gregg? gregg: what a sad and inexplicable event on christmas eve. david lee mill e we'll check back with you. thank you. >> well, to another fox news alert with a better ending, a u.s. marine just making it home in time for christmas. he's been hospitalized in louisiana shortly after being released from one of mexico's most dangerous prisons. john hammer, he was jailed for months when he tried to cross the border with an antique shotgun his family says is an heirloom. here's how his mother described her first conversation with him. >> reporter: what did you say to him in. >> are you okay, you know? he was like, yeah, i'm sick, but i'm okay. i'm okay and i'm tired. and, you know, the first thing he said to me, actually, is i need a shower. that was his first comment. so -- but my husband said he took, like, a four-hour shower the first night, so i think he's doing okay. [laughter] heather: our steve harrigan is live from palmetto bay where the marine has just arrived and, steve, no doubt a bi

gregg?egg: lawmakers in the russia are taking a very tough stand against americans trying to adopt russian children, unanimously approving a ban on it. it's not a done deal yet. who has the final say? we're live with that story. >>> and giving back at christmas time and some big help came from, well, some very small volunteers. details next. anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. we don't let frequent heartburn come between us and what we love. so if you're one of them people who gets heartburn and then treats day afr day... block the acid with prilosec otc and don't get heartburn in the first place! [ male announcer ] e pill eachmorning. 24 hours. zero heartbur gregg: welcome back. lawmakers in russia sparking outrage here after they unanimously approved a ban on adopti

gregg? gregg: david, thanks.nn: oh, well, before christmas speaker john boehner said the ball is in the president and the senate's court to avoid the fiscal cliff. now there are only days left before americans could be hit with massive tax hikes and spending cuts. so who is under more political pressure to get a deal done, the presidentdemocral republicans? alan colmes, host of the alan colmes radio show. brad blakeman is a former deputy assistant to president george w. bush. thank you both for joining us. the debt over $16 trillion. does the democratic plan, the latest one, put a dent in that? >> not at all. as a matter of fact it is more spending and less revenue. you know the problem rests with the president because the buck stops with him or should stop with him. he is the leader of our country and they control two third of government. we control the house but they still control the senate and white house. and let's remind everybody. the president appointed a commission on debt over three years ago and they c

gregg? gregg: as steve mentioned jon hammar's mother made a tireless effort in recent weeks to draw attention to the case. here are more of her remarks from yesterday. >> it was like my first night that slept all night loaning without getting up and it was just, the thought of not wondering what is going on with him. can anyone hurt him tonight you know, those kind of thoughts. he is eating. he is able to have a meal. it is, i honestly can't totally process it i think until he's here. gregg: republican congresswoman ileana ros-lehtinen of florida worked with the hammars to win jon's release. she is chairman of the house foreign affairs committee. always great talking to you. thanks so much. >> thank you. gregg: jon hammar's parents says the state department was really not lifting a finger to help. in fact they were very discouraging about it. then the white house when asked just a few days ago seemed utterly owe live just didn't know anything about it and clearly wasn't do anything. you woul

gregg? >> gregg: claudia live in los angeles.ou. >> arthel: we have new information concerning president george h.w. bush, currently hospitalized in texas. a spokesman for his office saying mr. bush is showing signs of improvement and is now moved out of the intensive care unit to a regular patient room. the 88-year-old is being treated for a bronchitis-related illness. mike tobin is live in houston with this positive news. mike? >> it's welcome news that the doctors here no longer feel his condition is so fragile that he needs to be monitored in the intensive care unit. therefore, they moved him to a standard recovery room. this coupled with the information that we're getting from the people of the former president's staff saying his condition seems to improve all the time. he spent shy of a week in intensive care and what put him there was a stubborn fever that he had a tough time shaking. it was brought on by the bronchitis which had him in the hospital since the end of november. throughout the profits, his staff made an effor

. >> gregg: i'm gregg jarrett.ould there be a compromise on the horizon to keep the country from falling off the so-called fiscal cliff. who has the most, should gridlock prevail. >> heather: daring rescue mission in afghanistan to save an american citizen. we have the incredible story. >> gregg: a court appearance for an n.f.l. star accused of driving intoxicated and killing a teammate. we're live in texas. >> heather: we begin with the countdown to a potential economic disaster. the edge of the fiscal cliff looming larger as the clock ticks toward the deadline on january 1st. negotiators are trying to hammer out a deal over tax hikes and spending cuts searching for common ground. amid all the back and forth there are signing of a compromise. steve centanni is live in washington. are the two sides any closer together? >> reporter: there are two important signs today. speaker, house speaker john boehner met with president obama at the white house today. we don't know how long they met or exactly what they talked ab

>>gregg: you are only down a third. >>guest: thank you. >>gregg: fraser, thank you.for kids and adult whose cannot stand eating brussel brusselsprouts. a man overdosed on the vegetables and that sent him to the hospital. i few which was a reason i hate brusselsprouts. one a day men's 50+ is a complete multivitamin designed for men's health concerns as we age. it has 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day men's 50+. he's going to apply testosterone to his underarm. axiron, the only underarm treatment for low t, can restore testosterone levels back to normal in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18. axiron can transfer to others through direct contact. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these signs and symptoms to your doctor if they occur. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. do not use if you have prostate or br

. >> gregg: hello, i'm gregg jarrett. welcome to a brand-new hour. >> heather: i'm heather childers. topping the news a nasty winter storm slamming the pacific northwest. latest where it is going next from the fox news extreme weather center. >> gregg: millions of americans hitting the rails and skies this weekend. we'll go to one of the busiest airports in the country. >> heather: one father's fight to bring the word christmas into his son's school. >> gregg: we begin with so-called fiscal cliff, major concerns for the u.s. economy are not keeping lawmakers from heading home for the holidays. but with lawmakers from both parties still at odds over how to avoid that inevitable cliff, tax hikes, spending cuts associated with it, some of them are taking to the sunday talk shows to make their respective cases with just nine days until every american taxpayer feels the pinch. steve centanni, steve is there still any chance some sort of a comprehensive agreement can be reached? >> reporter: it's looking less and less likely. t

gregg: i'm gregg jarrett in for bill hemmer. gregg: this system has spawned tornadoes causing blizzard-like conditions and killing at least nine people and now another storm is on the way. patti ann: we have team coverage this morning. maria molina in the extreme weather center tracking this next system, but we begin with catherine parada in worchester, massachusetts, good morning. >> reporter: we are about an hour west of boston and this is what we've experiencing right now. i have to tell you this is definitely an improvement. we rolled into the city before 4:00 this morning. at that point in time we were seeing a lot of sleet, then it changed over to snow, now we are getting a lot of rain at this point in time. this is what it looks like right now. you can see there is snow on the sidewalk there, you look in the street you see a lot of the slush and especially here you can see a mix of this watery shreurwhat the watery slush right here. i what you are was speaking with people here and they said it prapts isn' perhaps the wors

gregg: i'm gregg jarrett for bill hemmer. hikes and spending cuts will be kicking in unless a deal is reached. how long the economy can sustain the one-two punch is anybody's question. patti ann: joining us now is steve moore from the "wall street journal." hopefully he can give us some answers. good morning, steve. what is the most immediate impact in we go over the cliff? >> we are talking about january 2nd taxing rising on over a hundred million americans. this is a big sock to the wallet of americans of every income group. let's just talk about the middle class for a minute. for those earning about 45 to 75,000 a year they are looking at paying somewhere in the neighborhood of $2,500 a year more in taxes. it's not just the warn buffets and bill gates that will be hit by tax increases. the other part of the cliff that we don't talk that much about is the automatic spending cuts would take effect starting on january 2nd, an 8% reduction in major spending categories, national defense, many of what we call the domestic discre

gregg: i'm gregg jarrett in for bill hemmer.two in the republican senate saying there could potentially be a bill ready for the floor. heather: there could be. mike emanuel live on capitol hill to see if this is happening or not. mike? >> reporter: very having trelments -- interesting developments, gregg and heather. jon kyl, who told our john brandt, our senate producer there are signs of progress and he is hopeful something will be able to come to the floor. moments ago we had senator mitch mcconnell, the to be senate republican walk in. he had spoken to the vice president last night after midnight. spoke to him again this morning at 6:30 in the morning. by those measures it certainly seems like there is a good pace, if you will, to discussions between the two key figures to the negotiations at this critical stage. bottom line, talks are ongoing. a lot of official channels have been pretty quiet about signs of progress but senator kyl in a candid moment he does hear there is progress. and they are hopeful, hopeful, we will get

not much, gregg.se is shut down through christmas and even as we get closer and closer to the fiscal cliff. no deal was reached this week that would keep taxes from going up for everyone at the end of the year and john boehner accusing the president of ducking the central issue in the fiscal stand off. >> what the president offered so far, simply will not do anything to solve our spending problem. and, begin to address or nation's crippling debt and instead he wants more spending and more tax hikes, that will hurt or economy. and refuses to challenge the members of his party to deal with entitlement reform and big issues facing our nation. >> reporter: he suggests the ball is now, basically in the democrats' court. gregg. >> gregg: will the president focus at all on this topic, in the coming days? >> reporter: there doesn't appear to be much he can do, he's with his family in hawaii to celebrate christmas and he'll return to washington and landed in honolulu early today for a shorter than usual christ

>>gregg: u.n.usan rice's potential nomination as secretary of state and new questions over her attempts to explain her remarks of the terror attack on the consulate in libya that were flatout wrong. and now, bringing them back, our political insiders. congressman, normally, when a potential nominee or a nominee migrates to capitol hill to meet with the senators they go behind closed doors and make nice and come out and the senators say it is wonderful, i probably could vote for her, i will give her every opportunity. but rice comes out of the meetings and the senators are more opposed than ever before. >> you have to wonder what went on in the meetings. she wants to be the chief diplomat of the united states. she must have gone in there and not only ticking off mccain is one thing but susan collins who introduceed her when she was nominated there is a way to a u.s. senator, you do not talk, you let them do all the talking. she must have really got were her back up thinking i got the president behin

gregg: i'm gregg jarrett. we're in for megyn kelly.t the white house where president obama and house and senate leaders will make a last-ditch effort to try to reach a deal to avert an imminent fiscal crisis. this meeting between the president and congressional leaders is their first since november 16th. really? and they are just meeting now more than a month later. a few days before all the tax increases and spending cuts will kick in. we will all obviously feel the pain if that happens. ed henry, is live at the white house. ed? >> reporter: gregg, it is hard to understate how critical this meeting will be. one of the president's top democratic allies on capitol hill, max baucus, the senator from montana said a little while ago it will come down to this meeting whether or not we go off the fiscal cliff. he went on to say the pressure on all sides is red hot right now to come up with a deal. heading into this meeting, republicans like lamar alexander are trying to push more pressure on the president than the republican leaders. take a

gregg?as president obama and top republicans wrangle over the looming fiscal cliff with one month to go, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell is offering a new clarity on his party's position, calling for high be medicare premiums for the wealthy, increased medicare eligibility age and a smaller cost of living adjustment in social security. in exchange, he says republicans could agree to more tax revenue, but not through higher tax rates. will both sides be able to work this thing out? let's bring in our panel, donna is an advisor to pennsylvania senator bob kerry and a former staffer for pennsylvania governor ed rendell. ron is a former communications director to the house speaker, dennis hastert. good to see you both. >> good to sigh. >> gregg: donna, let's start with what the president was offering a. even democrats are criticizing him for demanding 150 billion in more spending. not less, including a $50 billion stimulus this next year. at a time when the focus perhaps should be on spen

gregg: yeah. and china is now overtaken the united states as the world's largest trading partner. >> yes. gregg: we'll talk about that with senator charles grassley coming up next hour. stuart varney, thanks very much. >> thanks, gregg. martha: this whole topic is at the forefront now. we're getting new details on the sale after bankrupt solar battery company to china. a company that took $250 million in stimulus money before going belly-up. a bankruptcy judge could decide today whether to allow that sale of a123. the chinese firm outbidding a milwaukee-based company for the right to buy that defunct company. senator charles grassley is one of several lawmakers that oppose the deal. he says it is a threat to our national security and he will join us live in the next hour. >>> so we've got a jam-packed hour headed your way. the head of president obama's jobs council and chairman of general electric turned heads with his comments on the state of china's economy. why jeff immelt says, communism works

. >> gregg: i'm gregg jarrett. we'll follow the movements of president as he visits to family members as well as his remarks before the congregation. >> in the preparation and investigation into this tragedy is actually gaining speed. authorities say the gunman shot his mother, not once but multiple times in the head before then going to the elementary school and committing his further atrocities. mike tobin joins us live. the latest developments in this case. give us a rundown. >> reporter: it offered a lot of clarity about the weapons that were used in this attack. paul vance, public information for the state police saying there were four weapons involved. primary weapon was bushmaster ar-15 assault rifle coupled with high capacity magazines. that was the primary weapon used to carry through the attack. also, a couple of side arms. .9 millimeter and glock ten millimeter. one of those were used by the gunman to kill himself and we know that he killed himself as first responders were moving in on the scene. shotgun

gregg?just want to clear up, did the news conference clarify the use, in addition to two semiautomatic hand guns, the use of an assault rifle? >> there were questions asked about the weapons because that's been a developing part of all of this investigation and throughout the day and last more than 24 hours, we've gotten multiple different stories from different law enforcement sources. some federal and some local here on the ground. we're trying to clarify that at the press conference this afternoon. that didn't really happen. we still have word that there were guns found inside the school, but the clarification actually became less clear really. he said -- lieutenant vance speaking this afternoon, releasing much of the information, said that maybe tomorrow morning they'd be able to clarify how many of the guns were there, how many have been fired, possibly the number of rounds, that sort of thing would become more clear. right now they're still working through that. >> gregg: all right. mo

gregg: byron york, thank you very much. >> thank you, gregg. gregg: all right. heather: well, right now, former president george h.w. bush is in the intensive care unit at a houston hospital. doctors say they're treating him for a fever and that the 88-year-old former president is in what they're calling guarded condition. trace gallagher has the latest on this from our west coast newsroom. trace? >> reporter: and, heather, the former president has been in the hospital for better part of two months. remember was admitted november 7th. spent 10 days at methodist hospital. was released for a few days and back on november 23rd. he has been there ever since the initial problem was the bronchitis but now doctors say that has improved a quite a bit and coughing only once or twice a day. but now the big fear he has this fever that simply will not go away. doctors tell have not figured out exactly what's causing it. the concern it is bacterial infection which is very tough for elderly people to battle. the former president's spokesman says you don't go to the icu if you

. >> gregg: a fox news alert. we are getting word from the nation's capital that harry reid will soon be coming out and address the fiscal cliff at the microphones any moment now. congressional leaders are holding marathon negotiations behind closed doors. we're only getting drips of what is going on racing against the clock as the final countdown to the fiscal cliff deadline begins. unless a deal is reached by january 1st, more than $500 billion in tax increases and spending cuts are set to kick in affecting nearly every american. hello, i'm gregg jarrett. >> arthel: i'm arthel nevil. welcome to a brand-new hour. as gregg just said the ball is in the senate's court. the republicans submitted a proposal to the senate democrats last night and are still waiting for a response. who is up at the podium right now. >> gregg: let's take a look at the shot. >> they are continuing to discuss this. we think there could be a path forward. one thing there is democrats have come out and made a change on cpi and republicans are

gregg: yeah. mary ellen, a lot of people always thought he was responsible for many more murders than those attributed to him. what say you? >> i would definitely agree with that and the reason say that is having interviewed a number of these serial killers and worked on hundreds of cereal murder cases we know there is a period of time before they get into kind of the groove, for lack of a better term. there are murders where they're practicing. they're trying to figure out what kind of weapon they like to use, what type of victims they want to access, what they want to do to the victim. those murders precede the actual series. and so having said that that becomes very important for investigators to know those early, those earlier homicides and it's also a myth for people to think that serial killers only kill in one way or they only select certain victims. so there can be women as victims. there can be females as victims or men as victims that back in '77 they never thought about. gregg: dr. bade

. >> gregg: fox news alert. another bombshell rocking the n.f.l.allas cowboys player josh brent under arrest facing intoxication manslaughter charges after a car crash in texas that killed his teammate. they say he was speeding when his vehicle flipped over and hit a curb and inside, jerry brown was found unresponsive and pronounced dead at nearby hospital. we are awaiting a news conference from a police department in texas. we're keeping a close eye on it and bring you any developments as soon as they happen. >>> another fox news alert. a major take down in the fight against the war on terror. the alleged ring leader of an al-qaeda linked group suspected taking part in the september 11th assault in benghazi now in custody. egyptian authorities busting him in cairo and getting assistance from u.s. intelligence agencies. hello, i'm gregg jarrett. >> heather: i'm had heather childers. welcome to a brand-new hour. the suspect has been identified as this man, mohammad jamal amad he was in the process of trying to launch a new affiliated of al-qaeda in

with their two adopted sons, gregg and logan, they were now a family. along with two dogs, two cats, a turtle and a puffer fish. their older son, 13-year-old gregg, has a form of autism called asperger's syndrome. >> i have really good balance. yeah, one minute. i'm going to drink this milk and then show you. >> 11-year-old logan has just started middle school. >> what's not normal about my family is i have two dads. kind of makes it weird to go to school and stuff. >> would you say that you have an unusual family? >> nah. maybe a little. maybe just a little bit. >> tom adopted logan and gregg after a previous relationship with their mother who passed away. the moores were blissfully happy as a family of four, but, like most married couples, scott and tom wanted to make a baby. unlike most male couples, they had the means to do so. >> what's going on there? >> the baby is going on in there. he's about to come out. at first when he suggested having a baby and me carrying it, i didn't even think about it. i automatically just said no. no way. and that's b

>> well, it is the goal, and i agree with senator gregg.hat we really need is a long-term big deal that addresses the debt and the deficits. >> does it sound like we're going to get it this time? >> well, what we could do is get a two-part deal, and i think there's still an opportunity to do that, so we could address the automatic cuts that go into effect in january. we could increase rates on top income earners that would help us pay for putting off those automatic cuts and give ourselves some time to further negotiate the final several trillion dollars that judd gregg has indicated that i support that we need to get, to and i think what's important here is that we need to do it in a way that is balanced, that's comprehensive, that looks at all aspects of the budget. the domestic, the defense, the mandatory programs and it looks at revenue, and the fact is months ago the senate passed a proposal that would have passed the extended tax cuts for everybody 250 and under, and, you know, if we're going to take up a plan "b" why don't the house

gregg: i think i know the answer

former republican senator judd gregg joins us as the u.s. house prepares to vote on the republican plan "b" for avoiding the fiscal cliff. >> susie: and investors gobble up shares of blackberry maker research in motion as the smart phone maker posts better than expected quarterly results. >> tom: that and more tonight on nbr! >> susie: here at the new york stock exchange, the big trade of the day was the big board itself. the n.y.s.e.-euronext has agreed to sell itself to the intercontinental exchange, an acquisition that would reshape wall street. it's an $8.2 billion deal that values the n.y.s.e. at $33 a share, a 38% premium to wednesday's close. so what are the implications of an upstart exchange buying the venerable big board? erika miller reports. >> reporter: the new york stock exchange has been the symbol of capitalism for nearly two centuries, but now it wants to give up its independence and be bought by a little-known rival in atlanta. the intercontinental exchange, or "ice" for short, was started 12 years ago as an energy trading

>>gregg: thanks for watching, everyone, i am greg jarret. >>heather: stossel starts right now. >> biological attack is possible. >> swine flu panic grips the nation. >> climate change is killing people. >> the media says life is horrible. >> poverty has reached new depths. >> but the media missed the big picture. >> i was only four when i saw my motherlode a washing machine for the first time. >> this is a wonderful word and getting better. his grandmother was thrilled by a washing machine. >> she sat down and watched the entire washing program. >> two, one, fire! >> the machines coming next or better thanks to competition. and they build school cars and space ships. >> entrepreneurs do what only governments did before. >> maybe cities will be built on water flow from big government. >> this is outside the united states jurisdiction. >> life gets better because ideas have sex. >> wait, ideas have sex? >> yes. >> ideas spread. when they meet they can mate. >> because of that we live in a wonderful world. that is our show tonight. >> now, john

gregg: can you really walk in those? heather: i can run through the stores. gregg: okay. that's going to do it for now. "happening now" begins right now. have a merry christmas, everybody. heather: merry christmas. gregg: bye-bye. >> reporter: right now brand-new stories and breaking news. >> reporter: dreams of a white christmas it could become a reality. creating travel nightmares how the weather is affecting your trip home for the holidays. it will be a very merry christmas for the familiar leave this u.s. marine veteran just released from one of mexico's most dangerous prisons. where he stopped off before heading home causing some concern. how about this. a short-cut to becoming a doctor, a new program being offered by one of the most prestigious medical schools in our country saving both time and money for the students, but does it skimp on training, a doctor in three years? it's all happening now. but first there is troubling news on the civil war that is raging some 21 months now in syria. the international envoy trying to help end the violence there says that he's

. >> susie: we turn now to judd gregg for his perspective. he's a former republican senator from new hampshire, and currently senior advisor at new mountain capital, a private equity firm. senator, great to you have back on nightly business report. let me begin by just asking that if you were in the senate today would you be voting for plan b? >> well, yes, but i don't think plan b is going to be the final option here. i general binly believe that it's in the interest, both of the speaker and the president and both party to its reach an agreement before we go over the fiscal cliff. and that because it is in both their political interests to do that and because when you look at the numbers that they are debating over right now they are reasonably close, especially in the context of ten year numbers, i just think you're going to get an agreement here probably on the thursday, friday after christmas. >> susie: so you think there will be a deal? some people were saying that they are hoping that this going it to put political pressure, this vote o

with me now, former new hampshire republican senator judd gregg. he's currently co-chairman of the campaign to fix the debt. senator, let's -- i want to start 50,000 feet, and we'll move down closer to ground level, but as a former member of the senate, we've now had two grand bargains, one around the debt ceiling, one around the fiscal cliff, seemingly, well, on the debt ceiling definitely, and on this one, seemingly fall apart. now that you're on the outside, are people right to be skeptical that congress can do anything? i hesitate to say big. even medium in terms of addressing our debt and spending problems? >> oh, they're absolutely correct in being skeptical, but congress can act. it has acted in the past. regrettably, it usually acts in crisis. for example, during the financial meltdown, when the entire banking system of our nation would have collapsed, congress did act. and we've acted in other situations such as right after 9/11. so, maybe we'll have to have a crisis to get the big things done here. remember, this comes back -- these are a

>> you said judd gregg. >> he's one of the judds. >> it is judd gregg. >> thank you. >> he's totally both of your -- >> i've been having such a hard morning i believed you for about a second. >> you've got to say it's epstein like frankenstein. >> i'm good with whatever you're good with. >> my view has been all along that these folks are going to reach an agreement. unfortunately it doesn't look that way right now. they do have this meeting and i think if the president comes to the meeting with a very specific proposal versus opening the meeting up for discussion that they can discuss in the meeting specific proposals that they can debate the merits of and decide whether they can pass. but you might still get an agreement here. the meeting this afternoon is going to be a little different than prior meetings because it will have both mitch mcconnell and harry reid in the room. in a very substantive way. up until now it's been the speaker and the president. so i think that changed the dynamic of that room, and you might get a little more movement. there's an opportunity for the senate

gregg my basement is lineed with mistletoe.he same light up bear you have there. >> bob: you do? >> eric: yeah. >> dana: my dad used to decorate our house in denver, parker, colorado. yes, really get in to it. >> bob: we have a contest every year. small house, big house in maryland. in montgomery county. the winner gets $10,000 to go to a charity. it won last year. this year i'm not sure i'm going to, because i'm not down there. >> dana: do you have to lobby for it? >> eric: stuff the ballot box? >> greg: can we point out that mr. alternative energy source has 100,000 lights. >> bob: they don't burn that much energy. my electric bill that is usually $175-$200 a month goes to almost $2,000 in december. yeah. it's very expensive. >> dana: did you get complaints? >> bob: i get complaints from the neighbor because the cars come to look at it and one-way street and block it up. on the side o the house -- i decorate it all the way around. on the side i put feliz navidad. i thought neighbors were spanish. they weren't. then i have a s

gregg ball, thank you very much. >> good to be here. >>> we have to leave it there.l see you on the five, 2.5 minutes or so. be right over there. [ male announcer ] this is joe woods' first day of work. and his new boss told him twongs -- cook what you love, and save your money. joe doesn't know it yet, but he'll wk his way up from busser to waiter to chef before opening a restaurant specializing in fish and me from the great northwest. he'll start investing early, he'll find some good people to help guide him, nd he'll set money aside from his first day of work to his last, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. >> announcer: 'tis the season of more-- more shopping, more dining out... and along with it, more identity theft. by the time this holiday season is over, an estimated 1.2 million identities may be stolen. every time you pull out your wallet, shop online or hit the road, you give thieves a chance to ruin your holiday. by the time you're done watching this, as many as 40 more identities may be stolen. you can't be on the looko

gregg: "happening now" starts right now. jon: the clock is ticking. hours to go before we go over the fiscal cliff. a top lawmaker reporting progress in the last-ditch efforts to hammer out a deal in time. a health crisis lands secretary of state hillary clinton in the hospital, what doctors are telling us about her condition. plus, iran test firing a new range of weapons right near the strait of hormuz where a chunk of oil passes each day. the impact on the middle east and on our world, it's all "happening now." >> reporter: there is a note of optimism in the race to avoid the fiscal cliff. hello, everybody, i'm uma pemmaraju in for jenna lee today. jon: good to have you here. optimism is always a good thing in washington. that is in short supply. ringing in 2013 at midnight tonight could mean ringing in more than half a trillion dollars in tax hikes and a hundred billion dollars worth of spending cuts from defense and other key domestic programs, that is if no deal is reached in time to avert it. both the house and senate with rare new year's eve se

former senator, co-chair of the campaign to fix the debt judd gregg is here with his take on that.ce the favorite name apple, shares rebounding back to 547. is this finally the opportunity to get in? alex gauna is an analyst with jmp securities. good to have you with us. >> good morning, thank you. >> a lot of discussion how technically some defenders say apple is exacting exactly as it should. do you see it that way? >> technically i think the dangerous thing is this stock forms a head and shoulders and i don't know where the support comes in, somewhere in the 400s. that's a key risk to the stock. i focus on the fundamentals. it's worrisome in the near term for apple. when there's a lot behind that, the relationship with samsung the frenemy relationship has gone to enemy. also the closing competitive gap between apple and rival products out there, so many of those that have subsidized business models and have zero margin devices. we're neutral on the name and i think at this juncture we'd be cautioning against calling this up overnight. >> does any of your neutral thesis incorpora

gregg allman is a grammy- winning entertainer. the allman brothers started by playing mostly are in the covers but went on to complete their own hits. the new book about his life is called "my cross to bear." is an honor to have you on the program. why did you choose that title? >> it was not so much to the title of the song, but it is hard to name a hound dog, so i tried and tried. i was going to call it "beyond the thrill, and that did not seem to perk up too many years. -- ears, and people started throwing me a bunch of names, and that one came around, and it kind of grows on you. a name has to -- tavis: sit with you for a while. i ask that because this is a tough book to read in the sense there has been so many ups and downs in your life and your career about which you were very why "mybout, but i aske cross to bare,"because it seems you have had to bear so many crosses -- bare so many crosses. you have had serious of stand- downs' in this life of yours. >> yes, but -- serious ups and downs in this life of yours. >> yes, but i

gregg's my time was split between the capital -- >> my time was split between the south. endand the >> you know afghanistan well. thank you for coming in. it has been over a month now since a americans gave president obama four more years in the white house. there are now more minority voters than ever before. and in large part, the republican candidate lost because he failed to reach out to them. if your than one in three latino's failed to vote -- fewer than one in three latino's failed to vote for mitt romney. what will the republican party need to do to get the hispanic vote? >> at a christmas party outside of boston, republicans are not feeling particularly festive -- outside of austin, republicans are not filling a particularly festive. they know they have a challenge in front of them. within two years, hispanics will outnumber whites in texas. >> if you want to know what the future of the republican party is, go to a national convention and stand on a chair and turn around 360 degrees, look at everybody, and then pick any street in the united states and put a share

join me next time for a look at two of the biggest music memoirs from gregg allman and carol king. that is next time. we will see you then. >> there is a saying that dr. king had that said there is always the right time to do the right thing. i try to live my life every day by doing the right thing. we know that we are only halfway to completely eliminating hunger and we have work to do. walmart committed $2 billion to fighting hunger in the u.s. as we work together, we can stamp hunger out. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> be more. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> woodruff: president obama tapped senator john kerry today to replace outgoing secretary of state hillary clinton. good evening. i'm judy woodruff. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the newshour tonight, we look at this first cabinet change for the president's second term with david ignatius of the "washington post" and journalist and author james mann. >> woodruff: then, we turn back to the tragedy in newtown, connecticut, as more victims are laid to

gregg's my time was split between the capital -- >> my time was split between the south. endand the >> you know afghanistan well. thank you for coming in. it has been over a month now since a americans gave president obama four more years in the white house. there are now more minority voters than ever before. and in large part, the republican candidate lost because he failed to reach out to them. if your than one in three latino's failed to vote -- fewer than one in three latino's failed to vote for mitt romney. what will the republican party need to do to get the hispanic vote? >> at a christmas party outside of boston, republicans are not feeling particularly festive -- outside of austin, republicans are not filling a particularly festive. they know they have a challenge in front of them. within two years, hispanics will outnumber whites in texas. >> if you want to know what the future of the republican party is, go to a national convention and stand on a chair and turn around 360 degrees, look at everybody, and then pick any street in the united states and put a share

these are important issues. >> as judd gregg pointed out, we're not that far apart.'s maybe $200 billion separating them on the spending cut sides. $4 must know billion depending on the tax increases they're looking at. and i think they can at least come up with a framework. that wouldn't take all that much time. that would be another couple of visits from john boehner up to the white house to put something together to get a framework and then they can work on the details after that. >> we'll see. >> you don't think that's going to happen? >> look, why hasn't it happened? >> because they set a deadline on december 31st and that deadline is over there. it's not here. they still have all that time to go. that's how it works in washington. you know that. >> i guess so. i guess so. >> did you ever turn in a term paper before it was due? >> no. >> i didn't, either. no. >> that's how we roll. >> you are an optimist, though. i just worry that the market has so much room for error. >> well, and you know what? i think that's very interesting, too. michael giad, his point, the

. >> i want to bring in former senator judd gregg, also former governor from new hampshire, republican. senator, thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you. >> i guess i would like your take on this, with what happened last night and how this move forward, is it as the speaker just said, is the ball in the senate's court? >> well, i actually think the ball is back in the president's court in the sense that he has to come up with a proposal that addresses this issue that the speaker needs to have addressed in order to produce a bill that can pass the house which is this one for one, one spending dollar restraint for every dollar of revenues, and it has to be credible enough so the speaker can take it to his caucus. i think if that happens that the speaker can probably pass that. remember, we're talking a majority of the majority in the sense that the speaker has to get the 218 in republicans and he has to get a majority of the republicans to vote for it, and then i presume speaker and leader pelosi will produce the democratic votes necessary if the president signed on. i still th

gregg's that depends on what weapons and where they are stored. -- >> that depends on what weapons and where they are stored. we need to get the logistics in place. we need to pull the aircraft together, manned and unmanned, and get the search and rescue together and get that prepared so that if a decision is made, the military force is ready to execute. >> i assume there are risks involved with bombing sites that have chemical weapons. these things can be dispersed. >> that is right. and depending on the kind of weapon that we are talking about, the chemical weapon, each one has a different order call for attack. it is best not to talk about operational details ahead of time, but it is not easy and it is complicated. it would pose a risk because the steering and air defense system is relatively robust -- the syrian air defense system is relatively robust. >> could you cause damage to civilians living in the area? >> it could happen. depending on the agent and the attacker call you would want to minimize that. but as a surgical airstrikes would be, there would be every time some degree

gregg's that depends on what weapons and where they are stored. -- >> that depends on what weapons and where they are stored. we need to get the logistics in place. we need to pull the aircraft together, manned and unmanned, and get the search and rescue together and get that prepared so that if a decision is made, the military force is ready to execute. >> i assume there are risks involved with bombing sites that have chemical weapons. these things can be dispersed. >> that is right. and depending on the kind of weapon that we are talking about, the chemical weapon, each one has a different order call for attack. it is best not to talk about operational details ahead of time, but it is not easy and it is complicated. it would pose a risk because the steering and air defense system is relatively robust -- the syrian air defense system is relatively robust. >> could you cause damage to civilians living in the area? >> it could happen. depending on the agent and the attacker call you would want to minimize that. but as a surgical airstrikes would be, there would be every time some degree

here's the street's gregg greenberg with a look at investing in sports memorabilia. stokes anstocks and bonds may be building blocks of a diversified port feel yportfolio. the wil willy mays and micky mas they don't drop and they are higher in spice. steiners is a sports collectible company. he built the company. >> you are in the business ofse. how much does dirt sell for. >> dirt can sell from t. we have football stadiums and i'm a big fantastic of it. steiner has sold over 25 million of game used dirt and his goal is to sell 100 million. investors home to see their collectibles rise in value because forgery is the industries dirty business. with all of the money printing in washington and inflation creeping up. some say it's smart to holding collectibles to your lineup to stay in the game. >> we need to gis distinguishbed investments. and some of these can be rewarding particularly if we see higher inflation in the years to come. >> you can easily unload yourb u can for a stock or bond. there will be a healthy demand for the yankee slugger that built the h

judd gregg welcome to the dome. two of the most violent gangs in u.s. history. is just all model kill or be killed with colors matching the national flag. but this country uses violence when it reaches and then it legitimizes the violence they all made in america on the odyssey. palmer had been satisfied and as i rode back towards the twenty first century it was finally time to read a message i've been passed at the darts. james i'd like to invite you to join me at the first russian viennese ball in montrose switzerland it should be a memorable event if you like to attend please join me at the imperial tailoring company in moscow next monday at noon you'll need to pick out something elegant hope to see you there victor. there was no way i could pass up a chance like this viennese ball is renowned as the best event of the season and i knew the picture was one of the men in charge. now it might be a traditional ball but i don't think the eight hundred fifty look is going to cut it in switzerland so i'm here to meet up with victor and hopefully pick up something a