washington.er bus tour tonight, pushing his jobs plan/stimulus package. and trying to pave a path for his re-election effort through key areas. tonight on "special report," we'll show you what the president is telling crowds today in north carolina. he is going through that state and virginia. a couple of places political experts believe he needs to win next fall to hang on to his job. ed henry is traveling with the president. president obama continues the verbal flirtation with the occupy wall street movement. this evening, james rosen shows us what that says about the president's re-election strategy. brit hume has thoughts on defining terms of the tax debate. a vocabulary lesson and analysis you won't want to miss in the grapevine, one of the most dangerous cities on earth wants you to come visit. "special report" from washington starts at 6:00 eastern. we send it back to new york and the colleagues with "the five." ♪ ♪ >> monica: welcome back to "the five" have you been following the case out

i'm bret baier. this is a fox news alert. we have major economic news to tell you about tonight. first, a big day for investors on wall street. the dow was up 340 points. back over the 12,000 mark. the s&p 500 gained 43. the nasdaq was up 88. part of the reason for this surge was an agreement reached today in belgium by european leaders. they came up with a plan to address the continent's debt crisis. we have details on that and analysis from gerri willis in new york in a bit. but first, another possible factor. we learned today the economy, the u.s. economy did not slip back into a recession in the third quarter as some feared it might. president obama is once again having to take the bad news along with the good. the annual gross rate of 2.5% is still far below what is needed to medicate the epidemic of unemployment that threatens his presidency. ed henry has the numbers and reaction. >> reporter: after three more days campaigning -- [ cheering ] -- for his economic plan, if not his re-election. >> denver, i need your help. >> reporter: the hard fact is president obama is still

. >>> i'm bret baier in washington.resident obama's move to go around congress to try to address the housing market problem by executive order. tonight on "special report," ed henry is live in las vegas where the president is outlining his latest economic policy. we will talk about what is next for libya now that muammar gaddafi is dead. greg palkot is live in misrati. romney filed papers to get on the primary ballot in new hampshire. carl cameron has an update including look at the primary calendar that is firming up. we also get brit hume's look. "special report" from washington starts at 6:00 eastern. now send it back to new york and my colleagues with "the five." ♪ ♪ >> dana: welcome back to "the five"? pittsburgh steeler polamalu who has a hisserly of concussion had to leave a game after possibly getting another one on the field. he makes a quick call to let his wife know he was okay and the n.f.l. slapped him with a $10,000 fine. i'm glad as bob you moved up in the block, i moved way down to the "d" block. this is

. >> i'm bret baier, the big story in washington is the surprise announcement about u.s.ombat troops already on the ground in central africa. tonight on "special report," details about 100 american forces, deployed to uganda. their mission, to assist african forces in their battle against the lord's resistance army, a group accused of a 20-year campaign of murder, rape and kidnapping. but why? why are u.s. boots on the ground okay there? we will show you about a congressional hearing on the solyndra affair. house republicans asking tough questions. and g.o.p. hopeful, rick perry laying out his energy plan, promising to create more than 1 million new jobs and another installment of the center seat, former new mexico governor gary johnson is here, starting at 6:00 p.m. eastern. now back to new york and my colleagues at "the five." >> you didn't -- okay. welcome back to "the five." we can tell we are near the end because bob's getting his segment. when the super committee was first announced, congress asked for recommendations on how to trim the nation's debt by more than a

. >>> i'm bret baier in washington.ther state that could figure prominently in the re-election effort. tonight on "special report," ed henry is in virginia to show us how the president spent one part of his trip ripping republicans for opposing his jobs plan/stimulus package. and another part trying to get republicans to cooperate. we will get a live response from the senate minority leader mitch mcconnell is the president making headway against republicans with the latest pitch? carl cameron is in las vegas tonight covering the latest republican presidential candidate debate. he will have the very latest from the campaign trail. how some candidates are trashing others, while others are trying to build themselves up. jim angle reports the obama administration is apparently not yet willing to give up entirely on one entitlement program in the president's healthcare law that has been underfire. "special report" from washington starts at 6:00 eastern. now we'll send it back to new york and my leagues with "the five." ♪ ♪ >

i'm bret baier.resident obama says iran will pay a price for involve in the plot to kill the saudi ambassador to the u.s. on u.s. soil. the president did not rule out a response that goes beyond the economic sanctions. chief white house correspondent ed henry has the story. >> president obama accused iran of a pattern of dangerous and reckless behaifior that led the door open for military action. >> there will be consequences to action. wow don't take options off the table for how we operate with iran. but you can expect us to continue to apply the pressure that will have a direct impact on the iranian government. >> reporter: at a joint news conference with south korean president lee, mr. obama compared iran to north carolina as international outlaw -- north korea as international outlaw in wake of trying to kill the saudi ambassador to the u.s. while iranian government denied any role, the president flatly charged through the qods forces it was in cahoots with iranian suspect. >> we know had direct

. ♪ >>> i'm bret baier in washington. "special report" tonight. we'll have the latest approval numbers for president obama and congress. plus, the third quarter gross domestic product number is out. we'll tell you how much or how it will the economy grew. a debt deal in europe led to big gains on wall street today. we look at those numbers and details on the agreement and get analysis from gerri willis of the fox business network. we see how businessman herman cain is handling political success. he is on top of the latest fox news g.o.p. candidate poll. a complete campaign wrap-up tonight. we tell you about an interesting provision in the president's healthcare law that is getting attention. does it really penalize people for getting married? plus in tonight's grapevine, students in one state have two days off, so their teachers can attend a convention that does not exist. "special report" starts at 6:00 eastern. now back to new york and my colleagues with "the five." ♪ ♪ >> greg: they're waiting for you, bob. >> bob: don

number two, there's no truth to the rumor that bret baier will be dressed like phoenix jones on "special report" tonight. thanks for being here! here's trace gallagher. >> thank you. this is "studio b." a u.s. court blocking of what some call the toughest immigration in the law country, saying schools can't check the immigration status of students. plus, a new report details how more planes are flying too close to each other. are you at risk? and the obama administration squares off against republican lawmakers. did the administration break federal law when it gave a half billion loan to a now bankrupt company? the solyndra controversy is all ahead, unless breaking news changes everything, on "studio b." first from fox at 3:00, presidential candidate rick perry says he has a plan to create more than a million new american jobs. the texas governor making his first major policy speech since entering the race with a rapid rise and fall in the polls. today at a pennsylvania steel plant, he proposed a plan to open up federal land for emergency energy production and loosen government regulatio

bret baier is the anchor of special report. he is with me now. it was dramatic political theater. even the governor admitted in recent days heed given it reconsideration. there was a bit of a question mark as to what he would do. what does it mean now for those who are in this race, have declared they are in this race and have spent millions of dollars and time, efforts and time of their own in trying to persuade americans to vote for them. >> megyn a couple of interesting things. one was that governor christie said he made the decision last night after this reconsideration. i thought that was a very interesting point. the big donors, the big pushers in the republican party had talked to him, but there hadn't been an outreach in new hampshire or iowa, or south carolina, so that was an indication that this was going to happen. what does it mean? it means that big money could be on the move, that some of the big dollars that have been on the side lines frozen, waiting for this official decision may actually move into this gop race. and i think it also means that everything accelerat

it's a good idea for people saying until death do us part like bret baier, for instance. >> mexico cityering offering two-year marriage contracts. couples unwilling to commit to death to us part. death til we part. go back. until death do us -- i said it in my wedding. yes. til death to us part. >> he's going to still hate us but it was cute doing it n addition we want to tell you it's bret and amy's 7th anniversary this weekend. happy anniversary and what is if bret is still talking to us. thanks for being with us tonight. and make sure you go to greta wire.com and let us know what you thought about tonight's show, i put an open thread up right now. o'reilly factor is next. good night from washington, d.c.. and bret is going to kill all of us now. i think. i'm afraid of him now. >> o'reilly factor is on. tonight...

in for bret baier. it has been 8-1/2 years since the start of the war in iraq.ith almost 4,500 american lives lost. but now the end is little more than two months away. that was the message from president obama today. he says he will not keep any american troops in iraq after the end of the year. conventional wisdom had been a few thousand would remain. the chief white house correspondent ed henry tells us that is no longer the plan. >> after nearly nine years, america's war in iraq will be over. >> reporter: president obama never said, "victory." the word is too politically charged after all the sacrifice. and all of controversy over whether mission accomplished was declared too early. mr. obama did call it a success. >> the last american soldier will cross the border out of iraq. with their heads held high and proud of their success. knowing that the american people stand united in our support for our troops. >> reporter: given recent violence in iraq, top republicans warn the real victory could go to iran, taking advantage of a vacuum. senator lindsey graham

good evening, i'm bret baier. familiarity is definitely breading contempt or something close to it among republican presidential candidates. they engage in the fifth debate in six weeks tuesday. if the gloves had been on before, they certainly came off last night. carm cameron has the blow-by-blow from las vegas. >> rick perry roared back offense, slamming mitt romney for hiring a lawn care company years ago that unbeknownst to romney employed illegal aliens. >> you stood here in front of the american people and did not tell the truth that you had illegals working on your property. >> we went to the company and said you can't have illegals on your property. >> he put a firm hand on his shoulder but mostly he belittled romney. >> you have a problem allowing someone to finish speaking, and i suggest if you want to be the president of the united states, you have to let people speak. it's been a tough couple of debates for rick. i understand that, so you are going to get testy. >> michele bachmann chose a different to

part this piece, i spent some time with three fox news anchors, chris wallace, megyn kelly, and bret baiertrying to devise the toughest questions for the debate in orlando. i think in the last three debates they've been credited with being fairly aggressive toward the gop. >> the first fox debate in particular, what -- they had strong questions were and were criticized by rush limbaugh for having two strong questions. >> he said fox was trying to suck up to the mainstream for msn approval. let me ask about meetings that ailes admitted to me that he had. he says he wasn't giving advice. certainly chris christie. he had dinner at ailes' home in new jersey. romney, per have met privately with ailes. here's some of the things he told me. for example, rick perry hasn't given any tv interviews except for one. "the press," says ailes, "will set a trap and ask who is the president of uzbekistan and run with that for a week." and another, "the way they're playing it in the mainstream is that he was a jesus freak." and another, "the mainstream press will give all republicans as always as a precursor

bret baier. >> when i think of you, i think there's a hurricane coming, wait, bret, and send him intoarly days. the early days. that's right. >> and you survived? >> 14 hurricanes. i really put that blue slicker to use. >> yeah, you joined the fox newschannel in 1998 and for a long time you were posted down in america's southeast covering all sorts of stuff, right? >> that's right. actually the southeast bureau for fox newschannel started in my apartment with a fax machine and a cell phone. but we slowly grew. >> what do you mean it started in your apartment? >> that's what i mean. >> that was it. >> i was it? i was it. literally i had a fax machine and a cell phone and that's where it started down there. the shadow of cnn. >> that's right. no kidding. >> i bet you appreciate now sitting as the 6:00 p.m. east coast time anchor of "special report". things have changed for you? >> i do. i do. i think, you know, i've bounced around the southeast and south and central america for a few years traveling around and covering various stories and they ran the gamut. i mean, i went to mud wrestl

it is all bret baier's fault that's not what we want in a president. >> gregg: you decided to offer thecolumn: >> gregg: susan, do you think it is possible that rick perry just doesn't have the communicationç skills required for this job? >> well that's the message he is sending to people. if i were rick perry, i would -- not that i am, i would come out and say look folks, i'm used to governing. i'm used to making tough decisions. i'm not really as comfortable as some others in this format. but guess what, i'm gonna work harder. i'm going to do better. i'm going to listen to the criticism. i'm going to take it to heart and do my best. instead what he seems to have done and his campaign seems to have done is to say this isn't a measure of anything thispo isn't a test of anything. you0Ññsix millionç people who watch that fox debate you must have been idiots to think that you were doing something useful. i just think, you know, i'm a democrat, why should i worry, but it he is really shooting himself in the foot. and i think handing the nomination to mitt romney. >> gregg: susan estrich,