. >> i'm leah gabriel in for martha maccallum. so good to see you and all of you as well. the president met with a group marines at a base in hawaii. he thanked them and said afghanistan has a future thanks to their sacrifice. this is set as the u.s. will end its rule there at the end of the year. >> peter doocy has more on this. peter, how was the president first received. >> reporter: the president was received very well. he was beginning to talk about this is the beginning of the end of the war in afghanistan with the first lady at his side the crowd in the marine base in hawaii erupted >> we have been in continuous war now for 13 years, over 13 years and next week, we will be ending our combat mission in afghanistan. afghanistan has a chance to rebuild its own country. we are safer. it is not going to be a source

i'm leah gabriel. an apparent hostage situation drags on in a chocolate cafe in australia with no resolution in sight. the tense drama's been going on for about five hours now. as you can see, cops have swarmed around the cafe, and just a short time ago the associated press reported that two people ran out of the building where this situation is unfolding. authorities have not confirmed the number of hostages, but australian media reports there are ten employees, 30 customers being held inside. video shows several people along a window with their hands in the air. it also showed two people holding up what appear to be a black flag with white arabic writing on it. the police commissioner for new south wales says they're doing all that they can to reach a peaceful resolution and the situation is contained. listen. >> we have not yet confirmed this is a terrorism-related event. we are dealing with a hostage situation with an armed offender, and we're dealing with it accordingly. now, we are ready toes cla

i'm leah gabriel.we now join "stossel" in progress. >> everything happens in the stars. it makes no sense. dozens of studies have debunked astrolo astrology. i'll tell you why astrologers have duped people in the show. let's ask our skeptic michael sherman. he wrote the book, "believing brain." our brains are faulty, michael? it leads us to believe in nonsense? >> i wouldn't say they're faulty, but they do believe in nonsense because we believe just about everything we hear or see or read about or are told by others, and there is an evolutionary reason for that. imagine you're an ancient human on the plains of africa millions of years ago and you hear a ruffle in the grass. is it a dangerous predator or just the wind? if you assume the ruffle in rus grass is a dangerous predator and it's just the wind, no harm done. if you believe it's just the wind and it's a dangerous predator, then you're toast. we're the descendants of those most likely to believe everything is real just in case it is. our brains a

. >> i am leah gabrielle from ainsley earhardt. thank you your starting your day with us.ouble trouble, storms bearing down on both coasts creating nightmares for 90 million travelers hitting the roads and the skies two-days before christmas. >> in colorado whiteout conditions bringing traffic to a stand still. look at this deer passing dozens of cars through the snow and ice. >> that's the way to go. >> mix of heavy rain and thunderstorms will bring in wet not a white christmas. >> maria molina tracking the weather for us in the weather center. good morning maria. >> hello everyone. a busy weather pattern through out the day especially as we head into tomorrow. tomorrow the day before christmas looks to be the worst travel days across the country. coming up we have a storm system intensifying. expect to see a lot of rain windy conditions across portions of the east coast and thunderstorms. you mentioned the severe weather that will be a big concern through out the day today along the gulf coast. that includes the florida panhandle alabama, mississippi. we are watching out

i am leah gabrielle. >> i am molly line. thank you for starting your day with us today. news alert. overnight the attack in pakistan coming in the same region. the pakistani army has been battling pakistani indsurgentin. they stepped up operations against the taliban following the school massacre that left 130 children bed dead. >> days after the murder of two new york police officers brand new threats against the department. >> jonathan hunt is live in queens new york where the city is preparing for the wake of rafael ramos. >> mol lly and leah the grief h remained ever since the shootings the spot where the murders took place. the family of one of the office officers liu has visited the memorial. it has grown every day since the shooting. some of the relatives have to travel from his native china. here in queens at the christ tabernacle choir. later today a viewing ceremony will take place and a wake service for rafael ramos the other of the two mauer derred at the hands of the killer. as the city tries to come to terms with the grief and division this has exposed card

i am leah gabrielle.an apparent hostage situation in australia. the police commissioner from south wales said they are doing all they can to find a peaceful resolution. australia media reports there are ten xhoi es. it shows two people holding up what appears to be a black flag with white arabic writing on it. australian's

i am leah gabrielle. an advisor briefed the president on an apparent hostage situation in australia. the police commissioner from south wales said they are doing all they can to find a peaceful resolution. australia media reports there are ten xhoi es. it shows two people holding up what appears to be a black flag with white arabic writing on it. australian'sjhañ prime ministero speaking urging australians to do a better lesson. it is stronger supported by commonwealth agencies. we don't know the motivation of the perpetrator. we don't know whether this is politically motivated. obviously there are some indications it could be. >> the u.s. is reportedly evacuated our consulate in they are urges u.s. ingig lens. toop cure stef don't allow them to leave the ground. the commissipolice commissioner said there are hundreds on the ñ screen. we have following it closely and give you up states when we believe them 1600 page spenda palosa. it was a bill that liberals and conservatives hated. elizabeth warren and n

right now we'll turn to leah gabriel. nice to have you here this morning. >> we're talking a lot about airplanes. texas had terrifying moments mid air when passengers on board a u.s. airways plane see this outside their window. did you see those flames shooting out from one of the engines? it happened moments after takeoff from philadelphia airport. the plane made an emergency landing and no one was hurt. >>> congressman michael grimm stepping down one week after admitting to tax evision. grimp said after much thought and prayer i made the difficult decision to step down from congress effective january 56789 it is a turn around from last week when he claimed he had no plans to leave new york. he could face up to three years in federal prison. sentencing set for june 8. >>> the f.b.i. standing behind claims north korea is responsible for the sony hack even as new theories emerge. private security groups briefing the bureau with their own ideas about who tore through sony's infrastructure. one firm claiming the attack was a

i am leah gabrielle in for heather childers. >> i am ainsley earhardt.hank you for starting your day wugs. let's start with a fox news alert. the star studded premiere of "the interview" new canceled. they are verifying the threat and the stars cancel all up coming ail peppearances. robert? >> the film's premiere was canceled by landmark theaters. it follows hackers threatening a 9-11 style attack. guardians of peace wrote the note. soon the world will see all the world what an awful movie sony pictures has made. this world will be full of fear remember 11th of september 2001 we recommend you keep yourself a distance from places

i am leah gabrielle. it is nice to be with you this morning. >> i am cheryl casone.fox news alert. an october spotted in the search for missing air 8501 -- airasia flight. >> david piper is live in thailand with the latest. good morning. >> good morning to you both. indonesian officials say australian aircraft spotted objects floating in the sea in the search area. indonesia's vice president says they are likely to be debris from the aircraft. airasia indonesia jet on the way from singapore sunday morning local time. 162 people were on board. the pilot radioed in that he was facing bad weather and requesting a course change before losing contact with ind peesh indonesian air traffic control. no distress call was made. there are many nations in the sea. they asked if they needed help but so far the offer hasn't been taken up. the head of indonesia's search and rescue agency said the plane is likely to be at the bottom of the sea. he said he based this on the coordinates of the plane when contact wausz losts lost. special equipment is being used to help maintain the fl

. >> i am leah gabrielle in for ainsley earhardt. >> a plane vanished off the indonesian coast. mysterious objects and oil spots have been seen in the water. let's get right to david piper. he has the latest details for us. >> indonesian officials say australian planes spotted octobers floating in the sea in the area they have been searching for the missing aircraft. indonesia's vice president says they could it could be debris from the planes. >> >> the search has been focusing about one hour into the airasia plane to singapore monday morning 160 people were on board. the pilot said he was

. >> i am leah gabrielle. >> i am heather childers. >> former cia officials say they saved thousandsamerican lives. >> did the release put more americans at risk? >> that is certainly an accusation here. reports from the senate intelligence committee accuses the cia of not just mistreating terror detainees but also not coming clean with congress and the white house. this is an accusation of torture in this report saying the cia didn't just stop at waterboarding some al qaeda suspects will you abouts hit them and slammed them against walls in some instances. there are fears reports could lead to attacks on u.s. interests around the globe. that led to mixed signals through the administration. although president president supports his release. >> it is never a perfect time to release a report like this. it was important for us to recognize part of that does it resay it is wrong and acknowledge it. >> backers are mounting a defense saying they never interviewed any one from the agency. the cia maintained aggressive tactics help lead them to osama bin laden and others. >> we have u.s. per

. >> i am leah gabrielle. president obama's leadership under fire as members of his own party blast the administration's handling of the agency. >> doug mckeller is live for us. >> what does the administration say now? >> cia director john bren nonin the aftermath of the intelligence report that found the cia engaged in such tactics waterboarding rectal feeding to get information. many condemn the report as a one-sided hatchet job now they say bush administrations helped over sea the tact -- oversee the tactics. >> he needs to purring those instrumental and in the running and development of this program. they are willfully providing information and misrepresent the efficacy of torture. in other words, the cia is lying. >> henry asked press secretary about that. >> how can the president appoint john brennan and james cowan to cia and fbi if he believed they endorsed unamerican tactics? >> i can tell you he fall noose the same category as mr. brennan in terms of somebody whose advice the president is pleased he

. >> i am leah gabrielle in for ainsley earhardt. >> breaking i don't ever night the mystery of the missing airasia flight coming to a devastating end. >> david piper is live in thailand with the latest. good morning david. >> good morning to you both. they have recovered 40 bodies from the sea. that number is growing. p indonesia officials say the items floating are from the aircraft. rescue chief was quoted as saying he was 95 percent certain the objects sited came from the plane. these pictures just releasing to show the aircraft. one shows an airplane exit door that is reported to be red and white the same colors of the missing airasia indonesian air bus. it shows an inflatable escape slide and a life jacket. the bodies recovered didn't have life jackets on. a search plane sited a shadow in the water which could be the body of the plane. the plane on the way from indonesia surabaya and singapore when it lost contact with they have sonar devices that can scan under water and has two helicopters on the ship searching. they broke down in tears on reports the wreckage has been sited. airasi

. >> i am leah gabrielle.resident obama's leadership under fire as members of his own party blast the administration's handling of the agency. >> doug mckeller is live for us. >> what does the administration say now? >> cia director john bren nonin the aftermath of the intelligence report that found the cia engaged in such tactics waterboarding rectal feeding to get information. many condemn the report as a one-sided hatchet job now they say bush administrations helped over sea the tact -- oversee the tactics. >> he needs to purring those instrumental and in the running and development of this program. they are willfully providing informio

i am leah gabrielle. >> i am molly lye on. >> rushed to the hospital with a shortness of breath.t did we learn this morning? >> we know that president bush was having a hard time breathing last night. he is being treated at a hospital in houston. his office passed along this statement. president bush was taken by ambulance to the houston methodist hospital as a precaution after experiencing a shortness of breath earlier this evening. the former president age 90 will be held for observation again as a precaution. now this same hospital treated the 41st president for two months last year for complications from bronchitis. he has been wheelchair bound recently because of a form of parkinson's makes walking very difficult for him. word of this latest ailment has made its way to president obama in hawaii where he is vacationing with his family. a white house spokesperson says quote the president has been made aware that president bush was admitted to the hospital. president obama and the first lady saying their good wishes to the former president and the entire bush family during this

i am here with leah gabriel former navy fighter pilot and intelligence operator. she is so sweet she rots your teeth and then gives you a migraine. it is joanne mow saw chin ski. and he is more sour than a lemon drop. it is tv's andy levey. i will probably be busy this year so i will just pay someone to do my taxes. i think i used that one already. next to me eric metaxas. what they are and how they can change your life. the only miracle i know is how gorgeous eric really is in person. >> a block. the lede. that's the first story. >> can we counterattack the hack? the obama administration whatever that is considers the assault on sony to be a serious national security matter and considering a response. perhaps a strongly worded letter from valerie jarret will do. while u.s. officials have determined north korea is to blame, the white house is not ready to accuse the communist paradise. in the wake of sony cancelling the movie's release mitt romney tweeted sony pictures don't cave, fight. release the -- "the interview." this is why he would have been a great presid

guests include leah gabriel and eric m atasis. >> e block. last story. that's the last story.all about big hair and terrible fashions and goofy cars and lots and lots of cocaine. i would rather talk 80s movies. a writer wonders what the most fun movie from that decade was, noting the movies have an innocence and a fun that is difficult to beat. my pick is die hard because i enjoy all of his families. i am joking and you would vote for top gun as the most fun movie in the 80s. especially the volleyball in the locker rooms. >> nothing topped for fun. a classic japanese film called "galaxy of fire flies." it is two orphan kids wandering around post nuclear japan and the 5-year-old sister died of starvation. the older brother cremated her and carried her remains around. that spells the 80s. it is more up lifting. >> i would think so. it couldn't be less. >> outrageous fortune. i don't even know if that is an 80s movie. bet midler at her peak and the other one from "cheers". >> she was good too, shelly, whatever. >> shelly long. >> that was the last time women headlined a movie. >>

i am leah gabrielle in for heather childers. >> i am ainsley earhardt. thank you for starting your day wugs. let's start with a fox news alert. the star studded premiere of "the interview" new canceled. they are verifying the threat and the stars cancel all up coming ail peppearances. robert? >> the film's premiere was canceled by landmark theaters. it follows hackers threatening a 9-11 style attack. guardians of peace wrote the note. soon the world will see all the world what an awful movie sony pictures has made. this world will be full of fear remember 11th of september 2001 we recommend you keep yourself a distance from places at that time. they can opt out of theirç commitments to show the movie. they are unclear if it is a credible threat or not. police chief spoke out to allay the concerns of movie goers with a christmas day release of the film. >> people should not be afraid to see a movie in los angeles. there is no credible threat. we are well aware of the e-mails we will take pretaugss to make our movie theaterings as safe as we can make them

i am leah gabrielle in for ainsley earhardt. >> um heather childers. the plane vanishing from radar in route from indonesia to singapore on sunday. the president of indonesia expected to address the most recent findings in just a few minutes. let's get right to david kipper who has the latest. >> indonesian officials say search teams recovered several bodies from the sea close to where the plane went missioning. they seem certain objects seen floating in the sea are from the plane. indonesia search and rescue agency chief was quoted as saying he was 95 percent certain the objects were from the plane that went missing two-days ago. these pictures just released to show parts of an aircraft. one seems to show an aircraft exit door that is red white the colors of the air bus.

i am leah gabrielle is for ainsley earhardt. >> i amhead heather childers.tch what i am going to do. those words seconds before he ambushed two new york city police officers executing them as they sat in their patrol car. >> chief correspondent jonathan hunt is live in brooklyn with new information about the hours leading up to the killings. jonathan? >>>> good morning. there is a makeshift memorial now a memorial for the two slaen offic slain officers wenjian liu and rafael ramos who were murdered assassinated by ishmael brins lee. this is where he shot his former girlfriend. she is in critical condition but is expected to survive. he took a bus from baltimore to new york and made his way to the streets of brooklyn on the way posting a prophetic warning

i am leah gabrielle in new york.resident obama on an apparent hostage situation unfolding in sydney, australia. that from the white house official. the xicommissioner spoke he sai he is doing all they can to reach a peaceful resolution and situation is obtained. let's take a listen. >> look, i am not in a position to confirm any of that. my briefing to you is high level just to ensure they have the understanding of the situation. it would be better belt with by the operational commander.

. >> i am leah gabrielle from ainsley earhardt. thank you your starting your day with us.ouble, storms bearing down on both coasts creating nightmares for 90 million travelers hitting the roads and the skies two-days before christmas. >> in colorado whiteout conditions bringing traffic to a stand still. look at this deer passing dozens of cars through the snow and ice. >> that's the way to go. >> mix of heavy rain and thunderstorms will bring in wet not a white christmas. >> maria molina tracking the weather for us in the weather center. good morning maria. >> hello everyone. a busy weather pattern through out the day especially as we head into tomorrow.

i'm leah gabriel. it vanished dropping off the radar and disappeared over the java sea after the pilot requested to fly over bad weather. that request was denied. greg palkot is in london. >> reporter: second full day for searching for asia flight 8501 is over and still no sign of that plane. the airbus off from the indonesia ann city of surabaya sunday local time. most of the people on board were indonesian. 42 minutes after takeoff ground scroll lost radio and radar contact. apparently after encountering the bad weather the corrected course correction was denied due to air traffic in the vicinity. authorities believe the aircraft crashed into the waters of the java sea. the wreckage of the aircraft could already be lying on the seafloor. there are no fewer than 30 ships and 15 aircraft in the search. they come from four different countries. late reports leah, the object spotted is believed not related to crash but ships are going to the scene of oil slicks found to check them out. the offering any as

leah gabriel a former navy f-18 pilot and fox news correspondent and anchor is here to sort through this. thank you for joining us today. i want to ask you right off the bat as we were reading through some of the information about the search that's going on, there's a search that's been launk launched by singapore and malaysia. now, you think, okay, i'm looking for an oil slick and pieces of the plane. but what can we expect from these teams that are out there looking? what are they looking for beyond the obvious? >> one of the things they are looking for is the elt, emergency locator transmitter to listen to that. we heard about this when we were talking about the missing malaysia plane searching to find any sound they might hear emitted from that device. that's a big thing depending on the g-forces that occurred upon impact. a big part of this is just covering that surface area knowing where the last known radar contact was and i think the best place to look is right where that last known radar contact was. typically if something falls off the radar like this it's because it impacted l

leah gabriel has the rest of it.hat's a big night for going out all across america, the wednesday night before thanksgiving, and something went wrong. >> huge night. the fbi says that their investigators are trying to pull together any surveillance video that may be out there that many of the businesses were closed that were near the bar where shane montgomery was last seen for the holiday weekend. now that they're back open, investigators are trying to track down any video that they might have. now, police say that they finished searching the canal just across the street from the bar. and today the marine unit is searching the river. earlier investigators described to me why they say this disappearance is suspicious. >> there's no reason to believe that he would have just voluntarily left the area and separated himself from family and friends and school. there's no reason for us to believe that. there's no -- nothing that we're aware of that explains this, so i don't want to use the word "desperate" but yes, we are

leah gabriel is here. what do we know from that video? >> you mentioned that police right now are trying to figure out if the killer is even a man or woman. the video shows several people, including the person, the security guard, that shep mentioned, speaking with the suspect. now abu dhabi police released the video. witnesses saw the american woman and the suspect fighting inside the rest room before the stabbing. now in the video you can see people running out of the rest room, one woman in a white jacket seems to confront the suspect and try to flag down help. you see the suspect get on the elevator and then disappear as the doors close. one person runs to try to stop it. but just too late. the video also shows the suspect entered the mall about an hour and 20 minutes before the killing, shep, the same entrance they came into and this mall is one known for attracting expatriates. >> lots of americans in that area. i understand there had been some kidnapper about americans there recently, right? >> that's right. the u.s. embassy in abu

. >> leah gabriel has been following this story. >> reports in of gang members threatening to shoot up precincts near where two officers were murdered in brooklyn. security beefed up at both locations, this as protesters packed the streets. [chanting] >> hundreds stopping traffic as people rush to finish their last-minute christmas shopping in new york city. al sharpton ignoring calls by the mayor to hold off on protests until after the funerals of officers wenjian liu and rafael ramos. protesters hackling a memorial. mayor de blasio and his wife holding a moment of silence at city hall. this as new reports indicate a brooklyn judge cut loose a gang member who posted on-line threats to gun down cops in the hours after liu and ramos were murdered. posting a disturbing image on facebook of a man shooting a gun into a cop car with the posting 73 next. the gang member walked free with no bail despite facing is en years behind bars -- facing seven years behind bars for facing a terror threat. >> thank you for that information. if you look at the cover of the daily news today, you see "have

i'm leah gabriel.

. >> reporter: i'm leah gabriel for martha maccallum. the former president is 92 years old. >> reporter: do we know how long he will spend in hospital? >> reporter: doctors want to keep an eye on him until they feel he's breathing more regularly and comfortably. he has a form of parkinson's disease and it's not unusual for parkinson's patients to have shortness of breath. temperature. >> you get a stiffness of your breathing muscles. so you get a lot of perceived shortness of breath. they are always cautious with president bush. the breathing is a sign he's possibly not breathing properly. >> reporter: he spent time in the hospital for bronchitis-related cough and other medical issuers. >> reporter: we heard president obama has been notified about the former president's health condition? >> reporter: statement said president obama and the first lady send their good wishes to the former president. president obama and his family are spending the christmas holiday in hawaii. >> reporter: prosecutor charging a suspect for posting a chilling

leah: i'm leah gabriel. tivities from the faithful in the vatican to pilgrims in bethlehem. leland: the very simple of the christmas spirit. it is not too late to give to those in need. leah: the show will go on. after you will "the interview" opening in hundreds of theaters and online have sony does an about-face on the controversial new movie. but we begin with protests erupting on christmas eve near ferguson, missouri. >> i can't breathe. i can't breathe. >> hundreds of protesters taking to the streets in the town of berkeley for the second night in a row, this after police there say an officer shot and killed an armed teenager who allegedly pointed a gun at him. officers say the officer was conducting a routine check at at gas station when 18-year-old antonio martin, pulled a gun causing the officer to fear for his life. tensions simmer near the boiling point. david lee miller is live in our new york city newsroom. david lee? >> leah, half a dozen people were arrested during those protests. some demonstra

. >> i'm leah gabriel in for martha maccallum. so good to see you and all of you as well. afghanistan has a future thanks to their sacrifice. this is set as the u.s. will end its rule there at the end of the year. >> peter doocy has more on this. peter, how was the president first received. >> reporter: the president

that's why leah gabriel -- >> that's why? >> that's her lead story. >> precisely why i'm here. an extreme weather alert. double trouble. storms barreling down on both coasts creating nightmares for the 98 million travelers hitting the road. in colorado with whiteout conditions bringing travelers to a standstill. on the east coast a mix of heavy rain, severe thunderstorms and strong winds will bring a wet, not a white christmas. tornadoes could even hit the south. >>> to a fox news alert, the f.b.i. warning of an isis attack on american soil. the target the memphis arkansas bridge. it could act viet isis terror -- could activate isis terror cells in the u.s. the joint terror task force is investigating the threat. >>> a delta airlines worker waking up behind bars accused of helping to smuggle 18 firearms on to a flight headed to new york city. eugene harvey busted for allegedly handing off ammo to passengers. four men in total were arrested in the gun running operation. >> a top i.r.s. official considered admitting to the targeting of conservative groups before the 2012 election

leah gabriel standing by with a look at that. good morning. >> good morning, guys.t, there is reason to worry about security and especially for officers. antipolice protesters are planning to shake up new year's eve celebrations tonight in new york city. the group stop mass incarceration is hoping to gather thousands of people to march on times square. this a day after mayor bill de blasio met with police union leaders to try and repair his relationship with law enforcement. cops publicly turned their backs on the mayor who continues to defend antipolice protests. that happened since the execution-style killing of two police officers. >>> a pennsylvania man shot and killed by police after trying to run down officers with his car. it was a 62-year-old, and that same day posted youtube videos filled with threat to police and rants about prison. listen. >> there is no way in hell i'm going back to prison. no [bleep] way. so to the police, to the f.b.i., the c.i.a., i'm not taking a fall for my family anymore. >> the confrontation occurred when he fled arrest and then b

we do have navy fighter pilot leah gabriel here with us. you have been in panic situations before.u've had engine failure in the middle of the night before. what happens to your decision making process? >> we were talking off air but when you run into a real emergency situation, you know they say that your brain shrinks to the size of a pea. you become task saturated and pilots will always say we're trained to aviate navigate, communicate. aviate means do whatever it takes to keep that airplane flying and from crashing into the ground essentially. it's kind of like getting tunnel vision almost. you really have to kind of control yourself and go back to your training and figure out exactly what you >> that's the big question we've been talking about this whole time is issue of training and difference between training with asian airlines versus american carriers. appreciate you being here. we'll have you stick around. more "fox & friends" coming up next. >>> the frantic search continuing after airasia flight 8501 vanished over the pacific. 162 people still missing after the pilot ask