diane macedo joins us now. orning diane. >> good morning ainsley. >> a new report shows the u.s. army corps of engineers paid $5.4 million for trash incinerators never used to burn waste in open air pits and expose themselves to potential health hazards. the reports from the afghanistan reconstruction says units were not only behind schedule they were rentered unusable. still the report says the army paid the contractor in full for the incinerators which are sitting in the base that has been turned over to the afghan government and are largely expected to be salvaged for scraps. the army corps of inge ner did their own review of theish up and says some of the inspector claims about how bad the incinerators were. it also says they continuously strive to implement lessons learned from the work in the extremely challenging afghan environ pment. but they are pressing top military commanders for complete documentation by the end of the month. this is the latest in a string of reports questioning the billions of dolla

. >> diane macedo.appy new year, by the way. >> happy new year to you. >> 13 minutes to the top of the hour. alec baldwin had a banner year when it comes to em baring himself. b -- embarrassing himself. might not be the biggest scandal of the year. >>> one reporter learns a lesson on live tv. what happens next? the most amazing part. now steve doocy on what is coming up on "fox & friends." >> coming up on "fox & friends" 13 minutes from right now. it is the last day of 2013 and we are here to celebrate with you. we are going to take you live around the world as midnight strikes. 1 million people expected at times square a block from where we are. maria molina is life talking to coordinators behind the scenes. we have the medical tests and the ones you need to get and the ones you need to avoid. six months after her lung transplant we are checking in on her road to recovery. 12 minutes from now right here on your channel for news. [ male announcer ] thisecember, experience the gift of unsurpassed craftsm

. >> diane macedo, thank you so much. >> the time about 15 minutes until the top of the hour.till to come the city bans this girl from selling mistletoe to raise money for her braces. wait until you hear what they told her to do instead. >> call it an early christmas gift. someone is leaving tips around the country to the tune of thousands of dollars. >> wouldn't that be a great gratuity. >> it would. >> i can hardly wait to hear about that. coming up are new cutbacks making it harder for military members to survive. >> do you need to woor reabout these three symptoms? find out what chronic cough, headache and first really mean. and when you see a doctor, we told you about the nfl banning a fence commercial. >> if you are looking for a job look no further. cheryl casone is here. fox and friends kicks off live from new york city. right here on your channel for news. [ male announcer ] 'tis the season of more. more shopping. more dining out. more traveling. and along with it, more identity theft. every time you pull out your credit card, shop online, or hit the road, you give th

. >> diane macedo has more. >> 1 million are set to lose employment benefits during a program createdpplement state unemployment aid. lawmakers extended the emergency benefits 11 times since they were instituted in 2008 paying out $225 billion in benefits. it means those collecting unemployment will only be able to do so for the 28 weeks or so the state is willing to pay them rather than the 99 weeks granted under the federal program. whether this is a good thing or bad thing depends on who you ask. jack read has already announced plans to introduce a 3 month extension to the benefits in a conference call yesterday he told reporters from a human level cutting 1.3 mill americans off the lifeline doesn't make sense and it is not anything we should be doing. opponents say this is an emergency program and being that the u.s. has been out of a recession for four years now it is time to end it. they are expected to lead to a drop in the unemployment rates because some people will be forced to take jobs they don't want and others are expected to drop out of the work force entirely since they

diane macedo is here with what you should do if you are a victim. iane. >> good morning, heather. target has been sued by one customer after the company reported a data breech that could effect more than a million debit and credit cards. customers who paid with plastic between november 27th and december 15th may have had their card information compromised including their names, card numbers, card expiration dates and embedded code from the card's magnetic strip. they allege target failed to implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices appropriate to the nature and scope of the information compromised. target says it is working cos y closely with law enforcement and financial institutions and has identified and resolved the issue. there is no indication that debit card pins were impacted. still hackers could do major damage with the information that was affected. well-known hacker david kennedy gave fox news a few tips on how people can protect themselves. >> google waltz, pay pal has them. it is really a temporary credit card n

diane macedo joins us. >> good morning heather. of the year for shopping and giving and holiday cheer. but unfortunately the winter holidays are also high season for drunk driving. the national highway safety administration is hoping to combat that with a new push for states to ramp up use for the interlock program. kicking off the annual drive sober or get pulled over enforcement program the nhtsa issued new guidelines urging states to force first time drunk drivers to install alcohol breath monsters into the division system. it requires the driver to blow into it in order to start the car. if it detects alcohol it prevents the car from starting. all states use them in some way but only 20 require it for first time off financede -- offenders. i urge the state to start our guidelines to protect motorists and ensure individuals convicted of drunk driving learn from their mistakes. drunk driving crash tests rose 4.6 percent last year to 10,322 marking the first jump after six years of decline and the nhtsa says drivers are interlocks

. >> diane macedo live for us. >> the time is about 10 minutes until the top of the hour.g up where this real life grinch is accused of stealing christmas from innocent kids. >> first comes love then comes marriage then comes baby in a baby carriage. not any more. a new dating web site skipping several steps. let's check with brian to see what's coming up on his show. >> finally you give me my own show. >> coming up over the next three hours "fox & friends" looks at a erm toer nts agent speaking out on the fast and furious. smile you are on candid web cam. this guest youtube shows how it is easy to collect personal information on social media. are you crazy or are you really nuts or flat out normal? keith ablow will describe it. craig morgan is here singing live. how me and joe got these incredible upper bodies. more than just shaving chest hair. now i have got to go. i am out of time. wow. [ under his breath ] that was horrible. pays you cash when you're sick or hurt? [ japanese accent ] aflac. love it. [ undehis breath ] hate it. helps you focus on getting back to normal

diane macedo joins us now with the latest. >> it is against the law to kill a bald or golden eagle in but not if you are an alternative energy company. they are moving toward finalizing a rule that would give alternative energy farms a 30 year pass for killing those protected birds. the rule extends to current five year permits that allow them to foregg for unintentionally killing the eagles which leads up to $5,000 and two years in prison. it prosecuted the first case against an energy company for a bird death. duke energy pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $1 million for killing 14 golden eagles that got stuck in the wind turbines over three years. while it will require farms to implement certain guidelines to help with eagle conservation it has still earned the president backlash from environmental groups that normally support them saying 30 years is too long and more research is needed to establish the overall effect alternative energy companies have on the environment. press report a federal study found that wind farms in ten states killed 67 golden and bald eagles since 2008. one

the idea of hiking -- >> diane macedo has the latest on this story. > good morning, ladies. advocates for higher fast food wages have rallies around the country in hopes of getting businesses to in some cases more than double their minimum wage to $15 an hour. the federal minimum wage stands at 7:25 an you are who. while somerset the minimum wage higher. current minimums don't make enough to help a family. white castle vice president jamie richardson told cnbc yesterday raising the company's minimum wage to $15 it would force more than 200 of the 406 locations to close entirely. while the $15 wage hike might seem like a long shot, the president is backing a bill to raise the federal minimum wage to just over $10 an hour. >> we know there are airport workers and fast food workers and nurse assistants and retail sales people who work their tails off and are still working at or barely above poverty. that is why it is well past the time to raise a minimum wage that is below where it was when harry truman was in office. >> the wage hike would be good for th

diane macedo is here with what we need to know. >> you might want to think twice before paying what isthe price tags this holiday season. more and more stores are considering that price negotiable. new york times reports increasingly sophisticated tracking tools on smart phones and other devices are making consumers more bold and retailers desperate enough to train employees to bargain with customers. the new web site found that at least 20 percent of big box retailers are joining the likes of best buy and adopting the policy of matching any competitor's price though nanny don't advertise it. home depot and lowe's are offering 10 percent below the price if it means locking in a sale. large stores like bloomingdales also have the policy. flee market style. also some adding on free insurance or delivery. the key is to make sure you make a reasonable offer be polite and confidence. something to keep in mind as you finish up the holiday shopping. >> you can do it on ebay it would be nice to do it in stores, too. >> it is 47 minutes after the top of the hour. christmas is right around the c

. >> diane macedo, thank you so much. >> the time now is about 15 minutes to the top of the hour.n isn't stealing anything. he is giving drivers a gift. why they may not want it. >> he has become nicer. >> it may be the first blind date story you have ever heard. a guy goes to meet the lady he met on-line and ends up behind bars. who he was really meeting. let's check in with steve doocy to find out what's coming up. >> my wife won't let me go on blind dates. i don't have anything to say about that. >> smart lady. >> she is a smart lady. charles krauthammer will be dropping by and answering a number of questions regarding things going on in news. a police officer gives his shirt off his back to give to a homeless man. we have the holiday gift dos and don'ts. traveling with your kids this christmas guru rosie pope. it's all ahead on fox and friends it kicks off about 11 minutes from now on your channel for news. [ male announcer ] 'tis the season of more. more shopping. more dining out. more traveling. and along with it, more identity theft. every time you pull out your credit card